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14,440,414 | One of the five men said they were kept shackled in a cave with little food for much of the time and their drinking water was contaminated by worms.
The men were working for a South Korean construction company and were building a road north of Mazar-e-Sharif when they were seized in December.
They arrived in Dhaka on Sunday.
One worker was shot dead and two others were released almost immediately.
The terms of their release have not been disclosed.
Correspondents say that insurgents often target government projects such as roads because they are seen to be symbols of the central government which they reject.
"When they first took us, it was winter. And they kept us in small rooms in a house. We were only allowed out once a day, at night. All we had to eat was bread," Mohammad Aminul Islam told the BBC's Bengali service on arrival in Dhaka on Sunday.
"When spring came, they took us to a mountain and they dug a cave and kept us there. We were always shackled. They gave us two litres of water each a day. There were worms in the water which we filtered before drinking."
Mr Islam said the Taliban would not say exactly why they were targeted.
"The militants used to say that, as fellow Muslims, the Bangladeshis should not be working for the Americans," he said.
The Taliban also complained that the work the team was doing in building roads was making it more difficult for the insurgents to plant roadside bombs.
Bangladesh's foreign minister said the Afghan government and the South Korean company were involved in the release.
It is not clear whether a ransom was paid.
In April, Taliban insurgents released 12 Iranian and Afghan engineers kidnapped while working in a remote area of western Afghanistan.
The men were employed on a road-building project in Farah province when they were taken by gunmen.
Local tribal elders acted as mediators with Taliban to secure their release. | A group of Bangladeshis, who were held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan for more than seven months, have been describing their ordeal to the BBC. |
38,450,664 | The goal is to radically reduce the amount of time it takes to send stock to health clinics in the African nation by road or other means.
The scheme involves Zipline, a Silicon Valley start-up that began running a similar service in Rwanda in October.
Experts praised that initiative but cautioned that "cargo drones" are still of limited use to humanitarian bodies.
The Department for International Development (Dfid) has not said how much money will be invested in the Tanzanian effort or for how long.
It also announced plans to fund tests of drones in Nepal to map areas of the country prone to damage from extreme weather, so help prepare for future crises.
"This innovative, modern approach ensures we are achieving the best results for the world's poorest people and delivering value for money for British taxpayers," commented the International Development Secretary Priti Patel.
Zipline's drones - called Zips - are small fixed-wing aircraft that are fired from a catapult and follow a pre-programmed path using GPS location data.
The advantage of the design over multi-rotor models is that the vehicles can better cope with windy conditions and stay airborne for longer. In theory, they can fly up to about 180 miles (290km) before running out of power, although Zipline tries to keep round trips to about half that distance.
Their drawback is that they require open space to land - in Zip's case an area about the size of two car parking slots.
Zipline gets round this issue by having its drones descend to heights of about 5m (16.4ft) when they reach their destinations and then release their loads via paper parachutes. Afterwards, they regain altitude and return to base before coming to rest.
The aircraft fly below 500ft (152m) to avoid the airspace used by passenger planes.
Tanzania, Rwanda and Malawi - which uses a different type of drone for medical deliveries - all take a permissive approach to unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] regulations, helping make them attractive places for such trials.
Earlier in the year, Tanzania also authorised the use of drones in its Tarangire National Park as part of an effort to deter animal poachers.
Dfid estimates that flying blood and medical supplies by drone from out of Tanzania's capital, Dodoma, could save $58,000 (£47,400) a year compared to sending them by car or motorcycle.
But a spokeswoman suggested that the time savings were more crucial.
"Flights are planned to start in early 2017, and when they do it is estimated that [the] UAVs could support over 50,000 births a year, cutting down the time mothers and new-borns would have to wait for life-saving medicine to 19 minutes - reduced from the 110 minutes traditional transport methods would take," she explained.
The Ifakara Health Institute - which specialises in treatments for malaria, HIV, tuberculosis as well as neonatal health issues - will be the local partner.
The Humanitarian UAV Network and other non-profit bodies recently surveyed the use of drones to carry out human welfare tasks.
The study highlighted the work Zipline was doing, noting the firm was capable of setting up a new drones launch hub in as little as 24 hours, meaning it was well suited to rapid response efforts as well as longer-term projects.
But the study also noted that humanitarian cargos are often measured in tonnes rather than kilograms, and need to be transported across longer distances than a Zip can manage.
"Given these current trade-offs relative to manned aviation, the specific cases in which cargo drones can currently add value are particularly narrow in the context of the universe of needs that humanitarian organisations typically face," it said.
And it added that more research was needed to properly evaluate whether existing schemes were as reliable as claimed.
"Organisations considering the use of cargo drones need statistics on flights performed, hours logged, failure rates and other performance measures." | The UK government is to fund a trial of drone-based deliveries of blood and other medical supplies in Tanzania. |
33,832,091 | Motherwell, now on a run of three successive defeats, took a fifth-minute lead through Marvin Johnson's shot.
However, a cross from Niall McGinn flew straight in to draw Derek McInnes's side level before the break.
And defender Ash Taylor headed an emphatic winner from another McGinn delivery to give the Dons nine points from nine.
It is the first time since 1991 Aberdeen have won their opening three league matches of the season and last year's runners-up are playing with an air of confidence and authority, a consequence of the winning habit they have developed.
This was a big win for them, with Motherwell proving testing opponents in a fabulously entertaining match.
Both sides possess players with terrific pace, which added to the absorbing, end-to-end nature of the contest. Indeed, the opening goal owed much to Motherwell's counter-attacking ability.
Lionel Ainsworth broke with lightening speed to feed Scott McDonald and the Australian forward's powerful shot was pushed away by Danny Ward. The ball then fell for Johnson, who volleyed into the ground and past the keeper.
Aberdeen's equaliser came in bizarre fashion as McGinn curled in a cross from the left and as players from both sides tried and failed to get a touch, the ball crept past the flat-footed Connor Ripley and in off the far post.
Both sides contributed hugely to a frenetic game but Aberdeen will feel they deserved the win, having dominated possession and creating more danger for the opposing keeper.
David Goodwillie should perhaps have headed them in front just after the interval, but Taylor did exactly that in the 62nd minute.
McGinn swept in a free kick from the left and Taylor rose to plant a firm header into the net as Ripley came off his line and failed to get anywhere near the cross.
The busy McGinn almost put the game beyond Motherwell with a terrific run and shot, which on this occasion came back off an upright.
The high tempo continued in the closing stages but Motherwell could not fashion another opportunity to seriously test Ward as the large visiting support went home delighted.
Match ends, Motherwell 1, Aberdeen 2.
Second Half ends, Motherwell 1, Aberdeen 2.
Substitution, Motherwell. Chris Cadden replaces Jake Taylor.
Substitution, Motherwell. David Clarkson replaces Louis Moult.
Attempt missed. Adam Rooney (Aberdeen) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Attempt missed. Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Corner, Aberdeen. Conceded by Louis Laing.
Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) hits the right post with a left footed shot from the left side of the box.
Lionel Ainsworth (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Shaleum Logan (Aberdeen).
Foul by Steven Hammell (Motherwell).
Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt saved. Dom Thomas (Motherwell) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by Adam Rooney (Aberdeen).
Louis Laing (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Louis Moult (Motherwell) header from the left side of the six yard box misses to the right.
Louis Moult (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ash Taylor (Aberdeen).
Substitution, Aberdeen. Paul Quinn replaces David Goodwillie.
Corner, Aberdeen. Conceded by Stephen McManus.
Substitution, Motherwell. Dom Thomas replaces Marvin Johnson.
Graeme Shinnie (Aberdeen) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Lionel Ainsworth (Motherwell).
Attempt saved. Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by Adam Rooney (Aberdeen).
Louis Laing (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Lionel Ainsworth (Motherwell) left footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left.
Foul by Kenny McLean (Aberdeen).
Louis Moult (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adam Rooney (Aberdeen).
Steven Hammell (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal! Motherwell 1, Aberdeen 2. Ash Taylor (Aberdeen) header from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Niall McGinn with a cross following a set piece situation.
Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Josh Law (Motherwell).
Ash Taylor (Aberdeen) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ash Taylor (Aberdeen).
Scott McDonald (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Scott McDonald (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Scott McDonald (Motherwell) header from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Aberdeen. Conceded by Jake Taylor. | Aberdeen's perfect start to the Premiership season continued with a hard-fought victory at Fir Park. |
15,063,895 | The search firm lent its expertise in scanning documents to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Both amateur and professional scholars will now have access to 1,200 megapixel images.
Five scrolls have been captured, including the Temple Scroll and Great Isaiah Scroll.
Ardon Bar-Hama, a noted photographer of antiquities, used ultraviolet-protected flash tubes to light the scrolls for 1/4000th of a second. The exposure time - which is much shorter than a conventional camera flash - was designed to protect the scrolls from damage.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered between 1947 and 1956 inside 11 caves along the shore of the Dead Sea, East of Jerusalem.
As well as containing the oldest copies of many biblical texts, they also include many secular writings relating to life in the 1st and 2nd Centuries AD.
The texts are generally written on papyrus or parchment, and in many cases only small fragments remain.
Scrolls available for viewing online are:
Google has assisted in digitising a large number of historical documents, including the Art Project, which brings together high resolution versions of many classic paintings from galleries around the world.
It has also created Google Earth tours of Spain's Prado Museum, and digitised documents from the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum.
However, the company has run into difficulties with its plan to scan all of the world's books.
It has already paid out $125m to settle a claim for copyright infringement by the US-based Authors Guild.
More recently, a group of writers from the UK, Australia and Canada initiated a legal action against five US universities that had been compiling an online library of texts scanned by Google.
The so-called "orphaned works" are out of print and their authors cannot be traced. | Ultra-high resolution images of several Dead Sea Scrolls are now available on the web, after Google helped digitise the ancient texts. |
33,421,521 | The plan is said to include a demand for Greece's debt to be cut by up to 30%, after voters rejected the terms of an international bailout on Sunday.
Athens has been urged to make "serious" proposals as Greece risks defaulting on its €323bn ($356bn; £228bn) debt.
Greece's banks are to stay closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is maintaining its pressure on Greek banks, refusing to increase emergency lending and ordering them to provide more security for existing emergency loans.
Follow the latest updates
Eurozone finance ministers will meet in Brussels later on Tuesday before a full summit of eurozone leaders.
Mr Tsipras may be prepared to accept many of the demands made by Greece's creditors, the BBC's Chris Morris in Athens reports.
But - emboldened by his resounding win in the referendum - Mr Tsipras also wants the more gradual implementation of some reforms and substantial debt relief, reports say.
Following a meeting on Monday, the leaders of all Greek parties except the communists and far-right Golden Dawn party released a joint statement insisting that the country should stay in the eurozone.
"The recent verdict of the Greek people is not a mandate for rupture, but a mandate to continue and strengthen the effort to reach a socially fair and economically viable deal," the statement said.
Central to any negotiations will be new Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, who replaced outspoken Yanis Varoufakis on Monday.
Mr Tsakalotos has admitted he is nervous and worried about the crisis, but said Greece deserved a better deal.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says the eurozone could not "take the risk of Greece leaving". He told French radio: "The basis for a deal exists."
However, Germany earlier warned against any unconditional write-off of Greece's debt, saying it would destroy the single currency.
"I really hope that the Greek government - if it wants to enter negotiations again - will accept that the other 18 member states of the euro can't just go along with an unconditional haircut [debt write-off]," said German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
Speaking at the European parliament in Strasbourg, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the "ball lies in the court of the Greek government and it must explain in Brussels today how it sees ourselves extricating ourselves from the current situation".
What happens next?
Meanwhile, the ECB said it would keep emergency cash support for Greek banks, which are running out of funds and on the verge of collapse, at the same level - refusing requests for additional support.
It told the banks to lodge more collateral - or assets - with the Bank of Greece, reducing the amount of spare cash the banks have.
Greece's Economy Minister, Giorgios Stathakis, had earlier told the BBC that the ECB had to keep Greek banks alive for seven to 10 days so that negotiations could take place.
Last week, Greece ordered banks to close after the ECB froze its financial lifeline following the breakdown of bailout talks in Brussels.
Capital controls have been imposed, with people unable to withdraw more than €60 a day from cash points.
With pressure growing on the Greek banking system, the eurozone summit will have to give a pretty clear signal that it thinks progress can be made.
But the two most important leaders in the eurozone, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande, appear to be struggling to find a common position on Greece in the wake of Sunday's "No" vote.
Broadly speaking, some countries - led by France - are pushing for a deal that will give Greece some breathing space to stay in the eurozone.
Others - led by Germany - are under greater political pressure at home, and wonder whether such a deal is possible.
It all leaves Greece in the most precarious position it has experienced in five years of wrenching economic crisis. The best that can be said is that it could go either way.
Peston: ECB tightens squeeze on banks
Pharmacies running low
What does Europe make of 'no' vote?
Greece's last bailout expired last Tuesday and Greece missed a €1.6bn payment to the IMF.
The European Commission - one of the "troika" of creditors along with the IMF and the ECB - wanted Athens to raise taxes and slash welfare spending to meet its debt obligations.
Greece's Syriza-led left-wing government, which was elected in January on an anti-austerity platform, said creditors had tried to use fear to put pressure on Greeks. | Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to present new proposals at a eurozone emergency summit on his country's growing debt crisis. |
34,889,958 | Okay, okay but before you nod off, it is worth pointing out this is a vital issue which goes to the heart of new powers for Scotland.
The Scotland Bill, currently making its way through Westminster, stands to transform Holyrood into one of the world's most powerful devolved parliaments - or so we're told by the UK government.
Edinburgh is on course to gain major new tax and welfare powers - but that's currently being overshadowed by a debate about whether it can be done fairly.
At the moment, most of Scotland's £30bn annual budget is funded by the UK Treasury - known as the block grant - and the amount of cash which goes into the pot is worked out under the Barnett Formula.
Once Holyrood gets more power to raise its own tax money, the amount of Barnett cash which comes north of the border will be cut.
Year One of these powers is straightforward enough - if you get £10bn worth of cash-raising powers, £10bn is then deducted from the block grant.
But things start getting complicated in future years, where tax policy in Scotland and the rest of the UK could begin to look very different.
The Smith Commission, set up by UK ministers to agree which new powers should be transferred from Westminster to Scotland, said the final solution shouldn't put Scotland, or the rest of the UK, at a disadvantage.
But some argue that's a near impossible task.
Economist Prof David Bell, said: "Neither side will be entirely happy - one will probably be more unhappy than the other.
"It's not clear which way it would go and there's none which I would say is demonstrably superior."
Prof Bell, of Stirling University, has just co-authored a report by the IFS economic think tank, which has looked at various ways of adjusting the block grant.
Each has its pros and cons - and getting your brain around the economic theory isn't easy.
But one way would be linking the block grant level to economic performance.
Prof Bell explained: "If Scotland manages to grow its tax revenues faster than in the rest of the UK, it will be able to expand its budget relative to the rest of the UK.
"If its tax revenues don't grow as fast, then the likelihood is that the Scottish budget will contract a bit.
"And then there's arguments about whether that should be adjusted for population and how it should be adjusted on a yearly basis, and so on."
To focus on the more straightforward conclusions of the IFS report, not only does it say it cannot be guaranteed that new powers will cause no detriment to Scottish and UK budgets, but failure to find an appropriate funding mechanism could cost Scotland £1bn a year.
Separately, the economist and Glasgow University Principal Anton Muscatelli, writing in The Herald newspaper, warned a bad deal could leave Scotland hundreds of millions of pounds worse off within a few years.
All this has prompted the House of Lords - which is currently poring over the Scotland Bill to deliver new Holyrood powers - to call for a delay until the fiscal framework can be agreed.
Lord Hollick, of the Lords Economic Affairs Committee, said: "Until we know what the rules are, we simply don't have a clue about how this will impact the government of Scotland, the government of the rest of the UK and the people of Scotland and the UK."
The UK and Scottish governments are committed to keeping the Barnet Formula - which partly allocates money based on population - despite much debate over the years on replacing it.
The political scientist, Prof Michael Keating, has a view on the ultimate outcome - and because politicians are involved, you've probably heard this one before.
"It will be a political compromise - it always is," said the Aberdeen University academic, adding: "They'll get something in between and then they'll give it a name, like the Barnett Formula.
"A lot of people said we should have a formula based on need, and you raise some of your own revenue.
"But politicians have shied away from that one, and they're going to back away from it this time, because they'll never find it easy to agree what that formula should be.
"So we'll get a messy fudge."
Meanwhile, talks over Scotland's fiscal framework are being conducted behind closed doors between the Scottish and UK governments.
Scottish ministers aren't keen on a delay but, at the same, say they won't approve anything which doesn't deliver a fair deal.
UK ministers say they're committed to exactly that - but it does look like talks over Scotland's new funding deal will go on for a while yet. | Let's talk about Scotland's new fiscal framework. |
33,267,697 | Finding Your Roots, similar to the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are?, researches celebrity family histories.
A review into an episode, which aired in October, concluded Affleck lobbied producers about ditching details about his slave-owning ancestors.
PBS said it plans to hire a fact-checker and an independent genealogist.
Following its investigation, PBS concluded producers violated network standards by allowing Batman star Affleck to have "improper influence" and "by failing to inform PBS or [New York TV station] WNET of Mr. Affleck's efforts to affect programme content".
The public service broadcaster said it would not commit to a fourth season of the series "until we are satisfied that the editorial standards of the series have been successfully raised to a level in which we can have confidence".
Affleck's request to omit details about a slave-owning relative from the show came to light with the publication of hacked Sony emails between the series host, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr, and Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton.
The details were eventually left out of the show.
"I lobbied him the same way I lobby directors about what takes of mine I think they should use," Affleck wrote on Facebook, when the email exchange came to light earlier this year.
"I didn't want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves. I was embarrassed," the actor said.
At the time, Gates defended his editorial choices: "Ultimately, I maintain editorial control on all of my projects and, with my producers, decide what will make for the most compelling program. In the case of Mr. Affleck - we focused on what we felt were the most interesting aspects of his ancestry," he said in a statement, released in April this year.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Gates thanked PBS for its "thoughtful internal review".
"I sincerely regret not discussing my editing rationale with our partners at PBS and WNET, and I apologise for putting PBS and its member stations in the position of having to defend the integrity of their programming."
The third series of the show will be delayed to ensure "improved editorial and production processes", PBS said in their statement.
It added that the episode in which Affleck's ancestry is examined will be withdrawn from all forms of distribution, including digital streaming and DVD. | US broadcaster, PBS, is postponing its third series of Finding Your Roots, after the show omitted "embarrassing" details about Ben Affleck's ancestry. |
16,962,543 | Percy F Westerman's children's adventure stories of "daring do" sold more than 1.5m copies in the early 20th Century.
Academics and enthusiasts are gathering for a weekend seminar in the city.
Organiser Nigel Gossop said: "He has been forgotten in a city awash with literary greats."
When Percy Westerman began writing in 1908, his stories were so-called "ripping yarns" - tales of gung-ho adventurers, spies and explorers.
He became one of the UK's most popular adventure writers for the next five decades, publishing 174 books.
Tales like The Flying Submarine, Wilmshurst of the Frontier, and Deeds of Pluck and Daring in the Great War led to him being voted "Most Popular Boys' Author" in a Daily Sketch poll in the 1930s.
His short stories and serials were published in popular children's magazines of the time, like Boy's Own Paper and Chums.
Despite his popularity, the writer and his works have slipped into obscurity since his death in 1959.
Mr Gossop admitted "the language hasn't travelled well" with representations of foreigners and indigenous populations now appearing very outdated.
"I don't think it's offensive," he said.
"Its just they are almost historical documents now, reflecting the social context of the time."
"A lot were written during World War I. So all the Germans are very sinister with spiky helmets and are referred to as 'the hun'," he said.
The genre has been much parodied - former Monty Python stars Terry Jones and Michael Palin's Ripping Yarns series of the mid-1970s sent up the style with spoof adventures like "Across the Andes by Frog".
Michael Palin has told Mr Gossop that although Percy F Westerman's stories were not the direct basis for the series, "[his] was a name we were all brought up with".
In Portsmouth, which claims Arthur Conan-Doyle, Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling among its famous literary former residents, Mr Gossop said he was disappointed Westerman had been overlooked for a blue plaque on his former home.
In contrast to Charles Dickens, whom Mr Gossop points out only lived in the city for the first two years of his life, Westerman lived in the city for 34 years.
Dom Kippin, Portsmouth City Council's literature development officer, said there were "no immediate plans" for a plaque in the city dedicated to Percy F Westerman.
He added: "Portsmouth has been home to many great writers over the years.
"Our work with creative writing and literacy projects should ensure that the legacy of writers like Westerman lives on in the city."
Mr Gossop described Westerman as "certainly a quirky guy". He was a stickler for discipline and a keen supporter of the Sea Scouts.
Westerman later moved to Wareham, in Dorset, where he lived on a barge on the River Frome and commanded the local Home Guard unit during World War II.
Mr Gossop has been researching Westerman for about 10 years and has amassed a collection of about 200 books.
He is now in touch with other fans around the world as Westerman's work was also published in French, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, and Hungarian.
With the books no longer being in print, the more sought-after editions can sell for upwards of £50. Ten are now available as digital downloads. | Following celebrations for the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens's birth, fans of another Portsmouth-born writer are calling for him to be recognised. |
30,496,778 | Film critic Mark Adams will replace Chris Fujiwara, who stepped down from the role this year.
Mr Adams, who writes reviews for the Sunday Mirror and trade magazine Screen International, said he would help the annual festival "develop and grow".
He was head of programming at the National Film Theatre in London and at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.
Next year marks the 69th Edinburgh Film Festival. The celebration of UK and world cinema has seen admissions increase by about a third in recent years.
Mr Adams, who will take up the role in March, said: "I'm thrilled to be helping the Edinburgh International Film Festival develop and grow, and am looking forward to bringing new, challenging, entertaining and exciting cinema to the city.
"This is a great festival that deserves its recognition and can only get better and better."
Ken Hay, EIFF chief executive, said: "We are delighted to have Mark joining the team.
"His passion for film, his fantastic experience as a programmer, journalist and critic, along with his reputation in the UK and internationally, make him the ideal choice to drive the future success of the festival." | The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has appointed a new artistic director. |
38,770,046 | Three Clinical Commissioning Groups in Worcestershire plan to only treat the most severe cases where pain interferes with daily life and ability to sleep.
Bosses said changing the scoring system to cut operations will save £2m a year.
The Royal College of Surgeons said the proposals have "no clinical justification".
More stories from Herefordshire and Worcestershire
Redditch and Bromsgrove, South Worcestershire, and Wyre Forest are the CCGs behind the proposals, estimated to lead to around 350 fewer operations a year.
The plans would focus on treating "severe to the upper end of moderate" cases, and people who are obese with a body mass index of 35 or over needing to lose 10% of their weight unless their problems were very severe.
CCG documents said a "patient's pain and disability should be sufficiently severe that it interferes with the patient's daily life and/or ability to sleep".
Stephen Cannon, vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said the scoring system used, known as the Oxford scoring system, "should not be used to create barriers to care".
Many local NHS commissioning groups in England are introducing these kinds of cost-cutting measures.
Harrogate, Vale of York, Shropshire and the south coast of Kent are all imposing similar restrictions on non-emergency surgery.
Some are asking patients to lose weight or stop smoking before they can be considered for an operation.
Other NHS bodies are restricting patient access to some treatments, surgery, expensive drugs and IVF.
Demand for new hips has risen across all ages groups and particularly in the under 60s, NHS figures for England show.
This is mainly because new replacements now last for much longer than before, surgeons say.
But with demand only likely to grow with an ageing population, and the money to pay for them getting increasingly scarce, NHS rationing of hip and knee replacements may well become more common.
A spokesperson for NHS Redditch and Bromsgrove CCG, on behalf of the three groups, said: "If a patient feels that they require this surgery but do not meet these criteria, there is a clear appeals system."
Gordon Wainwright, from Malvern, is waiting for a hip operation and said he is concerned how eligibility will be judged.
"If you are filling in the Oxford test, as we all do, if you want to get the op done you're probably going to not be totally truthful because you want to get your operation done," he said. | Cost-cutting plans to slash the number of people eligible for hip and knee replacements have been criticised by surgeons. |
40,595,049 | The 24-year-old, who joined from Liverpool for £3m last month, played 38 games for the Rams back in 2013-14.
"I always want to strive forward whether it's on loan or if I am there permanently, I always have goals every season," Wisdom told BBC Radio Derby.
"It is great here at Derby, I want to improve and progress as a player."
The defender is one of two new signings for manager Gary Rowett, with Curtis Davies joining from Hull City for an undisclosed fee.
Wisdom played for the Rams on Tuesday in their 4-0 pre-season win over Kidderminster - his first game for the club since being part of the starting XI which lost the 2014 Championship play-off final to QPR at Wembley.
"Everyone knows that I love Derby. It is good to be back. I had a great time when I was here before and it is great to see all the lads again," Wisdom continued.
"Then there's all the guys that I didn't know and it feels like I have been here for ages. It's a good feeling.
"When I was here last time we had a great run and it was a great season for us.
"I am sure hard work, determination, the right results and a bit of luck here and there, hopefully we can do the same.
"You know what football is like, it's up and down. Hopefully we can concentrate on pre-season and take that into the season." | Derby County defender Andre Wisdom says his love for the club helped him make a permanent move this summer following a loan spell earlier in his career. |
33,348,238 | Angela Wrightson, 39, was also battered with a stick with screws sticking out of it by the then 13 and 14-year-olds, it was said.
Ms Wrightson's body was found at her home in Hartlepool in December after a "sustained and brutal assault", Teesside Crown Court heard. Medical evidence showed she had more than 100 injuries.
The girls deny murder.
Jurors heard an array of items were used in the attack.
Nicholas Campbell QC, prosecuting, said: "A number of implements were used as weapons. They included a wooden stick with screws standing proud of the surface, a TV set, a printer from a home computer, a coffee table and a shovel.
"Smaller items such as a kettle and a metal pan were used together with a glass vase and other ornaments.
"There were well over 100 injuries. The evidence at the scene of the crime showed she had been struck in 12 separate locations within that room."
The court was told her blood-stained body was found by her landlord at her home in Stephen Street. She died as a result of blood loss.
Mr Campbell said: "It became clear that Angela Wrightson had been the victim of a sustained and brutal assault."
The younger girl took selfies at the scene and published one on Snapchat, the court was told.
Later she contacted a friend using Facebook, and that witness went on to tell police during the call she heard the defendant shout: "Go on, smash her head in, bray her, kill her."
Both girls were jointly responsible for the fatal attack, the prosecutor told the jury.
The court heard at the time of the attack the pair, who cannot be named, were in the care of the local authority.
Now aged 14 and 15, the defendants had formed an "intense relationship".
Ms Wrightson was an alcoholic and in drink could be a nuisance, the jury heard.
She allowed young people to drink in her house and would buy cigarettes and alcohol for them from a local shop.
The trial continues. | Two teenage girls bludgeoned a woman to death with a shovel, TV set and a coffee table, a court heard. |
35,608,328 | They were young, no older than 35. Their family home had been hit by an air strike, they said, one of thousands launched by a Saudi-led coalition that pounded the province every day that month.
The heartland of the rebel Houthi movement, Saada is among the most dangerous parts of Yemen, and the Al-Jumhori is the only emergency facility in the province — in reality, the only A&E department in most of northern Yemen.
Dr Carrara, an Argentine working for the international medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), triaged the married couple. The husband's injuries were minor and she turned her attention to the wife, who had severe injuries to both her arms. Nearly all the soft tissue had been stripped away by the blast.
As a surgical team prepared to amputate, Dr Carrara spoke to the woman's husband. He asked her to save his wife's arms. Their four children, all younger than 10, had been killed by the strike, he told her.
"We have lost our children," he said. "Please do everything you can."
Since March, when the US-backed coalition launched a military campaign to defeat the Houthis, some 6,000 people — almost half of them civilians — have been killed in air strikes and fighting on the ground in Yemen, according to the UN.
In January, a leaked UN report accused the coalition of "widespread and systematic" attacks against civilians. The coalition says it greatly regrets civilian deaths, which it insists are unintentional.
The coalition is attempting to restore the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was forced into exile by the rebels last March, but the conflict has taken a bloody toll on the country's civilians and ravaged an already fragile health system.
Three MSF facilities and one ambulance have been hit by air strikes, killing at least eight people and depriving hundreds of thousands of access to emergency care — despite the charity providing their co-ordinates to all sides.
With precious few A&E facilities left functioning, Al-Jumhori has expanded from a small facility into a 93-bed hospital treating 2,000 emergency cases a month and performing more than 100 surgeries a week.
"I'd never before seen the level of casualties I saw in Saada," Michael Seawright, an MSF project coordinator, said in January after a stint in the province.
"The scale of wounded was extreme in two respects - firstly there was a large number of wounded coming through the hospital, but second the severity of wounds was also often extreme."
And the bombs have other crippling effects, beyond their blast radius. They discourage many casualties from even attempting to reach a facility, said Teresa Sancristobal, MSF's emergency co-ordinator for Yemen.
"The perception is that the medical facilities are not safe. A lot of times when we ask patients why they didn't come sooner, they tell us they were afraid," she said.
For Yemen's civilians, getting to a medical facility equipped to cope with severe trauma can be hellishly difficult. It can involve an hours-long journey by car, fraught with danger from flying bullets and falling missiles.
On Thursday, a young pregnant woman arrived at Al-Jumhori with 60% of her body burned. Like so many who come through the hospital's doors, her home had been hit by an air strike, this one in the heavily-targeted Razeh district of Saada province, close to the border with Saudi Arabia.
With travel too risky, the woman was forced to wait for a week before her family could take her to a nearby clinic. From there she was moved by ambulance to the Al-Jumhori, a five-hour journey.
"I could not imagine how much pain she was in," said Dr Carrara. "By the time she reached us she was septic and had severe organ failure. We did what we could but there was no hope." The woman died 16 hours later. She was in her 20s.
If she had made it to Saada city within eight hours, she and her child could almost certainly have been saved.
Patients arriving at MSF facilities in Yemen are immediately graded with one of four colours: green denotes that they are walking wounded; yellow that they must be seen within an hour; red that they need immediate resuscitation; black that they are already dead, or have no hope.
"We grade a lot of people black and red," said Dr Carrara. "Most of them are young. They have crash injuries, vascular injuries, fractures, open fractures on the legs and arms, head trauma, penetrating head trauma, abdominal trauma, chest trauma, open chest trauma, blunt trauma.
"Air strikes cause multiple, severe injuries. They put people in critical condition."
The first day we spoke, a family of seven was rushed in to Dr Carrara's A&E. Five — the mother, father, and three children — were immediately graded black. Two boys were alive. The older of the two, aged 20, was graded green — he would survive. The younger boy, aged just eight, was graded red. He had a penetrating head trauma and was in a coma.
When we spoke again the following day, the boy's condition had deteriorated. He will probably die.
Emergencies are not the difficult part of treating the war-wounded, said Dr Carrara. The difficulty comes later, as she follows them through their recovery — "sometimes 10 days, sometimes a month, sometimes more".
"That is when you hear their stories, what happened to them, who they lost. That's when I wonder how they can continue. And that's when it gets difficult." At what point does it become too much? "It doesn't," she said. "You do what you have to. You do the work, that gets you through."
An average day for an MSF doctor in Yemen would be too much for most. Last year, while Saada city was being bombed daily, the medical team at Al-Jumhori — a mix of MSF staff and Yemenis — were working 16-hour days and snatching naps on a handful of shared mattresses in the basement, the risk of leaving the hospital too great.
Dr Carrara's few hours downstairs were usually interrupted by emergency calls, up to four or five per night. The warning system for an emergency is often primitive: the hospital's doors and windows vibrate. A bomb has landed nearby.
"When you feel the ground shake, you know that patients are coming," she said.
In January, a missile hit the Shiara emergency room, an MSF facility in nearby Razeh district. Six people, including three members of the medical staff, were killed and seven more severely injured. The hospital was destroyed.
MSF says it does everything in its power to identify its staff and facilities to Yemen's warring factions, but there is only so much it can do.
"The situation is very difficult, the insecurity is clear," Ms Sancristobal said. "Hospitals have to be a place where patients feel safe. We don't understand how we could have had so many attacks."
The coalition promised in January to conduct a review into the strikes on MSF facilities and set up a "hotline" with the charity. Ms Sancristobal said she did not know what the coalition meant by "hotline" — MSF has been communicating its positions since the beginning of the conflict.
"The communication is good, the results are bad," she said.
In Syria, where two hospitals suffered direct air strikes last week, MSF has been forced to take a startling and opposite tack: withholding the GPS co-ordinates of its facilities from the Syrian and Russian militaries over fears they are being deliberately targeted.
Dr Carrara is preparing to leave Yemen. In Saada city, things are beginning to improve — it is safe enough for the medical staff to live in a house opposite the hospital, although they still do not go out, only shuttle between the two buildings.
The hospital is open again for inpatients, meaning people with chronic illnesses can again seek treatment. Women are delivering babies on the wards again, every day, and staying the night.
It does not take Dr Carrara long to recall the moment that meant the most to her. One morning last October, shortly after returning to Yemen, she arrived for her shift and noticed a woman sitting quietly in the waiting area, her face covered by a veil.
She asked a nurse what the woman was waiting for. "She's waiting for you," the nurse replied. It was the woman whose arms had been so badly wounded in May, whose four young children had died.
Just as her husband had asked, the hospital staff had done everything they could — a massive operation to close her wounds, months of dressing her arms every day under sedation because the pain was so intense. And on top of all that, treatment for the malaria she contracted during her recovery.
"What stayed with me was that she had never once complained, never," Dr Carrara said. "This woman who lost her four children, she didn't complain when she arrived, she didn't complain when she was treated, she didn't complain during her recovery. Her bravery... I couldn't understand how."
That morning, in the waiting area at the hospital, she was alive and well. She had lost three fingers but only a small amount of movement in her arms. She was managing her daily activities, she said. She was coping. It was more than the doctors who had stood with her on the same spot six months before could have hoped.
Dr Carrara has an understated way of describing things — perhaps it is just the effort of using a second language — but her voice thickens a little with emotion as she remembers.
"It was difficult to talk, I don't speak Arabic. The nurse translated for us. She had come to say thank-you. It was nice. It was so nice." | Mariela Carrara was just days into her posting as an emergency doctor at the Al-Jumhori hospital in Saada, northern Yemen last May when a husband and wife were rushed into the building. |
39,955,886 | Read more in our methodology. | This is a guide to political parties' positions on key issues and will be updated as each manifesto is launched. |
39,716,599 | The book belonged to a couple in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, and turned up nearly 300 miles away at a charity shop in West Sussex.
Shop worker Julie Angell‎ said she wanted to reunite it with the couple's living relatives.
She said an appeal on social media had sparked a lot of interest.
More on this and other local stories from across Yorkshire
The book was given to Nancy Harrison by her husband Jim while he was serving in North Africa in 1943.
A hand-written message reads: "With love to Nancy, in remembrance of our wedding day, 14th September 1938."
The book also contains a clipping of a love poem and other hand-written notes detailing key dates, such as the births of the couple's two children, and the marriages of other couples in the Ryedale community.
Mrs Angell, who works at St Barnabas House, Henfield, said the book was donated to the shop on Good Friday.
She said it was while she was looking through it she noticed the notes and poem.
"I felt privileged to read it because it was so touching, and decided to share it with the Silversurfer community on Facebook," she said.
"It all went a bit bonkers."
She said the couple had two children, Dorothy, who was born in Ryedale, in November 1940, and Ronald, who was born in York, in January 1947.
It is thought Dorothy died in childhood, but it is not known what happened to Ronald.
Mrs Angell said she hoped the appeal could help reunite the book with members of the family.
She added that attempts were being made to contact a 95-year-old female cousin of Jim Harrison, who was traced through a family history website. | A charity shop worker who found a prayer book containing a personalised wartime love poem is appealing for help to reunite it with the family. |
33,078,505 | 10 June 2015 Last updated at 14:14 BST
The Children's Laureate is a well known writer of children's books who promotes and encourage children's interest in books, reading and writing.
A new one is chosen every two years.
He takes over from author Malorie Blackman who held the post before. | Illustrator and author Chris Riddell, who created the Goth Girl series, has been named as the new Children's Laureate until 2017. |
38,175,280 | Tubbs joined Rovers from Portsmouth on a one-year deal in July, making nine league appearances before joining Woking on loan in September.
The 32-year-old scored three goals in six games for the Cards, before playing two more games for Forest Green.
"This is a superb signing for the club. Matt has a proven record at this level," Sutton boss Paul Doswell said. | Sutton have signed striker Matt Tubbs from National League rivals Forest Green Rovers on a permanent deal. |
40,232,239 | It happened at about 09:00 BST on Saturday morning.
A man described as about 5ft 11" tall, of medium, stocky build and wearing a dark hoodie, coat and woollen hat entered the shop carrying what appeared to be a firearm, police said.
He made off with money from the till. Police have appealed for information.
Det Sgt Moffett said: "We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed this incident.
"A female member of staff was left distressed by the incident but did not require hospital treatment." | A woman who was working in a food outlet in the St George's Market area of Belfast has been left distressed after an armed robbery. |
17,656,027 | On the one hand, there's the confidence and excitement associated with being part of the famous race's 'first family', whose list of achievements include sending out last year's winner, Ballabriggs.
However, on the other, he will be without his legendary father, Ginger, trainer of Red Rum, and a towering figure at Aintree over five decades, who died in September.
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"There'll be one big piece missing, and that's Dad," he said, "but you wouldn't have to go very far around Aintree to see reminders of him here, there and everywhere, so will he be missing? I don't know."
A specially-commissioned statue of Ginger is to be unveiled by the McCains on the first of the three days of the Grand National Festival, underlining his place in Aintree's rich history.
First there was Red Rum and his unrivalled position in public affections, gained with three wins and two second places in the world's most famous steeplechase during the 1970s.
Then, nearly 20 years later, when many thought Ginger's big-time days were over, he produced one of Aintree's great, romantic stories, when saddling a record-equalling fourth winner in Amberleigh House.
And just 12 months ago, he looked on proudly in the winners' enclosure as his son kept up the family tradition with the success of Ballabriggs.
Speaking at the stables on the Cholmondsley Castle estate, Cheshire, established by Ginger after he moved from a tiny yard famously adjacent to Southport beach, McCain junior said: "It was very, very special.
"You couldn't describe what Aintree meant to Dad, and one of the satisfying things is knowing that he got to see another Grand National winner out of everything he'd put together."
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Admitting that not having a Grand National runner would give him "an empty feeling", the trainer is planning a two-pronged assault this year as Ballabriggs is joined by Weird Al.
"It is the greatest test of a thoroughbred racehorse on the planet," he said, in a tone laced with more than a hint of his colourful late father.
"It is not about class. It is about toughness, durability, professionalism and heart. You've your Derbys, you've your Gold Cups, but this is the greatest test."
And nearing the conclusion of his most prolific season to date, with a whopping 140-plus winners, McCain's pride at having two chances of more Aintree glory is plain as we chat.
He said: "We've only ever wanted to be around nice horses as a family.
"We've never spent money on flash cars or flash houses, and things like that, we've wanted to be around nice horses and we're in a position to be there which is very satisfying."
Ballabriggs's 2011 win came in the most controversial of Grand Nationals, in which two horses died, a race that sparked a safety review and some modifications.
McCain believes the changes won't "make a huge amount of difference" to the race, but hopes that "we can draw a line in the sand, and say this is the Grand National, now leave it alone".
Ginger's response would perhaps have been a little more earthy, but Donald's thoughts were delivered with no less zeal. The McCain family's Aintree baton is in safe hands.
Hear Donald McCain on Ginger during 5 live Racing, Thursday 12 April, from 2000 BST. | Mixed emotions will accompany Donald McCain as he enters the familiar surroundings of Aintree for the 2012 Grand National. |
34,039,595 | The man was found Dartmouth Apprentice site, in Dartmouth, on Saturday evening. Two men were arrested and are being held at Torquay Police Station, officers said.
The 1830s St Barnabas Church building is now a supported living project.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the man was treated by paramedics, but later died.
The building was a church until 1973. | A murder inquiry has started after a 48-year-old man found injured at a former church building in Devon died. |
39,326,666 | Jeremy Swift, who played butler Septimus Spratt, told ITV's Lorraine that the cast had been sent a script - but that it had since "disappeared".
He went on: "It's supposed to be happening - filming - this year, but it hasn't been locked down yet."
The period TV drama, which was a hit around the world, ended at Christmas 2015 after six series.
There has been much speculation about a movie version.
Swift said: "There is a film script which we've all been sent but it disappeared in a Mission Impossible-stylee from our emails. With a little puff."
He said "logistics" were causing a problem with filming and that Downton's success had meant that some cast members had "flown off into the world" to work on other projects.
"It's just getting everybody in that same space and time," he added. "I think there is a huge appetite for it."
Carnival Films, which produces the drama, has already confirmed that a script for a potential movie is in development.
It told the BBC on Monday: "There are still no firm plans about when a film might go into production. When the future plans are certain we will of course make an announcement at the relevant time."
In April 2016, Downton creator Julian Fellowes said he was already thinking about a plot for a film adaptation to avoid being "caught on the hop" if it was given the go-ahead.
Downton Abbey received a special Bafta tribute in 2015. It is the most nominated non-US show in the history of the Emmy Awards and was shown in more than 250 territories worldwide.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | A big screen version of Downton Abbey could be filmed this year, one of its cast members has said. |
38,528,002 | Nottingham's Clinical Commissioning Groups said some services could be delivered in a "community setting".
Heather Peacock, from West Bridgford, who went into coma following the crash in 2015, said this would be a mistake.
Dr James Hopkinson, clinical lead at one CCG, said the measures were about getting "best value" for patients.
Ms Peacock was in a coma for eight weeks following the accident on 1 April which, along with her brain injury, left her with limited movement down her left side.
The 24-year-old, who has been receiving care at Nottingham's City Hospital, said the part of the proposals involved providing only 16 weeks of outpatient care for people with brain injuries.
"I'm very worried about future patients... I want everyone to get the amount of great care and support that I received," she said.
"I've been going back to outpatients for a year now and it has only been in the last few weeks that I have improved quite dramatically."
Seven hospital-based services, including neurology assessment and brain injury care, could be affected if the proposals go ahead.
The local CCG groups said those services based at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) could be delivered in the community, closer to patients' homes.
Dr Hopkinson said: "We're aiming to ensure all those services are fit for purpose and meets the patients' needs and give the best value for money for the public and taxpayer."
The Health Service Journal said it had seen a leaked document to staff that said 13 services would be decommissioned by the CCGs this year.
One of its senior journalists, Shaun Lintern, said it referred an additional 17 services, which are not mentioned in the online consultation, but would be "redesigned".
He said many were to be finished and signed off by July which was "extremely ambitious." | A woman who suffered a brain injury in a car crash has said she fears planned changes to hospital services could damage patient care. |
40,171,477 | The 31-year-old made the comments as he revealed he will be out "for a while" to undergo right shoulder surgery.
Degale is the IBF super-middleweight champion, while fellow Briton Groves holds the WBA super-middleweight belt.
"Groves has gone backwards," said DeGale. "I'm not being disrespectful but he's not got the same sharpness."
Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medallist DeGale added: "He has, however, fulfilled his dream of becoming world champion and it makes our potential rematch even bigger."
"Negotiations will be difficult and the terms will have to be right for the fight to be made."
Groves, who beat DeGale six years ago to win the British super-middleweight title in a majority points decision, won a world title at the fourth attempt by stopping Russian Fedor Chudinov last month to claim the WBA belt.
DeGale's last outing saw a unification fight between him and Sweden's Badou Jack end in a controversial majority draw.
DeGale said a fight scheduled for 1 July had been agreed with Callum Smith but that he "decided to go down the WBC route and will challenge for the vacant world title later this year".
On his injury, he added: "My arm will be in a sling for a few days and I'll be given exercises to do on my own.
"A few weeks later, I'll start my rehab with my physio and within eight to 10 weeks I should be able to spar. I will definitely be able to fight before the end of the year." | George Groves "thinks he is bigger than he is" and does not deserve "a 50/50 split" from a rematch, says the man he beat in 2011, James DeGale. |
40,124,036 | Geoff Marshall and Vicki Pipe asked people to join them at Shippea Hill, Cambridgeshire as they try to visit 2,563 stations in three months.
Shippea Hill is a request stop with just two trains a day and was used just 12 times in the last financial year.
Geoff has previously set records for visiting all London's tube stations.
Geoff and Vicki decided to embark on the trip across the country to "capture the true status of Britain's railways today".
They are hoping to donate their video and photo footage to the National Railway Museum and London Transport Museum.
The journey has been made possible by donations from the public. They raised about £38,500 through an online fundraising page.
"We have a lot of love for public transport and this is just a bigger version of it [visiting all the tube stations]," said Geoff.
"The idea just grew and grew and now we are actually doing it."
He said they were stopping at every station but not always getting off.
If they got off the train at each station it would probably tell them more than 10 months, they added.
The couple were due to explore the Norfolk and Suffolk train lines on Sunday before heading back to London. So far they have visited about 850 stations.
The couple have been documenting their challenge on their Twitter and Facebook pages.
Shippea Hill received a boost in December when former Great British Bake Off finalist Ian Cumming offered mince pies to anyone who disembarked there and attracted 16 people to the station. | More than 20 people travelled to the UK's least visited railway station to meet a couple attempting a train challenge with a difference. |
35,419,293 | The 28-year-old makes the switch from from Roma after spending two-and-a-half years at the Italian club.
He scored scored 17 times in his 71 Serie A appearances for Roma, including six in 14 games this season.
Gervinho, who has twice been voted his country's footballer of the year, moved to Roma from English Premier League side Arsenal in 2013. | Ivory Coast international forward Gervinho has signed for Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune FC. |
37,263,680 | Chelsea loanee Kiwomya's first-half strike put the Railwaymen in front with the fourth goal of his loan spell at Gresty Road.
Kiwomya punished Exeter's high line when he ran clear onto George Cooper's high ball over the top and fired into the bottom corner.
Chris Dagnall should have doubled Crewe's lead after latching onto Jack Stacey's mistake, rounding Olejnik only to drag his shot past the post from a tight angle.
After the break Stacey clipped the crossbar with a chip and Jake Taylor's deflected shot fizzed wide as the Grecians threatened to level.
Dagnall's luck was out again when his angled drive crashed onto the post as City were put under the cosh after half-time.
Olejnik tipped over Jon Guthrie's header, but was beaten by midfielder Hollands who got in behind to shoot under Bobby Olejnik with three minutes left.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Crewe Alexandra 2, Exeter City 0.
Second Half ends, Crewe Alexandra 2, Exeter City 0.
Corner, Exeter City. Conceded by George Ray.
Corner, Exeter City. Conceded by Zoumana Bakayogo.
Foul by Charlie Kirk (Crewe Alexandra).
Matt Oakley (Exeter City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt saved. Ollie Watkins (Exeter City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Goal! Crewe Alexandra 2, Exeter City 0. Danny Hollands (Crewe Alexandra) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Chris Dagnall.
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by Jack Stacey.
Substitution, Crewe Alexandra. Charlie Kirk replaces George Cooper.
Attempt missed. Robbie Simpson (Exeter City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Foul by Danny Hollands (Crewe Alexandra).
Jake Taylor (Exeter City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Ryan Harley (Exeter City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Substitution, Exeter City. Matt Oakley replaces Joel Grant.
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by Robert Olejnik.
Attempt saved. George Ray (Crewe Alexandra) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner.
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by Connor Riley-Lowe.
Attempt blocked. Ryan Harley (Exeter City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Foul by Callum Ainley (Crewe Alexandra).
Jordan Moore-Taylor (Exeter City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Robbie Simpson (Exeter City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Foul by James Jones (Crewe Alexandra).
Robbie Simpson (Exeter City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Chris Dagnall (Crewe Alexandra) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by Connor Riley-Lowe.
Corner, Exeter City. Conceded by Zoumana Bakayogo.
Corner, Exeter City. Conceded by Oliver Turton.
Attempt blocked. Robbie Simpson (Exeter City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
(Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Robbie Simpson (Exeter City).
Corner, Exeter City. Conceded by Oliver Turton.
Substitution, Crewe Alexandra. George Ray replaces Harry Davis.
Substitution, Crewe Alexandra. Callum Ainley replaces Ryan Lowe.
Corner, Exeter City. Conceded by Ben Garratt.
Attempt saved. Ryan Harley (Exeter City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by Danny Hollands (Crewe Alexandra).
Lloyd James (Exeter City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Ryan Lowe (Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ollie Watkins (Exeter City). | Goals from Alex Kiwomya and Danny Hollands earned Crewe Alexandra a hard-fought win over Exeter City in League Two. |
38,859,225 | But historically, the totemic benchmark of the quality of service provided by hospitals is the number of people waiting for surgery and how long they have to wait.
Waiting times for non-urgent surgery were the subject of fierce political debate for much of the last two decades, but recently they faded in importance as targets have been met.
That could now be changing as waiting lists grow longer in the different health systems across the UK and the human cost of delayed surgery becomes more apparent.
Media and political attention has focused on the four-hour benchmark for being treated or assessed in A&E.
The King's Fund think tank believes the number of patients waiting for operations in England will soon top four million - for the first time in nearly a decade - and that could prove to be the tipping point for public and political opinion.
Cutting waiting lists was a key promise by New Labour ahead of its election victory in 1997. Remember the pledge card brandished by Tony Blair and his colleagues?
Labour delivered its policy of reducing numbers waiting for operations by 100,000, and then, in 2008, went further by introducing the 18-week target.
That established a right for patients to start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of being referred by a GP, with a benchmark of 92% of patients seen in that time.
The 18-week target and fines regime, which was refined in 2012, was widely seen as an effective incentive to hospitals to cut waiting times for patients.
Hospitals on average managed to hit and exceed the 92% standard, but that all changed in early 2016 when performance slipped below that target.
Analysis of NHS England data reveals that the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for non-urgent surgery has more than doubled in the four years to November 2016.
That is a much faster rate of increase that the number who start treatment in under 18 weeks and faster still than the rate of growth of NHS operations across the board.
Hospital chiefs and health experts say increasing waiting times are an inevitable consequence of NHS budgets lagging behind increases in patient demand.
When emergency admissions are rising, and with a finite number of beds, something has to give.
Delayed transfers of care make the task of finding beds even harder. Patients waiting for routine surgery and procedures are the ones who lose out.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different target regimes for waiting lists.
All have seen sharp increases in the number of long waits between 2012 and 2016.
Wales has not hit its target since 2010 and the NHS in Scotland has been adrift since June 2014.
The pressures on resources and the ability to deliver timely routine treatment are similar across the UK.
Without an injection of more cash it is hard to see how the waiting list situation will improve, given the stresses and strains on all forms of care across the NHS.
Cancellations of routine surgery over Christmas and early January will contribute to the deterioration.
Waiting lists are still a lot shorter than at the worst points in the 1990s and at times over the following decade.
But the question now is whether patients begin to feel that what they get from their local hospital, unless they are seriously ill, is falling well short of their expectations. | There are many indicators against which patients can judge the performance of the NHS. |
39,042,666 | The channel will have a budget of £30m, equivalent to the amount spent on BBC4.
The plans for the channel include a Scottish news hour at 9pm which will broadcast stories from Scotland, the UK and the world.
The director-general also announced an increase of about £20m a year for Scotland to make UK-wide programmes.
The BBC's Scotland editor Sarah Smith on the new "Scottish Nine"
Brian Taylor: It's a 'yes' to BBC Scotland's new TV channel
He said this would be focused on drama and factual programming.
The key points of the new channel - which will be called BBC Scotland - are:
Lord Hall described it as the biggest single investment in broadcast content in Scotland for more than 20 years.
Scotland should receive about £40m in new funding annually - £19m for the new channel and digital developments, and £20m for making network programmes.
It is hoped that spending on network programmes made in Scotland for a UK-wide BBC audience will rise from about £65m this year to closer to £90m over the next three years.
Lord Hall said: "We know that viewers in Scotland love BBC television but we also know that they want us to better reflect their lives and better reflect modern Scotland.
"The best way of achieving this is a dedicated channel for Scotland.
"It's a channel that will be bold, creative and ambitious, with a brand-new Scotland-edited international news programme at its heart."
The new BBC TV channel for Scotland will broadcast every evening and will show drama, factual, comedy and news programmes made in Scotland.
The development of a nightly news hour at 9pm means that the news output on BBC One in Scotland will remain in its current form.
There had been calls for a "Scottish Six", which would integrate the main BBC News at Six from London and Reporting Scotland in a news hour.
It would provide UK, Scottish and international stories from a Scottish perspective.
The proposals for a Scottish Six were in response to criticism that the News at Six often featured stories - for example on education and health - that had little relevance to Scottish audiences.
The Scottish government argued the BBC needed to "catch up" with devolution and to give its Scottish operation greater control of budgets, staffing and decision making.
Responding to the latest announcement, SNP MP John Nicolson said he welcomed the new channel and extra investment for Scotland.
However, he said he was "disappointed" the BBC had "killed off" the idea of separate Scottish Six news on BBC One.
He said: ""You just have to watch the running order of the main BBC news.
"Quite often they will lead on an English health story then there will be an English transport story. It will often have three English stories in its running order.
"That's great for the people of England but it is obviously not good for the people of Scotland on their main channel."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon used social media to react to the news. She tweeted: "Lots to welcome in today's announcement. @scotgov has long argued for new BBC Scotland channel. Vital that it is funded well.
"Commitments to new investment and 80 additional jobs for journalists long overdue and very positive."
But she added: "It doesn't deliver everything that everyone wanted - e.g. no Scottish 6 disappointing - but progress and hopefully sign of new thinking."
Scottish Conservative culture spokesman Jackson Carlaw said the move was "good for jobs, journalism, scrutiny and programming".
He said: "It also ensures those who still prefer the UK-wide BBC news at 6pm, and other programming on BBC1, get to keep that too."
Scottish Labour's Lewis Macdonald also welcomed the move and criticised Nationalist politicians for their "interference in the BBC's impartiality".
Paul Holleran, Scottish organiser for journalists' union The NUJ, said it was a "shot in the arm" for Scottish journalism.
However, he said the amount of investment "falls well short" of what the BBC management and unions in Scotland were looking for.
Explaining the decision to retain the current BBC One news output, a BBC spokesman said the News at Six had performed strongly in Scotland in recent years.
He went on to say that the 9pm news slot on the new channel would offer the audience choice and quality and would provide comprehensive reporting of the news from a Scottish perspective.
Lord Hall said Scotland already made network programmes such as Shetland, Two Doors Down and Still Game but it needed to make more.
He said the additional £20m for making UK-wide programmes would be a "huge boost for BBC Scotland and for the creative industries in Scotland".
The director-general also announced £1.2m for Gaelic channel BBC Alba, taking its budget to £20m.
The proposals will be subject to approval by the BBC's new unitary board and possibly by Ofcom.
The announcement on Scottish funding followed the BBC saying an extra £8.5m a year would be spent on programmes made in Wales.
Plans for Northern Ireland will be announced shortly.
When she took over as BBC Scotland's new director in December, Donalda MacKinnon pledged to spend more licence fee funds raised north of the border on programming produced in Scotland.
In 2015/16, 55% of licence fee funds raised in Scotland was spent on local and Scottish network content.
The BBC's 2015/16 accounts showed £320m was raised from the licence fee in Scotland. Of that, £176.5m was spent on local content and Scottish-made BBC network output.
This was a sharp decline from the £203m spend the previous year, which was 63% of the £323m collected. The funds not spent locally go towards BBC programmes developed elsewhere and aired across the UK.
The new funding takes the percentage of the licence fee funds raised in Scotland and spent in Scotland to 68% - or 79% if the £35m spent on distribution costs, getting the programmes to the audience, is included.
In comparison, 95% of licence fee funds raised in Wales in 2015/16 were spent in Wales - including on network-wide programmes like Doctor Who, Sherlock, Casualty and Crimewatch - with the figure for Northern Ireland standing at 74%. | A new TV channel for the BBC in Scotland will begin broadcasting in autumn 2018, director-general Tony Hall has announced. |
35,961,157 | The alleged attack took place at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester on 23 May.
The judge at Gloucester Crown Court told jurors the trial could not proceed at this stage.
The four accused - three aged 22 and one aged 20 - deny charges of rape and sexual assault.
A 20-year-old woman was allegedly raped and assaulted at the university end of term party.
The trial has been adjourned until Thursday. | The jury in the trial of four men accused of raping and assaulting a woman at a university summer ball has been discharged. |
25,868,272 | The 21-year-old, who will wear the number 15 shirt, has signed a five-and-a-half-year deal.
He made 47 appearances for former club Basel, whom he joined in June 2012, scoring nine goals.
"I'm very happy to sign for Chelsea. I hope I can make the Chelsea supporters happy and have a good career at the club for many years," said Salah.
"Mohamed Salah is a player with vast potential. He is an exciting, swashbuckling winger whose searing pace is his most destructive weapon. He also has an eye for a goal.
"He is still raw but at 21 will learn quickly. He is a player Liverpool have watched for some time, but once again Chelsea have nipped a transfer target from under the Anfield club's noses."
Chelsea's Premier League rivals Liverpool were also interested in Salah and held talks with Basel.
But he became Blues manager Jose Mourinho's third signing in the January transfer window, following the arrivals of Nemanja Matic and Bertrand Traore.
His signing comes after Chelsea sold midfielder Juan Mata to Manchester United for £37.1m on Saturday and will offer Mourinho a further attacking option, after Kevin De Bruyne's move to Wolfsburg.
Salah, who can operate in a variety of attacking roles, has been tracked by a number of clubs after impressive displays in the Europa League last term and in this season's Champions League.
He scored against Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Europa League in 2013, before netting in both Champions League matches against them this season.
"First of all, he won't score against Chelsea - which is a good thing," Mourinho said.
Mohamed Salah has scored in each of his past three appearances against Chelsea
"But, speaking seriously, we had to react to the Mata situation. We had to go for a young player, for a left-footed player and for a fast player - especially who is fast in the space because most of my attacking players are fast and fast with the ball.
"Salah is a kind of player that looks for the space and tries to get behind people so we think he was a good choice."
After starting his career at Egyptian side El Mokawloon, Salah moved to Basel in 2012 and scored five league goals in 29 appearances as they secured a fourth league title in as many seasons.
His form this season has helped Basel to top spot in their domestic league ahead of its resumption after a winter break.
Salah, who made his Egypt debut in 2011, finished as joint-top goalscorer in Africa's World Cup qualifying groups with six goals.
He was, however, unable to help his country to Brazil 2014 as they were beaten over two legs by Ghana in a play-off. | Chelsea have signed Egypt midfielder Mohamed Salah from Swiss champions Basel for a fee in the region of £11m. |
35,908,214 | It is the first title the Northern Irishman has won in Europe following World Opens in China in 2012 and 2013.
Allen, 30, led 6-3 at the end of the first session before being pegged back to 7-6 by England's Walden.
But two half-century breaks helped Allen close out victory, which he wrapped up with a 67 break.
Allen, ranked number five in the world, had earlier recovered from 3-1 down to win five successive frames before the evening session.
Walden, 33, hit the highest break of the match, a 92 in the 12th frame, but could not prevent Allen from going on to collect the £100,000 prize.
Allen said: "From 3-1 down I found a bit of form. I won six frames on the spin and got my confidence back.
"But tonight I was very nervous. I just wanted to get out there and get the job done. It means so much to me.
"I just want to win tournaments. I think I am good enough to compete at the highest level. I just haven't showed it." | Mark Allen beat Ricky Walden 10-6 in the final of the Players Championship in Manchester to claim his third world-ranking title. |
35,949,554 | Jamie McKernon opened the scoring with a penalty after Ross Fisher had fouled Paul Woods.
Vincent Berry made it 2-0 from David Galt's cross and Woods fired in the third just before half-time.
The Spiders, who move up to fourth, could have added to their treble, while Shire struggled to create chances. | Queen's Park boosted their League Two play-off push with victory over Scottish League Two basement club East Stirlingshire. |
32,733,986 | The site in Freshfields, St Leonards, was evacuated after people fell ill and a "strong smell of ammonia" was reported, at about 08:30 BST.
Emergency services cordoned off the area and urged nearby residents to close their windows and doors.
Eleven members of staff were treated at the scene and two people were taken to hospital.
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service think the injuries were caused by fumes from an ammonia-based substance.
Fire crews are monitoring gas levels which they said "were reducing".
South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) said a "routine precautionary decontamination" was being carried out now that the incident had been "stood down".
Patients were treated and assessed at the site for sore eyes and vomiting
"A major incident was declared but this has now been stood down," Secamb added.
Sussex Police urged people to keep their "windows and doors closed for the next few hours due to a chemical incident".
Hastings Borough Council said the "public are not at risk" but waste and recycling services would be affected by the "temporary closure" of the tip. | A suspected chemical incident at a recycling centre in East Sussex left 13 people needing medical treatment. |
11,013,735 | The giant, flightless beasts that roamed South America for more than 50 million years following the demise of the dinosaurs were fearsome predators.
New research shows the birds' huge beaks could deliver swift and powerful pecks, very probably killing their victims in one blow before ripping the flesh from their bodies.
"They had the full kit," said palaeoscientist Steve Wroe.
"These birds had enormous beaks with big hooks on the end. But we've shown they had to use those beaks with some precision and caution," Dr Wroe, a researcher from the University of New South Wales, Australia, told BBC News.
Dr Wroe was part of an international team that has been investigating the predatory behaviour of these extraordinary creatures.
Referred to by scientists as phorusrhacids, the birds flourished when South America was an island continent. Ranging in height from under a metre up to three metres (3ft to 10ft), at least 18 species are known to have evolved before the animals became extinct just a few million years ago.
But because nothing on Earth today resembles the terror birds, it has been difficult to say much about their life habits.
To try to get on top of the issue, the team examined the skeleton of one particular creature called Andalgalornis.
This animal lived in northwestern Argentina about six million years ago. It was mid-sized, standing about 1.4m high (4ft 6in) and weighing about 40kg (88lb).
Like all the terror birds, its skull was big (37cm; 15in) with a deep narrow bill armed with a hawk-like hook.
The team scanned the skull to picture its internal architecture and then applied an engineering technique known as finite element analysis (FEA) to assess its capabilities.
FEA is a common approach in advanced design and manufacturing that allows engineers to test the performance of load-bearing materials.
It involves creating a computer model of the skull which can then be subjected to the sorts of forces a real skeleton would experience in different types of attack behaviour.
The results demonstrated that Andalgalornis was built to jab at its prey - in much the same way as a technical boxer might make a series of swift, targeted jabs.
Other strategies ran the risk of injury by putting the slender beak under too much stress, the team found.
"It would have used a repeated, rapid strike - a downward strike, using the neck muscles to drive that big spike on the beak into the prey and then pull back and rip," explained Dr Wroe.
"It was really badly adapted for grabbing an object and shaking it."
The research is detailed in a new paper in the journal PLoS One. Its lead author is Federico Degrange of the Museo de La Plata/CONICET in Argentina.
He commented: "No one has ever attempted such a comprehensive biomechanical analysis of a terror bird.
"We need to figure out the ecological role that these amazing birds played if we really want to understand how the unusual ecosystems of South America evolved over the past 60 million years."
Certainly, the terror birds would have had the opportunity to use their particular attack strategy on a remarkable array of animals.
Like the birds themselves, many other heavyweight and unusual-looking beasts emerged during South America's separation from the North.
These included giant sloths, huge armadillo-like creatures and even 3m-long rodents.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk | They are popularly called "terror birds", and with good reason. |
30,549,220 | The dog, called Eragon, was found by children attending a service at St Mary's Church, Hitchin, on Tuesday.
He was accompanied by a note asking, "please find me a lovely new home".
The RSPCA scanned his microchip and found he belonged to Samantha Jones from Bowditch in south London. She had lost the dog during a walk in August.
The reunion was "a lovely surprise", said Ms Jones, adding: "I thought I would never see him again.
"I was especially shocked to find he was in Hertfordshire - quite a way from my London home."
The three-year-old animal was discovered tied up in a Santa sack with food, treats, a jumper and a Christmas card.
The note said: "My lady is going into a home. I need food cut small. Please find me a lovely new home. So sorry."
The RSPCA believes Eragon was found by someone who took him on without thinking to check his microchip and then found they could not cope.
RSPCA inspector Stephen Reeves said: "Eragon had clearly been cared for, as the treats, jumper and card show, but it it could have ended quite badly to leave a little dog like that out with no care in the temperatures we've been seeing recently.
"It was certainly one of the more unusual and most festive rescues I have ever been called out to." | A Chihuahua dumped at a church in Hertfordshire in a Santa sack has been reunited with his owner four months after he went missing. |
19,708,915 | In what is claimed to be a world first, the Tullibardine distillery in Perthshire has linked up with a spin-out company from Napier University in Edinburgh.
They plan to use bacteria to feed on the "leftovers" from the whisky making process.
This will produce butanol which can be used to fuel vehicles.
More than 90% of the stuff that comes out of a whisky distillery is not whisky. It is leftovers like draff and pot ales - both produced in the early stages of the process.
They are high in sugar and are currently used for things like fertiliser and cattle feed.
Napier University's Biofuel Research Centre (BfRC) has already shown that the right bacteria can feed on those by-products to produce butanol - a direct replacement for vehicle fuel.
Now the spin-out company, Celtic Renewables, and independent malt whisky producer Tullibardine have signed a memorandum of understanding.
Together they will apply the process to thousands of tonnes of the distillery's leftovers.
Professor Martin Tangney, founder of Celtic Renewables, said: "Our partnership with Tullibardine is an important step in the development of a business which combines two iconic Scottish industries - whisky and renewables.
"This project demonstrates that innovative use of existing technologies can utilise resources on our doorstep to benefit both the environment and the economy."
Douglas Ross, managing director of Tullibardine, which spends £250,000 disposing of its by-products every year, said: "We are delighted to be partnering Celtic Renewables in this innovative venture, the obvious benefits of which are environmental.
"It takes a cost to us and turns it into something that has social as well as commercial value."
The project is being supported by a grant from the Scottish government's Zero Waste Scotland initiative.
Celtic Renewables said it eventually aimed to build a processing plant in Scotland, with the hope of building an industry that could be worth £60m a year. | A deal has been signed to turn by-products from a Scottish distillery into fuel for cars. |
36,312,678 | Ryan Morse, 12, from Brynithel, died in 2012 from undiagnosed Addison's disease.
Dr Lindsey Thomas, 42, of Tredegar, had denied manslaughter by gross negligence.
On Tuesday, Mrs Justice Nicola Davies QC directed the jury at Cardiff Crown Court to find her not guilty of unlawfully killing Ryan.
Dr Thomas had been accused of failing to act to prevent his death, following a telephone conversation with Ryan's mother the day before he died.
Ian Stern QC, defending, successfully argued there was not enough evidence for a properly directed jury to convict Dr Thomas of gross negligence in relation to her duty of care towards Ryan.
The judge said: "There is no case for Dr Lyndsey Thomas to answer.
"I direct a verdict of not guilty to the charge of gross negligence manslaughter."
Afterwards a statement was read out on Dr Thomas' behalf by Dr Sam Godwin of the Medical Protection Society.
It said: "Dr Thomas is very pleased that the case against her has been concluded with the finding of no case to answer.
"She would like to thank her family, friends, patients and legal team for their support. Dr Thomas would once again like to offer her condolences to Ryan Morse's family."
Legal proceedings are ongoing against Dr Thomas' colleague, Dr Joanne Rudling, 46, of Cardiff, who denies manslaughter by gross negligence. | One of two GPs accused of the manslaughter of a 12-year-old boy from Blaenau Gwent has been acquitted. |
39,441,355 | A total of 63 animals - including the area's famous New Forest ponies - died on forest roads in 2016.
Nigel Matthews, head of recreation management, said he would like to see in-car technology to warn drivers.
He said ongoing measures such as signage and speed traps were making an impact on accident figures.
Under ancient rights, ponies, donkeys, cattle and pigs owned by commoners have roamed free in the New Forest for centuries.
Wild deer can also be a hazard.
Mr Matthews said every death was a "tragedy" for the commoners and invited car companies to use the forest to develop in-vehicle technology.
He said: "Let's have a test on a New Forest road - what would it do when it sees a pony standing beside the road? Can it work out if that pony is going to step out into the road, which humans find pretty much impossible?
"That technology could work in the dark and we know a lot of accidents in the forest happen at night."
Guided by five radars, four lasers and 12 cameras, a self-driving car had its first trials in London earlier this month.
Alex Eriksson, of the University of Southampton Transportation Research Group, said: "We have sensing equipment that allows us to detect pedestrians - this tech could be used to reduce the impact of wild animals in rural areas.
"I don't think we're ready to drive fully autonomously to avoid animals in real time - at the moment the human reliability and flexibility trumps that of computer algorithms." | The New Forest should be used to test driverless car technology in a bid to cut animal deaths, the National Park Authority (NPA) has said. |
33,927,354 | The palace has issued an appeal to world media not to publish unauthorised images of the two-year-old, who is third in line to the throne.
Some paparazzi had gone to "extreme lengths" to take pictures and "a line has been crossed", the palace said.
It wants to "inform discussion" on unauthorised photography of children.
The palace said a small number of media organisations, mostly in Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand and the US, had published photos of Prince George in "unacceptable circumstances".
However it said the "vast majority", and all UK publications, had refused.
The palace says in recent months, photographers have:
It said the most recent incident, which was last week, involved a photographer who was discovered by police lying down in the boot of a rented car attempting to shoot photos outside a children's play area.
Nicholas Witchell, BBC royal correspondent
The palace hopes that by drawing attention to the way in which these photographs are being obtained, the readerships of these magazines will bring pressure to bear on the publishers to stop printing them.
It says it wants to instigate a "public discussion" which will help publishers of what they call "unauthorised photos of children" to understand their responsibilities better.
But is it realistic to expect the few publishers who rely of these photos to put principle before profit?
That remains to be seen.
Why paparazzi present problem for royals
Kensington Palace tweeted: "The Duke and Duchess want to extend their thanks for the kind and supportive messages they have received in recent months.
"They have been delighted to share photos of their children and will continue to do so in the months and years ahead.
"Yet undercover paparazzi continue to pursue their children, selling images of Prince George to international publications."
In the published letter, Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf said the prince had become the paparazzi's "number one target".
He said: "It is of course upsetting that such tactics - reminiscent as they are of past surveillance by groups intent on doing more than capturing images - are being deployed to profit from the image of a two-year-old boy.
"In a heightened security environment such tactics are a risk to all involved.
"The worry is that it will not always be possible to quickly distinguish between someone taking photos and someone intending to do more immediate harm."
Mr Knauf said the duke and duchess wanted Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte "to be free to play in public and semi-public spaces with other children without being photographed".
They want to give their children a childhood that is "free from harassment and surveillance", he said.
Paddy Harverson, former communications secretary to the Duke of Cambridge, said: "Just imagine if everywhere you went and when you took the children out to playgrounds, there were men carrying cameras, they were hiding.
"Often they don't know they're there until they see the photographs later in magazines, which are published abroad."
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: "The covert actions of photographers have at times caused concerns during police protection operations when they have been considered a possible security threat.
"Photographers are potentially putting themselves at risk from armed intervention where our armed officers perceive a risk to the personal safety of their principal, the public and themselves." | Paparazzi harassment of Prince George has increased and photographers' tactics are becoming increasingly dangerous, Kensington Palace has said. |
35,513,161 | Roger Gower, 37, who was working for the Friedkin Conservation Fund, had been tracking elephant poachers.
The Fund said the arrests were the suspected gunman and others involved in the poaching operation, plus members of the criminal gang behind the illegal guns and ivory smuggling.
Further arrests were likely, it added.
Fund chairman Dan Friedkin said in a statement: "We are confident that the Tanzanian authorities will investigate and prosecute those involved to the absolute full extent of the law.
"By bringing these individuals to justice, it will honour Roger's memory. We also fervently hope that it will mark the turning point in Tanzania in the fight to protect elephants and our wildlife heritage."
Mr Gower was on a joint operation with the Tanzanian wildlife authorities to track down and arrest active elephant poachers when he came under fire on 29 January. Three elephant carcasses had been found in the area.
The incident happened in Maswa Game Reserve, which borders the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania.
Mr Gower managed to land his helicopter but died from his wounds before he could be rescued.
Three people were arrested on 1 February.
He was originally from Birmingham and worked in London before moving to East Africa to work as a helicopter pilot.
Mr Gower's brother Max said he was proud of how he had managed to land the helicopter and allow his passenger, a friend and colleague, to get out.
He said his sibling quit his job as an accountant the day he qualified as a pilot so he could go to work with the two things he enjoyed the most - flying and animals.
The Gower family have invited donations to a fund established in Roger's memory that will contribute towards anti-poaching efforts in Tanzania. | Five people have now been arrested over the killing of a British pilot whose helicopter was shot down by poachers in Tanzania, his employer has said. |
34,218,649 | The designer rode on the tank in protest over the 27 licences which have been issued in the North and Midlands.
Dame Vivienne said: "The public will not take it lying down and will fight tooth and nail."
The tank, which was parked outside the PM's home, was accompanied by anti-fracking campaigners wearing masks.
The group included grandmothers and their grandchildren from Lancashire, which is affected by the latest round of fracking licences.
Fracking, an underground drilling process, involves water, chemicals and sand injected into rock at high pressure.
Dame Vivienne said the threat of "toxic, life threatening" chemicals had led to a "declaration of war on fracking".
According to the fashion designer, the chemicals used to extract shale gas from rocks can contaminate water and cause health problems.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has said it will not allow hazardous operations when it comes to fracking.
It said any chemicals used were subject to assessment by the Environment Agency which will not permit their use if there is a risk to the environment or people's health.
Under the licences, fracking firms could run shale gas pipelines on private land without getting prior permission.
"Cameron plans to force householders to surrender their land and endure fracking underneath their homes. Britons no longer have any choice but to fight back", Dame Vivienne said.
The government has released a map showing 27 fracking licenses in areas in northern England and the Midlands.
It is not known if Mr Cameron or his family were at their home during the protest. | Dame Vivienne Westwood has ridden in a tank to David Cameron's home in Witney to campaign against the government's fracking plans. |
39,984,066 | Out of more than 40 million votes cast, he received 57%, defeating his main rival, a conservative cleric.
Mr Rouhani, a moderate who agreed a deal with world powers to limit Iran's nuclear programme, pledged to "remain true" to his promises.
The decisive victory gives him a strong mandate to seek reforms and revive Iran's ailing economy, analysts say.
The president received close to 23 million votes, Interior Minister Abdul Reza Rahmani Fazli said on state television, in an election that had an unexpectedly high turnout of about 70%.
In his first remarks after winning the poll, Mr Rouhani said on Twitter (in Persian): "Great people of Iran, you're the winners of the election."
His main challenger, former prosecutor Ebrahim Raisi received 38.5%, or 15.7 million votes, not enough to take the election to a second round.
Voting time had been extended by five hours on Friday, until midnight. Election officials said the extensions were due to "requests" and the "enthusiastic participation of people".
The economy seems to be the number one challenge. Mr Rouhani, 68, signed a nuclear deal between Iran, the US and other countries in 2015.
International sanctions were lifted as a result, but average Iranians say they do not feel the economic benefits in their daily lives.
While oil exports have rebounded and inflation is back at single-digits, unemployment remains high, especially among the young people.
Iran's hardliners had pulled all the stops and mobilised all their resources to bring out as many people as possible to grab the last centre of power in Iran that was not under their control, namely the executive branch.
Sensing an effort by the hardliners, supporters of President Rouhani who back his promises to steer the country toward moderation came out in big numbers too. Turnout has been unprecedented. In Tehran, five million people turned out to vote - twice as many as in 2013.
This was a revenge of the people against the hardliners who intimidated them, jailed them, executed them, drove them to exile, pushed them out of their jobs, and discriminated against women.
President Rouhani will now have a bigger mandate to push through his reforms, to put an end to extremism, to build bridges with the outside world, to put the economy back on track.
Iranians have said a resounding Yes to President Rouhani who, in recent years and particularly during the last several weeks of campaigning, promised to expand individual and political freedoms and make all those centres of power, like the Revolutionary Guard, accountable.
He also promised a moderate vision and an outward-looking Iran and, at rallies, openly attacked the conservative-dominated judiciary and security services.
Another challenge, experts say, will come from abroad, and the relations with the new US government. President Donald Trump opposes the nuclear deal which eased sanctions on the Middle Eastern country, but his White House renewed it earlier this week. | Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has been re-elected with an emphatic victory, official results show. |
34,993,438 | Mr Benn's impassioned appeal to Labour MPs to vote with the government was an "excellent" piece of oratory, said Mr McDonnell.
But he added: "The greatest oratory can lead us to the greatest mistakes."
Mr McDonnell denied Labour was split and leader Jeremy Corbyn weakened by his defeat in Wednesday night's vote.
He said Mr Corbyn's decision to give MPs a free vote - rather than forcing them to back his position - was a "breakthrough for our politics in this country" as it had taken the issue of war "out of the political arena".
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, son of Mr Corbyn's political mentor Tony Benn, made a direct appeal to Labour MPs to support air strikes to combat the "fascists" of so-called Islamic State.
His speech was greeted with applause by Conservative MPs and some on the Labour benches - but Mr Corbyn, who had earlier made a speech of his own saying David Cameron's case for war "did not stack up", sat in silence.
Mr McDonnell, one of Mr Corbyn's closest allies, who also opposed air strikes, said Mr Benn's speech was typical of the high standard of Commons speeches on both sides during the debate.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "His oratory was great. He reminded me of Tony Blair's speech taking us into the Iraq war and I am always anxious that the greatest oratory can lead us to the greatest mistakes as well."
He dismissed the 66 Labour MPs who voted with the government as a "small minority" and said Mr Corbyn had the backing of the majority of Labour members, the party's national executive and the shadow cabinet.
He also condemned the abuse directed at Labour MPs who backed military action.
"We have said if they are Labour Party members we have disciplinary processes and they will take place. We cannot have intimidation in our party," he told Today.
Shadow Commons leader Chris Bryant said some of the abuse directed at MPs over the Syria vote had been "beyond the pale" and called for a review of the security arrangements for MPs' homes and offices.
He said it was a "fundamental principle" that MPs should be free to speak and vote "without fear or favour" or intimidation.
Commons Leader Chris Grayling said MPs' security arrangements "is and will be continuing as a priority" for the Commons' authorities.
Some Labour MPs claim to have been sent pictures of dead babies by anti-war protesters and others have been branded warmongers and "red Tories".
Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, whose office was the target of anti-war protests, complained of intimidation while considering how to vote in Wednesday's debate.
Mr McDonnell denied claims there were efforts to deselect Ms Creasy, saying: "There is no way she should be de-selected, she is an excellent MP, she has my support."
Campaign group Stop the War, which until recently was chaired by Mr Corbyn, hit back at claims its supporters were bullying Labour MPs on social media, and said it would continue to support the Labour leader "in every way that we can".
In a joint statement, Stop the War chairman Andrew Murray and Convenor Lindsey German said: "Stop the War condemns the whining complaints from those MPs who apparently do not like being lobbied.
"If an MP is not robust enough to withstand emails and tweets, they should really not be voting for bombing other people - those who wish to be alone with their consciences would do better to consider a life of religious contemplation.
"Stop the War will continue to hold to democratic account all those MPs who vote for war."
Former London mayor Ken Livingstone, who is co-chairing Labour's defence review, has meanwhile suggested there might be "a few" de-selections of sitting Labour MPs.
He told LBC radio: "If I had an MP who had voted to bomb Syria then I would be prepared to support someone challenge him as long as they were good on a load of other issues."
Mr Livingstone said the 2020 intake of Labour MPs would be "massively" pro Corbyn. | Hilary Benn's speech making the case for air strikes in Syria was like Tony Blair's 2003 Iraq war speech, shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said. |
38,418,079 | Carlos Blanco is 45 years old. This year he is at the centre in Chalk Farm, north London, as a volunteer. But two Christmases ago, he was a guest.
"I'd lost my job - I'd been struggling with agencies to get the shifts and then I was kicked out of my flat," he says.
After being a guest, he said he'd made a promise to himself to return to the centre - if not as a resident, then as a volunteer.
"I've got that understanding of how people feel. I can give them hope."
The Christmas centre is a volunteer-led operation offering guests a bed, bathroom facilities and three meals a day.
"You get a good night's sleep, you're warm and there's somewhere to shower every day. You just feel human again.
"There's a sense of unity here. But when you leave, you lose all of that all over again and it can be difficult."
In summer 2015, after a stint staying with family, Carlos returned to London knowing he would be homeless.
He got work, but could not pay for somewhere to live: "I was paying myself to live on the streets. I was staying in a tent on Hampstead Heath.
"I would try and keep myself clean. But then you have people saying 'You don't look homeless'. What does a homeless person look like?
"You only think about the day you are on. Isolation is one of the biggest things to deal with. You have to be psychologically strong."
A report from Crisis has highlighted the number of street sleepers who have been victims of violent attacks and abuse.
"I'm angry," Carlos said, responding to the report. "People need to take a minute to understand, to wonder why this person might be in this situation.
"You never feel safe. You're open to everything. There's still, and always will be, that stigma."
Eventually, Carlos was picked up by the charity service Street Link who got him into private accommodation.
Things have got better - he says he's one of the "lucky" ones. A rekindled romance means he's now living with his childhood sweetheart. After 26 years of no contact she saw him on television on a Crisis campaign and tracked him down.
So what advice will he be giving the guests he meets this year? "Always keep pushing. Never give up."
Ian is in his sixties. This will be his second Christmas at a Crisis centre and he has his "shopping list" ready.
Top of the list: A haircut. Then a massage and finally, podiatry. These are all services offered at the centre over the next week.
When he's not at the centre, he rotates around the city's churches, staying in a different one each night.
Getting out his phone, Ian scrolled down pages and pages of sent emails. They are all job applications. He said he applies for 10 a week.
But Ian is optimistic. He said: "One day someone will turn around and say 'Well, he's applied for this 20 times, let's give him the job'."
Former psychotherapist Corky was homeless for five years. He was a guest at the centre last Christmas and said the facilities it offered, like a shower and a bed, were the "small steps" that can help break the "snowballing effect" of feelings of isolation and self esteem that can come from homelessness.
Corky would often base himself in Leicester Square, but sleep on trains to be safer.
"When you're on the street it's hard to value yourself. In our society, money is synonymous with value - human value. These are mindsets we have to move on from.
"If you sit now and think about what it is to be homeless, it's overwhelming." | As homeless charity Crisis opens its Christmas centres to those in need of shelter, former and current guests share their stories. |
32,484,058 | Mark Manning, 54, of Brighton Road, Lancing, was last seen on 19 April 2014 before his family reported him missing on 22 April.
His disappearance has been described as completely out-of-character.
Detectives launched a murder investigation last June. His body has not been found.
The former military bomb disposal expert worked for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a charity that removes landmines and other dangers in some of the world's poorest countries.
Police said extensive proof-of-life inquiries showed that the father-of-one had not withdrawn any money or used his mobile phone since he went missing.
No sightings
Mr Manning lived alone in Lancing but was very close to his family, particularly his son.
Police said he had not turned up for pre-arranged appointments and meetings, and there had been no reported sightings of him.
Det Ch Insp Mike Ashcroft of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team said: "We want to hear from anyone who may have seen Mark or has any information about what has happened to him.
"We are determined to establish what has happened and to provide answers for his family, who are desperate for any news about him."
Mr Manning is described as white, 5ft 9in (1.75m) tall, clean-shaven, with a tanned complexion and of a stocky build. He has blue eyes and is bald. | Detectives investigating the murder of a missing man from West Sussex have made a new appeal for information a year after he disappeared. |
40,196,925 | They were launched on Thursday morning local time (Wednesday evening GMT) from the city of Wonsan on North Korea's east coast, according to a statement from the joint chiefs of staff, carried by Yonhap news agency.
The statement described them as "a salvo of apparent ballistic missiles".
Under Kim Jong-un, there have been increasingly frequent North Korean tests, all of which defy UN sanctions.
South Korea's military said the missiles flew about 200 kilometres (125 miles). | North Korea has fired land-to-ship missiles, South Korea's military says. |
34,341,069 | The 51-year-old lawyer was released from prison in August 2014.
At the time, his lawyer described Mr Gao, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, as emotionless, "basically unintelligible" and missing teeth due to malnutrition.
Mr Gao was speaking to AP, in his first interview in five years.
He said he was tortured with an electric baton to his face and spent three years in solitary confinement.
Mr Gao is known for defending members of the Falun Gong movement and Chinese Christians.
"Every time we emerge from the prison alive, it is a defeat for our opponents," he told the Associated Press from his home in Shaanxi province.
Unfortunately, the Chinese government's crackdown on Chinese defence lawyers did not end with the Gao Zhisheng's release from prison. If anything, Mr Gao's persecution represents the start of a wide-ranging campaign.
According to Amnesty International, 245 Chinese lawyers have been targeted by police since early July. Thirty are still missing or remain in police custody.
That number does not include other leading lawyers, like Pu Zhiqiang, who was arrested in May 2014 and has yet to face trial.
Many of the detained lawyers endured weeks of interrogation. Their families have been harassed, their homes and offices raided. Some have experienced violent beatings.
Mr Gao, whose wife and children live in the US, also said he would never seek exile abroad.
He described staying in China as a "mission" given to him from God.
Mr Gao was convicted of subversion and placed under house arrest in 2006, during which time he claims to have been regularly detained and tortured.
He disappeared in January 2009 before reappearing in March 2010. He disappeared again soon after and was revealed to be in a Xinjiang prison in January 2012 after state media said he was being jailed for three years for probation abuse.
Mr Gao said that propaganda was broadcast via a loudspeaker in his prison cell for 68 continuous weeks.
The Chinese government is yet to respond to the interview and has not responded to other allegations of torture previously made by Mr Gao.
Mr Gao's wife, Geng He, has said that she hopes her husband's case will be raised during talks this week between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington.
2005: Authorities close down Gao Zhisheng's law practice
Dec 2006: Convicted of subversion and sentenced to house arrest
Sept 2007: Says he was tortured during a period of detention
Jan 2009: Disappears; last seen accompanied by security officials
Mar 2010: Reappears for a month before disappearing again
Dec 2011: State media says he has been jailed for three years
Jan 2012: Gao revealed to be in Xinjiang prison
Aug 2014: Gao freed from jail | Prominent Chinese dissident and human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has broken his silence to describe how he was allegedly tortured and kept in solitary confinement while in detention. |
29,606,672 | It follows the government's announcement of new rules on tax-free withdrawals from pension funds.
"The chancellor appears to be creating the perfect environment for a mis-selling scandal," said Tom McPhail of Hargreaves Lansdown.
However, the Treasury has insisted that thousands of pensioners will benefit.
From April 2015, savers will be able to dip into their pension savings when they want.
Each time they do, 25% of what they take out will be tax-free.
Under current rules, a 25% withdrawal must be taken as a single lump sum on retirement to be free of tax.
Chancellor George Osborne said: "People who have worked hard and saved all their lives should be free to choose what they do with their money, and that freedom is central to our long-term economic plan."
Pensions expert Tom McPhail said he supported the new freedom that savers will have.
But he warned that those who withdraw money from a pension pot and then invest it could end up with very poor returns.
"Many professionals struggle to get it right, so the idea that at least some inexperienced investors won't get it wrong is recklessly naïve."
He is particularly worried for those who invest without getting the help of a financial adviser.
Such advisers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
However, there is much less protection for people who make their own decisions to invest.
"Without regulatory oversight, when investors do run out of money - and some will - there'll be no accountability for this system failure," he said.
However the Treasury insisted that the reforms would be beneficial for millions of retirees.
"From next year they'll be able to access as much or as little of their defined contribution pension as they want and pass on their hard-earned pensions to their families tax free," said chancellor George Osborne.
"For some people an annuity will be the right choice whereas others might want to take their whole tax-free lump sum and convert the rest to drawdown.
"We've extended the choices even further by offering people the option of taking a number of smaller lump sums, instead of one single big lump sum," Mr Osborne said.
Pensions expert Dr Ros Altmann said the government's changes have the potential to help millions of pension savers make better use of their pension funds.
"Being free to access their money freely as they need to, rather than being forced to buy particular products, will be very popular, however people need to know that their pension provider will allow them to take advantage of the new freedoms," she said.
The government announced earlier this year that about 320,000 people would get the freedom to access pension pots flexibly without being hit with punitive tax rates.
Individuals will also be able to pass on their unused defined contribution funds to a nominated beneficiary when they die, rather than paying the 55% tax charge which currently applies. | New plans by the Treasury to give savers more freedom over their pension pots have been sharply criticised by an industry expert. |
32,981,469 | Its starting point is in Turkmenistan, one of the most isolated and closed-for-business states in the world, before it goes through war-torn Afghanistan and then reaches two countries that are hard to describe as partners - Pakistan and India.
However, Turkmenistan insists that the pipeline's construction will start by the end of 2015. The visit in May of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Ashgabat seemed to confirm this - both sides pledged to put fast track the project.
Likewise the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Turkmenistan is also being seen as a boost to the project.
The proposed 1,735km-long (1,078-mile) pipeline will carry 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year from Galkynysh, making it one of the world's biggest onshore gas fields.
Pakistan and India will each get 42% of that volume - the rest will be purchased by Afghanistan.
The US strongly supports the pipeline plan, calling it "a transformative project for the entire region".
If implemented, it will help to attract much-needed investment to Afghanistan, increasing budget revenues through transit fees and contribute to the country's overall development.
The project is also crucial for India and Pakistan who are both facing severe energy shortages.
By 2020-21, demand for gas in India is expected to double and according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, demand for gas in Pakistan over roughly the same timeframe will be three times higher than supply.
Turkmenistan is keen to implement this project in order to diversify its export routes and decrease its dependency on China.
At the moment Beijing is the main buyer of the Turkmen gas and by 2020 it will import two times more Turkmen gas than now.
The Asian Development Bank has sponsored the feasibility study, the route has been mapped and the source field has been determined.
On the commercial side, there have been significant achievements.
TurkmenGaz, Afghan Gas Enterprise, Inter State Gas Systems (Pakistan) and GAIL (India) are all equal shareholders in the Tapi Pipeline Company which will build, own and operate the pipeline.
All countries involved in the project have signed a gas sale and purchase agreement.
This is one of the main issues that remain unresolved.
It is not clear who will finance the project that is estimated to cost $10bn.
The Pakistani and Indian governments show no indication that they can pay for the pipeline.
None of the four energy companies that formed the consortium has enough resources to fund the construction.
They have debated from the very beginning about inviting a global energy giant to finance the project in the form of a private company with sufficient funds and expertise.
Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Total and a few others have been mentioned as possible companies who could get involved.
However, all these companies have demanded a share in developing the gas field if they are to take the risk of financing it.
Construction of the pipeline is a costly and risky venture, and companies want to make sure that they will make enough money in order to return their investments and make a profit.
"You don't really make money from operating a pipeline," energy specialist John Roberts said. "You make money from developing a gas field and being able to export the gas."
The problem is that Turkmenistan refuses to let any foreign company have a stake in its gas fields.
It says that these are national resources and the government should be able to control them fully.
Only China has direct access to Turkmenistan's onshore gas fields but in return China has been investing billions of dollars into Turkmenistan and fully financed the construction of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline.
As a result of Turkmenistan's position, all major Western energy companies are losing their interest in the Tapi project.
One indication of that was the fact that they did not have prominent representation at Turkmenistan's major international gas congress held in May.
Security issues may not be the only obstacles to shipping gas through Tapi.
It seems there is no coherent mechanism in place to prevent participating states from using the pipeline as political leverage against neighbours, particularly if there is a dispute between Pakistan and India.
Turkmenistan's approach is to sell its gas at its border and argue that it is not responsible for whatever happens afterwards, says John Roberts.
So it is not clear who will ensure that Pakistan will not cut off the gas flow into India if there is a new wave of tension between the two countries.
The Asian Development Bank, the transaction adviser of this project, gave a somewhat vague answer when approached by the BBC.
"We believe all parties will be actively working to ensure that gas flows cannot be manipulated for political advantage and they will put in place suitable mechanisms to deter adequately the temptation to do so."
Security issues are another major challenge for this project. More than 700km of the pipeline will cross through Afghanistan, including Helmand and Kandahar provinces that are traditionally considered to be Taliban strongholds.
The Afghan government has promised to provide troops to protect the pipeline.
However, with the end of Nato's operation, the security situation seems to be deteriorating. Recent reports about clashes near the Turkmen-Afghan border and the Taliban gaining strength in the north makes the project even less attractive for investors.
The pipeline was expected to be operational from 2017 but has been pushed back to 2018. Recently, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that the pipeline would not be completed in the next five years, casting even more doubt on its future.
So a combination of security issues and financial questions means that there is a long to go before the Tapi project gets off the ground.
The way Turkmenistan deals with the financial problems in particular will have a direct impact on its other projects, including the construction of the Trans-Caspian pipeline that is projected to ship Turkmen gas to Europe.
If Turkmenistan refuses to let foreign companies have direct access to its gas fields, those other projects are - like the Tapi project - in danger of remaining pipe dreams. | For many, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline is nothing but a pipe dream. |
26,483,166 | Researchers have developed an app for people to submit readings from Secchi disks - a method used since 1865.
The team hopes the data will help them understand what is happening beneath the waves.
They have been "astonished" by the response so far but are hoping for more readings from the southern hemisphere.
'Dramatic decline'
The Secchi disk, invented in 1865 by Angelo Secchi - the Pope's astronomer - is a circular disk that is used to measure water transparency in oceans and lakes.
The concept had long been used as a navigational tool by sailors. By lowering a dinner plate beneath the waves and measuring the depth it disappeared, it provided the crew with an indication of what ocean current they were currently sailing through.
Fr Secchi was asked by the head of the Papal Navy to measure the transparency in the Mediterranean Sea. This task gave rise to the formalised measuring system.
Ever since the first measurement was taken aboard the Papal yacht in April 1865, marine biologists have used it to measure phytoplankton abundance.
Since Secchi's first design, there have been a number of subsequent revisions. The two most common colour variations in use today are the all-white disk and the black-and-white quadrant version.
"The reason the project came about was because, in 2010, some Canadian scientists wrote a paper that suggested that the phytoplankton in the world's oceans had declined by 40% since the 1950s," explained project leader Richard Kirby, a research fellow at Plymouth University's Marine Institute.
"If true, this is a dramatic decline. As phytoplankton starts the food chain, they dictate the productivity at every level above," he observed.
"Ultimately, phytoplankton determines the amount of fish in the sea and the number of polar bears on the ice."
Marine biologists have been using the Secchi disk method to measure the abundance of phytoplankton for 150 years.
The white disk measures 30cm (1ft) in diameter and is lowered into the water on the end of a tape measure. When it is no longer visible from the surface, the reading - known as the Secchi depth - is recorded.
"It is a very robust method and not prone to error and it is a good measure of phytoplankton abundance," Dr Kirby told BBC News.
"Away from estuaries and more than a kilometre from the coast, the main influence on water clarity is phytoplankton."
He explained how he had the idea of setting up a citizen science project: "It occurred to me sat at my desk that while there are a lot of scientists, there are not that many that are marine scientists, and fewer still that go to sea.
"And the ones that do go to sea do not go out very far. If they do go out far, they rarely go back to the same place.
"I thought that there are an awful lot of sailors out there; day sailors, cruising sailors. Many of these sailors will sail the same waters and take the same route time and time again."
All at sea
Dr Kirby, and colleagues Drs Nicholas Outram and Nigel Barlow from the University's School of Computing and Mathematics, developed the Secchi Disk App that would store a reading while at sea before uploading it to a database once the smartphone was back within range of a mobile phone network.
"We can now collect Secchi depth measurements from all over the world's oceans and add that to the data from the 1860s to make a continuous - with a slight dip - record to see what is happening to the phytoplankton in the oceans," he said.
The database, managed by Dr Sam Lavender, is accessible, free-of-charge, from the project's website.
The reason for collecting measurements via the Secchi method, Dr Kirby explained, was because the Canadian team's findings proved to be quite controversial among scientists.
"Some said that they did not see any similar decline, while others said they saw an increase rather than a decline," he said.
Feeling the heat
The study was criticised because it combined Secchi disk measurements with data gathered using modern technology that became available to scientists in the late 20th Century.
Despite the criticism, the authors have defended their findings, saying the dramatic decline was a result of sea surface temperature.
"They said that the warming had increased stratification so fewer nutrients were reaching the oceans' surface, and so there was less phytoplankton growth," Dr Kirby said.
He added that in the waters around UK shores, observations showed that phytoplankton were appearing at different times of the year.
He said that changes in the seas' seasons had potential consequences for life beneath the waves.
"This is changing the coupling in the marine ecosystem. Evolutionarily, everything is synchronised - just as it is on land.
"When the timings start altering, even by just a fraction, then things no longer work through the food chain."
To help raise awareness of the vital role phytoplankton plays in marine and terrestrial food chains, Dr Kirby has written and produced a short film called Ocean Drifters, which has been sent to every secondary school in England.
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the film also explains how plankton is responsible for the familiar smell of "sea air", and how the tiny organisms are involved in the formation of clouds. | A study is calling on the world's sailors to help map the oceans' phytoplankton, microscopic plants that form the bedrock of marine food chains. |
37,603,878 | The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) requires the unanimous support of all 28 EU member nations.
Belgium's French-speaking government in the southern region of Wallonia looks likely to block it due to fears that it could lead to a flood of cheap imports.
Belgium's federal government approves of the deal, but must get confirmation from the country's three regions.
CETA's failure could throw a spanner in ongoing trade negotiations with the US and Japan, and cast doubt on the likelihood that a post-Brexit Britain could negotiate a speedy and favourable deal with Europe.
"If the EU cannot do a deal with Canada, I think it is legitimate to say: Who the heck can it do a deal with?" Canadian International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said in June.
EU trade ministers will meet next week to decide on the way forward.
"We had hoped that the negotiators would have at least tried to find some improvements, some corrections for Belgium. Today that hasn't happened," Andre Antoine, president of the Walloon regional parliament, told reporters.
Wallonia residents fear that the deal overly protects foreign multinational companies, and will threaten the livelihood of local beef and pork producers.
Christopher Sands, who is the Director of the Center for Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins University, says that Britain's vote to leave the EU spelled doom for CETA from the start.
The UK is Canada's largest trading partner in Europe, and without its influence, Canada has much less leverage in trade negotiations.
"Canada is in an unexpected quandary," Mr Sands told the BBC.
The requirement that not just all member states, but also all regional governments ratify the agreement is unprecedented, said Mr Sands, adding that the dispute process is still unclear.
The Walloon parliament will meet on Friday to officially decide its stance.
If EU trade ministers do ratify the deal, then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will follow through on his scheduled visit to Brussels later this month where he is to sign the agreement.
Canada's parliamentary secretary for International Trade has been meeting with delegates from Wallonia to advocate for the deal, Alex Lawrence, a spokesman for the international trade minister, told BBC News. | A long-awaited trade deal between Canada and the European Union could be halted by a region of Belgium. |
36,168,863 | His admission follows years of speculation about who came up with the original ideas underlying the digital cash system.
Mr Wright has provided technical proof to back up his claim using coins known to be owned by Bitcoin's creator.
Prominent members of the Bitcoin community and its core development team say they have confirmed his claims.
But many others in the Bitcoin world are asking for more proof.
Mr Wright has revealed his identity to three media organisations - the BBC, the Economist and GQ.
At the meeting with the BBC, Mr Wright digitally signed messages using cryptographic keys created during the early days of Bitcoin's development. The keys are inextricably linked to blocks of bitcoins known to have been created or "mined" by Satoshi Nakamoto.
"These are the blocks used to send 10 bitcoins to Hal Finney in January [2009] as the first bitcoin transaction," said Mr Wright during his demonstration.
Renowned cryptographer Hal Finney was one of the engineers who helped turn Mr Wright's ideas into the Bitcoin protocol, he said.
"I was the main part of it, but other people helped me," he said.
Soon after Mr Wright went public, Gavin Andresen, chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation, published a blog backing his claim.
"I believe Craig Steven Wright is the person who invented Bitcoin," he wrote.
Jon Matonis, an economist and one of the founding directors of the Bitcoin Foundation, said he was convinced that Mr Wright was who he claimed to be.
"During the London proof sessions, I had the opportunity to review the relevant data along three distinct lines: cryptographic, social, and technical," he said.
"It is my firm belief that Craig Wright satisfies all three categories."
Mr Wright said he planned to release information that would allow others to cryptographically verify that he is Satoshi Nakamoto.
Not everyone has been convinced by Mr Wright's claims and the technical proof he put in his blog. Some cryptographers and developers who worked through the information provided said they had trouble getting verifiable information out of it.
Security expert Dan Kaminsky said the procedure was almost "maliciously resistant" to validation.
Many people have called on Mr Wright to go further in proving his identify.
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 new Bitcoins are produced each day.
There are currently about 15 million Bitcoins in existence.
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.
By going public, Mr Wright hopes to put an end to press speculation about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. The New Yorker, Fast Company, Newsweek and many other media organisations have all conducted long investigations seeking Bitcoin's creator and named many different people as candidates.
In December 2015, two magazines, Wired and Gizmodo, named Mr Wright as a candidate after receiving documents believed to be stolen from him that revealed his involvement with the project.
Soon after these stories were published, authorities in Australia raided the home of Mr Wright. The Australian Taxation Office said the raid was linked to a long-running investigation into tax payments rather than Bitcoin.
Questioned about this raid, Mr Wright said he was cooperating fully with the ATO.
"We have lawyers negotiating with them over how much I have to pay," he said.
The stories in December have led to many more journalists and others pursuing him and people he knows, he said.
"There are lots of stories out there that have been made up and I don't like it hurting those people I care about," he said. "I don't want any of them to be impacted by this."
"I have not done this because it is what I wanted. It's not because of my choice," he said, adding that he had no plans to become the figurehead for bitcoins.
"I really do not want to be the public face of anything," he said, expressing regret that he had been forced to reveal his identity.
"I would rather not do it," he said. "I want to work, I want to keep doing what I want to do. I don't want money. I don't want fame. I don't want adoration. I just want to be left alone."
Bitcoins are now accepted as payment for a vast variety of goods and services - everything from international money transfers to ransoms for data encrypted by computer viruses. There are currently about 15.5 million bitcoins in circulation. Each one is worth about $449 (£306).
Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to have amassed about one million Bitcoins which would give him a net worth, if all were converted to cash, of about $450m.
5 May 2016: Clarification
The original headline and text of this story was changed on the day of publication (2 May 2016).
The headline "Bitcoin creator reveals his identity" was amended to read "Australian Craig Wright claims to be Bitcoin creator".
The text of the article was also changed to recognise there was still doubt about Craig Wright's claim. | Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has publicly identified himself as Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. |
36,467,917 | The new body is called the National Football Association of Zimbabwe, president Phillip Chiyangwa said.
He said the debt, which he blamed on the organization's previous leadership, will now be dealt with by a liquidator.
"I can tell you now that we don't owe anybody anymore," Chiyangwa said.
He added the process has been approved by Fifa and done with the "blessings" of football's world governing body.
However, Fifa said it "has not received any communication on the outcome of Zifa's extraordinary congress on 4 June 2016 to decide on the possible dissolution of the association".
Zimbabwe's federation had been in financial crisis for years because of a combination of mismanagement, alleged corruption, and the serious economic woes of the southern African nation.
At one point Zifa had to sell off assets, including an artificial training field, to raise money to pay its debts.
Zimbabwe was thrown out of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup by Fifa for failing, after numerous warnings, to pay a former coach wages it owed him.
The federation's latest problems came as Zimbabwe qualified for the African Cup of Nations on Sunday for the first time in 10 years.
One of the last acts of the old Zifa was to hand bans ranging from 10 years to life to a former national team assistant coach and two former federation officials for attempting to fix games.
Former assistant coach Nation Dube Ian Gorowa and former executive committee member Edzai Kasinauyo were banned for 10 years. Henrietta Rushwaya, once the federation chief executive, received a life ban for the second time for involvement in the attempted fixing.
Rushwaya was banned for life after a previous match-fixing scandal, but that sanction was overturned. The latest bans have not been ratified by Fifa. | The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has folded with a debt of more than US$6m (£4.1m) and has reformed under a different name, the president of the governing body has said. |
15,734,668 | Particles called D-mesons seem to decay slightly differently from their antiparticles, LHCb physicist Matthew Charles told the HCP 2011 meeting on Monday.
The result may help explain why we see so much more matter than antimatter.
The team stresses that further analysis will be needed to shore up the result.
At the moment, they are claiming a statistical certainty of "3.5 sigma" - suggesting that there is less than a 0.05% chance that the result they see is down to chance.
The team has nearly double the amount of data that they have analysed so far, so time will tell whether the result reaches the "five-sigma" level that qualifies it for a formal discovery.
The LHCb detector was designed to examine particles containing so-called beauty quarks, watching them decay through time after high-energy collisions of other fundamental particles.
The LHCb Collaboration was looking at decays of particles called D-mesons, which contain what are known as charmed-quarks, which can in turn decay into kaons and pions.
LHCb, one of the six separate experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, is particularly suited for examining what is called "charge-parity violation" - slight differences in behaviour if a given particle is swapped for its antimatter counterpart (changing its charge) and turned around one of its axes (changing its parity).
Our best understanding of physics so far, called the Standard Model, suggests that the complicated cascades of decay of D-mesons into other particles should be very nearly the same - within less than 0.1% - as a similar chain of antimatter decays.
Other experiments, notably at the Fermi National Accelerator facility in the US, have not definitively found a notable difference between the two kinds of decay of D-mesons.
But the LHCb team is reporting a difference of about 0.8% - a significant difference that, if true, could herald the first "new physics" to be found at the LHC.
"Our result is more significant because our precision is improved - somewhat more precise than all of the previous results put together," Dr Charles told BBC News.
Spotting such a difference in the behaviour of matter and antimatter particles may also finally help explain why our Universe is overwhelmingly made of matter.
"Certainly this kind of effect, a new source of CP violation, could be a manifestation of the physics which drives the matter - antimatter asymmetry," Dr Charles explained.
However, he stressed there are "many steps in the chain" between confirming the collaboration's experimental result, and resolving the theory to accommodate it.
"This result is a hint of something interesting and if it bears out, it will mean that, at a minimum, our current theoretical understanding needs improving," Dr Charles said.
"It's exactly the sort of thing for which the LHC was originally built." | Large Hadron Collider researchers have shown off what may be the facility's first "new physics" outside our current understanding of the Universe. |
33,311,902 | It means the BBC could lose coverage of the Games in the UK from 2022, although Eurosport's parent company Discovery may lease back some of the rights.
The European rights are currently split up, country by country.
The deal will be effective for most of Europe from 2018, and in France and the UK from 2022.
Discovery and Eurosport confirmed they will develop a new Olympic TV Channel across Europe.
Media watchdog Ofcom lists the Olympics as a category A event, which must have live coverage made available to free-to-air channels.
In a statement, Discovery said it was committed to broadcasting a minimum of 200 hours of the Olympic Games and 100 hours of the Olympic Winter Games on free-to-air television, during the games period.
Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, said: "The revenue generated from this long-term partnership will be redistributed by the IOC across the Olympic Movement to support the development of sport around the world."
The BBC had in previous years been awarded the rights as part of a deal between the IOC and a group of public broadcasters across Europe.
If the BBC wants to broadcast the Olympics in future it will now have to negotiate with a rival broadcaster, Discovery.
The BBC said the Olympic Games remain "a priority" and that it has already secured the TV, radio and online rights to the next three Games in 2016, 2018 and 2020.
It will be "seeking further discussions with Discovery about the UK free-to-air rights to the 2022 and 2024 Olympic Games in due course".
"More than 90% of the UK population watched the BBC's coverage of London 2012 and it remains one of the most popular free-to-air, sporting events for UK viewers," the BBC said.
"It is not unprecedented for sports rights to be sold on a pan-territory basis, and the BBC has acquired other sports rights via sub-licensing deals with either agencies or broadcasters," it added.
In a conference call with the BBC, Mr Bach, said: "Public broadcasters have played a significant role in spreading the Games and broadcasting the Games... (but) Eurosport has contributed a lot to this in the past.
"In Great Britain, BBC has the rights to 2020. There is ample time before 2022 and 2024 to have discussions with Discovery about their cooperation. This deal at the moment is not excluding anyone, but it is showing a new broader approach to Olympic broadcasting."
The first Olympics to be broadcast on the BBC came from London in 1948. Since then, it has broadcast the Games continuously since Rome 1960.
The 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and the 2018 Winter Olympics will be Pyeongchang, South Korea, while 2020's event will take place in Tokyo, Japan.
The host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics will be announced at the end of July. | The European television rights for the Olympic Games have been awarded to Eurosport and its parent channel in a 1.3bn euros (£922m) deal. |
39,303,277 | The Premier League champions progressed to the last eight by beating Spanish title-chasers Sevilla 3-2 on aggregate.
Leicester will play the first leg against last year's beaten finalists away from home on 12 April, with the return leg on 18 April.
Holders Real Madrid face Bayern Munich, while Barcelona take on Juventus, and Borussia Dortmund play Monaco.
"Facing a team who have reached the final in two of the past three seasons is a massive challenge but it's just the kind of tie you expect in the quarter-finals of the Champions League," said Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare.
"Atletico Madrid are a very good team with some fantastic individuals with experience in the competition, but we'll be ready to give everything to progress.
"It will be a brilliant occasion for our supporters and for everyone at the club, but before the players can begin to think about these games, we have Premier League matches to come that are of huge significance to our season.
"They will be our sole focus."
Atletico are the only side left in the quarter-finals who Leicester have previously played, but the Foxes have not beaten the Spaniards in their four previous meetings.
Diego Simeone's side were beaten by neighbours Real Madrid on penalties in last season's Champions League final.
The 2014 Spanish champions are fourth in La Liga this season, five points adrift of third-placed Sevilla.
Full draw:
Atletico Madrid (Spain) v Leicester City (Eng)
Borussia Dortmund (Germany) v Monaco (France)
Bayern Munich (Germany) v Real Madrid (Spain)
Juventus (Italy) v Barcelona (Spain)
Ian Stringer, BBC Radio Leicester:
Winnable? That was my first reaction. That and revenge following the clubs' meeting in the 1997-98 Uefa Cup.
Referee Remi Harrel sent off Garry Parker in the second leg at Filbert Street with the game in the balance. It eventually finished 4-1 to Atletico on aggregate.
I was in the crowd that night and felt sick afterwards.
It's a winnable tie. Atletico are fourth in La Liga and won't like the Foxes' style of play. They'll have seen how they dispatched Sevilla and won't be looking forward to Jamie Vardy running at them. Wishful thinking, maybe, but it's a good draw.
The dream continues. Revenge, 20 years on? Yes, please.
Leicester, 5000-1 shots to win the Premier League last season, are considered the rank outsiders to win the Champions League by most bookmakers.
But after the Foxes beat Europa League winners Sevilla on Tuesday, two of European football's biggest names said they were hoping to avoid them in the last eight.
After sacking title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri last month, Leicester have won all three games under Shakespeare.
"I don't think there will be a single coach who is hoping they face Leicester," said Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane on Thursday. "They keep achieving what they are told they can't achieve."
Juventus and Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon said: "They are a dangerous and passionate team who can cause trouble for opponents who take the initiative."
Holders Real Madrid travel to German champions Bayern Munich, who are managed by former Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian, 57, led Madrid to 'La Decima' - the 10th time they were crowned European champions - by beating rivals Atletico 4-1 after extra time in the 2014 final.
Ancelotti is aiming to be the first coach to lead three different clubs to the title, after also coaching AC Milan to two Champions League victories.
Spanish champions Barcelona will meet Italian counterparts Juventus in a rematch of the 2015 final, when Barca won 3-1 to be crowned European champions for a fifth time.
Juve, who are aiming for a sixth straight Serie A title, are competing in the quarter-finals for the first time since that defeat.
French leaders Monaco will go to German side Borussia Dortmund after beating Manchester City on away goals after a thrilling 6-6 aggregate draw. | Leicester City have been drawn against Spanish side Atletico Madrid in their maiden Champions League quarter-final. |
31,100,890 | There were 3.5 million cases of guinea worm worldwide when Jimmy Carter's organisation started tackling the disease in 1986.
Now there are just 126 cases globally - many of them in South Sudan and Mali.
Mr Carter acknowledged that Ebola had diverted some resources - but said this was "only proper".
Eradication of guinea worm would make it the first human disease to have been wiped out since smallpox - and the first to be eliminated without a vaccine or medicine.
The highly debilitating infection comes from a parasite and is spread by drinking contaminated water.
Mr Carter told me: "It's hard to get our people and vehicles into South Sudan and Mali, because of the conflict in both those countries.
"But we're making good progress there, as well as in Chad and Ethiopia, where the remaining cases are.
"It's impossible to determine exactly when we'll do away with it - but I think it will be in the next two or three years at the latest.
"Once the disease begins, you can't do anything about it until the worm comes out of the human body.
"That takes about a month, because the worm is about a metre long. It's a horrible disease, a terrible affliction."
The organisation he founded, the Carter Center, has visited all 26,300 villages - mostly in sub-Saharan Africa - which have had guinea worm, to train people in dealing with it and preventing it.
The former president added: "Once the water is contaminated, if people don't use a proper filter cloth for every drink, the disease can come out of that pond of filthy water again.
"So we have to monitor villages even if they didn't have a case last year, because they might have a case this year.
"You have to be constantly vigilant.
"There's no doubt Ebola has taken away some effort from fighting guinea worm in Mali - but it's very proper that people have concentrated on Ebola."
He said efforts to tackle other health conditions had been temporarily diverted to focus on Ebola.
"We've trained 144 psychiatric nurses in Liberia - because there have been terrible problems in that country with mental health.
"Their work has been diverted into helping fight Ebola, but they'll go back to their psychiatric work now.
"The crisis needed to be met and we were glad to turn those nurses loose to work on Ebola."
Mr Carter's team is also tackling river blindness, another terrible parasitic disease which causes sight loss and skin problems.
It results in itching which is so hard to endure that some sufferers take their own lives.
The transmission of river blindness has been stopped in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico - but the disease is still endemic in more than 30 countries in Africa and Latin America.
Drug treatment exists and many free doses have been supplied by the manufacturer Merck, but eradication is further away than with guinea worm.
Mr Carter said: "The policy has traditionally been to control the disease and prevent blindness by targeting the microscopic worms.
"But the adult worms would remain in the body and still need treating year after year.
"The Carter Center began an experiment in Latin America. We found that treating the disease more than once a year meant you could actually eliminate it.
"We alone will treat around 25 million people for river blindness this year.
"We've proven in Latin America, as well as Sudan and Uganda, that the disease can be completely eliminated.
"And it gives people in Africa who've suffered so long with these diseases an element of confidence, self-respect and hope for the future."
Mr Carter, who turned 90 in October, added: "I've been blessed with good health, and I still enjoy going out to these countries and leading the work. I'm still going strong!"
Last week, Mr Carter sent the manuscript for his 29th book to his publisher.
It is about the lessons he has learned from his life - and includes reflections on his marriage, race relations in America and his 11 years as a submarine officer with the US Navy. | A devastating tropical disease should be eradicated within three years, says the former American president leading the fight against it. |
32,495,271 | A blog claimed Ben Foday said he was "very against" gay marriage, at a Cardiff South and Penarth constituency hustings.
He has since told BBC Wales he was asked to comment on laws being passed without proper consultation, or without the policy being in a party manifesto.
Mr Foday said he "fully supports" gay marriage and "equal rights".
"In the hustings I was asked for my view on parliament passing legislation without proper consultation, or without the policy having been in the party's manifesto, I said that I was against that," Mr Foday said.
"I am sorry if this was interpreted to mean that I was against gay marriage.
"That is certainly not the case, I fully support gay marriage and equal rights," he added.
A full list of candidates standing in Cardiff South and Penarth can be seen here. | A Plaid Cymru election candidate has said he is sorry if a remark he made about gay marriage was misinterpreted. |
35,166,806 | It said some 750,000 children witness domestic violence each year, which can have a "profound and lasting impact".
The charity has launched a video campaign on Facebook, encouraging viewers to raise funds and awareness by sharing the hashtag #givethemrefuge.
The launch comes as Refuge's specialist services face possible funding cuts.
One in four women in the UK experience domestic violence, and two women are killed each week by a partner or ex-partner in England and Wales, the charity said.
Refuge's video shows a girl unwrapping presents while being filmed by her sister, but the children end up abandoning their presents to run away from a violent argument between their parents.
An unnamed 22-year-old abuse victim said the fictional video was similar to her own childhood memories of living in "daily fear and terror" after witnessing her father "abuse, threaten and intimidate" her mother.
"It was only after a frantic phone call I had with my father that I knew he would fulfil his threat to 'smash her brains against the wall' and kill my mother," she said.
She eventually escaped to a refuge with her mother and brother, where they were supported by Refuge, she said.
"Not only did the refuge give us safety, anonymity and a place to overcome our trauma and rebuild our lives, but my brother and I had the opportunity to enjoy our childhood and also start over," she said.
Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, said more than 3,300 women and children were supported by the charity, with children making up about two-thirds of people in the charity's accommodation.
She added that the charity was "fighting to raise funds to keep its services running". | Children, described as the "forgotten victims of domestic violence", have been put at the centre of a Christmas campaign by the charity Refuge. |
35,627,643 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Referee Andre Marriner retrieved several coins that were thrown towards City striker David Faupala and his team-mates as they celebrated his equaliser.
Manchester City went on to lose 5-1.
"We condemn such idiotic and dangerous behaviour," a Chelsea spokesman said.
"It is also worth stating this is a criminal offence and we will support any police prosecution if they can be identified."
The incident came a day after West Bromwich Albion's Chris Brunt was struck just beneath the eye by a coin as he went to throw his shirt into the visiting fans after their defeat at Reading.
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Describing the incident at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink added: "I saw it and I condemn it strongly and I think Chelsea will react. These people must not come into the stadium."
Hiddink, meanwhile, insisted the traditions of the FA Cup must be protected after City played five teenage full debutants in their side ahead of their Champions League last 16 game against Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine on Wednesday.
He said: "Many people worldwide are focused on the FA Cup. As a youngster I knew which Saturday was the FA Cup.
"It is the temple of football worldwide and we must be careful not to devaluate it." | Chelsea will impose life bans on supporters who threw coins at Manchester City players during the FA Cup fifth-round tie at Stamford Bridge if they can be identified. |
29,583,564 | He was speaking at the PUP's annual conference in Antrim, which also celebrated 20 years since the loyalist ceasefire.
The inter-party talks, convened by the Secretary of State Theresa Villiers, are due to begin next Thursday.
"A loyalist voice is very, very important," Mr Hutchinson said.
"My past experience in terms of standing on lawns whenever helicopters were coming in with taoiseachs and prime ministers and all the rest of it, is that isn't helpful.
"We need to have a value and I think that people have to actually recognise that 20 years on we would never have got the talks or have the Good Friday Agreement [without loyalists].
"The only reason we did was because we had all the protagonists at the table."
On Friday, First Minister Peter Robinson said he would not attend the opening of next week's talks aimed at breaking the deadlock at Stormont.
Mr Robinson, who leads the Democratic Unionist Party, called the planned opening of the talks "a showpiece" and "a circus act for the media".
However, he said when the "real work" began the DUP would be there.
The secretary of state announced a fresh round of inter-party talks last month, just days after Mr Robinson had described the structures of devolved government in Northern Ireland as "no longer fit for purpose".
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph on 9 September, Mr Robinson said the weight of the issues to be resolved at Stormont was so great that it "must be tackled in a St Andrews 2 setting, with government involvement".
The 2006 St Andrews Agreement paved the way for the return of devolution the following year.
Sinn Féin, the second largest party in Northern Ireland's power-sharing coalition, had also called for fresh talks, and urged the British, Irish and US governments to get involved. | Progressive Unionist Party leader Billy Hutchinson has said talks to resolve the political deadlock in Northern Ireland should involve his party. |
37,610,025 | Burns, 26, was named as players' player of the year last season and scored over 1,000 Championship runs.
Foakes, 23, averaged over 40 with the bat and will tour during the first part of England Lions' winter programme.
Curran, younger brother of Tom, has already played 16 first-class matches for Surrey at the age of 18.
He will also be part of the Lions squad this winter. | Vice-captain Rory Burns, wicketkeeper Ben Foakes and all-rounder Sam Curran have signed new three-year contracts with Surrey. |
33,860,004 | The shop will open at Downtown Crossing in Boston in September.
Primark said it planned to open a further seven stores in the USA and had chosen stores that were located close to areas of high-urban density and that would benefit from high levels of existing customer footfall.
The firm will use a distribution centre in Pennsylvania.
The first store opened in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland in 1969.
In 1973, the firm opened its first store in the UK and branched out into Europe in 2006 with the opening of its first shop in Spain.
In the Republic of Ireland, the firm trades under the name Penneys. | The Irish clothing retailer Primark has announced it is to open its first store in the United States. |
30,551,230 | The man was in his Westfield Road flat at 16:30 on Thursday when a man called at his door claiming to have been carrying out work in the common stair.
He asked for access to check water pressure, then distracted the victim while a second man entered the flat and stole the items from the bedroom.
Officers have issued descriptions of the two men they are trying to trace.
One was described as having a tanned complexion and was between 5ft and 5ft 2in tall, of heavy build, with broad shoulders, dark shaved hair and a clean-shaven face.
He was wearing a dark bulky Barbour-style jacket, dark trousers, had a lanyard round his neck and spoke with a Polish accent.
The second man was white, in his mid-40s to early 50s, 5ft 7in tall, of slim build, with grey scruffy hair that was shaved at the back and sides and a wrinkled face. He spoke with a Scottish accent.
Police said various items of jewellery and a three-figure sum of cash had been stolen.
Det Con Jim Philp said: "We believe that while the first suspect was distracting the victim within the kitchen, the second male entered the property and stole the items from the bedroom.
"Officers are currently carrying out local inquiries to determine whether any other properties were targeted by these men and to establish their identity." | Bogus workmen who stole jewellery and money from an 85-year-old man in Edinburgh are being sought by police. |
28,661,616 | But it is not clear if the ZMapp drug, which has only been tested on monkeys, can be credited with their improvement.
Dr Kent Brantly was flown home for treatment on Saturday. His colleague Nancy Writebol arrived back in the city of Atlanta on Tuesday.
Since February, 887 people have died of Ebola in four West African countries.
US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said on Tuesday that the risk of Ebola transmission in the US is "very low".
"We have in this country the protocols to isolate and manage any patient who may present with those symptoms of the disease," she said.
Meanwhile, another man is being tested for Ebola at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York after travelling to West Africa.
The hospital said he was in isolation and "was stable overnight and in good spirits".
The World Bank is allocating $200m (£120m) in emergency assistance for countries battling to contain the Ebola outbreak.
It is the world's deadliest outbreak to date and has centred on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There have also been two cases in the Nigerian city of Lagos, where eight people are currently in quarantine.
British Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone until 31 August 2014 because of the health crisis, the airline said in a statement. It follows a similar suspension by two regional air carriers last week.
The virus spreads by contact with infected blood and bodily fluids. The current outbreak is killing between 50% and 60% of people infected.
There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola - but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment.
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says clinical trials are to start in September on an Ebola vaccine that has shown promising results during tests on animals.
"By the middle to end of 2015, we'll be able to have some vaccine - at least to vaccinate health workers - who put themselves at considerable risk when they take care of these patients," he told the BBC's Newsday programme.
The US aid workers were treated with the ZMapp serum before their evacuation from Liberia.
According to a CNN report, quoting a doctor in Liberia, Dr Brantly's condition improved dramatically within an hour of receiving the drug.
Service in Mission (SIM), the Christian aid group that employs Ms Writebol, says she has had two doses of the drug and did not respond as well as Dr Brantly but she is showing "improvement".
"She is walking with assistance... strength is better... has an appetite," SIM spokesman Palmer Holt told the Washington Post newspaper in an email on Monday.
Ms Writebol is in a special isolation ward at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital, where Dr Brantly is being treated by infectious disease specialists.
Three companies, the US government and the Public Health Agency of Canada are behind the experimental drug.
"ZMapp was first identified as a drug candidate in January 2014 and has not yet been evaluated for safety in humans. As such, very little of the drug is currently available," Mapp Biopharmaceutical said in a statement.
"Mapp and its partners are co-operating with appropriate government agencies to increase production as quickly as possible."
Ebola has initial flu-like symptoms that can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure.
In another development, the World Health Organization is to hold an emergency meeting in Geneva starting on Wednesday to discuss new measures to tackle the Ebola outbreak.
The meeting will decide whether to declare a global health emergency which could involve imposing travel restrictions on affected countries.
Ebola: Experimental treatments
Why Ebola is so dangerous | Two US aid workers who contracted Ebola in Liberia appear to be improving after receiving an experimental drug, officials have said. |
26,803,778 | The YAK 52 aircraft crashed at 14:55 GMT in a field near Cooksmill Green on the A414 west of Chelmsford in Essex.
Firefighters called to the scene reported that "the plane was completely alight" when they arrived.
The plane had taken off from the nearby North Weald airfield. Both victims' next of kin have been informed, police said.
Rebecca Larsen told BBC News: "I witnessed the plane go up in flames. Cars pulled up on the left lane and everyone ran towards the burning plane."
Police closed a section of the A414 between Chelmsford and Ongar while emergency services attended.
Alison Hodgkins-Brown, at the scene for BBC Essex, said: "I can see the plane has come down in the middle of an oil seed rape field next to the A414.
"It's completely covered by tarpaulin and there are about eight police officers in attendance."
Sam Gildersleeve, from Ongar, was having lunch with friends when he saw the plane flying low.
"At this point we all looked at the sky and the plane attempted to do a somersault unsuccessfully, we heard a popping sound and noticed the plane did not re-emerge," he said.
"We then noticed smoke coming from the site in the field where the plane had crashed. Shortly after the emergency services appeared."
The Air Accident Investigation Branch has sent a team to investigate the crash. | Two men have died when a light aircraft crashed into a field and burst into flames, police have said. |
32,664,678 | The buses were found on fire in the early hours of Friday morning in Copenhagen. Another was found covered in anti-Israeli graffiti.
Last week, the city's transit authority ordered the removal of advertisements by a pro-Palestinian group calling for a boycott of Israeli goods.
The group behind the adverts condemned the fire, calling it "a criminal act".
Jens Moeller Jensen, a spokesman for Copenhagen's police force, told the Associated Press: "There could be a political motive. We consider this one theory. But we cannot link it to anything for now."
The advertisements were paid for by the Danish-Palestinian Friendship Association. It says it works "to influence the Danish public and the Danish authorities to do more for the Palestinians' right to self-determination."
The notices, placed on 35 buses across Copenhagen, showed two Palestinian women opposite the words: "Our conscience is clean! We neither buy products from the Israeli settlements nor invest in the settlement industry."
But within four days, the bus company, Movia, removed the adverts, saying they were "unnecessarily offensive".
Movia added that it had "received a significant number of inquiries regarding the Danish Palestinian Friendship Association's campaign against Israeli settlements."
The company received close to 100 complaints, most of them in English, a Movia spokeswoman said.
After the fire, Fathi el Abed, the head of the Danish-Palestinian Friendship Association, told the Copenhagen Post: "I hope it's not someone with a Palestinian background that is behind this.
"It's a criminal act and should be treated as such."
In January, a gunman of Palestinian descent was shot dead by police in Copenhagen after he attacked a synagogue and a free speech debate.
A Jewish man and a film director were killed and five police injured. | Four Danish buses were destroyed in a suspected arson attack that police believe may have a political motive. |
36,392,431 | Carmarthenshire council said there have been problems at Pembrey Country Park and the Millennium Coastal Park.
They relate to unauthorised camping, fishing, lighting fires, littering, dog fouling and anti-social behaviour.
Anyone who sees incidents can report it to park staff or call police on 101. | Visitors to two of Carmarthenshire's most popular attractions are being asked to respect the areas following complaints about unauthorised camping and other issues. |
27,111,923 | The lift, the fastest in the world, would take 43 seconds to go from the first to 95th floor in the Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre, the company said.
The skyscraper is scheduled to be completed in 2016.
Currently, the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan holds the record for fastest lift - it can travel up to 60.6km/h.
Hitachi promised a "comfortable ride" even at high speeds in the new lift.
The lifts would prevent ear blockages, Hitachi said, by artificially altering air pressure in the car.
Dr Gina Barney, an expert in lift technology, said protecting passengers from discomfort was a big challenge for high-speed lifts.
"When you're travelling that distance, you're going to get pressures on your ears changing," she told the BBC.
"That's probably the most significant problem with high-speed travel in buildings - people suffer some pain."
Hitachi said guiding "rollers" that adapted to warping caused by wind pressure would mean the ride remained smooth.
And brakes able to resist extreme heat would activate in the "unlikely" event of a malfunction.
The building will have in total 95 lifts, two of which will be operate at the ultra-high speed.
Twenty-eight "double-decker" lifts will also be installed into the building.
The Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre will house office, hotel and residential space.
If the Hitachi lift performs as well as the company has said, it will comfortably top the global chart for fastest lift.
Today's record is held in Taiwan, where passengers in the Taipei 101 building are flung from the fifth to the 89th floor in 37 seconds, a speed of 1,010m (3,313ft) per minute.
The Yokohama Landmark Tower in Japan moves its passengers at 750m per minute, while the world's tallest building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa, has a lift that moves at 600m per minute.
London's Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe, has lifts that move at 360m per minute.
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC | Hitachi has said it will install a lift capable of reaching speeds of 72km/h (45mph) into a skyscraper in Guangzhou, southern China. |
18,713,545 | The man was being held for allegedly burning a copy of the Koran in public. The incident took place on the outskirts of Bahawalpur, in Punjab province.
Witnesses said hundreds of people looked on as he screamed for help.
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law imposes the death penalty for insulting Islam, but it is rarely carried out.
The area where the lynching took place is home to hundreds of madrassas - religious schools - run by radical Islamist or sectarian groups.
Police said they detained the man after locals complained that he had desecrated the Koran.
But before the allegation could be investigated, thousands of angry people surrounded the police station, police said.
"They were demanding that we kill him in front of them, or they'll take him away and kill him themselves," police inspector Ghulam Mohiuddin told the BBC.
After officers unsuccessfully tried to calm the crowd, it attacked the station, as police tried to disperse it with tear gas. Several policemen were wounded in the violence.
The mob put up roadblocks to prevent police reinforcements from reaching the area, officers said.
"We were totally outnumbered. There were too many of them and they were hysterical. Eventually, they succeeded in taking him away," said one.
The man was reportedly beaten and dragged to the spot where he is said to have desecrated the Koran.
The mob then poured petrol on him and set him on fire, according to witnesses.
Police say they are trying to identify the victim, who was said to be mentally unstable.
"The man had no idea what was going on," said an official.
"While he was in our custody, he kept laughing and chanting."
A case has been registered against unknown attackers. No arrests have been made yet. | A Pakistani mob has taken a man accused of blasphemy from a police station and burnt him to death, police say. |
37,800,747 | St Clement's Church, on Star Lane, has been closed since 1979 but is being transformed into Ipswich Arts Centre.
After two years of planning, the first night of live music took place as part of SPILL Festival of Performance.
Carol Gant, the centre's director, said it was "wonderful to hear the church filled with live music and singing again after so many years".
Dead Rat Orchestra, She Shanties, Cath & Phil Tyler, Documents and MacGillvray were on the line-up at the former church, which was built in the 15th Century.
Mrs Gant said about 200 people attended the gig.
"The audience and performers were so impressed by the way the voices echoed around the space. It was a wonderful night," she said.
"After 30 years of disuse" it was "a great moment for the town", Cad Taylor, part of the community interest company behind the centre, added.
Despite recently receiving permission to change the use of the church into a venue, the group is still fundraising to complete work at the centre.
It is currently asking people to back a bid for £25,000 from Aviva. | More than 30 years of silence ended at a Suffolk church on Friday, as it hosted its first gig as an arts centre. |
40,758,817 | The seven must report to authorities until the next hearing on 11 September.
The journalists and managers are being held on charges of aiding a terrorist organisation.
A number of others remain in custody. Arrest warrants are out for two more who have fled the country. Supporters say the charges are political.
The seven people who have been released are Musa Kart, Bulent Utku, Turan Gunay, Onder Çelik, Kemal Gungor, Hakan Karasinir and Guray Oz.
They have been released under judicial supervision.
If found guilty, the defendants could face sentences of up to 43 years in jail. | A Turkish court has ordered that seven of 17 staff members from the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet be freed from jail while their trial continues. |
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Who will win it this time? We asked 30 BBC TV and radio pundits, presenters and commentators for their one-two-three-four prediction ahead of the new campaign, and for an explanation of their selection.
Only five teams feature in the predictions and, with 22 votes, Chelsea are the overwhelming favourites to retain their title. Four votes went to Arsenal and two apiece to Manchester United and Manchester City.
Most people made their predictions on the basis of how each squad shapes up now, ahead of the opening weekend, but Chris Waddle, Pat Nevin and Alistair Mann made their choices because they think City and United will make some significant signings before the transfer window closes on 1 September.
19 out of 29 BBC experts correctly backed them to win the title last year. This season, 22 out of 30 have picked them to retain it, and only one person out of 30 thinks they will finish outside the top two.
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Alan Shearer: The title race will be a lot tighter and I am expecting the top four to be bunched together for most of the season.
But Chelsea are still the team to beat because of their experience and I also think they will be better than they were last year when Diego Costa was injured a lot last season and Cesc Fabregas did not play his best football from February onwards.
It also would not surprise me if they sign another big hitter before the transfer window shuts.
Ruud Gullit: I think they will buy another striker. We saw against Arsenal in the Community Shield that they might have a problem up front when Costa is unavailable. Jose Mourinho hopes Radamel Falcao is the answer but I did not see that at Wembley. I hope Falcao succeeds too, but I think Chelsea still need another powerful striker as back-up to Costa.
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BBC Radio 5 live football correspondent John Murray: Chelsea still have the best squad and certainly have the best defence.
Pat Nevin: The manager makes a big difference too, of course. I think Mourinho will get more out of a number of his players this season, with Oscar being one of them.
Graeme Le Saux: You know Mourinho's tactics will be spot on, even if the personnel changes. Nobody is a passenger in this Chelsea team, no matter who comes in, and reliability is one of the requirement of all his players. That consistency underpins everything they do, and on top of that they have got some amazingly creative players.
Chris Sutton: Mourinho has to address Chelsea's lack of creativity in the second half of last season but the fact remains he is an outstanding manager who always finds a way to win games.
BBC Radio 5 live's senior football reporter Ian Dennis: Just as in 2005 and 2006 I'm tipping Mourinho to claim back-to-back titles with Chelsea. I think he will get the best out of Falcao but I expect Arsenal to push them close.
You can listen to Ian - and all the Premier League goals as they go in around the grounds - every Saturday afternoon on BBC Radio 5 live.
Last season not one of the 29 BBC experts asked backed Arsenal to win the title and only four thought they would finish higher than third, which was their final position. This year, four people back them to win it, 15 think they will finish second or better and only one person thinks they will finish lower than third.
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Ian Wright: Yes. I am optimistic about Arsenal's title chances every season, but this season I am more confident than usual - and not just because I am a fan and desperately want it to happen.
I am gambling a lot on their start, because they began badly last year and won only two of their first eight games, but they showed at the end of last season they can put a run together and now they know what it takes to win the title. I think the team will be tighter at the back and, with the attacking ability Arsenal have, I think they can do it.
Gabby Logan: Yes. I had a big interview with Arsene Wenger before last season's FA Cup final and I am a believer. I just feel a change coming!
Jermaine Jenas: No - but I would say Arsenal are the most balanced team and best equipped to push Chelsea all the way. Signing Petr Cech is really going to shore up their defence and could bring them an extra 5-10 points. They are the one team Mourinho will really fear this year and, if they can stay close to them throughout the season, Chelsea might react differently.
Alan Shearer: No. They will be closer, but I still think they need a top-class centre-forward to go that step further and win the title.
Two out of 29 BBC experts backed United to win the title last season - but nobody else thought they would make the top two and 14 people thought they would miss out on the top four. This time, 16 people think they will finish at least third and no-one thinks they will finish lower than fourth.
Dion Dublin: Yes. I've backed them to win it because it has been far too long, but also because the pressure is now on Louis van Gaal to win things and I think Wayne Rooney will be the man to deliver for him - United as a club thrive off pressure.
Ruud Gullit: No. I am surprised they have not strengthened their defence more already - I don't get it. Louis van Gaal did the same last year, when he brought in a lot of forward players. If building a squad is like building a house, he started with the roof instead of the foundations and it did not go well. This year, he has done the same again. It surprises me that he has confidence in his existing players at the back.
Kevin Kilbane: No. In pre-season Van Gaal has been playing Daley Blind at centre-half. That is all well and good in friendlies when United have lots of possession because he is excellent on the ball but, in games against the top teams, I think they could get caught out for pace on the counter-attack. They look vulnerable.
Match of the Day commentator Jonathan Pearce: No. They lack a dominant centre-back and will rely too much on Rooney for goals. Selling Robin Van Persie was a mistake. This team is still at the building stage. Unless Van Gaal provides more entertaining football, the supporters - who have been very lenient so far - will turn on him.
Jacqui Oatley: I'm fascinated to see how United start the season now that Van Gaal has had time to bed in. Surely he won't go much longer without buying a leader in defence?
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Pat Nevin: Making a decision on this now before the end of the transfer window is silly because I suspect United will be a lot stronger and plug a couple of gaps. If they get an extra centre-half in and maybe a centre-forward, then it would make a big difference and I would put them up in second place. If they don't, I think they are still third or fourth.
Mark Lawrenson: I think United might have a 'blow you out of the water' transfer left in them this summer, I really do. I just have a feeling they might be able to prise Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo away from Real Madrid, and that would make a massive difference to the title race.
Last season, eight out of 29 BBC experts thought City would win the title, and only five thought they would finish outside the top two - they ended up as runners-up. This year, two people are backing them to be champions and 22 out of 30 think they will finish third at best.
Pat Nevin: Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure are massively important to the City team and I just don't know if they are going to be as good as they were again. If they aren't, I don't think City have a good enough squad to win the league.
Trevor Sinclair: There are question marks over the manager Manuel Pellegrini too. There were a couple of big games against Arsenal and United in the second half of last season where City were outmanoeuvred tactically and, against Barcelona in the Champions League, they were really out of their depth.
Match of the Day commentator Steve Wilson: For me, City are in a kind of limbo at the moment. I didn't expect to see Pellegrini at the club this season and would expect him to be out of the door about a nano-second after Pep Guardiola says he's willing to move to Manchester. But when, or if, that happens is anyone's guess.
Match of the Day commentator Guy Mowbray: City are the hardest call of all. They could just as easily be first - and might be. The persistent Guardiola rumours might play a part.
Match of the Day commentator Alistair Mann: I really feel that Manchester City are going to complete a couple more major transfer coups which will tip the title race in their favour.
Chris Waddle: City will have licked their wounds from last season and will come back stronger. Raheem Sterling is a big addition and I am sure there are one or two more on the way to make them stronger.
Last season, 15 out of 29 BBC experts wrongly thought Liverpool would make the top four. This time around, 29 out of 30 think they will miss out.
Mark Lawrenson: It looks like they have a better balance to their squad than last season and they are definitely better off with their options with their attacking players if Daniel Sturridge has more injuries.
Didi Hamann: There are a lot of unknowns, but firstly the players they brought in last year have obviously got to to do better. I like the signings they have made this year and I think they have got a chance but, as of now, you have got to say that the other four teams are ahead of them.
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John Hartson: They will certainly miss Steven Gerrard, although Jordan Henderson will do a good job of skippering the side. Christian Benteke is a good signing who has got everything you need as a striker but the question for me is can Liverpool give him the service he needs in the box because they will have to change the way they play?
Former Liverpool Ladies and Everton Ladies goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis: Liverpool are rebuilding and that is going to take another couple of years because it is harder to attract the top players when you do not have Champions League football.
Match of the Day commentator Conor McNamara: They won't make it, but that is not to say they won't show a big improvement on last season. Brendan Rodgers' recruitment this summer has already been streets ahead of the players he brought in 12 months ago - but the problem for Liverpool is that all of the last season's top four have strengthened as well.
Last year, Leicester survived but Burnley and QPR made a quick return to the Championship. This time Watford, Norwich and Bournemouth are the teams looking to beat the odds.
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Jermaine Jenas: I really enjoyed watching Bournemouth last year and their style of play probably suits the Premier League best out of the three promoted teams. But that pretty tippy-tappy football they play won't pay-off if they don't put their chances away. That is something you can get away with in the Championship because you know other chances are going to come. In the Premier League it is the total opposite, so they will need to be more clinical.
Pat Nevin: I just have a feeling for Norwich. That has a lot to do with their manager Alex Neil. who I have watched a lot in his short but hugely illustrious career as a manager at Hamilton and then at Carrow Road. He immediately gets the best out of players.
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Match of the Day commentator Steve Bower: I was at Wembley to witness Norwich winning the Championship play-off final in a very professional manner and I think with their young, hungry manager and a squad of players that have had Premier League experience before they have the best chance of staying up.
Chris Sutton: I live in the Norwich area and people are saying 'we will be alright with three or four quality signings' but it is hard for Norwich to attract them because all the top players want to go to the top clubs. Alex Neil is trying to get a striker in but that has not worked out, and it will be interesting how they get on.
MOTD2 host and BBC Radio 5 live presenter Mark Chapman: This will probably make me look an idiot but, hey, that's the whole point of predictions isn't it? I am going to say that all three will stay up. Bournemouth's football at times last season was excellent and Eddie Howe won't change his philosophy in the Premier League. It could cause a lot of teams problems.
Watford, thanks to the Pozzo family, are part of one of the best, if not THE best scouting system in the world and there will be some gems in that squad by the end of the window. And Norwich are a club with Premier League set-up. If they can find a striker capable of regularly scoring in the top flight they should be fine too. | The Premier League starts again on Saturday, with Chelsea defending the title they won by eight points last season. |
41,011,659 | DJI said the update to the small drone's core software fixes some flight control issues suffered by the gadget.
The drone maker said it had warned owners about the deadline so they could avoid having their craft grounded.
But the mandatory update has caused some owners to question the control DJI retains over their devices.
In a statement, DJI said the update would improve how the Spark manages power. It also helps it work with smart spectacles that give owners an immersive view of what the drone films.
It added: "If the firmware of either the aircraft or the battery is not updated by September 1, Spark will not be able to take off."
The update is now available via the Go 4 management app used to configure and fly the craft as well as DJI's Assistant 2 desktop software.
A spokesman said it issued the warning so it could be sure Spark owners took the chance to update their drone before the deadline so craft are not grounded.
Gary Mortimer, writing on drone news site SUAS News, said DJI's demand that people apply the software had caused "consternation".
He said performance fixes bestowed by the software were welcome but DJI's ability to throw a kill switch to stop the device working was more "questionable".
Earlier this month, the US Army banned serving soldiers from using DJI drones saying their use posed "operational risks". In response, DJI drones were given a privacy mode that restricted who saw the video they shot. | DJI Spark drones will not fly after 1 September unless owners apply a mandatory software update, the device's maker has warned. |
40,043,505 | Four females and a male in a Nissan Micra died in the crash between junction 15 for Stoke-on-Trent and 14 for Stafford.
The lorry driver was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving but has been released under investigation.
The Romanian Embassy has been informed.
Latest updates on this story
A male passenger in the front seat is in a serious but stable condition at Royal Stoke University Hospital.
The stretch of motorway was shut after the crash at about 04:30 BST on Wednesday, before reopening around lunchtime.
The driver of the Mercedes articulated lorry, a 60-year-old man from the West Midlands, was unhurt.
Police are appealing for any witnesses to the crash, or anyone who saw the vehicles before the accident, to come forward.
Specialist officers are working with the families of those who died, a spokeswoman for Staffordshire Police said. | Five people killed in a collision involving a lorry and a car on the M6 in Staffordshire were Romanian nationals, police have said. |
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The brothers beat Nicolas Mahut and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.
Andy Murray will hope to seal victory in the best-of-five tie when he plays the first of Sunday's singles matches.
The winners of the tie will play Australia or Kazakhstan at home in September, with Britain trying to reach a first semi-final since 1981.
"We played an unbelievably high-level match against a top team," Andy Murray said on court afterwards.
"It was an absolutely fantastic atmosphere - to play and represent your country with your brother in a match like this is very special."
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Andy Murray suffered a nasty fall during the third set and is scheduled to play French number one Gilles Simon at 12:30 BST on Sunday, although Wimbledon semi-finalist Richard Gasquet could be drafted in.
"It was my hip," said the 28-year-old. "Everyone's fallen a few times on the court but thankfully it was OK.
"It's sore but we've got one more match tomorrow hopefully, and then I can rest for a few days."
His brother Jamie, 29, added: "It was brilliant, the crowd were amazing, twice as loud as yesterday and we absolutely loved it.
"Thanks to the supporters who cheered from start to finish and hopefully we're in a good position to win the tie now."
Captain Leon Smith's decision to play both Murray brothers and leave out the big-serving Dom Inglot was vindicated, eventually.
Jamie Murray, fresh from reaching the men's doubles final at Wimbledon last week, was superb throughout, while his younger brother's form improved as the match went on.
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A home win looked far from certain after France took the opening set thanks to a single break of serve, but a successful Hawk-Eye challenge from Andy Murray helped the Britons level at one set all.
The third was a desperately close contest of strong serving that was heading for a tie-break when Andy Murray slipped badly while chasing down a smash.
It appeared British hopes might have vanished as he had lengthy treatment, but once back on court the brothers played a brilliant tie-break.
An Andy Murray volley brought up set point on the Tsonga serve, and the two-time Grand Slam champion played a terrific return that the Frenchman could not control.
The brothers leapt in the air in celebration and, roared on by the home fans in the crowd of 6,900, they powered into a 5-0 lead in the fourth set before Jamie Murray sealed victory with a smash.
"I'm immensely proud of the brothers," said Smith. "I thought the team energy was fantastic and the crowd was just phenomenal again."
Murray, the world number three, has lost just two of his 23 Davis Cup singles matches and never on grass.
He has a 5-3 record against Gasquet and a 12-2 record against Simon, although the Frenchman did win their last match indoors in Rotterdam in February.
"It's a tough day tomorrow," said Smith. "No-one should presume it's an easy match for Andy and he's going to need to be at his best again to win that one."
Murray said: "They obviously have options and we'll find out an hour beforehand [who plays], there's no point worrying about it. I've played well against both of them before on the grass, so that's a positive."
Should Murray fail to win his second singles match, the tie would come down to a fifth and final rubber between James Ward and either Gasquet, Tsonga or Mahut.
Britain won their ninth and most recent Davis Cup back in 1936 under the inspirational leadership of Fred Perry, and last made the final in 1978.
The prize on offer on Sunday is a semi-final against Kazakhstan or Australia, with the Kazakhs leading 2-1 heading into the final day in Darwin.
On the other side of the draw, Belgium have seen off a Canada side without Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil, while Argentina beat a Serbia side missing Novak Djokovic.
Mahut did not speak, Tsonga managed a weak smile of resignation and team captain Arnaud Clement just about retained his game face.
The mood in the French camp was clear when they faced the media after the defeat.
"We will talk about tomorrow a little bit later," was Clement's response when asked whether the official singles line-up of Simon and Tsonga will remain unchanged.
"For us it is difficult to be 2-1 down and it's a great advantage for Great Britain now.
"Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult day for us, but we're going to try as hard as we can. We know how difficult it's going to be to beat Andy but we're going to try." | Andy and Jamie Murray won the doubles to give Britain a 2-1 lead over France in the Davis Cup quarter-final at a raucous Queen's Club in London. |
37,942,019 | It says that the UN is looking forward to working with her to discuss her role "at an appropriate date".
The player admitted in March that she had taken the substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January.
She was subsequently banned for two years by an investigating tribunal.
But last month her suspension was reduced to 15 months after she filed an appeal.
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The UN Development Programme (UNDP) appointed the tennis star as a goodwill ambassador in February 2007, but suspended her in March after her doping admission.
"The UNDP is glad to learn that Maria Sharapova can return to the sport she loves sooner than expected and we will lift the suspension of her role as our goodwill ambassador once the reduced ban expires in April 2017," the UN statement says.
"We understand that Ms Sharapova will be focused on resuming her tennis career and we look forward to discussing her role and engagement with the UNDP at an appropriate date."
Sharapova said she had been taking meldonium since 2006 for health issues but said she did not realise it had been added to the banned list on 1 January 2016 as she knew it by another name - mildronate.
After her admission, Sharapova's sponsors were divided in their response. Sports firm Nike, racket manufacturer Head and bottled water company Evian all said they would stand by her.
But Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer cut ties with her in March while Porsche also expressed concern about continuing its links.
In June, Forbes said Sharapova was the world's second highest-paid female athlete, behind her rival Serena Williams. | Tennis star Maria Sharapova will be reinstated as a UN goodwill ambassador when her suspension for using a prohibited drug expires next April, a UN statement says. |
38,755,704 | Wenger, 67, was charged with verbally abusing and pushing fourth official Anthony Taylor after being sent off in the closing stages of the game.
He had been dismissed for reacting angrily to a 93rd-minute penalty given to Burnley, who trailed 1-0.
Wenger, who later apologised, says he will request a personal FA hearing.
"I've said what I have publicly and the rest will be more discreet," he said. "I don't know if I will be punished and how I will be punished.
"The only thing I can say is that when I was sent off I was surprised and then I was in the tunnel which is where I thought I could be."
After being sent to the stands by referee Jon Moss, Wenger moved away from the pitch but stood at the tunnel entrance and refused to move as he tried to watch the remaining few minutes of Sunday's match.
As Taylor encouraged him to move away, Wenger was seen to push back against him.
When asked if he would accept the charge, Wenger said: "Yes. I am big enough to stand up for what I do.
"When I don't behave like I think I should behave, I am big enough to say I am not right. I'm a passionate guy and I believe that I am completely committed in my job and want to win football games."
In 2012, then-Newcastle manager Alan Pardew was fined £20,000 and given a two-match touchline ban for pushing an assistant referee during a match against Tottenham. | Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he will accept a Football Association misconduct charge for his behaviour during the 2-1 league win over Burnley. |
40,479,462 | Former leader Nick Paget-Brown resigned on 30 June following continued criticism of the council's handling of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Local politicians have warned that the new leader must come from outside the "contaminated" administration.
Councillor Daniel Moylan said the ruling Conservative group has to "show a complete break with the past".
Mr Moyland, the Conservative former deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said "any idea of a continuity candidate would be a very bad idea".
"We have to be able to go to the people of North Kensington and to the victims of the fire with a real sense of acknowledging how badly they have been let down, a real sense of shame if you like," he told BBC London Radio.
Kensington and Chelsea Conservatives will hold a regular group meeting on Monday evening.
It is expected during this meeting they will vote on replacements for Mr Paget-Brown and former deputy council leader Rock Feilding-Mellen, who also resigned.
The chosen candidates must then gain approval by a vote in full council, a formality given the Conservative group control 40 out of 50 seats on Kensington and Chelsea Council.
Judith Blakeman, a Labour councillor in the ward which houses Grenfell Tower, said "it can't possibly be one of the cabinet members" as they had voted to endorse the former leadership.
"They are all contaminated. No member of the current cabinet would have any credibility with the residents of North Kensington," she added.
Sadiq Khan has called for commissioners to take over the running of Kensington and Chelsea Council.
The Mayor of London said the government had "no option" but to appoint "untainted" commissioners. | The new leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council will be announced later, the BBC understands. |
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Konta, the first British woman for 33 years to play in a Grand Slam semi-final, went down 7-5 6-2 in Melbourne.
"I played against a better player today who earned her right to a Grand Slam final," said the British number one.
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The 24-year-old collects £370,000 in prize money, while her ranking is set to jump from 47 to inside the top 30.
Kerber, 28, goes on to face world number one Serena Williams, who took just 64 minutes to thrash Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0 6-4.
The American, 34, is the defending champion and is chasing a seventh Australian Open and 22nd Grand Slam title.
The Briton made a nervous start and could not stem a flow of errors that kept the pressure off Kerber.
Konta ended the match with 36 unforced errors to the German's 11, having dropped serve five times over an hour and 22 minutes.
She looked every bit the debutante at this level as she slipped 3-0 down, with Kerber - twice a Grand Slam semi-finalist - hardly required to do anything but keep the ball in play in the early stages.
There was real hope for Konta when she found some rhythm and clawed her way back to lead 5-4 in the first set, but Kerber broke again at 5-5 and would lose just two more games.
Konta was upbeat after her loss, insisting: "I don't think I missed an opportunity."
She felt Kerber simply played better, adding there were a lot of positives to take from her straight-set defeat.
"I'm really hungry to keep improving and keep enjoying what I'm doing," she said. "So that's where I'm at.
"I just will go back, keep working hard, keep improving the things that I want to improve and keep enjoying what I'm doing."
Konta's progress over the past 12 months has been described as "phenomenal" by GB Davis Cup captain Leon Smith.
"Jo should be so proud of herself, the way she's played and handled herself," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Yes, she'll be disappointed today, but she probably can't wait to get going again."
Jo Durie, Britain's last female Grand Slam semi-finalist, and former British number one Greg Rusedski both tweeted praise for Konta.
Rusedski, who reached the US Open final in 1997, wrote: "Great run for @JoKonta91 getting to the semifinals of a GS for the first time. Now into the top 30 in the world. She will only get better."
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller:
Johanna Konta says she has learnt to 'feel comfortable being uncomfortable' during her run to the semi-final.
The experience of winning five Grand Slam matches in a row and working through some stressful periods will stand her in great stead.
She will be 28 in the world when the rankings are updated on Monday and has very few points to defend until the grass-court season begins in June, so she has an excellent chance of being seeded for both the French Open and Wimbledon.
She has also earned the right to play in any tournament she chooses to, anywhere in the world.
It has been a phenomenal performance by a player, who before her run to the fourth round of the US Open last September, had only ever won one match in a Grand Slam main draw.
Radwanska was on a 13-match winning run, but she had lost all eight previous meetings with Williams and was again overwhelmed.
Williams was utterly dominant in the first set, her power advantage most obvious as she demolished the 5ft 8in Pole's serve, winning 12 of 16 return points as she took it in 20 minutes.
The American's form fell away in the second set, allowing Radwanska to recover from 3-1 down with four straight games that roused a crowd sympathetic to the Pole's plight.
But Radwanska missed a forehand to drop serve at 4-4 and Williams, despite racking up 13 errors to four in the first set, found three aces in a row on her way to serving out the match.
"I'm really excited to be in another final, it kind of blows my mind right now," said Williams.
Radwanska said it would difficult for anyone to stop Williams.
"If she's playing her best tennis, it's a big difference," she said. "I don't think anyone can really play on that level."
But Kerber responded: "I'm really looking forward to playing Serena in the final. I have nothing to lose and will give it everything." | Johanna Konta's superb Australian Open run came to an end with defeat by German seventh seed Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals. |
35,640,388 | Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had questioned whether it would be practically possible to implement the ceasefire.
Russian air strikes and support from Iran have helped President Assad win key battles. Internationally, the threat from so-called Islamic State and the growing role of jihadi groups within the Syrian opposition have caused those countries which had wanted him gone to consider whether that remains a viable policy.
Three experts spoke to the BBC World Service Inquiry programme before the Syrian government agreed to the terms of the latest deal, about whether President Assad has effectively won the war.
Jennifer Cafarella is the Syria analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a US military think tank.
"President Assad certainly has momentum on the battlefield. The armed opposition is mobilising significantly in order to prevent him, however, it does remain likely that Assad will be able to encircle Aleppo, after which we're expecting to see a siege and starve campaign.
"The recapture of Aleppo City could actually be sufficient to encourage many Syrian opposition fighters to stop fighting, and to abandon the war against Assad.
"His strategy to date has been to recapture key strategic terrain as well as to collapse opposition pockets that pose a threat to the core regime-held terrain. He's not trying to recapture all of the rural terrain that the opposition holds. Rather, he's trying to make sure that his gains are durable, and that they shore up his position militarily in places like Aleppo City, Homs, and Damascus.
"The core deficit that the opposition has is air power. Assad's ability to use Russian air strikes, as well as to deploy barrel bombs is not something that the opposition can make up for without receiving shoulder-to-air missile systems that they could use to shoot down aircraft.
"I think it's likely that without Iran's backing, Assad would have lost the war much earlier on, and so the continued deployment of Iranian ground troops is really keeping the regime alive and sustaining its battlefield momentum.
"For the first time we've started to see calls for the mobilisation of foreign fighters to come and fight on the opposition's behalf inside Syria. It's a very dangerous indicator of the state of the Syrian opposition. They are that desperate.
"Al-Qaeda's suicide bombers are an incredibly powerful military tool. Al-Qaeda uses them as a mechanism to penetrate a military base or a checkpoint: a suicide bomber can get up close and cause damage to the structure which the opposition would not otherwise be able to target.
"That tactic has been incredibly effective on behalf of the opposition, and is one of the reasons why the opposition will continue to rely on al-Qaeda as this war continues.
"Assad certainly is in a very strong position, and I think in the long-term, he's going to benefit from the radicalisation from the opposition.
"If Assad can get the situation in Syria to a point where we have to choose between the defence of our own homeland and our desire for Assad to go in Syria, I think it is possible that he could actually come out on top."
Rami Khouri is an analyst at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University in Beirut.
"President Assad really relies on very, very few people to help him stay in power. That to me is a sign of weakness, not strength.
"There was a moment when Syria had very good relations with Turkey but then the Turks turned against him completely. There was a moment when the Saudis had very close relationships with the Syrians, but those have all gone down the drain now.
"It matters because what you see now is the Saudis and the Turks and others saying they're going to send their F16 jets and their special commando ground forces to northern Syria to bolster the rebels who are trying to get rid of Assad.
"There are dangerous signs of a mini-world war going on in northern Syria. It's an extraordinary situation, with so many different parties - local, government, regional powers, foreign powers - actively shooting bullets and missiles and rockets at each other, and it's something that's totally unprecedented.
"Each one of them thinks that this is an existential battle. If they lose, they are wiped out from the face of history. That's why they're willing to do this.
"The Russian/Iranian/Hezbollah group are doing what they're doing because they see losing control of Syria for Assad would be a huge strategic blow to their interests. The Iranians and Hezbollah in particular need Syria as a link between them. The Russians see the serious situation as a means of regaining their role and international credibility in the region.
"I don't think Assad has the possibility of remaining president for a long time. The best he can do is get to a position of a ceasefire, and then a transition which he might be involved with in the first year or two, but eventually retire.
"If he's lucky, [he'll] get a deal like the Yemeni President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, which is to retire from the presidency through a political deal, and not to be sent to the International Criminal Court. I think that's really the best that he can hope for."
Syrian-born Hassan Hassan is an analyst at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy in Washington DC.
"When the Russians came to Syria, that gave [the regime] some security that they could actually stay, and the country is heading towards something more positive. So that gave Assad some confidence as in they supported his project. They supported his survival.
"And when Isis started to advance towards Salamiyah, people started to say 'maybe our future is tied to the regime, and we better be under the protection of the regime'. So that city was secured by the regime, and no longer has contact with the opposition. Salamiyah became a stronghold for the regime.
"[The question of whether someone in his inner circle could betray him] is the question that has been circulating in Western capitals. But I think there are practical reasons why that's not possible.
"A regime supporter explained this to me in a good way. If Bashar al-Assad wants to pick up his phone and call someone and say 'release that prisoner', he will find people who would listen to him and obey him. There's a line of command there that works. If someone else does that, there's a big possibility that's not going to happen.
"Bashar al-Assad can get things done. And that's what drives people to stick with him - people who are part of his loyalist base or in Tehran or Moscow. They think that no-one else can replace him. Not because he's some sort of genius, but because psychologically, he represents the old order.
"He has won in a sense that his strategic goal of staying in power has been achieved to a large degree, unless things change. The war is not over."
The Inquiry is broadcast on the BBC World Service on Tuesdays from 12:05 GMT. Listen online or download the podcast. | The Syrian government and the main opposition umbrella group have accepted the terms of a US-Russia deal to cease hostilities from Saturday. |
38,755,839 | Al Hasawi claims he has spent £122m since buying Forest in 2012, but has been widely criticised after a sale to a US consortium fell through last week.
The Reds are managerless, without a chief executive and just five points above the Championship relegation zone.
"I will let actions talk better than words," he told BBC Nottingham Sport.
"At the moment I am not going to sell the club. I would like to focus on the club, and I would like to build a structure and put the right people in the club.
"People will think that I am lying or just saying things that will not happen. I can say many things, but at the moment we are putting this in the right way to build the structure."
Many supporters have become increasingly angry and disillusioned with the Al Hasawi reign, which has seen the club fail to pay bills on time, be placed under transfer embargo and part company with seven permanent managers.
Last week's 1-0 home win over Bristol City was their first win in eight matches, but was played against a backdrop of unrest as fans protested against the Forest owner.
"I [have] spent over £122m for Nottingham Forest, from the time I bought the club to now," Al Hasawi added.
"Every single month I put between £2.5-£2.8m of my money into the club.
"People ask where is the money for Oliver Burke and Henri Lansbury. People think that I put the money in my pocket. All of it is in the club.
"I am not a thief. I build everything from before. I bought Nottingham Forest and I invest lots of money."
Academy director Gary Brazil is in interim charge of the Reds following the sacking of Philippe Montanier on 14 January.
Al Hasawi, who first looked to sell the club to Greek businessman Evangelos Marinakis in the summer, said he is talking to potential new managers and said the deal with the US consortium led by John Jay Moores is now "finished".
He said he was now determined to get things right.
"I spoke to many people who love the club and know me very well," he said. "We are trying hard to put the structure for the club again.
"Because I was committed with the buyers I cannot do anything, say anything or pick managers of players unless I go to the buyers. Now there is no buyer. Now it is Fawaz on his own.
"I would like to keep the club and would like to keep Nottingham Forest, and I would like to get the club in the Premier League; it would be like a dream for me." | Owner Fawaz Al Hasawi says he understands why Nottingham Forest fans do not trust him after the collapse of two takeovers in less than six months. |
19,676,990 | The airport said the Monarch-chartered flight ZB467, from Nice in France, skidded off the runway at 13:10 BST.
The airport said the Boeing 737 was operated by Lithuanian firm Aurela Airlines.
Monarch said it was the same 737 which left 150 people stranded in Tenerife last month when a door broke. It said it had suspended the use of Aurela.
None of the 135 passengers involved in Friday's incident were injured.
Monarch said the plane was being taxied to the terminal in Birmingham when "one set of wheels left the taxi way bringing the aircraft to a stop".
Passengers said there had first appeared to be problems with the aircraft's brakes as it was being taxied in Nice, and described it as a "very old plane".
All flights to and from the airport were immediately suspended after the incident. The runway reopened at about 15:10 BST.
The airport warned some departures were still delayed.
Tim Witcherley, from Warwickshire, who had been on the flight, said there had first been a problem with the aircraft when it took off in Nice.
He said: "When we were being taxied on the runway, the plane turned and there was a juddering noise, as if the brakes had locked up, like you get on a car.
"Then it took off and we had an uneventful journey until we got back to Birmingham. Again, it was when we turned right that the same juddering started, the plane tilted and we ended up on the grass.
"There was no shouting, no panicking - people were just laughing. It was all very British."
Another passenger, Ian Smith, said it was the "oldest plane" he had "ever flown on".
He added: "We landed on the runway fine but then something went wrong with taxiing.
"It [might have been] going too fast... and we slid on to the grass. We couldn't really see a lot, we weren't actually too far from the perimeter fence and trees.
"It's only after that you think it could've been a lot worse. We're all fine and disembarked normally."
Last month, about 150 passengers were left stranded in Tenerife for two days after the same Aurela Airlines plane, again chartered by Monarch, had technical problems.
The customers were asked to get off the plane, which was due to fly back to Birmingham Airport, after problems with a faulty door hatch.
BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott said it was "very common" for companies like Monarch to hire in planes from other airlines during busy periods.
Monarch said it was working with the airport to investigate what happened in Friday's incident.
It said that as a "standard precaution", emergency services were called to the aircraft.
Monarch apologised to all the passengers and said it was "offering them all possible assistance".
Eyewitnesses said no emergency chutes were deployed and luggage was soon being taken off the aircraft.
East Midlands Airport said seven flights bound for Birmingham Airport had been diverted there.
Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe said the aircraft had now been towed away to a siding and was no longer blocking the runway or any taxiways.
He said he did not believe there was much damage to the aircraft but that engineers and the Air Accident Investigation Branch would be examining it.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had attended the scene and all passengers had "safely disembarked from the aircraft".
A spokesman said no passengers were treated at the scene or taken to hospital. | Flights were suspended for two hours at Birmingham Airport after a plane skidded off the runway. |
35,841,583 | Lieutenant Peter Coughlin, 34, had been drinking with the woman at a hotel before going back to the Musannah base.
The woman fell asleep in his cabin but woke to find she was being sexually assaulted.
Coughlin was convicted at a court martial at Portsmouth Naval Base and will be sentenced on 28 April.
Describing the incident which took place in March 2015, she said: "I couldn't really understand what had just occurred, I just burst into tears.
"I went to have a shower, I tried to process it. I should never, never have gone into his cabin."
The court was told Coughlin, who is based at the Air Warfare Centre in Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, had apologised to the woman but she told the hearing "there was no form of consent" and that "he thought he could just get away with it." | A married Royal Navy officer has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman who fell asleep on his bed after a night out while stationed in Oman. |
36,702,326 | Charles Bloch, 22, was with his girlfriend and dog Carlo on Friday when he was told by a taxi driver he could not take the dog for religious reasons.
It is the second time this year Mr Bloch has been refused a taxi because of his dog but this time his girlfriend shared a video of it on social media.
ADT Taxis admitted its driver broke the law and he has since been sacked.
Commenting on the case, Leicester City Council said religion was "not a sensible excuse" and drivers are told about the law on their licence and during exams.
"It's extremely frustrating," said Mr Bloch, a student at De Montfort University in Leicester. "But, it's a very common thing and happens a lot."
Mr Bloch has deteriorating eyesight due to glaucoma and in April was refused a ride by an Uber driver who also cited religious reasons.
"I have no hatred towards the driver and his religion, and I would respect that if the law wasn't there, but the law is there to help people be more integrated into the community," he said.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act, it is illegal for a private hire vehicle to refuse to take a disabled person because they have an assistance dog, nor can they charge more.
Anyone found guilty of an offence under the act is liable to a fine.
Assistance dogs are defined as dogs trained to guide someone who is blind, deaf, epileptic or suffers a condition which affects mobility.
Drivers can apply to a licensing authority for exemption from carrying assistance dogs, but only on medical grounds.
Source: UK Government
ADT Taxis posted a statement on its Facebook page, saying it was "deeply ashamed" by the driver's conduct.
A city council spokesman said: "Drivers are legally required to accept bookings from passengers with assistance dogs unless the driver has a medical exemption certificate.
"We're not aware of any taxi drivers in Leicester to which this applies."
He said they were considering whether to revoke the driver's licence and had contacted Mr Bloch with regards to legal action being taken. | A blind man was barred from using a taxi by a driver who took religious exception to his guide dog. |
31,797,174 | Exeter prop Tomas Francis is also training with Wales.
Owens, 28, who was ruled out of the start of the tournament by a neck injury, has made a successful return for his region.
Francis, 22, is one of the heaviest forwards in the professional game at 6ft 1in and 21st.
Gatland names his team to face Ireland on Tuesday.
Owens is challenging incumbent Scott Baldwin, of Ospreys, and long-time rival Richard Hibbard, of Gloucester, for the Wales number two jersey.
Francis would have to leapfrog Scarlets' Samson Lee, Osprey Aaron Jarvis and Cardiff Blues' Scott Andrews in Wales' pecking order to cap a remarkable rise from virtual unknown to Test player.
Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards says Exeter's set-piece play helped bring Francis to their attention.
"He's a big kid and the Exeter scrum has been excellent recently," he said.
"His scrummaging is absolutely outstanding but he's also a skilful player as well.
"He's big, he's young and he's coming from a great environment.
"Exeter is a place where they pride themselves on hard work and we would like to think we're a similar sort of environment."
National coach Warren Gatland mentioned his interest in Francis before the tournament began.
Francis has previously played for Doncaster and London Scottish and qualifies for Wales via a grandparent born in the Swansea Valley.
Wayne Pivac, who coaches Owens at Scarlets, said after Saturday's 23-13 Pro12 win over Leinster that Owens was ready for a Wales recall.
Wales lie third in the table, level on points with England and two points behind unbeaten leaders Ireland, the only team who can complete a Grand Slam.
Gatland's side lost 21-16 to England in their opener, but regained title hopes with successive wins over Scotland and France. | Wales have called Scarlets hooker Ken Owens into their squad before Saturday's Six Nations match against Ireland. |
30,515,598 | Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones said the council would review enforcement all along the A630.
However, the 60mph stretch near Conisbrough is likely to be the first section to be targeted, following the fatal crash there on 15 November.
Blake Cairns, Megan Storey and Jordanna Goodwin, all 16, and Bartosz Bortniczak and Arpar Kore, both 18, were killed.
Ms Jones said: "We were all shocked by the tragic accident in Conisbrough last month and it is understandable that people have concerns about preventing future collisions on this section of the A630.
"Council officers are in contact with the police, and whilst we need to allow the relevant investigations to take place, I have already asked that we review the road and consider what measures may be needed to make it as safe as it can be, including reducing speed limits if it is required."
There had been 61 accidents on the A630 from the start of the year up until the end of October, before the Conisbrough crash.
Council figures show the crashes resulted in 84 injuries. However, there had only been two accidents on the Conisbrough stretch prior to the fatal crash.
Funerals for the teenagers were held last month.
A 21-year-old man from Doncaster has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and released on bail. | Speed limits could be lowered on a South Yorkshire stretch of road where five teenagers died in a crash. |
39,492,597 | The order requires Kylle Godfrey, 30, of Neasden, north west London, to tell police of any relationship lasting more than 14 days for the next seven years.
He is serving a three-year sentence for attacking two ex-partners and intimidating a witness while on bail.
The order is believed to be the first of its kind in England and Wales.
As part of the order, police are able to inform any of Godfrey's future partners of his previous violence towards women, under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme.
Since the introduction of ASBOs - anti-social behaviour orders - in 1998 the use of court orders to stop disruptive, harmful and violent behaviour has been common practice in England and Wales.
But it's highly unusual for the terms of an order to contain a requirement that offenders tell police about people they're having a relationship with - not least because it may be hard to enforce.
There is a precedent however: the case of John O'Neill, from York, who is subject to a Sexual Risk Order requiring him to tell police if he's starting a sexual relationship with a new partner.
Godfrey was jailed on 14 February after admitting to two counts of actual bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation.
A court heard how over several days in October last year, he attacked his ex-partner, banging her head on the floor and grabbing her around the throat.
Following his arrest, Godfrey continued to intimidate the woman and, while on bail, assaulted another woman he had started a new relationship with.
Domestic abuse charity Women's Aid described the order as a "more robust safeguarding against domestic abuse".
Its chief executive, Polly Neate, said it "demonstrates an understanding that a perpetrator of domestic abuse is likely to be abusive to many partners".
Jane Topping, of the Met Police's Hackney Community Safety Unit said: "The order gives us a new way of protecting victims of domestic abuse and preventing other women from suffering at the hands of people like Godfrey.
"The victim in Godfrey's case was subjected to a horrendous ordeal by him following a sustained campaign of domestic violence," she added.
Failure to comply with Criminal Behaviour Orders can carry jail sentences. | A man who subjected a former partner to "horrendous" domestic violence has been ordered to inform police each time he starts a new relationship. |
41,010,324 | Boycott is reported to have said it would be more likely he would be knighted if he was to 'black his face'.
It is also claimed he said some knighthoods were handed out like "confetti" to West Indies greats.
The 76-year-old has now described his comments at a Q&A in Birmingham on Saturday as "clearly wrong".
The Yorkshireman added he loves West Indian cricket and has "the utmost respect for its players".
The Q&A event, hosted by Sky Sports presenter Gary Newbon, was held during a break in play and was attended by about 200 people.
Waheed Saleem, who was in the audience, told BBC Sport: "I was completely disgusted. I don't think anyone saw it as a light-hearted joke. I was absolutely gobsmacked."
Boycott was part of the BBC's Test Match Special commentary team for England's day-night Test against West Indies at Edgbaston last week.
A BBC spokesperson said: "He has rightly apologised unreservedly for these clearly unacceptable comments.
"We use a number of different contributors in our cricket coverage. He remains part of our team."
It is also believed that Boycott will remain part of Channel 5's team for the second Test at Headingley, which starts on Friday.
A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Cricket Club said: "We were very disappointed by Geoffrey's comments and are pleased to see that he has apologised and recognised that it was unacceptable." | Former England cricketer and BBC commentator Geoffrey Boycott has apologised for an "unacceptable" comment about West Indian cricketers. |
36,143,624 | Tom George's eight-year-old won the Melling Chase at Aintree following the shock fall of the Willie Mullins-trained superstar Vautour.
The pair did battle once more in this two-mile Grade One and God's Own beat Vautour by two lengths.
Simonsig ran a fantastic race to finish in third.
Vautour was unsurprisingly a warm order to get back on the winning trail as the 4-9 favourite.
With Special Tiara adopting his customary front-running role, Vautour and God's Own sat in his slipstream.
They were just ahead of the talented but fragile Simonsig, on his first start since November and his first outing over fences in over three years.
The leading quartet pulled clear from the home turn and there was little to choose between all four jumping the second-last fence.
God's Own and Simonsig looked set to fight it out jumping the final obstacle and it was Paddy Brennan's mount who found most to win, while Vautour stayed on to grab the runner-up spot.
"For the first mile I had no control and I just let him go, but to be fair he came back then and I filled him up. He was awesome," said Brennan.
"It's great to ride a big one on my home turf. This is where I'm from and it's a proud day."
Analysis
Cornelius Lysaght, BBC horse racing correspondent:
"An emphatic success for God's Own who beat Vautour fair and square here. Despite his recent Aintree win and this second Grade One victory at Punchestown, the winner is one of those - and it happens in all sports - that is clearly good, but you feel has never entirely got the credit he deserves.
"Maybe it's because he's never done it at Cheltenham, but this was terrific. Vautour didn't jump like he can, and requires further than two miles, while Simonsig, racing for only the second time in over three years, ran a stormer." | God's Own followed up his recent success at Aintree with a 9-1 victory over the odds on favourite Vautour in the Champion Chase at Punchestown. |
35,598,133 | Matthew Hamlen had initially been cleared of the crime in 2012 but was found guilty after fresh DNA evidence came to light.
Georgina Edmonds' son found her battered body in her cottage by the banks of the River Itchen, in Hampshire, in 2008.
The 77-year-old widow, who lived alone, had been stabbed several times with a knife and tortured for her bank card Pin code before being battered with a marble rolling pin.
Following a two-year manhunt, during which almost 2,000 people were DNA tested, Hamlen was eventually charged with murder. The DNA profile was incomplete, however, and he was acquitted at Winchester Crown Court in 2012.
With no other suspects, the case was about to be effectively shelved in 2013 when Det Insp Martin Chudley, of Hampshire Constabulary, led a final review of the evidence.
"I always felt it was impossible that he left nothing behind," he said.
"It was a long, prolonged attack, he was there for quite some considerable time - I just couldn't conceive there wasn't a part of him there somewhere."
Forensic samples taken from Mrs Edmonds' trousers and the rolling pin had been thought to be the most likely to yield the killer's DNA as those were items which had clearly been touched.
Hamlen's DNA had been found on the rolling pin but had been mixed with that of Mrs Edmonds. This meant a full profile may have been there but was masked by their shared characteristics.
After the acquittal, Det Insp Chudley asked scientists to re-examine samples taken from the original murder scene.
He was told it was "unlikely to work", but the team decided to examine some of the fibres from the back left sleeve of Ms Edmond's blouse. It proved crucial and in February 2014, a full profile of Hamlen's DNA was identified.
The Court of Appeal subsequently quashed the original not guilty verdict, paving the way for Hamlen, 36, to be put on trial for murder for a second time.
This time the DNA evidence was strong enough, along with mobile phone evidence, for the prosecution to place him at the murder scene.
His mobile phone had been used nearby, close to the time of the murder, and again near to where Mrs Edmonds' mobile had been switched on and then discarded.
Forensic scientist Geraldine Davidson told jurors the material found on the blouse was 26 million times more likely to have come from Hamlen than someone else.
The prosecution alleged he had targeted her for her money. Hamlen had a history of domestic violence and cocaine use, was suspected of dealing drugs and was thought to be considerably in debt.
However, he flatly denied any involvement in the killing.
"I know I didn't do this, I could not do something like this," he told the court. "As far as the DNA goes, I'm not an expert. All I can tell you is, it didn't get there at the time, if it is mine."
For Mrs Edmonds' family, who were left without the closure of a conviction in 2012, the guilty verdict marks the end of what her daughter Doddie described as a "long road".
"I try not to dwell on the details of the actual murder - she was hurt so badly and how terrified she must have been. I always thought of her as safe in her little cottage by the river.
"She was the heart of the family - she brought us all together, she was the warmth of the family.
"I think it will bring some kind of closure, some kind of justice which she deserves. But it will never bring my mother back." | A man who broke into a pensioner's home, tortured her for her PIN number and battered her to death with a rolling pin has been convicted of her murder. |
34,037,503 | The slip happened on Heol Y Beiliau in Llantrisant at about 18:10 BST on Sunday.
Head of control at South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Jennie Griffiths, tweeted that debris was "falling into homes and placing pressure on them".
The council said the suspected cause was the collapse of a retaining wall at one of the properties.
Emergency planning and building control officers remained at the scene on Monday morning.
Rhondda Cynon Taf council leader Andrew Morgan said: "As a precautionary measure, emergency services evacuated a number of homes last night, with the residents moving in with friends and family.
"These households have not yet returned to their addresses and council emergency planning officers are meeting with those affected.
"A council structural engineer is also on site to assess the situation." | Eleven homes had to be evacuated following a landslide in Rhondda Cynon Taff. |
40,232,464 | Llanelli MP Nia Griffith - the shadow defence secretary - said Labour had to be ready "at any moment" to take over.
The Democratic Unionists have agreed in principle a "confidence and supply" deal with the Tories, who lost their majority in Thursday's election.
Wales Office Minister Guto Bebb said "the only option" was a Tory government with support from other parties.
Downing Street said the details of the outline deal would be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Monday.
Labour has suggested it could form a minority administration, but with 262 seats falls far short of the 326 needed for a majority in the House of Commons.
Leader Jeremy Corbyn has ruled out striking a deal with other parties.
Ms Griffith told BBC Radio Wales: "What we really want to be about is making sure we can try, if we can, to put some of our ideas into practice, and that means being a very united group in parliament.
"It means being ready, at any moment, to take over and step into government whenever there might be a chance.
"We're still saying quite clearly that we would be ready to take over if Theresa May cannot cobble something together, and we're very doubtful that she can.
"We don't really think she has a mandate to now, she's really made a fool of herself and really, quite frankly, she should step aside and let us have a go."
Mr Corbyn had given his party "confidence" about selling party policies such as public ownership of the railways, she said.
On Thursday, Labour won back three seats from the Conservatives in Wales - Cardiff North, Gower and Vale of Clwyd.
Ms Griffith said voters had switched to Labour during the election campaign itself.
"People have a real sense of community in Wales," she said.
"They like Labour ideas like looking after public services and I think people came together, they saw what Theresa May was offering, which was very empty - I can't really call it a manifesto - and they saw her arrogance and almost disdain for people, and they really did not like that.
"What was interesting was the number of people who made up their minds during the campaign; we saw things swinging at the very last minute."
Last June, Ms Griffith joined a Labour rebellion against Mr Corbyn following the referendum vote for Brexit, resigning as shadow Welsh secretary in protest at what party critics claimed was his half-hearted campaign in favour of remaining in the European Union.
She returned to the front bench in October as shadow defence secretary after Mr Corbyn defeated a challenge to his leadership from Pontypridd MP Owen Smith.
Mr Bebb dismissed the idea that Labour could take power.
"It's very clear to me that the only option on the table, to be perfectly frank, is a Conservative government supported by some other parties in Westminster," he said.
"The DUP have voted on a fairly regular basis with the Conservative Party in the past so the nature of any agreement is something for the prime minister to work out.
"But it's not surprising that there is a possibility of a Conservative minority government being formed with the support of the DUP. I don't find that in any way surprising." | A senior Labour MP has called on Theresa May to step aside and "let us have a go" at forming a government. |
34,548,107 | The Big Hoot art trail has seen 89 owls, 5ft 5ins (165cm) tall, dotted around Birmingham for 10 weeks.
The statues were designed by artists, celebrities, community groups and schools.
Money raised from the sale at Thinktank, Birmingham's science museum, is to go to the city's children's hospital for a new rare diseases unit.
A statue called Re-Tail by internationally-recognised graffiti artist Temper attracted the highest amount, £18,000, the hospital said.
Ozzy's Owl, which was co-created by Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne and another artist, fetched £12,500.
Osbourne gave a video message saying how much he had enjoyed designing it and having the statue put in Birmingham.
Dr Hoot, based on Dr Who's Tardis, fetched £10,500.
Paul Larkin, a market trader in Birmingham, was part of a group which paid £8,500 for an owl called Unity Within Diversity.
He said "traders from Birmingham rag market all pitched in together" to buy it "for such a good cause" - the hospital - and the owl would go in the market entrance.
Asked if he had a big shed at home, Mr Larkin said: "No. This is better off in the market... It's going to stay in Birmingham. The people of Birmingham can enjoy it."
Following the 10 weeks, the decorated owls, individually designed by professional and amateur artists, went on public display again at Millennium Point on Saturday and Sunday before the auction on Thursday evening.
An app to accompany the project was downloaded over 13,000 times and people have scanned the owls with phones more than 323,000 times, organisers have said.
Speaking at the auction, hospital director of fundraising Louise McCathie said: "It's just been outstanding. We knew it was taking off, we knew it was big, | An auction of giant decorated owl statues, which were part of a city-wide art exhibition, has raised £508,000. |
28,250,669 | The company said nearly 575,000 people had watched STV Glasgow at least once during its first month on air. The station launched on 2 June.
This makes STV Glasgow one of the top 20 commercial channels within the west of Scotland.
The new channel is part of the UK government's proposed network of local TV stations.
STV was the only established broadcaster to apply for any of the licences.
Its Glasgow station launched last month and a sister station in Edinburgh is due to go on the air before the end of the year.
STV said that during the first month almost 30% of all viewers within the transmission area tuned in at least once. The average viewer watched the channel at least three times across the month.
In addition to the TV audience, there have been an additional 50,000 live and catch-up streams on the STV Player.
Bobby Hain, director of channels at STV, said: "The reaction from viewers since launch has been extremely positive and the reach of STV Glasgow so far is very much in line with our expectations.
"The audience figures from the first month reflect the multi-platform strategy of STV Glasgow with viewers tuning in to watch on TV but also via live streaming and catch-up.
"The channel is complemented by the STV Glasgow app which engages with consumers across the city."
Some sceptics have questioned whether local TV stations can be commercially viable. STV expects its new stations to be breaking even within a year.
Although many people in the west of Scotland have tuned in to the station, viewing figures for individual programmes are modest compared to STV's main service.
According to BARB which compiles the TV ratings, in the week ending 29 June, the most popular programme - one edition of STV Glasgow's news bulletin at 22:00 - attracted 17,000 viewers.
Two episodes of Take The High Road also made the published Top 10 - attracting around 13,000 viewers. | STV has said its new channel aimed at Glasgow and the surrounding area is performing in line with expectations. |
21,323,298 | Furniss, 58, replaces American Dennis Pursley, who left after London 2012.
It's a team that can take swimming to a new level and achieve fantastic things
Former England Rugby and GB Basketball performance director Chris Spice takes over from previous incumbent Michael Scott, who resigned in November.
They are tasked with revitalising the sport after failing to achieve their London Olympic medal target of five.
"In Britain we have some of the best coaches and most talented swimmers in the world," Furniss said.
"My role will be to work with them and their programmes to achieve the small margins required to convert finalists into medallists."
Unlike his predecessor Pursley, Furniss plans to be heavily involved with athletes and coaches on a daily basis, while Spice will provide what is described as "overall strategic leadership" to the World Class Swimming Programme.
"One of the key things that attracted me to the position is the great potential I see within swimming and based on the solid foundation in place already, I believe we can build for an exciting future," said Spice.
"I'm delighted to be working with Bill and I feel it's a team that can take swimming to a new level and achieve fantastic things."
Following a "disappointing" London Olympics, British Swimming conducted an independent review of their failings. Although the programme was deemed "not broken" they suffered a £4m funding cut for the Rio 2016 Olympic cycle.
Chairman of the debrief panel and British Swimming Board Member Craig Hunter believes the team of Spice and Furniss can help the sport move in the right direction.
"The combined knowledge, skill sets and experience of Chris and Bill will provide the perfect leadership and support required to implement the recommendations from the debrief and take British Swimming to the next level in Rio 2016," said Hunter.
The move is likely to please Adlington, who previously criticised the sport for delaying new appointments and stated the new head coach should be British.
The news does however increase the expectation that the swimmer, who has revealed she will make a "major announcement" about her future on Tuesday, will now confirm her retirement from the sport.
"If I was going to carry on, I would only want to be coached by Bill [Furniss]," Adlington told the BBC in late 2012. | Bill Furniss, the man who helped guide Rebecca Adlington to four Olympic medals, has been named as British Swimming's new head coach. |
35,517,076 | Bafin, Germany's financial watchdog, said Maple had to set aside funds to cover unpaid taxes and that was threatening its financial position.
Maple Bank's German arm came to the attention of the public in 2008 when it helped Porsche in its attempt to takeover Volkswagen.
The attempt failed, and in 2009 the tables were turned when Volkswagen took over the sports car maker.
In September German prosecutors searched Maple Bank offices in an investigation into tax evasion and money laundering.
At the time it was reported that authorities were looking into allegations that bank staff had illegally claimed back more than €100m ($110m; £76m) in tax.
But Sunday's announcement from the financial regulator made no mention of that case.
Maple Financial Group is an investment bank. Bafin said its German unit had been barred from taking payments that were not related to paying off debts.
The unit has €5bn in assets, according to Bafin. Its failure does not pose a threat to financial stability, the regulator said. | The German arm of Canada's Maple Bank has been closed by German authorities. |
39,108,375 | He has the option of a three-year permanent move to the 2016 Swedish Cup champions
The 25-year scored 16 goals and made 11 assists last season to help Rangers win the Nigerian league and claim a Champions League spot.
"Moving to Europe is a big dream come true for me," Egbuchulam told BBC Sport.
"I thank God for the opportunity and BK Hacken for the platform to play in European football."
Egbuchulam's impressive form in the domestic league led to an international call-up from Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Zambia in October. | Nigeria forward Chisom Egbuchulam has joined Swedish club BK Hacken on a season-long loan from Enugu Rangers. |
40,481,308 | "I want to look after people, I'm that type of person - I wanted a profession where I can do this," Constantina told the BBC.
She left what she describes as the "NHS rat race" to join a GP surgery, where she has been since September 2016. But after 27 years working in hospitals and as a community nurse, she is leaving her nursing career to work in botox.
"It's very frustrating when you want to do a job you love but you're not supported, you're not given the resources, you're not valued," she explained.
For the first time since 2008, more nurses and midwives in the UK are leaving the profession than are joining it, figures reveal.
Meanwhile the number of unfilled posts has doubled in three years to 40,000.
"We work long hours as it is, and on top of that, we hardly get breaks because the lack of staff means we are run off our feet," explains Constantina.
"It was so hard working as a community nurse - I was supposed to work 8am to 5pm, but I often stayed until 8pm and I didn't get overtime.
"We've been working in unsafe conditions - there aren't enough nurses to fill the shifts because staff are off sick with stress.
"I was supposed to see 18 people in four and half hours - it is impossible to do that in a safe way.
"I kept thinking 'I'm rushing, I'm rushing, I could make a mistake'."
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The public sector pay cap of 1% a year, in place since 2013 following a two-year pay freeze, has not helped as inflation has outstripped real wages.
"A lot of us work six day weeks just to make ends meet," says Constantina.
"Now the government has stopped paying bursaries to train new nurses - it's put people off joining.
"Why get into huge debt to work in a really stressful job with low pay?"
After completing a course in botox administration this year, Constantina says she hopes a new career in cosmetic surgery will be less stressful and more lucrative.
"I want to work in an area where I can support myself. I might even set up my own business. They told me potential earnings are £50,000 - and I could be my own boss.
"I'd say to anyone thinking of going into nursing, 'don't bother, it's not worth it anymore'."
Produced by Georgina Rannard, UGC & Social news | Constantina Antaniou became a nurse because she loves caring for people. |
39,592,567 | Now just seven of them remain in teaching.
According to a survey of 3,000 recently-qualified young teachers, workload pressures and the impact on teachers' mental health is driving out idealistic young recruits.
The survey by the National Union of Teachers suggests 45% plan to leave within the next five years.
Half of these planning to leave pointed to concerns about their mental health.
But 70% said a passion for teaching had motivated them to stay, despite working weeks ranging between 51 and 61 hours, according to the survey.
A member of the NUT young teachers working party, Ms Chisholme told how an inspirational young English teacher she worked with at a school in Portsmouth was forced to leave because of the risk to his mental health.
"All he wanted to do was to be a teacher," she said, but in the end he decided his well-being was more important.
She added that she was "sick of seeing all her colleagues being so downtrodden".
"We should be left just to teach and provide awesome opportunities for learning.
"We end up filing endless paperwork, box-ticking, trying to prove we do our job. Maybe just trust us," she added.
Henry Emoni, a maths teacher, said it was his fourth year in the profession and he was already disheartened.
"My mum was a teacher, and I know how hard she worked."
He said teaching had always been a profession in which extra hours are worked, but it was frustrating when much of these were to do with bureaucracy rather than the pupils.
"At various points I've said to myself, 'can I keep this up?'
"What keeps me there is the kids."
A Department for Education spokesperson said teaching remained an attractive profession with more people joining than leaving or retiring.
"We continue to work with teachers, unions and Ofsted to tackle unnecessary workload and challenge unhelpful practices that create extra work, including through an offer of targeted support to schools."
He added that the department was working on ways to improve teachers' career progression to encourage them to stay in the profession. | When Laura Chisholme trained as a science teacher, 36 others qualified alongside her. |
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