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37,494,861 | The announcement comes 22 years after the release of the original animation, while a highly successful stage musical has been running since 1997.
Favreau was behind this year's new version of The Jungle Book, featuring a mix of animation and live action.
He has tweeted that he is "excited" for his "next project", using emojis of a lion and a crown.
Disney said the new version would feature hit songs from the 1994 film, which were written by Sir Elton John, Sir Tim Rice and Hans Zimmer and included Circle of Life, Hakuna Matata and Can You Feel the Love Tonight.
The original Lion King movie made $969m (£745m) and won two Oscars.
The stage musical has taken more than $6bn (£4.6bn) in ticket sales - more than any other stage show or cinema release in box office history.
It is the latest in a long line of classics to get the live action treatment, and comes after Disney recreated Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent for the big screen.
A new live action version of Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson as Belle, is due for release next year and will also feature songs from the original animation.
Favreau will also direct a sequel to The Jungle Book, which has made $965.8m (£743m) around the world since its cinema release.
No release date for the new Lion King film yet been set and casting is yet to be announced.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | The Lion King is to be remade as a live action film directed by Jon Favreau, Disney has announced. |
12,325,796 | The comical-sounding phrase made its first appearance back in October, when 17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer Karima El Mahroug - who calls herself Ruby - said she had attended "bunga bunga" parties with other women at Mr Berlusconi's villa in Milan.
Italian newspapers immediately scrambled to find out its origins.
The finger of blame was initially laid upon Mr Berlusconi's friend Col Muammar Gaddafi, with allegations of parties hosted by the Libyan leader involving "harems" of young Western women.
Then stories circulated claiming the phrase owed its origins to a bawdy joke, which Mr Berlusconi claimed was one of his favourites.
Then this week Sabina Began, German actress and friend of the Italian prime minister, told Sky Italia that she herself was bunga bunga.
"'Bunga bunga' is simply my nickname," the 36-year-old said.
It's a credible-sounding explanation: "Began" and "Bunga" are not so different, and the repetition gives it a more informal, nickname-like quality.
"Everyone thinks: 'My God! What does that mean?" she is quoted as saying. Ms Began went on to explain that it was she who had organised the parties for Mr Berlusconi.
The phrase "bunga bunga", is having a global impact, says Paul JJ Payack, president of The Global Language Monitor in the US.
"One of our databases that searches the top global media found almost 800 stories spread across the world.
"Since Mr Berlusconi was reported as saying that he learned harem-style rituals frοm hіѕ friend, Col Gaddafi, the phrase has been reported in Arabic-language news stories.
"On our Chinese search engines there were over 2000 references to news stories in Chinese.
"Finally, we found thousands of references in Russian.
"Will it make the English language lexicon? It certainly seems headed that way. It needs a minimum of 25,000 references with the necessary depth and breadth. It currently has 744,000 references on Google."
Global Language Monitor
The expression has quickly become part of the Italian vocabulary, says Italian journalist Annalisa Piras, even though no-one really knows what it means.
The theory that it features in Mr Berlusconi's favourite joke is a popular one, she says.
The joke isn't new - it can be found on the internet Urban Dictionary - but in Italy it has been given a political twist. It goes like this:
Two of Mr Berlusconi's political opponents are captured by an African tribe. They are asked whether they would prefer to die or undergo bunga bunga. The first one opts for bunga bunga, and is immediately subjected to a sexual assault by members of the tribe. The second one, who now grasps what "bunga bunga" means, says he would prefer to die. To which the chief of the tribe replies: "Okay, you will die - but before you will have bunga bunga."
Ms Piras says the term is now well embedded in the Italian language. "Bunga Bunga City" refers to Mr Berlusconi's world, the phrase is a popular twitter hashtag, and it even inspired a song performed on Italian television to the tune of Shakira's Waka Waka World Cup anthem.
In Italy, "bunga bunga" is pronounced: BOONG-guh BOONG-guh (-oo as in moon, -ng-g as in finger, -uh as a in ago, stressed syllables in upper case).
Source: BBC Pronunciation unit
The phrase itself is not new. One of the oldest recorded references dates back to 1910 and another African-themed joke.
The infamous Dreadnought hoax was dreamed up by aristocratic joker Horace de Vere Cole, who contacted the British Admiralty pretending to be the Emperor of Abyssinia. He informed officials that he wished to inspect the Home Fleet while on a forthcoming visit to Britain.
After enlisting some friends - artists from the Bloomsbury group, including writer Virginia Woolf - to masquerade as his entourage, he turned up at the navy's state-of-the-art ship, the Dreadnought.
Officials, taken in by the dark stage make-up, false beards and oriental regalia, treated the group to an official civic reception.
They were reported to have cried "Bunga, bunga!" while marvelling at the ship. An account of the visit plus a picture were sent to the Daily Mail newspaper - probably by Cole himself.
Virginia Woolf said later that when the real Emperor of Abyssinia arrived in London weeks later, wherever he went, ''the street boys ran after him calling out bunga, bunga!"
When I went on board a Dreadnought ship
I looked like a costermonger;
They said I was an Abyssinian prince
'Cos I shouted 'Bunga Bunga!'
Source: The Sultan of Zanzibar: The Bizarre World and Spectacular Hoaxes of Horace de Vere Cole, Martyn Downer
The term reappeared at the end of World War I, after HMS Dreadnought sank a German submarine. According to retired Royal Navy captain Jack Broome - in his book Make Another Signal - the congratulatory telegram read: "BUNGA BUNGA".
The Dreadnought hoax is certainly not the inspiration for the current use of the phrase - but Mr Berlusconi may intend the phrase to have African connotations, says Tony Thorne, editor of the Dictionary of Contemporary Slang.
"The sound of it is crude and infantile. It is almost like a racist Africanism - some kind of colonial imagined tribal ritual of sexual abandon," he says.
"It has a racist, imperialist quality to it - like a phoney African word, like 'wonga'.
"It's so naughty and childish, it goes very nicely with the image that I think Mr Berlusconi wants to cultivate, as comic and absurd."
Ms Piras says that usage of the phrase in Italy has brought to a new level Mr Berlusconi's image as "jester-in-chief".
"He has managed to capture in a slogan the imagination of many of his male compatriots, and the utter contempt of almost every Italian woman."
The phrase "bunga bunga" exists in other languages - in Filipino, it is slang for something "hot" or fashionable, in Indonesian it means flowers.
But, for now, it has an association with the Italian prime minister and the current political scandal - or "bunga bunga-gate", if you will. | The phrase "bunga bunga" has become inextricably linked with the private life of Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, and for those who have puzzled over its origins an intriguing new explanation of its meaning has been offered. |
32,140,847 | The 26-year-old won the Eurovision song contest last year with Rise Like A Phoenix.
She says: "The most important thing will be when we actually stop talking about sexual orientation.
"The moment we reach that point when that is not important any more, we've reached a big goal which is a long way in front of us."
Conchita, whose real name is Tom Neuwirth, won Eurovision with her drag act and has since gone on to champion LGBT rights.
In the past she's said she's not transgender and describes herself as a gay man.
In the past year she's been invited to the United Nations and gave a speech at the European Parliament where she said: "As I always say, you don't have to love me, but you have to respect that I'm here."
She says there's still work to be done though.
Speaking at Eurovision's Greatest Hits gig she tells Newsbeat: "You have to be respectful. Don't ask for respect if you are not respectful.
"It's not depending on your sexuality, your gender or the colour of your skin.
"It should be in the focus to live a respectful life."
In January Conchita was invited to the Golden Globes.
"I was in the toilet minding my own business and all of a sudden Felicity Huffman turned to me and congratulated me on my win.
"She said she thinks the work I do is very important and I just looked at her.
"I said it should be the other way around. I just wanted to thank her for Transamerica which was such an important movie.
"We just had a little chat on the toilet and that was really very nice."
Conchita will be playing a part in this year's Eurovision. She's hosting the green room backstage as part of the show.
"I'm very excited about that but also nervous so hopefully it will turn out quite well. It's going to be fun."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Conchita Wurst believes there's still a long way to go for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) equality. |
37,985,595 | Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Andy Wilman also confirmed they will not be told what the viewing figures are.
He said: "We'll never know the number, because, even to us, Amazon won't tell us what the viewing figures are."
Asked how they will know if viewers like the show, Wilman replied: "We'll get it from Twitter I would imagine."
He added that TV fans "are all there [on social media] with their thumbs banging away".
The Grand Tour, which launches on Amazon Prime on Friday, stars Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond and will be the trio's first show since leaving BBC Two's Top Gear last year.
Wilman said it was a "blessing" that the creative team behind the show would not be told the overnight viewing figures.
"You can just make something and never have to be sort of judged by looking for overnights and so on.
"That is quite a liberating thing, that we will just make our show... it's just going to exist out there."
Do overnight TV ratings matter?
"Over time hopefully millions will watch it, but we've said goodbye to that big figure coming in on a Monday morning," he added, referring to the overnight ratings the Top Gear team used to receive the morning after its Sunday night broadcast.
Some press reports have suggested that Amazon have given The Grand Tour a budget of £4m per episode.
But, Wilman said: "That figure is nonsense. It was reported in the papers and it's stuck there for good now. It's not true. It's lower than that. I'm not going to tell you the figure but it's a good whack."
Asked whether the budget was higher than the £1m per episode the BBC reportedly spent on Top Gear, Wilman replied: "It's more than that. Somewhere between £1m and £4m."
One episode of The Grand Tour will be released per week - unlike many programmes broadcast on streaming platforms which release all their episodes at once for viewers to watch when they wish.
Speaking about the one-per-week release, Wilman said: "It's a good thing because if it was Breaking Bad or something like that, you've got a plot and you go 'Oh I've got to see the next one'.
"There's no plot in what we do. It's three overgrown idiots doing stuff. There's nothing to make you go 'I've got to watch the next one', so I'm happy there's a gap between each one."
He added that Amazon had had "no editorial input" in the making of The Grand Tour.
"They just left us alone," he said. "The BBC left us alone as well, in the main, editorially. Amazon have done the very same thing.
"We make a show, we send it over, thankfully they're making nice noises when they see it."
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | The team behind The Grand Tour will use Twitter to gauge its popularity with fans, the show's producer has said. |
38,381,575 | The 22-year-old, who will cost an undisclosed fee, has agreed a two-and-half-year contract.
She netted twice in 20 games for Birmingham in 2016, helping them finish fourth and reach the Continental Cup final, which they lost to her new club.
Lawley is Nick Cushing's side's first new signing of the winter.
"I'm excited for the opportunity to show my potential and what I can do," she told the Manchester City website.
"I sat down with Nick and spoke about how I can improve as a player - under his leadership and alongside the quality players that are already here.
"I want to become a better player and I hope it will help my international career as well. These facilities and the standard of football will push me on."
She will officially join Manchester City when the WSL transfer window re-opens in January. | Women's Super League champions Manchester City have signed England Under-23 striker Melissa Lawley from Birmingham City Ladies. |
39,364,037 | The FTSE 100 index ended the day 15.99 points or 0.22% ahead at 7,340.71.
Next shares jumped by 8% despite the retailer reporting its first fall in annual profits for eight years, with profits dropping to £790m.
"Not a pretty set of figures from Next but no worse than expected after warning on profits in January," said Neil Wilson at ETX Capital.
"Investors seem to be reassured that it's taking steps to turn things around with a focus on core products."
Marks and Spencer was the second biggest climber on the FTSE 100, rising by 3.7%.
Shares in Tesco rose 1.9% after Deutsche Bank raised its rating on the supermarket to "buy". However, shares in rival Sainsbury's slipped 0.13% as Deutsche cut its rating to "hold".
Shares in Kingfisher fell a further 1.4% as investors continued to react to the Screwfix and B&Q owner's results on Wednesday.
Kingfisher reported a big rise in annual profits but gave a cautious outlook because of uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the French presidential elections.
Elsewhere on the FTSE 100 RBS saw its shares climb by 2.13%, after it announced it would close nearly 160 branches. RBS blamed a "dramatic shift" in banking, with branch transactions falling 43% since 2010.
"RBS is making good on its promise to slash costs - good news for shareholders in the short term but no so great for customers and staff. It might also be bad news for profits going forward if it is to grow the business and invest enough in new technology," said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital.
On the currency markets, sterling hit a one month high against the dollar on news of a stronger-than-expected rise in UK retail sales last month.
Sales rose 1.4% in February from the month before. However, the underlying picture was weaker and most of sterling's gains were gradually erased as the day progressed.
It peaked at $1.2532, its highest since 24 February before falling back.
It was 0.37% up against the dollar at $1.2526, and was 0.42% higher against the euro at 1.1614 euros.
Commerzbank currency strategist Thu Lan Nguyen said the retail sales were "obviously stronger than expected which just added to the recently rather positive sentiment towards the pound.
"But obviously there are some people questioning the sustainability of this trend in consumption," she added. | London's main share index gained ground on Thursday led by retailer Next, as investors reacted to its results. |
40,010,245 | Brook defends his IBF welterweight title against American Errol Spence at Bramall Lane, Sheffield on Saturday.
It marks a return to 147lbs for Brook, who suffered the injury in a defeat to Gennady Golovkin at middleweight.
"Looking at Kell sparring, you wouldn't think the eye will come into this for one minute," Ingle said.
"He has sparred a big super-middleweight in Jamie Cox who can punch. He got caught once or twice and there were no signs of problems. We can safely draw a line under that injury and write it off," he told the 5 live boxing podcast.
Brook suffered a first career loss in September when he lost to Golovkin, as Ingle threw the towel in during the fifth round.
Days after that fight, the Sheffield fighter underwent orbital bone surgery.
Nearing the end of a 16-week training camp spent largely in Fuerteventura, he now likens himself to the "Terminator", with the presence of titanium in his eye socket.
"My surgeon said it will be as strong as before and it's supposed to be practically bullet proof," Brook told 5 live's boxing podcast.
"I know when someone tries sticking it on me I see red. I go forward, I don't think it will be an issue."
Brook, who drew praise for moving up two weight classes to meet Golovkin, will need to be at least 13lbs lighter than he weighed in at against the Kazakh when both he Spence hit the scales on Friday.
Brook has ignored advice from some around him to relinquish his welterweight title due to the demands of the weight cut, insisting his IBF strap will need to be "ripped" from him.
This will be a fourth defence of the belt he won from Shawn Porter in 2014, while Spence is contesting his first world-title bout.
But Spence, who disappointed at the 2012 Olympics, is odds-on favourite for the fight and former five-weight world champion Sugar Ray Leonard has dubbed the undefeated 27-year-old "the real deal".
BBC Radio 5 live pundit Steve Bunce:
Kell Brook has made three defences since beating Shawn Porter - a staggering win. When you look closely at Spence's last six opponents, I have a feeling all of them are better than the three Kell faced. I think this kid has quietly put together a good sequence of wins coming into this fight.
5 live commentator Mike Costello:
I've watched a lot of Errol Spence in the last couple of weeks. He has an awful lot of talent.
In watching him, he really does put in some good, solid punches to the body and digs them in. | Kell Brook will have no apprehension when he fights for the first time since undergoing surgery on a broken eye socket, trainer Dominic Ingle says. |
38,663,900 | The US investment bank posted net profit of $2.15bn in the fourth quarter, up from $574m for the same period in 2015, when it was hit by a $5bn legal settlement.
Fourth-quarter net revenues were $900m higher at $8.17bn.
Fixed-income securities, currencies and commodities revenue jumped 78% to $2bn.
For the full year, Goldman reported a 9% fall in net revenues to $30.6bn and a 22% jump in net profit to $7.4bn.
Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said: "After a challenging first half, the firm performed well for the remainder of the year as the operating environment improved."
Citigroup also benefitted from the Trump rally, reporting a better-than-expected $230m rise in quarterly profit to $3.57bn.
Adjusted revenue fell 9% to $17bn in the wake of disposals, but for ongoing businesses the figure was up 6% to $16.3bn.
Michael Corbat, chief executive of Citi, said; "We had a strong finish to 2016, bringing momentum into this year. We drove revenue growth in our businesses and demonstrated strong expense discipline across the firm."
The bank's revenue from fixed-income trading rose about 36% - far lower than the 173% rise reported on Tuesday by Morgan Stanley - Goldman's closest rival - for the three months to December.
While Goldman relies on trading more than its competitors, it has been trying to switch to more stable markets such as investment management.
Goldman has also made a push into US consumer lending, launching an online platform called Marcus late last year.
Operating expenses fell 23% to $4.77bn for the fourth quarter, while the figure for the full year slid 18.9% to $20.3bn - the lowest since 2008.
Investment banking revenue, which includes income from advising on mergers and acquisitions as well as underwriting bond and share offerings, fell 3.9% to $1.49bn.
The bank maintained its position as the world's top mergers and acquisitions adviser last year with a 35.9% market share of completed deals, according to Thomson Reuters figures, ahead of Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase.
Goldman shares were up slightly in pre-market trading and have gained close to a third since the presidential election. | The stock market rally that followed Donald Trump's surprise presidential victory helped Goldman Sachs profits to soar in the three months to December. |
22,379,744 | Riot police used tear gas to prevent activists distributing food from a lorry on Syntagma Square, where the country's parliament is located.
Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis says a Golden Dawn MP later tried to assault him for banning the gathering.
Golden Dawn, once a fringe movement, is now Greece's fifth-biggest party.
It was staging the handout to celebrate Greek Orthodox Easter, which falls this weekend. At past events, the anti-immigration party asked recipients to show ID cards proving they were Greeks.
Golden Dawn reportedly managed to hand out some food before police moved in, and it later continued the distribution elsewhere in the city.
Mr Kaminis said no party could use the square for such purposes and vowed to prevent "thuggery".
The mayor told the BBC that a Golden Dawn MP tried to attack him at a charity centre he was attending later in the day.
Bodyguards managed to restrain MP Giorgos Germenis, he said, although a 12-year-old girl was injured in the process.
Mr Kaminis says he plans to sue the MP over the incident, which was reportedly caught on camera.
Speaking to the BBC, the mayor called members of Golden Dawn "criminals".
The party, whose neo-Nazi ideology has been condemned by human rights groups, has soared in popularity during the financial crisis.
Greek authorities have been accused in the past of failing to take action against hate crime and attacks on immigrants.
Mr Kaminis said Thursday's police action was a "victory for the democratic state".
"Thuggery will not prevail in this city as long as I am mayor," he was quoted as saying by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. | Police in the Greek capital Athens have stopped the far-right Golden Dawn party from handing out free food only to Greeks on the city's main square. |
39,565,514 | Launching his party's campaign for May's local elections in Cardigan, he promised to bring "fresh talent, new ideas and passion" to councils.
The party is defending 75 of Wales' 1,254 council seats, having gained councillors since the 2012 poll.
It is currently part of the Tory-led coalition running Monmouthshire.
The Lib Dems won 72 council seats in Wales five years ago - down from 165 in 2008 - in the first set of national elections held after the party formed a coalition with the Conservatives at Westminster in 2010.
Since 2012, the party has made a net gain of three council seats as a result of by-elections and defections.
But this year's local elections, on 4 May, follow disastrous polls in the previous two years.
In 2015, the Liberal Democrats lost two Welsh seats at the general election, leaving Mr Williams as the party's only Welsh MP from Wales.
In 2016, Kirsty Williams returned to Cardiff Bay as the party's only AM in the May assembly election after four of her colleagues lost their seats.
Soon after, she was appointed to the Labour-led Welsh Government as education secretary.
At the campaign launch on Wednesday, Mr Williams said "our politics has never been more divided" following last June's Brexit vote.
"These elections offer people and communities across Wales the opportunity to stand up for decent, tolerant values and for ideas that will make our communities stronger, more open and more prosperous," he said.
"We need fresh talent, new ideas and passion in our local county and city halls to get things done.
"No more should communities have to accept the complacency, arrogance and laziness rife in our local councils. We won't accept it."
Mr Williams said he would fight "tooth and nail" to make local authorities in Wales more transparent, and was optimistic about the party's chances ahead of polling day.
"Five or six years ago we were leading some of the principal authorities in Cardiff and Swansea, in Bridgend and Wrexham and in other places as well," he told BBC Wales.
"It's been a hard few years but we need to build on our position," Mr Williams added.
"I'm confident at the end of this process we'll have more councillors elected."
The Liberal Democrats hope that, as a consistently pro-EU party, they can boost their levels of support at these local elections by being seen to speak up for voters who wanted to remain in the European Union. | Local government in Wales is rife with "complacency, arrogance and laziness", Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Mark Williams has said. |
39,132,679 | A London primary school may issue face-masks to its pupils. The council in Cornwall may take the extreme step of moving people out of houses beside the busiest roads.
Four major cities - Paris, Athens, Mexico City and Madrid - plan to ban all diesels by 2025.
Stuttgart, in Germany, has already decided to block all but the most modern diesels on polluted days.
In India's capital, Delhi, often choked with dangerous air, a jet engine may be deployed in an experimental and desperate attempt to create an updraft to disperse dirty air.
The World Health Organization calculates that as many as 92% of the world's population are exposed to dirty air - but that disguises the fact that many different forms of pollution are involved.
For the rural poor, it is fumes from cooking on wood or dung indoors.
For shanty-dwellers in booming mega-cities, it is a combination of traffic exhaust, soot and construction dust.
In developed countries, it can be a mix of exhaust gas from vehicles and ammonia carried on the wind from the spraying of industrial-scale farms.
In European cities, where people have been encouraged to buy fuel-efficient diesels to help reduce carbon emissions, the hazard is from the harmful gas nitrogen dioxide and tiny specks of pollution known as particulates.
The first step is to understand exactly where the air is polluted and precisely how individuals are affected - and the results can be extremely revealing.
Scientists at the University of Leicester are trialling a portable air monitor to gather precise data at a personal scale.
We watched as volunteer, Logan Eddy, 14, carried the device in a specially adapted backpack that recorded details of the air he was exposed to.
Exactly where he walked was then displayed as lines on an electronic map, the colour of those lines conveying how unhealthy the air was at different points.
It was much worse than WHO guidelines where he had waited to cross a busy junction, strikingly cleaner in a side-street but then almost off the scale in a sheltered spot beside an arcade of shops where a car was parked with its engine idling.
Seeing a graphic display of how pollution can vary so dramatically changed Logan's view of air, and his friends adjusted their behaviour immediately.
"The people who found out have stopped waiting right near the buses after school for their friends," he says.
"They've been waiting… further away from the buses.
"It's obviously had an impact on them."
The personal monitor is one of a range of devices being deployed in Leicester to build up a detailed picture of where pollution hotspots form - and when.
In many cases, they can be short-lived, appearing during rush-hours when traffic jams develop.
For Prof Roland Leigh, of Leicester University, understanding precisely where and when vehicles slow to a crawl or stop will help manage the flow of traffic in a way that minimises the impact on the most vulnerable people - the young and the elderly.
"One of the things we can all do is to improve our transport systems so that our congested traffic is not queued up outside of primary schools and old people's homes but instead is queued in other parts of the city where there's going to be less harm," he says.
But what about tackling one of the main sources of the problem in the first place, the vehicles spewing out the pollutants?
In Europe, under pressure from regulators, the manufacturers have progressively cleaned up their engines over the past few decades - first to trap carbon monoxide and unburned fuel, then particulates and most recently nitrogen dioxide.
The latest European standard, Euro 6, requires vehicles to emit far less pollution than older models, but trust has inevitably been eroded after the car giant VW was caught cheating - using software that activated the emissions controls only during tests.
At Bath University, engineers use a "rolling road" and a robotic "driver" to put cars through realistic simulations of how they are normally used, to find out exactly what's released from the exhaust pipe.
They are also working to understand the trade-offs involved in cleaning up an engine.
For example, adding more pollution-trapping devices can add to fuel consumption, which means increased emissions of carbon dioxide, undermining efforts to tackle climate change.
And however good the latest standards, they still leave vast numbers of older vehicles out on the roads.
Hence the idea of a national scrappage scheme - to provide incentives to drivers to switch to a cleaner model.
It's attracting growing support from an unlikely coalition including the Federation of Small Business, London First, Greenpeace and the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association.
The challenge, as ever, is to find the money to make this happen and to agree who should pay - taxpayers through government incentives or the vehicle owners themselves.
Prof Chris Brace, an automotive engineer of Bath University, says; "Whichever way you approach it, you are asking people to spend more in taxation or more to buy new vehicles, and we need to decide whether that's something we're comfortable with as a society."
Some awkward choices lie ahead.
Will the parents of an asthmatic child dig deep in their pockets to switch to a cleaner car?
Will new housing developments include charging points for electric cars?
Will the money saved from a fuel-efficient diesel be seen as worth sacrificing for the sake of better air for everyone?
And bear in mind that these are "First World" questions.
In the rapidly growing cities of Africa, and many parts of Asia, there is hardly any monitoring of pollution at all, let alone political will or money to tackle it.
A week of coverage by BBC News examining possible solutions to the problems caused by air pollution. | The search for solutions to the threat of polluted air is generating ideas that range from the modest to the radical to the bizarre. |
39,388,810 | Mr Yee, 18, has been detained in the US since he arrived at Chicago's O'Hare airport in December.
He came into the country on a tourist visa but told immigration officials he was seeking refuge.
Following Friday's ruling, he is expected to be released shortly.
The US Department of Homeland Security opposed Mr Yee's asylum application, but the immigration judge ruled in the teenager's favour.
Judge Samuel Cole released a 13-page decision, which said Mr Yee faced persecution in Singapore for his political opinions.
"Yee has met his burden of showing that he suffered past persecution on account of his political opinion and has a well-founded fear of future persecution in Singapore," Judge Coel ruled.
"Accordingly, this court grants his application for asylum."
Amos Yee is not the only one celebrating his US asylum win - many Singaporeans are pleased as well.
"Finally... hopefully it is the last we have heard of him," a Facebook user wrote in one typical comment online.
But some Singaporeans also sympathise with Amos, who has clearly struggled with the country's restrictions. "It's just his bad luck that he was born in Singapore," said another commenter on Facebook.
The teenage critic is one of Singapore's most controversial figures, where he is viewed with exasperation but also a measure of sympathy. Singapore is known for its strict rules on free speech, especially when it comes to race and religion - rules which the US judge said have been used by the authorities to constrain dissent, but which many in the city-state support.
Following Mr Yee's explosive remarks about the country's deeply-revered late leader Lee Kuan Yew and Christianity, Mr Yee had continued to fall foul of the law by breaching bail conditions and making further critical comments about religion.
Even by leaving Singapore he has committed an offence, as he is avoiding mandatory military conscription. While in US detention he had run into trouble for making remarks about Islam, according to his representatives.
But some Singaporeans also empathise with Amos, who has clearly struggled with the country's restrictions. "Congratulations Amos. He can now lead the free life he wants in the free world. It's just his bad luck that he was born in Singapore," said another commenter on Facebook.
Mr Yee's lawyer, Sandra Grossman, said he could be released as early as Monday.
In statement, Ms Grossman applauded the judge's decision and said, "The right to free speech is sacred, even when such speech is considered offensive."
In September 2016, the teenager was given a six-week prison sentence in Singapore after being found guilty of "wounding religious feelings".
He had posted a video critical of Christianity and Islam.
He was also jailed by a Singapore court for four weeks in 2015, for criticising Christians and for posting a video about the country's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
His video, posted on YouTube days after his death, compared the widely-respected founding father of Singapore to Jesus Christ.
Later, he posted a crude cartoon depicting Lee Kuan Yew and former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was one of his allies.
The posts provoked various police complaints, and Mr Yee was reported to have received violent threats. | Singapore teen blogger Amos Yee, who was jailed twice in his homeland for posting political and religious criticism online, has been granted asylum in the United States. |
37,999,405 | According to Disney, the two-minute promo was watched 127.6 million times across all digital platforms in the 24 hours following its release on Monday.
The Hollywood Reporter said that trumped the 114 million views notched up by the trailer for Fifty Shades Darker in September.
Beauty and the Beast will be released in the UK and US in March 2017.
Emma Watson and Dan Stevens play the title roles in the live-action remake of Disney's 1991 animation.
In the trailer, Watson's Belle can be seen meeting Stevens' Beast for the first time.
It also features such characters as Belle's father and the braggart Gaston, played by Kevin Kline and Luke Evans respectively.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | The latest trailer for Beauty and the Beast was viewed a record number of times in its first day online. |
37,856,705 | The money will help to provide accommodation, employment and skills training for women fleeing violence.
Local authorities will be able to bid for a share of the money, which is the first part of an overall £40m investment package.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said the boost will mean "no victim is turned away" from essential support.
As part of the plans, new guidelines will be published which set out how local authorities should respond to domestic abuse.
The government said this will focus on "putting the victim first, providing flexible services that meet their needs, collaborating with other councils to open up services to victims from outside the local area and responding to the needs of diverse groups".
It would also require setting up "accountable local leadership" for services and a system of "independent scrutiny".
In a statement announcing the plans, Mr Javid said: "Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, at any time, which is why our £20m fund is designed to ensure no victim is turned away from the essential support they need.
"It will address the needs of diverse and isolated communities and boost refuge spaces, as part of a country that works for everyone and not just the privileged few".
As well as being the first wave of £40m in support for domestic abuse victims outlined in the 2015 Spending Review, the money is also part of the government's wider £80m Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.
Funding will only be available for local areas which are collaborating with other councils and external domestic violence services, the government's launch document states, because "domestic abuse cannot be addressed by one agency alone".
The fund is open to applications from local authorities until 17:00 GMT on 2 December. | A £20m fund to support domestic abuse victims is being launched by the government later. |
36,199,999 | World celebrities gathered at a leafy promenade turned into a catwalk for the firm's Cruise collection, even though Chanel goods are not sold in Cuba.
Ordinary Cubans were held behind police lines around the event venue, and many voiced their frustration.
The show is the latest sign in Cuba's warming relations with the West.
Earlier this week, a US cruise ship docked in Havana after sailing from Florida - the first such crossing in more than 50 years.
Cuba and the US restored diplomatic relations last year.
Celebrities - including actor Vin Diesel and supermodel Gisele Bundchen - attended the show at the Prado promenade to see Chanel's leading designer Karl Lagerfeld displaying the new collection.
Lagerfeld said the line was inspired by Cuba's "cultural richness".
But Havana residents could only watch from behind the security cordon lines as VIP guests arrived at the show in specially rented antique American sedans.
"It's a shame they don't let us pass," aspiring local model Reinaldo Fonseca was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
Chanel goods would cost well beyond the average Cuban wage of $25 (£17) a month, the BBC's Will Grant says. | French fashion house Chanel has staged its show in the Cuban capital Havana - the first international fashion show since the 1959 communist revolution. |
38,881,167 | Patrick Marshall, 70, of Churt, near Farnham, was found guilty of 24 counts of indecent assault against nine boys and teenagers and one count of indecency with a child.
The assaults took place between 1969 and 1981, Southwark Crown Court heard.
At the time, Marshall taught at what was Windsor Grammar School, Berkshire, before moving to St Paul's, Barnes.
The court heard the assaults took place in the defendant's car, the victims' homes and abroad.
During the trial, one witness said he "lay there quietly" while he was assaulted by the geography teacher and rowing coach at a "secluded" building used by the school.
"I just felt intense discomfort. I did not know how to stop it from happening," he said.
Marshall was convicted by a jury of seven men and five women who returned a unanimous verdict on all counts at the end of a six-week trial.
The father of three shook his head as the verdicts were read out. | A former teacher has been jailed for 17 years for sex offences committed against boys over more than a decade. |
36,728,791 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Rory McIlroy and world number one Jason Day are among the top players to pull out over the threat of the mosquito-borne disease.
Irish boxer Taylor said: "it's not even something I'm worried about".
"I'm not thinking about it, I'm focused on the competition itself and trying to come home a two-time Olympic champion."
The Zika virus has been linked to defects in newborn babies but Taylor has been critical of the golfers' withdrawals.
Last week she tweeted "I wonder what excuse they would have made if there was no virus," after Jason Day became the latest to opt out.
At the Team Ireland Olympic kit launch in Dublin on Wednesday, Taylor said: "we have been given a lot of advice on it and it's not really something that we should be too worried about".
Taylor has suffered a couple of surprising defeats this year.
She lost her world lightweight title after a semi-final defeat to Estelle Mossely of France in May, having already lost to Azerbaijan's Yana Alekseevna at the semi-finals of the European Olympic qualifiers.
However she is confident she can retain her Olympic title won in London four years ago.
"It would mean absolutely everything to me really.
"After I came back from London with a gold medal, my focus straight away was to defend it four years on.
"To stand on top of the podium in front of every other nation would be a privilege and an honour." | Defending Olympic champion Katie Taylor says she has no concerns about the Zika virus which has caused many golfers to withdraw from this year's Games in Rio. |
38,821,159 | O'Keefe, 25, has played 66 games in the Championship and 14 in the top flight with the Bluebirds and former club Crystal Palace.
However, he has been limited to 10 appearances for Cardiff this season.
"I'm delighted to get Stuart in. He'll bring energy to the team and good experience for someone still relatively young," said Dons boss Robbie Neilson.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here. | Cardiff City have loaned midfielder Stuart O'Keefe to League One side MK Dons until 1 May. |
36,324,803 | 18 May 2016 Last updated at 14:41 BST
Magnetism is the big idea behind superfast maglev trains, hovering boards for the skate-park of the future, and the Hyperloop, which in the next few years may let you travel the distance between London to Edinburgh - in less than an hour!
Leah explains how magnets are changing the future of travel... | From hovering boards to super fast passenger pods, the simple magnet is shaping the future of how we get around. |
26,818,863 | It agreed with Australia, which brought the case in May 2010, that the programme was not for scientific research as claimed by Tokyo.
Japan said it would abide by the decision but added it "regrets and is deeply disappointed by the decision".
Australia argued that the programme was commercial whaling in disguise.
The court's decision is considered legally binding.
Japan had argued that the suit brought by Australia was an attempt to impose its cultural norms on Japan.
Reading out the judgement on Monday, Presiding Judge Peter Tomka said the court had decided, by 12 votes to four, that Japan should withdraw all permits and licenses for whaling in the Antarctic and refrain from issuing any new ones.
It said Japan had caught some 3,600 minke whales since its current programme began in 2005, but the scientific output was limited.
Japan signed up to a moratorium on whaling in 1986, but continued whaling in the north and south Pacific under provisions that allowed for scientific research. Norway and Iceland rejected the provision and continued commercial whaling.
The meat from the slaughtered whales is sold commercially in Japan.
Japan has clashed repeatedly with Australia and some other Western countries, which strongly oppose whaling on conservation grounds.
Japan has argued that minke whales and a number of other species are plentiful and that its whaling activities are sustainable.
A spokesman for Greenpeace UK, Willie MacKenzie, welcomed the ICJ's decision.
"The myth that this hunt was in any way scientific can now be dismissed once and for all," he said. | The UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that the Japanese government must halt its whaling programme in the Antarctic. |
33,093,206 | Grameen in the UK, the micro-lending initiative facilitated by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), has issued more than 100 loans.
It is the first such Grameen-style scheme in Western Europe.
Grameen aims to alleviate economic, health and social inequalities in some of Scotland's poorest communities.
The original Grameen bank was founded in Bangladesh in the 1970s by Nobel Prize winner Prof Muhammad Yunus.
Grameen in the UK offers small loans, initially of £1,000, for up to 52 weeks to new start-ups and existing small businesses currently not served by any financial services.
The model has been used in developing countries to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty, and in many cases to empower women.
However in the UK, currently 60% of Grameen's borrowers are men.
The venture is backed by a number of funders including Tesco Bank.
Grameen in the UK chief executive Kevin Cadman told BBC Scotland the scheme had helped a whole variety of different businesses from hairdressers to markets stalls, from food to clothing retailers.
He said: "For one reason or another they weren't able to raise money through the normal banking system.
"Our model is based on relationship and trust. I always say it is a bit like what banking was 30 years ago. We don't credit score, we don't do background checks, we don't take security, we lend to the individual and we want to get to know the individual.
"So as the business grows, we will lend more money and we will support that individual in growing their business to generate more income for their family."
The UK scheme has now secured additional financial backing of £250,000 over next three years from the Whole Planet Foundation - part of Whole Foods Group - to fund new client loans.
The Moffat Charitable Trust has also granted £45,000 to fund the operational costs of moving services into Ayrshire.
The aim of Grameen UK is to have a chain of branches across the UK over the next few years but, more immediately, it has a target of issuing 500 loans over the next year. | A scheme which lends small amounts of money to small businesses and new start-ups has beaten its own target in its first year. |
33,343,176 | John Dennis, 43, from Redditch, Worcestershire, who raped four women over 16 years, was jailed for 10 years in April at Birmingham Crown Court.
Judges declared the term was "unduly lenient".
Lady Justice Rafferty said "this was a chronicle of cold, callous sexual degradation of four women", with the youngest a vulnerable 15-year-old.
The judge, sitting in London alongside two others, described the offending as "grave" and emphasised the need to impose a sentence to "deter others".
Dennis, who watched proceedings via videolink from prison on Wednesday, had been convicted of five counts of rape and three of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
A four-year extended period on licence imposed by the trial judge remains part of his sentence.
Solicitor General Robert Buckland asked the Court of Appeal to look at the 10-year term "under the unduly lenient sentence scheme because of the seriousness and magnitude of rapes committed over a sustained period of time".
Speaking after the ruling, he said: "John Dennis's highly predatory behaviour caused untold misery to his victims, who should be commended for finding the courage to come forward.
"I hope that the doubling of this sentence to 20 years offers some degree of comfort to them and reassures the public that offences of this kind will be treated with the utmost seriousness and the perpetrators will serve a long time in prison." | A rapist has had his jail sentence doubled to 20 years by judges at the Court of Appeal. |
35,864,203 | The chain has submitted a planning application to Ards and North Down Borough Council and is targeting an early 2018 opening date.
The planned development is in partnership with the Magherafelt-based Conway Group.
It has worked on other Premier Inn developments in Lisburn and Londonderry.
Premier Inn is the UK's biggest hotel brand with more than 700 hotels across the UK and seven in Northern Ireland.
The firm's acquisitions manager Matt Aubrey said they had been looking for a suitable site in Bangor for a number of years.
He added that the development would represent an investment of £7m.
Conway Group is also planning to build 14 apartments on part of the site at Castle Park Avenue. | Premier Inn is planning to open an 85-bedroom hotel in Bangor on the site of the town's old leisure centre. |
38,181,089 | The road was closed after the incident on the A4080 in Llanfaelog just after 10:00 GMT on Friday, and remains shut.
The man who was riding the motorbike has been taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor. No one else was injured.
Officers want to speak to the drivers or passengers or two cars which were in the area at the time as they may have information about the crash.
Check if this is affecting your journey | A motorcyclist has been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a crash on Anglesey. |
41,058,152 | They were launched from a site in the North Korean province of Gangwon and flew for about 250km (150 miles), officials in South Korea said.
Since firing an intercontinental ballistic weapon last month, Pyongyang has threatened to aim missiles at the US Pacific territory of Guam.
But this latest test did not threaten the US or Guam, the US military said.
North Korean missile tests often come in response to South Korean military exercises involving the US.
Thousands of US and South Korean troops are currently taking part in joint military drills, which are mainly largely computer-simulated exercises.
The projectiles were launched at 06:49 on Saturday (21:49 GMT Friday), South Korea's defence ministry said.
The US military initially reported that two of the missiles had failed but, according to its later assessment, one appears to have blown up almost immediately while two flew about 250km (155 miles) in a north-easterly direction.
The launches were spread over a period of 30 minutes, an official said.
The South Korean defence ministry said: "The military is keeping a tight surveillance over the North to cope with further provocations."
The two Koreas are technically still at war as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice.
Read more: | North Korea has fired three short-range ballistic missiles, the US military says. |
35,900,721 | The single sold 82,000 combined copies last week, around half of which came from the song's 4.1 million streams.
The sales put I Took a Pill in Ibiza about 11,000 copies ahead of its closest rival - 7 Years by Lukas Graham.
It's the second UK hit for 28-year-old Posner - his debut single Cooler Than Me reached number five in 2010.
Posner said: "To be number one in the UK is quite an honour.
"It's very flattering to know this many people are listening to my music and enjoying it enough to give me money for it."
Fifth Harmony, the girl group formed on X Factor USA, are at number three this week with Work From Home - a new peak for the song.
Completing the top five is Zara Larsson's Lush Life at number four, and Say You Do by Sigala feat. Imani and DJ Fresh, which has climbed 46 places.
On the album chart, Adele's third album 25 scores its 12th non-consecutive week at number one.
Manchester band James's 14th studio album Girl At The End Of The World takes the number two slot, pushing Justin Bieber's Purpose down to third place.
Jess Glynne also slips a place to number four, and Iggy Pop enters at number five with his latest album Post Pop Depression.
Other new entries on this week's album chart include British electronic group Underworld, who are new at number 10 with their first album in six years, Barbara Barbara We Face A Shining Future.
Primal Scream land at number 12 with their 11th record Chaosmosis, while former No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani enters at number 14 with her third solo album, This is What the Truth Feels Like.
The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice soundtrack, composed by Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL, debuts at number 31, as the film goes on release this weekend.
Room 94's Lost Youth enters at number 33, while 30 Goes Around The Sun by The Wonder Stuff reaches number 38.
Meanwhile, the latest Now That's What I Call Music! compilation, Now 93, has become the fastest selling album of 2016 so far, shifting 247,000 copies this week. | Mike Posner has scored a second week at number one with his dance track I Took a Pill in Ibiza. |
36,934,691 | In the latest salvo in the war of words between Sir Philip and Frank Field, the tycoon said the MP had tried to create a "false narrative".
He said he had not broken any rules and there was "no legal liability" for him to fill a £571m pension deficit.
But Sir Philip added progress was being made in addressing the black hole.
In a letter to Mr Field, the chairman of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, Sir Philip said the process and timetable for solving the issue had been set by the Pensions Regulator and was "cumbersome and slow".
He added: "If you continue to seek to usurp the Pension Regulator's role with your characteristically unfathomable statements and hurl daily abuse at us, any failure to arrive at a pensions solution will be down to you."
On Monday, a joint report from the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee suggested Sir Philip, who ran BHS between 2000 and 2015, had extracted large sums from the company and left it on "life support".
The report said his failure to resolve BHS's pension deficit was a major factor in its demise and Labour MP Mr Field has used several media interviews since then to say Sir Philip should "write a cheque".
Further comments in a radio interview prompted lawyers for Sir Philip to say Mr Field had made a "highly defamatory and completely false" statement and demand an apology.
In his letter, Sir Philip said he had tried to stay silent and focus on working towards a solution for the BHS pensioners but was "not prepared to continue to allow your abuse to go unanswered".
Sir Philip said: "Even before the parliamentary inquiry started hearing from witnesses, you turned it into little more than a kangaroo court, with your constant press campaign barracking and insulting me and my family and your announcement from day one that the predetermined result of the inquiry was that I either sign a large cheque or lose my knighthood."
He added: "Your repeated attempts to lead the public into thinking that it is simply a matter of me writing a cheque are utterly disingenuous."
BHS is in the process of closing down, after decades as a mainstay of British high streets, after what the MPs' report called the "shambolic" ownership of Dominic Chappell, who bought the retail chain from Sir Philip for £1 last year. | Former BHS owner Sir Philip Green has accused the co-chair of a parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of the firm of overseeing a "kangaroo court". |
34,862,540 | The blast happened in the basement of Celsa Steel UK on East Moors Road in Splott at 10:30 GMT on Wednesday.
Four others were injured and taken to the city's University Hospital of Wales while a fifth was treated at the scene.
A spokeswoman for Celsa said thoughts were with the dead workers's families and it was working with the police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to find out what happened.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My thoughts are with those affected by today's explosion at Celsa plant in Cardiff. We have been in touch to offer any help we can."
Eyewitnesses told BBC News of the moment the explosion happened - with some feeling the blast from half a mile away. Many saw thick black smoke billowing across the site.
Rob Edwards from the union Community said the explosion happened in an oil accumulator in the rod and bar mill.
Keith Dunn, chief executive of St John Cymru Wales, which trains first-aiders at the plant said: "I was interviewing some staff this morning and we heard a loud bang. The building and the windows shook."
Mr Dunn added: "Obviously our thoughts are with them and we will be making contact with the company to see if we can offer assistance."
Another witness, Jordan Willis, said he heard a "bang" and "felt the explosion through the floor".
Martin Davies, who works near the site, recalled hearing "one hell of a bang".
His colleague Peter Sestanovich said: "We heard a big bang and a rumble through the floor and we saw black smoke billowing over the top of buildings."
Lee Canning, director at a delivery firm on East Moors Road, added: "It sounded like a car bomb, to be honest with you."
Helen Vernon, who works at nearby Busy Bee's nursery, said: "I went outside and a PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) said there's been a big explosion. That's all they could tell me.
"We heard this really loud bang. A colleague of mine, who was in the staff room, told me the ceiling shook."
Eight appliances from South Wales Fire and Rescue attended, along with several ambulances.
The site was evacuated and the injured were treated at the scene or taken to hospital.
Two people were initially unaccounted for and a specialist police search unit was brought in.
Shortly before 17:00 GMT the bodies of two workers were discovered.
Supt Stephen Jones said: "We've informed the families and are continuing to support them at this difficult time.
"Our priority at this moment in time is to recover the victims, support their families and carry out an investigation to find out what's occurred here today."
Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the steelworkers' union Community, said: "This is absolutely tragic news and our immediate thoughts are with the families and colleagues of those who died and those who were injured.
"Lessons will need to be learnt from what happened so that this cannot happen again but for today we should be focused on supporting everybody affected."
First Minister Carwyn Jones said he was "deeply saddened" at the news and commended the work of the emergency services.
Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb said it had been a "truly devastating day" and the incident had "touched us all".
A spokeswoman for Celsa said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm that two colleagues have passed away and four have sustained minor injuries.
"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with those affected and their families, who have been informed."
She went on: "As soon as the incident occurred, we immediately implemented our emergency protocols and we are working closely with the relevant authorities to investigate the exact causes. Operations have been suspended and the fire services have confirmed that the mill is safe.
"Safety is our paramount concern at all of our facilities and the wellbeing of our colleagues is our number one priority."
Last year three workers from the plant were taken to hospital with burns.
Celsa directly employs 725 people at its Cardiff site and supports around 3,000 jobs. | Two people have been killed following an explosion at a Cardiff steelworks. |
38,104,241 | Parents often fail to apply for the meals for older pupils, says the National Association of Head Teachers.
The NAHT wants MPs to add a clause on auto-registration to a bill being debated on Monday.
Ministers said they did not believe that the proposed amendment was necessary "at this stage".
But NAHT general secretary Russell Hobby said it would ensure "more children get the support they are entitled to".
Until 2014 families had to apply for their children to have free school meals, which were open only to the most disadvantaged groups.
That year, the coalition government introduced universal free school meals for all children in reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
As all children were eligible, some low-income families stopped informing schools about their circumstances.
The knock-on effect was that once their children reached Year 3, they began to miss out, not only on free meals to which they were entitled, but on extra educational funding linked to being registered for the meals.
The Department for Education website says older children could be eligible for free school meals if their parents receive any of a range of benefits that includes:
But, according to the NAHT, some parents do not realise they need to apply for the free meals once their children reach Year 3 and the universal entitlement runs out.
Some may have poor literacy or English language skills, while others live in chaotic households and are unable to find the organisational focus to fill in the forms.
If adopted, an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill by four opposition MPs would automatically require councils to tell schools which of their pupils lived in low-income households and claimed benefits that indicated they should receive free meals.
Tony Draper, head of Water Hall Primary School in Bletchley near Milton Keynes, says registration rates for the meals there have dropped from 60% in 2014 to 28% this year.
"It's way too low for this area. This is one of the most deprived estates in the country."
Mr Draper argues that auto-registration would be a massive boost for families who are just about managing, a group the prime minister has said she wants to help.
He says some parents are too proud to admit they are on benefits.
"Auto-registration would take this issue away. It would be easy for the government to do."
The Pupil Premium, a sum of money paid to schools to enhance the education of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, also depends on pupils being registered for free school meals.
So if fewer parents apply for the meals, the school would get less Pupil Premium money and be less able to plan specialist help for children from low-income families, explained Mr Draper.
If adopted, the new clause "could deliver much-needed support and money for children and schools", said Mr Hobby.
The union says it would be an easy change and would show the government's "true commitment to social mobility".
A government spokeswoman did not comment directly on the reasons why some parents failed to register their children for free school meals but said: "The Department for Education already has a tool to enable parents to check for eligibility for free school meals, so we don't believe it's necessary for this amendment to be added to the bill at this stage." | Head teachers are urging MPs to back a plan to ensure all children from poorer homes in England are automatically registered for free school meals. |
38,079,002 | At the moment the government's debt total stands at £1.6 trillion. Not a trifling amount.
In March, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast it would rise to £1.74trn by 2021.
Many economists predict that another £100bn can be added to that because of the predicted slowdown in economic growth and weaker tax receipts.
That would take the government's net debt to £1.84trn.
On top of that comes a further £100bn that could be added to the debt figure to account for financial support for banks announced after the referendum by the Bank of England.
That extra £100bn comes after a ruling on accounting for the Bank's support by the Office for National Statistics.
That takes the debt figure to £1.94trn.
If any of those numbers are worse than expected when Philip Hammond delivers the Autumn Statement then the overall debt figure could start flirting with £2 trillion.
Which is not a very comfortable headline. | There is a reason why the Treasury knows that today's government debt figures will not make for pretty reading. |
34,590,326 | It is part of a deal between the two to explore opportunities to build visitor attractions throughout China.
It will be formally announced later on Wednesday as part of the state visit to the UK of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Merlin already has five attractions in China, with another three due to open in the next 18 months, including a Legoland Discovery Centre in Shanghai.
The existing attractions are Madame Tussauds in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing and Wuhan, as well as Chang Feng Ocean World aquarium in Shanghai.
The partnership will be considering building on existing Merlin brands such as The Dungeons, in addition to new concepts such as Dreamworks Tours - Kung Fu Panda Adventures. | Merlin Entertainments has signed an agreement with China Media Capital to establish a Legoland park in Shanghai. |
32,927,637 | Andrew Main admitted setting fires that caused major damage at South Oxfordshire District Council's office, an undertakers and a thatched cottage.
The 47-year-old, of Rokemarsh, pleaded not guilty to a further charge of arson with intent to endanger life.
The prosecution decided not to proceed to trial with the charge at Oxford Crown Court, and it will lie on file.
The estimated cost to the council of repairing damage from the fires on 15 January was about £20m, the court heard.
Sentencing, Judge Ian Pringle said: "We will never know why you picked on the targets you did, but we will always know that the consequences were utterly, utterly devastating."
At their peak, 27 crews tackled fires in Rokemarsh and Crowmarsh Gifford, which were started within 10 minutes of each other shortly after 03:00 GMT. No-one was hurt.
In the first blaze, Jean Gladstone, 80, escaped from her thatched cottage on Quakers Corner in Rokemarsh.
Minutes later, a second fire was reported at Howard Chadwick Funeral Service in the village of Crowmarsh Gifford.
The third blaze engulfed the council offices.
It was revealed in court Main had mental health issues, most likely a severe bi-polar disorder.
The court was told he intended to kill himself after setting the fires.
He told a psychiatrist he wanted to use a chainsaw to cut his neck.
Prosecutors said CCTV footage from the night showed Main had a chainsaw with him.
He set the fires using gas cylinders, which were found at all three fire sites as well as Main's home.
The burnt-out wreckage of a car that ploughed into the council building moments before it caught fire was found in the foyer.
Main was told he would be detained in the mental health unit for an unlimited period of time.
Det Insp Louise Tompkins, senior investigating officer in the case, said the hospital order reflected "how unwell Mr Main was at the time he committed the offences".
"The fires had a significant impact on the local communities in and around Crowmarsh Gifford and Rokemarsh," she added.
Adrian Foster, chief crown prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service said the motives behind Main's "reckless actions" remained "unclear".
He added: "Main was assessed by two psychiatric doctors, who both agreed that it would not be possible to make a jury sure that he was capable of forming the requisite intent.
"Therefore, the pleas were accepted by the prosecution team.
"Main was clearly seriously ill... it is incredibly fortunate that nobody was hurt."
About 400 staff worked at the offices.
The fire completely destroyed the planning department and badly affected the environmental health department and housing department.
Planning applications and comments submitted in the days before the fire were destroyed and had to be resubmitted.
The complex also housed about two-thirds of the Vale of the White Horse District Council's staff.
The funeral parlour reopened last month following £100,000 of repair work. | A man will be detained in a mental health unit after setting a series of fires across Oxfordshire. |
36,805,457 | The Cumbrians have played pre-season matches against Queen of the South, Kendal, Workington and Warrington so far, with four more games scheduled.
United have made eight new signings during the summer in a bid to improve on last season's 10th place finish.
Curle told BBC Radio Cumbria: "The starting XI is nowhere near selected."
"We've come though unscathed injury wise and the attitude of the players has been exceptional.
"There's been lots to look at and much food for thought." | Carlisle United's pre-season friendly performances have given manager Keith Curle some selection quandaries for the forthcoming League Two campaign. |
28,092,034 | Instead, we waste staggering amounts.
So says Professor Per Pinstrup-Andersen, head of an independent panel of experts advising the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization on how to tackle the problem.
Some 40% of all the food produced in the United States is never eaten. In Europe, we throw away 100 million tonnes of food every year.
And yet there are one billion starving people in the world.
The FAO's best guess is that one third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted before it is eaten.
33%
of all food is wasted
$750bn
cost of waste food
28% of farmland grows food that will be thrown away
6-10% of greenhouse gases come from waste food
39% of household food waste is fruit and vegetables
The latest report from the expert panel of the UN Committee on World Food Security concludes that food waste happens for many different reasons in different parts of the world and therefore the solutions have to be local.
Take Chris Pawelski, a fourth generation onion farmer from the US. Mr Pawelski has spent months growing onions in the rich, black soil of Orange County, New York, but the supermarkets he sells to will only accept onions of certain size and look.
"If it's too wet or too dry, the bulbs simply won't make the two-inch size that's required," he says.
"There might be imperfections and nicks. There's nothing wrong with that onion. It's fine to eat. But the consumer, according to the grocery store chain, doesn't want that sort of onion."
In the past, rejected onions would have been sent to rot in a landfill. Now Mr Pawelski works with a local food charity, City Harvest, to redistribute his edible but imperfect-looking onions.
City Harvest says in 2014 it will rescue 46 million pounds - about 21 million kilograms - of food from local farmers, restaurants, grocers and manufacturers for redistribution to urban food programmes.
In rich countries, supermarkets, consumers and the catering industry are responsible for most wasted food. But supermarkets have come under particular pressure to act.
UK supermarket chain Waitrose is attacking food waste in all parts of its business. The upmarket grocery chain cuts prices in order to sell goods that are close to their "sell by" date, donates leftovers to charity and sends other food waste to bio-plants for electricity generation. The idea is for Waitrose to earn "zero landfill" status.
But then there are consumers like Tara Sherbrooke. A busy, working mother of two young children, she works hard to avoid wasting food but still finds herself throwing some of it away.
"I probably waste about £20 worth of food every week," she says. "It's usually half-eaten packets of food that have gone past their 'best before' date."
In the UK, studies have shown that households throw away about seven million tonnes of food a year, when more than half of it is perfectly good to eat.
Part of the problem is poor shopping habits, but the confusion many consumers have with "use by" and "best before" food labels is also a factor. "Use by" refers to food that becomes unsafe to eat after the date, while "best before" is less stringent and refers more to deteriorating quality.
Plus, as Prof Pinstrup-Andersen points out, food in wealthy countries takes up only a relatively small proportion of income and so people can afford to throw food away.
In developing countries, the problem is one not of wealth but of poverty.
In India's soaring temperatures fruit and vegetables do not stay fresh on the market stall for long. Delhi has Asia's largest produce market and it does have a cold storage facility.
But it is not big enough and rotting food is left out in piles. There is not enough investment in better farming techniques, transportation and storage. It means lost income for small farmers and higher prices for poor consumers.
In terms of calories, farmers harvest the equivalent of 4,600 calories of food per person per day. But on average only 2,000 of those calories are actually eaten every day - meaning more than half the calories we produce are lost on their way from farm to dinner fork.
There is enough food for everyone, just a lot of inefficiency, the FAO report concludes.
The environmental impact of all this wasted food is enormous. The amount of land needed to grow all the food wasted in the world each year would be the size of Mexico.
The water used to irrigate wasted crops would be enough for the daily needs of nine million people. And wasted production contributes 10% to the greenhouse gas emissions of developed countries.
Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn, New York, is one project trying to reverse that environmental damage. The plant takes food scraps from local schools and restaurants and converts them into energy. Inside towering, silver eggs food waste is mixed with sewage sludge to create usable gas.
The pilot programme is particularly timely. New York City's restaurants will be required to stop sending food waste to landfills in 2015 and will have to turn to operations like these as alternatives.
So progress is being made. Waste food is high on the agenda politically and environmentally.
But there is still much more work to be done. As Prof Pinstrup-Andersen admits: "We don't really know how much food is being wasted. We just know it's a lot." | "If food was as expensive as a Ferrari, we would polish it and look after it." |
39,526,196 | The Lionesses led when Ellen White glanced in Isobel Christiansen's cross inside five minutes.
As Christiansen hit the bar after the break, right-back Lucy Bronze followed in the rebound to double the lead.
Captain Steph Houghton then rose highest from a late corner, her header grazing Christiansen before it bounced into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
Victory was England's second from seven games in 2017 and their first on home soil since a 5-0 win over Estonia in September.
Austria - ranked 24th in the Fifa world rankings, 20 places below England - proved hard for the Lionesses to break down in the first half, but failed to significantly test home keeper Siobhan Chamberlain's reflexes.
England - who missed numerous chances to win during Friday's 1-1 draw with Italy - immediately showed greater composure in front of goal as White lost her marker to turn Christiansen's excellent delivery into the far corner.
They then found themselves up against an Austria keeper in inspired form, as Manuela Zinsberger denied Toni Duggan from close range after the break, having produced a solid low save to prevent a deflection off Nadine Prohaska creeping in for an own goal on 31 minutes.
Bayern Munich keeper Zinsberger also pulled off a superb double save from Christiansen inside the six-yard box, as England's defence were rarely called into action at the other end.
After the introduction of Chelsea forward Karen Carney for her 127th cap, England soon doubled their lead - Bronze darting forward to intercept an Austrian clearance and supply her Manchester City team-mate Christiansen, whose shot hit the bar but fell to Bronze to burst in to beat Zinsberger.
Houghton and Christiansen combined to add a third goal that accurately reflected the Lionesses' dominance in the second half.
With eight of the side that started against Italy once again lining up on Monday, Mark Sampson's preferred XI for the opening game against Scotland at the Euros in July is starting to take shape.
After two solid displays at left-back, Manchester City's Demi Stokes looks now set to remain as the first-choice number three in a back four that includes her City team-mates Houghton and Bronze.
Another energetic performance from midfield should help Jordan Nobbs' cause to be a certain starter in the Netherlands, while fellow midfielder Jade Moore rarely put a foot wrong in a solid, albeit quiet, display.
Christiansen - playing wide on the left in contrast to her usual central role for her club - was busy and involved in all of the home side's goals.
Up front, Birmingham City striker White - returning to the side after missing Friday's game with a slight knock - took her chance to impress Sampson by converting her early opportunity.
Resolute in defence as ever and strong going forward down the right flank, Bronze deserved her fifth goal for England.
Continuing to make a case for being the best right-back in the world, Bronze's class shone again in a performance that was typical of a Champions League semi-finalist. She will remain one of the first names on Sampson's teamsheet.
England boss Mark Sampson: "Austria's physicality and tactical nous caused us some problems in the first half but without ever threatening our goalkeeper.
"Our performance in the second half was excellent, from one to 11. There was really good balance to our game.
"We were hurt a little bit by our recent record. We felt hard-done by in terms of results.
"It was big to win. It was important. We needed that. We were under a bit of pressure after one win in six. If we want to be the best team in the world, we need to start winning matches consistently."
England's players will now return to their clubs for the Women's Super League One Spring Series, from 22 April to 3 June, before regrouping again to prepare for this summer's tournament.
Sampson's side will travel to Biel to face Switzerland on 10 June in another friendly and will also play one more away fixture prior to travelling to the Netherlands, with the opponents still to be confirmed.
After a training camp, the Lionesses then face Scotland in their opening game in Group D on 19 July.
Match ends, England 3, Austria Women 0.
Second Half ends, England 3, Austria Women 0.
Delay in match Sarah Zadrazil (Austria Women) because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Substitution, Austria Women. Viktoria Pinther replaces Nicole Billa.
Substitution, England. Jill Scott replaces Isobel Christiansen.
Goal! England 3, Austria Women 0. Isobel Christiansen (England) header from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Stephanie Houghton following a corner.
Attempt missed. Stephanie Houghton (England) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Jordan Nobbs with a cross following a corner.
Corner, England. Conceded by Viktoria Schnaderbeck.
Jordan Nobbs (England) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Nicole Billa (Austria Women).
Substitution, Austria Women. Barbara Dunst replaces Verena Aschauer.
Corner, Austria Women. Conceded by Jordan Nobbs.
Jade Moore (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nicole Billa (Austria Women).
Substitution, England. Jodie Taylor replaces Ellen White.
Substitution, Austria Women. Katharina Naschenweng replaces Lisa Makas.
Corner, England. Conceded by Manuela Zinsberger.
Attempt saved. Ellen White (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Karen Carney.
Foul by Jade Moore (England).
Sarah Puntigam (Austria Women) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal! England 2, Austria Women 0. Lucy Bronze (England) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner.
Isobel Christiansen (England) hits the bar with a left footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Lucy Bronze.
Attempt missed. Millie Bright (England) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Attempt missed. Nina Burger (Austria Women) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Verena Aschauer with a cross.
Substitution, England. Karen Carney replaces Toni Duggan.
Substitution, Austria Women. Laura Feiersinger replaces Nadine Prohaska.
Corner, Austria Women. Conceded by Lucy Bronze.
Ellen White (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sarah Zadrazil (Austria Women).
Attempt missed. Jordan Nobbs (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Isobel Christiansen.
Attempt saved. Isobel Christiansen (England) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt saved. Isobel Christiansen (England) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jordan Nobbs with a cross.
Corner, England. Conceded by Manuela Zinsberger.
Attempt saved. Toni Duggan (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jade Moore with a through ball.
Demi Stokes (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sarah Puntigam (Austria Women).
Second Half begins England 1, Austria Women 0.
First Half ends, England 1, Austria Women 0.
Offside, England. Ellen White tries a through ball, but Toni Duggan is caught offside. | England eased to a dominant victory over Austria at Stadium MK in their final home game before Euro 2017. |
34,936,174 | The 33-year-old made his Ulster debut in 2004 and has scored 16 tries in 172 games for the Kingspan Stadium side.
"I am very happy to remain with Ulster - I'm privileged to captain this talented group of players," said Best, who has won 89 international caps.
"Our challenge now is to deliver on the promise we have shown and reward our fans with strong performances."
Best made his international debut against New Zealand in November 2005 and is Ireland's most-capped hooker.
He started every game of Ireland's successful 2014 and 2015 Six Nations campaigns and played at this year's Rugby World Cup.
"I have worked closely with Rory for a number of years in the national set-up and the quality he delivers so consistently reflects his character and his talent," said Les Kiss, Ulster director of rugby.
"His leadership, tenacity and drive are incredibly important to what we are looking to achieve at Ulster Rugby." | Ireland hooker Rory Best has signed a new two-year IRFU contract which will keep him at Ulster until June 2018. |
25,845,136 | Athletes compete in cross-country skiing and periodically shoot targets. They receive time-penalties, dependent on their shooting accuracy.
The 33-year-old from Stockton-on-Tees joined the British Army in 1999, and took up biathlon 18 months later thanks to
He then made his Olympic debut at the Vancouver Games four years ago.
"It's a different feeling because there isn't the same excitement as in 2010. But I'm more experienced, and probably more focused as a result," he said.
Unless a sponsor provides £50k, biathlon is over in Britain
Jackson finished outside 50th position in his three biathlon disciplines at his debut Olympics.
Since then, he has secured a top-20 placing in three world cup relay events, and an individual high of 49th.
As in Vancouver, at Sochi he will compete in the 20-kilometre race and 10-kilometre sprint.
A top-60 finish in the sprint would also secure a spot in the 12.5-kilometre 'pursuit' event.
"I've had a long, four-year cycle to build and now I feel better ready to cope with the pressures of such a big event," he explained.
"My preparation's been good and I feel I'm in the best physical shape I've ever been in."
After once being incorrectly entered as Lee-Steve Jackson, he is now often in results under that name. Some biathletes now call him 'Stevo'.
Sochi could be the last Winter Olympics in which Team GB has any biathletes as after the 2014 season the event's funding runs out.
Currently, the Army helps fund the British Biathlon Union but it has now withdrawn that support.
"Obviously I'm just concentrating on Sochi and this season, whilst being optimistic about the future," added Jackson.
"But the reality is, unless a sponsor steps in with £50k, we won't be able to continue with the sport in Britain." | Biathlete Lee Jackson does not feel the same anticipation for Sochi 2014 that he did for his first Winter Olympics. |
38,478,499 | The 23-year-old free agent had been with Northern Premier League Premier Division side Warrington Town since a brief early season stay at League Two side Accrington Stanley.
He left Scottish Championship side Raith Rovers to move to Accrington.
The ex-Ipswich trainee had two seasons at Raith, making 87 appearances.
He also played north of the border for both Kilmarnock and Cowdenbeath.
McKeown, who can play as a full-back, wing-back or winger, will be available for the New Year`s Day home fixture against Wrexham, who beat the Sandgrounders 1-0 on Boxing Day.
Steve Burr's Southport, who are 21st in the National League, hope to make a further loan signing in time for the return game with fellow strugglers Wrexham.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Southport have signed former Northern Ireland Under-21 utility player Rory McKeown to aid their battle to escape relegation from the National League. |
38,612,021 | Scott Coupland was found guilty by a jury after a four day trial at Perth Sheriff Court.
Coupland, 48, of Crieff, made two false VAT repayment claims between March 2011 and November 2012.
He claimed his computer had crashed and he had lost vital information which meant his VAT returns ended up being for the wrong amounts.
But the jury found him guilty on two charges of being "knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of Value Added Tax".
Coupland was found guilty of submitting false repayment claims for £124,172 between 1 March 2011 and 6 June 2012.
He was also found guilty of submitting a false claim for £37,056 between 1 June and 30 November 2012.
A trial heard that Coupland, sole director of WDR Coupland (Produce) Ltd, aroused suspicion because of the large sums he claimed to have made in net value sales.
HMRC compliance officer Chrystal Symons told the court that she became suspicious about the company when Coupland claimed to have sold over £2m worth of potatoes in two months.
She told the trial: "You would need to have a large company to be doing that amount of business."
A raid on Coupland's home and business was carried out to search for the company's records, but he repeatedly avoided meeting investigators.
The court was told that Coupland had cancelled a number of interviews at the last minute as the investigation was carried out.
Coupland told that court that on one occasion he was unable to meet the tax inspectors because he had been stranded on a business trip to sell seed potatoes in Nigeria.
Sheriff William Wood deferred sentence for the preparation of reports. | A Perthshire potato merchant has been found guilty of committing a £161,000 tax evasion. |
35,804,117 | Courtney Finn, who chairs Grantham Civic Society, said they featured an unrelated family from the town with the same surname.
He said it may be that whoever sent them believed he was related.
The collection includes correspondence sent from Gallipoli and records of family holidays.
Mr Finn said: "We think someone was clearing out their loft, found these photos and very kindly posted them to us in Grantham."
He said the postcards and photographs are dated between 1905-1932, and feature George and Alice Finn, who lived at 91 Stamford Street, Grantham, and are buried locally.
However, he said: "It's a real mystery why someone sent them to us."
"I've even been and knocked on the door in Stamford Street to see if anyone remembers them, but it's all too long ago," he said.
One postcard sent from a friend or relative serving in Gallipoli said: "Took over three weeks to get here and rather hot too."
Another said: "Keep a loaf of bread - meet us at the train station."
Mr Finn said: "They are a magical reminder of all those years ago."
The historian said the parcel was postmarked Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, and cost £6 to send.
He added that someone had gone to a lot of trouble and is urging them to get in touch. | A historian is appealing for help to solve the mystery of a 100-year-old collection of postcards and photographs sent to him anonymously. |
38,981,623 | Alastair Hamilton made his comments in an article for the Huffington Post which was published in the US last week.
He wrote: "Clearly Brexit will pose challenges for all of UK and Europe, but it is high time people's opinion of Northern Ireland was based on facts and not fiction."
Mr Hamilton stated Northern Ireland is "thriving" and June's referendum has not "stopped the flow" of foreign direct investment.
However he conceded: "We acknowledge what happens in the coming months and years remains to be seen." | The head of Invest NI has hit back at "pundits pedalling an image of a Northern Ireland on the brink of economic calamity." |
33,615,304 | Mr Hogg wants to see users of the class B drug in County Durham and Darlington entered onto a course to deal with their habit rather than being arrested.
The Checkpoint programme aims to stop reoffending by diverting addicts away from their habit.
A spokesman for Addiction UK said it sent a message that "drugs are OK".
Those who are caught with cannabis will swap a conviction for a Checkpoint contract where users will work with Durham Constabulary to tackle their drug habit.
Mr Hogg said: "Traditionally what would have happened is people would have been arrested for using cannabis, sometimes imprisoned and it just maintained a cycle of reoffending in and out of prison.
"We want to try and break that cycle whilst also having a sensible debate around cannabis.
"If they fail to engage then we will prosecute."
Simon Stephens, director of casework for Addiction UK, said: "Essentially, I'm coming at this from a health perspective - I think that his comments aren't particularly helpful.
"It does send a message that drugs are OK - there can be no doubt that there a significant amount of people with mental health problems brought on by cannabis."
Mr Hogg said going looking for somebody smoking drugs was not a "key priority" for the force.
He said: "If communities complain about people using cannabis, we will deal with that, we will deal with that proactively."
He added that he did not see it as a "step towards decriminalisation" of the drug - that was a national debate which he would "abdicate". | Durham's police and crime commissioner Ron Hogg is offering cannabis users the chance to avoid prosecution in a bid to stop a "cycle of reoffending". |
16,466,522 | Col Mikolaj Przybyl was defending a military investigation into media leaks related to the air crash that killed the Polish president in 2010.
He asked reporters to leave so that he could take "a break".
Upon hearing a loud thud, the reporters returned to find him on the floor with a pool of blood around his head.
Mr Przybyl, who was in his office in Poznan, western Poland, is now in hospital in stable condition. His life is not in danger, according to hospital officials.
One of the reporters present told Polish television: "We heard a loud thud and we went back into the room thinking one of the cameras had fallen over. Then we saw the prosecutor motionless on the ground in a pool of blood, his military gun beside him."
In television pictures of the news conference, Col Przybyl is seen reading out a statement to reporters: "During my entire service as a civilian and later military prosecutor, I have never brought shame to the Republic of Poland and I will protect the honour of an officer of the Polish armed forces and prosecution. Thank you, please give me a five-minute break, I need to rest."
He then walks out of shot and the sound of a gun being cocked can be heard followed by a loud bang.
At the news conference, Mr Przybyl had denied prosecutors in Poznan, western Poland, had eavesdropped on journalists who were investigating the crash, AFP news agency reports.
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski has said in a statement he was "concerned" about the incident and had asked the head of the national security bureau to monitor the situation.
The plane taking then President Lech Kaczynski's delegation to a memorial service for the victims of the 1940 Katyn massacre of Polish officers by Soviet secret police crashed in thick fog in Smolensk, western Russia, on 10 April 2010.
As well as MR Kaczynski, his wife and 94 senior officials also died when the jet tried to land.
Investigators blamed pilot error. | A Polish military prosecutor has shot himself in the head after cutting short a news conference in his office, officials and media reports say. |
35,437,001 | The woman, who escaped from the hotel, was found at her home, BFMTV reported.
In a separate incident, police also arrested a 15-year-old high school student who brandished replica guns in a shopping mall in a Paris suburb.
France remains in a state of emergency declared in November after the deadly attacks by jihadist militants in Paris.
So-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out the co-ordinated assaults that left 130 people dead.
The 28-year-old man arrested at the Disneyland Paris hotel was also carrying a box of ammunition and a copy of the Koran in French, BFMTV reported quoting an investigation source.
But he was not known to security sources and a police source told AFP that a preliminary investigation did not point to terrorism.
The man had said he was carrying the weapons because he feared for his safety, according to the source.
The boy arrested at the mall had threatened shoppers with replica guns in Boulogne-Billancourt, a western suburb, on Thursday evening.
He was carrying a replica assault rifle and a replica automatic pistol, Boulogne Police Commissioner Alain Veron said.
BFMTV quoted a police source as saying the boy had been seeking attention.
President Francois Hollande is seeking to extend France's state of emergency for another three months, despite opposition from human rights groups.
Earlier this week, EU policing agency Europol warned that IS was planning further attacks, with France and so-called "soft" targets at particular risk.
Sources: Disneyland Paris, European Commission, Global Attractions Attendance Report | French police have arrested the girlfriend of a man who was detained with two guns at a Disneyland Paris hotel on Thursday, local media report. |
37,451,970 | The musician has composed the score for the BBC National Orchestra performance narrated by Ifans.
"Rhys and Meinir" recalls the story of two lovers and tragedy that strikes as they prepare to marry, with poetry by Gruffudd Antur.
It gets its premiere in November at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff.
It has taken Ciaran nearly 20 years to compose the piece while working on the road or in the studio with his band, which returned in 2015 after a hiatus.
With Ifans recording the Welsh-language narration, he is reunited with Ciaran - The star of blockbusters like The Amazing Spider-Man was the one-time frontman for the fledgling Super Furry Animals.
The performance also brings the conductor Alastair King into the fold, who has credits for Pirates of the Caribbean and Doctor Who.
"The story of Rhys and Meinir was told to me as a young boy, by my father in the village of Nant Gwrtheyrn, where it is set, so has deep resonance with me," said Ciaran.
"That Rhys Ifans and Alastair King have joined me and BBC National Orchestra of Wales to tell the story will do the story added justice."
Nant Gwrtheyrn is more well known today as being home to the National Welsh Language and Heritage Centre, close to the village of Llithfaen and under the shadow of Yr Eifl mountains on the edge of the Llyn Peninsula in Gwynedd.
It is also home to the legend of Rhys and Meinir.
According to the story, Meinir went to hide on the morning of her wedding as part of a local tradition in the Snowdonia area.
However, despite frantic efforts by the groom to find her, she had disappeared.
Rhys slowly lost his mind in grief, when one day he stopped by a tree as it was hit by lightning.
Inside the tree trunk stood the skeleton of Meinir still in her wedding dress. Rhys collapsed and died as he made the grim discovery.
"It's a double tragedy and there can be no happy ending, but it's a part of Welsh storytelling and culture, a language and identity, which in turn continues to add to the rich diversity of the world around us," said Ciaran.
Ifans added: "The story is shocking, a real heartbreaker, but there's beauty in the prose and wonder in the music."
Michael Garvey, director of BBC National Orchestra of Wales said: "This piece is quintessentially Welsh - a wonderful combination of music, folklore and poetry and as Wales' national orchestra, we're excited to be performing the world premiere."
The piece will be premiered on 4 November in Cardiff and broadcast live on BBC Radio Cymru, before touring to Bangor University's Pontio centre in Ciaran's home city on 19 November. | Hollywood star Rhys Ifans is joining forces with Cian Ciaran from the band Super Furry Animals to retell a Welsh folk tale. |
34,808,335 | Nick Webb said a mayor serving Cardiff and Newport and another for the Swansea Bay area would be more effective than their local councils.
He said elected mayors in England were controversial, but allowed voters to "kick out those who fail to deliver".
Writing for the Institute of Welsh Affairs, he said the mayoral regions could expand if they proved successful.
The UK government is encouraging cities to bid for powers and funding for big economic projects under schemes such as city deals and the Northern Powerhouse.
Ten local councils in south east Wales are backing a bid for a £1bn-plus "city deal" centred on Cardiff.
Further west, four councils and local business leaders have joined forces to seek investment as a Swansea Bay city region.
But Mr Webb argued that while English city regions were set to be run by "powerful independent-thinking people", Welsh city regions were "poorly defined" quangos led by appointed chairmen.
"If the elected Mayors of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle are sitting around the table in Davos talking to international financiers, it is hard to see that a Welsh Government-appointed City Region Chair - or a combination of local authority leaders - would hold the same powerful mandate when pitching their case," he said.
Mr Webb, who stood for the Conservatives in Newport West at the general election and previously for Gwent police and crime commissioner, said neighbouring councils should be allowed to join the region served by an elected mayor if they saw benefits from it.
In March, a study about the impact of Bristol's elected mayor George Ferguson reported "a dramatic increase in the visibility of city leadership" but mixed views on whether the post had improved governance. | Elected mayors could give Welsh cities "more clout" and make them more accountable, a Welsh Tory has said. |
39,994,497 | Media playback is not supported on this device
But the final day of the 2016-17 Premier League season offered up much stranger goings-on on the pitch - involving snorkels, stray birds and debuts for millennials.
Stoke fan Tyrone Sidley, aka @stokemadsidders on Twitter, messaged striker Peter Crouch and offered to wear Speedos for the game at Southampton if, in return, he could have Crouch's match shirt.
The England international bartered with him, and said he had to wear the swimwear - and nothing else - for the trip to the south coast. Team-mate Charlie Adam then chimed in with a suggestion of a snorkel and flippers, too.
Challenge accepted.
Crouch scored the only goal of the match in Stoke's win over Saints and at the final whistle he found Tyrone in the crowd, complete with tiny shorts and snorkel, gave him a big kiss on the head and handed over the match-winning shirt.
Crouch tweeted later on: "Great way to end the season with a win and celebrating with the legend that is @stokemadsidders."
Watford announced earlier this week that Walter Mazzarri would take charge of his final game as manager on Sunday - after only one season at the club.
And he decided to go out with a bang, by naming three goalkeepers in his squad to face Manchester City.
Rene Gilmartin and Costel Pantilimon were named on the bench but neither was called on as first-choice Heurelho Gomes shipped five goals against Pep Guardiola's side.
There were more weird events to come at Vicarage Road.
An unruly bird made its way on to the pitch and interfered with play early in the second half.
Watford's own Dr Doolittle, M'Baye Niang, came to the rescue and picked the little fella up and handed it over to the fourth official so the game could restart.
Some very cynical fans suggested it was the Hornets' best moment of their 5-0 defeat.
You wait four weeks for one Ayew to score and then two pop up in the same minute.
Jordan Ayew turned home an equaliser for Swansea against West Brom in the 72nd minute and seconds later his brother Andre headed West Ham ahead against Burnley.
Spooky.
Jose Mourinho named Manchester United's youngest ever starting XI in the Premier League on Sunday against Crystal Palace - and two of them reached top-flight landmarks.
Josh Harrop, a 21-year-old forward, became the 100th player to score a Premier League goal for the Red Devils. He netted a superb solo effort as his side won 2-0.
Later on, Angel Gomes was brought on as a substitute and the 16-year-old became the the first player born in 2000 to play in the Premier League.
He wasn't even alive when United won their famous Treble. Now we feel old. | Tottenham scored seven, John Terry stopped play and Arsenal missed out on Champions League qualification for the first time in 20 years. |
39,256,584 | She was only 21 at the time, but the event helped to inspire the fledgling scientist to crack how the brain is repaired.
The discovery reported today could potentially help millions of people with multiple sclerosis who have a rogue immune system attacking part of the brain.
Dr Fitzgerald's paralysis was caused by a similar condition to multiple sclerosis called transverse myelitis.
Her spinal cord had been stripped of a fatty substance called myelin - a protective coating that allows electrical signals to travel down nerves.
It serves the same function as insulation on an electrical cable. Without myelin, her brain could no longer control her body.
The key difference between the two conditions is transverse myelitis is a one-off event, while multiple sclerosis is a life-long assault on myelin.
Dr Fitzgerald's myelin slowly regenerated and was growing at about the same pace as the hair on your head.
"I asked the doctor 'can you speed this up?' and they said 'not until some bright spark like you comes up with something'."
She was, eventually, able to make a "95% recovery" and even taught herself to walk again.
She told the BBC: "It shows how much regenerative capacity we have and on my mind was the repair process.
"It was efficient and effective and that led me on to research on MS."
In multiple sclerosis, the immune system mistakes myelin for a hostile invader and launches an assault.
It can either just get worse, known as primary progressive MS, or come in waves of disease and recovery, known as relapsing remitting MS.
"The reason people have relapsing-remitting is because that natural repair process kicks in," Dr Fitzgerald told the BBC.
She is one part of a large research group made up of neuroscientists, immunologists and stem cell scientists that has cracked how the myelin is regenerated.
They hope harnessing this process could lead to new therapies.
Their series of mouse experiments, published in Nature Neuroscience, has unpicked how the body restores myelin (it is the same sequence of events that ultimately restored Dr Fitzgerald's movement).
It starts with a type of white blood cell (called a T-regulatory cell) that is attracted to the damaged myelin in the brain.
Once there it begins to co-ordinate the recovery like a foreman at a construction site.
But rather than bark verbal instructions, the white blood cells do it chemically by using a protein with the technical name of CCN3.
The protein then jolts nearby stem cells into activity.
Stem cells have the rare ability to morph into other cell types and CCN3 tells them to become myelin-manufacturing cells.
Dr Fitzgerald said: "From my perspective it is a fundamental step forward in the biology of repair.
"Our goal is to eventually use this knowledge to develop drugs to drive the repair of myelin and potentially this could lead to patients regaining function.
"I love my career, but I'd happily be unemployed if we cure multiple sclerosis."
It is still early days and the next stage of the research will be to perform experiments using human rather than mouse tissues.
"If only I had saved my T-cells from back then, when I was on the hospital bed I should have been saying 'save some of that blood for me'," she said while musing on a missed opportunity for an experiment.
But even with treatments still on the horizon, the findings ask interesting questions about multiple sclerosis itself.
Why does the repair process get worse with time? Does the disease become more severe and the repair process cannot keep up? Or does age make the repair less efficient?
These will also be considered in the next stage of the research.
Fellow researcher Dr Yvonne Dombrowski added: "This knowledge is essential to designing future treatments that tackle neurological diseases, such as MS, in a new way - repairing damage rather than only reducing attacks.
"In the future, combining these approaches will deliver better outcomes for patients."
Dr Sorrel Bickley, the head of biomedical research at the MS Society, said: "This exciting study gives us an important understanding of how myelin repair can be promoted, which could open up new areas for treatment development."
Follow James on Twitter. | "I had a dead leg one Sunday morning and it progressed to full paralysis within two hours," says Dr Denise Fitzgerald, from Queen's University Belfast. |
37,184,103 | Monmouth MP David Davies has backed the idea provided "benefits and council houses" are stopped for EU migrants.
Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies has also said free movement would be acceptable with an overall cap.
Lord Hain said it showed that Brexit campaigners "sold Leave voters a pup".
"They were not straight with them. Every person I bumped into on the street believed that Vote Leave would reduce or stop immigration, and Leave campaigners encouraged that belief. It was central to their success," he said.
"This is frankly shameless and shameful to renege on the promises that were made."
Earlier David Davies said the concept of a system continuing "some sort of freedom of movement" between the UK and the EU was "probably right" if "benefits and council houses" were stopped for EU migrants after Brexit
The Vote Leave campaign had called for voters to "take back control" of borders, backing an "Australian-style" points-based immigration system.
A majority of Welsh voters - as across the UK - backed Brexit in June's referendum, with much of the debate focused on immigration and the EU's system of freedom of movement.
Currently, EU citizens are able to live and work across the 28-member bloc.
Since Leave's success in the poll the nature of the UK's future relationship with the European Union after Brexit, and how immigration would work with remaining EU states, has been subject to debate.
"We can't do anything about immigration from within the EU until we leave," the Conservative MP told the BBC's Good Morning Wales radio programme on Thursday.
"Even then I think we are probably going to ensure some sort of freedom of movement for countries already in the EU, and I think that's probably right actually.
But he added: "I do think we should stop providing benefits and council houses to people who are in the EU.
"I think anyone who comes over here should be expected to work, and it should be clear that they have a responsibility to find that work themselves.
"I think it's wrong we give people from other EU countries the same rights to benefits as someone born and brought up in Britain."
During the referendum campaign David Davies took part in a BBC Wales debate where he said he was fed up of criticism for raising the issue of immigration.
He claimed that because of EU membership, there was "uncontrolled migration of mainly young men" who were coming to the UK "from a variety of countries looking for a better way of life". | The head of Labour's Welsh campaign to stay in the EU, Lord Hain, has called two prominent leave campaigners shameless for supporting some freedom of movement between the UK and the EU. |
19,916,749 | They include Seamus Finucane, a Sinn Fein member and brother of the murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.
The BBC had challenged the ban.
The BBC cannot reveal full details of the charges in the case - but can reveal the names of those involved after reporting restrictions were lifted.
Mr Finucane, 55, is a member of Sinn Fein and a community worker in west Belfast.
The others include 53-year-old Padraic Wilson, who was the leader of the IRA in the Maze prison in the late 1990s and is currently Sinn Fein's director of international affairs.
Both men are facing charges of IRA membership and arranging, addressing or assisting in the management of an IRA meeting.
Another man, 48-year-old Martin Edward Morris, with an address in London, is also charged with membership of the IRA.
Two Belfast women are also facing charges.
Agnes McCrory, 72, from Dermot Hill Road, and 55-year-old Briege Wright from Glassmullin Gardens, are accused of membership of the IRA, and arranging, addressing or assisting in the management of an IRA meeting.
The two women and Mr Finucane are also charged accused of unlawfully forcing a person who cannot be identified to co-operate with an IRA investigation.
Lifting the restrictions, district judge Fiona Bagnall agreed with the BBC's argument that open justice was a cornerstone of the criminal judicial system. | A judge has lifted a ban on naming five people facing charges of membership of the IRA and other offences from more than a decade ago. |
23,442,266 | Angela Hamilton is alleged to have disfigured Riggi for life by cutting her face with the blade.
She allegedly pulled the child killer's hair and repeatedly struck her face and head with the razor.
The alleged attack took place in Riggi's cell, at Cornton Vale Prison, near Stirling, on 19 November 2011.
Riggi, 49, originally from California, United States, who is serving 16 years at the prison, after admitting to stabbing her three young children at their home in west Edinburgh, had to be taken to hospital after the attack.
Hamilton, 40, denied the charge against her and is set to stand trial by jury at Falkirk Sheriff Court next week.
Theresa Riggi killed her three children, eight-year-old twins Austin and Luke, and their sister Cecilia, five, in August 2010, stabbing each of them eight times.
She then allegedly tried to cover up their deaths with a gas explosion, before trying to kill herself by leaping out of their second-floor flat
She had moved to Edinburgh with her children from Skene, Aberdeenshire, following the break-up of her marriage to the children's father, Pasquale Riggi.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Riggi had been a protective mother who was involved in a custody battle with her estranged husband over access to the children.
Riggi was originally charged with murder but later admitted culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Lord Bracadale described the killings as "truly disturbing" and "grotesque".
Another inmate in Cornton Vale, a 22-year-old woman, was charged with assaulting Riggi last October by allegedly throwing her down a flight of stairs, but the case was dropped in June when the Crown Office said there was insufficient evidence. | A woman is to stand trial accused of slashing child-killer Theresa Riggi with a razor blade in Scotland's only all-female prison. |
29,496,032 | Police say they believe Kieran McGrath, 26, drove himself to Ashton-under-Lyne police station on Manchester Road after being shot in a "targeted attack".
Paramedics tried to revive him but he was pronounced dead at the scene at about on 22:25 BST on Saturday.
Officers believe Mr McGrath was shot after leaving the nearby Sheldon Arms pub a few minutes earlier. Detectives have launched a murder investigation.
Det Ch Supt Russ Jackson said: "We are very much in the early stages of the investigation, however, with what we know now, it does seem pretty clear to have been a targeted attack."
He said: "Almost immediately after leaving the pub we believe several shots were fired in his direction and we believe at least one hit him.
"Kieran, despite his injuries, managed to drive himself to the police station on Manchester Road where he was found collapsed on the floor by police officers.
"We don't know how long the attacker or attackers were there or how they got away - it may have been in a car or on a motorbike."
Mr Jackson added: "We are keeping a really open mind as to why this happened but we also have to bear in mind that Kieran has had fallouts with people over the past year.
"We really need to understand the full details of these so that we can understand any potential motive."
He urged anyone with information to get in touch with police. | A man has been found shot dead outside a police station in Greater Manchester. |
36,551,970 | The 28-year-old was offered a new deal at Argyle but will now join Rovers on 1 July once his current contract expires.
The former Sunderland trainee, who has previously spent four years with Hartlepool, made 80 league starts for Plymouth after arriving in June 2014.
Hartley becomes Darrell Clarke's first new signing of the summer since winning promotion to League One on the final day of last season.
On Wednesday, Rovers' central defender Tom Parkes signed for League Two Leyton Orient on a two-year deal.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Bristol Rovers have signed Plymouth Argyle central defender Peter Hartley. |
38,663,693 | A vehicle packed with explosives detonated at a camp housing soldiers and members of rival armed groups in the region's main city, Gao.
Mali's northern desert region has been restive since it was captured by militant Islamists in late 2012.
Despite French military intervention in 2013, the region remains tense.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said the suicide bombing was meant to punish rebel groups co-operating with France, according to a statement obtained by the SITE Intelligence Group.
AQIM said a group called al-Mourabitoun was responsible and named the bomber it said carried out the attack. Malian media had earlier suggested several bombers took part.
The victims were involved in conducting patrols in this highly volatile area under a deal backed by the UN in a bid to stop the violence there.
The accord between the government and rebel groups was signed in June 2015.
Al-Mourabitoun also said it was behind the hostage-taking at the Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako, in November 2015, and a deadly raid on the Splendid Hotel in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, in January 2016.
It is not the first time the military in Mali has been targeted by a deadly attack.
In July last year, about 17 soldiers were killed and 30 others wounded in an attack on a military base in the central town of Nampala.
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has declared three days of national mourning in a tweet following the latest attack.
The fight against extremist groups is one of the major challenges of Mr Keita's government.
But a new report by Human Rights Watch says the Malian government is not doing enough to protect civilians from the militants.
Wednesday's attack shows that even soldiers aren't safe, says the BBC World Service Africa editor James Copnall.
"If the security situation continues to deteriorate, then soon there won't be any peace to keep in Mali," UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the UN Security Council. | Al-Qaeda's North African affiliate says a group linked to it carried out the suicide attack that killed at least 50 people in northern Mali. |
30,381,391 | Areas affected include adult social care and children's services, including children's centres.
The county council said an increase in demand meant it needed to save the extra cash by 2018.
It comes on top of £64m cuts announced last year, when leader Conservative Ian Hudspeth said children's centres were no longer under threat.
Fears that some centres could close sparked protests last year.
A petition signed by David Cameron was presented by about 100 campaigners to the authority in a bid to save the county's 44 centres.
It was later agreed there would be a review to agree how the council could save £3m in 2017.
This latest round of proposed cuts sees the children's services lose an additional £1m next year, and £2m the following year.
However, the authority said there would be "no immediate reductions in services for many months".
Mr Hudspeth, said: "The council is facing unprecedented budget pressures from the rising costs of care and this pressure is expected to continue for many years to come.
"Since 2010, we have had five years of reducing council costs and finding savings of more that £200m."
Labour county councillor Liz Brighouse said none of the county's centres should close, but said because of the "massive cuts in budgets" she did not know how the council could keep them all open.
"We have to make sure centres which are keeping children safe are properly funded and kept open," she added.
A further £2m is set to come from the subsidised transport budget, which includes home to school transport, concessionary bus passes and dial-a-ride.
Another £6.1m would be found from learning disability services.
The council had already announced it would need to find that money and is running a consultation called the Big Plan looking at changing ways in which learning disabilities services work.
There will also be another £3m of unidentified cuts that would come from adult social care.
The annual cost of a resident parking permit would also rise from £50 to £60.
The new cuts would be implemented from next April up until the end of March 2018.
The council's cabinet will consider the proposals on 16 December. Full council is expected to make a final decision in February.
The leader of Oxfordshire County Council sees its financial woes as a clear case for more devolution.
Conservative Ian Hudspeth says its "the only way" the council can keep providing services, as it spends an increasing proportion of its budget on social care.
Certainly, many councils have been frustrated by constraints imposed by central government.
Cherwell District Council has already said it is planning to do without its Revenue Support Grant from 2017, and many have railed against the 2% cap on council tax rises.
But the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has repeatedly opposed large hikes in council tax as being unfair on families in a difficult financial climate.
If the council did have the power to set its own tax, would residents be happy to pay a different rate to neighbouring counties? | Oxfordshire County Council has announced proposals to cut services by an extra £20m. |
36,932,526 | They were on their way from Norway to the Carribbean when they experienced problems at about 23:30 BST on Friday.
Their 20ft (6m) yacht was headed for Belfast when they raised the alarm after the engine failed.
Larne RNLI brought the women and their yacht to safety at Larne harbour.
Coxswain Norman Surplus said: "The three women did the right thing and raised the alarm when they got into difficulty.
"Thankfully, all three are safe and well and we would like to wish them a safe onward journey.
'We would encourage anyone visiting the coast this summer to remember to respect the water," he added.
"When sailing, always have a means for calling and signalling for help and ensure everyone onboard knows how to use it. Always check the weather forecast and tide times.
"Make sure someone ashore knows where you are going and who to call if you don't return on time. Learn how to start, run and maintain your engine and always carry tools and spares." | Three women have been rescued after their yacht got into difficulty off the Antrim coast. |
37,210,904 | Wlodarczyk threw 82.98m to surpass the 82.29m record she set when winning gold at the Rio Olympics earlier this month.
The 31-year-old is the only woman in history to throw over 80 metres and has achieved that feat 11 times, including three times at Sunday's meet in Poland.
Wlodarczyk's new world record is yet to be ratified. | Poland's Olympic champion Anita Wlodarczyk has broken her own hammer world record at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Warsaw. |
40,507,744 | Charlotte Hennessy, whose father died in the 1989 tragedy, has contributed to the former Bishop of Liverpool James Jones's report.
It was commissioned after the inquests and given to the government in June.
The Home Office said the report "will be published in due course".
Ms Hennessy, who was six years old when her father James Hennessy died, said time was "hugely important" for those affected.
"I do feel it should be an absolute priority. If the legacy of the the 96 is anything it should be that lessons are learned from mistakes," she added.
"I have told the Bishop's report about my experiences and given recommendations, especially because I grew up with the Hillsborough disaster.
"As a child I wasn't offered any counselling or support and this has had a long lasting effect on me as an adult. It would be awful if we don't learn from that."
Rt Rev Jones was asked to produce the report by the prime minister following the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquests in April 2016.
Solicitor Elkan Abrahamson, who represents 22 of the families, has written to Theresa May asking her to distribute the report to the families "immediately" with a view to making the report public "as a matter of urgency".
He also wrote: "We are concerned by the reaction of various authorities to Grenfell... and we believe that the Bishop's report will assist Central and Local Government and other organisations properly to perform their functions with the necessary diligence and compassion."
Ms Hennessey urged Mrs May to make sure the Grenfell families were involved in the investigation and kept regularly updated.
She added: "I wouldn't want to compare Grenfell to Hillsborough but if something happens like this you can't help but relate. It's heartbreaking.
"These families are in shock and grieving and are not being given answers.
"Time is very important. I appreciate the government has a lot to deal with but feel this report should be publicised at the earliest opportunity."
During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Alison McGovern, the Labour MP for Wirral South, asked when the report would be published.
Mrs May said she could not give a date as she had not yet seen the report but added she had commissioned it "precisely because I was concerned about the way in which the bereaved families at Hillsborough had been treated over far too many years".
A statement from the Home Office said: "With regard to your query as to when the Bishop's report into Hillsborough will be published, there is no set date and the report will be published in due course." | A report on the experiences of people bereaved by the Hillsborough disaster should be published "quickly" to help those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy. |
34,699,190 | "If I was giving individual feedback on a daily basis as a teacher I would see my kids scores just skyrocket, but in some classrooms there might be 70, 80 students, and you can imagine how overwhelming that is for one teacher."
From her experience, Ms Maraviglia, a 32-year-old American who had moved to Kenya to help start a program to support teachers, came up with the idea of teaching via mobile phone text messages.
Together with co-founder Kago Kagichiri they set up their business in Nairobi in 2011.
Eneza says it wants to make "50 million students in Africa smarter".
"Eneza is a virtual tutor and teachers' assistant," explains Ms Maraviglia. "It's a way for students to access courses through a low-cost cell phone.
"A lot of people [wrongly] think that our company is non-profit, because I am a woman, and because it's in education.
"We are a mission-based, for-profit company - what we do is charge an extremely low cost to our users and our business model is based on large scale."
For many young people across Africa, the education available to them is often both under-resourced and costly to students and their families.
Limited public funds leave classrooms over-crowded, teachers over-stretched, and textbooks in short supply, while private schooling is prohibitively expensive for many.
Ms Maraviglia, who started out as a teacher in inner city New York after graduating from the University of California, jokes that she is the teacher who hated technology, and her Kenyan co-founder Mr Kagichiri is the techie who hated teachers.
"What really changed my mind about what's possible is Kago," she says. "When a technologist and a teacher put their heads together they are able to really think of solutions that work."
Eneza's 500,000 users access courses and quizzes almost exclusively by text messages, for a cost of just 10 Kenyan shillings (10 cents; six pence) per week, which is deducted from pre-paid airtime on their mobile phones. The company has also developed Android and web-based versions of the app, but text messages remain the vast majority of its operations.
The emphasis on text messages enables users across rural Kenya to continue learning even if people can't afford to pay for data or expensive handsets, or if there is no data network in the area.
Eneza's courses target students from around 10 to 18-years-old, but also cater for school drop-outs up to the age of 25.
They are aligned to Kenya's national curriculum and cover subjects including maths, science, Kiswahili and English.
Learners receive questions - both multiple choice and open-ended - by text, and get feedback on their responses, whether right or wrong.
The app also features a built-in detective game called "Where is Ms Mandizi?" that sends more clues as learners progress, and users also accumulate points as they work their way through lessons.
"We are trying to bring 'gamefication' into the app, along with access to Wikipedia and an interactive chat - an environment in which people are learning, but at the same time being incentivised by fun things," says Mr Kagichiri, who taught himself to programme when he was eight-years-old.
Of the 500,000 users in Kenya - where mobile phone penetration is at one of the highest levels in sub-Saharan Africa - 70,000 are active users on a monthly basis.
"What we see from our students is that many of them will go home and study on this from 20 minutes to an hour every night," explains Ms Maraviglia.
Some of Eneza's so-called super-users are located in very remote parts of the country, including in Dadaab refugee camp near the Kenyan border with Somalia.
And while the Eneza team believes that at least 30% of their users do not go to school, in that they are drop-outs or older learners, the traditional education system remains critical to their work.
"From just 10 shillings every week, my child is given so many questions a day," says Beatrice Wambui, the mother of 12-year-old Peninah who is a heavy user of Eneza.
"There were some topics my child did not know, Eneza stepped in and helped her.
"After she started using Eneza, she moved to second position at school, she had been in seventh place before."
The team hope to roll out the Eneza app, "Eneza" means "to spread" in Swahili, in other African countries and they have already begun work in Tanzania and Ghana.
"We are really looking to be huge," says Ms Maraviglia.
"We want to be the go-to mobile educational source for Africa, and 50 million students is the target we want to hit in terms of reach."
The Digital Disruptors is a series about the people and companies shaking up business with new technology. | "I realised the burden of what teachers go through here when I was living in this rural village," says Toni Maraviglia, co-founder of Eneza Education, a mobile phone based education tool in Kenya. |
33,477,452 | The 35-year-old, most recently with Hartlepool, played over 500 league games, scoring 127 goals for 12 clubs,
"I want to enjoy my football and help the gaffer out. Speaking about how they want to achieve brought me to them," he told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.
"The level I'm at now I'm just looking to enjoy my football." | National League North side Nuneaton Town have signed former West Ham United and Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood on a one-year contract. |
27,677,305 | Sheffield Wednesday's consultant engineer Dr Wilfred Eastwood said restricted entry at the Leppings Lane end led to a build-up of fans.
In a 1990 statement read to the inquests into 96 Liverpool fans' deaths, Dr Eastwood said 12 turnstiles on Penistone Road were shut.
It led to 6,000 more fans using the Leppings Lane entry.
The inquest hearing in Warrington is looking into the deaths of 96 Liverpool football fans following a crush at the Liverpool v Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final at the stadium on 15 April 1989.
Dr Eastwood said the extra spectators "had to be catered for which was a factor in the build-up of the crowd".
"The police argument will no doubt be that they considered it important to avoid confrontation between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest fans."
He added it would have been possible to separate the fans by closing other turnstiles on Penistone Road, and keeping those for the North Stand open.
He said he was "completely unaware" of the closure of the North Stand turnstiles until he read about it in the newspapers on 17 April 1989.
"This was a decision with which my firm was in no way involved and about which we were not consulted or informed," he added.
Legal representatives at the new inquests in Warrington are reading out transcripts of Dr Eastwood's evidence as he is too ill to attend the inquests.
The hearing continues. | The Hillsborough disaster "could have been avoided" if police had not closed 12 turnstiles, the inquests heard. |
40,430,610 | British Sugar began growing a non†| A sugar producer is investigating whether its cannabis farm is responsible for a smell which has been baffling Norfolk residents for a week. |
35,093,372 | More than 400 firearms were found in the home of Wyverstone Parish Council chairman James Arnold last year.
He was due to face firearms charges but died of cancer, aged 49, in July 2014.
Anthony Buckland, 65, from Stoke Holy Cross, Norfolk, is on trial at Norwich Crown Court and denies selling prohibited weapons.
He also denies fraud by false representation.
Prosecutor Andrew Oliver told the court the discovery in Wyverstone, near Stowmarket, was the "biggest stash of weapons this country had ever experienced".
Opening the case last week, Mr Oliver said firearms including air rifles, pistols, handguns, shotguns and automatic machine guns were found in a secret room in Mr Arnold's house.
The room was accessed through a hidden door in his kitchen.
Officers also found a safe behind a false wall.
No explanation of why Mr Arnold amassed the arms has been offered to the jury.
Mr Buckland told the court he had known Mr Arnold for more than 25 years.
He said he had legally supplied him with guns and ammunition but would never have procured illegal firearms.
Asked about news coverage of the find, Mr Buckland said he had been "glued to the television" but had not been worried about his involvement.
"There is no link to me because I had never supplied Arnold with anything illegal," he added. "I didn't start to panic whatsoever."
The court learned Mr Buckland supplied 26 weapons to a man called JJ Hambrose, 16 of which were found at Mr Arnold's home.
The prosecution has claimed Hambrose was a fictitious character.
But Mr Buckland insisted Hambrose was a genuine customer he had known since the 1980s.
He denies 20 counts, some of which relate to Mr Arnold and some to other customers.
He had converted many of the weapons, supposedly to make them legal, but the court has heard such a conversion was not technically possible.
The trial continues. | Photographs seen in court have revealed how a hidden door and false wall in a Suffolk house masked the biggest stash of illegal weapons found in the UK. |
38,791,124 | The Olympic team pursuit champion added the points title to previous victories in scratch and individual pursuit, as well as her silver in the keirin.
Daniel Bigham also completed a hat-trick with gold in the team pursuit.
"I couldn't ask for more. I could only hold out for the three days; tomorrow I'll be in bed all day," Scotland's Archibald, 22, told BBC Sport.
Archibald fractured her wrist in November at the Glasgow World Cup and returned to competition only recently.
"I don't think the wrist injury has set me back too much, so I'm back on track now," she said.
Despite her progress, she said she would not travel to Los Angeles for the forthcoming UCI World Cup.
She added: "I don't think I'm going out [to LA]. I want to get back in the gym and recuperate the training block that I've missed without too much travelling and hopefully on to the World Championships in April."
Bigham, 25, who earlier in the meet won the individual pursuit and kilometre time trial, took the team pursuit title with Jacob Tipper, Charlie Tanfield and Jonathan Wale.
Other final-day winners at the National Cycling Centre included Dani Khan in the women's 500m time trial and Jack Carlin, Ryan Owens and Jack Truman in the men's team sprint.
Sophie Capewell and Lauren Bate-Lowe took gold in the women's team sprint and Ethan Hayter won the men's scratch race. | Katie Archibald won her third gold medal on the final day of the National Track Championships in Manchester. |
36,819,214 | It left the 53-year-old a disappointing 17 over par for the tournament on his home course of Royal Troon.
Russell Knox (two over) was the highest placed Scot, with Paul Lawrie 10 over.
"I haven't really performed that well, but at the same time I've always enjoyed the whole theatre of the thing," said Montgomerie.
"I'd love to think this won't be my last Open but it might be."
Henrik Stenson hit an eight-under-par 63 to win The Open by three shots on 20 under after an enthralling final-round tussle with Phil Mickelson.
Montgomerie, who hit the very first shot of the 145th Open on Thursday morning, also started the ball rolling on Sunday at 07:40 BST due to him being bottom of the 81-man pile overnight with a total of 12 over.
Four bogeys and a birdie on the front nine meant the eight-time European Order of Merit winner's score continued to slide deeper into the blue.
Another two bogeys at the 11th and 12th holes did more damage before making par at every hole from the 13th to the 18th. Montgomerie eventually finished 78th of the 81 players who made the cut.
"This whole year I've struggled," said the Scot, whose best finish at The Open is runner-up to Tiger Woods at St Andrews in 2005.
"I've struggled pulling the ball and the ball is going left. When you are aiming left, expecting a fade, you know, it's doubly bad. So I've just got to sort it out."
Montgomerie now goes on to play in the Senior Open at Carnoustie which starts on Thursday, but has not ruled out trying to take part in another Open.
He joined the field for the first time in six years after finishing in the top three at a qualifying event at Gailes Links in Irvine.
"You've got to be realistic and think that it might well be the last time I'm here at an Open," he said.
"The Gailes Club, part of the Glasgow Golf Club, were very hospitable and I thank them for allowing me to try and qualify to get here in the first place.
"I'd love to try and do that again."
Knox finished joint 30th after a two-under final round of 69.
He said: "I had two goals today. One was to par the second and one was to hit the 11th fairway and I checked both boxes.
"I played excellent today and I was really happy to finish with a good score. I probably finished where I deserved to finish." | Scotland's Colin Montgomerie posted a final-round five-over-par 76 in what he hopes is not his last experience of The Open Championship. |
14,628,842 | Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud party, became prime minister after an inconclusive early election in February 2009, a decade after holding the office once before.
He has remained in power by negotiating Israel's volatile party system with skill, heading coalition governments with varying representation from left- and right-wing parties.
This 2009 government managed to steer Israel out of the global economic recession, but faced mounting protests about the rising cost of living.
It also failed to make any headway in relations with the Palestinians, Jewish settlers on the West Bank and the Obama administration in the United States.
Mr Netanyahu's repeated warnings over the perceived threat of Iran's nuclear programme have also complicated relations with the US.
A coalition dispute over the budget prompted Mr Netanyahu to call an early election in January 2013, which saw a boost for two relatively new parties - Yesh Atid in the centre and the pro-settler Jewish Home - in a campaign fought mainly on economic issues.
After months of wrangling the prime minister managed to assemble a coalition with these two parties, plus the small HaTnua splinter group from the Kadima centre party, that excluded most Jewish religious parties and raised the possibility of one of Israel's periodic attempts at rolling back the influence of ultra-Orthodox groups.
But tensions over tax breaks for first-time home buyers, and a controversial bill to reinforce the Jewish nature of the Israeli state, prompted Mr Netanyahu to sack the Yesh Atid and HaTnua leaders from the cabinet.
At early Knesset elections in March 2015, Mr Netanyahu scored a surprise victory over a resurgent Labour Party, now allied with HaTnua in the Zionist Union.
Following protracted negotiations, in May he formed a new coalition government with the right-wing Bayit Yehudi party and several smaller parties, two of them ultra-Orthodox, later supplemented by the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party.During his previous term as prime minister in 1996-99 Mr Netanyahu was initially hostile towards the new Palestinian Authority, but went on to show some flexibility while maintaining a security-first policy.
Defeated by Labour leader Ehud Barak in 1999, he later served as finance minister under Likud PM Ariel Sharon, pushing through a series of market-oriented reforms before resigning in 2005 in protest at Mr Sharon's decision to pull out from Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu was born in 1949 in Tel Aviv, and spent part of his childhood in the United States where his father was a professor. During his five years in Israel's army, he served as captain of an elite commando unit. A fluent English-speaker, Mr Netanyahu has long been a prominent advocate for Israel in the international media.
President: Reuven Rivlin
The presidency is a largely ceremonial post and notionally above party politics, but individual presidents have used a combination of their personal prestige and the authority of their office to make interventions in national debates.
Reuven Rivlin, like his predecessor Shimon Peres, gives every sign that he will be such a president.
Born in 1939, a scion of an old Jerusalem family and a stalwart of the right-wing Likud party, President Rivlin has won respect across the political spectrum for his willingness to speak out on controversial issues.
In a country where the two-state solution remains the nominal preference of all major political parties, he supports integrating both Jewish settlers and potentially millions of Palestinians into a single state.
His opposition to the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza led to a very public rift with then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his term as speaker of the Knesset parliament in 2003-2006.
His relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were little warmer during his second term as speaker in 2009-2013. He makes a point of reaching out to Israel's Arab minority, saying that they form a "bridge to peaceful co-existence" with the Palestinians.
He beat centre-right politician Meir Sheetrit in a closely-fought parliamentary election for the presidency in June 2014, winning the support of both Arab and pro-settler Knesset members. | Prime minister: Benjamin Netanyahu |
35,195,256 | Lewis Hamilton has been crowned world champion for the last two years ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
And Mercedes have dominated the constructors' title, winning 32 of 38 races and completing 23 one-twos.
"The regulations are incredibly stable for next year, so Mercedes will inevitably carry on the dominance," Horner told Autosport.
"People get turned off with predictability."
He said it was up to the sport's senior officials to find a solution.
Horner believes the current situation is different to when Red Bull dominated F1 between 2010 and 2013.
Driver Sebastian Vettel was world champion for four straight years as Red Bull won four successive championships.
"Two of our world championships went to the last race and we never finished first and second in a championship," said Horner. | Formula 1 needs rule changes to make it less predictable, says Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. |
26,155,157 | The Slovenia-based firm said the culprits had exploited a bug in the virtual currency's underlying software to carry out the assault.
It is the second exchange to suspend operations. Tokyo's MtGox took a similar measure on Friday.
A third, Bulgaria's BTC-e, has warned that some transactions may be delayed.
Like Bitstamp, it cited a denial-of-service (DoS) attack as the cause.
The Bitcoin Foundation - a group of developers who maintain and promote the cryptographic code on which the currency relies - said that it was creating workarounds and fixes to tackle the issue.
It added that people who had funds stored with the affected exchanges should know that their savings were safe, albeit "tied up" for the time being.
"This is a denial-of-service attack; whoever is doing this is not stealing coins, but is succeeding in preventing some transactions from confirming," wrote Gavin Andresen, chief scientist at the foundation.
"It's important to note that DoS attacks do not affect people's Bitcoin wallets or funds."
Bitcoin is often referred to as a new kind of currency.
But it may be best to think of its units being virtual tokens rather than physical coins or notes.
However, like all currencies its value is determined by how much people are willing to exchange it for.
To process Bitcoin transactions, a procedure called "mining" must take place, which involves a computer solving a difficult mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution.
For each problem solved, one block of bitcoins is processed. In addition the miner is rewarded with new bitcoins.
This provides an incentive for people to provide computer processing power to solve the problems.
To compensate for the growing power of computer chips, the difficulty of the puzzles is adjusted to ensure a steady stream of about 3,600 new bitcoins a day.
To receive a bitcoin a user must have a Bitcoin address - a string of 27-34 letters and numbers - which acts as a kind of virtual post-box to and from which the bitcoins are sent.
Since there is no registry of these addresses, people can use them to protect their anonymity when making a transaction.
These addresses are in turn stored in Bitcoin wallets which are used to manage savings.
They operate like privately run bank accounts - with the proviso that if the data is lost, so are the bitcoins owned.
The cause of the problem is an issue called transaction malleability.
It involves someone changing the cryptographic code - known as a transaction hash - used to create an ID for the exchange of funds before it is recorded in the blockchain - a database of every transaction carried out in the currency.
On Monday, MtGox had suggested that this technique could be used to fool its systems into repeatedly making a payout because it would seem that it had not occurred.
The Bitcoin Foundation's initial response was that transaction malleability had been known about since 2011, and that MtGox should have prepared for this when developing its own customised software, which was now proving vulnerable.
"This is something that cannot be corrected overnight," wrote Mr Andresen.
But while other exchanges are not complaining about the risk of making unauthorised payouts, it appears their systems can become overwhelmed if they receive too many "mutated versions" of the transaction IDs.
"This is a denial-of-service attack made possible by some misunderstandings in Bitcoin wallet implementations," said Bitstamp's blog.
"These misunderstandings have simple solutions that are being implemented as we speak, and we're confident everything will be back to normal shortly."
The Bitcoin Foundation now says its members and developers from a number of exchanges are working "collectively and collaboratively" to tackle the problem and allow withdrawals to resume.
One bitcoin is currently trading for about $665 (£402). That is well below the $830 level it was at last Thursday, reflecting investors' concern at the news.
However, one expert said the virtual currency should emerge from the attacks more robust than before.
"Obviously it's a bit more serious than was initially thought - it was originally believed that it was just a problem at MtGox because of the way they had set up their systems," Emily Spaven, editor of the news site Coindesk, told the BBC.
"The view from developers is that the exchanges should be processing bitcoin withdrawals again within 48-72 hours, though the wider issue of transaction malleability will take longer to address.
"It's been a bit of a wake-up call to get this issue fixed. I suppose they previously thought it wasn't that big a deal." | Bitstamp - one of the world's largest Bitcoin exchanges - has halted withdrawals after coming under cyber-attack. |
37,210,159 | The statement - stressing the importance of numeracy and literacy - was issued by John Swinney on Monday. It was originally due to be published in time for the start of term.
The education secretary said it was designed to "reduce the burden of bureaucracy" on teachers.
The EIS said turning the "rhetoric into reality" was now the challenge.
The new statement will also provide practical advice for teachers on planning and assessment and is aimed at helping reduce teachers' workload.
It is not expected to have an immediate, direct effect on students, as it it will be up to councils, schools and teachers to work out just how to put much of it into practice.
Speaking at the launch of the new guidance at St Roch's Primary and Hearing Impaired School in Glasgow, Mr Swinney said he believed it would make a difference.
"In the short period in which I have been the education secretary, I have been taking measures to simplify and clarify the experience of teachers and reduce the burden of bureaucracy," he said.
"The guidance that we have issued today is designed to do that across the whole of Scottish education.
"I am now working with the assessment and qualifications group to reduce the burden of assessment in the senior sector as well. We are making good progress on those discussions and I will be in a position to set out some further thinking in the weeks to come."
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan welcomed the new guidance but said more had to be done to address excessive assessment workload for pupils and teachers and cut unnecessary bureaucracy.
He added: "We have heard similar statements in the past and progress has often been slow. Turning rhetoric into reality remains the challenge; we need to see concrete change in our schools with clear results, sooner rather than later.
"In particular, the issue of excessive assessment in the senior phase of secondary remains to tackled by both the Scottish government and the SQA."
Mr Flanagan said classroom teachers also needed to be given more professional autonomy.
"The EIS will be issuing advice to members on how to use these latest publications effectively, in pursuit of our ambitions to declutter the curriculum, reduce the assessment burden and challenge needless paperwork."
In May, following the publication of disappointing figures on numeracy, Mr Swinney said that while Curriculum for Excellence was a success, the importance of the basics like numeracy and literacy mattered.
The statement reaffirms the two key priorities for Curriculum for Excellence are:
Along with the statement, benchmarks have been published to support learning, teaching and assessment in Literacy and English and Numeracy and Mathematics.
The government said this would streamline existing assessment guidance.
Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said parents were seeing "lots of warm words" about improving Curriculum for Excellence but "no sign of improving educational standards across the board".
She added: "The SNP's failure to get to grips with our education system is yet another example of a government which has forgotten the day job because of its obsession with independence."
Iain Gray, Scottish Labour's education spokesman, welcomed measures to reduce teacher workload but said more was needed than "patronising platitudes".
He added: "The truth is that no warm words from John Swinney or guidance from Education Scotland can substitute for ending SNP cuts to education budgets, or replace the 4,200 teachers we have seen cut from schools.
"Until the SNP are prepared to use the powers of the parliament to provide enough funds to our schools, the pressure on teachers will continue."
Tavish Scott, of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said the guidance "doesn't tell teachers anything new".
"This was to be the acid test of reducing the paper chase of government guidance affecting teachers," he said. "Yet it appears to tell teachers what they already know."
"Teachers want clarity. Parents want teachers to teach. The Scottish government must redouble their efforts to achieve these objectives."
Ross Greer, the Scottish Greens' education spokesman, said: "Today's guidance is welcome. However, if Scottish ministers are serious about empowering teachers and reducing the attainment gap, they should take their own guidance on board and rethink their approach to national testing." | New guidance on the curriculum in schools has been welcomed by Scotland's largest teachers' union, the EIS. |
35,410,822 | That is understandable. The report into his care highlights a series of missed opportunities by the call handler who William's mother spoke to on the day before he died. It makes it clear the handler should have probed more for information about his condition and immediately referred it on to a nurse or doctor.
This is just the latest in a long line for criticism for the telephone triage and advice service since it was rolled out three years ago. Much of it has focussed on the decision to reduce the ratio of nurses and doctors to call handlers when compared to its predecessor service, NHS Direct.
The lack of clinical training means the report excused the call handler from being guilty of "serious failings". That doesn't mean though that the way the system works does not need reviewing - and NHS England's head office is already saying it will look into whether it needs to change the processes that are followed.
But the report, produced by NHS England's south west office, also details other problems - and they have implications for the wider health service.
William, from Cornwall, had been ill for six to eight weeks before he died and had been seen by GPs at his local practice six times before his death. They too missed opportunities to diagnose a chest infection and pneumonia which led to the sepsis that killed him.
One of the visits was made two days before his death when his heart rate was not taken. It says it should have been.
By this point the sepsis would have taken hold and so, in all likelihood, William's heart rate would have been raised and, if indentified, should have led to him being referred for help.
The report excuses individuals of blame - and repeatedly makes the point that sepsis is often difficult to spot and there needs be greater understanding of the condition. But it does raise the question of whether these missed opportunities were a result of the pressures being placed on GPs, particularly not to make referrals to under-strain hospitals or prescribe antibiotics.
The actions of the out-of-hours GP who got in touch with the parents following the NHS 111 call was also highlighted. This was on a Saturday, the day before he died. The medic advised William's mother to let him sleep. If the medic had had access to William's medical records he might have insisted on seeing William.
But the goal of achieving fully shared patient records across the NHS is still one that has not been met despite repeated attempts.
Finally, the report raises the issue of services at weekends - and the support people get. Both the GP practice and out-of-hours doctors told William's parents to get back in touch if his condition worsened. But the investigators felt this was too vague, especially given the limited medical help available at weekends.
NHS bosses are now promising the lessons will be learned from William's death. His mother, Melissa, says they have to be.
Read more from Nick
Follow Nick on Twitter | Much of the attention over the tragic death of 12-month-old William Mead has focused on the role of NHS 111. |
35,790,824 | In a letter to staff, the company's chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy said the project needed to secure more funding from the French government.
He said the financial context was "challenging" and he was negotiating with the French state.
The UK government said it was "committed" to Hinkley.
Mr Levy said: "We are currently negotiating with the French state to obtain commitments allowing us to secure our financial position.
"I am sure that this project is a good project for the group and that in the near future, all the conditions will come together for it to be definitely launched.
"It is clear that I will not engage EDF in this project before these conditions are met."
The company, which is 85% owned by the French government, is expected to finalise in April how it will fund the project after postponing the decision a number of times. It was delayed in January reportedly owing to funding difficulties.
But Mr Levy highlighted in his letter that China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), which will own 33.5% of the project, was investing about 8bn euros (£6bn).
He also expressed his confidence in EDF to manage "very large projects".
BBC business editor Simon Jack said the situation was like "a high stakes game of poker".
Some analysts are concerned the project could threaten EDF's financial viability but it would be "incredibly embarrassing" for the British government if the plant didn't go ahead.
Our editor said: "[French president] Francois Hollande and David Cameron shook hands over this and it's a central piece of the UK's energy policy going forward, but the French government, the French unions and many French people are very worried that it could break the financial stability of the company that is building it."
In light of the construction cost, the UK government has guaranteed it will pay £92.50 per megawatt hour for electricity from Hinkley, more than double current the wholesale electricity price of about £37 per megawatt hour.
By Simon Jack, BBC News business editor
Imagine British Gas owners Centrica got into financial trouble after sinking billions into a French power station. And then imagine that the bill for rescuing it fell on to taxpayers. That is essentially the risk facing EDF and the French government.
The dangers to the company's financial integrity are great enough to prompt EDF's chief financial officer to resign in protest, the French equivalent of the National Audit Office to issue stark warnings and French unions to lobby their members to vote against the project.
To make matters worse, EDF's recent track record in delivering big projects is poor. Reactor construction in France, Finland and China have run over time and massively over budget.
The prize for EDF with Hinkley Point is a guarantee to provide electricity for decades at three times the current price. The deal is still on but the stakes are high as a crucial EDF board meeting later this month approaches.
Angus McNeil, chair of the energy and climate change committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the entire scheme was a "very expensive deal" which had suffered "major delays".
He said it was plausible the government could ultimately pull out of the deal, or carry on with caveats. He said his committee's scrutiny of the project would "go where the evidence takes us".
Construction of Hinkley Point C in Somerset, the first new nuclear plant in the UK for 20 years and the most expensive in the world, is due to begin in 2019, two years after it had originally been due to open.
But Allan Jeffrey from the Stop Hinkley campaign group said he did not believe the scheme would ever go ahead and campaigners had grave concerns about nuclear power.
He said: "There are so many problems - construction, technical and incredible financial problems.
"Nuclear power is an old fashioned form of energy where you throw away most of your energy, it's dangerous and risky and open to terrorist attacks. It's like having a nuclear bomb on site.
"We should be looking at Plan B which should be getting on with sustainable, renewable energy, why not use all the natural energy that's all around us?"
Simon Taylor, an economist at Cambridge University, said the letter from Mr Levy showed he was looking for reassurances from the other stakeholders.
He said: "For them to put the French taxpayer on the hook for a project to supply very expensive electricity to the UK doesn't look economically attractive or politically attractive."
He said it would be "very embarrassing for the French government to cancel this" but a pull-out from the UK side could also "cast doubt on the UK's entire energy policy" and jeopardise future projects.
Earlier this month, EDF's finance director Thomas Piquemal quit reportedly because he feared the project could jeopardise the company's financial position.
And in February, Chris Bakken, the director of the project, said he was leaving to pursue other opportunities.
Development has also been hindered by problems with a reactor.
European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs), in use in Flamanville, France, were found to have a construction fault meaning they were unable to handle the required pressure.
This pushed the Hinkley Point delivery date back as safety concerns were addressed.
A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: "The British government is committed to Hinkley and committed to new nuclear.
"It is the only proven low-carbon technology that can provide continuous power, irrespective of whether the wind is blowing and the sun is shining. The industry will create thousands of jobs and benefit companies in the supply chain." | Energy firm EDF has said it remains "confident" the £18bn Hinkley Point nuclear power plant will go ahead despite uncertainties over its funding. |
36,293,547 | Russian news reports said up to 200 people took part in the brawl at the south-west Khovanskoye cemetery.
Police said two of the victims died after being run over by a car as people escaped from the scene.
Police spokeswoman Sofya Khotina said the three people in the car, who were armed with pistols, were arrested.
The brawlers fired guns and fought with shovels, shovel handles, steel bars and baseball bats, Russian news reports said.
More than 90 people were arrested, according to police.
Reports said police officers fired into the air in an attempt to quell the violence.
Police believe the brawl was caused by a territorial dispute between two different groups of workers, fighting over the cemetery's lucrative services business.
Reports said they were from ethnic groups from ex-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus.
The Khovanskoye cemetery is a massive 200-hectare (500-acre) site on Moscow's southwestern outskirts. | Three people have been killed and 23 taken to hospital after a mass brawl at a Moscow cemetery, apparently sparked by a dispute about jobs, police say. |
23,075,332 | Ed Stone cannot say when the Voyager-1 spacecraft will leave the Solar System, but he believes the moment is close.
The latest data from this extraordinary probe, reported in this week's Science journal, suggests it is surfing right on the very edge of our Sun's domain.
The particles streaming away from our star have reduced to a trickle at its present location, 18.5 billion km from Earth.
Particles flying towards it from interstellar space, by contrast, have jumped markedly in the past year.
It all points to an imminent departure, which would make Voyager the first man-made object to cross into the space between the stars.
Find out how long it would take you
"It's hard to imagine there's another layer between the one we're in and the outside," Dr Stone told BBC News. "Topologically, it makes sense that this is the outermost layer. The only question is: how thick is it?"
Launched way back in 1977, the probe has now travelled so far from home that its constant chatter of data takes 17 hours to arrive at the US space agency's receiving network. And chatter, it does.
Voyager's instruments are busy sampling the far-flung environment. This has allowed Dr Stone and colleagues to map the shape and reach of the heliosphere - the giant bubble of charged particles blown off from our Sun.
In 2004, it reached a turbulent region referred to as the heliosheath, where particles bounced around in all directions.
It was expected this would be the final stage before the leap to interstellar space. But, as has been the case throughout this 35-year mission, Voyager threw up yet another surprise.
Last year, it detected what appears to be a discrete boundary layer that Ed Stone's team call the "heliosheath depletion region" in Friday's three Science papers.
It is a kind of magnetic highway where energetic particles on the inside can get out easily, and the galactic cosmic ray particles on the outside can zoom in.
"It is where the Sun's magnetic field has piled up, compressed up against itself. It has also doubled in strength. It's smoother than anything we've ever seen with Voyager," Dr Stone explained.
The team is now watching the direction of the field lines very carefully. Currently, they orientate east-west, wound into a spiral by the rotating Sun. But when Voyager finally breaks through into interstellar space, they are expected to shift dramatically, running north-south.
This is an acid test for Dr Stone. Although some might argue the particle data is evidence of Voyager being outside the Solar System, the project leader believes the probe cannot truly be said to be beyond the Sun's domain until it has also escaped our star's magnetic influence.
But do not expect an immediate, definitive announcement from Nasa that Voyager is in interstellar space when the magnetic signal does switch.
Instead, the instrument scientists will sit and listen to the probe's chatter, perhaps for several months. They will want to be absolutely sure Voyager has broken through the so-called heliopause.
Like the surfer who rides the front of a breaking wave, battling the foam, Voyager will take some time to move completely clear of everything behind.
"The edge may be somewhat turbulent. We just don't know," Dr Stone told BBC News. "This is exploration after all, and we will find out how Nature makes this interface. But it will be moving because the Sun does 'breathe' in and out."
Voyager 1 is on course to approach a star called AC +793888, but it will only get to within two light-years of it and take some 40,000 years to make the passage.
Voyager 2, which was launched a few weeks before Voyager 1, is on a slightly slower path to interstellar space and is probably a few years from seeing the heliosheath depletion region.
Both probes have sufficient power in their plutonium "batteries" to keep working into the next decade.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | "It could be any day, but it could also be several more years." |
39,575,484 | Nicola Sturgeon said she would make her case with "courtesy and respect" for those with different views.
In a speech she said her proposed timetable for a referendum would allow voters to make an informed choice.
Opposition parties said the SNP should focus on the job of government and respect the outcome of the 2014 referendum.
Theresa May has dismissed Ms Sturgeon's call for an independence vote in the autumn of next year or spring 2019, saying "now is not the time" for a referendum, while her government negotiates the best possible Brexit deal for the whole of the UK.
But the first minister said the terms of the Brexit deal should be clear by then, and she promised to give voters clear information on key issues such as what currency an independent Scotland would adopt.
Addressing the Political Studies Association annual conference in Glasgow, she said: "Well before the referendum debate the Scottish government will also set out proposals for what an independent Scotland would look like, we will address issues such as the currency, our plans for fiscal stability and the process of securing our relationship with Europe in future.
"And we will do all of that with as much detail and clarity as possible."
With Scotland again facing "a time of intense political debate", the first minister argued a second referendum would not necessarily split the country.
"Campaigns and politics are only divisive if we make them so, and we should be determined, all of us, not to make it so," she said.
She added: "As first minister, I have a responsibility to lead by example. After all, the Scottish government has a special responsibility to build consensus where we can.
"So I will do my best to ensure that at all times we make our case not just with passion and conviction, but with courtesy, empathy and respect. I hope very much that all politicians will do the same."
Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said the first minister seemed "unable to accept that a majority of Scots simply do not want another referendum".
"The last thing Scotland needs right now is a divisive and unwarranted referendum. Instead it needs a Scottish government that gets on with the job it was elected to do, such as addressing the many problems facing our schools, hospitals and the economy," he said.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale also said Ms Sturgeon should focus on the business on government.
She said: "Instead of constantly seeking to divide the country, the SNP should focus on the job of governing - tackling the crisis in our schools, fixing our broken NHS, and investing in local services."
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "Families and communities across Scotland are still damaged by the division of the last independence referendum.
"The first minister is living in dreamland if she thinks another one would be positive for Scotland." | A second independence referendum on Scottish independence need not be divisive, the first minister has said. |
39,400,885 | Dechreuodd adroddiadau gyrraedd y gwasanaethau brys brynhawn Sadwrn, fod tiroedd yn llosgi ar fynyddoedd Penrhys yn Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Daeth mwy o adroddiadau nos Sadwrn o danau gwair ym Maesteg, Sir Pen-y-bont, Cwmparc ger Treorci, ac ar Fynydd y Rhiw ym Mhen Llŷn.
Dywedodd Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub De Cymru eu bod wedi eu galw i 36 o danau gwair dros y 24 awr ddiwethaf, a bod y mwyafrif wedi eu dechrau yn fwriadol.
Mae'r gwasanaethau brys yn dweud fod gwyntiodd uchel wedi ei gwneud yn anoddach ymateb i'r tanau, ond bod y mwyafrif dan reolaeth erbyn hyn. | Mae diffoddwyr tân wedi bod yn ymateb i nifer o danau gwair ar draws Cymru dros y penwythnos. |
37,429,064 | The last game six years ago was the second leg of the first-ever Championship play-off final - and a defining moment in the histories of both clubs.
Exeter came away with 38-16 aggregate win and with it a place in the Premiership for the first time.
Bristol were left to lick their wounds in the second tier, and needed six more attempts before securing a return to the top flight last season.
So, as they prepare to face each other for the first time ever in the Premiership, what impact did that 2010 game have on the two clubs?
Gareth Steenson was Exeter's hero that night, kicking six penalties and two drop-goals, and six years on he is still a key cog in Exeter's attacking wheel, having been the Premiership's top points scorer last season.
"It was a great experience for anybody involved with the club at that time," says Steenson.
"There's a lot of people in Bristol that are still hurting about that, but I think more so with the supporters.
"They've suffered a few hard losses since then, but for us it was obviously a great experience and one that we kicked on from, and we've had some great experiences since."
Since the second tier became the Championship in that 2009-10 season, Exeter and London Welsh are the only teams to win promotion without having been relegated from the Premiership the previous season.
And while Welsh went straight back down on both occasions - in 2014-15 they lost every game they played - Exeter slowly built and became the force they are today.
Last season the Chiefs reached the play-offs before losing to Saracens - and also made it through to the Champions Cup quarter-finals, but then suffered a last-second loss at Wasps.
So, when Bristol finally returned to the top flight this summer, it was to Exeter that they looked.
"They initially struggled when they went into the Premiership, but they've managed to sustain themselves and they've just grown on that," Bristol's former Wales scrum-half Martin Roberts said.
"They've got a good culture and that's exactly what we're trying to build here."
Exeter's first season in the top flight saw them win their debut game at home to Gloucester, and earn five victories in their first 10 games on their way to finishing eighth.
Bristol, by contrast, have yet to win this season and were thrashed 70-22 at Wasps last Sunday.
"It's about overcoming the setbacks, learning from it and getting better," adds Roberts.
"We know we're not going to win every weekend, but it's about reducing our error count and putting our best foot forward."
Friday will be the first evening Premiership game at Bristol's new Ashton Gate home; they left the Memorial Ground in the summer of 2014 to move in with Bristol City, with both clubs owned by billionaire sporting philanthropist Steve Lansdown.
"The fans will be well up for it, it's going to be a feisty old evening and a very loud one as well, so we're going to have to be on our toes," says Exeter prop Ben Moon, one of a handful of survivors left in the Exeter squad from 2010.
"There's always going to be a big rivalry between the two of us as we're two south west teams, it's going to be a big derby game for years to come if they stay up." | Friday's Premiership meeting between Bristol and Exeter will be the first match between the two West Country teams for 2,313 days. |
32,421,392 | An eyewitness said firefighters had to physically remove the man from a crossing outside a school in Luton, as he continued to help children cross.
The fire engine was on its way to an out of control bonfire on St Ethelbert Avenue, at about 15:30 BST on 13 April.
Luton Borough Council said it has requested CCTV footage from the fire service.
Jacqui Brittain said she saw the fire engine coming down her road, with its lights on, from her bedroom window.
She said he continued to help one group of children from William Austin Junior School cross the road but to her surprise then started a second crossing.
"He just continued to cross them," she said. "He came out into the middle of the road and was ushering them across the road.
"Four of five firemen got out of the vehicle and escorted him off the road.
"It was like watching a car crash."
A spokesman for the council said the man would be suspended while an investigation into the incident was carried out.
"It is vital that emergency services are able to reach their destinations quickly and freely and we have begun an immediate investigation in line with council procedures," he said.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said the lollipop man ushered "children and their parents across the road several times in front of the fire appliance".
A spokesman said: "A firefighter spoke to the crossing guard and moved the remaining pedestrians out of the road before assisting other vehicle drivers to clear a path so we could continue to the incident." | A lollipop man has been suspended after claims he stopped a fire engine on its way to a 999 call. |
38,205,024 | The cartoon depicts a beer-swilling Aboriginal man being handed back his errant son by a police officer - and, on being instructed to teach the boy about "personal responsibility", struggling to remember his name.
Drawn by one of Australia's best known cartoonists, Bill Leak, the satirical image caused an uproar when it appeared in The Australian newspaper in August.
Some condemned it as unfairly tarnishing all Aboriginal fathers; others applauded it for highlighting an unpalatable truth. But was it racist, and should it have been banned by law?
These questions are exercising federal politicians as they prepare to hold an inquiry into the Racial Discrimination Act, focusing on a contentious section which outlaws behaviour likely to "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" people on the basis of race, colour or ethnic origin.
The section, 18C, is anathema to conservatives, who call it a gag on freedom of speech. They point to the cartoon and another recent case, involving racism allegations against three Queensland University of Technology (QUT) students, as underlining the need for reform.
Defenders of the law, though, who include opposition Labor politicians, ethnic community organisations and the UN special rapporteur on racism, say it has worked well for 20 years, protecting Australians from ethnic minority backgrounds from harassment and intimidation.
They also note that the act - under which discrimination complaints are initially investigated by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) - operated without controversy until 2011, when the Federal Court ruled it had been breached by a leading right-wing commentator, Andrew Bolt.
Mr Bolt had published articles and blogs in which he accused nine fair-skinned Australians with mixed heritage of playing up their Aboriginality to secure jobs, grants and awards.
The judgement outraged his friends and ideological soulmates, who include former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Mr Abbott's government drafted amendments diluting the act in 2014, but backed down following an outcry from community groups - and from MPs in the ruling Liberal Party who represent ethnically diverse urban electorates.
Those same groups are now mobilising again as battle lines are drawn on an issue which arouses strong opinions and emotions on both sides of the political divide.
While Australia prides itself on its multiculturalism, with more than one in four people born overseas, some are uneasy at what Tim Wilson, a prominent libertarian turned Liberal MP, calls "the direction of the country... its ethno-cultural make-up and whether we're holding to our values and traditions".
The parliamentary inquiry has been ordered by Mr Abbott's successor, Malcolm Turnbull, who only a few months ago ruled out changes to the Racial Discrimination Act.
Once known as a social progressive, Mr Turnbull, who won power in July by the narrowest of margins, is discovering that government requires harsh compromises. Not only is he under pressure from right-wing Liberals, but he has to court the likes of Pauline Hanson's anti-immigration One Nation to get legislation through the Senate.
One of four One Nation senators, Ms Hanson wants 18C repealed, as does David Leyonhjelm, another Senate cross-bencher who espouses libertarian causes.
The push for reform gathered momentum following the cartoon and QUT rows, the latter involving Facebook posts by the three students after they were asked to leave a computer lab reserved for Aboriginal students. One wrote: "I wonder where the white supremacist lab is."
Both affairs prompted complaints to the AHRC by apparently injured parties. In the Bill Leak case, the complaints were subsequently dropped. In the QUT case, the Federal Court dismissed the discrimination claim as having no reasonable chance of success.
On Monday, the UN special rapporteur on racism, Mutuma Ruteere, called for the Racial Discrimination Act to be protected, describing it as a "useful balance" between free speech and protecting minority groups.
Removing it would "open the door to racist and xenophobic hate-speech which has been quite limited thanks to this provision", he said.
While there is little likelihood of 18C being repealed, opponents are calling for, at the very least, the words "insult" and "offend" to be removed, maintaining that they "set the bar too low" for a claim to succeed under the act.
Mr Wilson told the BBC that the passions surrounding the topic "feed into a cultural concern about whether we're preserving the best type of society we've been in the past ... based on Western traditions of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and liberal democracy".
He said: "It's about whether the law should be used as a weapon to censor and silence conversations on difficult subjects. The reality is: people use their freedom of speech to say challenging and offensive things all the time, and that's what a free society is."
A recent study found that only 1.8% of complaints end up in a court or tribunal, with the rest dropped, dismissed or conciliated by the AHRC.
The QUT and Leak cases were "highly exceptional", one of the report's authors, Katharine Gelber, from the University of Queensland, told the BBC. She also noted that the following section of the Act, 18D, provides a broad "public interest" defence.
At a time of rising populism globally, including a growing backlash against "political correctness", the 18C debate "hits right at the heart of the political divide", Prof Gelber said. | Two high-profile cases involving allegations of racism have reignited a row about free speech in Australia, and mobilised the nation's ideological forces, writes Kathy Marks. |
38,762,045 | Cafodd y Pwyllgor Materion Allanol a Deddfwriaeth Ychwanegol ei sefydlu yn dilyn y refferendwm ar aelodaeth yr Undeb Ewropeaidd, i ystyried y goblygiadau ac amddiffyn buddiannau Cymru.
Daw'r adroddiad wedi i'r pwyllgor gasglu barn arbenigwyr mewn seminarau a chyflwyniadau ysgrifenedig am y chwe mis diwethaf.
Dywedodd cadeirydd y pwyllgor, David Rees bod gadael yr UE yn "codi materion eang a chymhleth i Gymru".
Mae'r adroddiad yn dweud y byddai gosod rhwystrau wrth fasnachu gyda'r UE yn "peri risgiau sylweddol i economi Cymru".
Mae'r Prif Weinidog Theresa May wedi cyhoeddi y bydd y DU yn rhoi'r gorau i fod yn aelod o farchnad sengl yr Undeb Ewropeaidd.
Yn ôl yr adroddiad, mae'r ffaith fod sectorau gweithgynhyrchu ac amaeth yn fwy amlwg yng Nghymru nac yng ngweddill y DU yn "cynyddu pa mor fregus yw economi Cymru" pe byddai rhwystrau masnach.
Mae'r pwyllgor yn galw am ganolbwyntio ar drefniadau trosiannol i leihau'r effaith y bydd gadael yr UE yn ei gael ar Gymru.
Mae'r adroddiad hefyd yn galw ar i Lywodraeth Cymru a'r Cynulliad chwarae "rôl uniongyrchol wrth ddatblygu sefyllfa drafod y DU pan mae'n ymwneud â phwerau datganoledig neu'n effeithio ar y pwerau hynny".
Dywedodd cadeirydd y pwyllgor, David Rees: "Os oedd unrhyw amheuon i ddechrau, mae'r dystiolaeth rydym wedi'i chasglu yn cadarnhau bod Brexit yn codi materion eang a chymhleth i Gymru.
"Mae'n torri ar draws nifer o feysydd polisi, yn ogystal â chodi cwestiynau cyfansoddiadol sylfaenol ynghylch datganoli a'r ddeinameg pŵer rhwng Llywodraeth y DU, Senedd y DU a'r gweinyddiaethau a deddfwrfeydd datganoledig."
Ychwanegodd: "Roedd y mwyafrif helaeth o'r dystiolaeth a ddaeth i law yn dangos bod sicrhau mynediad rhydd at y Farchnad Sengl, heb dariffau a rhwystrau di-dariff, yn hanfodol bwysig i economi Cymru." | Mae pwyllgor y Cynulliad sy'n gyfrifol am ystyried goblygiadau Brexit ar Gymru wedi cyhoeddi ei adroddiad cyntaf, gan ddweud ei fod yn "peri risgiau sylweddol" i economi'r wlad. |
35,348,939 | The road has been closed following the crash that happened shortly after 20:00 GMT on Monday.
Witnesses said a car drove through lights and struck other vehicles then careered along the road on its roof.
Wreckage was strewn across the Falls Road between Broadway and the Royal Victoria Hospital.
The child has since been discharged from hospital. The three adults are believed to have non-life threatening injuries.
Joe Murray was waiting for a bus when the crash happened.
"I head a bang and saw a grey car hurtling towards me. I realised it had hit a couple of other cars," he said.
"My first reaction was to jump on the railings because it came that fast towards me I thought I was dead.
"I could see other people staggering about, dazed. I don't know how anybody walked out of that, all that mess."
Another witness, Daniel Murray, was sitting in his parked car with his young son at the time.
"The car came right through the lights, clipped my car, went right up, over the BMW, hit the Volvo and slid right along the road," he said.
"It was sort of like on fire and there were three boys got out and they ran away."
He said it had "scared the life out of" his son. | Four people, including a child, were taken to hospital after a crash involving five cars on the Falls Road in west Belfast. |
19,201,742 | The Curiosity robot used its wideangle science camera placed high up on a mast to acquire the frames.
The low-resolution vista shows at centre the big mountain that lies in the middle of Gale Crater, the deep depression in which the rover landed.
Curiosity's ultimate goal is to drive towards this peak - informally known as Mount Sharp - to study its rocks.
"This is a very low-resolution panorama," explained Mike Malin, the principal investigator on the rover's Mastcam cameras.
"The individual frames are only 144 by 144 pixels. There are 130 of them in there. It took us about an hour and six minutes to take the mosaic.
"For the full-resolution panorama, the data volume will be 64 times larger, [and] the resolution will be eight times better. But this was pretty enough and interesting enough that we thought it was worth sharing with you guys," he told BBC News.
The colour is what the camera saw. Apart from the process of blending the individual frames, the only modification made was to brighten the image slightly.
Pictures are deliberately acquired underexposed so as not to saturate any bright regions in the field of view.
Gale Crater: Geological 'sweet shop'
Space - the new rock and roll
Discover more about the planets
The full-resolution frames are currently held in the camera memory, but at 4MB per shot it will take some time to get them all back on Earth.
Curiosity has two Mastcams. The one that took this panorama has a focal length of 34mm. The other camera has a 100mm telephoto lens. The two can be used together to make stereo pictures.
The Mastcams will be paramount in helping to plan Curiosity's science mission, choosing where to drive and which rock targets to investigate.
Researchers want eventually to take the robot to the base of Mount Sharp.
Evidence from satellite photos has suggested there are sediments exposed at the base of the 5.5km-high peak that were laid down in the presence of abundant water.
The rover will use its instruments to try to understand what kind of environments existed at the time of the rocks' formation, and whether there were periods in Mars history when any type of microbial life could have thrived.
The Curiosity rover mission is being run out of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory here in Pasadena, California.
A large team of scientists is planning the future work of the vehicle.
The group has divided the ground around the landing site into a series of 1.3km by 1.3km boxes, and has been systematically mapping terrain features and rock textures seen in satellite and rover imagery on to those quadrangles.
"We will use this map to find a path from where we landed to the main target at the base of Mount Sharp," explained Dawn Sumner, a mission scientist and geologist from the University of California at Davis.
"On the way, we're going to have a lot of interesting geology to look at but the team will have to balance our observations and investigations on our drive [with the need] to get to the base of Mount Sharp."
It could take a year or more to reach key locations at the base of the mountain which are some 6.5km away.
Nasa has announced that the quadrangle in which Curiosity currently sits has been named Yellowknife, after the capital of the Canadian Northwest Territories.
Yellowknife was a settlement established by prospectors in the early 20th Century.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter | Nasa's new Mars rover has returned its first 360-degree colour panorama from the surface of the Red Planet. |
29,429,602 | EU ambassadors who met on Tuesday had noted some "encouraging developments" since the 5 September ceasefire was agreed, an EU spokeswoman said.
But other parts of the peace deal "will need to be properly implemented", said the spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic.
The sanctions target senior Russian officials, as well as Russia's oil industry, defence firms and banks.
Western governments and the Ukrainian authorities in Kiev accuse Russia of supplying the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine with heavy weapons and soldiers.
Russia denies the allegations.
EU and US sanctions have been in place since Russia's annexation of Crimea in March.
At least 3,200 people have died in fighting since April in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and thousands of civilians have fled the conflict.
A shaky ceasefire has held since 5 September, and the two sides have since agreed to set up a 30km (19-mile) buffer zone.
But there have been frequent flare-ups of violence.
At least seven Ukrainian soldiers died in a clash with pro-Russian rebels near Donetsk airport on Monday - the deadliest single incident for the military since the truce deal.
A tank shell hit the vehicle carrying the troops, officials said.
More heavy shelling was reported on Tuesday in the Donetsk airport area.
Last week Ukraine's Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, told the UN General Assembly that Russian troops were still operating in eastern Ukraine.
He urged the West not to lift sanctions until his country regained control of all its territory.
Both the US and the EU have said sanctions could be lifted if the situation on the ground improves sufficiently. | The EU is to keep sanctions against Russia in place, judging that Ukraine's peace deal is not fully effective. |
33,632,886 | Media playback is unsupported on your device
23 July 2015 Last updated at 07:36 BST
A cyclist filmed his journey in an area of the city, which was improved for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Glasgow City Council has said the cycle path will eventually be moved behind the bus shelter.
Footage courtesy of Ross McKay | A new bus stop is being built in the middle of a cycle lane in Glasgow, Scotland. |
39,006,800 | Mae'r darlledwyr eisiau symud i safle newydd yn y dref - adeilad Yr Egin.
Ond mae'r datblygwyr, Prifysgol Cymru y Drindod Dewi Sant nawr yn gofyn am £6m gan Lywodraeth Cymru er mwyn helpu i ariannu'r cynllun.
Dywedodd llefarydd ar ran y brifysgol bod y cais am arian ar gyfer "cefnogi isadeiledd ar gyfer creu cwmnïau, cyfleoedd economaidd a diwylliannol newydd".
Dywedodd Mr Jones ddydd Gwener: "Dwi'n cofio, pan gafodd hyn ei drafod gyda mi, y rheswm y cafodd Caerfyrddin ei ddewis oedd na fyddai yna gost i'r pwrs cyhoeddus.
"Nawr, wrth gwrs, mae'r sefyllfa wedi newid.
"Rhaid i mi ddweud, fe wnes i'r achos ar gyfer Dyffryn Aman am fy mod yn meddwl ei bod yn bwysig bod e'n mynd i ardal ble mae'r iaith o dan bwysau aruthrol.
"Ond yr ateb oedd 'Mae Caerfyrddin yno, mae'r safle yno, dyw e ddim yn mynd i gostio unrhyw beth'.
"Mae hynny wedi newid."
Mae llefarydd S4C wedi dweud bod "angen gwahaniaethu rhwng y costau sydd ynghlwm ag S4C yn symud ei bencadlys a 55 swydd i Gaerfyrddin a'r adeilad fydd yn gartref i'r sianel.
"Nid yw S4C erioed wedi gofyn am gyllid Llywodraeth Cymru i ariannu'r symud - bydd hyn yn gost niwtral i S4C dros gyfnod o 20 mlynedd.
"Prifysgol Cymru Drindod Dewi Sant sydd yn gyfrifol am godi'r adeilad fydd yn gartref i S4C a nifer o denantiaid eraill."
Mae'r datganiad hefyd yn dweud y bydd yr arian ar gyfer adeiladu Yr Egin yn dod o'r PCDDS, blaendaliad rent gan S4C a chais grant gan y Brifysgol.
Ychwanega'r llefarydd: "Ond ar wahân i flaendaliad rent S4C, mater i PCDDS yw ariannu, adeiladu a rhedeg yr Egin.
"Nid yw, ac na fydd, S4C yn gwneud cais i Lywodraeth Cymru am arian ar gyfer y gwaith o symud i Gaerfyrddin.
Mae Prifysgol Cymru y Drindod Dewi Sant yn dweud y bydd y symud yn "gost niwtral".
"Nid yw Llywodraeth Cymru yn ystyried cais ar gyfer symud, nac ariannu S4C i symud. Yn hytrach, cais ydyw i gefnogi isadeiledd ar gyfer creu cwmnïau, cyfleoedd economaidd a diwylliannol newydd.
"Mae'r cais hwnnw yn seiliedig ar greu gwerth ac impact ychwanegol i benderfyniad S4C i symud i Sir Gâr."
Mae Carwyn Jones wedi dweud ei fod dal yn gefnogol i'r egwyddor bod S4C yn symud i Gaerfyrddin ac y byddai penderfyniad yn cael ei wneud ynglŷn ag os fydd y llywodraeth yn rhoi arian ar gyfer y symud "yn fuan".
Mae rhai ymgyrchwyr wedi gofyn i'r cynllun gael ei sgrapio ac y dylai S4C symud i Gaernarfon. | Mae'r Prif Weinidog Carwyn Jones wedi dweud iddo gael gwybod yn wreiddiol gan S4C na fyddai unrhyw gost i'r trethdalwr wrth iddyn nhw symud eu pencadlys o Gaerdydd i Gaerfyrddin. |
29,821,692 | The prime minister is facing a rebellion by Conservative MPs who do not want the UK to continue to be party to the EU-wide agreement.
The PM says the arrest warrant has been substantially reformed and that it is in the UK's interest to sign up again.
Labour has pressed Mr Cameron to hold a vote within the next week.
The UK has to decide by 1 December whether to continue to adhere to a host of EU criminal justice and law enforcement measures, including the European Arrest Warrant, under the terms of the 2009 Lisbon Treaty.
Conservative backbenchers have long called for a specific Commons vote on the European Arrest Warrant, which allows the quick extradition of suspects around the EU.
Pressure has grown in recent weeks for the vote to be held before the Rochester by-election, in which UKIP, which wants to leave the EU entirely, hopes to snatch the seat from the Conservatives.
The Home Office, the police and the security services say the EU Warrant is a vital tool to protect the UK but some Conservative MPs argue that it has been abused and has become a threat to the liberties of Britons, and the sovereignty of the UK.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has offered Mr Cameron his party's support in a vote over the European Arrest Warrant, meaning that the measure - which is also backed by the Liberal Democrats - is likely to be passed by the Commons.
But the BBC's chief political correspondent Vicky Young said up to 100 Conservative MPs could rebel.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, Mr Cameron rejected Labour claims that he was putting off a vote on the issue until after the Rochester by-election because he was running scared of UKIP.
He said a vote could not be held until negotiations elsewhere in Europe had concluded and the threat of a block by Spain had been lifted.
"I'm not delaying having a vote on it, there will be a vote on it," he said. "We are going to have a vote and we are going to have it before the Rochester by-election."
The prime minister said the UK had already agreed to opt out of 100 other EU justice provisions, which he said amounted to the biggest single transfer of powers back from Brussels to the UK.
But he added: "It is important we take action to keep Britain safe, particularly from serious criminals and terrorists, and the European arrest warrant offers the best way of doing that.
"I would stress to those who are concerned about this, the European Arrest Warrant is very different from the arrest warrant first introduced under the last Labour government.
"You cannot now be extradited for something that isn't a crime in Britain, judges are able to reject European Arrest Warrants and they have done so in many, many cases.
"And you can't be extradited if there is going to be a long period of detention. These are all important considerations."
Conservative MP John Redwood said he was "disappointed" at Mr Cameron's continued support for the EAW and said it would result in a "happier party and a happier country" if the UK negotiated a separate set of arrangements with other EU countries to maintain its "legal independence". | David Cameron has said a vote on the future of the European Arrest Warrant will be held before the Rochester and Strood by-election on 20 November. |
34,006,916 | When, in 1977, James Earl Carter Jr blew into Washington DC "like a Southern breeze", the 39th President of the United States symbolised a bright, new future.
He'd emerged from the obscurity of a peanut farm in his native Georgia as a man of honesty, armed with the slogan "Trust Me".
With the country still reeling from the Watergate scandal, this platform had much appeal. With unprecedented informality, he insisted on being called Jimmy, and he and his wife Rosalynn walked hand-in-hand from Capitol Hill to the White House on Inauguration day.
Yet, Jimmy Carter was dumped from the presidency after serving just one four-year term, the first elected president to be defeated in office since 1932. But in the more than 30 years since, his second act as a world statesman has changed his legacy.
Born in Plains, Georgia in 1924, as a child, Jimmy was expected to work long hours on the farm, and home life was austere. His nearest neighbours were his black staff who became his closest friends.
When his father died of cancer, Jimmy Carter abandoned a seven-year career in the navy as a submariner to take control of the family farm. He turned its fortunes around and became wealthy in the process.
He entered politics in the 1960s, elected first as Georgia state senator during a special election - starting his campaign only two weeks before voting. After an initial defeat for the governorship of Georgia, he was elected to the state's top office in 1970 - a position he would use as a springboard to the White House.
As a office holder, Mr Carter was driven by a mixture of born-again Christian spirit, a sense of independence and a liberal tradition. The latter was inherited, not from his father, who was a white segregationist, but from his mother, Lillian, who joined the Peace Corps at the age of 68, and spent two years working as a nurse in India.
His sister, a faith healer, had by then convinced him to commit himself totally to God. As president, he continued to preach at Sunday school for children and always said grace before meals, even at state dinners with foreign leaders.
After a narrow election victory against incumbent Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election, problems quickly mounted for Mr Carter. At home, the oil crisis had produced high inflation and unemployment, and he struggled to persuade Americans to accept the required austerity measures.
The high-point of the Carter years was the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978 in which Egypt formally recognised the state of Israel. He also signed a treating returning the Panama canal to Panama.
But subsequent events conspired against him. First, the Shah of Iran was overthrown and 66 Americans were taken hostage in Tehran. Then the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.
The resulting US boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow failed to gain enough support to get them cancelled. He cut off diplomatic relations with Iran and introduced a trade embargo.
But the public did not believe he was being tough enough and his popularity slumped. When an attempt to rescue the hostages failed, and eight Americans military members were killed, Carter appeared even weaker.
To compound his plight, Iran delayed the release of the hostages until after the new president, Ronald Reagan, was sworn in. It was left to Reagan to make America feel good about itself once more.
Instead of disappearing, Jimmy Carter used the prestige of his former office to become a diplomat and mediator across the world under the auspices of his newly founded Carter Centre, based in Atlanta.
He worked behind the scenes to keep the Middle East peace process on track, persuaded the former North Korean dictator, Kim Il Sung, to open discussions with South Korea.
Mr Carter led a delegation that persuaded leaders in Haiti to surrender power in 1994 and he brokered a ceasefire in Bosnia that helped pave the way for the future peace treaty there.
He very quickly added election monitoring to the Carter Centre, famously denouncing the 1989 election in General Noriega's Panama. then advised Daniel Ortega on organising fair elections in Nicaragua which, ironically, resulted in Ortega's defeat.
The Carter Centre has also established health programmes which pushed for the eradication of guinea worm, and is successfully tackling river blindness.
As Mr Carter continued working across the world, his reputation as a failed one-term president soon began to subside.
Such is his worldwide standing after leaving office, Fidel Castro allowed him to broadcast live to the Cuban people in Spanish, despite knowing he would criticise the Cuban leader's civil rights record.
Mr Carter is not without his critics. Some non-governmental organisations working in the field have accused him of often acting unilaterally and have questioned his commitment to longer-term projects.
In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts".
In his acceptance speech, Mr Carter said "war may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children".
The former president has spoken strongly out against some decisions who followed him in the presidency - including the war in Iraq under George W Bush and continuing mass surveillance under Barack Obama, saying Edward Snowden should be considered for a pardon.
He has also criticised Israel's actions with respect to Palestine in a 2006 book "Palestine - Peace not Apartheid", which attracted criticism from many elected leaders in his own Democratic party.
Since 2007, Mr Carter has also become a part of The Elders, a group founded by Nelson Mandela of elder global leaders who no longer hold public office, along with Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt and Mary Robinson.
In August 2015, Mr Carter announced cancer initially found in his liver had spread to become a melanoma in four spots on his brain and that he was to undergo treatment. In December that year he told a Sunday school class in Plains, Georgia, that an MRI scan had revealed no sign of the brain cancer. | Former US President Jimmy Carter is now remembered for more than his time in the White House. |
31,675,312 | On Friday, the UK government proposed a funding "floor" - guaranteeing a minimum Welsh government income.
The Conservatives now want Labour Welsh ministers to call a referendum on devolving part-control of income tax.
First Minister Carwyn Jones denounced the funding offer as a "vague promise" but Mr Crabb said it was a response to specific Welsh government demands.
Tory MP Mr Crabb told the BBC's Sunday Politics Wales programme that the UK government had "moved mountains".
"We've broken down Whitehall and Treasury intransigence, and it's a bit bizarre for the Welsh government and Carwyn Jones to say, hang on, this doesn't change a thing, when they know how far we've moved, and we've moved in the direction they themselves exactly were looking for," he said.
More on this story on Sunday Politics Wales, BBC One Wales at 11:00 GMT on Sunday 1 March. | Welsh ministers' response to a promise on minimum funding is "bizarre", Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb has said. |
27,573,622 | However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said military action must end against separatists in the east.
Mr Poroshenko said he would meet Russian leaders soon but vowed to take a tough line on any armed separatists.
Unrest continues in the east, with pro-Russia militiamen halting flights at Donetsk airport.
Heavy gunfire is now reported there, with thick black smoke rising from the area. Military aircraft have been seen overhead.
Meanwhile election observers said Sunday's vote was a genuine one that largely met international standards.
The mission from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) also said it gave the new president "legitimacy" to open a dialogue with separatists in the east.
Mr Lavrov told a press conference in Moscow: "We are ready for dialogue with Kiev's representatives, with Petro Poroshenko."
Mr Lavrov said EU and US mediation were not needed, but warned Kiev that continuing military operations against the separatists would be a "colossal mistake".
He said: "As our president [Vladimir Putin] has said, we shall treat the results of the expression of will of the Ukrainian people with respect."
But Mr Lavrov said Kiev must also treat its people with respect and that dialogue with the east was necessary to resolve the crisis.
Mr Poroshenko said he hoped to meet Russian leaders early next month, after a trip to Poland where he will meet the US president and EU leaders.
However, he warned he would take a tough line on armed militiamen.
He said: "Their goal is to turn Donbass [east Ukraine] into Somalia. I will not let anyone do this to our state and I hope that Russia will support my approach."
Mr Poroshenko also indicated he would keep current Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, saying: "There are no plans to change the government leadership."
Mr Poroshenko, 48, currently has 53.75% of the vote, with 70% of the ballots counted, and would not need a run-off. Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is a distant second on 13.1%.
Full results are expected on Monday.
The election came three months after pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev amid bloody street protests and calls for closer ties with the EU.
Since then, Russia has annexed the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine and armed separatists in the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk have declared independence.
Mr Yanukovych has also said he will accept the election result, "no matter which regions and what percentage of the population voted", Russian media reported.
Ukraine's interim government is engaged in an offensive in the east to quash the uprising that has left scores dead.
Pro-Russian separatists severely disrupted voting there. No polling stations were open in Donetsk city, and across the region only seven out of 12 district electoral commissions were operating.
"Has Ukraine been reborn?" asks the Ukrainian edition of Komsomolskaya Pravda. It says the election "will have a special place in the history books". But the paper notes that Crimeans did not vote and the voting in Donbass and Luhansk - formerly Ukraine's "electoral core", proceeded with "great difficulty".
"We have survived," proclaims popular Ukrainian daily Segodnya.
Claims in the Russian media that Ukraine is overrun by extremists and neo-Nazis are ridiculed by some social media commentators. The two right-wing candidates - Dmytro Yarosh and Oleh Tyahnybok - polled less than 2% in total.
Prominent Ukrainian journalist Mustafa Nayyem proclaims an "epic fail" of Russian propaganda. "Vladimir Putin won't sleep tonight," he predicts.
:A turning point, or business as usual?
However, the central elections commission said about 60% of Ukraine's 35.5 million eligible voters had turned out.
Unrest continued on Monday.
Flights were suspended at Sergei Prokofiev airport in Donetsk after several dozen separatists from the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic demanded Ukrainian troops guarding the inner perimeter be removed.
Officials said there had been "shots and confrontation".
The head of Donetsk airport's press service, Dmitry Kosinov, said: "On the territory of the airport there are armed people, this is ample reason to halt our work on security grounds."
Ukrainian TV is also reporting clashes in the villages of Semenivka and Andriyivka near the separatist stronghold of Sloviansk. | Russia says it is "open to dialogue" with the new president of Ukraine, as initial results suggested Petro Poroshenko would win its election. |
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A win over France in Vannes on Friday would see England complete the Grand Slam and clinch their first Six Nation's title since 2012.
"It's been a few years since we have been battling it out for the Grand Slam," Croker said.
"We have a new group now, we have rebuilt from the World Cup. Last year and at the beginning of the Six Nations this year people started to write us off.
"But we have really grown as a group and we are hoping to put on a good performance in France." | England hooker Emma Croker and head coach Scott Bemand speak to BBC Sport after Saturday's 20-13 Women's Six Nations victory over Wales. |
38,547,638 | The Swiss, who claims to have "overwhelming" support for the plan to increase the number of teams at the finals from 32, favours 16 groups of three countries, with the top two progressing to the knockout rounds.
If successful, it would lead to the first World Cup expansion since 1998.
There are five options world football's governing body will consider.
Infantino, 46, succeeded fellow Swiss Sepp Blatter as Fifa president in February 2016, having campaigned on a promise of expansion.
The former general secretary of Uefa [European football's governing body] initially suggested a 40-team tournament - an idea put forward by then-Uefa president Michel Platini in 2013 - before shifting focus to a 48-nation finals.
The five options the 37-member Fifa council will choose from are:
In Infantino's favoured option, the number of games rises from 64 to 80, but the finals can still be played within the existing tournament duration of 32 days, while a nation will play no more than seven matches, as in the present format.
One potential flaw is that penalty shootouts may have to be introduced to settle drawn group matches to prevent two sides playing out a result in the last round of games that ensures both countries progress.
Speaking at a sports conference in Dubai in December, Infantino said the World Cup has to be "more inclusive" and that expansion will also benefit "the development of football all over the world".
He added: "There is nothing bigger in terms of boosting football in a country than participating in a World Cup."
Despite saying "the decision should not just be financially driven", Infantino did highlight the possible financial upsides.
According to Fifa's own research, revenue is predicted to increase to £5.29bn for a 48-team tournament, giving a potential profit rise of £521m.
Infantino has said that Fifa's 211 member federations are "overwhelmingly in favour" of a 48-team tournament, with the bulk of the 16 extra places expected to go to Africa and Asia.
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all reportedly expected to back the expansion, as long as Europe is offered guarantees of extra spots.
Fifa is not planning to allocate the extra slots at Tuesday's vote. Europe currently has 13 places which could potentially rise to 16 with one European country in each group.
Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan has said that expansion is "a positive thing for the smaller nations", citing the performances of Wales, Iceland and Northern Ireland in the expanded 24-team Euro 2016 tournament.
Venezuelan Football Federation president Laureano Gonzalez has reportedly said that Fifa has proposed merging the North and South American qualifiers for a 48-team World Cup in 2026.
Gonzalez, who is also vice-president of South American governing body Conmebol, said that any support for the idea would depend on increasing their current combined share of seven places.
"If this went up to 14, similar to what Europe has for more or less the same number of teams, the idea would catch on," he added.
While Britain's Fifa vice-president David Gill is expected to support the expansion plan, English Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn says the organisation would prefer to retain the current format.
"I can't influence Fifa - we're one voice out of 211," Glenn told BBC Radio 5 live Sportsweek.
"Our preference would be to keep the tournament smaller, because there's a quality factor here. But we'll try to influence the shape of it."
The main opposition so far has come from Germany, with football federation president Reinhard Grindel arguing that adding more teams could "strengthen the imbalance" seen at some tournaments.
The European Club Association (ECA), which represents the interests of the top club sides in Uefa, is also against the proposals, saying that an expanded tournament will mean more call-ups, injuries and congestion in the fixtures calendar.
"In the interest of the fans and the players, we urge Fifa not to increase the number of World Cup participants," said ECA chairman and former Germany international Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
"Politics and commerce should not be the exclusive priority in football." | Fifa will vote on Tuesday on plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026, in line with the vision of president Gianni Infantino. |
40,077,651 | Saturday's 2-1 Scottish Cup final win over Aberdeen sealed an unprecedented, unbeaten domestic treble for Celtic.
"It's phenomenal," said midfielder Brown, who has won seven league titles, three Scottish Cups and three League Cups with the Glasgow side.
"For the 10 years I've been here this is best, most determined bunch of lads I've ever played with."
No Scottish club had previously won the treble without losing a game, and 31-year-old Brown added: "This is the best achievement anyone can ask for."
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Brown credited "phenomenal manager" Brendan Rodgers for Celtic's stunning season, and looked back at the Northern Irishman's first game in charge - a shock 1-0 first-leg Champions League qualifying defeat by Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar.
"From the start of the season, away to Gibraltar, nobody would've expected this," the Scotland international added. "But it shows how well we prepared and how much dedication we put into the whole season.
"What we've just achieved, I don't think it will sink in for a few days."
The treble was sealed against Aberdeen thanks to a late Tom Rogic goal at Hampden on Saturday.
Jonny Hayes had given an impressive Dons outfit an early lead, before Stuart Armstrong quickly levelled with a fine left-footed strike.
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Aberdeen, who also finished second in the Scottish Premiership and runners-up in the League Cup, provided Rodgers' side with possibly their most testing domestic contest of the campaign on Saturday.
And despite their dominance this term, Brown admitted the sense of occasion may have played on the minds of the Celtic players in the first half at Hampden.
"The nerves got to us a little bit in the first half. But we sat down in the dressing room, the gaffer was brilliant, and we went out in the second half and knew what we had to do," he added.
"There's always nerves in big games - and to go through the season undefeated, to win the treble, there's always going to be nerves."
Those worries were gone by the time Rogic netted the late winner, with Celtic having dominated the latter stages of the showpiece.
"Its hard to put into words," said the Australian match-winner. "I don't think it has sunk in yet.
"When we look back on going unbeaten through the season domestically with the amount of games we play, and to clinch the treble like that in the last minute is a pretty cool moment." | Celtic captain Scott Brown says the current squad is the best he has played with in his decade at the club. |
39,962,759 | The 46-year-old, the first local coach in six years to take charge of the Leone Stars, was unveiled in Freetown on Thursday.
Keister will also continue in his current job as coach of local premier league club FC Johansen, owned by Sierra Leone FA president, Isha Johansen.
His main task is to qualify the Leone Stars for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Keister has served as Leone Stars assistant coach to three foreign managers - Ghanaian Sellas Tetteh, Swede Lars Olof Matsson and Northern Irishman Johnny Mckinstry.
"Working under three foreign coaches has given me the experience and knowledge to be in this position," Keister told the BBC on Thursday.
"My appointment is a dream come true. We have a massive task to qualify for the Afcon finals."
Johansen congratulated Keister but warned him that the aspirations of seven million Sierra Leoneans lie on his shoulders.
Keister had previously served as head coach of the Leone Stars home based team as well as the Sierra Leone under-17 and under-23 national teams.
The former Leone Stars midfielder was born in Manchester and played for several lower league clubs in England, including Walsall, Chester City, Shrewsbury Town and Stevenage Borough.
He was capped 16 times by Sierra Leone between 1997 and 2003. | Former Sierra Leone international John Keister is the new head coach of the national team. |
40,913,048 | The Blues lost Che Adams for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury during Saturday's 2-1 win over Bristol City.
Fellow front man Lukas Jutkiewicz is also out with a calf problem, leaving veteran Clayton Donaldson as his only attacking option.
"You haven't got to be a clever person to look at the squad and [think]: where do you go now?" Redknapp told BBC WM.
"It's a crazy situation at this stage of the season to be in."
The former Tottenham and Portsmouth boss, 70, agreed a deal to manage the club in May, having helped City stave off relegation from the Championship on the final day of last season.
"You've got no squad, you're going to end up with kids on the bench and kids playing, that's how we are," he added.
"What we need to do is to get some deals over the line. The owners and myself are ambitious. I want to see the team up at the top of the table." | Birmingham City's lack of fit, experienced strikers is a "crazy situation", says boss Harry Redknapp. |
32,944,240 | Marley Watkins gave the Highlanders the lead, but following Carl Tremarco's red card, Peter Grant equalised.
That made for a grandstand finish with Vincent's goal ensuring after just 21 years of existence, Inverness have their hands on a major trophy.
Here, BBC Scotland's Richard Wilson gives his marks out of 10 for the two sides.
Dealt with mainly long-range efforts from Falkirk with relative ease. Was almost caught in possession of the ball inside his area, but otherwise was composed throughout.
Spent most of the game in the unfamiliar position of right-back, and only once cut inside onto his stronger left-foot to shoot. Reliable as ever, but not as prominent in an attacking sense as he can be.
In for the suspended Gary Warren, and played with discipline and intent. A strong defender who was solid and reliable throughout.
A less controversial display than the semi-final, when his handball was one of the defining moments. A mobile centre-back, but did find Botti Biabi's pace and elusiveness difficult to deal with.
Was having a good game, attacking dynamically down the left, until he stumbled on the ball inside his own half. Had to be dismissed when he then brought down Blair Alston, and left the field in tears.
Another hard-working display in central midfield, but was less prepared to try his luck with shots from distance than he normally does.
Covered a lot of ground in central midfield as he always does. The industry was particularly necessary when Inverness were reduced to 10 men, but was fortunate when the ball bounced off his knee into his arm on edge of penalty area and he wasn't penalised.
Burst past Peter Grant and Jamie MacDonald to slide the ball into the empty net for the opening goal and stretched the Falkirk defence with his pace and direct running. Also involved in the winning goal, with his shot pushed into Vincent's path.
Created the opening goal for Watkins with a clever reverse pass and was the busiest of Inverness's creative players in the opening half.
Had licence to drift in off right flank but struggled to impose himself on the game. Was expected to be a creative force, but looked forlorn when he was substituted in the 72nd minute for the eventual match-winner Vincent.
Mostly played in a deeper position behind Watkins, but won plenty of high balls in the air and kept up his work rate deep into the game.
Kept on at his players in the second half when Falkirk were in the ascendancy and his willingness to always be positive was eventually rewarded.
Made some regulation saves with typical competence, but will feel that he should have held Watkins' shot rather than push it straight out to Vincent.
Struggled in the first-half with Doran and Tremarco attacking down the left. Was involved in attack after the break, but crosses were seldom effective enough.
Was otherwise having a commanding game, but his slip and misjudgement of the flight of the ball allowed Watkins to break upfield for the winning goal. Looked distraught after the final whistle.
Powerful in the air and made three excellent recovery tackles in the first-half. Topped off an impressive display with the header for Falkirk's equaliser.
Spent the first-half defending and he second-half attacking. The delivery of the ball with his left foot was always effective.
Clipped a volley over when the ball bounced to him inside the area and delivered the free-kick for Grant's equaliser. Was otherwise quieter than might have been expected.
Along with Grant, Falkirk's best performer. Anchored the midfield, passed the ball well and peppered shots on target throughout the game. Unfortunate to be on the losing side.
A busy, terrier-like performance in midfield. Hared around after the ball and played his part as Falkirk dominated possession in the second half.
Played his way to greater prominence after the break, when he moved to a more conventional central midfield role. Passed the ball cleverly and was always capable of carrying it past opponents with his elusive running.
Started on the left flank and made a couple of runs in behind Shinnie in the first-half, but failed to capitalise. Moved up front after the break, but was replaced by Biabi, who was more effective.
Ran the channels and was always available for the ball. Never really had a clear chance on goal, but contributed to Falkirk's build up play until he eventually ran out of stamina late in the game.
His team was well organised in the first-half, but switch to 4-4-2 at the break allowed them to take control of the game and Falkirk deserved to equalise. Did all that he could to influence the outcome of the game. | James Vincent scored with just four minutes of normal time left to win Inverness Caledonian Thistle their first ever Scottish Cup. |
17,715,345 | A memorial service for the 1,500 people who died was held at the North Atlantic wreck site on cruise ship MS Balmoral, which is retracing the Titanic's route.
A minute's silence was held and wreaths were cast into the sea at the moment the Titanic sank.
And a plaque featuring the names of those who died was unveiled in Belfast.
The ship, which at the time was the largest vessel in the world, was built in the city.
The plaque, in the Titanic Memorial Garden, lists the names of those who died in alphabetical order.
By Chris BucklerBBC News on MS Balmoral
In the middle of the Atlantic a ship's whistle sounded to mark exactly 100 years since the Titanic struck an iceberg.
At that moment passengers stood in silence on the decks all around the MS Balmoral looking out into the darkness.
Hundreds of miles from land some imagined the despair they would have felt being lowered into the sea in a lifeboat. Others thought of their relatives who had drowned here a century earlier.
After the excitement of the departure and earlier days at sea, the ship seemed eerily quiet.
In the cold of the north Atlantic one person described the atmosphere as "almost ghostly".
The Balmoral had traced the route of the Titanic from Southampton to the spot where the ship sank. There it was met by another vessel that had travelled from New York, the destination Titanic never reached.
The ships sat side-by-side thousands of metres above the wreckage, allowing passengers to pay tribute at what some relatives regard as a grave site.
Thousands attended or listened to the Belfast service, which was held at the city hall.
Una Reilly, head of the local Titanic Society, said: "We are all proud of this ship. What happened was a disaster, she was not."
And a memorial service was held in Southampton, from where the ship set sail five days before its sinking.
The anniversary has been marked in a number of services across the UK.
Earlier, on the Balmoral, passengers and crew members listened in silence as the names were read out of those who died when the liner sank on its maiden voyage.
Jane Allen's great-uncle, Thomas Pears, was one of those who died.
Explaining the emotions she felt during the service, she told the BBC: "It was just so eerily quiet.
"And then you look down over the side of the ship and you realise that every man and woman who was not fortunate enough to get into a lifeboat had to make that decision of when to jump or to stay with the ship, until the lights went out.
"And when the lights went out it must have been horrendous. We witnessed that tonight."
Melinda Norris, whose relative Charles Lightoller was a surviving crew member, said: "You still get a chill just looking at that water, imagining you have to go into it.
"We've been listening to the names of the 1,500 people who died.
"It's just an unimaginable amount of suffering took place here, so it's surreal to be here."
Richard Hyman's great-grandfather was also on board Titanic and lived to tell the tale.
Mr Hyman said: "You imagine it's pitch black, freezing cold, nothing is anywhere near you other than an iceberg.
"The fear that must have been with all those people who were either stuck on the ship or in a lifeboat, not knowing whether they were going to survive or not.
"And people did freeze to death as well, even though they'd survived the disaster."
Another cruise ship, Azamara Journey, which has travelled from New York, also held a service at the site of the disaster, which occurred 400 miles (640km) off the coast of Newfoundland.
The sinking is also being remembered in other parts of the globe including New York, which had been the Titanic's intended destination.
About 1,300 passengers, ranging from millionaires to poor emigrants, and about 900 crew were on board the Titanic when it sank on its maiden voyage.
The ship left Southampton on 10 April 1912. It headed to Cherbourg in France and Queenstown - now Cobh - in the Irish Republic before heading for New York.
The ship hit an iceberg at 23:40 (Ship's Time) on 14 April 1912, and sank two-and-a-half hours later. | The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is being remembered at a number of a special events, including one in the ship's birthplace Belfast. |
36,297,088 | The flight was about to leave from Rygge airport near the Norwegian capital, Oslo, when it was evacuated.
Two men were detained by police after their behaviour aroused suspicion but were later released.
The situation was "back to normal", police said in a tweet. Ryanair said the passengers would also depart.
No suspicious devices were found on the plane.
News reports quoting a police official say one of the arrested men was British and the other was from Sri Lanka.
The reports said the men had been heard arguing loudly and the word "bomb" was overheard on the flight, which had been due to leave at 18:55 local time (15:55 GMT).
The evacuation in Norway came hours after Manchester's Old Trafford football stadium was cleared after a suspicious item was found.
It was later confirmed by British police that the item had been "accidentally" left by a private company after a training exercise. | A Ryanair flight from Norway to Manchester has been evacuated before take-off over a bomb scare which police say was due to a misunderstanding. |
39,345,983 | The body of Steven Fretwell, 47, was found at an address on Kingswood Avenue in Dinnington on Sunday 18 December.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Fretwell died of multiple injuries, said South Yorkshire Police.
The men, aged 21, 28 and 35, have all been charged with murder and are due to appear before Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
Nathan Kieran Fensome, 28, from Dinnington, Ashley Grant Fensome, 21, also from Dinnington and Barry Scott Plant, 35, from Wath have all been remanded into custody, said police. | Three men have been charged over the murder of a man in Rotherham just before Christmas. |
35,242,457 | Andrew Gilmour, 76, from Glasgow, denied committing the offences at locations in Glasgow and the Western Isles between 1989 and 1995.
He was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow after the victims, now aged 35 and 40, gave evidence against him.
The court heard that Gilmour abused his victims when they were aged 11 to 15 and 13 to 14.
Jailing him, judge Lord Bonomy told Gilmour: "You were in a position of very important trust.
"To do justice in this case it is necessary to impose a prison sentence."
Gilmour was also placed on the sex offenders register.
One victim, now aged 35, told the court that he was touched inappropriately by Gilmour in a church and church hall in Glasgow, as well as Gilmour's home.
He said: "What was happening was absolutely wrong. I was scared and felt confused."
The victim told the court that he decided to come forward after seeing a woman, who was abused as a child, telling of her experience on television.
The man broke down as he told the jurors: "The woman said during her interview: 'If nothing else I can stop it happening to anyone else'.
"As I watched I felt disgusted with myself that I could have left there and let it carry on with someone else and not done anything about it."
He was asked if he was sexually abused in the church and replied: "Yes, one of the places was a room in the church where the minister would get ready."
The victim added: "He would also touch me inappropriately when I was helping him set out the Bibles in the church."
He also told of how he was abused in a church in the Western Isles during a Boys' Brigade camp. | A former Boys' Brigade captain has been jailed for two years for sexually abusing two boys in his company. |
10,565,346 | Eliza Samudio, 25, was a former girlfriend of Bruno Fernandes, goalkeeper for Flamengo, Brazil's most popular club.
He handed himself into police after a warrant was issued for his arrest over her disappearance nearly a month ago.
Mr Fernandes, 25, has denied any wrongdoing, and said he has a "clear conscience".
But police say a teenage cousin of Mr Fernandes has given evidence that the goalkeeper was involved in her kidnap and suspected murder.
Ms Samudio had said that the married footballer was the father of her baby.
Police say Ms Samudio was taken by force from a hotel in Rio de Janeiro on the day of her disappearance and was strangled in the city of Belo Horizonte.
They say her body was cut up and parts were fed to dogs, while the rest was buried under concrete.
Police are still searching for her remains, but say her death is "materially proven".
Police have also arrested Mr Fernandes's wife, Dayane Souza, and several of his friends.
They say interrogation of the other suspects has backed up the account given by Mr Fernandes's teenage cousin.
Flamengo have suspended Mr Fernandes's contract and say the club lawyer will no longer be acting in his defence.
He had been goalkeeper of the Rio de Janeiro club since 2006, and captained them to the Brazilian championship last year.
Mr Fernandes has expressed regret that the allegations could damage his chances of playing for Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. | The missing former lover of a top Brazilian football star was strangled and then fed to dogs, police say. |
13,041,326 | That single act trumped the Soviet achievement of sending the first man into space eight years earlier. But what might have happened if the Soviet Union had got to the Moon first?
The first manned lunar landing was a triumph for Nasa, and when the Americans won the Space Race, they also sounded its death knell.
The Apollo lunar programme continued until 1972 and 12 astronauts touched down on the Moon's surface. But US TV networks quickly bored of the Moon landings. When politicians lost interest, the Apollo programme was scrapped.
Of course, we have not been back since. Instead, human exploration of space has been confined to low-Earth orbit.
Piers Bizony, who has co-written a biography of Gagarin called Starman, says: "The Russians were in the business of conquering space... The Americans felt they were in a race and the nature of a race is that once you think you've won it you tend to stop running."
Had the Soviets got to the Moon first it is unlikely that they would have abandoned it as swiftly as the Americans.
Not being a democracy may have enabled the USSR to spend money and marshal the talents of their population in a way that America could not.
Space historian Dr Christopher Riley believes that not only would the Soviet Union have continued with Moon missions, but they might also have built lunar bases.
And he believes that the Americans would have been compelled to do the same and even try to continue to outdo their communist rivals.
"The history that followed in the decades afterwards would have been completely different," he says.
In the summer of 1969, when the Apollo 11 crew were on their way to the Moon, US vice-president, Spiro Agnew declared that America would be on Mars by 1980. At the time, this was seen as a relatively feasible goal given how fast things had progressed in the 1960s.
"They certainly had it in their minds and on their drawing boards and there were designs of methods to get to Mars that might have been put into action in response to a Soviet landing on the Moon," says Dr Riley.
So how close were we to following this alternative reality?
Quite close, according to Piers Bizony: "Those who imagine Apollo had the Moon race to itself are wrong," he says.
The US seemed to have taken the lead in 1968 when it successfully boosted three astronauts into lunar orbit with its Apollo 8 mission.
But the Americans rushed ahead with that mission because they were afraid that the Soviet Union was about to beat them yet again and pull off another space coup.
The USSR was using a rocket called the Proton which is still in use today. The Soviets were sending payloads into space with a view to putting a cosmonaut into a so-called circumlunar flight which would take him around the Moon and straight home again without going into orbit.
They had flown an unmanned mission a few months before Apollo 8 that had taken just such a trajectory around Earth's natural satellite.
The Soviets had also built their own Moon rocket (known as the N-1) and their own lunar lander.
So how did the Americans win?
The first seeds were sown in 1957 by President Eisenhower following the launch of the first satellite by the USSR.
The launch of Sputnik 1 generated fear across the US - and a quiet realisation that the country had fallen technologically behind the Soviet Union.
President Dwight Eisenhower's response was to increase the budget for education to raise the academic standard in universities across America.
Dr Riley comments: "To increase the brainpower they'd need to pull off these technological feats to take on the Russians and win."
Eisenhower also commissioned the Saturn V rockets, principally to launch multi-tonne satellites for spying. But when President Kennedy inherited the White House and had to respond to Gagarin's flight, the Saturn V was already in development.
It was the Saturn V rocket that enabled the US to send astronauts to the Moon.
The early Soviet Space triumphs were managed and steered by Sergei Korolev, the man who built the R7 rocket that put Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin into orbit.
But after Korolev's death in 1966, the Soviet space effort lost focus.
Because he was not there to assert his authority, there was not one Soviet attempt to reach the Moon, but several rival schemes to reach the Moon.
According to Piers Bizony, the rival schemes sucked resources from each other: "There was a great deal of confusion in the Soviet space effort in the late 1960s and as a result they didn't have the technology to send a man to the Moon," he says.
Nor did they have the computing power. By today's standards the Apollo 11 onboard computer was pretty crude, but it was ahead of its time and was crucial for America's successful Moon landings.
Who might have been first to walk on the Moon in this alternative reality is anyone's guess. Yuri Gagarin died in 1968 in a plane crash and so would not have been available for any Soviet Moon shot. In any case he was too much of a national treasure to have been sent on such a risky mission.
However, if Korolev had lived a little longer and if Soviet spies had stolen US computer technology, then the Moon might well have been colonised and have been a base for international manned missions to Mars and - perhaps - beyond.
But 50 years on from Gagarin's historic flight, the Russians will once again be the planet's pre-eminent space-faring nation. This year, the US will retire its space shuttle fleet, its only craft capable of sending astronauts into space.
According to Mr Bizony: "America has no clear idea of what will replace the shuttle and no clear idea of whether as a nation they are truly committed to the human spaceflight adventure.
"Meanwhile Russia will be flying American astronauts and those from other countries on board their Soyuz capsule. And that Soyuz lifts on a rocket very similar in its essential construction to the one that launched Yuri Gagarin." | The Americans won the race to the Moon when Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface in 1969. |
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