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Anti-capitalism group The Love Activists were served with eviction notices earlier this week at the former Bank of England site on Castle Street.
Five people were arrested after police imposed a 48-hour dispersal zone around the building on Thursday evening.
The anti-homelessness group has been occupying the building since 1 April.
The Love Activists have set up a helpdesk for people on benefits, a clothes bank and a library.
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Bailiffs have erected fences around an old bank building in central Liverpool where occupying protesters threaten to lock themselves inside the vault.
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The Blues went ahead early on when Diego Costa capitalised on Kyle McFadzean's mistake to set up Oscar but the hosts equalised through Darren Potter's deflected strike.
Oscar finished sublimely twice, before Eden Hazard scored his first Chelsea goal of the season from the spot after Potter fouled him.
Bertrand Traore slotted home his first Chelsea goal from Hazard's cross to wrap up proceedings.
Victory over a side 20th in the Championship leaves Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink, winner of the FA Cup with the Blues in 2009, still undefeated in eight games since replacing Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge.
Their reward for Sunday's FA Cup success was a home tie against Manchester City in the fifth round.
"It's already a final now. It's a huge game," Hiddink said.
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Hiddink chose to give Belgium international Hazard, who has recovered from a groin injury, his first start since 3 January, hoping last season's Premier League player of the year would end a run of 28 games without a goal.
Hazard linked well with left-back Baba Rahman throughout - causing Jordan Spence no end of problems - but it looked like that goalless streak would continue when Dons goalkeeper David Martin somehow kept him out when one-on-one in the first half.
However, in the second half, Hazard drew a foul in the box from Potter and calmly placed the ball the other side of Martin.
Asked why Hazard instead of Oscar took the penalty, Hiddink said: "They decided themselves because we have this hierarchy of the penalties. Oscar gave it to Eden as everyone knows he has not scored for a long time."
Hazard, 25, then chased down a long ball up field to lay the ball into the path of Traore to strike home before being replaced by Pedro shortly afterwards for a morale boosting performance.
Chelsea named a strong side, with only Ruben Loftus-Cheek not a Premier League regular, but the Blues were wasteful in front of goal against a side struggling in the Championship, having 15 efforts in the first half.
A tame Diego Costa effort was foiled by Martin early on and Oscar missed two decent opportunities before scoring his first - a tap in after Costa's persistence.
Martin, whose defence struggled to cope with the sheer pace of Chelsea's attacks, pulled off a fine save when Oscar played into an unmarked Diego Costa on the edge of the six yard box but his effort was tame.
After Potter's strike looped off Matic and over Courtois, Costa missed with the goal gaping from a ball into the middle.
But Oscar finally had his side in front again when Loftus-Cheek's past split the defence and the Brazilian finished with aplomb before making it 3-1 before the break with a strike from outside the box.
Karl Robinson's side are the lowest-scorers in the Championship and were dealt a blow before kick off as Nicky Maynard was only fit enough for the bench.
With Dean Bowditch ploughing a very lonely furrow up front on his own, the hosts were restricted mostly to long shots, with on-loan Bolton winger Rob Hall seeing an effort tipped over the bar.
Substitute Daniel Powell jinked his way through the Premier League's side defence but his strike, saved by the feet of Courtois, was the closest the hosts came to a second.
"This was a free game for us but I'm disappointed as well, I thought we were poor," Robinson told BBC Sport.
"We almost caused our own problems at times in the game."
Chelsea boss Hiddink revelled in his side's victory and Oscar's hat-trick performance.
"We are delighted," said the Blues' interim manager. "The concentration against the big teams is always high but these games you have to be well prepared mentally. They got even but we reacted very well."
"Oscar is playing with a smile on his face and that's what I like with the players when they know their obligations and they do it."
Chelsea have a Premier League trip to Watford on Wednesday, while MK Dons are in Championship action at Cardiff next Saturday.
Match ends, MK Dons 1, Chelsea 5.
Second Half ends, MK Dons 1, Chelsea 5.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Darren Potter (MK Dons).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Willian (Chelsea) because of an injury.
Corner, MK Dons. Conceded by Bertrand Traore.
Attempt saved. Daniel Powell (MK Dons) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Darren Potter.
Foul by Baba Rahman (Chelsea).
Jonathan Williams (MK Dons) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Pedro (Chelsea) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Willian.
Substitution, MK Dons. Daniel Powell replaces Samir Carruthers.
Attempt missed. Jake Forster-Caskey (MK Dons) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Dean Lewington.
Jordan Spence (MK Dons) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Baba Rahman (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Jordan Spence (MK Dons).
Attempt missed. Bertrand Traore (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Baba Rahman.
Foul by Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea).
Samir Carruthers (MK Dons) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, MK Dons. Nicky Maynard replaces Dean Bowditch.
Attempt blocked. Willian (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Joe Walsh (MK Dons) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Joe Walsh (MK Dons).
Attempt saved. Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Pedro.
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Jordan Spence.
Offside, MK Dons. Samir Carruthers tries a through ball, but Robert Hall is caught offside.
Offside, Chelsea. Baba Rahman tries a through ball, but Bertrand Traore is caught offside.
Attempt blocked. Pedro (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Baba Rahman.
Substitution, MK Dons. Jonathan Williams replaces Josh Murphy.
Substitution, Chelsea. Pedro replaces Eden Hazard.
Substitution, Chelsea. Willian replaces Oscar.
Goal! MK Dons 1, Chelsea 5. Bertrand Traore (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Eden Hazard.
Corner, MK Dons. Conceded by Thibaut Courtois.
Attempt blocked. Robert Hall (MK Dons) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jordan Spence.
Foul by Oscar (Chelsea).
Dean Bowditch (MK Dons) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Baba Rahman (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Eden Hazard.
Substitution, Chelsea. Bertrand Traore replaces Diego Costa.
Attempt saved. Josh Murphy (MK Dons) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jake Forster-Caskey.
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A first-half Oscar hat-trick set Chelsea on their way to a thumping FA Cup fourth-round win at MK Dons.
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Wales have discovered who their opponents will be should they qualify for the tournament, which will be held between 27 October and 2 December 2017.
But they must first come through a qualifying group containing Serbia and Italy.
"Our focus now is to qualify," Kear said.
"Once we've done that, we can put our energy and resources into progressing."
Wales, who won the 2015 European Championships, host Serbia in Llanelli on Saturday, 15 October and Italy in Monza two weeks later.
The group winners will qualify for the finals, while the runners-up will face the second-placed side in the group containing Ireland, Spain and Russia in a play-off in Leigh on 4 November.
Kear said: "I'm excited by this autumn's games and, should we be successful, which I'm confident we will be, then the World Cup in Australia will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for players, officials and supporters alike."
Should Wales win their qualifying group, they will face Papua New Guinea and either Ireland, Spain or Russia in Group C as well as an inter-group match against Fiji.
If they qualify via the play-offs they will be in Group D along with Fiji and the United States and will face Ireland, Spain or Russia in an inter-group match.
"All the games we could be playing in the World Cup will be very difficult," said Kear.
"But that's why you go into World Cups, to test yourself."
Wales, under former coach Iestyn Harris, failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals in 2013 after defeats by Italy, the US and the Cook Islands.
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Wales coach John Kear says reaching next year's Rugby League World Cup in Australia and New Zealand would be "a once-in-a-lifetime experience".
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34,504,004 |
16 October 2015 Last updated at 00:07 BST
Here, courtesy of Ford, is a short glimpse behind the scenes.
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US car giant Ford has spent $2.6bn (£1.7bn; €2.3bn) transforming its factory in Valencia, Spain, into what the company says is the one of the most advanced motor manufacturing plants in the world.
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35,767,484 |
The woman told police the incident happened while the boy was sitting in the back seat.
A local police spokesman said that the round went through her back after she was shot through the seat.
The boy was unharmed and his mother - named as Jamie Gilt, 31 - is said to be in a stable condition after being taken to hospital.
Police said a .45 calibre handgun was on the floor of the truck, the Florida Times-Union reported.
A public Facebook account for a woman named Jamie Gilt who lives in Jacksonville features pro-gun messages and has another page called "Jamie Gilt for Gun Sense."
The paper said it was not clear if the Facebook account belonged to the woman who was shot on Tuesday or if the four-year-old referred to in a post about target shooting is her son.
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A four-year old boy accidentally shot and injured his mother in their car in northern Florida, US media report.
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The Gran Fondo is run by RCS, the organisers of the Giro, with the first event scheduled for June 2015.
Two race routes have been provisionally recommended by the organisers, preceded by cycling activities on the day before the main event across Northern Ireland.
Both routes, made up of 177km and 59km, start and finish at Titanic Belfast.
Up to 4,000 riders are expected to take part in the one-day major spin-off from the Giro, which attracts amateur competitors from across the world, plus professional former stage winners.
Tourism chiefs have invested approximately £400,000 in a bid to capitalise on the feel-good factor generated across the country in May amd while the routes are yet to be announced, they are expected to include the Mourne Mountains and Strangford Lough.
"The 2014 Giro d'Italia captured the imagination of the people of Northern Ireland and was hailed as a resounding success by the organisers, who were bowled over by the warmth of our welcome and enthusiasm," said Arlene Foster, minister of enterprise, trade and investment.
"Cyclists are now coming to ride the Giro stages and other routes across Northern Ireland and we want to capitalise on that interest.
"The Gran Fondo will establish a tangible legacy event to the Giro d'Italia and further increase awareness of Northern Ireland as a premium cycling and tourism destination, as well as having a positive economic impact."
The event attracts amateur cyclists from across the world to the host country to participate.
"Following the great success of the 2014 Giro d'Italia Big Start from Belfast, in the amazing scenery of the Northern Ireland coastline, we are very happy to announce a new three-year partnership which will see a series of Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia events hosted in this fantastic country," said Andrea Trabuio, head of mass events, RCS.
"We are sure that this 'made in Italy' event will be a big success and will positively promote Northern Ireland."
"There will be strong engagement with the local communities, the event will pass through and our aim will be to create the 'pink magic' that was done so well in May during the Big Start," added Darach McQuaid, part of the organising team.
Fondo events take place throughout Europe and the rest of the world, with recent hosts including Miami and New York City.
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A mass participation cycling event for amateurs and professionals will be held in Northern Ireland for the next three years as a legacy to the Giro d'Italia.
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35,709,576 |
Michael Meanza was living in care in a home in Acton, west London, when he bludgeoned a member of staff to death with a fire extinguisher in 2015.
Jenny Foote, 38, had interrupted the programme he was watching to make the request on behalf of another resident.
Meanza, 47, admitted manslaughter but was found guilty of murder.
He has been ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years in prison.
Sentencing him, Judge John Bevan QC told the Old Bailey any parole board would need to think "long and hard" before considering him for release as he posed an "ongoing danger."
Prosecutor Brian O'Neill QC told jurors even though Meanza had been the subject of a hospital order since the 1990s, he should not escape responsibility for his actions.
He said: "It cannot be right either as a matter of law or on the grounds of public policy that Michael Meanza - or any defendant - should be able to escape full responsibility for an unlawful killing on the basis he is too angry an individual to be guilty of murder."
When asked if he had any regrets, Meanza told the court he had some but they were too few to list.
The court was told Ms Foote discussed the noise level of his TV from the doorway of his room and then returned to her office.
Three hours later he killed her in a "ferocious and brutal attack", the court heard.
During a subsequent police interview Meanza described the TV incident as "the straw that broke the camel's back" and said care workers had meddled in his relationship with his girlfriend because of the ward section he was in.
"They said I can be with her and then after a while they pull us apart ... That would drive you bonkers. I snapped," Meanza told police.
The victim's brother Michael Foote earlier paid tribute to his "beautiful, very caring and very loving" sister.
He said lessons had to be learned, specifically that Meanza, who had 16 previous convictions, should perhaps have been in a more secure environment given the authorities were aware of his violent history.
Mr Foote said his sister only qualified as a care worker two months before she was killed by Meanza.
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A man with severe mental health issues has been jailed for life for murdering a care worker who asked him to turn down his TV set.
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The singer said she contacted officers after she was called at home in Blackburn, 10 times over the weekend.
The man allegedly swore at her and told the Britain's Got Talent star: "I know where you live."
Police have taken a statement from Boyle and said inquiries are ongoing. The 54-year-old has spoken of her concern about the calls.
She told the Scottish Sun: "I'm really worried about getting these threatening calls - I haven't slept much since they started. I have no idea who the person is or why they have chosen to call me."
She added: "The police were very reassuring and saying all the right things.
"But deep down, I am really worried."
A fantastic performance of I Dreamed A Dream on Britain's Got Talent in 2009 helped turned Boyle into an international star, with her first album selling millions of copies.
She has since sung for the Pope, the Queen and at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Last year she revealed she had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome which sometimes leaves her feeling "a sense of panic".
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "We received a report of nuisance phone calls received at an address in Blackburn on Saturday, 20 June. Inquiries are ongoing."
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Police are investigating a series of nuisance phone calls made to Susan Boyle in West Lothian.
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Meanwhile a postbox outside the city hall has been painted gold to mark Ennis's medal win, and she has featured on a special stamp rushed out for sale.
Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam, has called for her to be granted the freedom of the city.
There have also been calls on Twitter to rename a city square after Ennis.
However, not everybody supported the idea of renaming the city's Tudor Square.
One Twitter user wrote: "When everyone has calmed down and had a cup of tea they'll realise renaming Tudor Square, Ennis Square is just inappropriate and costly."
Nevertheless, thousands of people celebrated across Sheffield as Ennis crossed the line at the Olympic Stadium to secure heptathlon gold.
For much of Saturday the Don Valley Stadium - where a big screen was put up - resembled a country picnic.
As the Sheffield hero came out for her 800m heat, about 2,000 people surged forward to see her victory.
Ennis, hailed as the face of London 2012, won gold on one of Britain's greatest days in Olympic history.
As the 26-year-old entered the Olympic stadium for the 800m heat in the heptathlon, the floodlights came on in Sheffield and the stadium where Ennis was discovered and still trains suddenly resembled a rock concert.
When the starter's gun went off, Sheffield produced a wall of noise.
And when Ennis crossed the line, there were hugs, tears and even louder screams.
Jessica Burton, 17, said: "On my god, she's done it. We love her, we love her, we love her. I am so proud to be from the same city as Jess Ennis."
Earlier Chris Eccles, who taught the heptathlete at King Ecgbert School, said every pupil knew about the athlete's achievements.
"They are inspired by her because they can see someone from their own town being so successful," he said.
"They see people like Jess as great role models."
Ennis started running at the Don Valley Stadium when she joined the City of Sheffield Athletic Club at the age of 13.
Despite being a world-class athlete, she still competes for the club in the Northern League.
Club chairman Mike Corden said the gold medallist was a "phenomenon".
"Our kids in the club are inspired by her. They are so proud of her," he said.
Paying tribute to Ennis, Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough MP David Blunkett said: "She is the princess of Sheffield, who has lifted the hearts of the nation and provided an inspiration for the young athletes of the future."
On a hugely successful night for Team GB, Ennis's athletics team-mates Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford also won gold, in the 10,000m and long jump respectively.
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Sheffield City Council has promised a full civic welcome for Jessica Ennis and all the other Olympic athletes from the city.
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Mumin Sahin, 47, and Emin Ozmen, 51, from Turkey, were caught after the MV Hamal was stopped in the North Sea east of Aberdeen in April last year.
A total of 3.2 tonnes of cocaine was discovered hidden in a ballast tank at the front of the ship.
Sahin was jailed for 22 years and Ozmen for 20 years.
It was the largest-ever seizure in the UK, worth £512m.
At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Kinclaven told Sahin: "Your role was a significant one, you were the master of the MV Hamal.
"You had been entrusted with a valuable asset and illicit cargo."
He told Ozmen: "You too were playing an important role in a prohibited operation".
Kayacan Dalgakirin, 54, Mustafa Guven, 48, Umit Colakel, 29, Ibrahim Dag, 48, were cleared of the allegations after the jury returned not proven verdicts.
Three other men - Mustafa Ceviz, 55, Abdulkadir Cirik, 32, and Muhammet Seckin, 27 - were cleared earlier in the trial after the same charges were thrown out.
Prosecutors said that the boat travelled from Istanbul via Tenerife to South America then on to the North Sea.
The raid happened after the MV Hamal was halted in international waters and brought back to Aberdeen Harbour.
It was intercepted by the Royal Navy warship HMS Somerset and Border Force officials.
Sahin was the captain of the boat. Ozmen second in command. They were first offenders.
Senior investigating officer from the National Crime Agency, John McGowan, said: "The court has clearly stated that you don't have to be a kingpin of an international drug smuggling operation to incur the wrath of the court.
"These gentlemen were carrying out a vital role in the transportation of a large quantity of drugs.
"Without their skill set supplying that role of transport, international drug smuggling and trafficking could not take place."
David Harvie, of the Crown Office, said after the sentencing: "The international drugs trade does not respect borders, and those of us whose job it is to dismantle it are working ever-closer together to ensure we stay one step ahead.
"Scotland's reach in pursuing criminals is on a truly global scale and in this case we have dealt a substantial economic blow to organised criminals.
"The Hamal was identified after an intelligence tip-off from French authorities, and swift co-operation from the Attorney General in Tanzania where the ship was registered allowed it to be boarded.
"Our investigation then stretched from Guyana, who provided access to crucial shipping records, to Spain, who gave us crucial information on the ship's stop-offs in the Canary Islands.
"We also worked with colleagues in Denmark, Norway and the United States to piece specific elements of the evidence together."
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Two men in charge of a boat carrying cocaine worth more than half a billion pounds have been jailed for a total of 42 years.
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Another loss at Kingspan Stadium would complete a dismal tournament for Tom Tierney's Ireland side.
Irish changes from Tuesday's defeat by Australia include Katie Fitzhenry and Heather O'Brien in for concussed pair Jenny Murphy and Claire Molloy.
Eimear Considine and Jeamie Deacon also replace Sene Naoupu and Louise Galvin.
Considine will start at wing with Deacon partnering Fitzhenry at centre in the first game between the countries since Ireland's 12-7 Six Nations win in March.
Wales make six changes from the hammering by Canada which include two positional switches.
Elinor Snowsill moves from fly-half to full-back, allowing Robyn Wilkins her first tournament start at number 10 while Elen Evans switches from left to right wing as Jasmine Joyce returns to the side.
The two other Wales changes see Keira Bevan starting at scrum-half and Siwan Lillicrap coming into the second row as injuries rule Rebecca Rowe and Dyddgu Hywel out of the match.
With Wales hammered 52-0 by Canada in the fifth-place semi-final on Tuesday, Ireland will be favourites heading into Saturday's match but home confidence is unlikely to be high after Australia overturned the pool defeat to beat the Irish in midweek.
The Irish have been on the back foot in the tournament since they struggled to beat Australia and Japan in their opening matches and the air was then firmly sucked out of the hosts when they outclassed by France in the pool decider.
"It's no secret that we didn't want to be in this position but it's where we have found ourselves on the final weekend," said the Ireland coach.
"While we're disappointed that we're not competing for higher honours, we want to sign off the competition with a win.
"It really is a cup final tomorrow, with automatic qualification for the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup on the line."
Despite Tuesday's hammering by Canada, Welsh rugby's head of performance Geraint John believes the country can take positives from the tournament.
"I think we've shown there are some good quality players there," said John.
"New Zealand were going to be either one or two in the world though we did exceptionally well against Canada in the pool game.
"Canada are not in the top four here, but you'd say they are a top-four side in the world."
Ireland: Hannah Tyrrell; Eimear Considine, Katie Fitzhenry, Jeamie Deacon, Alison Miller; Nora Stapleton, Nicole Cronin; Lindsay Peat, Cliodhna Moloney, Ailis Egan; Ciara Cooney, Marie-Louise Reilly; Paula Fitzpatrick (capt), Ciara Griffin, Heather O'Brien.
Replacements: Leah Lyons, Isle Van Staden, Ciara O'Connor, Sophie Spence, Ashleigh Baxter, Larissa Muldoon, Sene Naoupu, Mairead Coyne.
Wales: Elinor Snowsill; Elen Evans, Gemma Rowland, Hannah Jones, Jasmine Joyce; Robyn Wilkins, Keira Bevan; Caryl Thomas, Carys Phillips (capt), Amy Evans; Siwan Lillicrap, Mel Clay; Alisha Butchers, Rachel Taylor, Sioned Harries
Replacements: Kelsey Jones, Gwenllian Pyrs, Cerys Hale, Shona Powell-Hughes, Lleucu George, Sian Moore, India Berbillion, Jodie Evans
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Ireland and Wales battle in the seventh place play-off at the Women's World Cup in Belfast on Saturday with the prize a place in the 2021 tournament.
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Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the "truly momentous" decision would support trade and create jobs.
Gatwick airport said it was disappointed with the decision, which was "not the right answer for Britain".
The issue has split the Cabinet, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson saying a third runway was "undeliverable".
The Education Secretary, Justine Greening, whose Putney constituency in southwest London is near the airport, has also been a vocal critic of Heathrow expansion.
The Department for Transport said a new runway at Heathrow would bring economic benefits to passengers and the wider economy worth up to £61bn and create as many as 77,000 additional local jobs over the next 14 years.
Heathrow said the expansion would allow it to offer more direct flights to UK destinations as well as up to 40 new cities abroad such as Wuhan, Osaka and Quito.
Live: Airport expansion decision
What happens next?
Why expansion is taking so long
Is new runway more important post-Brexit?
The green price of Heathrow expansion
Death sentence for Heathrow villages
A public consultation will now be held on the effects of airport expansion before the government makes a final decision as part of a national policy statement on aviation.
MPs will then vote on that decision in the winter of 2017-18. It is unlikely that any new runway capacity would be operational before 2025.
Construction is not likely to begin until 2020 or 2021, the Airports Commission has said.
Mr Johnson, the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in west London, doubted whether construction would ever start: "The day when the bulldozers appear is a long way off, if indeed they ever materialise."
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, also said expanding the west London airport was the wrong decision for both London and the UK.
"There are more people affected by noise because of Heathrow than people affected by the airports in Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich and Madrid combined," he said. "The air in London is a killer. It makes you sick and it's unlawful."
Greenpeace UK chief John Sauven said a third runway at Heathrow would increase air pollution and "be a waste of time, money and lives".
Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith, said opposition from predominantly Tory-controlled councils, communities and MPs meant "the chances of a toxic third runway being built are vanishingly small".
However, a wide range of unions and business groups welcomed the decision to expand Heathrow. TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said it was "absolutely vital for Britain", while CBI chief Paul Drechsler said it would create jobs and boost economic growth.
Heathrow management said the airport was ready to deliver a third runway that was "fair, affordable and secures the benefits of expansion for the whole of the UK".
Expanding airport capacity in the South East of England has been a political hot potato for many years, which is why successive governments have attempted to duck the issue.
Although Heathrow has always been the favourite among businesses, it has attracted the most opposition from MPs with constituencies near the airport or under flight paths.
A study last year led by Sir Howard Davies recommended a third runway at Heathrow, but other options included a new runway at Gatwick or extending one of Heathrow's existing runways.
Zac Goldsmith, the Tory MP for Richmond Park, has resigned in protest against the decision, which he called "catastrophic".
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, whose Hayes and Harlington constituency includes Heathrow, said the announcement was the start, rather than the end, of the process.
"It beggars belief that it has taken ministers over a year since the publication of the Davies report to even make that start," he said. "There is no justification for dithering on this scale."
We have a long way to go before we see the proverbial shovels in the ground - there will be legal and planning challenges aplenty to come. However, with today's decision to recommend a third runway, this government has arrived at a point its predecessors failed to, with a real prospect of action. From beating ourselves up for not being able to build anything, the UK is suddenly building everything.
Heathrow was chosen because of the extra boost it gives to the UK economy, but it is not the only mammoth project out there. After a last-minute wobble, the £18bn Hinkley Point nuclear power station was given the green light, while the biggest project of them all is coming down the track fast.
Construction on the £42bn HS2 is scheduled to begin next year - and that is probably not all. Chancellor Philip Hammond has hinted he may reveal some moderate borrowing to fund targeted infrastructure spending in his Autumn Statement next month. It's enough to make the Victorians sit up and take notice.
If projections for a fairly sharp post-Brexit slowdown in the economy next year are correct then we may need this spending boost. If these projects proceed on time, there is something else we will need: people to build all this stuff. With unemployment close to historic lows, it's not clear we have enough. Like the Victorians did, it seems very likely we will need to look abroad to find the workers for our golden age of infrastructure - and that, post-Brexit, will present a political rather than an engineering challenge.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways owner IAG, welcomed the decision to expand Heathrow but added: "The government's directive to cap customer charges at today's level is fundamental. Heathrow is the world's most expensive hub airport so it's critical that new capacity is affordable."
His counterpart at Virgin Atlantic, Craig Kreeger, described the announcement as an exciting opportunity to radically transform airline competition at the UK's main airport". The airline would strive to ensure that passengers were not "overburdened by paying for runways and facilities that won't be open until the mid-2020s".
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The government has approved a third runway at Heathrow to expand UK airport capacity following a cabinet committee meeting on Tuesday.
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Goat (Greatest Of All Time), Ootd (Outfit Of The Day), Pap (Post A Picture) and "Netflix and chill" (a hook-up) all made the list.
Bad means good, Savage means extremely good, No chill means irrational and Thot is a derogatory word for a woman.
The site allows anonymous chat and takes the form of a Q&A.
Anyone can pose a question or answer the questions of others.
"Teen language can experience a seismic shift with just a few clicks, texts or posts - and word or even symbol choices can literally change by the day," said Andrea Cutright, chief operating officer of the platform.
"Teens use our Q&A platform as a means to express themselves through dialogue, so we have our finger on the pulse of how teens talk - be it in the form of acronyms, new definitions or the latest emoji."
Tbr - to be rude (before writing something harsh)
Slept - knocking someone out, missing something good or being high
Ship - relationship
:3 - symbol which represents the cat-like face made by animal characters when they say something clever, sarcastic, or comment on something cute
Idek - I don't even know…
Ikr - I know, right?
A frog and coffee cup emojis together - I'm just saying.../But that's none of my business
Smh - shaking my head
Dime - a kind of approval rating on a score of 1-10
The fact that people can post anonymously has been blamed by some for encouraging online bullying.
The site introduced various safety measures, including the option for members to block anonymous comments, following a spate of teen suicides in 2013.
The high-profile suicide of 14-year-old British girl Hannah Smith was initially linked to abusive messages she received on Ask.fm, although a police investigation revealed that she appeared to have written them herself.
Platform owner Ask.com told the BBC that in 2014 it considered closing the service altogether.
"We came to the conclusion that there's a good business here as long as you make the service safer," said chief executive Doug Leeds.
"Our motto since we bought the company has been anonymity with responsibility."
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Social platform Ask.fm has revealed the top 20 acronyms and slang terms used by its 150 million members, who are mostly teenagers and young adults.
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34,442,322 |
The hackers stole millions of Fifa coins, the in-game currency, and deleted valuable players.
They are thought to have convinced manufacturer EA Sports to transfer their victims' Origin accounts to email addresses the hackers controlled.
Many other well-known players who do not make videos are also believed to have been hit.
AnesonGib, W2S, Nepenthez, Nick28T, Bateson87 and matthdgamer have more than five million YouTube subscribers between them.
Matthew Craig, the man behind matthdgamer, told the BBC: "There have been about 10 or more accounts which have been hacked over the last two weeks, me included."
Mr Craig said in his case the attackers discarded valuable players, such as Ronaldo, who is worth 3.4 million of the games virtual coins. Exchange rates for Fifa coins suggest Ronaldo was worth about £800.
He said the gang behind the attacks could use online leader boards to pick victims.
"It's most likely they just went on the leaderboards and found the ones with the best Ultimate Team Clubs and targeted us that way," he said.
In a video, Nick28T said: "Basically, someone called in pretending to be me and... got in to my account."
Origin is the online system that players have to use if they want to use some of the multi-player aspects of EA games.
An EA representative said: "We encourage all Fifa players to secure their accounts with authentication and verification steps, which we outline on our help and our product sites.
"We are consistently working through our customer experience teams to secure accounts and make sure players are educated when account compromises are made."
Mr Craig said EA had apologised to him about the attack and had moved quickly to help him once he had reported it.
"They got my account back, added four or five more security measures, and my account has been fine since," he said.
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Six of the most successful Fifa video gamers to feature on YouTube have been targeted by cyber-thieves.
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40,193,050 |
Dale Gorman and Paul Smyth had shots blocked before Rauno Sappinen put the hosts in front on 50 minutes.
Sheffield United teenager David Parkhouse levelled with a composed back-post finish on his debut.
NI captain Donnelly slotted home the spot-kick in the fourth minute of added time after a foul on Parkhouse.
It was the perfect start to the campaign as U21 clinched a deserved Group Two success in the first game in charge for manager Ian Baraclough.
Northern Ireland's Under-21s have never progressed to a European Championship finals and finished last in their previous qualifying group after picking up only two points from 10 matches.
Baraclough's Under-21 side will also face Albania, Iceland, Slovakia and Spain in their group.
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Liam Donnelly's injury-time penalty gave Northern Ireland U21s a dramatic 2-1 victory over Estonia in their opening Euro 2019 qualifier in Tallinn.
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38,026,003 |
Touchscreens on smartphones that have this problem gradually become unresponsive.
The fault was highlighted by gadget sites which said it was caused by a manufacturing issue that meant some screen controller chips became loose.
Apple was criticised by one expert who said it was the phonemaker's responsibility to fix it.
Apple is charging $149 in the USA for the service that will only be available on phones that are "in working order".
In a statement on its website, Apple said it had "determined" that displays on some iPhone 6 Plus handsets flickered or became unresponsive if the device was dropped several times on a hard surface and was then subjected to "further stress".
An iPhone 6 Plus suffering this problem, which worked and did not have a cracked or broken screen, was eligible for the repair programme, it said.
The service is available worldwide and costs £146.44 in the UK.
Apple said that customers who had already paid to get their phone cured of "touch disease" should get in touch to be repaid for the amount they spent beyond the programme fee.
The repair programme will run for five years beyond the initial date on which the iPhone 6 Plus went on sale, said Apple.
Stuart Miles, founder of gadget news site Pocket-lint, said: "I think if it's a known defect that isn't caused by the user then it should be the responsibility of Apple to fix the phone free of charge regardless of the age."
The manufacturing problem with the iPhone 6 Plus was first highlighted by gadget site iFixit which said it had seen an "influx of faulty iPhones".
In a blogpost about the problem posted in August, iFixit said there were "pages and pages" of messages from aggrieved iPhone 6 Plus owners on the Apple support site complaining about the fault.
An investigation by iFixit and specialist repair shops found the cause of the fault was the placement of the touchscreen controller chip. Several rough knocks could dislodge this chip making phones unresponsive, it said.
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Apple has started offering a service to fix a fault on iPhone 6 Plus phones known as "touch disease".
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40,171,316 |
Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver was found guilty in March of attacking Christy Mack and her friend Corey Thomas after accusing them of having an affair.
Ms Mack suffered a fractured eye socket and nose, broken ribs and lost teeth.
In a statement to the court Koppenhaver expressed remorse, attributing the attack to anxiety and depression.
He compared himself to former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, who killed himself in prison earlier this year while serving a life sentence for murder.
"Not a day goes by that I don't seriously regret all those things that I did. I was a very, very lost, very empty person," Koppenhaver told the Las Vegas court.
"And to top it off, something's not right with my head. Plain and simple."
His comments are in contrast to comments made on Twitter in March, when he said he was unfazed at the possibility of receiving "some type of life sentence".
Adult actress details alleged assault on Twitter
Ms Mack met Koppenhaver in 2013 when she was a well-known porn actress. Koppenhaver had also worked occasionally in the industry. But their relationship soon deteriorated, with Ms Mack accusing the wrestler of becoming abusive.
Ms Mack - who also suffered liver and leg injuries in the assault - told the court that she will be in fear for her life if Koppenhaver is allowed to leave prison.
"I do know when he gets out, he will kill me," she said.
Koppenhaver, 35, will only be considered for parole after 36 years in jail. The wrestler won 14 of his 19 mixed martial arts fights.
He was convicted on 29 counts including kidnap and attempted rape. The jury was unable to agree on two counts of attempted murder.
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A US mixed-martial arts combatant known as War Machine has been jailed for life for kidnapping, and sexually assaulting his former girlfriend in 2014.
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33,063,118 |
Sean Henderson, 49, from Tetney, North East Lincolnshire, was released on bail and is due to appear before Sheffield Magistrates' Court on 8 July.
Three other people were also charged with related offences, police said.
Ella's mother, Michelle Henderson, was arrested after their family home was raided by officers in April 2013.
She has since been released without charge. A fifth person was due to be charged later this week, police added.
Ella Henderson, 19, came sixth in the ITV talent programme and signed a record deal with Simon Cowell. She is currently on tour with Take That.
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The father of former X Factor contestant Ella Henderson has been charged with seven offences relating to fraud, theft and money laundering.
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34,267,821 |
According to The Sun, the TV host was suspended last week after a "row".
But the BBC did not confirm the story, merely saying he was "not currently in production" and that it "wouldn't comment on individual staff matters".
The Sun quoted Wonnacott as saying he was "not doing Bargain Hunt at the moment for personal reasons".
His last Twitter post was on Friday, when he uploaded a photo of himself outside the BBC's central London headquarters.
"Outside Broadcasting House in London today for a dawn (well not quite !) meeting," he told his followers.
The antiques expert's phone went unanswered when the BBC News website attempted to contact him on Wednesday, and the nature of his alleged "bust-up" with Bargain Hunt's production team is unclear.
Wonnacott, a former director of Sotheby's, has been the dapper host of the popular BBC One programme since 2003.
He was a contestant on last year's Strictly Come Dancing series and recently presented The Great Antiques Map of Britain on BBC Two.
Guest presenters have been recruited to shoot the remaining half of Bargain Hunt's current series, the BBC said.
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The future of Bargain Hunt presenter Tim Wonnacott is unclear after a newspaper reported he had had "a bust-up" with the BBC show's producers.
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35,369,385 |
The 40-year-old former England batsman's decision to stand down was "mutually agreed" with the club.
Ex-Australia batsman Chris Rogers will take over in the County Championship, while Jim Allenby will captain the side in limited-overs cricket.
Trescothick said: "It has been a tremendous privilege but now is the right time for change."
The left-handed opener, who made his Somerset debut in 1993, has scored 23,531 first-class runs and played 76 Tests for England between 2000 and 2006.
Somerset chairman Andy Nash said: "He steps down from the captaincy with the same good grace and eloquence with which he inherited it."
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Marcus Trescothick has resigned as Somerset captain after six years in charge.
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34,086,199 |
He has been accused by US authorities of market manipulation that contributed to the 2010 Wall Street "flash crash".
Mr Sarao was arrested by UK police in April after being charged by the US Justice Department.
After spending four months in custody, he was released on bail earlier this month.
Mr Sarao's lawyer, James Lewis, told Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday that he needed more time to obtain expert evidence about trading and how the market worked.
He said that evidence would help him address whether his client had made false representations through his trading activity.
However, District Judge Quentin Purdy rejected the application. He said expert evidence was not relevant to the decision he had to make - whether the US charges would also be offences under English law.
The extradition hearing remained set for 25 September.
The "flash crash" on 6 May 2010 sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly plunging by more than 1,000 points before recovering.
Mr Sarao, 36, is accused of using software to "spoof" markets by generating large sell orders that pushed down prices.
He then cancelled those trades and bought the contracts at the lower prices, making roughly £27m in profit, US authorities allege.
Mr Sarao has denied wrongdoing and told the Westminster court in May: "I've not done anything wrong apart from being good at my job."
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Navinder Sarao, the so-called "flash crash" day trader, has failed in his bid to postpone his US extradition hearing.
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18,873,042 |
Microsoft had agreed to provide customers with a screen to allow them to chose internet browsers other than its own Internet Explorer.
In a statement, Microsoft conceded it had "fallen short", blaming a technical error.
The European Commission said penalties for non-compliance would be "severe".
EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said it appeared the browser choice screen (BCS) had not been provided since February 2011, meaning 28 million customers might not have seen it.
Microsoft said PCs running the original version of Windows 7, as well as Windows XP and Windows Vista, did have the screen.
But it added: "Due to a technical error, we missed delivering the BCS software to PCs that came with the service pack 1 update to Windows 7.
"While we have taken immediate steps to remedy this problem, we deeply regret that this error occurred and we apologise for it."
Mr Almunia said: "Needless to say, we take compliance with our decision very seriously.
"If the infringement is confirmed, there will be sanctions."
To date the European Union has fined Microsoft 1.64 billion euros (£1.29bn).
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The European Commission has opened a fresh investigation into whether Microsoft has kept the anti-trust commitments it made in 2009.
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29,561,032 |
The 31-year-old missed a 20-foot birdie putt at the 18th at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Club on Thursday to miss out by one stroke.
He posted seven birdies in his first 12 holes before eagling the 15th and 17th.
"Walking down 17, I told my caddie, 'it's 59 or nothing'," said Colsaerts.
"I managed to make an eagle and then hit a good drive on the 18th. It's too bad it just shaved the edge," he added of his putt.
A round of 60 has been achieved 19 times on the European Tour. American Peter Uihlein did so twice in 2013, as did Scotland's Scott Jamieson.
The latter sits three strokes adrift of world number 185 Colsaerts in Portugal, alongside Alexander Levy of France.
Play was suspended for the day because of rain, with 45 of the 125 players still to complete their first rounds.
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Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts came within millimetres of becoming the first man to shoot a sub-60 round in the 42-year history of the European Tour during the opening round of the Portugal Masters.
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30,692,110 |
Frequent heatwaves and a marked reduction in cold weather characterised 2014, the Bureau said.
Mean temperatures were 0.91C above the long-term average in 2014, the BOM said.
The news comes as South Australia is facing some of the worst bushfires in the region in decades.
Firefighters are battling to contain a major blaze in the hills behind the city of Adelaide before forecast soaring temperatures and strong winds fuel it further.
The South Australian government has confirmed 38 homes, 125 outbuildings and four businesses have been destroyed or badly damaged so far.
About 150 people have suffered injuries, including many firefighters suffering from smoke inhalation.
Thousands of customers of internet company iiNet found themselves offline for about six and a half hours on Monday night after the company shut down some of its systems at its Perth data centre because of high temperatures.
Temperatures in Perth reached 44.4C on Monday, according to Fairfax-owned weather service Weatherzone. That made it the hottest January day on record in Australia since 1991, when the temperatures reached 45.8C.
"Due to record breaking temperatures, iiNet Toolbox, Email and our corporate websites are unavailable. Apologies for any inconvenience caused," iiNet tweeted.
The high temperatures of 2014 came after the warmest year on record in 2013, which was 1.2C warmer than average, according to the bureau.
BOM's Assistant Director for Climate Information Services, Neil Plummer, said Spring 2014 was also the warmest on record in Australia.
Nationally, Australian temperatures have warmed by about one degree since 1950, and the continued warmth in 2014 adds to this long-term warming trend, it said.
The BOM said that rainfall for Australia as a whole was near average for the year, with 478mm, but southern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales continued to suffer very dry weather.
Recent research has tied these recent heat extremes to climate change, said Dr Sopie Lewis of the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University.
"We had our hottest spring on record in 2013 and again in 2014, and these extremes were at least 30 times more likely because of human influences, such as greenhouse gases," said Dr Lewis.
"The report shows that recent extreme heat in Australia is also consistent with global conditions. All of the 10 warmest years recorded have occurred since 1998 and it is likely that 2014 will be the hottest year globally," she said.
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Australia has recorded its third-warmest calendar year since national records began in 1910, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says.
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32,282,276 |
BBC Wales picture editor Johanna Powell, 37, from Cardiff, vanished after an incident involving a cruise boat on the Mekong River near Pak Beng, Laos.
The Foreign Office is working with authorities in the country.
A BBC Wales spokeswoman said: "We are very concerned about our missing colleague and are in contact with the family to offer any support we can."
Ms Powell's family is being provided with consular assistance by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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Searches are continuing for a woman who has gone missing in south-east Asia.
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32,407,688 |
"He was having technology problems, so he took it to the back alley and destroyed it," a police spokesman said.
Lucas Hinch was briefly detained for discharging a firearm within the city.
He did not realise he was breaking the law when he went "Wild West" on his machine, local media reported.
A judge is due to decide what penalty he will receive.
"He got tired of fighting with his computer for the last several months," police spokesman Jeff Strossner told the Colorado Springs Gazette.
The paper said that Mr Hinch "shot the darn thing" when ctrl+alt+delete - the traditional method used to re-boot computers - "consistently did not work" on Monday evening.
"He was able to wreak the kind of revenge most of us only dream about," the paper said. "The computer is not expected to recover."
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A man in the US city of Colorado faces police action after becoming so frustrated with his desktop computer that he took it outside and shot it eight times with a handgun, police say.
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35,686,204 |
The Scotland Bill is to give Holyrood control over several areas of welfare, as well as income tax rates and bands.
Speaking to party activists in Glasgow, Ms Dugdale proposed using the new powers to help groups including carers and new mothers from poor backgrounds.
The Scottish government will outline its proposals for welfare on Tuesday.
In her speech, Ms Dugdale set out key changes she plans to make to the welfare system, and stated that Scotland "can and must" do things differently to the Conservative government at Westminster.
A range of benefits including the Carer's Allowance, benefits for people with disabilities like the Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance, and other benefits which are targeted at low-income households such as maternity grants and funeral payments will be devolved in the Scotland Bill.
Ms Dugdale said: "Unlike any previous election, it will not be the constitution which is the centre of this Scottish election but rather how we use our powers. 2016 will be the first Scottish tax and spend election.
"Scottish Labour will never look for an excuse not to act. We will use the new powers we hold and grasp with both hands the possibilities they provide."
Her proposals included:
She said that raising the level of Carer's Allowance to match the level of Jobseeker's Allowance would be worth about £600 a year extra to carers, which would "help to tackle poverty amongst a group in society who give so much to others."
Ms Dugdale also said that the Sure Start maternity grant has been set at £500 for 14 years, while the cost of having a baby has increased.
"We would bring it more up to date by more than doubling it to £1,030, helping families with the average cost of a cot, buggy, car seat and nappies for a year", she will pledge.
The Scottish government said at the weekend that it wanted to reduce the stress of applying for benefits when new welfare powers are devolved.
Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil also said SNP ministers would be looking to remove the stigma that can be attached to claiming social security.
Just over 15% of welfare spending north of the border will be devolved, the Scottish government has said, with the legislation also giving the parliament in Edinburgh the power to create new benefits and top up existing payments.
Mr Neil will use a debate on Tuesday to set out the key principles that he argues will underpin the Scottish government approach to welfare - that social security is an investment in the people of Scotland, with respect for the individual at the heart of the system.
Also at the weekend, Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie told his party's spring conference that he would put forward a "big, bold agenda" for change in the run-up to the election on 5 May.
He pledged the party's policies - including plans to raise £475m for education by increasing the income tax rate in Scotland by 1p - would make the country "fit for the future".
Changes to drug policy which aim to treat addiction as a health issue rather than a criminal justice problem will also be included in its manifesto, along with plans to put the treatment of mental health problems on an equal standing in law with physical ill health.
The Lib Dems also want more NHS funds to go to GPs in a bid to address recruitment issues, and say councils should have the power to set local taxation.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the new devolved powers would allow the Scottish government to make "real choices" about the level of benefits in Scotland.
She added: "We are glad to see Labour finally catching up with my call last year for an increase in the Carers' Allowance - which we believe is the right thing to do.
"However, all political parties need to be sure there is a fair balance between helping people who need our support, as well as the taxpayers who fund it.
"That means that when these new welfare powers are devolved, we will press the SNP to support a welfare system that provides a safety net, but one which also helps people back into work - which will always be the best route out of poverty."
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The Scottish Parliament vote in May will be Scotland's first "tax and spend" election, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has argued.
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37,107,361 |
Sellers can drop tickets at the store ahead of a show, at which point the buyers receive a text alert.
It has already launched in Fopp's Manchester store, and will roll out nationally by the end of the year.
Founder Richard Davies said the initiative was about "convenience".
"It enables people to drop off and pick up tickets in their own time and in a secure way at locations at the heart of many UK cities, and close to most venues," he said.
Davies launched Twickets in 2011, after he saw a fan offering to give away tickets to a show for free on Twitter instead of letting them go to waste.
The London-based web designer believed many other people would rather sell tickets to music, sport or theatre events at cost price, or less, to real fans, rather than cash in and sell them at a profit through secondary ticket websites like Seatwave and Viagogo.
His service began as a Twitter account, putting buyers and sellers in touch with one another. But it grew quickly, launching an app in 2013, and attracting the attention of artists like One Direction and Adele - both of whom have encouraged fans to use the service.
The site is currently selling tickets to the V Festival, and Morrissey's Manchester show, both taking place this weekend, this year for less than face value.
One Direction even sold 6,000 tickets for their On The Road Again tour directly through the site - although it is worth noting that Twicket's backers include artist management company Modest, whose clients include One Direction.
Twickets adds a 10% fee to every sale. "Drop and collect" tickets will attract a further £2.50 handling charge per transaction.
Specialist music retailer Fopp, which is part of the HMV Retail group, currently has nine branches across the UK.
It said the partnership with Twickets was "a great fit".
Other secondary ticketing websites, including the Ticketmaster-owned Seatwave, already offer collection points near major venues; and say that about 10% of their inventory sells for less than face value.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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Ticket site Twickets, which allows fans to sell unwanted concert tickets at face value, has set up a "drop and collect" service in Fopp record shops.
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36,098,633 |
At least 570 people are now known have died after the magnitude-7.8 quake.
The cost of rebuilding could be as high as $3bn (£2.1bn), President Rafael Correa said.
Even before the earthquake struck, the World Bank had predicted Ecuador's economy would shrink by as much as 2.0% this year.
Oil-rich Ecuador has suffered because of falling oil prices in recent months.
Left-leaning President Correa said all levels of society would be expected to contribute to rebuilding funds, even if they did not live in the worst-hit Pacific region.
Among the measures he announced in a televised address late on Wednesday:
"Society is built with institutionalised commitment, with organised collective action," Mr Correa said.
"This is how a modern society responds to this kind of disaster and the way each Ecuadorian, within his ability, contributes to the recovery of his own motherland."
Life shaken near epicentre
In pictures: Ecuador earthquake
Ecuador quake - your stories
History of deadly earthquakes
Can quakes be predicted?
Figures given by officials for the number of people missing ranged from 231 to 1,700, with some 4,000 people injured.
Thousands of people have been left homeless, making them vulnerable to dirty drinking water and disease.
Foreign nationals from the UK, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic have been confirmed among the dead.
A new 6.2-magnitude quake struck off the Ecuadorean coast early on Wednesday. The quake was centred 70km (44 miles) west of Esmeraldas at a shallow depth of 10km.
"You can't imagine what a fright it was. 'Not again!' I thought," Maria Quinones told Reuters in Pedernales, that was close to the epicentre of Saturday's quake.
The World Food Programme and Oxfam are sending supplies, while the UN said it was preparing a "major airlift".
Some people have been pulled out of the rubble alive but hope is fading that others will be found.
Focus is turning to the survivors. The quake damaged communications, transport links and sanitation, hampering relief efforts.
Unicef has warned that 150,000 children have been affected by the disaster and said landslides were complicating rescue efforts in some areas, and some towns were without electricity.
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Ecuador's president has introduced new measures to try to pay for rebuilding after Saturday's earthquake, including a one-off tax on millionaires.
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30,066,873 |
Ecclestone had wanted double points at the final three races of the season but the teams, who he called "bloody idiots", did not go for the plan.
"I'm not going to propose the three races again," he told the Independent.
"I'm going to let them get on with it. I don't know what we're going to do next year."
Briton Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers' standings by 17 points from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg going into the last race of the campaign in Abu Dhabi on 23 November.
If Rosberg wins, Hamilton will need to finish second to take the title. Under the old system, sixth would have been enough.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "It would put a big shadow over the championship if it was turned by a technical issue."
However, Ecclestone accused the teams of thinking about the "short term" in not agreeing to his original plan of double points for three races.
"One race is stupid but imagine if it was the last three races," he said. "It means that somebody would have to have a 150-point advantage minimum to be sure they will win.
"The teams have not accepted it because they are bloody idiots. They are all mechanics. They think of their team in the short term."
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F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone doubts if the "stupid" scenario of double points being awarded at the final race of the season will continue next year.
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34,039,187 |
Both country's militaries have been on alert after a brief exchange of fire at the border last Thursday.
The North had threatened to use force to stop propaganda broadcasts by the South, started after two of its soldiers were injured by a landmine.
High-level negotiators have been meeting since Saturday to agree a deal.
Yonhap reported that the deal, to be announced later on Monday, would see North Korea express "regret" over the landmine incident earlier this month.
In return, it said South Korea would stop the loudspeaker broadcasts that were resumed after an 11-year hiatus, in apparent retaliation for the landmine attack.
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South and North Korea have agreed a deal to defuse tensions after a series of recent border confrontations, South Korea's Yonhap news agency says.
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32,520,314 |
The German says there is "still a bit of a gap" between the two teams and that it will "take a while before we are a decent match".
But Vettel is kidding no-one, least of all Mercedes.
Ferrari have been a serious threat at each of the last three races, beating them at one. They have finished on the podium at all four grands prix so far this season, and Vettel's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen split the Mercedes drivers in the last race in Bahrain.
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"We didn't see it in pre-season testing or at the first race," says Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff.
"But since then every race has been a step forward from Ferrari. Their rate of development has been very impressive over the winter and the last three races. That is quite a challenge for us."
It is a remarkable turnaround, coming as it does after 2014, when the Italian team had their worst season in 21 years, scoring only two podiums.
And while Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has a relatively comfortable 27-point advantage at the head of the championship after an almost perfect start to the season, Vettel is just one point behind the Englishman's team-mate Nico Rosberg.
So how have Ferrari gone from also-rans to title contenders in the space of a few months?
Last year, Ferrari's performance was so bad that Fernando Alonso finally ran out of patience after five years of battling against the odds and decided that, to get a title-winning car in the relatively near future, he had to go elsewhere, even if it meant taking a temporary step backwards.
In hindsight, Alonso's decision was clearly a mistake. But it's not hard to see where the Spaniard, now at struggling McLaren-Honda, was coming from.
Alonso came agonisingly close to winning the title with Ferrari in both 2010 and 2012, despite an inferior car to eventual champion Vettel's Red Bull. He won at least one race in each of his first four seasons at Maranello and finished second in the championship three times in his first four years.
In 2014, Alonso managed just two podium finishes - a third place in China and a second in the wet/dry race in Hungary. He finished sixth in the championship.
Through that season, Ferrari's average lap-time deficit to the fastest Mercedes car in qualifying was 1.22 seconds.
The power-unit - which was about 50bhp off the Mercedes and had an under-effective and inefficient hybrid system that was a particular handicap in races - accounted for about two-thirds of that, with the remaining 0.4secs due to the chassis, which is predominantly to do with aerodynamics.
This year, Ferrari's average qualifying deficit to the fastest Mercedes is 0.705secs, but in the races it is nowhere near that. Indeed, it has been as good as negligible in two of the four races this year.
Much of the progress is down to the engine - Ferrari have added 65bhp to their V6 turbo hybrid already, with more to come. Mercedes - despite suggestions last year of an extra 50bhp for 2015 - have found more like only 15-20bhp at best.
Judging by the speed-trap figures, Mercedes probably retain a small power advantage. But only very small.
To all intents and purposes, then, any difference in lap time between the Ferrari and the Mercedes is probably down to the chassis, the driver and the difference in the two cars' behaviour on the tyres. They are close enough that, if Ferrari get everything right, Mercedes are beatable.
Tyres are a key factor here. The Ferrari is more gentle on its tyres, a characteristic it has retained for many years.
This gives it an advantage in races, in that it can run for longer at closer to its maximum potential. But it is a disadvantage in qualifying, as it is harder to get the tyres up to full working temperature before the start of a lap.
That means the Ferraris, for now, are qualifying behind at least one of the Mercedes. Which makes their races more difficult because, with delicate tyres making it hard to follow another car closely, track position is a critical advantage.
Analysing the two teams' comparative performance in qualifying last year and this is not quite a like-for-like comparison.
Last year, Rosberg out-qualified Hamilton 11 times to seven, so more often than not the fastest Mercedes was the German's.
This year, Hamilton has upped his game and has scored four poles out of four. And Ferrari's average qualifying deficit to Rosberg is only 0.214secs.
Taking the Briton out of the race results also makes interesting reading.
Rosberg has two second and two third places so far this season, which is an average position of 2.5. But the average of the best result of the Ferrari drivers at each race is slightly better, at 2.25.
Which suggests that a fair chunk of Mercedes' overall advantage so far this year is in Hamilton himself.
Another factor is that Alonso - who out-qualified Raikkonen by more than 0.5secs on average and 16-3 overall - is no longer in the Ferrari. Vettel's advantage over the Finn is just over half that so far. Where Alonso would be qualifying and racing this year's Ferrari can only be a matter of speculation.
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Ferrari have undergone a major restructuring in the course of the last 18 months - including some major blood-letting of senior engineering staff at the end of last season.
Sacked were engine chief Luca Marmorini, engineering director Pat Fry, chief designer Nikolas Tombazis and tyre expert Hirohide Hamashima.
They paid the price for five years of failure and decline, which culminated in a 2014 car that was compromised from the start.
The chassis team asked the engine department for a number of features on the power-unit that would help them improve the car's aerodynamics.
This meant compromising the engine's performance because of restrictions imposed on packaging.
The aerodynamicists insisted this didn't matter, as they would make up the time loss and more in downforce. But they didn't. And given the much greater importance of the engine in the overall performance balance of the car in the new turbo hybrid formula, that was a major miscalculation.
This year, those engine compromises have been largely removed - leading to a dramatic step forward in power. But the team have still managed to improve downforce as well.
Some of the changes to the engine layout have actually improved aerodynamics, and had other positive knock-on effects.
For example, they have allowed a more pronounced curve in the so-called 'coke-bottle shape' - or waisted bodywork - at the rear. This enhances rear downforce, the lack of which was a major failing in last year's car.
That has allowed the team to run more front downforce and keep the car balanced, which was not possible last year. And that in turn gives a more positive turn-in to corners - which is exactly the characteristic both Vettel and Raikkonen need in a car to give their best.
While the ultra-adaptable Alonso managed to drive around some of the car's problems last year, Raikkonen could not. With the new Ferrari's more benign behaviour, both the team's current drivers can access more of their own potential and therefore the car's as well.
Technical director James Allison - who joined in September 2013, and had no input on the 2014 car at the conceptual stage and little on its design at all - says that "in pure lap time, the gains are almost equal chassis to power unit".
But this is almost certainly a politician's answer. The Mercedes teams believe the Ferrari engine is now effectively their equal. So while the Ferrari chassis is clearly much closer to the absolute pace than in 2014, it remains the biggest contributor to Ferrari's much smaller overall deficit to Mercedes.
Ferrari's chassis improvements have come about through Allison changing the focus of the design group.
"I haven't designed a single piece of this car," Allison says. "There are a lot of very talented people who do that.
"If I have had any effect it is to try to say which bits are worth putting a lot of effort into, to try to make sure the pressure has been taken off people to deliver things for next week but to work with a slightly longer timescale in mind.
"It frees up your hand to do a good job. It is very hard to do anything in F1 on a two- to three-month timescale. You have to build up over months rather than weeks."
The million-dollar question, then, is how long will it take for Ferrari to close the performance gap to Mercedes to nothing.
Ferrari have what Allison calls "a fairly exciting development programme and a lot of performance to bring".
On the engine, another 15bhp or so is due soon - most likely for the Canadian Grand Prix in early June.
Ferrari also have more scope to improve their engine than Mercedes. Out of the permitted 32 development 'tokens' - ascribed to parts of the engine depending on their influence on performance - they have saved 10 to use during the season, while Mercedes have only seven, having applied more over the winter.
"We will be shunting performance on to car as quick as we can find it and make it," Allison says. "There's a bag load in the pipeline in the factory at the moment and that will get onto the car as soon as we can and there will be more coming after that.
"The aero programme is performing strongly and these are still quite young aero rules, so I think we can expect more from it. Ditto the engine. And the whole situation with the tokens means it's a very different year this year compared with last year. Notwithstanding the gains we've made to date, we think we can bring a lot more during the year."
But Mercedes are not exactly going to be standing still. They, too, have significant upgrades coming on both car and engine.
"We have solid foundations in the team," Wolff says. "We have built an organisation that can be successful on a sustainable basis long term, with the challenge of Ferrari bouncing back very strongly."
He is about to find out whether he is right.
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Sebastian Vettel has been doing his best to talk down Ferrari's chances of mounting a title challenge against Mercedes so far this year.
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37,808,311 |
Hazard put Chelsea ahead with a low, angled shot, before Marcos Alonso added a second when he slotted through Maarten Stekelenburg's legs.
Diego Costa made it 3-0 just before half-time, and Hazard scored the pick of the goals after the break.
Pedro put the gloss on the result when he tapped into an empty net.
Everton spent the majority of the game penned in their own half and did not manage a shot on target in the entire 90 minutes as Chelsea produced a ruthless and dominant performance.
Many of the visiting supporters left Stamford Bridge well before the final whistle. Those that remained applauded Chelsea off the pitch, with the biggest ovation of all from the home fans reserved for Hazard, who capped a brilliant display with two superb goals.
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In an attempt to stifle the 3-4-3 system that had earned Antonio Conte's side four consecutive Premier League wins before this match, Everton manager Ronald Koeman reverted to three men at the back.
However, the tactical ploy proved ineffective as the Dutchman's side were outpassed and outclassed by Conte's men in a mesmerising first-half display.
Confidence has been high among Chelsea's players since their 4-0 demolition of Manchester United last month, and the swagger with which they dismantled Everton will only further fuel talk of a title challenge.
In the five games since the formation change, Conte's side have scored 16 goals and conceded none.
Chelsea look a completely different team from the sluggish outfit that struggled under Jose Mourinho last season, and this performance was a real statement of intent.
Everton striker Romelu Lukaku would have been desperate to impress against former club Chelsea, but the Belgium international was a subdued presence.
Luakaku, who joined Everton from Chelsea for a club record £28m in July 2014, was barely able to get on the ball in the final third as Chelsea dominated.
Despite being paired with Yannick Bolasie, he was deprived of service, and spent large parts of the game chasing lost causes.
The 23-year-old has now played five Premier League matches for the Toffees against his former club, but is yet to score.
If Lukaku endured a frustrating game, the opposite was true for compatriot Hazard, who has rediscovered his joie de vivre and scored for a fourth consecutive league game.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa may have had a hand in more goals than any other Premier League player, with nine goals and three assists, but it is Hazard who has supporters on their feet whenever he is on the ball.
The effortless manner with which he glided past the dazed yellow shirts of Everton's defence for his two goals was breathtaking.
Conte claimed the 25-year-old forward is on the right track to becoming one of the world's best players, and on this evidence that is no exaggeration.
BBC Match Of The Day pundit Ian Wright said: "Eden Hazard was world class against Everton. I think Ronald Koeman picked the wrong day to pick three at the back."
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte: "It was a great game, a good performance. It is important for confidence to be top of the league. We have to continue as Everton is now in the past.
"The players deserve this because they show me great commitment and I can tell they are working very hard. The team has more balance defensively, but we don't lose our offensive situation. We are creating more chances to score goals.
"Eden Hazard played an impressive game. We all know he is a talented player. I see he is working a lot for the team and his team-mates are very happy for this. He must continue - he is showing his talent in every game."
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Everton manager Ronald Koeman: "The difference was too big between Chelsea and Everton. The one positive thing is it is only three points.
"This system is very difficult to play against and really the Chelsea manager has brought a winning mentality to the players. They are hungry and they will fight for the title for sure.
"I expected more from my team. It was a big difference in every aspect. It was not about the system - the difference was the mentality to win the game. With five defenders we control it, after 2-0 it was over."
After the international break, Chelsea face Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday, 20 November with a 16:00 GMT kick-off, while a day earlier Everton have a 15:00 GMT home fixture against struggling Swansea.
Match ends, Chelsea 5, Everton 0.
Second Half ends, Chelsea 5, Everton 0.
Foul by John Terry (Chelsea).
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Tom Davies (Everton).
Offside, Chelsea. John Terry tries a through ball, but Diego Costa is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Victor Moses (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Diego Costa.
Foul by N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea).
Tom Davies (Everton) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Chelsea. John Terry replaces Gary Cahill.
Victor Moses (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kevin Mirallas (Everton).
Attempt blocked. Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Diego Costa.
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Maarten Stekelenburg.
Attempt saved. David Luiz (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Oscar with a cross.
Substitution, Chelsea. Michy Batshuayi replaces Eden Hazard.
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Ashley Williams.
Attempt blocked. Diego Costa (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Oscar with a through ball.
Attempt blocked. Diego Costa (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Ross Barkley (Everton).
Attempt missed. Kevin Mirallas (Everton) header from a difficult angle on the left is just a bit too high. Assisted by Ross Barkley with a cross following a corner.
Substitution, Chelsea. Oscar replaces Pedro.
Corner, Everton. Conceded by Victor Moses.
Substitution, Everton. Tom Davies replaces Gareth Barry.
Goal! Chelsea 5, Everton 0. Pedro (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Diego Costa.
Gareth Barry (Everton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Pedro (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Gareth Barry (Everton).
Attempt blocked. Pedro (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marcos Alonso.
Attempt saved. Diego Costa (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcos Alonso.
Substitution, Everton. Aaron Lennon replaces Yannick Bolasie.
Diego Costa (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Gareth Barry (Everton).
Goal! Chelsea 4, Everton 0. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) left footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Pedro.
Attempt blocked. Victor Moses (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nemanja Matic.
David Luiz (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea climbed to the top of the Premier League for the first time since August with a stylish victory over Everton.
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33,416,316 |
While most commentators appear to agree that Mr Tsakalotos, 55, will be less bombastic than Mr Varoufakis in his dealings with international creditors, some argue that his negotiating stance could even be more hardline.
Mr Tsakalotos is a Dutch-born, Oxford University-educated economics professor who served as minister for international economic affairs before taking over from Mr Varoufakis as Greece's lead negotiator in its debt talks in April.
A long-serving member of the governing Syriza party - in contrast to Mr Varoufakis - he was the obvious choice to become the new finance minister. His less confrontational style is certain to be welcomed by creditors - although few expect him to be a pushover.
In a rare interview with the French newspaper Liberation last month, Mr Varoufakis argued that Greece's creditors "did not appear prepared to compromise" and seemed determined to impose "unrealistic" demands.
"Our interlocutors each time insist on pension cuts. It's unrealistic [to ask for that] in a country where pensions have been considerably reduced over the past five years, and where two in three pensioners live under the poverty line," he said.
Showing the same fondness as Mr Tsakalotos for rhetorical flourishes, he argued in March that Greece was "not asking for special treatment, but for equal treatment in a Europe of equals".
Mr Tsakalotos insisted that the Syriza government was "fundamentally pro-Europe" and that it wanted "a viable economic programme inside the euro".
A mild-mannered married father-of-three, the new finance minister has spent much of his professional life working as an academic outside Greece, a fact that sometimes comes across in an English tilt to his accent. He returned to his country to work at Athens University in the early 1990s.
It was during his time at Oxford University that he joined the student wing of Greece's eurocommunist party, motivated by what he saw as the unjust treatment of the Greek left - who spearheaded the resistance against Nazi occupation - in the civil war that followed World War Two.
Mr Tsakalotos will face a stern challenge in his new role at the finance ministry.
Correspondents say that his immediate priority will be to get the the European Central Bank to provide an emergency injection of euros before Greece's banks run out of cash - something that it is feared could happen imminently despite more than a week of capital controls.
He will then have to persuade eurozone leaders to give Greece another chance at negotiating a bailout in addition to convincing creditors to discuss a restructuring of his country's massive debt.
If that fails, Mr Tsakalotos will face the agony of negotiating a divorce that he has always maintained that he does not want to happen - a Greek exit from the euro.
Euclid Tsakalotos
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New Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos may be less flamboyant than his predecessor Yanis Varoufakis, but his views on his country's debt crisis are no less stridently held.
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35,432,822 |
They have competed together for several years, coming fifth at the Olympics and taking European gold in 2012.
However, Couch was paired with 16-year-old Lois Toulson at last week's National Cup, where they came second.
"It wasn't great, to be honest," Couch, 26, told BBC Spotlight.
"Especially as we're leading up to the World Cup in less than a month, so being apart for a month and a half was not great preparation for it."
The duo are hoping to secure an Olympic Games qualification spot at the event, which is also being held in Brazil.
Barrow had been dropped from the 10m synchro line-up following a series of shin injuries but the Plymouth divers have been selected as part of a 15-strong GB World Cup squad, which includes Tom Daley.
"We're just going to put it to the side - we're back together in synchro now so there's a lot of hard training coming up," added Couch.
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Great Britain diver Tonia Couch has admitted her split with 10m synchro partner Sarah Barrow was "not great preparation" for next month's World Cup event in Rio.
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38,100,708 |
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The National League hosts were impressive in the first half, and almost took the lead through John McCombe's overhead kick, which went narrowly wide.
They continued to press and midfielder Paul Lewis could not find the target when in a good position inside the box, before Jack Mackreth shot over from close range.
Oxford threatened themselves, and Marvin Johnson's cross struck the top of the crossbar in the second half before Chey Dunkley's header rattled the post.
Visiting goalkeeper Simon Eastwood brilliantly kept out Chris Holroyd's low effort, before Mackreth hit the post late on.
Oxford, who reached the fourth round last year, will need to improve significantly for the replay at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday, 13 December.
Former England midfielder Trevor Sinclair on BBC Two:
"Oxford boss Michael Appleton will be disappointed - they were playing against a team two leagues below and have not really turned up. They have been fortunate to get through this match and I am sure they will play better in the replay.
"Maybe Appleton will learn something from this as they have come a long way on the morning of the match and the players looked a bit leggy."
Macclesfield manager John Askey on BBC Two: "On another occasion, things could have gone for us and we could have got the win.
"Overall we played well, created a lot of chances, but needed a better final ball or finish. We had a little wobble for five minutes but I can't ask any more of the players.
"I don't think the gap between the EFL and non-league is as big as it used to be. There are a lot of full-time teams. We showed that we have got decent players.
"It will be difficult there in the replay. On home soil, Oxford will be a different proposition. We will have nothing to lose and if we can get a win it would be great."
Macclesfield winger Jack Mackreth: "We put in everything and deserved to win the game.
"We are happy with a draw. Hopefully we can go to their place and get a result. Our movement was good and we created a lot of chances."
Oxford head coach Michael Appleton: "A few of our younger players were shell-shocked at half-time. They showed spirit and quality in the first half and got after us. They made it very difficult.
"When you come to a National League side, it is tight. They had a lot of quality.
"We were very, very, very, poor. I am not stupid enough to think any different. I would like to see us play better in the replay.
"I have got to pick a better team in terms of the right personnel.
"Let's hope we get a tie that generates a bit of excitement and make sure both teams have everything to play for in the replay."
Ian Meatcher: Great performance from the non-league side. Not quite the cup upset we all wanted. Macclesfield Town are in the hat though.
Jamie: Macclesfield were excellent - real shame not to get the win but great result all the same. Onwards and hopefully upwards.
Elliot Owens: Can't believe that game finished 0-0. Perhaps a league side would have put away those chances and knocked Oxford out.
Match ends, Macclesfield Town 0, Oxford United 0.
Second Half ends, Macclesfield Town 0, Oxford United 0.
Attempt missed. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Alexander MacDonald (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by John McCombe (Macclesfield Town).
Offside, Macclesfield Town. Craig Ross tries a through ball, but John McCombe is caught offside.
Offside, Oxford United. Marvin Johnson tries a through ball, but Kane Hemmings is caught offside.
Chris Maguire (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Paul Lewis (Macclesfield Town).
Jack Mackreth (Macclesfield Town) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the right side of the box. Assisted by Danny M. Rowe with a cross.
Attempt missed. Ryan Taylor (Oxford United) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Marvin Johnson with a cross.
Substitution, Oxford United. Kane Hemmings replaces Tyler Roberts.
Mitch Hancox (Macclesfield Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Marvin Johnson (Oxford United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Mitch Hancox (Macclesfield Town).
Attempt saved. Paul Lewis (Macclesfield Town) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Danny M. Rowe.
Corner, Oxford United. Conceded by Mitch Hancox.
Offside, Macclesfield Town. Andy Halls tries a through ball, but John McCombe is caught offside.
Foul by Tyler Roberts (Oxford United).
Danny Whitaker (Macclesfield Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Ryan Taylor (Oxford United) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Chris Maguire following a corner.
Attempt missed. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Cheyenne Dunkley following a corner.
Corner, Oxford United. Conceded by Craig Ross.
Attempt saved. Tyler Roberts (Oxford United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt blocked. Alexander MacDonald (Oxford United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Marvin Johnson.
Attempt saved. Danny Whitaker (Macclesfield Town) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Paul Lewis.
Cheyenne Dunkley (Oxford United) hits the right post with a header from the right side of the box. Assisted by Chris Maguire following a set piece situation.
Tyler Roberts (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Mitch Hancox (Macclesfield Town).
Attempt blocked. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Philip Edwards.
Substitution, Oxford United. Ryan Taylor replaces Joe Rothwell.
Attempt missed. John McCombe (Macclesfield Town) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Danny M. Rowe with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Macclesfield Town. Conceded by Cheyenne Dunkley.
Offside, Macclesfield Town. Paul Lewis tries a through ball, but Danny Whitaker is caught offside.
Marvin Johnson (Oxford United) is shown the yellow card.
Corner, Macclesfield Town. Conceded by Simon Eastwood.
Attempt missed. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Tyler Roberts.
Offside, Macclesfield Town. Andy Halls tries a through ball, but Chris Holroyd is caught offside.
Corner, Macclesfield Town. Conceded by Marvin Johnson.
Attempt missed. Ryan Ledson (Oxford United) right footed shot from more than 35 yards misses to the left. Assisted by Chris Maguire.
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League One side Oxford United twice hit the woodwork as they were held to a goalless FA Cup second-round draw at Macclesfield.
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35,860,098 |
Linsey Cotton, 33, was jailed for three years in October after admitting fraud and threatening Margaret and Nicola McDonough.
The women died in hospital after being found seriously injured in a hotel in Greenock in May 2013.
Police said they were investigating the death of a prisoner at HMP Saughton.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard that Cotton tricked Michael McDonough, 33, out of £5,000 and then tried to extort £5,500 from his mother Margaret, 53, and her daughter Nicola, 23, from Paisley.
She told the women they faced 20 years in jail for breaching a non-existent confidentiality clause.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "Police in Edinburgh are investigating after the death of a 33-year-old woman prisoner from HMP Saughton on Sunday morning.
"A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal."
Fatal accident inquiries are routinely held for deaths in custody.
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A woman jailed after trying to extort money from a mother and daughter who died in an apparent suicide pact has died after collapsing in prison.
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39,437,582 |
Mark Drakeford said UK ministers must show they can both listen to devolved administrations and accept assistance.
He told BBC Wales he wanted to ensure the prime minister got a good deal for both Wales and the UK.
First Minister Carwyn Jones has repeated his call for all four UK parliaments to ratify the deal.
Theresa May triggered the two year process for the UK's departure from the European Union, on Wednesday.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme on Thursday, Mr Drakeford said: "We want Mrs May to succeed - that's where the Welsh Government starts from.
"There's a job of work for the UK government to do to demonstrate that it is listening carefully to the devolved administrations but to also be willing to take the help we can offer.
"Part of our frustration throughout is that there is more that we could have done to help shape the way the UK goes into these negotiations."
He spoke before UK ministers' published their white paper on the Repeal Bill, in which Brexit Secretary David Davis promised a "significant increase in the decision-making power of each devolved administration".
The legislation will give the UK government the power to decide which EU laws - totalling more than 19,000 - should be kept or rejected when the UK leaves the European Union.
In her letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, beginning Brexit negotiations, Mrs May said Wales could expect a "significant increase" in devolved powers following Brexit.
Mr Drakeford said: "We have been absolutely clear that agriculture, fisheries, the environment and so on, that those powers already lie in Wales.
"When the EU is gone, those powers haven't gone anywhere, they will still be here where they have been since 1999.
"Our anxiety is that there are some people in the UK government who appear to believe that without the European Union somehow those powers are floating free and they will hang onto them and then say they'll hand them to us - they already lie with us."
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said the Repeal Bill would offer devolved administrations the opportunity to extend their powers.
"We've been absolutely clear... no decisions that the Welsh Government or any of the other nations or devolved administrations take at the moment will be removed from them," he said.
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Welsh ministers are frustrated that the UK government has not accepted more of their help before Brexit negotiations, Wales' finance secretary has said.
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40,870,447 |
Shahak Shapira, who is Jewish, said he had reported 300 incidents of hate speech in six months, but Twitter had responded to just nine.
A YouTube video has emerged showing Mr Shapira stencilling 30 tweets.
"Germany needs a final solution to Islam," reads one.
"Let's gas the Jews," says another, in reference to the Nazis' murder of six million Jews during World War Two.
"If Twitter forces me to see these things, then they'll have to see them too," the artist said in the video, posted on Monday.
He described the comments as "not just plain insults or jokes, but absolutely serious threats of violence".
They include statements that are homophobic, xenophobic, or involve holocaust denial.
He said the nine responses he got from Twitter said the tweets did not violate the site's rules.
"I haven't received a single mail telling me a tweet was actually removed," he said.
Mr Shapira explained in the video, titled #HeyTwitter, that he had made stencils of the hate-filled messages, then travelled to Hamburg to paint them in front of the platform's headquarters.
"Tomorrow," he said, "they will have to look at all the beautiful tweets their company loves to ignore so much."
Hate speech is an especially sensitive subject in Germany due to the crimes committed by the Nazi regime in World War Two.
In June, the country passed a law which could force social media companies to delete racist or slanderous posts within 24 hours or face a fine of up to €50m ($58m; £45m).
Mr Shapira said he had reported 150 comments to Facebook during the same six-month period, and 80% were removed within one to three days.
Twitter's head of public policy for Europe, Karen White, told Reuters: "Over the past six months, we've introduced a host of new tools and features to improve Twitter for everyone. We've also improved the in-app reporting process for our users and we continue to review and iterate on our policies and their enforcement."
The site is said to be acting against 10 times as many abusive accounts as it did this time last year.
Mr Shapira previously made headlines after taking a controversial stand against selfie-taking at Berlin's Holocaust memorial.
He copied 12 selfies snapped at the memorial from social media, and published them on a website called "Yolocaust" - a combination of the popular social media hashtag Yolo - "you only live once" - and Holocaust.
Each image was altered so that hovering over it stripped away the background of the memorial and replaced it with scenes from concentration camps.
He said at the time: "Lets see what happens, let's see how many stupid, inappropriate pictures I have to see on the internet.
"And if you're asking me is this right or wrong, then that's a good thing. It doesn't have to be one or the other, just having the debate is good."
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A German satirist who claims Twitter is failing to delete hate speech has captured the firm's attention offline - by stencilling the offending messages outside its Hamburg office.
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39,140,041 |
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Chairman Jonathan Browning said the governing body will be making changes to be more caring to riders.
"Where there are failings we apologise," Browning told BBC sports editor Dan Roan.
He added the organisation would also address concerns raised by MPs at a select committee hearing into doping.
An investigation into the culture at British Cycling was launched last year after ex-riders complained about their treatment.
A report on the findings of the investigation is imminent.
But the governing body says work on an action plan to address any "failings" is already under way.
"Athlete and participant welfare is our highest priority," said Browning.
He said the organisation had achieved "remarkable success" in not only winning races, but bringing new people into the sport.
However, he added: "We deeply regret any instance where we have failed to deliver."
He accepted there had been "well reported" incidences where behaviour had been "unacceptable" and needed to be addressed.
"My ambition for athletes is anyone leaving the programme says 'I would recommend it to my younger brother or sister'," he said.
Browning said British Cycling was now "committed to implementing the recommendations of the independent review in full" to ensure the best possible environment in which its athletes could flourish.
The action plan aims include:
The independent review was commissioned last April by British Cycling alongside UK Sport, which provides elite funding to the organisation.
It came after former technical director Shane Sutton, who was was later cleared of eight of nine allegations, was found to have used sexist language towards cyclist Jess Varnish.
UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl says the independent review has "identified valuable lessons" both for British Cycling and other sports it funds.
The organisation set out its own action plan to help British Cycling, which includes "placing more emphasis on the importance of culture and duty of care".
Browning added: "Athlete development has been and will continue to be the key to our success at the highest level.
"This is not about complying to protect funding, this is about running and leading our organisation in a way that is consistent with our ambition to be a world-class governing body and a great place to work."
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The release of British Cycling's action plan comes a day after MP Damian Collins said the body's credibility was "in tatters" following a separate inquiry into doping.
MPs heard "some detailed and worrying" evidence from former British Cycling coach Simon Cope and UK Anti-Doping chief Nicole Sapstead, covering poor record-keeping of riders' medical details to the mysterious contents of a jiffy bag delivered from British Cycling to Team Sky at a race in France.
Browning, who only took on the role of chairman last month, said he had been left "really disappointed" by the hearing, adding: "We're still looking for clear answers. Not only do we need to be clean but we have to be able to demonstrate it.
"I've not come across any evidence of cheating. I've found an organisation that's changed quickly and needs to reset its priorities - it's something we are going to fix."
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The head of British Cycling has apologised for "failings" following accusations of bullying and sexism against top-level cyclists.
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27,685,286 |
The workers at Rotherwas munitions factory included 4,000 women, who were known as the "canary girls" because many contracted jaundice through the work, which turned their skin yellow.
Historian Julie Orton-Jones believes more than 200 of the women died during the war.
Now a history group is calling for a permanent memorial.
The factory was constructed by the Ministry of Munitions and shell filling began there on 11 November 1916.
Workers were brought from all over Great Britain and Ireland.
At the factory's peak, almost 6,000 people worked there including 4,000 women.
"It was very intense and dangerous work," said Neil Kerr from the Hereford Enterprise Zone, which now operates on the Rotherwas site.
"The recruits who came in were girls from the farms and domestic servants - they came in and they suddenly started getting real wages."
However, the chemicals in the explosives caused many of the women to contract toxic jaundice, which turned their hair and skin yellow and caused tooth decay.
Ms Orton-Jones from Herefordshire Lore, the history group which is campaigning for a permanent memorial, said some of the women had suffered lifelong health problems.
"It did affect them horribly with lung and throat infections," she said. "Some of them died - I believe around 210 in World War One. That's an awful lot of girls."
Barrington Mayne, whose mother Cissie was a munitions worker in World War Two, said he felt the factory's staff had been forgotten.
"Without their involvement, it would have been very difficult on the war front," he said.
"They did play a very crucial role and I think it's right to have a lasting memorial to all those men and women."
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Campaigners are calling for a memorial for 6,000 people who worked in a World War One munitions factory in Hereford.
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34,264,380 |
More and more, financial firms are turning to machines to do the job humans have done for decades.
Last spring, wealth management firm Charles Schwab launched a new service called Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. The service is unique in that it's not a person who decides where to invest your money, it's an algorithm - lines of code programmed into a computer.
"It's lower cost for the investor," says Tobin McDaniel, who leads the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios team.
"As opposed to working with a traditional advisor where you might pay up to 1%, here you get portfolio management at essentially no management fee."
To get started with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, you answer a short questionnaire aimed at determining your appetite for risk and your investment goals. Algorithms then create a portfolio suited to your profile and manage it on a daily basis.
Instead of simply crunching numbers, the machines are now making decisions.
And that increasingly describes the rest of the financial system.
Machines are now responsible for most of the activity on Wall Street.
And just this summer, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group closed most of its trading pits after 167 years.
The practice of traders shouting and using hand signals to buy and sell commodities had become outdated. The work they once did has been replaced by a much quieter competitor - the computer.
Brad Bailey is a research director at Celent, and an expert on electronic trading.
"Before we were limited to human response time, which is about half of a second or about the blink of an eye," he says
"Now when you think about trading, things are happening in nanoseconds, or certainly milliseconds."
Supporters say computers boost liquidity, helping would-be buyers and sellers find one another without middlemen.
Then there are the high frequency traders. They zip in and out of shares so quickly, and on such a massive scale, that their fortunes are lost and made by tiny price movements.
Other algorithms rely more on artificial intelligence to pour over earnings statements, news reports and regulatory filings looking for clues on how to view a stock.
While these lines of code are faster and more efficient than people, Brad Bailey warns that "[a] lot can happen in those time frames before humans can react".
Not all of it good.
In 2012 US market maker Knight Capital lost over $400m (£261m) in 30 minutes because of a computer glitch. And this summer trading was halted at the New York Stock Exchange following a software problem.
These events have raised doubts about the stability of computerised trading systems. Critics argue it has made markets more volatile.
And what about trading rules? Are they fit for purpose with markets that now handle orders in milliseconds?
"We live in a world where you can't prevent every problem," says Ron Geffner, a former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney who now works with hedge funds.
"It takes time for regulators to spot the problems, become aware of it, and once they become aware of it to adopt rules."
To prevent big swings, US financial regulators have implemented a raft of measures including single stock circuit breakers. The rule requires a pause in trading for individual stocks if the price moves 10% or more in a five-minute period.
And companies like Charles Schwab have also instituted safeguards.
Just this August, when the Dow fell more than 1,000 points during the trading session, Charles Schwab convened a panel of people to check if the huge volume of orders its Schwab Intelligent Portfolios was about to place was the right move.
Todd McDaniel tells the BBC: "We've got a human checkpoint".
People still have a role in the financial system but it's changing. On Wall Street at least, it's a machine's world.
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Your next stockbroker might just be a computer.
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21,615,448 |
The sites were subject to about 144,000 hacking attacks each month last year, two thirds of which came from the US, according to China's defence ministry.
The issue of cyber hacking has strained relations between the two countries.
Earlier this month a US cyber security firm said a secretive Chinese military unit was behind "prolific hacking".
Mandiant said that Unit 61398 was believed to have "systematically stolen hundreds of terabytes of data" from at least 141 organisations around the world.
The White House has said that it has taken its concerns about cyber-theft to the highest levels of China's government. China denied the allegations, saying it was also the victim of cyber attacks.
The US is yet to respond to these latest allegations from China.
"The Defence Ministry and China Military Online websites have faced a serious threat from hacking attacks since they were established," defence ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying at a monthly press conference.
He added that the number of attacks on these sites had steadily increased over the years.
An analysis of the IP addresses involved showed that officials had ascertained that attacks from the US accounted for 62.9 percent of the attacks made on these two website in 2012, according to Mr Geng.
He also said that reported US plans to expand its cyber warfare capabilities were unlikely to foster international collaboration.
"We hope that the U.S. side can explain and clarify this," he said.
It is believed to be the first time that Chinese officials have provided such details about alleged US-based attacks on their own systems.
However, Beijing has been accused by several governments, foreign companies and organisations of carrying out extensive cyber espionage for many years, seeking to gather information and to control China's image.
In late January, the New York Times said that hackers from China had "persistently" infiltrated the paper over the previous four months, saying the attacks had coincided with its reports into the wealth of the family of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
At the time China's foreign ministry dismissed those accusations as "groundless".
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Hackers from the US have repeatedly launched attacks on two Chinese military websites, including that of the Defence Ministry, officials say.
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29,086,719 |
These wild relatives are closely related to our crops, but grow naturally under a wide range of environmental conditions.
This makes them essential for the development of more resistant and adaptable food sources.
However, many of them grow in conflict zones in the Middle East, where their conservation is threatened.
Scientists from the University of Birmingham have highlighted "hotspots" around the globe, which are areas where many different types of wild relatives are concentrated. Here, they could be conserved to secure future global food resources.
Farmers crossbreed the wild relatives with existing crops to produce varieties of grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes and tubers that are more adaptable to local climates.
Lead scientist Dr Nigel Maxted from the University of Birmingham told BBC News: "Our goal is not only crop wild relative conservation, but to promote use of the conserved diversity by farmers and breeders to develop crop varieties with greater resilience to climate change."
The wild species may contain many useful traits, such as drought tolerance or resilience to pests and diseases.
For example, Aegilops tauschii, the wild relative of wheat, is resistant to the Hessian fly, which is a pest of cereal crops; Saccharum arundinaceum, a relative of sugar cane, can survive very low temperatures; Prunus ferganensis, the wild version of peach, is tolerant to droughts.
Dr Nigel Maxted said: "There has previously been no opportunity to systematically conserve and use crop wild relatives at a global scale as there was a lack of clarity over their identities and distribution.
"By creating an inventory we can discover which countries and regions are the richest in terms of priority crop wild relatives, and we can then more efficiently plan and coordinate conservation efforts to target their survival."
The inventory lists 173 crops and their 1,667 priority wild relatives, along with their traits and location.
Mr Mike Ambrose, from the department of crop genetics at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, is a user of the database and has provided his knowledge of peas during its compilation.
He explained: "It is a very interactive database with a lot of functionality and completely open and free.
"Its creation has involved many experts from around the world, interacting and providing input to develop it and complete what is a global resource."
The researchers have found that 12% of the crop wild relatives are threatened by extinction and all are likely to have suffered a loss of genetic diversity due to urbanisation, climate change and conflict in hotspot areas.
Half of the priority species in temperate regions are located in the Fertile Crescent, an area that arcs around the Near East.
Ongoing conflict in some of these areas makes the access to crop wild relatives difficult, but the team of scientists, together with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, are now working on strategies to protect the hotspots.
The plan is to store the wild relatives' genetic information in gene banks, where the material can be kept for up to 300 years, as well as to conserve the crop relatives in the wild.
"It is very important that we conserve these species in secure gene banks, but it is also critical to conserve them in their natural habitat as well so they will continue to adapt to changes in the climate as well as threats from pests and diseases," added Dr Nigel Maxted.
"The global population is now 7.3 billion and by 2050 it will be 9.6 billion, so it is now even more crucial that we conserve crop wild relatives as part of the wider need to address global food security issues."
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Scientists have released the most complete database of the wild relatives of common food crops.
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40,566,701 |
Funding of £2bn was allocated for rebuilding facilities between 2005 and 2015 at Berkshire's two Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites.
AWE had spent £3.96bn by the end of the 2015/16 financial year, a Freedom of Information (FoI) request has revealed.
An AWE spokesman said the money spent was part of "annually agreed funding".
Three out of five planned projects at the sites in Aldermaston and Burghfield were completed on time in 2015.
However, the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) response to the FoI revealed that AWE was now expected to complete projects Pegasus and Mensa in 2020.
Pegasus will store and handle enriched uranium components for nuclear warheads, and Mensa is where the weapons will be assembled.
The MoD said providing estimates on how much money had been spent this year and in the future would "compromise" its negotiating position.
An AWE spokesman said: "The figures released by the MoD, in response to the recent Freedom of Information request, form part of our annually agreed funding from government, ensuring our capability in support of the UK's nuclear deterrent.
"This funding covers the capital costs of a complex nuclear licensed site and replacement nuclear facilities, all of which is subject to rigorous scrutiny."
Newbury MP Richard Benyon, whose constituency includes AWE, said the delays were "bad news for the taxpayer".
He added that he believed procurement processes at the MoD were improving and resulting in reduced expenditure.
|
An upgrade of the UK's Trident warhead factory has cost double its budget - and it is expected to take more than two further years to complete.
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35,378,878 |
Mr Abbott issued a short statement on Sunday night saying he would contest the seat of Warringah.
He has held the seat on Sydney's northern beaches for 22 years.
Malcolm Turnbull replaced Mr Abbott as prime minister after winning a ballot for leadership of the ruling Liberal Party in September.
Mr Abbott said he had taken time out to assess his future since losing the leadership and was heartened by the support that he had received from his constituents.
"Therefore, I am renominating to represent the people of Warringah for another term as their Liberal MP," he said.
Mr Abbott's decision to stay in politics immediately drew comparisons to Kevin Rudd, the Labor prime minister who was dumped by his own party in 2010.
Mr Rudd's desire to return to the leadership was seen as a destabilising force for the Labor government and the prime minister who replaced him, Julia Gillard.
Mr Rudd eventually won back the leadership from Ms Gillard, but led Labor to defeat against Mr Abbott in the 2013 federal election.
Liberal senator and Abbott loyalist Eric Abetz dismissed the comparisons, telling the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Mr Abbott was "no Kevin Rudd".
"Kevin Rudd was always about one thing only, Kevin Rudd, whereas Tony Abbott has always been about one thing, namely, the Australian people," Mr Abetz said.
|
Deposed Australian prime minister Tony Abbott will attempt to stay in parliament at the country's next federal election.
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39,635,290 |
The project is being planned for the sea just off Murlough Bay - an area of special scientific interest.
But the energy company said the bay is just one of two options for bringing the cables ashore.
It said if the bay is chosen there will be conditions to the planning approval.
Patrick Casement is amongst those opposed to the cable plan at Murlough Bay.
He said laying an underground cable to a sub-station some distance away would create a "scar on the landscape that will take years to heal".
DP Energy want to build the first commercial tidal scheme in Northern Ireland and have identified an area near Fair Head.
It said it can generate enough power for 70,000 homes.
The company has two options for getting the power ashore.
The first is a cable run of 2km to Murlough Bay.
The second is a longer route covering 10km and coming ashore near Ballycastle.
DP Energy has not yet decided which it will choose.
Clodagh McGrath from DP Energy said if it gets the go-ahead the project would "have a range of conditions that have to be complied with".
So far the company has only applied for permission for the off-shore element of the project.
A range of turbines options are being considered.
Some are totally submerged, but others would have service pods protruding above the waves.
DP Energy said there will be a separate planning application for the onshore work, including the cabling, in due course.
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Residents living near a picturesque bay in County Antrim have said they are against the landing of power cables from a proposed tidal energy scheme there.
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35,916,636 |
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England, who finished second in Group 1 after winning three of their four matches, face the unbeaten Kiwis in Delhi on Wednesday.
England's women face Australia earlier the same day for a place in the final.
"New Zealand have played out of their skin in the group stages," England captain Morgan told BBC Sport.
"They have probably played the best cricket of the tournament so far."
Kane Williamson's side qualified from Group 2 in top spot, courtesy of wins over hosts India, Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
England lost their first game, against West Indies, but recovered superbly to win their next three against South Africa, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
"There is a a lot of excitement around the group," added Morgan. "Having done enough to get out of the group stages and play in a World Twenty20 semi-final, the guys are really excited.
"We have built a lot of confidence. We also showed a lot of character at different stages.
"We showed our development as a side in chasing down 230, our grit against Afghanistan and we played a lot of smart cricket against Sri Lanka."
England's limited-overs performance in India is a marked improvement on the one they produced in last year's 50-over World Cup, from which they eliminated in the group stages having won just two of their six games.
New Zealand finished runners-up to Australia in that tournament, having played an aggressive, attacking form of cricket.
It is an approach England have attempted to emulate since Trevor Bayliss replaced Peter Moores as coach, with some success, including a 3-2 ODI series win over the Kiwis last summer.
Morgan added: "I think that New Zealand series was very important. We'd talked about emulating what Australia and New Zealand did at that World Cup.
"From where we were to where they were, we were miles away and in order to bridge the gap we had to try and emulate the fashion in which they played and the aggressive nature in which they went about their game.
"So they did play a key part, absolutely."
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England sealed their place in the last four of the World T20 with a 10-run win over Sri Lanka on Saturday, in which Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes impressed with their bowling in the final overs of the reigning champions' chase.
"You want guys to come in and say they want to bowl at the death," added Morgan.
"Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan are guys who I have relied on in the past and they have grown into death bowlers by virtue of their performance.
"It is an area we have struggled with in the past and he [Jordan] has taken on the responsibility of being the man who wants to bowl at the end.
"He always has a cool head, knows his plans and goes about executing them well."
The men's semi-final against New Zealand is the second part of an England World Twenty20 semi-final double-header in Delhi on Wednesday with Charlotte Edwards' women's side taking on Australia in the morning.
"It is a proud day," added Morgan. "The girls have been outstandingly great in the last five or six years.
"They have held the flag very high, even when we have been poor. It is nice to be able to share tomorrow with them. It would be remarkable to both go through to the final."
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England's women won the inaugural Women's World T20 in 2010 - their only triumph in the event.
They have been involved in some extremely close games in this tournament but remain unbeaten, winning all four of their matches to qualify as Group B winners.
"We have learned a lot from our games," England captain Charlotte Edwards told BBC Sport. "We know we can get over the line and it has probably brought us closer together as a team."
Wednesday's game gives England the chance for revenge after being beaten by their old rivals in the 2012 and 2014 finals.
Edwards is one of a number of England players who featured in the most recent Big Bash T20 competition in Australia, but she says any friendships will be put on hold during the semi-final.
"I have played with a few of the Australia girls but as soon as we step over the line... it is the fiercest rivalry in cricket and certainly in the women's game," she added.
The stats you need to know
"With the ball England have been ruthless," says BBC cricket commentator Charles Dagnall. "Anya Shrubsole the pick, backed up well by the spinners, but Jenny Gunn has been a standout at the death.
"To progress, it's all about their batting. Head coach Mark Robinson has tried to change the dynamism of the England line-up, and up front it's worked.
"Charlotte Edwards' role quite simply is a boundary hitter. She isn't quick enough to pick up the ones and twos, yet she is the best in the world at piercing the infield during the powerplay.
"Tammy Beaumont has come of age and rather than play second fiddle to Edwards, she has been given the freedom to attack.
"England's middle order struggles on the slow pitches to get going against spin. Sarah Taylor, while her keeping is exemplary, 28 runs in four innings is under par for a player of her class.
"Lydia Greenway's place is under threat but her being the only left-hander in the side will be taken into consideration.
"Spin has dictated the women's WT20, it shouldn't change in Delhi. The winner of this match will be who copes best as both sides prefer the ball coming on. England shouldn't be afraid and I would play them all.
"Here is my team for the semi: Edwards, Beaumont, Taylor, Knight, Sciver, Wyatt, Gunn, Brunt, Shrubsole, Marsh, Grundy."
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Eoin Morgan says England will have to beat the in-form side of the tournament in New Zealand if they are to reach the final of the World Twenty20.
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34,897,936 |
23 November 2015 Last updated at 07:33 GMT
It's in Morocco in North Africa and uses the sun's warmth to melt salt and create energy.
The equivalent of 35 football fields full of moveable mirrors are pointed to the sky, so they can track the sun throughout the day.
Once complete, the plant will be able to provide energy to one million people.
The plant is part of Morocco's pledge to get 42% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020.
Watch Martin's report to learn more about how it works.
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A high-tech solar powered plant is being used to make electricity in the dark.
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30,502,234 |
Vallverdu, 28, left Murray's coaching team last month after five years, in a split described as 'mutual'.
Berdych, 29, had been looking for a new coach after most of his rivals made big-name appointments.
He approached Ivan Lendl, the man who helped Murray to two Grand Slam titles, but said the eight-time major winner was "too busy".
Posting on Facebook on Tuesday, Berdych said: "Dear fans and friends... my new coaches for next year will be Dani Vallverdu and Azuz Simcich.
"Thank you to Tomas Krupa and David Vydra for a great time and fantastic work."
Murray met Vallverdu when the pair were teenagers at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Spain, and the Venezuelan worked closely with Lendl during the Czech great's two-year stint with Murray.
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World number seven Tomas Berdych has appointed Andy Murray's former coach Dani Vallverdu for the 2015 season.
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35,494,704 |
It follows a public inquiry last year into the airport's bid to remove a cap on the number of seats it can sell each year on departing flights.
It is currently set at two million seats.
The Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) report does not object to the move.
However, it recommends a stricter system of noise controls than the City Airport has put forward in its planning application.
The Environment Minister Mark H Durkan wants feedback by next month, before making a decision on the airport's application.
The airport has been attempting to lift the seats cap since 2004.
Residents' groups in the surrounding areas have been opposing the idea, arguing it will mean many more flights and bigger aircraft.
The PAC report states: "We strongly believe while the growth of the airport is desirable from an economic perspective, a balance must be struck with the noise impact."
It adds the controls put forward by the airport "would allow noise levels to affect more people than is presently the case".
A spokesperson for George Best Belfast City Airport said: "We welcome the recommendation by the Planning Appeals Commission to remove the seats for sale limit which has been a long standing barrier to our business.
"We will consider in more detail the findings of the report and will submit our views to the department."
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A report recommends tough noise controls at George Best Belfast City Airport in exchange for the controversial removal of a planning restriction.
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35,791,668 |
Jayden Stockley opened the scoring for the visitors before Izale McLeod levelled the game going into half-time.
Substitute Jake Taylor's low finish put Exeter back in front and Christian Ribeiro's neat header gave the visitors a two-goal cushion.
Ollie Watkins' cool finish punished slack County defending to seal the points for the Grecians.
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Notts County's miserable home form continued as they were comprehensively beaten by mid-table Exeter.
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39,509,685 |
Officers put out an urgent appeal to say she had gone missing from the Fairwater area of Cwmbran.
In a message on the force's Facebook page, they said: "The missing young lady has been found safe and well. Thank you all for your assistance."
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Gwent Police has called off a search after locating missing Amelia Jones, four.
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37,142,730 |
"Irish MMA fans are among the most passionate that we've seen anywhere in the world," said James Elliott, general manager of UFC EMEA.
"They have long been asking for the UFC to return.
"We look forward to delivering an unforgettable event for the city of Belfast, one which will be remembered for years to come."
Ireland's Conor McGregor, the UFC featherwight champion, has boosted the popularity of the sport in recent years.
A line-up of fighters for the November showdown has yet to be confirmed.
"It goes without saying that Ireland is a key market for us, and the popularity of MMA amongst Irish fans continues to grow exponentially year on year," added Elliott.
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UFC will be back in Belfast for the first time since 2007 with the SSE Arena hosting the event on 19 November.
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36,712,220 |
Diesel cars could have to pay an additional charge to come into inner London by 2019 and buses should be retrofitted to meet European standards.
The mayor said they must act because nearly "9,500 Londoners" a year were dying from respiratory problems.
More than 440 schools also break safe legal limits on pollution.
The Supreme Court ruled in April that London's air quality breaches European clean air rules.
9,400
People die from air pollution in London each year
500,000 aged under 19 who live in areas that breach EU limits
443 schools that have unsafe pollution levels
86 of these are secondary
2025 year London is expected to meet EU limits
"The air in London is a killer, it makes people sick and it's illegal so it's time for action," said Mr Khan, who has adult onset asthma.
Speaking to BBC Radio London, he added: "We can't carry on with business as usual," and urged the government to pass national legislation on air pollution in 2017.
Announcing his plans on the 60th anniversary of the Clean Air Act, the mayor also wants to:
He said these proposals would be cost-neutral and would not impact a promised fares price freeze.
Doctors, environmentalists and think tanks seem pretty supportive of the mayor's direction of travel.
But there are details to fill in, and this is the first stage of a two-part consultation.
The Institute for Public Policy Research says the change is not so burdensome for domestic car owners as there is a big choice in the car showroom, and competitive prices.
But innovation has been slower in the commercial vehicle sector, which means there are not many cheap options on the market for van owners at the moment.
The mayor would not say whether he would offer exemptions or discounts over a transitional period.
His answer is to push the responsibility to government which - he says - should introduce a diesel scrappage scheme as soon as possible.
The Federation of Small Businesses said although it supported the plans in principle, it was concerned about the cost of implementing them.
Sue Terpilowski OBE, London Policy chair at the organisation, said: "Micro and small businesses face disproportionately higher costs than medium and large-sized ones in carrying out business activities.
"We do not want to see tradesmen, coach companies, construction business owners or market traders refusing to serve London, which is why transport policy in London needs to recognise the difference between essential and non-essential journeys."
Motoring group the RAC said it feared bringing in the Ultra Low Emission Zone a year earlier could unfairly penalise businesses who had recently bought diesel vehicles in good faith thinking they were doing the right thing for the environment thanks to their lower CO2 emissions.
It added that more was needed to be done to improve congestion as it said data had indicated that some average traffic speeds in London were "slower than those in the horse and cart era".
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, said the measures did not go far enough.
She called for more charging points for electric vehicles and for Transport for London to bulk purchase electric taxis to help drive down their price and to then lease or sell them on to taxi drivers or garages.
The announcement was made at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
Its chief executive, Dr Peter Steer, said: "Children living in highly polluted areas are four times more likely to have reduced lung function in adulthood, yet improving air quality has been shown to halt and reverse this effect.
"When the UK's most seriously ill children come to GOSH for world class care, we want to ensure that they are not exposed to high levels of harmful pollution and so we are pleased improving London's air quality is a priority for the Mayor."
The consultation closes on 29 July.
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Cars made before 2005 may have to pay an additional charge for entering the congestion zone in London, under proposals put forward by the mayor.
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33,310,764 |
The comic actor and author plays Tommy Beresford to Jessica Raine's Tuppence Beresford in a six-part period drama based on two novels by Agatha Christie.
"I like that Tommy has to defer to her; that she is more intelligent and heroic than he is," Walliams went on.
Partners in Crime is scheduled to air on BBC One at the end of July.
The drama, screened to reporters in London on Monday, forms part of a series of BBC programmes marking the 125th anniversary of Christie's birth.
Tommy and Tuppence have not been seen on British TV since the 1980s, in which they were played, on ITV, by James Warwick and Francesca Annis.
The characters went on to spawn a trio of French films, starring Andre Dussollier and Catherine Frot, that renamed the characters Belisaire and Prudence.
The sleuthing duo also appeared in a 2006 edition of the Marple TV series, in which they were played by Anthony Andrews and Greta Scacchi.
"These characters have not been done for a while and I thought it would be a good opportunity to do a new version," said Walliams on Monday.
"Something about having a husband and wife detective duo really appealed," he went on. "I don't think there's been one since Hart to Hart."
Hart to Hart, which ran from 1979 to 1984 before being revived in the 1990s, starred Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as a pair of wealthy married sleuths.
Call the Midwife star Raine described her character as "forward-looking and modern". "It's so nice to play a woman who isn't put-upon or a victim," she continued.
"I like how front-footed and quick-witted she is. She's quite funny and intelligent and curious, all these things you want to be in real life."
Raine, whose other recent drama credits include Wolf Hall and Fortitude, said she also enjoyed the physical nature of the role.
"I got to do some great stunts - to smash windows and climb through windows and have a full-on fist fight with another woman," she explained.
In contrast, joked Walliams, his more passive part in proceedings found him more often seen "busy helping myself to some biscuits".
More Clouseau than Poirot, Tommy Beresford is depicted as a well-meaning but ineffectual man whose lofty plans have yet to yield results.
"Tommy's a good man but he's let his ambitions slide," explained Walliams. "He needs Tuppence to help him make something of his life."
The couple are introduced in the first half of the series, based on Christie's 1922 novel The Secret Adversary, as a bickering couple who are often at odds.
"But there's a real love underneath the bickering, and over the course of the series they re-find that love," said Raine, who described her on-screen relationship with Walliams as "funny and zesty and fresh".
Both Walliams and Raine expressed a willingness to return to their roles, though the former pointed out there are only so many novels and stories to adapt.
"There are only five Tommy and Tuppence books" - four novels and a collection of short stories - "so we would have to invent a few more," he explained.
A three-part adaptation of And Then There Were None, Christie's most-read book, is also being made to mark the anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth.
Best known for his Little Britain partnership with Matt Lucas, Walliams is also a successful children's author and a judge on Britain's Got Talent.
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Little Britain star David Walliams has described his new role as one half of a husband and wife detective duo as "the damsel in distress" of the partnership.
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34,879,194 |
The official figures for April to September mark the half-way mark of the 2015-16 financial year - and mean the deficit has grown from the £930m posted in the first three months.
Regulators have described the problems as the "worst for a generation".
The figures cover 241 trusts running hospital, mental health, ambulance and some community services.
Between them they account for about two-thirds of the NHS's £116bn budget - with the rest going on other areas including GPs, drug prescribing and training.
Overall, eight in 10 trusts were in deficit by the end of September.
It means the combined overspend is already nearly double what it was for the entire 2014-15 financial year.
Then, the NHS finished £822m in the red - with the health service as a whole balancing the books only after a cash injection from the Treasury and by raiding the capital budget earmarked for buildings.
Overspending on agency staff has been highlighted as one of the major problems as well as rising demand for services - and there will now be further pressure on health bosses to cut back on spending.
The regulators also warned hospitals were facing growing problems discharging patients - this happens when there are not enough services available in the community either from councils or the NHS to care for the most vulnerable.
The news comes at a difficult time for the NHS. Performance is already suffering with many of the major targets, including ones for A&E, ambulances and cancer care, being missed, while health chiefs are having to prepare for three days of industrial action by junior doctors.
The release of the figures by the regulators Monitor and the Trust Development Authority comes ahead of the spending review next week when Chancellor George Osborne will announced his plans for this Parliament.
The government has promised the NHS an extra £8bn by 2020. Health service leaders have called for that money to be "front-loaded" so that most of it comes in the first few years to help them get on top of the pressures.
Jim Mackey, the incoming chief executive of the regulatory bodies, said the current situation was "really challenging".
Anita Charlesworth, chief economist at the Health Foundation, said: "The figures confirm the truly dire state of NHS finances.
"Next week's spending review needs to address the unprecedented scale of challenge."
Meanwhile, the BBC has learnt that, ahead of the spending review, there is consideration being given to cutting some parts of health spending.
The promises made by government have been specifically aimed at the front-line of the NHS.
The Treasury is understood to be pushing for cuts to public health budgets, held by councils for services such as stop smoking and sexual health clinics and training budgets.
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Overspending by NHS trusts in England has risen to £1.6bn this year as concerns about financial problems grow.
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Andrea Aitken was taken from the semi-detached property by firefighters using breathing apparatus but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Emergency services were alerted shortly before 02:30 on Friday but found the fire already "well developed".
A joint police and fire service investigation will be carried out into the cause of the blaze in the town's Addison Place.
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A 46-year-old woman who died in a house fire in Annan has been named by police.
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Evans, 53, was relieved of his duties at Elland Road on Tuesday.
The Scot was the sixth head coach to work under Cellino since April 2014.
"In the last week or two it became obvious that I was not going to be around. I don't feel disrespected, I had a good working relationship with Mr Cellino," Evans told BBC Radio Leeds.
"The club secretary Stuart Hayton conveyed to me that my contract would not be extended beyond the end of the season and it was handled in a very professional phone call.
"I spoke to Massimo earlier in the summer but not in recent days or weeks.
"I certainly felt we had done enough to go forward but you don't make that decision as a manager. That lies with the owner and the board. I have to accept it, as much as I am saddened by it."
MK Dons boss Karl Robinson and Bristol Rovers manager Darrell Clarke have both turned down the opportunity to succeed Evans.
The former Rotherham boss, who had promised fans he would secure a play-off finish next season, believes the club need to hire an experienced British coach.
"It has to be a strong character and someone who is going to be very focused and understanding of what the remit is," he said.
"I was very clear that if Leeds United's aims for next season were to finish in the play-offs then that would be happening under Steve Evans and Paul Raynor.
"I can only take that the benchmark has been raised after the statement that Massimo put out yesterday, so if I was a Leeds United supporter I would be getting excited for a strong British coach."
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Former Leeds head coach Steve Evans says he was content with the way his departure was handled despite not being told by chairman Massimo Cellino.
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The public sector deficit is the amount that the government spends minus the amount that it receives in taxes, after you've taken into account investment.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast of whether the deficit will go up or down in the current financial year will be a big focus in the Autumn Statement on 3 December.
At the end of last week, it looked as if this year's deficit would be going up by £1.7bn as a result of a backdated bill for UK contributions to the EU Budget.
But then, as a result of Chancellor George Osborne's negotiations, it turned out that we would have nothing to add to this year's deficit and "only" £850m to add to next year's, which would be after the general election.
On Wednesday, the Treasury discovered it would be receiving an extra £1.1bn (minus costs) as a result of the fines imposed on banks by the Financial Conduct Authority for traders' attempted manipulation of foreign exchange rates.
Mr Osborne said that the fines would be used "for the wider public good", which could mean they go towards reducing the deficit. Alternatively, as was the case with the Libor fines, some of the money could go towards other good causes.
The point is, the deficit could go up or down by a billion pounds or so for unexpected reasons, which could make all the difference between a rising deficit and falling one.
In the first six months of the current financial year, the deficit excluding public sector banks was £45.7bn, up from £44.8bn in the first six months of last year, but down from £50.6bn in the same period the year before. £2.8bn would have reversed that rise.
We've also recently had a warning from the OBR that it expects to lower its forecast for the amount of tax the government will collect this year.
All this makes it likely that the OBR will predict that this year's deficit will end up higher than last year's, despite government cost-cutting and a growing economy.
And you have to feel the OBR's pain when it attempts to make these forecasts. It has been very wrong with some of its forecasting since it was created in 2010, although admittedly not much more wrong than other forecasters.
Even so, how are you supposed to make forecasts when you never know where an extra billion pounds or two could come from?
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We've had two examples in the last week of why it's so hard to predict the deficit, which may end up knocking almost £2.8bn off the figure, writes Anthony Reuben.
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The rare machines, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, were taken by thieves who targeted a vintage store in Weybridge, Surrey.
Other gaming machines were also stolen in the burglary on The Games Room, in Hamm Moor Lane.
Collectors have been asked to help look out for the stolen items.
The machines are "extremely distinctive" and have unique serial numbers, making them easily recognisable, police said.
The burglary happened between 17:00 BST on 28 August and 08:00 the next day, but details have only just been released by Surrey Police.
PC Matt Ladd said: "Our enquiries so far have led us to believe that this was a thoroughly researched and pre-planned job.
"We are very keen to speak to anybody who saw anything or who has heard conversations around this incident."
He urged anyone who saw pictures of the items on sites like eBay or Gumtree, or who knew of someone selling them at car boot sales or vintage fairs, to get in touch.
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A first edition Beatles jukebox worth more than £20,000 is among vintage items stolen in a "pre-planned raid", said police.
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The pop group were supposed to play Manchester Arena this weekend, but those three shows were scrapped after the attack that killed 22 people.
They will now play a single date at the Etihad Stadium on 18 June instead.
Appearing on stage in Liverpool on Friday, Howard Donald spoke of his pride in "the spirit of Manchester".
Bandmate Mark Owen dedicated the concert to "everyone who has been affected by the events that happened in Manchester last Monday night".
He added: "All profits from tonight will be going to We Love Manchester emergency fund."
The fund was set up by Manchester City Council and the British Red Cross to raise money for those who were bereaved or injured as a result of the attack on the Ariana Grande concert at the arena.
It has raised more than £5m so far, with former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher and rapper Eminem among the other music stars to have pledged money.
Take That's show at Liverpool's Echo Arena was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed to Friday by the band "out of respect" for the victims and their families.
On stage, the band paused after the first song to give their response to the week's events.
Howard Donald said: "As you know, I was born and raised in Manchester, so at this moment in time, I've never been so proud to be a Mancunian.
"Thank you so much, thanks for coming and enjoy the night please."
Gary Barlow said: "Obviously ladies and gentlemen this is going to be an emotional night for us all.
"We should have been playing Manchester tonight as you all know. We want to say an enormous, enormous thank you to all you guys out there who have come back, I know we were meant to here on Tuesday thank you so much for coming out tonight."
Earlier, the group announced that they will play at Manchester City's stadium next month instead of rescheduling this weekend's three Manchester Arena shows.
Fans with tickets for the postponed arena gigs can choose to exchange them for the Etihad date or get a full refund.
Meanwhile, Ariana Grande has promised that she will return to the "incredibly brave city" to stage a benefit concert.
And a number of other announcements have been made about Manchester Arena events and other concerts in the city in the wake of the attack:
No details have been given about when Manchester Arena will reopen. The next event in the venue's diary is a Kings of Leon concert on 9 June.
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Take That have paid tribute to their home city of Manchester, pledging to give the profits from their first show since Monday's bombing to charity.
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21,682,006 |
The rally was mostly on behalf of Tamil people.
Many protesters were prevented by the authorities from attending, but a big pro-government demonstration was allowed to go ahead.
Tamil Tiger rebels fought a 26-year war for a separate state in the north and east before they were defeated in 2009.
Rights activists say that some of those who disappeared were fighting for the Tamil Tigers, some fought for the government and some were civilians.
They say that many Tamils remain in the hands of the security forces.
They want a UN-led international probe into alleged human rights abuses during the war, but the government has rejected the demand and denies being responsible for most of the disappearances.
Opposition politician and anti-disappearances campaigner Mano Ganeshan told the AP news agency that buses packed with about 1,000 Tamils were prevented from leaving the northern town of Vavuniya on Tuesday to make the 210km (130-mile) journey to Colombo for Wednesday's protest.
He said that government forces and police had intimidated the bus drivers, warning them not to proceed with the journey.
However, military spokesman Brig Ruwan Wanigasooriya said that police had stopped the buses to prevent possible clashes in Vavuniya.
He said complaints were made to police earlier on Tuesday that people had thrown stones at the buses.
The US embassy in Colombo has expressed concern about the Vavuniya reports. It has called on the Sri Lankan government to allow free movement of its citizens "calling for information about their missing loved ones".
One of those attending the Colombo protest, Perinparani, told the BBC's Charles Haviland that her son Pradeepan, 20, was taken from her in the northern town of Jaffna in 2008.
"The army officers came in four field motorbikes," she said.
"There were about eight army officers, with beards. These people came and took him. They had no letter, they didn't tell me why they were taking my son away."
Her son was a labourer with no connection to the rebels, she said.
Her repeated visits to prisons have yielded little information. At the rally in Colombo, she and other distressed parents held up photos of their missing children.
Meanwhile the government organised a big rally, also in the middle of the capital, at which demonstrators accused Tamil MPs of never having criticised the Tigers for perpetrating atrocities.
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The families of people who disappeared in Sri Lanka during and after the country's long civil war have staged a demonstration in the capital Colombo.
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Unicef, the UN children's fund, said that Islamist militants in the north of the country had forcibly recruited at least 175 boys aged 12-18.
Unicef said it had collected evidence that also indicated the groups had raped and sexually abused girls.
A military coup in Mali in March 2012 allowed Islamist militants to take control of the north of the country.
The UN Security Council said on Thursday it was not ready to back a West African intervention force in northern Mali, but instead passed a resolution calling for sanctions against the groups.
Unicef said as well as abuse and the use of children as fighters, children have also been killed and maimed by landmines and other ordnance.
It went on to say that about 300,000 children have been affected by the closure of schools in unstable areas.
Since rebels took control of the north of Mali, many children have been living in camps where they face food shortages, Unicef said.
The UN said the information they had presented was only a partial picture, however, as it was too dangerous to undertake proper research in northern Mali.
Unicef said it was working with partners in certain areas of the country in an attempt to help communities to protect children.
"Children in the north are witnessing or becoming victims of violence and they must be protected," said Theophane Nikyema, Unicef's Mali representative.
The ongoing conflict in Mali has seen mosques and shrines in the historic city of Timbuktu attacked in recent weeks by militants.
Ansar Dine, a group said to have links to al-Qaeda, said it had an objective of destroying all mausoleums that were not in line with Islamic law.
The group seized control of Timbuktu in April.
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Children are being sexually abused and are being recruited to fight for armed groups in Mali, according to the UN.
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31,115,899 |
John Biggs said Lutfur Rahman, independent Mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London, and his supporters made "unfounded" allegations in opposition.
At the Election Court - part of the High Court - four voters allege that Mr Rahman committed electoral fraud.
Mr Rahman's lawyer has called the allegation "unfounded and false".
Labour London Assembly member and former Tower Hamlets leader Mr Biggs stood as a candidate against Mr Rahman, the incumbent Tower Hamlets mayor in the May 2014 election.
He came second to Mr Rahman, receiving 32.82% of first preference votes.
Giving evidence on the second day of the special hearing, he said he had been referred to as "John Bigot" by Mr Rahman's election agent and mentioned in the same breath as Oswald Mosley, the founder of the British Union of Fascists,
But he said he had always campaigned against racism and would "defy anybody" to argue that he had not.
He said the Tower Hamlets election campaign had been "far and away" the "most unpleasant, personally abusive and vicious" he had been involved in.
Speaking about Mr Rahman, he said: "On the face of it he is a personable and courteous, if inscrutable fellow.
"I have learnt that behind the exterior is a quite ruthless and determined organiser."
Four petitioners - headed by Andy Erlam, who stood as a Tower Hamlets councillor on an anti-corruption ticket - have mounted a challenge to Mr Rahman's re-election under the provisions of the 1983 Representation Of The People Act.
Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey - a senior lawyer sitting as a judge - has been asked to declare the result of the May 2014 mayoral election void and order a re-run.
Mr Rahman, who was in court to watch Mr Biggs give evidence, says there is "little if any" evidence of wrong-doing against him.
His lawyers have described the group of four's claims as "invention", "exaggeration" and "in some cases, downright deliberately false allegations".
The hearing continues.
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A senior London Labour politician has told a judge he was falsely presented as a "racist" in an attempt to influence an election result.
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The West Midlands-based luxury carmaker agreed a "milestone" deal with Chery Automobile and will build a plant near Shanghai, which is due to open in 2015.
JLR said any cars produced would be in addition to its existing output, and it had no intention of moving its manufacturing base out of Britain.
Sales of JLR models in China have risen by 80% so far this year.
The company, owned by India's Tata Motors, began talks with Chery months ago, but had been awaiting approval.
A joint statement released by the Chinese and British companies said: "We are delighted to have reached this milestone, achieved thanks to the understanding and foresight of the Chinese authorities and we want to thank them for recognising the potential of our joint venture in the fast-growing Chinese market.
"Together, we will now begin working in close collaboration on our partnership plans to harness the capabilities of our respective companies, to produce relevant, advanced models for Chinese consumers."
JLR has not said officially which model would be built at the factory, although the company has said in the past that is likely to be either the Land Rover Freelander or Evoque.
A research and development facility and engine production plant will also built as part of the venture, with the main manufacturing plant expected to be completed during 2014, with production starting the following year.
With China now a crucial market for JLR, building vehicles in the country means it can avoid import duties.
However, JLR says that being in China will enable it to build vehicles designed specifically for the Chinese market.
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Jaguar Land Rover is to make vehicles in China for the first time after Beijing approved a £1bn joint venture.
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30,105,445 |
MPs voted 284 to 259 in favour of an amendment allowing landlords an independent rent review and to buy their beer on the open market.
So-called "tied pubs" are required to buy supplies - often at high prices - from the companies that own the pubs.
Campaigners said the "historic" vote would help "secure the future of the Great British pub".
The amendment to the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill was put forward by Lib Dem Greg Mulholland.
Mr Mulholland, the chairman of the all-party Parliamentary Save the Pub group, described the "tie" arrangement made between a pub and its owner as an "archaic" and "extraordinary" system.
It is thought to be the government's first defeat on one of its own bills since the 2010 election.
Ministers want to create a pubs code, aimed at helping pub landlords struggling to pay rent or beer costs.
It includes the right to request a rent review after five years.
But campaigners wanted the automatic right for pub landlords to exchange their tenancy for an independently-assessed market rent without any "tie".
In an attempt to head off a defeat on the amendment, which was signed by MPs of all parties, Business Minister Jo Swinson said the government would introduce new measures to allow pub landlords to apply for "market rent" rates from after two years, if a review found other measures in the bill had not helped them sufficiently.
But Mr Mulholland said this would be "business as usual".
He told MPs the new clause, which was backed by Labour, had been drafted by lawyers and publicans and would come in gradually, reducing the impact on the industry.
He added: "This is a reasonable gradual process that will simply bring back market forces into a sector that frankly has become grotesquely anti-competitive."
Tim Page, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale, said he was "delighted" that "after 10 years of our campaigning, MPs have today voted to introduce a market rent only option for licensees tied to the large pub companies - a move that will secure the future of the Great British pub".
The Federation of Small Businesses said it was "a historic day for tied publicans who look forward to a more open and competitive marketplace".
But the British Beer and Pub Association said the outcome was "hugely damaging".
Chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: "This change effectively breaks the 'beer tie', which has served Britain's unique pub industry well for nearly 400 years."
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The government has been defeated in a Commons vote on the control that parent companies can exercise over pubs.
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It highlights cycling, tackling pollution and protecting investment as key areas.
Scratch below the surface though and the unknowns are very clear.
TfL's business plan under the previous mayor, Boris Johnson, was based on fares going up at inflation (the retail price index - RPI) or RPI +1%.
That meant with a set income, big cuts were not necessary. That led to TfL becoming - according to Mr Khan - "flabby" and inefficient.
This business plan is different - that is not to say it isn't achievable - but the challenges are much larger.
Over five years there is the big cut of £2.8bn in the grant from central government, on top of that Mr Khan's TfL's fare freeze, costing £640m.
Money has to found for both.
The mayor says he is bringing in efficiencies, but the cuts imposed by government are far bigger. And his agenda does make it difficult for him to criticise transport cuts of any sort.
So to balance the books, TfL will have to make cuts of £4bn out of its five year turnover of £45bn - or £800m a year.
Where the cuts will land are not yet completely clear but it will be "the biggest ever overhaul of our organisation" says the Transport Commissioner Mike Brown.
Broadly, we are told procurement from suppliers - it is hoped - will see huge savings, as will IT projects.
There will also be job losses. Some 49 senior managers have already gone and agency staff and consultants will also be reduced.
Crucially operating costs will also not be able to rise by much at all - even if inflation goes up.
"To achieve our milestones we must increase the use of public transport in the short run, primarily by attracting customers back to the bus service," the TfL draft business plans says.
"In the medium term we must ensure the Elizabeth Line opens on schedule and carries the projected 232 million passengers a year, resulting in £0.7bn in fare revenue growth over the plan.
"This must be achieved while operating costs are held down by absorbing inflation and the additional costs of running the Elizabeth Line."
On the buses there has been a 5% drop in a passenger numbers. Rectifying that is mentioned a number of times.
The report says: "We must attract customers back on to our buses. This is vital because fares income represents, proportionately, a greater slice of total income.."
To do that the mayor needs to solve congestion in London which has seen average speeds drop to 7.8mph.
That is extremely challenging - not many cities have done it - especially with many big construction projects in London and a growing population. Could we see the congestion charge increased?
The Elizabeth Line is another unknown. The plan expects it to generate more than £2bn in fares over the next five years.
That is without knowing the fare structure for the service.
There is also politics in the business plan.
Some £20m is set aside to take over suburban rail services if the government changes its mind and decides to give TfL the Southeastern franchise.
On that issue the mayor is treading a thin line.
On the one hand he calls TfL "flabby", on the other he wants the government to hand over rail services to - by his own definition - an inefficient organisation.
This is a business plan of massive challenges.
Will it be achievable without commuters and Londoners noticing?
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Sadiq Khan's business plan sets out his priorities over the next five years at Transport for London (TfL).
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40,896,987 |
And whether you prefer sun, sand and sangria or meze, Metaxa and monuments, it can't have escaped your notice that the whole getting-away-from-it-all thing is a lot more expensive at the moment.
At least, that is, if you're a Brit bound for the eurozone.
The pound is touching 10-month lows against the euro at the moment at 1.0981 euros.
And currency strategists at US investment bank Morgan Stanley are even forecasting that the euro could move "beyond parity" with the pound on the currency markets for the first time ever in early 2018.
The last time the rate was within even spitting distance of that was back in 2008, when it was languishing at about 1.0200 euros.
Of course, there have been well-publicised occasions, even in the the past year, when people have got less than one euro to the pound at some currency exchanges.
But if that barrier were breached on the wholesale markets, it would be a "hugely important psychological" event, one unheard-of in the currency's 18-year history.
Of course, every cloud, as they say: the weak pound has attracted huge numbers of tourists from the eurozone to the UK.
April saw a record 2.93 million eurozone visitors - up from 2.499 million in April of last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The pound has been buying fewer euros since it fell sharply on 24 June 2016, the day after the UK voted in a referendum to leave the European Union.
But other factors are also playing their part. So just what is driving the relationship between sterling and the euro at the moment?
The first thing to say is that it is primarily about euro strength rather than pound weakness.
Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at financial institution BNY Mellon, reckons there have been two key factors recently which have stoked the euro's strength.
The first was that earlier in the year, there was a lot of political uncertainty in the eurozone, not least about the outcome of the French presidential election, and that drove the euro lower.
The National Front, led by Marine Le Pen, wanted France to abandon the euro - a move which could have caused turmoil in the eurozone - and even the European Union as a whole.
However, when it became clear that Emmanuel Macron was likely to win, "a lot of the political concerns started to dissipate", says Mr Derrick.
"As political tensions eased, it made the currency look rather more attractive."
Another "significant factor" boosting the euro is anticipation on the markets that the European Central Bank will start cutting back on its Quantitative Easing programme, says Mr Derrick.
This has seen it pumping 60bn euros a month into the eurozone economy, in an effort to bolster its performance.
Essentially, that has meant huge amounts of euros sloshing around the system, keeping the value of the euro down.
However, if that changes, then the pressure on the euro will be lifted.
It's a question of supply and demand.
"The market has this expectation that at some point between now and the end of the year, the ECB will say something about further reducing the QE programme and as a result, the euro's been going up," says Mr Derrick.
Not only because it will mean less money in the system, but also because it will be a sign that the ECB thinks the eurozone economy can manage without so much support.
There's a flip side to the relationship, of course: what's happening to sterling.
Ahead of August's Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting, some people had been wondering if there would be signs that more members of the committee were in favour of raising interest rates.
When it became clear that wasn't the case, people were disappointed. That put pressure on sterling, because lower interest rates make a currency less attractive to foreign investors, explains Mr Derrick.
In addition, forthcoming political events are causing uncertainty for the pound.
Mr Derrick points to "potential stumbling blocks along the way for sterling". He highlights the start of the next round of negotiations between the UK and the EU over Brexit, and the Conservative party conference, among other things.
However, he is unwilling to stick his neck out and predict whether and when the pound and euro will reach parity.
He concedes it's "possible" the pound could reach 1.05 to 1.06 euros before the end of the year.
Take a look online at some of the currency exchanges. At the moment, travellers can get about 1.0600 to 1.0836 euros for their pound, depending on how much you're changing and who you're doing it with.
But if the predictions are correct that the exchange rate is going to get worse for Brits, then those deals might start to seem quite attractive.
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The holiday season is in full swing.
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Charbonnier, known as "Charb", was 47. He had received death threats in the past and had been under police protection.
Reports say he was in an editorial meeting with the others when two masked gunmen burst in and opened fire with Kalashnikov assault rifles. The gunmen reportedly shouted "Allahu akbar!" (God is great).
The left-wing magazine's famous cartoonists went by nicknames - the others who died were called Cabu, Tignous and Wolinski.
Charb had strongly defended Charlie Hebdo's cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad.
"Muhammad isn't sacred to me,'' he told the Associated Press in 2012, after the magazine's offices had been fire-bombed.
"I don't blame Muslims for not laughing at our drawings. I live under French law. I don't live under Koranic law."
In 2007 Charlie Hebdo also defended itself in court over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, reprinted in the magazine, which had angered Muslims.
But Charlie Hebdo's anti-establishment satire was wide-ranging - it included poking fun at the far right, and aspects of Catholicism and Judaism.
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Stephane Charbonnier, editor of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, was among four cartoonists killed in the Paris massacre which left 12 people dead in total.
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Ofsted inspectors warn this could leave them vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
Too few teachers have the expertise to discuss delicate issues such as sexuality and domestic violence, they say.
The warning comes after teaching unions raised concerns about the effects of a sexualised culture on pupils.
At unions' conferences over the Easter holidays, teachers shared their concerns about the negative impact pornography and pressure to have "the perfect body" was having on their pupils and called for better training to help teachers to deal with such issues.
In a report examining personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, Ofsted found it was good or outstanding in 60% of schools, but requiring improvement or inadequate in 40%.
In primary schools, the report says, too much emphasis is placed on friendships and relationships when teaching sex-and-relationships education and this can leave pupils ill-prepared for the physical and emotional changes of puberty.
And in secondary schools, too much emphasis is placed on the "mechanics" of reproduction rather than the importance of healthy sexual relationships.
The report says: "A lack of high-quality, age-appropriate sex-and-relationships education in more than a third of schools is a concern as it may leave children and young people vulnerable to inappropriate sexual behaviours and sexual exploitation.
"This is because they have not been taught the appropriate language or developed the confidence to describe unwanted behaviours or know where to go to for help."
Ofsted found that most secondary schools cover topics such as puberty, reproduction, sexually transmitted infections, contraception, abortion and pregnancy in PSHE lessons, but there was "less emphasis on sexual consent and the influence of pornography."
"The failure to include discussion of pornography is concerning as research shows that children as young as nine are increasingly accessing pornographic internet sites, and ChildLine counsellors have confirmed an increase to more than 50 calls a month from teenagers upset by pornography," the report says.
The report calls for better training for those teaching PSHE, particularly over "sensitive issues".
"Too many teachers lacked expertise in teaching sensitive and controversial issues, which resulted in some topics such as sexuality, mental health and domestic violence being omitted from the curriculum," it says.
"This was because subject-specific training and support were too often inadequate.
"In 20% of schools, staff had received little or no training to teach PSHE education. Teaching was not good in any of these schools."
Ofsted's report found the development of pupils' personal and social skills was good or outstanding in 42 of the 50 schools inspected, but in the weaker schools "casual use of homophobic and disablist language was commonplace".
"In just under half of the schools, pupils learnt how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations but not all had practised negotiating risky situations or applied security settings to social-networking sites," the report says.
In March, Education Minister Liz Truss announced PSHE would remain a non-compulsory subject, saying it should be down to schools and teachers to decide on the topics covered in lessons. Sex and relationships education is, however, compulsory.
PSHE Association chief executive Joe Hayman said the report painted a realistic picture of provision across the country.
"The reality is that while there is outstanding practice in many schools, far too many teachers go into PSHE lessons ill-equipped to deal with the extremely important and challenging issues the subject covers.
"It is obvious from the report that teachers need more help than they are currently getting and as a result many pupils do not get the high quality PSHE education they deserve."
A Department for Education spokesman said: "The quality of PSHE teaching is not good enough.
"Our curriculum reforms have given teachers the freedom to tailor their teaching so it meets the needs of their pupils.
"We are funding the PSHE Association to work with schools to develop curricula and improve the way it is taught.
"The best people to fix this problem are teachers on the ground - not politicians in Westminster."
The findings of the Ofsted report were based on inspections of 24 primary, 24 secondary and two special schools between January and July 2012.
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More than a third of schools in England are failing to provide pupils with age-appropriate sex-and-relationships education, the schools watchdog says.
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The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said air strikes had been used in the response to the flare-up in Shan state, near the Chinese border.
The BBC's Myanmar correspondent, Jonah Fisher, says it is the heaviest fighting in at least two years.
It comes as the government tries to sign a peace deal with rebel groups.
There are reports that thousands of people have been leaving the area to escape the fighting.
China said on Tuesday that some people had crossed over into its southern Yunnan province, and that they were being looked after.
Analysis: Jonah Fisher, Myanmar correspondent
The Kokang are a Han Chinese ethnic group, and their armed wing a remnant of the Burmese Communist Party which fragmented in 1989.
For years they have run a largely autonomous strip of land on Myanmar's north-eastern border with China.
This dramatic upsurge in fighting appears to have been triggered by the return of one of their leaders - Phone Kya Shin - from five years of exile in China.
In 2009, Phone Kya Shin was forced to flee by Burmese troops - but he has now returned promising to restore the rights of the Kokang people.
The newspaper said there had been at least 13 separate clashes in the area in recent days with the Kokang rebels, known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
Rebels attacked army bases close to Laukai, capital of the Kokang area of Shan state, it said. At least 47 soldiers were killed and more than 70 injured.
The report did not indicate any rebel casualty figures, but the Irrawaddy newspaper, based in Thailand, quoted the general secretary of MNDAA as saying two rebels had died and one was injured.
Htun Myat Lin said up to 10,000 people had fled as the military carried out air strikes using jets and helicopters.
Myanmar has been trying for decades to contain conflicts involving ethnic rebel movements seeking greater autonomy, largely in Shan and Kachin states.
President Thein Sein has been pushing for peace deals with these groups, and while many have come into the political fold sporadic outbreaks of violence have continued.
On Thursday, he held talks with the leaders of about a dozen armed groups in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, including the MNDAA.
But they ended with no deal reached beyond a commitment to negotiate further.
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Nearly 50 soldiers have been killed in a week of fighting between government troops and Kokang ethnic rebels in Myanmar, state media report.
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40,585,169 |
The Dons entertain Bosnia and Herzegovina cup winners Siroki Brijeg.
And they are still seeking a replacement for Ash Taylor, the central defender who joined Northampton Town.
"Both Mark Reynolds and Anthony will see it as a real opportunity to get ahead of others," said McInnes.
Aberdeen had space for one "wild card" signing ahead of the first leg of the second qualifying round tie at Pittodrie, but that has been confirmed as winger Gary Mackay-Steven from Celtic.
O'Connor arrived from Burton Albion last summer and McInnes admits that the 24-year-old "was possibly disappointed" that many of his 40 appearances were not in his favoured position in central defence.
"It is clear I've been trying to bring in another defender because we are light in those areas," said the manager.
"But I'm confident we've got the experience and the understanding between the back four that we've got here.
"We will be signing another defender, but Shay Logan and Andrew Considine have been my full-backs for the last few years now and I'm comfortable we've got the experience, ability and understanding there to stop their threat."
Logan, who signed after leaving Brentford in 2014, this week agreed a three-year contract extension, with McInnes revealing that the £1.3m received from Celtic for winger Jonny Hayes helped smooth the negotiations with the right-back and goalkeeper Joe Lewis.
"We said when we lost Jonny it was important that we used the money wisely and important to try to reinvest into the squad and to identify resigning players currently with us," said the manager.
"By and large, I've been really pleased with what the new players have gave us and delighted to get Shay and Joe Lewis signed for longer."
While Republic of Ireland winger Hayes had gone in the other direction and Northern Ireland forward Niall McGinn had also opted to leave, midfielder Greg Tansey has arrived from Inverness Caledonian Thistle, while strikers Nicky Maynard and Greg Stewart have been recruited from MK Dons and Birmingham City respectively.
Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie has also stuck around for a second season on loan and Logan, speaking before the arrival of Mackay-Steven was confirmed, revealed he was also pleased with the way the squad is shaping up.
"I am more than happy with the games we've had and we go into this game confident and hopefully progress to the next round," added the 29-year-old while admitting he does not know very much about the Bosnian visitors.
"It is a division that not many people probably watch, but we've had a few scouts at games and watched a few videos, but we won't know more until we play them.
"Hopefully we can get a good result and hopefully know more about them going to their ground.
"We have to give them the utmost respect and go into this in a professional manner.
"They are probably going to be underdogs, but sometimes underdogs win."
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Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has backed Anthony O'Connor to step up to the plate after failing to add a new defender before the start of their Europa League campaign.
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35,363,988 |
Alexia Walenkaki was playing on a rope swing in Mile End Park when a tree trunk holding the swing fell on her.
The Met Police is compiling a report for the Crown Prosecution Service a pre-inquest review at St Pancras Coroner's Court heard.
A spokesman for the council said such a charge was "not appropriate".
About an hour after Alexia's accident, on 17 July, she went into cardiac arrest and died in the Royal London hospital.
At the time, her mother Vida Kwotuah said she watched in horror as the tree trunk - which she described as rotten - knocking her daughter to the ground.
Det Insp Craig Bradley said more expert evidence was being gathered.
He said: "We are in the process of investigating the possibility of corporate manslaughter or gross negligence. We have liaised very closely with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)."
The inquest heard the tree trunk was decayed and an expert has compiled a report on its state.
Mr Bradley said he has contacted another expert about the level of decay in the trunk at the time of the accident, and whether it would have been visible in an inspection.
Mark Scoggins at Fisher Scoggin Waters, solicitors representing Tower Hamlets Council, said such a charge would require "gross failings" in senior management at a "very serious level".
He added: "The issue is literally down on the ground, it is difficult to see how senior managers up the chain could have knowledge of that."
An inquest with a jury will run for four days starting on 11 April. If a criminal prosecution is brought, the inquest will be adjourned.
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Tower Hamlets Council could be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter after a five-year-old girl died while playing in a park.
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35,195,755 |
Weddle, one of the team's best players, has also been banned from attending San Diego's final NFL game of the season.
The 30-year-old chose to remain on the field instead of returning to the locker room at the end of the half.
Head coach Mike McCoy said in a statement that it was an "organisational call".
Weddle, who has played 137 games in a nine-year stint with the Chargers, was watching his seven-year-old daughter Brooklyn dance in a programme sponsored by the team's cheerleaders.
He was not the only player with a child performing, but was the only one who did not join his team-mates and coaches at half-time in last week's 30-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
McCoy added: "We have a club policy here and there are certain things we have to do at half-time to make adjustments and things like that."
Weddle, a free safety, was placed on the injured reserve list and told he will not be allowed to travel with the team for the season-ending game in Denver on Sunday.
He is set to become an unrestricted free agent this spring.
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The San Diego Chargers have fined Eric Weddle $10,000 for watching his daughter perform a half-time routine with the team's junior cheerleaders.
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19,965,670 |
Shajul Islam is accused of imprisoning John Cantlie and Dutch journalist Jeroen Oerlemans against their will.
He was arrested at Heathrow airport on 9 October and appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
Mr Cantlie, who had worked for the Sunday Times, was taken hostage by Islamist militants in Syria in July.
Earlier, a 26-year-old woman who had been arrested at Heathrow alongside Mr Islam on suspicion of terrorism was released without charge.
Speaking at the time of their arrest, Scotland Yard said the pair had flown to the UK from Egypt and confirmed both were British.
Two addresses in east London were searched under the Terrorism Act in connection with police inquiries, the Met added.
Wednesday's court hearing was told by prosecutor Piers Arnold that Mr Islam - a trainee doctor who studied at St Bart's and University London Hospital - had joined a jihadist group in Syria and worked as a medic for them.
There could be 15 British nationals in the jihad camp in Syria, he said.
The court also heard that the accused had been arrested on a flight back from Egypt with his wife and one-year-old daughter.
Mr Islam was remanded in custody. The next hearing will take place on 2 November at the Old Bailey.
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A 26-year-old man charged with the kidnap of a British photographer in Syria has been remanded in custody after appearing in court.
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36,789,199 |
The Northern Ireland international spent last term on loan with Scottish Premiership side Dundee United, where he scored 13 goals in 35 games.
He moved to the Latics from Inverness Caledonian Thistle in January 2015, but has made only one start for them.
Mckay links up with his national team assistant boss Stephen Robinson, who took charge at Boundary Park last week.
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Oldham Athletic have signed striker Billy Mckay from Championship side Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan.
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36,542,018 |
He is critically ill in hospital.
The assault, in the town of Madaripur, is the latest in a series of recent attacks on religious minorities, secular writers and academics.
Last week, Bangladesh's prime minister vowed to bring an end to the violence, and police launched an operation against Islamists.
Who is behind the Bangladesh killings?
Is extremism on the rise in Bangladesh?
Lurching from secularism to sectarian terror?
Ripon Charkavarti was attacked with machete knives as he opened the door at his home.
Police said they are questioning one of the three suspects caught by local people while trying to escape.
Earlier attacks have been widely attributed to Islamist extremists and are causing growing concern.
In many cases, the Islamic State group or al-Qaeda say they carried out the attacks but the government denies the group is active in the country, our correspondent in Dhaka, Waliur Rahman, says.
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has said her government will do whatever it takes to stop the attacks.
"Where will the criminals hide? Each and every killer will be brought to book," she told a meeting of her governing Awami League party on Saturday.
Police launched a campaign last Friday, and have arrested thousands of people.
However, critics say many ordinary criminals were among those held.
More than 40 people, including secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists and members of religious minorities, have been killed in attacks blamed on Islamist militants in Bangladesh since February 2013.
Last Friday, a Hindu monastery worker was hacked to death in Pabna district.
Over the past two weeks, a Hindu priest, a Christian grocer and the wife of an anti-terror police officer were all killed in attacks by suspected Islamist militants.
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A Hindu college teacher in Bangladesh has been attacked on his doorstep by three men armed with knives, according to local police.
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38,290,230 |
When Cameroon's Sports Minister Pierre Ismael Bidoung Mpkatt bowed and shook the hand of President Paul Biya, the image of the greeting went viral.
The hashtags #BidoungChallenge and #CourberdosChallenge meaning to bend the back, have been included in 11,000 tweets.
Cameroonians have been recreating the image as well photoshopping the original on social media.
One user on Twitter added some geometry to illustrate the angle and distance of the bow to the subject.
Afrik2 Radio tweeted this imitation of the original image.
Another example of a low bow was recreated here.
Another user tweeted (in French): "We just hit rock bottom here," as the bow is even lower in this picture.
Can you get any lower? This man could.
Animals also got in on the act.
And there's this.
And even farmyard animals got involved. One was this goat, captured on a Facebook post.
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There was the Ice Bucket Challenge, then there was the Mannequin Challenge, now from Cameroon comes the Bidoung Challenge.
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35,152,524 |
Police Scotland confirmed the man was recovered from an area near East Shore Road in Newburgh after an operation involving the coastguard.
The body was found at about 11:25 on Monday.
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Police are trying to identify a man whose body was found floating in the River Tay in Fife.
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27,295,888 |
There have been 68 recorded cases of wild poliovirus so far in 2014. Last year there were 417 cases.
Contrast that with the one million children under five who die from pneumonia each year or the 750,000 who die from diarrhoeal disease.
Like polio, most of those deaths are vaccine-preventable.
The only previous threat to have been accorded the same status by the WHO was the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009.
The reason for the WHO declaration is the risk that the goal of polio eradication may be not be achieved.
Billions of dollars are spent each year on polio immunisation and the number of cases has plummeted since the late 1980s.
There have been important milestones: it is more than three years since the last polio case in India.
While the wild poliovirus continues to circulate, mass immunisations must continue in every country in the world.
If the disease was wiped out - like smallpox in the 1970s - then the money spent on polio immunisation could eventually be targeted elsewhere.
The declaration of a "public health emergency of international concern" is a measure of the potential threat to the eradication efforts.
The WHO wants all residents and long-term visitors to Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria to have been recently immunised and carry a certificate of vaccination.
All three countries have spread the virus across their borders this year during what is usually a low transmission season.
The virus has a higher risk of transmission during May and June.
There are several other countries infected with wild poliovirus which have not exported the disease - Nigeria, Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq and Somalia.
The virus - which is shed in faeces - can spread rapidly from just one infected individual.
Most people who carry the virus show no symptoms, making it a very difficult disease to wipe out.
That is why it is so important that polio immunisation levels are maintained while the virus continues to circulate.
Polio eradication would be a huge achievement. A target date of 2018 has been set - but previous deadlines have come and gone.
The next six months may show whether that goal really is a realistic target.
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At first glance it might seem odd for the spread of polio to be declared an international public health emergency.
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40,818,839 |
Hardy, they said, had a "tremendous life" and "a giant career in theatre, television and film spanning more than 70 years".
He was also known for numerous portrayals of Winston Churchill.
In more recent years, he appeared as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, in four of the Harry Potter films.
His family said: "Gruff, elegant, twinkly, and always dignified, he is celebrated by all who knew him and loved him, and everyone who enjoyed his work."
His children Emma, Justine and Paul said in the statement: "Dad is also remembered as a meticulous linguist, a fine artist, a lover of music and a champion of literature, as well a highly respected historian, and a leading specialist on the longbow.
"He was an essential part of the team that raised the great Tudor warship The Mary Rose."
With his instantly recognisable voice and British bulldog manner, Robert Hardy enjoyed a distinguished acting career which spanned seven decades.
By the time he endeared himself to television audiences in the BBC's All Creatures Great and Small, he had already carved out a reputation as one of Britain's most versatile actors.
While his earlier career gave him a firm grounding in the theatre his best known roles were in front of the camera - particularly in television, a medium he obviously enjoyed.
Hardy, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, started his acting career at the age of 24 with the Shakespeare Memorial Company in Stratford, later the Royal Shakespeare Company, starring in a stage adaptation of Coriolanus.
The RSC said it was "very sorry" to learn of his death and posted a picture from one of his productions.
End of Twitter post by @TheRSC
Chris Rankin, who played Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter films, described Hardy as "a very kind man who told wonderful stories".
End of Twitter post by @chrisrankin
The official Twitter account of Westminster Abbey shared a tribute on social media, remembering his reading from Henry V to mark the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, in 2015.
End of Twitter post by @wabbey
The British Film Institute also posted a message in response to the "sad" news, while Magdalen College, where Hardy attended university, also paid tribute to him on Twitter.
One of Hardy's earliest TV roles was portraying Cassio in Othello in 1955.
He went on to become a household name in the BBC's All Creatures Great and Small, which ran for 12 years, in which he played senior vet Siegfried Farnon.
Co-star Christopher Timothy remembered him on Thursday as a "fascinating" actor who had been "a joy to work with".
"He didn't suffer fools so he was sometimes quite tricky," he told Radio 4's PM programme. "But I was most grateful for his experience, confidence, wit and style."
Timothy said he had last seen Hardy 18 months ago and found him "frail, yet still sparkly and twinkly."
"He was a very clever fellow," he went on. "I remember once on set he was talking about manure, and his description of the smell was poetry."
Nick Betts, director of scripted production at BBC Studios, said Hardy was an "iconic British actor of stage and screen".
"We are very sorry to hear of his passing today and our thoughts go out to his family and friends."
Other TV roles included Arthur Brooke in Middlemarch in 1994 and Tite Barnacle in Little Dorrit in 2008.
On the big screen he was seen in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and 1995's Sense and Sensibility.
He played Churchill several times, including in Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, for which he won a Bafta in 1982.
He portrayed the wartime prime minister for preview performances of The Audience, alongside Dame Helen Mirren, in 2013 before withdrawing from the role.
Most recently, he took the lead role in Winston Churchill: 100 Days That Saved Britain in 2015.
Hardy believed actors were born rather than made, telling the BBC's Desert Island Discs his ambitions were formed when he appeared as a page boy at a wedding.
"I walked down the aisle with my head held high and as I went, every eye was turned towards me and something inside me said, 'that's it, get every eye on you'."
Hardy was made a CBE in 1981 for services to acting.
He died at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in the outskirts of London.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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The actor Robert Hardy, star of TV series All Creatures Great and Small, has died aged 91, his family has said.
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33,115,561 |
The pistols, dated 1814, were the French emperor's last gift to his then-three-year-old heir, Sotheby's says.
The gold-encrusted pistols feature Napoleonic symbols such as the imperial eagle and the iron crown of Italy.
Napoleon was defeated in battle and sent into exile on Elba island soon after they were given.
"These remarkable treasures epitomise the greatest personal tragedy of Napoleon's life, that he saw his beloved son and heir for the last time in January 1814, destroying his hopes to create a lasting dynasty," said Christopher Mason, a specialist in European sculpture and works of art from Sotheby's.
"Within weeks the emperor had been defeated, abdicated his throne and was forced into exile on Elba. A year later he faced his final humiliation at Waterloo."
Sotheby's expects to sell the pistols for between £800,000 to £1.2m at auction on 8 July in London.
Napoleon declared himself emperor in 1804 and waged war with other European powers, conquering much of the continent.
He was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and imprisoned on the remote Atlantic island of St Helena, where he died on 5 May 1821.
His son Napoleon II, also known as the King of Rome, died of tuberculosis in 1832, at the age of 21.
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A pair of pistols belonging to the son of Napoleon Bonaparte is expected to fetch up to £1.2m (1.6m euros; $1.9m) at a Sotheby's auction next month.
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36,106,901 |
Andrew RT Davies said there was a "disconnect between a fully blown Welsh general election and what the public are buying in to".
A combination of issues, such as the EU referendum and lower public engagement, could mean fewer people bother to cast a vote on 5 May, he said.
The lowest assembly election turnout was 38.2% in 2003.
Speaking to BBC Wales after making a speech in Cardiff highlighting his fears about public interest in the poll, Mr Davies said there was a risk turnout could fall below the 2003 figure.
"Because all elections carry that risk, and I very much hope that instead of having a low turnout we have a record turnout because the issues which are most important to most people in this country; health, education, the economy, local authorities and the environment are all determined from the assembly," he said.
"So I hope we don't see it, but I think there is a risk that could happen."
He also said politicians had to "go the extra mile" over the last thirteen days of the election campaign to get more coverage.
In his speech, Mr Davies said there was little evidence voters were getting the information they needed, accusing parts of the media of being more interested in politicians' tax returns than analysing policies on the NHS, education or local councils.
Political leaders, including Mr Davies, published their tax returns earlier this month in response to questions about Prime Minister David Cameron's income.
Mr Davies re-iterated a pledge to introduce a Localism and Citizenship Bill within 100 days of a Welsh Conservative government taking power.
The bill would give communities the right to buy local assets, such as pubs or post offices, and give more powers to local councils.
Roles including the Older People's Commissioner, the Children's Commissioner and the Future Generations Commissioner would be answerable to all AMs, not the Welsh Government, he added.
In its first 100 days, a Welsh Tory government would also sell off ministerial cars, publish details of Welsh Government spending and ensure an entire Welsh Government department is re-located to north Wales.
At the previous assembly election, in 2011, the Conservatives finished second, winning 14 of the 60 seats.
A UKIP spokesman said: "Low turnout is becoming increasingly problematic across a range of elections with the Welsh assembly elections being no different."
He said there was a "sense of disenfranchisement" because people were "confused as to who does what and where and how they can have their voices heard".
Calling for politics to be taught in schools, the spokesman added: "Interestingly, of course, UKIP's continuing success is drawing a lot of non voters suggesting our approach to honest, unspun politics is what many voters are crying out for."
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Turnout in the assembly election could be the lowest so far, the Welsh Conservative leader has warned.
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35,681,384 |
Fifty Shades won worst screenplay, and worst actor and actress for Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.
The duo also won worst screen combo, but Fifty Shades tied for worst film with Fantastic Four.
Eddie Redmayne was named worst supporting actor, a year on from winning the best actor Oscar.
Fifty Shades review: 'It's fifty shades of vanilla'
He won the ignominious prize for Jupiter Ascending, a widely lambasted sci-fi flick from the Wachowski siblings.
The British star is up for another best actor Oscar on Sunday night for his role in The Danish Girl.
The reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise scored wins for worst director for Josh Trank and worst remake/rip-off or sequel.
The Razzies' tongue-in-cheek award ceremony is held in Los Angeles every year the day before the Academy Awards.
Organisers lampoon the nominees, voted for by the public, in a series of comedy sketches and show tunes.
There was also a Donald Trump impersonator, who highlighted the fact that the presidential hopeful was himself a Razzie winner in 1990 for playing himself in Ghosts Can't Do It.
There is always the anticipation that one of the stars will turn up to collect the award, but none has been brave enough since Sandra Bullock picked up her award in person in 2010.
The founder of the Razzies, John Wilson, was full of admiration for how bad this year's crop of nominees were.
Speaking about Jupiter Ascending, he told BBC News: "It's an insane movie and the centre of the insanity is Eddie Redmayne becomes emperor of the universe, and apparently he got there by over-acting.
"Of the five films that were nominated, Jupiter Ascending was the most entertainingly awful film."
Serial nominees Adam Sandler and Kevin James managed to dodge triumphing in any of their categories as Pixels and Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 left empty-handed.
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The film adaptation of the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey has swept the board at the annual Golden Raspberry or Razzie awards in Los Angeles.
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38,745,827 |
The lower house of parliament, the Duma, overwhelming approved the proposal after a second reading.
First time offenders who cause less serious injuries could face fines or community service rather than prison, under the plans.
But campaigners said the bill would mean the "exoneration of tyrants in the home".
MPs voted 358 to two in favour of the proposals, with one abstention. The bill, dubbed the "slapping law" by some Russian media outlets, will now have a third reading.
It will also need the approval of the upper house and President Vladimir Putin before becoming law.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was important to distinguish between "family relations" and repeated incidents of violence.
The bill was introduced by MP Yelena Mizulina, a highly conservative lawmaker, in July after a change in the criminal code made beating a family member a criminal offence.
Conservatives feared that the decision would mean parents could be prosecuted for disciplining their children.
Under the proposals, a first offence would be prosecuted under civil rather than criminal law. Subsequent incidents could still be considered criminal offences and carry potential jail terms.
Andrei Isayev, an MP for President Putin's United Russia party, told the Associated Press: "This is a historic vote because in certain countries the state's role in family life is way too much. Today's vote will end such practices in the Russian Federation."
But opponents said the law would put women and children at greater risk of violence.
Maria Mokhova, executive director of the "Sisters" crisis centre for abuse victims, told Reuters: "This law calls for the exoneration of tyrants in the home.
"The message is: 'Let's not punish a person who at home beat up his family, just because he has the right to do that.'"
Official data on domestic violence in Russia is very limited, but estimates based on regional studies suggest that each year 600,000 women face physical and verbal abuse in the home and 14,000 die from injuries inflicted by their husbands or partners.
Women rights activist Alena Popova ridiculed the bill in a tweet: "The authorities see only benefits behind domestic violence: 1. Many won't live until retirement age; 2. People will be busy with self-destruction and will not criticise the authorities."
Ms Popova's petition calling for comprehensive legislation against domestic violence has reached more than 225,000 signatures.
Some social media users made light of the law. "Boxing in the kitchen is now legalised," one VKontakte post said.
But other men spoke directly against the plans. "It is not a laughing matter. Domestic violence will flourish. I consider this bill anti-national," another VKontakte user wrote.
"I feel shame for such a Duma. Punishment for family violence should be harsher. No-one has the right to raise their hand against a human, a living being," said a woman on Facebook.
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A Russian bill to decriminalise some forms of domestic violence has moved a step closer to becoming law.
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37,826,992 |
Bridgend council wants to limit kerbside rubbish collections to save money and hit Welsh government targets.
There are currently no restrictions on the number of black bags each household can put out.
A council spokeswoman said it was exploring use of different colour bags to show if the rules had been broken.
The changes, which will also include the start of a nappy and sanitary item disposal service, will be introduced in April 2017.
Councillors will discuss the changes during a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday when the new seven year contract for waste collection will be awarded.
A report by the council in March said it was predicted to fall short of the Welsh government 58% target for recycling - meaning it could be fined at £200 per tonne.
The two bag restriction would mean it reaches 64% by 2019-2020, it predicted.
Under the new system the council may issue a roll of specifically branded bags to each household, at the cost of about £147,300 a year.
Residents who break the rules could have their waste left at the kerbside, their addresses could be recorded and they may be visited at home.
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Residents in Bridgend county borough will only be able to throw away two black bin bags of household rubbish a fortnight under council changes.
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36,054,071 |
The Ice Hockey Elite League's Player of the year has signed up for another year in Cardiff after a standout season.
The 27-year-old Canadian forward scored 31 goals and 53 assists in 63 games to top the league's overall scoring table.
"He is our top scorer, he is a total pro, he plays [when he is] hurt, he is an absolute warrior." said Devils player-manager Andrew Lord.
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Joey Martin is staying at the Cardiff Devils for a third season after agreeing a new contract.
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40,874,578 |
The Welshman has had one operation and will have another this week after fracturing his tibia and fibula.
Rowe, 27, concedes his lay-off might be even longer than a year.
"It was a freak accident. It wasn't like I was swinging from the roof tops drunk, but there is only one person to blame," Rowe told BBC Wales Sport.
Rowe, Team Sky's road captain, broke a rib in a crash on the opening stage of this year's Tour de France but rode on to help Chris Froome win the title.
Rowe, who says he has no regrets about attending his brother's stag-do, jumped into a shallow section of water while rafting and landed on rocks.
I knew straight away how serious it was, it was excruciating pain and there are quite a few broken bones. It was a case of trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible and into an ambulance.
I've broken a fair few bones in my career but this was significantly worse than any of them. It was double the pain - add the pain of a few broken bones together.
I lifted my leg, but my foot stayed still, it was kind of hanging off, limp. The bone didn't break the skin, but it is pretty scary when you look down and see that when you are on the side of a riverbank.
It was a freak accident but it was a mistake. The water clearly wasn't deep enough to jump into, but hindsight is a beautiful thing. Other people were jumping with no problems, but I hit a rock.
I knew straight away the implications of what I had done and how long it would take to come back.
Rowe told Team Sky he was going on the stag-do and they flew a doctor out to Prague to immediately accompany him back to Cardiff for the first of what could be several surgeries.
The leg is in a bad way and recovery is a bit of an unknown at the moment. It will be a long road back but I won't back down and I want to get back to where I was.
Some people react to the operations and treatment really well but it is hard to predict a race, a point in the season or even a year when I will be able to come back.
I've been asking the doctors time and time again. When can I train? When can I walk? When can I get back on a bike?
The first questions I asked were for dates because you get impatient. But essentially the doctors are all telling me the same thing. We do know that operation by operation, scan by scan, it will get better. But the timescale? We just don't know that.
It's a moment in your career where your back is against the wall and you really need to roll your sleeves up. It's going to be a tough few months for me and it could be up to 9-12 months - that's realistic.
I have to live my life. I'll be on crutches at my brother's wedding in seven weeks' time and I don't think I will be spending much time on the dance floor."
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Team Sky's Luke Rowe says he "could be out for up to a year" after breaking his right leg while white-water rafting on his brother's stag party in Prague.
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35,155,567 |
The Police Ombudsman found the officers had failed to give information to detectives investigating the attempted murder of a colleague.
Peadar Heffron was seriously injured by a dissident republican bomb in 2010.
Repeated requests for intelligence did not get any meaningful response, the Police Ombudsman's report said.
It recommended that four intelligence officers should receive written warnings for not providing the information requested by the detectives.
However, the PSNI disagreed and imposed a lower level of sanction on two of them.
Chief Constable George Hamilton and his deputy, Drew Harris, met Policing Board members in a private session on Tuesday to discuss the report and their response.
Afterwards, Policing Board Chair Anne Connolly said there had been a "full and frank discussion" between the board and the chief constable.
"The chief constable has been asked by the board to consider if there are any further measures that now need to be taken on the back of the report, and the board has also asked its human rights adviser to conduct a review of arrangements," she said.
She said board members had sought assurances about the support being provided to Mr Heffron, "and very much welcome that he has now received an apology from the PSNI".
As captain of the PSNI's Gaelic football team and an Irish language speaker, Constable Heffron was a target for dissident republicans trying to deter Catholics from joining the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
His leg was amputated and he suffered other serious injuries after a bomb exploded under his car in Randalstown, County Antrim. He has since left the police.
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Members of the Policing Board have met the chief constable over a report that called for disciplinary action against four officers.
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36,042,673 |
The 27-year-old, who had a similar spell with Surrey last season, could feature in five County Championship matches during his month's stay.
Notts have plenty of pace bowling cover, but boss Mick Newell insists all will be required over the season.
"Luke is very much a part of that and by playing some competitive cricket, he'll return more prepared to play in the first team," he said.
Fletcher, who has taken 213 career first-class wickets, said: "It's an opportunity to play some four-day games, take wickets, hopefully contribute to victories for Derbyshire and ultimately push my case to find a way back into the Nottinghamshire team.
"It's an ideal loan move because, particularly after recently becoming a dad for the first time, it means I can still be based mostly at home rather than a completely different part of the country."
|
Nottinghamshire seam bowler Luke Fletcher has joined Derbyshire on loan.
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30,367,196 |
Police said the 16-year-old, who suffered head injuries on Saturday, died at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth that night.
The crash happened at 12.15 GMT on Saturday on Great Western Road, outside Paignton train station.
The driver of the silver Vauxhall Vectra, a 42-year-old local man, was uninjured.
A police spokesman said: "Police are now looking at contacting the victim's family members.
"It is a tragic incident that we are dealing with and we are asking people to drive carefully in the bad weather we are having at the moment."
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A teenage foreign student has died in hospital after being hit by a car in Paignton.
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30,419,736 |
Claire Tiltman was repeatedly stabbed in an alleyway near her home in Greenhithe, Kent.
Colin Ash-Smith, 46, has denied her murder during the trial at Inner London Crown Court.
He was jailed for stabbing two women during the 1990s and has admitted going on midnight walks armed with knives.
Claire, who was studying for her GCSEs at Dartford Grammar School, was murdered four days after her 16th birthday.
|
The jury in trial of a former milkman accused of stabbing a 16-year-old girl to death in 1993 has retired to consider its verdict.
|
20,217,880 |
The European Court of Auditors said there were errors in allocating about 5bn euros (£4bn) from the 2011 budget.
Critics said it showed the EU's wastefulness, at a time when it was arguing for a budget increase.
Court President Vitor Caldeira said: "With Europe's public finances under severe pressure, there remains scope to spend EU money more efficiently."
He added: "Member states must agree on better rules for how EU money is spent, and member states and the commission must enforce them properly."
The court's report said most errors arose from "misapplication or misunderstanding" of the EU's complex rules, though there were some suspected cases of fraud.
It also said the failures were often down to the national and local governments responsible for overseeing the distribution of funds, rather than just the European Commission.
"A little more effort by member states to control projects properly and retrieve misused funds could go a long way, particularly in this time of economic difficulty," said the EU's Audit Commissioner Algirdas Semeta.
However, critics said the commission itself must also accept some of the blame.
"The European Commission is ultimately responsible for all EU monies spent and it falls to them to take responsibility for this report," said Martin Callanan MEP, of Britain's Conservative Party.
EU budget plans in detail
"It is risible that the commission wants a 5% increase in the EU budget, yet nearly 4% of spending is affected by error. Before asking for more taxpayers' money, perhaps the commission should prioritise better spending of the money it already has."
National leaders will meet for a summit in two weeks' time to try to hammer out the next seven-year budget.
Britain has been leading demands for a freeze, saying proposals for an increase are incompatible with a time of austerity.
A number of countries which are net contributors to the budget are also arguing for restraint.
But net-recipient countries argue that the EU's spending on agriculture and regional development are valuable ways of stimulating the economy.
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Auditors have said the European Union has failed to keep tight enough control over its own spending.
|
18,646,398 |
The Italians have acquired the club from Laurence Bassini, who bought the Hornets 15 months ago when he fronted Watford FC Limited's £440,000 takeover.
Administrator Andrew Andronikou, who advised the Hornets on the sale, said: "We are delighted to have ensured that Watford's immediate future is safe.
"The family have a proven track record of building successful teams on the field, and balancing the books off it."
Andronikou added: "This transaction is a significant one, as it provides the Pozzo football dynasty with a secure platform to introduce its successful formula to the UK."
Giampaolo Pozzo has owned Serie A side Udinese since 1986 and bought Spanish La Liga outfit Granada three years ago, but his son Gino is expected to take charge at Vicarage Road.
Former West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola is known to be admired by the Pozzo family, who have also been impressed with the Championship club's youth academy set-up, and they are giving strong consideration to recruiting the Italian as manager for next season.
Current Watford manager Sean Dyche led the club to their highest league position for four years in his debut season, but is said to be "aware of the situation".
Former West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury is also likely to accept a role within the new regime at Vicarage Road.
Duxbury and Zola have a strong relationship from their days at Upton Park, but it remains to be seen if they will link up again at Watford.
A week ago the Hornets denied claims by Bassini that the takeover deal was off.
His tenure at Vicarage Road has seen the club exceed expectations under Dyche, but Bassini has been reluctant to face the media and had a public fall-out with former chairman Graham Taylor.
|
Watford have been taken over by Udinese and Granada owners the Pozzo family.
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35,408,808 |
The Pratt family, from St Ola, had given up hope of ever seeing two-year-old tortoise Tux again.
Their pet was allowed out in the garden for some exercise at the end of July last year.
No sign of Tux was found despite extensive searches, however, the missing tortoise was found in a field and reunited with 10-year-old Eve.
Her mother Tracey said Tux would be confined to a vivarium from now on.
|
An Orkney schoolgirl has been reunited with her pet tortoise six months after it went missing.
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38,918,043 |
But for a small Scottish children's autism charity she was "the lady that played the piano", their kind-hearted first patron, and their friend.
"The children all loved her and they're a great judge of character," said Dr Ruth Glynne-Owen, Blue Sky Autism Project's founder and chief executive.
It was the charity's fourth birthday party and a special guest had arrived at their base in Bridge of Allan, near Stirling.
Perched among a throng of excited youngsters, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson started to play for the children on a small keyboard.
"There was no stand and it was held together by tape and she still played it - and she's a concert pianist," Dr Glynne-Owen said.
"Our children can be a little bit tricky to get to know given the nature of autism, but she was totally not phased.
"It was very cool, it was a great day."
The star was immediately keen to offer her support when the charity, which provides early childhood intervention for pre-school children with autism spectrum disorders and related conditions, approached her in 2013.
Dr Glynne-Owen said: "She got back in touch straight away and she phoned me and was really keen to help.
"When I first met her, we had a cup of tea at Blakes Hotel in Kensington and I was very nervous.
"I brought her a little teddy bear and she was very incredibly touched by that.
"I think she just wanted to help a small charity, it was the right time in her life.
"She was our first patron and she was in the role for a year.
"She was very kind, very down to earth and very funny."
Dr Glynne-Owen said it was a "privilege" to see Palmer-Tomkinson's private side.
She said: "Tara was personally very supportive to me, she became a very good friend.
"She got us in Hello! Magazine twice, which for us was a pretty massive achievement.
"She came to visit us for our fourth birthday and she came for dinner with all of our clients and parents in Bridge of Allan."
Palmer-Tomkinson was found dead at her flat in London on Wednesday.
She had received treatment in 2016 for a non-malignant brain tumour.
Dr Glynne-Owen said she last heard from her charity's former patron about a year-and-a-half ago.
"It's just tragic, it's really, really sad," she said. "She was just too young."
"I think it's important for people to realise that, there were stories around about her but she was actually a very kind-hearted person, a very genuine person.
"We had really wonderful experiences with her.
"Some of the children are older now and they remember the lady who played the piano."
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Catapulted onto our TV screens and front pages in the 1990s in a blaze of flashguns and fabulousness, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson lived her life in the public eye.
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36,366,455 |
Gareth Hutch was shot dead at about 10:00 local time on Tuesday at the Avondale House flats on North Cumberland Street where he lived.
Mr Hutch was the nephew of Gerard Hutch, the man known as 'The Monk'.
On Tuesday evening, a 29-year-old man was arrested after he handed himself into gardaà (Irish police) and is being held at Mountjoy Garda Station.
He can be detained for up to seven days under anti-gang legislation.
Police have cordoned off the scene for a forensic examination.
The killing is believed to be connected to an ongoing feud between two criminal gangs in the city.
Six people have died since February as a result of a violent dispute between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs.
Last week, Patrick Hutch became the first man to be charged with one of the murders.
He is accused of killing David Byrne in a shooting at a boxing weigh-in event at the Regency Hotel in Dublin in February.
The murder of Mr Hutch's brother Gary in Spain last year is believed to have been the first death in the feud.
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A man has been arrested following a fatal shooting in Dublin's north inner city.
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32,898,158 |
Jennifer Burns, from Gauldry in Fife, took £950 from the bank account of 91-year-old Dr Alexina McWhinnie.
Dr McWhinnie was a renowned social researcher in assisted conception at Dundee University until her retirement.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, Burns admitted two charges of theft between 15 November and 14 December last year and will be sentenced next month.
Burns targeted Dr McWhinnie - who received an MBE from Prince Charles for her work - after she gave Burns her bank card and PIN number to withdraw cash on her behalf.
Dr McWhinnie told the court: "If you can't trust the people who look after you, then who can you trust?"
Fiscal depute John Adams told the court: "The complainer is a 91-year-old female whose family employs care services to assist her.
"On December 19 her son came to stay with her in the run up to Christmas and was checking her bank records when he realised something had gone awry. They reconciled this with information from the care firm and it was realised the accused had been the person there on the relevant dates."
Defence solicitor Scott Norrie said: "She (Burns) had accumulated a debt of £2,000 during a previous relationship that subsequently broke down.
"She had a reasonable relationship with the complainer and they got on well. She saw the opportunity to clear some of those debts and abused the trust of this lady.
"She lost her job as a result - but living with her parents continued to put up the pretence of having a job, leaving for work each morning and coming back at night. She is utterly ashamed of her actions."
Dr McWhinnie said she was "foolish" to give her bank card and PIN to Burns.
She said: "I foolishly asked her on one occasion if she would mind going to the cash machine for me as I struggle to get down there. I didn't realise straight away but somehow she must have been able to use my card over the next month."
Dr McWhinnie said she contacted police after she noticed a large sum of money was missing from her account.
She added: "She took advantage of my trust and it left me shattered. I felt as if I'd been cheated and it made me realise how vulnerable I am."
|
A carer has admitted stealing nearly £1,000 from a retired doctor she was supposed to be looking after.
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37,785,183 |
The South Wales Ironmen second rower is of Italian heritage and was included in Italy's 22-man squad for their 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Wales.
The 29-year-old did not play in Italy's win against Serbia in Belgrade and was not selected in their 19-man squad to face Wales, but will be backing Italy in Monza when they play against the country of his birth.
"I feel a mix [of Welsh and Italian]. I was born in Wales so I grew up Welsh but the more I learned about my heritage, the more I also felt Italian," Vitalini told BBC Radio Wales.
"When I was playing rugby at a young age, my grandparents were a huge influence on me and they were always so passionate about me possibly playing for Italy one day."
Vitalini's grandparents met in Wales after emigrating separately when they were teenagers and later opened a family shop in Newport.
"Unfortunately they passed away several years ago, which is getting to me, because they never got to see me or know that I played for Italy and that's something to be proud of," he continued.
Wales thrashed Serbia 50-0 in Llanelli in their first qualifier but were held to a 16-16 draw against Jamaica in a friendly in their last game before Saturday's qualifier.
"Reading some of [Wales coach] John Kear's comments, they went into it with a bit of overconfidence I believe," Vitalini said.
"Everything's riding on the qualifier and as long as they put a performance in, that's what they'll be looking for and we'll be looking for the same as well."
The loser of Saturday's showdown will be forced to enter a play-off game the following week, so where do Vitalini's loyalties lie?
"There's a massive carrot dangled in front of you to play in Australia next year at the World Cup for the Welsh guys and the Italian guys. A lot of our squad are Australian with Italian heritage so it would be a home World Cup for them," Vitalini said.
"Even though the loser of this game will have to play a qualifier next week, probably against Russia, nobody wants to have to go through that way. We want to qualify outright on the weekend.
"The ideal scenario for me is that we win on the weekend and Wales win the following week."
|
He was born and raised in Newport but when Wales line up against Italy in Monza on Saturday, Chris Vitalini will not be part of John Kear's Wales side.
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