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She has already won a Golden Globe for Steve Jobs, in which she played the Apple guru's right-hand woman.
Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling, stars of marital drama 45 Years, were named best actor and best actress.
The British film won three awards, equalling the tally of Mad Max: Fury Road at the central London ceremony.
Post-apocalyptic thriller Mad Max: Fury Road was named film of the year by the UK's film critics, while George Miller received the director of the year award.
Tom Hardy was named British/Irish actor of the year for his 2015 body of work, including Mad Max, Oscar frontrunner The Revenant and Legend, in which he played the Kray twins.
Sir Kenneth Branagh arrived at the event with Dame Judi Dench, who presented him with the Dilys Powell Award for excellence in film. The pair have recently appeared together on stage in A Winter's Tale.
The British/Irish actress of the year prize went to Saoirse Ronan for Colm Toibin's Brooklyn.
Despite scoring seven nominations, Cate Blanchett romance Carol only won one award, for cinematography.
Winslet, speaking of the nomination that could see her win a second Oscar, said: "I really can't believe it because it has been a very strong year.
"No one has been a shoo-in. People have been flitting in and out of this best supporting actress category for quite some time.
"They were like the golden tickets this year. They were really very coveted spots, particularly in this category, so I'm absolutely thrilled. I loved the experience of making it so it's ultimate cherry on the cake to be nominated."
She tipped Leonardo DiCaprio for the best actor Oscar for The Revenant, saying that it is "probably going to be Leo's year".
"I think you can sort of feel it and I think everyone wants it for him," added Winslet, who won the best actress Oscar for 2008 film The Reader.
45 Years, based on a short story by David Constantine, shows the lives of married couple Kate and Geoff whose relationship is threatened as they prepare for their 45th wedding anniversary.
It has also been nominated for best British film at next month's Bafta film awards.
Rampling is in the running for the best actress award at next month's Academy Awards for her role in 45 Years, which was named the British/Irish film of the year.
Fellow Oscar contender Mark Rylance was named best supporting actor at the awards, at London's May Fair hotel, for Bridge of Spies.
Other winners included Asif Kapadia's Amy Winehouse film, Amy, which was named documentary of the year, and Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams, who won the young British/Irish performer award for her role in The Falling.
Benjamin Cleary, also in the running for the Academy Awards, won the British/Irish short film of the year award for Stutterer.
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Kate Winslet has been named best supporting actress at the London Critics' Circle Film Awards, days after receiving an Oscar nomination.
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36,924,131 |
The authorities have issued a decree closing 131 media outlets while scores of top journalists have been arrested.
The Lib Dems said the "purge" of critics of the government was contrary to the principles of democracy, liberty and the rule of law upheld by Nato.
Turkey is a key member of the defence alliance and ally of the United States.
The Turkish government has been accused of using the coup attempt by sections of the military as a pretext to target journalists and other non-state institutions including judges, academics and teachers.
Three news agencies, 16 TV channels, 23 radio stations, 45 papers, 15 magazines and 29 publishers are to be closed down.
Many of the media outlets are linked to the Hizmet movement of US-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, whom Turkey's democratically elected president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed for the uprising, a claim Mr Gulen denies.
Despite strongly condemning the coup and giving its backing to President Erdogan, the international community has told the government its response must be proportionate, follow due process and avoid indiscriminate reprisals.
But the Lib Dems, who served in coalition government with the Conservatives between 2010 and 2015 but were reduced to eight MPs at the last election, have urged Nato to act.
Tom Brake, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, said the flurry of arrests and closure of media outlets in recent days "should send shivers down the spine of any person who believes in a free and open society".
"Erdogan's ongoing purge of newspapers, academics, teachers and judges has nothing to do with Turkey's security and everything to do with blocking any opposition to his increasingly authoritarian rule," he said in a statement to the Lib Dem voice blog.
"The preamble to Nato's founding treaty refers to it being "founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law", all of which are under threat in Turkey currently.
"If the UK and our Nato allies want to protect these core principles, it is time to make it clear to Erdogan that his actions will have lasting international consequences, and I am calling on Nato to urgently consider suspension of Turkey's membership."
He told the BBC that the UK - a founding member of Nato - should take a firm stance on the issue and should be insisting that those who had been detained had access to legal representation and anyone who was not charged was speedily released.
"I hope the new government will use this as an opportunity to demonstrate that human rights are at the core of our foreign policy and will not be downgraded in favour of international trade," he said.
Turkey already has a poor track record on media freedom, ranking 151 out of 180 countries in this year's World Press Freedom Index.
At least 246 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured in clashes during the abortive coup - 16,000 people have been detained since then.
Turkey has declared a three-month state of emergency, allowing the president and the government to bypass parliament when drafting new laws and to restrict or suspend rights and freedoms.
Earlier this year the EU called for longstanding talks on Turkey becoming a member to be re-energised although observers have said the coup and the government's response have set back the prospect of any immediate progress.
EU officials have said the accession talks will be suspended immediately, if the Turkish government reintroduces the death penalty.
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Nato should consider suspending Turkey, the Lib Dems have said, following its crackdown on the media and other bodies in response to the recent coup attempt.
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21,711,661 |
Officers said they believed the attack on Christina Edkins during Thursday morning's rush hour in Birmingham appeared to be "random and senseless".
A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering the 16-year-old who was attacked on the bus's top deck.
Police said they were still searching for the murder weapon.
Officers have until 01:00 GMT on Saturday either to charge or release the man they have in custody.
They said the suspect, a British national with links to Walsall, was not known to mental health units in the area and has no known link to the teenager.
Christina was stabbed once in the chest on the bus on Hagley Road while on her way to school in Halesowen.
A woman claiming to have witnessed the attack on the bus said she waited for the girl's attacker to get off the vehicle before performing CPR on the teenager.
Writing on Facebook, Stephanie Bent said: "I gave CPR until medics arrived and am deeply traumatised I could not save her. I certainly wasn't going to confront a knifeman knowing he had just stabbed someone I thought he may stab me too, all I cared about was getting up to the girl to help."
Police have said they "urgently" need to speak to all of the 16 people who were on the bus at the time of the attack, at about 07:30 GMT.
In a press conference Det Supt Richard Baker said police have been "overwhelmed" by the public response, which had provided the investigation with "crucial information".
He said there had been three people on the top deck of the bus at the time of the attack - Christina, her attacker and another man, who has been identified.
Mr Baker said the suspect "calmly waited to get off the bus" after Christina was attacked.
Detectives called for anyone who might have seen the suspect travelling on buses around the Birmingham area after the stabbing to get in touch.
Counsellors have been brought into Leasowes High School, where Christina was a pupil, to support pupils and staff.
Throughout the day, pupils and people living nearby have been leaving flowers, soft toys and balloons outside the school gates.
The school said it thanked "everyone for many offers of support" and extended heartfelt sympathy to Christina's family.
Friends of the teenager also gathered to pay their respects at Hagley Road, where a growing number of floral tributes have also been placed.
A book of remembrance has been opened at nearby St Peter's Church, in Lapal, Halesowen, where people can go to light a candle.
Several supermarkets in Halesowen have started collections for Christina's family.
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Passengers on the lower deck of a bus where a girl was stabbed to death heard screaming but thought it was teenagers messing about, police have said.
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Dean Stansby, 41, was stabbed in the abdomen in Ancaster Road, Ipswich, on 8 February. He died in hospital and police are treating the case as murder.
A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder, conspiracy to murder, and being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
A second 23-year-old was questioned on the same drugs charge.
Two others, aged 24 and 27, were also held on the drugs charge and suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
All the men, from London, have been released while police investigate. Four other men are currently on bail.
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Four men arrested over a fatal stabbing in Suffolk have been released while inquires continue, police said.
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The European Squirrel Initiative (ESI) said the grey squirrel is an invasive, non-native species which is dominating the UK woodland.
It has urged the commission to use airguns to eradicate them, saying they are carriers of the squirrelpox virus.
The virus is deadly to red squirrels.
Grey squirrels are not affected by the pox and the Forestry Commission said shooting greys with air rifles was "not an effective or humane form of control".
Red squirrels are native to the UK but their population has dwindled to about 140,000, compared to more than 2.5m greys.
The ESI was set up to restore the native red squirrel as the dominant species throughout the continent.
Its chairman Andy Wiseman said: "We're not talking about members of the public going about shooting grey squirrels, but authorised volunteers and contractors, who are highly experienced, trained and insured.
"By banning the use of airguns, the Forestry Commission is undermining the landscape-scale approach necessary to control the spread of grey squirrels, an approach which has overwhelming public support."
A Forestry Commission spokesman said it needed to put the safety of the general public first.
"The Forestry Commission works with many squirrel groups and other organisations to help ensure the long-term survival of red squirrels in England," he said.
"We do not generally allow any other people other than our own professional rangers to use any firearms on the public forest estate.
"The majority of it is open for anyone to freely walk around and we put their safety first."
The commission said it was working on more humane ways of managing forests to allow the red squirrels to thrive.
Red squirrels can still be seen at several National Trust conservation areas in England, including Formby in Merseyside, Aira Force in the Lake District, Borthwood Copse on the Isle of Wight, Brownsea Island in Dorset and in Northumberland.
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A wildlife organisation has criticised the Forestry Commission over its policy of dealing with grey squirrels and claimed the animals should be culled with airguns.
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Emergency services were called to the house in Waterloo Close, Kirkintilloch, at about 15:25 on Saturday.
All three men, aged 24, 23 and 16, were taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where the 24-year-old died a short time later.
Police said a post-mortem examination would be held.
Det Insp Greig Wilkie, of Police Scotland, said: "One line of inquiry being pursued by officers is that a type of Ecstasy may have been involved, however, this has still to be confirmed. A post mortem will take place regarding the death of the 24 year old man.
"With regard to the type of Ecstasy - it has no markers on it and is described as either clear capsules containing white powder or in tablet form which are pink in colour.
"Whether or not drugs have been involved in this case, I must take the opportunity to stress just how dangerous drugs are."
He added: "We all know that illicit drugs are extremely dangerous, usually contain dangerous chemicals which can have an adverse effect on your health.
"People need to understand the devastating effect they can have so my advice is, don't risk it and report any information to the police."
Dr Emilia Crighton, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde consultant in Public Heath Medicine, said: "People taking unregulated recreational drugs are playing Russian roulette with their lives.
"No-one knows exactly what these drugs contain or how strong they are. I urge anyone who feels unwell, or knows anyone who appears unwell after taking recreational drugs, to seek early treatment.
"In particular, anyone who is hot to touch or has a high temperature, is experiencing muscle cramping, has blurred vision, is confused, agitated and feels unusually high or anxious should attend their nearest A&E department as soon as possible."
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A 24-year-old man has died and two others are in a serious condition after they were suspected of taking Ecstasy at a house in East Dunbartonshire.
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25,541,019 |
Initial official claims that the bomber was a lone woman have been replaced by uncertainty about who carried it out.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered security to be tightened at railway stations and airports across Russia.
Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run-up to the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi in six weeks.
The Olympic venue is close to Russia's volatile north Caucasus region.
By Daniel SandfordBBC News, Moscow
In June, Doku Umarov, one of the leaders of the Islamist insurgency in the Russian Caucasus republics, called on his supporters to use "maximum force" to disrupt the "satanic" winter Olympics in Sochi.
It is too early to say whether the attack in Volgograd was by one of his supporters.
But it shows that - despite the metal detectors at railway stations, airports and shopping centres in Russia - bombers are still able to kill and wreak havoc.
It also shows that the attacks will not have to be on Sochi itself to attract attention.
Sunday's explosion rocked Volgograd-1 station at around 12:45 (08:45 GMT) at a time of year when millions of Russians are travelling to celebrate the New Year.
A nearby security camera facing the station caught the moment of the blast, showing a bright orange flash behind the station's main doors.
The explosion shattered windows and sent debris and plumes of smoke from the station entrance.
The first cameras on the scene showed bodies lying outside, and inside, twisted metal and singed, pock-marked walls.
Motionless bodies were laid out in the station forecourt while ambulances rushed those hurt to hospital. About 40 people are said to have been injured, including a nine-year-old girl whose mother was killed in the attack.
"People were lying on the ground, screaming and calling for help," a witness, Alexander Koblyakov, told Rossiya-24 TV.
"I helped carry out a police officer whose head and face were covered in blood. He couldn't speak."
President Putin ordered law enforcement agencies to take "all necessary security measures" in the bomb's aftermath, said a Kremlin spokesman.
He ordered the most gravely injured victims to be flown to Moscow for treatment.
Security will be stepped up at railway stations and airports.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, but a spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, said the incident was being treated as an act of terrorism.
An Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus region has led to many attacks there in recent years. Insurgents have also attacked big Russian towns.
This attack shows that the bombers do not need to attack Sochi directly to attract international attention - any target in Russia will do, says the BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow.
Volgograd lies about 900km (560 miles) south of Moscow, 650km north of the North Caucasus and 700km north-east of Sochi.
The bomb used in the attack contained 10 kg (22 pounds) of TNT, was rigged with shrapnel and was detonated near the metal detectors at the station entrance, Mr Markin said.
He said that initial information suggested the bomber "approached a metal detector, saw a policeman there, got nervous and detonated the bomb stuffed with pieces of shrapnel".
He said the security presence had prevented a much higher death toll at the station, which was packed at the time of the blast as several trains were delayed.
Mr Markin was among officials suggesting early on that the bomber was a woman - with RIA Novosti news agency naming the attacker as a Dagestani woman, Oksana Aslanova, and other new outlets publishing pictures of what they said was the severed head of the female bomber.
But investigators' initial certainty was replaced with uncertainty, with suggestions the bomber could have been a man or that there could have been multiple bombers, our correspondent says.
In July, Chechen insurgent leader Doku Umarov posted an online video urging militants to use "maximum force" to prevent the Games from going ahead.
A suspected female suicide bomber killed at least six people when she attacked a bus in Volgograd in October.
On Friday, a car bomb killed three people in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk.
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A suicide attack on a train station in Russia's southern city of Volgograd has killed 16 people, officials say.
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35,145,267 |
The Aft Island for HMS Prince of Wales left BAE Systems' shipyard in Glasgow for the Fife base earlier this month, 10 weeks ahead of schedule.
The section was then taken 1,335 miles around the south of England and up the east of Scotland on a barge to Rosyth.
The ship will now be assembled at the Babcock Rosyth facilities.
HMS Prince of Wales is the second of the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers to be built for the UK after the 65,000-tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth.
They are the largest British warships ever constructed and can be used for a range of military activity from war fighting to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
The ships have been constructed in blocks at yards across the UK and are being put together at Rosyth.
They are said to be the first aircraft carriers in the world to use an innovative twin-island design.
The Aft Island is responsible for the ship's mission systems and acts as an aircraft control tower.
The Aircraft Carrier Alliance welcomed the final section of the carrier to the Babcock Rosyth facilities on Sunday morning.
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The final 750-tonne section of the Royal Navy's second flagship aircraft carrier has arrived at Rosyth after a journey of more than 1,300 miles.
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19,545,525 |
The Invincible Class ships - Illustrious, Invincible, and Ark Royal - were introduced in the 1980s.
The Invincible was recycled and the Ark Royal is due to be sold as scrap metal.
However, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Illustrious, based at Portsmouth in Hampshire, would be preserved after it left service in 2014.
It is now seeking proposals from organisations with ideas on how best to maintain the ship.
Philip Dunne, a defence minister, said: "It is important that we preserve the legacy of the Royal Navy's Invincible Class aircraft carriers.
"When the last of these - HMS Illustrious - retires from the Royal Navy, we would like to see her preserved as a legacy to the work she, Invincible and Ark Royal have done to protect the UK over three decades.
"We would be keen to seek innovative proposals from a range of organisations, including private sector companies, charities and trusts."
The Invincible Class ships have played key roles in conflicts including the Falkland Islands, Iraq and Bosnia.
The MoD said "new, much larger" Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers would start to enter service in 2017.
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The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious will be preserved as a lasting tribute to a decommission class of Royal Navy aircraft carriers.
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34,470,271 |
Stuart Lancaster's side are the first host nation not to qualify for the tournament's knockout stages.
"Definitely we'll get it right in the future. This is a great bunch of lads," said the Bath fly-half, 22.
Ford, replaced by Owen Farrell for defeats against Wales and Australia, returns for England's final Pool A match against Uruguay on Saturday.
His omission from the first two games was one of a number of decisions that raised questions as to whether England backs coach Andy Farrell - Owen's father - was having an undue influence on tactics and team selection. Farrell denied those suggestions.
Meanwhile, Ford's father Mike, a former England assistant who is head coach at Bath, has called for a swift inquest into his country's early World Cup exit.
Ford junior will return to Bath on Monday, following the match against Uruguay in Manchester, and wants to return to Premiership rugby as quickly as possible.
"I'm going to go straight back in - I think most of the other Bath boys are as well - just mainly because I want to carry on playing rugby," he said.
"If I got away from it for a week, all I'd probably do is sulk anyway. I'll crack on and go back training every day and hopefully get a good start to the season with Bath."
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George Ford is sure England's players are good enough to win trophies in the future despite their World Cup failure.
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29,131,196 |
Ashley Johnson's breakaway score and Tom Varndell's successful chip and chase proved enough for a belligerent Wasps side.
Earlier Saints' Alex Corbisiero had been fortunate to only receive a yellow card for hitting out at Johnson.
The visitors finally broke through the Wasps defence, but Ben Foden's 78th-minute try came too late.
Only a week after plundering eight tries in an emphatic win over Gloucester, the champions were suffocated by a disciplined performance from the home side.
Dai Young's men came so close to toppling last season's runners-up Saracens in their season opener at Twickenham, and this time were able to combine energetic and resolute defence with clinical finishing to record a memorable win over the title holders.
Saints could have faced playing the majority of the game with 14 men, had referee Luke Pearce interpreted Corbisiero's contact on Johnson as a red card offence.
Johnson had clattered the England prop off the ball and received a right hand to the head while the pair were on the ground - with the result a sin-binning for both men.
It was the only spark in a half personified by a gritty Wasps rearguard action, often metres from their own line, with the only scores coming from Stephen Myler and Andy Goode penalties.
In the second period, Welshman George North thought he had a fourth try in two games, after his hat-trick showing against Gloucester, but the referee used the television replay to decide he was offside when running on to Ken Pisi's kick.
It seemed like Saints might grind out an unremarkable win when a pair of Myler penalties gave them the edge.
But on the hour mark Johnson latched on to a loose pass from England centre Luther Burrell to storm away and touchdown, before Varndell clipped the ball through down the left wing and raced on to it for a second superb try.
Goode's replacement Ruaridh Jackson landed two impressive conversions on his debut, but hobbled off with an injury.
That left Rob Miller to score a high pressure penalty to give Wasps an 11-point advantage and, while Foden's try from a Kahn Fotuali'i pass made for a nervy finish, Saints were consigned to a first league defeat in seven games.
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young: "I'm really pleased. I thought for 80 minutes we stood toe-to-toe with the champions.
"There are still lots of things to improve on. The set-piece wasn't where we would like it to be which mean we ended up defending for long periods.
"But I'm really proud of the effort. I thought the defence and the will to win was outstanding from one to 23.
"You don't get the opportunity to celebrate after playing Northampton very often - or we don't anyway. It's a great feeling for the players."
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder: "I don't think we played badly. But I think we came up against a very motivated, well organised Wasps.
"We probably just weren't smart enough on the day. I think at 9-3 we deserved that lead.
"I'm interested in the George North non-try. From the views that I've had it looked at least to be even - certainly not in front. But that happens.
"I thought we were in charge of the game but two loose bits of play and you're up against it."
Wasps: Masi, Tagicakibau, Daly, C. Bell, Varndell, Goode, Simpson, Mullan, Festuccia, Cittadini, Launchbury, Gaskell, Johnson, Haskell, Hughes.
Replacements: Lindsay, Yapp, Cooper-Woolley, Myall, Thompson, Davies, R. Jackson, Miller.
Northampton: Wilson, K. Pisi, G. Pisi, Burrell, North, Myler, L. Dickson, Corbisiero, Hartley, Ma'afu, Lawes, C. Day, Clark, Wood, Manoa.
Replacements: McMillian, A. Waller, Denman, Craig, Fisher, Fotuali'i, Hooley, Foden.
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
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Wasps scored two tries in four second-half minutes to stun Premiership champions Northampton Saints.
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33,869,531 |
It is one of four options put forward by Betsi Cadwaladr health board at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan.
It had originally planned to reduce services to midwife-led care but then reversed the move as it faced a judicial review.
The new plans on a fresh consultation will be discussed next week.
The board blamed the maternity care decisions on problems recruiting safe numbers of staff, with the service heavily dependent on locums.
Other proposals now being put forward include keeping services as they are and continuing to manage current risks; temporary changes to to maternity services at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, and temporary changes to to maternity services Ysbyty Gwynedd.
However, temporary changes to maternity services at Glan Clwyd Hospital is the "preferred option".
The proposals will be discussed at an extraordinary board meeting next Tuesday and if they are approved by members, the public consultation will be launched on 24 August with the results expected to be presented to the board in November.
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A health board still wants a temporary downgrade for maternity services at a Denbighshire hospital as part of fresh plans for north Wales.
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40,781,810 |
The alarm was raised at 19:30 BST on Monday after he was spotted near a wind farm off the coast of Redcar.
The Redcar RNLI lifeboat was launched and found the man attempting to paddle against the wind and tide but drifting further off shore.
Dave Cocks, from Redcar RNLI, said the man was dressed only in a hoodie and shorts
"This is a good example of the types of incident we repeatedly warn people about," Mr Cocks said.
"If the alarm hadn't been raised there was every likelihood he'd have drifted out of sight of land and we could well have been bringing a dead body back."
The man was given sea safety advice after being taken back to dry land.
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A man who drifted a mile out to sea in a toy dinghy he barely fitted into has been rescued.
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29,899,571 |
He made the comments in a message at the launch of a report by Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need.
This report said that religious freedom had deteriorated in 55 of the 196 countries studied in recent months.
Prince Charles said events in Iraq and Syria, where civil war and Islamic State extremists have caused thousands to be displaced, were "heartbreaking".
In Iraq, Christians have been driven out of their ancestral homes and maintain that "crimes against humanity" have been committed against them and Iraq's other minorities - such as the Yazidis.
And in Syria, more than 100,000 Syrians have lost their lives in the escalating conflict between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule.
The report claims that across the world, Christians remain the most persecuted religious minority, while Muslim countries predominate among states with the most serious violations of religious freedom.
During his message, the prince spoke of his mounting despair at the expulsion of Christians, Muslims and Yazidis from places in the Middle East that their ancestors had lived in for centuries.
"The horrendous and heartbreaking events in Iraq and Syria have brought the subject of religious freedom and persecution to the forefront of the world's news," Prince Charles said in his video message to those attending the report's launch.
He added that such incidents were not isolated and found in "some, though not all" of the Middle East, Africa and in many countries across Asia.
"Thankfully, despite this bleak picture, there are inspirational people of different faiths, joining together to overcome division and hatred," he said.
"It is an indescribable tragedy that Christianity is now under such threat in the Middle East, an area where Christians have lived for 2,000 years and across which Islam spread in 700 AD, with people of different faiths living together peaceably for centuries."
The prince said faith leaders had a responsibility to ensure that people within their own traditions respect people of other faiths.
And he called on governments to honour people's rights to practise their faith.
The report's findings said:
The report also says that as Western Europe becomes more diverse, political and social tensions are rising between different faith and cultural groups.
John Pontifex, who compiled the religious freedom report, says all faith communities need to work together to stand up for the right to worship in peace.
"We do not want to be alarmist but we do want to tell the truth in this report about the degree to which minority groups - Yazidis, and indeed of course Christians, are being pushed out of their homelands.
"It is, in effect, a genocide. What more evidence does one need to point to it being a genocide?"
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Prince Charles has described threats to Christians in the Middle East as "an indescribable tragedy".
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39,286,091 |
The central bank voted to raise its key rate target to a range of 0.75% to 1%.
The Fed had been expected to raise rates after a robust February jobs report, solid pay gains, rising inflation and a dip in the unemployment rate to 4.7%.
Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to increase rates a total of three times this year.
The Fed aims to keep the cost of lending between banks within a specified band, which it does by buying or selling financial assets.
It is raising that band by a quarter of a percent.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the committee judged that a "modest increase" in the rate was appropriate "in light of the economy's solid progress."
"Even after this increase, monetary policy remains accommodative, thus supporting some further strengthening in the job market, and a sustained return to 2% inflation," she added.
The decision was approved with a 9-1 vote. Neel Kashkari, the head of the Fed's regional bank in Minneapolis, cast the dissenting vote.
This is the second time the Fed has raised rates in three months. It signalled that further hikes this year will be gradual.
The Fed's statement said its inflation target was "symmetric," indicating that after a decade of below-target inflation, it could tolerate a quicker pace of price rises.
Karishma Vaswani: Asia braces for more US rate rises
Wall Street stock indexes jumped after the announcement, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.5%, 109 points at 20,946.
The US dollar fell about 0.9% against the euro and more than 1% against the pound.
The central bank's outlook for the economy changed little, with officials expecting economic growth of 2.1% for both this year and 2018, before slipping to 1.9% in 2019.
Those forecasts are far below the 4% growth that President Donald Trump has said he can produce with his economic programme.
But Ms Yellen told reporters that she didn't believe it is "a point of conflict" between the Fed and the Trump administration.
"We would certainly welcome stronger economic growth in the context of price stability, and if policies were put in place to speed growth... those would be very welcome changes that we would like to see," she said.
Some economists think the next rate hike will be no earlier than June, given that the Fed probably wants time to assess the likelihood that Congress will pass Trump's ambitious program of tax cuts, deregulation and increased spending on infrastructure.
Central banks in the US and Britain both have inflation targets of 2%, while for the European Central Bank the aim is "below but close to" that level.
In all three, the headline inflation rate is there or thereabouts. And yet among these three it is only the Federal Reserve in the US that has taken the anti-inflation step of raising its interest rates from record lows.
In the UK, the Bank of England expects inflation to rise above the target due to the decline in the pound after the EU referendum. It's reluctant to raise interest rates to fully offset that because of concern about the impact on jobs and economic growth.
In the eurozone inflation is still quite subdued if you take out energy and food prices which are very volatile. So no move yet from either - and not looking very likely in the near future.
Read more from Andrew
Luke Bartholomew, an investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management, said the Fed "faces a tricky path from here".
The US economy may turn out to be stronger than expected, leaving the Fed playing catch-up, he said.
"Meanwhile, they're facing increasingly shrill calls for their independence to be curtailed. It's hard to imagine that the rest of this hiking cycle will go off without a hitch," he added.
Kully Samra, UK managing director of Charles Schwab, said there were "a lot of unknowns" about the path of future US rate hikes.
"If White House plans for deregulation, tax cuts and more government spending are realised, then growth and inflation could be stronger than expected and lead to more hikes," he said.
"On the other hand, potential border taxes, trade tariffs and tighter monetary policy could slow growth and inflation," he added.
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The US Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% for only the third time in a decade.
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37,412,632 |
Ex-Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale actress Tracy Brabin was shortlisted along with Jane Thomas.
Ms Thomas was the losing Labour candidate in the Keighley constituency at the 2010 election.
Mrs Cox, who was MP for Batley and Spen, was shot and stabbed in Birstall, West Yorkshire on 16 June.
The seat has been vacant since her death.
The party's candidate is to be chosen from the shortlist at a hustings event on Friday, with the by-election to be held on 20 October.
The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and UKIP have all said they will not be fielding a candidate in the by-election.
Labour do not expect the election to be "completely uncontested", with Liberty GB and the English Democrats among those previously stating they will contest the seat.
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The Labour Party has announced an all-woman shortlist, including a former soap star, for the Batley and Spen by-election caused by the death of Jo Cox.
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33,160,738 |
The city has held the number one spot for the past three years because of the high cost of rent, imported goods and security in the oil-rich nation.
However, the rest of the cost of living rankings saw significant shifts due to exchange rate fluctuations.
Asian cities now account for half of the top 10 costliest destinations.
Hong Kong rose to second place and Singapore remained in fourth because of their expensive property and rental markets.
Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul also made the top 10.
Chinese cities now account for nine of the top 30 most expensive cities because of the growing strength of the renminbi.
Tokyo fell out of the top ten for the first time after the yen weakened against the US dollar because of Japan's stimulus program.
It used to top the rankings, but is now in 11th place, down from seventh last year.
N'Djamena, the largest city in Chad, also used to rank consistently highly, but dropped from second to 10th place.
The least expensive cities are Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, Windhoek in Namibia and Karachi in Pakistan, Mercer said.
The rest were located mostly in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The most expensive European cities are found in Switzerland, with Zurich, Geneva and Bern occupying third, fifth and ninth place in the rankings.
This comes after the Swiss franc jumped following an unexpected move by the country's central bank to remove a ceiling on the currency's value.
But many western European countries saw their cost of living fall due to a slide in the value of the euro.
London remained in 12th spot in the rankings, while Copenhagen slipped nine places to number 24.
The biggest fall from the top 10 was Moscow, which dropped 41 places to 50th because of the depreciation of the rouble following US economic sanctions.
"European currencies have weakened against the US dollar, which pushed most western European cities down in the ranking," said Nathalie Constantin-Métral, principal at Mercer.
"Additionally, other factors like the eurozone's economy, falling interest rates, and increasing unemployment have impacted these cities".
Across the Atlantic, New York remains the most expensive city in America, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington.
Mercer has been conducting the survey for more than two decades using New York and the US dollar as its base city and currency.
The consultancy compares the cost of a basket of over 200 goods and services, including food, transport and accommodation.
The results are then used by governments and multinational companies when determining salary packages for employees being sent overseas.
Several companies, including the Economist Intelligence Unit and ECA International, issue cost of living surveys with differing results.
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The Angolan capital, Luanda, remains the world's most expensive city for expatriates, according to an annual survey by consultancy Mercer.
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33,038,273 |
The June 1968 manifesto demanded openness from officials in the then Czechoslovakia and called for the resignation of those who misused power.
Two months later, Soviet-led forces invaded the country, ending hopes for political reforms.
Vaculik's novels include The Axe, The Guinea Pigs and The Czech Dreambook.
Vaculik - like his contemporary and fellow-writer Milan Kundera - initially supported the Communists when they took power in Czechoslovakia in 1948.
But in 1967, a year after he published his first major work, The Axe, he was expelled from the Communist Party, following a highly critical speech at a writers' congress.
However, a year later, he was asked to write his Two Thousand Words manifesto to support reformers within the Communist Party under the liberal leader Alexander Dubcek.
In 1970, he wrote The Guinea Pigs - a bleakly comic novel about the cynicism pervading everyday life in the years after the pro-Soviet crackdown.
Several years later, Vaculik was one of a group of dissidents who wrote the Charter 77 human rights manifesto, along with the playwright and future President Vaclav Havel.
After the 1989 Velvet Revolution, Vaculik was widely published and received a number of literary rewards.
"We will all remember him as an important and brave man of pen and word who was free and independent throughout his life and under any regime," said Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.
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Czech novelist and former dissident Ludvik Vaculik, who wrote the Two Thousand Words manifesto during the 1968 Prague Spring, has died, aged 88.
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39,894,117 |
First-quarter GDP growth was 0.6%, faster than the October-to December 2016 figure of 0.4%.
Household and state spending were strong, while firms invested money in construction and equipment, said German statistics authority Destatis.
Foreign trade also helped, as exports increased faster than imports.
Germany has the largest economy in the eurozone and its performance is in marked contrast to that of other big countries, such as Italy and France.
However, its relative strength has prompted concern in Brussels.
In February, the European Commission said Germany's current account surplus - which measures the balance of goods, services and investments into and out of the country - was too big.
It said that cutting that surplus would help the whole of the eurozone.
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Germany's economy grew strongly in the first three months of this year, driven by investment and consumption, official figures show.
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40,407,282 |
Oxford City Council said Evenlode and Windrush towers in Blackbird Leys will have their rain-screen cladding replaced.
It said no-one would have to be evacuated from the towers and Oxford's other three blocks do not use the material identified as being at risk.
The move follows the fatal Grenfell Tower fire in London on 14 June.
A spokesman for the council said the current cladding would be replaced with "improved non-combustible material" as a precautionary measure.
The government has ordered all aluminium composite cladding on residential tower blocks be tested for fire safety.
Council leader Bob Price said: "Tenants' safety is our top concern and we will not compromise on safety standards.
"We have been working with Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service who have been involved in the design of the fire safety arrangements in the blocks.
"They completed a review of these arrangements and site inspections today, and confirmed that the fire safety measures in place are satisfactory.
"As a result I confirm that it is not necessary to evacuate the towers.
"We're arranging for the work to begin removing the cladding to start as soon as possible, and we'll let residents know more details about all of this as soon as we have finalised them."
The council said Oxford's other three tower blocks have rain-screen cladding made from non-combustible sheet aluminium, rather than aluminium composite.
It added that leaseholders would not be charged for replacing the cladding.
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Cladding will be removed from two high-rise blocks of flats in Oxford after it failed fire safety tests.
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39,253,863 |
He told BBC Scotland efforts to block him from standing were hypocritical.
"The closed-minded demonstrate virtue to their equally closed-minded peers by attempting to silence anyone who disagrees with them," he said.
He is one of 12 names put forward by students to become rector.
Also on the ballot paper is Scottish human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar who said he had been left "disgusted and appalled" that students had voted for Mr Yiannopoulous to be in the running.
In response Mr Yiannopoulos told the BBC: "He [Mr Anwar] is free to be disgusted by the students who nominated me.
"He should call them a basket of deplorables. That strategy worked well for Hillary Clinton.
"Sooner or later these loonies will figure out the lessons of Brexit and the Trump election - calling the other side bad names is not an adequate replacement for reason, logic and good arguments."
The 32-year-old also said that, if elected, he would hope to bring an end to what he termed as the "snowflake culture", which he believes has taken hold in the collective student psyche in many university campuses across the western world.
The term has become a popular insult by Donald Trump supporters and far-right campaigners who claim their liberal opponents avoid dissenting ideas and opinions.
He said: "If Glasgow students want to break away from the snowflake stereotype - and I hope they do - then I'll gladly represent them, and push back against any member of the administration that tries to impose a culture of trigger warnings and safe spaces.
"My election would be a clear signal that, in Glasgow at least, this culture is coming to an end and that people come to university to be challenged and to grow."
He also said that, if elected, he would represent students by "making sure they encounter as much upsetting, offensive, and bubble-bursting material as possible during their time at university. They'll thank me for it later in life".
Mr Yiannopoulos also said he would protect the LGBTQ community by calling for the Students Muslim Association to be banned, arguing that they are "representatives of a homophobic, theocratic system".
In terms of his opinions about Glasgow he said it was a "great town despite its garrulous dranks and drab, spiky-haired lesbian 'comedians'".
Mr Yiannopoulos has previously referred to Scots as "whining, kilted leeches", and has argued in favour of Scotland becoming independent.
Labelled by his critics as a provocateur, the British-born journalist, who now lives in Miami, describes himself as "the most fabulous supervillain on the internet".
He has courted controversy in recent weeks for comments which led some to suggest he was advocating paedophilia.
Mr Yiannopoulos resigned from his job at Breitbart after he spoke out in support of relationships between "younger boys and older men".
He later said he was horrified by paedophilia and had devoted large portions of his career to exposing child abusers, but he admitted that he should not have used the word "boy", which he said had been misinterpreted by heterosexual people to mean someone under the age of consent.
An online petition to get Mr Yiannopoulos removed from the ballot has accrued more than 3,500 signatures.
Literature student Holly Hallam, who set up the petition, told BBC Scotland: "We don't have a set goal in mind but we would like to take it as far as it takes it... for him to ideally be removed from the ballot or at least for him to become absolutely aware that his presence is not welcome on campus."
A hustings for the candidates - which also include former Lib Dem MP Vince Cable - will be held before voting opens on 20 March.
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Milo Yiannopoulos, a former editor of Breitbart, has hit back at calls to remove him from the ballot to be the next rector of Glasgow University, calling his critics "close-minded".
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35,736,762 |
The 19-year-old Republic of Ireland youth international joined QPR in 2014 but has yet to make a first-team appearance for them.
He spent time on loan at Dagenham earlier this season, making his debut against Stevenage before playing eight more games.
Mulraney was not named in Stevenage's squad to face Portsmouth on Saturday.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
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League Two side Stevenage have signed QPR winger Jake Mulraney on a one-month loan deal.
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26,530,155 |
The company has announced the price of most post sent within the islands and to the UK will rise from 7 April.
Low Value Consignment Relief ended on 1 April 2012, but had allowed some items to be sent VAT-free to the UK.
Boley Smillie, chief executive, said the freeze aimed to help "an industry under significant pressure".
The price of a local letter will increase by 1p, from 40p to 41p, while the price of a letter to the UK will stay at 55p.
Other changes include rises for certain weights of large letters and packets sent to the UK with full details due to be released on the Guernsey Post website on Friday.
Mr Smillie said: "It's been another challenging year for Guernsey Post, but we believe we have been successful in keeping any increases to our postal tariff to a minimum.
"We are also confident that our prices remain competitive in comparison with the UK and Europe.
"As an example Royal Mail will be increasing the price of a letter for UK customers by 2p to 62p. By freezing the UK letter price in Guernsey at 55p, our rate is 7p cheaper."
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The postal prices for flower exporters have been frozen by Guernsey Post in a bid to help the industry after the loss of UK tax relief.
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33,668,923 |
Houthi rebel artillery pounded residential areas near the city of Taiz, witnesses said.
However, the capital Sanaa and central Yemen are understood to be quiet.
Before the truce was due to begin, clashes were reported at a major air base north of Aden after government allies took the nearby town of Sabr.
The Saudi-led coalition said it would halt air raids at midnight (20:59 GMT) to let much-needed humanitarian aid in.
But a Houthi spokesman said the rebels would not adopt a position on the move until they were officially informed.
Earlier reports suggested that the Houthi leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, had pledged to continue the fight.
A correspondent with AFP news agency also reported sporadic gunfire in the northern outskirts of Aden barely an hour after the unilateral truce came into force. Rebels there are trying to halt the advance of loyalist forces who have retaken the port city.
On Saturday, the coalition said it would suspend bombardment for five days but that it reserved the right to respond to "military activity or movement" by Houthi rebels.
The unexpected ceasefire was announced after Yemen's President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi wrote to Saudi's King Salman asking for a break, to allow humanitarian supplies to be delivered.
It came after strikes in Taiz province, which reportedly killed 120 people, including civilians.
Aid agencies say a blockade on Yemen has worsened the humanitarian crisis which is gripping the country.
More than 80% of Yemen's 25 million people now need some form of aid.
The Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Houthi militia and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh since 26 March.
The UN has warned the coalition that indiscriminate bombing of populated areas is against international law.
A week-long truce brokered by the UN failed earlier this month.
At least 1,693 civilians have been killed in fighting in Yemen, with almost 4,000 people wounded. The UN said the majority of casualties were caused by air strikes.
Houthis - The Zaidi Shia Muslim rebels from the north overran Sanaa last year and then expanded their control. They want to replace Mr Hadi, whose government they say is corrupt. The US alleges Iran is providing military assistance to the rebels.
Ali Abdullah Saleh - Military units loyal to the former president - forced to hand over power in 2011 after mass protests - are fighting alongside the Houthis.
Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi - The president fled abroad in March as the rebels advanced on Aden, where he had taken refuge in February. Loyal soldiers, Sunni Muslim tribesmen and Southern separatists have formed militia to fight the rebels.
Saudi-led coalition - A US-backed coalition of nine, mostly Sunni Arab states says it is seeking to "defend the legitimate government" of Mr Hadi.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - AQAP opposes both the Houthis and President Hadi. A rival affiliate of Islamic State has also recently emerged.
Frontline voices from Yemen conflict
Failure 'not an option for Saudis'
Meeting the Houthis - and their enemies
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Shelling has been reported in southern Yemen just as a humanitarian truce between rebels and Saudi-backed pro-government forces came into force.
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35,646,970 |
The increase is more than 60% of the funds the bank had already set aside.
The announcement contrasts with its assertion in January that oil companies were "surprisingly resilient".
According to Deloitte, 175 US petroleum companies are at risk of bankruptcy this year, which would make it unlikely they could repay loans.
Marianne Lake, JP Morgan's chief financial officer, told an investor day in New York: "Since year-end, expectations for oil prices have worsened and stresses have continued to permeate the value chain."
US crude fell to $31.87 a barrel on Tuesday and JP Morgan shares fell 4.3% after the announcement.
Ms Lake said half of the $500m was being set aside for a few corporate clients.
If oil prices hit $25 a barrel and remained in that range for 18 months, JP Morgan said it would set aside another $1.5bn.
The bank has $42bn in oil and gas loans in its portfolio, but that amount was less than 2% of the bank's total assets, according to data from September.
JP Morgan is not the only bank to increase its reserves to protect against oil and gas defaults: in January Wells Fargo raised its reserves by 70%.
The banks have warned that energy companies will face increased scrutiny over their loans. Lenders typically reassess oil and gas reserves in April and review the company's lines of credit and the bank's risk exposure.
JP Morgan said it was planning on starting that process sooner and could cut credit lines to some oil and gas companies by 15% to 20%.
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JP Morgan will set aside an additional $500m (£357m) to cover potential losses from its exposure to the oil and gas sector.
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37,300,384 |
Fanny Hugill, 93, from Fairford, Gloucestershire, was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur.
She was in Admiral Bill Tennant's team that planned the Normandy landings.
"We did know how momentous a day it was but of course all the planning had been done so no one was nervous," she said.
"We all had a job to do."
Ms Hugill said she was "very, very honoured" to have been recognised.
She joined the Women's Royal Navy Service (Wrens) in 1942 and worked initially as typist and then a plotter, who would chart and plot the routes of all the vessels that went through the English Channel.
"We ran up and down ladders and plotted the courses on a large map with chinagraph pencils," she said.
She was then commissioned as a 3rd Officer to Admiral Bill Tennant, who planned the Normandy landings before returning to her role as a plotting officer.
She was in the Ops Room during the night and morning of the 5 and 6 June 1944 when D-Day took place.
It was announced on the 70th anniversary of D-Day that the Legion d'honneur would be awarded to all veterans who took part in the invasion.
The ceremony at the Mercure in Bristol on Wednesday was organised by Blind Veterans UK, of which she is a member.
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A blind war veteran has been awarded France's highest military honour for her part in liberating the country during the Second World War.
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35,756,893 |
The teams meet at Twickenham on Saturday in a "cup final" which the New Zealander says will effectively decide the 2016 Six Nations.
An injury-hit Wales team shocked the hosts 28-25 in a Pool A match in September.
"It was a great performance to get out of that group, but we feel we're in much better shape now," said Gatland.
"There's a lot of confidence in the team and we're treating Saturday as a final.
"It's going to be one heck of a game, and to be honest whoever wins on Saturday probably wins the Six Nations."
Both teams are unbeaten going into Saturday's match, with England boasting a 100% record under new coach Eddie Jones in pursuit of their first Grand Slam since 2003.
Wales have beaten Scotland and France after drawing 16-16 with Ireland in their opening game.
Gatland has named an starting XV unchanged from the one that began the 19-10 win over France.
But there are three changes among the replacements as scrum-half Rhys Webb returns to the squad for the first time since September.
Lock Luke Charteris is also on the bench after missing the win over France, while prop Paul James replaces injured loose-head Gethin Jenkins.
Wales' starting XV shows only four changes from the team that won at Twickenham in the World Cup.
On that day, Hallam Amos and Scott Williams were among the backs, while Gethin Jenkins and Tomas Francis were the starting props.
But Wales have fewer injuries to contend with now, and have a much stronger bench.
"We feel like there's a lot of strength in depth, especially with the two locks - and the two young props have continued to get better and better," said Gatland.
"Samson Lee was coming back from injury at the World Cup so we feel he and Rob Evans have done really well.
"Scott Baldwin is getting better and better so, up front, we feel confident and settled.
"And in the backs, we have [centre] Jonathan Davies back with that experience as well and I'm pleased to see [wing] Alex Cuthbert is getting a little bit of his mojo back."
Gatland believes England are "very similar" to the side Wales played in the World Cup but concedes new coach Eddie Jones has "added an edge" to their play.
"The two wings have changed over and the six and seven have changed over, but apart from that it's pretty much the same team that was on show at the World Cup," added Gatland.
"They're a good side. I don't think they are too far away from cracking it.
"They've got a lot of strength in depth and young players who are improving the longer they are in the side."
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Wales coach Warren Gatland believes his team are stronger now than when they beat England in the 2015 World Cup.
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38,365,572 |
James Morrison, 56, is accused of driving at "excessive speed" in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire in January.
Prosecutors allege he failed to comply with give way signs and mounted a footpath and grass verge.
Mr Morrison denies dangerous driving and will appear for trial at Falkirk Sheriff Court on 19 January.
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A police officer will stand trial accused of crashing into a road sign in a speeding patrol car and injuring a female passenger.
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18,517,412 |
Violence flared in Rakhine State after a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered by three Muslims.
A series of reprisals and revenge attacks between communities has now left about 50 people dead.
Many of the displaced have sought refuge in Bangladesh, which has now closed its border.
Human rights groups have criticised Bangladesh for the decision, saying it is a violation of international law.
The United Nation's World Food Programme says it has provided emergency food supplies to more than 66,000 people - around two-thirds of those displaced - in the past week.
Poor roads and bridges make reaching many communities difficult, the organisation says.
Two Muslim men convicted of raping and killing the Buddhist woman last month were sentenced to death on Monday.
A third man who died in jail was given a posthumous conviction.
Following the woman's murder in May, a bus carrying Muslims was attacked and 10 people were killed, prompting more unrest in several towns and villages in Rakhine.
Rakhine state is named after the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist majority, but also has a sizeable Muslim population, including the Rohingyas.
The Rohingyas are a Muslim group and are stateless, as Burma considers them to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher, in Thailand, says there are still reports of sporadic violence but some sort of calm appears to have returned to Rakhine State.
But, our correspondent says, that has not stopped people trying to flee - both internally and across the border to Bangladesh.
Many of those trying to cross to Bangladesh both by land and sea have been turned back, he says.
Bangladesh already hosts several hundred thousand refugees from Burma and says it cannot take any more.
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Around 90,000 people have been displaced by fighting in the west of Burma, according to a United Nations body.
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40,954,358 |
US hedge fund Elliott Advisors reached a "standstill" agreement after clashing with Akzo over the way the company should be run.
The feuding was fuelled by a failed 27bn euro (£23bn) takeover bid for Akzo, which its management rejected.
Elliott has agreed to suspend legal action against the Dutch firm and back Akzo's plans to improve the business.
Gordon Singer, the boss of Elliott's UK division, said it was pleased to come to an agreement with Akzo.
In May, the hedge fund made a legal bid to force the removal of Akzo's chairman, Antony Burgmans, after the firm refused to enter takeover talks with US rival PPG Industries.
PPG walked away from its bid in June and Akzo is now pursuing plans to strengthen its business, which include selling its chemicals division.
Mr Burgmans said he was "pleased our recent constructive discussions with Elliott improved understanding between both parties".
Elliott has also agreed to back new chief executive, Thierry Vanlancker, at a shareholder meeting on 8 September.
The hedge fund oversees about $30bn (£23.5bn) of assets and has a reputation as a no-holds-barred activist investor.
The firm, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, is notorious for pursuing Argentine debt for more than a decade, seizing one of the country's naval ships while it was docked in Africa.
Separately, Elliott has increased its stake in mining firm BHP Billiton as it looks to force the company to sell its US shale business.
Elliott took its holding in BHP to 5% in a bid to keep the commodities giant "accountable for delivering results".
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An activist investor hedge fund has agreed to halt its long-running feud with Dulux paint owner AkzoNobel.
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34,498,451 |
Organisers said 250,000 people took part in the rally; police put the figure at around 100,000.
Opponents of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) say it is undemocratic and threatens consumer and worker rights.
But supporters of the deal, which lowers trade barriers, say it would boost economies and create jobs.
Hundreds of buses shuttled protesters to Saturday's demonstration in the German capital.
"We are here because we do not want to leave the future to markets, but on the contrary to save democracy," Michael Mueller, president of the ecological organisation German Friends of Nature, told AFP.
The German government supports the trade pact, with Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warning of "scaremongering" in a letter published in several German newspapers.
Talks on the TTIP are due to finish next year. If agreed it would be the biggest trade deal of its kind.
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Thousands have protested in the German capital Berlin against a planned free-trade deal between the EU and US.
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39,631,726 |
British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cymru said 66,000 people in Wales still lived with the effects of stroke but also highlighted a 22% cut in death rates from 2010-2015.
It came as a new Welsh stroke research network was announced.
The Welsh Government said "good progress" was being made on stroke care.
BHF Cymru said the reduction in fatal strokes in Wales demonstrated the advances already made but also estimated 13 people per day still suffered a stroke in Wales.
Prof Nilesh Samani, medical director at BHF, said: "There are 66,000 people living in Wales with the cruel and debilitating after-effects of this devastating disease.
"Although some exciting new developments have been made in stroke treatment, the options at our disposal for treating stroke patients are still far too limited.
"We urgently need to fund more research to better understand the causes of strokes so that we can prevent them occurring and develop new treatments for all types of stroke in order to save more lives."
The charity said research was "fundamental" to potential new treatments for the two types of stroke - ischaemic and haemorrhagic.
It welcomed the announcement that a Cross-Wales Stroke Research and Innovation Network would be created. It will be hosted by Cardiff Metropolitan University.
The network will include members of Wales' Stroke Implementation Group (SIG), which was developed to deliver the Welsh Government's five-year strategy on stroke.
Prof Philip James, associate dean for research at the School of Health Sciences at the university, helped to create it.
He said: "Our aim is to create and sustain a collaborative, robust research infrastructure in Wales and help facilitate world-leading research and innovation in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of stroke, thus saving lives and ultimately reducing the debilitating impact on stroke patients."
The network will be launched in the autumn.
Ana Palazon, director for the Stroke Association in Wales, said investing funds into "world-class research" was key to reducing the condition's "devastating impact".
A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: "More people are surviving strokes, with 22% fewer deaths from strokes since 2010, and staff skills and expertise is continually improving.
"To support these ongoing improvements a Stroke Implementation Group was formed in 2013 to provide national leadership and support for the delivery of effective person-centred stroke care in Wales."
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More research into stroke prevention is "urgently needed" in Wales despite improvements, a charity has said.
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39,038,805 |
The Unite and RMT unions said the latest proposals from the Catering Offshore Trade Association (Cota) would freeze pay at existing levels.
More than 60% of workers who took part in a ballot by phone turned the offer down. The unions will now consult with workers.
Cota expressed disappointment at the result of the consultative ballot.
Its chairman Andrew Thomson said: "We are committed to ongoing and open dialogue with employees and the unions."
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Offshore catering workers have rejected an offer of new terms and conditions from their trade body.
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39,122,938 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
The Bath centre, 25, had played in all 15 Tests under Eddie Jones before being excluded for the win over Italy.
Exeter centre Henry Slade, who came off the bench in the 36-15 win over Italy, has been omitted from the 27-man squad.
Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins) and Anthony Watson (Bath) will rejoin their clubs this weekend.
So, too, will Northampton's Paul Hill, and the Leicester pair of Mike Williams and Ellis Genge.
The training camp continues until Friday before the Calcutta Cup contest at Twickenham on March 11.
Media playback is not supported on this device
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Jonathan Joseph has been recalled to the England squad for their training camp ahead of Six Nations meeting with Scotland on March 11.
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31,983,514 |
She visited Devonport dockyard and boarded the Royal Navy vessel which underwent a revamp of its weaponry, internal systems and living quarters.
She later attended a rededication service for HMS Ocean.
The Queen met Plymouth civic dignitaries at the city's railway station before travelling to the naval base.
Labour councillor Neil Hendy and local Conservative MP Oliver Colvile tweeted welcomes to her.
A 21-gun salute announced the Queen's arrival at Devonport before she boarded amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean.
HMS Ocean - the sixth vessel to carry the name - was launched in 1995 and commissioned into the Navy three years later.
After the 2012 London Olympics, in which the ship provided security on the Thames, it underwent a revamp at Devonport of its weaponry, internal systems and living quarters.
HMS Ocean's second-in-command Cdr Tony Rackham said: "This is the culmination of years of preparation of the ship from refit to getting ready for sea and operations and then rehearsing for our royal sponsor.
"It can't get any better than this. It's real reward for all our hard work.''
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "Every Royal Navy warship has a Lady Sponsor and Her Majesty The Queen holds this title with Ocean.
"The relationship continues throughout the life of the ship, each successive captain keeping Her Majesty informed of the ship's activities and hosting visits.
"The rededication ceremony marks the ship's return to operational service following completion of her refit and subsequent work up.
"It provides an appropriate occasion for Her Majesty The Queen to reaffirm publicly her link to HMS Ocean and meet the new crew."
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The Queen has visited Plymouth to view the results of a £65m refit of HMS Ocean.
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33,972,073 |
The Swedish furniture giant has spent £4m to improve junctions and access to a new store planned for Pincents Lane Retail Park in Reading.
Construction is now set to begin immediately on the site.
A church minister in Calcot asked what Ikea would do for residents to compensate for the "disruption they are going to experience".
Yinka Oyekan, of Reading Community Church, said:"Do they have any plans for apprentices, are they planning to take kids from the local area? It would be great to know there are programmes for youngsters."
Ikea says it is focused on having "a positive impact on people, communities and the environment" and promises to work together on "sustainability projects and social initiatives that focus on children".
A £10m three-level store was approved in 2012 but the furniture company reduced its proposal to two storeys last year to reflect the "ever-changing retail environment".
Some residents and businesses had objected to the original plans because of traffic congestion fears.
Theale councillor Alan Macro said he was still concerned about traffic congestion and parking.
"In the latest plans there's no reserved parking for staff," he said.
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Ikea will open in Reading in summer 2016, creating 350 new jobs, a letter sent to Calcot residents has revealed.
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34,380,661 |
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28 September 2015 Last updated at 12:13 BST
Many have travelled from countries such as Eritrea, Syria and Sudan and have sought asylum in the UK.
BBC Look East found that in Bedfordshire 389 people were arrested in the first eight months of this year - a rise of 82% compared with the same period last year.
Bedfordshire Police said the increase was "unprecedented".
In Northamptonshire the latest figures show a 79% increase between August and July 2013-14 and the same period in 2014-15.
In Cambridgeshire arrests are up 73%.
The programme followed the route many of the migrants are taking, in lorries from Calais, across the Channel, and then up the M1.
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A rise of up to 82% in the number of people being arrested after arriving in the East of England is reported by police.
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37,961,512 |
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Northern Ireland beat Azerbaijan 4-0 on Friday night to go second in Group C with seven points from four matches.
They are five points behind Germany and O'Neill described the game against the Norwegians on 26 March as "huge".
"We have had a good start to the group, and we have been to Germany and the Czech Republic," O'Neill added.
"A win will put us a good distance ahead of Norway, and Azerbaijan will play Germany," he said.
"The fifth game is always crucial. Once you get to 10 points you are in touching distance to get enough points to possibly get there, that's what we have to aim to do.
"We have been very good at home, not only in this campaign but in the previous campaign, and the fact the next game is here is a bonus as well."
Kyle Lafferty, Gareth McAuley, Conor McLaughlin and Chris Brunt got the goals as the previously unbeaten Azerbaijan were dispatched with surprising ease in Belfast.
O'Neill's men had lost, drawn and won going into their fourth qualifier on Friday, including a 4-0 win over San Marino on October 8.
"We had emphasised that it would not be as straightforward as San Marino, we had too much respect for Azerbaijan," said O'Neill, whose men who face Croatia in a Belfast friendly on Tuesday night.
"But we knew if we got forward in the right areas and crossed the ball we could cause them problems and that was the case, whether it was from open play or set-pieces.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan manager Robert Prosinecki felt his team, who are third, were still in contention for a place in the finals in Russia.
"I think we are a good team, that's hard to say after we've been beaten 4-0 but I still think we have a lot of talent," he said.
"We could have done more up front but it is not a matter of despair. We have seven points from four games, three away from home, so it's all to play for."
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Northern Ireland's game at home to Norway will be pivotal in their attempt to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, says manager Michael O'Neill.
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36,591,279 |
A 35-year-old man was shot in the legs in the incident in the Drumcree area of the town. It happened at about 17:40 BST on Sunday, 5 June.
Two men wearing balaclavas and camouflage jackets, one armed with a handgun, attacked the man in a house.
The accused is to appear at Dungannon Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.
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A 32-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder over a shooting in Cookstown, County Tyrone, earlier this month.
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37,282,503 |
Reading's Ali Al-Habsi made an early save after Lukas Jutkiewicz had got on the end of David Cotterill's free-kick.
Michael Morrison went close for Birmingham before Jutkiewicz was again thwarted by Al-Habsi in the first half.
Diego Fabbrini fired just wide for Birmingham in the 90th minute before team-mate David Davis missed the target in the second minute of stoppage time.
The result means Birmingham drop a place to fifth in the Championship table, while Reading go up one spot to 10th.
Reading manager Jaap Stam: "It wasn't easy because you play against a top side who are dropping deep to prevent us [having] the space to pass the ball through to play.
"If you play against a team who is playing that, you need to be very consistent in what you're doing. You need to play at a very high pace.
"Sometimes in the first half, we didn't do that. We were impatient. Because we wanted to go forward, sometimes you take a lot of risks and you pass the ball too quick.
"We had a lot of possession and we should have created more chances. But at least we got a clean sheet and a point."
Birmingham manager Gary Rowett: "We're resolute, we're a tough team and a hard team to play against. I'm trying to improve our shots on goal, our goalscoring record and the quality of crosses into the box.
"We weren't quite there tonight but again we showed that we can dig in, we can make blocks, we can make tackles and we can keep clean sheets.
"I'll sometimes take that away from home because it's the hallmark of a pretty resolute team."
Match ends, Reading 0, Birmingham City 0.
Second Half ends, Reading 0, Birmingham City 0.
Attempt missed. David Davis (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Maikel Kieftenbeld.
Attempt missed. John Swift (Reading) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Yann Kermorgant.
Offside, Reading. John Swift tries a through ball, but Joseph Mendes is caught offside.
Substitution, Reading. Joseph Mendes replaces Roy Beerens.
Foul by George Evans (Reading).
Diego Fabbrini (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Reading. Callum Harriott replaces Garath McCleary.
Substitution, Birmingham City. Diego Fabbrini replaces Che Adams.
Foul by Garath McCleary (Reading).
David Davis (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Reading. Conceded by Jonathan Grounds.
Liam Moore (Reading) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Che Adams (Birmingham City).
Substitution, Birmingham City. Clayton Donaldson replaces Lukas Jutkiewicz.
Attempt blocked. Jacques Maghoma (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Reading. John Swift replaces Stephen Quinn.
Corner, Reading. Conceded by David Davis.
Attempt saved. Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by David Cotterill with a cross.
Corner, Reading. Conceded by Michael Morrison.
Substitution, Birmingham City. Jacques Maghoma replaces Robert Tesche.
Corner, Reading. Conceded by Robert Tesche.
Stephen Quinn (Reading) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Maikel Kieftenbeld (Birmingham City).
Attempt blocked. Stephen Quinn (Reading) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Paul McShane (Reading) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Garath McCleary with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Reading. Conceded by Maikel Kieftenbeld.
Attempt blocked. Jordan Obita (Reading) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Reading. Conceded by Robert Tesche.
Attempt blocked. Danny Williams (Reading) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Chris Gunter with a cross.
Corner, Reading. Conceded by Michael Morrison.
Attempt blocked. Danny Williams (Reading) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Yann Kermorgant with a headed pass.
Foul by Paul McShane (Reading).
Che Adams (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. David Davis (Birmingham City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Attempt saved. Maikel Kieftenbeld (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by David Cotterill.
Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by George Evans.
Attempt blocked. Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by David Cotterill with a cross.
Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Paul McShane.
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Reading stretched their unbeaten run to five games in all competitions after being held by high-flying Birmingham.
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32,100,644 |
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the Ahrar al-Sham, Jund al-Aqsa and Nusra Front groups had taken the city on Saturday.
Idlib is only the second provincial centre to fall into rebel hands, after Raqqa was seized by Islamic State (IS).
Syria's civil war, which began four years ago, has killed more than 200,000 Syrians and displaced 11 million.
The UK-based observatory said the militant groups seized the city after four days of intense fighting.
Syria has not confirmed the loss.
State television said: "The army is fighting fierce battles to restore the situation back to what it was."
The capture of the city, with a population of 100,000, would be a serious blow to the government of President Bashar al-Assad, correspondents say.
Idlib has been the subject of severe fighting between the government and opposition forces for months
Idlib is close to the strategically important main highway linking the capital Damascus to the commercial capital Aleppo. It is also close to the coastal province of Latakia, a stronghold of President Assad.
Supporters of Ahrar al-Sham and the Nusra Front have posted pictures of fighters celebrating in the city.
It is the second defeat of government forces in the space of a week after rebels in southern Syria seized the historic city of Busra in Deraa province.
On Saturday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was angry and shamed by the failure to halt the Syrian civil war.
Speaking at an Arab League summit in Egypt, he promised to step up diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.
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Islamist rebels have captured the north-western Syrian city of Idlib from government forces, monitors say.
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The eight-year-old is currently 60th in the weights for the Aintree race on 9 April with the top 40 guaranteed a run.
He travelled strongly under Richard Johnson although Katie Walsh challenged briefly on Broadway Buffalo.
But Johnson and the 13-2 shot jumped well and slogged their way up the run-in to win by nine lengths.
"It's a dream to have a runner in the Grand National and that's where he's going," said Lee.
"I don't think the heavy ground suited him, but he'll go to Aintree whatever we get.
"It's been amazing and started when Grey Gold won on Hennessy day and it's been relentless. We've got a lot of nice horses."
BBC horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght:
The run of rookie trainer Lee, who's now won significant races on five of the last eight Saturdays, was described by her father Richard, from whom she took over last summer, simply as "a-mazing". She is certainly making her mark.
There were concerns beforehand about Bishops Road's stamina over this marathon distance, especially in the mud, but he dispelled them all with a nine-length win, after which jockey Richard Johnson suggested the horse would be better still in drier conditions.
It's Aintree and the Grand National next.
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Bishops Road showed stamina in tough conditions to give in-form trainer Kerry Lee victory in the Betfred Grand National Trial at Haydock.
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14,334,027 |
Maj James Bowman, Lt Neal Turkington and Cpl Arjun Purja Pun died in a suspected premeditated attack by an Afghan National Army member.
Maj Bowman was shot as he slept. His comrades were shot in their command centre, where four others were injured.
The inquest in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, concluded that there was no evidence of failure to properly protect the men.
Wiltshire coroner David Ridley said: "I am satisfied that all three were killed as a result of the actions of the member of the Afghan National Army (ANA)."
The inquest heard that Sgt Talib Hussein, 23, of the ANA, shot Maj Bowman, 34, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, dead in his sleeping quarters in Patrol Base 3 (PB3) in Nahr-e Saraj district, near Helmand's capital, Lashkar Gah.
Using an Afghan-issue light machine gun, an M16 rifle and a grenade launcher, he then fired into the base's command centre, killing Lt Turkington, 26, from Craigavon, Northern Ireland, and Cpl Pun, 33, from Nepal, before escaping.
Post-mortem examinations found all three soldiers had died from gunshot wounds, the inquest was told.
By Nick HighamBBC News
The key question facing the inquest was this: had the army done all it could to protect the men from the risks posed by the Afghan National Army soldiers with whom they were embedded at Patrol Base 3 in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand?
Their commanding officer, Lt Col Strickland, told the inquest the external threats posed by Taliban insurgents were far greater than the threat from inside the base, and that his men would have been at greater risk if they had not sought to build mutual trust and respect in partnership with the Afghan National Army.
The inquest heard there had been friction between the British and Afghan troops, including a row over bottled water following which the Gurkhas' Hindu temple was vandalised.
But Maj Bowman, the base commander, had not been concerned. And the inquest was told that nothing about the assailant himself, Talib Hussein, remotely suggested that he posed a risk.
The coroner concluded there was no evidence of any systematic failure by the army in its duty to protect its soldiers while they were on a British base.
Mr Ridley accepted the Army had a duty to protect those on the base under the European Convention for Human Rights but said he saw no evidence it had failed to do so.
"One must guard against hindsight," he said.
"In this case the possibility of an ANA attack was known but it was never perceived at any level, either by those based at PB3 or higher up, as a real risk, an actual risk."
Speaking of Hussein, Mr Ridley said: "The general perception was that he was a quiet individual but (he) had the respect of those with the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf)."
He was one of the better members of the ANA, with nothing to suggest he posed a safety risk, the coroner said.
After the inquest, Lt Turkington's father, Ivor, said he was pleased at the judge's acknowledgement of the Army's duties in relation to the human rights of personnel on bases outside the UK.
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission had backed him in raising the point.
Its director Virginia McVea said the ruling would have a "major impact" on future inquests.
"It ensures a fuller investigation where there is a suggestion of systemic failures to protect soldiers' lives," she said.
Brig Richard Felton, then commander of Taskforce Helmand, had told the inquest that his main concern was the "thousands and thousands" of attacks on bases from insurgent forces.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC, representing the family of Lt Turkington, told the brigadier they were concerned that no steps had been taken prior to the attack to prepare the troops for the threat from ANA soldiers.
Brig Felton said: "There was no evidence for the threat. We had been living cheek-by-jowl with the ANA for four years with no incident."
He said the relationship between the British troops and their ANA counterparts depended on trust.
"If you are facing real and present danger then you have to have that trust and you do not build up that trust by putting up physical barriers where it's not appropriate."
Nothing suggested that Hussein was a member of the Taliban who had infiltrated the ANA, the inquest heard.
However, after the killings, a man calling himself Talib Hussein contacted the BBC bureau in Kabul to claim he carried out the killings, saying he had been angry at the conduct of British troops and that he had acted alone.
He said he had joined the Taliban after the attack.
Capt Peter Houlton-Hart told the Trowbridge inquest he thought Talib Hussein may have been threatened with retribution if he did not carry out the attack.
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Three soldiers were unlawfully killed by a rogue Afghan soldier in Helmand in July 2010, an inquest has ruled.
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36,455,376 |
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Becky Downie secured gold on the uneven bars, while her younger sister Ellie claimed silver on the vault and floor.
Becky, 24, pipped Russian world champion Daria Spiridonova to the title by scoring 15.5 points.
Sixteen-year-old Ellie, who scored 14.933, came second to home favourite Giulia Steingruber.
Becky's uneven bars success means she reclaims the title she won in 2014, while Ellie's vault and floor silvers take the GB women's tally to four medals in Switzerland, following Saturday's team silver.
"I'm so pleased not just to win the gold but to do it with my hardest routine," Becky Downie told BBC Sport.
"In my mind I knew I was going to go for it today; I needed to test it - hopefully if I make the team - for Rio."
Ellie finished second to home favourite Steingruber in both her finals.
Last up on floor, the younger Downie performed a routine that pushed her team-mate Claudia Fragapane down to fourth and out of the medals.
"I'm so chuffed with the vault silver. I knew if I did my did my good vaults I could get in that top three," Ellie Downie said.
"I definitely wasn't expecting the silver on floor. I qualified in fourth and just wanted to go out and enjoy the last routine of the competition."
Fragapane also came fourth in vault, while Becky Downie was joint-sixth on beam and Gabby Jupp finished seventh on bars in her first international competition following a lengthy knee injury.
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There was more British success at the European Gymnastics Championships in Bern as sisters Becky and Ellie Downie won gold and silver respectively.
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37,660,007 |
Officials said they are investigating how an aircraft travelling to Calgary on Thursday night from Kelowna, British Columbia, plunged to the ground.
Local media report the plane was a corporate jet and that four people aboard died.
Mr Prentice held prominent cabinet positions, including Minister of Indian Affairs and Environment Minister.
Among those killed in the crash was Ken Gellatly, the father-in-law of one of Mr Prentice's daughters.
"Words cannot express our profound shock," the Gellatly family said in a statement.
"To lose two family members at once is unbelievably painful."
Canadian politicians have been paying tribute to Mr Prentice, including interim Conservative Party Leader Rona Ambrose.
She got to know Mr Prentice when they were both in the cabinet of former prime minister Stephen Harper and as federal representatives for the province of Alberta.
"He taught me how important it is to serve the people of Alberta and the people of Canada," she said, holding back tears while addressing the press on Parliament Hill.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also expressed his sorrow at Mr Prentice's passing.
"He was broadly respected in the House of Commons - on both sides of the aisle - for his intelligence, commitment and honest, straightforward approach on tough issues."
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrote that Mr Prentice was "a proud Canadian".
"His legacy will live on through his loving family and decades of public service", the former PM, and Alberta resident, wrote on Twitter.
Members of Parliament have been tweeting their condolences.
"Through a storied career, Jim Prentice said a defining moment was voting same-sex marriage into law. Rest in Peace," tweeted Liberal MP Seamus O'Reagan.
"I'm heartbroken to hear my friend Jim Prentice was killed last night in a plane crash," wrote Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in a statement.
Mr Prentice first gained political recognition in 2004 after being elected to serve Calgary Centre-North.
Known as a "red Tory" for his socially progressive views, Mr Prentice voted in favour of a 2003 controversial same-sex marriage law, which he later called a defining moment in his career.
He retired from federal politics in 2010 to go into the private sector, but four years later mounted a successful bid for leadership of the Conservative Party in Alberta.
As leader, he was faced with the difficult challenge of uniting a party still reeling from spending scandals and from deep division within Alberta's right.
He successfully convinced nine members, including the leader of Alberta's right-wing Wild Rose Party, to cross the floor.
But in 2015, the Conservatives were voted out of office in Alberta for the first time in 44 years, losing to the New Democratic Party in a historic election.
The son of Eric Prentice, the youngest person to ever be drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mr Prentice moved from northern Ontario to Alberta as a child when his father went to work in a coal mine.
Although he never had a career on the ice, he said that he learned hard work from a young age, spending his summers away from university in a coal mine.
"I always said I got my education there," Mr Prentice once said about this time in the mines.
"I learned teamwork, I learned respect for other people. I learned the fact that the smartest guy in the room is often not the guy you think is the smartest guy."
He leaves behind his wife Karen and three children.
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Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice, 60, has died in a plane crash, the Conservative Party has confirmed.
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33,740,199 |
The 21-year-old woman was attacked as she walked on the upper promenade towards the pier at about 02:00 BST on 19 October.
Mani Kurian, 50, of Eridge Road, Eastbourne, has been charged with rape, and appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court earlier, police said.
He is due to appear at Lewes Crown Court on 20 August.
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A man has been charged after a woman was raped near Eastbourne Pier, Sussex Police said.
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39,406,420 |
James Farrelly, 52, is believed to have died following an illness which saw him granted bail from court proceedings.
Hamilton was one of Scotland's most wanted men and was nicknamed the Blackhill Butcher, after the housing estate from which he operated.
His remains were found in woods near the Five Sisters Business Park in West Lothian in December 2015.
He was released from prison in September 2014 but went missing in April last year.
James Farrelly had denied murdering Hamilton, 53, in Mosside Drive, Blackburn, between 16 April and 17 December 2015.
It was alleged that, while acting with others, Mr Farrelly shot Mr Hamilton in the head and inflicted blunt and sharp force injuries to his head.
Hamilton, from Glasgow, had been on the police's most-wanted list before he was jailed in 2000 over a string of charges including drug dealing, torture, abduction and sodomy.
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A man on trial charged with shooting dead gangland figure Martin Hamilton in West Lothian has died.
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26,612,609 |
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is discussing whether such a check is appropriate.
But it stresses there would still be other safeguards in place to check the suitability of people who want to teach in Scotland.
The teaching union EIS wants the criminal checks to remain.
Last year 186 people from outside the UK applied with the GTCS to register to teach in Scotland.
It is a legal requirement for any teacher in a Scottish school to be registered with the GTCS. This helps provides assurances to employers, parents and children that teachers meet a national standard of teaching.
At present, every application from a teachers who qualified outside Scotland is individually assessed by the council.
GTCS said in a statement: "All applicants from overseas currently have to provide a suitable criminal record check from the country in which they are resident. No decision has been taken to stop this practice by GTCS."
Other requirements include showing evidence of relevant qualifications references from previous employers.
The statement added: "Providing a criminal record check is not straightforward as many countries do not hold criminal records. In addition, there are crimes in some countries which are not crimes in the UK.
"There is also a concern that asking for a criminal record check might disadvantage some people applying for registration such as refugees or those who have suffered persecution in their country."
The GTCS said it is duty bound to review its policy from time to time.
It said: "Our Professional Regulatory Assurance Committee (formerly RGSC) is looking into the practice of carrying out overseas criminal record checks and will report back its findings in due course."
EIS, Scotland's largest teachers' union, expressed reservations about the proposal but said there may be occasions when it was appropriate to relax the rules for individual applicants.
General secretary Larry Flanagan said: "Clearly, the suggestion of some overseas applicants to the GTCS register potentially not being criminal-record checked is an issue that raises concerns.
"Taking all reasonable steps to background check all applicants is very important; however, there is also the issue of potentially discriminating against suitable candidates from countries that do not have a background check system.
"The EIS view is that checks should be carried out where possible, but that some kind of exceptional admissions procedure should be explored for teachers coming to Scotland from countries that lack a suitable background check system."
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New proposals may remove the need for foreign teachers wishing to work in Scotland to undergo a criminal record check.
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32,824,848 |
At least two gunmen opened fire at the Bardo Museum in Tunis on 18 March.
Italy is now trying to work out what role the suspect played in the attack, and where he was on the day of the shootings.
Records show that Mr Touil, 22, entered Italy on a migrant boat on 16 February - a month before the Tunis murders. Concerning his arrival, Italy says it had no reason to treat him as a terrorist suspect.
"Neither the Tunisian nor Italian police considered him dangerous or at risk of terrorism," Italy's Interior Minister, Angelino Alfano, told parliament on Thursday.
Instead, Italy decided Mr Touil was an economic migrant. The Italian authorities quickly ordered him to leave the country. But they did not manage to enforce the order. In itself, that is not unusual. Migrants are not held in detention centres, making it easy for them to disappear from the system.
How big is Tunisian militant threat?
Tunisia attacks: Survivors' stories
So it appears that Italy simply lost track of Abdelmajid Touil. His family insists that he stayed in the country, and joined his mother in the town of Gaggiano in northern Italy.
Documents show that he took Italian language classes at a local learning centre. The register shows that he was in class on 16 March - two days before the Tunis attack.
"He was a student here," teacher Flavia Caimi told Italian reporters. "We know his mother too. They [the authorities] can't say he was in Tunis on the day of the attack, unless he flew there and back."
But flying from Italy to Tunisia - and back - without valid papers would have been extremely difficult.
Abdelmajid Touil's mother Fatima insists that he was with her in northern Italy on 18 March - the day of the Tunis attack. She says they watched TV coverage of the shootings together.
"My son does not agree at all with jihad, with armed struggle," she told Italian media. "This is a mistake. We're sure that the truth will come out."
But family proof that Mr Touil was in Italy on the day of the attack will not be enough to exonerate him.
The Tunisian government has accused a network of more than 40 people of helping at least two gunmen to plan and carry out the actual attack. Tunisia may argue that Mr Touil was part of this wider support network.
It is not yet clear whether or not Mr Touil's arrest will force Italy to reassess its screening procedures for incoming migrants. So far this year, around 30,000 migrants have arrived by boat. The government insists it is aware of the potential dangers the country faces.
"I never ruled out the fact that Italy could be under risk of terrorism," Angelino Alfano told MPs, "I've always said that the alert is very high, including the use of boats to smuggle terrorists, even if we have no evidence of this."
Italy's anti-immigration Northern League party prefers not to wait for evidence.
"What must happen for something to be done about this?" asked Matteo Salvini, the Northern League's leader. "A terrorist attack? [Interior Minister] Alfano should quit," he added.
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On 19 May Italy arrested Abdelmajid Touil from Morocco, on suspicion of involvement in an attack on foreign tourists in Tunis that left 22 people dead.
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39,136,406 |
The Norwegian tourists were spotted unconscious in the water late on Thursday afternoon local time, police said.
Lifeguards pulled the pair, and three others in their group, from the water. A 69-year-old man could not be revived.
Sydney's best-known beach is well patrolled by lifeguards and drowning deaths are rare.
"CPR was immediately commenced on the man but despite the best efforts of all those involved, he was unable to be revived," Surf Life Saving New South Wales said in a statement to the BBC.
A 66-year-old woman remains in a critical condition. Police said she was related to the man who died, and both were from Norway.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported the group may have been knocked off their feet by a wave.
The death will be investigated by a coroner.
It was the second drowning in 24 hours in New South Wales, following the death of a man on the state's north coast.
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A man has died and a woman is critically injured after being pulled from the surf at Sydney's Bondi Beach.
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30,245,175 |
The study, commissioned by Liverpool City Council, said the move from Goodison Park could take up to 50% of the 130-acre Walton Hall Park.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said the report is an independent investigation into the potential impact and "in no way a plan or an agreement".
Campaigners said the report ignored the "major" issue of traffic and parking.
A spokesperson for the Save Walton Hall Park group said "not a lot of the park will be left to improve" if 40 to 50% was lost to the stadium development.
Everton has been in talks with Liverpool City Council to collaborate on a new stadium since June 2013.
Mayor Anderson said: "I can state that, at this time, no plans have been presented to us by Everton FC, but clearly it would be irresponsible of us to allow anyone to come to us with any proposal, for anywhere in the city, without us first taking a full and in-depth look at the situation."
The feasibility study, conducted by consultancy firm Volterra Partners, said the proposed stadium could accommodate 50,000 fans and remaining green space "would be upgraded".
It reported 30,000 sq m (323,000 sq ft) of leisure and retail space could be created if Everton moved to the park, originally opened to the public in 1934.
The scheme could also include university facilities for sports, a school and a bigger health practice.
The study added current facilities could also be provided as part of the redevelopment, including the leisure centre, children's play area and sports pitches.
A Save Walton Hall Park spokesperson said
"We will have a generation of children who will never live and play in local parks and green space. They will live in a concrete jungle.
"The report looks good on paper [but] in the real community they do not always work."
The 41,000-capacity Goodison Park is one of the oldest football stadiums and has been the home of Everton since it opened in 1892.
Their local rivals Liverpool revealed plans in April to increase their stadium's capacity at Anfield from 45,500 to almost 59,000.
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The building of a new Everton stadium could create up to 1,250 permanent jobs and 1,000 homes, a report has claimed.
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33,113,921 |
Sarah Rochira said it should be easier to prosecute people such as health and social care providers.
Only 1% of crimes against older people led to convictions compared to 19% for all crime, the commissioner said.
The Ministry of Justice said those who abuse vulnerable elderly people "deserve tough punishments".
Ms Rochira said some "truly horrifying cases" had not resulted in criminal charges despite extensive investigation.
"Just how bad does care, abuse or neglect have to be before it is considered criminal?" she asked.
Ms Rochira made her comments to mark Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Monday.
"As it stands, the law simply does not offer sufficient protection for older people who are the victims of substandard care, abuse or neglect, nor does it provide a suitable deterrent to those who deliver substandard care or to those who abuse or neglect older people," she said.
"This is something that needs to change urgently."
She added: "The shockingly low prosecution and conviction rates for crimes against older people tell us that either the evidential test currently used by the CPS is not fit for purpose, that there is a lack of willingness to prosecute for crimes against older people, or that the law itself is not sufficient.
"A person's age cannot be allowed to be a defining factor in whether or not they have the support and protection of the justice system and the clear inequality that currently exists within this system must be addressed as a matter of priority."
The Ministry of Justice said victims deserved to be treated with "dignity and respect" by all agencies within the criminal justice system.
"Those who abuse vulnerable or elderly people deserve tough punishments. Sentencing guidelines used by the courts say that the vulnerability of the victim should be taken into account," a spokesman added.
"We await the letter from the Older People's Commissioner for Wales and her findings from the exploratory work in the summer."
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Older people are not being protected by the legal system against abuse, neglect and other crimes, their commissioner for Wales has said.
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20,756,061 |
It was a result that ranks alongside the Ashes victories of recent years, with England showing incredible character to come back from their heavy defeat in the first Test in Ahmedabad.
After that result, and taking into account the 3-0 defeat against Pakistan in the UAE earlier in the year, few could have predicted England would leave Nagpur with a series victory.
People will ask what happened between that match in Ahmedabad and the victory in Mumbai in the second Test.
First of all, England brought Monty Panesar back into the team and he gave them more balance.
Then Kevin Pietersen changed.
After two skittish and nervous innings in the first Test, he responded with a magnificent 186 in Mumbai. Alastair Cook also scored lots of runs and it became apparent that England had better spinners than India.
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I'm sure that has never been said before and it hurt the home side. They were puzzled and worried by it and many people are calling for a review into their domestic structure because of it.
England lost the toss in Mumbai, but once they had shown they could win the hard way, it gave them the belief to do the same in Kolkata in the third Test.
They preyed on India's insecurities, but we must also be mindful that the hosts played poorly. They have got a number of issues to address following this series - like the futures of their star player, Sachin Tendulkar, their captain Mahendra Dhoni and their coach Duncan Fletcher.
Australia visit India early in 2013 and that will be a fascinating contest because we will see how they respond, and also what Australia have got because this will have been a wake-up call for them too.
Cook will return home from his first tour as Test captain a very happy man. He has proved that the captaincy would not detract from his performances - as he did in one-day cricket - and he has earned the respect of all his players with his runs.
"There is a mild irony that Duncan Fletcher didn't trust Graeme Swann when he was England coach and was never sure how valuable Monty Panesar really was. These two have been invaluable for England. Even when Panesar was wicketless in patches, he gave his captain control. They've both had terrific tours, as has Jimmy Anderson, and we saw glimpses of Steven Finn in Kolkata. On the batting side, Cook was immense and Pietersen played one brilliant innings in Mumbai."
England still have some areas they need to think about when they tour New Zealand in March, but they are good issues.
I hope they let Nick Compton have an extended run as opener in conditions that are more suited to run-scoring because he has battled hard at the top of the order in India.
Then there is the number six position to think about, with Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan all wanting that spot.
People might also want England to consider playing two spinners in future - after the performances of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar - but that is unlikely in places like New Zealand, Australia and at home.
There are always areas to improve, but England will be happy. I think the 2005 Ashes victory was as good as anything when you consider the personnel in the Australia team.
Players like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting played in that series, but the way England played in India, and the character they showed, means this can be ranked alongside such achievements.
Jonathan Agnew was talking to BBC Sport's Marc Higginson.
Listen to match highlights and Jonathan Agnew and Geoffrey Boycott's analysis of the day's play on the Test Match Special podcast.
We are using archive pictures for this Test because several photo agencies, including Getty Images, have been barred from the ground following a dispute with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, while other agencies have withdrawn their photographers in protest.
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England's was an outstanding achievement and will send a shiver down the spine of the Australians ahead of back-to-back Ashes series in 2013.
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35,871,292 |
It includes $15bn that the nation's auditor general last week said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to pay in 2014 alone.
Oil revenue accounts for roughly two-thirds of the government's funding.
President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to crack down on corruption since coming to office last May.
In a statement, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), an independent body, said: "Records at the Commission's disposal indicate that between January 2011 and December 2015, the total indebtedness of NNPC to the Federation Account was 4.9 trillion naira."
Under the current set-up, the NNPC hands over its oil revenue and money is then paid back based on a budget approved by parliament.
The state oil giant has been mired in corruption allegations and losing money for many years.
Last month, the government announced that the NNPC would be broken up into seven different companies.
A separate audit ordered under former President Goodluck Jonathan and carried out by global accountancy firm PwC, found that the NNPC had failed to pay the government $1.48bn between January 2012 and July 2013.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but the economy has suffered because of the recent decline in the price of oil.
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Nigeria's state-owned oil company has failed to pay the government $25bn (£17.5bn) over five years, the nation's fiscal commission has said.
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18,051,349 |
Sean O'Brien and Cian Healy tries put Leinster 14-6 up at half-time, Ruan Pienaar landing two penalties in reply.
A penalty try on the resumption put the defending champions 21-6 ahead before Dan Tuohy's try gave Ulster hope.
But late scores from replacements Heinke van der Merwe and Sean Cronin set a new final record of five tries.
Leinster became only the second team, after Leicester a decade ago, to successfully defend the Heineken Cup, and the second after Toulouse to win more than two European titles.
While the French giants remain the benchmark with four European crowns, Leinster's 100% record in their three finals and the style in which they have won them has already seen them acclaimed in some quarters as the best Heineken Cup team ever.
In front of a record final crowd of 81,744, their leading lights shone. Rob Kearney was his usual immaculate self under the high ball, Brian O'Driscoll produced several sumptuous offloads including a pearler in the build-up to the second try, and O'Brien was hugely influential.
Ulster, the first of the Irish provinces to win the trophy 13 years ago, started strongly. Centre Darren Cave jinked through a hole in midfield, John Afoa and Stephen Ferris carried strongly, and Pienaar calmly stroked home the first points after seven minutes.
But Leinster started to weave their patterns and launch their off-loading game, and the first try arrived in the 13th minute after they won a turnover on the Ulster 22.
Referee Nigel Owens had already signalled a penalty but the powerful O'Brien sensed an opening and slipped through Tom Court's tackle from close range.
After a lengthy consultation, the television match official ruled the flanker had managed to get just enough downward pressure on the ball, and Sexton's conversion made it 7-3, before he dragged a subsequent penalty attempt wide.
Ulster, expected to play a territorial kicking game, seemed intent on showing it was not just Leinster who could trip the light fantastic.
"We've worked hard in the last 10 months and today was the day where we had to for go it and thankfully we got the win. It's a strong squad and we really want to kick on. Every time we put on a blue shirt there's an energy around us"
Leinster's man of the match Sean O'Brien
A series of off-loads from their forwards - Pedrie Wannenburg, Rory Best, Afoa and Chris Henry in a sparkling move - almost saw full-back Stefan Terblanche worked over in the left corner.
Leinster immediately broke out into Ulster territory, where Eoin Reddan appeared unsure whether he had the pace to get to the line and was held short in the right corner, before O'Driscoll's offload almost put Isa Nacewa over on the left corner.
The legendary centre, who had keyhole surgery on his knee only eight days ago, showed his genius after 31 minutes though, a delicious offload out the back of his hand to the charging O'Brien leading to the second try.
O'Brien weaved around one tackler before being stopped a metre short, but prop Healy - who scored the decisive try in Leinster's semi-final win over Clermont, twisted over out of Andrew Trimble's tackle to score, and Sexton added the extras.
At 14-3 down with nearly 50 minutes to play, things looked ominous for Ulster.
They did fashion a half-chance before half-time only for fly-half Paddy Jackson to go it alone a few metres out with two men outside him. The 20-year-old then showed his inexperience again by fluffing a simple drop-goal attempt inside the Leinster 22.
"Ulster attacked from everywhere and were competitive and fierce but they've come up against one of the great European teams playing an incredible style of rugby. I'm not sure anyone could have lived with Leinster today."
The underdogs needed something before the interval, and Pienaar provided it with a beautifully-struck penalty from several metres inside his own half to bring the first half to a close.
Any thoughts of an Ulster comeback quickly evaporated on the resumption. A thumping tackle from Nacewa on Cave was a statement of intent, and they were ruthless in exploiting Jackson's naivety.
The youngster kicked out on the full from just in front of his own 22 to hand Leinster an attacking platform, his last act before being replaced by Ian Humphreys.
The champions duly built up a head of steam from the line-out and when Trimble dived in to bring down the maul rumbling to the Ulster line, referee Owens had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try.
Sexton's conversion gave Leinster a 15-point cushion, which remained the case after Pienaar and Sexton exchanged penalties in quick succession.
With 24 minutes left and 24-9 down, Ulster passed up the chance of an easy three points in front of the posts in favour of a scrum. It looked a questionable decision, even more so when Wannenburg's speculative blind pass behind him went forward.
Humphreys then went solo with numbers outside him as another chance went begging. But Ulster kept plugging away, none more so than the admirable Afoa. Their persistence paid off as Paddy Wallace worked some room and popped up a pass for lock Tuohy to dive over in the left corner.
Pienaar missed his first kick of the day to keep it a 10-point game, and Leinster roused themselves to win a penalty that Sexton slotted to keep them in a comfort zone.
He added another to seal victory with six minutes left after Terblanche was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Leinster replacement hooker Cronin.
There was still time for replacement prop Van der Merwe to go over for the fourth try, equalling Brive's record of four tries - and their 19-point winning margin - in the 1997 final.
Fergus McFadden missed the conversion, but when another length-of-the-field move saw Cronin sprint in, it was a fitting way for Leinster to seal their place in Heineken history.
Leinster: R Kearney, F McFadden, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, I Nacewa, J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, R Strauss, M Ross, L Cullen (capt), B Thorn, K McLaughlin, S O'Brien, J Heaslip.
Replacements: S Cronin (for Strauss, 67), H Van der Merwe (for Healy, 62), N White (for Ross, 69), D Toner (for Cullen, 58), S Jennings (for McLaughlin, 62), I Boss (for Reddan, 74), I Madigan (for Sexton,74), D Kearney (blood for O'Driscoll, 67-73).
Ulster: S Terblanche, A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy, P Jackson, R Pienaar; T Court, R Best, J Afoa, J Muller (capt), D Tuohy, S Ferris, C Henry, P Wannenburg.
Replacements: N Brady (for Brady, 77), P McAllister (for Court, 75), D Fitzpatrick (for Afoa, 74), L Stevenson (for Tuohy, 77), W Faloon (for Henry, 67), P Marshall (for Humphreys, 70), I Humphreys (for Jackson, 46), A D'Arcy (for Cave, 77.
Yellow card: Terblanche (73)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Attendance: 81,744
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Leinster crushed a spirited Ulster by a record Heineken Cup final-winning margin to become the first side to win three titles in four years.
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15,754,786 |
Analysis of the moon's surface suggests plumes of warmer water well up beneath its icy shell, melting and fracturing the outer layers.
The results, published in the journal Nature, predict that small lakes exist only 3km below the crust.
Any liquid water could represent a potential habitat for life.
From models of magnetic forces, and images of its surface, scientists have long suspected that a giant ocean, roughly 160km (100 miles) deep, lies somewhere between 10-30km beneath the ice crust.
Many astrobiologists have dreamed of following in the footsteps of Arthur C Clarke's fictional character David Bowman, who, in the novel Odyssey Two, discovers aquatic life-forms in the deep Europan sea.
But punching holes through the moon's thick, icy outer layers has always seemed untenable.
The discovery of shallow liquid water by an American team makes a space mission to recover water from the moon much more plausible.
The presence of shallow lakes also means that surface waters are probably vigorously mixing with deeper water.
Jupiter's moon
The icy eddies could transfer nutrients between the surface water and the ocean's depths.
"That could make Europa and its ocean more habitable," said lead author Britney Schmidt from the University of Texas at Austin, US, who analysed images collect by the Galileo spacecraft launched in 1989.
Glaciologists have been studying the surface of Europa for many years, trying to work out what formed its scarred, fractured surface.
By looking at Antarctica, where we see similar [features] - glaciers, ice shelves - we can infer something about the processes that are happening on Europa, said glaciologist Martin Siegert from the University of Edinburgh.
He explained that the new study tells us how upwelling of warmer water causes melting of surface ice, forming cracks.
"You get freezing [water] between the cracks... so you end up with the existing ice cemented in with new ice."
"The underside then freezes again, which causes the uplifting; its pretty neat," Dr Siegert told BBC News.
The US and Europe are working on missions to Europa, and Jupiter's other moons, which they hope to launch either late this decade or early in the 2020s.
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Scientists have found the best evidence yet for water just beneath the surface of Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.
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36,154,525 |
Pennock's side have secured second place in the table but are without a win in seven games.
The 45-year-old had been in charge since replacing Dave Hockaday in 2013.
Academy manager Scott Bartlett takes caretaker charge of the club, with assistant manager Jamie Day and fitness coach Neil Withington both resigning.
"It was a difficult decision just a week out from the play-offs after Ady had taken us to our highest placed finish in the National League," chairman Dale Vince said.
"However, as a club we felt we needed to make this change, in order to give us the best chance of succeeding in the play-offs.
"We thank Ady for his efforts while at the club and wish him well in the future."
Forest Green, who face Dover away on Saturday in the final game of the regular season, lost to Bristol Rovers in last season's play-offs after finishing fifth.
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Promotion-chasing Forest Green Rovers have parted company with boss Ady Pennock - a week before the National League play-offs.
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35,407,290 |
The 45-year-old was already sidelined for this month's three-match Twenty20 series against India following a scan on a swollen left calf last Saturday.
He will now also miss the ODIs in New Zealand on 3, 6 and 8 February.
Cricket Australia's chief medical officer Dr John Orchard said Lehmann was waiting for clearance to fly.
"He is meeting with specialists in Sydney later this week and will have repeat scans on Friday to check his progress," added Orchard.
Batting coach Michael di Venuto has been placed in charge of Australia for the current Twenty20 series against India, which comprises three games on 26, 29 and 31 January.
No decision has yet been made on a stand-in for Lehmann for the New Zealand ODIs, which are followed by two Tests from 12-16 and 20-24 February.
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Australia coach Darren Lehmann will miss his side's three one-day internationals in New Zealand as he recovers from deep vein thrombosis.
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36,946,051 |
In 2007 she fainted from exhaustion, hit her head on a desk, broke her cheekbone and needed five stitches on her right eye. Ever since, the founder of the Huffington Post has championed the need for more sleep - and sales of mattresses have soared.
Of course there is no scientific proof that Huffington's catch phrase "sleep your way to the top" has done anything more than raise a laugh. But it certainly hasn't harmed businesses whose profits rely on Americans spending more time with their eyes closed.
"She's done wonders for our industry," says Mary Helen Rogers, spokeswoman for the International Sleep Products Association. "For years she's been talking about the importance of sleep, and I think the trend is changing and people are starting to take better care of themselves."
Figures from ISPA show that the number of mattresses and bed foundations sold in 2015 rose by 4.5%. Revenue was also up by 6.8%. Queen beds were the most popular.
"For a long time people were taking a quick fix or a short cut to a better night's sleep. Today a lot more people are thinking about what they're sleeping on, investing in better mattresses and spending time to get a mattress that's right for them," says Rogers.
Before her wake-up call, Huffington was one of several high profile figures who claimed to thrive on just a few hours of sleep a night.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously said "sleep is for wimps," and ever since, a long line of successful politicians and business people have been giving the impression that she may have been right.
Yahoo's boss, Marissa Mayer is said to sleep for just four hours - as did former President Bill Clinton before he suffered heart problems.
British businessman and billionaire Richard Branson gets by on five hours while the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claims to sleep for just one hour while on the campaign trail.
But all that is changing as the health problems associated with sleep deprivation become clearer.
"It goes beyond physical health," says Virginia-based sleep clinician Terry Cralle. "Now we see how sleep affects psychological health and every aspect of our lives. I think people are finally sitting up - or waking up - and taking notice."
Most people spend a third of their lives in bed - assuming they're getting the recommended eight hours sleep a night.
"99.9% of patients who walk through my door ask me about mattresses," says Cralle. "It's critically important to sleep quality. It's a performance tool."
But she says there's no such thing as one size fits all. Finding the perfect mattress depends on body size, age, who you're sleeping with and any pre-existing health conditions or injuries.
"There are so many incredible options out there now. If a consumer hasn't been mattress shopping in the last three years they're going to be amazed at the offerings and how they can be individualised," she says.
The Better Sleep Council (BSC), a mattress industry group, says consumers should think about replacing their mattress every five to seven years.
But surveys show that most people still see them as an expensive investment and expect them to last much longer.
Millennials are more receptive to the message because they're most concerned about pests and allergens in older mattresses.
A 2008 poll from the BSC suggested 9% of Americans link mattress quality to good health and well-being with women more likely than men to recognize the benefits. Most people also think that back problems can be avoided by sleeping on a good mattress.
But price remains an issue. The BSC says the perceived cost of a mattress has almost doubled since it began tracking consumer data in 1996 - from $498 to $929 (£373 to £697). However, the majority of consumers believe the more you pay, the better the mattress.
Entrepreneurs are taking note of the expanding market.
New York based Casper launched in 2014 in an effort to meet the demand for mattresses that are often too big to get through the door or up the stairs of city homes.
The latex memory foam mattresses are made in the US and compressed into boxes for easy handling. Compression also cuts the cost of shipping and the company keeps prices lower by selling exclusively online. The mattresses spring back to full size when the box is opened.
"When we launched we had no idea how big the company was going to be," says Neil Parikh, Casper co-founder. "We ended up selling a $1m worth of mattresses in our first month. We expected it to take years to sell that."
The trend in sleeping more is also benefiting other industries. Rogers says more people are wearing fitness trackers to monitor the quality and duration of sleep.
"It's now cooler to say that I'm getting that seven to eight hours sleep I really should," she says.
And Arianna Huffington is continuing her mission to improve the nation's slumber - her new book, The Sleep Revolution, was published in April.
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If the US mattress industry had a patron saint it would probably be Arianna Huffington.
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34,191,184 |
The album, Cantate Domino, includes music written for the Sistine Chapel Choir by Palestrina, Lassus and Victoria during the Renaissance.
It also features two Gregorian chants and a world-premiere recording of the original version of Allegri's Miserere.
The pieces are sung in Latin, as the composers intended.
The chapel is in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in Vatican City, Rome. The recording took place using a specially-built studio constructed by Deutsche Grammophon, with the mixing desk in an ante-chamber.
Musical dignitaries including Italian opera singer Cecilia Bartoli and Italian choirmaster Roberto Gabbiani attended the recordings.
The chapel is also home to the Papal conclaves, the meetings of the College of Cardinals held when they elect a new Pope.
Grammy-nominated producer Anna Barry described it as an "overwhelming privilege" to record there, among the frescoes of Michelangelo.
The choir has 20 adult singers and 30 boy choristers.
One of the male singers, Mark Spyropoulos, is the first British full-time member of the choir, which is directed by Massimo Palombella.
Palombella said: "After an intensive period of study and scholarship of the sacred music in the Renaissance and its aesthetic pertinence, we have arrived at the point of making the first commercial recording, in this remarkable building.
The Pope will receive the very first copy of the album, which is released on 25 September.
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The Pope has given special permission for a studio recording in the Sistine Chapel for the first time, capturing the singing of his own choir.
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35,706,610 |
A total of 115 documents have been released, including the al-Qaeda leader's will.
Other writings show Bin Laden's fear of being electronically tracked. Here are seven things we learned:
Bin Laden left a personal fortune of around $29m (£21m) after his death.
He urged his family to "obey my will" and to spend his inheritance on "jihad, for the sake of Allah".
He referred to the money as being in Sudan, but it is not clear whether it was cash or assets. Bin Laden lived in Sudan for five years in the 1990s as a guest of the Sudanese government.
He also ordered sums of money to be given to two men and various relatives. It is not known whether any of the money made its way to his heirs.
The fear of being tracked is a recurring theme in Bin Laden's writing.
In a letter to one of his wives, who lived in Iran, the world's most wanted man revealed his fear that a dentist could have inserted an electronic tracking device in her tooth during a cavity operation.
"The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli," he wrote under the name Abu Abdullah. The letter ended with an instruction to destroy it.
What was on Bin Laden's bookshelf?
Bin Laden's tape collection
The al-Qaeda job application form
Frustrated at the end
In another letter, Bin Laden fretted about moving money safely.
He instructed operatives to discard suitcases carrying cash for fear that they could contain tracking chips and said money should be transported by vehicle, but only on cloudy days, suggesting he feared they could be targeted by drones.
Further letters from al-Qaeda commanders detailed the toll being taken on the organisation by drone strikes and one letter admits four men were wrongly executed on suspicion of spying.
Do drone strikes work?
Several documents show a long-running disagreement with al-Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, which later became the so-called Islamic State (IS).
Bin Laden opposed the use of beheadings and other brutality by the then group al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
"We must not get overwhelmed by the war, its atmosphere, conditions, hatreds and revenge that might mislead us," he wrote.
Bin Laden also opposed AQI's aim of declaring a caliphate, which he believed did not have enough popular support and posed governance challenges that the group could not meet.
What is Islamic State?
The documents also show Bin Laden's battle to maintain control over the various al-Qaeda franchises.
One document reveals an attempt to get them to adopt a unified management structure, outlining a "chief of staff committee" made up of "officers and personnel qualified to work with a military commander leader" and listing its tasks.
A letter to al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen exhorts them to "extend and develop our operations in America" and move on from attempts to blow up US aircraft.
Meanwhile a letter from the head of the al-Qaeda franchise in north Africa informs Bin Laden that representatives from north African countries have been admitted on to the organisations's Shura Council as a way of keeping an eye on the local militants, who are described as numerous but young and "lacking jihadi experience".
The year 2011 was to be a big one for Bin Laden.
His organisation was planning a media blitz to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and proposed working with certain media outlets to arrange coverage. However, there was no discussion of any planned attack.
Bin Laden himself was also planning to move out of the compound he was hiding in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad.
"I say that the latest time we can stay with our present companion brothers is the tenth anniversary of the attack on New York and Washington, after a few months from now; or at the end of this year, 2011," he wrote.
However he was killed before the anniversary was reached.
Have we been told the truth about Bin Laden's death?
Who are al-Qaeda's remaining leaders?
A study course for new jihadists, entitled "Course of Islamic Study for Soldiers and Members", is included in the declassified documents.
Teaching reading and writing is the first module, followed by a long reading list based on the Koran.
A third section of lectures includes books by leading contemporary jihadists such as the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who led AQI, as well as a briefing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The al-Qaeda job application form
Whether al-Qaeda commanders should be allowed to have their wives with them in their bases appears to have been a vexed issue in the organisation.
One document from an al-Qaeda branch in Morocco entitled "The presence of Mujahidin spouses in the field" instructs any commanders who have their wives with them to send them back to their homes and families.
Drawing on a range of sources, it concludes that "jihad is not required from women" and says it is allowed to "have an elder woman but not a young one, in a safe area in the frontlines" to prevent fighters becoming distracted.
"We ask our brothers for their understanding and co-operation," it says.
The crucial role of women within IS
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The US has released a second tranche of documents found during the 2011 raid on a house in Pakistan that killed Osama Bin Laden.
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38,926,604 |
Daw sylwadau Michael Jones wrth i'r ffraeo barhau am ddyfodol Ysgol Llangennech yn Sir Gaerfyrddin, lle mae rhai rhieni yn gwrthwynebu'r cam i droi'r ysgol yn un cyfrwng Gymraeg.
Ddydd Iau, fe wnaeth arweinydd grŵp UKIP y Cynulliad, Neil Hamilton, fynnu na fyddai "gorfodi'r iaith Gymraeg i lawr cyrn gwddf plant" yn help i sicrhau Cymru ddwyieithog.
Ym mis Ionawr, pleidleisiodd mwyafrif cynghorwyr Sir Gâr o blaid y newid, a dywedodd llefarydd bod y camau statudol wedi'u dilyn a'u bod wedi ymgynghori'n eang cyn dod i'r penderfyniad.
Ar raglen Newyddion9 nos Iau, gofynnwyd i Mr Jones beth oedd ei neges i'r rheiny oedd yn gwrthwynebu'r penderfyniad gan Gyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin.
Dywedodd: "Os nad ydyn nhw'n licio'r Gymraeg, ga'i awgrymu fod y ffin draw 'co ac fe allen nhw groesi'r ffin.
"Os ydyn nhw ddim moyn bod mewn gwlad ble mae'r Gymraeg yn cael ei siarad, wel cer rhywle arall.
"Ond os na, dioddef y ffaith bod 'na ddwy iaith yng Nghymru."
Ychwanegodd: "Dwi ddim yn dweud dyle nhw, achos bod nhw'n siarad Saesneg, fynd o Gymru.
"Ond rwy'n dweud hynny os nad ydyn nhw'n gallu dioddef clywed y Gymraeg, wel, well iddyn nhw fynd rhywle arall."
Dydd Iau, dywedodd Mr Hamilton ei fod yn cefnogi bwriad Llywodraeth Cymru i gael miliwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn 2050, ond bod y penderfyniad yn Ysgol Llangennech yn mynd yn erbyn "dymuniadau rhieni".
Dywedodd: "Y bobl anoddefgar yn fan hyn yw'r aelodau Plaid Cymru sy'n gorfodi hyn ar bentref sydd ddim am ei weld."
Ychwanegodd: "Os ydyn ni'n ceisio gorfodi'r iaith Gymraeg lawr cyrn gwddf pobl fyddai fel arall am ei gwarchod, ond dydyn nhw ddim ei eisiau ar gyfer eu plant, fyddwn ni ddim yn ennill y frwydr dros feddyliau pobl er mwyn sicrhau bod Cymru'n dod yn wlad ddwyieithog o fewn fy mywyd i."
Wrth ymateb i sylwadau Mr Hamilton, dywedodd AC Plaid Cymru, Simon Thomas fod y penderfyniad wedi bod yn ddemocrataidd.
"Dwi'n meddwl ei bod hi'n anffodus iawn bod UKIP yn trio achosi cynnen rhwng pobl sy'n siarad Cymraeg a Saesneg - mae'r penderfyniad yn Llangennech yn un i'r gymuned leol, yr ysgol, y llywodraethwyr, ac yn y pen draw, i'r cyngor sir," meddai.
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Mae aelod blaenllaw o fudiad Rhieni dros addysg Gymraeg wedi dweud y dylai rhieni sydd ddim am i'w plant gael eu haddysgu yn yr iaith "groesi'r ffin i Loegr".
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35,539,346 |
Seoul said all operations at the complex would halt, to stop the North using its investment "to fund its nuclear and missile development".
Kaesong is one of the last points of co-operation between the two Koreas and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
It came as Japan imposed new sanctions against the North following the launch.
They include a ban on North Korean vessels coming into port in Japan and on vessels from other countries that have visited the state,
The US warned on Tuesday that the North could soon have enough plutonium for nuclear weapons.
South Korea, the US, Japan and others see Sunday's rocket launch - ostensibly to put a satellite into space - as cover for a banned test of missile technology.
Read more:
Tensions have risen over the past month since North Korea carried out a fourth nuclear test in early January.
"All our support and efforts... were taken advantage of by the North to develop its nuclear weapons and missile programmes," the South's Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo told reporters.
The announcement came amid reports that the North's military chief, Ri Yong-gil, had been executed on corruption charges.
South Korea's state news agency Yonhap quoted unnamed sources saying the general, who was appointed in 2013, had been deemed guilty of corruption and pursuing personal gains.
There was no confirmation of the report.
Reuters news agency also reported the execution but did not identify its source or how the information had been obtained.
Read more: What is the Kaesong industrial complex?
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South Korea is to suspend operations at a jointly-run industrial park in North Korea following the North's recent rocket launch and nuclear test.
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A hole measuring 3m sq (9 sq ft) and 1.3m (4ft) deep appeared in Ironbridge Road, last Boxing Day.
It was caused by workings in the underlying clay mines, weakening surrounding soils.
The road, rebuilt on top of a concrete slab held in place by 70 metal poles sunk into the ground, has been opened to traffic.
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Work to repair a collapsed road in Jackfield, Shropshire, has been completed two weeks early.
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36,831,820 |
The £24bn ($32bn) deal for the UK chip designer is Softbank's biggest acquisition.
Investors could not react to the takeover on Monday as the Tokyo stock market was closed for a holiday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.4% to close at 16,723.31 points while the broader Topix gained 1.1% to 1,331.39.
Shares of Japanese games developer Nintendo continued to outperform.
Its stock jumped another 14.4% and saw trading volumes hit a new high on the success of its new augmented reality game Pokemon Go, which has proved to be a big hit globally.
Nintendo now has a bigger market capitalisation than Sony and luxury fashion house Hermes following its gains over the last week, according to Bloomberg data.
Meanwhile, the ASX 200 in Sydney fell 0.13% to end at 5,451.30 following the release of minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's June meeting.
South Korea's Kospi is ended 0.2% lower at 2,016.89 in Seoul.
Hong Kong stocks closed 0.6% lower at 21,667.74 while the mainland's Shanghai Composite wrapped trading down 0.2% at 3,036.60.
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Shares in Japan's Softbank fell by more than 10% on Tuesday after being hit with a glut of sell orders following its purchase of ARM Holdings.
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The players all played with a total lack of inhibition, like we used to when we were kids, and Saturday's jaw-dropping action was a perfect way for the northern hemisphere teams to sign off before the World Cup in six months' time.
It is not a huge surprise Ireland retained their Six Nations title because they have a great record since Joe Schmidt took charge in 2013.
They have lost only four out of 18 games and I think they'll be ranked third or fourth going into the World Cup.
The New Zealander has got them playing in such an efficient, stable, mature and intelligent way, and in my opinion they didn't do anything vastly different in their 40-10 win over Scotland.
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They might have kicked a little less than normal but if you think about the Wales game, they had three goes at getting across the line then and the only difference is that Wales' defence was better than Scotland's.
They are very methodical and happy to play in that style and I think they'll take that into the World Cup because it is a style that suits them.
They might be called boring and predictable - but they are winners and will be saying "long may it continue".
They will expect to win Pool D ahead of France and Italy and that will open up a clear route to the semi-finals.
Under Schmidt, they have got new belief that this is where they should be, winning titles and contending in major tournaments, and they have the experience to deliver when it matters.
They have a spine of experience in hooker Rory Best, lock Paul O'Connell, number eight Jamie Heaslip, fly-half Johnny Sexton, full-back Rob Kearney and winger Tommy Bowe running through the team.
They are good quality players, who can help guide the likes of 21-year-old Robbie Henshaw and will keep calm and composed under pressure.
They will be disappointed to have lost against Wales but they came back and did the job against Scotland, and they will expect to do the job in the World Cup too.
The only concern is if they lose Sexton - his replacement Ian Madigan is a totally different sort of player and they would not have long to fully integrate him into the team.
England may have lost out on the title in agonising fashion as they just failed to overhaul Ireland's points difference despite a 55-35 win over France but I think they are well set going into the World Cup.
They have lost very few games at Twickenham to teams ranked below them so they should feel confident they can take on and beat anyone at the World Cup. (I'm not worried about Uruguay whom England venture north to face at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium).
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The only team they haven't beaten at Twickenham under Stuart Lancaster is South Africa, and if England keep their unbeaten home record going for another seven games they will win the World Cup.
There are several differences between England and Six Nations champions Ireland, notably in their levels of experience and also Ireland's total belief in their style of play.
Ireland essentially played the same style all through the tournament, even against Scotland, while England, who don't have that totally unshakeable belief, took risks right from the off against France.
To me, that said England were not confident they would score the tries they needed if they played the way they had been - kicking, playing territory, going hard in the scrums - and instead they were forced to play a running game from the opening minute.
They can certainly take positives out of the tournament though.
Crucially, they won their home games and although they will be disappointed to have come second again - for the fourth year in a row - it was a tough competition.
They have great strength in depth in the forwards and I would love to see the half-backs take their current form into the World Cup.
Ben Youngs was man of the match on Saturday, while George Ford was commanding at fly-half.
He is a running fly-half but he shows great composure for a 22-year-old and he presents more options than Owen Farrell does.
England still have room for improvement but they are in good shape and I expect them to make it through to the World Cup semi-finals.
Wales may have finished third but they proved to themselves and the rest how potent they can be.
I've never said Wales aren't a good team - I believe they're a bit like Ireland - but I think they have been at odds with themselves because they had become a bit too predictable with their straight-running, power-based style.
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With Rhys Webb and now Liam Williams coming into the side, they've mixed up their game a little and are better for it - although they had to do it against Italy if they were to stand any chance of winning the title.
With Jamie Roberts carrying the ball hard over the gain-line and the likes of George North, Jonathan Davies and Leigh Halfpenny then getting involved, they have always had firepower, and the addition of Williams has given them something a little different as well.
If their front five - and that area can be a bit of a concern, especially in the front row where it looks like they have lost the injured Samson Lee for the World Cup - can give them a decent platform, then they have a back row as competitive as any in the world.
I'd go so far as to say Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton and Taulupe Faletau are arguably the best back row in the world - although there is a lot of competition.
Another big plus is the good form of their half-backs, Webb and Dan Biggar. Scrum-half Webb has to beware of second-season syndrome and we'll see how good he is next year when people know all about him, but he looks quality in the making.
Their important players have all been to a World Cup semi-final and I fancy them to get out of Pool A, which includes Australia as well as England.
If Saturday's three matches were wow, wow, wow, Scotland were woe, woe, woe.
As spectators, we don't really see the psyche of a team. I've not been in the Scotland camp so I don't know what their vibe is like but something doesn't add up because when I look at their team sheet they're a decent side.
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They could have won their first three games - perhaps should have won their first three games - but because they're not a winning team they struggle to get the job done.
They don't know how to at Test level it seems, despite having plenty of players from current Pro12 leaders Glasgow.
Part of being a successful side is knowing that your team-mates have got your back - or your inside shoulder to make the tackle - and you can't go out thinking you're going to lose.
It takes a tough mentality to get out of a losing mind-set and they haven't found the solution yet.
They've got the nuts and bolts but they are performing well below par given their players.
When you look at them as units, they've got a good front row, decent second rows, a good back row and so on.
One position there appears to be some debate about is scrum-half. Greig Laidlaw has his critics, who think he does not offer enough threat with ball in hand - they want to see a scrum-half who makes more breaks.
But Laidlaw does for me what a nine does: he does his basics well, gets to rucks, gets the ball away, and he also has a high percentage when it comes to goal kicking.
He is also the captain, and if Scotland are looking long term for a new captain then they should look to someone like Jonny Gray.
Centre Alex Dunbar had a good tournament along with Mark Bennett and I rate Tommy Seymour and Stuart Hogg, so it's not like they don't have decent backs.
On paper they have a good side but just cannot produce the performances to win games because mentally they cannot get themselves over the finishing line.
Samoa could beat them in their Pool B match at the World Cup but I expect them to finish second and reach the knock-out stages because I'd like to think newish coach Vern Cotter will have got the best out of them by then.
In my view they're currently at about 80% of what they can be.
Jerry was talking to BBC Sport's James Standley
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The final round of games in the Six Nations was a festival of rugby and a truly amazing day.
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The Arirang handset, described as a "hand phone" in state media, was shown to leader Kim Jong-un during a factory tour.
The country has had a mobile network since 2008, but activity is heavily monitored and restricted.
Last year the country launched a tablet, but it later emerged it was likely to have been made in China.
Clues to the tablet's origin were uncovered by Martyn Williams, an expert on North Korean technology, who noted that parts of the tablet's software code suggested links to a manufacturer in Hong Kong.
The Arirang smartphone, named after a popular folk song, was unlikely to have been made in the country, Mr Williams added.
He noted that no actual manufacturing was shown, and that the device was "probably made to order by a Chinese manufacturer and shipped to the May 11 Factory where they are inspected before going on sale".
The leader was accompanied by the Korean Workers' Party propaganda chief and the head of the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a hint that the devices could be used for widespread dissemination of government information.
Mr Kim was seen to be demoing the device, which appeared to be running a version of Google's Android mobile operating system.
There are no further details available about the smartphone's exact specifications, but the KNCA reported that the leader praised the "high pixels" of the built-in camera.
The article said Mr Kim had high hopes for the "educational significance in making people love Korean things".
He advised that factory workers should "select and produce shapes and colours that users like".
Mobile phones in the secretive country have been available since 2008. The national network is maintained thanks to a joint operation by the North Korean government and Egyptian telecoms company Orascom.
Phones on the network are heavily restricted. They cannot access the internet and can only make calls within North Korea.
For a short time, foreigners in the country were able to use mobile internet, but this access was later revoked.
It is believed that many in North Korea, particular those near the borders, use illegally owned mobiles to contact people outside the country.
One man, a 28-year-old who left North Korea in November 2010, told a research paper: "In order to make sure the mobile phone frequencies are not being tracked, I would fill up a washbasin with water and put the lid of a rice cooker over my head while I made a phone call."
Being found in possession of a foreign phone would be a very serious crime, the paper's authors said.
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC
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North Korea says it has produced its first home-grown smartphone, but experts have disputed its origins.
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Guy, 19, from Bury, added the 200m freestyle title to Monday's 400m gold, beating Serbia's Velimir Stjepanovic to win in one minute 47.06 seconds.
Jazz Carlin clocked 4:07.42 to win silver in the 400m freestyle, matching her runner-up finish in the 800m.
Ross Murdoch, Luke Greenbank, Stephen Milne and Liam Tancock all won bronze.
Greenbank, who won two individual golds and two relay silvers at this year's European Games in Baku, recorded 1:58.83 in the 200m backstroke, one second behind silver medallist Masaki Kanek of Japan.
Milne and Tancock rounded off the action at the Hamad Aquatic Centre in the 1500 freestyle and 50m backstroke respectively.
South Africa's Cameron Van der Burgh remains unbeaten in the 2015 World Cup Series across both the 50m and 100m breaststroke events, winning the 100m in a time of 59.68.
The 27-year-old was the only finalist to dip beneath the one minute mark, Murdoch recording 1:00.84, just behind Hungarian Daniel Gyurta (1:00.60).
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Teenager James Guy claimed a second gold as Great Britain increased their medal tally to nine after two days of the Swimming World Cup in Doha.
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The hosts were 6-0 up when Falcons wing Vereniki Goneva was shown a yellow card for preventing a touchdown, for which Bath were awarded a penalty try.
That sparked another three tries in eight minutes as Bath secured a try bonus point before the break.
They added another four scores before Ally Hogg's late consolation try.
Dean Richards' Falcons side narrowly beat Sale in their season opener the week before, but this was their biggest defeat in 11 years as they struggled to deal with Bath's attacking play.
England winger Semesa Rokoduguni impressed throughout for Bath as he crossed twice, with lock Dave Atwood also going over for two tries.
Matt Banahan, Kahn Fotuali'i and Elliot Stooke scored their other tries as they made it two wins from two for Kiwi Blackadder since he replaced Mike Ford over the summer.
Newcastle, who finished 11th last season, did have a Joel Hodgson try ruled out for obstruction before Hogg dotted down out wide to prevent them finishing without any points.
Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder: "I'm just so pleased for our players. It was fantastic.
"It was a great atmosphere. The support here is unbelievable. You just feel the passion and commitment to the team.
"When Semesa Rokoduguni saw the opportunities he really went for it. That inspired our guys. Dave Attwood was one of our best today, too.
"We'll celebrate and enjoy this tonight, a fantastic performance. It's great weather and the boys probably deserve a few quiet beers - and so they should."
Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards: "George Ford was by far the best player on the field. He was outstanding.
"The penalty try changed the game entirely. The way we saw it, Niki Goneva was taken out but we haven't got all the angles the referee has.
"To capitulate in the way we did in the 10 minutes after that was poor from our point of view, the inability to react to it. So in that respect we've got to take it on the chin."
"We came down here on a bit of a high and got a wake-up call. Having said that, it's not going to be easy at home to Leicester next week."
Bath: Homer; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Clark, Banahan; Ford (c), Fotuali'i; Auterac, Batty, Palma-Newport, Charteris, Attwood, Ewels, Sisi, Mercer
Replacements: Dunn, Obano, Lahiff, Stooke, Douglas, Cook, Priestland, Williams
Newcastle: Hammersley; Goneva, Harris, Socino, Sinoti; Delany, Takulua; Rogers, Lawson, Welsh, Green, Witty, Olmstead, Welch (c), Wilson
Replacements: Sowrey, Lockwood, Ryan, Robinson, Hogg, Young, Hodgson, Waldouck
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Bath ran in eight tries as they overpowered a poor Newcastle side in director of rugby Todd Blackadder's first home match in charge.
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36,882,106 |
Kenyan authorities deported the Congolese rumba star on Saturday after video footage of him appearing to kick one of his female dancers went viral.
The Agriculture and Commercial society of Zambia said the "disappointing" incident was behind its decision.
Olomide has denied assault, though he has since apologised for his behaviour.
In a post on his official Facebook page on Sunday, the singer apologised to his fans, especially "women and children", asking for forgiveness.
"I profoundly regret what happened... it was a moment of madness," Olomide told Congolese national broadcaster RTNC, in an interview attached to the same Facebook post.
The star apologised directly to the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who may have felt "dishonoured by this behaviour".
The footage of Friday's incident at Nairobi's international airport sparked outrage on social media.
Kenyan authorities deported Olomide, 60, and three of his dancers on Saturday to DR Congo's capital Kinshasa, following a public outcry over the incident.
Speaking to BBC Afrique on Friday, he denied kicking anyone and said he had tried to "stop" a "girl who wanted to fight the dancers I came with".
The video shown on Kenya's KTN News shows police intervening to stop the apparent attack on the woman.
Kenyan Youth and Gender Minister Sicily Kariuki had called for the singer's deportation.
"His conduct was an insult to Kenyans and our constitution," she said. "Violence against women and girls cannot be accepted in any shape, form or manner."
The star has been in similar trouble in the past:
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Organisers in Zambia have cancelled a planned concert by one of Africa's biggest musicians, Koffi Olomide, in a row over an alleged assault in Kenya.
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30,810,025 |
Transformers: Age of Extinction, which made more than $1bn at the worldwide box office, has seven nominations including worst picture and screenplay.
Director Michael Bay has also been nominated for a Razzie, which launched in 1980 as a spoof of the Oscars.
Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas and The Legend of Hercules received six nods.
They join action comedy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - another Michael Bay production - and Nicolas Cage's thriller Left Behind in the worst picture category.
Other notable nominees include Cameron Diaz, who is cited for her roles in romantic comedies The Other Woman and Sex Tape as well as worst supporting actress in the remake of Annie.
Seth MacFarlane, who hosted the Oscars in 2013, also has a number of nominations for his comic western, A Million Ways to Die in the West.
He joins Bay in the worst director category and is nominated for "worst screen combo" with Charlize Theron, who is also up for worst actress.
MacFarlane is also in the running for worst actor alongside The Legend of Hercules' Kellan Lutz, Cameron, Cage and Adam Sandler.
Sandler is no stranger to the Razzies, having received 10 nominations for worst actor and won three times.
A new category has also been launched to honour a past Razzie winner for a critically acclaimed role.
Online voters will choose between Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Mike Myers, Keanu Reeves and Kristen Stewart for this year's "redeemer" award.
The winners of the spray-painted golden raspberry statues will be announced at a ceremony on the eve of the Academy awards in February.
The full list of nominees is as follows:
Worst Picture
Worst Actor
Worst Supporting Actor
Worst Actress
Worst Supporting Actress
Worst Director
Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel
Worst Screen Combo
Worst Screenplay
Redeemer Award
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The fourth entry in the Transformers franchise leads this year's Razzie nominations, which single out the worst movies of the last 12 months.
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35,091,872 |
Caroline Jones, 47, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, began Knickers Model's Own in memory of her mother Mary Benson, who died of breast cancer.
Her 365th outfit is a modified lab coat from Cancer Research UK scientists at the Cambridge Institute.
"This is paying tribute to the scientists," she said.
"Without science you can't have the Cancer Research shops.
"It's been hard to find a final outfit because eyes are on you. I wanted to go out with a bang - but to me it's all about fusing fashion and science."
Ms Jones was given the coat by centre director Simon Tavaré, who challenged her to "style it up".
She has since worked with a tailor to make it look "more like a coat dress", although she admitted it was a "very different look" for her.
Mrs Benson, who died in October 2014, had been a volunteer at the charity's Harpenden shop for 13 years.
Mother-of-three Ms Jones started volunteering as a window dresser soon after her mother died, and on New Year's Eve last year decided she would post a photograph every day on social media of her wearing a different outfit.
She hoped to raise £1,000 in a year, but her daily posts became so popular she increased her fundraising target. So far she has raised more than £43,500.
She says her next project will be to write a book about her year of pre-loved fashion, but the first thing she is going to do is buy some new footwear.
"On 1 Jan I won't be thinking about what I'm wearing but I will carry on wearing pre-loved clothes - it's part of my life," she said.
"Then I'm going to buy some new shoes - it's been hard finding my size in a style I'd like, and with shoes the size has to be right."
Simon Ledsham, director of volunteer fundraising at Cancer Research UK said the charity was "thrilled" by Ms Jones' campaign.
"She has been an inspiration to many and has shown what great clothing can be found in our shops," he said.
Ms Jones's efforts have also been recognised by Prime Minister David Cameron, who awarded her a Point of Light award, a daily accolade to celebrate people's "remarkable achievements".
"Caroline has come up with an innovative way to pay tribute to her mother and raise a fantastic amount of money for charity," Mr Cameron said. "As well as raising money for an important cause, Caroline has helped raise awareness of the benefits of shopping in charity shops and that with a little styling outfits can be ethical and fashionable."
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A woman wearing charity shop outfits for a year to raise money for cancer research says she is "fusing fashion and science" in her final outfit.
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36,168,571 |
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request found the maternity ward at the Royal Berkshire Hospital was closed on 47 occasions last year.
The hospital delivers about 500 babies a month, but some pregnant women had to be "diverted" to other hospitals.
The Royal Berkshire said midwife recruitment was improving.
Rebecca Pullen who was turned away from the Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) last year, said she was told the labour ward was "completely closed".
She was driven to a maternity unit in High Wycombe before eventually being driven back to the RBH.
She said: "When it's your first baby, it's terrifying - you don't know what's going to happen, you don't know where you're going to have your baby.
"And the fact my birth plan wasn't taken into account wasn't ideal."
Up to 13% of midwife posts at the RBH were vacant in March 2016, while the annual spend on agency midwives rose from £10,221 in 2014 -2015 to £198,170 in 2015-2016.
Nationally, the recommended consultant cover for a maternity unit that delivers more than 5,000 births a year is 168 hours a week.
Consultant cover at the RBH in 2014 was between 68 to 91 hours per week, a recent Care Quality Commission inspection found.
Gill Valentine, director of midwifery at the hospital, said the RBH had recruited a number of "high calibre" new staff and expected to achieve the recommended 168 hours of consultant cover in 2016.
"I accept we divert more frequently than we'd like to, but the only reason we do that is to maintain the safety of the mums and babies and that is of paramount importance," she said.
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A total of 81 expectant mothers were turned away from a labour ward at a hospital last year due to staff shortages, the BBC has learned.
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37,490,223 |
Jakki Smith, 58, was unable to claim bereavement damages after her partner of 16 years died as a result of medical negligence.
Her initial bid was rejected by a High Court judge, who said he was "powerless" to intervene but hoped Parliament "might improve the current state of the law".
She has asked for permission to appeal.
Ms Smith's partner John Bulloch died in 2011 when an infection which was missed by medics spread to his brain and killed him.
After his death, she discovered she was not entitled to £12,980 which is usually paid out in cases of negligence, because she was not Mr Bulloch's spouse or civil partner.
She said her inability to claim damages was a breach of her human rights.
At the High Court earlier this month, Mr Justice Edis said he agreed reform of the law was needed.
"It is to be hoped that the outcome of this litigation may provoke some further discussion in Parliament for further legislation which might improve the current state of the law," he said.
Ms Smith, from Chorley, Lancashire, said: "Bereavement damages are recognition of the pain and grief caused by the death of a partner and I felt that same pain and grief, with or without a marriage certificate."
Her lawyers argued bereavement damages should be extended to people who have lived with their partners for more than two years, as is already the case in Scotland.
Zak Golombeck, of Slater and Gordon, said: "We remain hopeful the courts will address this inequity, which is why we are applying for permission to appeal."
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A woman has launched a legal fight to win greater recognition for unmarried couples who suffer bereavement.
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12,126,614 |
Morag Jordan, 62, from Kirriemuir, Angus, was given a nine-month term for eight charges of assault against four children in the 1970s and 1980s.
Her husband, Anthony, also 62, was sentenced to six months, for eight charges involving two boys.
The sentencing, at Jersey's Royal Court, is the last stemming from the Historic Abuse Inquiry.
The Jordans worked as assistant house parents at the home.
During their trial, the court heard how Morag Jordan was found to have rubbed one girl's face into urine soaked sheets after she had wet the bed.
She was also found to have hit residents with her hand and with a wooden shoe.
Jurors heard how her husband hit children with a metal spoon, a knife or with his hand.
Morag Jordan was acquitted of a further 28 counts of abuse and Anthony Jordan of four.
Sentencing, the Judge Sir Christopher Pitchers said: "All children from Haut de la Garenne have said what they needed was love, care and sympathy, not cruelty and violence."
But he added it was violence they received at the hands of the Jordans.
The inquiry was launched by police in the island in September 2007, following allegations of abuse at the former children's home.
Officers took 1,776 statements from 192 victims, identifying 151 alleged abusers. Seven people, including the Jordans, were successfully prosecuted.
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A married couple have been jailed for assaulting children at former Jersey children's home Haut de la Garenne.
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31,944,916 |
George Osborne confirmed that VAT on the charges would be scrapped when the two bridges return to public ownership.
The current charge is £6.50 for cars and £13.10 for vans, which will also pay the £5.40 rate from 2018.
But the Freight Transport Association (FTA) said the reduction for lorries and buses - from £19.60 to £16.30 - was a "kick in the teeth" for its members.
Severn Bridge tolls are charged on vehicles crossing from England into Wales.
FTA spokesman Ian Gallagher warned that "by 2018 we anticipate that the toll will be in excess of £20 for HGVs".
However, Keith Palmer from the South Wales Chamber of Commerce welcomed the chancellor's move, saying the tolls had "long been a stumbling block for the Welsh economy".
"The Severn tolls are widely regarded as a tax on Wales' competitiveness and a tax on businesses," he said.
"We welcome the Chancellor's decision to reduce tolls on the Severn Bridge from 2018 so that Wales has the same opportunities to attract inward investment as other parts of the UK."
Liberal Democrat Cardiff Central MP Jenny Willott said the move was thanks to Lib Dem ministers "pushing hard" for it, promising her party would scrap the tolls completely if it is in power after May's general election.
In his Budget speech, the chancellor also confirmed negotiations had started on plans to build a £1bn tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay, and on a city deal for Cardiff.
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Severn Bridge tolls for cars and vans will be cut to £5.40 in 2018, the chancellor said in his Budget speech.
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36,425,966 |
Emily Gardner, 14, from Gloucester, was on board the boat when it was overturned by a large wave in waters off Brixham, Devon, in May 2015.
Her "ill-fitting" buoyancy aid snagged on a cleat, trapping her underwater.
A jury recorded a narrative conclusion at an inquest in Torquay. The coroner said it was "the most tragic incident".
In a statement, Emily's family said they planned to campaign for new legislation to ensure power boat drivers required a licence or training.
Latest updates on this story and more
They said they wanted it to be known as "Emily's Law" to prevent others having "to endure what we have been through".
After the hearing, they also called for all buoyancy aids to be "fitted safely and correctly".
The two-day hearing heard the boat was driven by co-owner Paul Pritchard, who said he did not see the large wave or he would have taken evasive action.
Emily was taken to hospital but pronounced dead after 80 minutes of resuscitation attempts, the hearing was told.
Following the hearing, her father, Clive Gardner, said: "My family and I miss Emily so, so much, and time will never heal. Our lives are ruined. Our hearts are truly broken and will never mend."
In a statement, the family also said that "if we had known that power boat drivers do not have to have a licence or training we would never have let her go".
They added: "We need people to become aware of the absence of legislation to ensure the safety of passengers on leisure craft, and will campaign for laws to be brought in to close this legal loophole."
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A teenager on holiday in Devon drowned after her buoyancy aid caught on a sinking speedboat, an inquest has concluded.
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36,835,545 |
Crews arrived at New Brighton marine lake in Wirral, Merseyside, at 03:15 BST after reports a boat had been taken without permission.
By the time the coastguard, police and firefighters reached the area about 10 minutes later, the youths had left.
The abandoned boat was found drifting.
The youths had left it in the middle of the marina, the coastguard said.
They had been apparently playing the augmented reality game and attempting to "follow" one of the characters across the lake.
Since the game's launch, its popularity has prompted a series of safety warnings and reports of players finding themselves in dangerous situations.
On Monday, a caller dialled 999 to report a 'stolen' Pokemon in Gloucestershire.
Senior North West coastal operations officer Danny Jamson said: "We know that many people are enjoying Pokemon Go across the UK and we wouldn't want to spoil that fun.
"However, we would ask people to use a little common sense and not to take risks while looking for Pokemon.
"The incident this morning shows that risk-taking can put not only you in danger, but also the rescue services who have to come to your aid."
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A coastguard was called into action when a group of Pokemon Go fans tried to row across a lake in a bid to "catch" one of the virtual reality characters.
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33,889,541 |
One man in County Kerry parted ways with his false teeth during a wild night at the annual Puck Fair in the Republic of Ireland.
They were discovered by staff at Kingston's bar who posted a social media appeal that has since gone viral.
"The atmosphere was electric on Monday night," said bar manager Erwin Kingston.
"It was almost closing time and testament to the Puck Fair, there was a good party going on, with a few stragglers left."
As the crowd drifted outside, Mr Kingston said a staff member made an unusual discovery.
Forty winks
"They were cleaning the toilet and came out with a set of teeth and said 'look at this, you'll never believe what I found'".
Mr Kingston took a picture of the teeth and posted them on Facebook.
"Within five minutes, I was getting likes and comments."
The owner did not have to wait long to be reunited with his teeth.
"I spotted one guy in the bar earlier that night who went for 40 winks - I had a feeling they could be his."
Mr Kingston spotted him outside and handed him the teeth.
"He didn't say a whole pile."
"I'd say a good snore is what caused him to lose his teeth."
The annual Puck Fair in Killorglin, County Kerry, attracts about 100,000 visitors over three days.
A wild goat is captured three weeks before the event and "reigns over the town" as King Puck for three days and nights in a tradition dating back 400 years.
The festival begins with a horse fair on Monday and ends with fireworks and the taking down of the goat on Wednesday.
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We have all lost something on a night out, be it a shoe, a mobile phone or even a handbag.
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39,437,815 |
The Lib Dems had sought to have Mr Brown formally censured at Holyrood over the deal, which the first minister signed with the companies in 2016.
Concerns were raised by opposition parties about the human rights records and credibility of the firms.
MSPs voted against censuring Mr Brown after he apologised in the chamber.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SinoFortone and China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group (CR3) at her official Bute House residence in March 2016. It was said to be worth up to £10bn.
Opposition parties raised questions about the firms, after reports China Railway Group had been named in an Amnesty International report on human rights abuses, and had been blacklisted by Norway's national oil fund. The credibility of SinoFortone also came under scrutiny,
Ms Sturgeon stressed that no specific deals had been done, and said due diligence would be carried out before any were.
The Scottish government initially blamed opposition parties for the eventual collapse of the deal, highlighting what they called a "climate of hostility".
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie put forward a motion for debate at Holyrood calling on the Scottish government to "apologise" for the affair and censuring Mr Brown "for failing to exercise basic diligence initially and then subsequently criticising opposition MSPs for raising basic questions".
Mr Rennie told members that "Scotland's reputation has been tarnished".
Referring to the affair being dubbed "the Scottish shambles" in China, he said: "The Scottish shambles was born, and Keith Brown was the midwife."
He was backed by the Conservatives, with Dean Lockhart criticising SNP "incompetence", and Labour, with Richard Leonard saying it was a matter "not merely of good or bad business, but a matter of good government".
However Patrick Harvie of the Greens, while critical, said he could be convinced to abstain in the final vote if he heard a "clear, simple and direct apology" from Mr Brown.
The cabinet secretary put forward an amendment removing mention of the censure but including passages regretting concerns arising and "considering and taking account of" them, and he duly apologised to members.
He said: "I take full responsibility for the handling of this MoU, and I am sorry for the issues that have arisen from it."
He said parliament would "learn lessons" and would "only sign investment agreements where appropriate due diligence, including of the human rights records of companies involved, has been undertaken".
In the subsequent votes, Mr Brown's amendment was passed by 63 votes to 55, with three members abstaining, and the motion subsequently passed.
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Scottish Economy Minister Keith Brown has apologised over a collapsed investment pact with two Chinese firms, saying he takes "full responsibility".
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36,991,332 |
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Hashtag United were only officially formed six months ago, but are pioneering an alternative way of consuming football that's a far cry from the sport's elite.
The club have taken concepts used in electronic gaming and brought them to 'real-life' football - throwing in a shot of Sunday league camaraderie for good measure.
However, this side is far removed from the cold changing rooms, unpredictable playing surfaces and fixture postponements associated with the grassroots game played by thousands on weekend mornings.
Hashtag don't play in a conventional league, but have already appeared at Wembley, almost signed Adebayo 'The Beast' Akinfenwa and earned the chance to feature on the new Football Manager game.
So what exactly is the attraction of watching a bunch of guys you have never heard of playing against teams you never knew existed?
Hashtag's games are filmed by a four-man camera crew then edited and posted on YouTube. They play matches that are almost exhibition in style, using video games as an inspiration for applying league formats, incentives and challenges.
It's working, because the London-based club already boast a social media following bigger than some English Football League sides.
Their Instagram account topped 100,000 followers this month, they have over 41,000 on Twitter and a recent team 'penalty challenge' was watched by more than one million people on YouTube.
But to understand the club's appeal, you have to first acknowledge the background of creator and captain Spencer Owen.
Owen is a YouTube celebrity in his own right with 1.5 million people subscribing to his channel, Spencer FC. It was his idea that all Hashtag's games, and some training exercises, would be filmed with the purpose of being shown in highlights packages online.
"Using my channel and existing fanbase as a starting point certainly helped," said the 27-year-old, who arranges the matches.
"Creating a football team with games that play out on YouTube has always been a big ambition for me and this year felt like the right time to finally give it a go."
His own journey to relative YouTube stardom began eight years ago, making video content in his bedroom at university in Reading, and in 2013 he turned that into a full-time career.
So why does he believe this recipe has been a success?
"There's been a lot of support for 'real-life' football content on YouTube for a while and it's great to see," added Owen, whose other projects include the popular Wembley Cup.
"It's certainly an alternative to the business-driven Premier League with £100m transfer fees and £100 match tickets."
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An audacious bid for now-Wycombe forward Akinfenwa aside, Hashtag United's side has been cobbled together from old school friends and university mates.
Facing teams including Google, a Comedians XI and a Manchester City staff team, Hashtag often play in top-flight stadiums and against players ranging from ex-pros such as Graeme Le Saux, Ray Parlour and Paul Dickov to British stand-up comic Omid Djalili.
"We don't pretend to be top-quality footballers," added Owen. "We all come from different backgrounds and our squad is made up of players with varying abilities.
"We are just a group of down-to-earth guys who enjoy playing football with each other and we're loving some of the incredible things we've got to do together."
Average Joes or not, you may end up signing one of the Hashtag United squad on computer simulation game Football Manager next season.
"The fact that we are all going to be in the new Football Manager game is incredible because we all grew up playing it," said Owen. "That was an awesome reward for defeating the FM team.
"Akinfenwa is a good friend of mine and for a while the deal looked like it might happen. When he did his Zlatan-style announcement about signing for us it certainly turned a few heads."
While a traditional league system is confined to structures and regulations set by football's governing bodies, Hashtag have used a set-up similar to one you might find on a computer game.
Electronic gaming is an incredibly popular market and e-sports, where players compete on video games against one another, is a big-money business.
In fact, while all Hashtag's 'real-life' players are amateurs, the club employs a professional Fifa player, Harry Hesketh, with Premier League clubs such as West Ham doing the same.
Back in the (almost) real world, Owen has created a divisional set-up that suits the club's needs. Each 'division' lasts 10 games, while promotion and relegation depends on Hashtag hitting a certain points target.
It's like moving up or down levels on a video game, with Hashtag essentially the only side in the division.
"We've kind of re-imagined the way a football league structure can work," added Owen, who grew up in Essex.
"We've taken a lot of influences from popular football gaming titles in the way that we've built accomplishments and challenges into our content and our own divisional set up is similar to one you might find when playing games such as Fifa 16 online."
Hashtag are not the only side to have built a YouTube following. Others such as Sidemen and Palmers FC also exist in the online world having arrived there via varying routes.
While Hashtag provide a well-polished production, for Palmers the football came first and the YouTube videos followed.
The Thurrock-based friends played together as youngsters and decided to reform as a Sunday league team three years ago. In Matt Smith, or Smiv, they already had a YouTuber in their ranks.
"It was all about having a bit of a reunion every Sunday," explained Smith. "We don't see each other much now as we've all got jobs and commitments, so that's pretty much our time together as mates.
"The first season we didn't film, but the next season I kicked off the YouTube channel because, with the amount of stuff that happened in that original season, I wished we had got it on camera.
"In our first game filming we scored from a corner, so I thought 'we've got a good series going on here'. It wasn't until about half a year in when people started cottoning on to it and sharing it. There was a big fight on the pitch and it went viral. Ever since then it's gained traction."
Smith, a video producer by trade, turned his YouTube channel into a full-time job last year and Palmers' games - recorded from the halfway line on one of his old cameras - rack up hundreds of thousands of hits.
"It's nitty gritty, it's wet and muddy - we don't really care about the look of it, it's capturing as much as possible, really," he added. "I think that's why it works, because it's so simple.
"Sometimes the view's not great, sometimes people get in the way, you miss a goal or the battery runs out. There's no script to it either, we plonk the camera down and whatever happens, happens."
There is a hope that traditional grassroots sides will be able to adopt some of these aspects and develop their own highlights packages to share on social media platforms, whether that be to increase fan engagement or analyse individual performances.
Pitchero is a company that provides websites for grassroots sports clubs, and is currently used by more than 4.2 million people each month.
The company is now encouraging users to work with one of its new technology packages to record live matches and take 30-second, shareable highlight clips.
Pitchero's CEO Mark Fletcher believes there is huge potential in developing club-generated content.
"Sport is inherently engaging. It's why people watch sport in the first place - in the hope of witnessing something amazing," he said. "These amazing things happen at all levels of sport."
Smith isn't sure it is for everyone, although he does hope other teams will get on board because "football is a good laugh and a good way of sharing different things".
He says the current Palmers team has "another year or two max" after this season, but is toying with ideas of how to prolong the brand.
"I'm yet to see a proper Sunday league team do it properly," he said. "People pop up, but not consistently, every single week. I think it's quite rare for a video producer to be part of a football team.
"That's what I'm trying to do now, future-proof it and work out where we go when the 29, 30-year-olds hang their boots up and start families.
"One route would possibly be to start a football academy off the back of it, because there is so much interest and a lot of youngsters want to play just to play for Palmers - they just want to wear the kit."
As for Hashtag United, who have also enjoyed success selling club shirts and memorabilia to fans, Spencer is confident the club will outlive the playing careers of him and his team-mates.
"As a club, I think Hashtag United has huge potential with where it could go in the future," he added.
"We've got some very exciting plans to take things up a gear in terms of opposition and challenges. We're only just getting started."
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They have no place on the football pyramid and only a handful of travelling fans, but more than half a million viewers tune in to watch one team of amateurs play every week.
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38,938,519 |
It is hoped 5,700 pupils aged 14 and over will spend up to four hours a week on the subject in a five-year pilot.
Classroom and online teaching, "real-world challenges" and work experience will be made available from September.
A Commons committee last week warned that a skills shortage was undermining confidence in the UK's cyber defences.
The risk that criminals or foreign powers might hack into critical UK computer systems is now ranked as one of the top four threats to national security.
Russia in particular is suspected of planning sustained attacks on Western targets.
Cyber security is a fast-growing industry, employing 58,000 experts, the government says, but the Public Accounts Committee has warned it is proving difficult to recruit people with the right skills.
UK's cyber security defences questioned
Russian hacks 'aim to destabilise the West'
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is providing £20m for the lessons, which will be designed to fit around pupils' current courses and exams.
Digital and Culture Minister Matt Hancock said: "This forward-thinking programme will see thousands of the best and brightest young minds given the opportunity to learn cutting-edge cyber security skills alongside their secondary school studies.
"We are determined to prepare Britain for the challenges it faces now and in the future and these extra-curricular clubs will help identify and inspire future talent."
The government is already providing university funding and work placements for promising students.
An apprenticeship scheme has also begun to support key employers to train and recruit young people aged 16 or over who have a "natural flair for problem-solving" and are "passionate about technology".
Steve Elder, 20, who is a cyber security apprentice with BT, told BBC Radio 5 Live that educating young people about the risks and vulnerabilities of the cyber security world would help the UK prepare for the future.
He added: "Getting young people involved and getting them taught from a young age will allow them - even in their home environment - to protect themselves, before it has to come to people at a specialist level."
Mr Hancock told the BBC he wanted to ensure the UK "had the pipeline of talent" it would need.
Cyber security expert Brian Lord, a former deputy director at GCHQ, told BBC Breakfast that the scheme was an "essential initiative" to recruit more people into the profession.
He added: "There is perception that cyber security is all about techno geeks who have long hair, glasses, wear heavy metal t-shirts and drink red bull.
"There are those, and they do an extraordinarily good job. But there is a whole range of other activities... that can appeal to a wide cross section of children, graduates and apprentices, and at the moment they don't know what [is on] offer.
"The more exposure [children] can get [the more it will] prepare them for a future career and, as that generation needs to understand how to be safe online, you get a double benefit."
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Schoolchildren in England will be offered lessons in cyber security in a bid to find the experts of the future to defend the UK from attacks.
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32,578,038 |
The government established an emergency zone along about 100 km (60 miles of coast) and had asked people to avoid swimming and fishing.
The ship had been carrying almost 200 tonnes of ammonium nitrate used in fertilizers and explosives.
But a spokesman later said only small traces had been found in the water.
Costa Rica's Emergency Commission said bathing was considered safe but fishing would be banned for a further 72 hours.
Reinaldo Carballo said the emergency alert had been considered preventive "because of the potential impact ammonium nitrate could have on human health".
He said they hoped the chemical, which is highly soluble, had dissolved and been taken out to sea on the tide.
Government officials said an enquiry into who was responsible for the ship sinking and the spillage would begin as soon as possible.
Costa Rica has the largest number of foreign tourists in Central America and is a popular destination for nature and eco-tourism because of its pristine beaches, tropical forests and large nature reserves and parks.
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A ship containing toxic chemicals sparked an emergency alert off the coast of the Costa Rica tourist town of Puntarenas when it sank in heavy seas.
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32,235,870 |
She told listeners she had had "a staggering response" since last week's seven-way leaders' debate with tourists from England telling her they wished they could vote for a similar party.
Jason asked about newspaper coverage of her appearance in the debate, with Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail suggesting she had strayed from the cast of Gavin and Stacey. Ms Wood said she welcomed the fact Fleet Street papers were now writing about Plaid Cymru
She also defended her party's candidate in Ceredigion, Mike Parker, who has made headlines in the last 24 hours over comments he wrote in Planet magazine in 2001. The story was broken by the Cambrian News and followed up by, among others, Sky News, the Western Mail and the BBC.
Many Plaid members - at least, if you can judge from Twitter - think that comments made in 2001, before he contemplated a political career, are not news, despite yesterday's row. Editor Beverly Thomas said: "The Cambrian News stands by the story's newsworthiness and relevance."
Mr Parker wrote: "It is a sad truth that many English migrants into rural Wales are out-and-out racists.
"Their principal reason for leaving English cities was to get away from the multi-cultural society, from black and Asian people in particular, and they see rural Wales, with its largely white population as a safe haven."
He added: "To some extent, rural Wales has become the British equivalent of the American mountains, inhabited by a sprinkling of paranoid conspiracy theorists, gun-toting Final Solution crackpots and anti-government obsessives."
Today, Ms Wood said: "He's an excellent candidate. He's somebody who unites people, he abhors racism.
"He didn't use the word 'Nazi', he used two words he accepts are problematic which he accepts he wouldn't use now [Final Solution]. The article needs to be put in context it was written in 2001.
"Mike is an Englishman. He's from Kidderminster, he's moved into Wales and he was raising concerns that he had discovered after conversations with his fellow countrymen.
"The article was speaking out against racist attitudes that he had come across. It looks like a deliberate attempt to smear our candidate in Ceredigion. His campaign's going very well and he's proving to be a real threat to the Liberal Democrats there."
She added: Racism is a growing problem in Wales and it is right to speak out against racism....what Mike was saying in this article back in 2001 was a statement against racism. He should be commended for speaking out against racism in such a strong way."
"It's a deliberate attempt I do believe to smear Mike Parker....he will not apologise for being a strong anti racist. And I'm proud of him for that."
Suggestions about who was behind the sudden re-discovery of the article - which made news at the time - have ranged from MI5 to the more prosaic Google. Beverly Thomas said: "The story was born from a journalist doing a journalist's job - gathering information on all 7 of Ceredigion's candidates".
Ms Wood was also asked about Plaid's hopes for the election. "We're not making predictions, that's a fool's game but of course we're going all out as hard as we can."
(Plaid campaign co-ordinator Lord Wigley has suggested Plaid hope to win six seats)
The candidates so far declared to be standing in Ceredigion are: Henrietta Hensher (Conservative), Jack Huggins (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition), Gethin James (UKIP), Mike Parker (Plaid Cymru), Huw Thomas (Labour), Daniel Thompson (Green Party), and Mark Williams (Liberal Democrats).
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Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood was a guest on Jason Mohammad's Radio Wales show on Thursday.
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Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are fighting plans to have drivers instead of guards operate the doors on some services.
The union insist the dispute is about "ensuring that Scotland's trains run safely".
But ScotRail said the RMT had been running a campaign of "disinformation that doesn't bear any scrutiny".
In a statement, RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: "The union has made sufficient progress to enable us to suspend the current programme of industrial action on ScotRail to allow for further detailed discussions on the issue of platform train despatch procedures.
"The progress we have been able to make in this dispute is entirely down to the resilience, determination and strength of our ScotRail members who have taken wave after wave of rock-solid action in defence of rail safety.
"They are a credit to the entire trade union movement."
ScotRail have said a solution to the dispute is "in talks not strikes".
Phil Verster, Managing Director of the ScotRail Alliance said: "I am really pleased for our customers and our people that the RMT have accepted our request to suspend further industrial action.
"Doing this allows us to get round the table and finalise an agreement that will, hopefully, bring this dispute to an end."
Mr Verster said they would keep a second member of staff on board their trains to look after our customers.
He added: "We have made a very positive proposal that we will now seek agreement on. If it is agreed, it would mean that conductors could concentrate on delivering an even better service to our customers.
"It would also mean that our trains will be more punctual and would allow us to deliver faster journeys."
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Strikes planned by ScotRail workers are off for the time being to allow further talks with union bosses.
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40,789,659 |
The 12-year-olds and their mother, 43, died after their car collided with an oncoming lorry on the A361 near Barnstaple at 08:25 BST on Monday.
The woman's husband was travelling in a separate vehicle with her 14-year-old son and saw the crash behind them.
The family was from the Milton Keynes area, Devon and Cornwall Police also confirmed.
More on the crash and other news
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her daughter was pronounced dead on arrival at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, and her son, taken to hospital via air ambulance, died shortly after.
An investigation is under way and police have asked for witnesses to come forward.
A woman and two children were taken to hospital after a crash on the same stretch of the North Devon Link Road on Sunday.
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Two children who died in a crash while on holiday in north Devon were twins, police have said.
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40,766,166 |
The 21-year-old, who moved to the Terriers from Oldham Athletic last summer, has played 10 first-team games and kept five clean sheets.
"Joel has shown what a capable young goalkeeper he is," head coach David Wagner said.
"He performed very well every time he came into the team."
Coleman played 45 appearances for Oldham before moving to the John Smith's Stadium for an undisclosed fee.
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Goalkeeper Joel Coleman has extended his stay at Huddersfield Town until the summer of 2019, after signing improved contract terms.
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The mob attacked the 21-year-old woman and her three friends - all Tanzanians - as they were passing by the accident site a little later.
The crowd chased the young woman and "removed her top", police said.
Tanzanian embassy officials have sought a report into the incident.
The incident took place on Sunday night, but was first reported only on Tuesday.
Police told BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi in Bangalore that a mob gathered in Hessarghatta area after an allegedly drunk student from Sudan ran his car over a woman sleeping on the roadside.
The mob beat up the man and set fire to his car, but he managed to escape.
"About 30 minutes later, the four [Tanzanian] students, including the woman, were passing by when they stopped to inquire what had happened. That was when they were attacked," Bernandoo Kafumu, president of the Tanzanian students' association at the local college, said.
"The woman did not even know the [Sudanese] man who was involved in the accident," said a member of the association who did not want to be named.
"After they were attacked, the Tanzanians ran back to their car and tried to drive away, but there was an obstacle on the road. So they got down and ran. She ran for her life. The local people chased her and removed her clothes," he added.
The mob also set the women's car on fire.
A senior police official confirmed that "her top was torn and removed, but there was no sexual assault".
"After the news appeared in a section of the local media on Wednesday, we asked her to lodge a complaint. We are now following all procedures, we are getting her medically examined," TR Suresh, deputy commissioner of police for north Bangalore, told BBC Hindi.
Bangalore, often called India's Silicon Valley for being the hub of global software firms, is home to hundreds of foreign students, including 150 from Tanzania.
But, there have been clashes between them and locals.
"We are living in fear. The government and the police must do something about it," an African woman studying in the city said.
"There have been small incidents. It largely relates to some students playing loud music at night," Mr Kafumu said.
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A Tanzanian student was assaulted and partially stripped by a mob in the southern Indian city of Bangalore after a Sudanese student's car ran over and killed a local woman.
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37,886,601 |
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Tries from Jordi Murphy, CJ Stander and Conor Murray helped the Irish to a 25-8 half-time lead, then Simon Zebo scored his side's fourth try in the corner.
The world champions fought back to move to within four points but Robbie Henshaw's late try ensured the victory.
The sides will meet in another Test match in Dublin in two weeks' time.
This was Ireland's first success over the Kiwis in 111 years and it came about in sensational fashion as Joe Schmidt's men repelled a stirring second-half comeback by Steve Hansen's side.
TJ Perenara, Ben Smith and Scott Barrett added to George Mola's first-half try for the New Zealanders but despite some sustained late pressure, they fell short for the first time in their past 19 encounters with top-tier nations.
The match was the first of four autumn internationals for both sides, played in front of a capacity crowd of 60,000 at Soldier Field in Chicago, a venue chosen in an attempt to increase the exposure of the sport.
The teams will meet again at the Aviva Stadium in a fortnight after Ireland host Canada next Saturday and Steve Hansen's side face Italy in Rome on the same day.
From the start, the Irish effort appeared to be fuelled by the memory of former international and Munster head coach Anthony Foley, who died suddenly last month.
Prior to kick-off Ireland lined up in the shape of a number eight, the jersey worn with distinction by Foley for many years, while their opponents performed their traditional pre-match haka.
Ireland made light of the aura of invincibility surrounding the three-time world champions in a first half which they mostly dominated to go in 17 points to the good at the break.
Schmidt's side produced a performance of accuracy, purpose, pace and skill as they denied the All Blacks quality possession and repeatedly frustrated their efforts to win their own line-outs.
The Irish display bore echoes of the Test between the sides in Dublin in November 2013 when they built up a 19-0 lead, before ultimately losing 24-22 after conceding a last-gasp converted try, but there was to be no repeat of that outcome this time.
Moala raced through for a fifth-minute try after Waisake Naholo had carved a way through the Ireland defences but the turning point of the opening period came when front-rower Joe Moody was yellow-carded for a tip tackle on Robbie Henshaw.
Ireland made good use of the prop's 10-minute absence as Murphy rumbled over after a rolling maul and then fellow flanker Stander surged over the line following a break by Rob Kearney.
Murphy was subsequently carried off after turning his knee in a freak incident but seven minutes before the interval Murray produced a moment of magic, darting through a gap in the New Zealanders' defence to run in his third try in five Tests against the Rugby Championship winners.
The All Blacks' half-time deficit equalled their biggest ever at that stage of an international match.
The Irish momentum continued on the resumption, their relentless defensive efforts thwarting the normally ruthlessly efficient All Blacks, and Zebo increasing the advantage by touching down in the corner.
Replacement Perenara reduced the arrears by diving over near the posts and then full-back Smith managed to ground the ball beside the flag before being tackled into touch by Andrew Trimble.
Scott Barrett took advantage of some poor Ireland tackling to score on his international debut and when brother Beauden knocked over his third conversion of the game, the All Blacks trailed by just four.
Ireland continued to defend heroically however, forcing their opponents into a series of uncharacteristic errors, and a historic triumph was assured when Henshaw showed raw strength to score under the posts after Jamie Heaslip broke clear.
Ireland: R Kearney (Leinster); A Trimble (Ulster), J Payne (Ulster), R Henshaw (Leinster), S Zebo (Munster); J Sexton (Leinster), C Murray (Munster); J McGrath (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), T Furlong (Leinster); D Toner (Leinster), D Ryan (Munster); CJ Stander (Munster), J Murphy (Leinster), J Heaslip (Leinster).
Replacements: S Cronin (Leinster), C Healy (Leinster), F Bealham (Connacht), U Dillane (Connacht), J van der Flier (Leinster), K Marmion (Connacht), J Carbery (Leinster), G Ringrose (Leinster).
New Zealand: B Smith; W Naholo, G Moala, R Crotty, J Savea; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, D Coles, O Franks; P Tuipulotu, J Kaino; L Squire, S Cane, K Read (capt).
Replacements: C Taylor, O Tu'ungafasi, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden, M Fekitoa
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Ireland produced a stunning display to record a first ever win over New Zealand at the 29th attempt and end the All Blacks' run of 18 straight wins.
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But the Treasury says the changes will save over £4bn a year from 2016 and claims most working families will still be better off by 2017, as a result of the introduction of the National Living Wage and changes to income tax thresholds.
People have been contacting the BBC about the recent proposals by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Here is a selection for their comments:
@goonerfm tweets his alternative:
Leza Brumbill in Romsey, Southampton: I am a single mum with three boys.
I go to work 24 hours a week, and have to pay for childcare. I rely on my tax credits to top up my earnings.
The pressure is on me to provide a loving, secure, good standard of living for my children but cutting my taxes by nearly £1,000 is going to put more pressure on me to achieve this.
Rachel in Norfolk: I believe the cuts should go ahead. I live in a deprived area. My husband has a zero hour contract and only works a few hours a month. He primarily cares for our daughter. I work full-time.
Our net income is about £2,000 per month at best. We know families on tax credits who have higher net incomes than us but pay almost no tax and National Insurance.
These families can afford to smoke, drink, go clubbing and eat out yet we cannot. It is demotivating, going to work and knowing others earn more than you for doing less.
I have started to wonder why I don't take a less stressful job for a minimum wage and receive tax credits to top it back up.
Peter in Rochdale messaged on WhatsApp to express his concerns as a single parent:
Sharon Court in Portsmouth: We are a working family, but our income is low.
I have a degree and I do freelance work part-time as my children are in primary school.
Without tax credits we would almost certainly be plunged into debt. Raising the minimum wage is important, but it has no direct impact on me as I'm self-employed.
Lots of people like me are slipping through the cracks.
Martin Godfrey in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire: I have never claimed tax credits. I object strongly to a system that hands my hard-earned taxes to people who should be taking responsibility for their own lives and the decisions they make rather than relying on the state to look after them.
@anequal tweets his satisfaction at the House of Lords' rejection of the chancellor's plans:
Lee Dunlop in Williton, Somerset: My wife and I receive tax and child tax credits.
I work 25-30 hours per week as a school caretaker.
My pay is £8.08 per hour out of which I contribute towards a pension.
I am ex-army and in February 2013 received a kidney transplant. I am unable to work more hours. What are we supposed to do?
Stacey Sutton in Worcester: These tax cuts will be catastrophic for my family.
I have a six and one-year-old. Nursery fees are extortionate. I work 16 hours per week and my husband works in retail full-time - it's barely above the minimum wage.
I want to work. I don't want to just be sitting at home claiming off the state. Even with the tax credits we get now we are really struggling to buy food and pay the bills.
God knows how we are going to be able to afford Christmas!
Tony Dessauer in Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire: I had become complacent about the income from the tax credits.
I now deliver groceries 39 hours a week on a low wage. I am 63 and see nothing wrong with working.
I appreciate why there is an uproar about the cuts but I don't believe they should be the norm. People like me who are perfectly capable, should work.
The poorest earners and single parents need help definitely. We should all work if we need to and not rely on the state to pay us a wage.
Compiled by Sherie Ryder
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Chancellor George Osborne will "lessen" the impact of tax credit cuts on families after the House of Lords voted against the government's plans.
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30,978,946 |
The Avon and Somerset and Wiltshire forces will form a "strategic alliance" in areas including IT, HR and administration.
Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) said ruling out job cuts would be "foolish" but that the move did not herald a full merger.
Avon and Somerset's PCC said some sharing "could protect local policing".
Wiltshire and Swindon's Conservative PCC Angus Macpherson said he would be "very foolish" to rule out job cuts when millions of pounds in savings had to be found.
But he said it was "absolutely not" the forerunner to a full merger.
"There will be changes as we move forward...[but] I want to preserve the officers who respond to calls in Wiltshire and Swindon," Mr Macpherson said.
"That's what I'm absolutely committed to doing."
His Avon and Somerset counterpart, Sue Mountstevens, an Independent, said: "My job as PCC is that when we have cuts, [we] minimise the impact on local communities.
"By doing this collaboration...by saving money in back-office, in specialist functions,... we're trying to lessen the impact on our frontline."
On a visit to Somerset, the Prime Minister welcomed news that Avon and Somerset and Wiltshire police were going to work more closely together.
David Cameron said: "I would praise the police because they have had to take difficult decisions over the last few years.
"But crime in Somerset has fallen quite markedly, so the police have demonstrated that they can do more effectively with less and increase the percentage of officers on the front line."
Mike White, from the Wiltshire Police Federation, said "We do have concerns as to how this will effect our members and the impact the inevitable cuts in staffing that this will lead to.
"Ultimately cuts have consequences. We can only hope that this is a long-standing alliance and not the first step towards the disappearance of a historic and proud police force."
Since 2010, the 43 police forces in England and Wales have seen their budgets reduced by 20%.
Recently, the Avon and Somerset force sold off some of its police stations.
It has had to save £47m over the past four years and more cuts are expected.
Wiltshire Police needs to cut another £12m over the next few years.
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Two police forces in the West Country are to merge some of their back-office functions, it has been announced.
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40,579,736 |
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said 30% of consumers go in to drawdown without getting guidance.
That compares with just 5% before the pension freedoms were introduced in April 2015.
It also says that those who access drawdown policies before the age of 65 typically stick with their current provider, rather than shopping around.
Drawdown pensions allow people to withdraw as much money as they like at any one time.
The FCA said twice as many consumers are now using drawdown rather than annuities, which provide a fixed income for life.
It is also worried that too many annuity providers are leaving the market, which it said could bring a risk of weakened competition.
Critics of the pension freedoms said new rules were vital.
"Many people will run down their precious pension pots too quickly or be scammed by bogus investment advisers," said Professor David Blake, director of the Pensions Institute at Cass Business School.
"What would otherwise be a safe and secure retirement is going to end in tears for many of these people."
The FCA said that withdrawing money from pension pots had become "the new norm".
However, the pensions industry has disputed that claim.
According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), 100,000 people take money out of their pension pots every quarter.
But that is small compared to the 4.7 million people over the age of 55 who leave their pots untouched, the ABI said.
The FCA report said that 52% of fully-withdrawn pots were not spent, but were put into other savings or investments.
Some of this was due to "a lack of trust in pensions", it said.
Only a quarter of people withdrawing cash spent some or all of it.
"Contrary to the concerns expressed before the pension freedoms, we did not find that most consumers spent this money on consumer goods and services such as cars and holidays," the report said.
Of those who took all the money out of their pension pots since 2015:
As a result some consumers may be paying too much tax, or missing out on investment growth, the FCA said.
Gay man wins case for equal pension rights
The FCA is considering asking the government to:
Pensions expert Tom McPhail, from Hargreaves Lansdown, said he was concerned about the FCA's plans to intervene in the market.
"This report looks like a regulatory cry for help; the FCA seems to be trying to put the pension freedom genie back in the bottle," he said.
The TUC was also critical.
"Savers are increasingly dipping into their pots early. And others are following the path of least resistance and risk buying rip-off products," said Frances O'Grady, the TUC's general secretary.
The pension freedoms allow consumers to take out as much as they like from their pension pots after the age of 55, subject to income tax.
The regulator plans to publish its final report in the first half of 2018.
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More people are taking out so-called drawdown pensions without taking advice, the City regulator has warned.
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36,998,851 |
The green and brown pet snake, named Nigini, is not venomous and normally lives at a house in Edge Street, St Helens.
Merseyside Police is urging the public "to be vigilant" in an effort to find the snake, whose owner reported it missing.
Experts believe it will be in a warm place "such as a rockery or plant pot."
Anyone who sees the snake, described as being between 5ft to 6ft long, green and brown with beige markings, is urged to contact Merseyside Police on 101.
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A Royal Python snake is missing after slithering away from its home, prompting a police appeal.
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34,196,105 |
Turkish nationalists were enraged by a bomb blast on Sunday that killed 16 soldiers, then a rebel ambush that killed 14 police officers in a van - both incidents in the east.
It is a major escalation of ethnic tensions, putting in jeopardy fresh parliamentary elections scheduled for 1 November.
The pro-Kurdish HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) accused the ruling AKP and Turkish intelligence of orchestrating more than 400 attacks on its offices.
The HDP headquarters in Ankara was gutted by fire after a crowd attacked it.
Turkish nationalists see the HDP as the political wing of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) - a claim vehemently denied by the HDP.
Since a ceasefire collapsed in July, deadly clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK have intensified.
Turkish jets bombed PKK bases in northern Iraq and the army launched a ground operation.
The HDP accuses President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of whipping up nationalist feelings in an attempt to engineer the majority that his AK Party needs to rule.
The HDP's success in the June election - winning more than 13% of the vote - denied the AKP a majority. And the AKP's efforts to form a new coalition collapsed.
There is a bigger geopolitical dimension to the latest tensions.
Many Kurds were angered by Turkey's failure to help Kurdish fighters in the battle for Kobane in northern Syria. After months of heavy fighting the Kurdish YPG group pushed so-called Islamic State (IS) militants out of the border town in late June.
On 20 July a suicide bombing killed 32 people - mostly Kurdish youth activists - in Suruc, a Turkish town not far from Kobane.
That fuelled a Kurdish belief that Turkey was avoiding action against IS because the Islamist extremists were a useful tool to prevent the YPG and PKK linking up along its border.
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Turkey has imposed curfews and boosted security in its mainly Kurdish south-east, amid political turmoil over PKK Kurdish rebel attacks.
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16,372,453 |
Al-Shabab said its forces were surrounding the town after making what it called a planned withdrawal.
Eyewitnesses said armoured vehicles and heavy artillery were used in the attack, which Ethiopia said was made at the request of the Somali government.
Somalia's prime minister meanwhile announced an operation "to liberate the tyranny of... al-Shabab from Somalia".
"Early this morning, the Somali National Army recaptured some al-Shabab-occupied territories engaging the enemies in Hiiraan and other regions of the country," said Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, head of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
"We are officially requesting for momentous support from neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia and the international community at large to assist the Somali people and its government with this historic operation."
Al-Shabab fighters withdrew from Beledweyne after a fierce hours-long battle in which local residents had joined "the Mujahideen" to fight against more than 3,000 Ethiopian troops, according to messages posting on a twitter account reportedly run by al-Shabab's press office.
"Sheikh Abu Mus'ab, HSM Military Spokesman, has declared a planned withdrawal from the city and Mujahideen are now surrounding the city," read a tweet posted around 11:30 GMT on Saturday.
Twenty people were killed in the fighting, a BBC Somali reporter said, mostly Ethiopian troops and al-Shabab fighters.
Beledweyne is a strategic town near the Ethiopian border on the road to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
It was through the town that Ethiopia entered the country during 2006 and from it that its troops were driven in 2008, finally withdrawing back into Ethiopia, says BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut.
An Ethiopian government spokesman, Bereket Simon, told the BBC's Newshour programme: "The TFG has called on neighbouring countries including Ethiopia to assist this operation militarily so that's why we have entered."
Last month, Ethiopia denied that its troops had returned to Somalia - about two years after they withdrew after suffering heavy casualties.
The AU has about 9,000 troops in Mogadishu under a UN Security Council mandate to battle the al-Qaeda-linked group.
Foreign military intervention in Somalia is intended to prevent al-Shabab from overthrowing the weak interim government led by Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed - a moderate Islamist.
Al-Shabab announced a "tactical withdrawal" from Mogadishu in August after fierce fighting with AU forces.
AU commanders in Somalia say they need about 20,000 troops to hold on to territory captured from al-Shabab.
Somalia has not had a functioning central government for more than 20 years and has been wracked by fighting between various militias.
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Ethiopian forces have captured the central Somali town of Beledweyne from al-Shabab Islamist militants.
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33,907,922 |
Mechanical engineer Roy Keld, originally of Sedgefield, lives about 1.5 miles (2km) from the blast site with his Chinese wife and son.
He said it was a scene of "total devastation".
More than 700 were injured and hospitals are struggling to cope.
The first explosion happened at 23:30 local time (15:30 GMT) on Wednesday in an industrial zone home to car factories, aircraft assembly lines and other manufacturing and research firms.
Mr Keld said: "My wife and I felt several shockwaves. We thought it was initially thunder then a much stronger one blew several of our windows open.
"Stupidly, I started to close the windows just as a fourth and even stronger blast or shockwave hit our apartment block. The window I was closing blew open again, hitting me in the face and knocking me to the floor.
"I got two black eyes and a bloody nose. I think in retrospect I got off very lightly considering what's happened to the area. It's just total devastation."
Mr Keld has lived in China for six years as an employee of a UK company called Heat Tech Tooling, which has its Tianjin facility about 25 miles (40km) from the blast site and has been unaffected.
The China Earthquake Networks Centre said the magnitude of the first explosion was the equivalent of detonating three tonnes of TNT, while the second was the equivalent of 21 tonnes.
Mr Keld continued: "We took our son and evacuated into the street, which was rapidly filling up with people.
"The reports started coming through that it was an explosion. Nobody was panicking but there was a lot of confusion and wanting to know what was going on.
"There were a lot of sirens, emergency services going down and we had to decide what to do.
"Driving out of TEDA (Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area) this morning we passed a long line of emergency vehicles going the other way."
As a precaution Mr Keld and his family have moved to a hotel 30 miles (48km) from the blast site, but he said he hopes they will be able to return home "within the next few days".
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A British man living in the Chinese city of Tianjin has spoken of chaos and confusion following several major explosions that have killed at least 50 people.
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37,504,227 |
Eight years in the making, the 12-track record stretches to nearly 80 minutes and includes a tribute to Motorhead legend Lemmy on the song Murder One.
"We're still up there, man," frontman James Hetfield tells the BBC.
"As far as our look and our health, we're doing our best. We got grey hair but we've earned this stuff."
After the playback, the band decamped to Webster Hall for an intimate (by their standards) charity concert, playing songs from throughout their 35-year career, alongside new tracks Moth Into Flame and Hardwired.
"I don't know, eight years went by fast," Hetfield told the crowd at one point. "But not for you, I guess."
The morning after the show, singer and guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo sat down with BBC 6 Music's Matt Everitt to discuss the record.
Lars Ulrich: I'm still kind of tripping on the sonics. It just sounds really good and really rich and really full.
The last record (2008's Death Magnetic), as it went along, it kept getting bigger and bigger. The songs got longer endings and that type of stuff. This record was quite different. The songs got tighter and leaner and a little more concise.
So when I hear this, I feel this is Metallica at the leanest we've been for a while. Maybe even the leanest were capable of.
Lars Ulrich: The old cliche is "turn it up to 11". I guess we turn it up to 12 or 13. But as I get a little older, I realise there's a slight element of getting into character. You're up on stage, you're in the moment, you're with your bandmates - and you turn into a little rock gnome or something. I'm not quite like that at 7:15 in the morning when I'm trying to get kid number three to finish his fruit bowl.
James Hetfield: I've come to terms with it [aggression] being a part of me. I'm able to identify it and use it. Sharpen it at times, use it in the right places and otherwise you just shut the box on it for a while and try to be normal.
James Hetfield: Well, anything worthwhile takes work. You know, a marriage is tough enough but being married to three other guys in a band for 30-odd years? We're guys and we all have our own agenda - and we can be cynical about each other's agendas. We're creative, too, so we make up tons of stuff in our heads if we don't communicate. So communication is pretty huge.
We love each other and we hate each other and sometimes it's really easy, sometimes it's really hard but it's always worth it.
James Hetfield: It's dealing with fame - and for everyone's that's their goal: "I want to be famous!"
And there's also the topic of, "Man, are we really doing this right?" In the timeline of history, man has been around for a nanosecond and [I'm asking]: "Are we done now? Have we had our time?" There's a lot of polarization going on in the States, and I see it other places as well. But it just seems like you have to get more extreme to balance out the other extreme. We've got to find some balance in the middle here somewhere.
We stay away from politics from religion. That just seems to polarize people even more. We all have our own beliefs but, at the end of the day, we're trying to connect with people and it seems like political views don't do that as much as music does.
Lars Ulrich: That we live and breathe super heavy metal 24 hours a day, and that we have devil horns coming out of our foreheads. We're pretty chilled, normal dudes with a vast outlook on music from jazz to classical and pop to reggae. Metal is what we gravitate towards, and what we play. But most of us are borderline civilised people.
Kirk Hammett: That we're unlistenable! You take a take a name like Metallica and it automatically brings up all sorts of suggestions. What I always say is: "Give us a listen because we're not what you expect". We're not a one trick pony and we take chances. Sometimes we fail miserably, sometimes we come out sparkling clean. It's all about it's all about the experience, really.
Robert Trujillo: Each album you make, each body of music you just never know how the world's going to relate to it. And it seems that, right now, people are ready for some new Metallica and old Metallica.
I mean, we're all over 50 - I'm 51 and I'm the young guy in the band - but I feel that when we put our instruments on we're like teenagers again. You know? There's this love for what we do.
James Hetfield: We're still blown away by the fact we're still going, and that people like what we do. That's bizarre to me!
James Hetfield: I never say never on anything. In this band, we've done lots of things that we had no clue we'd even want to do - movies, and playing Antarctica and making an album with Lou Reed. So I never say never. We've got no agenda than just to play and have a good time.
Kirk Hammett: It doesn't feel like we're in the twilight of our career. From what I can gather, collectively, we still have a lot to say, music that we want to create and everything that comes in the wake of that. If I was just to stop now it would it would feel like coitus interruptus or something. I'm not finished yet!
James Hetfield: Well, my neck's a little sore from last night! There's a lot of myths in rock and roll - you're not allowed to grow up, you're not supposed to age. Yes, we are boys trapped in men's bodies but we accept where we are now. We got grey hair but we've earned this stuff. I've earned my silver.
Robert Trujillo: I feel like we're rocking for the future. We haven't even played all these new songs but I'm already thinking of the next album.
You can listen to the full Metallica interview on the Shaun Keaveny Breakfast Show, via the BBC 6 Music Website. Hardwired… To Self-Destruct is released on November 18th.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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Metallica unveiled their 11th studio album, Hardwired … to Self-Destruct, at Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios in New York on Tuesday night.
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38,281,362 |
Tyrone's Peter Harte scored a penalty to add to his eight points in a classy individual display.
Pete McGrath's Ulster side scored earlier goals through Aidan Breen and Enda Lynn.
In the hurling semi-final, Munster saw off Ulster 3-21 to 0-15 in Thurles.
Once again, the competition failed to capture the public's interest with crowds of around 100 attending the games at Parnell Park at Thurles while similar paltry amounts of spectators watched Saturday's two other semi-finals.
Munster got off to a strong start in the football semi-final and led by 0-5 to 0-2 after 16 minutes, with Waterford's Paul Whyte firing three early points, and Kerry's Tommy Walsh and Clare's Gary Brennan also on target.
However, Ulster launched a strong comeback firing 2-7 without reply, including goals from Breen and Lynn in the 18th and 30th minutes respectively.
Munster lost their captain Aidan O'Mahony to a black card in the 27th minute.
Whyte's fourth point arrived in injury-time, for Munster's first score in 16 minutes, as Ulster led by 2-9 to 0-6 at the break.
Munster responded well in the second half, outscoring their opponents by 1-3 to 0-1 inside seven minutes of the restart, with Clare's Jamie Malone netting their goal.
However, Ulster always kept on top with Harte excellent from play and frees, while Armagh's Stefan Campbell also contributed strongly with five points from play.
Ulster will face Connacht in the final next weekend.
Munster booked a hurling final date with Leinster following the win over Ulster before 62 spectators at Semple Stadium.
All-Ireland final man-of-the-match Seamus Callanan starred with 1-7, claiming Munster's second goal in the 40th minute.
The hosts were always on top in this game, and led by 1-10 to 0-7 at half-time, with Mikey Breen netting their first goal.
Armagh's Conor Corvan (0-3) kept Ulster in touch, with three of their seven first half scores and Antrim's Ciaran Clarke (0-7) also performed strongly.
However, once Callanan netted Munster's second goal, this put the game beyond the Ulstermen, with Stephen Bennett netting the final goal late on.
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Ulster will meet holders Connacht in the Interprovincial football decider after Sunday's eight-point semi-final win over Munster at Parnell Park.
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39,782,562 |
By 14:00 BST on Sunday, one of those three will be a League One club.
It is 37 years since Blackburn Rovers were in England's third tier, 22 for Birmingham City and only nine for Nottingham Forest.
Rovers and Forest are in most danger of being relegated from the Championship on Sunday, while Blues could also fill the one remaining spot in the bottom three.
BBC Sport assesses why these three struggling sides find themselves in trouble.
Blackburn will survive if they better Nottingham Forest's result, which would send Forest down. If they match Forest's result, Rovers must effect a two-goal swing on Forest to finish above them, as Forest's goal difference is better by one and they have also scored nine more goals. Blackburn will go down if both clubs draw.
Birmingham will be safe if they win, regardless of results elsewhere. However, if Blackburn and Forest both win, anything less than a victory for Blues would send them down. A draw would not be enough in that scenario as they have the worst goal difference of the three clubs, who would all finish on 51 points.
Andy Bayes, BBC Radio Lancashire: "The season comes down to one last match, which has been likened to a cup final. For Blackburn Rovers, it's more important than that.
"'Unthinkable' has been the word used in terms of relegation all season. It would be a shattering blow for a club still feeling the effects of relegation from the Premier League in 2012 and poor recruitment decisions in the aftermath.
"A victory might not secure their status. A defeat might. They just have to look after themselves, with an ear on what's happening at Ashton Gate and The City Ground."
Tony Mowbray, Blackburn manager: "We have to go into the last game knowing that we are a decent team in this league.
"It should be a pretty even match. Over the last 14 games we have shown that we are better than the league position we are in, but over 45 games we have shown we are not.
"We have to use the extra adrenalin, intensity and desire that we could have on the day.
"I am positive we can go and get a result, find a performance and then see what everyone else does.
"Sometimes knowing that you have to get result can help. There is no grey area, we have to go win.
"I will try to inspire the players before the game, give them a cause to fight for and send them out to get a victory."
Colin Fray, BBC Radio Nottingham: "Forest's problems are both short and long-term, but they've added up to a season of disaster. Owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi's five years in charge have seen the Reds finish lower each season than the previous one so it's almost inevitable that - without a new owner - a relegation scrap would follow.
"Takeovers have twice come close, and another attempt to buy the club by Evangelos Marinakis - the owner of Greek champions Olympiakos - is well advanced.
"But poor leadership and failed takeovers have led to an alarming lack of infrastructure. There's still no chief executive, and though Frank McParland is now trying to rebuild things as director of football, the lack of a scouting network has been bemoaned by a series of managers.
"Speaking of managers, there have been three this season. Philippe Montanier signed 12 players and five more were added in January, by which time he'd left and Gary Brazil was in charge.
"Of those 17 newcomers, one has been in the starting line-up in recent matches. Hardly great recruitment for a club haemorrhaging money, and when you throw in the sale of prized young asset Oliver Burke, it's not a policy that's gone down well with supporters.
"On the pitch, some things have been embarrassing: schoolboy errors, arguments between players about who would take a penalty, a player changing the formation without reference from the coaching staff.
"All that said, with Mark Warburton at the helm, McParland recruiting, the core of a good squad and a potential takeover looming again, Forest fans have cause for optimism - if they can get the job done against Ipswich."
Mark Warburton, Forest manager: "'Bravery' is the key word. We use that word a lot and we ask the players to take the ball in tight areas and deal with the situation; don't come away from the game with any regrets.
"These type of games and challenges ask questions about your strength of character and I think we have enough to deal with it. These games are where you define yourself."
Chris Cohen, Forest club captain: "It's probably the biggest game since I have been at the football club [joined in 2007]. We have to thrive in a big situation. It will test what we are like as characters.
"It's about being brave. It will be a nervy atmosphere I am sure. The fans will be nervous, the same as we are. We have to set a really high tempo to start - that is crucial. We need to show the fans how much it means to us.
"The support is vital. We understand their frustrations - lots of us have similar frustrations. But there is nothing we can do about it. The past is the past.
"We need them all for one more game. We need it be loud, we need it be encouraging. It is down to us to give them something to roar for."
Richard Wilford, BBC WM: "You can't really view Birmingham City's late relegation scrap as anything other than a self-inflicted wound.
"When new owners Trillion Trophy Asia unexpectedly dispensed with the services of manager Gary Rowett in December, the club were flirting with the play-offs, and though they were unlikely to sustain that challenge, there were few signs of danger.
"Gianfranco Zola arrived for an ill-fated four months at St Andrew's. Although he was almost bewilderingly short of good fortune, there were clearly many issues on and off the field.
"Attempting a wholesale change in playing style without a pre-season and with modest incomings in the January transfer window was, at best, optimistic.
"Ultimately it proved foolhardy as Zola managed only two wins in 22 league games and friction in the squad resulted in an unseemly squabble in the post-match warm-down at Rotherham.
"Zola's resignation gave Harry Redknapp, Steve Cotterill and Paul Groves three games to save the club's Championship status. That may have been just enough. The victory over Huddersfield in the final home game, playing most of the match with 10 men, was the stuff of real togetherness, spirit and mettle.
"But it should never have come to this."
Harry Redknapp, Birmingham manager: "The lads are in good shape. We've got pretty much everybody fit and the atmosphere around the place seems good.
"We've tried not to complicate the game for the lads too much and play to our strengths and I think we've done that so far.
"But Bristol will be a tough place to go in front of a full house and what will be their biggest crowd of the season.
"They went to Brighton and did a job on them last weekend and they beat Huddersfield 4-0 a few weeks ago, so they've got some form.
"They'll be up for it as everyone wants to win their last home game of the season, but so will we.
"A draw's no good. A point will make no difference, so it's win or bust for us."
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A former Premier League champion, a two-time European Cup holder or a recent League Cup winner.
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33,774,762 |
Its research into the ONS Labour Force Survey suggested that the number had increased 200,000 since 2007 to just under 3.2 million people.
That is a rise of 6.9% over a period when the workforce grew by about 4.6%.
The report was released ahead of a strike by Tube workers who are unhappy about London Underground's plans to introduce all-night services.
The increase in the number of people saying it is normal for them to work at night does not necessarily mean there is more work being done at night, because no account is taken of how much night work is done by each respondent.
Men are still considerably more likely to work at night, with about 15% of male workers doing night work compared with about 10% of female workers.
The largest numbers of night workers were employed as care workers, nurses and midwives.
The TUC warned about the impact of working at night on both workers' health and their family life.
"We all value night workers, whether they are cleaning our office, caring for a sick relative or driving all night so that there are fresh goods in our local shop," said TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady.
"But night work is hard and it disrupts family life, so we must show our appreciation for the sacrifices night workers make by ensuring they have sensible rights and protections."
The Tube strike will begin at 1830 on Wednesday.
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The number of UK workers who routinely work nights is on the rise, according to the TUC.
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