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20 November 2015 Last updated at 06:58 GMT
Marie-Ange Koutou, 42, is a paediatric nurse's assistant in the Medecins Sans Frontiers Hospital in Kabo, a remote rural village in the north of the Central African Republic.
Kabo is one of the worst three places in the world for child deaths. But the killing is not done by bombs and bullets, it's by malnutrition and malaria as a direct result of decades of civil war.
"People cannot walk around as they would like. When you walk you are afraid," she told the BBC.
100 Women 2015
This year's season features two weeks of inspirational stories about the BBC's 100 Women and others who are defying stereotypes around the world.
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram using the hashtag #100Women. | As part of the 100 women series we met some of the nurses working in areas ravaged by conflict. | 34875638 |
The 24-hour walkouts will begin at 18:30 BST on Tuesday 25 August and at 18:30 on Thursday 27 August.
Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT), the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite union members will strike about work-life balance and job cuts with September's night time tube.
The 24-hour service is set to be introduced on 12 September.
Station staff will strike from 18:30 each day and drivers from 21:00 in the protest, which follows two earlier strikes, on 6 August and on 8 July.
Disruption is likely to be felt from Tuesday evening until Friday night, owing to the knock-on impact of each strike to the service.
The train drivers' union ASLEF is yet to decide on the action it will take.
By Richard Westcott, Transport Correspondent. @BBCwestcott
It's interesting that the drivers' union, ASLEF, hasn't followed suit, just yet. I'm hearing that talks have been going better with ASLEF and they may just be able to do a deal that would sort out concerns over shift patterns.
Having said all that, negotiations could still collapse and ASLEF might well be joining the others in announcing strike dates, probably later this week. And I can't see drivers crossing picket lines anyway.
Resolution talks really haven't been going well in this dispute.
There's been a lot of anger and frustration on all sides. It's hard to pin down where it's all heading, although it seems likely that London Underground will have to postpone the start date for 24-hour tube services, which were meant to begin on 12 September.
A spokesman for Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "The union leadership appear hell bent on strike action and the mayor is dismayed at their continued failure to put what is a fair, sensible and generous offer on the table to their members."
He said the workers were being offered an above-inflation pay rise, cash bonuses and the commitment no one would have to work more hours than they do today and that strike action was "completely unnecessary".
But Manuel Cortes at the TSSA said it was "time for the mayor to start getting his hands dirty and get down to serious direct negotiations" to avoid a week of disruption on the Tube.
He said: "He will blame the rail unions for the disruption but the travelling public will be asking why he has allowed these talks to drag on for six months while he refused to meet the union leaders themselves."
General secretary at the RMT Mick Cash said the union's members didn't want to be "forced to wreck their home lives in order to comply with the rosters from hell".
He said Tube staff were angry Mr Johnson had "ignored" their issues.
"Running tube services with fatigued and burnt-out staff is a recipe for disaster," he said.
Hugh Roberts at Unite said London Underground's (LU's) "vague assurances" about work-life balance and unsocial shifts did not give its members "the security they need to plan their home life over the long-term".
He said: "If not enough people sign up for night shifts, what happens then? LU has made it clear that people will effectively be forced to work with its insistence that staff are contracted to work 24/7".
Steve Griffiths, London Underground's chief operating officer, said the union had demanded the hiring of "even more staff" and wanted to reverse "modernisation of customer service" in Tube stations.
"They expect our customers to pick up a bill running into hundreds of millions of pounds for this through higher fares or by forcing us to cut back investment to improve Tube services in a rapidly growing city.
"No responsible management can give in to such demands," he added. | London Underground workers will stage two more strikes in the dispute over night Tube plans, three unions said. | 33866704 |
The UN Refugee Agency says that in the current crisis 1,396 people have arrived here, with about 430 more rescued on Wednesday.
The mayor of Langsa, one of Aceh's cities, told the BBC last week that city funds used to help were running low and the national government had not provided any money.
The BBC takes a look at how local people in Aceh have been stepping in to fill the gap.
Some of the local fishermen have been using their small boats to rescue migrants from the water or from their sinking boats.
There are reports the fishermen have been told by authorities not to pick up migrants even if they are drowning.
However, the Acehnese fisherman appear to be rescuing migrants regardless, and are the first point of contact for those who have been adrift at sea for weeks.
Razali Puteh (not pictured), is one of the fishermen who spotted the migrants rescued on Wednesday from an overcrowded trawler. He said he was about 60 km (37 miles) off the coast of Aceh when he saw the vessel.
"When coming close, I was very surprised with what I saw on the boat,'' he told AP news agency.
"It was crammed with people ... I was speechless and breaking down into tears when watching them screaming, waving hands and cloth."
"I could not have let them die, because they are also human beings, just like me. I am grateful to be able to save hundreds of lives."
Once on land, those in need of immediate medical assistance are being taken to tents set up as hospitals.
The rest are taken to temporary housing, where locals have donated food, water, clothing and small amounts of money.
A migrant woman (above), carried by Aceh residents, was unconscious when she arrived in Simpang Tiga.
Residents in Langsa and the village of Julok have been giving rice from their paddy fields, vegetables and eggs, correspondents say.
They have been donating money for gifts for the children and schools have allowed the migrant children into classes.
Volunteers from different religious groups and local NGOs are also involved in the aid effort. | Aceh province in Indonesia has seen the highest number of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants land on its shores, many malnourished and in need of medical attention. | 32807799 |
The new positions will be based at the company's call centre at Springtown business park.
The jobs will bring the total local workforce at the firm to over 300. Axa has operated in the city since 2007.
In February, the company confirmed it would be relocating some roles from Dublin to the north west.
Centre manager Sean Harnett said their customer contact centre in Derry "efficiently services the company's business operations across the Island of Ireland while, at the same time, building on AXA's strong presence with 15 branches across Northern Ireland".
The jobs are a mixture of part-time and full-time permanent posts. | More than 80 new jobs will be created in Londonderry by the insurance company, Axa. | 36245441 |
Operator E-On said it has 50 hours of its licensed operating hours left, which will end in the middle of next week.
The station, in Shropshire, had to close by the end of the year or after a set number of operating hours under EU environmental regulations.
E-On said no decision had yet been reached about the future of the station's well-known cooling towers.
The station, originally coal-fired, was converted to burn wood pellets in 2013 ahead of its planned closure this year.
It can generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of up to 750,000 homes. | Ironbridge Power Station will stop generating electricity next week. | 34810806 |
Mr Corbyn told the Independent he would consult women on the suggestion.
But the idea was attacked as outdated and unhelpful by his Labour leadership rivals Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham.
And other critics, including Conservative women's minister Nicky Morgan, said it smacked of "segregation".
It comes after British Transport Police (BTP) figures suggested sex offences on trains and at stations had risen by 25% to record levels.
Mr Corbyn said: "My intention would be to make public transport safer for everyone from the train platform to the bus stop to the mode of transport itself.
"However, I would consult with women and open it up to hear their views on whether women-only carriages would be welcome - and also if piloting this at times and [on] modes of transport where harassment is reported most frequently would be of interest."
According to the Independent, he said it was "simply unacceptable" that many females have to adapt their daily lives to avoid being harassed in public, including while using public transport.
The Independent said he would also call for a 24-hour hotline for reporting harassment and assault.
Rail minister Claire Perry suggested introducing women-only carriages was an idea worth considering in September last year. Compartments solely for females were last used on UK railways in 1977.
But a report last year for the Department of Transport, by Middlesex University, said bringing them back would be a "retrograde step" that "could be thought of as insulting, patronising and shaming to both men and women".
Mr Corbyn's proposal was seized on by his Labour leadership rivals, who said it would not help cut violence against women.
Yvette Cooper said it would be "turning the clock back, not tackling the problem".
Ms Cooper, who is calling for stronger laws to protect women from violence and harassment, added: "We shouldn't have to shut ourselves away from men for our own safety.
"The staff needed to enforce the segregated carriages should be keeping all the carriages safe instead."
Andy Burnham said: "In this day and age, we shouldn't be even considering the idea of segregated train travel.
"As a dad of two young girls, I want to see a proper society-wide strategy on tackling violence against women."
Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, who chairs the health select committee, said women-only carriages "just normalise unacceptable attitudes".
She added: "In countries where women are segregated on public transport, this is a marker for disempowerment, not safety."
Everyday Sexism campaigner Laura Bates also rejected the idea, saying on Twitter: "Women-only carriages suggest harassment/sexual violence is innate & inevitable so women's responsibility to avoid."
But journalist and Jeremy Corbyn supporter Rahila Gupta said: "If there is a demand and it makes women feel safe then it's a good idea."
Countries that have introduced train carriages only for females include Mexico, Japan, India and Indonesia.
BTP recorded 1,399 sexual offences in 2014-15 in England, Scotland and Wales - up 282 on the previous year.
The force said the rise in sex crime figures was mainly because of a campaign to encourage reporting of these offences, which was launched in London in 2013 after a survey suggested that 90% of such attacks went unreported. | Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn has said he would consider women-only rail carriages to help stem a rise in assaults on public transport. | 34059249 |
The British Team Sky rider finished fourth in the penultimate stage from La Rochette to Meribel, which was won by Frenchman Thibaut Pinot.
France's Romain Bardet was a narrow second to move into third in the overall classification behind Froome and Australian Richie Porte.
Froome, 31, had held a seven-second lead heading into stage six.
Bardet led Pinot up the final climb and, despite being beaten to the line by the FDJ rider, took 67 seconds out of Froome to vault up the overall standings.
Froome, twice a Dauphine winner, did not attempt to overhaul the French pair, but team-mates Mikel Landa and Sergio Henao led him up the final climb to ensure he would keep the yellow jersey.
The two-time Tour de France champion was able to steal a few seconds on other rivals as he broke clear to follow Etixx-Quick-Step's Dan Martin over the line.
Martin is now fourth, 30 seconds behind Froome, who also picked up eight seconds on Tinkoff's Alberto Contador and 10 seconds on Adam Yates of Orica GreenEdge.
In Sunday's final stage, the riders travel from Le-Pont-de-Claix to Superdevoluy.
Elsewhere, Froome's Team Sky and Great Britain team-mate Geraint Thomas finished 12 seconds behind home leader Fabian Cancellara in the first stage of the Tour de Suisse.
Stage six result:
1. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/FDJ) 4hrs 24mins 16secs
2. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) same time
3. Daniel Martin (Ire/Etixx-Quick-Step) +1:04"
4. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) +1:07"
5. Louis Meintjes (SA/Lampre) +1:15"
6. Alberto Contador (Spa/Tinkoff) same time
7. Diego Rosa (Ita/Astana) +1:17"
8. Adam Yates (GB/ Orica) same time
9. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Etixx-Quick-Step) +1:21"
10. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing) same time
General classification:
1. Chris Froome (GB /Team Sky) 25hrs 50mins 22secs
2. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing) +21"
3. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) same time
4. Daniel Martin (Ire/Etixx - Quick-Step) +30"
5. Alberto Contador (Spa/Tinkoff) +35"
6. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Etixx-Quick-Step) +56"
7. Adam Yates (GB/Orica) +1:02"
8. Diego Rosa (Ita/Astana) +1:18"
9. Louis Meintjes (SA/Lampre) +1:35"
10. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/FDJ) +2:12" | Chris Froome extended his lead in the Criterium du Dauphine to 21 seconds on Saturday with one stage remaining. | 36507854 |
Ministers said they had "listened carefully" and decided not to proceed with the controversial "pay to stay" policy.
It would have applied to social housing residents in England earning £31,000 or £40,000 in London.
Councils and housing associations would be able to decide whether to impose higher rents, the government said.
Housing minister Gavin Barwell also confirmed the government would be ending the right of social housing tenants to stay in their homes for life, by introducing compulsory fixed-term tenancies.
This will mean tenancies are periodically reviewed "to ensure tenants still need a socially rented home", he said, with councils told to prioritise lower-income households.
He added that the government was exploring other ways to ensure higher-earning tenants "make a greater contribution to costs".
The change in policy comes after a public consultation into "pay to stay" in which council leaders and charities criticised the plans.
Under the current rules, social landlords can charge tenants with an income of over £60,000 market or near-market rent.
Former Chancellor George Osborne announced a compulsory scheme in his July 2015 Budget, with the government saying it was unfair for hardworking people to be "subsidising the lifestyles of those on higher than average incomes".
It would have meant local authorities were forced to raise rents with a taper system in place for those earning over £31,000 or £40,000 in London.
More than 70,000 households were set to be affected by the changes, pushing tenants' annual rent up by more than £1,000 a year on average.
In a written statement, Mr Barwell said the government remained committed to "ensuring social housing is occupied by those who need it most".
He added: "But we need to do so in a way that supports those ordinary working class families who can struggle to get by, and in a way which delivers real savings to the taxpayer.
"The policy as previously envisaged did not meet those aims."
The Local Government Association was among the organisations warning families could be forced from their homes and unable to stay in the same area if subsidised rents were dropped, with the proposal also facing resistance in the House of Lords.
The LGA said the decision not to enforce a compulsory policy would be a "huge relief to households across the country", saying implementing it would have been "difficult, lengthy and costly".
Liberal Democrat housing spokesman Lord Shipley said: "Finally the government have realised their plans to charge people more for their homes were not only unfair, but unworkable." | Plans to force higher-earning social housing tenants to pay more in rent have been scrapped by the government. | 38058402 |
The 70-year-old was arrested at his home in Bayswater, west London, by Surrey Police on Wednesday.
His arrest was made in connection with allegations linked to the Walton Hop Disco in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.
Two other men, aged 77 and 86, both from Walton-on-Thames, were arrested and have also been released on bail.
The men were all arrested on suspicion of various sexual offences concerning boys under the age of 16, Surrey Police have said.
All three men have been released on police bail until 9 March next year.
Mr King is a former chart-topping star and TV producer who worked on BBC shows such as No Limits and The Great British Song Contest.
He reached number four in the UK charts for his 1965 single Everyone's Gone to the Moon, and he also worked with bands such as Genesis and the Bay City Rollers. | Former music mogul Jonathan King has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of historical child sex offences. | 34214022 |
The winner of the award will be announced during this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year, which will come live from the Genting Arena, Birmingham, on Sunday, 18 December.
Nominations will form a shortlist, with a panel including well-known sports stars deciding the winner.
Gymnast Ellie Downie took the award in 2015 after she became the first British female to win an individual all-around medal for Great Britain at the European Championships, claiming bronze at the age of 15.
Other past winners include diver Tom Daley, tennis player Andy Murray, footballer Wayne Rooney and Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds.
You can nominate by downloading and filling in this form and emailing it to sports.personality@bbc.co.uk or posting it to YOUNG SPOTY 2016, 3rd Floor, Quay House, MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, M50 2QH.
Nominees must have been 17 or under on the 1 January 2016 and nominations close on Friday, 11 November 2016. Nominations are made to the BBC and by sports governing bodies via the Youth Sport Trust.
This year, BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year has once again joined forces with Blue Peter to offer one young viewer the chance to join the panel to decide this year's shortlist.
The lucky viewer will be selected from those who have applied for a Blue Peter Sport Badge.
Youth Sport Trust's assistant director of development Will Roberts said: "Every year we are overwhelmed at the achievements of our hugely talented young sportsmen and women.
"This year we have witnessed some outstanding sporting performances, so trying to shortlist them to 10 and choosing the ultimate winner will be no easy feat.
"I hope our nominees will inspire other young people to get involved in sport and create even more stars of the future."
For more details of the nomination process, and for further information on how to join the judging panel, please see the terms and conditions. | After an incredible year of sport, you now have the chance to nominate your Young Sports Personality of the Year. | 37498890 |
Paul Thornley and Noma Dumezweni were photographed in costume in Charlie Gray's portraits.
It was also revealed their daughter, Rose Granger-Weasley, will be played by Cherrelle Skeete - who is pictured in her Hogwarts uniform.
Previews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begin at London's Palace Theatre on 7 June.
Images of Harry Potter, his wife Ginny and their son Albus were released earlier this week.
Skeete has previously appeared in productions of The Lion King and Wind in the Willows, as well as television series Call the Midwife and Danny and the Human Zoo.
"I can't think about how big it is or I'll just faint," the actress said.
"Putting on my uniform, ready to go to Hogwarts, and seeing everyone else in their uniform was exciting. I've been looking at it every day in the wardrobe department, waiting for the day I can get on the Hogwarts Express."
The Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official story of the franchise to be presented on stage.
The casting of Ron and Hermione was announced in December, but the new portraits mark the first time the actors have been seen in costume.
Dumezweni said: "Every time I'm in the auditorium I turn around to people or say to myself, 'I'm in that show, I'm in that show.' I want to see it so much. I am so proud that I am in it."
JK Rowling said: "I saw Noma workshop the part and when [director] John Tiffany told me he'd cast her, I was overjoyed. She gets Hermione inside out."
Referring to the plot of the play, Thornley explained: "It's 19 years later when the play begins. Ron is married to Hermione Granger and they're now the Granger-Weasleys.
"Our magnificent daughter Rose Granger-Weasley is about to start at Hogwarts, which is obviously a big day for everyone."
Ron is seen in a grey-and-orange striped jumper in the photos.
"We had to make it look as though he doesn't really care what he wears in the morning," Thornley said.
"We wanted to find a jumper, that is definitely his favourite jumper, and that I think gets washed occasionally. He wants to essentially be comfortable at all times, hence comfortable cords, comfortable jumper, comfortable shoes. I don't believe he's a man who spends an awful lot of time shopping."
Rowling said: "Ron in his forties isn't very different from Ron in his teens, except that his feet hurt a bit more. Paul's so funny and brilliant in the role."
When the role of Hermione was cast, fans asked Rowling on social media how she felt about Hermione being played by a black actress.
The role was played by Emma Watson in the film series, but Rowling said that the character's race had never been referenced in the books.
Rowling tweeted: "Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione."
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is one play but will be presented in two parts. Both parts will run in the theatre simultaneously, split between matinee and evening performances.
The final photos of cast members in costume will be released on Thursday. | Photos of the actors who play Ron and Hermione in the new Harry Potter play have been released. | 36424069 |
Laverty's performance earned him two more championship points as he remained in 12th place in the series.
He will quit MotoGP at the end of the season and return to World Superbikes, competing on an Aprilia machine.
Crutchlow became the first British rider to win the Australian Grand Prix as he held off Valentino Rossi.
Marc Marquez, who has already secured this year's championship, crashed out while holding a big lead on lap 10 which allowed Crutchlow to clinch his second win of the season after his triumph in the Czech Republic.
Crutchlow finished over four seconds ahead of Rossi with Spain's Maverick Vinales completing the podium positions.
"It's nice to win one in the wet and the dry because people only think you can ride in the rain when you win in it," said the Englishman. | Eugene Laverty finished 14th in Sunday's Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island as British rider Carl Crutchlow took his second career win. | 37744872 |
So seriously, in fact, that they can come across as rather pompous to a British reader. When it comes to a presidential election they seem to believe that their endorsements are of huge significance and that their words will be weighed with utmost seriousness by their readers.
Well now we know how wrong that is because just about every major newspaper either backed Hillary Clinton or at least failed to endorse Donald Trump - and that went for papers who had faithfully swung behind Republican candidates in the past.
Now both the newspapers and the rest of the mainstream media are waking up to the fact that their influence may be as nothing compared with that of Facebook.
In 1992, a British tabloid newspaper claimed that it was "the Sun wot won it" when the Conservatives pulled off a surprise election victory. In the United States, some are asking whether the social network pulled off the same trick for Mr Trump.
The argument goes like this. A total of 156 million Americans are Facebook members and, according to recent research, two-thirds of them get news on the site.
Now that news may often come from mainstream media outlets - perhaps from papers endorsing Mrs Clinton - but what you end up seeing will be determined by who your friends are and what they share.
That's where the idea of a filter bubble comes into play - those inclined to vote for Mr Trump will only see stories that reflect their view of the world and the same will apply to those of a liberal mindset.
Now you could say the same filtering has always applied - liberal people tended to read liberal newspapers, conservatives got their views reflected back in what they read.
The difference was that most editors have tried to do two things - present at least some alternative views and make sure that the facts in any story stand up to scrutiny.
Neither applies on Facebook. The News Feed algorithm serves you up whatever it thinks you and your friends want to believe and it certainly does not do any fact-checking.
Stories that accused the Clintons of murder or maintained that Barack Obama was a Muslim will have cropped up in the feeds of millions of people inclined to support Mr Trump.
This cuts both ways - a made-up quote from Mr Trump saying in 1998 that he might one day run as a Republican because "they're the dumbest group of voters in the country" is still being widely shared on social media by his opponents.
Both the Democrats and Republicans have long made ample use of Facebook - indeed it was the Obama campaign of 2008 that pioneered the use of social media in elections.
But for a Trump campaign that saw much of the mainstream media as hostile and biased, both Facebook and Twitter offered a powerful way of getting its message direct to voters unchallenged by any pesky journalists.
If Facebook or something similar had not existed, would Donald Trump still be heading for the White House?
That is hard to say but what does seem likely is that social media served to polarise views in what was already a bitter election and may have encouraged a few hesitant voters to come out for Mr Trump.
This makes Facebook's claims that it just a technology platform, rather than a hugely powerful media company with Mark Zuckerberg as editor-in-chief, look very thin indeed. But there are few signs that the company is ready to face up to this heavy responsibility or engage in some serious soul-searching.
On Wednesday, my colleague Jane Wakefield went to meet the company's chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer, who was on a visit to London. She asked him what role he thought social media had played.
Here is his extraordinarily unilluminating response: "It's hard to speculate. Our angle is that people can communicate and share what they want to talk about - that's what our endgame is."
Mind you, the editor-in-chief has shared some thoughts.
In a Facebook post adorned with a "feeling hopeful" emoji and a photo of him holding his baby daughter as he watched election coverage, Mr Zuckerberg told us that he'd been thinking about "all the work ahead of us to create the world we want for our children".
That apparently means "curing all disease, improving education, connecting everyone and promoting equal opportunity" and that will take a long time, and stretch beyond any presidency.
It was all very Californian, but the comment writers seemed to love it. "Thank you for your awesome comments and for being socially responsible leveraging your influence for good," was a typical response.
But no word of reflection from Mr Zuckerberg on how he had "leveraged" his influence over the way Americans understood the presidential campaign and whether its impact had been positive for the democratic process.
Media barons from William Randolph Hearst to Rupert Murdoch have sought to shape politics to their will. But they have revelled in their powers.
Mr Zuckerberg seems determined to pretend he is no more or less influential than any of his 1.6 billion readers sitting in front of the TV and watching the world change.
Read more:
What Trump means for tech
View from shell-shocked Silicon Valley
New Zealand immigration site's traffic surges
Obama to welcome Trump to White House | In the United States, newspapers take their responsibilities to the democratic process very seriously. | 37936225 |
A revised version of the proposed law, that would change how the assembly makes laws and boosts its powers, was published on Tuesday.
Its earlier draft proved controversial amid claims it would hamper AMs' powers.
But First Minister Carwyn Jones said his remaining objections would not stop the bill.
Under the revised version, more powers, including coal licensing, would be devolved than previously planned.
Partial control over income tax would also be granted without a referendum.
The bill has now been presented to Parliament and is expected to complete its passage through the Houses of Parliament within the next 12 months.
Mr Cairns told BBC Wales the bill's "fundamentals are broadly agreed" with the Welsh Government.
"We want to negotiate on the fringes of elements of the bill but I'm optimistic that we can overcome those," he said.
Mr Cairns said the the UK and Welsh governments "both want the same thing, we want the Welsh Government to be accountable for the decisions it takes, but also for people to understand what is devolved and what is not devolved".
Asked if there would be any way the UK government could block the wishes of Welsh ministers on making legislation, he said: "Not at all."
"We're asking the assembly to rightly consider the implications of any law that it passes but every mature institution rightly does that."
Writing in the Western Mail, Mr Cairns said: "The UK government has listened, overhauled the draft bill in key areas and has produced a piece of clear legislation that takes account of the distinct and growing body of Welsh law."
Mr Jones previously warned the draft Wales Bill could amount to an English veto on Welsh law.
But on Tuesday Mr Jones said his remaining objections to the bill were not sufficient to stop it progressing.
"First of all it's not so badly flawed that it can't be improved, which the old bill was," he said.
"The old bill, basically, would have taken powers away from the people of Wales and given Westminster a veto in many, many areas.
"That's gone, I welcome that, but there are still some areas of detail that will need to be examined."
Mr Jones said there remained issues on which the Welsh and UK governments fundamentally disagreed.
"Why, for example, is the criminal law going to be mainly dealt with in Cardiff yet alcohol licensing will be in London?
"And policing will still be in London, whereas policing is devolved in Scotland, Northern Ireland and even Manchester."
Mr Jones also expressed concerns that the Welsh Government could be "stitched-up" over a financial deal to allow the devolution of income tax.
The Wales Bill promises new powers for the assembly - including over assembly elections, speed limits, and fracking - and rewrites how Wales is governed by defining what is under the control of Westminster, known as the reserved powers model.
The change is an effort to make Wales' devolution settlement clearer. The current system defines what is under the assembly's control, with everything else assumed to lie with the UK government.
But the draft version, published last year, faced considerable criticism across the political spectrum, with some saying the law would reduce the assembly's powers rather than increase them.
The row prompted the UK government to promise significant changes to the planned legislation, and the revised bill has several changes that include:
There is no provision for a distinct legal jurisdiction despite claims the new system needs a clearer separation between English and Welsh law to work properly.
However, a working group of officials from the Wales Office, Ministry of Justice, Welsh Government, and Lord Chief Justice's office is to be set up to decide how the judicial assessments are dealt with.
That group will report back by autumn 2016 on the "constitutional and practical implications" of diverging Welsh laws within the England and Wales justice system.
Plaid Cymru Westminster group leader Hywel Williams said: "The UK government's words have once again been proven hollow.
"The new Wales Bill will entrench Wales' status as the poor relation in this union, limiting our democratically elected government from acting in the interests of the people it represents, keeping as much power as possible on the corridors of Whitehall while devolving just the bare minimum.
David Cornock: "Minister tries to end Welsh powers arguments (again)"
"The Wales Bill," says the secretary of state, "is in the finest traditions of Welsh radical reformers like Lloyd George. It is designed to set the course for decades ahead and put a definitive end to outdated arguments over who possesses what powers."
What could possibly go wrong?
You cannot fault Alun Cairns' optimism as he unveils the latest Wales Bill on Tuesday but you may feel we have been here before.
For more see David's blog. | Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has said he is optimistic UK and Welsh ministers can reach agreement on the Wales Bill. | 36459733 |
Robert Gates said no changes would be made at the meeting, but opened the door to a future policy review.
The former US Defence Secretary cited defiant chapters, possible legal challenges and other developments related to gay rights in the US.
Gay rights groups have welcomed Mr Gates' comments.
"The status quo in our movement's membership standards cannot be sustained," Robert Gates said at the group's annual meeting in Atlanta.
However, he raised the possibility that the organisation could revise its policy to allow local chapters to decide for themselves whether to allow gay adults to serve as leaders.
In 2013, the national organisation decided to allow openly gay youth to participate as scouts, but kept its ban on adults in place. The came into effect in January of 2014, and was the result of a bitter internal debate.
Mr Gates, who was in charge of the US military when congress voted to repeal the ban on openly gay service members, became the BSA's president in May 2014. Upon assuming office, Mr Gates said that he personally would have favoured ending the ban on gay adults. However, he did not want any further debate on the issue at that time.
On Thursday, he said recent developments "have confronted us with urgent challenges I did not foresee and which we cannot ignore".
Citing a defiant chapter in New York that recently hired an openly gay summer camp leader and other developments related to gay rights in the US, Mr Gates said: "We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be."
"I remind you of the recent debates we have seen in places like Indiana and Arkansas over discrimination based on sexual orientation, not to mention the impending US Supreme Court decision this summer on gay marriage," he said.
He said that while the BSA had the power to revoke the charters of local chapters that defied the ban on gay adults, doing so would be harmful to boy scouts in those regions.
Mr Gates also said that laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation that have been passed in many states could open the BSA up to extensive legal battles.
"Between internal challenges and potential legal conflicts, the BSA finds itself in an unsustainable position, a position that makes us vulnerable to the possibility the courts simply will order us at some point to change our membership policy," he said.
Groups that campaign against the ban have welcomed Mr Gates' comments.
"It seems like the Boy Scouts will continue an internal dialogue about the subject and that a change within the next year or two is imminent," said Zach Wahls of Scouts for Equality. | The head of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has said that the organisation's long-standing ban on participation by openly gay adults is unsustainable. | 32833797 |
Joseph Nkaisserry, who is in charge of security, also admitted that the response was poorly co-ordinated.
Militants from the Somali-based Islamist al-Shabab group killed 148 people during the day-long siege at the campus in the north-eastern town.
There has been much public criticism over the alleged security failings.
Correspondents say Mr Nkaisserry's admission is the boldest yet from the government, which has largely been defensive over the terror attack.
Latest news updates from across Africa
Last week, seven top policemen were suspended by Mr Nkaisserry following an initial inquiry into the security failings.
Universities had posted memos warning students of possible violence and the principal of Garissa University College is reported to have requested additional security at the campus, in vain.
Mr Nkaisserry made the comments before a parliamentary committee on security.
The security force's delay in responding to the university attack was caused by poor co-ordination, he said.
The structural design of the campus had also hampered the rescue mission as the accommodation hostels were "like cells as the windows had grills".
The majority of those killed could have been rescued had security officers accessed the college building where they were cornered by terrorists in the morning, he said.
The BBC's Odhiambo Joseph in the capital, Nairobi, says there was drama during the hearing when the minister became involved in a heated exchange with MP Ababu Namwamba.
Another legislator, Zakayo Cheruiyot, then walked out - signalling his dissatisfaction with Mr Nkaisserry's response over the handling of the Garissa attack.
Most of those who died in the raid were students and the attackers singled out Christians to be killed and spared Muslims.
It was worst attack to date in Kenya by al-Shabab, which is affiliated to al-Qaeda. | Kenya's interior minister has said security officers ignored intelligence reports prior to the attack on Garissa University College earlier this month. | 32530718 |
The 31-year-old began his career as a trainee with Leicester and made 28 starts for the Foxes.
"I'm excited at the prospect of playing here. It's a good club with massive ambitions and I'm raring to get going," Logan said.
"It's a drop in division. Hopefully it's only for a year because this is a club that's striving for promotion."
The Stags have not disclosed the length of Logan's contract.
Logan left the East Midlands for Scotland after 10 years with Leicester to link up with Hibernian.
His eight-game spell saw him win the Scottish FA Cup as he played starring roles in the semi-final - where he saved two penalties in a shootout - and victory over Rangers in the final, before moving to Rochdale in August 2016.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | League Two Mansfield Town have signed goalkeeper Conrad Logan from League One side Rochdale on a free transfer. | 39875858 |
Most of these "self-isolators" at HMP Featherstone, near Wolverhampton, felt at risk because of their debts.
Chief Inspector of Prisons, Peter Clarke, said there had been a "shocking worsening in standards", and violence against staff had increased.
The decline is not acceptable but reflects pressures, a spokesman said.
The unannounced October inspection was held two months after inmates started fires during a week-long disturbance.
Mr Clarke said the number of men who chose to self-isolate was a "symptoms of the lack of safety" at the prison.
For more on this and other Birmingham news
Inspectors said the abuse these prisoners suffered included other prisoners urinating under their cell doors.
"They could not access showers, exercise, food or work without fear of repercussion," the report said.
Inspectors said while some officers showed concern, others referred to them as "scaredy cats" and their predicament as "self-inflicted".
The Category C prison, in Staffordshire, which holds about 650 men, was last inspected by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons in 2013, when it received a positive report and scored highly in two out of three areas.
The latest report found a "sharp decline" in three out of four areas, with safety assessed as "poor".
Two thirds of prisoners said it was easy to obtain drugs, with a fifth admitting they had developed a drug problem while inside.
"The backdrop to the decline at Featherstone was clear evidence of poor industrial relations, staff shortages and some significant prisoner unrest," Mr Clarke said.
The report noted the quality of teaching inside the prison was good.
Michael Spurr, head of the National Offender Management Service, is convinced the Featherstone governor could turn its fortunes around.
"The deterioration in performance at Featherstone isn't acceptable, but reflects the real pressures which the system has faced over the last few years," he said.
"The government has set out a clear plan for reform in the Prison and Courts Bill laid before Parliament last week, including investing more than £100m to provide 2,500 additional prison staff." | Some inmates are "living in fear" choosing to stay in their cells 24 hours a day at a prison where violence has increased, inspectors said. | 39109786 |
The court said it had shown leniency to Li Tianyi, 17, because he was a juvenile, despite the fact he was the ringleader.
Li and four others raped the woman at a Beijing hotel in February after drinks.
He had denied any sexual relations with the woman, who he alleged was working as a prostitute, previous reports say.
Li Tianyi is the son of Li Shuangjiang, who has the rank of general and is known for his renditions of patriotic songs on television. Li's mother, Meng Ge, is also a well-known singer in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Many people in China have watched the case closely, shocked by the behaviour of the children of China's elite, and the way the police and courts often give them favourable treatment, the BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Beijing reports.
User Happy Edge Ball: "This verdict shows that China's legal system is fair and just."
User 9999jasmine: "Li's parents are both famous celebrities. He won't stay in prison for long as they have connections."
User TAR_survivor: "Public opinion hijacking the law is the biggest obstacle to rule of law in China."
In a news conference, court official Fan Jun said that it was irrelevant whether the woman was a prostitute or not, AP news agency reported.
"The key is whether the female has consented to sex," Fan Jun reportedly said.
Li, who was 16 at the time of the rape, plans to appeal against his conviction.
"I think this verdict is unjust," one of his lawyers, Chen Shu, was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. "This decision is based on evidence that is delayed and verbal testimony. This type of verbal testimony is unreliable."
Three other teenage defendants and an older man were also found guilty by the Haidian Court in north-west Beijing.
The court said it was giving Li Tianyi a lighter sentence because juvenile offenders should be given a chance to correct and reform their behaviour.
Two of the teenagers who took part in the rape, one aged 15, had their sentences suspended because, the court said, they had confessed, showed remorse and apologised to their victim.
The one older man who took part was given a 12-year sentence because he too had regretted his actions and been co-operative.
Many observers outside the court expressed satisfaction with Li's sentence.
By Damian GrammaticasChina correspondent
Just 16 years old when he led this gang rape, Li Tianyi has come to symbolise the outrageous excesses of the children of China's elites.
Convicting him, the court said security camera footage showed Li dragging his victim into a hotel lift and hitting her in the face.
When the 18-year-old refused to undress he stripped her and had forced sex with her.
His four companions, three also teenagers, then raped her too.
Li Tianyi is already notorious. Two years ago, driving a BMW car in Beijing, with no licence and no number plates, he assaulted an elderly couple who blocked his way, telling bystanders not to "dare call police".
Li Tianyi's father is an army general, famous for singing patriotic songs on television.
His mother also a singer, had insisted the woman had lured the boys into having sex.
Under pressure from the public the court has convicted Li Tianyi, but said it was giving him a lighter sentence because juvenile offenders should be given a chance to correct and reform their behaviour.
"This case represents the current social climate," observer Ma Haodong said. "Everyone is quite angry with the second-generation rich, the second-generation of officials and the second-generation celebrities."
Peng Kefang, who was also outside the court, said: "They shouldn't be able to do whatever they want."
Liu Shanying, a politics researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told AP: "There has been too much public sentiment involved in this case, namely the hatred of the rich and powerful... the ruling has been directly or indirectly influenced by that."
This was not the first time that Li Tianyi, also known as Li Guanfeng, has been involved in a public outcry. In 2011, he was sentenced to detention for a year over a road rage incident.
He was behind the wheel of a BMW car with no licence plates in Beijing when he confronted a middle-aged couple in another vehicle blocking his way.
He assaulted the couple and shouted at shocked bystanders, telling them not to "dare to call the police".
His father apologised to the couple over the incident. | A court in China has convicted the son of two high-profile army singers of rape and sentenced him to 10 years in jail, state media say. | 24237463 |
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Victory in the fifth-to-eighth place at the World League tournament game would have secured Ireland's World Cup spot.
A win in Saturday's seventh and eighth place game against India could still prove enough for the Irish to qualify.
But they will be depending on results to go their way at the upcoming Continental Championships.
Victory at the European Championships later this year would also secure Ireland's World Cup qualification but that looks a remote prospect judging by their performance on Thursday.
Lisa Deetlefs put the hosts ahead late in the first half before the Irish missed a chance a great chance to level as Roisin Upton hit the post from a penalty stroke with the South African keeper beaten.
Anna O'Flanagan went close to levelling in the third quarter as the Irish bossed possession.
However, South Africa doubled their lead early in the final quarter as Bernadette Coston hammered to the net after Anna Matthews had lost possession near her own goals.
Opting to go for broke, Ireland withdrew their keeper Ayeisha McFerran as they introduced Shirley McKay as a kicking back but another defensive mix up saw Lilian du Plessis netting the South Africans' third goal. | Ireland women's World Cup qualification hopes now look to be out of their own hands following Thursday's 3-0 defeat by South Africa in Johannesburg. | 40673432 |
They also said it was overcrowded and struggled to hold prisoners in safe and decent conditions, after an unannounced inspection in February this year.
A report said violence levels had more than doubled since those found during the last inspection in November 2013.
But HM Inspectorate of Prisons praised the category B jail's cleanliness and efforts to "get the basics right".
Read more about this and other stories from across Lincolnshire
The report stated "too many prisoners felt unsafe", and recorded 126 assaults and fights six months before the inspection, with some injuries requiring hospital treatment. Attacks on staff were also "relatively high", with 49 incidents logged.
It said the number of inmates at risk of suicide or self-harm was also high, with 256 incidents of self-harm in the same period, three times higher than at the last inspection. But the report suggested "a smaller number of prisoners with complex needs accounted for many of the incidents".
Inspectors said the Victorian prison "faced increased levels of violence, often related to the prevalence of drugs and the difficulty of managing the problem with reduced staff numbers".
Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke said it had "achieved some success" and the new governor and his team had "redoubled efforts to build on the institution's strengths."
Chief Executive of HM Prison & Probation Service Michael Spurr said HMP Lincoln's governor was working to "achieve further improvements" at the jail. | High levels of violence mainly related to drug use have been found by inspectors at HMP Lincoln. | 40338362 |
It follows news that some airport shops are reclaiming VAT relief intended for shoppers flying to non-EU countries after checking their boarding passes.
Ombudsman Dean Dunham said there was little he could do as the law stands.
Retailers have said they are following government rules.
Passengers are asked to show passes so retailers can identify who is flying to non-EU countries and avoid paying 20% VAT on customers' purchases.
Treasury minister David Gauke said the relief was intended to reduce prices for travellers, not be a windfall gain for shops.
Boots, one of the retailers which said it claimed back some VAT for non-EU passengers, has since said it will no longer ask customers to show their boarding passes while it undertakes "a longer term review of the situation".
Dixons said it was reminding staff that seeing the boarding passes of passengers was a "request" and not mandatory.
Who is entitled to VAT savings?
Anyone travelling outside the 28 countries of the European Union (EU). Travellers within the EU or the UK have to pay existing rates of duty and VAT.
Do you have to show a boarding pass?
If you are buying cigarettes or alcohol in a duty free shop, you are legally obliged to show your boarding pass, to prove you are travelling outside the EU. If you are buying other goods - say books, snacks or cosmetics - you are not obliged to show your pass.
Read more from the BBC's personal finance reporter Brian Milligan
Mr Dunham, a barrister who was appointed in December to resolve disputes between retailers and customers, told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "Government needs to make this a law.
"They need to say to the retailers in airports 'you must', not 'we want you to'.
Ministers must say "you must pass on this relief, and you must make it very clear to your shoppers what it is they're getting for their money", Mr Dunham added.
A number of retailers have responded to the criticism:
Customers are not legally obliged to show their passes when buying goods at the airport, except when buying cigarettes or alcohol in a duty free shop.
But the Independent newspaper's travel editor, Simon Calder, said retailers were often giving "all kinds of stories" to explain why passengers should show them, such as for security reasons, which he said was "complete tosh".
Mr Dunham said it was difficult for him to do anything because it was rare for retailers to say something was entirely VAT-free.
He said many people were also confused about what duty-free means.
"They are thinking that because shops are duty-free, that it also includes VAT on all occasions, and that all of the shops in the airport are duty-free, which is not the case," he added. | The government should make it illegal for airport shops to keep VAT savings for themselves rather than passing them on to customers, the Retail Ombudsman has said. | 33893480 |
Matthew Lucas told police in interview that it was "common knowledge" Adrian Pogmore visited naturist camps.
Pogmore, 51, has admitted making recordings of people sunbathing naked and a couple having sex.
Mr Lucas is one of four men on trial accused of misconduct in a public office in connection with the filming.
More stories from across Yorkshire
Police officers Mr Lucas , 42, and Lee Walls, 47 and police helicopter pilots Matthew Loosemore, 45, and Malcom Reeves, deny the charges.
The films are said to have been recorded from the South Yorkshire Police helicopter on four occasions between 2007 and 2012.
A jury at Sheffield Crown Court was read transcripts of police interviews with all four men.
Asked about Pogmore, Mr Lucas said: "It was common knowledge that he was the team deviant and he went to naturist camps."
He said that members of the team used the term to his face "but not in a bad way".
The court has heard that in July 2008 Pogmore recorded a couple, who were his friends, having sex in their garden and filmed a couple sitting naked on a naturist campsite.
Mr Lucas said the helicopter had been on "proactive duties" at a hotspot for stolen motorbikes near to a housing estate.
"I recall my attention being drawn to the camera screen by a comment made by PC Pogmore," he said.
"I recall seeing a female with no clothes on. From the brief view I had she appeared to be aware of the aircraft.
"I would have made some comment like 'my God Poggy' then continued with the proactive search."
He said he remembered the pilot - Mr Loosemore - being "shocked or flabbergasted" by what was on the screen but did not think he was aware of what was going on.
He told the interviewer that had he known Pogmore was recording the incident he would "have come down on him like a tonne of bricks" and that he was "naive" not to have challenged him.
Mr Loosemore said he remembered hearing an "exclamation" and had looked at the screen as a result.
He said he had seen "something inappropriate, some nudity" and then had looked away and the aircraft left the scene.
Mr Walls said he had no recollection of the flight during which Pogmore filmed a woman sunbathing naked in August 2007.
Mr Reeves, a former RAF pilot, said he had flown more than 2,500 hours and attended in the region of 10,000 incidents during his time with the police and had no memory of the incidents.
Pogmore, of Guilthwaite Crescent, Whiston, Rotherham, has admitted four charges of misconduct in a public office.
Mr Reeves, of Farfield Avenue, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, denies two counts of the same charge.
Mr Walls, of Southlands Way, Aston, Sheffield, denies one count.
Mr Loosemore, of Briar Close, Auckley, Doncaster, denies one count.
Mr Lucas, of Coppice Rise, Chapeltown, Sheffield, denies three counts.
The trial continues. | An ex-police officer who filmed people having sex using his force's helicopter was known by colleagues as the "team deviant", a court has heard. | 40684273 |
A 42-year-old man from Walsall was arrested at the scene, just after the Merrions Close turning, on the Birmingham Road, Walsall, during the morning.
The girl was taken to hospital but died a short time later, West Midlands Police said.
A spokesman said the police had spoken to a number of witnesses but would still like to hear from people.
"This is a devastating tragedy for the girl's family and her friends and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time," the spokesman said.
More on this story and other Birmingham and Black Country | A 17-year-old pedestrian has died after being involved in a traffic collision. | 35652111 |
Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf, said Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) would be introduced on Pentland Firth routes, with a variant for Aberdeen to Kirkwall and Lerwick.
RET allows fares to be realigned with the equivalent cost of travel by road.
It is expected to see foot passenger fares cut by an average of more than 40%, with car fares down more than 30%.
Mr Yousaf said: "During my first visit to the Northern Isles as Transport Minister I committed to ensuring we would reduce ferry fares as soon as practically possible.
"These significant fare cuts will be rolled out in the first half of 2018.
"It is also our intention to include the commercial operators on the Pentland Firth in this scheme, and we will work with them to put a suitable system in place to allow that to happen.
"This reduction in fares will make ferry travel to and from the Northern Isles even more attractive for islanders and tourists.
"It also brings fares into line with those on the Clyde and Hebrides network, ensuring parity and supporting our aim of having one overarching fares policy across our ferry services."
Northern Isles MSPs Liam McArthur and Tavish Scott both welcomed the news, and praised campaigners.
Orkney Lib Dem MSP Mr McArthur said: "I am grateful to all those in Orkney and Shetland who supported the campaign for fair ferry fares.
"It has been a long time coming but shows the importance of standing up for what's right and not taking no for an answer." | A scheme to reduce ferry fares to and from the Northern Isles is to be rolled out next year. | 40999405 |
It is the first time the award has been given to two winners.
Both are tipped for Oscar nominations for their roles in Brooklyn and Room respectively.
Larson and Ronan have both previously been awarded the festival's Virtuoso award.
They will be honoured at a ceremony on 8 February.
The festival's executive director Roger Durling said they were "proud" to jointly celebrate "these two great actresses in such strong performances".
"This is an incredible year for emerging talent to take centre stage and showcase their abilities. We've long been following the careers of Brie and Saoirse and their recent roles as empowered young women transcend time, place and circumstance."
Ronan's performance in Brooklyn has already won her the New Hollywood Award at the Hollywood Film Awards.
In the film she plays Eilis Lacey, a young woman from rural Ireland in the 1950s, who has to leave her home to find job opportunities and a future in the US.
Brooklyn won the top audience award at the Vancouver Film Festival in October.
While captivity drama Room took home the People's Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
The film sees Larson play a woman who is kidnapped and gives birth to a son while being held captive.
Both the actress and eight-year-old Jacob Tremblay have been winning critical praise for their harrowing performances.
Tremblay will also be honoured at the festival for his performance. He will be one of four actors who will take home a Virtuoso Award.
The award recognises a group of actors who have distinguished themselves through performances in the past year.
The other honourees are Elizabeth Banks for her role in Beach Boys biopic Love & Mercy, Joel Edgerton for Black Mass and Paul Dano for his roles in Youth and Love & Mercy.
Also being honoured at the festival is Johnny Depp, who is being awarded the Maltin Modern Master award.
While Spotlight stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams will be honoured as an ensemble with the American Riviera Award. | Saoirse Ronan and Brie Larson are to be honoured at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival - sharing the outstanding performer of the year award. | 34982579 |
What makes Son of Saul's success even more extraordinary, however, is that it's a debut film - the first feature-length movie made by Laszlo Nemes, a 39-year-old Hungarian director.
The foreign language Academy Award-winner is set in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1944, where Jewish prisoner Saul works as a sonderkommando - someone who incinerates the dead in the crematorium. When he discovers the body of a child he thinks is his son, he risks everything to give the boy a dignified Jewish burial.
With no soundtrack apart from the sounds of the camp - banging doors, the scraping of shovels, the screams of prisoners - Son of Saul also focuses almost entirely on the face and movements of the lead actor, Hungarian poet Geza Rohrig. The background is a blur, although the audience is still aware of the horror unfolding around him.
"I wanted everything to come down to one man's suffering," says Nemes. "It's like making a portrait of someone. I thought if the audience could immerse themselves in one person's experience, then you could capture what it meant to be there on a visceral level. Too often the Holocaust is about the masses; it has lost its face."
This was also Rohrig's first film. He describes its effect on the audience as "a punch to the throat".
"My main task was to separate the feelings of myself as an actor and myself as a man," he says. "I had to avoid all sentiments and feelings, just to give Saul an intensity about him.
"The sonderkommandos had a stay of execution while they performed the work of the camp, but they alone out of all the arrivals at Auschwitz knew for certain that death was coming for them."
Nemes says: "This is about Saul's struggle to remain human when there is no more humanity. That's my question for audiences: is it possible to still have a voice within you, an inner God, in the middle of hell?"
Filmed in just under a month, outside Budapest, Nemes used an agricultural warehouse and points out that "Auschwitz was a factory, it just happened to be a factory of death".
"When people arrived, it just seemed like an ordinary building," he says. "Because of the significance it has in retrospect, people have forgotten that. We wanted to keep the everyday - how very real and very ordinary the horror was."
Nemes developed the script with his co-writer Clara Royer over the past decade, after reading accounts of the sonderkommandos' experiences.
But his refusal to tone down his vision meant he was turned down for funding in France, where he moved to at the age of 12, and Israel, as well as Germany and Austria. He eventually raised the £1m budget from the Claims Conference, which supports financial restitution for victims of the Nazis, as well as the Hungarian Film Fund.
As well as its international acclaim, Son of Saul has gone on to become Hungary's biggest independent film at the box office, but at the time of release there were media reports of anti-Semitic abuse on social media, calling the film "Jewish propaganda".
The director, who lost his great-grandparents to the Holocaust, among the 400,000 Hungarian Jewish people deported to Auschwitz, says he felt impelled to make the film "for a younger generation who now have the distance of time between us and the reality of what happened".
"For the film to first be seen in the year of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, it's a prophetic vision of what happens when people lose tolerance," he says.
"You only have to read the news to know that history did not turn a page after the Nazis - we have to keep telling this story over and over again. I want this generation to consider the evil that still exists within us as humans."
Many films set around the Holocaust have found box office and critical success, from Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, to Roberto Benigni's 1997 hit Life Is Beautiful, and 2007's foreign language Oscar winner, The Counterfeiters.
Nemes says he rejects "the Hollywood version" of the concentration camps, but says he understands "that the storyteller often wants to focus on acts of heroism, and the will to survive".
"As humans, we want to hear about people who make it through impossible odds," he says..
"However, the testimonies I read for this film were not those of survivors - they were from people working inside the camps who were just desperate for their reports to get out to the outside world. The rule of these places was death, and survival was often a complete accident."
Son of Saul is released in the UK on 29 April. | It's rare for a film to win an Oscar, a Golden Globe and the jury prize at Cannes, while at the same time being described by critics as "excoriating", "harrowing" and "unbearable to watch". | 36006710 |
Damien Bancroft shared the photographs and videos from addresses in Dundee and Forfar over a four-and-a-half year period.
A court was told that the 36-year-old could not explain why he had distributed the material to others.
Bancroft will be sentenced at Forfar Sheriff Court on 3 August.
Depute fiscal Trina Sinclair told the court that police officers, acting on information, found more than 600 still images and 16 videos on two laptops and also on a mobile phone.
Miss Sinclair said Bancroft admitted to police that he was a pornography addict, having started watching adult material at the age of 19.
He accepted that he had downloaded and shared images with others but could not explain why that included indecent images of children.
Bancroft admitted taking or making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children between 14 May, 2011 and 20 October, 2015.
He further admitted distributing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children.
Sheriff Pino de Emidio continued Bancroft's bail and placed him on the sex offenders' register in the interim. | A self-confessed pornography addict who admitted possessing and distributing child abuse images has been placed on the sex offenders register. | 36537482 |
The retailer is looking for almost 300 new locations for small to medium-sized supermarkets within the M25.
The move puts it into the heartland of supermarkets such as Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury's.
Grocers are under pressure, with Waitrose reporting its first fall in annual sales for seven years on Thursday.
This week Morrisons reported a 47% slide in annual profits, as well as the sale of 140 convenience stores.
Analysts say Lidl is simply extending a plan that has been in place for several years as it moves more upmarket.
David Gray, retail analyst at Planet Retail, said: "This is part of an ongoing strategy, with Lidl putting in more premium ranges, more fresh bakery products, more brands, to make it more like a mainstream supermarket."
Last week its stores introduced 60 new lines to its "Wine Cellar" concept, all from France, including less well-known wines such as Arbois, and a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Lidl has just under 4% of the UK grocery market and last year turned over a record £4bn - 21% higher than the previous 12 months.
It has also bought a five-acre site in southwest London at Tolworth for a new headquarters.
It plans a 220,000 sq ft building that will accommodate more than 750 people - double the size of its existing base in Wimbledon.
But Mr Gray added: "They are not there yet. Lidl is still a discount store, with a limited range, and shelf-ready packaging.
"You still do your main shopping at Tesco or Sainsbury and then top up at Lidl. You don't do your main shop there."
There are signs that Lidl's plan to change its image is working. Advertising group Havas last month put Lidl - and its rival discounter Aldi - among the UK's "Top 10 most meaningful retail brands", above Tesco, Asda and Morrison's.
Mr Gray said that Lidl's strategy was a gamble because its model was based on low-cost out-of-town sites and moving into central London could be far less profitable.
"I can't see them moving into the heart of central London. They will end up with smaller shops - they'll end up with convenience stores, which are a high-cost business model where it's a lot harder to make money." | Budget supermarket Lidl is planning to move into central London as part of a plan to shake off its discount image. | 34211716 |
Katie Locke's body was found by police at Theobalds Park Hotel in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire.
Carl Langdell, 26, of the town's Roundmoor Drive, has been charged with her murder and was remanded in custody at Luton Crown Court on Tuesday.
Ms Locke, who was from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, "loved her job" said her family.
In a tribute, they said: "As a family we are distraught, in shock and totally devastated.
"There was not a bad bone in Katie's body.
"Katie worked hard and loved her job as a teacher. In what little spare time she had, she enjoyed sports.
"We now feel like our future has been stolen from us."
Mr Langdell is due to appear at St Albans Crown Court on 8 January. | The family of a 23-year-old teacher found dead in a hotel on Christmas Eve has said they feel their "future has been stolen". | 35198388 |
Jack Crocker, 41, of Chacewater, Cornwall, and Robbie Long, 21, of Redruth, were given suspended sentences after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Crocker encouraged his saluki dog to attack and kill the fox on his farm in June, Bodmin Magistrates' Court heard.
The RSPCA became aware after films of the incident were posted by Long.
The court heard how the young fox got into a barn where chickens and a pet rabbit were kept.
A video filmed by Long, of Lower Tolgullow Vean Farm, showed the dog, called Lady, being taken into the barn by Crocker, where it found the fox and gripped it around the neck.
The fox then appeared to escape and jumped into a neighbouring barn.
A second video showed Crocker, of High View Farm, taking the dog into the second barn and pushing it towards the fox, prompting it to carry out a two-minute attack, during which the fox died.
Judge Diana Baker said: "The fox went on to the land voluntarily. He [Crocker] had the right to protect his animals and to dispatch the fox, but he had to do so humanely.
"The DVD clearly shows him encouraging the dog to attack the fox. Most concerning there were howls of laughter during the two minutes.
"This action is deliberate and cruel."
The men have not been disqualified from keeping animals but two dogs have been removed from the farm.
Crocker had previously pleaded guilty to shooting a wild rabbit with a bow. This also only came to light when the RSPCA became aware of a photo on Facebook.
Both were given six-week jail sentences for causing unnecessary suffering to the fox, and Crocker received an additional two weeks for the bow offence.
The sentences are suspended for 12 months.
RSPCA chief inspector Ian Briggs said: "We hope this case being brought before the court will encourage others to report any concerns they have about animal welfare to the police or RSPCA." | Two men who laughed as they set a dog on a young fox and posted films of the attack on Facebook have been sentenced. | 39783902 |
He arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday after blasting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz rocket.
In tweets, he said he was "loving every minute" of the first days of his stay.
Later on Friday he will answer questions from journalists in a live link-up with the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.
Mr Peake is among six crew members living and working in space.
They include US station commander Scott Kelly, who is spending a year on board the ISS.
In a tweet, mentioning the Nasa astronaut, the 43-year-old from Chichester in Sussex said: "What makes a good leader? @StationCDRKelly having a hot bacon sarnie waiting as my 1st meal on #ISS. Boy that tasted good! #Principia."
And he added: "1st 48hrs on ISS - busy but incredible. Amazing how fast the body adapts to new environment. Found my tea ... life is good!"
The former Army aviator and helicopter test pilot also received messages of support from the Queen and Sir Elton John after the successful launch and docking on Tuesday.
He tweeted singer Sir Elton John from space, quoting his famous song Rocket Man, in response to a good luck message.
And he tweeted the Queen from space after Buckingham Palace's twitter account posted a good luck letter from the monarch.
Later on Friday, Mr Peake will speak to members of the press via a live link to the European Astronaut Centre near Cologne in Germany.
The question and answer session will be streamed live on the European space agency website.
It will be a brief break from a busy schedule.
According to the European Space Agency, he has a number of tasks to perform, including unpacking cargo, spending an hour on an exercise bike and taking part in an experiment looking at the effects of microgravity on the bone marrow.
Tim Peake in space: Want to know more?
Special report page: For the latest news, analysis and video
Video: Bye bye Daddy
In pictures: Flight to the space station
Explainer: How do I become an astronaut? | UK astronaut Tim Peake has begun his life in space with tea and a bacon sandwich. | 35131174 |
The 24-year-old was cited by the Rugby Football Union for shoving Greg Garner with both hands in Friday's Premiership defeat to Newcastle Falcons.
He will miss the final match of the season against Leicester on Saturday.
Rapava Ruskin, who will join Gloucester at the end of the season, is available to play again on 4 September.
The Georgia-born player went before a disciplinary panel on Wednesday.
In a statement, the panel said the sanction "reflects the seriousness of making contact with a referee or any match official".
Rapava Ruskin's suspension rules him out of a potential England squad call, but three of his current Warriors team-mates - lock Will Spencer, stand-off Ryan Mills and winger Perry Humphreys - have been included in a 20-man three-day England 'strength and conditioning' training camp from 9-11 May,
England face the Barbarians on 28 May before playing two Tests against Argentina in June. | Worcester Warriors prop Val Rapava Ruskin has been given a six-week ban after pleading guilty to pushing a referee in the back. | 39799915 |
The 67-year-old was found at Fairview Cottages in Badenscoth, Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire on Saturday 12 March.
Police have described the murder as "brutal" and said a "heavy weapon" was used.
Speaking at a press conference, William McKandie said "somebody somewhere must know what happened to Brian".
Earlier police divers searched a small stream near the victim's home.
Detectives have also released an image showing Mr McKandie at a bank in Turriff on 11 March.
His brother said the death had come as a "terrible shock" to the family.
Mr McKandie added: "My sister and I are now left with questions about why someone would hurt him. What did they want?
"He was a 67-year-old man who lived alone and worked hard as a self-employed mechanic and was friendly to anyone who spoke to him. How could someone do this to him?
"I would ask that if anyone thinks they have information about what happened to my brother - they might have seen something or heard something - to contact police.
"We are finding this whole situation really hard to come to terms with. We have lost our brother and we just want to know what happened and why."
Officers have been carrying out further forensic searches in the area around the murder scene.
Two men were reportedly seen speaking to Mr McKandie between 13:00 and 14:00 on the Friday before his body was found.
One of the men was said to be in his 50s and heavy set. The other was a younger man.
They were beside a burgundy or maroon estate car, possibly a Saab or Volvo.
Officers have also appealed for two men seen talking to Mr McKandie between 17:00 and 18:00 on the Friday. One was described as in his 20s, and the other in his 30s or 40s.
Detective Ch Insp Iain Smith said: "This type of crime is highly unusual in the North East, but especially all the more rare in a rural community in Aberdeenshire, such as this.
"We have a dedicated team investigating this incident plus the assistance of a number of specialist officers and departments, however information from the public will be key to us solving this case."
He also appealed for motorists with dashboard camera footage to come forward.
Mr Smith said it had been a "shocking" crime for the local community and "deeply upsetting" for Mr McKandie's family.
"Brian's brother and sister are obviously desperate for us to catch whoever has done this to their brother so they can get the answers they want and start to try to come to terms with what has happened," he added. | The brother of murder victim Brian McKandie has made an emotional plea for anyone with information about his death to come forward. | 35899148 |
Nouri Maliki said sectarian conflict had returned to Iraq "because it began in another place in this region" - an apparent reference to Syria.
The violence has left some 170 people dead across the country since Tuesday.
On Saturday, at least five anti-al-Qaeda Sunni militiamen and three security forces personnel were killed.
Police said the first attack saw gunmen open fire on a checkpoint near the city of Tikrit manned by members of the local Awakening Council.
Awakening Councils, which were set up by Iraq's Sunnis to combat insurgents linked to al-Qaeda, have been seen as a key factor in reducing violence across the country since 2006.
In Saturday's second attack, three army intelligence personnel were stopped by gunmen while travelling in a civilian vehicle near an anti-government protest camp in the city of Ramadi, police said.
A gunfight soon erupted, in which the soldiers were killed.
In a televised speech following the latest violence, Prime Minister Maliki condemned sectarianism as an evil that was being brought back to Iraq.
"Sectarianism is evil, and the wind of sectarianism does not need a licence to cross from a country to another, because if it begins in a place it will move to another place," he said.
"Strife is knocking on the doors of everyone, and no-one will survive if it enters, because there is a wind behind it, and money, and plans," he added, without giving details.
Awakening Council chief Sheikh Wissam al-Hardan was meanwhile quoted by state television as saying that if those responsible for killing soldiers in the past week were not handed over, it would "take the requested procedures and do what it did in 2006".
On Friday, the UN envoy to Iraq, Martin Kobler, urged political and religious leaders "not to let anger win over peace" and exercise restraint, warning that the country was "at a crossroads".
The clashes in several towns and cities were sparked by an army raid on an anti-government protest camp near the northern town of Hawija on Tuesday that left 50 people dead.
The protesters were calling for the resignation of Mr Maliki, a Shia, and denouncing the authorities for allegedly targeting the Sunni community.
Although the violence is less deadly than that seen during the heights of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, it is the most widespread since the US military withdrawal in 2011. | Iraq's prime minister has warned that a plague of sectarianism is threatening Arab nations, after the most widespread violence there since US troops left. | 22323144 |
NHS England previously said councils should provide the pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep) drug as they are in charge of preventative health.
This stance was successfully challenged by the National Aids Trust (NAT).
But the High Court ruling does not make funding of Prep automatic and the NHS is set to appeal.
The ruling by Mr Justice Green said health bosses had "erred" in arguing it was not their responsibility.
NHS England has already announced it will appeal against the ruling - and even if that goes against health bosses it is not a given that Prep will be considered effective enough to warrant NHS funding.
If the Court of Appeal uphold the ruling NHS bosses would then assess Prep's cost-effectiveness alongside the merits of other treatments the NHS is being asked to provide.
HIV drug row: A very modern dilemma for the NHS
Using Prep has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection by 86%.
The once-a-day pill, which costs £400 a month per person, works by disabling the virus to stop it multiplying.
It is currently used in the US, Canada, Australia and France to help protect the most at-risk gay men.
Harry Dodd, 25, is one of about 500 homosexual men in England who are taking Prep as part of a trial called Proud.
He says: "I've seen the panic on the face of previous boyfriends when they are awaiting their [HIV test] results - it's a huge fear and it affects everything you do.
"To be able to have sex without having that fear hanging over you all the time is huge."
Harry says taking Prep has still not become socially acceptable.
"Too many people seem to think it will encourage a hedonistic lifestyle, but for me this is about saving lives," he says.
"People reacted with cynicism when the contraceptive pill for women was first introduced.
"For me, taking Prep has helped me to trust again, have relationships and build bridges and that shouldn't be taken away."
Read more on Harry's story
NHS England had argued that because Prep was preventative it was not its responsibility.
In May, it said it had legal advice that said it did not have the "legal power to commission Prep" and that under 2013 regulations "local authorities are the responsible commissioner for HIV prevention services".
NHS England has also warned that if it prioritised Prep, there was a risk of a legal challenge from people wanting similar access to other preventative treatments.
But the National Aids Trust (NAT) said local authorities did not have sole responsibility for HIV prevention in England.
The NHS in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have not yet made a decision on Prep.
Deborah Gold, chief executive of NAT, said: "This is fantastic news. It is vindication for the many people who were let down when NHS England absolved itself of responsibility for Prep."
She urged NHS to act immediately and start funding Prep.
"Prep works. It saves money and it will make an enormous difference to the lives of men and women across the country who are at risk of acquiring HIV. The delay to commissioning Prep is both unethical and expensive."
But a spokesman for NHS England said an appeal would be launched first.
"NHS England has considered the judgement carefully and has taken legal advice. Queen's Counsel has advised that the court's ruling interprets the legislation governing NHS England's role and functions in a way that is inconsistent with Parliament's intention."
Meanwhile Dr Jonathan Fielden of NHS England, told the BBC: "Prep, subject to the appeal, will seen and considered alongside 13 other treatments including treatments for children with cystic fibrosis, for prosthetic limbs and certain types of auditory implants for deafness."
Councillor Izzi Seccombe, of the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said she was "pleased" with the ruling.
"We firmly rejected the argument by the NHS that it should fall to councils." | The High Court has told the NHS in England it can fund a drug that can prevent HIV - after health bosses argued it was not their responsibility. | 36946000 |
Rooney, 30, made his 116th appearance for England in Sunday's World Cup qualifying victory over Slovakia.
But his value to the team has become a hot topic after he spent most of the game playing in a deep midfield role.
"I don't think he's a striker anymore," said Shilton, who won 125 caps. "We are trying to fit him in, but he's not a midfield player for me. Never will be."
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Shilton, 66, added: "He is spraying a few balls around, but I don't think he's being very effective.
"I thought he should have retired after the Euros. It's not because he could break my record. Far from it. If he does and he plays well, fine."
Rooney did not touch the ball once in the Slovakia penalty area but England's captain and record goalscorer says the debate over his role in the team has been an "overreaction" following the 1-0 win in Trnava.
"I played in that role and helped us win the game," Rooney, who has scored 53 goals for his country, told Sky Sports: "Too much is getting made about it."
In his post-match interview, new England boss Sam Allardyce said it was "not for me to say" where Rooney should play and said the Manchester United forward could play "wherever he wanted".
But former Norwich, Blackburn and Celtic striker Chris Sutton, who won one cap for England, said such an approach was damaging.
"With Rooney in a deep-lying midfield role for most of the match, Harry Kane was isolated up front and it killed his game," Sutton told the Daily Mail.
"Rooney can't pick and choose where he plays, it's not a testimonial.
"He is a lovely passer and technician but if he's not playing to Kane's strengths then the whole team suffer."
Fellow BBC pundit Alan Shearer added: "I did think he was too deep in that particular game. I thought we had a ball-playing centre-half and a sitting midfielder so I didn't think there was any need for him to keep on going and getting the ball off the back four, even deeper than the back four at times.
"I thought he would have been better served playing in the number 10 role and getting the ball and threading passes through further up the field, but they won the game so no one can complain," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.
Rooney says he will retire after the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia, by which stage he is likely to have overtaken Shilton as England's most-capped player. | Wayne Rooney should have retired from international football after Euro 2016, says ex-England captain Peter Shilton. | 37278454 |
A Local Government Association survey of councils in England, says 90% have cut services for teenagers not in education, employment and training.
Local authorities have seen funding cuts of 40% since 2010, and their responsibility for careers advice and further education has been removed.
The government said the teenage Neet rate was now 64,000 lower than in 2010.
And it highlighted that it is investing £7bn "to fund a place for every 16- to 18-year-old in England who wants one".
Since 2012, local councils in England have no longer had control over careers advice, which has switched to schools.
Local authority-run Connexions services were one of the first areas to be cut under the previous coalition government.
Councils have also lost control of post-16 education and schemes to tackle young people's disengagement.
But the LGA points out that local authorities still have a duty to encourage 16- to 18-year-olds to remain in education, employment or training and ensure there are enough opportunities available locally.
It says local councils are best-placed to oversee support for 14- to 21-year-old Neets because they know what is needed on the ground.
And it warns the advances that it has made could be lost with further cuts ahead.
David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, said: "The message from local government is clear.
"Cuts without reform risk undoing all of our collective good work, putting thousands of promising futures at risk.
"Councils are uniquely well placed to help young people access the opportunities created by the local employers increasingly frustrated by remote national institutions.
"It is important that we have the powers, levers and funding to fulfil our legal duties to young people.
"The new government has a real opportunity to build on recent successes and meet its ambition of full employment by enabling local partnerships of councils, schools, colleges, jobcentres and employers to locally coordinate a single youth offer.
"It will ensure every young person is either in work or learning."
A survey of 87 local authorities for the LGA also suggests the vast majority (97%) believe services for young people will be put at risk unless councils regain powers over them and general council cuts are avoided.
The Department for Education said: "Thanks to our essential reforms, there are 64,000 fewer 16- to 18-year-olds Neets than there were in 2010.
"We have ended the historic and unfair funding difference between schools and colleges from the 16-19 funding formula, and are maintaining funding rates for 2015-16 so they can plan their future offers for students.
"We are also reforming academic qualifications and vocational education to ensure young people get the knowledge and skills that they need to move into a job, apprenticeship or to continue their education."
The rate of 16- to 18-year-olds who are Neet has tended to fluctuated between 8% and 10% over the past decade, but has been following a downward trend since 2008. | Further council funding cuts will put thousands of youngsters' "promising futures" at risk, say town hall bosses. | 33009072 |
In 1992 brother and sister Erik and Lina Runestam, with their friend Christoffer Hogstrom dropped a letter in the sea in Hunnebostrand.
It was found in November by Leonard Pearson, who lives in Panama.
He said he used Google Translate to help him read the message and sent a reply, hoping it would reach the kids who wrote the message in a bottle.
Speaking to Newsbeat, Erik said: "My memory is a bit blurry because I just turned six that summer.
"We wanted to make it look old school so we burned the edges of the paper and we wrote a message saying we were in desperate need of help, saying we were stranded on a desert island."
Erik remembers being excited about sending the message in the bottle.
He told Newsbeat: "Our dad told us we should wait until the wind was blowing off land because it might go as far as England, so we were a bit excited about that.
"It would have travelled north of Denmark, through the English Channel to cross the Atlantic. Our hopes weren't that high to even get to England."
Erik had lost touch with his childhood friend Christoffer - they hadn't spoken for 10 years. So Erik was very surprised when Christoffer sent a photo of the letter with a reply from Panama.
The letter - dated 6 November 2014 - reads: "Bueno dias. I have found this message in a bottle at Playa del Dragos, Bocas del Toro.
"I used Google Translate, and it seems the message is in Swedish? I hope that the address is correct and that this letter reaches the kids who sent the message."
Erik told Newsbeat: "I really want to tell Leonard that it has reached us and we're no longer kids but he didn't post a return address so we're trying to find him."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | A message in a bottle has been found in Panama - 22 years after it was posted in Sweden. | 30346878 |
As part of the BBC's coverage, leader Nicola Sturgeon will take part in a half-hour webcast in which she will answer the public's questions.
This is your opportunity to quiz her on the issues that matter to you.
If you have something to ask, email newsonlinescotland@bbc.co.ukand put "webchat questions" in the message field.
Maybe you would like to know more about;
The three-day SNP conference gets under way on Thursday and will be opened by Ms Sturgeon.
She will make her keynote speech to 3,000 delegates on Saturday afternoon.
You will be able to watch Ms Sturgeon's webcast, hosted by BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor, via BBC Scotland's politics web page. | The Scottish National Party will be holding its annual conference in Glasgow this week. | 37620814 |
The spirited home side took the lead at Firhill with a stunning Steven Lawless strike from 25 yards.
Aberdeen refused to fold and Andrew Considine equalised with a far-post header from Johnny Hayes' cross.
Simon Church headed home a Barry Robson corner to seal Aberdeen's fifth win in seven league games.
Aberdeen, who host Kilmarnock on Saturday, have played one more game than Celtic, who travel to eighth-placed Partick in the game's early kick-off.
Hayes, making his return from injury, was a lively presence in the early stages with his direct running, and also lashed a shot over the crossbar.
Graeme Shinnie delivered a perfectly weighted through ball for Kenny McLean, who failed to make strong enough contact with his weaker foot as he tried to lob Patrick goalkeeper Tomas Cerny.
There was little hesitancy on display in a free-flowing game and, moments after Hayes pulled the ball just past the upright, play swung upfield and Gary Fraser lifted a shot over from Sean Welsh's delivery.
Chances continued to be traded and, when Hayes sent a free-kick into the penalty area, Mark Reynolds headed the ball down and Church steered over as he stretched.
Fraser cut in from the left and curled a shot narrowly wide of Aberdeen's far post.
David Amoo, in particular, was a constant threat for Thistle whenever he could take on Considine on the right wing.
The home side also pressed the ball relentlessly and one period of pressure resulted in Lawless gathering the ball and firing left-footed into the top corner beyond Aberdeen keeper Scott Brown.
Moments later, Brown blocked Mathias Pogba's header from close range.
The appearance of Robson as a substitute stiffened Aberdeen's resolve, and their fighting spirit was evident as they played their way back into the game.
Having worked the ball out to the left, Hayes crossed for Considine to head home.
Two minutes later, Robson's corner reached Church, who angled a header past Cerny.
Patrick's Kris Doolan pulled a shot wide late on, but Aberdeen had the defensive resolve to secure victory. | Aberdeen moved to within a point of Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic as two goals in three minutes gave them victory at Partick Thistle. | 35659842 |
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Despite an unimpressive display, the Swans' third victory in four matches took them 11 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
Guidolin missed the last three games with a chest infection and was pleased to make a winning return.
"It has been a long time and it is my first home win," he said.
"I was happy to be back. Maybe this is the most important victory of the season so I am very happy."
A listless Swansea performance saw Villa dominate the first half at the Liberty Stadium, though the visitors failed to really trouble Swans goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
There was a marginal improvement from the hosts after the break as Federico Fernandez bundled in the game's only goal, though Guidolin knows his side have much work to do before their Premier League survival is assured.
"The result and victory was all important. I know the performance was not very good but this is the match I was waiting for," he said.
"I know the situation and I saw my players nerves come across in their performance. I thought that would be the case for this game - they [Villa] could play with freedom and we did not.
"But in the future for the club, the fans and everyone involved we need to make sure we are not in this situation again. It has been an up and down season, it is nearly finished but not quite."
Victory against Villa means Swansea are 11 points clear of the relegation zone, though that could change on Sunday when 18th-placed Sunderland take on local rivals Newcastle, who are one place below them in the table.
"Norwich won so we are not safe. It is not certain but what I liked here was the attitude they showed," Guidolin added.
"We had the attitude of a cup final, and they are never pretty games but the result is what matters.
"We need to play with this character but with more freedom. I want to see this. If we can play this way we have the chance to have good results and finish the season well." | Swansea City head coach Francesco Guidolin believes the 1-0 win against Aston Villa was their "most important" of the season. | 35854377 |
The singer took control of the gavel as 150 items, including handwritten lyrics and bespoke suits, went under the hammer for a Staffordshire hospice.
The sale raised £120,000, with a highest bid of £25,000 for handwritten lyrics to the 2013 track Go Gentle.
Williams is a patron of the Donna Louise children's hospice in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent.
The star chatted and joked with the audience, which included his wife Ayda Field and father Pete Conway.
When he sold a set of handwritten lyrics to Kids - his duet with Kylie Minogue - for £5,500, Williams told the auction room: "It's the popular song from last century.... Kylie Minogue is very fit and still is."
When asked if it was his first time as an auctioneer, Williams said: "I think so, but my memory is shocking."
The singer appeared to become distracted when fan Barbara Veras, 26, a doctor from Sao Paulo in Brazil, entered a bid.
He told her: "Haven't I kissed you during a gig?
"Are you Barbara, is your name Barbara? Nice to see you again, you normally wear really red lipstick and are at the front of the shows.
"It's nice to meet you, glad we've had a chat now because we kissed first and now we're chatting." | Robbie Williams made a surprise appearance at an auction selling some of his memorabilia for charity. | 33541501 |
The singer tops the nominations for this years' Billboard Music Awards too.
She has 14 entries in 14 categories, with Sam Smith closely behind on 13 nominations.
Ludacris is returning to host the awards in Las Vegas next month, and will be joined by the American model Chrissy Teigan.
The finalists are based on album and digital song sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social media interactions.
There's 40 chart-specific categories and fans will be able to vote online for a chart achievement award.
Iggy Azalea has the third most entries with 12. She also won best song last year with Ariana Grande for Problem.
The awards take place on 17 May. Here's a full list of the finalists:
Ariana Grande, One Direction, Katy Perry, Sam Smith and Taylor Swift
5 Seconds of Summer, Iggy Azalea, Hozier, Sam Smith and Meghan Trainor
Drake, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Justin Timberlake
Iggy Azalea, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor
5 Seconds of Summer, Florida Georgia Line, MAGIC!, Maroon 5 and One Direction
One Direction, Pentatonix, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Taylor Swift
Iggy Azalea, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor
Iggy Azalea, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor
The full list of Billboard Music Award nominations is available on the Billboard website
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | She's already been named the most popular artist of 2014, and it seems Taylor Swift getting awards isn't going to end anytime soon. | 32217118 |
The Adcocks, who won badminton gold in the same venue at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, took the match 21-10 21-13.
"It was great to get into the arena and we're really happy with the performance," Gabby Adcock said.
The pair are trying to become Britain's first world champions since 2006.
Chris Adcock and his previous partner Imogen Bankier were the last British athletes to win a medal at the event - claiming silver in 2011.
"It's a Worlds so anything can happen but we want to be in the medals - we've made no secret of that target," Chris Adcock told BBC Sport.
The Adcocks, who are the fifth seeds in the mixed-doubles event at the Emirates Arena, will face Japanese 11th seeds Kenta Kazuno and Ayane Kurihara in the next round.
Men's singles second seed Lee Chong Wei suffered a shock opening-round loss to Frenchman Brice Leverdez.
The Malaysian, who is a three-time Olympic silver medallist and has been a runner-up at the World Championships a further three times, saved match point twice in the second set.
However, the 34-year-old could not complete his comeback, with Leverdez securing the biggest win of his career.
Rio Olympic men's singles champion Chen Long suffered no such problems, dispatching Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius 21-7 21-9.
Women's singles number one seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan progressed to the last 16 with a 21-6 21-13, defeat of Danish player Line Kjaersfeldt.
Scottish duo Martin Campbell and Patrick MacHugh progressed to the second round of the men's doubles event with an impressive 21-13, 21-18 defeat of Dutch pair Jacco Arends and Ruben Jille.
Wednesday will see British Olympic bronze medal-winning duo Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis begin their campaign in the men's doubles event.
European silver medallist Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland, Britain's best hope of success in the women's singles competition, competes for the first time on Wednesday. | Britain's Chris and Gabby Adcock powered into the last 16 of the World Championships in Glasgow with a straight-set defeat of French duo Bastian Kersaudy and Lea Palermo. | 41017368 |
Bright Osayi-Samuel's curling effort put the visitors ahead, and they had chances to extend their lead as Mark Cullen hit the bar and post.
Cullen scored with a penalty, before Alex Samuel bundled in to give Newport hope.
Osayi-Samuel broke to score a late third for Blackpool.
He scored after home keeper Joe Day had gone up for a corner.
Despite a first loss of caretaker manager Mike Flynn's reign, Newport stay second from bottom and seven points adrift of safety.
Newport County caretaker manager Mike Flynn told BBC Radio Wales: "I can't fault the boys' effort again. We gave away a poor first goal and I don't think it was a penalty.
"Their keeper made a great save at 2-1 that would have made it 2-2. I just think we needed to be on the move a little bit more in the box and anticipating more instead of reacting.
"We went for the equaliser an wanted to salvage something and they went and nicked the third."
Match ends, Newport County 1, Blackpool 3.
Second Half ends, Newport County 1, Blackpool 3.
Goal! Newport County 1, Blackpool 3. Bright Samuel (Blackpool) left footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the centre of the goal following a fast break.
Corner, Newport County. Conceded by Dean Lyness.
Attempt saved. Alex Samuel (Newport County) header from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the top left corner.
Bright Samuel (Blackpool) is shown the yellow card.
Dan Butler (Newport County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Dan Butler (Newport County).
Bright Samuel (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Blackpool. Will Aimson replaces Jordan Flores.
Foul by Mark O'Brien (Newport County).
(Blackpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Newport County. Conceded by Dean Lyness.
Attempt saved. Sean Rigg (Newport County) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top left corner.
Ryan Bird (Newport County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nathan Delfouneso (Blackpool).
Foul by Jaanai Gordon (Newport County).
Clark Robertson (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Newport County. Conceded by Dean Lyness.
Attempt saved. Sean Rigg (Newport County) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt blocked. Alex Samuel (Newport County) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Substitution, Blackpool. Ian Black replaces Neil Danns.
Substitution, Newport County. Jaanai Gordon replaces Tom Owen-Evans.
Attempt missed. Ryan Bird (Newport County) header from the centre of the box is too high.
Goal! Newport County 1, Blackpool 2. Alex Samuel (Newport County) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Sean Rigg.
Substitution, Blackpool. Jamille Matt replaces Mark Cullen.
Scot Bennett (Newport County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Mark Cullen (Blackpool).
Mickey Demetriou (Newport County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mark Cullen (Blackpool).
Goal! Newport County 0, Blackpool 2. Mark Cullen (Blackpool) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Penalty conceded by Mickey Demetriou (Newport County) after a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty Blackpool. Bright Samuel draws a foul in the penalty area.
Attempt missed. Tom Owen-Evans (Newport County) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
Tom Owen-Evans (Newport County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Mark Cullen (Blackpool).
David Pipe (Newport County) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
Hand ball by David Pipe (Newport County).
Sean Rigg (Newport County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Clark Robertson (Blackpool). | Blackpool moved to within a point of the League Two play-off places with a win at Newport which deepened the hosts' relegation worries. | 39239724 |
Police said the 30-year-old been walking on the northbound carriageway of the road after his own car had been involved in a crash.
He was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident, which took place near the Newhouse Interchange at about 18:20 on Monday.
Police said they wanted to hear from witnesses to the incident, or the earlier crash involving the man's car.
The 30-year-old had been driving a black Suzuki Liana north on the A78 when his car was involved in what police described as a minor single-vehicle crash.
It came to rest on the nearside verge of the northbound carriageway.
He was walking on the carriageway when he was struck by a Volkswagen Golf. Police said the driver of the other car was uninjured.
Sgt Iain Pittams said: "The road would have been relatively busy around the time of the incident and inquiries are continuing to establish the exact circumstances of what happened."
He urged any witnesses who saw the man being struck by the Volkswagen Golf to get in touch.
"I would like to speak to anyone who saw a black Suzuki Liana car driving northbound on the A78 around the time of the incident," he added.
"I would also like to speak to anyone who may have seen the initial crash or the man walking on the carriageway prior to being struck." | A man has died after being struck by a car on the A78 in Irvine. | 35587786 |
He won the £25,000 award for self-released album Konnichiwa, which covers topics including police harassment and his anger at British politics.
The record, described by the NME as a "landmark in British street music", went to number two earlier this year.
"I'm just so thankful. I've been trying to do this music stuff and work it out for so long," Skepta said of his win.
Speaking to the BBC backstage, he said he would use the prize money to help the disadvantaged.
"Something positive, something to help other people feel as happy and as free as me," he said.
"We're doing a project right now, actually, building a studio in my old estate to help the young kids do music."
Skepta's victory meant that bookmakers' favourite David Bowie missed out after receiving a posthumous nomination for his swansong album, Blackstar.
Judge Jarvis Cocker said the jury had faced a tough decision deciding between the two records, which had been whittled down from a longlist of 12.
"In the end, the winner came down to a contest between two black stars," he said.
"And we, as a jury, decided that if Bowie was looking down on the Hammersmith Apollo tonight, he would want the 2016 Hyundai Mercury Music Prize to go to Skepta."
Other albums shortlisted for the 2016 prize included Michael Kiwanuka's Love & Hate, and Bat For Lashes' The Bride - a concept record about a woman whose fiancé is killed in a car crash while driving to their wedding.
Radiohead received a record fifth nomination for their record A Moon Shaped Pool but went home empty-handed again.
Perhaps sensing that the odds were stacked against them, the band were absent from the ceremony, instead sending a video for the ballad Present Tense.
All of the other acts performed on the night, with actor Michael C Hall performing David Bowie's song Lazarus, which opens with the lyrics: "Look up here, I'm in heaven."
The star of Dexter and Six Feet Under will soon be seen in London in the lead role in Bowie's musical - also called Lazarus - which premiered in New York shortly before his death.
Hall said it was a great responsibility to be representing the musician on the stage where he had famously "killed" his Ziggy Stardust character.
"I'm trying not to spend too much time dwelling on the reality of the situation for fear that it will overwhelm me. It's beyond anything I ever anticipated but I'm really humbled and honoured to be asked to do it."
Skepta was born Joseph Junior Adenuga 33 years ago in Tottenham, London, and started making music in the early 2000s.
He rode the first wave of grime to a contract with Universal Records, but his sound was watered down and they soon parted ways.
Konnichiwa was the result of a major shift in the star's life.
"I had friends that died, and I had to realise that I don't care about certain things I used to care about before".
It prompted him to return to the music he loved, reaching out directly to fans via social media.
In 2014, he released That's Not Me, a rapid-fire freestyle that atoned for losing sight of his roots: "I used to wear Gucci / I put it all in the bin cause that's not me."
Accompanied by a video that cost £80, it went on to win a MOBO award and showed the star he could make it on his own terms.
Accepting the Mercury Prize, he said: "I was like' let's do it for ourselves'.
"All these songs, we've travelled the world - no record label, nothing. We just did this for us but the love is very appreciated.
"We all won today. Konnichiwa!"
Skepta is the second grime artist to win the Mercury, following Dizzee Rascal's victory in 2003.
His win marks the commercial resurgence of the genre, with Skepta key in helping recalibrate the sound back towards its inner city roots.
Fellow grime artist Kano was also nominated for the Mercury Prize, and Skepta made sure to recognise him during his awards speech.
"Kane - for life, bro - we did it!"
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | Grime star Skepta has beaten the likes of David Bowie, Radiohead and The 1975 to win the Mercury Prize. | 37376386 |
The city council will launch a public consultation on its plans in October and, depending on the results, will seek to make some areas smoke-free.
The council said it would rely on people's goodwill to enforce the smoke-free areas and there would not be fines for those that smoked.
But smokers' groups said the policy was "patronising" and a "slippery slope".
The Smithfield development and Hanley bus station are among zones earmarked, with a view to expanding the policy to play areas across the city.
Smoking rates in the city were about 10% higher than the national average last year, according to Public Health England figures.
It is hoped they would be reduced by 5% by 2018 as smoking costs the authority £4m annually in social care costs, the council said.
In a cabinet meeting, the council agreed to launch a £2,000 public consultation with residents on the implementation of smoke-free public places.
The measure is one of a range of options proposed by the authority. Others include supporting families to quit and helping schools with educational material.
Ann James, cabinet member for health and social care, said: "Smokers have got to realise some people find it offensive. It's just asking them to be more considerate."
However, officers warned public support for smoke-free areas was "poor".
Smokers' rights group Forest said increasing numbers of councils were seeking to bring in voluntary bans, such as Brighton.
He said: "It's very patronising of local authorities to assume people need to be forced to quit.
"There is no evidence smoking outdoors is putting people's health at risk. The smoke is massively diluted and blows away on the breeze.
"Any voluntary ban is tantamount to a ban. It's a slippery slope. If these bans are ignored, the next stage is that people demand a law with penalties." | People in Stoke-on-Trent are being asked about proposals to "control" smoking in some public spaces. | 33686320 |
The 19-year-old Ipswich loanee, who this week agreed to extend his stay with the Shots until the end of the season, opened the scoring with a low drive from distance into the bottom corner.
Benyu struck again after the break to double his tally, capping a blistering counter-attack by finding a yard in Solihull's box and finishing superbly.
Benyu's heroics extended Aldershot's winning run to four games and gave them a two-point cushion over the chasing pack in fifth place.
Match report supplied by the Press Association
Match ends, Solihull Moors 0, Aldershot Town 2.
Second Half ends, Solihull Moors 0, Aldershot Town 2.
Manny Oyeleke (Aldershot Town) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Solihull Moors. Callum Coyle replaces Andy Brown.
Hafeez Sanusi (Solihull Moors) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Aldershot Town. Dominic Hyam replaces Callum Reynolds.
Substitution, Aldershot Town. Matt McClure replaces Kundai Benyu.
Substitution, Solihull Moors. Hafeez Sanusi replaces Ashley Sammons.
Substitution, Aldershot Town. Manny Oyeleke replaces Jim Kellerman.
Goal! Solihull Moors 0, Aldershot Town 2. Kundai Benyu (Aldershot Town).
Substitution, Solihull Moors. Omari Sterling-James replaces Jack Byrne.
Kundai Benyu (Aldershot Town) is shown the yellow card.
Second Half begins Solihull Moors 0, Aldershot Town 1.
First Half ends, Solihull Moors 0, Aldershot Town 1.
Goal! Solihull Moors 0, Aldershot Town 1. Kundai Benyu (Aldershot Town).
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up. | Kundai Benyu's brace strengthened Aldershot's National League play-off hopes with victory at Solihull. | 39390388 |
Peter Whittle said his party was "more united than ever" with a "sense of renewed purpose" despite failing to take Stoke-on-Trent Central from Labour in Thursday's by-election.
Mr Nuttall said he was "not going anywhere" after the defeat. Mr Whittle told Andrew Marr he was currently "on a trip he had booked" beforehand.
Labour held Stoke with 7,853 votes.
Gareth Snell beat Mr Nuttall into second place on 5,233 votes.
Mr Whittle said Mr Nuttall was taking time out after the "gruelling time" he had been through and the "particularly personal" attacks he experienced.
The UKIP leader was criticised over fake claims he lost close friends in the Hillsborough tragedy and investigated by police over whether he spent time in the house he rented during the campaign to be elected as the local MP.
Mr Whittle said of his leader: "Without question, he has united the party. Of course it's disappointing that we didn't win in Stoke. But we are more united than ever, everything is more in place than ever and there's a real sense of renewed purpose."
Asked about a report in the Sunday Express that multi-millionaire UKIP donor Arron Banks had threatened to take his money elsewhere unless he was made chairman, Mr Whittle said the party already had a "great, young, dynamic chairman" in Paul Oakden.
While he was "always very grateful for Arron's contributions", he added: "If Arron were to take his money away, there are always other people... Obviously I wouldn't want that to happen."
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage had said the Stoke seat was "fundamental" to the party's future, in a constituency where 69% of the electorate voted to leave at the EU at the referendum.
Mr Whittle said Mr Nuttall had only been leader for 12 weeks at the time of the by-election and people "hadn't got to know him well enough". | UKIP leader Paul Nuttall is ready to carry on as leader "without question" his deputy has told the BBC. | 39094686 |
There was no confirmation from the PA. But President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened "unprecedented steps" to end the political division with the rival Hamas movement, which dominates Gaza.
Hamas called Thursday's move "a grave escalation and an act of madness".
Gaza's 1.9 million inhabitants already endure lengthy blackouts.
The United Nations says there is no electricity in the coastal territory for up to 20 hours per day, meaning that basic services are "grinding to a halt".
On Thursday, the Israeli military's Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat) announced that it had been notified by the PA that payments for electricity supplied to Gaza would stop immediately.
Israel currently provides Gaza with 125MW, which accounts for 55% of the territory's usual electricity supply. Israeli media say the cost is about $11m a month, which Israel deducts from tax revenue collected on behalf of the PA.
Israel does not deal directly with Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organisation.
In 2006, Hamas won Palestinian Legislative Council elections. It reinforced its power in Gaza the following year after a violent rift with Mr Abbas' Fatah faction.
The rival groups agreed to the creation of a unity government in 2014, but it never got off the ground in Gaza.
On 12 April, Mr Abbas said Palestinians faced a "dangerous and tough situation" and that he was "going to take unprecedented steps in the coming days to end the division".
He did not elaborate, but the PA has already cut the salaries of civil servants based in Gaza and taxed Israeli fuel for Gaza's sole power plant.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said the salary cuts would stay in place until Hamas moved towards reconciliation.
"I think there is a golden and historic chance to regain the unity of our people," he said. "Hamas should relinquish control of Gaza."
On 17 April, the Gaza Power Plant, which produced about 30% of the territory's electricity supply, was forced to shut down completely after exhausting its fuel reserves and being unable to replenish them due to a shortage of funds.
Days later, malfunctioning power lines coming from Egypt, which accounts for 15% of the supply, exacerbated the outages.
That left Gaza totally reliant on electricity purchased from Israel.
The UN has expressed particular concern about the impact of the blackouts on Gaza's hospitals, which already rely on back-up generators and whose fuel reserves are expected to be exhausted within days.
The frequency of water supplies to homes has also been reduced, with desalinisation plants operating at a third of their capacity, and wastewater treatment has largely halted, resulting in the discharge of some 110m litres (24m gallons) of raw or poorly-treated sewage into the sea.
Gaza's electricity supply has been also affected by restrictions on the import of goods imposed by Israel as part of a land, sea and air blockade that is now in its 10th year. Egypt is meanwhile blockading Gaza's southern border.
Israel and Egypt maintain the blockades as a measure against attacks by Islamist militants based in Gaza. | The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority has told Israel that it will stop paying for electricity supplied to the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials say. | 39730791 |
The incident, in Newburgh's High Street, was reported to police at about 09:00.
A cordon had been set up near the town's post office, but was removed at about midday.
Police said the package had contained "a non-suspicious item". | A road has been reopened in a Fife town after a "suspicious" package was deemed to be safe. | 40045082 |
Danielle Jones said she "just screamed" when the singer turned up during the reception in Old Windsor in Berkshire on Friday.
He sang Take That's hit A Million Love Songs for the 33-year-old fan, before chatting to wedding guests.
Earlier this year the star tweeted he would be singing at the weddings of three fans during 2015.
Mrs Jones, from Bracknell, explained she and her husband had just had their first dance when her maid of honour, who had organised the stunt, led her to the surprise guest.
"He was stood immediately in front of me - I was nearly not breathing for quite a long time," she said.
Making his offer on Twitter in January, Barlow said he receives "thousands of requests" to sing at people's weddings.
Mrs Jones said she had tweeted him to invite him to her wedding, but had received a message saying he was out of the country on the day.
Photographer Gary Fielder said he had almost finished his day's work at the wedding when the "amazing" performance took place.
"He seemed a genuine guy - so happy to be making an impact for someone," he said. | Take That star Gary Barlow has shocked a bride by making a surprise appearance to sing at her wedding. | 32194470 |
5 November 2015 Last updated at 16:50 GMT
Thousands go there on holiday every year and large numbers of Brits are currently stranded there, unable to get home.
It's because the British government has stopped all UK flights going in and out of the area until they are sure everyone travelling is as safe as possible.
Ayshah talks about why. | Sharm el-Sheikh is a holiday resort in Egypt, which is popular with many people from the UK. | 34734323 |
The driver, initially pulled over for speeding and having no licence plates, evaded capture for 90 minutes.
The fugitives even managed to continue after road spikes deployed by officers destroyed one of their vehicle's tyres.
They were finally halted by the sheep, which blocked the road entirely as they were being moved to new pasture.
In a coincidence, the sheep were reported to be owned by a local police officer from Queenstown.
All four fugitives were arrested. | A flock of sheep has come to the aid of New Zealand police, stopping a car-load of fugitives who had led officers on a high-speed chase across Central Otago. | 35379834 |
She and the Duke of Edinburgh were accompanied by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on a steam train journey along the £294m line.
Crowds in Tweedbank heard the Queen thank people around the world for their "touching messages of kindness".
She also said she had never aspired to be on the throne for so long.
The Queen added: "Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception. But I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas for your touching messages of great kindness."
Specially-selected passengers got a sneak preview of the route, the UK's longest domestic line to open in a century, on Saturday.
The line between Tweedbank and the capital was publicly-opened on Sunday.
People had lined the streets of Edinburgh as a procession made its way to the city's Waverley Station to meet the Queen, whose helicopter touched down at Holyrood Palace shortly before 11:00.
Crowds started gathering at Waverley Station hours in advance of the Queen's arrival.
Some had come from as far afield as Australia and Canada in the hope of catching a glimpse of the monarch on her historic day.
There was a festival atmosphere at the station, with a guard of honour on the platform, a pipe band performing, a chocolate model of the Flying Scotsman on display and everything from railings to dogs bedecked with union flags.
Commuters, tourists and well-wishers alike thrust flags, camera phones and occasionally children into the air as the procession of honoured passengers marched by, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the royal motorcade.
The train itself, the Union of South Africa, was as much a focus of attention as anything else, the steam locomotive providing the backdrop for a succession of selfies.
There were cheers and cries of "congratulations" from the crowd as the Queen stepped out of her car and was greeted by the first minister, who had earlier earned the envy of a crowd of watching enthusiasts by climbing into the engine's cab.
After a quick wave to the crowds, the royal couple were quickly aboard the train and, amid a puff of steam and blast of the whistle, were off on a landmark journey to the Borders.
The royal party's arrival in Edinburgh had been delayed by about 40 minutes due to poor weather at Balmoral.
The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland entertained the crowds as they patiently waited for the guest of honour.
The Queen was welcomed at Waverley Station by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon before embarking on the historic railway journey.
Dozens of invited guests joined them on board the Union of South Africa as it made its way to Tweedbank.
Buckingham Palace has calculated Queen Victoria reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes.
The Queen passed that record at 17:30.
The royal party had left Edinburgh at 11:15 and stopped off for a walkabout in Newtongrange, where it was greeted by flag-waving crowds.
The Queen arrived at the Tweedbank terminus for the ceremony just after 13:00.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon paid tribute to the Queen as she prepared to open the railway.
Ms Sturgeon said it was "a privilege" that the Queen had chosen to mark the day she becomes the UK's longest-serving monarch with a visit to Scotland.
She added "a simple but heartfelt thank you" from everyone around the world who wanted to congratulate her on her anniversary.
The crowds gathered early in the Scottish Borders for the royal opening of their rail link to Edinburgh.
Under grey skies, spectators filtered through Tweedbank to their brand new station to catch a glimpse of the Queen.
The line has been open to the public since Sunday but the regal trip along the route was set to give it the official stamp of approval.
There was a little groan from some of the flag-carrying public when it was announced that the Queen was running late due to fog.
But, having waited 46 years for the return of their railway, an extra hour or so did not seem such a great inconvenience.
Read more here. | The Queen has officially opened the new Borders-to-Edinburgh railway line on the day she became Britain's longest-serving monarch. | 34177585 |
The stations' broadcasting hours are being extended significantly but many programmes will be shown at the same time on both stations.
The duration of their flagship local magazine shows will be cut but there will be extended local news coverage.
STV says the stations have performed in line with its expectations.
STV Glasgow and Edinburgh are part of a growing chain of local TV stations in the UK.
STV was the only major broadcaster to apply for local TV licences - the rest all went to brand new companies, and some have failed to get on the air.
The company - which runs the stations in conjunction with Glasgow Caledonian and Napier Universities - has always insisted the stations were not a backdoor "STV2".
However sceptics, who were surprised to see an established broadcaster get the local licences, may see the changes as a move in that direction.
STV could point to the remaining local programming aimed purely at each area, the news, and opportunities for local advertisers as evidence to the contrary.
Sceptics in the industry across the UK have questioned how big the demand for local TV really is and whether it will ever prove commercially viable.
The new schedule will see both STV Glasgow and STV Edinburgh on air from 07:00 on weekdays and 09:00 at the weekend.
At present they start broadcasting in the middle of the afternoon.
In the morning they will show children's programmes from STV's archives.
There will also be hourly local news bulletins from midday onwards, with 30-minute bulletins at 18:00, 20:00 and 22:00.
The nightly magazine shows - the Riverside Show in Glasgow and the Fountainbridge Show in Edinburgh - will normally last one hour instead of 90 minutes.
But a range of new local programmes covering topics such as history, cookery and music will be shown at 20:30.
Bobby Hain, director of channels at STV, said: "City TV is a long-term commitment for STV and the enhanced schedules that will be launched in early March support our strategy to deliver relevant content to consumers across Scotland.
"Both city TV channels have delivered in line with expectations since launch and the extended hours and enhanced news offering allows us to align the schedules on both channels so we offer the best possible service for our audiences."
STV Glasgow broadcasts to a potential audience of two million viewers in the west of Scotland and STV Edinburgh has a potential reach of one million viewers in the east.
However, as expected, the audiences for individual programmes are modest compared to STV's main channel.
Figures from the ratings body BARB show that most programmes get less than 10,000 viewers.
More than 100 students from the two universities have gained experience with the channels. | STV is to revamp its local television stations for Glasgow and Edinburgh. | 31535825 |
Olaseni Lewis, known as Seni, died in 2010 after he collapsed during a prolonged restraint by the police.
His parents want the High Court to quash the initial report.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said it needed to begin a new investigation, but the Metropolitan Police said that was unlawful.
Seni, a 23-year-old IT graduate from Kingston University, died after being taken to hospital when his behaviour became uncharacteristically odd and agitated.
He was restrained three times - first by hospital staff and then by 11 police officers - for 45 minutes before his collapse.
He never regained consciousness and died three days later.
The IPCC ruled in its original report, before it had full access to all the evidence, that no police officer was at fault.
It now says a criminal act may have happened and has told the family to take legal action so that it can reinvestigate.
His parents, Ajibola and Conrad Lewis, said: "We feel that by going to the High Court it's been acknowledged that wrongs were done and they're going to correct them.
"The IPCC has apologised and said they want to do things right and they want to do another investigation and investigate the police under caution."
IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "We take the concerns raised by Mr Lewis's family seriously and our focus has not shifted from providing them with answers to what happened to their son.
"We have reopened our investigation and have determined that there is an indication that officers may have committed criminal offences and, or, behaved in a manner which would justify disciplinary proceedings."
She said the IPCC would not contest their claim and that it would pay their costs.
The Met Police said: "We have always expressed our desire to assist the family in understanding the circumstances of Mr Lewis's death in any way possible and will continue to co-operate with the IPCC.
"The commissioner is adopting a neutral stance [to the judicial review]." | The family of a man who died days after being restrained by police have asked judges to review the police watchdog's report on his death. | 23386934 |
Australia have pulled out of the tournament, which starts on 27 January, because of safety and security concerns.
Donald, 19, has been recalled to the England squad and reassured over safety.
"We're not worried at all and looking forward to getting out there," said the Glamorgan player.
"The ECB have been very strict and have sent many security guys over there, speaking with the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the ICC [International Cricket Council].
"They're very happy with it going ahead. We've made preparations and have plenty of security, and it's going to be monitored the whole time."
Ireland will replace Australia in the tournament while Scotland are also scheduled to take part.
Donald captained England's Under-19 side in a one-day series against Australia in 2015, but missed the subsequent tournament against India and Sri Lanka.
He spent the UK winter at the Darren Lehmann Cricket Academy in Adelaide and playing club cricket in Australia.
Swansea-born Donald will now travel to Dubai for a week of practice in January, including a warm-up match against South Africa. | England batsman Aneurin Donald has no security concerns about the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh. | 35241273 |
The 28-year-old man was arrested at a swimwear store on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on Saturday afternoon, police said.
They allege videos and more than 100 photographs of women undressing were found on his phone.
Many of the images were uploaded to a private Facebook account, police said.
The alarm was raised when another shopper allegedly spotted the man holding a phone above a fitting room cubicle.
The British man, who is in Australia on a working visa, has been charged with 54 counts of recording in breach of privacy. He is due to appear in court on Monday.
Forty-nine women had been indentified in the images, a Queensland police spokeswoman said.
Police urged women who used fitting rooms at Noosa Civic or Sunshine Plaza between 18 November and 10 December to come forward. | A British man has been accused of secretly photographing 49 women as they changed in fitting rooms in Australia. | 38285698 |
His future has been the subject of speculation after McLaren boss Ron Dennis said last November that they had discussed the idea of a sabbatical.
After his first test in the new McLaren, Alonso said he would "of course" see the season out, adding: "And the next one.
"I have a contract for three years. I'm not thinking about anything else."
He added: "This is a very important year for us."
The 34-year-old two-time champion, who is still regarded by many as the best driver in F1, indicated on Tuesday his wish for McLaren - and Honda - to turn their performance around after a difficult 2015 in which they finished ninth out of 10 teams.
"The ambition is very high," he said. "I am not here just to travel around the world and to jump in the car and have some fun on Sunday. I am here to win."
At the end of 2014 Alonso quit Ferrari because he believed McLaren offered him a better chance of winning a third world title. Ferrari's lead driver Sebastian Vettel was fastest for the second day running on Tuesday during pre-season testing in Barcelona.
Alonso ended his first day in the 2016 car eighth fastest, 3.2 seconds off the pace, but 0.7secs quicker than team-mate Jenson Button had been on Monday.
The McLaren ran reliably - Alonso did the equivalent of a race distance in the morning session and managed well over 100 laps for the day.
Honda, which announced a new head of its F1 programme on Tuesday, has, according to Button, fixed one of the biggest issues with its engine - its weakness in deploying recovered electrical energy.
However, the engine is still believed to be a significant margin - perhaps as much as 100bhp - down on the standard-setting Mercedes in terms of absolute performance.
Honda has a new engine for next week's second and final test.
Alonso said McLaren-Honda needed to "improve all areas of the car" but said he believed the team could have the best chassis by the start of the European races in May.
However, he said he believed Mercedes' domination of F1 "had not finished".
Vettel set the pace 0.715 seconds quicker than Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, as both drivers became the first to use the new ultra-soft tyre introduced for slow tracks this year.
Force India's Sergio Perez was third fastest on the super-soft tyre and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg fourth on the medium tyre.
Rosberg was two seconds off Vettel but Mercedes had an impressive day.
Rosberg completed more laps than anyone else - as did team-mate Lewis Hamilton on the first day of the test on Monday - and taking into account the differences between the tyres, world champions Mercedes still appear to have a very strong car.
The ultra-soft tyre is designed for low-grip slow tracks, not Barcelona, where the long corners and abrasive surfaces are hard on tyres. But it is much softer and would provide better grip and therefore greater speed over a short distance.
Tyre supplier Pirelli estimates the lap-time difference between the ultra-soft and the medium at 1.8-2.3secs, based on initial data.
Pirelli also said it believed the difference between the medium and super-soft was about 1.4-1.5secs - and Rosberg was only 1.2secs slower on medium tyres than Vettel's best time on the super-softs.
On the face of it, that might suggest Mercedes still had a small advantage over Ferrari.
However, the times are not necessarily directly comparable - even taking the tyres into account - because the teams do not reveal the fuel loads the cars are carrying - and 10kg of fuel is equivalent to nearly 0.4secs a lap at Barcelona.
What can be said is that the Mercedes ran reliably and produced consistently impressive lap times over all its runs. Rosberg ran a remarkable 172 laps to add to the 156 done by Hamilton on Monday.
Vettel said he was "fairly happy" with the performance of the Ferrari - which is a much more radical design departure from last year's car than the Mercedes.
However, Ferrari are the ones with all the work to do - Mercedes had an average advantage of 0.6secs a lap in qualifying last year.
Vettel brought the session to a slightly premature end when his car stopped out on track with five minutes to go, causing a red flag.
Among the rest of the field, the new Haas team impressed, with Mexican Esteban Gutierrez setting the sixth fastest time after a delayed start because the car needed its front wing strengthened after a failure on Monday. | Fernando Alonso said he has no intention of leaving McLaren or Formula 1 before his contract ends in 2017. | 35645764 |
Alawite practices, which are said to include celebrating Christmas and the Zoroastrian new year, are little known even to most Muslims.
They account for 12% of Syria's population, or just under 3 million people, and yet have been in tight control of a Sunni-majority country, for more than 40 years.
After a coup in 1970, led by President Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez, Alawites consolidated power over Syria's main institutions and security apparatus.
Hafez's identity as an Alawite helped him gain the loyalty of other minority groups in Syria, to whom he promised rights and protection.
Alawites are seen by other Muslims in the Middle East as very liberal or even secular. In Syria women are not encouraged to wear hejab and many choose not to fast or pray. Some Muslims consider the Alawites a heretic sect.
Nusairism, as Alawism was originally called, emerged in the 9th and 10th Centuries in Syria.
The word Alawite, or Alawi means "follower of Ali", who was a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.
Shia Muslims also venerate Imam Ali and like the Alawis believe he was the true heir to the Prophet and should have succeeded him.
The perception that Alawis regard Ali as a deity or God in human form is what provokes disdain from some orthodox Sunni Muslims.
BBC Radio 4's Analysis profiles Syria's Alawis, the sect to which President Assad belongs.
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They regard the Alawite notion of Ali as heretical and a challenge to the fundamental belief that there is only one indisputable manifestation of God.
But some scholars argue this is a misinterpretation and Alawis actually believe Ali to be an essence or form, rather than a human being, through which followers can try to "grasp God".
In addition to the main tenets of Islam, Alawis observe two others, "jihad" or struggle and "waliya", the devotion to Imam Ali and his family.
Traditionally, many Alawi practices are carried out in secret, in line with the Shia custom of taqiyya, which is the practice of hiding one's beliefs in order to avoid persecution.
Syria's Alawis are concentrated mainly on the country's Mediterranean coast, in the port towns of Latakia and Tartous, spreading north across the Turkish border into the province of Hatay and south into northern Lebanon.
In recent weeks, sectarian tensions have spilled over into northern Lebanon, sparking fatal clashes between the Alawi minority there, and the surrounding Sunni population who are angered by Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown of the uprising.
The Syrian government accuses Sunni Islamist groups in Lebanon of supporting anti-government fighters and of planting a series of car bombs in Damascus. | The Alawites, a small Levantine minority, have survived persecution and the Crusades to rise to the top and take over the Syrian establishment. | 18084964 |
Its aim is to raise £500m for the project from donations by the public.
In return, donors would be able to have photos, text and their DNA included in a time capsule which will be buried under the lunar surface.
Lunar Mission One aims to survey the Moon's south pole to see if a human base can be set up in the future.
The plan has received the endorsement of a host of well-known scientists and organisations. These include Prof Brian Cox, the Astronomer Royal Lord Rees, and Prof Monica Grady of the Open University.
David Iron, who is leading the project, said he was setting up the initiative because governments were increasingly finding it difficult to fund space missions.
"Anyone in the world will be able to get involved for as little as just a few pounds. Lunar Mission One will make a huge contribution to our understanding of the origins of our planet and the Moon," he said.
The team hope to raise £600,000, using the international crowd funding web service Kickstarter, in the next four weeks to fund the initial phase of the project.
For the next four years, funds will be received through contributions from the public, who will be able to buy digital storage space on the lander for their own personal text messages, pictures, music and videos. They will also be able to pay for an immortality of sorts by sending up a strand of their hair, which the project team claim could survive for one billion years.
The cost of a short message will be a few pounds, a compressed photo will be a few tens of pounds while a short compressed video will be about £200. The cost of sending a hair sample will be around £50.
The lander will also contain a public digital archive of human history and science which will be compiled as a legacy which will survive even if our species becomes extinct.
Mr Iron believes the fact that people will have a stake in the mission will make it all the more engaging.
"The project's long-term legacy will be a new way of funding space exploration," he told BBC News.
"Rather than just watching the mission, people can be directly involved, not just through funding but helping to make key decisions such as the selection of the landing site or what should be included in the public archive."
All the money raised by the project will go to funding the mission, and any money left over will be put into a charitable trust whose proceeds will be spent on future space exploration. Mr Iron described it as "a Wellcome Trust for space exploration".
The mission will also have a scientific component. The aim is to drill and analyse a sample from underneath the lunar surface, something which has never been done before.
A key aim of the project is to educate and inspire a new generation to become engaged in science in the same way that the Apollo Moon landings did in the 1960s and 70s, and as indeed the Rosetta landing did just last week.
"I really hope that it has the same effect as Rosetta that so gripped the world," said Prof Monica Grady, of the Open University, whose sheer enthusiasm and joy at Philae's landing was caught on BBC News.
Follow Pallab on Twitter | A British-led consortium has outlined its plans to land a robotic probe on the Moon in 10 years' time. | 30102343 |
Lena Wilson said it had been "a real honour and privilege" to head the national economic development agency.
But she said she wanted to "embark on a fresh set of challenges".
Scottish Enterprise chairman Bob Keiller said she had done "an outstanding job" and driven "a much more international mindset across the whole organisation".
He added: "A plan to appoint a successor is being developed and details of this will be released in due course."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Ms Wilson had made a "significant difference" to Scottish Enterprise's operations in Scotland and on the international stage.
"She has been a committed leader for Scottish Enterprise, a champion for Scottish business and I wish her the best in her future endeavours," she said.
Economy Secretary Keith Brown also paid tribute to Ms Wilson.
He added: "As we look ahead to developing a new approach to delivering continued economic growth and business support, Lena's decision to move on at this point will enable a new chief executive to be appointed to take the organisation into a new phase of its work." | The chief executive of Scottish Enterprise is stepping down after almost eight years in the role. | 40531455 |
The party is fielding five candidates under a manifesto entitled 'The Socialist Alternative'.
The party says the election is unnecessary and will not solve anything unless voters use it to past judgement on the Stormont parties.
The manifesto contains a demand for the removal of the petition of concern at Stormont, a bill of rights, an anti poverty strategy and an economic and jobs plan.
The Workers' Party believes devolution will only work if the GFA is implemented in full. | The Workers' Party has launched its manifesto for next week's assembly election. | 39083569 |
The meeting's first day features three top-level Group One races although there have been several withdrawals because of the rain-softened going.
Two American-trained runners are among leading contenders, with Tepin in the opening Queen Anne Stakes and Mongolian Saturday in the King's Stand Stakes.
Guineas winners Galileo Gold, Awtaad and The Gurkha run in the St James's Palace Stakes.
14.30 BST Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) 1m
15.05 Coventry Stakes (Group 2) 6f
15.40 King's Stand Stakes (Group 1) 5f
16.20 St James's Palace Stakes (Group 1) 1m
17.00 Ascot Stakes (Handicap) 2 ½m
17.35 Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed) 5f
Full schedule for 2016 meeting
Dual winner Sole Power was taken out of the King's Stand Stakes with trainer Eddie Lynam stating the ground was unsuitable for his horse.
The course had 27mm of rain between Friday and Sunday, with a mixture of sunshine and showers expected during the week.
Breeders' Cup Mile winner Tepin will have to cope with the going and is being challenged for favouritism in the first race by the Godolphin-owned hopeful Belardo.
Mecca's Angel leads the field of sprinters in the King's Stand Stakes, while the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas winner Galileo Gold takes on Atwaad, winner of the Irish version, and French Guineas victor The Gurkha in the St James's Palace Stakes.
Ryan Moore, who rides The Gurkha for Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien, made history at last year's meeting by riding a record nine winners.
Ascot continues a big year for the Queen - who is expected to attend every day - with Thursday's feature race renamed the Gold Cup In Honour of the Queen's 90th Birthday.
The Queen is seeking her 23rd Royal Ascot winner as an owner, with the last coming courtesy of Estimate in the 2013 Gold Cup.
Estimate is now retired from racing and is expecting her first foal next year having started a breeding career.
But the Queen is expected to have up to six runners this week including Dartmouth in Saturday's Hardwicke Stakes, with another two horses set to run for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
Ascot is renowned as a meeting where top action on the track mixes with style and glamour off it.
In 2015, around 2,400 kilos of whole sirloin beef, 3,700 rumps of lamb and 2,900 Scottish lobsters were served.
A further 51,000 bottles of champagne, 125,000 glasses of Pimms and 45,000 afternoon teas were consumed.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Royal Ascot starts on Tuesday with 280,000 racegoers due over five days. | 36515204 |
The application by Memoria Ltd for the development near Northop was rejected by the county council in February 2015.
The company appealed the decision, claiming the council had "no technical evidence" to back up its refusal.
Currently, Flintshire residents use crematoria facilities in Chester, Wrexham, Colwyn Bay and a new site in St Asaph.
The council does not dispute the need for a crematorium in the county but it rejected Oxfordshire-based Memoria's plans because of concerns over road safety and the visual impact of the proposed buildings on their open countryside setting off Oakenholt Lane and Kelsterton Lane.
Evidence will be heard from the company, Flintshire council, and members of the public.
Objections will also be made by J Davies and Sons, a firm of undertakers whose application to build a crematorium at another site in Northop was rejected in 2014.
The hearing will last six days but a decision is not likely to be made before next year. | A public inquiry into plans for Flintshire's first crematorium has begun in Mold. | 36650709 |
A card reader fault affected buses and Tube stations earlier. Passengers were waved through barriers free of charge by Transport for London (TfL) staff.
The failure, linked to a fare increase, did not prevent people using the Tube, bus and rail networks.
TfL said the problem, which began at 04:30 GMT, had since been resolved.
TfL said it was the first such problem with the card readers in 10 years and the glitch was linked to a 1.1% increase in fares overnight.
About 100,000 free journeys are believed to have been made between 04:00 and 10:00, which TfL estimated to be worth about £250,000 in lost revenue.
A spokesman said: "Customers should now touch in and out as normal. Anyone charged a maximum fare due to this issue will get an automatic refund credited to their Oyster card early next week. We apologise for this disruption."
People using pay as you go Oyster cards were able to travel for free while the card readers were down as the machines were unable to deduct the correct fare from the pre-paid cards.
Season ticket Oyster card users were unaffected as travel is not paid per journey. | Passengers on London's transport network travelled for free after a technical glitch left people unable to use their Oyster cards. | 35213346 |
The body of Kye Backhouse was found at his home in Ewan Close, Barrow-in-Furness, at about 07:20 GMT on 9 October 2014.
His father, Kevin Morton, 49, also of Ewan Close, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday.
Sentencing was adjourned until 22 June for pre-sentence and psychiatric reports to be prepared. | A father has admitted the manslaughter of his 13-year-old son in Cumbria. | 32316790 |
Tobias Ellwood was criticised after he said that a planned 10% pay rise for MPs was "well overdue".
He said he had been trying to make a point about not deterring future MPs who were not wealthy, but recognised his comments were "insensitive".
The Bournemouth East MP earns a basic salary of £67,000 plus about £20,000 for his Foreign Office role.
MPs salaries are to rise from £67,060 to £74,000 - backdated to 8 May.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) - put in charge of MPs' pay after the 2009 expenses scandal - approved the salary increase despite appeals from Downing Street and many MPs who said it was inappropriate.
Ipsa says in future MPs' pay would rise in line with average rises in the public sector.
During Ipsa's consultation, Mr Elwood, a junior Foreign Office minister, wrote to support the proposed pay increase.
In his submission, he said: "I know I speak for the silent majority (who are not millionaires) to say this increase is well overdue.
"I never expected to be watching the pennies at my age and yet this what I now have to do."
The Conservative MP had said he would be earning much more if he had stayed in his job in the armed forces.
However, his comments attracted criticism - prompting the minister to issue an apology "for the offence I've caused".
In a statement on his official Facebook page, he said he recognised that the remarks in his "confidential submission" were "inappropriate and insensitive" and an "error of judgment".
"Constituents' comments have been a stark personal reminder of the challenges everyone is facing and I am the wiser for it." he added.
Mr Ellwood said the submission had been a "private attempt" to express "a genuine concern" about MPs pay, which he said was lower than in other public sector jobs.
"Good candidates who are not so financially secure are being deterred from entering politics and this is not good for Parliament or the country.
"We need to attract the best from all walks of life to ensure that Parliament is as representative as possible of our society in terms of its diversity," he said.
But the MP said his comments had "underlined the perception that MPs are out of touch".
"That is something I very much regret and must now focus on repairing." | A government minister has apologised for saying he had to "watch the pennies" on his almost £90,000 salary. | 33585341 |
The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) scheme identifies sites for housing developments that may be built on over the next 20 years.
Green belt sites at Pilsworth, Carrington, Cheadle Hulme and Ashton Moss have been included on the list.
The plans will be discussed by the region's 10 council leaders on Friday before the launch of consultation.
A draft report says the release of some green belt is "essential" to keep up with the city region's growth.
The combined authority said in 2015, 47% of the total land area of Greater Manchester was designated as green belt and this would be reduced to 43% if the plans are approved.
Meanwhile, West Salford Greenway, Rectory Lane, Standish in Wigan and land within the Roch Valley in Rochdale would be newly designated as green belt.
The GMSF also includes proposals for a new railway station at Droylsden and a Westhoughton bypass between Atherton and the M61.
Council leaders agree former industrial land should be used before any protected space is developed.
They say 200,000 new jobs will be created as industrial and warehousing sites are built or increased, as well as work on new roads and infrastructure to support them.
The report says: "We are preparing the GMSF to make sure that investment and growth in houses and jobs happens but also benefits our residents and makes Greater Manchester a better place to live and work.
"We need to be able to plan for schools, green spaces, roads and health facilities alongside new homes, offices and factories. If we don't do this, it won't happen."
Mark Hunter, Liberal Democrat councillor for Cheadle Hulme South, said; "There is a problem about shortage of housing and we do particularly want to help those who are desperate to get their foot on the housing ladder.
"But we've got many sites that are brownfield, some of which have stood empty for years and are ripe for development." | Plans for at least 225,000 homes across Greater Manchester - including some on green belt land - have been revealed. | 37729165 |
The figure for the six months to December compared with a profit of $5.35bn for the same period in 2014.
Lower commodity prices slashed revenue by 37% to $15.7bn, sending underlying profit down 92% to $412m.
BHP, one of the world's biggest mining companies, took the axe to the interim dividend.
It has abandoned its long-held policy of maintaining or increasing dividend payments to shareholders, reducing the payout from 62 cents a share to just 16 cents.
Chairman Jac Nasser said BHP now believed the period of weaker prices and higher volatility would be prolonged.
The decision to cut the dividend had not been made lightly but was a "determined response to changing markets", he said.
The size of the dividend cut was worse than analysts had expected.
Shaw and Partners analyst Peter O'Connor said: "Given months of anguish and market debate regarding the dividend, we expect that 16 cents while disappointing, is a cashflow positive and therefore will likely be absorbed by the market."
After an initial fall, shares in BHP Billiton rose 2.7% to $17.64 in late morning trading in Sydney but have fallen 47% in the past 12 moths.
The company pledged to pay a minimum of 50% of underlying profits in dividends in the future.
Mr O'Connor commented: "While the [profits] miss looks big in percentage terms, the numbers are quite frankly disappointingly low anyway."
Chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said: "With improved financial flexibility and a portfolio of high-return growth options, we are well positioned to grow."
Mining companies such as BHP have been under intense pressure as a slowdown in China's economy results in lower demand for key commodities, such as iron ore and coal.
BHP also revealed a new operating model with fewer layers that aimed to create a more agile company.
The changes will result in Jimmy Wilson, head of the iron ore division, departing, along with Tim Cutt, head of petroleum operations.
It took a charge of $858m after tax for costs associated with the November collapse of a dam at the BHP-owned Samarco mine in Brazil that killed at least 17 people.
Mr Mackenzie said: "Supporting the response efforts, rebuilding communities and restoring the environment impacted by the dam failure remains a priority and substantial progress has been made."
Dean Dalla Valle has been assigned to lead BHP's response to the incident and will be based in Brazil. The executive will retain responsibility for the Jansen Potash project in Canada.
BHP Billiton is one of the world's largest producers of major commodities including iron ore, metallurgical coal, copper and uranium, and has substantial interests in both conventional and shale oil and gas and energy coal.
BHP was founded in the mid-1800s in Australia, while Billiton's roots can be traced back to a tin mine in Indonesia in 1851. The Anglo-Dutch company merged with BHP in 2001 to form a global mining giant.
However, that merger was partly undone last year when it spun off some smaller assets, including aluminium, nickel and manganese, into a new company called South32.
Since listing in Sydney last June, its shares have fallen by 40% to A$1.22. | Mining giant BHP Billiton has posted a huge half-year net loss of $5.67bn (£4bn) and warned that weak commodity prices will continue. | 35635825 |
Should Shaun Reid steer Warrington Town, who play in the eighth-tier Northern Premier League Division One North, to victory over North Ferriby United, it will be the first time the Yellows have reached the FA Cup first round.
"I've already been on the phone to ask Peter if I can borrow Anelka for the day, but we couldn't get him registered in time," the younger Reid said.
There is a nine-year age gap between the siblings, who spent their playing careers at opposite ends of the professional ladder.
The elder Reid spent most of his career in the top flight at Bolton, Everton, QPR, Manchester City and Southampton, earning 13 England caps along the way.
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Shaun had midfield spells at Rochdale, York, Bury and Chester.
Yet despite the age gap and differing scale of success, the Liverpool-born brothers are close.
When 58-year-old Peter was appointed manager of Plymouth Argyle in 2010, he offered Shaun a coaching job at Home Park.
And since being appointed Warrington manager in 2012, Shaun has reciprocated by inviting Peter - whose managerial CV includes spells in charge of Sunderland and Manchester City - to take training at the Cheshire club.
The brotherly love might surprise those who witnessed the only time the duo faced one another on the pitch, on 13 August 1994.
The team party was at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. Let's just say I had a few shandies. I actually lost my medal at one stage. Adrian Heath's dad eventually found it... in a lift
Peter, whose medal collection also includes two league titles and a European Cup Winners' Cup, had joined fourth-tier Bury in the twilight of his playing career, while Shaun - 28 at the time - was a regular in Rochdale's engine room.
Bury lost a bruising contest 1-0 at Gigg Lane in what turned out to be Peter's only appearance for the Shakers before retirement.
"The tackles were flying and I remember smashing Shaun on one occasion," Peter told BBC Sport.
The younger brother's account is different.
"We were knocking seven bells out of one another right from the off," recalled 49-year-old Shaun.
"I remember the referee pulling us together quite early in the game and saying: 'Lads, you're not giving me a chance here.'"
Shaun was at Wembley to see his brother lift the FA Cup with Everton in 1984, when goals by Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray secured a 2-0 win over Graham Taylor's Watford.
"It was a very proud moment," added Shaun. "I was 19 at the time and I went to the team party after the match. The evening was a bit of a blur.
"There were 20 of us from the family at Wembley... mum, dad, aunts and uncles.
"It's something I will never forget and that's why the FA Cup is a very special competition to me.
"I spent my playing career in the lower reaches of the Football League and didn't go further than the third round.
"So if I can get Warrington to the first round for the first time in their history then it will mean an awful lot to me."
This is Warrington's seventh game in this season's competition.
Saturday's opponents North Ferriby play two leagues above them in the Conference North.
But confidence is high in the Yellows camp after they eliminated Colwyn Bay, also of the Conference North, in the last round.
An FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie at Warrington's 3,500-capacity Cantilever Park is a world away from the glitz and the glamour of the Indian Super League, where Peter is in charge of Mumbai City.
A crowd of 28,000 watched his side hammer Pune City 5-0 last Saturday.
Around 600 - three times Warrington's average - are expected on Saturday to see whether a team made up of solicitors, delivery drivers and postmen can join League One and League Two clubs in the first-round draw.
But the part-time club, that operates in the shadows of the town's successful rugby league side, will be in Peter's thoughts.
"I'll be following Warrington Town's Twitter feed from India," he added.
"I really enjoy going down there and watching the lads play.
"It would be terrific for a club of their size to reach the first round. I've got my fingers crossed they do it." | While FA Cup winner Peter Reid is managing Nicolas Anelka and Freddie Ljungberg in the inaugural Indian Super League, his younger, less well-known brother is seeking to make football history of his own this weekend. | 29667234 |
Two blocks of flats in Edinburgh have become the 50th and 51st buildings whose construction was completed after World War Two to be given Category A listed status.
Historic Environment Scotland puts important buildings into three categories.
Those in Category A are considered to be buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic.
Post-war structures to be given Category A status include the Forth Road Bridge, the Burrell Collection, numerous churches, hydroelectric power stations and two swimming pools.
Cables Wynd House and neighbouring Linksview House in Edinburgh are the 50th and 51st post-war building to be given Category A status. | . | 38826248 |
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The BBC athletics commentator, a former 1500m world champion, expects Team GB to win "seven or eight medals in track and field - with three or four golds".
He thinks Mo Farah will win two of them - repeating his golden double from London in the 5,000m and 10,000m.
"I am surprised people think we are going to win fewer medals," he said.
"I think we are going to do as well and win just about as many medals collectively as we did in London.
"I think we will be third in the medal table across all sports, which is an incredible thing to think when everyone thought it happened in 2012 because it was our home Games.
"But we have still got a system that is producing, and has managed to keep a lot of medallists in cycling, sailing, rowing, equestrian. We are as well prepared as we possibly can be going into Rio."
Team GB finished with 65 medals - 29 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze - in London, surpassing their previous best Olympics tally of 47 in Beijing in 2008.
In addition to backing Farah, Cram believes long jumper Greg Rutherford and heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill could also retain their Olympic titles.
"Those guys are still on top of their events, or close to them," he told BBC Scotland's Sunday Sportsound programme.
"Then perhaps we might pick up one or two other medals from our relay teams."
But it is the prospect of seeing Farah, unbeaten in major championships since having to settle for silver in the 10,000m behind Ethiopia's Ibrahim Jeilan at the 2011 World Championships, that excites Cram most.
"I am intrigued this time," he added. "Kenya have got a couple of guys, particularly Geoffrey Kamworor [the 2015 world 10,000m silver medallist], who could challenge him.
"You keep thinking 'surely they are to going to come up with a different tactic, surely they are not going to sit and let him kick and let him win again', even if that's what we want him to do.
"It will be one of the great moments of the summer if he does it again." | Great Britain can match their haul from London 2012 at this summer's Olympics in Rio and finish third again in the medal table, Steve Cram says. | 36512970 |
Little has been decided about the contents or location of the gallery, although it is expected to focus on 20th and 21st Century Welsh art.
The Welsh Government is funding a feasibility study and Plaid Cymru has also backed the idea.
Work is led by the National Museum Wales (NMW) and Arts Council of Wales (ACW), whose chairman Phil George said there was "excitement" about the plan.
They have examined some of the broader options ahead of a more detailed feasibility study later this year.
The government is funding the study as part of a commitment during negotiations over last year's Programme for Government, which was passed with Plaid's support.
"We certainly want a place which could be full of excitement in showing contemporary and modern art," Mr George said.
"Everybody who wants that wants to see how it fits in with the existing scene, with existing galleries which are offering strong things.
"And we want to be clear about exactly how existing collections relate to the showing of new work.
"So the main question, I think, is whether this gallery is about showing temporary exhibitions with new focus, new work and also an international reach. Or whether it also includes the collection of modern and contemporary art that's already built up."
Much of that collection is held by NMW at its galleries in Cardiff.
A previous feasibility study in 2008, which also considered the need for a new gallery, resulted in the renovation and expansion of the museum's galleries.
Elfyn Lewis, who is a previous winner of the gold medal for fine art at the National Eisteddfod, said it was a "fantastic" idea.
"It is something that has long been needed.
"I think it would definitely put a marker down for us as a country and a nation, and show that we we are serious about our art."
Asked about the existing collections housed at NMW, Mr Lewis said a new gallery would allow more works to be displayed.
"The museum's collection is vast, they can't show everything. I think, if we did have this building, it would just show us in a different light. I think we need to showcase ourselves, and also Wales."
Artist Kevin Sinnott, who has a gallery in Pontycymmer, said he would like to see people's lives in Wales represented and an "exciting" building but said this would not have to be enormous.
But Stephen Bayley, the Cardiff-born cultural critic, said Wales needed to be innovative in its approach and questioned whether a new gallery would be beneficial.
He said: "I just cant help believing that the sort of art we are talking about, and the sort of gallery we are talking about, is actually something of the past century.
"If there is to be a future for Wales - and I think there's a huge future for Wales - I'd like to see some slightly more progressive thinking, rather than aping something that has already happened in Europe, the United States and in England."
"Of course, you could make an interesting new building in Aberystwyth or somewhere, and why not? You'd have to be out of your mind to be against it. I just think it's a conventional, old fashioned way of thinking and I'd rather see a different sort of investment in a new future for Wales."
The initial work by ACW and NMW is expected to be completed in the next few weeks ahead of a detailed feasibility study later this year.
David Anderson, director general of NMW, said: "There is an appetite from our visitors to experience work by artists living and working in Wales today, and by Welsh artists who work outside Wales.
"Our recent Ivor Davies exhibition at National Museum Cardiff's contemporary art galleries - currently Wales' largest space for contemporary art - was a clear indication of that."
He said it was "extremely important" that contemporary art from Wales and from around the world - both popular and unfamiliar - was "shown in fresh ways to as many people as possible." | Plans are being drawn up for a new national gallery of modern Welsh art. | 39352607 |
The brain area involved develops late in adolescence and degenerates early during ageing.
At the moment, it is difficult for doctors to predict which people might develop either condition.
The findings, in the journal PNAS, hint at a potential way to diagnose those at risk earlier, experts say.
Although they caution that "much more research is needed into how to bring these exciting discoveries into the clinic".
The Medical Research Council team who carried out the study did MRI brain scans on 484 healthy volunteers aged between eight and 85 years.
The researchers, led by Dr Gwenaëlle Douaud of Oxford University, looked at how the brain naturally changes as people age.
The images revealed a common pattern - the parts of the brain that were the last to develop were also the first to show signs of age-related decline.
These brain regions - a network of nerve cells or grey matter - co-ordinate "high order" information coming from the different senses, such as sight and sound.
When the researchers looked at scans of patients with Alzheimer's disease and scans of patients with schizophrenia they found the same brain regions were affected.
The findings fit with what other experts have suspected - that although distinct, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia are linked.
Prof Hugh Perry of the MRC said: "Early doctors called schizophrenia 'premature dementia' but until now we had no clear evidence that the same parts of the brain might be associated with two such different diseases. This large-scale and detailed study provides an important, and previously missing, link between development, ageing and disease processes in the brain.
"It raises important issues about possible genetic and environmental factors that may occur in early life and then have lifelong consequences. The more we can find out about these very difficult disorders, the closer we will come to helping sufferers and their families."
Dr Michael Bloomfield of University College London said: "Schizophrenia can be potentially devastating but at the moment it's very difficult to predict with certainty who is going to have a good prognosis and who might have a poor one.
"This study brings us a step closer to being able to make this prediction, so patients could in the future receive better targeted treatments."
Armed with this new knowledge, it may also be possible to understand how to prevent the brain changes before they occur, he said | The brain has a weak spot for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, according to UK scientists who have pinpointed the region using scans. | 30180804 |
The project has been headed by Gordon Brown, former UK prime minister and UN special envoy for global education.
The aim is to raise $3.85bn (£2.66bn) over the next five years which could support the education of more than 13 million young people.
Mr Brown said it would help restore the sense of hope for refugee families.
Speaking at the summit in Istanbul in Turkey, Mr Brown said: "For the first time, we have a humanitarian fund targeting education.
"A fund that plans - not just for weeks or months - but for years in support of a child's development. And a fund with a contingency reserve allowing us to act when a crisis hits ensuring no begging bowl has to be circulated."
Mr Brown said that education was a way to protect young people from exploitation.
"Without school, young children caught up in emergencies are at risk of becoming the youngest labourers in the field, the youngest brides at the altar, the youngest soldiers in the trench and, in some cases, the youngest recruits vulnerable to extremism and radicalisation," he said.
The emergency fund, called Education Cannot Wait, would be aimed at providing a rapid response to the need for schools for young people caught up in conflict.
The fund, launched with an initial $100m (£69m) in donations, has been backed by Unesco head, Irina Bokova, who said: "Exceptional measures are urgently required to meet the educational needs of millions of children and youth whose future is jeopardised by conflicts, displacement and natural disasters."
Unesco says education in emergencies has been "grossly underfunded" - and at present only receives 2% of humanitarian aid.
Ms Bokova is calling for a fivefold increase in this allocation for education.
Ahead of the summit, Unesco published figures with the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) showing that only 50% of refugee children are in primary school and 25% of refugee adolescents are in secondary school.
A report warned that there could be even worse problems about which little is known.
Information on refugee education is mostly gathered by agencies working in camps, but many refugees are outside these official camps - living in cities or other informal settlements.
There are also unknown numbers of young people who are displaced within their countries, such as those missing school in Nigeria because of attacks by Boko Haram.
The threat of violence against places of education was highlighted by Unicef, in a report published ahead of the summit.
It warned that there were on average four schools or hospitals attacked or occupied by armed forces every day.
"Attacks against schools and hospitals during conflict are an alarming, and disgraceful, trend. Intentional and direct strikes on these facilities, and on health workers and teachers, can be war crimes," said Afshan Khan, Unicef's director of emergency programmes.
It warned of attacks in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria and the Palestinian Authority.
Unicef is calling for international support for a Safe Schools Declaration, with more than 50 countries having signed an agreement for protected status to be given to places of education during war and violent conflict. | An emergency fund to provide education during conflicts and natural disasters has been launched at the World Humanitarian Summit. | 36361630 |
Harris made 79 appearances for the Blades after joining from Blackpool in January 2014, but he has been without a club since being released last May.
The 29-year-old ended last season on loan at Fleetwood, featuring in only one League One game.
"He has done well in training during his time with us and will provide cover for us," said manager Darrell Clarke.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Bristol Rovers have signed former Sheffield United left-back Bob Harris on a deal until the end of the season. | 38841619 |
The woman was walking on Carmuirs Avenue at its junction with Mariner Road when a man walked past her, before turning back and assaulting her.
The incident happened between 17:00 and 17:30 on Friday 27 May.
The man was described as white, in his late 30s, about 5ft 8in tall, of medium build and with short fair hair.
He was wearing a dark blue zip-up cardigan with a red t-shirt underneath and dark jeans.
Det Con Grant Stronach said: "This attack was completely unprovoked and it's possible that someone witnessed this from a nearby house." | Police in Forth Valley have appealed for witnesses following a "completely unprovoked" assault on a woman in Camelon. | 36443552 |
The saddles were initially piloted in 2012, to help transport women in labour in mountainous regions of Afghanistan.
SaddleAid, based on Anglesey, has been working with their donkey 'Queenie' to help adapt and improve the design.
"They can be used for a range of different activities," said Peter Muckle, from SaddleAid.
These include "carrying women who are in labour to the nearest medical facility to using the saddle to enable people with mobility issues to experience horse, pony or donkey riding," he said.
The fully inflated saddle weighs about 8kg (18lb) and provides a frame which can be sat in, with a quick release mechanism that makes it easy to get off the donkey.
SaddleAid aim to train local people to make the saddles, using low-cost and easily available materials.
Hub Cymru Africa, funded by the Welsh government, is supporting the project, which will begin trialling the saddles in parts of northern Ethiopia.
"The time to get to the facilities can often put both the mother and baby at risk, so a device like this can make a real difference when access to roads and vehicles is often not possible, but where many families have access to a horse, pony or donkey," said Cat Jones, Head of Partnership at Hub Cymru Africa. | An inflatable saddle for donkeys developed in Wales is helping mothers-to-be in some of the remotest parts of the world. | 35151804 |
The frontier, closed by Venezuela last August as part of a crime crackdown, was to open for 12 hours.
Venezuela is going through a deep economic crisis and many say they struggle to feed their families.
Last week, about 500 Venezuelan women broke through the border controls in search of food.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the border closure because, he said, the area had been infiltrated by Colombian paramilitaries and gangs.
The measure also prevents subsidised goods from being smuggled from Venezuela into Colombia.
Some 35,000 people crossed the border between San Antonio del Tachira, in Venezuela, and Cucuta, in Colombia, a Colombian official told the BBC.
Supermarkets were crowded with Venezuelans buying basic supplies such as rice, oil, flour and sugar, which are expensive in their country because of the shortages.
Gloria Archila was all smiles. "They had everything," she said, comparing the situation here with the empty shelves in markets back home.
Everyone seemed to have a story like this - a mother who was looking for medicine for her daughter, another who described being "happy to see so much food together".
They complained about how devaluated their Venezuelan bolivar was, limiting their purchase power. They also found goods smuggled from Venezuela being resold here. But, by and large, as they returned home in packed buses, they were triumphant - and with full bags.
An unnamed woman who crossed with her husband and two young children told the Efe news agency it was "unfair" to keep the border closed.
"We are from San Antonio, and the reality is that we do not have any food to give to our children."
Venezuelans who want to cross into Colombia in states where the border has been closed need a special permit to do so.
But as the scarcity of food gets worse in Venezuela, many have crossed the porous border illegally.
Venezuela: Economy on the brink? | Thousands of people have crossed to Colombia after Venezuela opened their common border to allow its people to buy food and medicine, officials say. | 36759102 |
Scottish Borders Council said the site in Galashiels would open later and close earlier from 1 July.
It said the decision had been made for a "series of reasons" including late-night antisocial behaviour.
After the changes, it will open from 05:45 to 23:00 each day rather than 04:30 to 01:00.
The council said the decision also took into account low bus passenger numbers late at night and early in the morning.
It said an average of just 1.5 passengers used the five services running outside the new opening times.
The move is also part of a review of services at the interchange which the council said could save £40,000-a-year.
It stressed there would be no permanent job losses as a result of the change.
SBC's Gordon Edgar said: "The Galashiels Transport Interchange is a well-used facility, with 3,000 people passing through every day.
"However, council figures show that since it opened in August 2015, it is rarely used by bus passengers after 23:00 and before 06:00.
"There has also been late-night antisocial behaviour, with staff suffering verbal and physical abuse which has resulted in court appearances for offenders."
He said closing earlier would help with that issue.
"In the current financial climate, the council has to consider how it delivers its services differently," he added.
"While this change will result in some inconvenience for a small number of passengers, it will result in better use of the council's resources.
"Importantly, this decision will not change any bus or train services and will not see any permanent jobs lost." | A transport interchange built for the Borders Railway is to cut its opening hours after the physical and verbal abuse of staff. | 40259361 |
Steyn's 4-18 against Kent helped Glamorgan regain top spot in the T20 Blast South Group.
"I'm loving it, just to feel that vibe again, feel that energy flow about taking wickets," he said.
Steyn played only one game in the Indian Premier League and two in the T20 World Cup after a shoulder injury.
He did not take a wicket in his first game, the defeat against Essex, after having a catch dropped first ball, but has since taken three against Hampshire, two against Gloucestershire and four against Kent to help Glamorgan to victories.
"Just to get back into that (wicket-taking) mode, when you don't do it for a while, you miss it, you almost forget how to do it," he added.
"When I played against Essex I was a bit rusty, one or two things didn't go my way and you doubt yourself again.
"But the second game, when I got a wicket, it kicks in again."
Final game in Cardiff
The 32-year-old Steyn departs for the Caribbean Premier League after Glamorgan's game against Surrey.
"I'd love to win that, Glamorgan top of the log (table), and I hope I've come and added some kind of influence on the guys' game as well as the matches," he said.
"But I think the guys have played excellently so far, and I've learnt a lot also."
"Wild Thing" to come
Steyn's place as the second overseas player will be taken for the second half of the T20 campaign by Shaun Tait, the Australian fast bowler who played for Glamorgan in 2010.
"If he just comes and does his stuff, the "Wild Thing" [Tait], he bowls really quick and everyone else is bowling really well, that's the beautiful thing about this team.
"I don't think he needs to worry about coming in and filling a hole."
Glamorgan, who last qualified for T20 Finals Day back in 2004, have four wins, one defeat and a washout from the first six games of their 14-match campaign. | South African pace bowler Dale Steyn says he is loving his time at Glamorgan after taking nine wickets in the last three T20 matches. | 36567115 |
Kevin Wilson, of Tiverton, was given a 10-week suspended jail sentence this month for swindling housing and council tax benefits of nearly £4,000.
Mid Devon District Council approved a motion on Wednesday condemning his actions and calling for him to resign.
Wilson said he "couldn't be sorrier" for his actions, but it was for voters to decide whether he should go or stay.
"What I really want to say is how profoundly sorry I am for what I did," he said.
"I want my constituents to understand that this is a very personal apology to them.
"They are the people who put me here and they are the people who should be able to take me away if they wish to do so.
"They will get that democratic opportunity in 2015."
Wilson, formerly a Liberal Democrat councillor and former mayor of Tiverton, now sits on the authority as an independent.
The motion, condemning Wilson's conduct, was proposed by councillor Colin Slade, who said if someone in public office betrayed their position of trust they should "do the decent thing and resign".
Under the Local Government Act, Wilson cannot be forced to stand down from his position on the council as his prison sentence was for a period of less than three months. | A councillor convicted of benefit fraud has refused to resign but has apologised to his constituents. | 26372860 |
The company has written to the 39 workers to tell them they are all at risk of redundancy, though there may be the chance of redeployment.
The letter adds that Homebase is intending to assign the lease on its unit to another unnamed occupier.
In a statement, Homebase confirmed it had entered a period of consultation with staff regarding the closure.
"Colleagues at the store have been informed and we will be working with them to support them as much as possible," the statement added.
"As the consultation is in progress, we are unable to comment further at this time."
SDLP West Tyrone representative Daniel McCrossan said the proposal would "come as a devastating blow" for staff.
He questioned why closure was being proposed saying he understood the store was making a profit.
Last year, the group which owns Homebase said it planned to cut the number of stores by 25% by 2019.
Home Retail Group said a number of its 323 Homebase stores across the UK were "unprofitable or are in decline".
Earlier this year, the rival B&Q chain announced that five stores in Northern Ireland were to close, with the loss of about 300 jobs. | Staff at the Homebase DIY shop at the Great Northern retail park in Omagh have been told it is facing closure. | 35101181 |
"Me and Hammond with a surrogate Jeremy is a non-starter. It has to be the three of us," he told the Guardian.
He added that Top Gear without Clarkson would be a "tough call" and "a bit of a daft idea".
Clarkson was removed from presenting duties on the motoring show after assaulting producer Oisin Tymon.
"I don't think you could carry on with two people and put someone in as the new Jeremy because they are not going to be the new Jeremy," May said.
"That would be short-sighted and I don't think it would work. Virtually impossible."
May changed his Twitter account to say "former Top Gear presenter" on 25 March, the day it was announced Clarkson's contract would not be renewed.
May's own contract, and that of his co-presenter Richard Hammond, expired last month.
It raises the possibility of an entirely new presenting line-up for the hit BBC Two show.
Channel controller Kim Shillinglaw has been given the job of finding a replacement for Clarkson, with former X Factor host and Jodie Kidd rumoured to be in the running.
But May has said there "might be an opportunity for three of us to get back together on the BBC to do Top Gear or a car show of some sort".
"The BBC haven't completely closed the door on Jeremy's return," he told the Guardian.
"They've not banned him or fired him, only just not renewed his contract for the moment. It's a subtle difference, but an important one."
Earlier this week, Shillinglaw stressed there was no ban on Clarkson returning to the BBC, despite director general Tony Hall's decision to fire him last month, saying "a line has been crossed".
"It's serious and unfortunate what happened but there is no ban on Jeremy being on the BBC," said Shillinglaw.
"It's a big deal what happened and Jeremy, as any human being would, needs some time." | Top Gear presenter James May has said he will not return to the BBC show without co-host Jeremy Clarkson, who was dropped from the show last month. | 32431956 |
The incident happened on Thursday, and the man died as a result of his injuries in hospital on Saturday.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSENI) is investigating.
"Our sympathies are with the family at this most difficult time, a spokesperson said. | A man in his 40s has died following a farm accident in the Derrylin area of County Fermanagh. | 40543936 |
The rider was taken to hospital following the collision at 05:00 BST on the junction of Allport Road and Bridle Road in Wirral.
Police said the taxi driver was shaken but not injured, and is "cooperating fully".
Motorists have been advised to avoid the scene and the slip road from New Chester Road into Allport Road. | A motorcyclist has died from his injuries after a collision with a taxi in Merseyside. | 34237697 |
A majority of MSPs backed a Conservative amendment which said the government's council tax proposals undermined local accountability.
But when it came to the final decision, the vote was tied at 63 all - with Ms Dugdale apparently not voting.
The presiding officer then used his casting vote to back the government.
The Scottish Parliament uses an electronic system that allows MSPs to cast votes by pushing a button while remaining in their seats.
Ms Dugdale has insisted she did vote - with her party calling for an investigation into what happened.
But parliament officials said they had checked the voting consoles in the chamber and were satisfied the system was working properly.
Ms Dugdale tweeted: "Today I categorically voted to reject the SNP's council tax proposals. They made a promise to the people of Scotland - they should keep it."
Scottish Labour's business manager, James Kelly, said: "Every Scottish Labour MSP voted against the government today."
Ms Dugdale was in the Scottish Parliament chamber at the time and had voted previously.
She was sitting next to Labour MSP Iain Gray, who has also said that Ms Dugdale had cast a vote and that it had apparently registered with the system.
Of all the votes for this to happen on; and of all the MSPs for it to happen to.
The SNP were staring defeat in the face; in fact having lost the vote on the amendment they were expecting it.
They were as relieved when the score came out 63-each as opposition members were outraged. Who had let the air out of their carefully planned manoeuvre to embarrass the government?
Kezia Dugale was as surprised as anyone else when the votes were tallied and it turned out to have been her.
Now, in truth this is still a shot across the bows for the government. They are a minority administration with, on this issue, no opposition support.
The SNP know they will need to change something before the next vote on council tax, to win over at least one opposition MSP.
But in the end instead of being an immediate embarrassment for them, it's Labour who have been left with red faces.
The SNP hailed Ms Dugdale as a "lone ranger" who had "taken her newfound autonomy literally" - a tongue-in-cheek reference to proposed changes to the relationship between Scottish and UK Labour.
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: "Notwithstanding the confusion over Kezia Dugdale's vote, the SNP has been sent a very clear signal that it must rethink its council tax plans."
The council tax changes, which were set out by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in March, would see the average band E household pay about £2 more per week, with those in the highest band paying an extra £10 a week - an average of £517 a year.
The aim is to raise an extra £100m a year for schools as part of efforts to close the attainment gap between Scotland's wealthiest and most deprived pupils.
The reforms follow a report by the Commission on Local Tax Reform which last year called for council tax to be scrapped altogether, and urged politicians to implement a fairer, more progressive and transparent tax to fund local services.
During a debate earlier on Thursday, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay hinted that the Scottish government could consider further reform of the council tax system.
He said: "We have embarked on a journey in local taxation. We want to make it more progressive, deliver the steps that we got support for at the elections, then engage further on what can be delivered next in view of the report."
Conservative Murdo Fraser said the SNP appeared to have abandoned a 2007 manifesto pledge to replace council tax with a local income tax.
Mr Fraser said the Tories supported an end to the council tax freeze, additional protections for low-income households and higher charges for those in properties in bands G and H, but opposed increases for homes in bands E and F.
The Scottish government also came under fire from Labour's Jackie Baillie and Green MSP Andy Wightman, who both served on the local tax commission.
Ms Baillie said: "Here are the SNP simply tinkering with the bands and keeping in their words a hated and unfair council tax. Exactly what the SNP said they were against.
"They say that actions speak louder than words. The SNP's actions in this case are a mere whimper."
Mr Wightman said it had taken the commission "two nanoseconds" to decide the current system should be abolished.
He also criticised Scottish government plans to use the £100m extra cash that will be raised from its reforms to improve education.
Mr Wightman said: "This is the first time in the history of local taxation since the introduction of the Poor Law in 1579 that local taxation has been appropriated for national spending priorities."
He said there could be a "progressive majority" in Holyrood for a revaluation, with the current system based on property values dating back to 1991 - a situation Mr Wightman says has left many properties in the wrong band. | Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has failed to register a vote at Holyrood - allowing the Scottish government to avoid a defeat. | 37438056 |
The warning from one industry body, the Pre-School Learning Alliance, comes as ministers say trials of the new scheme are being brought forward to 2016.
The current allowance of 570 hours a year for three and four-year-olds will be doubled for working parents.
David Cameron said it would "take time" to get the policy right.
The Pre-School Learning Alliance - which represents 14,000 private, voluntary and independent groups - is warning of "meltdown" in the system because of a shortfall in government funding.
It says the grant for the existing 15 hours falls, on average, around 20% short of the true cost of providing care - £3.88 per hour compared with £4.53.
Employment Minister Priti Patel told the BBC the government accepted "funding rates need to increase" and is launching a consultation on how the policy will work in practice.
Currently, all three and four-year-olds in England are entitled to 570 hours of free early education or childcare a year, which works out as 15 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year.
The Childcare Bill, announced in last week's Queen's Speech, would double this for working parents - although it is not clear yet how many hours they will have to work in order to qualify.
Ministers say up to 600,000 families could benefit, saving as much as £5,000 a year.
The change had been due to come into force from September 2017, but some working parents will be entitled to the extra help when pilots begin in September next year.
However, the alliance said many groups were already having to charge parents extra for hours of childcare not included in the scheme to make ends meet, and would struggle to deal with the changes.
"I think this is crunch time," said chief executive Neil Leitch.
"While we of course welcome the drive to improve the availability of childcare in this country, these figures clearly show the government's plan to extend funded childcare hours simply cannot work without a substantial increase in sector funding.
"The so-called 'free' childcare scheme is nothing of the sort. For years now, the initiative has been subsidised by providers and parents because of a lack of adequate government funding."
Fiona Weir, chief executive of single-parent charity Gingerbread, said 30 free hours of childcare a week was "really good news" for those who will get it.
"The cost of childcare is one of the biggest barriers the UK's two million single parents face to finding and staying in work. As the primary carers for their children, they can't do the kind of 'shift parenting' couple parents often do.
"However, we look forward to seeing more detail on how parents will qualify for this extra support, and the way in which the extra hours will work."
Following the announcement, the prime minister visited Buttercups Nursery in Teddington, south-west London.
Kate Thomas, 49, whose three-year-old daughter attends the nursery, said it was worrying that any shortfall in funding for the extra hours might be passed on to parents.
"Most mothers I know don't work full time and if they are lucky they will have a job that covers their childcare and have a bit extra," she said.
"But if that bit extra then ends up being what funds the extra cost of the nursery, what is the point of working?"
The National Day Nurseries Association welcomed the doubling of provision, but also said its members were "struggling with current levels of investment".
"Funding is critical and it's vital that the increase pledged by the government is meaningful," chief executive Purnima Tanuku said.
Jill Rutter, from the Family and Childcare Trust, which campaigns for quality childcare that is affordable and accessible, said there was "no proper funding formula".
"The money local authorities get from government to pass on to providers is very varied," she said.
The short answer is - from parents.
But as extra hourly fees are not legal, nurseries have worked out canny ways to get round this.
The most common technique is requiring parents to take more than the total number of free hours and charging a set fee for the extra time.
Read more on childcare funding
Extra free childcare: Who benefits?
Labour's shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said the Conservative Party "failed to explain how it would fund its childcare offer before the general election", and added: "It remains unclear how they propose to fill the funding gaps in their plans now."
Mr Cameron told ITV's This Morning it would "take time" to get the policy right "because obviously we need an expansion of the childcare sector, we need more nurseries, more of these places to open, so we're working with them to expand".
He said the government would start talking to childcare providers immediately "about what's the best way of making sure that they're being properly paid for the childcare that they provide so we can expand the number of places".
The cost to the Treasury was initially estimated at £350 million a year, but Ms Patel said the sums involved were yet to be finalised.
Asked why households with a relatively high income would receive help, she added: "This isn't about subsidising well-off people at all. This is about providing affordable childcare and increasing childcare provision for working families."
In Scotland, three and four-year-olds are entitled to up to 600 hours of free early years education or childcare a year, while in Wales, provision is for a minimum of 10 hours a week.
In Northern Ireland, it is limited to four-year-olds only, for up to 12.5 hours a week.
England average
Nursery 25 hrs (aged 2+) £111.64
Childminder 25 hrs (aged 2+) £104.15
Scotland average
Nursery 25 hrs (aged 2+) £99.93
Childminder 25 hrs (aged 2+) £99.30
Wales average
Nursery 25 hrs (aged 2+) £103.44
Childminder 25 hrs (aged 2+) £96.81
Source: Family and Childcare Trust | Childcare providers in England say the system is at "breaking point" as plans to double free provision for three and four-year-olds in England are sped up. | 32928117 |
Net profit was a better-than-expected $174m (£112m) in the April-to-June period, up from $141m a year earlier, Lenovo said in a statement.
Lenovo overtook Hewlett-Packard to become the top PC maker this year.
However, as global PC sales decline, the company has aggressively expanded into smartphones, tablets and other mobile products.
The firm's shares rose 2.4% in early trade in Hong Kong.
Lenovo said it had outperformed the global PC market, which saw sales fall 11% during the period, from a year earlier. Lenovo's desktop PC shipments were flat compared with the previous year.
However, for the first time, Lenovo's combined sales of smartphone and tablets overtook its PC sales during this quarter.
Sales of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices more than doubled from the same period last year.
According to the firm, it is now the second-biggest smartphone seller in China, with shipments increasing by 121% from last year. Lenovo has said it is also expanding into other emerging markets.
It beat ZTE to become the world's fourth-largest smartphone firm in the April-to-June period, behind Apple, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, according to research firm IDC.
Laptop sales, which Lenovo said account for 53% of its revenue, rose by 4.7%. | Lenovo, the world's biggest maker of PCs, has reported a 23% jump in profits as sales of mobile devices doubled. | 23707336 |
The 45-year-old Zimbabwean made the decision following talks with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Paul Downton on Thursday.
"For some time, this England team have carried an arrogant attitude. That's not necessarily Andy Flower's fault, but if you are looking for change then there were two major candidates - Flower and captain Alastair Cook.
"There are very few candidates to replace Cook. Matt Prior was left out for the final two Ashes Tests and Stuart Broad is too much of a loose cannon to be considered for the top job just yet.
"Therefore, when you are looking for change - and a simplification of an England set-up that has become bloated with various captains, coaches and backroom staff - Flower's departure and replacement with one man to oversee all teams seems a clear choice."
Read Aggers' full analysis
Flower, who oversaw three Ashes wins and the World Twenty20, is expected to take a coaching role with the academy.
England limited-overs coach Ashley Giles is favourite to take over, with a decision expected within two weeks.
In the meeting, Flower told Downton that one coach should be in charge of all three England teams.
Flower had enjoyed total control from his appointment in February 2009 until November 2012, when Giles took over the one-day and Twenty20 sides.
The job of technical director overseeing all England senior teams will now be advertised, with former spinner Giles - who will lead England on their limited-overs tour of West Indies in February and March - the front-runner.
Former South Africa and India coach Gary Kirsten is another potential contender.
Ex-Zimbabwe wicketkeeper/batsman Flower took over in difficult circumstances nearly four years ago after a rift between coach Peter Moores and then-captain Kevin Pietersen led to both leaving their jobs on the same day.
Having seen England bowled out for 51 in Jamaica in his first match, Flower then moulded his team into one of the most polished and professional units in international cricket.
Highs
Lows
After winning the Ashes back later that year, and retaining them in the 2010-11 series down under, he steered England to number one in the world Test rankings in August 2011 following a 4-0 home victory over India.
Flower also improved England's performances in the shorter forms of the game, coaching them to their first global limited-overs success at the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup, although the team slumped at the 2011 one-day World Cup.
After handing over one-day and Twenty20 duties to Giles, Flower remained in charge of the Test side, overseeing their first series win in India since 1984.
His team completed a third consecutive Ashes series victory with a 3-0 home win last summer but despite arriving down under as favourites this winter, they were heavily beaten in all five Tests and have now slipped to fourth in the Test rankings.
Following the final Test in Sydney, Flower said it was the "end of an era" for England.
He later denied issuing an ultimatum that he would leave unless Pietersen was dropped.
Flower had two stints as Zimbabwe captain during a decade-long international career in which he established himself as a world-class batsman and wicketkeeper, scoring 12 centuries, and averaging 51.54 in 63 Tests.
After quitting the international arena, Flower dedicated himself to county cricket and Essex, where he played for five seasons between 2002 and 2006. | England technical director Andy Flower is standing down following the 5-0 Ashes whitewash by Australia. | 25982894 |
Hart, expected to leave with Claudio Bravo close to signing, was applauded by home supporters throughout the 1-0 second leg win over Steaua Bucharest.
"We've a top manager and he's going to have his opinion on things," added Hart, after City's 6-0 aggregate win.
City boss Pep Guardiola said: "I know Joe is a legend for this club."
Hart, 29, was dropped by Guardiola for the first three games of the season but was handed the captain's armband before marking his first start of the season with a clean sheet.
At one point in the second half, the Etihad reverberated to chants of: "Stand up if you love Joe Hart".
He responded by shaking his head and touching the club badge on his shirt.
"That was a really special night for me," said Hart, who joined City in 2006 and has won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup.
"We all know there is a situation going on but I feel that inside, outside of all the circus, we are handling it well.
"Tonight was really nice. I really appreciate the people at Manchester City and it turns out they appreciate me.
"This is a special place for me, I've made no secret of that. Situations occur in football. We are men and we get on with it."
Asked if he might be leaving, Hart added: "That's not for me to say."
Guardiola is expected to complete the signing of Barcelona keeper Bravo in the next few days. Bravo flew into Manchester on Tuesday for a medical.
"I'm here to take decisions," said Guardiola. "I can't deny what I feel. I was honest with Joe, the club and myself.
"I can completely understand if the fans are not happy. Joe did a lot with this club in the years he's been here, more than I have done.
"I know part of what the club has become, one of the reasons is Joe. They won the Premier League, the cup. He helped to make this team one step above.
"I am so happy how the people treat him and love him."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Joe Hart says helping Manchester City reach the group stage of the Champions League on possibly his last appearance for the club was "a special night". | 37181630 |
Balotelli, 25, has scored three goals in 17 appearances this season for Milan, who sold him to the Reds for £16m in 2014.
"He has an immense desire to stay at the club. I hope he shows that with his performances," said Adriano Galliani.
"I've told him that based on what he's shown, he doesn't deserve to stay."
Italy international Balotelli is set to return to Liverpool after his loan spell ends in June.
"I told him to convince me that he should stay, as we want the best for him," added Galliani.
"He has promised me he will do that and I hope he does."
On Saturday sixth-placed Milan host Serie A leaders Juventus, who are six points clear of second-placed Napoli with seven games of the season remaining. | On-loan Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli "does not deserve" to join AC Milan on a permanent basis, says the Italian club's chief executive. | 36001976 |
500 BC - Thracian tribes settle in what is now southeastern Bulgaria. They are subsequently subjugated by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great and later by the Roman Empire.
Volunteers re-enact the liberation of Sofia from the Ottoman Empire. It was previously ruled by the Romans
681 - Bulgarian state established.
890s - The earliest form of the Cyrillic alphabet - later versions of which are now used in dozens of Slavonic languages - is created by Bulgarian scholars.
1018-1185 - Bulgaria is part of Byzantine empire.
1396 - Ottoman Empire completes conquest of Bulgaria. Next five centuries are known as era of the "Turkish yoke".
1876 - Nationwide uprising against Ottoman rule is violently suppressed.
1878 - Treaty of San Stefano - signed by Russia and Turkey at the end of their war of 1877-78 - recognises an autonomous Bulgaria.
1878 - Treaty of Berlin creates much smaller Bulgarian principality. Eastern Rumelia remains under Ottoman rule.
1886 - Eastern Rumelia is merged with Bulgaria.
1887 - Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha elected prince.
1908 - Bulgaria declares itself an independent kingdom. Ferdinand assumes title of tsar.
1914-18 - World War I. Bulgaria allies itself with Germany. Some 100,000 Bulgarian troops are killed, the most severe per capita losses of any country involved in the war.
1939-45 World War II - Soviet army invades German-occupied Bulgaria in 1944. Soviet-backed Fatherland Front takes power.
1946 - Monarchy abolished in referendum and republic declared. Communist Party wins election. Georgi Dimitrov elected prime minister.
Todor Zhivkov was the Soviet bloc's longest-serving leader
Bulgaria's ex-communist leader dies
1947 - New constitution along Soviet lines establishes one-party state. Economy and industry sectors nationalised.
1954 - Todor Zhivkov becomes Communist Party general secretary. Bulgaria becomes staunch USSR ally.
1971 - Zhivkov becomes president.
1978 - Georgi Markov, a BBC World Service journalist and Bulgarian dissident, dies in London after apparently being injected with poison from the tip of an umbrella.
1984 - Zhivkov government tries to force Turkish minority to assimilate and take Slavic names. Many resist and in 1989 some 300,000 flee the country.
1989 - Reforms in the Soviet Union inspire demands for democratisation.
Zhivkov ousted. Multiparty system introduced. Opposition Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) formed.
1990 - Economic crisis. Communist Party reinvents itself as Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and wins free parliamentary elections.
President Petar Mladenov resigns and parliament appoints UDF's Zhelyu Zhelev.
BSP government collapses amid mass demonstrations and general strike.
1991 New constitution proclaims Bulgaria a parliamentary republic and provides broad range of freedoms.
UDF wins election.
1992 - Zhelev becomes Bulgaria's first directly-elected president. UDF government resigns. Lyuben Berov heads non-party government.
Todor Zhivkov sentenced to seven years in prison for corruption in office.
1993 - Mass privatisation programme.
1994 - BSP returns to power in general election.
1995 - BSP's Zhan Videnov becomes prime minister.
1996 - Financial turmoil. Petur Stoyanov replaces Zhelev as president.
Bulgarian Supreme Court overturns Zhivkov's conviction.
Videnov resigns as prime minister and chairman of the BSP.
1997 - Mass protests over economic crisis. Opposition boycotts parliament and calls for elections.
Interim government installed until elections, when UDF leader Ivan Kostov becomes prime minister.
Bulgarian currency pegged to German mark.
1999 - Protracted demolition attempts on marble mausoleum of first communist leader Georgi Dimitrov become national joke.
2000 - Post-communist prosecutors close file on Georgi Markov case. In December Markov is awarded Bulgaria's highest honour, the Order of Stara Planina, for his contribution to Bulgarian literature and his opposition to the communist authorities.
2001 June - Former King Simeon II's party, National Movement Simeon II, wins parliamentary elections. Simeon becomes premier in July.
Simeon II of Bulgaria served as Tsar between 1943 and 1946, when he was forced into exile. In 2001 he returned to become prime minister
2001 November - Thousands march through Sofia on 100th day of Simeon's premiership, saying he has failed to improve living standards.
Socialist Party leader Georgi Parvanov wins presidency in an election with the lowest turnout since the fall of communism. He vows to improve people's lives and to speed up EU and Nato entry.
2001 December - Parliament agrees to destroy Soviet-made missiles by late 2002, ahead of Nato membership.
2004 March - Bulgaria is admitted to Nato.
2005 August - Socialist Party led by Sergei Stanishev tops the poll in general elections. After weeks of wrangling the main parties sign a coalition deal under which he becomes prime minister.
2005 December - Bulgaria's contingent of 400 light infantry troops leaves Iraq. In February 2006 parliament agrees to dispatch a non-combat guard unit.
2006 December - Bulgarian officials condemn death sentences handed to five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor by a Libyan court. The six were found guilty of deliberately infecting Libyan children with the HIV virus.
2007 January - Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union, raising the EU membership to 27.
2007 June - The European Commission calls on Bulgaria to do more to combat corruption.
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were condemned to death by a Libyan court for allegedly infecting children with HIV. They were later released
2007 July - The death sentences against six foreign medical workers in the HIV case in Libya are commuted to life in prison. They are repatriated to Bulgaria under a deal with the European Union.
2008 February - European Commission interim report says Bulgaria and Romania have failed to show convincing results in their anti-graft drives.
2008 March - European Union freezes some infrastructure subsidies over corruption in the traffic agency.
2008 April - European Union calls on Bulgaria to take urgent action after two prominent gangland killings, including a senior figure in the nuclear industry.
Interior Minister Rumen Petkov resigns over police officers accused of passing state secrets to alleged crime bosses.
Government reshuffled in order to combat organised crime and wave of contract killings. Ambassador to Germany, Meglena Plugchieva, appointed deputy prime minister without portfolio to oversee use of EU funds.
2008 July - European Commission suspends EU aid worth hundreds of millions of euros after series of reports criticise Bulgarian government for failing to take effective action against corruption and organised crime.
EU pressed for reactors to close at Kozloduy nuclear plant
2008 September - European Commission permanently strips Bulgaria of half of the aid frozen in July over what it says is the government's failure to tackle corruption and organised crime.
2009 January - Russia's gas dispute with Ukraine cuts supplies to Bulgaria, resulting in a severe energy shortage lasting several weeks and widespread anger at the government's energy policies.
2009 June - Workers rally to protest at government's handling of economic crisis.
2009 July - General election is won by the centre-right GERB party led by Sofia mayor Boiko Borisov.
2010 January - Boris Tsankov, a prominent crime journalist who specialised in reporting on the mafia in Bulgaria, is shot dead in Sofia.
2010 June - EU expresses concern over reliability of Bulgarian national statistics and says these may have to be subjected to EU scrutiny.
2010 July - Former PM Sergei Stanishev is accused of failing to return files containing state secrets relating to security and organised crime after losing the 2009 election, and is charged with mishandling classified documents.
2010 September - EU calls on Bulgaria to take urgent action to tackle crime and corruption.
2010 December - Government-appointed commission finds that 45 senior Bulgarian diplomats were secret service agents during the communist era.
France and Germany block Bulgaria from joining Schengen passport-free zone, saying it still needs to make "irreversible progress" in fight against corruption and organised crime.
2011 September - Anti-Roma demonstrations in Sofia and elsewhere following the death of a youth who was hit by a van driven by relatives of a Roma kingpin.
2011 October - Rosen Plevneliev, from the centre-right GERB party of Prime Minister Borisov, beats the Socialist candidate in the presidential election.
2012 January - Bulgaria becomes the second European country after France to ban exploratory drilling for shale gas using the extraction method called "fracking" after an overwhelming parliamentary vote.
2012 July - A suspected suicide bomber kills five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian driver on a bus in the Black Sea resort of Burgas.
2013 January - A controversial referendum on whether to build a second Bulgarian nuclear plant is invalidated by low turnout.
2013 February - The Bulgarian authorities say the Burgas suicide attack was most likely the work of the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Hezbollah itself denies the allegation.
Prime Minister Borisov resigns after 14 people are injured in clashes with police at anti-austerity protests.
2013 March - After failing to persuade any of the leaders of the main political parties to form a government, President Plevneliev appoints a caretaker cabinet headed by Marin Raikov, the ambassador to France. He is tasked with organising fresh elections.
2013 May - The centre-right GERB party of former prime minister Boiko Borisov narrowly beats the socialist BSP in parliamentary elections, but falls well short of a majority. The Socialists provide parliamentary support for a technocratic government headed by Plamen Oresharski.
2013 June - Tens of thousands of protestors take to the streets for five days over the appointment of controversial media mogul Delyan Peevski to head the national security agency. Parliament reverses the appointment but anti-government demonstrations continue.
2013 July - Weeks of protests over official corruption culminate in a blockade of parliament and clashes with the police.
2014 January - Transitional curbs on Bulgarians' right to work and receive benefits in some EU members in place since Bulgaria joined the bloc in 2007 lapse.
2014 June - Banking crisis. Rumours of liquidity shortfalls cause panic and runs on major banks.
2014 July - Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski steps down after little more than a year in office, paving the way for a snap election due in October 2014.
2014 October - Low turnout of about 50% produces parliament divided between a record eight parties.
2014 November - Boyko Borisov returns to premiership as his GERB party forms coalition with fellow centre-right Reformist Bloc.
2014 December - Russia scraps plans for South Stream gas pipeline because of EU opposition. The project planned to pump Russian gas across the Black Sea through Bulgaria, bypassing Ukraine.
2015 January - Bulgaria says it will extend a controversial fence along its border with Turkey by 80 kilometres to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants. | A chronology of key events: | 17205431 |
Insp Tony Lumb, based in Brighton, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and has been suspended.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it was investigating the nature of any contact between Mr Lumb and the women.
The IPCC is appealing for any women who may have been involved with Mr Lumb to come forward.
A spokesman said: "These are clearly serious allegations that require an independent investigation.
"Allegations that an officer may have been using his role to form relationships with women will be of concern to the community and it was necessary to take the investigative step of arresting him and conducting searches."
He said: "IPCC investigators made a search of the man's workplace and home and have also attempted to contact some of the women concerned.
"The IPCC has also launched a witness appeal."
Assistant chief constable of Sussex Police, Steve Barry Police, said: "Vulnerable victims must be able to trust those they turn to for help.
"We take any report of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously,"
Mr Lumb has been released on bail. | A police inspector has been arrested over allegations he had sex with vulnerable women he met through work. | 39190575 |
In July 1981, a ship was trawling off the coast of Lowestoft, Suffolk, when its crew recovered a body.
For reasons unknown, the body was put back into the sea but authorities were alerted. The body was never seen again.
Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Major Investigation Team are appealing for information over missing persons.
They believe the body could have been that of a missing person who disappeared in Norfolk earlier that year.
The cold case is being reviewed as part of Operation Mouldsworth, which is looking into all missing people from Norfolk and Suffolk.
The ship, Boston Sea Stallion, was owned by a deep sea fishing company.
Det Con Gary Fisher said: "There is no suggestion that the crew had, in any way, behaved inappropriately.
"However, I would still like to speak to anyone who may remember the incident and may be able to help with the identification of the body." | An incident in which a body was found at sea by fishermen more than 30 years ago and immediately returned to the water is being investigated by police. | 17917728 |
The couple became stranded in a cove near the Barrowfields in Newquay, Cornwall, on Saturday evening.
The woman was rescued unhurt by the RNLI's Newquay inshore lifeboat, with the help of the local coastguard team.
A surfer, who had gone to the woman's aid before emergency services arrived, was also rescued.
An RNLI spokesperson said the lifeboat crew had to use the boat's emergency oars to gauge the depth of water and negotiate large submerged rocks in a one-metre swell to rescue the woman. | A pregnant woman who became trapped at the foot of steep cliffs by a rising tide was rescued when her husband swam to shore to raise the alarm. | 40318568 |