He's out: Ferguson City Council unanimously voted on a resolution to part ways with City Manager John Shaw, 39, effective immediately . The city manager of Ferguson, Missouri, has resigned in the wake of a US Justice Department probe that found a wide range of systemic racially biased practices by the police and municipal court. This evening, the Ferguson City Council unanimously voted on a resolution to part ways with City Manager John Shaw effective immediately. Shaw, 39, was among several individuals heavily criticized in the scathing Justice Department report issued last Wednesday. Shaw had held . the position in the St. Louis suburb since 2007. The Justice Department launched an investigation into . Ferguson's police department and municipal court after the August 9 shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a . white police officer. A news release from the city said the Council had reached a 'mutual separation agreement' with Shaw, the city's chief executive. The statement also said a nationwide search for Shaw's replacement would begin immediately. 'I believe that the city of Ferguson has the resolve to overcome the challenges it faces in the coming months and emerge as a stronger community for it,' Shaw, 39, said in a statement included in the release. Since Brown's death seven months ago, Mayor James Knowles has been the public face and voice of Ferguson's city government. But Shaw held the legal power to make personnel and policy changes in the police department —   not Knowles, a part-time officeholder who earns less than $5,000 annually. Scroll down for video . Ousted: Embattled Ferguson City Manager John Shaw walks past a police officer as he leaves a closed door meeting with Ferguson's mayor and City Council . Shaw has been Ferguson's city manager for eight years. He had previously worked as city clerk and assistant to the city administrator in Shrewsbury, another town in St. Louis County. Online biographies indicate that he grew up in north St. Louis County and lived in Ferguson before working for the city. He was honored in 2013 as a distinguished alumnus of a public policy administration program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, which is located near Ferguson, and was listed as an adviser for the university's student group for aspiring city managers. Shaw has not spoken publicly about the shooting, protests, grand jury inquiry or Justice Department investigation. He stood silently beside two City Council members at Knowles' Wednesday news conference responding to the Justice Department report and declined, through a city spokesman, a subsequent Associated Press interview request. He was not at Tuesday's meeting. The Justice Department report repeatedly cited Shaw's role in encouraging his police force to aggressively ticket motorists as a means to generate revenue. In one instance, he responded to a Jackson email about a record-setting month for court revenue — nearly $180,000 in February 2011 alone — with the exclamation, 'Wonderful!' Catalyst: The Justice Department launched an investigation into policing practices in Ferguson after Officer Darren Wilson (left) shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in August . City divided: Analysis of more than 35,000 pages of police records found racist comments from officers as well as statistics that showed African-Americans make up 93 percent of arrests . And when Jackson told Shaw in January 2013 that municipal court revenue had exceeded $2million the previous year, the city manager was similarly excited. 'Awesome!' he said, according to the federal inquiry. Municipal Judge Ronald Brockmeyer stepped down to help the divided city 'begin its healing process' But in a statement issued after the announcement of his departure, Shaw said his office 'never instructed the police department to target African Americans, nor falsify charges to administer fines, nor heap abuses on the backs of the poor. Any inferences of that kind from the report are simply false,' Shaw said. Shaw's resignation comes a day after Ferguson Municipal Judge Ronald Brockmeyer stepped down to help the divided city 'begin its healing process' and to promote public confidence in the court system. Last Thursday, two Ferguson Police Department commanders also quit after racist emails were released during the DOJ's investigation into the police department. Sgt. William Mudd and Capt. Rick Henke resigned Thursday and City Court Clerk Mary Ann Twitty was fired Wednesday. US Attorney General Eric Holder called the DOJ's report 'searing,' saying the investigation found the Ferguson community to be one where both policing and municipal court practices were found to be 'disproportionately harmful to African-American residents.' 'This investigation found a community that was deeply polarized,' Holder said. 'A community where deep distrust and hostility often characterized interactions between police and area residents. 'A community where local authorities consistently approached law enforcement not as a means for protecting public safety but as a way to generate revenue.' Embarassement: Last Thursday, two Ferguson Police Department commanders also quit after racist emails were released during the DOJ's investigation . Speaking out: US Attorney General Eric Holder called the DOJ's report 'searing' Ferguson Mayor James Knowles said Friday that the city is pursuing reforms to reach a settlement with the DOJ, Reuters reports. Speaking at a town hall event in South Carolina two days after the release of the DOJ report, President Obama said the Ferguson probe exposed a 'broken, racially biased system.' A St. Louis County grand jury and the Justice Department both declined to bring charges in the Michael Brown shooting against Officer Darren Wilson, who left the department. The Justice Department report said Wilson acted in self-defense when he shot Brown. But the agency said in its report last week that Ferguson's police and court systems functioned as a money-making enterprise that heightened tensions among residents. Strong words: President Obama said the Ferguson probe exposed a 'broken, racially biased system' The DOJ report cited cases of racial profiling and bigotry by the predominantly white police force in the mostly black St. Louis suburb. Brown's shooting prompted protests in the St. Louis area and across the nation. Analysis of more than 35,000 pages of police records found racist comments from officers as well as statistics that showed African-Americans make up 93 percent of arrests while accounting for only 67 percent of the population in Ferguson. African-Americans also made up most of incidents in which officers used force and all incidents where police dogs bit citizens.

Ferguson City Council voted unanimously to accept City Manager John Shaw's resignation effective immediately . 'I believe that the city of Ferguson has the resolve to overcome the challenges it faces in the coming months and emerge as a stronger community for it,' Shaw said in a statement . Justice Department report repeatedly cited Shaw's role in encouraging police force to ticket motorists as a means to generate revenue . Shaw had held the position in the St. Louis suburb since 2007 .

 report calling for reforms in a community that erupted into months of deadly rioting in the wake of the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in 2014. Ferguson has been the center of protests and riots since the killing. John Shaw, 39, resigned on Tuesday, just one day after the Justice Department's scathing report. He'd been city manager since 2012.
He was hired by the city council of Ferguson, Missouri, less than a year after 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed in a confrontation with police officer Darren Wilson. His resignation was praised by the Justice Department, which found "systemic failures" of the Ferguson police and "severe and unconstitutional violations of the First Amendment rights of protestors. (Shaw is the fourth city manager to resign since last August.)
"This will be a difficult day for all Fergusonans, including those like me who supported Mr. Shaw’s efforts to reform Ferguson," city council chairman John Mirakaj wrote in a letter to residents. “While there are issues with which we all must grapple and seek change, I still believe the benefits of Mr. Shaw’s leadership of the City are positive and outweigh the negatives.”
“The problems have gone much deeper than Shaw. He's simply the last face to get the ax. I'm sure we can find someone else who will make life miserable for residents."—Maurice Davis, Ferguson alderman
What it's all about: The Justice Department found that Ferguson cops were engaged in "a pattern or practice of unlawful stops, searches, seizures, arrests, and/or uses of force against African-American residents in violation of their federal civil rights," as well as "serious problems with the collection, preservation, and handling of evidence."
Ferguson Mayor James Knowles has said that Shaw's resignation does not necessarily mean he agrees with the Justice Department report. "He has recommended some positive reforms that will require city council approval," Knowles told CBS's 60 Minutes.
The Justice Department found that Ferguson police officers had been making false arrests and using excessive force against residents. They also found that Ferguson police officers had been searching without probable cause, seizing vehicles that did not belong to any criminal suspect or even those that were clearly being used as a mode of transportation, and illegally detaining people on minor traffic charges.
On March 31, 2015, the Justice Department opened a civil rights


A disabled woman who defied the odds to exchange vows with her partner and become Britain's first married couple with Down's syndrome has died aged 45. Andrea and her husband Paul defied the odds - and social workers - to marry one another in 2004. The childhood sweethearts met in a home for children with learning difficulties and after falling in love as teenagers they fought a long battle to be allowed to marry. Disabled Andrea Annear, 45, from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, has died aged 45. She and her husband made history in 2004 when they became Britain's first married couple with Down's syndrome (pictured) When the Daily Mail interviewed them in 2006, Andrea, then aged 37,  said: 'I love Paul this much. Now he is my husband I am so proud. 'I give him a kiss in the morning when he leaves for work, and I shout after him 'I love you, Paul' and he says 'I love you, Andrea', and I watch him as he walks all the way down the road. 'I know that some people say we should not have got married, but why not? We love each other very much and we look after each other.' Andrea had a known heart condition related to her disability, and the couple relied on a daily carer to check that they are coping with domestic tasks - but other than that, they were much like any other married couple. The couple (pictured) met in a home for children with learning difficulties when Andrea was just three . Andrea was just three years old when she was sent to live at the Ormerod Children's Home in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. Paul, who had been raised in a foster home, arrived at Ormerod when he was 13, when his elderly foster mother was unable to cope. They became fast friends and eventually fell in love, but in 1996 Andrea was re-housed in a secure community house, while Paul remained at Ormerod, which had been turned into an adult centre. While social workers were pleased with the move - with her high-functioning Down's syndrome, Andrea was able to take a part-time job at a local hotel - no one realised she was missing Paul. Andrea said: 'I missed him. I heard music and I wanted to dance with him. If I felt sad inside my heart, there was no one to make me laugh any more. 'I wanted to see my friend, so I asked my carer if I could invite him over for tea, and she said yes. I was so excited and I chose some special biscuits.' After arrangements by social workers caring for the pair Paul was driven to Andrea's house for a three-hour visit. The couple battled against the odds to continue to see each other and eventually said they wanted to marry . When the front door opened they fell into each other's arms - much to the astonishment of onlookers. Some local authorities have been known to make disabled couples perform a capacity assessment to determine whether they are sufficiently able to have sexual relations and get married without a high risk of abuse or exploitation. But Section 1 of the Mental Capacity Act says a person must be assumed to have capacity until it is established that they do not. Disabled people often have to fight the assumption that because they have a learning disability they lack the capacity to marry or to have sexual relations . Mencap's chief executive, Jan Tregelles, said last year: 'For someone with a learning disability to have their right to marry so seriously interfered with is not only heartbreaking for the couple and their families, but a denial of their basic human rights. 'Professionals and wider society are too quick to make prejudiced and ill-informed judgments about what people with a learning disability can and can't do.' Sexual health charity FPA ran a campaign a few years ago to highlight the rights of people with learning disabilities to have relationships. The fight for the right to marry is part of a wider battle for people with learning disabilities to have a family. Carer Eve Millar said: 'It suddenly became obvious just how much they had missed each other. 'Andrea was so thrilled to see Paul - she took him by the hand and led him to her little sitting room, and they were both so happy. 'They had always been inseparable at the children's home - and suddenly here they were, together again and loving every moment. Without each other, they existed. Together, they just shone.' The couple battled against the odds  to continue to see each other and eventually said they wanted to marry. Their wish stunned social workers who worried about the implications of such a marriage, the possible pregnancy and whether the couple could understand the meaning and legality of their vows. Initially a compromise was reached and the couple received a blessing in 1995. But for Andrea and Paul this was not enough. The committed Christians, who went to church every week, wanted a church ceremony with all the trimmings. They  were over the age of consent and social workers and the Trust staff were finally forced to relent. Andrea said at the time: 'Paul asked me to marry him and I told him yes. I cried -  some big fat tears went down my face because I was so happy. 'Paul got down on his knee and said: 'Will you marry me?' and I said: 'Yes.' I loved him so much I could actually feel it inside my heart. I had seen pictures of ladies getting married, in magazines, and I wanted to look like that, too. 'I wanted to have a pretty white dress, and I wanted Paul to have a smart suit and I wanted to be with him always. That is what marriage means — to love somebody and to be with them always.' Andrea said: 'I am just a normal wife and Paul is just my normal husband. That's all we've ever wanted to be' Andrea was given anti pregnancy injections because her weak heart might not have coped with childbirth and the couple saved up for gold rings,wedding dress and suit. Their wedding was held on September 24, 2004 with the blessing of the Church and the authorities at the United Reform Church at St Annes on Sea,Lancashire. Sue Sharples, then director of the Trust said:'Their were many barriers put ibn their way but their love for each other was so obvious but the birth control was needed to protect Andrea's heart.' MP Mark Menzies, a Trust patron said: 'I was very sad to hear of the death of Andrea she was a well known figure in the town. 'They were the first couple with Downs to marry in this country and were inseparable in their time together.This is a difficult time for Paul and my thoughts are with him.' Andrea told the Mail in 2006: 'We love being Mr and Mrs together. I make Paul a meal in the evening and we sit on the sofa next to each other. We love to watch Coronation Street or Doctor Who. 'We look at our wedding album every day and the pictures make us smile. If it is sunny, we go for walks and we hold hands. Or Paul plays his music and we dance and tell each other jokes.' She added: 'I am just a normal wife and Paul is just my normal husband. That's all we've ever wanted to be.' Carol Boys, CEO of the Down’s Syndrome Association, said: 'We were so sorry to hear the sad news of Andrea's death. 'This was such an inspirational story of true love triumphing over all and it paved the way for so many others to follow. All our thoughts are with Paul and the family at this very difficult time.'

Andrea and Paul Annear became first married couple with the disability . Mrs Annear has tragically died of heart failure related to her disability . Pair met in home for children with learning difficulties when she was three . They became fast friends and eventually fell in love as teenagers . They battled the odds to be together and eventually married in 2004 . She said: 'I am just a normal wife and Paul is just my normal husband'

 become Britain's first married couple with Down's syndrome. When Paul, who is severely disabled, first contacted Andrea over 22 years ago the couple had little in common but their love grew and they married, aged 34 and 31, in 2009. Despite their disabilities, they became parents to three children and had 20 happy years together before their deaths.
When Paul, who is severely disabled, first contacted Andrea, they had little in common but their love grew and they married, aged 34 and 31, in 2009
The ceremony was part of an art project called A Celebration of Love aimed at breaking down stereotypes about marriage, with disabled people, and those of differing physical and intellectual ability being celebrated at the same event. The project was devised in the wake of a string of cases in the UK in which parents tried unsuccessfully to prevent their disabled children from marrying.
A Celebration of Love was the brainchild of artist Jenny Bede, from Devon, and social worker and artist Janis McGinn. The ceremony was organised by the London-based Institute of Marriage.
Jenny said it was 'a very happy time of their lives'. She said: 'Sadly, Paul is now dying of stomach cancer and Andrea's been looking after him. The family are just trying to keep it nice and peaceful for them.'
She added: 'It shows that if you support someone it's absolutely possible for them to have children, have a job and get married. They've got a full life which has been built around love. 'It's a really lovely thing that's going on and we're very happy to have played a small part in it.' Paul and Andrea's daughters were at the service, along with Andrea's mother, father and two brothers. It is believed to be the first wedding in the UK for disabled people.
The 45-year-old's sister Emma said: 'If it hadn't been for the Institute of Marriage we would not have been able to fulfil her wishes, so it's very special that it happened in that way.' She said Andrea 'had a lot of friends and was popular'. Emma added: 'She used to say she married Paul as it was a challenge. It was something that she wanted to have done in her life so she felt it was a great achievement.'
The ceremony was part of an art project called A Celebration of Love aimed at breaking down stereotypes about


A bloody hotel siege ended with at least 17 people dead after Somali troops stormed the building. It was the culmination of a 12-hour standoff which saw four Al Shabaab Islamic militants take hostages in a Mogadishu hotel after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car at the gate. Security forces, led by a unit from the elite US-trained special forces troops known as 'Gaashaan,' were able to enter and take control of the building, following a 12-hour stand off. Colonel Farah Aden, a senior police officer at the scene, said Somalia's ambassador to Geneva was amongst the dead. 'Those who died include civilians, hotel guards and government soldiers,' he said. Two locals carry a wounded boy from the scene of the suicide bombing in Mogadishu today . A hotel guest desperately tries to make his way to the roof of the hotel as militants storm the building . Somali police take position after Islamist group al Shabaab attacked Maka Al-Mukarama hotel . The gunmen took over the third and fourth floors of the the Maka Al-Mukarramah hotel in the capital Mogadishu, police officer Capt. Mohamed Hussein said. 'The operation has ended we have taken full control of the hotel,' he said. He said security forces found four more bodies in the hotel Saturday, plus the nine who died in the initial blast on Friday. Four people died in the hospital, according to Duniya Mohamed, a doctor at Madina hospital in Mogadishu. There was no immediate indication of how many of the dead were attackers, all of whom were killed according to Hussein. Hussein Ali, an official of Mogadishu's ambulance service, said there were 28 wounded. The hotel, located in Somalia's capital, is popular with government officials,with Islamic extremist group al-Shabaab claiming responsibility while the attack was ongoing. The 12-hour stand-off was brought to an end with at least 17 dead including civilians and government officials . Scroll down for video . Police and security forces stand guard at the scene of the car bombing as they exchange gunfire with militants inside the building . Somali police take aim as they walk outside the Hotel Maka Al-Mukaram, where an unknown number of people are being held hostage . A Somali man helps a wounded civilian who was injured by the car bomb detonated outside the hotel . A Somali man stands next to the wreckage of a car a suicide bomber used to kill at least nine people . Two men badly injured in the bomb blast are helped by a local amid the chaos of the attack . The attack started when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of the hotel before gunmen quickly moved in. Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab issued a statement taking responsibility for the blitz. 'We are behind the Hotel Maka Al Mukaram attack, and fighting is still going on inside,' the group's military spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab said yesterday. Police surrounded the Hotel Maka Al Mukaram, but heavy gunfire from militants initially prevented them from mounting a rescue operation. The remains of two destroyed cars could be seen at the gates of the building. 'The hotel is now fully under the control of the militants,' Major Ismail Olow, a Mogadishu police officer at the scene, said on Friday. 'Al Shabaab fighters are on the top of the building and inside the hotel. It is not easy for us to go in.' Two policemen take up positions near the hotel during their shootout with al-Shabaab extremists . Police officials peer into the hotel complex after a suicide bomber destroyed its gates earlier today . Al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab regularly carries out attacks in the Somali capital in a bid to unseat the country's Western-backed government . Two police officers take cover behind a wall of the hotel's exterior during the standoff with the militants . Locals lower a man onto a stretcher after he was injured in the deadly bomb last which killed nine . Soldiers and policemen carry a woman from the scene amid a hail of gunfire . Al-Shabaab routinely carries out suicide bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks in Mogadishu, the seat of Somalia's Western-backed government. The militants have continued to launch attacks in Mogadishu despite being ousted from their bases in the seaside city in 2011. Al Shabaab was pushed out of the capital by African peacekeeping forces, but have waged a series of gun and grenade attacks, looking to overthrow the government and impose its strict version of sharia law on the country. An offensive launched last year by African Union forces along with the Somali army has driven the group out of its strongholds in central and southern Somalia, while a series of U.S. drone strikes have killed some of its top leaders. Despite the military campaign, al Shabaab has continued to strike back with often devastating effect using hit-and-run bomb and gun attacks in the capital Mogadishu and other towns. It has also struck out at countries supporting the African Union mission. Security forces discuss how best to tackle the hostage situation which broke out earlier this afternoon . A soldier walks past the gate of the hotel, which is left mangled after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car . Two men carry an injured boy from the scene of the attack, for which al Shabaab have claimed responsibility . Gunfire erupted between security forces and the militants after they stormed the hotel. Pictured is a policeman running into position . Soldiers armed with assault rifles take position of the area devastated by a suicide bomber .

12-hour bloody stand off ends after Somali troops storm building . Four gunmen took over hotel popular with government officials . Earlier, a suicide bomber detonated explosives-laden car at the hotel gates . Police surrounded the hotel but came under fire from Al-Shabaab gunmen . Somalia's al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility for the attack .

 hotel before they were shot dead by troops. Al Shabaab claimed the raid, which it said was retaliation for the death of one of its fighters in a blast on a minibus outside the hotel late on Wednesday.
"Some of our fighters died in the blast at the minibus. So, we have sent those responsible for the attack to this hotel in retaliation," al Shabaab leader Abu Zaid al-Hindi told Reuters on Thursday.
There was no word from the hotel on how many people had been held hostage during the incident but security officials said at least 16 people were held inside the hotel.
A Somali army commander, who did not wish to be identified, told the BBC that two people died in the shooting and four others died in a blast outside the hotel.
Some of those who died were killed by suicide bombers, he said.
The al Shabaab said seven of its fighters had carried out the assault on the hotel in which they killed at least 14 people.
"At least seven of our fighters carried out the operation and six were wounded," another al Shabaab leader Abdirahim Ahmed Yare, told Reuters. "Four of our fighters were killed in the operation."
The siege started at around 8:45pm on Wednesday night when attackers blew their way into the building using explosives.
The militants carried out a suicide attack on the hotel's gate but they were prevented from getting inside.
"A total of eight terrorists managed to get inside by blasting the main gate - there were four of them dressed in women's clothes," a Somali police officer said, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity. "We have killed four of them and arrested two others who surrendered."
Some of the attackers detonated their suicide bomb belts inside the hotel while two of the militants tried to force their way into the conference room but could not get inside, he added.
A hotel worker was also wounded.
The hotel's owner, Abdurahim Said Hassan, said some of his staff were being held hostage and he was trying to negotiate the release of his employees.
The militants were in "a room and we were trying to convince them to surrender", he said, adding that he would be going in soon to try and convince them.
"They will let us in so that we can rescue the workers," he said.
He added that one of his employees had been shot and killed.
Somalia has been


England proposals for men’s Team GB football at the Rio Olympics have already been kicked into the long grass by the other home nations — and the women’s hopes are going in the same direction. There were strong hopes that a women’s team could still represent GB in Brazil in 2016 when the strength of the opposition for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland soon made it obvious that the men’s initiative was a non-starter. Team GB are unlikely to reform for 2016 Olympics after coming together for London 2012 . But the Celtic countries, having been promised that the two football sides at London 2012 were a one-off, have informed the FA that they see no reason to treat women’s football any differently because it still threatens their independence — however many times they’re reassured by FIFA that it won’t. The FA will announce imminently that both Team GB football sides have been scrapped. Such are football’s sensitive politics that after FIFA president Sepp Blatter had praised UEFA’s work in his opening speech at the UEFA Congress in Vienna, the president of the European body, Michel Platini, left out his one dig at Blatter contained in advance copies of his speech. Michel Platini (right) seemed to bite his lip during his speech about Sepp Blatter's FIFA at the UEFA Congress . Platini, in an obvious nod to Blatter’s regular references to steering the world football ship, was due to say: ‘I regard myself as a simple team-mate, at most your captain. But not the captain of a ship that is being battered by a storm, clinging to the helm for dear life.’ But he skipped the bit about ‘clinging to the helm for dear life’. Nothing sums up Blatter’s presidential election trickery more than the decision to have a special meeting in Zurich to decide future numbers of World Cup places — the day after the Congress vote in May. This will allow Blatter at least to make promises about more World Cup places to the confederations who support him. FIFA say the issue has to be debated afterwards as candidate Luis Figo (right) has increasing World Cup participation as part of his manifesto. England return to Dublin for a friendly against Ireland after riots saw the last game abandoned in 1995 . There is confidence England’s powderkeg friendly against the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on June 7 — the first time England have played in Dublin since a riot forced the abandonment in 1995 — will pass without trouble. All the focus in Ireland is on the crucial Euro 2016 qualifier with Scotland on June 13. No whitewash for Gill . There was no surprise about David Gill being elected British vice-president on the FIFA ExCo at the UEFA Congress on Tuesay. But FA of Wales’ outspoken president Trefor Lloyd-Hughes, who has made increasingly outlandish claims about FA skulduggery, received 10 votes out of 54 which is nine more than many expected. Meanwhile, Gill said that rather than ask ‘awkward’ questions of the Zurich regime which FA chairman Greg Dyke wants him to do, he will be putting ‘relevant and appropriate’ ones. Luis Figo (left) and the more impressive Michael van Praag are unlikely to oust Blatter as FIFA president . The worry for all three UEFA-endorsed rivals for Blatter’s crown — Prince Ali of Jordan, Holland’s Michael Van Praag and Portugal’s Luis Figo — is that the FIFA president still enjoys backing in Europe. Estonia football president Aivar Pohlak claims as many as half of UEFA delegates could back Blatter. That seems unlikely but at least 15 out of 54 countries could. Meanwhile, Van Praag was easily the most impressive of the three challengers when they were given the Congress floor. FA chairman Greg Dyke’s demand for radical changes in top-flight clubs’ 25-man squads to ensure young English players get more game time has irritated the Premier League. Dyke said: ‘We’re open to discussions and I’d like to persuade some of the clubs this is an issue.’ FA chief Greg Dyke has angered Premier League clubs with his plans for more home-grown players . There could now be tension between Dyke and the PL at the clubs’ summit on Thursday, particularly given Dyke was last week advised not to go public by the Professional Game representatives on the FA Board. But the extent to which Wembley were determined to get maximum publicity for Dyke’s proposals was shown by them bringing in expensive PR firm Milltown Partners to lobby media to attend the press briefing. It was also held at the start of international week so the PL could have no complaints about it deflecting attention from their competition.

Opposition from home nations is set to scrap plans for Women's Team GB football team at the 2016 Olympic Games . Michel Platini held back comments about Sepp Blatter at UEFA Congress . England face Ireland in June hoping there will be no repeat of the 1995 riot . Greg Dyke has angered clubs with his proposals to reform 25-man squads .

 equivalent of the football programme, to run at the same time and in parallel, would be on the table for London 2012. But not so, it seems — and it could mean that the women’s team will have to go it alone.
The Football Association has yet to decide which Olympic team it will enter into competition for the Rio 2016 tournament — the men’s or the women’s.
The men’s tournament, as it will be in 2012, comprises 12 teams who play in a round-robin group. The top two of the groups progress to a knockout tournament; the third-place teams play off. Only one team — the gold medal winners — makes it to the finals.
England was seeded 8th of 12 in the FIFA rankings for the men’s tournament — the same as it was in 2008.
The women’s tournament is also a round-robin competition; the top two of the groups progress to a knockout tournament; the third-place teams play off; the fourth place teams play off — and so on. Only one team — the gold medal winners — makes it to the finals.
In 2008, England was seeded ninth out of 12 in the FIFA rankings and was eliminated at the first hurdle by Sweden, the reigning world champions. It finished 4th in the European championships last month — and, on that form, is expected to be in the top 8 seeds for Rio.
Meanwhile, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have said they will not be sending their women’s teams to the Olympics because the English football governing body FAW has not ruled out its England side.
The Football Association of Wales said: “Football Wales does not currently have the resources in place to make a meaningful contribution to the success of a combined Team GB women’s football team at the Rio Olympics 2016.”
The Scottish Football Association has “formulated a number of robust arguments why the Scottish women’s team should not form part of the Team GB contingent.”
The Scottish FA’s statement said: “The Scottish women’s team will not be able to participate in the 2012 Olympics under any circumstances without a change in the stance of the Scottish FA.
“The Scottish FA has no intention of participating in the proposed Olympics women’s football tournament unless this stance changes and a formal agreement in writing is in place.
“


An anorexic teenager whose weight dropped to just five stone is fighting back from the condition by setting up a catering business. Faith March, 18 from Maldon, Essex, was surviving on nothing other than coffee when she dropped to her lowest weight in March of last year. After several ill-fated attempts to fight the illness, Faith collapsed in her bathroom where she was found by her boyfriend - and her family told her they feared for her life if she didn't get help. Scroll down for video . Faith March's weight dropped to just five stone when she was suffering from anorexia (left) but she is now in recovery and has set up her own patisserie business (right) After treatment at the Priory Hospital in Chelmsford, Faith is now at a healthier weight and credits the starting of her patisserie business, Whisk of Faith, as kick-starting her recovery. Faith said: 'This business has helped me get out of a massive hole. If I'm honest, it was a hole I never thought I would get out of. It just seemed like a never-ending cycle of problems.' Faith says she has had problems with her stomach which have baffled doctors for most of her life, but at 14 she was finally told her colon had collapsed and had surgery to insert a stent into her stomach. That returned her to some sort of normality, but in March last year her eating problems began to worsen and those around her began to notice. Faith said: 'My boyfriend, mum and dad noticed I had stopped eating again, I was just surviving on coffee,' she said. 'I was doing a cookery course at the time as well as working part time at a pub so I was surrounded by food but I just couldn't bring myself to eat anything. Faith looks happy as she poses with some of her cooking equipment and her freshly baked goods . Faith looks happy as she poses in her chefs outfit complete with an apron with the name of her company on the front . 'My boss told me to take some time out because it was clear I wasn't 100 per cent so I went to the doctors and that is when I was told I had anorexia. 'I knew I always had problems with food but to actually be diagnosed as anorexic just played havoc with my mind. Faith continued: 'I tried to combat it in so many ways that I look back on now and think 'what was I doing?' such as just staying in bed, working out at the gym all the time and just generally not accepting help. Then, a terrifying episode later that year made it hit home just how bad her problem was. Faith said: 'After one long day working from 11am until 10pm at the pub in which I hadn't eaten, my boyfriend found me collapsed on the bathroom floor. Faith's weight plummeted to just five stone but she is not much healthier (right) Pretty Faith poses with her boyfriend Alex who raised the alarm after he discovered her collapsed on the bathroom floor . 'I can't remember much about what happened but he said I couldn't go back there as I was just too unwell. 'We went on holiday and my family told me they thought I would die if I carried on working in that environment. 'It hit me then. I realised something needed to be done to save my life. Faith quit her job and spent time at home recuperating, which got her thinking about ways to get herself better. 'I always wanted my own business so Mum told me to maybe do some work for myself while I get better,' she said. 'I had been at cooking college and it was something I wanted to do for a living, so I started doing cakes and getting people ordering from me and it's just grown from there.' Brave Faith sought treatment for her anorexia at the Priory Hospital in Chelmsford . Faith says that having her new business has helped her to start eating again after suffering for years with anorexia . Mum Heather has been helping out and Faith said that, while there is still a long way to go for both her condition and her business, she is optimistic for the future. 'I still have to have check-ups twice a week but I'm weighing just over eight stone now which is a lot healthier than I was,' she said. 'My parents have been so supportive by letting me run the business from home and my boyfriend has been a tower of strength as well. 'The business started small but it has just kept growing and growing. Of course I still have bad days when I barely eat anything but as a result of starting the business I'm now eating a lot more and worrying a lot less.' Faith's Mum Heather (right) has been helping Faith with her new business Whisk of Faith .

Faith March's dropped to just five stone as she suffered from anorexia . The 18-year-old from Essex was living on just coffee and no food . After she collapsed in the bathroom, she had hospital treatment . Has now launched a patisserie business to help her recover .

September 2019. She was admitted to the Royal London Hospital in East London for the first time in her life after being weighed at five stone seven pounds. Since then, the University of Suffolk student has been working with mental health charity Mind to build her weight up to a healthy eight stone six pounds. To earn her living Faith set up Faith’s Kitchen, offering catering and hospitality services. Her menu includes a variety of healthy options and is available to book and collect or delivered locally. Speaking about her experience, Faith said: “My mum took me to the Royal London Hospital where I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and borderline personality disorder. I’m now working on building my health back up. The doctors were a great help to get me through it all – I wouldn’t have made it this far without them.” "The doctor asked me to do 10 sit-ups and I didn't manage it, my muscles couldn't do it. I thought, 'I can't die now' because I know I'll go to heaven.""I was eating five bananas in a day - I couldn't do anything without food, and when I did I felt like I was going to faint," she said. Faith had already been referred to the eating disorder service at an early stage but did not realise how serious the condition was until she reached a dangerously low weight. The teenager spent time in an eating disorder in-patient unit and in-patient mental health hospital. She now attends an out-patient unit and receives counselling support at both places. She also attends a Mindful Eating group which was set up during lockdown by the charity and led by nutrition therapist Charlotte. Faith is currently working her way up to seven stone 5 pounds, and she has gained five stone and a third in weight. She aims to reach a healthy eight stone six pounds by December 2021. "The doctor asked me to do 10 sit-ups and I didn't manage it, my muscles couldn't do it. I thought, 'I can't die now' because I know I'll go to heaven," she said. "I was eating five bananas in a day – I couldn't do anything without food, and when I did I felt like I was going to faint," she added. Faith found that working with food, learning cooking skills, and finding a job in hospitality helped her get back on her feet after the eating disorder. "Eating


The tactics used by Tory chairman Grant Shapps to convince people to hand over cash so he could get them 'stinking, filthy rich' have been revealed. Mr Shapps, posing as his business guru alter-ego Michael Green, used online leaflets to boast of his wealth and status in a bid to prove that he knew how to make millions. Using pictures of himself in his private plane and six-bedroom mansion, the future Tory minister offered his 'friends' the chance to learn how to make their fortune –as long as they handed him $197, worth £130. Scroll down for video . Mr Shapps used pictures of himself in his private plane with his son in a bid to prove that he knew how to make millions . Mr Shapps said his wealth was 'hard-core' evidence of that he could help people get rich. The revelations come just days after Mr Shapps, 46, faced calls to quit after being forced to admit he had continued to offer get-rich-quick advice after becoming a Conservative MP despite vehement denials to the contrary. The Tory minister had insisted he had not had a second job since being elected MP for Welwyn Hatfield in May 2005, but was later forced to admit he had 'screwed up' by denying the allegations 'over firmly'. It comes after a recording emerged from 2006, a year after he was elected to Parliament, capturing the MP selling self-help guide Stinking Rich 3 and claiming his products could make listeners a 'ton of cash'. The full extent of his toe-curling sales pitch was published in the Sunday Mirror today after pictures were published on the website Political Scrapbook. In it he offers punters the chance to buy his toolkit on 'How To Become Stinking RICH Online' for $197 – even though he claimed it was worth $100,000. The toolkit, he claimed, would make those who bought it '11 to 22 times more successful than the crowd as a result'. Mr Shapps boasted about how he made a fortune in just 30 months from his HowToCorp firm and other projects. Pictured in his sports car he wrote: 'That's me... and I'm sitting in my brandspanking-new Crossfire Convertible 3.2L' But he warned punters they would have to move fast because he had taken the 'difficult decision' to limit supply to just 250 copies, saying: 'I will delete the webpage and the mastercopy of this toolkit'. Mr Shapps offered his online kit to people throughout the UK and across the world from his HowToCorp business based in North West London. He wrote: 'Since owning an online business has enabled me to live in a $2m home... to drive 3 high-end luxury cars and to own and operate my own aircraft, I suppose a toolkit that exposes every secret used to build that kind of wealth should rightfully sell for say $100,000.' Mr Shapps boasts about how he made a fortune in just 30 months from his HowToCorp firm and other projects. The letter, published in 2004, featured Mr Shapps posing in his luxury sports car with the caption: 'That's me... and I'm sitting in my brandspanking-new Crossfire Convertible 3.2L (delivered Saturday July 24). It's one of the first dozen on the road here in the UK.' Tory chairman Grant Shapps faced calls to resign last week after admitting he had had a second job while working as an MP . But he revealed he and wife Belinda also own a 'wonderful Elan Turbo'. The car, he says, is 'complete with in-car DVD, SatNav and just about every other refinement you could imagine in a vehicle. Why it even has a fridge!' He also boasts about his lavish six-bedroom house in Hertfordshire and its new extension. Next to a picture of him sitting in a plane with his son, he writes: 'Everyone a hobby. Mine's flying. But buying and maintaining an aircraft (and this is my second machine) isn't cheap! 'But I just hate to rent... So I took out my pocket-book and bought a plane. That's me and my son in the cockpit. (One of us is a three-year-old with a passion for flying :)' Revelations about Mr Shapps' methods comes just days after he was branded a 'liar and a bully' for threatening a constituents with legal action for highlighting the fact he had a second job. Dean Archer, 50, said he had feared losing his family home after Mr Shapps warned he would take him to court over a Facebook post that mentioned his internet sales sideline as Michael Green. Despite the revelations David Cameron last week insisted he had full confidence in the Conservative party chairman. He said: 'Grant did have another job when he first became an MP and he declared that in the Register of Members' Interests which is what you are meant to do. 'But he obviously made a mistake by saying in some interviews that the work had stopped earlier than it had. He's put that right so I think we can put that behind him. He's doing a good job.'

MP posed as business guru Michael Green to offer keys to making cash . Posed for pictures with private plane, luxury cars and six-bed mansion . Offered his 'friends' a tool kit on how to make a fortune – for $197 a pop .

 social media to target potential investors - using his knowledge of their lifestyles to convince them of his expertise.
The 42-year-old is well known in the industry as the man who, as head of the Conservative Party's 2005 election campaign, famously used Facebook to create a huge network of supporters to boost the party's popularity online.
Now the London business man is using the same methods to encourage investors to join a new venture called "Green and Shapps". On his 'Green and Shapps' website the business man admits his "fatal flaw" - a "shaggy beard" - makes him look like a "failed hipster". In the hope of appearing more credible, he also writes that he has "an MA from Trinity College Cambridge in Theology".
Mr Shapps is understood to have used his business and campaign knowledge to make Green and Shapps sound like an established business and a credible investment - though the 'fatal flaw' of his appearance should have put off most potential investors before he opened his mouth.
"It's a new business. It's a start-up. It has no track record."
On the website he describes the project as "a project on building a new social network on Facebook and building a business around it. The product is a new social network called 'Green and Shapps'."
Despite the fact the "Green and Shapps" social network is clearly made up, the project has been hailed as a "genuinely innovative" use of social media by social media expert Simon Heseltine.
But Mr Heseltine - who has more than 8,000 Twitter followers and is a member of several online social networking groups - has warned people against becoming an early investor in Green and Shapps. "The first warning sign is that he says nothing about the technology. It's a new business. It's a start-up. It has no track record. There's no website.
"He's got a bunch of people who have invested, presumably because they have done all their research and they've all researched him. It's like a pyramid selling business.
"A lot of people are starting to see those kinds of companies for what they are and they are getting away from them."
When asked what advice Mr Heseltine would give to people considering an investment in the venture, he said:


A BRIEF GUIDE TO THE SOUND OF MUSIC . by Paul Simpson . (Robinson £9.99) For years I’d thought it was Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again they planned to broadcast when the atomic bombs fell, but according to Paul Simpson, in this essential guide to the iconic film, when a nuclear strike is imminent, the BBC intends filling the airwaves with songs from The Sound Of Music. Cynical sorts will argue that having to listen to Do-Re-Mi and My Favourite Things will only make them incredibly impatient for oblivion. Nevertheless the remaining powers-that-be sincerely hope to ‘maintain some semblance of normality’ by exposing us to the ever-optimistic Von Trapps. It has always been easy to sneer at ‘three hours of nuns yodelling’, and Christopher Plummer himself dubbed the picture The Sound Of Mucus. But I for one love it, perhaps because 50 years back my grandmother took me to see it six times at the Capitol Cinema in Cardiff. The Sound of Music could have been very different if the Osmonds had claimed a place in the film . I always hid under the seat when the Nazis prowled around the convent, and to this day I haven’t seen the bit where the nuns sabotage the cars. It was a film that appealed to women who had domineering husbands — all those glowering Captain Von Trapp sorts who expected their dinner to be on the table. My grandmother, and millions like her, would love to have been Julie Andrews, cutting up the curtains to make clothes, falling in lakes for fun, rebelliously cycling around the countryside, picnicking and generally being heedless of chores and domestic obligations. In its unlikely and unstrident way, The Sound Of Music was a pioneering feminist rallying cry, and ordinary women, who’d have had no earthly inkling what Germaine Greer was rabbiting on about, embraced it and identified with it. The first surprise in Simpson’s book is that the story begins in England. The Von Trapps were descended from Robert Whitehead, an engineer born in Bolton in 1823. He went abroad to work for a Milanese company and in Trieste, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he built ‘the first cylindrical marine boiler’ and helped design armour-plated frigates for Kaiser Franz-Josef’s navy. Whitehead’s granddaughter, Agatha, met Captain Georg Von Trapp when he was visiting the factory looking at torpedoes. Julie Andrews (centre) is pictured in 1965 on the set of The Sound of Music with her on-screen step-children . They were married in 1911 and had seven children. Agatha died of scarlet fever in 1922, and Georg moved as a widower to Salzburg. A 21-year-old nun came to help out with the family — Maria Augusta Kutschera. She’d entered the convent, Nonnberg Abbey, to escape abusive uncles and cousins. Exactly as in the film, she was a tomboyish postulant, always having to be rebuked for sliding down banisters, climbing on the roof, jumping over chimneys, and grabbing the other nuns to tickle their ribs. Georg was entranced, and he married his new nanny in 1927. But how much of a mutual love-match was it? Maria ‘suggested to Georg that he go on the honeymoon without her’. At least they could make music. Like Plummer, Georg peeped on a bosun’s whistle to call the children to order, and he accompanied them on a guitar when they had a singing session. By the way, Ronald Reagan sincerely believed that Edelweiss was the official national anthem of Austria. After they’d sung a selection of medieval church music at the Salzburg Festival in 1936, the Von Trapps were invited abroad on tours. They sang before Queen Mary in London and entertained the Pope at the Vatican. It is here that the movie differs from reality. In real life the family left by train for a series of engagements, crossing the Channel and taking a ship from Southampton for New York, arriving in America in October 1938. Though Georg had been reprimanded by the Gestapo for failing to fly the Nazi flag after the Anschluss, there was no actual immediate danger. The five eldest Osmonds (pictured in 1972) are said to have begged to be able to play the Von Trapp children in the famous film . According to Hollywood, however, the Von Trapps crept from the concert hall, hid behind the Nonnberg tombs, and climbed every mountain to freedom carrying heavy instrument cases. In fact, had Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and the children kept going on the route they’d chosen, they’d have soon arrived on the terrace in Hitler’s Berchtesgaden.That part of Austria borders Bavaria, not Switzerland. And may I also state for the record that there is no such dish as ‘Schnitzel and Noodles’. The closest you’d find is ‘Gulasch mit Nockerln’. The original Maria Von Trapp was diddled by agents and managers, who persuaded her to sell them the global rights to her story in perpetuity for a paltry flat fee of $10,000, so neither she nor the family made a further penny cent from any of the adaptations. Twentieth Century Fox didn’t even invite Maria to the premiere, in case she ‘eclipsed’ Julie Andrews. I was shocked to discover that many major talents had shunned the chance to put the proven hit on the big screen. Neither Gene Kelly nor Billy Wilder would touch it, as ‘no musical with swastikas in it can be a success’. Rex Harrison, Bing Crosby and Yul Brynner turned down the role of Captain Von Trapp, believing the man to be ‘very much a cardboard figure, humourless and one-dimensional’. Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day and Anne Bancroft didn’t fancy donning a wimple. Audrey Hepburn (left) is said to have turned down the role of Maria, while Bing Crosby (right) rejected the part of Captain Von Trapp, believing it to be 'a cardboard figure' Noel Coward rejected the part of Max, the impresario — a shame. He’d have been brilliant. By contrast, the five eldest Osmonds begged to play the Von Trapp children. They were rejected, thank God, though Marie Osmond was to strum a guitar and play Maria on stage in the Seventies. Of those Aryan-looking youngsters who were finally cast, after their 11 weeks on location in Salzburg and the glorious Salzkammergut in 1964, none was to go on to great things. In late middle age by now, they are variously software designers, flower arrangers, nurses or interior decorators. Regarding the authentic Von Trapps, incidentally, they stopped singing professionally in 1956 and settled in Vermont, where they ran a hotel that burned down in 1980. Maria died in 1987, Georg having long predeceased her, in 1947. Life was never as rosy as in the film: one of the children had electroconvulsive shock treatment for depression, another married a Canadian, and others became dairy farmers. To date there have been 116 cast albums from the innumerable stage productions of The Sound of Music. (The Connie Fisher version lasted from 2006 until 2011.) Sing-a-Long parties are wildly popular, with the audience in costume — I’d go myself but in a nun outfit I do keep being mistaken for Pam Ferris as Sister Angelina. Julie Andrews (left) and Christopher Plummer (right) won the two top roles in the famous film, playing Maria and Captain Von Trapp respectively . The Julie Andrews film is the third highest grossing movie in history, behind Gone With The Wind and Star Wars. (Pre-tax profits of $20 million by 1966 saved Fox from the near-bankruptcy it faced after the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton Cleopatra.) DVD and Blu-ray sales remain buoyant, with an ever-burgeoning number of special features and documentaries. The only place where it has never caught on, ironically, is Austria, where Captain Von Trapp is considered a deserter, which he was if you think about it. The Von Trapp villa became Himmler’s headquarters during the war. The film was also heavily edited in France, where it was felt that nuns shouldn’t be seen singing non-religious songs. For the rest of us, it is more than a movie. The Sound of Music is intimately bound up with childhood memories and emotions, in my case going to Cardiff for all those mid-week matinees, escaping the South Wales coal dust for the pristine Austrian panoramas. Indeed, years later I bought a flat near Salzburg. I’ve done my best to live where the hills are alive — though in actuality they are not these days alive with Rodgers & Hammerstein. What you hear are oompah-bands and men in lederhosen slapping their thighs and playing Wagner by blowing down the tube of a milking machine. Once seen, never forgotten. Especially by the cows. By the way, do get the latest incarnation of the DVD, as it includes an all-new documentary: Julie Andrews Returns To Salzburg. You see, she wasn’t able to leave the film behind either.

The Von Trapps were descended from an engineer from Bolton . Agatha and Captain Von Trapp married in 1911 and had seven children . The children's mother died from scarlet fever in 1922 . The film, however, does not follow the true story in some aspects .

, at the end of a big war, the guns finally stopped – not a musical about an impossibly optimistic young woman’s first trip abroad. But no: she went on tour instead. Her career, like the war, carried on. She had two of the biggest pop hits of the era with It’s A Lovely Day Today and The Love Of My Life, before retiring – not, as they say, that it worked. As The Sound Of Music opens its UK Tour (at Manchester Opera House from March 27) in the year in which the Queen turns 60, it’s worth remembering that while this is a show about the triumph of hope over experience, it was made in an era when those two things were at odds. (That would be 1965, by the way. Sixty years ago. Not 60 years ago. The last time I tried to think of a sixty-year-old man, I had to go through all the Queen’s offspring first.) The story, about Maria Von Trapp, a woman whose singing lessons are interrupted by the man she loves (and the man who makes her sing) so they can escape from the Nazis and start all over again in the US, is in one sense completely outdated. The only thing you could compare it to would be another World War Two story set in Europe which begins with a couple being told they can’t have children and is called, I think, The Sound Of A Baby Crying. It’s easy to dismiss the show (just as it was easy to dismiss the film of it which, frankly, I found so dull that I have never seen it), but you’d be missing some remarkable performances – especially in the lead. Julie Andrews, who had already starred in one of the big musicals of the 1960s – her own 1964 show was on Broadway too – was a late star when she created the role of Maria (who did her voice). It would have been unthinkable for the star of The Sound Of Music not to be a star, but there were doubts whether she was a good fit. But then there was no one else, which was the point: they wanted the girl from The Sound Of Music to sing The Sound Of Music – that was what made the whole story believable, so they got her. The real challenge, though, was taking the classic Rodgers And Hammerstein songs and making them mean something else. They did. Sound Of


Dinner with Arnold Palmer on Thursday night clearly agreed with World No 1 Rory McIlroy. All those indifferent rounds in Florida so far this year were swept aside on Friday as the Northern Irishman notched up five birdies in a row at one point on his way to a superb 66 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It was the first time in eight rounds in the Sunshine State this year that he had broken 70 and what a way to do it. From out of the pack, the 25 year old is now bang in contention for a morale-boosting victory in his last scheduled start before his attempt to complete the career Grand Slam at the Masters next month. Rory McIlroy hit a second round of 66 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Friday . It was the first time in eight rounds in Florida this year that the World No 1 had broken 70 . McIlroy looks to have played himself back into form ahead of the Masters next month . ‘I’m just feeling more comfortable day by day, and it was great to see a few putts finally drop,’ said McIlroy, whose performance drew a glowing tribute from his good friend and playing partner, Rickie Fowler. ‘After what I saw today and the fact he’s clearly the best player in the world, he has to be the favourite for the Masters,’ said the American, who was pipped at the post to both The Open and USPGA Championships last year by McIlroy. ‘That course suits his game. He didn’t start out hot today but when he gets it going as he did on the back nine, it’s hard to hang with him. If he continues to play like that, he will be ready for Augusta, for sure.’ Fowler was right when he said nothing appeared to be happening for McIlroy over his front nine, the inward half on the course. In fact, he’d played much better on the first day, when he opened with a 70. But after finally getting a putt to drop at the second, and enjoying a small stroke of fortune at the third, where his pulled drive carried a water hazard by just a couple of yards, it all started to click. A good wedge to the third green set up a birdie and then came his third in a row at the par five fourth. At the fifth his wedge shot finished 18 inches away and then came another birdie at the long sixth, where he got up and down from a greenside bunker. ‘It’s a lovely feeling when you get on runs like that and the game suddenly feels very easy,’ he said. Fowler's good friend and playing partner Rickie Fowler admitted McIlroy is now favourite for the Masters . McIlroy had five birdies in a row in Dubai earlier this year but this was the first time he had enjoyed such a run in an event on the PGA Tour, and it electrified the huge galleries at Bay Hill. By this stage he had gone from being nowhere near the leader board into a tie for second place. Not even a bogey at his penultimate hole could dampen his enthusiasm. ‘It was obviously not the finish I was looking for but I’m still exactly where I wanted to be, with a real chance to win the tournament going into the weekend,’ he said. McIlroy will actually begin the third round on Saturday five shots behind American pacesetter, Morgan Hoffmann, who has played brilliantly so far to post blistering rounds of 66 and 65. But can the little-known Hoffmann keep it going? The New Jersey native is the same age as 25 year old McIlroy but there the comparison ends. A solitary top three finish in 67 starts on the PGA Tour suggests he could struggle over the weekend. Three shots off the pace are world No 3 Henrik Stenson and defending champion Matt Every, while McIlroy is not the only big name from the UK in position to have a crack at winning this prestigious title. Matt Every is also in the mix, three shots behind surprise leader Morgan Hoffman . Ian Poulter is in contention at halfway after rounds of 67 and 70 put him one shot behind McIlroy . For the third week out of four in Florida, Ian Poulter is in contention at halfway, standing just a shot behind McIlroy following rounds of 67 and 70. He also gave a positive bulletin on his three year old son, Joshua, who is making a good recovery from pneumonia. ‘It was great to see him looking a lot perkier than when I left for the course this morning,’ he said. Padraig Harrington, who began this Florida swing with an amazing comeback victory at the Honda Classic, is also in the top 20 at halfway after rounds of 68 and 71. But there’s no getting away from the man who will attract nearly all the attention this weekend. As for that dinner with Palmer, McIlroy was still buzzing. ‘It was fantastic, it really was,’ he said. ‘We spoke for two and a half hours and he was telling stories of the old days and some of the things he’ s done from a commercial standpoint. He was very close to his father just like I am and he shared a few stories about that. It was just great to be in his presence and enjoy his company.’ Pat Perez hits his tee-shot on the picturesque 11th hole at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge .

Rory Mcilroy five shots behind leader Morgan Hoffman at Bay Hill . World No 1 had dinner with Arnold Palmer on Thursday night . Rickie Fowler says McIlroy must be favourite for the Masters next month . First time in eight rounds this year that McIlroy broke 70 in Florida . Matt Every one shot behind Hoffman - Ian Poulter one behind McIlroy .

 stage, but the four-under 68 left him six shots off leader Ryan Palmer.
The former Open champion is not getting ahead of himself, though, despite ending the opening round in a tie for fifth place at seven under, just one shot behind Jordan Spieth.
“I wasn’t that happy with the golf that I played yesterday and today I’ll take,” said McIlroy after his first round in Phoenix.
“I hit it a lot better, a lot more solidly than I did yesterday, which was good. I hit a lot more fairways and found a couple more greens.
“I wasn’t quite as sharp with the putter as I was yesterday, but I was able to get it to the holes and I didn’t really miss a lot of putts, so that was a plus.”
The 25-year-old’s driving is his best asset in Arizona so far, but McIlroy was quick to give credit to his putter and course management as he moves up the field.
“Today my short-game was a big strength, for sure, and that was really what saved me,” he said. “I missed a few greens but I didn’t do enough damage to shoot myself out of the tournament by three-putting or four-putting or anything like that.
“And I also hit a lot of good shots into greens and really gave myself a lot of chances. And then I also made a few saves, particularly on the 15th hole, which, I think, made the difference.
“I played the hole in 3.30 the other day, then today I made it in 3.20, so obviously the course is getting a little bit easier for sure, and if you don’t hit fairways and don’t play the greens like I did today, you’re going to be punished pretty quickly.
“I was 11 under par after 17 holes but just made too many mistakes and too many errors to really get the score where I thought it should have been.”
McIlroy is looking forward to another round with Palmer on Saturday, saying: “Ryan is a good friend of mine and he has been great to me ever since we first played against each other in the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews. And we’ve been in some good battles together in the last couple of years.
“I played with him yesterday and today. He’s


A father spent £10,000 on private detectives after police failed to track down the thug who killed his daughter’s kitten with an air rifle. Neil Tregarthen devoted six weeks to gathering information for a 15-page report that named their prime suspect – but officers dismissed it as ‘rumour and speculation’ and abandoned the case. Yesterday the millionaire former business owner – who posed as an angler at one stage to spy on youths he believed were responsible – criticised the police investigation as ‘totally impotent’. Scroll down for video . Neil Tregarthen spent £10,000 on a private investigator after his daughter's cat, Farah, was shot by an air rifle . He and the private eyes identified several members of a local gang that posted Facebook pages of themselves injuring animals, and had criminal records for air rifle related offences. But police refused to bring a prosecution because of ‘lack of evidence’ for an attack that condemned Farah the kitten to a slow, agonising death. Mr Tregarthen’s daughter Aylish was horrified to find Farah lying in a pool of blood after limping home wounded and crippled with pain last September. The 24-year-old medical student and her father took the kitten to a vet but she suffered ‘a very long, painful, lingering death’ from a ruptured bowel and blood poisoning, finally passing away on the operating table, Mr Tregarthen said. When police told him there was not enough evidence to pursue the case he hired the detective firm and offered a £1,000 reward to catch the killer. They distributed flyers and set up a phone line for people to give information. It quickly became clear there had been a string of air rifle attacks near where Aylish lives in Exeter, Devon. ‘We narrowed it down to four youths, so we set about doing surveillance work,’ Mr Tregarthen said. ‘We would camp out on the river pretending to be fishing. We surveyed certain areas by pretending to be members of the public. Ideally we needed to witness an incident, but that never happened. We found a witness who claimed he had witnessed our main suspect shooting another cat.’ The kitten, pictured right with one of the family's other pets,  died despite extensive treatment at the vets . Mr Tregarthen is offering £1,000 to anyone with information which could lead to Farah's killer. The kitten was shot near her owner's home in Exeter . Exeter-based Focus Investigations, whose staff includes ex-police officers, said the person responsible had ‘an obvious sociopathic nature’. Mr Tregarthen, 56, added: ‘We compiled all the information we had, and presented it to the police. We did 85 per cent of the work – then Devon and Cornwall Police would not even go and knock on a couple of doors. Using an air rifle to shoot cats is illegal, and should be treated as such.’ Mr Tregarthen, who lives in a luxury house in Truro, Cornwall, said of the cost of his own investigation: ‘I would pay double that if I thought it would stop this sort of behaviour. 'I know I am in a fortunate position to be able to do so, but I think it is money well spent. It’s about society fighting back.’ Mr Tregarthen enlisted the help of private investigators Focus (offices pictured above) to help find Farah's killer . The animal is likely to have been playing in the garden when killed, Mr Tregarthen said. She returned to Miss Tregarthen's house wounded . His daughter said: ‘I feel like there is no justification for not investigating something that is illegal. We sympathise with the budget cuts – they have limited time and resources, which is why we chose to investigate it. But to still have the same response is very disappointing.’ Devon and Cornwall Police neighbourhood beat manager Steve Parsons said: ‘We investigated this crime fully. As for the investigation report, I have examined this and it is packed with rumour and speculation, not evidence. ‘However, on the back of this, officers did make further inquiries in the area which also turned out to be fruitless. I am confident we have done everything possible in investigating this case.’ Mr Tregarthen said police were 'impotent' in their investigations into who killed the cat, pictured above in a red collar . Mr Tregarthen lives in a plush £3million home in Truro, Cornwall (above). His daughter is studying medicine in Exeter .

Neil Tregarthen hired private investigators to look into the animal's death . Claimed local police in Exeter had been 'impotent' in their inquiries . The father of three put together a report which named a potential suspect . But officers dismissed it as 'packed with rumour and speculation' Farah the kitten returned to owner's house wounded and bleeding to death .

 was presented to police chiefs in an attempt to keep the hunt for the culprit alive. His daughter Sophie, 12, discovered her pet moggy had been shot in the eye and face with an air rifle as she prepared to set off for school in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, last June.
Tragic: Four-year-old Lolly was shot in the head on her owners’ drive in March
But with officers too busy to pursue the case fully, Mrs Tregarthen decided to launch her own investigation.
Detective Constable Simon Wintle from the Thames Valley force, confirmed officers had ‘looked into every avenue’ in the hunt for Sophie’s killer, even conducting door-to-door enquiries in Oxford.
The family launched their own investigation in September and spent six weeks and thousands of pounds on private detectives.
The 59-year-old retired Oxfordshire teacher and his wife Jane, 55, used a team of detectives who spoke to 80 witnesses, trawled through 50,000 phone records, searched 20 crime scenes and interviewed 75 people in Oxfordshire and London.
Mrs Tregarthen said: ‘I felt that no matter how long it took us to bring this case to a conclusion, it was worth it and it was worth investing the money. If we had just handed this report over and left it, you would not have a sense of justice. It will at least be there for Sophie, for her memory.
‘I would like to think of it being of assistance in other cases where the police have nothing to go on.’
They were given the report on Thursday last week but said police had told them they were not going to take it forward.
Miss Tregarthen added: ‘It’s as far as it’s going to go – although at the moment the police haven’t actually ruled out the possibility of carrying it any further. It’s all just been put on hold.’
‘The officers have said that there’s nothing else they can do.’
Police confirmed that Sophie’s death was being treated as a ‘fatal shooting’ but the case had now been suspended.
Detectives added that the killer had escaped justice because no one had reported seeing him.
Mrs Tregarthen said: ‘We knew we would face some disappointment and we were told to come away with a heavy heart.
‘In essence this is not going to stop


It wasn't just the Clasico — Victor Valdes always prepared for every game by imagining the worst things that could happen. He would muscle up his psychological preparedness by spending time mentally filing through the great times in his career, the things he valued highly in his personal life. If he had a stinker, or even if he had a blinder but still couldn't stop his opponents getting the better of Barcelona, then he would have a store of precious images and memories with which to dilute the pain of defeat or failure. He would rely on them. This will be Barca's first Clasico at the Nou Camp without Valdes at the club since 2002 - 13 years. Claudio Bravo in training at Barcelona's Joan Gamper base ahead of El Clasico against Real Madrid . Despite the million-kilowatt glare given off by the stars on the playing surface, I'll miss his presence — saturnine, deeply competitive, gently eccentric, hugely effective. Damn good at his job and one of the plethora of characters who have helped elevate this to the best, most regularly high-quality, most-watched game of football in the world. I am still learning what Claudio Bravo's mind usually does to him before a big game, and, vice versa, what the former Real Sociedad keeper tries to do to either dominate or harness the powerful psychological alert system which should be telling him, right about now: 'Oh no! Real Madrid again.' From the moment when David Beckham scored past him with a free-kick at the Anoeta Stadium in February 2007, where the ball squirted past Bravo like a wet, angry salmon trying to evade capture, the contest with Los Blancos has appeared to have been Bravo's Room 101. Following that Beckham moment, Bravo has faced Madrid 10 times, losing nine, drawing one and conceding 33 goals. Like Colin Montgomerie and a major golf tournament, Brazilian Ronaldo and the Champions League, Madrid are the sharpest thorn, digging into the goalkeeper's side. Bravo joined Barcelona in the summer of 2014 and is looking to improve his record against Real Madrid . Bravo comes up against Lionel Messi in 2012 while playing for former club Real Sociedad . Back in October, leading 1-0, perhaps he allowed himself to dream. But by the end it was 3-1 going on 6-1. It's important to be clear, in not one of Real's goals — Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty, Pepe's thunderous header, Karim Benzema's blitzkrieg counter-attack third — did the Chilean carry any blame. But here he is, guardian of a team expected to win — able to make a decisive statement about taking the title back, at a time when they are in the last eight of the Champions League and Copa del Rey finalists. His mind must have wandered to ... what if? He's already admitted: 'It's true, we do talk about the Treble... it's an achievement which was in this club's recent past and it would be fantastic to repeat. The Barcelona No 1 (right) and Jordi Masip Lopez train in preparation for the game against Real Madrid . 'But thinking about it and assuming it's going to happen are totally different things.' Right now Bravo is in line to win the important Ricardo Zamora Trophy for La Liga's stingiest keeper — 16 goals conceded in 27 matches. But, even given that statistic, he's yet to give, or be asked for, a display where he can definitively say: 'Those three points belong to me.' Chile's star of the World Cup admits it is still a learning process. 'People ask you the difference of playing at Barcelona compared to another team and it' s waiting. Waiting with total concentration, mental preparation, staying ready despite the fact that you might not be tested, not even involved for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. 'I tell myself that we are under attack, that at any second, including that one right then, something vital might be asked of me.' The match will be Barcelona's first Clasico at the Nou Camp without Victor Valdes in 13 years . Just under 105 metres away from him for most of the night will be someone who would have nodded, with a knowing grin, at all of those sentiments. This isn't the first time that some have reckoned that Iker Casillas is facing his final Clásico (and who knows whether the two sides might yet meet in the Champions League) — but neither Father Time nor the club's transfer market planners are on his side. If Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has his way, this will be David de Gea's fixture next season. But, right now, it's San Iker's. The 4-3 loss to Schalke at the Bernabéu 12 days ago was the match which made all Barca fans say: 'Three points on March 22, for sure. Madrid have gone.' Valdes (right) joined Manchester United this season where he is currently No 2 behind David de Gea . But that's not so. Casillas was correctly blamed for at least two of those goals. But the impression that the game, and it's embarrassing defending, was definitive was false, I think. Casillas' desire, his cat-like alacrity seem diminished. But he's a feisty, cold-minded competitor and this matters the world to him. Thirty-seven times he' s played Barca, far more than any other rival. If this is his last, and he'd like there to be another six or seven before leaving in 2017, then he'll be determined to produce another save like the one which turned last October's clash. Losing 1-0 to Neymar's opener, Casillas made a point-blank save from Messi (who's scored 18 times past the Madrileño). Madrid weren't 2-0 down at home, Madrid pressed the accelerator and crushed Luis Enrique's side in 'Lucho's' first Clásico as a coach. It's an anecdote that Casillas' first Clasico at the Nou Camp, nearly 15 years ago, also saw the first goal he conceded to Barca — scored by that same Lucho. When the world watches this contest it will be in anticipation of another of the three-plus goal games we've seen over the last 10 years. But spare a thought for the Nou Camp Clasico debutant in one goal, and the legend in the other. Different lives, different men. Shared pressure.

Claudio Bravo preparing for El Clasico against Real Madrid . Match will be first Clasico at Nou Camp without Victor Valdes for 13 years . Bravo played against Real Madrid a number of times with Real Sociedad . Chilean goalkeeper joined Barcelona after an impressive World Cup .

 that made him smile. A few years ago he decided that the most important thing he needed was a reminder of his wife, Clara, and his children. They were both young and growing fast. When Valdes lost his place in Barcelona's goal in a 5–4 defeat to Real Madrid in 2014 he took his kids out. They were very happy.
His family had been with him at an early age. As a young goalkeeper playing at the Catalan club La Masia, Valdes had a father who was a little too involved. He'd stand at the gates for hours after the training sessions to watch his son play, and it wasn't unusual for him to get in the car and drive halfway across Spain, just to drive back again that evening. But the attention was mostly beneficial, and he did his best to take the family to see his games wherever possible. In his mid-20s, Valdes was at his peak with Barcelona and he was in the Spanish national team. He was living with a young Clara Roca on a meager salary, and in every interview she insisted that they were happy. She even seemed to like him playing for Spain.
Now, having spent five years at Manchester United, where he had become a good friend of Wayne Rooney, and a season back in Spain at Barça, he was back in London. His wife was back in the country with their second child, and this time there was another baby on the way, so the family would have a little more space. "My wife is with me now," he says. It's the third time he's done this. There was the move back to Espanyol from Barça. He'd made that to be closer to Clara, he explains, but he soon realized it was also so he could take her to work with him, because when he was at Espanyol she was heavily pregnant, and the trips to Barcelona became more and more difficult. When there was no other alternative, he decided to stay with her in London. She became a British citizen, and was eligible for NHS maternity care, but by the time this happened, her mother was dying of brain cancer. "That was my priority," he says, "and she was pregnant for too long. She would have had a miscarriage if I hadn't stayed in London." Now he doesn't have to do that. His wife is with him at all times. Their three-bedroom rental apartment —


Distractions - especially talking with passengers and using cellphones - play a far greater role in car crashes involving teen drivers than has been previously understood, according to compelling new evidence cited by safety researchers. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety analyzed nearly 1,700 videos that capture the actions of teen drivers in the moments before a crash. It found that distractions were a factor in nearly 60per cent of moderate to severe crashes. That's four times the rate in many previous official estimates that were based on police reports. The study is unusual because researchers rarely have access to crash videos that clearly show what drivers were doing in the seconds before impact as well as what was happening on the road. AAA was able to examine more than 6,842 videos from cameras mounted in vehicles, showing both the driver and the simultaneous view out the windshield. The foundation got the videos from Lytx Inc., which offers programs that use video to coach drivers in improving their behavior and reducing collisions. Crashes or hard-braking events were captured in 1,691 of the videos. They show driver distraction was a factor in 58per cent of crashes, especially accidents in which vehicles ran off the road or had rear-end collisions. The most common forms of distraction were talking or otherwise engaging with passengers and using a cellphone, including talking, texting and reviewing messages. Caught on camera: A teen driver loses control of her vehicle after she was driving distracted . Finding the source of the problem: The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety analyzed nearly 1,700 videos that capture the actions of teen drivers in the moments before a crash . Other forms of distraction observed in the videos included drivers looking away from the road at something inside the vehicle, ten per cent; looking at something outside the vehicle other than the road ahead, nine per cent; singing or moving to music, eight percent; grooming, six percent; and reaching for an object, six per cent. In one video released by AAA, a teenage boy is seen trying to navigate a turn on a rain-slicked road with one hand on the wheel and a cellphone held to his ear in the other hand. The most common forms of distraction leading up to a crash by a teen driver included: . Interacting with other passengers: 15 percent of crashes . Cell phone use: 12 percent of crashes . Looking at something in the vehicle: 10 percent of crashes . Looking at something outside the vehicle: 9 percent of crashes . Singing/moving to music: 8 percent of crashes . Grooming: 6 percent of crashes . Reaching for an object: 6 percent of crashes . The car crosses a lane of traffic and runs off the road, stopping just short of railroad tracks that run parallel to the road. In another video, a driver on a lonely two-lane road at night is shown looking down at an electronic device, apparently texting. While his eyes are off the road, the car crosses the opposite lane, leaves the road and appears about to strike a mailbox. One teen driver is captured braking hard at the last moment to avoid slamming into the back of an SUV stopped or slowed in traffic ahead. Just a moment before, the girl had turned her attention to another girl in the front passenger seat in an animated conversation. The camera shows the shock on the girls' faces as they suddenly realize a crash is imminent. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has previously estimated that distraction of all kinds is a factor in only 14per cent of all teen driver crashes. The videos provide 'indisputable evidence that teen drivers are distracted in a much greater percentage of crashes than we previously realized,' said Peter Kissinger, the foundation's president and CEO. Past research has shown that teens with multiple passengers in the car are more likely to have accidents. Eyes down: The most common forms of distraction were talking or otherwise engaging with passengers and using a cellphone, including talking, texting and reviewing messages . New findings: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has previously estimated that distraction of all kinds is a factor in only 14per cent of all teen driver crashes . The opposite is the case for adults - for older drivers, having a passenger with an extra set of eyes on the road can make driving safer. Teen drivers using cellphones had their eyes off the road for an average of 4.1 seconds out of the final six seconds leading up to a crash, the AAA study found. Researchers also measured reaction times in rear-end crashes and found that teen drivers using cellphones failed to react more than half of the time before the impact, meaning they crashed without braking or steering away. AAA and other traffic safety groups who previewed the findings said the study shows states should review their licensing requirements to restrict the number of passengers in cars driven by teens and change their laws to prohibit cellphone use by teen drivers. Proof: The videos provide 'indisputable evidence that teen drivers are distracted in a much greater percentage of crashes than we previously realized,' said Peter Kissinger, the foundation's president and CEO . High numbers: About 963,000 drivers age 16 to 19 were involved in police-reported crashes in the U.S. in 2013, the most recent year for available data . 'The findings of the AAA Report confirm what safety groups have suspected for a long time - distraction is more severe and more common in teen driver crashes than previously found in government data,' said Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. AAA said it also recommends that parents teach teens about the dangers of cellphone use and restrict passengers during the learning-to-drive process. Teen drivers have the highest crash rate of any age group. About 963,000 drivers age 16 to 19 were involved in police-reported crashes in the U.S. in 2013, the most recent year for available data. These crashes resulted in 383,000 injuries and 2,865 deaths.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety analyzed nearly 1,700 videos that capture the actions of teen drivers in the moments before a crash . It found that distractions were a factor in nearly 60per cent ot crashes . The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has previously estimated that distraction of all kinds is a factor in only 14per cent of all teen driver crashes . The most common forms of distraction were talking with passengers and using a cellphone, including talking, texting and reviewing messages .

2,500 teen crashes with passenger vehicles, finding "significant" increases in distraction-related crashes that involve teen drivers from 1986 to 2014. Among those crashes, distractions such as the use of a cellphone were the cause in 2,200 of those.
The evidence points to several reasons for this alarming uptick in distracted teen driving:
- More teens have cellphones than ever before. In 1995, cellphones were only in 27% of teen households, but in 2016, a full 95% of 16-year-olds had a phone, according to Pew research. Most teenagers are connected 24/7 via smartphones, and this constant contact encourages them to be in touch with a myriad of friends at any given time via social media, text, phone calls, and email.
- Cellphones make for dangerous driving devices. In the 1980s, cellphones were bulky and didn't have text messaging, the Internet, or social media. Today's teens have no qualms about texting, talking, emailing, and browsing the Internet on their cellphones - or doing all of these things simultaneously while trying to maneuver a complex and sometimes dangerous task - like driving.
- It is difficult to manage distractions while driving. Even when it is against the law to drive with a cellphone in a teenager's hands, it is still possible for them to use a cellphone to make or receive a call or text, read and send a text message, or browse the Internet. In fact, one of the most popular "kill switch" apps for smartphones allows parents to remotely disable a driver's cellphone for the duration of a trip.
- Teens are not in the best position to avoid distractions, including the ones they cause themselves. Teens are often the most inexperienced drivers of any age group and are just learning how to respond to dangerous situations on the road. Teens are just developing the brain's ability to filter out non-essential information and focus on important tasks like driving a vehicle. Additionally, teens are just learning the skills required to prevent and avoid traffic crashes.
Teen car crashes are particularly dangerous because they frequently involve inexperienced drivers and those most likely to be distracted.
Drivers must learn the importance of not texting, not talking on the phone, not messaging friends, not surfing the Internet, and not scrolling through Facebook while behind the wheel, and that includes those who are under age 21. It can be a challenge to eliminate distractions when the