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Media playback is not supported on this device Mills and Saskia Clark finished 2015 with victory in the 470 class at the Copa Brasil de Vela event at the Olympic sailing venue. World Sailing says the water quality in Rio needs major improvement, and Mills admits it remains a significant worry. "The rubbish is the big concern on some of the race courses," Mills said. "If we're racing and we get rubbish stuck under our boats, that has a huge impact on your performance. "It slows you down, you have to stop, lift up the foils and get the rubbish off and that's a major concern for us. "Clearing the rubbish out of the water would certainly make a massive difference to competitors." A statement from the Rio 2016 organising committee earlier this month said the water at the sailing venue "meets the relevant standards". However, tests at Guanabara Bay have revealed high levels of bacteria and viruses coming from human sewage. Two sailors contracted infections at a test event in August, which they claim were caused by the waters. World Sailing will conduct the latest site visit in late January to assess work being done to improve the quality. Cardiff-born Mills, 27, and Clark, 36, from Colchester, won a silver medal at London 2012 and have already qualified for next year's Games. They claimed a gold medal at the 2012 World Championships and silver in 2015 and are ranked number one in the world in the 470-class. The Olympics begin on 5 August 2016.
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The Irish campaign has been afflicted by injuries but O'Brien believes bad luck and not bad tactics has been the problem for Declan Kidney's side. "When we won the Grand Slam in 2009, no-one got injured, so what's the difference?" said the Carlow man. "They were as committed back then as they are now." Brian O'Driscoll (concussion/dead leg), Luke Marshall (concussion) and Donnacha Ryan (shoulder) are Ireland's latest injury concerns ahead of Saturday's concluding clash against Italy in Rome with Declan Kidney set to announce his line-up on Thursday. Fergus McFadden (rib damage) and Eoin Reddan (broken leg) will miss the game after sustaining injuries in last weekend's draw against France. Media playback is not supported on this device Regular starters Paul O'Connell, Tommy Bowe and Stephen Ferris were ruled out for the entire campaign before the start of the tournament along with Leinster hooker Richardt Strauss. And an exceptionally attritional season has also seen Simon Zebo, Gordon D'Arcy, Chris Henry, Craig Gilroy and Jonathan Sexton sustaining injuries while Cian Healy was suspended for the defeat in Scotland. In addition, back-up players such as Darren Cave, Paddy Wallace and Dave McSharry have also been unavailable for much of the campaign. Some pundits have suggested that a willingness to stand toe to toe with opponents has proved Ireland's undoing while there is also a theory abroad that the simple matter of genetics is hampering Declan Kidney's squad. However, O'Brien is not convinced by either of those arguments. "I'm not sure that the size disadvantage is hampering our performances," the Leinster flanker said. "You could go back and look at the whole championship - our discipline let us down in one game and we weren't patient enough in another. We don't want to be thinking about wooden spoons "We're matching teams physically, but obviously with our genetics, we're not a big race. "If you compare us to Argentina or South Africa, they're just big men naturally and when they start to lift weights and whatnot they get bigger. "(But) I don't think it has hampered us. "Sometimes you just get unlucky with injuries, get a run of injuries, and that leads on to different things, but I still think we're able to mix it with the best of them." Italy's impressive display in Sunday's 18-11 defeat by England at Twickenham suggests that the Irish will face a difficult task to maintain their record of never having lost to the Azzurri in the Six Nations. O'Brien is expecting a "massive physical challenge" against the Italians in a game where defeat could see the Irish landing the Wooden Spoon. "(Sergio) Parisse is one of the best players in the world, he has an all-round game," added O'Brien. "He's good in the air, he's good at carrying, good defensively and is able to poach. He's an all-round back row and is a go-to man for Italy." However, O'Brien insists that the possibility of a first Wooden Spoon since 1998 has not been a topic in
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Fletcher has interested a number of clubs after successfully recovering from a long-standing chronic bowel condition. The 30-year-old midfielder was named vice-captain when manager Louis van Gaal took charge, but his contract expires at the end of the season. The Scotland international has only started five times this campaign. West Brom manager Tony Pulis is reported to be among those interested in signing Fletcher, who has also started twice for Scotland this season. Fletcher started the first three games of the season and has not missed a training session. But Michael Carrick was promoted to vice-captain in December as Fletcher's minutes on the pitch were limited. He has been involved in only 12 club matches during the entire campaign, the latest coming in the FA Cup win at Yeovil on 4 January. Since making his United debut in March 2003, Fletcher has made 342 appearances for the Red Devils and was a central part of four Premier League-title winning squads between 2007 and 2011. He was on the bench for the 2008 Champions League final victory over Chelsea, but was suspended when United lost to Barcelona the following season after being sent off against Arsenal in the semi-final.
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The last time Tim Cook took to screens in the US, it was because of a looming crisis with the government over encryption. On Monday, it was because of a looming crisis on Wall Street. Last week, I reported on how Apple had suffered its first quarter of negative growth for 13 years. Since that news came out, Apple's stock price has been dropping, for eight consecutive days, the first time that's happened to the company since 1998. So naturally, Apple is trying to stem the flow. Mr Cook appeared on Mad Money, a CNBC show presented by the charismatic Jim Cramer. Mr Cramer presents his show like a sports broadcaster might, with sleeves rolled up and a shout-shout-shout interview style that is a rite of passage for America's top CEOs. It's arguably the toughest interview Mr Cook has ever subjected himself to - although that's not exactly saying much. Still, Mr Cramer was blunt: After a bad quarter, and warnings of another one on the way, is Apple on the way out? "I think that's a huge overreaction," Mr Cook replied. "We just had an incredible quarter by absolute standards, but not up to the Street's expectations, clearly." Concerns about the iPhone being "dead" are unfair, Mr Cook argued, as the mediocre (by Apple's standards) sales of the iPhone 6S range are only poor when put into the context of incredibly good iPhone 6 sales the year before. Mr Cook insisted that Apple wasn't losing its popularity with consumers. He made reference to Apple's impressive customer retention rates - if you're an iPhone user your far more likely to get another iPhone than head to another device from Samsung or similar. Which is true, but it's in hardware sales where Apple makes its serious money. So, if the iPhone is slowing, it needs another hit. "We're going to give you things that you can't live without that you just don't know about today," Mr Cook said. "That has always been the objective of Apple." He went on to suggest the company's newest line, the Apple Watch, was that hit. "I think in a few years we will look back, and people will think 'How could I ever thought about not wearing this watch?'" he said, adding that the Watch is only on sale in 14,000 stores worldwide, leaving plenty of room for growth. "We're still in learning mode," he added. "We're learning quickly. You'll see the Apple Watch get better and better." The question is whether Mr Cook's confidence was true faith in the product, or a brave face. The company still hasn't told us how the Watch is performing, but analysts suggest about four million smartwatches were sold in the first three months of 2016, up three million on this time last year. Apple Watch's accounted for just over two million of them. Pretty incredible by any other company's standards (Samsung has around 14% of the smartwatch market, for example) but minuscule compared to the 70 million iPhones
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Hanes Llandoch, in St Dogmaels, will plant the apple tree Pig Aderyn, which is believed to have been first brought to the abbey by monks from Normandy in the 12th Century. The charity has received nearly £250,000 from the Big Lottery Fund for the three-year initiative. The orchard's produce will eventually be turned into cider and work is expected to begin in September. It will also provide training and education opportunities for people in the community, including workshops on how to brew cider. Nia Siggins, who works for the charity, explained: "Two years ago we organised that evacuees who came to St Dogmaels during the war visited the village again. "They were in their eighties and we went around the area showing them what had changed. "One of the things that came out of those discussions was the fact that many said there were more apple trees when they were children. "They were asking, 'where have they gone, where have all the apple trees gone?'" The trees will be planted in fields close to the ruins of the monastery and the charity hopes to sell the cider in the future. Ms Siggins said: "There's a famous anecdote [that] the Bishop of St Davids came to the monastery in St Dogmaels once and he found that some of the monks were getting drunk often. "That's been documented. So we hope to have a blend Drunk Monk or something." The project would offer something "for all ages", she added.
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The 28-year-old suffered a painful dislocation in the Hogmanay loss to Celtic at Ibrox. Warburton said Garner had "recovered dramatically" while waiting for the swelling to ease but surgery could mean a three-month absence. "We do what's right for Joe, hopefully it will be good news," he said. Talking to Rangers TV, he added: "We're very hopeful, in terms of the strength he has shown and the movement in the limb already, means we get good news from the scan and it won't be too long to keep him out. "He's rugged Joe, he's robust and our obvious concern is that we have to watch Joe and look after him. "You always look after the health and welfare of any player but also recognise the way Joe plays the game. He's aggressive, he's all out, and he's fearless in the way he plays."
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The Queen's Speech included a scheme to help those with the disease, which is usually contracted in the workplace, who cannot trace their insurer. But campaigners said victims of other asbestos-related conditions would miss out and criticised a cap on payouts. Ministers said the scheme was a "major breakthrough" for victims. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of internal organs, notably the lungs, and almost always arises from exposure to asbestos. People do not develop symptoms of the disease until about 30 or 40 years after exposure and there is no known cure. Cases in the UK have been rising in recent years, with official figures showing about 2,400 die each year from the disease. Larrie Lewington, 65, from Eynsham, Oxfordshire, was exposed to asbestos in his 20s while working as a lagger. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in August 2012, so he will be eligible for compensation under the new scheme, but his daughter Rebecca told the BBC the 70% cap on compensation was "insulting". She said: "When my dad was working with asbestos the government at the time knew it was dangerous and they need to take some responsibility. "For them to do this scheme and then say they are going to cap it is incredible. It's insulting. "My dad worked his whole life, paid all his taxes and his national insurance, and he never borrowed a penny. Now, through no fault of his own, he's got this disease. "It's been devastating. We're a very close family and it's ruined our lives. "I wish I could go into Parliament and face them and they could see the pure pain that I've got. "It's as good as murder what they've done, allowing this substance to be used and now, to put it bluntly, it is going to kill my dad." Because of the delay in developing symptoms, some workers who were negligently exposed to asbestos at work find it difficult to trace an employer or insurer who is liable to pay compensation. On Wednesday, the government announced a Mesothelioma Bill, which will set up a payment scheme aimed at addressing this "market failure". The proposal is to offer all victims using the scheme a flat-rate payout set at 70% of the average compensation paid out by insurers to those victims not using the scheme. It will be paid for by a levy on insurance companies which provide employers' liability and is expected to cost the insurance industry £300m over the next 10 years while helping more than 300 sufferers a year. But campaigners say the scheme does not go far enough in compensating victims, and thousands who suffer from other asbestos related diseases, such asbestosis and pleural thickening, will not receive anything. The proposed 70% cap on compensation is also a "red line" for campaigners. Tony Whitston, chairman of the Asbestos Victims Support Group, said: "What appears to be a great deal brokered by government, and costing the insurance industry a small fortune, is in reality something entirely
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The crash happened on the A96, near Ardgye House in Elgin, at about 15:.45 on Saturday. The 59-year-old cyclist was taken by ambulance to Dr Gray's Hospital in the town. The driver of the silver Volkswagen Transporter van was not hurt. Police have appealed for anyone with information to come forward. A spokesman said both the cyclist and the van were heading east when the accident happened. The A96 was closed after the incident to allow investigations to be carried out.
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10 February 2015 Last updated at 17:02 GMT Research from China and the US suggests that the innermost core of our planet has another, separate section at its centre. The team think that the structure of the iron crystals there are different from those found in the outer part of the inner core. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Geoscience. Without being able to drill into the heart of the Earth, its make-up has been a mystery. So instead, scientists use echoes generated by earthquakes to study the core, studying how they change as they travel through the different layers of our planet. Prof Song and his colleagues in China say this data suggests that the Earth's inner core - a solid region that is about the size of the Moon - is made up of two parts. He said: "The fact we are discovering different structures at different regions of the inner core can tell us something about the very long history of the Earth."
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But real life moved from Grimm to gruesome for one 38-year-old woman in the US who had a giant 15 cm hairball in her stomach. She is one of only a handful of documented cases of "Rapunzel syndrome", which is caused by people plucking and eating their own hair. Their once glorious locks build up in the digestive system where they can eventually have a devastating effect. The woman, who is anonymous, developed sudden vomiting and constipation. Meanwhile her stomach swelled as it filled with liquids and gas. She had gone off food for a year, lost 15 pounds in the previous eight months and by the time she reached hospital was unable to keep down any food. Doctors in Arizona, writing in the BMJ Case Reports, initially gave her donor blood to tackle her anaemia. But when they performed abdominal surgery they uncovered a 6x4in (15x10cm) ball of densely packed hair in the stomach and then another 1.5x1in (4x3cm) hairball in the small intestines. Trichotillomania - the irresistible urge to pull out hair Trichophagia - compulsively eating hair The blockages were safely removed and the woman was given a diet high in protein to help her recover. There have only been 88 other reported cases of Rapunzel syndrome. In some the hair snakes all the way through the digestive system from stomach to large intestines. Most cases are in childhood - with 40% of Rapunzels under the age of 10. Follow James on Twitter.
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The accident happened on the A74(M) northbound, between junctions 14 and 15 in Moffat, at about 10.15. Three men were injured. There were not thought to have been any passengers on board the coaches. Two men were taken to Wishaw General Hospital and the third to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. Their conditions are not known. Diversions were set up following the closure. One lane remained closed on Saturday evening while recovery work was carried out after debris was left scattered on the carriageway.
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Ofcom said that Openreach will become a distinct company with its own staff, management and strategy "to serve all of its customers equally". It must consult with customers such as Sky and TalkTalk on major investments. Ofcom boss Sharon White told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "we can now expect better service from Openreach". Openreach controls the fibre connections, ducts and pipes behind the UK's broadband infrastructure and sells access to BT's rivals, such as TalkTalk and Sky. The regulator had threatened to force BT to legally separate Openreach. However, Ofcom said on Friday that the company had agreed to all of the changes needed to address its competition concerns. "As a result, Ofcom will no longer need to impose these changes through regulation. The reforms have been designed to begin this year." BT's rivals such as Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone, which use Openreach's network to offer broadband to consumers, have long complained of high charges, poor service and failure to invest in the division. Ms White called it a "significant day" for phone and broadband users and pledged to "carefully monitor" how the revamped Openreach performs. Sky welcomed the announcement: "A more independent Openreach is a step towards delivering better service to customers and the investment that the UK needs. It's important that today's agreement is now implemented by BT in good faith and without delay." Dido Harding, chief executive of TalkTalk, said: "We hope this is the start of a new deal for Britain's broadband customers, who will be keen to see a clear timetable from Openreach setting out when their services will improve." Vodafone said it is "an encouraging start". Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said: "Now we need to see this deal implemented, along with significant improvements to Openreach's service standards, and increased investment by Openreach in the country's digital infrastructure." BT chief executive Gavin Patterson said the deal, reached after two years of negotiations with Ofcom, meant Openreach would have its own board and make its own investment decisions. However, he admitted that BT would set the overall budget. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The BT board will set the annual budget. As the 100% shareholder, the owner of the company that's not unreasonable." It has been a lengthy, not to say tortuous, saga but now the battle over the future of BT - and the UK's broadband infrastructure - appears to be over. A legal separation of Openreach and BT may not satisfy those who feel the parent company should have been forced to sell the broadband division. But even fierce critics such as Sky and TalkTalk appear to be accepting that this is a more realistic option. A forced sell-off could have meant a lengthy legal battle that would not have done anything to speed up the rollout of superfast broadband at a crucial time. But will customers see any difference? The accusations had been that Openreach delivered a poor service, favoured BT over other suppliers and was pressured to deliver
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Police said the northbound Suzuki bike struck a stone dyke on Boig Road, near Nith Bridge, at about 06:15. Both men were thrown from the bike and a 23-year-old died at the scene. The other man, whose identity is not yet known, was taken to Ayr Hospital. Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed the crash to get in touch. Con Yvonne Cambridge, of Irvine Road Policing Unit, said: "We are currently trying to establish the identity of the injured man and also the circumstances of the crash. "It is important that we speak to anyone who witnessed this incident or anyone who may have seen the two men travelling on the motor cycle prior to it crashing."
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The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust's service "requires improvement". In its recently-published report it said the provider achieved 82% of face-to-face consultations within two hours of assessment for urgent patients, compared to a target of 95%. But the service was rated "good" for its patient care and responsiveness. The November inspection focused on GP out-of-hours services at six health centres and hospitals in Oxfordshire: Professor Steve Field, chief inspector of general practice, said overall there was "an open and transparent approach to safety" at the trust. He added: "Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and... there was a comprehensive system in place to keep patients safeguarded from harm." But he said 11 staff had not completed training in basic life support and performance standards had declined in 2016 "due to shortages of GPs and practitioners". Prof Field said: "Some risks associated with managing prescriptions and cleanliness of treatment facilities had not been identified during monitoring of the service. "The provider had not obtained evidence of some recruitment checks and mandatory training in a timely manner." Trust communications manager Victoria Taylor said: "The inspection, which happened some months ago, identified a number of areas for improvement, all of which have been acted upon. "Recruitment to the service remains a challenge due to many local GPs reaching retirement age, but we are continuing our recruitment efforts. "We are proud that the service was rated 'good' for both its patient care and its responsiveness."
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Real Madrid and Portugal forward Ronaldo, beat Barcelona's Lionel Messi to the prize. Ronaldo also won the Ballon d'Or for the fourth time in December. The former Manchester United forward had been the favourite to win the award after a year of big wins. He lead Portugal to the European Championship, and won the Champions League, and Club World Cup, with Real Madrid. National team captains voted for both the player and the coach categories alongside journalists and an online poll of fans. Leicester City's Claudio Ranieri was named best men's coach, after he led Leicester city to Premier League victory in 2016.
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Susan and Christopher Edwards were found guilty of shooting dead Patricia and William Wycherley and burying them at the Wycherleys' home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, in 1998. The bodies lay undiscovered until October last year. They were each given a minimum 25-year sentence at Nottingham Crown Court. The court heard the couple shot their victims at their home on the May Day Bank Holiday, then buried Mr and Mrs Wycherley in a metre-deep hole in their own back garden. Over the next 15 years, they stole a total of £245,000 from the Wycherleys by siphoning off their pensions, benefits and selling their home. A large amount of the stolen money was spent on Hollywood memorabilia, including autographs and photographs of movie star Gary Cooper and a £20,000 signed photograph of Frank Sinatra. The debt-ridden pair gave themselves up in France in October. Mrs Justice Thirlwall described the killings as "shocking crimes". She told them that, as far as they were concerned "only the two of you mattered". She told Susan Edwards, 56, who sat in the dock wearing a patterned grey cardigan and glasses, she was "an accomplished liar and a fantasist". "In May of 1998 the two of you planned to shoot and kill them in their own home and that is what you did," she said. "Mr Wycherley was 86, Mrs Wycherley was nearly 64," she said. "They were living a quiet, reclusive life in Mansfield. They knew no-one. They had as little contact as possible with other people. You knew they wouldn't be missed, if they disappeared and they weren't." The judge accepted "on balance" Edwards had told the truth about being sexually abused by Mr Wycherley as a child and that had formed the basis of the hatred she felt for her father. Susan Edwards's barrister David Howker QC described her abuse at her father's hands as "an ongoing feature" of her life "that created in her, some would say, the justifiable hatred of him and would be akin to a slow-burning, festering provocation that may explain in some way some part of why it happened". Mrs Justice Thirlwall suggested another motive for the killings - that Susan Edwards had felt she was owed money after she invested an inheritance into her parents' London home in 1979. She claimed she was later "emotionally blackmailed" into signing over full title of the house to her parents, who sold the property for profit without sharing the proceeds with their daughter. The judge added she believed Christopher Edwards, who had an interest in military history, "held the gun" and shot the pensioners - not Susan Edwards, as the couple claimed. Dafydd Enoch QC, representing Christopher Edwards, said: "They lived for each other and they retired into a world of autograph hunting - they are not ordinary folk." "He could not help but be drawn in and I don't mean that to shift the blame in any way to Mrs Edwards," he added. The judge said the facts of the case
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The Bushmills lightweight has won 22 of his 27 fights while Khabilov, who is based in the United States, has been defeated three times in 20 contests. Parke enjoyed a unanimous decision victory over Reza Madadi in his last fight in Dublin in October. The 28-year-old impressed in overcoming the Swedish wrestling champion.
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Newcastle City Council intends to fund 449 properties with the allocation, which it says is the largest in the north-east of England. Cabinet member for housing, Jane Streather, said they wanted to create "sustainable and balanced communities". The different types of accommodation planned include shared ownership and rent-to-buy. Housing for older people and those with disabilities or other care needs are also proposed. The council has prepared council-owned land for development, "encouraging investment and minimising the risk for developers", it said. However, some communities in places like High West Jesmond and Kenton have protested against the allocation of green space in the city for housing. The £11.8m funding comes from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) which has already allocated money for affordable homes such as bungalows at Daisy Hill in Walkergate. Ms Streather said new homes for vulnerable residents would "allow those with care needs to live independently, easing the pressure on care budgets".
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Clotet, 39, was also Monk's number two during his time in charge of Swansea. The Spaniard, who has also coached in his homeland and Sweden, was linked with the head coach's job at Brentford last November. Flahavan, 37, is taking up his first coaching position after spells with Southend and Bournemouth.
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Problems were first reported by blogger Guido Fawkes who speculated UKIP had "forgotten to renew the domain name of their official website". Visitors to the UKIP.org address on Tuesday morning were routed to a domain hosting page. By late afternoon the site had been restored. Party sources said this was after work by technical experts.
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Keith Dunn headed an exchange programme with the ambulance group's counterparts in Japan. And from that link he has just become the new Japanese consul for Wales. "I had a marvellous time and stayed in touch with them, but really that was the extent of my Japanese knowledge and connections," he said. "But when the previous consul, Hugh Thomas CBE, stood down last year, the call came to ask me to replace him, and I think I was honoured and flummoxed in equal measure. "So I wasn't really expecting to have learning Japanese as one of my new year's resolutions." Consuls are appointed to look after the interests of a country's nationals in Wales, although they do not have to be from that country themselves. Mr Dunn joins the ranks of 29 other nations to have appointed a consul with particular responsibility for Wales, including Belarus, Canada, France and Kazakhstan. Chosen by the Japanese minister for foreign affairs, Mr Dunn's responsibilities will include supporting Japanese companies, promoting understanding of Japan, and helping Japanese citizens in times of emergency. He will also be expected to oversee cultural events and assist the embassy in its mission. According to the Japanese embassy, there are about 500 Japanese nationals living in Wales, and 4,600 Welsh people directly employed by 25 Japanese companies with many more indirectly reliant on firms such as Sony and Toyota. Mr Dunn, 60, from Newport, has served with St John since the age of seven, and he is also a member of Newport City Council's Schools Admission and Exclusion Appeals Panel as well as being a Mental Health Act manager for Aneurin Bevan health board. "Some of my role will be straight forward enough - helping Japanese visitors in times of need, taking the temperature of life in Wales, and reporting back to Tokyo and our embassy in London," he said. "But another responsibility will be to help arrange official visits to Wales, so I have a lot to learn about Japanese life, customs and language, very quickly indeed."
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The 40-year-old from Dungannon suffered six broken ribs and a lacerated liver after colliding with Dan Cooper. "I remember crashing and the marshals telling me not to move until Dr Fred MacSorley got there," said Farquhar. "When I got to hospital they told me that whoever prepared me for the journey had saved my life." It was a race meeting marred by the death of Malachi Mitchell-Thomas following a crash in the second Supertwins race on Saturday. Farquhar and English rider Cooper were among five competitors injured at the event. Farquhar - who has won the NW 200 five times - was airlifted to Belfast after being treated at the roadside by Dr MacSorley and the medical team. "I lost the front end and I went down hard," added Farquhar as he recalled the crash. "I hit the Recticel bale and bounced back out into the road but everything happened so fast that I don't really remember being hit by the other bike. "I can't thank the doctors enough who saved my life - money couldn't pay them for what they have done for me. "I was taken straight into surgery when I arrived at the Royal Victoria Hospital and I was lucky that the top liver surgeon in the country was available to operate on me. "I am looking forward now to getting myself sorted and getting home with my wife Karen, my girls Keeley and Mya and our two donkeys." He also paid tribute to Mitchell-Thomas. The 20-year-old from Lancashire died two days earlier following a crash at almost the same spot as Farquhar's accident. "Having raced against Malachi it was obvious to me that he was a huge talent." said Farquhar. "What has happened to the young fella is very sad. Malachi didn't do anything more wrong than I did but I am still here to tell the tale and he is not."
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The teal was found on 28 December in an area out of bounds to the public and its body was sent away for tests which showed it had the H5N8 strain of the infection. It follows cases in south Wales but Public Health Wales has previously said the public health risk was "very low". The Welsh Government said the latest finding was "not unexpected". A spokesman added: "It follows increased surveillance and calls for the public to notify any finding of dead geese, ducks and swans to the Defra helpline".
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Ball joined Tottenham as a trainee in July 2011, but failed to make a senior appearance for the Premier League club. The 21-year-old spent last season on loan at Rangers, making 21 league appearances to help them win the Scottish Championship title. "He's a young, talented defender who will give real competition for places," Millers boss Alan Stubbs said. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
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Alan Bennett, 34, is accused of murdering Lynne Freeman, 46, and 30-year-old Jodie Betteridge, in Redcar on Wednesday evening. Mr Bennett, of Lingholme, Redcar, appeared via a video link for the hearing at Teesside Crown Court. He made no plea and was remanded in custody. There was no bail application. He spoke via the link from Holme House prison to confirm his name and that he could hear the proceedings. Middlesbrough Recorder Simon Bourne-Arton adjourned the hearing until 25 April. Police were called to Mapleton Crescent in Redcar, where Mrs Freeman lived, on Wednesday evening, then seven minutes later to Ms Betteridge's address in Byland Close.
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Democrats are said to have offered to extend tax cuts on couples earning up to $450,000 (£277,000). But divisions remain over spending cuts. At a news conference, President Barack Obama said a deal was "within sight" but not yet done. Failure to reach agreement by 1 January could push the US back into recession. Any deal needs to pass the 100-member Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, before heading to the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold the majority. By Mark MardellNorth America editor Mitch McConnell, leader of the the Senate's Republican minority, and Vice-President Joe Biden held "good" talks late into Sunday evening, a spokesman for Mr McConnell said. Agreeing to a $450,000 threshold ($400,000 for couples) would be a notable compromise by Democrats, analysts say. The party previously only wanted tax rate extensions for earnings under $200,000 (£123,000) for individuals and $250,000 (£154,000) for couples. But after weeks of increasingly desperate horse trading and public pronouncements, the "contours" of a deal were said to be emerging just hours before the midnight deadline. Inheritance tax rates and the continuation of unemployment benefits were also part of the deal-making, reports said, but disagreements remained over how to deal with the automatic spending cuts due to kick in on 1 January. The two parties have been fighting for months over how to deal with the combination of automatic spending cuts and the expiration of Bush-era tax reductions at the new year. Without an agreement, higher taxes will rise for virtually every working American and across-the-board cuts in government spending will kick in from Tuesday. What if the US goes over the cliff? Will the fiscal cliff affect you? Q&A: The US fiscal cliff Why is it called a 'fiscal cliff'? Analysts say this could significantly reduce consumer spending, leading the US economy to fall off the "fiscal cliff". If no agreement is reached on Monday, senators are expected to be given the chance to vote on a fallback plan proposed by President Obama. That would renew tax cuts on earnings under $250,000 (£154,000) and extend unemployment benefits, but does not address the spending cuts. The Senate convened on Monday morning, its first session on New Year's Eve in four decades, and the House followed shortly afterwards. The Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, has insisted that the Senate act first. The current stand-off has its roots in a failed 2011 attempt to tackle the government debt limit and budget deficit. Republicans and Democrats agreed then to postpone difficult decisions on spending until the end of 2012. Commentators say that even if a deal is reached, it will do little to reduce the original problem of the deficit and the government debt limit, raising the prospect of further political infighting early in the new year. Mr McConnell and Mr Reid were locked in negotiations over the weekend. Late on Sunday, Senate Republicans said they were dropping their proposal to slow the growth of Social Security payments. The plan - which would
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The four-bedroomed detached house in the Stoneygate area of Leicester has been put on the market for £695,000. The 65-year-old Italian was sacked by the Foxes in February after winning the title the previous year. On its website, estate agent James Sellicks said Ranieri was selling the home as he was "moving on to new adventures". The refurbished property features three reception rooms, three bathrooms and a conservatory. The advert states: "After taking a well-deserved break, he [Ranieri] is now ready for a return to management which means he is moving on to new adventures and selling the home which served as his base here. "Much like the man himself, the house is unassuming yet stylish."
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Venezuela closed parts of the border a month ago and launched a major anti-smuggling operation. Mr Maduro says up to 40% of Venezuelan goods are smuggled out of the country. Meeting in Ecuador, the two presidents also said they would return ambassadors to each other's capitals immediately. "Common sense, dialogue and peace between our peoples and our countries have triumphed today," said Mr Maduro after the talks in Quito aimed at defusing the crisis. The Venezuelan leader ordered the closure on 19 August after three Venezuelan soldiers and a civilian were injured in an attack in San Antonio del Tachira near the border. He has since extended the measure to a total of three border states. The closure was first imposed for 36 hours but has since been prolonged indefinitely. The two sides on Monday agreed to a "normalisation" but did not set a date for a re-opening of the border. Government officials from both sides are due to meet on Wednesday to work on the details of the "normalisation plan". More than 1,500 Colombians living illegally in Venezuela were also evicted as part of the anti-smuggling operation. Another 20,000 are estimated to have left fearing deportation. Some said they had been mistreated by the Venezuelan security forces, prompting Colombia to recall its ambassador from Caracas in protest. Venezuela later recalled its ambassador from Bogota. President Santos said on Monday that Venezuela "should have respected the rights of Colombians" that were forced out. The 2,200km-long border (1,400 miles) between the two countries is porous and there has historically been a steady flow of people both ways. It is a haven for smugglers and criminal gangs, as well as Colombia's left-wing guerrilla groups, who often extort local residents. The Colombian leader said on Tuesday: "I agree that criminal organisations working in the border area are a big problem, but the best way to deal with it is by working together." The Venezuelan president agreed to investigate allegations that Venezuelan jets violated Colombian air space earlier this month. The allegations, and their dismissal as a Colombian fabrication by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez, further ratcheted tensions between the two countries. Monday's talks were facilitated by Uruguayan President Tabare Vasquez and his Ecuadorean counterpart, Rafael Correa. The summit was preceded by two meetings between the Colombian and the Venezuelan foreign ministers.
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Six minors are still with top Laos side Champasak United, after it imported 23 under-age players from West Africa to an unregistered football academy in February, global players' union FIFPro told the BBC. Fifa regulations prohibit the movement of players to a foreign club or academy until they are 18. The club, based in the southern city Pakse, denies any wrongdoing. "Fifa is in contact with several member associations in order to gather all information to assess the matter and safeguard the interests of the minors," a Fifa spokesperson told the BBC. FIFPro, which has investigated the case for four months and which helped release 17 of the 23 players three months ago, said in a statement it "suspects this case is not one of its kind, but probably the tip of the iceberg". It has been claimed that Champasak United, a newly-formed club which plays in Laos's top league, intends to profit by selling the players in future. In a clear breach of the world football governing body's rules, the club has fielded overseas players as young as 14 and 15 in league games this season. One 14-year-old player, Liberia's Kesselly Kamara, who scored in a full league game, says he was forced into signing a six-year deal before playing for the senior team. His contract promised him a salary and accommodation, but Kamara says he was never paid and had to sleep on the floor of the club's stadium - as did the rest of the travelling party. "It was very bad because you can't have 30 people sleeping in one room," Kamara, who is now playing for a club back home in Liberia's top league, told the BBC. All those who travelled to join the "IDSEA Champasak Asia African Football Academy" did so after being invited by former Liberia international Alex Karmo, who captained the club at the time. Young players gratefully accepted the invitation, since Liberia lacks a football academy of its own, despite being the only African country to have produced a Fifa World Footballer of the Year - George Weah in 1995. "It's a fictitious academy, which was never legally established," said Liberian journalist and sports promoter Wleh Bedell, who led the group to Laos in February but who has since returned. "It's an 'academy' that has no coach nor doctor. Karmo was the coach, the business manager, everything. It was completely absurd." Following initial pressure from both FIFPro and Fifa, Champasak released 17 teenagers from the original party, with Kamara among them, by early April. But six minors chose to remain. FIFPro says that all have since signed contracts presented to them by Karmo, who describes himself as a "manager for players from Africa in Champasak", and club president Phonesavanh Khieulavong. "Today we have criminal activists threatening world football and the young players, so it's important to work together. Fifa will have to be on top of this battle" Anti-trafficking campaigner Jean-Claude Mbvounim Can Fifa end child trafficking? These appear to allow Champasak
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No wonder the meteoric rise and fall of the boxing legend often referred to as the people's champion still generates interest 70 years after his death. The latest telling of the story of the diminutive tough guy from Glasgow's Gorbals is a new documentary, Benny, to be screened at the Glasgow Film Festival. Born in 1913, Lynch rose from being a sickly child in the poverty-stricken tenements to become world flyweight champion. But his descent was as steep as his rise and just over a decade later he was dead, following a battle with alcoholism. Seumas Mactaggart, one of the producers of the film, says he wanted to focus on Lynch's achievements as a boxer and not his tragic decline. He says: "When you see the fantastic archive we have it really gives you sense of how hard he could hit. "These guys were way under eight and a half stone (54kg) but you look at the ferocity of the punches and also the speed at which they moved and it is amazing. "He could punch with both hands and hit as hard with each of them. When he was at his prime, no-one could touch him." Lynch managed 119 fights in his short career. He won the world flyweight title in 1935 when he beat Jackie Brown in Manchester, reportedly flooring his opponent eight times before the bout was stopped in the second round. Jim Watt, who became lightweight world champion 40 years later in 1979, tells the documentary: "Benny is the most important figure as far as Scottish boxing is concerned. "He was the first one to do it. He showed us that a little guy from Glasgow, a little guy from Scotland, could be champion of the whole wide world." The film's producer says Lynch was already massively popular in Glasgow before he became world champion. He says: "There were 2,000 Scots at the fight in Manchester and the place was pandemonium when he won. "When he came back up to Glasgow, the estimates range from between 20,000 and 100,000 at Central Station. "It was phenomenal the turnout and the regard that people had for Benny." Mr Mactaggart says that Benny's problems began soon after he won the world title. He says: "There was a guy called Sammy Wilson who discovered Benny as a young lad and really mentored him. "He was almost a father figure to him. He took him all the way through and then unfortunately there was a spilt with Sammy just after he won the world championship. "Although he went on and was successful after, for Benny you got the feeling that without Sammy as a safe pair of hands and a person in his corner he was a bit lost." Lynch established himself as the "undisputed" flyweight champion of the world when he narrowly beat Small Montana in London in 1937. But Mr Mactaggart says the pinnacle of his career was swiftly followed by a decline. "Once you have the world title
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Two Gareth Steenson penalties for Chiefs was added to when wing James Short intercepted Charlie Hodgson's pass to run 95 metres to score. But Samuela Vunisa crashed over from a driving maul to keep Sarries in touch at 11-5 at the break. In tricky, windy conditions at Sandy Park, Hodgson added three second-half penalties to secure the four points. It means Saracens go five points clear of Exeter at the top of the league and have now lost just once in their last 20 games in all competitions. Rob Baxter's side, who did the double over Saracens last season, were ahead by 11 points after 29 minutes in front of a sold-out crowd, as they controlled the opening exchanges with the wind behind them. However Vunisa, in for England number eight Billy Vunipola, touched down his fourth try in four games and the Premiership's all-time leading scorer Hodgson knocked over all three of his second-half penalties to take the win. Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall: "If we had lost that one, I would have said it was one that got away as we had much the better of possession and territory but they defended very well. "We were 11-0 down playing against the strong wind but we didn't deserve to be and Vunisa's try just before the interval was crucial as we went into half-time only six points down. "It doesn't get any easier as we have Wasps next week and they have less players away to international calls than we do, but I have confidence in this group of players for the next few weeks." Exeter head coach Rob Baxter: "The result is not the be all and end all as we are still second in the Premiership and overall our performance was pretty good as we just lost a game, late in the day against a very good side. "It was a tough game and a very close one but I'm slightly frustrated with certain aspects of our game. "Our ill-discipline just before half-time gave them a try and it was a huge moment in the match, so we have to be a little bit better." Exeter: Dollman; Woodburn, Whitten, Hill, Short; Steenson, Chudley; Moon, Yeandle (capt), Low, Atkins, Parling, Armand, Salvi, Waldrom Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Hepburn, Williams, Stevenson, Horstmann, Lewis, Hooley, Bodilly. Saracens: Ransom; Ellery, Tomkins, Barritt (capt), Wyles; Hodgson, Wrigglesworth; Barrington, Brits, Du Plessis, Smith, Hamilton, Wray, Brown, Vunisa Replacements: Saunders, Gill, Lamositele, Itoje, Burger, Spencer, Mordt, Earle. Attendance: 12,450 For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.
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The call comes days after international talks to find measures to tackle the industry crisis failed. The joint statement comes from the US, Canada, the EU, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey. Record production in China has in the past months led to criticism that it was distorting international markets by selling steel at a loss. The statement calls for "ongoing international dialogue" to remove "market-distorting policies" and promote greater transparency in the global industry. On Monday, representatives from more than 30 countries met in Belgium but concluded only that overcapacity had to be dealt with in a swift and structural way. The US explicitly pointed the finger at China, saying the country would face possible trade action if it didn't cut overcapacity. But China rejected suggestions that it subsidised its loss-making steel companies, and the meeting ended without any formal agreement. Chinese steel production has expanded hugely. Over the past 25 years, output has grown to more than 12 times the size. By comparison, the EU's output fell by 12% while the US's remained largely flat. The drive behind that stellar increase has been China's double-digit growth over the past decades - but the current slowdown has severely hit domestic demand. Chinese steel is therefore sold on the international market at extremely low prices, critics say it's sold at a loss. As a consequence, other country's steel plants find it increasingly hard to compete. China dismisses claims that its steel is sold at a loss and says it has done what it can to curb overproduction. Beijing's official news agency said that blaming the country for the global steel industry's problems was a "lame and lazy excuse for protectionism". In a commentary piece, Xinhua warned of protective import tariffs, saying that "blaming other countries is always an easy, sure-fire way for politicians to whip up a storm over domestic economic woes, but finger-pointing and protectionism are counter-productive." Very little. While other countries complain that cheaper Chinese steel is forcing their producers out of business, China is itself faced with severe problems in the industry. The boom of past years means any substantial output cuts will lead to huge job losses, potentially leading to social instability. It's unlikely that China will cut output by a lot and unless domestic demand picks up, cheap exports will continue to affect global markets. China is the world's biggest steel producer, accounting for around 822 million tonnes a year. On Tuesday, the country said its production hit a record high last month as rising profits had encouraged more output. With China's domestic market slowing, their producers have been looking for export markets, such as the EU. This has led to accusations of unfair competition, that Chinese producers are "dumping" steel products on overseas markets - that is not just selling them cheaply, taking advantage of their lower production costs, but actually selling them at a loss. India's Tata steel recently announced plans to sell its loss-making UK business, citing "rapidly deteriorated" trading conditions
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The current ban was due to end on 25 May. The firm said it had taken the decision because the UK government's advice not to travel to the resort remained unchanged. Flights were suspended in November 2015 after a Russian passenger plane crashed killing 224 people. So-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for bombing the jet. Thomas Cook had been selling holidays after 25 May, assuming that it would be able to fly to the region. But it has confirmed that the advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth office (FCO) remains unchanged, and therefore it is extending its own ban. The FCO advice is not to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh unless it is absolutely essential. That advice has implications not just for tour operators but for travel insurance too. Thomas Cook said that as there was "no clear indication as to when the FCO travel advice may change", it had taken the decision to cancel all bookings to Sharm el Sheikh up to and including Monday 31 October 2016. A spokesman for the company said customers who have booked to travel to the region can either cancel or book alternative holidays.
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Nearly 68% of members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association voted for strikes on a 44% turnout. The Union has said its members had been subjected to "unprecedented" levels of abuse since ticket offices closed. A survey for the TSSA found most staff felt less safe since moving from offices on to station concourses. Tom Edwards, BBC London Transport Correspondent The ticket office closures were one of the biggest changes on the tube for generations. With the rise of automatic payments methods such as the Oyster card and contactless, the idea was to get staff from behind the glass screens and on to the ticket gate lines. But the unions have always opposed it and say the redeployment has led to more lone working and staff shortages. The TSSA, which represents station staff, says it will decide, probably tomorrow, what industrial action it will take in the dispute. Strikes aren't being ruled out, although it could be an overtime ban. Other forms of industrial action were backed by nine to one. The union said staff were being targeted by frustrated passengers if ticket machines do not work. TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said the vote was about "our members being prepared to take part in a strike to let the world know that the Tube they are using is not fit for safe purpose". "Our customer service assistants are overwhelmingly trying to warn the public that the Tube they use is not safe. We no longer have enough staff," he said. Steve Griffiths, London Underground's chief operating officer, said: "We urge the TSSA leadership to work with us constructively on the issues they have raised rather than threaten to disrupt our customers with strikes. " The ticket offices were closed as part of the Fit for the Future programme introduced by former London mayor Boris Johnson. His successor Sadiq Khan has ordered a review of the project. Tube drivers are to stage 24-hour strikes on 6 and 7 December, coinciding with a walkout by Southern Rail guards.
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Police, acting on warrants, searched the premises in Glenburn Avenue, Baillieston, at about 18:00 on Monday. A large quantity of drugs, believed to be amphetamine, cocaine and diazepam were found. Det Insp Frank Clarke, of Police Scotland, said the operation was targeted at "those who bring misery to our communities". He added: "I would urge members of the public to continue to come forward with any information or concerns in their areas."
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Dr Jenkins died in Barnard Castle, County Durham, on Sunday morning. He had been living with Alzheimer's disease for many years. The cleric and theologian was Bishop of Durham from 1984 until 1994. He was dubbed the "unbelieving bishop" after saying he did not believe God would have arranged a virgin birth and the resurrection. After retiring he took on the post of honorary assistant bishop in Ripon and Leeds. Before becoming a bishop, Dr Jenkins was a professor of theology at the University of Leeds, and spent 15 years prior to that as a fellow and chaplain of Queen's College, Oxford. York Minster was struck by lightning and burst into flames just days after his consecration in 1984. The events led some to believe that the fire was a sign of divine wrath in outrage at his appointment as bishop. Dr Jenkins was satirised in television puppet show Spitting Image, being depicted in one episode persuading God to become an atheist. He served in Durham during the miners' strike in the 1980s and often joined the miners on marches. He was an open critic of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's policies and she was said to have thought of Dr Jenkins as a "cuckoo in the establishment nest". The bishop, who was born in Bromley in south London, went on to write Market Whys And Human Wherefores: Thinking Again About Markets, Politics, And People about the deficiencies of economic theory. He leaves behind four children. A funeral will be held at Durham Cathedral at a later date, his family said.
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What started as an "attempted coup" targeting President Salva Kiir - though the accused deny it was anything of the sort - has mutated into something that threatens the whole country. The army admits it has lost control of Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, to forces apparently led by General Peter Gadet. Perhaps worse still, the fighting is already exacerbating ethnic tensions in what is an ethnically divided country. The initial trigger for the violence was political - the ambitions of people like former Vice-President Riek Machar and the determination of President Kiir to hold onto power. President Kiir hasn't yet convinced everyone that Mr Machar and other senior politicians intended to overthrow him by force. "I think all of the bits of information coming out don't point to a coup," says South Sudan expert Douglas H Johnson. "I am not even sure we can say there was a concerted mutiny," he adds. But with at least 10 of the president's opponents locked up, Mr Machar, who is on the run, now has his back against the wall. Even if he didn't want to go into rebellion, he is being pushed in that direction. Mr Johnson feels the crisis is the result of two different processes. The first is the "state of dissatisfaction" within the governing SPLM party. The second is the reintegration of militiamen formerly linked to the old enemy in Khartoum in the national army. These soldiers did not feel "secure", Mr Johnson says. One of them, Gen Gadet, sprang into action after reports of his fellow Nuers being killed began to come out of Juba. Mr Machar and Gen Gadet are both ethnic Nuers, but they haven't always fought on the same side in the past. There has been no confirmation yet from either man that they are working together. That said, the South Sudanese government clearly believes they are. The prospect is frightening. Gen Gadet is a tough fighter who has often rebelled against the SPLM. An expert on the Sudans, John Young, memorably described him as someone who "is said to wash only one side of his face at a time so that he can always keep an eye open". However he is not a politician. Luka Biong, a former SPLM minister now at Harvard university, says that "it is believed that Gadet is under the political leadership of Dr Riek and Taban Deng", the former governor of Unity state, who is also wanted by the government. Again, this needs to be confirmed. But this combination of political and military strength would seriously threaten the government, in the way that Gen Gadet's previous rebellion or those of other military men like Bapiny Montuil or George Athor did not. Mr Machar is not universally liked, but he does have passionate supporters, who are often from the Nuer. The ethnic dimension is particularly worrying for the country. Human Rights Watch reports that both Nuer and Dinka (President Kiir's ethnic group) were killed because of their ethnicity
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Hardik Patel, along with hundreds of thousands of supporters, dominated the headlines in India last week when he led a massive protest which shut down Ahmedabad, the main city in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat. Now he is about to set out to replicate independence hero Mahatma Gandhi's famous "salt march" from Ahmedabad to Dandi - except he's going to reverse the route by starting on the beach of Dandi and ending at the Gandhi ashram (commune) in Ahmedabad. Mr Patel is not the first protester to grab eyeballs in India which, as Nobel Prize-winning author VS Naipaul famously said, "is a land of million mutinies". The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi profiles some of India's most unusual protests - and protesters. Mahatma Gandhi - also known as the Father of the Nation - is India's most well known protester. His methods were rather unusual - he believed in non-cooperation, non-violence and hunger-strikes. He preached passive resistance and convinced Indians to boycott British goods and services. Gandhi most famously led a march to the sea shore to challenge the British government's salt law and gladly went to prison for long periods. His protest methods - of taking a moral high ground and shaming the opponent - have found favour globally and his name continues to be invoked by world leaders and politicians. Decades after his death, his philosophy remains relevant - it was adopted by Nelson Mandela in South Africa while resisting apartheid, and very recently, it was also followed by Indian anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare. In the 1970s, protesters in many parts of India were seen hugging trees in an attempt to prevent them from being cut down. The resistance, which came to be known as the Chipko (embrace) movement, began in the hills of north India where people depended on forests for their livelihoods. Activists and villagers, including a large number of women, formed circles around trees, telling contractors that they would have to go through them first. The movement, which was led by Gandhian activists Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Sunderlal Bahuguna among others, succeeded in achieving its aim in 1980, when then prime minister Indira Gandhi banned tree felling in the Himalayan regions for 15 years. The Chipko movement of the 1970s was inspired by similar protests in the early 18C by the Bishnoi community of the northern state of Rajasthan, who campaigned relentlessly to protect their forests. This unusual method of protecting forests has been replicated in many parts of the world, including in Nepal last year, when 2,001 schoolchildren hugged trees to set a world record. Fed up of "moral policing" by Hindu hardliners who were ranting against pub-going women and attacking courting couples on Valentines Day, the Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women launched the Pink Chaddhi Campaign (Pink Underwear Campaign) in 2009. The group began collecting pink knickers to send to Pramod Muthalik, chief of right-wing vigilante group Sri Ram Sena (Army of Lord Ram), in a bid to
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The unnamed patient lost a third of her body weight while living at Murdoch House Care Home in Wokingham. The woman, in her nineties, who has aphasia, arthritis and osteoporosis, entered the care home in 2010 weighing just under ten stone (61kg). By 2013, her weight was just six-and-a-half stone (41kg). The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) criticised Wokingham Borough Council for failing to take action to address the weight loss. The watchdog heavily criticised the care provided for the woman who left the home malnourished, and with a Body Mass Index of just 15 (government guidance says a healthy BMI is 18 to 25). It also criticised the care home's record keeping, and that staff did not seek specialist support for her low weight. Dr Jane Martin, of the LGO, said the council neglected its duty to the family, leaving a vulnerable woman to suffer. "In this case the woman was bored, lost a considerable amount of weight and her wellbeing was not promoted". The council admitted the woman's weight was of concern and offered the family £500 compensation. Cllr Julian McGhee-Sumner said: "We are profoundly sorry for the poor care provided in this case, and for the distress this caused our care client and her family. "The care she received was below the standard we expect from our care providers and we apologise that we did not identify these problems". Wokingham council has since been asked to pay the mother of the patient £3,500 and the patient's daughter £500. A spokesman from Murdoch House said the patient lost a "substantial" amount of weight during time in hospital and that she was regularly reviewed by a GP when back at the home.
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More than 118,000 tickets were snapped up in the first 12 hours of them going on sale at 09:00 BST on 16 May. This year's eclectic line-up includes Sir Simon Rattle and the Vienna Philharmonic, Sir David Attenborough, Bryn Terfel and Pete Tong. Edward Blakeman, director, BBC Proms 2015, said the demand for tickets had been "extraordinary". "The level of demand for tickets for the broad range of concerts across the whole season has been extraordinary. "We're delighted that so many people have booked tickets, and look forward to welcoming them to the Royal Albert Hall this summer to enjoy all the world-class music featured across the two months of the festival." Within the first hour of booking, more than 31,000 tickets were purchased online, more than 10% cent more than in 2014, with 500 tickets-a-minute sold during peak periods on Saturday. In addition, more than 1,600 Promming (standing) Season Tickets and Weekend Promming Passes were sold through the Royal Albert Hall on 15 May. Among the most popular Proms, according to early bookings, are a concert of works by US composer and pianist Leonard Bernstein, whose musical scores included West Side Story, Yo-Yo Ma's Late Night performance of Bach's complete cello suites and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius with Sir Simon Rattle conducting. James Ainscough, who looks after event venue the Royal Albert Hall, said the popularity of the season came as "no surprise", citing the broad programme which encompasses large-scale choral works, a Prom featuring Sir David Attenborough's Life Story, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, pop star Jarvis Cocker and Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel. However, he stressed that tickets remained available for most events, while £5 Promming tickets would still be available on the day. "The Proms has always been about bringing the very best music to the widest number of people," said Mr Ainscough. "We look forward to hosting a wonderful summer of inspirational performances on the world's most famous stage." There will be 92 concerts across the two-month music festival this summer, including a series of Sunday matinees aimed at families. The BBC Proms runs from 17 July to 12 September. The full list of events can be found at the BBC Proms website.
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The incident happened during a 21st birthday party in the early hours of Tuesday in the city of Berkeley. Authorities said 13 people were on the fourth-floor balcony when it collapsed. The victims were mostly Irish students who were living temporarily in the US as part of a work exchange programme. An initial investigation found that the balcony support's beams may not have been sealed properly at the time of construction, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said. "More than likely, it was caused by rain and water damage," Mr Bates said. Read more: Tributes to Berkeley balcony victims Building inspectors also ordered that another balcony at the Library Gardens apartment building be demolished, saying it was unsafe and could collapse. A former city official familiar with the apartment complex told the San Francisco Chronicle that the 5ft by 10ft (1.5m by 3m) balcony was "decorative" and not designed to hold a large number of people. "This was meant just to be a place where someone could stand out for bit," Carrie Olson told the newspaper. "Not for something like 13 people." People left flowers and other tributes at the scene on Wednesday as flags on both sides of the Atlantic flew at half-mast. A memorial service was planned for Wednesday evening in nearby Oakland, with victims' relatives travelling from Ireland to California. Meanwhile, many in Ireland and the US criticised coverage of the story in the New York Times, accusing the newspaper of "victim-blaming". The newspaper wrote a story about the work-visa programme that some of the victims were on, mentioning "a series of high-profile episodes involving drunken partying and the wrecking of apartments". The newspaper's public editor said in a blog that many of the complaints were valid. New York Times spokesperson Eileen Murphy said in an email: "It was never our intention to blame the victims and we apologize if the piece left that impression."
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The initiative, set up by Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Women's Enterprise Scotland, will see leading female entrepreneurs act as mentors. They include Scottish Chambers of Commerce chief Liz Cameron, Carolyn Currie of Women's Enterprise Scotland, Marie Macklin of Macklin Partnerships and Petra Wetzel of West Brewery. Jeanette Forbes of PCL Group and Poonam Gupta of PG Paper are also on board. The Women's Business Mentoring initiative aims to tackle challenges faced by women in business. Those challenges include accessing finance, overcoming gender bias or managing family responsibilities alongside a business. A dedicated website has been set up to help prospective businesses find a mentor, attend events and access resources. Women in business can also sign up as mentors. According to the website, only 20% of Scottish small and medium enterprises are majority-owned by women. Ms Macklin said: "Young talent is the lifeblood of any business and it's critical that as senior business leaders, we shine a torch on the path ahead and guide this talent to future success. "It can be a long, hard road to the top. "We've all had someone who supported us when we needed it most and showed us the way. "It's only right that we find time to give back and help the leaders of the future fulfil their true potential." Ms Cameron said: "Our approach is innovative and fresh and is all about tapping into the talents and experience of successful women entrepreneurs and matching them with ambitious, driven and aspiring women in business."
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The change will come into force in September and the council hopes it will save £2.16m a year. Under the new system, children aged three will now be offered free part-time nursery care but will not get full-time education until age four. An earlier plan for the changes had led to a High Court hearing by parents. The High Court ruled the initial consultation process used by the council had been unlawful. It was revealed in December the authority had to pay £144,000 for the legal costs of nursery campaigners. Following the high court decision, the council, which is trying to save £70m over four years, then reintroduced the plan under a different consultation process and the cuts were approved. The change to raise the age for full-time education to four brings the RCT in line with other councils in Wales. Council leader Andrew Morgan said: "Following an extensive consultation process, cabinet today took the difficult decision to amend funding arrangements for nursery education. "We made clear at today's meeting that if it were not for the harsh financial realities we face, we would not be considering this option. "The difficult decision we have taken today will contribute over £2m in savings as we strive to close the initial budget gap faced of £30m."
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It took sixth place with 44,286 votes, 4.4% of the total, ahead of the Greens' 3% and beating the Lib Dems in North Wales and South Wales East. Spokesman David Bevan claimed the assembly benefitted "career politicians", not the Welsh people. He said the election result was "a foundation stone for the fight-back". The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party put up candidates on the regional lists, claiming abolition would save the taxpayer £500m a year. "We got 44,286 votes despite the fact that perhaps most voters were either still unaware of our existence or were, at least, taken by surprise at the last moment," Mr Bevan told BBC Wales. "I urge everyone to consider the possibility that the Welsh Assembly was not designed for the benefit of the Welsh people, but for the benefit of the career politicians. "They get big salaries, expenses and pensions. What do we get? The bill. "Issues that are perhaps best devolved can be made the responsibility of our local authorities and their 1,265 councillors. That really would be power closer to the people. "We think the assembly just gets in the way while costing far more than it would take to keep Port Talbot steel works operating. "We consider our result in this election to be a foundation stone for the fight-back. "We have drawn a line in the sand. We WILL keep this movement going."
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The Finn has until Friday 1 April to respond and a disciplinary hearing has been set for Wednesday 13 April. St Mirren manager Alex Rae, meanwhile, has been "offered" a one-match ban. He is alleged to have used "offensive, abusing or insulting language to the referee" in a game against Raith. The Buddies boss has until Wednesday 30 March to accept the ban or Friday 1 April to notify the SFA that he will contest it. As with Paatelainen, the principal hearing is set for 13 April. After seeing his side fight back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in the derby, Paatelainen said the Dundee fans "were giving me plenty of pelters throughout the game". "When we scored, they were very quiet and I couldn't hear anything so that's why I was like, 'where are you, have you gone away?'" he explained. "I gave them a little wave afterwards, that's the way it goes."
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Freedom of information requests made by Labour to NHS commissioning bodies in England suggest on average mental health budgets fell in 2015-16. However, the Department of Health said it rejected the figures and called mental health a government "priority". Charities said services were struggling to cope in many areas of the country. The state of mental health care in England became an important pre-election issue, with the coalition pledging to boost resources, says BBC health editor Hugh Pym. Guidance from NHS England published in December 2014 said funding in 2015-16 should increase "by at least as much" as the increase in overall allocation. It is part of a wider goal laid out in the NHS five-year plan to put mental health on a par with physical health. Dr Phil Moore, chairman of the NHS Clinical Commissioners Mental Health Commissioners Network stressed that CCGs understood the importance of investing in mental health, but financial pressures may leave no room for increased spend in any one area. He said commissioners were also looking into different ways of funding mental health including using the voluntary sector and more community schemes. "It is important to note that many CCGs are not simply looking to invest more in the same models of care that have failed in the past." The figures collected by Labour suggest that 50 of the 130 CCGs who responded plan to reduce the proportion of the budget they allocate to mental health for this financial year. On average the figures suggest that in 2015/16 CCGs are planning to allocate 10% of their budgets to mental health, compared with 11% in 2014/15 But NHS England said CCGs would spend 13% of their budgets on mental health this year. Labour also said there was wide variation between what CCGs had set aside for mental health. Shadow public health minister Luciana Berger said ministers had repeatedly promised that the amount spent on mental health locally would increase in line with local CCG budgets. "Yet they have failed to make this a reality and too many CCGs actually plan to spend less of their budget on mental health this year." A Department of Health spokesperson said: "We do not recognise these figures - NHS England has shown mental health spending has increased by £0.4bn this year. "Mental health is a priority for this government and to say otherwise ignores the fact we have given mental and physical health conditions equal priority in law, we've increased central funding by millions of pounds, and introduced the first ever treatment targets which will make sure funding goes to where it's needed." NHS England said: "The planning guidance set out a clear expectation for CCGs in terms of increasing spend on mental health. "CCGs were required to ensure that mental health spend will rise in real terms and grow at least in line with each CCG's overall allocation growth, and around 90% of CCGs demonstrated this." Stephen Dalton, chief executive of the Mental Health Network, said the lack of
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The boy, Abou, was found inside the case being carried by a 19-year-old woman into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave next to Morocco, on Thursday. When police opened the case, they found the boy in a "terrible state", a spokesman for the Guardia Civil told AFP. The boy, from Ivory Coast, is now in the care of authorities in Ceuta. The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported (in Spanish) that the 19-year-old is not related to the boy, and was paid by his father to carry the suitcase. The boy's father lives in the Canary Islands and had hoped to be reunited with his son, El Pais said. The Spanish news agency Efe said the boy's father, also named Abou, had travelled back to Ivory Coast to pick him up, having moved to Gran Canaria in 2013. The father then reportedly paid the Moroccan courier to carry the suitcase. A police spokesman told Efe: "She seemed to hesitate, and it looked as though she didn't want to come through the border. "At first we thought that there could be drug packages, but gradually discovered that it was a human body." The boy's father travelled across the border an hour-and-a-half after his son. At that point, Efe said, he was detained by border guards. Ceuta and another Spanish enclave, Melilla, sit on Morocco's Mediterranean coast, and are each surrounded on three sides by Morocco. Latest African news updates Madrid says they are integral parts of Spain and manages their borders, but Morocco claims sovereignty over the territories. Despite being surrounded by six-metre-high fences, the enclaves have proved to be popular areas for migrants to try to cross into Europe from Africa. Human Rights Watch says at least 4,300 people entered Ceuta and Melilla illegally in 2013, compared to 2,804 the year before. In February last year, hundreds of migrants stormed the fence in Melilla in one day, with around 100 managing to make it into the enclave.
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The country's military ruler dropped objections to accepting help in the case after being pressed on the issue by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were discovered on a beach on 15 September. Two Burmese men are under arrest but the Thai inquiry has been criticised. The UK Foreign Office summoned the Thai charge d'affaires earlier this week to express concern about the police investigation. Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both migrant workers from Myanmar, also known as Burma, are alleged to have confessed to the killings earlier this month. Police have denied subsequent reports that the pair, both aged 21, then withdrew their confessions. The two suspects were in court for a pre-trial witness hearing on the island of Koh Samui on Tuesday, but did not testify. They are charged with conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to rape and robbery, and could face the death penalty if found guilty. Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha met Mr Cameron at a summit in Italy and agreed that a delegation of British officers could travel to Thailand, having previously rejected offers of assistance. A diplomatic source said that Thai authorities were leading the investigation, but it was important that the victims' families could be reassured about the justice process. He said: "There are two areas we are particularly concerned about. One is the verification of the DNA samples of the suspects, making sure there is further independent verification. "And the second is the investigation into allegations of mistreatment of the suspects. "What the PM secured was agreement from the Thai PM that we can send some British police investigators to Koh Tao to work with the Royal Thai Police on this." The discussion between the leaders came at the Asia Europe Meeting in Milan. Post-mortem examinations found Mr Miller, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds. Police have said DNA found on Ms Witheridge matched samples taken from the suspects. Concerns about the murder investigation include the fact the crime scene was not sealed off after the killings, as well as the fact an early statement was released by police saying that no Thai person could have committed such a crime. Mr Zaw's mother Phyu Shwe Nu has said her son was being made a "scapegoat" by police.
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The men, aged 44, 25 and 22, were attacked by three others on the Whitewell Road on Friday night. One of the attackers is believed to have been carrying an iron bar. Two men aged 22 and 21 have been arrested. Police said the victims were taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries that are not thought to be life-threatening. They said a hate crime was one of their lines of enquiry.
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Until now, the app had focused on offering singles a way to find dates. Its chief told the BBC that the move marked the "first step that we're taking to make Tinder more social and a little broader when it comes to the types of connections we want to enable". But one expert said Tinder Social might be seen as a group sex feature. "Tinder is seen by many as being a hook-up site," commented Ben Wood from the CCS Insight consultancy. "So, it needs to be careful. By expanding in this direction, rather than becoming a more interesting social meeting service, it could be perceived as an orgy app." Tinder's chief executive Sean Rad, however, stressed that it was not about targeting this "niche" activity. "It definitely allows you to make connections beyond just romantic ones," he explained. "We look at Tinder as not just being a dating app, but capturing your entire social life. And your social life has so many different aspects to it. "The beauty of putting this in the same app is that we have scale - we have tens of millions of users all over the world. "So, overnight you can get the power of Tinder and connect with others going out tonight in a way that was never possible." Tinder is owned by InterActiveCorp (IAC), a New York-based business that also owns the dating site Match.com, the search service Ask, and The Daily Beast news site. It says that 85% of Tinder's users are between the ages of 18 to 34, and that the app has already led to more than 11 billion matches since it launched in 2012. An earlier version of Tinder Social was tested earlier this year in Australia. It is now being rolled out in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. To use it, users must first opt in to the feature within the existing app. Then they need to: Users can then see other groups. If a member from both sides "swipes right" to pick the other, members can then make the necessary arrangements via a group chat feature. As a security measure, users may leave a group at any time. Furthermore, the next day, the group chat expires, and individual members need to like each other to stay in contact, assuming they have not already swapped other contact details. For the moment, Tinder Social is completely free to use. But Mr Rad suggested his firm could make money by adding premium features, which users would need to have a Tinder Plus account to access. Tinder Plus currently costs £3.99 for under-28s and £14.99 for older users, allowing them to look at members they had initially rejected and see people who live in other parts of the world. "Over the coming months we will clarify the relationship between the two products," Mr Rad said. "But it's not different from Snapchat having multiple products within the same app. They sort of mingle, but you can really
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The Citizens face the Danish side at home in the Europa League qualifying first round, second leg on Thursday. "All we're focusing on at the moment is that we deliver the best possible performance we can," said Nicholson. "If we do that then hopefully the result takes care of itself." Bangor have only won two European ties, the last in 2010 when they beat FC Honka of Finland 3-2 on aggregate. "Everyone around the club is very excited and we're just going to do the best we possibly can," added Nicholson. The winners will face either Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia or Armenian side Pyunik in the second qualifying round.
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The deficit has been partly caused by the Swans' increased wage bill, which has since been reduced this summer. But the losses are not thought to have directly affected the club's transfer activity, with funds available to head coach Francesco Guidolin. "I am happy with the squad I have available," Guidolin said. "There is plenty of quality there and the club has done well to allow me to do my job in the right way. "I am confident we can and will have a good season." An American consortium, led by Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan, bought a controlling stake of 68% in the club in July. The 2015-16 losses contributed to the eagerness of Swansea's existing directors to attract additional investment. Some of Swansea's highest earners have left this summer, with Ashley Williams joining Everton, Andre Ayew moving to West Ham and Bafetimbi Gomis signing for Marseille on loan. The Swans have signed strikers Borja Baston - for a club-record £15m fee - and Fernando Llorente, as well as midfielder Leroy Fer, defenders Mike van der Hoorn and Alfie Mawson and goalkeeper Mark Birighitti. Swansea failed to make any further additions on transfer deadline day, though chairman Jenkins defended the club's business. "The team has been in transition over the last year or two, with a number of players who have been the bedrock of our success in first achieving and then maintaining our Premier League status moving on for different reasons," he said. "That transition, which happens to all clubs and proved the downfall of many, has to be managed. "The recent majority shareholder takeover will help us secure that future, which is one of the reasons they came on board. "Our accounts are due out next month and it will highlight a significant loss for last season. "That's why we always have to strike a balance to work financially within the budgets we have."
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Frank Sims will take over from interim boss Dr Lucy Moore in early December. He is currently chief executive of Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust. Mr Sims said he brought with him a "commitment to the long-term success" of the trust and hospital and was attracted by the staff's "determination to deliver positive changes". The hospital had been under investigation since November 2013, when claims were made that data was changed to make it appear national guidelines were being met. It was placed in special measures over "inaccuracies" in its cancer waiting times but Essex Police concluded "no criminal offences" had been committed. Mr Sims said he had "faced and successfully managed similar issues to those at the trust and this is part of the attraction of this job". He described his new role as "a huge opportunity to lead a unique organisation". Trust chairman Alan Rose said: "With the appointment of a permanent chief executive and a clear improvement plan to address concerns raised by regulators, I believe we are starting to turn a corner in delivering safe, effective and personal healthcare for every patient, every time."
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14 January 2015 Last updated at 19:45 GMT Central First School in Ashington has also converted store rooms and even a toilet in an effort to accommodate pupils. The school's actions come as the Local Government Association said it feared the demand for school places could soon reach a tipping point with no more space or money to extend schools. Principal David Geoffrey told Look North's Peter Harris the school had to be "ever more inventive" to teach youngsters in "full to the brim" conditions.
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A 22-year-old woman is also in a critical condition at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham after the single-vehicle crash on the Kilbourne Road in Belper. A police spokesman said: "A blue Fiat Panda was involved in a collision and two people received fatal injuries." The two victims died at the scene at about 01:25 BST. "Kilbourne Road has now reopened and anyone with information on the collision or who has dash-cam footage is asked to contact us," the spokesman added. Tom Reith, who lives on Kilbourne Road, said he was woken up by the accident and saw the wreckage. He said: "It was horrendous, terrible. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family."
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Prime Minister Theresa May is in talks with the Democratic Unionist Party to support her administration. The Tories lost their Commons majority in Thursday's general election. Sterling closed on Friday 1.6% lower against the dollar at $1.2743 and fell 1.4% against the euro to 1.1382 euros. Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes said: "You may well see the pound bounce on the optimism ... but it will be short-lived." David Madden of CMC Markets said Mrs May staying on as prime minister with help from the DUP may assist sterling "a little". The pound's fall against both the dollar and euro was less dramatic than the drop in the wake of the EU referendum in June last year. The chances of Mrs May securing a "hard" Brexit have diminished following the loss of the Conservatives' Commons majority, according to some commentators. George Osborne, the former chancellor, told the BBC he did not believe that most MPs now backed a "hard" Brexit" following the election result. Panmure Gordon market commentator David Buik said the hung parliament would "require an immediate response to settle for a much softer Brexit". Former Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable, who is returning to the Commons after regaining Twickenham in southwest London for the Liberal Democrats, said "the whole Brexit approach will have to be rethought". The DUP campaigned for Brexit, but wants a common travel area between the UK and Ireland and no hard border with the Republic - the UK's only land border with the EU.
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The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation was set-up in 2008 by the former England, Ipswich and Newcastle manager with the aim of funding research. The first Sir Bobby's Breakthrough Auction in 2011 raised nearly £250,000. This year's auction will run from 10 to 27 October and the charity is seeking donations of prizes from businesses and individuals. Some of the lots donated so far include a trip to Milan Fashion Week and tickets to Eurovision 2014. Lots from 2011 included Jose Mourinho's Fifa Ballon d'Or 2010 World Coach of the Year Trophy and a VIP trip to a training session at Sir Bobby's former club, FC Barcelona. Sir Bobby was first diagnosed with cancer 17 years before his death in 2009 and he spent the last 18 months of his life helping to establish his foundation. Mark Robson, Sir Bobby's son, said: "Sadly, cancer is likely to affect every one of us in one way or another and my family knows first hand the pain it causes. "My family is very grateful to everyone who has already contributed a prize and we continue to be astounded by the generosity of the businesses and individuals who get involved." Gina Long, the founder of the Sir Bobby's Breakthrough Auction, said: "People are pro-actively offering lots this time, whereas the first time you would make 3,000 calls to get 200 prizes. "It's become an international online auction which is why we've set ourselves such a high goal." Details of this year's auction were announced at the PFA awards in London. Money raised will be split between the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Ipswich Hospital and the West Suffolk Hospital.
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30 October 2015 Last updated at 07:41 GMT Simon Hillier, 41, and Stewart Staples, 57, died in the fire at SP Plastics in Stafford on 30 October 2014. BBC Midlands Today reporter Liz Copper spoke to family and friends as police submitted a file to prosecutors. Mr Hillier's brother, Mark Hillier said: "I just hope we find out what it is that caused it, why it was caused, and what can be done about it." A friend of Mr Staples, Adrian Sullivan said: "Until there is closure we can't get over it."
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Marian Smith, 74, was found dead at a property on Aberdare Close in Blackburn, Lancashire at 09:10 BST on 9 April. Lancashire Police said a post-mortem examination established that she had died from stab wounds. John Smith, from Aberdare Close, is due to appear before Preston Magistrates' Court later.
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The German music rights body Gema told an MP, Roy Kühne, that the hit could be played during first aid lessons in his town, Clausthal-Zellerfeld. Gema's fee waiver is expected to be valid for other schools in Germany too. The disco rhythm of Stayin' Alive is good for heart massage, the British Heart Foundation says. Some other pop hits have also been recommended. In a letter to Mr Kühne, seen by the BBC, Gema said it understood that the school lessons - for up to 30 students - did not count as public performances, so no royalties had to be paid. But Stayin' Alive could only be played licence-free to groups in school buildings during first aid classes, it stressed. The MP had sought Gema's permission on behalf of first aid instructors in his region. He is a trained rescue swimmer himself. German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said Yellow Submarine by the Beatles and Madonna's Like A Prayer were also good for life-saving heart massage. The technique is also known as Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). With 100-120 beats per minute Highway to Hell, by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, would also qualify - but its title is not life-affirming, the newspaper notes. The British Heart Foundation used Stayin' Alive in a video featuring the footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones, demonstrating how to help people who had suffered a heart attack. In the US version of the TV comedy hit The Office, a CPR lesson went awry when Stayin' Alive was played and the staff decided to have fun.
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UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the talks will resume on 14 January at an as yet undecided location. He said some progress had been made, but that violations of a temporary ceasefire had caused problems. Fierce fighting has continued in the north of Yemen between Houthi rebels and forces backing the government. Yemen's humanitarian catastrophe The war the world forgot? Who is fighting whom? Meeting the Houthis and their enemies Mr Ahmed told a news conference that all his efforts over the next few days and weeks would be devoted to ensuring a ceasefire does hold. "We have achieved during the recent days big progress but it's not enough and we need to exchange more views between the participants," he said. "It's a step in the right direction. Now we have to go on and we have to give momentum to this process." The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne says the talks failed to achieve the fundamental thing that the UN wanted - a ceasefire that holds. To address that, a de-escalation committee has been created in which military leaders from both sides will take part. If a more lasting ceasefire can be created, our correspondent adds, other steps to peace may follow such as the release of prisoners and the withdrawal of heavy weapons. The Houthi rebels forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee the capital, Sanaa, in February. But in March a Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign in support of the government. Since then, at least 5,700 people, almost half of them civilians, have been killed in air strikes and fighting on the ground.
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The 50-year-old cyclist collided with the car just after midnight on Forward Drive, Harrow and suffered serious head injuries. Paramedics tended to him but he died an hour later at the scene. The driver of the car, a 30-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is being questioned by police.
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The 23-year-old England international has scored seven tries in 22 appearances for the Super League leaders this campaign. "It's a great feeling. I've loved every minute of being here," he told BBC Radio Leeds. "Ever since I have been up here everything has gone positively for me."
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Mr Reynolds, who played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process, died on Thursday at the age of 81. "For him, peace was the only battle worth waging," Fr Brian D'Arcy told mourners. "He knew that peace was not achieved only by talking to your friends, you must talk to your enemies and make peace with them." Fr D'Arcy added: "He took personal and political risks, but all he was doing was giving peace a chance." Mr Reynolds had worked with the then British Prime Minister Sir John Major to create 1993's Downing Street Declaration, which effectively set in train the Northern Ireland peace process, including the 1994 IRA ceasefire. Sir John's attendance at the funeral was greeted with a round of applause in the church. Fr D'Arcy told mourners it had been particularly important for the family that he was able to attend. He said: "His (Sir John's) words were typical: 'Where else would I be on this day?"' The Fianna Fáil politician, who was born in Rooskey, County Roscommon, served as taoiseach (prime minister) from February 1992 to December 1994. His funeral was held at Sacred Heart Church, Donnybrook, Dublin. Among the mourners were Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Irish President Michael D Higgins, as well as former Irish prime ministers Brian Cowen, Bertie Ahern, John Bruton and Liam Cosgrave, and former president Mary McAleese. Former SDLP leader and Nobel peace prize winner John Hume, current SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell, Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, and Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers were also in attendance. Mr Reynolds' grandchildren carried symbolic artefacts of his life to the altar, including his personal copy of the Downing Street Declaration and a can of puppy chow from the pet food company that he founded. Pope Francis sent a message paying tribute to Mr Reynolds' role as a peacemaker, in a telegram from the Vatican's secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin to Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. "The Holy Father learned with sadness of the death of the former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, and he asks you kindly to convey his condolences to Mrs Reynolds and their children and family," he said. "Recalling with gratitude the late Taoiseach's efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in Ireland, His Holiness prays for the eternal repose of his soul." Last week, prominent political figures from across the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland and Britain paid tribute to Mr Reynolds.
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"After playing Mandela, it's very hard to read a script that doesn't have any of the qualities that man has," he told the BBC's arts editor Will Gompertz. "It's quite interesting what it's doing to my taste in characters," he added. The 41-year-old was speaking ahead of the UK premiere of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom in London on Thursday. The film, which tells of the former South African president's upbringing and the 27 years he spent in prison, has been chosen as this year's Royal Film Performance. The biopic, which runs almost two-and-a-half hours, sees Elba gradually transform from the young idealistic lawyer Mandela was to the elderly patriarch and statesman he became. "Mapping that journey out, with all the nuances of change, was definitely something that was hard to achieve," the London-born actor said. "We didn't shoot it entirely in chronological order, so there were times I was going from old Mandela to young Mandela. It was a juggling act." Playing Nelson as an older man proved easier, however, as the actor was able to use his late father Winston "as a reference point". Elba said there was "no comparison" between his formative years in Hackney and Mandela's life in South Africa under the apartheid regime. Yet the actor conceded that, like Mandela, he was "born into a country where it was 'us and them'". "There was racism and I grew up amongst it," he said. The prejudice he experienced, however, was "only going to fuel me to go further". Elba, 41, first came to attention playing the gangster Stringer Bell on US TV crime drama The Wire. His success on that show, he suggested, "has made other writers and directors say 'We can write characters that aren't all white'. "Playing the outsider is more and more interesting to me," the actor continued. "Roles where people go 'Is that Idris?' is what I'm interested in doing." A proposed biopic of the legendary US jazz pianist Thelonious Monk is one such project, though Elba said he "wouldn't want to fake" the necessary ivory-tinkling. The actor revealed he has been working on an album inspired by the experience of filming Mandela, but denied rumours he had been cast in Jurassic Park 4. "I'm already a dinosaur," he joked. "I don't need to be in a dinosaur movie." Nor would Elba cast light on suggestions he will appear as a villain in the next James Bond film. He did, however, admit he had "had a chat" with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson. "They were great but we're not sure what's going to happen," said the actor, previously tipped to be the first 'black Bond' in some newspapers. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - which co-stars Skyfall's Naomie Harris as Mandela's former wife Winnie - is released in the UK and Ireland on 3 January, 2014. Seen as a key contender for next year's Oscars, it broke box office records in South Africa last week, earning 4.4 million rand (£256,000,
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General secretary candidate Len McCluskey met managers and shop stewards at the plant. It is five months since Ford announced cut backs on its planned investment in the new Dragon engine but it said 1,850 workers would not be affected. Mr McCluskey told BBC Wales he hoped it would not come to industrial action. But he said he wants assurances about its future and added that the union would do everything it could to save the plant. "There is a fair amount of pessimism about what the company plans," said Mr McCluskey. "Is there a hidden agenda to close the plant? "We want them to demonstrate that there isn't and that they're working hard for product replacement and we'll work hard with them." A mass meeting will be held on 1 March if the union does not hear from the company. Ford announced in 2015 that Bridgend would be making its new Dragon petrol engine, with the aim of producing 250,000 engines a year. The Welsh Government promised £15m state aid on the condition 500 jobs would be secured. And on Tuesday, Economy Secretary Ken Skates told the Senedd the Welsh Government would work with all stakeholders to ensure the factory had a future. The plant currently makes 250,000 engines a year for Jaguar Land Rover and also 500,000 of Ford's own Sigma engines but it is due to stop producing both in 2018. Last September, Ford announced Dragon production would be cut to 125,000 engines a year and investment would reduce from £181m to £100m. It said there had been "fluctuations" in global demand, predicting that required numbers of the new engine would be "lower than originally planned". However, Ford said the 1,850 workforce would not be affected. Bridgend has a capacity to produce three times what the original Dragon deal offered and concern by unions has intensified that it signals the start of a run down of the plant. Mr McCluskey said it starts to raise "serious doubts" about whether a plant of this size could be sustained producing such small volumes.
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The babies were born in May and are now playing with the rest of the group in the main enclosure. They don't stray very far from their mum though. In the wild meerkats live in large families called a "mob" or "gang" and as many as 50 meerkats can live in them. All the adults in a mob share the responsibility of looking after the pups. Meerkats live in large burrows underground, to escape the scorching heat of the South African sun. These five meerkat pups are yet to be named, but are enjoying exploring their new enclosure with each other for now.
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In a speech, Sir Michael Wilshaw said such pupils were often an "invisible minority" in schools rated good or outstanding in quite affluent areas. He wants a new team of "National Service Teachers" sent in to help. Sir Michael has praised big improvements in London schools. And he says other big cities, such as Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Leicester, have also made great strides. "Today, many of the disadvantaged children performing least well in school can be found in leafy suburbs, market towns or seaside resorts," he said in the speech in London. "Often they are spread thinly, as an 'invisible minority' across areas that are relatively affluent. End of the pier to dreaming spires "These poor, unseen children can be found in mediocre schools the length and breadth of our country. They are labelled, buried in lower sets, consigned as often as not to indifferent teaching. "They coast through education until, at the earliest opportunity, they sever their ties with it." Sir Michael told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that many of the 1.2 million children in England on free school meals (FSM) were not doing well and that "two-thirds of these are white British children". "Where the problems now are, are in schools, good schools, outstanding schools, in county areas, with small proportions of poor children that are doing extremely badly." In a new report, he said there were 15 local authorities where only a quarter of children on FSM achieved five good GCSEs including English and maths last year and that those with the poorest record on this were West Berkshire, Peterborough, Barnsley and Herefordshire. Nationally, the average for all children was that 59% reached that level, while for children on FSM it was 36%. He made recommendations aimed at closing the achievement gap between rich and poor. "National Service Teachers", he says, should be employed by central government to teach in "schools in parts of the country that are currently failing their most disadvantaged pupils". And he is calling for smaller, "sub-regional" versions of the London Challenge, the initiative which ran in the capital in the 2000s and is credited with turning around many schools. Under this Labour policy, schools were encouraged to help each other, with successful schools, heads and teachers working with those in less successful schools with similar intakes and circumstances. The chief inspector also: In England, the government has committed itself to closing the achievement gap. Bridging what is known as the achievement gap is something all recent governments have pledged to do. There has been some progress, but with a million children on free school meals (FSM) and the danger that many might leave school without good qualifications and end up jobless, there is a drive to do more. This report suggests some children on FSM do badly at school because they have not had the best start in life and begin school with poor language or social skills, "not ready to learn". Their parents might have "weak parenting skills",
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22 November 2016 Last updated at 11:47 GMT The Red Bull Aces Wingsuit race for 2016 took place in Arizona, USA over the weekend. The competition aims to find the world's best overall wingsuit pilot. The greatest pilots in the sport train specifically for this race every year. They wear cutting-edge wingsuits specially developed for the blinding speed, aggressive turns and steep dives of the race. Advanced GPS technology enables them to be tracked from the ground and the winner is determined even in close finishes. The winner is based on not only how quickly they finish, but also on how many gates they correctly pass through. The first-ever Red Bull Aces was in 2014, making this year the third time the race has been held. Find out more about the wingsuit race in the video above.
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17 June 2016 Last updated at 15:38 BST Alun Kinney Evans was suffering from drug-induced psychosis, having taken the psychoactive substance MXP, when he beat Margaret Evans to death. He has been jailed for five years.
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It said the charges for those who go into the red without agreement can be high and complex. Earlier this month, the UK's largest lender, Lloyds, said it was getting rid of unarranged overdraft fees altogether from November. Barclays has already stopped all unauthorised lending. However, other banks charge about £6 a day, or up to £90 a month. "We believe there is a case to consider fundamental reform of unarranged overdrafts, and whether they should have a place in any modern banking market," the FCA said, in its review into the high-cost credit market. "Maintaining the status quo is not an option," said FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey. Unarranged overdraft fees were often "significantly higher" than payday loans, he added. However, the FCA made it clear that an outright ban on unarranged overdrafts was only one option being considered. It could impose a cap on charges, or demand some affordability checks before a bank lends money on an unplanned basis. A year ago the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided against a cap on charges. Half of all overdraft users go over their agreed borrowing limit, according to the CMA. In 2014 such customers spent £1.2bn in charges as a result. The banking industry responded by saying that customers were usually warned if they were about to go overdrawn, usually via a text alert on on a mobile app. "When used sustainably, consumer credit is important for economic growth, and lenders work hard to ensure the balance is right between helping customers to borrow while ensuring longer term affordability," said Eric Leenders, head of personal banking at UK Finance. The FCA has also highlighted concerns about the rent-to-own market, typically used by consumers to buy fridges, freezers and televisions. "We think that is a sizeable issue, because people are paying three or four times more than if they used cash," Mr Bailey told the BBC. The FCA said that one option might be for housing associations to provide such goods instead. Mr Bailey said there were also concerns about motor finance, a worry already highlighted by the Bank of England. "We're looking at affordability tests and the transparency of terms," he said. The FCA will publish an update on this work in the first quarter of 2018. As part of its review into high-cost lending, the FCA also looked at how the cap on payday loans was working. It said that the cap, first imposed in January 2015, had delivered "substantial benefits" to consumers. Since then, no one has had to pay more than 0.8% a day of the amount borrowed. The maximum they pay is no more than twice the amount they borrowed. The FCA said its review found that the cap meant 760,000 borrowers in this market were saving a total of £150m a year, that companies were now less likely to lend to customers who cannot afford to repay, and debt charities were seeing fewer people struggling with ballooning borrowing from payday loans. Mr Bailey said
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It is with a mixture of pride and exhaustion that the two directors of the York Mystery Plays talk about the numbers of people taking part in their production, which retells Biblical stories on a near-Biblical scale. There are two casts of 250 amateur performers, with bricklayers appearing alongside lawyers and children with their grandparents, who have between them been rehearsing for six nights a week for the past four months. "One of our ambitions was to see how many people we could involve in this," says one of the directors, Paul Burbridge. "Our working pattern has been very different from usual," adds Damian Cruden, the show's other director, with a sense of weary understatement. The two sets of actors take turns - when one lot are on stage, the others are at home. That means the directors have been rehearsing two separate casts for the same three-hour show at the same time. "Three hours of theatre is one thing - that's fairly normal," Burbridge continues. "But to get six hours of theatre ready in the first week has been quite a hurdle." As well as the actors starring as angels and apostles, local sixth form woodwork students have made props, 80 women (and one man) have stitched the costumes and there is a 97-strong choir. While the participants are mostly amateur (there are just two full-time actors), the production has been instilled with professional standards. Cruden's day job is running York Theatre Royal. He won the Olivier Award for best entertainment show last year for The Railway Children, which featured a real steam train and was a hit in York and London. Burbridge, meanwhile, is artistic director of the York-based Riding Lights Theatre Company. "Most of the productions I do normally are matchbox-sized compared with this," he says. "At times you feel like you're looking at a huge film set with masses of people on stage, all pulling in the same direction, creating big pictures." For rehearsals, the play was prepared in quarters and slotted together in the final weeks. The stage, too, was split into different zones, resulting in intricate instructions like: "Red 37 enter at Yellow 2, grab a section of the Ark and go off at Red 9." The amateur involvement has its origins in the medieval plays, when craftsmen's guilds would bring Bible stories to life on wagons in the city streets - the butchers depicted the death of Christ, the bakers did the Last Supper and candle-makers took care of the annunciation to the shepherds. They were plays staged by the people for the people. Several other towns had their own mystery plays, but the manuscript from York is the most complete version to have survived and is now kept at the British Library. It was this ancient text that was mined by Mike Kenny - who worked with Cruden on The Railway Children - when crafting the script for the 2012 revival. He has boiled it down from 14 hours to just the
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Kingfisher shares were the worst performer on the London stock market in early trade, falling more than 6%. In the first three months of the year sales dropped 0.6% in stores open for at least 12 months. Sales in its French chains Castorama and Brico Depot fell 5.5%. The firm is cautious about future prospects there. However, sales at its UK Screwfix business surged 12.6%, or by 20.3% when newly opened stores were included. Total group sales, including those at newly opened stores, were up 5% to £2.86bn. In January 2016 Kingfisher chief executive Veronique Laury announced a five-year plan that aimed to increase profits by £500m. That plan will cost £800m to deliver, including a revamp of its IT and online presence. Announcing the latest results, Ms Laury said: "We remain confident in the size of the prize and our ability to deliver our long-term plan. "Strong performance in Screwfix and Poland continues, though performance in France remains weak. "In addition, we are experiencing some business disruption given the volume of change, as we clear old ranges, remerchandise new ranges and continue the roll out of our unified IT platform."
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Liverpool led twice only to be pegged back by Spurs before Balotelli, on as a substitute for Daniel Sturridge, turned in Adam Lallana's cross with seven minutes left. Lazar Markovic gave Liverpool an early lead but man-of-the-moment Harry Kane was on the mark again to swiftly equalise for Spurs with his 23rd goal of an outstanding season. Media playback is not supported on this device Steven Gerrard's penalty just after half-time restored Liverpool's lead but Mousa Dembele levelled again before the decisive late intervention from the Italy striker, who has been little more than a £16m misfit since his summer arrival from AC Milan. And in the context of the battle to earn a place in next season's Champions League, Balotelli's goal came at the perfect time, halting Spurs' recent resurgence and moving Liverpool to within one point of Mauricio Pochettino's side and three points off fourth-placed Arsenal. Balotelli did not hang around to enjoy the acclaim at the final whistle, running straight down the tunnel - but no-one appeared to notice or care as The Kop, along with the club's American owner John W. Henry who watched from the stands, celebrated this vital win. The absence of forward Raheem Sterling through injury allowed Sturridge to make his first Liverpool start since their 3-0 win at White Hart Lane on 31 August - and he had opportunities to mark his return with a goal in an early phase dominated by the hosts. He showed some ring rust as his shot lacked power when he collected Ryan Mason's poor back pass, but it needed a fine one-handed save from Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris to stop his instant shot as Liverpool applied pressure. Liverpool's opening goal came after 14 minutes and the normally impeccable Lloris had to take a large share of the responsibility. Markovic picked up the ball following an aerial challenge between Sturridge and Jan Vertonghen, and although his shot did not carry great power it deceived Lloris and ended in the corner of the goal. Kane's confidence was illustrated with an ambitious effort from the halfway line that was never going to trouble Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet, but he made no mistake with a much more routine chance as Spurs drew level 12 minutes later. Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela were the creators and when Kane had the opportunity with time and space 10 yards out, he drilled home past Mignolet. Sturridge was striving to get on the scoresheet and a piece of invention just before half-time was almost rewarded, his backheel after a scramble in the penalty area bouncing back off a post with Lloris beaten. Media playback is not supported on this device Liverpool regained the lead seven minutes after the break when Sturridge tumbled under Danny Rose's challenge, leaving Gerrard to score with his usual expertise from the spot. Spurs, once more, wasted no time responding when Dembele bundled in from almost on the line from Kane's cross after Mignolet had done well to turn away
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The visitors had to alter their game plan after Nate Wedderburn was shown a straight red card in the first half. United missed with a series of long-range efforts before finally making a late breakthrough. With 11 minutes left, striker Simon Murray turned the ball in from a corner to secure a vital win. It was the Tangerines' sixth in a row in all competitions, and extended their unbeaten run to eight games. The game was initially a test of United's patience. They had faced Dunfermline twice this season already, winning on both occasions, and the visitors sought to be organised, industrious and difficult to break down. The approach was practical, given United's recent form and the fact they were playing with a certainty that their play would eventually deliver a goal. They needed that faith, though, since they were restricted in the first half to a Scott Fraser shot skipping wide and a Murray effort bouncing off the legs of Dunfermline goalkeeper Sean Murdoch. The visitors, second bottom of the Championship, were content to build a sense of reassurance. Industry was the priority, although they did carry a threat when Nicky Clark broke away on a counter-attack and struck a left-foot effort straight at United keeper Cammy Bell. The game was finely balanced when Wedderburn suffered a moment of rashness. He launched himself, two-footed and off the ground, at Tony Andreu, with referee Don Robertson immediately issuing a red card. Dunfermline looked to dig in after the interval, stiffening their midfield with substitute Rhys McCabe, whilst United were reliant on the shrewd promptings of Andreu, Willo Flood and Fraser. The latter pulled a shot wide after a sustained period of pressure. With Murdoch being booked for time-wasting, it was evident how Dunfermline were looking to see out the game. They occasionally broke upfield, though, and Kallum Higginbotham almost opened the scoring as he shot across the face of goal. The Pars thought they had engineered an opportunity to break the deadlock when United defender Mark Durnan barged Clark out the way of the ball as he ran into the box, but the referee was unmoved by the penalty claims. Dunfermline's resistance was eventually broken though when a corner dropped to Murray at the back post and he clipped it high into the net. Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon: "It was a scrappy game, there wasn't any fluency and we had to be very patient. The guys are learning that patience is the key, they kept going about their business well and squandered a few half chances, but ultimately they got their reward." "We were just about to take Simon [Murray] off and bring Blair Spittal on. He's got himself back in the team and he tends to pop up with a goal here and there, so I'm delighted for him." On the red card: "I was only 20 yards away and I thought it was a really bad tackle [by Wedderburn]. Tony Andreu's really fortunate to not have a
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The prince's communications secretary said Harry has not expressed any views about the Iraq Historic Allegations Team's (IHAT) work. A senior source was quoted in the Sun's report on 17 October, saying Harry was "furious" with the investigation. The Sun would not comment on Harry's denial but stands by the story. Speaking to the newspaper, the source said Prince Harry was "furious at the treatment of some British troops" and "frustrated" he could not intervene. They added: "He thinks the whole thing is a joke and is very concerned about the support these men and women are getting." But Prince Harry's communications secretary Jason Knauf said the prince was passionate about his work in supporting veterans and that it will be "a cause he champions for the rest of his life". But Prince Harry, who served as an Army officer for 10 years and was deployed twice to Afghanistan, wanted to respond to the claims because it was "only fair that people know the facts". Mr Knauf denied that Harry had spoken about his views on the topic to anyone as he didn't think it was appropriate. He said: "Prince Harry does not comment on issues like this because to do so would actually undermine his ability to support veterans both in the UK and overseas." Established in November 2010, IHAT was set up to investigate allegations of murder, abuse and torture of Iraqi civilians by UK military personnel between 2003 and 2009. The claims have ranged from ill-treatment during detention to assault and death by shooting with some wrongdoing being exposed. However in September, Prime Minister Theresa May said every effort must be made to stop the legal system being abused over allegations of serious misconduct by UK troops. The prime minister told defence chiefs she was determined to stop "vexatious" claims being brought against the armed forces. Last month she raised concerns over the "industrial scale" of claims lodged with IHAT. More than 1,500 individuals have put in a claim to the body, with 326 cases being settled, and around £20 million being paid in compensation.
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Ms Lagarde, 58, has been questioned about her role in awarding compensation to businessman Bernard Tapie in 2008. She denies any wrongdoing. Ms Lagarde was France's minister of finance at the time of the award. In a statement, the IMF executive board said it was confident Ms Lagarde could continue to lead the organisation. "It would not be appropriate to comment on a case that has been and is currently before the French judiciary," the executive board, which appoints the IMF's chief, said in a statement. "However, the executive board has been briefed on recent developments related to this matter, and continues to express its confidence in the managing director's ability to effectively carry out her duties," it added. Ms Lagarde was placed under formal investigation by the French authorities on Wednesday. She described the case against her as "without merit". Formal investigations in France do not necessarily lead to charges, but indicate that a magistrate believes there are signs of wrongdoing. Investigators suspect Mr Tapie was granted a deal in return for his support of Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election. Ms Lagarde was finance minister in Mr Sarkozy's government when he was given compensation. Mr Tapie was once a majority shareholder in sports goods company Adidas but sold it in 1993 in order to become a cabinet minister in Francois Mitterrand's Socialist government. Mr Tapie sued Credit Lyonnais over its handling of the sale, alleging the partly state-owned bank had defrauded him by deliberately undervaluing the company. His case was later referred by Ms Lagarde to a three-member arbitration panel which awarded the compensation. Ms Lagarde said last year that her decision to refer Mr Tapie's long-running dispute with Credit Lyonnais to a panel of judges was "the best solution at the time". She replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn as IMF managing director in 2011. He quit over sexual assault charges in New York, which were later dropped.
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A US-UK trade deal would be a priority, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker said after meeting Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Barack Obama warned in April that the UK would be at the back of the queue for trade deals if voters chose Brexit. Mr Johnson has been meeting with top Republicans on Capitol Hill. "We hear we are first in line to do a great free trade deal with the United States. So, it's going to be a very exciting year for both our countries," he said. Those meeting with the foreign secretary included House speaker Paul Ryan and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. He travelled to Washington after meeting with Mr Trump's senior advisers in New York. A Foreign Office source told the BBC the talks in Washington saw "seriously positive" discussions on the prospects for a future US-UK trade deal. Mr Corker said Mr Johnson knows "full well" that "there is no way the United Kingdom is going to take a back seat". "They will take a front seat and I think it will be our priority to make sure that we deal with them on a trade agreement initially but in all respects in a way that demonstrates the long-term friendship that we've had for so long," he said. The senator, who had been a leading candidate for secretary of state, said he was sure Mr Trump would agree with him. Mr Johnson will not meet Mr Trump's choice for top diplomat, Rex Tillerson, while in Washington. Protocol dictates that cannot happen until the businessman is confirmed as secretary of state. Earlier, in New York, the foreign secretary met with Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who will serve as a senior adviser in the White House, and his chief strategist, Steve Bannon. Officials said they discussed US foreign policy towards Syria, Russia and China in "positive but frank talks" held hours after Mr Trump tweeted he was "very much" looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Theresa May in the spring. On Sunday, Mrs May had denounced the president-elect's previous comments about women as "unacceptable". But she also said the relationship between the two countries is about "something much bigger" than the relationship between the leaders of their governments.
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Fred Payne, 78, allowed Lisa Connelly to stay at his home in Rochdale Way, Colchester, where she "dominated him" and helped herself to a "sizeable" chunk of his pension, a court heard. She started a fire in the bedroom of the flat last September. Connelly, 42, admitted manslaughter and arson charges. Chelmsford Crown Court heard her life had fallen apart at the age of 30 when she got into drugs. Mr Payne, described by neighbours as a lovely man who wouldn't hurt anyone, had taken Connelly in, and she repaid him by neglecting, exploiting and manipulating him, the court heard. She had been sleeping in the bedroom of his flat - where he had lived for 20 years - while he lived in the living room. As his health deteriorated, Connelly had taken a sizeable amount of his £260-a-week pension to fund her drug habit, buying mainly crack cocaine. The court heard Mr Payne, who had no traceable family, had cocaine in his system when he died as a result of inhaling smoke. Two heroes, Dale Copping and Anton Cook, had tried to save Mr Payne from the burning building. Mr Cook had gone through flames three times in a bid to help him, but was unable to find him. A 96-year-old woman was saved from another flat. Connelly had previously admitted a separate offence of burglary, but will serve no further time for that.
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The fixture will take place at 20:00 BST on Tuesday, 13 June, three days after England face Scotland in a World Cup 2018 qualifier at Hampden Park. The last time the teams met, in November 2015, England beat France 2-0 at Wembley in an emotional friendly in the aftermath of the Paris attacks. France won 1-0 in the last meeting at the Stade de France, in March 2008. Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.
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More than 200 GPs were at a a meeting called by the British Medical Association on Tuesday night. Some 97% of doctors at the meeting said they would sign an undated resignation letter, the BMA has said. The move came on the day Health Minister Michelle O'Neill announced significant investment in GP surgeries. She announced a 10-year plan which includes providing more GPs and nurses. Tom Black of the British Medical Association (BMA) gave the move a cautious welcome. "We have the minister saying the right things, we now need the system to implement the minister's plan," he said. "I have confidence in this minister, this minister gets it. "She knows what is wrong, she knows what needs to be done. "I also think that the assembly is focused on this problem, but we have been here before and we haven't followed through with the implementation, the action and the investment - that is what we need to do now." He added: "While there were some positive announcements by the minister as part of her health and wellbeing plans, until we have greater clarity about the funding for these initiatives we need to move forward with our own plans," he said. The decision to ask GPs to consider undated resignations follows a motion taken at a meeting of the Local Medical Committee (LMC) in March. Then, doctors voted in favour of seeking support for such a mass action if the Department of Health failed to negotiate a rescue package for primary care within six months. Ms O'Neill's plan sets out a range of priorities, including a focus on keeping people healthy in the first place, and a new model of care involving a team of professionals based around GP surgeries. Its 18 time-specific action points are based on recommendations from a government-appointed panel. The proposals set out in the report, Delivering Together, include: Opposition politicians have questioned the lack of details in the plan, which is not costed.
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But what does the Finns Party stand for, and how might its involvement in government change the Nordic country's relations with other EU states? Anti-immigration rhetoric is one of the signature themes of the Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns. The party says immigration to Finland from outside the EU should be permitted only in cases where it brings economic advantage. It says social and health care should be primarily for Finns, and it dismisses some EU immigrants such as the Roma as "criminals" and others as people seeking to take advantage of Finland's welfare services. Refugees should flee to, and remain in, countries neighbouring their own and not come to Finland, it says. The country's aid budget should be abolished entirely and the money handed over to voluntary organisations. In an earlier manifesto, from 2011, the party suggested how demand for labour might be met without immigration. Young women should be persuaded not to study and instead give birth to Finnish babies who would eventually fill the demand for workers, it said. Several Finns Party MPs are active members of nationalist organisations campaigning to change bilingual Finland (where Swedish is an official language) to a unilingual citadel of Finnish. Much of the rhetoric on this issue is highly charged. One of the campaigners' aims is to end mandatory teaching of Swedish in Finnish schools. An initiative to make Swedish voluntary was voted down in parliament during the winter. However, a new policy, supported by the Finns Party, is being tested in municipalities close to the Russian border, where instead of mandatory Swedish, Finnish pupils will have mandatory lessons in Russian instead. The move has been applauded by Moscow, but it sends odd signals to the rest of the EU. The party's origins lie in a split in the Centre Party (then known as the Agrarian League) in 1959, when charismatic former cabinet minister Veikko Vennamo resigned in protest at what he saw as Finland's too-friendly relations with the Soviet Union. After a period of instability and several name changes, he established the Rural Party in 1966. Basing its appeal on defending "forgotten" small-scale farmers, the party jumped from one seat to 18 in the 1970 election. After another split, triggered by a dispute over Mr Vennamo's leadership style, the party bounced back in 1983, winning 17 seats. Led by the founder's son, Pekka, the party criticised its established rivals as mired in bureaucracy and corruption. Policy focused on providing care and support for the poor and unemployed, with a dose of nationalism mixed in. But joining the government proved to be disastrous for the party. It was unable to keep its promise to abolish unemployment within months and fell into another political downturn. By 1995, the party was in ruins, and the True Finns Party was established from its ashes. With only one MP in parliament and the party in severe financial difficulties, Timo Soini took over as chairman in 1997. For three successive elections, the party
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A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 27 January and 3 February. Send your photos to scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk or our Instagram at #bbcscotlandpics
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Selby, 30, earned a unanimous points decision at Wembley Arena - his third successful defence. The 30-year-old told ITV: "I got the win, and I dedicate it to my mother." Barros inflicted a cut above Selby's right eye early on but otherwise did little to trouble him, and the Argentine was floored in the 12th. Speaking about the death of his mother, Selby said: "I told my team not to mention anything, turned my phone off, there were emotions going through me before the fight. "If I told anyone I would have been strapped up in a straitjacket. I got the win, and I dedicate it to my mother." Selby said at no stage did he consider pulling out of the bout, saying: "No. I'm a fighter and whatever happens I'll still fight." The Welshman said he was not troubled by the cut he sustained. "Nothing in the ring fazes me. It's a fight. You're supposed to get cut, and I've got the best cuts man in the business, Chris Sanigar." Former WBA champion Carl Frampton, who was ringside, remains a possible opponent for Selby's fourth title defence. "He probably fancies it now, it's a fight I'd love, and all the British fans will love," said Selby. Frampton tweeted: "Huge respect to @leeselby126 fighting under those circumstances."
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The party's candidate, Paul Farrelly - its MP since 2001 - is keeping calm and carrying on in the face of an attack from his well-funded political opponents, the Conservatives. But while Labour has been in retreat in the constituency in recent elections, this time he's finding it more difficult to get rescued from the prospect of defeat. The seat is number eight on the Tory target list. It was highly marginal in 2015 so reinforcements were offered and Paul Farrelly scraped home with a 650-vote majority. This time he has seen no evidence that help will be on its way. Yet it's much needed. Not expecting a snap election, his agent and secretary have holidays they can't cancel. He told me: "We are being outgunned. I am hoping we have enough resources to continue the campaign. "It's an uphill battle like never before. What we are used to in marginal seats is a mass mobilisation from safer seats - and hopeless seats, quite frankly, and that's not happening this time." This is a seat Labour needs to defend if it is to have a realistic hope of winning the general election. But then Paul Farrelly doesn't think his party will win that election. He is not campaigning on the national message here: "If I told anyone Jeremy Corbyn was going to be prime minister they would laugh me off the streets. "The message is to rein in the landslide Theresa May wants. Don't give Theresa May a lapdog parliament." This is how he puts it in his official campaign literature: "Please don't let May take us over in June." And while he mentions Theresa May in his leaflets, he doesn't mention his own leader. "We have limited space on election leaflets and there is no space for Jeremy." He says he doesn't usually put leaders on leaflets but adds that "Jeremy does not go down well with our core Labour support". He is fighting a relentlessly local campaign - opposing a potential hospital closure and arguing for better school funding - rather than setting out what Labour would do in government. And Paul Farrelly is not alone. Although they are not queuing up to talk to the media, other Labour politicians have taken a similar approach. I've obtained a script circulating amongst Corbyn-sceptic candidates which advises them to: The Conservatives believe they have another useful line of attack in Newcastle under Lyme. Voters here backed Leave in the EU referendum. Paul Farrelly refused to vote for triggering Article 50, which formally began the Brexit process. The Conservatives' recently selected candidate, Owen Meredith, himself voted Remain in the referendum. He told me: "Like the prime minister, I support the result of the referendum. "Like the prime minister I think we can make a success of Brexit. And unlike the local Labour MP I would have voted to trigger Article 50." And well he might take that line. Though he is also fighting on local issues - he got his first
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The Cryosat-2 radar spacecraft has transformed studies of the Arctic, the Antarctic and Greenland, but is now operating beyond its design lifetime. A group of 179 researchers is concerned the ageing mission could die in orbit at any time. They have urged the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (Esa) to start planning a replacement. "The mission is now central to international efforts to monitor the state of the cryosphere," they write in a letter to top officials at the EC and Esa. Cryosat-2 was launched in 2010 on what was initially supposed to be just a one-off, three-and-half-year observation of marine and land ice - to get a snapshot of any gains and losses. But the performance of the spacecraft's mapping instrument - its SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter (Siral) - has exceeded all expectations, and made for some compelling data-sets. The satellite has delivered the first complete assessment of Arctic sea-ice thickness and volume, as well as the most precise measurements yet of the volume and mass of the great ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland. It is a capability the scientists are loath to give up. "Over recent years, the Esa Cryosat-2 satellite has significantly improved our understanding of how polar ice sheets - in particular, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) - are changing and contributing to current global sea-level rise," said letter signatory Prof David Vaughan, the director of science at the British Antarctic Survey. "Many of the recent improvements in the models we use to predict the future of the WAIS were driven by the requirement to accurately simulate Cryosat's observations. So maintaining the record of ice-sheet change in future decades will be vital if we are to achieve the most rapid possible improvements in future projections of sea-level rise," he told BBC News. How long Cryosat-2 can keep working is anyone's guess. It has enough fuel to sustain itself into the early 2020s but component failure in the harsh environment of its orbit, 720km above the Earth, is an ever-present risk. If there is to be a Cryosat-3, it will not come directly out of the Esa stable. The agency's job is to develop new technologies; its remit does not extend to funding ongoing, repeat missions. This means a successor would fit better within the Copernicus series of satellites - known as the Sentinels - which are currently being rolled out by the European Commission, paid for by EU member states; Esa participates only as the technical advisor. One of these new platforms, Sentinel-3, can do some work in polar regions: it has a radar altimeter to sense ice surfaces, too. But the spacecraft's orbit does not reach the same heights, meaning its data contains a 1,860km-wide "hole" at northernmost and southernmost latitudes. This makes it blind to most Arctic sea-ice, for example. Additionally, Sentinel-3's radar does not operate in a so-called interferometric mode. This is the capability that allows Cryosat to measure the slopes and ridges at the edges of the ice
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Rachael Halifax, 43, has been recognised for volunteering at cycling groups in Glasgow. The clinical co-ordinator at Strathclyde University will attend the Sports Personality of the Year 2016 event in Birmingham on 18 December. "I am lucky to be involved with these fantastic groups that do a great job of encouraging cycling," she said. "The commitment and dedication of all those involved in running them is inspiring." At Free Wheel North, based at Glasgow Green Cycling Centre, Rachael helps people with disabilities cycle using specially adapted bikes, teaches children and adults of all ages how to ride and helps to organise Breeze, a British Cycling programme aimed at increasing cycling participation among women. Glasgow Riderz, a youth and junior cycling club for riders aged 7-18, is another group Rachael is involved with, focusing on the core skills and techniques of 9-11 year-olds. Media playback is not supported on this device Free Wheel North project co-ordinator Carol Thompson nominated Rachael for the award and said: "Rachael's passion for cycling is infectious. "She has inspired participants in all the groups that she volunteers in - kids, adults, ladies, people with disabilities, people who thought they wouldn't be able to ride a bike. Without Rachael volunteering there would be less people out on their bikes. There would not be as many people enjoying the outdoors, cycling with their families, cycling for recreation or commuting." Now in its 14th year, the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero award celebrates people from around the UK who volunteer their time and efforts to help people participate in sport. Panels have met to pick a winner in BBC Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and in each of the BBC's 12 English regions. The overall winner will be selected from those 15 and will be announced during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme, which will be broadcast on BBC One and the BBC Sport website. Head of Sport at BBC Scotland, Ewan Angus, said: "Rachael is a worthy winner of this accolade. She is an inspirational volunteer who makes a fantastic contribution to developing cycling in the community. We wish her the best of luck going for the UK-wide award at the big event next month." And Rachael added: "I am delighted and grateful that I have received this award. I think it's great that the work of volunteers in giving so many people the chance to participate in sport is recognised by BBC Get Inspired."
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At both ends of the African continent, there is macabre drama being played out over migration. At the southern tip of the continent, poor black South Africans have risen up against poor black immigrants from African countries. They want them to go back to their own countries. At least seven people have been killed. There has been reaction from almost every part of the continent. Threats have been issued to South African businesses. There is general outrage - African countries helped black South Africans fight apartheid and Africa expected some gratitude in return. According to the South African High Commissioner to Ghana, there have been threats to burn down her High Commission in the capital, Accra. In Ghana, the main opposition party has accused the government of a "meek reaction" to the events in South Africa. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, current chairman of the African Union, has had some choice words to say on the matter. Meanwhile at the other end of the continent, at the northern-most tip, desperate young Africans are drowning in the Mediterranean whilst trying to get to Europe. In the past two weeks about a thousand people have drowned in the seas between North Africa and the southern coast of Italy. The European Union has had an emergency meeting on the matter and announced measures they intend to take. The measures seem to amount to: "We will not open our doors to African migrants, no matter how many of them drown trying to enter Europe." Nothing more. The Pope has had something to say and human rights activists around Europe have all made pronouncements on the humanitarian disaster that is taking place off the Libyan coast. Everybody has had something to say except the African leaders whose citizens constitute the majority of those dying trying to get into Europe. Elizabeth Ohene: "The drama unfolding on the North African coast demands some noise of some kind from Africa. Otherwise we shall forfeit forever the right to comment on any other world event" Eritrea heads the list of African countries generating the people wanting to leave their countries and go to Europe; followed by the usual suspects: Somalis, Senegalese, Gambians, Nigerians and my compatriots, Ghanaians. There came a story within the story, when it was reported that on one of the migrant boats, the Muslims turned on their fellow desperados who happened to be Christians and threw some of them into the sea. It has been determined that six Ghanaians were among those who perished in that incident. Our foreign minister has said officials from the Ghana embassy in Italy have gone to find out more details from the survivors and from the Italian prosecutors. On the main story of desperate young Africans - who would rather die in the cemetery of the Mediterranean Sea, to borrow the colourful words of the Maltese prime minister - not a single word has come from any foreign ministry or government on the continent, or opposition party. The first comments on
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Tuesday night's hearing, on the club's failure to pay disciplinary fees for undisclosed payments to players, is off as Ports officials are not available. A new date for the hearing has yet to be arranged by the Irish FA. The suspension was temporarily lifted after the IFA said the club had grounds for an appeal and a final decision will be made following the hearing. A £5,000 fine was imposed, along with a transfer embargo preventing the club from signing players on professional terms until June 2017, after irregularities were found in payments made to former striker Gary Twigg. It is understood that an initial cheque sent by Portadown to the IFA 'bounced'. The fine was later paid but the IFA's Disciplinary Committee decided to keep the the ban in place, although subsequently it was lifted until the appeal hearing. Portadown's opening league game against Coleraine was postponed as a result of the controversy. Another appeal by the club, against a 12-point deduction imposed after they were found to have paid Peter McMahon while he was registered as an amateur, will also be heard by the IFA's Appeals Committee at the same meeting.
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The female, ringed as KL, has successfully mated with an unringed male at the nest at Bassenthwaite. The Lake District Osprey Project said the pair had produced a full clutch of three eggs, but one was not strong enough to make it out of the shell. A spokesman said it was "delighted" they had returned for the third year. Ospreys returned to the Lakes District in 2001, after an absence of more than 150 years. Over the last 15 years of the monitoring project, more than 30 chicks have been raised at the nest. A team of more than 100 volunteers provides a 24-hour guard at the site and crowds of people visit specially-created viewpoints to catch sight of the birds. Live images from the nest are also being beamed to a big screen at the nearby Whinlatter visitor centre.
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Video footage appears to show the 32-year-old licking his finger and shining the ball while eating a sweet. Du Plessis was charged for breaching level two of the International Cricket Council code of conduct relating to "changing the condition of the ball" using an artificial substance. He has pleaded not guilty. South Africa completed an innings-and-80-run victory on Tuesday to win the three Test series with a game to spare, with Du Plessis deputising as skipper for the injured AB de Villiers, In 2013, Du Plessis was fined 50% of his match fee for ball tampering in the second Test against Pakistan. He was caught on camera rubbing the ball against a zip on his pocket on the third day of the match in Dubai, leading umpires to penalise South Africa five runs and change the ball. On that occasion Du Plessis did not contest the charge. Former South Africa captain Hashim Amla, who also played against Australia in the week, said that he thought the charge against Du Plessis "was actually a joke". "It's not April, but the allegation against Faf was a really ridiculous thing. As a team, we're standing strong, we've done nothing wrong," he added. "I chew bubblegum while I'm on the field - you want me to brush my teeth after lunch? We're standing out on the field for two hours... there was no malicious intent whatsoever. "I've had sweets in my mouth, bubblegum in my mouth, butong, nuts. I'm not sure what the big deal is. To a lot of people, it's sounding more like sour sweets." ICC chief executive David Richardson said the matter will now be heard by Andy Pycroft of the Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. All level two breaches carry an imposition of a fine between 50-100% of the applicable match fee and/or up to two suspension points, and three or four demerit points.
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Cheryl James was treated in hospital after taking "six-to-eight" painkillers in 1992 after the death of her cousin, her father told the hearing. Des James viewed it as a cry for help at a tough time for the family. The family's lawyer said the death of 18-year-old Pte James may not have been self-inflicted. Pte James, from Denbighshire, was found shot dead at the base in November 1995 - one of four deaths of recruits at Deepcut between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying and abuse. The army said the bullet wound to her head was self-inflicted, but in 1995 a coroner recorded an open verdict. Mr James, the first person to testify at the new inquest, granted by the High Court in 2014 as a result of the emergence of new evidence, told the coroner he hoped for a "thorough" investigation into his daughter's death. "As long as at the end of the inquest I'm able to feel confident everything that could be done has been done, I would be satisfied," he said. Mr James was involved in sharp exchanges with a barrister representing Surrey Police, during which it emerged his daughter had taken six-to-eight paracetamol while at school following the death of her cousin, Rob, in 1992. He said: "I guess there was an assumption that it was a cry for help and it became a part of what we were all going through." Mr James also said he had been unaware until after the first inquest of letters from his daughter saying she had wanted to leave the Army. The Woking Coroner's Court hearing also heard Pte James had been the victim of an alleged rape by two boys when she was 14. Who were the Deepcut four? Background to the deaths and timeline of events Mr James told the inquest he and his wife Doreen were not aware of the alleged rape at the time. "All my wife knew was she wanted to get the morning-after pill," he said. "The alleged assault was something we found out about a lot later." Earlier, the family's barrister said there was evidence there might have been a "third-party involvement" in Pte James's death. Alison Foster QC, acting of behalf of human rights organisation Liberty and representing Pte James's family, said: "Now there is distinguished pathological evidence showing that the shot that killed Cheryl James may not have been self-inflicted. But John Beggs QC, acting for Surrey Police, dismissed such claims as speculative. He questioned Mr James's assertion that the police investigation had been cursory. He said the force had been dealing with a serial rapist and the search for schoolgirl Milly Dowler at the same time as looking again at Cheryl's death in 2002. And he asked him: "Did it ever occur to you that you yourself may have been distracting Surrey Police?" Coroner Brian Barker QC intervened, saying he was not happy with the line of questioning. Earlier in the hearing, Mr Beggs said evidence that Pte
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Armagh 1-15 2-08 Down Derry 2-17 0-05 QUB - latest score Monaghan 1-13 0-10 St Mary's College Fermanagh 0-19 0-05 Antrim Cavan 0-15 0-19 Ulster University Tyrone 2-23 0-06 Donegal
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Media playback is not supported on this device Williams scored the opening try as his village side won the competition for the first time, 43-31 over Caerphilly. "If I feel like this every time I play, I definitely will [carry on]," the 40-year-old told BBC Wales Sport. "I'm going to remain involved, coaching or helping out in some form." The wing scored a record 58 tries in 87 caps for Wales, also playing four Tests for the British and Irish Lions, before ending his professional career in Japan. He made his comeback this season, playing several league games and also came on as a replacement in the semi-final win over Cilfynydd. Media playback is not supported on this device "You never know, it might not be finished - what a place to play!" said Williams as he soaked up the applause of a noisy support, having his photograph taken with anyone close enough to the front of the stand. "I started my career against France back in 2000, I've had a number of 'final' matches here, one against Australia, one against Wales [for the Barbarians], which was superb. "But I never thought in a million years I'd be back here. I've been fully retired three years and apart from helping coaching, I haven't really touched a rugby ball. "Playing at the Principality Stadium today in front of a great crowd, they were superb, even the Caerphilly lot - it's very fitting and I've loved it." Media playback is not supported on this device Williams, who lined up with brother Dean and brother-in-law Gavin Lewis in the United back three, scored from 20 metres out with his first touch, gave the scoring pass to Lewis for his team's second, and had a hand in the other two touch-downs. "The boys have been taking the mick out of me all season for not scoring, so it's nice to get involved early and I got a touch early on and scored. But it was tough out there and I got steamrollered I don't know how many times - I'll have to work on my tackling! Media playback is not supported on this device "It's superb for the town. The boys have worked their socks off all season and today wasn't about me, it was about 'the Amman' being successful. "We played a very good Caerphilly side. At times I thought they were going to run away with it, but it's like Christmas for these guys - they may not get this opportunity again. "The boys were having a sing-song before the match and I've never done that before, but they've been so nervous, they've been like kids and with the season they've had, they thoroughly deserve this."
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Nothing had been elucidated. It was all mud-slinging. It was unworthy of a presidential election. Maybe. But it didn't half make for riveting viewing. And at the end of the day, the debate did its job. For the millions sitting through those two hours of insults, interruptions and (just occasionally) ideas, the differences between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron could hardly have been made any plainer. The National Front leader set the tone with her opening remarks, which were clearly intended to cause personal hurt. Macron's smile had become a grimace, she said. The mask had fallen - behind the personable front lay the coldness of a banker. Insults like that can only have been intended to rattle her adversary, to provoke him into saying something he would regret. And that was her tactic throughout: constantly needling Emmanuel Macron with jibes and vaguely-worded accusations. There had been a big argument in advance about whether the producers of the debate would be allowed to use cutaways. These are images of the person who is not talking, when he or she reacts to the one who is. Finally it was agreed that they could be broadcast - and thus we were able to watch Marine Le Pen doing something unusual. Throughout much of the debate she was smiling, sometimes even chuckling. It seemed to be part of a rehearsed psychological ploy to unnerve her opponent, by appearing to find his answers so ludicrous as to be amusing. Except none of this tactic worked. Emmanuel Macron did not rise to the bait. Say what you will of him, Macron is an extraordinarily composed and accomplished performer. Throughout the debate he remained master of himself and his argument. At only one point did she score. In the section on terrorism, she launched a attack on Macron's supposed feebleness in face of the jihadist threat, and explained that she would make France safer by expelling foreign suspects. Macron responded with a long-winded explanation of how so many terrorists were in fact French, and how therefore France needed to examine its own conscience for letting that happen. The argument misfired badly because it made it look as if Macron blamed France as much as the terrorists. But for the rest, it was Marine Le Pen who betrayed weakness and confusion on a range of issues - especially economic. On the question of leaving the euro, far from clearing up the uncertainty about what she actually wants, she made matters worse by exposing her ignorance of the old European Currency Unit. She was constantly playing with documents in front of her, searching for points and remarks to quote back at him. But it made her look unsure of her brief, and too often her attacks were reduced to the same old slogans. Macron, by contrast, appeared comfortable and spontaneous. These face-to-face debates are a traditional part of the election process, and for 40 years the French have tuned in to see which candidate is more likely
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He said he had not meant to offend Israeli Arab voters. In a Facebook message directed at supporters on election day, he warned that "right-wing rule is in danger" as left-wing organisations were bringing Arabs to vote "in buses". The Joint List alliance of Arab-dominated parties rejected the apology. The prime minister had feared his voters would stay at home, but won against expectations. Mr Netanyahu now says he hopes to form a new governing coalition within two or three weeks. Apologising for his comments he said: "I know the things I said a few days ago hurt some Israeli citizens. "My actions as prime minister, including massive investment in minority sectors, prove the exact opposite. "I think, similarly, that no element outside the state of Israel should intervene in our democratic processes." Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint Arab List - an alliance of Israeli Arab-dominated parties that united for the first time and secured 13 seats at last week's election, told Israel's Channel 10: "We do not accept this apology. "It was to a group of elders and not to the elected leadership of Israel's Arabs. I want to see actions, how is he going to manifest this apology? Will he advance equality?" Mr Netanyahu's comments on election day drew criticism from the White House, which said it was "deeply concerned" by "divisive rhetoric" that sought to marginalise Israeli Arabs. Ahead of the vote, Mr Netanyahu also said he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state if re-elected. His centre-left opposition, the Zionist Union, had promised to repair ties with the Palestinians and the international community. Mr Netanyahu has since watered down this position in an interview with MSNBC. But White House adviser Denis McDonough said on Monday that "we cannot pretend that these comments were never made." Israeli Arabs, descendants of the 160,000 Palestinians who remained after the State of Israel was created in 1948, represent about 20% the Israeli population.
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Sahil Roy died about an hour after he was discovered by police in Summerwood Road, Isleworth, on 10 April. A post-mortem examination found he died from a stab wound to the throat. Azeem Issa, also 28, of Haweswater House, Isleworth, was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey. He will be sentenced at the same court on Thursday.
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Arlene Foster said that "if there's an election, there's an election". She described Sinn Féin's demand that she stand aside during an investigation into the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme as "ludicrous". The RHI scheme is approximately £490m over budget. Speaking to the Impartial Reporter newspaper, Mrs Foster said: "We want to see an independent inquiry probably more than anybody". "While others have been engaging in hysteria over Christmas I've been actually working to try and find a plan and work through all of this with my ministerial colleague Simon Hamilton," she said. The RHI was set up by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Deti) under the stewardship of Mrs Foster in 2012 to encourage businesses and other non-domestic users to move from using fossil fuels to renewable heating systems. It was an attempt by the NI Executive to increase consumption of heat from renewable sources. But flaws in setting the scheme's subsidy rate left it open to abuse as claimants could earn more cash the more fuel they burned. 'Conflict of interest' Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams said at the weekend that the DUP leader's refusal to step aside during an investigation into the green energy scheme was "unacceptable". He also hinted that Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness could resign if Mrs Foster remained in post. Mr Adams suggested there was a "clear conflict of interest" if she remained. However, the first minister described Sinn Féin's position as "a purely political demand and not one that serves any genuine purpose". Also writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Mrs Foster said the party "demand an independent inquiry free from any political interference, but they then make the holding of it conditional on my stepping aside". Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster, her party colleague, Economy Minister Simon Hamilton, said that if Sinn Féin wanted an election "then we say bring it on". "I'm saying categorically that the first minister will not be stepping down from her post, so the corollary from that is that if Sinn Féin are threatening an election then that is the more likely outcome".
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The jump jockey made headlines last year with his return to the saddle, two years after sustaining life-threatening injuries in a fall at Perth. Toomey, 26, has not ridden a winner since his comeback in July, but will continue riding in the short term alongside his training duties. Newland won the Grand National at Aintree with Pineau De Re in 2014. Toomey was given a 3% chance of survival by doctors after a horrific fall from Solway Dandy in 2013. He was reported to have died for six seconds before being resuscitated by paramedics. A large section of his skull was removed as his brain swelled in an induced coma and he spent 157 days in hospital before being released. Previously based with Phil Kirby in North Yorkshire, Toomey will join the Newland team in Worcester on 1 February. He has been riding for the David Pipe stable since August, "I had hoped to get going a bit more but it's been hard," said Toomey. "I'm starting off as assistant trainer there and will remain riding for a bit longer. "He doesn't have many horses but what he does have are decent."
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Androulla Farr, 50, of West Wick, Weston-super-Mare, admitted one count of bribery or corruption while working for North Somerset Council. Ms Farr accepted the £2,000 bribe, even though the child's details were protected by an adoption order, North Somerset Magistrates' Court was told. She is due before Bristol Crown Court for sentencing on 6 June. North Somerset Council confirmed Ms Farr left the authority in 2006. "We have been helping the police with their inquiries regarding this case," the spokesman added.
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