Datasets:

mia-llm

/

xsum-raw-MIA

like 0

Follow

MIA LLM 4

Sixty-one million Facebook users in the US were shown the message, while 600,000 others simply saw a message imploring them to vote. A report in Nature shows the message drove about 60,000 extra votes in the 2010 US Congressional elections. But the message appearing on friends' pages drove a further 282,000 votes. The work was led by James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, whose prior work has shown, among many other things, that the friends we choose may in part be down to genetics. For the current work, he and his colleagues were interested in examining the oft-cited claim that online social networks influence offline decision-making - a claim that has until now been difficult to pin down. "There's been a lot of work in online social networks showing that app adoption can spread from person to person, and there's been a lot of work in the real world showing that things like obesity and drinking and smoking can spread from person to person," Prof Fowler told the Science In Action programme on the BBC World Service. "But there hasn't been any work that showed what happens online affects the real world." To look into that question, the team arranged for Facebook to post a non-partisan "social" message along the top of 61 million users' pages, including a reminder that it was voting day, a clickable "I voted" button, a link to information about nearby polling places, and a list of up to six of the users' friends who had already clicked the button. About 600,000 users were shown an alternate, "informational" message, identical except for the absence of the friends data. A further 600,000 were shown no message at all. The data on which users sought polling station data or clicked the "I voted" button could then be cross-correlated with publicly available data on who actually went to cast a vote. The results showed to a high statistical significance that those who received the "social" message were more than 2% more likely to report having voted and 0.4% more likely to actually vote than those shown the "informational" message. And users were 0.22% more likely to vote for each "close" friend - as measured by the degree of Facebook interaction - who received the message. By correlating the findings with polling data and comparing with the "no-message" case, the team estimate that the message resulted in more than 340,000 extra votes being cast. Prof Fowler conceded that the results represented a small fraction of the voting public, but that it was enough to sometimes make a large difference. "I doubt it changed the outcome of the overall election, but it's possible it had an impact on local elections," he said. "There are certainly circumstances in our history where a far smaller number of votes would have mattered: in 2000 in the US the presidential election was decided by just 537 votes in Florida." The findings are intriguing from a political point of view, but the study

Environment Secretary Lesley Griffiths said concerns were being raised by the industry about lack of financial support in particular. She called for powers over the offering of financial incentives to be handed to the Welsh Government. The UK government said it is committed to supporting renewable energy. Ms Griffiths said she wanted Wales to become a nation "renowned for its clean energy". Powers of consent for large renewable energy schemes, up to 350MW, are being handed to Cardiff Bay as part of the Wales Bill. But control over the grid infrastructure that delivers electricity to our homes as well as the subsidies paid out to help get new schemes off the ground remains with Westminster. These include feed-in tariffs - payments given to homes and businesses if they install solar panels or wind turbines. "It would be good to have those levers," said Ms Griffiths. "It is frustrating, particularly when the industry wants to come to Wales and we're encouraging companies to come here." Ms Griffiths acknowledged that her own government could also do more to help the sector, after opposition parties accused her of lacking detail and ambition as she set out her priorities for energy in the Senedd last week She told BBC Wales her officials were working on the introduction of targets for renewable energy generation and would aim to publish them by the summer. The UK government is working towards moving energy sources away from fossil fuels like coal over the next 15 years and beyond, with more reliance on low carbon solutions like tidal, hydro electric and wind but also nuclear. On proposals for tidal lagoons, the largest renewable schemes under consideration in Wales, Ms Griffiths said it was "important that the UK government comes out and clarify its position". Powering Wales: Behind the scenes at the National Grid Powering Wales: Village clubs together for hydro energy The £1.3bn Swansea tidal lagoon project is being viewed by the developers as a test bed for much larger and more cost effective versions around the coast, including Cardiff, Newport and Colwyn Bay. Ministers in Westminster are considering the findings of a six month review into the viability of the scheme, which is yet to be published. Ms Griffiths said the Welsh Government was "very supportive" of the scheme but it and the industry needed clarity on the UK government's position in the "very, very near future." David Clubb, head of Renewable UK Cymru - which represents the industry in Wales - thinks anticipation within the sector about the project was "huge", with fears of job losses within civil engineering firms specialising in renewable energy if a project of this scale is turned down. "I think that this is a once in a lifetime project, a once in a 100 year sort of opportunity," he said. "If you think about the kind of vision and foresight that for example many of the Victorian projects had - Brunel with his amazing tunnels and bridges - we're still using that

The claim: EU citizens in the UK, and UK citizens in the EU, will be able to use their European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) after the UK leaves the EU. Reality Check verdict: If you are already living in another EU country on the day the UK leaves the bloc, that is correct. For all the other EU citizens after that date - whether they travel to another EU country to work, study, live or enjoy a holiday - we do not know because no deal has yet been reached. He said both the EU and the UK had agreed to protect existing EHIC arrangements. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles citizens of EU countries to state-provided emergency medical treatment within the EU country they are visiting. It works in any EU country, as well as Switzerland, and the European Economic Area (EEA) countries of Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. It will continue to work for as long as the UK is in the EU, while Brexit negotiations continue. According to the current timetable, that is until midnight on 29 March 2019. The UK has reciprocal health insurance deals with a few non-EU countries too, including Australia and New Zealand, under which visitors can receive free urgent treatment. These will be unaffected by any forthcoming EHIC changes. The latest joint EU/UK document on the Brexit talks says that citizens who live in another EU country on the day the UK leaves will be eligible for healthcare reimbursement, including under the EHIC scheme. This includes citizens who work or study in another country or are retired there. The agreement has not been reached on whether EHIC would be available to those who travel to, or go to live in, another EU country after the UK has left the bloc. The Independent has reported that the EU wants discussions on that to be included in the negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU, which will come only after "sufficient progress" has been made on the "divorce" issues.

Former party leader Mr Salmond lost his Gordon seat to Conservative Colin Clark. Westminster leader Angus Robertson, the party deputy leader, lost his Moray seat to Conservative Douglas Ross. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon later said the loss of MPs including Mr Salmond and Mr Robertson was "bitterly disappointing". There were also Conservative gains from the SNP in Banff and Buchan, Aberdeen South and Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine. Eilidh Whiteford was defending a huge majority for the SNP in Banff and Buchan but lost out to Conservative David Duguid, overturning a 31.4% SNP majority from 2015. The Conservatives also clinched Aberdeen South through Ross Thomson, who beat the SNP's Callum McCaig. And fellow Conservative Andrew Bowie defeated the SNP's Stuart Donaldson in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine. Mr Donaldson later tweeted: "CV update: 25-year-old who took two years out to be an MP now ready to re-enter the real world." Aberdeen North was an SNP hold for Kirsty Blackman. And Alistair Carmichael held Orkney and Shetland for the Liberal Democrats. Speaking after the results at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, Mr Salmond said he had fought 10 elections, winning nine and losing one - which he described as "not too bad a batting average". Mr Salmond said serving the local area had been the "privilege of my life", but hinted his political career may not be over. Colin Clark took the seat with 21,861 votes - a 29% gain - compared to Mr Salmond's 19,254. Mr Clark said: "The silent majority have spoken. We are proud to be part of the United Kingdom." Douglas Ross overturned a majority of 9,065 to beat Mr Robertson in Moray. Mr Robertson tweeted: "Thanks for the kind messages from political friends and foes. "It's been an honour to be MP for Moray for 16 years and wish my successor well." Mr Ross said: "I give a promise that my first and only priority will be to serve the people of this constituency to the best of my ability."

Despite the wealth and palaces, however, the life of a senior royal is not always easy and can - according to royal watchers - be a lonely one. There are few people who are able to understand what it means to occupy such a high-profile position. For a future heir like Prince George, the new princess may be the only one who truly can. The Queen had a famously close relationship with her younger sister, Margaret. The two had little option but to get on as young girls as they had little contact with the outside world. Both were home-schooled and a guide troop was even set up in Buckingham Palace to allow them some contact with their peers, but within the confines of the palace. The sisterly bond continued throughout their lives. Despite being very different in character they were a tight unit, reportedly telephoning each other every day. Prince Charles and Princess Anne are 21 months apart - the same as Prince George and his new sister. A private letter written by the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, when Anne was just three weeks old described Charles as being "fascinated by her" and said he treated her "with great care". However, despite the fact that as adults they have chosen country homes less than 10 miles apart, they have not been seen as particularly close, although they do get on well. Royal siblings have had tricky relationships over the years. One of the most dramatic falling outs came in 1478, when Edward IV reportedly had his younger brother George, Duke of Clarence - suspected of treason - drowned in a butt of wine. Such sibling rivalry is in direct contrast to Prince George's father and uncle who continue to enjoy a very close relationship. As well as having to grow up in public, William and Harry had to cope with the death of their mother when they were just 15 and 12, and the brothers have spoken about how they are the other's best friends. Penny Junor, who has profiled both the princes, says being a royal child is difficult. "They will always be an object of curiosity", she says, adding that having a close sibling was "certainly invaluable for William and Harry when they were growing up and still is today and will be for George and his little chum". Princess Diana tried to make William and Harry's upbringing as normal as possible, and this is clearly a priority for the Cambridges. The downside for a public keen to see George and his sibling is that much of their growing up will be done behind closed doors. Prince George has been an object of global fascination since his birth in July 2013. However, the media have had few opportunities to film him: the first view on the steps of the Lindo wing, his christening and when he accompanied his parents on their tour of Australia and New Zealand in April last year. Photographs have been released to mark

The "Arbeit macht frei" (work sets you free) sign was stolen by a gang of Polish thieves acting at the behest of a Swedish far-right-winger. Technicians unveiled the restored sign in the laboratory of the camp museum. More than one million people, mostly Jews from across Europe, were murdered by the Nazis at the camp. Most of the work to restore the damaged sign was done on site, but a master blacksmith welded it back together. The museum's director, Piotr Cywinski, said the sign would probably form part of a new exhibition. A copy of the original has been placed above the entrance gate. Thieves had cut up the black wrought-iron sign into its three constituent words in order to fit it into their getaway car after taking it down from the main gate. Following a nationwide search, police found the sign a few days later in a rural area hundreds of kilometres away. Five Polish men have been convicted of carrying out the theft on behalf of a Swedish man, Anders Hoegstroem, who helped found the far-right National Socialist Front party in Sweden in 1994. He is serving a prison sentence in his homeland following his conviction in Poland.

The victim, a 36-year-old man, required surgery after the attack at The Bridge club in Hythe Bridge Street on Saturday at about 02:20 BST. Thames Valley Police has released a CCTV image of someone who might have witnessed the incident. The suspect, from Abingdon, has been released under investigation. Det Con James Macaro said: "If you are the man in the image or if you know who he is please contact police as soon as possible."

Media playback is not supported on this device It gave Spaniard Ramos-Vinolas a match point that he took to win 3-6 6-3 6-3 2-6 6-3. Troicki said afterwards: "He should be the one who is fined, he cost me. I'm not saying he cost me the match but he cost me an important point. "I behaved well. I didn't do anything until that moment. He's doing such a match and I've never seen him in my whole career. That's just crazy. "I spoke to the referee after the match and I think it shouldn't happen that such a chair umpire can be on the singles court with the men's on grass, where there is no Hawk-Eye. "He's not able to do a proper job, so I told him that. I was just boiling at that stage. I just couldn't talk normally." Watch more Wimbledon action here. WATCH MORE: Fognini's fabulous 'hot dog' shot

Negotiations are continuing between the former Celtic boss and the Scottish Championship club with a view to him succeeding Alan Stubbs. Stubbs left for Rotherham United last week after two seasons in charge and having just won the Scottish Cup. Lennon is believed to want Garry Parker as his number two at Hibs, who missed out promotion to the Premiership after a play-off defeat by Falkirk. The pair played together at Leicester City and Lennon had Parker as part of his coaching team at Celtic and Bolton Wanderers. Former Northern Ireland midfielder Lennon, who won the League Cup twice as a player with Leicester, served Celtic as a player for six-and-a-half years, winning five Scottish titles and six domestic cups. After a spell back in English football, Lennon rejoined Celtic as a coach in 2008 and eventually became manager in 2010. He enjoyed further success in the dugout at Celtic Park with three successive top-flight titles and two Scottish Cup triumphs before leaving in 2014. A move to Bolton followed later that year and, although Wanderers initially improved under Lennon, they were bottom of the Championship by the time he left in March, with the side eventually relegated. Hibs have spent the last two seasons in Scotland's second tier, having also lost out in the promotion play-offs in 2015. However, having ended their 114-year wait to win the Scottish Cup, the Edinburgh club will enter the Europa League qualifying rounds, with their first match on 14 July. On Sunday, Stubbs told BBC Scotland he thought that Lennon, his former Celtic team-mate, would be a "a good choice" for the Easter Road vacancy.

Stewart Greene, 65, of Danes Court, Grimoldby, is accused of murdering Alex Robinson two days before Christmas last year while the boy's mother was out. The prosecution alleges that when his daughter returned, he told her: "I've drowned Alex in the bath." Mr Greene, on trial at Lincoln Crown Court, denies murder. Michael Evans QC, prosecuting, said Alex, who was on the autistic spectrum, had been playing on his Xbox when his mother, Joanne Greene, left to go to Tesco. The court was told that when Ms Greene returned, he told her what he had done and "the fear began to rise within her". The judge heard she rushed to the bathroom where she saw her son in the water, surrounded by his sister's toys. Mr Evans told the court: "She dragged Alex out of the bath and remembers his lips were blue and he was lifeless." The jury heard Mr Greene told the first police officer to arrive that he had drowned Alex. He was then arrested and later said at the police station: "I can't do prison. Am I going to hospital?" The jury was also told Mr Greene had a history of admissions to mental health establishments and hated the idea of living independently at accommodation arranged for him. He had previously assaulted medical staff before he was released, the prosecution said. Giving evidence, the boy's mother said she had pleaded with staff at a mental health unit not to let her father out. Asked what she told the staff, she said: "If you let him out he's going to do something. "He's done it before. He's attacked a doctor. He's had a knife to an old woman. "He will do something to get himself put in somewhere. "I'm telling you now, if he does something I'm going to go ballistic. You can't let him out." The trial continues.

Dr Ian Walton and Lisa Hill admitted defrauding the NHS by raising a false invoice from a charity, on whose board they both sat. The judge at Birmingham Crown Court heard that although they dishonestly sourced the cash, they spent £57,000 of it training 69 GPs. They will be sentenced next week. A further £62,000 found in the charity's account was said to have been "ring-fenced" for future GP training, leaving about £34,000 in "profit". Walton, a GP for more than 30 years, has a national reputation for mental health excellence and his own practice in Tipton, West Midlands, the court heard. Hill was a senior commissioning manager with Sandwell & West Birmingham clinical commissioning group (CCG). In December 2012 Hill, from Hagley, near Stourbridge, West Midlands, had submitted a business case to the CCG for GP mental health training. However, bosses had already decided to divert their cash into the "winter pressures" budget, tackling the seasonal increase in NHS patients in the area. Health chiefs "never approved the funding" for GP training, but despite that, an invoice for £153,600 from the charity to the CCG was raised in March 2013. Judge Paul Farrer QC said it was an "unusual" case because Walton, of Stourbridge Road, Wombourne, near Wolverhampton, and Hill had not set out to make money. Hill lost her CCG job, but has since been employed as a freelance training consultant by NHS trusts. James Horne, barrister for father-of-four Walton, said the "unusual legacy of the fraud" was "the money was not squandered on luxury items or frittered away on fancy holidays, but has gone on training and the delivery of care in the NHS".

Media playback is not supported on this device Games debutant Rissveds, 22, and Wloszczowska, 32, were at the head of the field for much of the race before the Swede pulled clear in the last lap. Rissveds finished in 1:30:15, with Wloszczowska 37 seconds behind and Canada's Catharine Prendel third. Sweden won its second Rio 2016 gold after swimmer Sarah Sjostrom won the 100m butterfly. Rissveds, the under-23 champion for 2016, battled illness and an elbow injury this year and only returned to competition in March 2016. Wloszczowska's silver matched her finish at Beijing 2008, while reigning world champion Annika Langvad of Denmark finished in 11th place more than three minutes behind Rissveds. Find out how to get into cycling with our special guide. Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.

Emergency services were called to Southwood School in Bryony Place, Conniburrow, at about 15:30 GMT. A section of ceiling measuring 8ft x 5ft (2.4m x 1.5m) had fallen from the sports hall. It is not yet known if it was caused by strong winds. About 40 people were in the hall at the time and a second girl suffered minor injuries. Supt Vince Grey from Thames Valley Police said it was "possible" the collapse was caused by Storm Doris. He said: "We will be conducting a joint-investigation with Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service to determine the cause. "There is a cordon in place within the school but no other buildings have been affected and there are no road closures in place at this time." A spokesperson for the school said: "We are co-operating fully with the relevant authorities in this investigation. "Our thoughts are of course with this child and her family at this very difficult time."

Earlier this year Tim Daw, a steward at the site, said he had discovered the previously unknown alignment, involving a line of stones at 80 degrees to the axis of the monument. The theory was tested when the solstice sun set at 21:26 BST on Saturday. Mr Daw said he was "really thrilled" at the finding. "It wasn't the best evening for a sunset picture as a bank of cloud came in at the wrong moment but it was close enough to prove the point," he added. "I put forward this theory. I said 'this stone, the sun will set along its back' [on] Midsummer. Yes it did. "[There was] a wonderful sunset last night. We could see the sun going down directly in line with... the back of this stone. It was fantastic." Some 23,000 people attended the neolithic site at Stonehenge to watch the sun rise at 04:52 BST, while others gathered at the nearby Avebury stone circle. The figure was down on the estimated 36,000 who attended last year and the 30,000-40,000 expected this year. Wiltshire Police said the celebrations were "positive and peaceful".

But 13 years on from his election as a Labour MP he has found himself pleading guilty in an Edinburgh court to breach of the peace and facing a £1,500 fine. The 53-year-old - who avoided jail but received a fine and a three-month pub ban in 2012 following a brawl at Westminster - was once a respected Army major and a Ministry of Defence aide. In recent years, he has been better known for fighting with the Labour Party, and earning the unenviable tag of "Britain's most expensive MP". Joyce was fined £1,500 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after admitting abusive behaviour at the city's airport. He was also ordered to pay compensation of £100 to the airport worker he abused in an incident on 19 May last year. Two years ago he spoke outside a London court of his "personal shame" for assaulting four fellow politicians in a House of Commons bar, for which he was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £1,400 in compensation to his victims. Four years ago he was convicted of drink-driving and following the February 2012 bar brawl, allegations of an inappropriate friendship with a teenage girl were splashed in a tabloid newspaper. It all started out out so differently for the former Army major, who spent 21 years in the forces, latterly with the Royal Army Education Corps. He went on to serve as an aide to four ministers, including two defence secretaries. Joyce first came to public attention in 1998, when he branded the Army "snobbish and rife with racism and sexism", while still a serving soldier. Writing a series of articles, including an unauthorised pamphlet for the left-wing Fabian Society, Joyce said he had a duty to speak out, insisting he only did so to change the forces for the better. He later began making regular media appearances and launched a magazine, the Armed Services Forum, which contained severe criticism of the forces. His comments were too much for the Army, which branded him unemployable. Joyce, who by the end of 1998 was suspended but still on the Army payroll, made it onto the shortlist of Labour candidates for the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999 - sparking Tory claims that he was being protected by the government. But it was Westminster, rather than Holyrood, where Joyce would begin his career as an elected member. The Falkirk by-election in 2000 was a headache for Labour in itself, given it was triggered by the resignation of popular MP Dennis Canavan, who had quit the party in protest to stand as an independent for the Scottish Parliament, after being excluded from Labour's candidate list. Joyce won the seat - just - after a swing of more than 16% from Labour to the SNP, giving him a 705-vote majority. He then got down to business, giving his backing to the UK government's military strategy in Afghanistan. So far, so good for Joyce - until he began raising eyebrows over his travel claims. Back in

In a speech to chief executives ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit he sought to dispel concerns about the economy. "There are indeed risks (to growth), but it's not so scary," he said. China also announced a deepening of its energy ties with Russia, with the countries agreeing a major new gas pipeline linking the two nations. Apec is expected to be the venue to announce several international deals among Asia-Pacific nations. On Sunday, Mr Xi pledged $40bn to improve trade links with other nations in the region. The world's second largest economy has had a tough year, held back by a contraction in the property market, slower consumer demand, and unsteady exports. But Mr Xi pointed out that even if China's economy were to grow by 7%, that would still rank it at the forefront of the world's economies. He said the economy remained "stable". Official figures released on Saturday showed that growth in exports and imports slowed in October. Annual growth slowed to 7.3% in the third quarter of 2014, the weakest since the height of the global financial crisis. In a bid to bolster growth, the government has accelerated spending on infrastructure projects, while the central bank has injected money into bank to improve credit supply and cut mortgage rates for some homebuyers. Mr Xi said China's economic and social reforms would take time to have an impact, but were irreversible. "These reforms are gradually being put into effect project by project. Once the bow is drawn, the arrow cannot be put back in the quiver; we will resolutely deepen reform," he said. The two-day Apec summit opens on Monday. After a meeting on Sunday with several Asian leaders, Mr Xi promised $40bn to help countries to improve infrastructure and trade. "Efforts by a single or several countries are far from adequate," said Mr Xi. "Only by building extensive partnerships where all will think and work in unison can we expect to achieve positive results." Last month, China and 20 other Asian governments launched a $50bn bank to finance infrastructure in the region, despite US objections that it was an unneeded duplication of work by the World Bank. On Sunday, Mr Xi and President Vladimir Putin strengthened their energy links when the two signed a memorandum of understanding on the so-called "western gas route" from Russia to China. Russia has been shifting its focus to Asian markets after Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis targeted a number of Russian banks and energy companies by limiting their access to funding. In May, Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom agreed to ship 38bn cubic metres of gas to China in a deal worth $400bn, from eastern Siberia. Under Sunday's agreement, the two countries said they would explore plans to transport gas via fields in western Siberia. As part of the deal, China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development is taking a 10% in Vancorneft, part of another Russian energy giant, Rosneft.

His wife Sally, who is 38, gave birth to twin girls late on Monday evening, Wood's publicist confirmed. A statement said: "Ronnie & Sally Wood are delighted to announce the birth of their twins Gracie Jane (6lb) & Alice Rose (5.7lb). "The girls arrived on 30 May at 22:30 and all are doing brilliantly. The babies are perfect." The twins are Wood's fifth and sixth children, but the first for him and his wife, who is a theatre producer. Wood has four children already - Jesse Wood with his first wife, former model Krissy Wood, daughter Leah and son Tyrone from his second marriage to Jo, and Jamie - Jo's son from a previous marriage whom Wood adopted. The musician dated Sally Humphreys, as she was then known, for six months before they got married at London's Dorchester Hotel, with Rod Stewart as Wood's best man, in 2012. The couple first met while she was working at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, where Wood was displaying some of his artwork.

The China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) named Wang Tianpu, an oil industry veteran and president of Sinopec Group, in a statement on its website. Sinopec Group is the parent of Sinopec Corp, Asia's largest oil refiner. A Sinopec spokesman said the firm fully supported the government's decision. China's President, Xi Jinping, has warned that corruption threatens the survival of the ruling Communist Party. His two-year anti-corruption campaign has brought down scores of senior officials in the party, the government, the military and state-owned enterprises. China is stepping up inspections this year at conglomerates owned by the central government. CCDI said in February it was targeting 26 of China's biggest state firms for inaugural inspections this year. Earlier this month, Beijing said it was committed to stepping up public scrutiny of state firms' financial performance, as well as to improving leadership increasing transparency and fighting corruption. The BBC's China editor, Carrie Gracie, says energy issues, and more particularly oil companies, are in the crosshairs of the authorities in China at present. The oil industry was dominated for many years by Zhou Yongkang, whose trial could take place in May or June. He is the most senior member of the Chinese Communist party to date to face corruption charges. In recent weeks, FAW group chairman Xu Jianyi, Baosteel vice-president Cui Jian, a general manager at China National Petroleum Corp and a top executive at China Southern Power Grid have been put under investigation for corruption.

Emergency services were called to Mugiemoss Court in the Bucksburn area of the city at 20:20 on Thursday. A woman was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Her condition was not believed to be serious. Police said their inquiries were at an early stage.

What might appear from Earth when we look into the night sky to be a peaceful, unpolluted realm of the unknown is described by the US Department of Defense as "congested, contested, and competitive". Having some rules to stop the creation of more debris would seem to be in every space-faring country's interest, but so far the European Union's attempts to draw up a space code of conduct has hit a roadblock. Experts say that's because of longstanding mistrust between nations, concerns because the agreement wouldn't be legally binding, and accusations that the code of conduct is actually just an attempt to prevent a space arms race. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent announcement that her country would help the EU draft a code of conduct has been met with disapproval by some in the US, fearful that restrictions - including the disclosure of satellite locations and a promise not to attack other countries' satellites with missiles - could threaten its national security. Experts say China and India were angry at not having been consulted early on, and both - like Russia - have not signed up to the code of conduct so far. The fact that it's called the EU Space Code of Conduct, instead of the International Space Code of Conduct, even seems to be a reason some countries aren't keen to sign on, experts say. "You have a situation where many nations are going to be more dependent on space, where many militaries are getting more dependent on space and as a result you have a situation where space is trending towards being a key battlefield of the future," said Dean Cheng, a research fellow at the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, from the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, agreed: "Space is the next big battle ground of the future. Outer space and cyberspace will constitute the arena of future warfare, given the increasing dependence of major powers on these two domains." Indeed, the more suspicious nations are unlikely to agree to certain obligations in the EU's 2010 draft code of conduct, including making available "information on national space policies and strategies, including basic objectives for security and defence-related activities". Mr Cheng said he was sceptical that a non-binding code of conduct would stop countries behaving how they want in space. "It's purely voluntary and there are no consequences for signing up to it and then breaking it," he said. "What you wind up with is a situation where those who are unlikely to generate debris... have no control over those who are bad citizens." Others disagree, including Brian Weeden from the Washington-based think tank Secure World Foundation. "There's plenty of things that we do where people have behaviour that they follow without an overriding punishment or legally binding mechanism," he said. "I think the real value is having a dialogue between all these different countries - that's something that's not really happened before." According to the US space agency

The day has finally arrived! Euro 2016 is set to begin and Jenny is in Bordeaux, at the largest fan zone in France, where thousands of people are expected to watch the opening match between France and Romania on Friday evening. Leah is in Marseilles at the Stade Vélodrome where the lawnmowers are out and last minute preparations are underway.

The train operator has carried out ticket monitoring at stations. It has started a new campaign aimed at urging customers to pay their fare before boarding. The firm said it had also invested in ticket vending machines at 26 new sites in a bid to help customers purchase tickets in advance. ScotRail said its recent monitoring exercise revealed that 132 people had travelled without a ticket on 10 services they examined. Some 450 flexible journey tickets were found to be used incorrectly during four days of monitoring at Glasgow Queen Street station. At Glasgow Central station, 19 customers declared a shorter journey than the one they had actually travelled during one morning peak-time focus on the East Kilbride and Barrhead lines. That type of dodge is the most common form of fraudulent travel, according to the train operator. The new Buy Before You Board campaign aims to tackle premeditated fare fraud. Phil Campbell, ScotRail's head of revenue protection, said: "We provide a service and it's only fair that everyone pays the correct fare for the service they use." The rail operator said its surveys showed that honest passengers were frustrated by fare dodging. Other analysis suggested customers were fed-up with long queues in peak times at major stations. ScotRail said it was upgrading ticket vending machines at a further 100 sites. There are now 260 machines across the network, with 20 more to be installed by the end of the year. Mr Campbell added: "We've invested heavily in facilities to make it much easier for our customers to buy tickets in advance. "This means that staff on trains have more time to help customers with travel or other queries. "Buying before boarding will result in much shorter queues to get through the gates at busy destination stations such as Glasgow Central."

Last week, Tata Steel said it was in joint venture talks with Germany's Thyssenkrupp. Koushik Chatterjee, group executive for Tata Steel in Europe, said Tata was looking at alternatives for its European operations. In March, Tata Steel said it intended to sell all or part of its UK business. It employs more than 4,000 workers at its plant in Port Talbot in Wales, and over 2,000 more at its speciality businesses in Hartlepool, Rotherham and Stocksbridge. On Friday, Tata Steel said the sale of its UK business was on hold as the company considered a European tie-up. "Today we are looking at more options," Mr Chatterjee told the BBC. "If there are better options for the business, I think we will go for that, if there aren't we will have to review the current bids that have come in and take a final view." He said competitiveness would determine whether plants managed to survive, and that dealing with the company's pension liabilities would be important in deciding whether the UK's operations would be part of the business in future. He added that agreements with the UK and Welsh governments, and with employees, management and the board of Tata Steel in the UK, were key to the future of Port Talbot. However, Mr Chatterjee warned that the current political uncertainty could be a problem. "Political uncertainty has its impact, especially if it's regulatory change that we're looking at," he said. "I hope that the situation will lead to a stable formation of the government."

Dr Nanikram Vaswani should have removed scar tissue from the patient at Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool but he performed the vasectomy instead. The doctor has admitted four counts of misconduct before a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing. A panel will consider whether Dr Vaswani should be allowed to continue to practise. Among the other failings listed in the charges was a failure to confirm the patient's identity and a failure to tell a urologist and his NHS Trust about the incorrect procedure. The doctor also admitted "inappropriately" performing a vasectomy reversal procedure on the same patient. The hearing was told this procedure was not routinely carried out in the hospital and the doctor admitted he had not performed it for approximately five years. It heard he carried out the reversal when the patient "was physically and emotionally traumatised and/or likely to be so, in light of what had just taken place with the first procedure".

Footage of the incident at Melbourne's Highpoint shopping centre emerged on Tuesday sparking a social media outcry. A staff member can be heard saying security are concerned that the boys will shoplift. Apple said the store manager apologised to the boys, who are all black, and their school principal. In a statement the firm said: "Inclusion and diversity are among Apple's core values. We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions. We've looked into the details of the situation and we apologise to the customers involved. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all our customers are treated the way they should be." The student who filmed the video, Francis Ose, said on Facebook: "Simply racism - made them apologise tho (sic)." Another of the boys involved, Mohamed Semra, later said on Facebook that they were satisfied with the response from Apple. "They apologised, so we're chilling, no need to take it further," he wrote. The video of the incident has been viewed more than 62,000 times on Facebook and sparked debate across social media. In it, a staff member can be heard saying: "These guys are … just a bit worried you might steal something". When the boys protest, the staff member tells them: "End of discussion - I need to ask you to leave our store." All of the students in the video are in Year 10 and attend Maribyrnong College in Melbourne.

Bale, 26, has missed Real Madrid's last three games with a calf injury but is set to return for the Madrid derby against Atletico on Sunday, 4 October. Wales face Bosnia-Herzegovina in Zenica on Saturday, 10 October and host Andorra on the following Tuesday. "That's a massive boost for us," Swansea defender Taylor said. "He's a big part of what we do and we know we're capable of going to Bosnia and getting a result, and then there's the Andorra game at home. "They're going to be the defining two games and we're looking forward to them, and to have Gareth there is a massive boost." Bale has posted a video on social media of himself training and tweeted: "Stepping up the recovery now." The former Tottenham player limped out of Real's 4-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk on 16 September and a scan later confirmed the injury. He has scored six of Wales' nine goals in this qualifying campaign to spearhead their bid to reach the finals of a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup. Chris Coleman's side are top of Group B and need a point to qualify for next year's European Championship finals in France.

The Science and Technology Select Committee, chaired by Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood, conducted proceedings in the Divinity School at the Bodleian Library. It is the first time that the committee has met outside London, and is part of the commemorations to mark 750 years since the birth of Parliament. Parliament last met in Oxford in 1681. Updates on this story and more from Oxfordshire The committee continued its inquiry into the lessons the UK can learn from the Ebola epidemic. It was joined by about 80 sixth form students, taking part in Oxfordshire County Council's Find Your Voice project, which gives young people the chance to debate with politicians. The Commons met in the University of Oxford's Divinity School in 1625 to avoid the plague in London. Parliament met in the Divinity School in 1644, when Charles I brought his Court to Oxford during the Civil War. The Lords and the Commons met in Oxford in 1665 in the Geometry School and Convocation House respectively. Parliament met in the Divinity School in 1681, the last Parliament of King Charles II's reign. Source: University of Oxford Nick Rawlins, the pro-vice-chancellor of the university, called the sitting an "exceptional occasion". Miss Blackwood said it was important for the committee to "get out of the bounds of Parliament". She added: "I'm pleased to be in my home city of Oxford to chair this special session... and it is inspiring to be in the Divinity School which has an historic link with Parliament." Lorraine Lindsay Gale, the council's cabinet member for cultural and community services, called the sitting "very significant". "It will encourage young people to understand how Parliament and democracy works," she added.

Sales of the caffeine-fuelled wine made at Buckfast Abbey in Devon make up most of the income to its charitable trust. A Scottish sheriff said last week there was a "very definite association between Buckfast and violence". The abbey said it was "saddened" by the "judge's opinion" that a "small number of people in Scotland are not enjoying Buckfast in a responsible way". Figures from the Charity Commission showed Buckfast Abbey Trust's income was £8.8m in 2014-15, the latest year for which figures are available. More on the 'violent wine', and other news The caffeinated wine, sometimes known as Bucky, has been made at the Benedictine abbey since the 1920s. The abbey trust is a shareholder in the wine's distributor and seller, J Chandler, based in Hampshire, and gets a royalty fee for every bottle sold. The monks have invested millions of pounds in the restoration of the abbey and visitor facilities and have also earmarked £3m for updating its 33-bedroom hotel and its conference centre. The abbey declined to give figures for income directly from wine sales, saying it was "commercially sensitive" and said the hotel and conference centre "also contributed to the increase in income". It also said the trust "strives to work with J Chandler and Co to ensure that the tonic wine is marketed and distributed responsibly". "The majority of people who drink the tonic wine do so responsibly," it said, adding that it supported charities such as Drinkaware. Last week Dundee Sheriff Court heard about an attack on a boy by a teenager who had downed two-and-a-half bottles of the caffeinated tonic wine. Sheriff Alastair Brown told the court: "Someone who drinks two-and-a-half bottles of Buckfast is drinking something which is often seen as a feature of cases involving violence. "I'm aware that the monks of Buckfast Abbey advertise this as something to be taken in moderation. "The fact is that some people drink far too much of it and get violent." Between 2010 and 2012, Strathclyde Police said Buckfast was mentioned in almost 6,500 crime reports. Alcohol Focus Scotland, the national charity on preventing alcohol-related harm, said consumption of Buckfast was "very small" compared with overall alcohol consumption in Scotland. But there was "increasing international evidence about the specific risks associated with caffeinated alcoholic drinks", said chief executive Alison Douglas. "We know from police figures that Buckfast is mentioned in thousands of anti-social behaviour and crime reports in certain parts of the country," she said. Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) said it was concerned a focus on caffeinated alcoholic drinks, and specifically Buckfast, "might encourage complacency about other products". Eric Carlin, SHAAP director, said there was a "need for changes in drinking behaviours of many people across all of our communities". Police declined to comment further.

In an article published in 1843, she imagined a future in which programmable machines would be essential to the progress of science, and might even be used to create art and music. We are now living that future. So is Ada Lovelace our first tech visionary? Or, as some critics now claim, was her contribution to computer science vastly overrated? Many of Ada Lovelace's letters are stored in Oxford's Bodleian Library and are about to be heard for the first time on BBC Radio 4, voiced by Oscar-nominated actress Sally Hawkins. The picture of Ada that emerges from her correspondence is of a passionate, ambitious and flawed individual. At times, Ada certainly had an exaggerated sense of her own destiny. Many of her letters are very long and self-obsessed and often a bit over the top. And it seems clear that she experienced many manic episodes. But despite, or perhaps because of, constant battles with her mental and physical health, Ada pursued her interest first in mathematics and later in Babbage's engines with passion and zeal. And, in many ways, Ada Lovelace anticipated our Digital Age, in Victorian times. It was an extraordinary leap of imagination. No surprise perhaps for the abandoned daughter of the romantic poet, Lord Byron. Ada's single mother, Lady Byron put her under a strict regime of moral and mathematical training from an early age, hoping it would counter any dangerous "poetical" tendencies she might have inherited from her notorious father. She also regularly prescribed "more maths" for her periods of mental instability. Surprisingly perhaps, Ada's passion for mathematics persisted. Aged 26, married with three small children, she embarked on a mathematics correspondence course. Letters to her distinguished tutor reveal that she was working at the level of a bright first year undergraduate. So, Ada Lovelace was a good, but not a brilliant mathematician. She first met Charles Babbage and one of his innovative calculating machines, the Difference Engine, at a party in his London drawing room, when she was 17. He was to change her life but not in the way most 19th century debutantes like Ada would have imagined. Years later, Ada made Babbage a bold proposal. She offered to work as his assistant. It was a remarkably pushy move, especially given the stifling social conventions that governed her world. And it worked. Babbage was now working on a design for a new machine, which he called the Analytical Engine. Unlike the Difference Engine, which could only add, the Analytical Engine worked much more like a modern computer and could be programmed to carry out almost any sequence of logical steps. The only published description of the Analytical Engine was a French-language article by an Italian engineer, Luigi Menabrea. Ada translated the article for publication in a British journal, and Babbage encouraged her to add a set of notes, describing more fully how the Engine worked. Ada's worked furiously on the Notes which ended up twice as long as the original article. And Babbage,

The pair made 286 appearances for the Devon club between them, but are now free agents after their deals expired. "They've both done very well for the club and I would've liked to have kept them," Tisdale told BBC Radio Devon. "On the other hand, they weren't first through the door in terms of priority and I was honest with them on that." Tisdale added: "It wasn't a case of me wanting to thin the squad out or move them on, I simply couldn't sign everybody." Former Wales international Davies, 32, joined Exeter from Northampton in 2012, while ex-Bristol City player Noble, 34, has had two spells with the League Two club. Tisdale has made four summer signings, taking his squad up to 24 for next season, but there were five players he could not offer deals to. "They're not necessarily players I wanted to leave, but you just have to make decisions based on using your budget of course, leaving space for one or two young signings and of course the emergence of younger players," he said. "There was every chance that things would change over the summer - a player leaving or asking if he could be released from his contract, or a player being bought, and then of course the finances change."

Mr Dutton was caught on camera joking about "water lapping at your door" to Prime Minister Tony Abbott - who chuckled as well. The embarrassing faux pas came shortly after Australia refused to commit to further climate change pledges. That decision attracted criticism from Pacific island leaders. Mr Dutton had made the joke on Friday in Parliament House while waiting for a meeting, which was being covered by the media, to start. He was standing next to Mr Abbott, who had just returned from the Pacific Islands Forum in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby where leaders had been discussing climate change and rising sea levels. When Mr Dutton commented on the meeting running late, Mr Abbot replied: "We had a bit of that up in Port Moresby." Mr Dutton then joked: "Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door." Social services minister Scott Morrison, who was standing next to them, then pointed out that there was a boom microphone above their heads. Mr Dutton was lambasted by several opponents including the leader of the opposition Bill Shorten. "It was a bad joke by a minister who is a bad joke," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Greens senator Larissa Waters said in a tweet that it was a "breathtaking global warming gaffe. If there's a joke here, it's Abbott's climate policies." Mr Dutton has refused to comment on the joke, and told reporters it was a "private conversation with the prime minister". The smaller countries at the Pacific Islands Forum, which ended this week, had wanted to commit to a tougher target for global warming limits, but Australia and New Zealand refused. Kiribati president Anote Tong called the decision "disappointing".

Peel Energy wanted to add a further 16 wind turbines at Scout Moor between Rochdale and Rossendale. Planning permission was granted in 2015 but that decision was called in by the government. Its final ruling rejected proposals for a further 14 turbines in Rossendale but approved plans for two in Rochdale. The announcement by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid follows a public inquiry into the planning decision by Rochdale and Rossendale councils. Keadby, Lincolnshire 68 MW (34 turbines - 2 MW each) Fullabrook Down, Devon 66 MW (22 turbines - 3 MW each) Scout Moor, Lancashire 65 MW (26 turbines - 2.5 MW each) Little Cheyne Court, Kent 59.8 MW (26 turbines - 2.3 MW each) Ray Estate, Northumberland 54.4 MW (16 turbines - 3.4 MW each) MW = Megawatts Source: RenewableUK Mr Javid agreed with the planning inspector that the area which fell under application A, on land in Rossendale, was valued for its "openness and tranquillity". The 115m wind turbines would have had a "significant adverse effect" on the landscape and views, he ruled. While he acknowledged, the two turbines in application B, in Rochdale, would also have a "significant adverse effect" on the openness of green belt land, he said the benefits of the increased production of renewable energy would "outweigh the harm identified". The turbines in application B would "integrate well with the existing wind farm", he added. There are 26 existing wind turbines on Scout Moor producing electricity for the national grid. Proposals to double the size of the site had already been scaled down after a public consultation. Peel Energy have six weeks to apply to the High Court if they want to challenge the decision.

The result replicated his performance at Phillip island last weekend. Laverty has picked up nine points with the final round to come on 8 November. The Toomebridge rider last week revealed that he will remain with the Aspar team for a sceond season to compete in the 2016 series but will switch from Honda to Ducati machinery. Laverty had won the Open class race for the first time in his rookie season at Aragon in Spain in September. Meanwhile MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the final race of the season from the back of the grid after knocking Marc Marquez off his bike during the race in Malaysia. Rossi finished third but was given three penalty points following a post-race investigation. The race was won by Honda's Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo came second. The final race of the season takes place in Spain in two weeks' time with Rossi leading Lorenzo by seven points.

Police fired two canisters towards the team, one of which smashed into their car, filling it with gas. The incident occurred near Kobane, the scene of fierce fighting between advancing Islamic State (IS) militants and Syrian Kurds defending the town. Kurds in Turkey are angry at perceived Turkish inaction in the battle. Possibly prompted by a rocket, which landed in a house on the Turkish side of the border, the authorities decided to evacuate the whole area. It was done with a heavy hand, using volleys of tear gas. Kurdish activists scattered across the fields, pursued by white clouds of gas. We stopped to film a final piece to camera before leaving. Across the field, people were rushing to attend to a body lying prone in the dirt. A white police truck approached and fired a tear gas canister which bounded along the track beside us. As we clambered into our vehicle and started to leave, a second canister smashed through the rear window. It had been fired from no more than 10 feet away and could easily have killed anyone it hit. The van quickly filled with choking tear gas. Curtains and upholstery started to catch fire. As we coughed and spluttered on the ground outside, our quick thinking driver and safety adviser put the fire out. As we drove into the nearby town of Suruc, angry Kurdish youths were putting rocks across the road and brandishing stones. They were spoiling for a fight. Meanwhile activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say a female Kurdish fighter has carried out a suicide attack on IS positions in the east of Kobane, killing a number of jihadists. US-led forces have been conducting air strikes on IS positions in the area to try to slow their advance. The strikes appeared to have slowed the IS advance, although the jihadists had captured part of a strategically important hill which would make it easier to take the town itself, the activists added. The militants have been besieging the town for nearly three weeks. More than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled across the border since the offensive was launched. Capturing the town, also known as Ayn al-Arab, would give IS unbroken control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border. Turkish Kurds and refugees have clashed with Turkish security forces on the border for the last two days. They are angry and disappointed at Turkey's perceived inaction over IS in recent months, as well as its refusal to allow them to cross into Syria to fight. Last week, Turkey pledged to prevent Kobane from falling to the militants and its parliament has authorised military operations against militants in Iraq and Syria. But it appears to have taken no action so far to prevent the fighting. Correspondents says Turkey is reluctant to lend support to the Kurdish forces in the town because they are allied to the PKK, banned as a terrorist organisation in Turkey.

Hu Shigen pleaded guilty in Tianjin to "damaging national security and harming social stability", said state media. On Tuesday, Zhai Yanmin was found guilty of subversion and handed a three-year suspended jail sentence. Two more activists also face trial. The cases have been widely seen as an attempt to silence government critics. Around 300 lawyers and activists have been arrested since last year as part of the nationwide campaign. About 20 are still detained. How seriously do Chinese take 'confession' videos? Hu was convicted after a trial lasting a few hours. He was described by state broadcaster CCTV as the "leader of an underground church" that masqueraded as a religious body but was dedicated to drawing attention to allegations of government abuses. State media quoted prosecutors as saying his "ideology and his behaviours have seriously harmed the country and social stability". He had previously served 20 years in prison for the now-abolished charge of counter-revolution, but was released in 2008. China's crackdown targeted the country's small human rights advocacy movement, and involved lawyers tackling cases to do with freedom of speech, religion or abuses of power. Several linked to the same Beijing law firm, Fengrui, were arrested. On Monday, prominent Fengrui lawyer Wang Yu was apparently released on bail, after a video appeared in which she renounced her legal work. But it was not clear when the video was filmed, nor whether Ms Wang was now free. Fengrui's head, Zhou Shifeng, and another activist Gou Hongguo are also going on trial in Tianjin this week. The detained lawyers and activists are widely known as "709", a reference to the date the crackdown was launched on 9 July 2015. In a statement earlier this week, the families and supporters called the trials "ridiculous and evil", calling for them to be given international attention.

Health officials want to provide additional services next to Rhyl's Royal Alexandra Hospital such as a same day care centre for minor ailments. They hope it alleviates demands on Glan Clwyd Hospital in nearby Bodelwyddan as well as other community hospitals. The plans are on show at Rhyl Library on Saturday and the town's White Rose Shopping Centre on Tuesday. The outline business case has to be approved by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in January before it will be submitted to the Welsh Government. Work on a new hospital could begin in 2018 should the plans get planning consent and final approval.

Richard Benyon accused the HM Courts and Tribunals Service of deliberately lowering usage of the court at Newbury to "warrant its closure". It is one of 91 courts and tribunals in England and Wales the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) plans to shut down. The MoJ said modern technology would allow for a more "efficient service". An MoJ statement read: "Straightforward, transactional matters, such as paying a fine and obtaining probate can be dealt with using digital technology to make the processes as straightforward as filing a tax return. "Many straightforward cases do not need face-to-face hearings." Mr Benyon argued that victims of crime in his area, which includes Lambourn, Newbury and Hungerford, would have to travel to Reading to give evidence - which is about a 45-minute drive. He said: "I believe that the court service has run down the use of Newbury court to claim that the level of usage warrants its closure." Newbury's magistrates' court was saved from the axe in 2010 following a campaign by residents, although the town's county court was closed. The MoJ has launched a consultation on the closures that will run for 12 weeks.

One of the men fell from a height and another was rescued from the top of the scaffolding in Harewood Street at 08:05 BST, according to the fire service. Det Insp Andy Welbourn, of West Yorkshire Police, said the man that fell had "serious injuries". The Health and Safety Executive was aware of the incident, he added. Harewood Street is part of the site of the Victoria Gate development that is to include a John Lewis store along with 30 other shops and an 800-space multi-storey car park. The development is due to open in 2016.

The workers were legally barred from leaving because they had left the firm before completing their contract terms. The company has agreed to withdraw all cases against employees who were accused of "absconding from work". More than 20,000 people signed an online petition to bring them back. The petition was launched on the Avaaz online campaign website last month by the brother of a worker who killed himself earlier this year. Shanker Mariappan from the southern state of Tamil Nadu said his brother, Pasupathi Mariappan, hanged himself in a public garden in Bahrain. "The Indian embassy in Bahrain and Nass Contracting, Bahrain, had an agreement last week by which the 100 Indian workers will be able to return home," foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told the BBC. "The issue had been dragging on for a long time," he said. In a statement, Nass Corporation said it agreed to withdraw the court cases against the "run-away" Indian workers as a "goodwill gesture". "The company will not hereafter institute any legal proceedings against run-away workers except in cases of criminal offences, if any, committed by them," the statement said. The company had accused the workers of "absconding from work" in 2006 after many of them left the company complaining of low wages. The workers' visas were sponsored by the company, a requirement under Bahrain law for anyone leaving the country. Nearly 400,000 Indians live and work in Bahrain and campaigners say many live in extreme poverty - they are often not paid the wages they are promised and their passports are taken away from them. In 2009 Bahrain's own labour minister criticised the visa sponsor system, saying it was akin to slavery. Avaaz has welcomed the news and described it as "a huge victory for 20,000 people" who signed the petition.

Numbers have gone from around 155,000 in 1985 to 97,000 in 2015 according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The iconic animal has declined because of habitat loss, poaching and civil unrest in many parts of Africa. Some populations are growing, mainly in southern parts of the continent. Until now, the conservation status of giraffes was considered of "least concern" by the IUCN. However in their latest global Red List of threatened species, the ungainly animal is now said to be "vulnerable", meaning that over three generations, the population has declined by more that 30%. According to Dr Julian Fennessy, who co-chairs the IUCN giraffe specialist group, the creatures are undergoing a "silent extinction". "If you go on a safari, giraffes are everywhere," he told BBC News. "While there have been great concern about elephants and rhinos, giraffes have gone under the radar but, unfortunately, their numbers have been plummeting, and this is something that we were a little shocked about, that they have declined by so much in so little time." The rapid growth of human populations has seen the expansion of farming and other forms of development that has resulted in the fragmentation of the giraffe's range in many parts of Africa. But civil unrest in parts of the continent has also taken its toll. "In these war torn areas, in northern Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia in the border area with South Sudan, essentially the giraffes are war fodder, a large animal, extremely curious that can feed a lot of people," said Dr Fennessy. A study in recent months suggested that the giraffe was actually four different species but for this update of the Redlist, the IUCN have stuck with the traditional definition of one species with nine subspecies. Of these, five have had falling populations, one has remained stable while three have grown. Different outcomes seem to be highly dependent on location. "The species in southern Africa, those numbers are increasing by two to three times over the last three decades," said Dr Fennessy. "But when you come up through East Africa, those numbers have plummeted some by up to 95% of the population in the case of the Nubian giraffe, in the last three decades alone." While researchers believe that some local populations may not survive, there is optimism that that the long term future of these tall creatures can be secured. The success in keeping giraffe numbers high in Southern Africa has much to do with the management of game parks for tourists say experts, who believe that the extra attention that the IUCN listing will now attract will benefit the species. "South Africa is a good example of how you can manage wildlife, there is a lot of moving of animals between different conservation areas, it is a very different scenario than in most of the rest of Africa." said Chris Ransom from the Zoological Society of London. "I think giraffes can survive, with the right conservation efforts, and we

The statistics said a baby boy can expect to live for 76.5 years, while girls have an average life expectancy of 80.7 years. However, life expectancy in Scotland is still lower than elsewhere in the UK. The statistics released by the National Records of Scotland also showed an increasing number of people living beyond 100. There were 800 centenarians in Scotland in 2012, a rise of 280 compared with 2002. The vast majority of centenarians are females although the proportion who are male has increased from 10% in 2002 to 15% in 2012. A century ago living to 100 was very uncommon, but this changed at the beginning of the 21st century when estimates showed there were more than 500 people aged 100 years old and over in Scotland. The number of centenarians has been increasing ever since. The statistics also showed the the gap for life expectancy at birth between males and females has narrowed from 6.2 years in 1980-1982 to 4.2 years in 2010-2012. And Life expectancy at birth has increased by two and a half years per decade since 1980-1982 in Scotland for males, and by about two years per decade for females But Registrar General for Scotland Tim Ellis said: "More generally, while life expectancy at birth in Scotland is higher than it has ever been, life expectancy at birth in Scotland is still the lowest within the UK. "In Scotland, males and females can expect to live shorter lives (by 2.5 years and 2.1 years respectively) than in England, where male and female life expectancy is the highest in the UK." Amongst European Union countries, male life expectancy was highest in Sweden (79.9 years), 3.4 years higher than in Scotland. Female life expectancy was highest in Spain (85.1 years), 4.4 years higher than in Scotland.

But in recent days, 148 Mount Eden Park has emerged from behind its camouflage of trees and bushes. The greenery has been cut away from what some have long referred to as Belfast's nuclear bunker. Although the hedges were cut back, the building has remained shrouded in mystery. So what is it and who owns it? Stormont seemed the most likely owners, but the Department of Finance said it wasn't on its books and suggested the Ministry of Defence. They don't own it. Another Stormont source said it was definitely not a bunker, but a former civil defence building now used for storage and was perhaps owned by the Public Records office. It isn't.... The newspaper archives at Belfast central library did reveal something of its past. In December 1983 anti-nuclear campaigners broke in and the Northern Ireland Office then admitted in a statement that the facility was used to train government personnel in emergency civil defence. Peter Emerson is one of those who broke in 30 years ago, as he did not believe the official line that it was a storage facility. "In those days it was definitely part of the whole nuclear machine," he says. "Underground, there was a massive ops room. Whoever was going to be there was going to be there in the event of a nuclear war and they would have been able to live there for weeks, if not months, if not even longer. "There was a massive food store, there were dormitories, toilets and everything else you might need." Peter and his friends also found maps and other signs that a recent nuclear exercise had just taken place. The Cold War ended but curiosity about the building has remained. In recent years, Cold War buff Alistair McCann has been doggedly tracking down the owners. He revealed it's now owned by the Department of Justice and leased for storage. So what's it like inside? "It's quite changed from how it would originally have been, all the blast doors have been removed and all the internal wall have been taken down and it's used for file storage now so it's quite difficult to get a picture of how the building used to look," says Alistair. The department says it has no plans for the premises. But even if it did, it wouldn't be easy to sell or demolish - its walls are two and half feet thick.

Mayor Mike Singer said the rally against the removal of Confederate monuments "harkens back to the days of the KKK" - the white supremacist group. Protesters are upset over the city's decision to remove statues honouring the losing side of the US Civil War. More than 100 people attended a counter-protest the following night. Several dozen protesters had held the torch-lit rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, at about 21:00 local time on Saturday night (01:00 GMT Sunday) to protest against the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee. The protesters were heard chanting, "You will not replace us", "Russia is our friend" and the far-right nationalist slogan "blood and soil". Mayor Singer said in a statement: "This event involving torches at night in Lee Park was either profoundly ignorant or was designed to instil fear in our minority populations in a way that harkens back to the days of the KKK." The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a terror group that arose after the Confederacy was defeated by the Union in the Civil War. Its tactics included random acts of violence against black people, as well as vandalism, cross-burning, and other forms of intimidation. Mr Singer said that, as a community, "we reject this intimidation" adding "intolerance is not welcome here". Protesters on Saturday held lit torches for about 10 minutes, local media reported, before a fight broke out and police dispersed the crowd. The rally was led by Richard Spencer, a fixture of the so-called "alt-right" movement, who was filmed shortly after the election of Donald Trump leading supporters in Nazi salutes as they shouted "Heil Trump". "We will not be replaced from this park," Mr Spencer told the crowd at a different rally held hours earlier. "We will not be replaced from this world. Whites have a future. We have a future of power, of beauty, of expression," he said. Cities across the southern US have been debating the removal of Confederate symbols since a 2015 massacre at a black church in South Carolina by a self-avowed white supremacist gunman. The issue has entered into the Virginia governor's election, with Republican candidate Corey Stewart vowing not to remove any Confederate memorials if he is elected. The city of New Orleans has begun the removal of several monuments. Workers have undertaken the task in the middle of the night, wearing face masks and bulletproof vests, and under the protection of armed police officers.

Alesha Dixon has achieved some pretty impressive feats since she first rose to fame over 15 years ago. From winning Strictly Come Dancing to climbing mountains for charity. We take a look back at some of her career highlights so far.

The charity wants 10% of the 4.8 million Syrians displaced by civil war to be resettled by the end of the year. Ahead of UN talks in Geneva on the crisis, it highlighted figures showing only 1.4% had been helped so far. Oxfam said UK plans to resettle 20,000 Syrians by 2020 were "not good enough", but Britain says it is also focused on providing aid to people in the region. The UK's pledge of £2.3bn to help people affected by the humanitarian crisis caused by the civil war in Syria makes it the second largest bilateral donor in the world after the US. Oxfam says while Britain has been generous in providing financial aid for those displaced by Syria's civil war, it "can and should do more". It argues that countries with strong economies and developed infrastructures need to shoulder a greater responsibility towards refugees than nations such as Lebanon and Jordan, where thousands of Syrians are now based. The Geneva conference should, the UK-based charity added, result in "urgent solutions, offering people safe and legal routes to a welcome" in other countries. Oxfam examined the pledges of 28 nations that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and signatories to the 1951 Convention on Refugees. It says they have promised to take in almost 130,000 of Syrian refugees, although only 67,000 have actually arrived. The 10% of Syrian refugees Oxfam wants the rich nations to take in by the end of the 2016 represents the proportion the UN says are very vulnerable and in need of resettlement. According to Oxfam's analysis, only Canada, Germany, Norway have made resettlement pledges exceeding their "fair share", a measure based on the size of their economies. It says five other nations - Australia, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand - have pledged more than half of their fare share. In contrast, the UK is set to take 22% of its fair share, the US just 7%, and France only 4%. Mark Goldring, chief executive of Oxfam GB said: "It's shocking that while people continue to flee Syria most countries have failed to provide a safe home for the most vulnerable."

18 December 2015 Last updated at 13:11 GMT Lincolnshire Police released the video as they continue to hunt the suspects who obtained the victim's bank card and PIN number at a Natwest branch in Grantham. Officers have described the theft as "despicable and callous".

But the often fantastical narratives of Giambattista Basile, a 17th Century solider to the Doge of Venice, were not to have the fame and longevity of Shakespeare's, and his Tales would fade into obscurity. That's something Italian film director Matteo Garrone hopes to correct with his own work of gothic imagination - a film version of Tale of Tales, starring Salma Hayek, Toby Jones, Shirley Henderson and Vincent Cassel. Based on Basile's narratives of more than 50 different stories featuring kings, princesses, dragons, giants and magical beasts, Garrone has picked three and interwoven them: A pair of ageing sisters who long for their youthful beauty; a queen obsessed with the idea of having her own child and a king who marries off his only daughter to an ogre. Garrone's previous works - the award-winning mafia film Gomorra and Italian TV satire Reality - have both been modern day Neapolitan stories grounded in the everyday, and he says he was delighted "to work on a fantasy film that lurches into horror". "And it's not that we had to increase the horror for the sophisticated modern audience, it was all there in Basile's work," he says. "In terms of the fantastical, he was ahead of the brothers Grimm, Tolkein, or Harry Potter. "What surprised me is that once we had chosen the Tales, we realised it involved three stories about women at different stages of life. And these tales are about contemporary obsessions: The desire for youth and beauty ends up with a horrific version of cosmetic surgery, centuries ahead of it becoming available." Mexican actress Hayek, who plays a queen who will do anything in order to have a child, agrees: "All the conflict they go through is still relevant today, even if we are dressed in Baroque costume. "In my case it's the desperation of a woman to experience motherhood, and the film takes that desperation and makes it grotesque. So a very recognisable human desire becomes something of horror, not only psychologically but visually." For example, the film shows Oscar-nominated Hayek, solemnly eating what appears to be the beating heart of a sea monster - after a sorcerer tells her character it will make her pregnant. It is, the actress agrees, a horrible sight; but as a mother and stepmother herself, she says she understands the desire for children. "The real conflict of this woman, and the cleverness of the film, lies in the fact that she puts all her desire for happiness into one thing that lies outside herself. She is impossible to satisfy and that's why she suffers such tragic consequences," she says. "Everyone in here suffers very harsh penalties for their obsessions," explains Toby Jones, who plays a king fixated by his new pet - a giant flea - and has to give his daughter's hand in marriage to a giant after losing a bet. "Folk tales tend to be very dark and all fairy tales have darkness at their root, but these are particularly strange.

It said the drop was as a result of new rules introduced by the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA tightened the regulations in April 2014, and introduced a cap on payday loan charges in January 2015. Between January and March 2014, before the changes, Citizens Advice received 10,155 complaints about lenders. In the same period a year later, the number fell to 5,554 - a drop of 45%. "The drop in the number of problems reported to us about payday loans is good news for consumers," said Citizens Advice chief executive, Gillian Guy. "It demonstrates the impact a strong stance against irresponsible lending can have on people's lives." When the FCA took over regulation of the payday loan market in April 2014, it introduced new rules. These included a limit on the number of times a loan could be "rolled over", or continued from month to month; stricter lending criteria; and limits on advertising. Since January this year there have also been caps on repayments. No one has to pay more than 0.8% a day of the amount borrowed, and no one has to pay back any more than twice what they borrowed. Since April 2014, the size of the payday loan market has shrunk considerably. While there were up to 400 high-cost short-term lenders registered back then, just 247 applied to the FCA for authorisation in February. Two months ago Wonga - the largest payday lender - reported a 36% fall in the number of loans it was making. It said the number of customers had fallen from over a million to 575,000.

In 2012, undercover reporters were sold Valium and opiates without prescription at seven London pharmacies. Now those responsible have been banned for between six months and life. The BBC's evidence has been submitted to the government by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), which is calling for increased powers. The GPhC says it has been told by the Home Office that legislative change will follow, giving it the right to use covert surveillance to investigate the sort of abuses documented during the investigation. One of the pharmacists was Chawan Shaida of Bin Seena Pharmacy, Paddington. He sold the BBC Valium, later claiming the incidents were isolated and caused no harm. But the chairman of the GPhC's fitness to practise hearing disagreed, saying: "He did it for personal gain. He neglected the interests of patients. The public will be shocked by Mr Shaida's behaviour." He was removed from the register of licensed pharmacists and received a police caution. Hussain Jamal Rasool, from Al Farabi pharmacy, Paddington, illegally supplied the BBC with a bottle of Oramorph, which contains morphine. He told the researcher he could consume as much as he wanted. Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP, told the BBC: "Opiates like Oramorph are extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. They can do untold damage and can kill." The chairman of Mr Rasool's fitness to practice hearing, Patrick Milmo QC, said his behaviour was "shocking" and he "appeared oblivious to the enormity of what he was doing". He was also banned from practice and failed in a legal bid to overturn the decision at the High Court. Another pharmacist, Rafif Sarheed, who also worked for Al Farabi, was caught on CCTV falsifying documentation in an attempt to escape censure for illegally selling diazepam. The GPhC described her actions as "premeditated" and "very serious". It presented the BBC's investigation to the government as evidence that it needs greater powers to investigate rogue pharmacists. As part of a crackdown on the illegal sale of drugs, the GPhC has taken numerous other pharmacists to fitness to practise hearings, and set out new standards and inspections. The BBC's work has also been used as a tool to instruct all new pharmacists that the illegal sale of drugs will not be tolerated. The council's chief executive Duncan Rudkin said: "The BBC has carried out an important public service in exposing the unlawful sales of prescription medicines through their investigation. "We have thoroughly investigated all of the concerns raised by their investigation and have taken robust action to protect the public, including restricting the ability of pharmacists involved to practise in Great Britain. "But it is important that we all remain vigilant and anyone with any concerns about pharmacies or pharmacy professionals should contact us immediately." Ash Soni, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said of the hearings: "It demonstrates that where this is identified it will be dealt with. "It's the biggest crackdown by the GPhC to date." Many of the pharmacies were in the Edgware Road area, catering

The two teams meet at the Olympic Park on Thursday with a place in the final against Netherlands or Ireland at stake. "I can't wait," Hoare told BBC Sport. "It will be a tough match. "But we have shown in the past we can beat anybody on our day." Media playback is not supported on this device England bounced back from their loss against Netherlands to beat Spain 4-0 on Tuesday night. It was a morale-boosting win after player Mark Gleghorne revealed there had been some "home truths" aired following the 2-0 loss by the Dutch. "We played how we wanted to," added captain Barry Middleton. "We're trying to stay as level as we can throughout the tournament. "We got our rewards from the intensity we showed in the first half. We tired them out then got the rewards."

The former Zimbabwe captain, 43, took over from Peter Moores in January 2009 and has since overseen successive Ashes series victories over Australia. "I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to build on the considerable progress we have made to date as a squad," he said. He has accepted a fresh staff contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board, rather than a fixed-term deal. Flower had been India's first choice as their new coach before they appointed Duncan Fletcher in April. However, the approach soon faltered as the former Essex batsman was unwilling to consider uprooting his family. England begin a four-Test series against India in July, after Sri Lanka arrive in mid-May to play three Tests. "We have made no secret of our determination to become the number one side in the world and challenge for global titles and I feel we have been making steady progress," added Flower. Now that Flower's continuing services have been secured, the ECB's next task is to determine whether Andrew Strauss wants to stay on as one-day captain Read more from Alison's blog "I firmly believe we have the talent amongst the playing squad and management team to help us realise our ambitions." Despite an underwhelming campaign in the recent World Cup, Flower has built a formidable reputation during his spell with England. In addition to Test series victories over Australia, he guided England to their first major tournament win at the ICC World Twenty20 in May 2010. During his tenure England have risen from sixth place in the International Cricket Council's Test rankings to third behind India and South Africa. In contrast to the fractious relationship between then-captain Kevin Pietersen and his predecessor Moores, Flower has led a united dressing room. Since taking the job on a permanent basis in April 2009, after an initial period as interim coach, he has forged a close and successful partnership with Test and one-day international captain Andrew Strauss. Flower also won admiration for the manner in which he managed skin cancer - having a melanoma removed from his right cheek during the during the second day of the opening Ashes Test in November. "Andy's outstanding leadership, commitment, and his open and honest approach have been key factors in the success the England squad has enjoyed over the last two years," said England Cricket managing director Hugh Morris. Although there is no specific clause in Flower's new contract giving him more control over the team's future schedule, he will meet Morris and his support staff in the next few weeks to discuss players' workloads. Flower blamed injuries in the run-up to the recent World Cup on the length of the Ashes tour that preceded it, prompting fears he could walk away from his post. England played their first tour match against Western Australia on 5 November and completed the trip with their seventh one-day international on 6 February. Flower is keen to ensure England do not endure a similarly congested fixture schedule again,

The 22-year-old made her debut against Italy in the 2015 championship and featured as a replacement against Spain in November. Number eight Jade Konkel returns to the Scotland side after missing the 64-0 hammering by England. Sarah Bonar and Lindsey Smith drop to the bench. The inclusion of full-time player Konkel means a reshuffle, with Bonar making way for an all-Hillhead Jordanhill back row including Jemma Forsyth and Louise McMillan. Scotland go into the game at Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld, seeking their second win in the tournament following their one-point victory over Wales. Italy are yet to win a match in this year's competition. Scotland head coach Shade Munro said: "We are aiming to end this year's Six Nations campaign on a positive note with a strong performance against Italy. "It's been pleasing to see the squad improve in many aspects, but there is more work to be done to reach our full potential. "We need a consistent and solid performance at Broadwood as Italy are a very good side and have been improving with every game in the tournament." Lichfield hooker Rachel Malcolm returns to the bench after recovering from an injury picked up in the opening match against Ireland. Melrose wing Lauren Harris also comes on to the bench. Chloe Rollie (Murrayfield Wanderers), Megan Gaffney (Edinburgh University), Lisa Thomson (Edinburgh University), Lisa Martin, capt (Murrayfield Wanderers), Rhona Lloyd (Edinburgh University), Helen Nelson (Murrayfield Wanderers), Sarah Law (Murrayfield Wanderers/Edinburgh University), Tracy Balmer (Worcester), Lana Skeldon (Hillhead Jordanhill), Katie Dougan (Edinburgh University), Emma Wassell (Murrayfield Wanderers), Deborah McCormack (Aylesford Bulls), Jemma Forsyth (Hillhead Jordanhill), Louise McMillan (Hillhead Jordanhill), Jade Konkel (Hillhead Jordanhill). Replacements: Rachel Malcolm (Lichfield), Heather Lockhart (Hillhead Jordanhill), Lindsey Smith (Hillhead Jordanhill), Sarah Bonar (Lichfield), Lyndsay O'Donnell (Worcester), Jenny Maxwell (Lichfield), Lauren Harris (Melrose), Eilidh Sinclair (Murrayfield Wanderers).

Second seed Federer lost his serve for the first time since Wimbledon but still easily won 6-3 6-4 6-4. In the same half of the draw, fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka and Britain's Andy Murray also progressed. Second seed Simona Halep of Romania and fifth seed Petra Kvitova both won in straight sets. Halep beat American qualfier Shelby Rogers 6-2 6-3, while Kvitova routed Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2 6-1 to secure a last-16 meeting with Briton Jo Konta. Konta, 24, beat German 18th seed Andrea Petkovic 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 to extend her remarkable winning run to 16 matches. The British number two had never been past the second round at a Grand Slam before this week. Since recruiting Stefan Edberg to his coaching team in December 2013, Federer has varied his game with more approaches to the net to counter the baseline prowess of the likes of world number one Novak Djokovic and Britain's Andy Murray. However he revealed he stumbled on his recent habit of advancing in behind his return almost by accident during a jet-lagged practice session with Frenchman Benoit Paire during August's Cincinnati Masters event. Federer explained: "I said, 'OK, I'm going to chip and charge and just keep the points short. I'm tired. I want to get off the court soon anyway.' That's when I started to run in and hit returns. I hit a couple for a winner. They were ridiculous. "I tried it the next practice and it still worked. That's when coach Severin Luthi said, 'Well, what about using it in a match?' I was like, 'Really?' 'We sort of came up with that name, 'sneak attack by Roger' or 'Sabr' for short. I don't know. Call it 'Fed Attack', call it whatever you want." Former world number one Victoria Azarenka beat German 11th seed Angelique Kerber 7-5 2-6 6-4. The Belarusian 20th seed converted her sixth match point to end one of the best matches of the tournament on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Azarenka is a two-time finalist but battling her way back up the rankings after two years interrupted by injuries. "It's probably the most you can miss when you're an athlete, not just a tennis player. That intensity, that feeling of the battle, heat of the moment. Personally that's what I live for." Richard Gasquet secured his spot in the fourth round by beating Australian Bernard Tomic in straight sets, 6-4 6-3 6-1. The shot of the match came when a thick net cord allowed Frenchman Gasquet to play a winner around the net post and he continued running to receive a congratulatory fist bump from Tomic on his opponent's side of the net. "Bernard is a great friend of mine so I think I can do it with him," said Gasquet about the fist bump. "You don't do it with guys you don't like." Gasquet will play Czech Tomas Berdych, who beat Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 6-3. Swiss fifth seed Stan Wawrinka saw off Belgian Ruben

"It is right up there with Jane Eyre," says the Lancastrian actress who has taken on the role of Chris Guthrie, a young woman who sees family trauma on a farm in Aberdeenshire merge into global catastrophe as World War One devastates her remote rural village. Deyn says the novel was "ahead of its time" in how it depicted a strong female character growing into womanhood. She says: "It is not that popular in England and it should be. I was so moved. It really profoundly affected me." Lewis Grassic Gibbon's novel, set in the fictional Mearns village of Kinraddie in the lead up to WWI, was voted Best Scottish Book of All Time at the Edinburgh Book Festival a decade ago. But the film's director, who first came to the story through the 1971 BBC television adaptation, has spent 18 years trying to get the finance to bring the novel to the big screen. He says it is a wonderful story with universal themes of the endurance of the human spirit and "playing the cards you are dealt". "At the end Chris forgives all the suffering and all the hurt and therefore she hopes," he says. "Because without hope life is unbearable." The suffering comes first at the hands of her father, played by Peter Mullan, and later from her husband Ewan Tavendale. Kevin Guthrie, who plays Ewan, had studied Sunset Song at drama school and was only a few months out of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow when he first got the part but it has taken almost four years to make it to cinemas. Guthrie, who has since starred in Sunshine on Leith, says taking on the role was a "massive responsibility" because he was so passionate about the character. "I'm in love with Ewan," he says. "For me I had to fall in love with him if I was to have any chance of the audience coming on a journey with me." Despite some shocking and brutal scenes, Guthrie is positive Tavendale is a good man. "I have no doubt in my mind at all that it is entirely inflicted on him because of what he had to endure. The story unearths to a microscopic degree the true horror of war." He adds: "Terence was clear from the outset that we were not a vilify Ewan but to make it as raw and almost unbearable as possible. "You get to the end of the movie and you do feel the heartbreak and loss on a tragic scale." Sunset Song, written by Gibbon in 1932, is the first in a trilogy of books referred to as A Scots Quair. They chart a journey from through the dying of the old certainties of rural life before the war into a more modern urban existence of the 1930s. Davies says he has not read the other books because he knows he would be tempted to make them and he would never get the money to do it.

It follows news that some providers will not allow the over 55s to withdraw money from their pension pots as they wish. Other companies are charging hundreds of pounds for advice. But Ros Altmann, the pensions minister, said the reforms - which started in April - must be given a chance to work. "If things aren't working properly, we will take action," she told BBC Radio 5 Live. "But let's give these reforms a chance; let's see how they work; the idea is right." Under the government changes, anyone over the age of 55 now has the ability to withdraw as much money as they like from their pension savings, subject to income tax. But some companies are refusing to offer the full range of freedoms. Friends Life, for example, has written to 1300 customers, telling them they can either buy an annuity, or withdraw all their savings at once. But savers are not allowed to draw down a pension, or take out smaller amounts - something which would enable pensions pots to be used like bank accounts. The company told the BBC it was planning to offer partial withdrawals "in due course", but could not say when. It is not compulsory for providers to offer the full range of flexibility. However Lord McFall, a former chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, said the government ought to intervene. He said charges for customer advice could be excessive. "You can find that a third of the pension pot can be taken away in pension charges," he told the BBC. However pension providers are obliged to give consumers advice in certain circumstances - particularly with older-style defined contribution schemes, and defined benefit schemes where the pot is worth more than £30,000. Providing such advice can be time-consuming, so providers say they have to charge appropriately. Ros Altmann said the government might consider capping charges, if there is evidence they are too high. "We have powers in the legislation to impose caps on charges, and if necessary to force companies to behave much better."

One of the health system's employees fired off the message on Monday morning without realising they had copied in 840,000 of their colleagues. The action quickly clogged up the system and was exacerbated by users hitting "reply all" to complain. The distribution list was disabled at 10:00 GMT, but some users continue to have problems. The secure email system is used by NHS staff and other approved organisations to discuss healthcare and related activities. "It's driving me bananas," one doctor - who asked not to be identified - told the BBC. "The thing is hundreds of people have been replying to all. "My NHS email is very important to me because it's the only secure way I can send and receive anything safely about my patients. "So, this is a major problem [and] potentially a risk to patients." A spokeswoman for NHS Digital said it was not a member of its IT team who had sent the message, but declined to identify the culprit, saying they were not to blame. "A number of email accounts have been operating slowly," said NHS Digital in a statement. "This was due to an NHS Mail user setting up an email distribution list which, because of a bug in the supplier's system, inadvertently included everyone on the NHS Mail list. "As soon as we became aware of the issue, we deleted the distribution list, so that no-one else could respond to it. "We anticipate the issue will be rectified very soon."

Perry, 29, helped Brighton to promotion to WSL 2 last season via the Premier League Championship play-off final. The Republic of Ireland international was also an FA Cup finalist with Chelsea in 2012. "Sophie is an experienced defender and has proven herself both in the WSL1 and at international level," Reading manager Kelly Chambers said.

Russian state media reported that the USS Ross was acting "aggressively". The US Department of Defense, however, said the ship was "well within international waters at all times, performing routine operations". The US Navy released video on Monday of a Russian plane passing as close as 500 metres to the USS Ross. "The crew of the ship acted provocatively and aggressively, which concerned the operators of monitoring stations and ships of the Black Sea Fleet," according to a military source quoted by Russian state media. "Su-24 attack aircraft demonstrated to the American crew readiness to harshly prevent a violation of the frontier and to defend the interests of the country." Pentagon spokesman Col Steve Warren said on Monday that the Russian planes were not armed with weapons and the USS Ross maintained its course. The ship's deployment to the Black Sea had been publicly announced, the Pentagon added. Russia's Defence Ministry would not comment on the reports. The Black Sea encounters are the latest sign of military tension between Russian and the West, amid hostilities in eastern Ukraine. Last month, the UK and Sweden scrambled fighters to intercept Russian bombers near their borders.

The 24-year-old France back joined on the same day that scrum-half Matty Smith moved to rivals St Helens on a three-year deal. Escare, who can also play on the wing, has a one-year option with the Warriors after the 2017 season. "After four years in Super League with Catalans, I feel the time is right for a change for me," he said. "I grew up in France watching and admiring Wigan and it will be an honour and a privilege to represent the Cherry and Whites." Wigan have also re-signed 20-year-old winger Liam Forsyth after a one-year spell at rugby union side Bath, but half-back Matty Smith has re-signed for St Helens.

Flavien Moreau, 28, travelled to Syria and joined an Islamist militant group, but says he only stayed for a dozen days because he missed smoking - banned by the jihadist group he joined. A man who received money from Moreau was sentenced to four years in jail. France estimates that about 1,000 of its citizens are or have been involved with jihadist groups. Dozens have been arrested and are awaiting trial. In court on Thursday, Moreau was given the maximum sentence sought by prosecutors. Moreau's lawyer, Pierre Darkanian, described it as "a purely punitive response", Reuters news agency reported. Mr Darkanian did not say which militant group Moreau had joined, but said it was neither Islamic State or Nusra Front, Reuters added. Born in South Korea, Moreau was adopted by a French family in Nantes at a young age. He had 13 previous criminal convictions, and converted to Islam after leaving prison. He travelled to Syria at the end of 2012. Moreau told the court he found a smuggler to take him to a town controlled by Islamist fighters, where he bought a gun and ammunition. However, he denied taking part in any fighting. "I found it really hard not to smoke... so I gave my weapon to my emir and left," he said. Anti-terrorist authorities arrested him in January 2013 when they learned he was attempting a return to Syria. Farid Djebbar, 26, was also put on trial, and sentenced to four years in jail, with an 18-month suspended sentence. Djebbar was investigated after authorities found he was in regular correspondence with Moreau and accepted cash transfers from him. Convictions for involvement with radical jihadist groups are becoming commonplace in Europe. Separately on Thursday, a court in Germany jailed four men for being members or supporters of al-Qaeda, and planning a terrorist attack. In the UK, a woman was jailed for 28 months after being found guilty of funding terrorism in Syria. The EU's anti-terrorism chief has said that more than 3,000 Europeans have joined Islamist fighters in Syria and Iraq. France has the largest Muslim community in Europe outside Russia, and is thought to provide the biggest contingent of Western jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

An Old Bailey jury heard they had been accused of plotting an attack inspired by so-called Islamic State (IS). Yousaf Syed, 20, of High Wycombe, was found not guilty of preparing a terrorist act in 2014, after a retrial. Co-accused Haseeb Hamayoon, 29, of west London, was cleared by the judge after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Prosecutors confirmed they would not seek a highly unusual third trial for Mr Hamayoon. Mr Syed's cousin, Nadir Syed, 23, of Hounslow, west London, was convicted of preparing for the attack at the end of the first trial last year. The prosecution of the three men was the first case to come before the courts of an alleged attack plan in the UK linked to Syria in which none of the defendants had actually travelled there. The case was one of seven referred to in Parliament by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of evidence of the threat posed by IS, or its alleged supporters. But throughout both trials Yousaf Syed and Mr Hamayoon denied playing any part in planning an attack, saying that while they had shared gory IS-related material among friends online, there was no evidence of a plot in Britain. Mr Syed was acquitted on Wednesday but the outcome could not be reported while the jury continued to deliberate over Mr Hamayoon. When he was acquitted, Mr Syed was overcome with emotion and held his head in his hands. For his part, Mr Hamayoon stood up in the dock, smiled, and thanked both the prosecution and his defence team. Nadir Syed will be sentenced on 23 June and faces a potential life sentence. During the two trials, prosecutors said the three men shared an extremist mindset and an obsession with the killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby, in Woolwich. In the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday in 2014, the Syed cousins had recorded a video in which they stamped on a poppy and said it should go to hell. During his defence Yousaf Syed said he bore no ill will to British soldiers, but he had been angry about British foreign policy and the plight of Muslims around the world. The pair were also accused of trying to reach Syria in early 2014. At his first trial Yousaf Syed said that he had simply gone on a cultural holiday to Turkey - but admitted at the second he had wanted to fight against the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad. All three were arrested hours after Mr Hamayoon and Nadir Syed bought a large chef's knife, days before the annual commemorations. Yousaf Syed was not present when the knife was bought but prosecutors alleged that he had intimate knowledge of a developing plan. Mr Hamayoon said that as a trained cook he was buying professional kitchen equipment for his new family home and had been advising his friends to do the same. The Pakistani national, who had moved from Australia to the UK through marriage, said he regretted

It will bring its payroll in the city to 400 and most of the jobs involve administrative work. Economy Minister Jonathan Bell said the posts paid combined salaries of £1.2m. He said they were being created "in this location against competition from other Grant Thornton offices in the Republic and the rest of the UK". Invest NI is giving the company £202,000 in grants. Grant Thornton has two offices in Belfast and operates in more than 120 countries. The company said the jobs ranged "from school leavers to experienced professionals".

They say it is a result of significant increase in loss of human lives from attacks by wild animals. The problem is especially acute in buffer zones between human settlements and national parks. In recent years, Nepal has developed a successful protection programme for many endangered species. The Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal has more than 500 rhinos, up from half that figure few years ago, and more than 125 tigers. The Bardiya National Park in the west now has more than 80 elephants, almost 10 times as many as there were in the 1990s. In the Himalayas, the numbers of endangered species like snow leopards and red pandas have been growing as well. And the country has nearly 24% of its land area as protected areas, including national parks, conservation areas and wildlife reserves. With all these achievements in nature conservation, however, Nepal has also witnessed a rising number of human deaths and property losses because of wildlife. In the last five years, more than 80 people have been killed by wild elephants while 17 of the animals died in retaliatory killings, according to forest ministry officials. Last month, local people in Chitwan, southern Nepal, staged a strike and demanded that a rogue elephant be killed after it had taken the lives of three people. A few months ago, a leopard in western Nepal caused terror as it killed more than a dozen people within a matter of weeks. In eastern Nepal, herds of wild elephants continue to rampage, demolishing human settlements and raiding crops. Meanwhile, common leopards are increasingly attacking children and livestock in the hilly region. Further north, in the trans-Himalayan region, locals continue to complain about snow leopards preying on their livestock. Although forest ministry officials are yet to compile the latest data on these losses, they do admit that such incidents have gone up remarkably. "Before, we used to record about 30 human deaths because of wildlife attacks annually but in the past few years the figure appears to have risen significantly," said Forest Ministry spokesman Krishna Acharya who, until recently, headed Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. He added: "The time has now come for us to determine how many such wildlife species we can have in our protected areas." WWF's Nepal country director, Anil Manandhar, said the problem had become quite serious. "This is now something that could become the biggest threat and setback for Nepal's success in wildlife conservation," he explained. Wildlife experts say human settlements known as buffer zones around national parks have become flashpoints for human-wildlife encounters. "The numbers of rhinos and tigers are increasing in the national park and they are moving out in search of food and space. Meanwhile, the increasing human population needs more of the natural resources available, and that competition creates conflict," said Mr Acharya. Most of Nepal's national parks and protected areas are either in the Himalayan region or in the Tarai area, the southern plain land that border India. Yet,

Their lungs showed no decline, on average, after they inhaled healthy copies of the gene that causes CF once a month for a year, results published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine show. And the lungs most clogged before the trial showed a 3% improvement. The lungs of patients that did not take the gene therapy showed a decline of 3-4% on average over the same period. Prof Eric Alton, of Imperial College London, who led the trial, warned: "The effect is modest and it is variable. It is not ready to go straight into the clinic yet." Prof Alton and his colleagues at the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy consortium, which includes scientists at Edinburgh and Oxford Universities as well as Imperial, are hoping to have a further trial next year. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited condition caused by a faulty gene that leads to a build up of sticky mucus causing debilitating infections in the nose, throat and lungs. Patients' average life expectancy is 41. Kieran Kelly, who usually takes about 40 pills, injections and inhaled medicines throughout the day, was among those taking part in the trial. He told BBC News: "I did feel a lot healthier. It might have been psychological, but I did feel better in myself. "You have to live every day that you have," he added. "You have to be as positive as you can, just live your life and enjoy it." Nadia Lloyd lives with Mr Kelly in Brighton, and they are planning to marry later this month. She said: "You have to be quite hopeful. When we first met [nine years ago], the average life expectancy was 28. "So every time you see medical developments, it is always so encouraging". But they both know the new gene therapy probably will not be ready in time to help Mr Kelly. "The chances are that it will have an effect on anyone taking part in the trials are quite slim," he said. "It would be great if it does." But Miss Lloyd said he had already benefited from drugs developed as a result of other people taking part in previous trials. She added: "What Kieran is doing could help so many people in the future. I am very proud of him." Prof Stuart Elborn, of Queen's University in Belfast, said the results were "encouraging" but the therapy had been no more effective than some of the drugs currently available. And he called for more small-scale tests to see if a larger dose would be more effective. "If I was on the board of a pharmaceutical company, I would require further studies to determine the best dose and whether the current treatment could be combined with other drugs to increase the effect," he said. "It is too soon to proceed with larger phase-three trials costing many millions". Cystic Fibrosis Trust chief executive Ed Owen said: "The advantage of gene therapy is that it attacks the basic defect of cystic fibrosis and that has the potential to

It is the first time the UK regulator has posed a question about the topic in its annual study. The NSPCC charity said the finding was "very worrying", adding such posts should not be tolerated. The report also indicates children are spending more hours a week on the net. And it suggests that many of the children are too trusting in Google. More than a quarter of eight-to-15s who used a search engine said that if the US firm listed a link then they believed its contents could be relied on. Ofcom said most of these children had mistakenly assumed that the results were chosen by some kind of authoritative figure who had hand selected accurate pages. The report was based on interviews carried out with 2,059 families between April and June. The hate speech question asked: "In the past year, have you seen anything hateful on the internet that has been directed at a particular group of people, based on, for instance, their gender, religion, disability, sexuality or gender identity?" The children were told this could involve hateful comments, images or videos posted to social media including YouTube. Of the 12-to-15-year-olds who replied, 27% said they had "sometimes" seen instances of hate speech over the past year, and a further 7% said they had "often" seen examples. Ofcom noted that children from the three lowest social and economic groups in the UK were twice as likely to have given "often" as their answer as those from more wealthy backgrounds. "Obviously this is a real concern and like any parent I'd be worried about [hate speech] too," Emily Keaney, Ofcom's head of children's research told the BBC. "But we also know that children are likely to tell an adult about it - probably a parent or teacher - and that parents are mostly talking to their children about how to stay safe online." The study indicates parents are becoming more proactive about their children's online safety. More families said they used home network-level filters to block offensive content than last year. Likewise, more parents said they had changed the settings on their children's devices to prevent them downloading apps when unsupervised. But one child safety expert said such technical fixes could only go so far. "We are getting better at filtering out inappropriate content [such as pornography] but speech is considerably more difficult to deal with," said Stephen Balkam founder of the Family Online Safety Institute. "Parents must talk with their kids and convey their offline real-world values because ultimately it has to come down to the kids' own sense of what is right and wrong. "One of the things we are trying to encourage is that kids should act on this stuff in a way that empowers them. That can involve telling a site like Facebook or YouTube that they have seen harmful stuff and then witnessing it be removed." Sabine: The challenge is to prevent my children becoming obsessed about things they have seen on the internet. If

The blaze sent up a pillar of black smoke that could be seen across the city. There are no known injuries, and the facility has been evacuated, according to a GE official. About 200 fire-fighters were deployed to the facility, which is primarily used for storage and office space. GE Spokesman Dominic McMullan said that it is not yet known what caused the fire. "We feel very fortunate that due to Good Friday being a holiday for employees that there were limited personnel working in Appliance Park today," he said. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said that the area has been evacuated. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that "leaf-sized" pieces of charred insulation and soot were raining on residents up to three miles away from the scene. People living within a half mile of the fire were told to remain inside, the paper reported.

Among the buildings to collapse was the Dharahara tower, which once dominated the skyline of the capital Kathmandu but has now been reduced to a stump. Built by Nepal's first prime minister in 1832, the site, also known as the Bhimsen Tower, was popular among tourists who would climb the more than 200 steps to the viewing deck at the top. The tower has already been rebuilt once before, after it was damaged in the huge earthquake of 1934. The Unesco-recognised Durbar Square in the capital's Old City, has been flattened according to some reports. A mesh of palaces, courtyards and temples, Unesco calls it "the social, religious and urban focal point" of Kathmandu. The Buddhist temple complex at Swayambhunat, founded in the 5th Century, has also been damaged. Video footage showed the toppled facade of one of the buildings, with the prayer flags surrounding it still fluttering in the wind. But the iconic central stupa, with its gazing eyes of the Buddha, still stands.

The two sports will receive $25,000 (£19,700) in annual funding from the International Olympic Committee. They can apply to become part of the Olympic Games sports programme after three years. "Cheerleading is a sport with growing popularity. It has a strong youth focus and we noted that," said IOC sports director Kit McConnell. The international cheer union (ICU) has more than 100 national federations and nearly 4.5 million registered athletes. Muay Thai is an organisation with 135 national federations, nearly 60 are recognised by their national Olympic committees and nearly 400,000 registered athletes. The addition of the two would take the number of recognised Olympic sports to 37. Tokyo, hosts of the 2020 Games, will have surfing, sport climbing and karate among the six new sports they have included. Becoming part of the Olympic Games can take seven years, but host cities are allowed to introduce sports of their choice for a one-off appearance. Competitive or "All-Star" cheerleading is very different to what you see at American football or basketball. Teams are judged on gymnastic tumbles, dance, stunts, pyramids and overall impression and compete against other squads of similar ability. It is daring, exhilarating, physically demanding and at times, the most dangerous sporting discipline for young women.

About 3,000 took part in the X-runner mud run, which involved open water swimming, at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham on Saturday. One runner said she believed "poor quality water" had caused her illness. X-runner said it was sorry to hear competitors had fallen ill but water test results were all "normal". Samantha, who did not want to give her full name, said she started being sick on Monday morning and was forced to take days off work. She suffered "horrendous" stomach cramps, back pain, headaches and fever, along with her friends who also took part. After reading X-runner's Facebook page, she realised other people had also been taken ill in the days after the event. Another competitor named Sarah said she and most of her friends who took part have been suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea. She blamed the "water quality" for her illness and said she was "disappointed" with the organisers' response when she contacted them following medical advice. "X-runner are telling us it is rare to be very poorly and only a few people are ill," she said. "This is incorrect. Nine out of 11 of our team are suffering the same or similar symptoms." She believes heavy rain on the morning of the race could have affected the water. Another competitor, Jane Renwick, from Derbyshire, said five of the seven in her team were struck down. She was unable to keep any food down for five days, only managing two biscuits on Friday morning. "I've been so ill it's indescribable, just horrific. I've been to the doctors twice and I'm due to go again to have my blood taken for testing," she said. "I came down with stomach cramps on Sunday evening and then in the early hours of Monday I was violently ill. I've never been so ill in all my life - and I'm fit." She added it felt as if "someone didn't do their job properly" and would be speaking to the organisers. An X-runner spokesman said about 25 people contacted them after experiencing "a mild stomach upset". He said this can occur when swimming in open water and had advised competitors of the risk beforehand. The statement added: "We are sorry to hear that some people have been poorly, especially as [water] test results came back within the normal operating parameters, and recommend that any participant experiencing similar symptoms consult their GP." Brian Taylor, chair of the trust that runs the National Water Sports Centre, said: "Our facilities use water-supplied from a variety of natural sources including surface streams and the River Trent and are similar to those found in UK coastal sea waters. "These waters naturally have fluctuating levels of bacteria and are therefore tested regularly to safeguard the health of our customers. The results of these tests prior to the event were within normal parameters." What did entrants have to do?

Yisrael Kristal, who lives in Israel, will celebrate the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony with family and friends in a synagogue in Haifa, his daughter said. Shulamit Kuperstoch said it would be a "corrective experience". Mr Kristal was born in Poland in 1903 and survived being in the Auschwitz death camp during World War Two. He was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest man in March this year. Mr Kristal turned 113 on Thursday, according to the Gregorian calendar. He will mark his bar mitzvah in two weeks' time, coinciding with his birthday according to the Hebrew date. Ms Kuperstoch told the BBC her father would perform the traditional bar mitzvah rituals, including putting on phylacteries (small boxes containing biblical verses worn on the head and arm) and saying blessings over the Torah (Jewish holy book). Read more about Judaism "They will bless him and sing with him and dance with him and give out candies," she said. "We are excited, we're happy, it is a great honour to celebrate his bar mitzvah. He has children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and cousins and everyone is coming." Mr Kristal should have had his bar mitzvah in 1916, but his mother had died three years earlier and his father had been drafted into the Russian army. He was cared for by an uncle and after WW1 moved to the Polish city of Lodz to work in the family confectionery business. After the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, Mr Kristal and his family were moved into the Lodz ghetto. His two children died there and Mr Kristal and his wife Chaja Feige Frucht were sent to Auschwitz in 1944, where his wife was murdered. Mr Kristal survived and emigrated to Israel in 1950 with his second wife and their son.

The A1(M) was shut southbound after the truck carrying beer, wine and spirits crashed at Norman Cross, but the carriageway has since reopened. A car went into a river following a collision at Christchurch. A tree also fell on to a lorry in Wilburton. Police advised motorists to take care due to the strong winds caused by remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo. No one was seriously hurt as the car went into the river after colliding with a lorry on the B1098 at Sixteen Foot Bank, Christchurch. The road was shut while the car was recovered. Another lorry also caused disruption to rush hour commuters after it went in a ditch on the A14 near Fenstanton on Monday night. In Godmanchester, a three-vehicle crash on the A1198 shut the road, while a fallen tree hit a lorry on Wilburton High Street. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for the UK due to high winds, telling people to beware of disruption throughout the day.

Most houses in the capital, Port Vila, have suffered damage. Trees have been uprooted and streets are filled with debris. President Baldwin Lonsdale said the "monster" storm was a setback to the nation's development. Aid agencies have scrambled to fly in supplies into Port Vila, where power and water supplies have been knocked out. The cyclone arrived on Saturday after gathering strength in the Pacific, bringing winds of more than 300kph (185mph). Aid worker Chloe Morrison, who was in Port Vila when the cyclone hit, said: "Trees were crashing into the house. It was very, very frightening." Concrete structures managed to withstand the pounding but wooden houses with corrugated iron roofs were demolished. Tom Skirrow from Save the Children told the BBC that people in evacuation centres were living "under cramped conditions without adequate water, adequate food, adequate sanitation". Infrastructure has also been hit, like this bridge. "The concern is that the people with the really bad injuries can't get to the hospital," British doctor Carina Smith told the BBC. Of major concern are outlying southern islands that were in the direct path of the storm. This image shows damaged houses just outside Port Vila - but very little has been heard from more remote areas. The cyclone also hit other Pacific nations. In Kiribati, it caused flash floods.

Officers were called to Shepperton Road in Islington, north London, shortly after 23:00 BST on Thursday and found a 40-year-old man threatening the woman. A police negotiator and firearms officers were called. Shortly before 01:00 on Friday a number of shots were fired at the man by police. He was pronounced dead en route to hospital. The woman was unharmed but is being treated for shock. Police believe the man and woman were known to each other. Lyssa Barber, a neighbour who works in recruitment for a bank in the City, said: "I was woken up to shouts and immediately afterwards to what sounded like four or five bangs. They were gunshots. "I think I heard five gunshots, but a gunshot in real life doesn't sound like it does on TV. It sounded like loud bangs on a door. She added: "The ambulance arrived as I was looking out of my window. Police came out of the house. We could see someone being led away. I'm fairly sure they were wearing pink and had to be supported by officers." Rosa Whiteread, 28, who lives in the street, said: "I was asleep and I heard shouting - it woke me up. "I looked out of the window and I saw lots of police, there must have been around a dozen of them. I asked them what was going on, but they said they couldn't tell me. It's shocking." The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: "As in any shooting, officers from the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards have been informed and this incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission." The fatal shooting comes less than a day after an 82-year-old was killed in a suspected beheading in Edmonton, which is about eight miles from Shepperton Road. Met Police Cdr Neil Basu said: "Over the last 24 hours in London we have seen a number of high-profile incidents and I would like to take this opportunity to say that incidents of this nature are rare and that London continues to be a very safe city."

It is to start charging the £30 annual fee from 1 July for the brown wheelie bins, which are emptied fortnightly from spring to late autumn. About 67,000 households, mostly in Inverness and large towns such as Fort William, have the bins. The charge is opposed by an online campaign and petition. Organisers of the campaign say it would lead to fly tipping and would discriminate against low income households because it is charged in addition to council tax. Highland councillors approved a 3% increase in the basic rate of council tax for 2017-18 last month. Highland Council has sought to explain why the new charge for emptying brown bins is being introduced. As well as putting information online, it said in a statement that £660,000 in additional income could be generated, based on a 33% uptake of the service within households that currently received the service. The local authority said a similar scheme was introduced by Angus Council in July 2016. It added that the £30-per-household charge has been identified to be at the lower end of charges where they have been introduced, and that the average per-household charge in England was £42. Allan Henderson, chairman of Highland Council's community services committee, said: "Savings made by charging for brown bins helps to sustain around 25-30 jobs and protect services. "The alternative option was to stop the brown bin collection service altogether or make cuts to other services."

The devices were left at the perimeter fence of the Caw Camp Army base and were discovered at 11:00 BST on Monday. The two bombs partially detonated. About 15 homes in Caw Park and Rockport Park were evacuated during the security operation which ended on Monday evening. Police said the bombers had endangered lives in the built-up residential area. Police said CCTV footage indicated the devices detonated at about 23.35 BST on Sunday but failed to fully explode. Ch Insp Tony Callaghan said the bombs were "clearly designed to kill or seriously injure". "It was absolutely reckless for someone to leave these devices at the perimeter fence line of an Army reserve base in such close proximity to a number of properties," he said. "This area is populated and there are a number of elderly residents living in the area and anyone could have been walking past at that time of night. "There are elderly people too with Alzheimer's. "The CCTV footage shows a flash and that footage is key to our investigation. "I'm not aware at this stage if the footage shows anyone coming or leaving the area. "Our main line of inquiry would be into dissident republican activity. "It's common that dissidents like to raise their profile around election time but we will not let them take away from the good work we do." The senior officer said two separate devices had been found and were probably part of one bomb. The army reserve base backs onto houses in Rockport Park. Houses in Caw Park were also evacuated during the bomb disposal operation. Residents in nearby houses spent almost 10 hours out of their homes while the devices were made safe. Anne Moffatt has lived in Rockport Park for more than 30 years and told BBC Radio Foyle the alert had caused significant disruption and upset for residents in the area. Her house is next to where the police cordon was erected. She was allowed to remain in her home during the operation, but her neighbours had to leave. "There was one elderly couple and the wife has Alzheimer's and the man in his eighties, and they've been out of their houses since [Monday] morning. I just think it's dreadful really," she said. Ms Moffatt said those responsible "don't care about anybody". "It just makes people nervous, the idea that people have been walking about here and watching things, it's a horrible feeling." Other residents did not want to speak on radio, but said the event had brought back bad memories of a fatal bomb attack at the base 13 years ago. David Caldwell was killed after picking up a lunch box packed with explosives in what was then known as a Territorial Army base in 2002. Mr Caldwell, a 51-year-old father of four, had been involved in refurbishing facilities at Caw Camp. The 2002 attack was carried out by the Real IRA.

Mahad Abdi Abshir, 28, from Camden, died from head injuries after he was found in Castlehaven Road. Police were alerted by a London ambulance crew at 05:40 BST on 2 May. He was taken to hospital where he died two days later. Mustafa Abdulla, 23, will appear at Hendon Magistrates' Court on Monday charged with Mr Abshir's murder. In a statement Mr Abshir's family said he would be dearly missed. "Mahad was a loyal, kind-hearted, forgiving man and was very much loved by his wife and family."

The Department of Transport said commuter lines in the south Wales valleys would also be electrified. The UK government agreed last year to electrify the line as far west as Cardiff, and had faced heavy lobbying to extend the investment to Swansea. One business expert hailed the decision as "the most significant investment in Welsh rail since the Severn Tunnel". The tunnel was built in the late 19th Century, and completed in the mid-1880s. Extending the electrification of the main rail line will cut some 20 minutes from the three-hour journey between Paddington and Swansea. The Department for Transport said once the whole project, including the valleys upgrade, was completed, two-thirds of people in Wales would be served by an electrified train service from their local station. As well as cutting journey times, the decision to electrify the main line to Swansea means newer, longer trains will be able to run on the line, powered by overhead cables. The new trains will have nine carriages instead of the current eight, allowing more passengers to be carried on the line. Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan said the announcement was very good news. "It shows to people who are thinking about investing in Wales that we are going to have a very modern transport system," said Mrs Gillan. "So if people are looking to invest in the UK, then Wales and the Valleys and south Wales all the way to Swansea and beyond to the Gower are going to be really open for business." Mark Barry, a business consultant who wrote the South Wales metro report making the case for improved connectivity to help the economy, said the move would provide a huge foundation for a radical change in Wales' economic performance. "It's probably the most significant investment in Welsh rail since the Severn tunnel was opened," said Mr Barry. "What Swansea has achieved today with this announcement is an opportunity... to present itself in a different light. "Without electrification they would have been perceived as being off the end of the line. Now they are part of the network and that's very important for Swansea." Geraint Davies MP the Labour MP for Swansea West, said: "In terms of inward investment and business planning the business community wants to know we're on the electric line for the future of the Swansea brand, which is known to 600m people thanks to the football. "People are basically putting their money down now, or will do, if they know we are part of the wide electrified network." The main line upgrade to Cardiff, costing more than £1bn, is due to be completed by 2017. In May a groups of businesses and institutions met in Swansea to press the case for further electrification, including Virgin Media, Virgin Atlantic, Admiral, Amazon, Swansea University and Royal Mail. Welsh Transport Minister Carl Sargeant had said full electrification of both the valleys and Great Western line through to Swansea was essential. Electrification of the London-Swansea line was announced by then-Prime Minister

Three Somalis have been killed this month and the Somali government has requested the South African authorities to do more to protect their nationals. About 200 people took part in the protest, holding a banner reading: "Everyone is a foreigner somewhere." Correspondents say xenophobic attacks have increased recently. Some of the protesters accused the authorities of not doing enough to prevent attack on foreigners, especially Somalis, or prosecute those responsible. Two Somali brothers were allegedly hacked to death with an axe in the northern Limpopo province on Thursday night. Last week, Abdi Nasr Mahmoud was stoned to death in Port Elizabeth. Mohamed Aden Osman told the BBC that criminals saw Somalis as "soft targets". According to the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africans are becoming "increasingly desensitised" to attacks on foreigners, The Sowetan newspaper reports. The BBC's Mohammed Allie in Cape Town says the violence is linked to the massive unemployment among young South Africans. In the past two decades, many thousands of Somalis have fled conflict at home and moved to South Africa, where many have opened small shops and kiosks in townships.

The teams play three Tests, with Wales also facing England at Twickenham in a warm-up game on 29 May. Wales have not beaten the All Blacks in 26 attempts since 1953. But Williams said: "It's as good a chance as we've ever had of going down there and winning and I really do believe that." Between 2002 and 2010 Williams played and lost all eight of his chances to help Wales beat New Zealand. He was also on the wrong side of the hammerings dished out by the All Blacks to Sir Clive Woodward's 2005 British and Irish Lions tourists. But with 2015 World Cup winners Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith among those to have ended their Test careers, Williams sees an opportunity for Warren Gatland's Wales. When he surveyed Wales' squad, Williams was surprised not to see either uncapped Scarlets open-side James Davies or his Cardiff Blues rival Ellis Jenkins picked as back-up to captain Sam Warburton. "Then I looked through the squad and thought that has got to be, in my living memory, the strongest Welsh touring team ever to leave these shores," he said. "I really think that. "When you look at the number of caps, the quality, the British Lions, the experience - there's not many injuries. "There's a few going out there carrying injuries, but it's not like back in the day where half your first team isn't going out because they need operations etc - that's not there." And while believing either Davies or Jenkins would make the trip as understudy to the only recognised open-side in Warburton, Williams has faith in New Zealander Gatland's decision. "I don't think it's a risk," said Williams. "People criticise Warren Gatland and his management team sometimes about the style of play. "I think the one thing they always - or 90% of the time get right - is selection."

Davies (82) and Curran (52) added 112 to rescue their side from 172-6 after winning the toss and electing to bat. But both were out in successive balls to Jake Ball and Brett Hutton late on. England Test hopeful Ball earlier had Rory Burns and Ben Foakes caught behind to finish day one with 3-69, while Surrey's Arun Harinath also made 73. Bottom-of-the-table Surrey started play still searching for a first Championship win of the season, 19 points behind seventh-placed Nottinghamshire. Surrey opener Harinath rebuilt after the early loss of Burns, but lost the support of Kumar Sangakkara when Steven Mullaney found a way through the Sri Lankan's defences. Harry Gurney was one of six Nottinghamshire bowlers to claim a wicket when he trapped Zafar Ansari without scoring to leave Surrey in strife on 138-5. Foakes (22) also failed to settle at the crease before Davies and Curran's efforts guided them to two batting bonus points. Surrey batsman Steven Davies told BBC Radio London: "The last few months we've found this division very tough. I think we need to play some smarter cricket at times and today, we maybe missed out on some opportunities. "Arun Harinath played well and it was obviously a nice partnership between myself and Tom Curran, but there's still a long way to go for us. "Unfortunately, we lost both of us in the space of two balls, which is not ideal, but that's the game. "I felt a lot better today. It was nice to get away from the frantic nature of T20 cricket and just knuckle down and bat time. "I was pleased with the way I played. But, in that situation, I need to go on and make a big score."

Here are some of the events taking place around the country. Celebrations took place in Henley-on-Thames to mark the achievements of Team GB's rowers, including members of the Leander Club. Some 12 athletes from the club won medals, including golds for two crews and silvers and bronzes for two more. They took part in a rowing event on the Thames, with the event culminating with an open-top bus ride through the town. Alex Gregory, who won gold in the men's four, said: "We're really starting to appreciate what it means to people and we can, we're paying back Henley now for all the support they've given us and Leander Club here so it's a special day for us." Olympic gold medallist Steven Burke returned to Lancashire, where he was taken around Colne in an open-top car, followed by a cavalcade of cyclists. The 24-year-old, nicknamed The Colne Cyclone, won gold in the men's team pursuit track cycling at London 2012. Later Jade Jones celebrated her taekwondo gold medal in Flint, North Wales. The teenager appeared on the balcony at Flint Town Hall before hundreds who had turned up despite heavy rain. Nicola Adams showed off her Olympic gold medal on her return to Leeds and said she would be happy to be a role model for a generation of young girls. Hundreds turned out at the city's Merrion Centre to see the 29-year-old flyweight champion. She said: "To think I am a role model because of doing my sport is an honour and a great achievement. My love of boxing has brought this to life." Homecoming celebrations took place in Lowestoft, Suffolk for Olympic bronze medal-winning middleweight boxer Anthony Ogogo. The medallist was presented to his home town on a stage in London Road North. Meanwhile, a civic reception in honour of 23-year-old gymnast Kristian Thomas took place in Halesowen, West Midlands. More than 200 people welcomed him at a reception at Earls Gymnastics Club, attended by the Mayor of Dudley. Hundreds of supporters turned out to greet Olympic silver medallist Saskia Clark when she returned home to Mersea Island in Essex. The sailor paid tribute to the support she has received over the past 20 years, describing it as "amazing". Wiltshire's Olympic gold medal winning sprint canoeist Ed McKeever returned to his home town of Bradford-on-Avon on Monday. Some 2,000 well wishers attended the event in honour of the kayaker, who took victory in the K1 200m. During his trip, he paid a visit to the postbox painted gold in recognition of his sporting achievement. In a short speech, he said he was "just overwhelmed by the amount of support that you guys have shown me". An Olympic gold medal celebration was held in Cornwall to honour rower Helen Glover. Glover, 26, and rowing partner Heather Stanning, 27, won Britain's first gold of the 2012 Games in the rowing pairs final, and Britain's first by women rowers. After a ride in an RNLI lifeboat, Glover was driven on an

A survey of Pope Francis's standing around the globe shows that he is seen positively by well over half the world. Some 54% say their opinion of him is favourable and just 12% see him unfavourably. That means that his overall rating in the WIN Gallup International poll, or net score, this Easter is 41% (with rounding taken into account) - higher than any secular world leader. US President Barack Obama topped a similar poll of political leaders by the same company. He was seen favourably by 59% but unfavourably by 29%, giving him a net score of only 30%. Last weekend, Pope Francis joined Instagram with a photo of himself at prayer, adding to the followers he already enjoys on Twitter (8.9 million at time of writing). Three years into his papacy, Francis has enjoyed enormous goodwill and positive PR around the globe, winning hearts and minds not just among Roman Catholics (85% have a favourable opinion of him), but also from other religions and non-religious people. He is regarded favourably by: However, the one constituency that was not polled in this survey, but whose results would have made for interesting reading, was the Curia itself, the Vatican bureaucracy in Rome that Pope Francis promised to shake up at the start of his papacy. Within the Curia, the Pope has polarised opinion, much as he has done between more conservative and liberal Catholics, even though he has not changed Catholic teaching and remains a staunch and vocal opponent of abortion, recently terming it a crime and "an absolute evil". While his focus on mercy and interpreting the gospel with compassion have been welcomed by many, not all of Pope Francis's reforms are proving so popular and some are encountering stiff internal resistance. Any honeymoon period within the Curia for this pope is long since over. Profile: Pope Francis Outside the Curia, some - especially those on the more liberal side of the Church - say that more substantial and concrete progress will be needed in Francis's fourth year in office on the main challenges facing this papacy if there is truly to be a "Francis Revolution". They cite the four most pressing issues as: Pope Francis began his reforms by assembling a special commission of cardinals to advise him (the "C9"), a kind of papal cabinet, and is gradually pushing through the restructuring of parts of the Curia. One of his first reforms was to the Vatican's own communications departments and more structural reforms or mergers of departments ("dicasteries") are due this year. So far, such structural reform at the Vatican has remained incremental, although the clean-up under Cardinal George Pell of Vatican finances and the Vatican Bank is perhaps the most advanced of those changes, with Pope Francis recently setting new financial and accounting guidelines for the department that creates saints. This pope has made very clear his dislike of clericalism and his wish for a "healthy decentralisation" of the Church is an idea that sends shivers down

We've revamped the BBC Sport newsletter to help you stay across all the best action from Rio. We'll curate the best of the overnight action - the highlights, the funnies, the news and features, and bundle it all together in one easy-to-read email. The newsletter will have everything you need to know about the last 24 hours in Rio, plus some great moments to enjoy with a morning cup of coffee. Here's how to sign up.

The attacks happened in Drumchapel at about 18:50 on Saturday. Police said a group of men were involved in an altercation outside the BetFred bookmakers in Hecla Avenue. Two men, both 38, were taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital with stab wounds. Their conditions have been described as stable. Police have appealed for witnesses. A 39 year-old woman was also taken to hospital for treatment to a hand injury and has since been released. Det Sgt Raymond Sagan, of Drumchapel CID, said: "From our CCTV inquiries so far, we can see that there is a large group of around 20 to 30 people standing outside who all witnessed what happened. "It is absolutely crucial that these people come forward and speak to us as they will hold vital information that could help us trace whoever is responsible for this violent attack."

France sent an initial 1,600 troops to the country in December 2013 after violence flared following a coup. On Wednesday, the Guardian newspaper reported that a United Nations worker was suspended after leaking a report on abuses by French troops. It says a UN report claimed children as young as nine were abused. Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor's office, said an investigation had been under way since July 2014. The Guardian said that the alleged abuse took place between December 2013 and June 2014 at a centre for internally displaced people in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui. Quoting an internal UN report, it says that in one case, a nine-year-old boy and his friend were forced to carry out a sex act by two French soldiers. In some cases, it says, children were able to give good descriptions of the French soldiers alleged to be involved. A spokesman for France's Ministry of Defence said in a statement: "The defence ministry has taken and will take the necessary measures to allow the truth to be found. "If the facts are proven, the strongest penalties will be imposed on those responsible for what would be an intolerable attack on soldiers' values." The Guardian said a Swedish employee of the United Nations had been suspended after handing the internal UN report to French authorities. A spokesman for the UN Secretary General said the leaking of an unredacted report constituted "a serious breach of protocol" and could endanger victims and witnesses. France intervened in its former colony in December 2013, nine months after a rebel alliance, Seleka, captured the capital and ousted President Francois Bozize. The country descended into ethnic and sectarian violence, with thousands of people fleeing their homes and the UN warning that there was a high risk of genocide. The UN took over and expanded the African peacekeeping mission in September 2014.

There was a three-to-five year plan put in place to turn it around, with the non-core fifth of the bank to be axed. Seven years later, and the colour of the ink remains the same, the tale of woe a bit like Groundhog Day. The eighth successive loss is smaller, but it's still a whopper and still in the billions - very nearly £2bn, to be more precise. The recovery plan has stretched to 10 years. And while Lloyds Banking Group has dug itself out of its nightmare, and most of its government shareholding, RBS is far behind in that process, still 73% Treasury-owned with no dividends payable yet. Even though much of the pain had been signalled, the 2015 results triggered a 7% fall in the share price (against a rising market on Friday), to 226p. That's less than half the amount the taxpayer paid for them in 2008 and 2009. The Lloyds results on Thursday showed the chief executive receiving pay and bonuses totalling £8.8m for last year, while at RBS, Ross McEwan felt obliged to forego some bonus and give another part to charity. Humility remains a trapping of his office. The underlying activities of the bank aren't that bad, for instance in the UK mortgage market, and this remains the biggest player in lending to Britain's businesses. But that's a bit like saying the eurozone economy has been in great shape, apart from all its problems. Payment Protection Insurance, for instance: on this score, RBS is nowhere near the scale of Lloyds' problems, but the Royal has had to find another £600m for last year, taking its total cost to £4.3bn. Having exited its overseas private wealth bank, to focus on Coutts and Adam & Co in Britain, it is taking a £500m impairment charge on that division. An enormous amount has been set aside by RBS for unresolved US litigation over its pre-crash handling of toxic financial products pre-crash. It was always going to be time-consuming and expensive to unravel its American problems (BP knows the feeling, having reached $55bn in costs for the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill). But this is not all about unwinding the spectacular over-reach of the pre-crash Fred Goodwin era. The rigging of markets has happened since then, and the litigation risks (which every company ought to declare) make for quite a read. So to recap, from page 338 and 390 of a stable-door-stopping 424-page annual report: Scanning the litigation horizon, apart from the claims on mis-selling mortgage-backed securities, there are: Returning to the core area of banking in Britain, RBS can see "headwinds" (a favourite word of bankers) from general uncertainty about the world economy, as it affects the bank's customers. So growth in target areas may slow up, while big turnaround costs still hang heavy. The cost of restructuring RBS between 2015 and 2019 is put at £5bn, with £1.5bn losses as it disposes of assets. This year is expected to see more than £1bn of the restructuring

The ruling follows last month's move by the government to suspend all activities of the Wefaq National Islamic Society. Funds will be transferred to Bahrain's government, al-Arabiya TV said. Wefaq has helped lead pro-democracy protests in the country since 2011. That February, demonstrators took to the streets to demand greater political rights and an end to discrimination against the Shia majority. The following month, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa brought in troops from neighbouring Sunni-led Gulf states to restore order and crush dissent. The unrest left at least 30 civilians and five policemen dead. Opposition activists say dozens of people have been killed in ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces, while bomb attacks blamed on Iran-backed militants have killed a number of police officers. Last month the justice ministry said it had filed a request with a court to suspend Wefaq to "safeguard the security of the kingdom" . The government also stripped the kingdom's most prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, of his citizenship, accusing him of using his position to "serve foreign interests" and promote "sectarianism and violence". Wefaq is Bahrain's largest legally recognised opposition political society, it says it advocates non-violent activism. Last month, an appeal court more than doubled the prison sentence of Wefaq's secretary-general from four years to nine, overturning a trial court's decision to acquit Sheikh Salman of advocating the overthrow of the government by force. Human Rights Watch said there was strong evidence that his trial was unfair and that two of the charges on which he was convicted violated his right to freedom of expression.

They are now to ballot members on taking industrial action short of a strike. Health Minister Simon Hamilton said the majority of health care workers, including nurses, would receive a one-off payment. The 1% increase would equate to about £300 for most. The RCN has said the increase should be added to salaries as has been the case in other parts of the UK. It said nurses in Northern Ireland are worse off than their counterparts in England and Scotland. However, the health minister has said it is a fair deal. Following Monday's meeting, Janice Smyth, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland, said: "Board members considered the imposed pay award, the manner in which the Minister made this announcement and the tone of the announcement. "They have considered the views and opinions expressed by members who contacted the RCN over the weekend, and taken account of the detail of the Minister's announcement." She added: "Today, members of the RCN Northern Ireland board voted unanimously to consult RCN council seeking authorisation to ballot RCN members in Northern Ireland in relation to the imposed pay award announced by the minister and taking industrial action short of strike action." For the health minister this is about the best allocation of scarce resources, for nursing unions it's about fairness and recognition of hard working health care staff. The pay settlement announced by the minister last Friday afternoon falls far short of what the unions wanted. It sets out a 1% rise for the 60% of health care staff who are at the top of their pay band. That rise is non-consolidated, which means it is effectively a one-off bonus which won't necessarily be added into next year's pay. The 1% payment will equate to around £300 for most, with a maximum of £985. The other 40% of staff who aren't at the top of their pay band, will get their normal annual incremental rise. This will on average be 3.7% rise which will equate to a minimum of £1,588. The unions want the 1% rise to be consolidated, meaning it would increase annual salaries and wouldn't be a one off payment. This has been the case in Scotland. However, Mr Hamilton said his officials had sought to engage with union leaders on a 2015-16 settlement since 4 January 2015. "I would have preferred an agreed settlement but when I met recently with trade union representatives they unfortunately remained unwilling to move beyond seeking to reopen last year's settlement despite it having being paid into people's accounts many months ago and with their union colleagues across the water having moved ahead and focused on 2015-16," he said. "The pay demands made by the trade unions would cost my department's budget close to £40m and are simply unaffordable in current circumstances." The RCN had already decided to ballot members on industrial action short of a strike later this month.

Media playback is not supported on this device Sherwood himself claimed Liverpool had been "bamboozled" by Villa's tactics in their 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win over the firm favourites at Wembley in April - this was to prove the high point of his short reign as he was sacked on Sunday after only 28 games. His dismissal proved the biggest story of the weekend, although Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp and Chelsea's Jose Mourinho also had their share of trouble. The 46-year-old was appointed on 14 February as successor to sacked Paul Lambert - accompanied by glowing references from the men who brought him in. Aston Villa chief executive Tom Fox said: "We strongly believe Tim has the qualities to get the best out of our current squad and help us build for the future." Owner Randy Lerner spoke about a new "fresh, positive approach" - it was an approach that did not last. It was certainly a rapid-fire decision - but Sherwood might feel justified in claiming his approach was not given the time, or the circumstances, to work. He achieved his prime objective last season, which was to keep Villa in the Premier League, while providing the added bonus of an FA Cup final, although they were thrashed 4-0 by Arsenal at Wembley in May. It was not enough to buy Sherwood time when things went wrong. Media playback is not supported on this device Sherwood lost his two most influential players - captain Fabian Delph and main striker Christian Benteke - in the summer and was allowed to reinvest £55m - but mainly in young, unproven talent. There have been questions about Sherwood's working relationship with Villa's sporting director and transfer strategist Hendrik Almstadt and director of scouting and recruitment Paddy Reilly. Sherwood is believed to have wanted more experience in the shape of Aaron Lennon and Tom Cleverley, who both went to Everton, as well as Victor Moses and Esteban Cambiasso, the Argentine veteran who was such a revelation at Leicester City and ended up at Olympiakos. Net spend was only £7m and players such as £8m Jordan Veretout, a 22-year-old brought in from Nantes, have not looked fit for Premier League purpose, while big money was spent on £9m Idrissa Gueye from Lille and £10m Jordan Ayew from Lorient. Experience came with free transfers Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott. Young Villa midfield man Jack Grealish responded to news of Sherwood's sacking by tweeting: "Gutted. Thank you for everything." Sadly for Sherwood, six straight league defeats left Villa 19th - they had sunk to bottom by the end of Sunday - and made him a hostage to the impatience of Premier League owners, where futures are now becoming uncertain within weeks rather than years. The fear of missing out on the Premier League's rewards and riches means any hint of relegation can dramatically cut short a managerial lifespan - with Sherwood the latest victim. Touted as one of the bright breed of young British managers, with a brash,

Other projects being funded by the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) will examine the lives of sea trout, salmon and dolphins. The centre is run by Swedish power company Vattenfall. The three million euro (£2.6m) offshore wind research programme is thought to be the largest of its kind. Half the money is being provided by the European Union. Vattenfall, which is wholly owned by the Swedish government, said the programme would also put Scotland at the forefront of research and development in the industry. The first projects to receive funding include: Adam Ezzamel, the centre's project director, said: "The announcement of these successful projects, including three in Scotland, is an exciting one with each having the potential to unlock fascinating new insights into the offshore wind environment and determine influencing environmental factors." Mr Ezzamel said the EOWDC's offshore wind test facility offered an "unmissable opportunity" for scientists and researchers. He added: "We are pleased to be facilitating such innovative research in the north-east which will bring considerable benefits to the region as well as the industry and policy-making." Almost 100 applications from across the UK and overseas were submitted for the research programme with a shortlist of 16 selected by a specialist scientific panel. The panel hopes to make a further funding announcement soon. WWF Scotland said: "Offshore wind is a critical technology in the fight against climate change, helping to reduce emissions, keep the lights on and create thousands of jobs across the UK and Scotland. "This new package of research and development projects will enrich our understanding of the environmental and economic effects of offshore wind operating in our waters, helping ensure any future development maximises the benefits."

Instead the aim is to create a "cafe culture that runs into the evening". Seven universities have joined a pilot scheme run by the National Union of Students and the Home Office. "Binge drinking at universities is nothing new but that doesn't mean it is a good idea," said crime prevention minister Norman Baker. The NUS Alcohol Impact scheme will run for 12 months at Loughborough, Nottingham, Swansea, Brighton. Manchester Metropolitan, Liverpool John Moores and Royal Holloway universities. University managements and student unions will work together to gain accreditation under the new scheme. To be accredited, institutions are scored against a list of criteria. These can include limiting the sale, promotion and advertising of alcohol, ensuring subsidised bars also sell low-priced non-alcoholic drinks, limiting or preventing alcohol-related initiation ceremonies, and action to tackle pub crawls and social media drinking games. Student unions are asked to offer at least one "quality, non-alcoholic, mainstream social event" every six months and particularly during freshers' welcome weeks. Universities will also be expected to develop policies and communications schemes on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption, to train staff and to work with off-campus licensed premises and retailers "to ensure their operations encourage responsible and safe alcohol consumption". The Home Office says it has committed more than £90,000 for the one-year pilot and may extend the funding into a second year. The hope is that the scheme will eventually become permanent, funded by universities. "Some students find themselves encouraged to participate in alcohol-fuelled activities which can damage health and in some cases spill over into disorder and anti-social behaviour," said Mr Baker. "Accreditation should become a badge of honour for universities and another factor which helps promote their world-class teaching and research to prospective domestic and international students." NUS vice-president Colum McGuire said the project was designed to change attitudes to and behaviour regarding alcohol at universities, creating "a social norm of responsible consumption by students at the pilot institutions" and "leading to safer and more productive places to study and live". Prof Julian Crampton, vice-chancellor of Brighton University, said he was delighted his institution was taking part. "Students work extremely hard to gain their qualifications and will always want time out to relax and to enjoy themselves. "The majority of students act sensibly but anything that reinforces the message of responsible drinking is something we would encourage."

The incidents happened at Rex's Kitchen in the town's Duncan Street on Sunday, and Kelly's Chips in Low Street on Wednesday. Police said a 33-year-old man and 34-year-old woman had been charged. They are expected to appear at Peterhead Sheriff Court.

They called for action against UKIP's lead candidate for South Wales Central Gareth Bennett. He had linked rubbish problems in Cardiff to Eastern European immigrants. Meanwhile UKIP Wales head of media Alexandra Phillips is stepping down as a candidate, citing personal reasons. Another assembly candidate for the party, Neath's Llyr Powell, has confirmed he will not be standing for election because of the decision. Mr Bennett's fate as a candidate was discussed at a meeting of UKIP's national executive committee (NEC) on Monday. UKIP Wales party chairman Dave Rowlands said the NEC decided to leave Mr Bennett in place as the lead candidate for South Wales Central. Mr Rowlands said Mr Bennett has his support. But Mr Powell, a UKIP volunteer political adviser, confirmed he would not be standing for Neath or as number four on the South Wales West list for the party following the decision. He previously said he would not continue as a candidate if Mr Bennett was not deselected. A separate UKIP Wales source told BBC Wales the decision by the NEC was a "complete joke". UKIP has not officially confirmed what decision has been taken. The formal complaint about Mr Bennett, made in a letter to UKIP chairman Steve Crowther seen by BBC Wales, said: "We believe the party should take swift and immediate disciplinary action against Mr Bennett. "We as candidates and many members who support us are deeply considering whether UKIP really represents us." The complaint letter, signed by 16 candidates for the assembly and the police and crime commissioner elections, said Mr Bennett had "undermined the party and our own ability to campaign through his offensive... comments about immigrants to Wales". It said the comments "are contrary to UKIP's fair and ethical stance on immigration", and he had "degraded our ability to campaign and connect with voters by saying it is pointless to knock on doors". "Mr Bennett is not fit to be a lead candidate in a grassroots party where engaging the public is crucial to our success." The South Wales Central candidate linked rubbish problems in Cardiff's City Road area to immigration in a Wales Online interview in March. He said: "I think with some of the ethnicities that have moved in, possibly the Eastern Europeans, they just don't have any awareness of the hygiene problem that is being caused at times." He stood by his comments in an interview with the BBC's Daily Politics programme and said he had served a draft legal letter to his party saying UKIP could face action for lost earnings of £300,000 if he were to be deselected. Nigel Farage, party leader, said last week he was "less than impressed" with Mr Bennett. UKIP's vetting committee met on Sunday and was due to report to the NEC meeting. The party announced their regional lists for the assembly elections in March, but UKIP Wales leader Nathan Gill has said the candidacies were subject to a "final ongoing assessment". Meanwhile, Ms Phillips, who was to be

The 23-year-old moves to St Andrew's on a four-year deal having been under contract at Luton until next summer. Blues manager Harry Redknapp bemoaned the lack of fit strikers as a "crazy situation" after losing Che Adams in Saturday's victory over Bristol City. Vassell will go straight into Redknapp's squad for the home match with Bolton on Tuesday. Having moved to Luton on a free transfer last summer, Vassell - a cousin of former Aston Villa and England striker Darius Vassell - scored 10 league goals for the Hatters in 42 appearances last season. "I don't think any defence enjoy facing pace," said Vassell. "That's my main asset - getting in behind and being a defender's nightmare." He will provide Redknapp with another option up front with Lukas Jutkiewicz also missing with a calf problem. Vassell, who graduated through the youth ranks at Plymouth, becomes Birmingham's fifth summer signing. "The club tried absolutely everything to keep hold of him," Luton boss Nathan Jones told BBC Three Counties Radio. "We had been in negotiations, trying to get him to sign a contract and we turned down a number of offers. "But when a player has one year left on his contract it's difficult to let it run down - we would have turned down pretty much any offer, unless it was absurd, if he had more than one year left on his contract. "It's not something we wanted to do, but it got to a point where he categorically said he wasn't going to sign a contract." Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

David Byrne, 33, was shot dead during a gun attack at a boxing weigh-in event at the Regency Hotel on Friday 5 February. The funeral mass took place at St Nicholas of Myra Church on Francis Street. Armed police maintained a discreet presence near the church throughout the service. The shooting was carried out by a gang of six gunmen, one of whom is believed to be a paramilitary from County Tyrone. Detectives believe that Mr Byrne was murdered in retaliation for the shooting of Gary Hutch on the Costa del Sol last September. Before the service police carried out security checks in the area surrounding the church. A police helicopter also circled overhead. Mr Byrne is said to have had connections to an international drug gang which operates from the south of Spain. Police have said they are keeping an open mind over suspected dissident republican involvement in the hotel killing.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has said Ms Villiers should resign. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood also said Ms Villiers should step down if Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. But speaking on Monday, David Cameron said she was doing an excellent job and she had made a personal decision over the EU referendum. "She is exercising her ability to reach a personal decision and to campaign for Britain to leave the EU and that's absolutely right she is able to do that," he said. "I think the key thing is everybody in Northern Ireland should make up their own mind based on the evidence and I look forward to coming to try to help persuade them to remain in a reformed EU." The secretary of state has said Northern Ireland will remain in a strong position financially if the UK decides to leave the European Union. Her stance has been supported by the Democratic Union Party, but criticised by Sinn Féin and the SDLP. The referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU is due to be held on Thursday 23 June. Ms Villiers said: "Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK could flourish outside the European Union and indeed that's something that the prime minister also acknowledges. "We give, at the moment - £19bn a year to the EU and so we could actually, if we left, we could still afford to fund every single one of those programmes and still have significant sums left over for other priorities in Northern Ireland." She has argued that it is time for the UK to "take back control and restore the ability to make our own laws and control our own borders in this country". However, a previous NI secretary, Peter Hain, said Northern Ireland could be "dragged back" if the UK left the EU. Mr Hain, who was secretary of state from May 2005 until June 2007, said he was concerned about the impact on Irish border controls. "We have a unique situation on the island of Ireland with a border that now exists constitutionally but, in practice, is invisible to the great benefit of people on the island of Ireland, north and south," he said. "I do not think that the existing border arrangements would be sustainable if we left the EU and that would have all sorts of very serious consequences for the peace process."

London Fire Brigade said each instance cost taxpayers some £290, meaning the mishaps have cost at least £377,000. Emergency callouts included incidents where men had their genitals stuck in a toaster and a vacuum cleaner. The brigade urged people to think carefully before calling 999. In 2010-11, crews attended 416 incidents in which people became trapped or stuck in objects. In 2011-12 this rose to 441 and in 2012-13 it rose again, to 453. The most common object people needed help to escape from was handcuffs, with 79 callouts since 2010. Third Officer, Dave Brown, said: "Some of the incidents our firefighters are called out could be prevented with a little common sense. "I don't know whether it's the Fifty Shades effect, but the number of incidents involving items like handcuffs seems to have gone up. "I'm sure most people will be Fifty Shades of red by the time our crews arrive to free them." The brigade advised people to always keep the keys handy if they used handcuffs. Some 18 incidents involved children with their heads stuck in potties or toilet seats. And children got their fingers stuck in toys 17 times - including one boy with a piece of lego stuck on his finger and another with his head in a tambourine.

The 26-year-old Belgian was carried off in the Asia Trophy defeat against Sunderland in Hong Kong on Wednesday. "He's going to be most likely out of training for two to three weeks," Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas said. "Hopefully we can have him back sooner." Tottenham's Premier League campaign begins at Crystal Palace on 18 August. Vertonghen joined Spurs from Ajax in July 2012 and quickly became a key figure last season, at centre-half or left-back, making 49 appearances and scoring six goals. 18 August: Crystal Palace (A) 25 August: Swansea (H) 1 September: Arsenal (A) He injured the anterior talofibular ligament in his left foot after slipping on a saturated pitch at the Hong Kong Stadium, sections of which were under water, shortly after being introduced as a second-half substitute. "Jan is just about on the deadline for the first game of the season," Villas-Boas said. "Hopefully we can see a bigger recovery time with him." Spurs play a third-place play-off match in the Asia Trophy against South China on Saturday and further heavy rain is expected in Hong Kong. Villas-Boas added: "The conditions are extremely poor but there is nothing we can do about it. We've lost one player through injury - and if I can be sincere I would prefer not to go ahead, but that's the reality. "It's our responsibility and if the authorities decide to go ahead, we will play the game."

Didcot East councillor Patrick Greene put forward the motion to reduce accidents on the A34 between Junction 13 of the M4 and Junction 9 of the M40. Earlier at an Oxfordshire County Council meeting it received 51 votes in favour and nine abstentions. A letter will now be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport. Mr Greene said: "A lot of problems are caused by these HGVs overtaking each other and that frustrates the ordinary driver." His motion said the council was "concerned and alarmed at the recent number of major traffic accidents". But Rhys Williams, the Oxfordshire area manager for the Road Haulage Association, said new regulations would cause "mass congestion". "What you'll end up having is convoys of trucks tailgating... that's going to cause a safety hazard to other road users who can't enter or exit the A34."

Larossi Abballa, who was killed in a shootout with police, was loyal to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, they said. A police commander and his partner were stabbed to death at their home. Their three-year-old son survived. IS has put out a video showing Abballa confessing to the killings. The 11-minute video, on the IS news agency Amaq, apparently shows him in the home of the couple before police stormed in. In it Abballa, 25, urged Muslims in France to target police officers, prison guards, journalists, politicians and mayors. He named several prominent French journalists. He said he was heeding a call by IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who issued a message before the start of Ramadan inciting Muslims to target civilians in Europe and the US. The video is apparently the same as one that Abballa posted on Facebook Live, hours before police killed him, in which he swore allegiance to IS. Abballa's crime was "a terrorist act", President Francois Hollande said, and France still faced "a significant threat". The attack happened in Magnanville, about 55km (35 miles) north-west of the French capital. During negotiations prior to the police assault on Monday, Abballa said he had pledged his loyalty to the IS leader three weeks earlier. When police stormed in they killed Abballa and found the dead woman, whose throat had been slashed. The little boy was in a state of shock. French media are naming them as Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, 42, and Jessica Schneider, 36. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the attack "a watershed in terms of horror - the home, the intimate life of a family, of a couple of civil servants, was targeted". In 2013, Abballa was jailed for recruiting fighters for jihad in Pakistan. He had been under recent police surveillance, including a wiretap. Three people linked to Abballa have been arrested and placed in custody. In the video - later removed from Facebook - Abballa considers what to do with the couple's son, according to French jihad expert David Thomson, who watched it. "I don't know yet what I'm going to do with him," the killer is heard saying. He also made a threatening reference to the Euro 2016 football tournament. France has been under a state of emergency since the Paris attacks of 13 November 2015 in which IS jihadists killed 130 people. That state of emergency is still in place. France is on high alert as it hosts the Euro tournament, which started last Friday.