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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered Apple to help unlock an iPhone used by San Bernardino gunman Rizwan Farook. But Apple has continued to fight the order, saying it would set a "dangerous precedent". The case will be heard in a federal court on 22 March. Farook and his wife killed 14 people in the Californian city last December before police fatally shot them. The FBI wants to access data on Farook's iPhone but the device is encrypted and can only be unlocked by entering the correct Pin code. Guessing the code incorrectly too many times could permanently wipe the device, so the FBI has asked Apple to develop a new version of its operating system that circumvents some of its security features. Apple has repeatedly stated that creating a compromised version of iOS would have security implications for millions of iPhone users and would set a precedent. The FBI's court order refers to a 1789 law called the All Writs Act, which can give courts the power to force companies to cooperate in a criminal investigation. But in its latest response, Apple said the DOJ was using the law to "resolve a policy and political issue". "According to the government, short of kidnapping or breaking an express law, the courts can order private parties to do virtually anything the Justice Department or FBI can dream up. "The Founders would be appalled." But the FBI has said encryption could make smartphones "warrant-proof". On 1 March, FBI Director James Comey said: "From the founding of this country it was contemplated that law enforcement could go into your house with appropriate predication and oversight. "To me the logic of that means they wouldn't have imagined any box or storage area that couldn't be entered. "It's so seductive to talk about privacy as an ultimate value in a society where we aspire to be safe, and have our families safe and our children safe — that can't be true, we have to find a way to accommodate both." |
It only took three minutes for this match when Forrest buried the rebound after Gary Harkins forced a save from Dumbarton goalkeeper Alan Martin. Harkins was again instrumental in the second goal, teeing up Forrest for an easy finish. And Forrest made it three from the penalty spot. Harkins could have had one himself; driving the ball towards goal from distance, but there was too much on the strike and it flew over the bar. Dumbarton finally showed up in the 18th minute. Greg Fleming had to punch clear in the Ayr goal, it then fell to Josh Todd, but his shot from 20 yards took a deflection on its way over. There were calls for a penalty by the United camp before the end of the first half, but it looked as though Mark Docherty timed his challenge on Nicky Devlin as he burst into the area. It was another early goal in the second half and another gift from Dumbarton. Alan Martin lost out to Harkins in the box, the keeper committed and lost, then Harkins squared to Forrest who couldn't miss for his second. Ayr wrapped up the points from the penalty spot when Devlin was brought down in the box by Daniel Harvie, and Forrest stepped up and secured his hat-trick. Ayr United move five points clear of Dumbarton and seven clear of St Mirren who are rooted to the bottom of the Championship table. Match ends, Dumbarton 0, Ayr United 3. Second Half ends, Dumbarton 0, Ayr United 3. Attempt missed. Brian Gilmour (Ayr United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Darren Barr (Dumbarton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Darren Barr (Dumbarton). Craig McGuffie (Ayr United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Samuel Stanton (Dumbarton) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Kevin Nisbet (Ayr United). Attempt saved. Brian Gilmour (Ayr United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Attempt missed. Craig Pettigrew (Dumbarton) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Attempt missed. Ryan Stevenson (Dumbarton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Robbie Crawford (Ayr United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Garry Fleming (Dumbarton) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Robbie Crawford (Ayr United). Attempt saved. Kevin Nisbet (Ayr United) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is saved in the top left corner. Attempt missed. Robert Thomson (Dumbarton) header from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses the top left corner. Corner, Ayr United. Conceded by Alan Martin. Attempt saved. Kevin Nisbet (Ayr United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Substitution, Ayr United. Craig McGuffie replaces Gary Harkins. Attempt missed. Kevin Nisbet (Ayr United) |
The all-rounder made 67 as the hosts posted a daunting 241-7 on a sluggish pitch at Worcester. Perry then took 2-16, claiming the early wickets of Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor as England fell to 30-3. The hosts lost their last six wickets for just 29 as they were bowled out for 152, with Kristen Beams taking 3-13. With a Test and three T20s to follow over the next month, England will need to rectify their batting issues if they are to compete with an increasingly threatening Australian side. If all those matches are completed, England must win the Test and one T20, draw the Test and win two T20s, or win all three T20s to retain the Ashes. The ODIs also saw points for both sides given towards the ICC Women's Championship with Australia further extending their lead at the top of the table, while England sit fourth. Meg Lanning picked up from where she left off in Bristol as the Australia captain once again provided an injection of pace to her side's innings. Following days of rain, the visitors struggled to 83-1 from their first 25 overs on the slow New Road pitch. Wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy was promoted up the batting order after the fall of Australia's second wicket, Nicole Bolton (40), making a quick-fire 17 off 18 balls before being caught-and-bowled by Heather Knight. It brought Perry out and her 85-run fifth-wicket partnership with Lanning changed the course of the match. England vice-captain Knight had spoken of the importance of the hosts taking their chances to get the Australia captain out after the second ODI in Bristol. However, they failed to learn from their mistakes as a run-out chance with Lanning on five was missed, before Lydia Greenway dropped the 23-year-old on 46. Jenny Gunn, picked in place of Kate Cross, finally had the right-handed batsman dismissed as she was caught at long-on for an impressive 85. Perry (67), who had been happy to rotate the strike, attacked the ball more aggressively and reached her seventh 50 in eight innings as Australia posted a daunting 241-7. And when Edwards was sent back to the pavilion after just two minutes when she was bowled out by Perry, the signs looked ominous for England. All-rounder Perry picked up her second wicket in as many overs, removing Taylor before the recalled Lauren Winfield was run-out to reduce the home side to 30-3. Knight (38) dug in before being bowled by Jess Jonassen, having walked across her stumps when attempting to sweep. Requiring boundaries, Katherine Brunt (31) came out ahead of Natalie Sciver and hit the first maximum in the series, swiping across the line and clearing square-leg off Jonassen. But, having shared a 51-run fifth-wicket partnership with Greenway (45), the pair perished in consecutive overs as Australia took complete control and finished the match in style. |
Ladimeji Benson, 27, was attacked in Baddow Road, Chelmsford, Essex, on Tuesday afternoon. He was taken to hospital after a group of men flagged down an ambulance three miles from the scene but later died from his injuries. The 20-year-old man, of no fixed address, was arrested on Saturday. Two men, 22 and 25, from Chelmsford, were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of assault and affray. Both men have been bailed until 6 January, pending further inquiries. In a statement, his family and girlfriend said: "Ladi was a special person with a beautiful heart. He was a wonderful father to his baby daughter and step-son, and a loving partner, son and brother. "He was taken from us too soon and we are all left with a huge hole in our hearts. Our lives will never be the same without him. "We will never see that cheeky grin again and his daughter will never know the father she adored. She had almost learned to say the word 'Dada', but now her Dada will only be a photo or a story." |
A formal Cardiff "city deal" submission was made ahead of the chancellor's spending review on 25 November. The document was signed by the leaders of 10 local councils across the region. Welsh ministers have pledged £580m and the councils £120m, while £580m from the Treasury would make for a deal worth nearly £1.3bn. No specific projects have been identified yet, but it is expected to include better bus and train services as part of a Metro scheme. It could also include projects covering regeneration and improving skills, road improvements and better broadband connections. Officials from the councils, the Welsh government and the UK government will seek to identify schemes over the next few months, if the Treasury agrees to the match-funding request. A spokesman for the Welsh government said the deal was "focused on connectivity, business support, skills and innovation" and would be "a significant step forward for regional collaboration and economic growth". "Transport infrastructure will play a key role in this, which is why we have focused our contribution in this area," the spokesman said. "We look forward to an early and positive response from the Treasury to enable the vision to become a reality." Cardiff council leader Phil Bale said: "The partners welcome this positive step by Welsh government, and hope the UK government will in turn match this contribution. "We are at an early stage of the process, but the submission has been made to try and ensure we get a commitment in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review which will then lead to further negotiations." City deals have become a particular favourite of George Osborne, as he looks to fund major infrastructure around the UK. This is a way for Wales to get in on the act. The big prize here is to pull in more than half a billion pounds of extra funding. All eyes will now be on the chancellor. The timing is clear: to pile on the pressure ahead of his spending review. In its favour, a city deal has the big benefit of at least being a Conservative concept, even if it has been taken up by nine Labour run councils and a Labour-run Welsh government. There are all sorts of unanswered questions, such as how the projects will be selected, but none of this will get off the ground unless there's buy in from the Treasury. |
Verstappen collided with Ricciardo as they fought for fourth position at Turn Two on the first lap. "It is never my intention to hit anyone but especially not your team-mate, and especially the relationship I have with Daniel," Verstappen said. "We can always have a laugh so this is not nice." The 19-year-old's immediate apology is likely to cool tension between the drivers. Ricciardo said the move was "amateur to say the least". Speaking before Verstappen offered his apology, Ricciardo, 28, told BBC Radio 5 live: "The way Max handles it, more than the way I handle it, will dictate how it goes in the future. "For sure I can go and call him names after the race but it's more how he will respond - if he acts like the age he is, or if he acts like a man about it and and admits the error. "If he starts bringing in some other kind of excuse, then we'll have some problems." Ricciardo got the run on Verstappen after the Dutchman was pushed wide at Turn One by Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas and was ahead on the outside as they approached the next corner. But Verstappen locked his brakes and slid into the Australian, breaking a radiator. Ricciardo spun into retirement on fluids from his own car a corner later. Verstappen's move earned him a 10-second penalty, served at his pit stop, which cost him any chance of challenging the Ferraris and Mercedes. He came home in fifth place, just 13 seconds behind race winner Sebastian Vettel. "I was on the outside of Turn Two, Valtteri was on the inside so I thought if I braked on the outside I could brake later," Ricciardo added. "I don't really know what he was doing because Valtteri was on the inside. "It's frustrating. It's not even an overtaking move. It's an emotional response - sees me pass him, wants to make it back and messed it up." Verstappen, who also angered Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton with his defensive driving early in the race, said: "It is not what you want to touch your team-mate but I didn't do it on purpose. "You try to fight for position, but fair, but I locked up and it is difficult to control that when you are also tight on the first lap. "It is not nice and good but I will speak to Daniel about that. I apologise to him and also to the team because we could have scored some good points there. "We were both fighting for position in Turn Two. So we braked quite deep into the corner but I had a car in front of me so I locked the front and then I was just a passenger. "I was trying to avoid Daniel, of course, but unfortunately it was not possible." |
James Price, the top-ranking official on the economy, said the government acted reasonably when it put in offers. He told AMs that the airport's previous Spanish owners Abertis wanted £200m for it, when the government thought it was initially worth £35m. The airport was eventually bought for £52m in 2013. Mr Price, deputy permanent secretary on the economy, told AMs the £35m was based on an in-house valuation of the airport's assets and did not take into account potential profits. "In all honesty I do not believe we damaged our negotiating position by quoting prices," he said in his evidence to the public accounts committee on Thursday. "When we were quoting thirty-five [million pounds] they were quoting two hundred, so we were miles out. "I think probably at that stage both sides told the other to 'get lost', really." Accountants KPMG were asked to give a valuation and suggested a range of between £25m and £35m, but with a higher valuation possible if the airport performed well. In December 2012, the Welsh government's negotiating team made a non-binding offer of up to £55m, which Mr Price said he challenged in "frankly quite a heated meeting" with the team. "The conclusion was it was a reasonable and a fair thing to do on the basis that Abertis wouldn't come to the table to even discuss it without doing that," he said. Mr Price said the government's best guess of what the company paid for the airport was between £120m and £150m. He said Abertis was "running it like a car park", by trying to make as much money as possible from the landing fees it charged airlines to use it. The Conservatives have accused Labour ministers of paying too much for the airport. But the Welsh government has said a later valuation of £472m - which takes into account the airport's wider value to the economy - justified the price it paid. |
The visitors took the lead in the first half through Lee Miller, but Hibs came roaring back after the break. Liam Henderson levelled and Darren McGregor soon headed Hibs in front. Hibs were then denied a blatant penalty, before their goalkeeper, Conrad Logan, allowed McHugh's 80th-minute shot to squirm past him. It was the fifth meeting of these sides this season and the fourth draw. They meet again on Friday for the second leg. The evidence was that it was going to be hard-fought and tight - and so it proved. Until that opening Falkirk goal, Hibs were on top. Not dominant - their use of the ball was far too loose to build up a proper head of steam - but they had a few moments. Fraser Fyvie fired over, Paul Hanlon had a close-range effort charged down, Fyvie again shot wide. Against the run of play, Falkirk struck out and scored. They had not threatened in the 34 minutes leading up to the opener. They had worked hard, and impressively, in closing down Hibs and frustrating them, but they had not made anything happen down the other end. That changed when they won a free-kick 25 yards out. Luke Leahy took it and made a mess of it, driving the ball into the Hibs wall, from where it bounced into the path of Tom Taiwo, the former Hibs player. Taiwo hit it goal-ward, then it deflected off Miller and ricocheted into the top corner of Logan's net. Hibs protested that Miller was standing in an offside position, but he wasn't. Falkirk had landed the first blow. After the break, Hibs were a different team. The penetration that was lacking in the first half was suddenly evident. They had to wait for the precision, though. They created two wonderful chances in the opening minutes of the second half, John McGinn blasting over from a great position inside the box and Anthony Stokes failing to take advantage of a deft through ball from Jason Cummings. Stokes was one-on-one with Danny Rogers, but lifted his shot over the crossbar. You wondered at that point what impact these misses would have on Hibs' spirit, but they only grew stronger. Five minutes after Stokes missed, Henderson scored. And it was clinical. Dylan McGeouch put in a cross from the right, Stokes cushioned a header to Henderson and the midfielder smashed it past Rogers. Eight minutes after that, Hibs came again. A free-kick from the right from Henderson was thumped home by McGregor, his header unstoppable, his desire obvious. Hibs can scarcely get through a day without having their bottle questioned by their most bitter rivals in Scotland, but they were thunderous in these minutes, an altogether different lot to the pop-gun team of the first half. Cummings could have made it three, but mis-kicked in the six-yard box. Then, Hibs were denied a clear penalty. Falkirk were under heavy fire by now and in the midst of the onslaught, David McCracken handled in |
"JT coming in, you couldn't get any better for this level," the 26-year-old Irishman told BBC WM 95.6. "It will give everyone a boost. That certainly looked like that was the case out in our training camp in Portugal." Despite a decent start when Steve Bruce took over as manager last October, Villa ultimately finished only 13th. And, at the Championship's second-best supported club, in their second season back in the second tier, Hourihane is well aware of the renewed pressure on Bruce's Villa to perform better this time round. "I got a taster of that from January to the end of the season," says Hourihane, who was signed by Bruce from Barnsley in the January transfer window for an undisclosed seven-figure fee. "It kind of fizzled out a little bit with some poor results but things are looking good now. We have some good players in this squad for this level. There'll be more leaving and more coming in but we'll be ready to go. "We had a long, hard 10 days out in Portugal, where we did a lot of running and hard graft. With a strong pre-season and some good names coming though the door, ultimately, we need to produce. "We need to do better away from home. If you look at Newcastle and Brighton who got promoted last season both had very good away form. And that's something we need to improve on." Meanwhile, Villa winger Carles Gil, 24, has rejoined La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna on a second season-long loan. The January 2015 signing made 34 Villa appearances in 18 months before first being loaned to Deportivo in 2016. Villa's average league attendance last season was 32,107 - the second-best in the Championship, bettered only by champions Newcastle United (51,106). Conor Hourihane was talking to BBC WM's Mark Regan. |
The former Italy forward, 52, replaces Mircea Lucescu who was sacked last week after one season in charge. Zenit finished third in the Russian Premier League club and missed out on Champions League qualification. Mancini, who won the Premier League title with Manchester City in 2012, most recently managed Inter Milan. The Italian, who left Inter by mutual agreement in 2016, has the option of extending his contract at Zenit for a further two years. |
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was attacked in the capital, Bujumbura. He was a stern critic of President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third term in office. On Sunday presidential aide Gen Adolphe Nshimirimana was killed in an attack on his car in Bujumbura. He was in charge of the president's personal security. Burundi has suffered serious unrest since President Nkurunziza's decision in April to seek a third term in office. Opponents argued this violated the constitution and there was a failed coup attempt in May. A presidential election was held last month which Mr Nkurunziza won, but which was boycotted by the opposition. The US special envoy for the region, Tom Perriello, condemned the attack on Mr Mbonimpa. "We are just horrified," he told BBC Newsday. "This is a truly courageous man who has repeatedly stood up for the rights of the people of Burundi and has repeatedly been sent to prison for standing up for basic civil rights," he added. The activist is in intensive care in a Bujumbura hospital, a relative told Reuters news agency. The shooting took place near Mr Mbonimpa's home north of the capital on Monday evening. "He was going home when suddenly a group of motorcyclists encircled him and started shooting at him. Many of the bikers had guns," the relative said. Several foreign diplomats have visited Mr Mbonimpa in hospital, says the BBC's Prime Ndikumagenge in Bujumbura. Mr Mbonimpa is believed to be one of the few members of Burundi's civil society opposed to the president who have not fled the country. In April, he was held without charge for more than 24 hours by the intelligence services after he called for protests against the president's efforts to secure a third term. Correspondents say that Mr Mbonimpa's work over the years for the rights of prisoners and others has won international acclaim and that rumours of his death had circulated in Burundi before the shooting took place. |
The swimming pool on Justice Mill Lane closed in 2008 because of council budget cuts. It is estimated more than £5m will be needed to refurbish the historic art deco design building. The campaigners are nearing a £5,000 total to start a Save Bon Accord Baths fund. Fundraising manager John Law told BBC Scotland: "It was great to get into the baths, I have to say first impressions were incredible. "It's an amazing place, and it's in much better condition than we first thought it would likely be. "The main structure seems to be in really good condition." |
Coastguard rescue teams hoisted him back up the slope at Slains Castle near Cruden Bay, after he fell shortly after 10:00 on Sunday morning. Aberdeen Coastguard said he suffered injuries including fractures but his condition was not life threatening. Three coastguard teams, the Peterhead lifeboat and a rescue helicopter from Inverness were involved in the rescue. |
At a spring conference in Liverpool, Ms Lucas will say the two parties could "forge a new grouping in Parliament". The Greens are polling in similar numbers to the Lib Dems and say their membership quadrupled in the past year. But the party's leader Natalie Bennett has faced criticism of her performance in recent weeks. She struggled in a radio interview to explain how a flagship policy to build 500,000 new social rented homes would be funded, later attributing her performance to an "excruciating mind blank". The leader of the Green Party on Liverpool council, John Coyne, said he had been "taken aback" by her "excruciating" performance and she had clearly been "underprepared". He told the BBC that it wouldn't happen again as Ms Bennett - who could take part in a TV debate with other party leaders should they go ahead - would in future rehearse her performance in mock interviews. "It's a failure that she was underprepared we know why that happened and we know it will be fixed for the future," Mr Coyne - a former Liberal Democrat who is now chair of the Green Councillors Association - said. Main pledges "It was a serious failure and we thought it might be damaging to us but one thing that perhaps is saving us from that is people who are attracted to the Green Party tend to have a more generous disposition anyway tend to be able to forgive a mistake." In her conference speech, Ms Bennett will say her party offers a "message of hope and real change" and would create "a political system that puts the public first". The Green Party in England and Wales is fielding its largest ever slate of candidates, aiming to stand in 90% of parliamentary seats on 7 May. The Green parties in Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate organisations. In her address, former leader Ms Lucas will say the Green Party should join forces with the SNP in the next Parliament to maximise their influence on the next government. "With the rise of the SNP, and with our own Green surge, we have the chance to forge a new grouping in Parliament. A progressive alliance. "Of course, in Scotland and in Wales we'll be fighting hard for our distinctive values and policies. Just as we do against those individual Labour and even Lib Dem candidates with whom we have something in common. "That's the nature of British politics under the first past the post system." What are the top issues for each political party at the 2015 general election? The SNP is riding high in the polls, threatening even the safest Labour seat in Scotland, according to recent opinion polls published by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft . |
The 10m (32ft) wide and 5m (16ft) deep crater formed outside the family home of Sarah Jenkins, in Upper Basildon, near Reading. Ms Jenkins said: "It's massive and it's getting bigger all the time." Consultant engineer Dr Clive Edmonds described it as "one of the larger of the hole sizes to appear". The hole first appeared on 5 December but is continuing to grow. Ms Jenkins added: "The only access to our property has been across our neighbour's garden. "It's taken out quite a bit of the driveway and garden and it's sitting underneath my children's climbing frame, so it's very serious. "It's dangerous. Living with this is absolutely dreadful." The house sits on top of an old brick factory, which was active in the 19th Century. It is thought tunnels may run under the street at 16m (52ft) beneath ground level. Dr Edmonds, a partner at Peter Brett Associates which is investigating the case, said this meant the pit should be more accurately described as a crown hole, rather than a sink hole. "That's when a collapse is due to manmade tunnels in the ground beneath rather than naturally formed," he said. "Size-wise it's as large as any that are recorded on the chalk in southern and eastern England. "It's definitely had an impact as it's in close proximity to the property." Ms Jenkins said John Lewis Insurance had yet to make a decision on her claim, but she was hoping for an answer before Christmas. The company turned down a previous claim in February, when a smaller hole appeared in the driveway in which her car became stuck. "The expense is crippling and this new hole is unbelievable," she added. John Brady, head of commercial at John Lewis Insurance, said: "This is an ongoing investigation that we are taking very seriously and treating as a matter of urgency. "However, until we have a final decision from our risk assessors, we are unable to comment further." |
The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is balloting 1,300 members over industrial action, which could be taken from 3 February. Transport for London wants to have staff in ticket halls and on platforms rather than in offices. It said the plans would save about £50m a year. Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) have already been balloted over possible industrial action. The result will be announced on Friday. London Underground (LU) has said it would seek to avoid compulsory redundancies. It also wants to introduce 24-hour services on five lines next year. It said sales at ticket offices only accounted for about 3% of all journeys, after announcing that staff would be switched to station concourses. Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA, said the ballot was a result of the "reckless" behaviour of London Mayor Boris Johnson. "He wants to scrap permanent station supervisors, who are in charge of evacuations, and replace them with mobile supervisors, who will travel from station to station. "But he will not answer the question [of] 'how mobile can you be if all lines are in lockdown because of an emergency and nothing is moving whatsoever?'." RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the changes would leave the Underground "a dangerous, hollowed out shell". "Not only are nearly 1,000 jobs on the line, but those left to pick up the pieces face the humiliation of having to re-apply for their own jobs. "That is a scandal as the overcrowded Tube network faces continuing demand and pressures that would stretch safety beyond the limits if these cuts aren't stopped." LU's chief operating officer Phil Hufton said there would be more staff in ticket halls and on gate lines to help customers and keep them safe. "We're clear that there'll be a job for everyone at LU who wants to work for us and be flexible, that we'll make these changes with no compulsory redundancies, and that we'll involve staff in our plans at every stage and support them through change. "We are now consulting with our unions and staff on our future vision, and I would urge the TSSA leadership to work with us to shape our plans, rather than threaten hard-working Londoners with completely unnecessary strike action." |
Despite leading England to back-to-back Six Nations titles, Hartley is expected to be overlooked for one of the three hooker spots. Wales' Sam Warburton is set to be confirmed as captain of the Lions for the second time, while centre Jamie Roberts is set to be a shock inclusion. Lions coach Warren Gatland will confirm his squad at 12:00 BST on Wednesday. Gatland and his coaches met for a final selection meeting on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's announcement and about 40 players are now expected to be named. If his omission is confirmed, Hartley will become the third England captain in succession to miss out on Lions selection, after Steve Borthwick in 2009 and Chris Robshaw in 2013. The 31-year-old was picked for the tour of Australia four years ago, but was suspended before the series after swearing at an official. Hartley's compatriot Jamie George, Ireland's Rory Best, and Wales' Ken Owens are expected to fill the three hooker berths. Despite finishing fifth in the Six Nations, it is understood more than 10 Welshmen will make the squad, with hard-running centre Roberts, 30, a surprise late addition having started on the bench for Wales in all five matches in this year's Six Nations. However, Scotland's representation is likely to be limited to full-back Stuart Hogg, and one of Tommy Seymour or Sean Maitland on the wing. Northampton hooker Hartley, 31, whose chances were rated at 50-50 yesterday, would become the latest in a list of shock English exclusions. Fellow Six Nations winners Joe Launchbury, James Haskell, George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Mike Brown are also in danger of missing out. |
Katy Skelton, 25, from County Antrim, parked her blue Mini before going for a walk with friends on 3 May. She said she returned to find her car "completely ruined". "My sat nav took me to the back entrance of Cave Hill. There were a few other cars around so I parked up behind them on the grass area," she said. "I didn't imagine that I'd come back to my car like that." Katy, who works for mental health organisation Inspire, said she found the "car on its roof on the road". "The windscreens have been smashed and the roof is caved in," she added. "It is absolutely destroyed." It was Katy's first time up Cave Hill and she said she would not be back anytime soon. "I waited from 8pm to midnight until the police arrived," she added. "It was pitch black, I was freezing and I was terrified they were going to come back and do something to the car or me." Police are urging anyone who saw anything suspicious between 18:00 to 20:00 BST to contact them. |
Some 50 firefighters were sent to Llancoed Court in D'Arcy Business Park, Llandarcy, near Neath, at 10:10 BST on Friday. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MWWFRS) said the fire broke through the roof of a warehouse with dark smoke billowing into the air. Three units are also at risk of collapse, the service added. A spokesman for MWWFRS said the burning building was 80m (260ft) by 20m (196ft) by 10m (32ft). Crews were dispatched from Morriston, Port Talbot, Swansea Central and Swansea West. Two crews will remain at the site overnight. |
They have also backed a move to consult on a proposed tax on sugary drinks. The measures were proposed by Sinn Féin as part of amendments to the Health Bill which is making its way through the assembly. Health Minister Simon Hamilton said any smoking law change would be unlikely to come into force before early next year. He opposed the sugar tax, saying "any such tax would displace the problem rather than solve it". The minister added that Stormont "may not have the powers to implement such a levy in Northern Ireland" but said he was seeking further advice on the issue. Despite his remarks, the amendments both passed by oral votes in the chamber on Monday evening. Sinn Féin's Rosie McCorley, who proposed the tax, said it would "benefit all members of society, young people in particular". "Sinn Féin believe that a sensible way of reducing the consumption of sugary sweetened drinks is to raise the price, which is a tried and tested method, as seen with taxes on cigarettes and alcohol," she said. She added that revenue raised by by the tax could be reinvested in other initiatives to improve health. A ban on smoking in vehicles carrying children has been in force in England and Wales since October. In the Republic of Ireland, a ban took effect on New Year's Day. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) also supports a ban in Northern Ireland and its health spokesperson Fearghal McKinney proposed a similar amendment to that from Sinn Féin. However, his amendment, which went further and asked for provision on public awareness campaigns, did not pass. |
The defending champion plays world number 97 Brown in the second match on Centre Court at about 15:00 BST. Fellow British number one Johanna Konta faces Donna Vekic of Croatia in the opening match on Centre Court at 13:00. Rafael Nadal, Venus Williams, Heather Watson and Aljaz Bedene are also in action on day three. Britain's Watson faces Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia on court two at 11:30, while compatriot Bedene takes on Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina on court three at about 13:00. Two-time champion Nadal plays American Donald Young in the third and final match on Centre Court. Japan's ninth seed Kei Nishikori opens play on Court One against Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky, before 10th seed and five-time winner Williams plays China's Qiang Wang, and second seed Simona Halep plays Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia. French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka are also in action in a packed bottom half of the women's draw. Media playback is not supported on this device Murray came through his opening match against the unorthodox Alexander Bublik in straight sets, and the Scot expects another unusual test from Brown. The dreadlocked German upset Nadal at Wimbledon two years ago, thrilling the Centre Court crowd with his diving volleys and attacking style. "I know Dustin pretty well," said Murray. "We get on well with each other. We message each other from time to time. I like him. He's really, really a nice guy. "But in terms of the match, I expect him to be very aggressive. I think he'll go for his shots. I think he'll come forward a lot. You know, he's unpredictable. "You know he's going to go for it. Also you know he hits a lot of drop shots. He can play slice. Sometimes he hits two first serves, goes for a huge second serve. "It's not easy to play players like that." Murray won their only previous meeting at the US Open seven years ago in straight sets. Sixth seed Konta, 26, arrived at the All England Club as a serious title contender for the first time and impressed in her first-round win over the tricky Hsieh Su-Wei. The Taiwanese player had beaten Konta at the French Open five weeks ago, and the Briton has another chance to make amends against Vekic, the world number 58 who beat her in the recent Nottingham final. "That's another great opportunity for me to play against someone who the last time I played, played a very good match," said Konta. "It's another opportunity for me to try and find a way to come out on top this time." It is also a chance for Konta to reach the third round of Wimbledon for the first time, at the sixth time of asking. "I play my career in a tennis season context, so I don't live my career for this week particular, this fortnight particular," she said. "I live it for the whole season and try to really perform the best that I |
The Ivory Coast player, 33, accepts he was "above the permitted limit", and did not challenge the charge. He was fined £54,000 - a means-tested fine - and banned from driving for 18 months by Barkingside magistrates. "It is well known that I am a Muslim and do not drink, said Toure. "I have always refused alcohol." Toure was driving in Dagenham in east London at the time of the offence last month. Barkingside Magistrates Court said Toure had an alcohol reading of 75 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath - more than twice England's legal limit of 35 micrograms. He pleaded guilty to the charge on Monday, but did not say in his Facebook statement how the alcohol got into his system. In his statement Toure added: "Drink-driving is a serious crime and even though I was not intentionally consuming alcohol I accept the ban and fine and I would like to apologise for this situation." The Ivory Coast international was recalled to the Manchester City squad earlier this month after apologising for "misunderstandings" relating to comments made by his agent Dimitri Seluk. |
Competitors from across the UK, France and Spain took part in the contest at Dunbar last weekend. Organiser Steve Hill said stone stacking was "the most natural form of street art you can find" and the artists' creations were "breathtaking". The overall winner was Pedro Duran, of Spain, who managed to balance 33 rocks in one stack. |
The much-travelled 32-year-old returns to the Championship club after a previous spell from 2005 to 2007. Sutton moved onto Wycombe and had two spells at Motherwell either side of two years at Hearts, but his season at St Johnstone brought only one goal. Saints manager Alex Rae said: "He's a tremendous addition - he brings experience and a goal scoring threat." |
10 September 2015 Last updated at 21:02 BST Here he tours a bottle factory that has just been bombed and is still smoking - causing numerous casualties. The Saudi Arabian government claims it was being used as a weapons factory and a training camp for African mercenaries, but the BBC saw no evidence to support that. Part one of Gabriel Gatehouse's special report is here. Part two is on BBC Newsnight on Friday 11 September at 22:30 BST and on iPlayer. |
Daniel Raymond Cooper, from Stourvale Road, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty at Sheffield Crown Court. He admitted five offences relating to abuse of a girl between 1999 and 2004, said South Yorkshire Police. The charges include sexual activity with a child, attempted unlawful sexual activity with a child under 13 years old and indecent assault. Cooper, 32, was also issued with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order stopping him from having unsupervised contact with any child under 16. Cooper moved out of Rotherham about 2005, said police. In May 2014, the victim reported the abuse to officers. PC Natasha Mangham said the victim had shown "tremendous strength of character and courage" during a lengthy investigation. "I am glad Cooper finally accepted responsibility for his despicable crimes and spared the victim the further trauma of reliving her abuse before the courts", she added. |
About 1,000 tonnes of granite boulders have been used to plug the hole which opened up behind the Pyramids Centre in Southsea between 25 and 26 December. Council leader Donna Jones said: "I'm very confident that what we've done will stop any further deterioration." The authority said plans for a multimillion-pound replacement scheme for the sea defences was underway. Portsmouth City Council said the cost of replacing the 40-year-old concrete defences was estimated at £87m. |
Humza Ali, 19, from Ward End, was arrested on 16 March on suspicion of preparing for terrorist acts, West Midlands Police said. Ali Akbar Zeb, 19, from Washwood Heath, was arrested on 4 August with another man who was released without charge. The pair were released on bail with strict conditions and are due before Westminster magistrates on 2 November. |
More than 60 samples have been added to the agency's new dedicated Soundcloud account, but listeners are unable to leave comments underneath the files. Astronaut communications, including "Houston, we've had a problem" and "the Eagle has landed", can be heard - as well as some more abstract noises made by working spacecraft and debris. In space itself, sound is unable to travel as there is no air. "You can hear the roar of a space shuttle launch or Neil Armstrong's "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind" every time you get a phone call, if you make our sounds your ringtone," the space agency said. "Or, you can hear the memorable words 'Houston, we've had a problem,' every time you make an error on your computer." The sound library goes alongside Nasa's extensive picture library, which is also available free. The space agency launched its account at the same time as Twitter enabled users to embed audio into tweets. |
HMP Berwyn is expected to open at the end of the month at a cost of £250m. The UK Government will pay for services like health, social care and education at the prison, but is unlikely to pay for its policing. A permanent team of North Wales Police (NWP) officers will be stationed there, but the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has been asked for more money. North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, Arfon Jones, made the request. Otherwise, he said the funding would have to come from the force's own budget - which could mean an increase in police precept through council tax. "It's a £185,000 [estimated cost of policing HMP Berwyn] out of a £143m [NWP annual budget], it's not a vast amount," said Mr Jones. "But, you know we can do a lot more with £185,000. You could probably employ three or four police officers for that, if not more. So any extra police resources are of assistance really. "There will be police officers working within the prison, they will deal with most day to day incidents. It all depends on the seriousness of them. "And the more serious the crimes committed, the more the implication will be on North Wales Police to investigate." The MoJ is responsible for the prison, but policing comes under the Home Office's brief. A Home Office spokesperson said the force was due to receive more money in the 2017-18 settlement, £1.9m more more than in 2015-16. "Decisions on the operational deployment of resources are matters for chief constables, in association with police and crime commissioners, but there is no question that the police still have the resources to do their important work," the spokesperson said. Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard said the prison would impact resources and the way the force worked, but it had done extensive research and worked closely with relevant authorities and the MoJ. He added: "We will continue to liaise regularly with the Prison Governor and other agencies and I am satisfied that we have plans in place to deal with likely issues as they arise." The complex will hold 2,200 inmates and will be the UK's largest prison. |
The girls' shoes carry a heart-patterned insole, while the boys' insoles are decorated with footballs. The shoe manufacturer has removed the Dolly Babe from its website following "customer feedback" about the name. "We are working hard to ensure our ranges reflect our gender-neutral ethos," Clarks said. "We apologise for any unintended offence caused." However, the girls' shoe is still available online from retailers including Amazon and John Lewis and the Leader remains on sale. Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, said the situation was unacceptable and "almost beyond belief" in 2017. End of Twitter post by @NicolaSturgeon Miranda Williams, a councillor and cabinet member for children and young people in Greenwich, southeast London, first took Clarks to task on Twitter this week. End of Twitter post by @M_Williams07 Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative MP for North East Somerset, also criticised Clarks. "To call a pair of shoes for a girl Dolly Babe is dreadful. It's wrong in all sorts of ways ... this is just really silly," he told the BBC. Carolyn Harris, shadow minister for women and equalities, described the situation as "blatant discrimination", while Sarah Ludford, a Liberal Democrat peer and shadow Brexit minister, called the name choices "depressing". End of Twitter post by @SarahLudford Lesley Williams, a Gloucestershire councillor, tweeted that it was "offensive": End of Twitter post by @LabourLesley Clarks said it was removing the Dolly Babe shoe, which it described as an "old and discontinued line", from its stores. The row follows another claim of sexism levelled against Clarks earlier this month by Jemma Moonie-Dalton, who wrote a Facebook post about trying to buy school shoes for her seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old son at a Clarks store in east London. "In the boys' section the shoes are sturdy, comfortable and weatherproof with soles clearly designed with running and climbing in mind," she wrote. "In contrast, the girls' shoes have inferior soles, are not fully covered and are not well padded at the ankle. They are not comfortable and are not suited to outdoor activities in British weather." Clarks said it was creating more unisex shoes in response to customer feedback and promoting its gender-neutral stance both online and in store. But Williams said Clarks had failed to learn lessons from a similar controversy last summer. In a Facebook post that went viral, Welsh mother Laura Greenwood accused Clarks of making girls' shoes that are "fussy, impractical and prone to scuffing - quite unlike your sensible, practical, durable ranges designed for boys". The row comes as the Advertising Standards Authority plans to crack down on ads that feature stereotypical gender roles. The move, announced last month, follows complaints about adverts such as one for Aptamil baby milk formula that showed girls growing up to be ballerinas and boys becoming engineers. |
Ancient sea walls built by the Romans used a concrete made from lime and volcanic ash to bind with rocks. Now scientists have discovered that elements within the volcanic material reacted with sea water to strengthen the construction. They believe the discovery could lead to more environmentally friendly building materials. Unlike the modern concrete mixture which erodes over time, the Roman substance has long puzzled researchers. Rather than eroding, particularly in the presence of sea water, the material seems to gain strength from the exposure. In previous tests with samples from ancient Roman sea walls and harbours, researchers learned that the concrete contained a rare mineral called aluminium tobermorite. They believe that this strengthening substance crystallised in the lime as the Roman mixture generated heat when exposed to sea water. Researchers have now carried out a more detailed examination of the harbour samples using an electron microscope to map the distribution of elements. They also used two other techniques, X-ray micro-diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, to gain a deeper understanding of the chemistry at play. This new study says the scientists found significant amounts of tobermorite growing through the fabric of the concrete, with a related, porous mineral called phillipsite. The researchers say that the long-term exposure to sea water helped these crystals to keep on growing over time, reinforcing the concrete and preventing cracks from developing. "Contrary to the principles of modern cement-based concrete," said lead author Marie Jackson from the University of Utah, US, "the Romans created a rock-like concrete that thrives in open chemical exchange with seawater." "It's a very rare occurrence in the Earth." The ancient mixture differs greatly from the current approach. Modern buildings are constructed with concrete based on Portland cement. This involves heating and crushing a mixture of several ingredients including limestone, sandstone, ash, chalk, iron and clay. The fine material is then mixed with "aggregates", such as rocks or sand, to build concrete structures. The process of making cement has a heavy environmental penalty, being responsible for around 5% of global emissions of CO2. So could the greater understanding of the ancient Roman mixture lead to greener building materials? Prof Jackson is testing new materials using sea water and volcanic rock from the western United States. Speaking to the BBC earlier this year, she argued that the planned Swansea tidal lagoon should be built using the ancient Roman knowledge of concrete. "Their technique was based on building very massive structures that are really quite environmentally sustainable and very long-lasting," she said. "I think Roman concrete or a type of it would be a very good choice [for Swansea]. That project is going to require 120 years of service life to amortise [pay back] the investment. "We know that Portland cement concretes contain steel reinforcements. Those will surely corrode in at least half of that service lifetime." There are a number of limiting factors that make the revival of the Roman approach very challenging. One is the lack of suitable volcanic rocks. The Romans, |
Scottish Borders Council has laid down their priority gritting routes in their winter service plan. But they are relying on local communities to salt smaller roads and paths. Council leader David Parker said community councils and other organisations were doing a "wonderful job". He added: "They get material help from the council in terms of salt and equipment to go out and carry out works in their local area, sometimes prioritising routes that are important to them. "I know that in a number of our communities the resilience teams on the ground are making a really big difference." The council also has about 1,000 grit bins in place across the region. "We don't have a grit bin on every single street corner, it's just not practical but we have a very comprehensive network," said Mr Parker. "We have one of the largest networks of grit bins of any local authority our size in the country and certainly we do our best to fill these with salt, making sure these grit bins are available for the public for self help." Under the winter service plan, primary routes will be gritted regularly, especially first thing in the morning and at night. A secondary salting network covers remaining A and B roads, as well as school bus routes. |
Emergency services were alerted at about 04:20 that a young child was in the water in Dalmellington, East Ayrshire. She was taken to Ayr Hospital for treatment. Police Scotland said inquiries were ongoing to establish the details of the incident. A spokeswoman said: "Police received a report of a young girl having fallen into water, believed to be a burn, in Cathcartson, Ayrshire. "The girl, believed to be a four-year-old, was taken to Ayr Hospital for treatment." |
The names were mentioned in plea bargain testimony of former executives of construction firm Odebrecht, but have not been made public. It is unclear if they include ministers in President Michel Temer's government. The Operation Car Wash investigates overpriced contracts at Petrobras. Supreme Court Judge Edson Fachin, in charge of the case, is due to decide whether he will accept the requests to open the investigations. Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot also asked for the names to be made public, and that the Supreme Court send 211 other requests to lower courts. Under Brazilian law, cabinet ministers, senators and lower house lawmakers can only be tried in the Supreme Court, where cases can take years to come to trial. The new investigations are an escalation of the three-year-old Operation Car Wash. The former Odebrecht employees, including its ex-chief executive Marcelo Odebrecht, signed deals with Brazilian investigators, agreeing to confess to crimes and to identify corrupt officials in exchange for shorter prison sentences. This new chapter in the case will be a test for Mr Temer, who leads a centre-right government after leftist President Dilma Rousseff was impeached last year. He took power promising to tackle corruption and restore fiscal discipline as Brazil faces its worst recession on record. But he has lost several ministers following corruption allegations, and the investigations may hamper his efforts to revive the economy and restore confidence, correspondents say. There is the suspicion that part of the money from the overcharged contracts with Petrobras was used for bribes and to pay for campaigning. Brazil's electoral court is looking into donations to the Rousseff-Temer campaign in the 2014 election. If fraud is found, their campaign could be annulled, which means that Mr Temer would be removed from office. They both deny wrongdoing. |
The stop on the Inverness to Aberdeen line could be used by shoppers and people who work at the retail park. It has also been suggested that students might also use the station to get to and from the nearby Inverness College UHI. Highlands and Islands public transport body, Hitrans, has started exploring the potential uses and cost of the station. The organisation already has proposals for a stop on the railway line close to Inverness Airport at Dalcross. Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said a station at the shopping park could be well used. He said: "We have got to continue to develop all forms of public transport across the Highlands. "Part of the attractiveness of this is that there is a wide range of possible users. There are people who live and work in that part of the city, those who use the shopping park, the leisure facilities and the university campus." Separate to the railway station plans, the shopping park is also set for a revamp following Highland councillors' approval of the new-look earlier this year. |
They denied reports that a deal of $6m (£3.7m; 4.6m euros) had been agreed and said negotiations were still under way. Mr Strauss-Kahn was held in New York in May 2011 after Nafissatou Diallo said he assaulted her in his hotel suite. Prosecutors later dropped charges amid concerns about her credibility. Lawyers William Taylor III and Amit Mehta said in a statement on Friday that reports of a settlement were "flatly false". "The parties have discussed a resolution but there has been no settlement. Mr Strauss-Kahn will continue to defend the charges if no resolution can be reached," their statement said. It was reported on Thursday that a deal was said to have been struck in recent days at the Bronx Supreme Court. Details of the deal were not reported at the time and correspondents said they were likely to be subject to a confidentiality agreement. But unnamed sources close to Mr Strauss-Kahn, quoted by France's Le Monde newspaper, said he had planned to pay Ms Diallo $6m. The sources also said half would have been paid by Mr Strauss-Kahn and half would have been loaned to him by his wife Anne Sinclair, from whom he formally separated last month. After charges were dropped Ms Diallo, 33, opened a civil suit for undisclosed damages against the former French politician. Mr Strauss-Kahn, 63, called the lawsuit defamatory and countersued. Her case opened the floodgates to a slew of others sexual allegations against Mr Strauss-Kahn, leading him to resign from his IMF post. It was widely seen as having ruined his chance of becoming the socialist presidential candidate in his native France. A court date between Mr Strauss-Kahn and Ms Diallo's lawyers is expected next week, although a day has not been set, reports the New York Times. She told police that when she arrived to clean his luxury Manhattan hotel room, he forced her to perform oral sex on him. He admitted to a "moral failing", but said it was consensual. |
As Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen moved into a three-shot lead by firing a 12-under-par 60 in the fourballs, the Irish pair could only manage a 69. The Irish started with a destructive bogey at the first and carded only four birdies, as they parred the last seven holes in Melbourne. Combined with their opening foursomes 72, the Irish duo are sharing 16th. Danish duo Kjeldsen and Olesen lead Chinese pair Wu Ashun and Li Haotong by three shots with Spain's Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jon Rahm a further stroke back. The Chinese players shot a 65 on Friday with the Spaniards carding a 67. English duo Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan are five off the pace after their 66 on Friday which left them in a share of fourth spot along with Italy, the USA and France. Welsh pair Bradley Dredge are a stroke ahead of Ireland in 14th spot after carding a second-round 66 while Scotland appear out of contention, 11 off the pace, despite their 65 on Friday. The Scottish pair of Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart propped up the field following a first-round 78 in the foursomes. |
The "severe fire" broke out in Wolverhampton at about 19:55 BST on Friday and six fire engines were sent to the scene. The flames at the metal recycling yard at Bilston Road in Monmore Green were prevented from spreading to surrounding buildings, West Midlands Fire Service said. The blaze was under control by 03:30 and the cause is being investigated. |
Alex Donnelly, 58, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to a charge of directing serious organised crime. The court heard he was the fixer in a £210,000 consignment of heroin and was later caught handing over £23,000 of drug money in a Glasgow street. Donnelly was jailed at the same court in 1996 for heroin dealing. He was caught again in 2006 and jailed for 10 years for his role in a cocaine gang. Sentencing Donnelly, judge Lord Boyd told him: "The trafficking of drugs is a vile and evil trade and is one that you have followed for many years." The court head how Donnelly returned to crime in September 2011 shortly after being freed from prison. Prosecutor Stephen McCloy told how Donnelly "directed" another individual in the purchase and supply of heroin. Officers later arrested this other man in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, and discovered £210,000 of heroin in a car boot. In December 2011, Donnelly was then spotted handing over a package to a woman in Balornock area of Glasgow. The package was also later seized by police and found to be £22,970 in bank-notes linked to criminal activity. Donnelly was eventually detained - but made no comment to officers. Lord Boyd also made Donnelly the subject of a strict 10-year financial reporting order. This consists of various measures including Donnelly declaring any purchase over £500. Following sentence, procurator fiscal Lindsey Miller said: "Donnelly was a significant figure in an organised crime group involved in the distribution of heroin in the west of Scotland. "On his release from a lengthy sentence Donnelly immediately returned to directing the sale of Class A drugs." |
The man, who did not want to be named, is against a 225-bedroom hotel being built at a derelict site descending from Victoria Street to the Cowgate. It is due to feature a bar, restaurant, cafe, retail and commercial units. The 19th Century, A-listed India Buildings is a part of the planned redevelopment. The B-listed Cowgatehead Church and a C-listed building are also part of the plans. A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed they were called to the scene. |
In July councillors voted to withdraw funding from nine libraries as the county council looks to save £800,000 a year by 2012. The Conservative-led authority had originally planned to shut 20 of its 34 sites, but revised the proposals. Councillor Janet Dover has presented the council leader with a motion and a new vote will be held on 10 November. Ms Dover raised the motion using a standing order, by getting the signatures from 10 county councillors supporting her. Their support means she can ask for a minute to be rescinded from decision that was made in July and replace it with option D, which would see all 34 libraries preserved, but with a reduction in opening hours and a cut in the budgets for books. Councillors had rejected that and opted to shut nine libraries, including ones in Wool, Corfe Castle, Charmouth and Puddletown, by next April unless volunteers could be found. However, it was a narrow defeat for campaigners as 20 councillors voted to save all libraries, while 21 voted for the closures. Ms Dover said she now hoped the public would urge their councillors to change their minds and to vote to keep the libraries open. |
The MV Loch Seaforth's horn was sounded as it left the village late on Thursday afternoon, signalling the turning on of the lights. Ullapool has not had a community Christmas lights display before. The village's display has been organised by community group Ullapool Fire and Light Fund and will feature a Christmas tree created from creels. The creel tree stands about 16ft tall and has been constructed almost entirely of creels normally used for catching prawns or crabs. Thursday's switch-on included lights appearing on yachts, dinghies and fishing boats in Ullapool harbour. The display has been funded by a grant and donations. |
About 150 staff out of the ambulance service's total workforce of 1,100 are members of Unite. Most of those who are to go on strike work in the control room. The BBC understands the roles will be filled by management during the 24-hour stoppage. Public sector transport workers who are members of Unite are taking part in a 24-hour strike on the same day. The transport strike will affect Ulsterbus, Metro and Northern Ireland Railways services. On Thursday, GMB members of Translink announced they would be taking part in "two weeks of discontinuous industrial action short of strike", beginning on 1 May. Other health unions are taking part in strike action in the coming weeks. Unite officer with responsibility for health, Kevin McAdam, said the union had agreed a programme of strike action in "pursuit of an outstanding pay claim for 2014-15, the lack of an offer for the current year and proposed health service closures". The Society of Radiographers will walk out for four hours on 30 April - the same day that midwives will hold a four-hour strike. Unison and GMB members will begin a work to rule from Monday 27 April. Ambulance crews will begin an overtime ban on the same day at 08:00 BST. That will end at 20:00 BST on Sunday 10 May. GMB, a smaller union, will also begin an overtime ban on Monday that will last for two weeks. The union has given notice to the five trusts in Northern Ireland that its members would be taking part in action short of strike from Monday. Unison workers will take part in a work to rule, but at this stage the union is not planning to participate in the 24-hour strike. Last month, public transport workers took part in a one-day strike involving education, administration and health service staff. In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Health said it respected the right of trade union members to take part in industrial action but was disappointed "that this further industrial action is being taken by Northern Ireland Ambulance Service members". "In Northern Ireland, despite our offers to negotiate, local trade unions have not been prepared to talk to us about options for a 2015/16 pay deal, dissatisfied with what their English colleagues accepted in 2014/15," a spokesperson for the department said. "The department wrote earlier this year inviting unions to begin discussions, and also sought to engage with unions at the start of March. A further invitation has been issued to seek to commence discussions as soon as trade union availability permits. "There is ongoing pressure within our health and social care system and there is a very difficult financial year ahead with difficult decisions required regarding the provision of direct health and social care services. "The minister remains committed to putting patients first and departmental officials will work with the HSCB and trusts to ensure a safe service is provided during any planned stoppages." |
Freddie Sears sent in a crisp cross for Chambers to head in from close range and end his side's barren run. Having made the first goal, Sears scored the second late on, latching on to Tom Lawrence's pinpoint pass to score for the first time in 38 matches. Ipswich's first win in six games pushes them up to 12th in the table, three points above Burton, who drop to 18th. Burton had rallied after going behind early on, and Lucas Akins should have levelled when he was sent clear by Chris O'Grady, but he shot wide of the near post. Early in the second half, Ipswich almost doubled their lead but Leon Best saw his shot blocked brilliantly by Ben Turner. Burton had a few half-chances but Sears clinched the win after a great piece of skill from Lawrence. Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy: "Whether we have played him on the right, the left or in the centre, Freddie has been selfless and never questioned it. "His pace and energy means he is a constant threat and I have never once considered leaving him out. "It has not been a nice couple of weeks so it was good to win 2-0 and get another clean sheet." Burton Albion boss Nigel Clough: "I think our first half was the best we have played all season, but the one thing we couldn't do is put the ball in the net. "There was plenty to be encouraged and pleased about. I was delighted with our performance and the fact we are Burton Albion coming to Ipswich Town should be put into perspective. "I am disappointed but I am not disheartened by our performance. We tried to be positive in the first half and that certainly worked. We created some great chances, we could just not finish them off." Match ends, Ipswich Town 2, Burton Albion 0. Second Half ends, Ipswich Town 2, Burton Albion 0. Foul by Marcus Myers-Harness (Burton Albion). Conor Grant (Ipswich Town) wins a free kick on the left wing. Offside, Ipswich Town. Kevin Bru tries a through ball, but Grant Ward is caught offside. Lee Williamson (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Conor Grant (Ipswich Town). Attempt missed. Lee Williamson (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high following a set piece situation. Marcus Myers-Harness (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Paul Digby (Ipswich Town). Substitution, Burton Albion. Lee Williamson replaces Jackson Irvine. Substitution, Burton Albion. Tom Flanagan replaces John Brayford. Goal! Ipswich Town 2, Burton Albion 0. Freddie Sears (Ipswich Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Tom Lawrence. Attempt missed. Jamie Ward (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Jackson Irvine. Corner, Ipswich Town. Conceded by John Brayford. Foul by Chris O'Grady (Burton Albion). Paul Digby (Ipswich |
Lawrence Dowie appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court accused of unlawfully killing Conan Anderson. The 22-year-old from Belfast's Short Strand area suffered head injuries at Arthur Lane in the early hours of Monday 6 February. He was admitted to hospital later that day, but died nearly two weeks later. The court was told that Mr Dowie presented himself to police at Musgrave police station in Belfast. A detective sergeant told the court he could connect the accused with the charge. The court heard a threat had been made against the accused on the 10 February which police are taking seriously. "This is nothing at all to do with the deceased or anybody associated with him," a defence lawyer added. "It came directly to him, it was delivered by police." Mr Dowie was released on bail until 19 April. |
Lord Hall said Dame Janet Smith's inquiry had rejected the evidence from the Radio 2 DJ. The veteran DJ, who has threatened to sue the BBC, said the report included an accusation he was among celebrities who "seduced" a 15-year-old girl. Mr Blackburn, 73, denies the allegation and says he was cleared of wrongdoing. In a statement, he accused the BBC of making him a "scapegoat" for its own "cover-up" of abuse. Dame Janet's report found the BBC had repeatedly failed to stop "monstrous" abuse by DJ Jimmy Savile and broadcaster Stuart Hall because of a "culture of fear". Lord Hall told a news conference in the wake of the report's publication: "My interpretation is that Tony Blackburn fell short of the standards of evidence that such an inquiry demanded." He said it was "one of the most important inquiries in the BBC's history and that has put an even greater responsibility on everyone who took part in that inquiry to co-operate fully and to be open". "So many survivors and witnesses have honestly and openly co-operated fully - and at great personal cost to themselves. "As Dame Janet has said, she's rejected his evidence and she's explained very clearly why. I have to take that extremely seriously." BBC 'missed chances to stop abuse' by Savile BBC bosses 'aware' of Stuart Hall's sex abuse Dame Janet Smith report: At a glance Savile report reaction In his statement released on his Twitter account, Mr Blackburn said the claim made in 1971 was quickly withdrawn. The girl at the centre of the allegation took her own life later that year. Who is Tony Blackburn? The son of a doctor from Guildford, Tony Blackburn was the first DJ to broadcast on Radio 1 when it launched in September 1967. He spent 17 years at the station and also presented Top of the Pops and was a weekly fixture on Noel's House Party. Prior to all that, he had broadcast on Radio Caroline South and then Radio London. After Radio 1, he was one of the launch presenters on Capital Gold. He has also hosted Radio 2's Pick Of The Pops as well as regular bank holiday specials for the stations. He has also had shows on BBC London 94.9, BBC Radio Berkshire, the Magic network, BBC3CR and KMFM. In 2002 he won the ITV reality TV programme I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! Mr Blackburn said that neither Dame Janet's report into Savile, nor the BBC, made any suggestion he was guilty of misconduct with the girl, nor did a coroner's inquest or a subsequent police inquiry. He says that, during her review, Dame Janet saw BBC records allegedly showing he was interviewed about the girl's diary by a senior BBC executive, Bill Cotton, and by a senior lawyer. The DJ says he repeatedly told the review that he was never interviewed by either man. He said in a statement: "They are destroying my career and reputation because my version |
Jenson Christopher Barnett died on 18 June, two days after he was born at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. Shropshire coroner John Ellery said he died from brain trauma caused during an unsuccessful forceps delivery. He was born by emergency caesarean section. The hospital apologised to Jenson's parents and said changes had been made to make practices safer in the future. In a narrative verdict Mr Ellery said it was not possible to determine which "pull or pulls using the forceps" caused the baby's injuries. He ruled Jenson's death could have been avoided if "he had been delivered by forceps which were appropriately placed around his head or if this was unsuccessful then delivered by caesarean section". The hospital apologised to Jenson's parents, Kate Langford and Andrew Barnett - who is also known as Barney - for "deficiencies identified in the care provided during his birth". Medical director Dr Edwin Borman said: "We appreciate that this is an extremely difficult time for all the family. "[We] would like to reassure them that the trust has taken this matter very seriously and has already made changes that strengthen safer practice." |
Numbers have been dropping since the middle of 2012, and at the end of March 2014 there were 17,244 officers. When the Scottish National Party (SNP) came to power in 2007, it pledged to increase police strength by 1,000 officers. The latest figures showed it had maintained that target - by just 10. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "We have always said that police numbers will fluctuate and this publication shows they are moving towards 1,000, continuing to exceed the target while keeping costs down. "Alongside Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority, we are strongly committed to delivering 1,000 extra officers." He said extra officers were already being recruited ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said: "The creation of single service has allowed us better flexibility in allocating police officers to the right place at the right time to help keep people safe. "By establishing a new policing delivery model, we can ensure every division has access to every kind of specialist support without geographical boundaries. This allows Police Scotland to protect and enhance local policing for our communities. "Police Scotland continues to maintain police officer numbers at a minimum of 17,234 to meet the Scottish government's commitment and we have a rolling recruitment programme to ensure we maintain this resource." Scottish Labour's Graeme Pearson MSP, said there had been "a far greater reduction in the number of police officers actually on our streets, tackling crime". He added: "With the loss of thousands of civilian jobs, we have police officers sitting behind desks and not out on the streets. "Kenny MacAskill might simply want to talk about the headline number of police officers. But if they aren't out on the streets doing what they're trained to do, then it isn't much to shout about." Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell MSP said: "There is no doubt a visible presence of police on the streets helps detect and deter crime. "That's why we stipulated that 1,000 extra police officers had to be secured to work on Scotland's front line. "The fact we are now only just within this critical number - and with so many complaining of filling back office roles - is extremely worrying." Meanwhile in England and Wales, there are fewer police than at any time in the past 11 years, with numbers expected to drop by more than 15,000. |
Computer simulations suggest the plesiosaur moved through the water like a penguin, using its front limbs as paddles and back limbs for steering. The creature's swimming gait has been a mystery since bones of the first known specimen were dug out of a Dorset cliff 200 years ago. The plesiosaur was discovered by the fossil hunter Mary Anning in 1821. At the time even the name dinosaur had not been invented. A scientific paper unveiling Anning's find a few years later raised the question of how the marine creature swam, given its unusual pairs of wing-like flippers. The debate has continued until today, with a computer simulation based on a Jurassic fossil specimen providing evidence in favour of penguin-like motion. Dr Adam Smith of Nottingham Natural History Museum, Wollaton Hall, worked on the study. He explained that palaeontologists were divided on whether the marine creature used its four limbs in a rowing action like the oars of a boat; a flight stroke similar to modern penguins and turtles; or some sort of combination of the two. "Our study shows the up-and-down movement is more likely," he told BBC News. "That's how turtles and penguins swim today. "Penguins are literally flying through the water." The study, published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, is based on a computer simulation of a Jurassic fossil from Germany. The fossil is unusual in being an almost complete skeleton with all four limbs preserved. It is smaller than many other members of the plesiosaur family, at about 3m long. The computer model shows the animal's hind limbs provided "relatively weak thrust", say Dr Smith and co-researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, US. "We conclude that plesiosaurs were forelimb-dominated swimmers that used their hind limbs mainly for manoeuvrability and stability," they report. The plesiosaurs were predatory marine reptiles that lived at the time of the dinosaurs. They are unique in the animal kingdom for having two pairs of large wing-like flippers. Palaeobiology expert Dr David Martill of the University of Portsmouth said the new work suggested that in the small plesiosaur at least, the forelimbs did all the work. He said it remained to be seen if the same was true of the largest plesiosaurs, which were ferocious marine predators. "These beasts probably fed by twist feeding like the large crocodiles of today," he said. "If this were the case, then the hind limbs may have been used to spin the animal on its long axis." Follow Helen on Twitter. |
They include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, CNN founder Ted Turner and entertainment executive Barry Diller. "The Giving Pledge" lists all the families and individuals who have committed to the project. The site says the pledge is a "moral commitment" not a "legal contract". The campaign was started in June to convince US billionaires to give away at least half of their fortunes either during their lifetimes or after their deaths. "We've really just started but already we've had a terrific response," Mr Buffett said in a statement. He added: "The Giving Pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used." Those who pledge their money to "philanthropic causes and charitable organisations" must publicly state their intention through a letter of explanation. Other billionaires who have pledged large sums of their money include film producer George Lucas, philanthropist David Rockefeller and oil investor T Boone Pickens. "I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race," Mr Lucas wrote in his Giving Pledge letter. The organisation says many of the donors have committed to donating sums far greater than the 50% minimum level. "While the Giving Pledge is specifically focused on billionaires, the idea takes its inspiration from efforts in the past and at present that encourage and recognize givers of all financial means and backgrounds," says Givingpledge.org. Mr Buffett along with Mr Gates and his wife, Melinda, held numerous dinners with US billionaires in the past year to promote the campaign and urge America's financial elite to pledge. "I've long stated that I enjoy making money, and I enjoy giving it away. I like making money more, but giving it away is a close second," Mr Pickens wrote in a letter on Givingpledge.org. Mr Buffett, the chief executive of the investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, pledged 99% of his money to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and family charities in 2006. Forbes Magazine estimated Mr Buffett's wealth at $47bn (£29bn) in March. Bill Gates, who Forbes rates as the world's second wealthiest person, has also given away more than $28bn to his foundation. There are 403 billionaires living in the US, according to Forbes. Join the debate. |
The Staffordshire bull terrier, named April by Salford council staff, was found on Cholmondeley Road by the RSPCA and passed to dog warden Erica Eaton. Ms Eaton said she "feared the worst but we had to give her a chance". The non-cancerous growths, which weighed about 3.3lbs (1.5kg), were removed in a two-hour operation. Ms Eaton, who cared for April along with colleague Will Harris, said she believed the tumours on the dog's stomach "had been growing for months". "She couldn't jump up or stand on her back legs," she said. "She didn't want to play and was subdued... but her tail never stopped wagging. "She's a lovely dog and everyone who has met her has been giving her a big fuss." Following the surgery on Wednesday, April has been placed in a foster home and will be put up for adoption by Rochdale Dog Rescue. |
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called to RB Skip Hire Limited on Station Road, Chepstow, at about 16:30 BST and worked through the night. Two fire crews remain at the scene and damping down is expected to continue for the rest of the day. No casualties have been reported. |
The group of 20 students and two teachers from the Holt School in Wokingham, Berkshire, were trekking in Ladakh when they became trapped. The evacuation began on Thursday, with the trekkers airlifted in two groups by the Indian Air Force. The school said everyone in the group was "safe and well". The UK Foreign Office said it was providing consular assistance and was in contact with local authorities for updates. The group, along with five local staff, had been nearing the end of a three-week expedition to India, said Adventure Lifesigns, which organises outdoor educational programmes for school groups. They had been due to return to the UK on Thursday. They were rescued close to Leh, in the mountainous Ladakh region, which is part of Indian-administered Kashmir. Adventure Lifesigns said the team was split into two groups to be airlifted because Ladakh is at high altitude and helicopters in the region can only carry limited numbers. The company said a lack of light meant the helicopter could not fly the remaining group out on Thursday, but they "have subsequently been picked up and are now back in Leh town". "Safety is paramount on all of our expeditions. At no time was any of the group in danger. After the heavy rains began, they initially camped near the swollen Markha river and waited for the rains to subside and river levels to drop," Adventure Lifesigns said in a statement on Friday. "We were in regular contact with the team and they had adequate supplies and camping equipment. Due to their imminent return to the UK, it was decided for speed to air evacuate them back to Leh airport." Keniesha Mills, 40, from Wokingham, Berkshire, was among those airlifted in the first group. She said a huge cloudburst caused flash floods when they were returning from a trek on Tuesday. Suzanne Richards, head teacher at the Holt School, said the group had been in regular contact with the school and parents to reassure and give updates. "Every effort is now being made to secure flights home for the group," she said. Several areas in Ladkah - a disputed territory between India and Pakistan that has attracted increasing numbers of adventure tourists in recent years - have suffered flooding in recent days. |
The Belfast Telegraph's exclusive about a boy who battled a brain condition, and was injured in a petrol bomb attack in Newtownabbey dominates its front page. Speaking to the paper, the boy's mother, Danielle Thompson, explains his surgery scars were scorched by flames when the family were trying to flee their home. She says the fire caught four-year-old Cruz's head, causing scars from one of three life-saving operations to erupt in blisters. The Irish News goes big on a claim that five Orange Halls have been awarded grants under a controversial Stormont scheme after applying as cultural, educational or historical societies. The paper attributes the details to the Department for Communities and says details provided by them show a pledge of £104,000 for upgrades to the halls. The scheme has been criticised by nationalists after it emerged that dozens of loyal order and band halls were offered grants of up to £25,000. Last week, the Irish News reported the department had also promised £25,000 to the County Antrim based Randalstown Ulster Scots Cultural Society, but the address given for the group, Number 10 Portglenone Road, Randalstown, was not listed on Royal Mail's "postal address file". Inside, the Irish News carries a story about a County Tyrone boy who is fighting life-threatening epilepsy in the United States. It reports Billy Caldwell, 11, is recovering after being placed in an induced coma in Los Angeles. Cannabis oil - an illegal form of treatment in the UK - is being used by medical professionals to help lessen Billy's symptoms, the paper reports. The Irish News also dedicates a double-page spread to reaction to President Trump's travel ban, detailing demonstrations held across the UK on Monday. It reports growing pressure on Theresa May to say whether she was aware of Donald Trump's plans during her American visit. The News Letter reports that a prosecution decision on a man whose palm print was allegedly found on a getaway vehicle used in the Kingsmills massacre is set to be announced within two weeks. It says the Public Prosecution Service had written to Coroner Brian Sherrard to inform him that a decision on whether a case will be taken against the suspect is imminent. The already long-delayed inquest into the murders of 10 Protestant workmen killed in rural south Armagh in 1976 was again put on hold last year with the dramatic announcement that detectives had apparently matched the palm print to an individual. |
Higgins shared a 78-run sixth-wicket stand with John Simpson (82 not out) as the hosts bludgeoned 119 runs off the final 10 overs at Lord's. Sussex captain Luke Wright was then caught behind off paceman Tom Helm. But rain forced the players off after only four overs of Sussex's innings. Middlesex's attacking intent was highlighted by opener Paul Stirling (71) hitting the second ball of the match for six. Wicketkeeper Simpson shared a fifth-wicket stand of 177 with James Franklin (69) reignited their innings before the latter was bowled by Ajmal Shahzad (2-88). Although Simpson was the set batsman, 22-year-old Higgins executed his shots brilliantly - hitting 24 off the final over - as he smashed Shahzad for two huge maximums. With Sussex needing to make a fast start, Helm - tipped to be a future England talent - got the ball to nip back in to dismiss Wright but the weather denied Middlesex victory for the second time in four days, after their Championship game with Essex was drawn. |
The Spaniard was declared "medically unfit" for the Bahrain Grand Prix following a crash in Australia, when he hit the back of Esteban Guterrez's Haas and came to rest upside down. "Return to the training," the McLaren driver, who suffered rib fractures and a collapsed lung, wrote on Instagram. "In the next few days, I hope to do also cycling and swim. Step by step." Alonso's participation in the Shanghai race, which begins with practice sessions on Friday, 15 April, will depend on him passing a FIA medical test. When asked if the 34-year-old was confident of being passed fit to race, McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said: "I think so. Obviously he is going to go through scans, and then the FIA will inspect them and decide 'yes or no'." Alonso watched the Bahrain Grand Prix from the sidelines, replaced by McLaren's reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne. The 24-year-old Belgian finished ahead of team-mate Jenson Button in qualifying before scoring the team's first points of the campaign by placing 10th. |
The strikes came a day after 45 Emirati soldiers died in Yemen in a missile strike claimed by Houthi rebels. Ten Saudi troops fighting the rebels were also killed in the Houthi attack, Saudi officials said on Saturday. A Saudi-led coalition is trying to restore the exiled president, who left as the Houthis gained control over much of the country. The UAE also announced on Saturday three days of mourning for its troops, who died in a rebel missile strike on an ammunition depot in Marib province. Bahrain also said that five of its troops were killed on Friday, reportedly in the same blast. The Houthi rebels described the attack as revenge for "crimes" committed by the Saudi-led coalition, which has carried out months of air strikes in Yemen. According to Emirati state media, Emirati air strikes hit Houthi rebel targets in a number of places inside Yemen. The UN says some 4,500 people - including at least 2,110 civilians - have been killed in fighting on the ground and by coalition air strikes since late March. Coalition countries are thought to have sent several thousand troops to Yemen in an effort to restore President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to power. They helped southern militiamen opposed to the Houthis retake the southern port city of Aden in July and have since advanced northwards. Yemen's humanitarian catastrophe Who is fighting whom? Meeting the Houthis and their enemies |
Jaafar Mohammed Saad and several aides died when their convoy was hit. IS says it detonated a car laden with explosives as he drove by. The group has established a presence in Yemen since its civil war broke out. It is opposed to the government and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have seized much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. Earlier this year, Aden was recaptured by government troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition. Mr Saad was appointed Aden governor in October. The BBC's Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says the killing of Mr Saad is a blow to Saudi-led efforts to re-establish Aden as a secure base for the government which spent months in exile in Saudi Arabia. Mr Saad was a significant figure not just as the administrative head of Aden, but for the role he played in driving Houthi rebels out of the port city earlier this year, our correspondent says. But Aden has remained vulnerable to violence with jihadists carrying out regular attacks. The claim by IS introduces another dangerous factor into the equation, our correspondent says, because like the long established al-Qaeda franchise in Yemen, IS has gained strength from the violence and chaos of the past nine months of all-out conflict. Mr Saad's murder is also likely to complicate further the latest UN-led efforts to get a peace process under way. IS has endeavoured to make the situation even worse, our correspondent says, by bombing mosques and killing captives in its trademark style of grotesque and horrifying showmanship. In a statement, IS promised more operations against "the heads of apostasy in Yemen" along with photos of a booby-trapped vehicle which detonated as a white vehicle carrying Mr Saad drove past. A witness of the blast told the BBC that the explosion was "very powerful" the ensuing fire was "very intense". "We pulled some wounded people out but we couldn't get the governor out because [his] car was on fire," Abu Mohammed said. Sunday's violence came after the UN envoy to Yemen met President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in Aden on Saturday in an effort to bring eight months of civil war to an end. Air strikes and fighting on the ground in Yemen have killed more than 5,700 people since the Saudi-led coalition began a campaign to restore the government in March, according to the UN. The UN hopes to organise talks later this month between the government and the Houthi rebels, who support former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Islamic State declared its presence in November and have carried out a number of attacks since then. The war the world forgot? Yemen's humanitarian catastrophe Who is fighting whom? Meeting the Houthis and their enemies |
Media playback is not supported on this device The working group will comprise key bodies associated with preparing a bid. The Irish government and the Northern Ireland Executive hope the move will lay the groundwork for a potential combined pitch to stage the tournament. Ministers from Belfast and Dublin met in Armagh on Wednesday to discuss hosting the sport's showpiece event. Stormont sports minister Caral Ni Chuilin and tourism minister Arlene Foster held talks with counterparts in the Republic's tourism and sports departments Leo Varadkar and Michael Ring. The agreed working group will report back to both governments in a few months and Ministers will then consider how to move forward to submit a formal application to host the competition. "The island of Ireland has a lot to offer the global rugby family and there would be a lot of benefits to be gained by hosting such a prestigious event," said Minister Ni Chilin. "The (Stormont) Executive is investing £110m in upgrading stadiums in Belfast which includes the redevelopment of Ravenhill (the home of Ulster Rugby). "While we would have world class venues to host the Rugby World Cup, there is a lot of work required to get us into a position to make a successful bid." Mr Ring said the Rugby World Cup was potentially the biggest sporting event Ireland could stage. "An event of this scale would not only have a great benefit for rugby but would also raise the profile of what sport can do for the country," he said. "We all witnessed the massive boost to the national mood that was provided by the London Olympics. "The Rugby World Cup is probably the largest event we could ever host on our own on the island and I would hope it would have a similar impact here. "Sport is a great unifier, it brings people together and large events like this can also bring about a great sense of pride." The ambitious bid would see matches played on both sides of the Irish border, taking in both rugby union and gaelic games venues. Ireland has been mulling over the idea for over a year, with the backing of the Irish Rugby Football Union, in the hope of replicating the successful 2011 New Zealand event. |
Police say at least three prisoners have been decapitated at the Alcacuz jail. Many others are thought to have been killed in fighting between rival gangs at the prison. This is the third major riot in Brazil this year. Nearly 100 inmates died in riots earlier this month in prisons in the states of Amazonas and Roraima. The violence inside Alcacuz jail began on Saturday afternoon, when members of one of the powerful criminal organisations present in most Brazilian jails attacked rivals in a separate wing. Explosions and gunshots could be heard from outside. Major Wellington Camilo, commander of the Rio Grande do Norte state prison system, said police would wait until the morning to enter the compound. "Many people have died. But we simply cannot get into the prison now," he said. No prisoners had escaped, he added. Dozens of relatives have gathered outside, waiting for information. Riots are not uncommon in Brazil's overcrowded jails, which are largely controlled by powerful criminal gangs. But the scale of the violence this year has put pressure on President Michel Temer to address the problem. After the Amazonas prison riot, the government announced plans to build five more high security jails and to create new intelligence units to try to curb the power of the gangs behind bars. |
Mr Trump has said he wants to tear up the international free trade rules and become more protectionist with trade barriers. Laura Tenison, said this attitude had "tainted" America for her and she was reconsidering whether JoJo Maman Bebe would continue investing there. The firm's US turnover is about $5m. Ms Tenison's mother and baby clothing business has a distribution centre in the US, about 300 wholesale accounts, plus a mail-order catalogue and website. She said the company was manufacturing in dollars, while mostly selling in the UK in sterling. "When sterling devalued [post-Brexit] we had a big problem," she said. "We know our consumers are stretched on price, we don't want to put our prices up, but equally we have to somehow make our company pay for itself. "So the solution is to sell as much in dollars as you buy in dollars." Ms Tenison said she first started building up the company's international business after the credit crunch in 2008 when the value of the pound previously dropped. "We've invested heavily in the States over the last three years," she said. "Now, with the protectionist attitude that Mr Trump is talking about, we are back to a situation where we just don't know what the future holds. Do we keep investing? Do we put it on hold? "Obviously we are going to take advice and we are going to have a long hard think about it and hopefully the man is not going to be as powerful as he thinks he is." The managing director said she did not see a Trump presidency as an opportunity in any way. "It's taken us five years to build up a halfway decent sized business in America. You have to brand-build, you have to invest, you can't just change your supply chain," she said. "We work with 200 factories across the world and you can't change your customer base. These things take years. Hopefully he will only be around for five of them." |
But the Kiev trial was soon adjourned because protesting nationalists prevented the five being brought to court from their remand prison. Mr Yanukovych is now expected to testify as a witness on Monday. He fled to Russia after three months of mass protests on Kiev's Maidan Square. More than 100 people were killed during the clashes between anti-government demonstrators and Ukrainian security forces in February 2014. The Maidan protests began when Mr Yanukovych first announced he was suspending a planned trade deal with the EU, under pressure from Russia. Ukraine country profile Yanukovych regrets Ukraine bloodshed Ukrainian prosecutors allege that the Berkut riot police opened fire on the orders of a Kiev police commander - former Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko. He also fled to Russia during the unrest. The five Berkut officers have been charged over the deaths of 48 Maidan activists. They deny the accusation. Mr Yanukovych was backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the turmoil in Kiev the unrest spread, and Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014. "It was my own initiative to act as a witness in this case. This is my personal decision. Therefore I am interested in the truth being established in the case," he told the Kiev court. |
Yvonne Mosquito was suspended in March over the alleged breach of protocol. She has now been asked to apologise to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), West Midlands Police and Kenichi Phillips's family. Her union Unite said it would appeal against the hearing's findings. More on this story and others from Birmingham and the Black Country Allegations against Ms Mosquito related to a visit she paid to the family of Mr Phillips, 18, who was shot dead in a car in Ladywood, Birmingham, on 17 March. Police and Crime Commissioner, Labour's David Jamieson - who was re-elected last week - said, based on evidence from the family and the force, her visit "caused ongoing upset and distress" and "damaged the relationship" between the family and police "in the middle of a complex and sensitive murder investigation". Unite has rejected the allegations and said it was "deplorable" the disciplinary went ahead without the attendance of Ms Mosquito or her union representative Caren Evans, who was on holiday but had suggested alternative dates. Ms Mosquito has not yet commented, but supporters have insisted she visited as an ordained minister who wanted to offer condolences to grieving relatives. The Office of the PCC said an independent panel considered the evidence, including a "substantial statement" from Ms Mosquito. The family's evidence confirmed Ms Mosquito requested to pray with them but they did not, said the PCC. Mr Jamieson said her actions "clearly interfered with operational policing". He said the family believed Ms Mosquito, a Labour city councillor for Nechells ward, attended in an official capacity because she left her business card and "sought to raise a range of issues that were not pastoral or spiritual". Ms Mosquito has been issued with a final written warning. The Office of the PCC said, as she had not yet offered an apology, she remained suspended until her contract was due to end later on Wednesday. The BBC previously reported Ms Mosquito wrote a letter of complaint about the PCC's behaviour towards her, of which the PCC was aware, four weeks earlier before her suspension. Maxie Hayles, who chaired a public meeting in support of Ms Mosquito in April, said it was an "injustice" to proceed hearing "such a serious accusation" in Ms Mosquito's absence. Conservative councillor Andrew Hardie, of Sutton Vesey ward, who also attended that meeting, said the disciplinary process had "been handled very badly in view of the tragedy involved." Hours after announcing the result of the disciplinary, the office of the PCC said it would be recruiting two new assistant PCCs instead of a single deputy PCC. |
Horsell Common Preservation Society is aiming to complete the project in time for the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WWI, on 4 August next year. The Grade II listed structure in Woking has deteriorated over the years and been vandalised. It is hoped the first phase of work, which has been part-funded by English Heritage, will be complete by November. The preservation society is also hoping to plant a memorial garden at the site. John Kingsbury, Woking council leader, said the heritage site was important for people locally and for descendants of those who gave their lives in the war. English Heritage senior designation adviser Paul Stamper said: "Its architectural interest and unique status as a site of memory for Muslims who died fighting for Britain in two world wars is recognised in its national designation as a Grade II listed structure." David Robbins, chairman of Horsell Common Preservation Society, said he hoped the town would be proud of the "unique war memorial" when work was finished. More than one million troops from pre-independence India fought for Great Britain during World War I. Wounded soldiers were brought to hospitals in the South East. Hindu and Sikh soldiers were taken to crematoriums, but Muslim soldiers did not have a burial ground until 1915. Woking's site was completed in 1917. According to the preservation society, there were 17 burials at the site in 1917 and each was marked with a round arched headstone facing west, in accordance with Islamic tradition. A cadet from the Sandhurst military academy was buried there in 1920, before the War Graves Commission took over the ground's upkeep in 1921. During World War II, a further eight Muslim soldiers were interred at the site, including three from the Free French forces. In 1968, after a spate of vandalism, all the burials were removed to Brookwood cemetery and the ground was de-consecrated. The structure remains a Registered War Memorial. |
Rovers have signed eight players, including deadline day trio Yakubu, Scott Dann and Jordan Slew, and let 12 leave Ewood Park. Kean told BBC Radio Lancashire: "People thought we were going to lose players. We've managed to keep the majority. "We've managed to bring in fantastic quality right on the last day." Media playback is not supported on this device The signing of centre-back Dann could potentially become Blackburn's record transfer based on appearances and various incentives. Kean said: "I've worked with him before. He's a fantastic leader but more importantly he's a top player." Nigeria striker Yakubu agreed a three-year deal with Rovers after being out of favour for almost a year at Everton. Media playback is not supported on this device "When we found out his was available we moved swiftly," Kean said. "To get somebody with a track record of scoring goals at this level is great. "Everybody knows that if you can get him in the box and get him the service then he scores, so I think it's a brilliant signing." The capture of 18-year-old striker Jordan Slew from Sheffield United for around £1m will see him join the club's development squad. |
Yvette Cooper says a commissioner would also be appointed by Labour to oversee "national standards" in such cases. Ms Cooper says more offenders are now avoiding court action as "community resolutions" are instead being used. Police have disputed the claim they are not taking violence seriously. The Home Office, meanwhile, said the use of the resolutions - which can include apologies or compensation - for serious crimes was "not acceptable". Community resolutions are used by police to resolve low-level or minor offences through "informal agreement between the parties involved", instead of through the court system. They are aimed at first-time offenders and can be used where there has been an admission of guilt and after the victim's views have been taken into account. Data compiled by Labour from 15 of the 43 police forces showed there were 3,305 uses of community resolutions for domestic violence in 2013 - up from 1,337 in 2009. In a speech in Birmingham to mark Labour's summer campaign, Ms Cooper said the data is "deeply worrying" and suggests ministers are "turning their backs" on victims of domestic violence. She also repeated Labour's promise to ban the use of the resolutions for domestic and sexual violence. Speaking earlier on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Cooper said the aim of Labour's planned legislation was to ensure police intervened in cases of domestic violence. Ms Cooper said in her speech that community resolutions can be "very effective", but added that they should not "be used for violent offences, and especially not for domestic violence". She also accused the government, saying it "just doesn't take violence against women seriously". "For the police to simply take a violent abuser home to apologise risks making domestic violence worse and makes it even harder for victims to escape a cycle of abuse," she said. Advice from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) suggests community resolutions are suitable for crimes such as criminal damage, minor theft and anti-social behaviour. Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan from Greater Manchester Police, Acpo's lead on restorative justice, told Today community resolutions were given in less than 1% of cases categorised as domestic violence. He added the method is "specifically attuned to low level domestic abuse particularly where victims want that course of action". A Home Office spokeswoman said a review had already been conducted into the inappropriate use of community resolutions. She also said every police force in England and Wales had been written to by Home Secretary Theresa May instructing them to produce a domestic violence action plan. "It is not acceptable for the police to use out-of-court settlements for serious criminality and that is why the government is already reviewing how they are used," the spokeswoman said. The Home Office is yet to respond to a consultation on the use of out-of-court disposals, which ended in January. Sandra Horley, chief executive of national domestic violence charity Refuge, said: "These types of remedies may be effective for some crimes - but domestic violence is |
More than 15,000 earthquakes are recorded in the South Pacific nation each year, but only about 150 are large enough to be felt. The 7.1 quake sparked a tsunami warning and reportedly caused some damage to property but no injuries. It is a far cry to the magnitude 6.3 quake that struck Christchurch in February 2011, killing 185 people. In Christchurch today, a white powdery compound, a cathedral made of cardboard and a hangar-like laboratory where earthquakes are created are all part of New Zealand's response to that catastrophe five-and-a-half years ago. The commercial hub of the South Island sits to the east of the Alpine fault that snakes beneath the Southern Alps. But the tremor that left much of central Christchurch in ruins came from a previously unknown perpendicular fault that sent a devastating seismic wave through the ground. As disaster struck, 115 people - more than half of the earthquake's victims - died in a single office block, the Canterbury Television (CTV) Building. Its crumpled shell has become a defining image of one of New Zealand's worst natural disasters. Academics, architects, the government and the construction industry are all striving to make buildings safer places to work, study and live. "Our dream is to have a society that is much more resilient to this, and we're much better prepared and we suffer much less," explains Geoff Rodgers, from the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Canterbury. We're in the new structural engineering laboratory on the campus a short drive from the city centre. It is huge. In one corner of this cavernous space, mighty concrete barriers have been erected that will feel the force of simulated earthquakes, along with large-scale tests on internal steel beams and joints that make up a building's skeleton. Geoff and his team talk of damping devices and energy dissipators - engineering terms for techniques that will help industrial and commercial premises absorb and repel the worst effects of damaging tremors, while steel-framed buildings would rock and sway but not give way. Then there is what's called base isolation, where a large office block can mostly stand firm while the earth underneath moves. "We'll be creating earthquakes on structures of small size, of big size and we'll be pushing them backwards and forwards, high speed, low speed to simulate all the aspects of the behaviour of a structure in a real earthquake," says associate professor Greg MacRae. He shows me how special steel beams are being tested to see if they can safely slide and shift under pressure rather buckle and break. "What we are doing is providing a special friction connection here so that as the building moves the beam rotates, and instead of buckling and twisting and having to be thrown away after an earthquake like we have with traditional construction, the friction just means that we get sliding on some surfaces. "So the beam is actually okay, the plates should be okay and if something does need to be |
The men, all journalists, share space with bulky cameras, tapes and tripods. It is suffocating, but no-one complains. "This room is our shared office. We share resources and stories too," one man, who works as a television reporter says with a wry smile. Shahjahanpur may be a small town by Indian standards, (population 400,000 as of 2011) but it boasts of no fewer than 150 journalists. Poor communications and woefully inadequate infrastructure have not deterred them from their chosen profession. They are currently working on a story that saw their town catapulted into the national spotlight. Ironically, it is about the death of one of their fraternity, Jagender Singh, who succumbed to burn injuries following a police raid on his house in early June. Mr Singh had worked alongside them in this very room until a few years ago when he decided that social media was a more potent force than conventional platforms. So he ran a Facebook page with thousands of followers, where he posted largely unconfirmed stories on corruption involving government officials and ministers. Mr Singh's son Rajan told the BBC that his father was regularly harassed by police officers at the behest of a state minister, Ram Murti Singh Verma, who was reportedly a regular subject of Mr Singh's stories. He alleged that, on the day his father died, a group of policemen acting on Mr Verma's orders set him on fire during a raid on their home. In a final statement from his hospital bed, the journalist also accused Mr Verma of setting him on fire. The minister has denied the allegations and the ruling Uttar Pradesh government has firmly stood behind him. The police have said that Mr Verma set himself on fire, and they tried to save him. However, following pressure from national media, police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) on the murder, charging the minister as well as four policemen. Mr Singh's family have since received compensation from the state government, but have demanded the suspension of Mr Verma as a minister. They say they will return the money unless the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) takes over the investigation. In another incident not long after the death of Mr Singh, another journalist, Sandeep Kothari from Madhya Pradesh in central India, was also burnt to death. Like Mr Singh, Mr Kothari wrote on corruption, but he specifically targeted the mining mafia. The two deaths are the latest in a number of attacks on journalists working in towns outside India's big cities. They say their confidence is shaken and that they fear for their lives. The Press Council of India (PCI) says 79 journalists have been murdered in India over the past 25 years. Sharat Pradhan, a senior journalist in Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, once led a powerful journalists' union but left in disgust because he said the organisation had failed to effectively raise security issues. Mr Pradhan says there is no official data on attacks, but claims there |
The 28-year-old signed on a free transfer, having left Turkish club Trabzonspor in November 2015, Constant, who can play in defence or midfield and has had previous spells with AC Milan, Chievo and Genoa, had also been linked with QPR. He has 25 international caps and has scored four goals for his country. |
In a review of UK economic policies, it said council tax bands should be revalued and action taken to address "rapid" house price rises in London. The intervention has angered Tory MPs. Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable said the UK had a "problem" with house price inflation but "we don't need the EU to tell us what's going on here". Each year the commission, the EU's executive body, offers member states advice intended to help ensure the continent's long-term growth. In a statement, the commission said its recommendations were "not a diktat" but there was a "limit to how much... can be achieved through spending cuts alone". It said it was suggesting how the UK could raise new revenue "in a fair and efficient way, which does not hamper competitiveness or increase poverty". The commission added: "We are suggesting adjustments that would make the council tax system fairer for homeowners and more efficient in terms of government revenues." The intervention came as there were continued signs of UK house price growth - in its latest update, the Nationwide said house prices rose at their fastest rate in seven years last month but there were signs that the market may be "starting to moderate". On housing, the commission urged ministers to "deploy appropriate measures to respond to the rapid increases in property prices in areas that account for a substantial share of economic growth in the United Kingdom, particularly London". Some housing experts have expressed concerns that Help to Buy, which was announced in the 2013 Budget, has contributed to double-digit price rises seen in London and other property hotspots over the past year. The three-year scheme is designed to help people who can afford to meet monthly mortgage repayments but cannot raise a large enough deposit to get on the housing ladder. Figures released last week showed that 94% of the 7,313 home purchases funded through Help To Buy so far were outside London, while more than 80% of those assisted were first-time buyers. But in its review, the commission said the Bank of England should "continue to monitor house prices and mortgage indebtedness and stand ready to deploy appropriate measures, including adjusting the Help to Buy 2 (loan guarantee) scheme, if deemed necessary". As well as increasing the supply of new homes, the commission said reforms to the taxation of land and property should be considered "to alleviate distortions in the housing market". "At the moment, increasing property values are not translated into higher property taxes as the property value roll has not been updated since 1991," it said. "Taxes on higher value property are lower than on lower value property in relative terms due to the regressivity of the current rates and bands within the council tax system." The commission praised the UK for extending childcare provision, changing benefit rules and providing more incentives to work but said more should be done on apprenticeships and skills. "With these recommendations, the commission is pointing the way forward," commission |
The decision was made after discussions of the benefits a new stadium and leisure complex would bring. Grimsby Town FC's preferred site is 22.7 hectares of council land between Peaks Parkway and Weelsby Avenue. The authority said more than three potential sites were being considered but declined to disclose the locations. It said it would examine the whole of North East Lincolnshire and would publish its findings in a report, which is expected to be released later this summer. Under council plans, the club could move to the new stadium. Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council Ray Oxby said: "It's clear that a thriving local football club makes sense - it's good for business, creates a lasting legacy and provides a catalyst to boost to the borough's general wellbeing. "I'm pleased that we can now take the next step and take an objective look at the most appropriate sites." In 2012, the authority agreed to carry out an independent survey of land for the development. A planning application is yet to be submitted. |
Pistorius killed Ms Steenkamp in February 2013 after firing four times through a locked toilet door. A manslaughter verdict was overturned last month and a murder verdict introduced in its place. The athlete's defence has lodged papers at the Constitutional Court, urging a review of his murder conviction. He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail. South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in December that the lower court had not applied correctly the rule of dolus eventualis - whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions. Last month, Justice Eric Leach said that having armed himself with a high-calibre weapon, Pistorius must have foreseen that whoever was behind the door might die, especially given his firearms training. Pistorius has always maintained he believed he was shooting at an intruder. His lawyers say the appeals court made fundamental errors, claiming in appeal papers that the court "acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally when it rejected the factual finding of the Trial Court and replaced it with a contrary factual finding of its own". Pistorius's lawyer, Andrew Fawcett, says the appeal is now in the hands of the director of public prosecutions, who must decide whether there are grounds for appeal. If so, the case will go before the Constitutional Court. The South African made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, in London in 2012. He competed in the 400m, wearing carbon-fibre blades to run against able-bodied athletes. |
On Tuesday, they beat Spurs 2-1 to progress to the Champions League knockout stages, knocking out the English side in the process. And they now go above local rivals Nice in the French league - for 24 hours at least. Gabriel Boschilia opened the scoring, Valere Germain scored twice and Guido Carrillo added a fourth in stoppage time to make it Monaco's biggest win against Marseille. Nice, behind Monaco on goal difference, will go back to the top if they do not lose to Bastia on Sunday (16:00 GMT). Match ends, Monaco 4, Marseille 0. Second Half ends, Monaco 4, Marseille 0. Goal! Monaco 4, Marseille 0. Guido Carrillo (Monaco) header from very close range to the centre of the goal. Attempt saved. Valère Germain (Monaco) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Guido Carrillo. Attempt blocked. Guido Carrillo (Monaco) right footed shot from very close range is blocked. João Moutinho (Monaco) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Andre Zambo Anguissa (Marseille). Offside, Marseille. Florian Thauvin tries a through ball, but Rémy Cabella is caught offside. Attempt blocked. Florian Thauvin (Marseille) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Hiroki Sakai. Substitution, Monaco. Nabil Dirar replaces Bernardo Silva. Attempt missed. Andre Zambo Anguissa (Marseille) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Attempt missed. Tiemoué Bakayoko (Monaco) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Valère Germain. Substitution, Marseille. Andre Zambo Anguissa replaces Lass Diarra. Corner, Marseille. Conceded by Danijel Subasic. Attempt saved. Rémy Cabella (Marseille) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Clinton N'Jie. Substitution, Monaco. Guido Carrillo replaces Falcao. Tiemoué Bakayoko (Monaco) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Florian Thauvin (Marseille). Foul by Andrea Raggi (Monaco). Florian Thauvin (Marseille) wins a free kick on the right wing. Substitution, Marseille. Rémy Cabella replaces Bafétimbi Gomis. Attempt missed. Djibril Sidibe (Monaco) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Falcao with a headed pass following a set piece situation. Hand ball by Rod Fanni (Marseille). Substitution, Monaco. João Moutinho replaces Boschilia. Attempt saved. Bafétimbi Gomis (Marseille) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Karim Rekik with a cross. Attempt saved. Bernardo Silva (Monaco) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Boschilia. Foul by Tiemoué Bakayoko (Monaco). Hiroki Sakai (Marseille) wins a free kick on the right wing. Attempt saved. Boschilia (Monaco) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Fabinho. Corner, Marseille. Conceded by Jemerson. Attempt blocked. Florian Thauvin (Marseille) left footed shot from the centre of |
The pupils, from Charnwood College in Loughborough, Leicestershire began feeling unwell during school time on Tuesday morning. Police said they were called to the school and arrested a 15-year-old on suspicion of supplying a Class B drug. He has since been released on police bail pending further inquiries. Principal of Charnwood College, Mark Sutton, said two Year 10 schoolboys who fell during class initially told staff they had "ingested a legal high". A third student had returned home during a break after feeling unwell. Mr Sutton said: "While we are confident that this is an isolated incident, it is one that the college is taking extremely seriously. "All students involved are currently going through our disciplinary procedures." He said they were now running assemblies to educate students on the effects and consequences of taking drugs and legal highs. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device 19 September 2015 Last updated at 19:46 BST The temporary Meccano bridge has been built across Belfast's Clarendon Dock. It was unveiled at a free public event on Saturday. |
Explore the eight body clock phases and take the quiz to see if you are a morning-type "lark" - or an evening "owl". Explore your body clock. What is it doing now? Authors: James Gallagher, Rachael Buchanan and Victoria Gill Produced by: Andreia Carqueija, Richard Bangay, Marcelo Zanni, Helene Sears and Dominic Bailey With thanks to researchers at The University of Oxford, The University of Manchester, The University of Surrey, The University of Cambridge and Harvard Medical School. |
At his swearing-in ceremony, Mr Rouhani said Iran would continue to abide by the terms of the deal as long as the other signatories do the same. The White House says Iran is complying with the deal but Mr Trump says Iran is violating its spirit. Last month the US state department announced new sanctions on the country. The US says the sanctions relate to Iran's missile programme and alleged support for terror groups but Tehran says they violate the nuclear deal. Mr Rouhani - being sworn in for a second term after winning presidential elections in May - said he had nothing to do with "newcomers to the world of politics" and urged "old-timers" to see the nuclear deal as an example of how to manage international relations. "Those who want to tear apart the JCPOA [nuclear deal] should know that they would also be tearing apart their political life," he said in a ceremony broadcast live on state TV. He accused the US of a "lack of commitment" to the deal and said it was an "unreliable partner". Meanwhile Iranian officials have been urging Europe not to side with the Trump administration. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Mr Trump was "trying to destroy the nuclear accord at Iran's expense" and said "Europe should be conscious of this", private Tasnim news agency said. Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asked Europe to "take a more independent policy towards Iran", state media reported. Mr Rouhani won 57% of the vote in May's election after promising to create jobs and build bridges with the outside world. In Iran the ultimate power lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has been ruling the country for nearly three decades, increasingly like an absolute monarch. Constitutionally he has power to lay down the general guidelines. He is commander-in-chief with the power to declare war or peace and appoint all the top generals, as well as the head of the judiciary. Informally he has been demanding to approve ministers in several key ministries. All this leaves little to the president. But the supreme leader is not elected - he is chosen by a group of clergymen. In May, nearly 24m people voted for Mr Rouhani - a source of power that the hardliners, even the supreme leader, cannot ignore. Dozens of world dignitaries attended Mr Rouhani's inauguration at Iran's parliament, reflecting an easing in Iran's isolation since the nuclear deal. Guests included EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the chairman of the North Korean parliament, Kim Yong-nam, signalling a growing closeness between Tehran and Pyongyang particularly over defence matters. Last month, the US state department accused Iran of undermining stability, security and prosperity in the Middle East. It criticised Iran's support for the Syrian government and groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas and accused it of prolonging the conflict in Yemen by providing support for Houthi rebels. The state department announcement came a day after the |
Police said the incident happened at the junction of Beverley Road and Eldon Grove at 03:45 GMT. A BMW car hit the four people before coming to a stop. All the pedestrians were hurt, with one suffering serious injuries, police said. A man has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving as well as driving while under the influence of drink or drugs. |
CovPress Assembly Limited, which has a £40m turnover, has "not generated the anticipated profitability" said administrator Deloitte. No redundancies have yet been announced, administrators said. Associated company CovPress Limited was recently bought by Liberty House, securing 740 workers' jobs at a plant in Canley. The business will continue to trade and work with customers to fulfil existing orders, Deloitte said. See more stories from across Coventry and Warwickshire here Administrators said the company had been seeking a potential buyer, however, this was unsuccessful and the directors had no alternative but to place the company into administration. Matt Cowlishaw, joint administrator, said: "We are hopeful that the administration process might now draw out interest in a sale of the business. "The business operates from a state of the art facility, with a skilled workforce, capable of working in partnership with global automotive companies. Meanwhile, we are continuing to trade the business and work with customers to fulfil existing orders." |
The 20-year-old joined Villa in 2012 from Lincoln City and scored against Swindon in a first-team pre-season friendly last summer. He follows the loan of keeper Benjamin Siegrist from Villa to Adams Park. "It's no secret that we have been short of goals lately and he gives us another option," said boss Gareth Ainsworth. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. |
The pair were picked up by military intelligence after entering Lebanon with forged papers 10 days ago. Baghdadi's wife - identified as an Iraqi national - is being questioned at the defence ministry. In June, Baghdadi was named the leader of the "caliphate" created by IS in the parts of Syria and Iraq it controls. Last month the group denied reports that he had been killed or injured in an air strike by US-led forces near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Describing them as "a valuable catch", the Lebanese newspaper al-Safir said that the IS leader's wife and child had been detained in co-ordination with "foreign intelligence services". They were held at a border crossing near the north-eastern town of Arsal while trying to enter Lebanon. They were currently being held for interrogation at the defence ministry's headquarters in al-Yarza, in the hills overlooking Beirut, it added. There were conflicting reports about the child, with a senior Lebanese security official telling Reuters news agency it was a girl - a direct contradiction of most news reports. A DNA test is being carried out to confirm the child is Baghdadi's. Lebanese officials initially said the woman was Syrian, but later identified her as an Iraqi called Saja al-Dulaimi, who had been living in Syria. A woman with that name was detained by the Syrian authorities before being freed in March as part of a prisoner exchange with al-Qaeda's local affiliate, al-Nusra Front. The exchange saw Islamic State's rival hand over a group of abducted Greek Orthodox nuns in return for the release of 150 of the Syrian government's female prisoners. Assuming the reports are true - and there is little reason to doubt them - the Lebanese authorities now face the delicate question of what to do with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wife and offspring. In theory, they could prove a useful bargaining chip in the highly-charged imbroglio surrounding the fate of more than 20 Lebanese Army soldiers held hostage since August by IS and the rival al-Qaeda-linked militant group, al-Nusra Front. The militants are demanding the release of Islamist prisoners in Lebanese jails to spare the soldiers' lives - three have already been murdered. But al-Nusra has been much more involved than IS in back-channel negotiations for a possible exchange, so there is no guarantee it would pay off. And there is always the possibility that the continued detention of the pair could provoke IS to seek revenge in one way or another, perhaps by seizing more hostages. A US government source told Reuters that it was not sure how recently the woman had been with Baghdadi, and how much information, if any, she might have. However, a Lebanese official said the arrest was a "powerful card to apply pressure" in the hostage negotiations with IS and al-Nusra. Very little is known about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has not been seen in public since being filmed delivering a sermon at a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in |
After heavy criticism that it was avoiding tax, the BBC can reveal that profits from the majority of Facebook's advertising revenue initiated in Britain will now be taxed in the UK. It will no longer route sales through Ireland for its largest advertisers. That includes major businesses such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, consumer goods firm Unilever and advertising giant WPP. Is tax tide beginning to turn? Smaller business sales where advertising is booked online - with little or no Facebook staff intervention - will still be routed through Ireland, which will remain the company's international headquarters. I am told the change will mean that Facebook will account for substantially more revenue in the UK and will therefore pay a higher level of corporation tax on the profits it makes here. Corporation tax is levied at 20% on the profits a business makes. The changes will be put in place in April and Facebook's first, higher, tax bill, will be paid in 2017. My sources tell me that Facebook moved after coming under increasing global pressure on its tax affairs and as a reaction to changing tax rules. There was widespread controversy when it was revealed that Facebook paid £4,327 in corporation tax in the UK in 2014, despite Britain being one of the company's biggest markets outside the US. Globally, the company makes more than £1bn of profit every three months. It does not reveal figures for how much business it does in the UK. The government's new diverted profits tax was also likely to have a punitive effect on the business in Britain. That tax is set at 25%, higher than the corporation tax rate, and is aimed at companies which use "contrived" structures to move profits out of the country. Facebook executives will be told about the changes this morning. "On Monday, we will start notifying large UK customers that from the start of April, they will receive invoices from Facebook UK and not Facebook Ireland," the internal post, seen by the BBC, says. "What this means in practice is that UK sales made directly by our UK team will be booked in the UK, not Ireland. Facebook UK will then record the revenue from these sales. "In light of changes to tax law in the UK, we felt this change would provide transparency to Facebook's operations in the UK. "The new structure is easier to understand and clearly recognises the value our UK organisation adds to our sales through our highly skilled and growing UK sales team." At this stage, it is not possible to say precisely how much tax Facebook will pay. It is not under any regulatory obligation to reveal the size of its UK business until it reaches 10% of its global operations, which generate revenues of nearly $18bn (£12.7bn) a year. But the importance of Britain to Facebook is revealed by the fact it employs 850 people in the UK and is building a new headquarters in London. Facebook has now said that those |
The prestigious awards event, first staged in 1954, was last held at the venue in 2008. Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan will host a celebration of the best sporting achievements of 2017, in front of an audience of nearly 11,000. Britain's world number one tennis player Andy Murray has won the main prize in three of the past four years. The Scot is the only person to win the award more than twice, while other former winners include Bobby Moore, Sir Henry Cooper, Virginia Wade and Daley Thompson, plus Princess Anne and daughter Zara Phillips. Ticket details for this year's event will be announced later in the year. Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: "2017 marks a very exciting year of sport, from England winning the Six Nations to Chelsea winning the Premier League, Arsenal scooping the FA Cup at Wembley to Anthony Joshua's nail-biting fight against Wladimir Klitschko." Liverpool's mayor Joe Anderson said: "We're honoured and excited to be rolling out the red carpet for BBC Sports Personality of the Year in Liverpool. "We're a city full of passionate sports fans and we're renowned the world over for our hospitality, so we cannot wait to welcome the BBC in December." The ceremony will be live on BBC television, radio and online. |
Media playback is not supported on this device Rosberg, 31, who retired five days after his triumph, said a "base respect" from their teenage karting days prevented a fatal falling-out. "We had a few nice conversations since my retirement. There were some kind words from him," he told BBC Sport. "Who knows, in the future, we might get on well again." In an interview with BBC Sport, the German revealed: Rosberg and Hamilton were friends and team-mates as young teenagers on the karting circuit, sharing hotel rooms as well as garages. However their relationship has been strained as they have contested the title over the past three seasons. The tension between the pair - evident in Rosberg's testy reaction when Hamilton tossed him a 'second place' cap after sealing the 2015 title in Austin - has been increased by collisions at the Spanish and Austrian Grand Prix during this campaign. In this year's Abu Dhabi decider, Hamilton disobeyed team orders by deliberating driving slowly at the front of the race in an attempt bring other drivers into contention and force Rosberg out of the top-three finish he needed for the title. However Hamilton congratulated Rosberg on the podium and on Twitter after the race. "Beating Lewis makes it all the more special because he is one of the best out there, a great rival and a very, very tough competitor," added Rosberg. Rosberg and Hamilton's battles recalled the great rivalry shared between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna when team-mates at McLaren in the late eighties. After finishing second to Hamilton by 67 and 59 points respectively in the previous two seasons, Rosberg changed his mental and technical approach. "I just went all out this year," he said. "I had a mental trainer and looked into meditation - actually meditation is a big word, it was more mindfulness training... awareness. "The other one was go-karting. We only drive every two weeks and you can imagine a tennis player who only practises every two weeks - that is not going to be good for his skill. "I did a lot of go-karting in between. For sure that really helped." Rosberg has suggested that he might turn to acting after finishing his racing career and is certain that he would not be tempted back to the sport like other world champions such as Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. "For sure, it is definite," he said when asked about his retirement. Media playback is not supported on this device "It is not an easy step. It is a big change, but it feels right." Mercedes have identified Williams' Valtteri Bottas as their preferred replacement after Rosberg unexpectedly quit with two years left on his contract. Williams have rejected an initial approach for the Finn. Hamilton has said that he "doesn't care" who is brought in to replace Rosberg. Rosberg, whose father Keke won the world title in 1982, says that the joy of finally reaching motorsport's pinnacle is still sinking in. "I couldn't sleep |
Winnall converted from the spot with seven minutes left after Tareiq Holmes-Dennis fouled Adam Hammill. The Tykes led when Winnall headed in Conor Hourihane's corner in first-half stoppage time. Curtis Main levelled from close range, but Winnall's cool spot-kick secured the victory. A head injury to Brian Wilson, who came on as a first-half substitute, saw nine minutes of first-half stoppage time. Barnsley are three points behind sixth-placed Walsall, who won their first match in three league games, while Oldham remain only two points clear of the relegation places. |
The match in Limerick comes less than a week after the sudden death of Munster head coach Anthony Foley. "It'll be a great occasion," said Townsend. "There will be a lot of emotion at the game. "It's a game to remember all of what Anthony did and helped create at Munster." Townsend admits it's been tough to lift his players in training this week after the news broke of Foley's passing. "It's been a tough week for world rugby," he explained. "You saw the reaction from all over the world, not just in rugby but in sport, it's such a loss for our game. "A huge loss for Munster Rugby and our thoughts go with them and Anthony's family. "It's been different. It's certainly been much more subdued around the place, just the shock that everybody felt over the weekend. "The players have gone about their jobs and worked hard. Beginning of the week we didn't know if the game would be on but we prepared as if it would be played. "Our players appreciate the enormity of what's happened and being involved in the game will hopefully bring out the best in both teams." Having opened their Champions Cup campaign with a memorable thrashing of Leicester Tigers at Scotstoun last weekend, Warriors have a chance to take another step towards making the quarter-finals for the first time. "We always knew going into this game it was going to be a huge occasion," said Townsend. "Munster in the Champions Cup are a different team. "Thomond Park is full of people, they play at a much more intense level, so I'd imagine this will be a huge game now in terms of crowd support." |
When the facility was established - in 1977 - it was expected to have a working life of perhaps 25 years. But now Repsol Sinopec says it expects the site to have a productive future up until the early 2030s. Managing director Bill Dunnett told BBC Radio Orkney: "We're here for the long term. We believe in the North Sea. This is a core asset for the whole country." Production at the plant is now running at around 100,000 barrels of oil a day - around a quarter of what it was in the late 1970s. But Bill Dunnett said those statistics don't tell the whole story. "If you look back five years ago the forecast for now was about 15,000 barrels a day. And we're doing 100,000. "So I think it's very difficult to put a cap on what the production levels will be here. "But our goal is to keep the level high, and keep this a viable asset for the future." One key client for the site is the Golden Eagle field - responsible for about three quarters of daily production. Area development manager for Nexen, Glen Brook, said the company had a "good partnership" with the team at Flotta. "We've built a good operational relationship with them over the last three years since we started producing oil here. "We're really pleased with the relationship...and we do see a bright future." Two people who'll be hoping that's right are new apprentice Jennifer Atkinson, and Chris Adam who completed his four years ago. "It was just a general oil and gas apprenticeship I applied for", Chris said. "I think they saw my address was Thurso, and someone thought that's right next to Orkney. We'll put him to Orkney. But, it's worked out for the best. This is probably the best place to do your apprenticeship." Jennifer said she was confident she'd see out her career in the industry. "There's so many opportunities throughout the world as well, if it was to decline (here)." |
Intelling Limited provides customer services support for companies, such as TalkTalk and O2. The posts will be created over the next three years and pay salaries of £16,000 a year, on average. The company said 45 of the posts had already been filled. Invest NI is contributing £1m towards the project. Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell said the investment was "positive news" for the Northern Ireland economy. "Intelling is an ambitious, young company and I welcome its decision to choose Northern Ireland as the location for its expansion," he said. "It creates much-needed jobs that offer flexible employment and the opportunity to develop transferable skills." Phil Morgan, chief executive of Intelling Ltd, said: "The availability of talent here and cost competitive environment, along with Invest NI support, made Northern Ireland the best choice for Intelling over alternative locations." |
Chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw says the performance gap between some areas is "completely unacceptable". Inspections will be brought forward in those areas where, he says, standards are too low. Derby is the first area to be targeted. Its city council said it had made huge improvements recently. At an education conference in Sheffield, Sir Michael said that schools in underperforming areas that were due to be inspected during the next six months would be checked within a single seven-day period. The concentrated inspections will be held in all targeted areas in the next few months. Speaking on the BBC Today programme, Sir Michael said there was a "huge difference in school standards between local authorities," even when comparing areas that had similar populations and levels of deprivation. "We are targeting the lowest-performing local authorities and we will go into Derby today to find out what is happening," he said. "In Derby, parents have a less than 50% chance of finding a good primary school and a 40% chance of a good secondary." At the North of England Education Conference, he told journalists local authorities had the power to intervene but "inertia" was stopping some from doing so. He said councils had a statutory responsibility to ensure that all children in their area had access to a good education so should also raise the alarm if academies were underperforming. If councils seemed unable to drive improvements, he said, Ofsted would report them to the Education Secretary, Michael Gove. This could lead to some councils being stripped of some of their responsibilities. "The secretary of state has to look at a range of alternatives," he said. "He may want to use an academy chain or a private provider." Ofsted identified several areas as underperforming in its annual report last November, saying these were places where too few schools were classed as either good or outstanding. The areas include Coventry, Derby and Doncaster. Inspectors will descend on targeted areas in a set week and heads will be asked whether they are getting enough support from their local council. If Ofsted is not satisfied, it plans to go into town halls to inspect school improvement services for the first time, it is understood, although this change will require consultation. Derby City Council's cabinet member for children and young people, Martin Rawson, told BBC Radio Derby he welcomed the announcement of fresh inspections as an "opportunity to demonstrate the huge improvements made in the last few months". He said recent inspections in the area had shown that schools were making progress. As a group, councils say they agree improvements are needed in some areas, but that their powers are hampered by bureaucracy and have been restricted by the increasing numbers of schools becoming academies, which are semi-independent and are outside of council control. They say most of the powers they have to intervene in underperforming schools can be used only once Ofsted has put a school into a "failing" category and that they have |
They said the move was part of US-led investigations into corruption at Fifa, world football's governing body. Last month the president of Conmebol, the Paraguayan Juan Angel Napout, was extradited to the United States to face charges there. Mr Napout has pleaded not guilty to taking millions of dollars in bribes. Paraguay's state prosecution service said in a statement it was "searching for documentation related to the granting of commercial and broadcast rights for sporting events". A lawyer for the confederation, Alfredo Montanaro, said the raid was "irresponsible". "It is very strange. We have been cooperating with the judicial authorities of the United States, Uruguay and Paraguay." Who are the indicted Fifa officials? Mr Napout, 57, was also a Fifa vice-president. He was arrested in a dawn raid on a luxury hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, on 3 December. He is accused of taking bribes worth millions of dollars linked to the sale of marketing rights to South American tournaments. He resigned as Conmebol president on 11 December following his arrest and is currently banned from football. Meanwhile, the former general secretary of Guatemala's football federation, Hector Trujillo, who has been charged with corruption in the US, has been allowed out on the terms of his house arrest. He must wear an electronic monitor and cannot travel more than 50 miles (80km) from a federal courthouse in Brooklyn as part of a bail agreement set by a US magistrate. The FBI investigation into Fifa corruption was initially sparked by the controversial award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, as well as the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup awarded to Russia. But the inquiry has since been widened to look at Fifa's dealings over the past 20 years. The US says the corruption was planned in the US and US banks were used to transfer money. |
Hearts' Hamilton, 22, is drafted in for matches against Italy and France, along with Ross County's Scott Fox after Scott Bain and Allan McGregor withdrew. Swansea City left-back Kingsley, 21, and Derby County midfielder Craig Bryson, 29, are also called up. That is because club commitments mean four players cannot face Italy. Scotland face the Italians at the Ta' Qali National Stadium in Malta on 29 May before taking on France in a second friendly on 4 June in Metz. But Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Barry Bannan and Hull trio Robert Snodgrass, Shaun Maloney and Andrew Robertson are due to play in the English Championship play-off final the day before the game against Italy. Barring injuries, the quartet are expected to return to the squad before the match in France, but McGregor missed Hull's semi-final win over Derby and is an injury doubt for the final, while Bain also has a back problem. Hamilton and Kingsley receive their first call-up to Gordon Strachan's senior squad after having been involved previously at under-21 level. The Hearts goalkeeper, who has had loan spells with Stenhousemuir, Forfar Athletic, East Stirlingshire and East Fife in recent years, has been back-up this season at Tynecastle behind former Scotland goalkeeper Neil Alexander and has only started 10 games for his parent club. Kingsley, who joined Swansea from Falkirk in 2014, spent the first half of this season with Crewe Alexandra in League One. The 28-year-old Fox received his first call-up to the senior squad in 2013 but has yet to earn his first cap. Bryson, who has two senior caps, suffered defeat by Hull with his club in the Championship play-off semi-final. There could be more changes to Strachan's squad in the coming days, the Scotland coach having rested Celtic and Aberdeen players and offered Hearts the same privilege in recognition of their involvement in the early rounds of European competition next season. Rangers manager Mark Warburton has hinted he will withdraw left-back Lee Wallace and winger Barrie McKay if his team Saturday's Scottish Cup final against Hibernian. That would secure an early start to the season in the Europa League qualifiers. Hibs could re-examine midfielder John McGinn's place in the squad if they claim the trophy. Goalkeepers: Scott Fox (Ross County), Jack Hamilton (Heart of Midlothian), David Marshall (Cardiff City) Defenders: Christophe Berra (Ipswich Town), Gordon Greer (Brighton and Hove Albion), Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rovers), Alan Hutton (Aston Villa), Russell Martin (Norwich City), Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic), Callum Paterson (Heart of Midlothian), Andrew Robertson (Hull City), Lee Wallace (Rangers) Midfielders: Ikechi Anya (Watford), Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday), Craig Bryson (Derby County), Oliver Burke (Nottingham Forest), Darren Fletcher (West Bromwich Albion), Shaun Maloney (Hull City), James McArthur (Crystal Palace), John McGinn (Hibernian), Barrie McKay (Rangers), Matt Phillips (Queens Park Rangers), Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth), Robert Snodgrass (Hull City) Forwards: Steven Fletcher (Sunderland), Chris Martin (Derby County), Ross McCormack (Fulham), Steven Naismith (Norwich City). |
A 300m (984ft) zone was put in place last Monday after the rig grounded at Dalmore beach near Carloway. Duncan MacInnes, of Western Isles Fishermen's Association, said four boats normally worked in that area. The rig's owner and the official overseeing the salvage operation are to meet the local community on Thursday. Ahead of this meeting with Transocean and Hugh Shaw, about 80 people attended an event on Monday night organised by Carloway Community Association. Mr MacInnes told BBC Alba there was precedent for the fishermen's compensation claim. He said fishing communities on Shetland were recompensed for lost earnings following the Braer tanker disaster 23 years ago. The ship ran aground on 5 January, 1993, spilling almost 85,000 tonnes of crude oil. It is expected to be several weeks before the drilling rig Transocean Winner can be refloated and towed from Lewis. Mr MacInnes said: "This week there would be four vessels in the exclusion zone fishing exclusively for lobster and brown crab. "This is the time of year when lobster are most plentiful in shallower grounds. "Fishermen in Shetland got compensation when the Braer went down and we would insist on a similar compensation scheme for our members." Local councillor Cudig MacLeod, who also attended Monday's meeting, said there was another ongoing problem - sightseers returning to the area to view and photograph the rig. He said people were putting themselves at risk trying to see the Transocean Winner from high cliffs and slippery coastal footpaths. Mr MacLeod said: "Once you've got a picture of an oil rig they are all the same. It is the same as every other one. "If they want to see pictures they are on Facebook and other social media." Thursday's meeting will be held from 20:00 at Carloway Community Centre. Western Isles emergency planning co-ordinating group said the latest details about the salvage operation would be shared and questions answered. Transocean has arranged the meeting. Representatives from the company are to attend, along with bosses from salvage firm Smit and Hugh Shaw, the secretary of state's representative for maritime and salvage. |
The Briton took the first set comfortably, but lost the initiative in the second and then let a lead slip in the deciding set. Konta, 25, looked increasingly weary in the final event of the WTA Tour season. Svitolina will now face the Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova, who beat Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-2. The tournament features the leading 12 players who did not qualify for last week's WTA Finals in Singapore. Konta appeared to be cruising to the final, with the Ukrainian having no answer to the power and accuracy of her serve and ground strokes in the opening set. The world number 10 broke her 22-year-old opponent in the third and seventh games to take it in just 26 minutes. Svitolina took a bathroom break at the end of the set and the interruption appeared to affect Konta's rhythm. After a string of unforced errors, the Briton - under pressure for the first time in the tournament - soon trailed 5-0 in the second. The momentum of the match had swung round, and though Konta briefly rallied in the third set to open up a 3-1 lead, she couldn't sustain the recovery and her serve was picked apart again with decisive back-to-back breaks. |
In February, her party confirmed it received a donation of about £435,000 from pro-union business people. The DUP said the money from the Constitutional Research Council (CRC) was spent on pro-Brexit advertising. The Electoral Commission said it is not investigating the donation. The CRC is chaired by Richard Cook, a former vice chairman of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. The DUP said about £425,000 was spent on the Brexit campaign. There are concerns from the DUP's political opponents that three donors associated with the CRC have not been named by the DUP. On Thursday Sinn Féin said it will would meet the Electoral Commission to discuss "concerns" over what it has described as "dark money". Arlene Foster said, "We have satisfied ourselves that it was all kept within the rules, and we are satisfied the money came from UK business people. "This is a re-heated story. We dealt with it at the time of the Assembly election and here we are dealing with exactly the same thing. "Sinn Féin are trying to deflect from the real meaning of this election, which is all about the union." Mrs Foster was asked if she knew the full identity of the other individuals who gave the money. She said she did know who had made the donation and she was "satisfied that the people who gave it had every right to give the donation". "We have answered all the questions the Electoral Commission have asked us. "It is satisfied we have done everything in accordance with the law and I am satisfied. As far as I'm concerned that's the end of the matter". The DUP leader said there was "no issue" with her judgement. "Behind all of this, is that people didn't like that we were part of a national campaign in relation to Brexit and we took our position up as a UK party. There's nothing to see. "Sinn Féin has brought millions of pounds into Northern Ireland throughout the years and no-one has known where that money has come from. "It does frustrate me that we are talking about these issues instead of issues around the union." Mrs Foster also spoke about her party's performance in March's assembly election. "The last election was a perfect storm. We were under incredible attacks from all sides. Personally I was being buffeted by everyone. "The fact that we came out with over 225,000 votes was a good result, given where we were." Mrs Foster said she would continue to engage with the Irish language community. In April she met with a number of Irish language groups. The meetings came after she said in February that her party would never support legislation to give official status to the language. "I have yet to be convinced there is an need for such an act but we are still talking about it. "There has been very much a use of Irish language to batter people, we've seen it in the chamber and when I meet people |
One Love Manchester is raising money for those affected by the suicide bombing at the end of Ariana Grande's performance at the Manchester Arena. She is returning to the city, joined by stars including Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Take That. It is not yet known how the unfolding London attack might affect the event. Grande tweeted after the incident in the capital that she was "praying for London". The Manchester attack killed 22 people - including children and teenagers who saw the show as well as parents arriving at the arena to pick them up at the end of the night. The youngest victim was just eight years old. Ariana Grande is going to be performing, having said she wanted to return to the "incredibly brave city" to spend time with her fans, and to "honour and raise money for the victims and their families". She's bringing a host of stars with her - Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Usher, Pharrell, Little Mix, Robbie Williams, Black Eyed Peas, Niall Horan and Take That are all on the bill. The Old Trafford cricket ground has a 50,000 capacity and tickets sold out within 20 minutes when they went on general sale. Some tickets were set aside for fans at the original concert, who were promised free entry. Ticketmaster said 14,200 tickets were being held for them. People have been asked not to bring bags, "for speed of entry", and will be searched as they enter the grounds. Full details are here. Proceeds will go to the We Love Manchester emergency fund, which has been set up by Manchester City Council, in conjunction with the British Red Cross. Organisers expect at least £2m to be raised from the event. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. |
All-rounder Howell (102) was trapped lbw by Clint McKay (3-93) immediately after bringing up his ton. Kieran Noema-Barnett (61) hit his first half-century of the season and Michael Klinger (60) helped the home side post 321 in their second innings. Leicestershire closed on 11-0 chasing a testing 325 to win. After 22 wickets fell over the first two days, the action was much more attritional on day three in Cheltenham. Only wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick (19) and Klinger fell up until tea as Howell and Noema-Barnett added 139 for the fifth wicket to move the home side into a healthy lead. Howell's four-hour knock included 12 fours and one six - his second fifty coming off 47 balls - before he lost concentration and missed a straight one from McKay the delivery after reaching three figures. Following his dismissal, Gloucestershire chased quick runs in order to have a bowl at the Foxes before the close and were all out for 321, with seamer Charlie Shrek (5-82) starring with the ball. The visitors safely negotiated a potentially tricky eight-over period before stumps but face a challenge to avoid defeat. |
For one day only we're joining forces with Wikipedia for a global edit-a-thon to try to increase the numbers of women profiled on the site. We're calling it #100WomenWiki, and BBC journalists and audiences all over the world will be taking part. The event is the culmination of the 100 Women season, which this year has put a lot of focus on social media, technology, and the issue of how women are represented both in the tech business and online. As it happened:Women take over Wikipedia 100 women of 2016: the full list In the course of our work this year we've uncovered some startling statistics. In the developing world nearly 25% fewer women than men have access to the internet. Recent figures show women are 27 times more likely to be abused online. And when it comes to research, we've discovered that although Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites in the world, only around 15% of its editors are women, and fewer than 17% of biographies are of women, according to the site. Despite the fact that 100 Women has been running for four years now, half the women we've profiled still do not have a Wikipedia page. We've decided to team up with Wikipedia because, like the BBC World Service, they're a non-profit organization with a global and multilingual reach. We hope that by mobilising the 100 Women audiences our edit-a-thon will make a visible impact, with new Wikipedia pages, better information, and crucially, more women editing in more languages. As we've discovered during all our 100 Women seasons, there are so many untold stories all over the world about inspiring women both past and present. Our aim has always been to give a voice to the half of the world whose stories aren't always heard. Thursday's edit-a-thon is a chance to capture some of those stories for posterity and to start to set the record straight. #100WomenWiki will run for one day across various global locations including Cairo, Delhi, Dhaka, Jerusalem, Islamabad, London, Glasgow, Miami, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Kabul, Kathmandu and Washington DC. We'll be editing in a range of languages, including Arabic, Dari, Hausa, Hindi, Pashto, Persian, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese. We'll also be live tweeting the event using our shared hashtag #100womenwiki. The event will be shared on the BBC's live page at bbc.co.uk/100women (BBC 100 Women), on BBC World News, and on its social media platforms over the course of the day. There will also be some special programmes from the World Service's history strand, Witness. This is an ambitious project, but enlisting women to contribute is a great way to help make the internet less gender-biased. We think it's a fitting way to end this year's season, which has seen three weeks of thought-provoking broadcast and online special reports, debates, programmes and journalism, running online at bbc.com/100Women, on BBC World News TV, and on the 29 global languages services of BBC World Service Group, as well as network |
The exhibition of popular music opened at the O2 in Greenwich in 2009 but closed last year amid plans to relocate. Plans have now been announced to move the museum to Liverpool's Cunard building and to open at Easter 2016. The museum features hundreds of rare artefacts and manuscripts. Among them are David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust costumes and the original handwritten lyrics to Blue Monday by New Order. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: "It makes perfect sense that a museum which celebrates the importance of British music and its influence on society has its home in Liverpool. "Music is entwined with the city's history, present and future. The Cunard building itself played a vital role in shaping the industry thanks to the music that travelled across the Atlantic by those travelling on the Cunard vessels. "This music then immersed itself in our culture and influenced many aspiring musicians, including four young men who went on to become the most famous band in the world." The museum, which operates as a registered charity and is managed by a trust, is being partially funded by a £2.6m Regional Growth Fund grant from the government. It will feature a new cafe and shop selling souvenirs and collector's items. Museum chairman Harvey Goldsmith said: "The trustees of the British Music Experience are thrilled to have partnered with the city of Liverpool and to have found a permanent home for the UK's collection of rock and pop memorabilia and artefacts." At the time of the museum's closing in London, Mr Goldsmith said the trust was looking for a "more sustainable home" for the attraction. |
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, governor of Greece's Central Macedonia region, said the number of migrants on the frontier had grown to at least 13,000. A state of emergency would facilitate aid supplies, Greek media report. Earlier, the EU's top migration official warned Greece could be "overwhelmed" by the crisis. Dimitris Avramopoulos, the commissioner for migration, told the BBC other states needed to support his country. "Greece is overrun, is overwhelmed by all these flows," he said. The migrants, most of whom entered Greece illegally by sea from Turkey, are seeking asylum in other EU states to the north. Many are living in flimsy tents since they became stranded around the Idomeni border crossing, after EU countries re-imposed internal border controls and Macedonia sharply reduced the numbers allowed to cross. More than 125,000 people have arrived on Greek shores so far this year, close to 12 times more than arrived in the first three months of 2015. Many are believed to be fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr Tzitzikostas, whose region shares the same name as the neighbouring country, said there were now 20,000 migrants in Central Macedonia as a whole - more than "60% of the country's entire refugee and migrant flow". "We can no longer shoulder this strain by ourselves," he told Greek broadcaster Skai on a visit to Idomeni on Saturday to distribute humanitarian aid. "It's a huge humanitarian crisis. I have asked the government to declare the area in a state of emergency. This cannot continue for much longer." He also called on Macedonia, a republic of the former Yugoslavia seeking to join the EU, to open its borders immediately. "The European Union needs to implement severe action against the countries that are closing borders today, whether they are members of the European Union or candidate members,'" he said. "This is unacceptable what they are doing." At least 2,000 new migrants are registered in Greece every day, most of them having made a hazardous journey by boat to the Greek islands off Turkey. Earlier this week, EU officials announced an aid plan that would allocate €300m (£233m; $325m) this year to help EU states deal with the migration crisis. The EU is to hold a summit with Turkey in Brussels on Monday to discuss further action to tackle the migrant crisis. A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants. |