document
stringlengths 37
3.16k
| summary
stringlengths 36
296
| id
stringlengths 8
8
|
|---|---|---|
Its survey of manufacturers, retailers and the services sector showed a balance of 6% reporting increased business, the lowest since May 2013.
The economy has had a "tough start to the year", said Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI's director of economics.
Official figures last week put UK growth at 0.5% in the last quarter of 2015, the slowest for three years.
Ms Newton-Smith said: "Manufacturing and business and professional services have struggled to make a mark, but a healthier picture can be seen in the household-focused consumer services and retail sectors."
Output from professional services firms - including telecoms, computing and legal services - slowed down the most, according to the CBI Growth Indicator.
The CBI figures signalled only "modest" growth in the next three months.
Reports have suggested the Bank of England will this week cut its UK economic growth forecasts to around 2.3% for 2016, compared with 2.5% in November.
The central bank will release its latest inflation report on Thursday, when it will also keep interest rates unchanged amid concerns about global economic volatility.
A Treasury spokesperson said: "Despite turbulence in the global economy, Britain is pushing ahead and continues to grow steadily."
|
The UK economy grew at its slowest rate since mid-2013 in the three months to January, according to the CBI.
|
35453777
|
Sirigu, who spent last season on loan in Spain with Sevilla and Osasuna, moves on a free transfer after ending his PSG contract by mutual consent.
England international Joe Hart was Torino's first-choice keeper last season, but has returned to Manchester City after completing a loan spell.
"The club and the president made me feel important and I thank them for that," said Sirigu, 30.
Sirigu, capped 17 times by Italy, joined PSG from Palermo in 2011, but lost his place to Kevin Trapp at the start of the 2015-16 season.
|
Torino have signed Italy goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu from Paris St-Germain.
|
40422710
|
Phoenix has launched a mandatory bid for Hornby, after offering to buy a stake from another investor that would gave it a 55% holding in the firm.
The offer, of 32.375p per share, values Hornby - which also owns the Scalextric and Airfix brands - at £27.4m.
Hornby has advised investors to take "no action for the time being".
The toymaker also said it had appointed David Adams as its interim chairman, replacing Roger Canham who resigned from Hornby's board on Wednesday. Mr Canham is also the non-executive chairman of Phoenix Asset Management.
On Wednesday, Hornby had reported falling revenues and deepening annual losses.
The company is struggling to revive its fortunes, which has led to it cut back the number of products it sells.
In the year to 31 March, revenues fell to £47.4m from £55.8m, while underlying losses widened to £6.3m from a £5.7m deficit last year.
|
Model toymaker Hornby has said a takeover offer from its largest shareholder, Phoenix Asset Management, "significantly undervalues" the firm.
|
40371393
|
Garita, 20, plays for Chateauroux in France's third tier and was at Ashton Gate on trial in November.
"Arnie is a £50,000 punt that will play in our under-21s," Cotterill told BBC Radio Bristol.
"We don't have anyone who is as physically strong as he is. He's raw, big, strong, tough and hungry."
The Robins are currently short of options up front, with Jonathan Kodjia, signed from French side Angers last summer, starting all but one of their matches in the Championship this season.
Cotterill says that Garita will train with City's first team, and could force his way into the senior XI as his search for new players continues.
"In the first training session he clattered Nathan Baker, and then Nathan clattered him back, and he had a big smile on his face," said Cotterill, who had been hoping to extend Elliott Bennett's stay with the club before he joined Blackburn from Norwich on Tuesday.
"He endeared himself to all the lads by working hard and we have to see where that one goes. If he ends up in the first team it'll be one hell of a story."
On the type of player he is hoping to sign in January, Cotterill added: "Good ones if we can - the trouble is there is a lack of good ones available.
"We need some players that can go in and help the younger ones.
"We are doing our best. My phone is having to be charged two or three times a day - we just want a few good ones. We don't want the wrong ones, we've got a lot going for us."
|
Bristol City are closing in on the signing of striker Arnold Garita, a player that manager Steve Cotterill has described as a "£50,000 punt".
|
35253349
|
His election ends a period of uncertainty as he replaces Chabur Goc Alei, who was suspended by the SSFA's general assembly last year.
Amin beat former international referee Lual Maluk Lual in the polls which were overseen by delegates from Fifa and the Confederation of African Football.
"Let's forget our differences but be united by the beautiful game of football," Amin said.
"I welcome all my opponents to come and join hands so that we develop football in our beloved country South Sudan."
Alei was forced out of office amid allegations of mismanagement.
Amin is a well-known businessman in Juba and is a former board member with local club Atlabara.
Venasio Deng Amun will be Amin's deputy after he beat Sestilio Juba Leriba in the polls for vice-president.
|
Francis Amin Michael Paul has been elected as the new president of the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA).
|
40300445
|
Mageean's time of 2:00.79 cut 2.05 seconds off her previous best but she was passed in the closing 15 metres by England's Alex Bell who won in 2:00.53.
The Portaferry woman had been tipped to challenge Rose-Anne Galligan's Irish record of 2:00.58.
Pacemaker Sinead Denny went to the bell in 59.45 with Mageean just in arrears.
When European Championship 400m semi-finalist Denny dropped out after 450 metres, it left Mageean with a two-metre lead but Bell, a quality athlete who just missed on Olympic qualification, stayed in touch before unleashing her late run to pass the Northern Irishwoman.
Yorkshire athlete Bell's winning time cut 0.76 seconds off her previous personal best.
After her first run on home soil since winning her European bronze medal two weeks ago, Mageean made no attempt to hide her frustration after being pipped by the 23-year-old.
"I'm very disappointed. I had to do a lot of the work in that race and just got run down in the last few metres," said Mageean, who will head to the Ireland pre-Olympic training camp in Rio early next week.
"I'll be back to win the 800m and the mile at the Morton Games in the future."
There were American winners in both mile races with Katie Mackey setting a new women's meeting record of 4:25.48 and John Gregorek also improving his personal best as he pipped compatriot Kyle Merber to win the men's event in 3:55.57.
The quality of the race was such that even 11th-placed Irishman Paul Robinson, back in action after a long injury spell, broke four minutes as he clocked 3:58.75.
The men's 400m produced the tightest of finishes with Sudanese athlete Sadam Koumi given the verdict as he was given the same time as Guyana's Winston George.
With Britain's Jared Dunn (46.28) in third, Brian Gregan finished fourth in 46.59 to edge out David Gillick (46.93) in the battle of the Irish athletes.
There was a predictable American one-two in the men's 100m as US Olympic trials semi-finals Joe Morris (10.27) pipped Dentarius Locke (10.27) who finished eighth in the final in Eugene.
With Amy Foster, like Jason Smyth, a late withdrawal from the meeting, Nigeria's Stephani Kalu won the women's 100m in 11.60 which left her ahead of Irish pair Niamh Whelan (11.72) and Joan Healy (11.73).
Meanwhile, Mark English showed encouraging form as he battles for form after injury as he clocked a big season's best of 1:45.36 at the Diamond League meeting at London's Olympic Stadium.
English, who only recently return to action after a stress fracture, was 1.48 seconds behind French winner Pierre-Ambroise Bosse but it was still a very encouraging run for the Donegal man ahead of the Olympics.
|
European medallist Ciara Mageean was left "disappointed" as she was edged out over 800m at the Morton Games despite setting a big personal best.
|
36849346
|
In the past year, the combined pensions deficit of firms on the UK's FTSE 100 index has increased 13%, according to JLT Employee Benefits.
That could cause problems when some firms carry out pension re-valuations in the coming months, JLT said.
Tesco and Lloyds bank are among those re-valuing their pension schemes.
UK companies have to measure the deficit or surplus of their defined benefit pension schemes every three years.
"With many pension schemes now embarking on their triennial actuarial valuations and deficits likely to be much bigger than three years ago there are going to be some difficult discussions between companies and pension scheme trustees," said Charles Cowling, a director at JLT.
Companies could be forced to put much more money into their pension schemes to reduce the deficits, he said.
JLT found that the combined pension funds deficit of FTSE 100 companies was £60bn in April, up from £53bn a year ago.
The deficit of all UK private sector pension schemes was unchanged at £182bn, JLT found.
They "remain high due to quantitative easing and record low interest rates," Mr Cowling said.
|
Some of the UK's biggest companies face "difficult discussions" over their growing pension deficits, according to a pensions consultancy.
|
39769142
|
The midfielder has only started two games since joining from Inverness Caledonian Thistle in September, but he hopes to become a regular next term.
"I'm hoping to hit the ground running," 21-year-old Christie said.
"We've got a lot of big games before the leagues starts, so it's important to impress the manager straight away."
Christie was sold to Celtic last summer but immediately sent back to Caley Thistle on a season-long loan cut short by a knee injury in November.
Now the manager who signed him, Ronny Deila, has been replaced with Rodgers.
"I've been really looking forward to working with him ever since he was announced," said Christie of the former Liverpool and Swansea City boss.
"I think this kind of appointment shows how big a club Celtic really is, with the manager we can still attract.
"I think in terms of the way the club wants to go, it's shows we're very very positive.
"My mindset going into training next week is it's like a clean slate and your job to impress him every day in training and try to get in his thoughts of the season ahead."
Christie is unconcerned by the recent comments by Rangers' new signing, Joey Barton, who has already stirred up the rivalry ahead of the first Old Firm fixture of the season on 10 September.
Barton said Celtic captain Scott Brown was "not in my league" as a player.
"He likes to build it up a bit more, maybe make it more exciting," Christie said of the former Burnley midfielder.
"But, to be fair, it's not anything that's going to effect us, or any of our camp.
"He can focus on Rangers and we'll focus on us.
"It doesn't really affect me. I think the way he goes about his publicity is probably good because it attracts attention.
"Maybe that's what he wants, or Rangers wants, but for us, it's nothing really."
|
Ryan Christie hopes to make an immediate impression on new manager Brendan Rodgers and force his way into the Celtic team for the coming season.
|
36558714
|
The Taiwanese researcher found files left behind by the other intruder on a neglected Facebook server.
The former hacker was using tools to scoop up login names of Facebook's net admin staff.
Facebook said the traces were left by another security researcher also seeking loopholes in its systems.
In a blog post, security researcher Orange Tsai detailed the way he found the vulnerable server and his realisation that someone else had been there before him.
The earlier intruder had set up scripts to grab the login names and other credentials for Facebook employees. At first glance, he said it looked like a "pretty serious security incident".
Mr Tsai, who works for security firm Devcore, reported his findings to Facebook so it could harden the server and clean out the login-sniffing scripts.
He won a $10,000 (£7,000) bug bounty from Facebook for finding the vulnerable server. In a statement on the Hacker News site, Facebook said it was "really glad" that Mr Tsai reported his findings.
"After incident response, we determined that the activity Orange detected was in fact from another researcher who participates in our bounty program," it said.
Facebook described the discovery of the vulnerable server as a "double win" as it involved two competent researchers assessing its systems. Neither was able to get further than the server to get full access to the site's internal networks, it added.
Paul Ducklin, writing on the blog of security firm Sophos, said anyone planning to do similar work on other net firms should be more careful.
"We recommend that you don't go as far as either hacker in this case." he wrote. "Orange stretched the rules a bit; the earlier mystery hacker stretched them a lot."
Going too far might introduce new weaknesses, warned Mr Ducklin.
"You don't make security stronger by weakening it," he said.
|
A hacker looking for ways to breach Facebook's internal network has uncovered traces of another hacker who got there first.
|
36128184
|
"The joke has worn thin. I'm tired of having your opinions ascribed to me. Pls tweet under your own name. Thanks", the author had tweeted to the account.
The handle with more than 30,000 followers adopted a "faux Rushdie persona" and engaged in debates with right-wing accounts.
The owner immediately capitulated and changed his handle to @IndiaExplained.
"It gave me a chance to pay homage to Rushdie and other writers while being able to reflect and comment on things that matter to me", the owner of the account, Rohit Chopra told Indian news website Scroll.in.
But many Indians online have taken exception to Sir Salman's stance, accusing him of both lacking a sense of humour and clamping down on freedom of expression.
With its new name, the account has promised to provide "satirical and political commentary on India".
It is just one among a number of Indian parody Twitter accounts which have courted controversy with those tried to send up.
In one instance, the office of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Twitter to block the account of @PM0India (which used a zero instead of a 'O') because of "objectionable content", which "could be mistaken as the official account of the PMO and have serious ramifications."
|
Salman Rushdie has been pilloried by Indian tweeters after confronting a parody account @RushdieExplains.
|
33562535
|
Held at the city's Eden Court, the line-up includes 34 films from 21 countries.
Five of the features are UK premieres and 17 will get their Scottish premiere during the event, which runs from the 5-9 November.
Documentary, The Possibilities are Endless, follows Scots singer Edwyn Collins' recovery from a stroke in 2005 with the help of his wife Grace.
Collins will perform songs after the screening of the film.
Foreign films are a key feature of the festival.
This year's include Difret about a teenage girl in Ethiopia who is charged with murdering a 29 year old man after he abducts her.
Winter Sleep, set in a small hotel in central Anatolia, will be given its Scottish premiere at Eden Court.
Another feature that will be give its Scottish premiere in Inverness will be Fantail, a story about a white New Zealand woman who was raised as a Maori.
The foreign language offerings also include Firestorm.
Another is The Tribe.
Festival director Paul Taylor said: "The Tribe is my pick of the festival, it's a unique and original film from Ukraine without words or subtitles or translation and is the most exciting and powerful film that you will see all year.
"It's a true one of a kind, which after 120 years of cinema doesn't happen very often."
Drama on and under water appear in a number of the films to be shown, including Kon-Tiki which is about Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 bid to cross the Pacific Ocean on a balsa wood raft.
Angel Azul tells of the creation of an artificial coral reef by artist Jason deCaires Taylor.
Also on an aquatic theme is Once in Your Lifetime.
It explores the idea that all keen anglers should try fishing on Scotland's lochs and rivers.
|
The programme for the 12th Inverness Film Festival has been announced.
|
29786697
|
Han, Job, Kukin and Fabiana were poorly and hadn't had enough to eat or drink when they were found.
They were rescued by marine biologists and spent two months at a special rehabilitation centre in Peru in South America.
Carlos Yaipen, one of the experts who helped make the the creatures better, says he's found lots of sick sea lions and believes changing sea temperatures are to blame.
He said: "These sea lions are survivors of various illnesses which they contracted off the coast of Peru caused by the phenomenon of El Nino.''
The little creatures were taken by boat to Palomino island, in Callao, Peru for their release, which is home to over three thousand other sea lions.
|
Four sea lions have returned to the ocean after being nursed back to health.
|
34238085
|
The former England international, 34, has signed on a free transfer after winning friends on and off the field in his three months at the Ricoh Arena.
"He's great to have around the dressing room," said City manager Tony Mowbray.
"The rest of the squad feed off his experience. I'm sure it'll have a positive impact on our young players."
Cole scored a cracking free-kick in a 4-3 win over Barnsley after arriving on 19 October, but has only made seven appearances in total because of injury niggles.
"Our staff have worked hard to build up his fitness and physicality, and we've seen Joe really buy into what we're trying to do here," added Mowbray.
"I only see his performances for the club getting better. He is a fantastic option to have from now until the end of the season."
Cole began his career at West Ham before moving in 2003 to Chelsea, for whom he made 183 league appearances, scoring 28 goals.
After seven years at Stamford Bridge and two Premier League titles, he moved to Liverpool, but had a loan spell with French Ligue 1 side Lille before returning to boyhood club West Ham in 2013.
He made 31 appearances in a one-year spell at Upton Park, scoring five goals, before switching to Villa, for whom he made four starts.
Cole scored 10 goals in 56 international appearances for England.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
|
Coventry City's on-loan Aston Villa midfielder Joe Cole has completed a move to the Ricoh Arena on a deal until the end of the season.
|
35257601
|
The 21-year-old joined the Millers on loan in January and has made two appearances so far.
Bray never played a first-team game for the Swans but did appear five times for the club's under-21 side in the EFL Trophy this season.
Rotherham are bottom of the Championship, 19 points adrift of safety.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
|
Rotherham United have signed Swansea winger Alex Bray for an undisclosed fee until the end of the 2018-19 season.
|
39233341
|
The audience peaked at 9.7m when the winner was announced at 21.55GMT. Two other peaks occurred when One Direction (9.1m) and Adele performed (9.2m).
Last year's average audience for the results show was 9.1m but this included +1 figures.
X Factor's Saturday show was watched by an average of 5.9m.
In recent weeks, the X Factor has struggled to get past the 7 million mark, dipping to 6.71 million for last week's semi-final.
The ITV show has consistently been beaten by BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing this year.
Sunday's Strictly semi-final results show, which saw Anita Rani eliminated, was seen by an average of 10.8m.
The audience peaked at 11.7m.
Next week's final will see The Wanted singer Jay McGuinness, BBC Proms and Radio 3 presenter Katie Derham, EastEnders' Kellie Bright and former Coronation Street star Georgia May Foote compete for the Strictly crown.
|
The X Factor results show was watched by an average of 8.4m on Sunday, an improvement on recent ratings but still down on last year's final figure.
|
35091198
|
Locals fear it will damage the environment and pollute their water sources.
La Colosa, in Central Colombia, has the potential to become South America's largest gold mine.
Mr Arce said the town's decision could not be applied retroactively.
The minister added that the South African mining giant AngloGold Ashanti had already been issued an exploration licence, which would retain its validity.
Mr Arce also said that while the land was under the control of local authorities, any subterranean riches were under the control of the national government.
The minister said that if AngloGold Ashanti was awarded the environmental licence it needs to proceed with the project, the courts or Colombia's congress would have to decide whether the local or national authorities prevailed.
Mr Arce insisted that the referendum vote would not affect foreign investment in Colombia's mining sector.
"For the first time in 20 years we will have three major projects in execution phase," he told RCN.
He said campaigners had misinformed voters.
"We're not talking about an open-air mine here," he said. "Nor are there a hundred rivers at risk."
Campaigners were angered by Mr Arce's comments.
The opposition to President Juan Manuel Santos also criticised the government's stance on the issue.
"Santos and the Mining Minister agreed to disregard Cajamarca's decision on La Colosa. Democratic mobilisation will also defeat them," tweeted opposition Senator and presidential hopeful Jorge Robledo.
Only 76 residents of Cajamarca, in the central province of Tolima, voted in favour of the mining project in Sunday's referendum, while more than 6,100 of the town's 19,000 inhabitants voted against.
Several other Colombian cities and towns are planning to hold similar votes to try to block mining projects in their area.
Correction 29 March 2017: This story has been amended to clarify the government's position on the mining ban.
|
Colombia's Mining Minister German Arce has questioned whether the result of a referendum held in the town of Cajamarca, where 98% of residents voted against a major gold mining project, will prevail.
|
39425592
|
Milk will replace sugar as the treat's main ingredient, as the white stuff content is boosted from 26% to 37.5%.
Nestle said the new recipe bars - with sugar cut by 0.7g - will be in stores by the end of the month.
It follows a similar move with its KitKat recipe, which increased the milk and cocoa content.
The Milkybar recipe has been the same since the bar first came into production in 1936, but is being changed as part of Public Health England's drive to reduce the amount of sugar consumed in the UK by 20%.
In April Nestle reduced the amount of sugar in its fruit pastilles by 30%.
A spokesman said the reductions in sugar would make "a positive step overall to removing sugar from the nation's diet while maintaining the taste"
|
Milkybars are about to get milkier, as the recipe changes for the first time in 81 years.
|
40068875
|
Regina Lopez said she was disappointed that "business interests" had "manoeuvred the decision".
She had been in the position for 10 months but had not been confirmed.
Congressional confirmations in the Philippines often happen months after ministers start work.
The decision made by the country's Commission on Appointments is final.
Backed by President Rodrigo Duterte, Ms Lopez had ordered 22 out of 41 mines to be closed, and banned open-pit mines.
She also cancelled contracts for undeveloped mines, and said environmental damage was harming the country's poor.
Following the vote, she said: "I'm disappointed because clearly there are business influences that have manoeuvred the decision. And, from my point of view, government should make decisions primarily on the filter of the common good.
"And when business interests take dominant influence in a way that even adversely affects our people, that's not good at all."
The Chamber of Mines of The Philippines said it would seek to undo her measures when a new minister was in post.
"Those have no legal foundation," chamber spokesman Ronald Recidoro said.
"There were no proper consultations held. And more importantly it's really out to kill the mining industry."
Yeb Saño of Greenpeace Southeast Asia said the sacking "shows how destructive industries continue to hold Philippine lawmakers by their necks."
A spokesman for the president said no replacement had yet been lined up.
Ms Lopez's supporters, who call her an earth warrior, have organised candlelit vigils to mark the end of her tenure.
|
Lawmakers in the Philippines have removed the environmental secretary, who angered the mining industry by ordering the closure of more than half the country's existing mines.
|
39797113
|
Workers for the salvage firm recovered the body from a cabin and handed it to the authorities to be identified.
They believe it is Indian waiter Russel Rebello, the last of 32 victims to be recovered from the wreck.
The cruise ship partially sank in January 2012 after it hit a reef off the Italian island of Giglio.
The Concordia was finally raised from the sea in July and towed to Genoa to be scrapped.
The captain, Francesco Schettino, is on trial for manslaughter and abandoning ship, charges he denies.
This is the third time local officials have said Mr Rebello's remains might have been found.
Tests on the other two occasions determined that the remains were not his.
This time, his brother Kevin said on Facebook he believed Russel was now coming home to India.
"I promised my family that I would bring back home my brother some day. When was the biggest question," he said.
"Finally, my younger brother's body has been found.
"Thanks to everyone who prayed and believed that one day he would be found."
|
Human remains found in the wreck of the Costa Concordia are believed to be the last victim of the cruise ship's 2012 capsize, Italian officials have said.
|
29885140
|
Roman Seleznev, 32, was found guilty by a federal jury in Seattle on 38 of 40 counts, including intentional damage to a protected computer and wire fraud.
Prosecutors said he was a "master hacker" behind a plan which led to $170m (£131m) of fraudulent purchases.
Vowing to appeal, his lawyer argued he had been kidnapped by US agents.
Seleznev (his name is also spelt Seleznyov in English) faces a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in jail, lawyer John Henry Browne said. A sentence is expected on 2 December.
The Russian also faces similar charges in federal courts in Nevada and Georgia.
Prosecutors say Seleznev hacked into retail systems and installed malware to steal credit card numbers from businesses, mostly pizza restaurants in the state of Washington.
He then sold the information online, they say. The scheme is said to have been carried out between 2008 and 2014.
Roman is the son of Valery Seleznev, a Russian member of parliament for the Liberal Democratic Party.
He and his girlfriend were arrested by US Secret Service agents at a Maldives airport in July 2014.
Lawyers argued that his arrest was a "kidnapping" or an "illegal rendition" that violated international law but a US district judge blocked that argument from the trial.
Mr Browne said they planned to challenge his client's arrest and a ruling that allowed prosecutors to introduce evidence from a corrupted laptop seized with him.
The computer contained more than 1.7m stolen numbers, along with evidence linking him to various servers, prosecutors said.
|
The son of a Russian MP has been convicted on charges that he orchestrated a hacking scheme that targeted US pizza restaurants.
|
37196960
|
The announcement will be made during half time of the FA Cup semi-final Match of the Day Live: Everton versus Manchester United at around 18:00 BST.
The new companion will star alongside Peter Capaldi's Time Lord in the 10th new season of Doctor Who.
They will replace Jenna Coleman, who played Clara Oswald, who left the show in 2015.
Coleman joined Doctor Who in 2012, and starred alongside two Doctors, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.
She asked to be written out and left to take on the role of Queen Victoria in a major ITV drama series.
Filming for the next series of Doctor Who will start this year but will air in 2017.
In January, it was announced the head writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, Steven Moffat, was stepping down from the show.
The next series will be his last, after which he will be replaced by Broadchurch writer Chris Chibnall.
|
The new Doctor Who companion will be revealed live on BBC One on Saturday night.
|
36104565
|
The Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers (CIIC) says it has done so due to changes in immigration enforcement policy under President Donald Trump.
It says the focus has been on people from seven countries named by the president and those with deportation orders or criminal histories.
"This applies to a small portion of the Irish community," it adds.
"Given the change in immigration enforcement policy and implementation, the immigrant community is strongly advised to be vigilant in obeying all local and state laws, especially when driving."
It also advises "those who feel they are at risk of deportation" to speak to a lawyer and be screened for possible benefits or relief.
"Have an emergency and family plan in place in case of arrest, especially involving children."
The organisation advises people to "be wary of rumours about ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] activity, ICE raids or immigration policy changes".
It said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had recently carried out focused enforcement actions and community arrests of about 680 non-citizens, most with criminal histories or prior orders of deportation.
"This operation was not unlike previous enforcement actions in the past," it said.
"However, there have been some reports of secondary arrests of individuals who were not the original focus of the enforcement efforts, resulting from the fact that ICE now has broader authority to arrest anyone who is undocumented."
The Trump administration has issued tough guidelines to widen the net for deporting illegal immigrants from the US, and speed up their removal.
Undocumented immigrants arrested for traffic violations or shop-lifting will be targeted along with those convicted of more serious crimes.
The memos do not alter US immigration laws, but take a much tougher approach towards enforcing existing measures.
There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US, about 50,000 of whom are believed to be Irish.
|
An organisation that represents immigrant groups has issued new advice to Irish people in the US.
|
39150802
|
The South American country qualified for the event by winning the Division Six tournament in Essex last September, when they beat Guernsey in the final.
But the International Cricket Council launched an investigation after eligibility issues came to light.
They will be replaced by Vanuatu, who finished third in Division Six.
The World Cricket League is the ICC's one-day tournament for non Test-playing nations, which offers them the chance of qualifying for the World Cup.
"The Surinaamse Cricket Bond (SCB) has now accepted that it failed in its duty to ensure the provision of accurate residency information in respect of a number of players," the ICC said in a statement.
Suriname has also been relegated to the World Cricket League's Americas Division One and forfeited a $25,000 grant received for the tournament in Jersey, which takes place from 21 to 28 May.
"We were obviously disappointed by the shortcomings in the SCB's procedures that were revealed by our investigation," said Tim Anderson, the ICC's head of global development.
"There is inevitably an element of self-certification when it comes to determining compliance with the player eligibility regulations, and for this reason the wider cricketing community needs to be able to place the utmost trust in the accuracy of information submitted by other ICC members.
"We are, however, heartened by the action the SCB have taken in confronting the issues raised and look forward to working closely with them to ensure they can resume their participation in ICC competitions in 2017."
Nigeria, Tanzania and Oman will compete against Jersey, Guernsey and Vanuatu with the aim of winning promotion to Division Four of the World Cricket league.
Have you added the new Top Story alerts in the BBC Sport app? Simply head to the menu in the app - and don't forget you can also add alerts for the Six Nations, cricket scores, your football team and more.
|
Suriname have pulled out of May's World Cricket League Division Five tournament in Jersey after an inquiry into the eligibility of their players.
|
35724399
|
Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis made his comments during a weekend TV programme.
Stocks on Greece's ATG index closed 3.11% lower at 814.06.
Greece still needs to strike a deal with its creditors in order to release €7.2bn (£5.1bn) in remaining assistance.
"The four instalments for the IMF in June are €1.6bn, this money will not be given and is not there to be given," Mr Voutsis said.
The country's finance minister meanwhile has told the BBC on Sunday that progress was being made.
"Greece has made enormous strides at reaching a deal," Yanis Varoufakis told the Andrew Marr Show.
Other benchmark indexes across Europe have also fallen.
The IBEX closed down 2.01% to 11,322.3 after Spain's voters punished the ruling Popular Party (PP) in local and regional elections.
"Sunday's losses by the ruling party are seen as a protest against the country's economic hardship, which is shown most clearly in an unemployment rate of 23% - and more than double that among young people," said BBC economics correspondent Andrew Walker.
Financial markets were unsettled by the vote against an economic strategy that many investors broadly support, he added.
France's Cac-40 closed down 0.5% to 5117.1, and Italy's MIB closed down 1.94% to 23,305.
Stock markets in London and Germany were closed for public holidays.
|
European stocks have fallen after a Greek minister said that Athens would struggle to meet its upcoming debt payments.
|
32873401
|
Media playback is not supported on this device
PE teacher Vicki Randall turned to coaching after being forced to give up playing netball and football because of injury.
The 29-year-old has encouraged more than 200 girls to play sport every week.
"I say quite often to them I don't care about the score, I just want them to enjoy it," Vicki said.
"I know that they appreciate everything that I do and at the end of the sessions they'll all say thank you."
Vicki set up Cwmbran Youth netball club in 2009 with just five girls, which has now grown to 14 teams. Three players have recently been selected for Wales' under 17 squad. She also organises a weekly 'netball tots' club for children aged between one and five.
She also runs Risca Netball Club, managing all five of their teams in the South East Wales League.
Vicki also set up Cwmbran Celtic Ladies football team in 2012, guiding them to promotion to the Welsh Premier league two years later and also started a reserve team to encourage women to take up the sport.
She typically spends four evenings a week coaching sport after work, often more than one session per evening. At weekends, she spends most Saturdays organising netball matches and tournaments, before devoting up to seven hours on a Sunday to her football teams.
Despite undergoing nine operations on her knee she has continued to coach, sometimes on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Vicki was nominated by Ann Daley from Pontypool whose daughter plays netball with Cwmbran Youth.
"Vicki has given so much to so many, volunteering all her free time," Ann Daley said.
"She has had a massive impact in raising levels of participation in sport for girls and women in South East Wales. Vicki really is an Unsung Hero."
Vicki's achievement will be recognised at the Wales Sport Awards 2016 on Monday, 5 December at Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff,
She will share the stage with the night's other big winners including Coach of the Year, Team of the Year and the prestigious BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year.
The Wales Sport Awards 2016 will be broadcast live from 19.30 GMT on Monday, 5 December at the BBC Wales Sport website and also on BBC iPlayer and the Red Button. The event will also be live on BBC Radio Wales.
The Wales Sport Awards is an event, organised in partnership by BBC Wales and Sport Wales. It aims to recognise the best achievements at elite and community level in Welsh sport.
Watch BBC Wales Today at 18:30 GMT on BBC One Wales this evening to see the moment presenter Claire Summers surprises Vicki with her Unsung Hero award.
|
A volunteer netball and football coach from Cwmbran has been named as BBC Wales Sport's Unsung Hero for 2016.
|
38107383
|
Sunderland said they agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal with M'Vila but "decided not to enforce the contract".
M'Vila, 26, made 37 appearances for the Black Cats on a season-long loan last term before returning to Rubin Kazan.
"Any player we bring to Sunderland must be wholly committed," said chief executive Martin Bain.
M'Vila missed just one Premier League game as he helped Sam Allardyce's side avoid relegation last term, with Black Cats fans hopeful the club would sign him on a permanent deal last summer.
However, the move failed to materialise on transfer deadline day in September, leading to M'Vila posting an Instagram message - which was later deleted - saying he had tried contacting the club to push the deal through.
M'Vila returned to the Russian club when his loan deal expired, making nine appearances in the Russian Premier League this season.
Sunderland had not announced they had agreed a deal to re-sign the player until they revealed on Wednesday it had fallen through.
"I was contacted this week by Yann M'Vila's representatives, who advised that the player no longer wishes to join Sunderland," added Bain.
"There was a three-and-a-half-year agreement in place, however after discussions with the manager we have decided not to enforce the contract."
|
Sunderland say they will not be signing Yann M'Vila in January after being told the French midfielder no longer wants to re-join the Premier League club.
|
38244137
|
When applications closed at midday on Friday, 1,924 people had been sent postal votes, which represents 6.4% of those on the electoral role.
They have until midday on Wednesday to deliver their completed ballot slips, either by post or by hand, to Sir Charles Frossard House.
Wednesday is polling day across the island.
Registrar-general of electors Mark de Garis: "Anyone on the electoral roll could choose to vote by post and our goal was to make the process as straightforward as possible.
"The popularity of postal voting is increasing... it's important that we continue to make it a quick and easy process."
Postal voting has been allowed in Guernsey since 1972 and has grown significantly in recent years; 662 in 2000, 1,513 in 2004, 1,386 in 2008 and 1,685 in 2012.
|
A record number of people have signed up for postal votes ahead of Guernsey's election next week.
|
36115675
|
Gloucestershire Police said they had received allegations that Opus Fine Art in Stow-on-the-Wold had been "dishonestly retaining or selling" art.
The gallery deals in works by high profile artists including Damien Hirst.
A police spokesman said investigations were ongoing to establish ownership of the seized property.
The Independent newspaper reported the owners, Donald Smith and Emma Poole, were believed to have moved to the south of France.
|
A large number of works of art have been seized from a Cotswold art gallery after allegations of fraud and theft.
|
33794961
|
Taylor, 27, is taking an indefinite break from cricket after suffering with anxiety and panic attacks.
New Zealand all-rounder Amy Satterthwaite will captain the side in Taylor's absence.
Six Super League teams will play 15 Twenty20 matches in a round-robin tournament that begins on 30 July.
|
England wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Taylor will not appear for Lancashire Thunder in the inaugural edition of the Super League.
|
36846063
|
The guest list has been decided by Lady Thatcher's family and representatives, along with the government and the Conservative Party.
It includes family and friends of Lady Thatcher and those who worked with her over the years, including members of her cabinets and representatives from a range of groups with which she was associated.
Those also invited include staff who worked closely with Lady Thatcher or who served her in some personal capacity, such as housekeepers who looked after her office in the Houses of Parliament.
Ten members of staff from the Ritz hotel, where Lady Thatcher was staying when she died, have been invited.
About 200 states, territories and international organisations have been invited to send an official representative.
Argentina's president has not been invited but the country's ambassador to Britain has. Downing Street says this is in keeping with diplomatic protocol for such occasions.
The Queen will lead the mourners with the Duke of Edinburgh.
St Paul's has a capacity of 2,300 and is expected to be full on the day.
Invitees include:
Some of those who have confirmed their attendance include:
Among those not attending:
|
Further details of guests invited to attend the funeral of Baroness Thatcher at St Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday have been released.
|
22109759
|
Several provinces of Kalimantan often experience the direct wrath of the fires, with hundreds of hotspots detected.
In Malaysia and Singapore, people are advised to stay indoors when the haze is bad, avoid exercise and wear N95 masks - high quality protection against particles in the air.
But in Kalimantan "a lot of people do not even wear masks here because they are so used to the pollution," relief worker Jonathan How told the BBC.
"They've been conditioned by the haze for decades and are subjected to serious health problems much worse than in Singapore."
This week, Mr How took a team from Singapore to Kalimantan. Their mission: to raise awareness about the dangerous air pollution and distribute 25,000 of the N95 masks.
He described seeing "smoky yellow skies" in the region, where PSI pollutant levels have neared 2,000. Any reading over 300 is considered hazardous.
The team of five arrived in Kalimantan on Monday, where they spent three days visiting local schools and hospitals to distribute masks.
"One lesson we learnt was that haze awareness is key. Though people may politely receive the N95 masks they are given, they will only use them if they truly understand the long-term health impacts of inhaling fine particulates from the haze," Mr How said.
Singaporean photographer Edwin Koo, who also travelled with the team, documented their efforts.
He shared with the BBC one experience of teaching a man how to put on a specialised N95 mask.
"When we first arrived at the airport, we gave out masks to the porters too. One of them took the strap [that were supposed to be looped over the head] and wore it on his ears, like a surgical mask.
It ended up blocking his eyes and he didn't realize it was wrongly worn. So I showed him how to put it on correctly. It was then I realised that the mission was not as simple as it seemed."
Mr Koo also said: "Sometimes we have to cross the line of documentation. In this case, it meant that I had to put my camera down to help people put on masks and explain the hazards of exposing oneself to haze."
Mr Koo has also been actively sharing images from the trip onto his Facebook page.
His album titled, Haze Response Kalimantan 2015, features photographs of Kalimantan's burning peatlands and the daily life of the locals.
Now back in Singapore, Jonathan How and the team are currently exploring new ideas on how to "better inform people about the negative health impact of the haze".
They also want to continue to "encourage people to use the correct masks for their protection".
"We want to meet as many like-minded individuals and organisations as possible, to explore collaboration on longer-term solutions to the haze," he said.
"The regional pollution is a global responsibility, not just of the Indonesian government."
|
Every year, a haze spreads across South East Asia - at the heart is Indonesia's Central Kalimantan, where raging forest fires cause the hazardous air pollution.
|
34440946
|
The E-ACT academy group says it will replace them with "academy ambassadorial advisory bodies".
These new bodies will "play a central role in celebrating the academy's achievements", E-ACT has told its school governors in a letter.
But governing bodies, with parental representatives, will no longer hold their local schools to account.
The academy chain says it was about providing the "best possible education".
A school governor described it as "authoritarian" and "repugnant".
E-ACT's 23 schools are spread across England, with clusters in the West Midlands, Buckinghamshire, Bristol and the north west.
As an academy chain it receives public funding to operate schools, with accounts for the academic year ending in August 2014 showing an income of £135m.
A letter sent to governors tells them that the academy chain has decided to change its form of governance.
Instead of local school governing bodies, there will be a centralised process for monitoring standards.
The letter to governors says the academy chain would contact governing bodies "to discuss an appropriate transition date" and the replacement bodies would provide a different type of function, such as an "interface with the community".
And it invites current governors to move over to the new bodies, but these would no longer be involved in areas such as hiring senior staff and monitoring budgets and standards.
A governor in one of E-ACT's schools in the midlands said he was "shocked" at how governing bodies had been disbanded, which he described as "offensive and disrespectful to the people who freely volunteer their time to act as governors".
What makes this more controversial is that E-ACT itself has a troubled record.
In 2014, the academy chain lost control of 10 of its schools after Ofsted inspectors raised serious concerns about their performance.
Until July 2015, the chain was operating under a financial notice to improve, imposed by the Education Funding Agency.
A spokeswoman for E-ACT said the academy group had introduced "fundamental changes to how the organisation operates to ensure that every young person received the best possible education with us".
She added: "Part of this involves adopting a new governance model, in line with the Department for Education's guidance.
"We appreciate that change can be challenging for some, but we are committed to continuing to work closely with our governors and are encouraging each of them to take up posts in the newly-formed advisory bodies."
|
An academy chain is scrapping the current form of governing bodies for its schools in England.
|
35347602
|
Mr Jones announced the news in a tweet, which included a hand-drawn cartoon of a baby inside the womb along with a message referencing his father's death.
"One month since dad died today. Made this card for him at Christmas. Due in June. Circle of life. Love you, granddad," the director, 44, wrote.
Mr Jones is the eldest child of Bowie, who died of cancer last month, aged 69.
The Bafta award-winning director is the singer's only child from his 10-year marriage to his first wife, Angie.
He is married to photographer Rodene Ronquillo.
|
David Bowie's son Duncan Jones has announced he is to become a father for the first time.
|
35546686
|
The children, aged between three and seven, were being driven to their kindergarten in the city of Weihai when the bus burst into flames in a tunnel.
The driver was angry that his overtime and night shift pay had been cut, police told Xinhua news agency.
The children's teacher and the driver were also killed.
The fire was started on the bus floor near the driver's seat. Part of a lighter was discovered nearby and petrol traces were found on the bus, Xinhua said.
Electrical faults and traffic accidents had been ruled out as possible causes, police said.
|
A fire on a bus in China that killed five South Korean and six Chinese children was started deliberately by the driver, Chinese state media say.
|
40129761
|
16 September 2014 Last updated at 07:25 BST
Leaders from both sides have been touring the country and encouraging people to vote.
Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond, who is leading the campaign for the "Yes" vote, tells Newsround what he thinks being Scottish means.
|
There are only a few days left until the people of Scotland decide whether or not to become an independent country.
|
29204496
|
His side have won only two of their first seven league games following promotion and lie in seventh place.
"What I said at the start of the season, and I was very, very clear, was that we'd be highly competitive," the English manager told the media.
"You guys said about challenging Celtic and challenging Aberdeen."
Rangers are seven points behind reigning champions Celtic and three adrift of the Dons, who were last year's runners-up, after losing to both in recent weeks.
"I said we'd be highly competitive and that won't change," he said of a side beaten 2-1 at Pittodrie in their last outing.
"I think you saw on Sunday we were highly competitive, but we have to get the rewards for it.
"What we have to do is to turn our domination and ball possession into rewards.
"That's what we did against Queen of the South. Between the Ross County and Queens match, there was no difference between the displays, but in one game we were far more clinical than the other."
Warburton, who has received a one-match touchline ban for comments made after the loss to Aberdeen, insists it is still early in the season to express disappointment at Rangers' league position.
"You can say you are four points from the bottom or three points from second," he said ahead of Saturday's Glasgow derby against Partick Thistle.
"At this stage of the season, in any league, you win two games and the whole picture changes. The same if you lose two."
|
Mark Warburton says his goal at the start of the season was simply to be "highly competitive" in the Scottish Premiership and Rangers have done that.
|
37514660
|
It follows concerns changes proposed by the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) could undermine the "scores on doors" scheme in Wales.
In November 2013, Wales became the first UK nation to require food outlets to display their inspection ratings.
The FSA is considering allowing third party auditors to be brought in to make much more limited inspections of premises.
Senior officers in Wales are concerned the changes are fuelled by a need for councils in England to make savings - something the FSA has denied - and believe they would undermine the improvements in Wales.
Mark Elliott, from the Directors of Public Protection in Wales, said: "We should in Wales really consider a Wales-specific solution now, to build on what we've done, and not mess up what we've already got."
The FSA said the proposed new system would give a better picture about a premises' standards every day - rather than just on the day they are inspected - by taking their own audits and systems into account.
It has also been suggested food businesses should have to pay for a licence before they could open.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We will continue to collaborate with the FSA and local authorities to develop a sustainable approach to food business regulation that works across Wales and which reflects the need to ensure that the highest standards of food hygiene and safety are maintained."
|
Calls have been made for Wales to have greater control over food hygiene.
|
37805755
|
The two English players shared the first four frames before O'Sullivan hit a 124 clearance to edge ahead in the semi-final in Cardiff.
O'Sullivan, a three-time champion, then made breaks of 94 and 88 to lead 5-2 before winning with a 78.
Australia's Robertson beat Northern Ireland's Mark Allen 6-4 to reach his second final, to be played on Sunday.
Robertson, the 2007 champion, had trailed 2-0 in the best-of-11 frame match, but won the crucial third frame after a foul by Allen, of Northern Ireland.
The world number three then won five consecutive frames to lead 5-2 and withstood a comeback by Allen to reach the final.
Speaking after the semi-final, O'Sullivan, 40, compared Robertson to cinematic cyborg law enforcer RoboCop.
"I have watched him through the UK Championships and he never showed emotion through the whole tournament, " O'Sullivan told BBC Sport, ahead of the best-of-17 final.
"It shows what an unbelievable professional he is. He is Robocop, he is like the new Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry."
Robertson, 34, believes O'Sullivan is the favourite for the title.
"I don't mind flying under the radar," he added. "It is nice, I can be the underdog."
|
Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Joe Perry 6-3 to reach the Welsh Open final where he will play Neil Robertson.
|
35622289
|
South Yorkshire Police hopes to build the 50-cell suite in Shepcote Lane, near to Meadowhall shopping centre.
It will replace suites in Ecclesfield, Sheffield and Rotherham, saving more than £1m a year said the police.
Ch Supt Rob Odell said it was hoped the new suite would be completed by the summer of 2016.
He said: "We anticipate that replacing three existing properties within Rotherham and Sheffield with one purpose-built facility will deliver annual savings of approximately £1.2m.
"The majority of this will come from a reduction in staffing, but there will be other revenue savings and energy efficiencies too.
"We are consulting regularly with the staff affected, who are mainly custody sergeants and detention officers, and we hope to achieve the savings through natural wastage."
A public consultation on the plans has begun.
|
Plans for a £19m police custody centre to replace three "outdated and inefficient" suites are being submitted to Sheffield City Council.
|
28644250
|
The Under-20 boss replaces Gareth Southgate, who vacated the role to become England manager after the departure of Sam Allardyce.
Boothroyd, 45, took charge for the U21 side's final two Euro 2017 qualifiers and secured qualification for this summer's finals in Poland.
"I've been at the FA three years; this is the logical next step," he said.
"I believe I am here on merit because I've worked in all four divisions and I've got an understanding of speaking to a League Two manager or a Premier League manager and the problems they have."
Boothroyd was in charge of Watford for three seasons from 2005, initially saving the club from relegation to the third tier before leading them to the top flight in 2006.
The Vicarage Road side finished bottom of the Premier League the following season, then failed to make an immediate return, losing in the play-off semi-finals.
Boothroyd left the following season and had a nine-month spell at Colchester and an 11-month stint at Coventry before taking charge at Northampton in 2011.
The side were bottom of League Two at the time and Boothroyd guided them to safety, and the play-offs the next season, before being sacked in 2013 with the club once again last in the fourth tier.
"You can get stuck in a job and I was very much on a hamster's wheel in my previous jobs," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
"But this has reinvigorated me. I've watched games I could only have dreamed of, met people, been to World Cups and I feel like I've grown massively in the last three years."
|
Former Watford and Coventry boss Aidy Boothroyd has been confirmed as manager of the England Under-21 team.
|
38848691
|
Konta won 7-5 6-2 and will now face the Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova.
The fifth seed beat Russia's Daria Kasatkina 3-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7).
Konta, 25, is 11th in the race to Singapore, with only the top eight qualifying for the tournament, which takes place from 23-30 October.
Konta could also break into the world's top 10 for the first time if she continues her run at the China Open.
Currently ranked 14th, she would join Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and Jo Durie as the only Britons to achieve the feat on the WTA Tour.
|
British number one Johanna Konta boosted her hopes of reaching the WTA Finals in Singapore by beating Hungary's Timea Babos in straight sets to reach the China Open third round.
|
37560149
|
25 June 2017 Last updated at 09:35 BST
Anne was a Jewish victim of the Holocaust.
Her diary, which she nicknamed 'Kitty' is a very famous record of her experiences during World War II.
Anne wrote about how she and her family lived in a secret hidden attic in the Netherlands to help them hide from the Nazis.
We spoke to a group of girls who have read Anne's diary, and they said that Anne's optimism and positivity was very relatable and inspiring.
Take a look to find out more...
|
It's 70 years since Anne Frank's diary was published.
|
40393221
|
Oduwa, 19, and Ball, 20, represent manager Mark Warburton's eighth and ninth signings of the summer window.
Both Players are a product of the Tottenham youth system.
Ball spent the second half of last season on loan at Cambridge United, making 11 appearances, whilst Oduwa also appeared 11 times for Luton town.
Ball has represented England at Under-19 and Under-20 level, having previously represented Northern Ireland at younger age groups.
Oduwa has also played for England at youth level, representing his country at the Under-18 level.
Warburton will have both players available this Sunday as Rangers continue their Championship campaign away to Alloa.
|
Rangers have signed winger Nathan Oduwa and defensive-midfielder Dominic Ball on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur.
|
33933794
|
Sussex could have taken third place had they won at Hampshire, but rain forced their match to be abandoned.
Somerset's fixture at Middlesex was also called off, meaning Somerset finish second in the South Group.
Essex finished top of the group after beating Kent by 57 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method at Canterbury.
They are joined by North Group winners Worcestershire in going straight through to the semi-finals.
Somerset will host Nottinghamshire in the quarter-final on 13 June with the winner to face Essex at Chelmsford three days later.
Yorkshire play Surrey at Headingley in the other quarter-final, also on 13 June. The winner travels to Worcestershire on 17 June.
At Canterbury on Wednesday, Varun Chopra scored 83 from 98 deliveries, while England Test opener Alastair Cook made 54 as the visitors reached 307-6 from their 50 overs.
Kent lost three early wickets before rain caused play to be stopped after 11 overs had been bowled, with the hosts on 50-3 - well short of their adjusted target.
Surrey captain Gareth Batty told BBC Radio London:
"It was 100% the right decision [to call the game off], the water's coming over your shoes out there.
"There's nothing you can do, you just move on to the next game."
|
Surrey qualified for the One-Day Cup knockout stages despite rain causing their game at Gloucestershire to be called off without a ball being bowled.
|
39920862
|
It is claimed the accounts for the Cleddau Bridge are confusing, with some showing a loss and others a profit.
Motorists pay 75p - lorry drivers £1.50 - to cross between Pembroke Dock and Neyland. There have been previous calls to scrap the tolls altogether.
The council said it will review both the physical and financial management of the bridge.
The announcement follows a complaint from a member of the public to the Wales Audit Office, which argued that money collected by the council was not being spent in line with rules governing the bridge.
The complaint also suggested that council accounts for the bridge are confusing.
One set of Pembrokeshire council figures for 2013/14 show the bridge operation made a loss of £60.6m.
A second set of figures for the same period suggest the loss was £9.3m.
And a third set of figures state that the council actually made a combined surplus of £17.6m.
Council officials have confirmed to BBC Wales that £60m deficit is in fact a 'notional' loss - and does not actually exist.
The second part of the complaint to auditors is over whether the council should be allowed to make a profit - and where that money should be spent.
Collecting tolls on the Cleddau Bridge is governed by legislation set out by the UK Parliament in the Dyfed Act 1987.
Council leader Jamie Adams said the authority's position was that it can make a profit as long as the funds are used for other transport projects.
However, he accepted that the wording of the 1987 law was unclear.
Mr Adams added: "We've simply followed the example set by our predecessor authority Dyfed.
"Certainly there are different ways to interpret the act which allow for different accounting practices to be undertaken."
The council said it plans to carry out the review of the lifetime cycle of the Cleddau Bridge by the end of March 2016.
|
The way tolls on a Pembrokeshire bridge are managed are to be reviewed after a complaint to a spending watchdog.
|
34143903
|
NTS said four chicks had hatched from one nest at the Mar Lodge Estate.
One male chick has been satellite tagged as part of the RSPB's Hen Harrier Life project.
The species was pushed to the brink of extinction by the early 1900s. Numbers recovered but there are still only about 500 breeding pairs in Scotland.
The large raptors are found mainly in moorland areas.
Mar Lodge Estate property manager David Frew said: "It is fantastic news and really exciting to see these birds returning to the estate for the first time in living memory.
"We have worked hard to create an environment where raptors can thrive, and it is great to see that our approach to management is paying off."
Will Boyd-Wallis, from the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: "We very much hope that the careful management undertaken by the National Trust for Scotland alongside other estates in the East Cairngorms Moorland Partnership and in the wider National Park will lead to many more pairs successfully returning to the area."
Blanaid Denman, from the RSPB's Hen Harrier Life Project, said the news was "amazing", given the "parlous state" of Scotland's hen harrier population.
She added: "National surveys show a 20% decline in just six years between 2004 and 2010 and east Scotland in particular has seen only a handful of successful breeding attempts in recent years.
"All this makes the return of hen harriers to Mar Lodge even more exciting and a wonderful cause for celebration."
From the end of the summer, people will be able to follow the tagged chick's adventures online via the Hen Harrier Life Project website.
In the meantime, Mar Lodge Estate is running an online poll to name the chick.
|
Rare hen harriers have bred successfully at a National Trust for Scotland (NTS) estate in the Cairngorms for the first time in living memory.
|
36820021
|
However, Wednesday's gain of 12.1% paled by comparison with its 66% plunge on Tuesday.
At the other end of the scale, advertising giant WPP's shares sank 11% after it reported slowing sales.
At the close, the FTSE 100 was just in positive territory, up 0.91 points or 0.01% at 7,382.65.
On the currency markets, the pound was down 0.3% against the dollar at $1.2786 and down 0.63% against the euro at 1.031 euros.
|
Troubled doorstep lender Provident Financial has gone from being Tuesday's biggest stock market loser to Wednesday's biggest winner.
|
41022025
|
The 27-year-old Kenyan hit the front with about 300m to go after compatriot Alfred Kipketer sprinted clear on the first lap of the race.
Rudisha finished in one minute 42.15 seconds, ahead of Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi and fast-finishing American Clayton Murphy.
"I am so excited," said Rudisha. "It is the greatest moment of my career."
Makhloufi ran a new national record of one minute 42.61 seconds and Murphy clocked a personal best of one minute 42.93 seconds in a bizarre race.
Kipketer set out fast, going through the first 200m in just 23 seconds.
But the 19-year-old, who had beaten Rudisha in the Kenyan national trials, faded to finish seventh in Rio.
"Running 1:42, it's just fantastic," added Rudisha. "I had no doubts before. The feeling in my body was good. It is great to win such a big competition."
BBC Sport's chief sports writer Tom Fordyce in Rio:
"He is the greatest 800m runner of all time and he may also be the nicest man in his sport. Rudisha may not be at the same holy level as that unforgettable night in London, but he remains both a joy to watch and an unstoppable force.
"After the injuries he suffered after 2012 - missing the worlds in 2013, requiring a serious knee operation less than two years ago - this victory was never preordained. He just makes it look that way."
|
David Rudisha became the first athlete since New Zealand's Peter Snell in 1964 to retain the men's 800m Olympic title.
|
37091371
|
Scowen, 24, who made his first-team debut at the age of 17 with Wycombe, joins on a free transfer having turned down a new contract with the Tykes.
Enfield-born Scowen played 44 games to help Barnsley to a 14th-placed finish in England's second tier last season.
He moved to the Oakwell club for an undisclosed fee in January 2015.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
|
Queens Park Rangers have signed midfielder Josh Scowen on a three-year deal following his exit from Championship rivals Barnsley.
|
40468694
|
On its Twitter feed, the firm reported a second outage this afternoon - which was restored less than an hour later.
"Internet of North Korea down again at 15.41 UTC. Second blackout since last night's restoration of service," the tweet read.
The first outage saw large parts of the internet unavailable in North Korea.
Officials have not yet commented on the issue.
Speculation is rife about the source of the blackouts, following a cyber security row with the US.
China has denounced reports suggesting it was responsible. US officials have not commented on any possible American involvement.
The US had said it would launch a proportional response to the hacking of Sony Pictures, after an FBI investigation appeared to show that North Korea was behind the hack attack which led to films and private emails being leaked online.
The Interview, which depicts the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was cancelled by Sony following threats from hackers.
Internet services in North Korea were down for around nine and a half hours in the first outage, according to Dyn Research.
Some questioned how much an outage would affect a country where normal citizens have little access to the web.
Although many have computers and smartphones, they only have access to a government-approved intranet. Access to the world wide web is reserved for a trusted elite in North Korean society.
North Korea's internet is handled by state-run company Star Join Ventures which is routed through Chinese telecommunications firm China Unicom.
|
North Korea appears to have suffered a second internet blackout, according to internet performance measuring firm Dyn Research.
|
30591219
|
Anne sent the eight-line verse to a friend in 1942.
The auction house in the Netherlands had valued the rare, handwritten note at €30,000-€50,000.
Anne is best remembered for her diaries of life as a German-born Jew in occupied Amsterdam in World War Two.
The poem was signed and dated 28 March 1942, which was less than four months before the Frank family moved into a secret apartment to hide from German forces.
Addressed "Dear Cri-Cri", it was given to Christiane van Maarsen, the older sister of one of Anne's best friends, Jacqueline.
The Bubb Kuyper auction house, based in the Dutch city of Haarlem, said Jacqueline van Maarsen was selling the poem because she knew her sister, who died in 2006, did not see it as a prized possession.
In a note published on the auctioneers' website, she wrote, "My sister (nicknamed Cri-Cri) tore this page out of her poezie album and gave it to me around 1970. I know that my sister was not as attached to this verse from Anne to her as I am to the verse Anne addressed to me."
It was common for girls of the era to collate notes from friends in scrapbooks they called poezie albums.
The first four lines of the poem, which encouraged the older sister to work hard at school, are known to have been copied from a magazine.
The second four carried on the same edifying theme, but may be Anne's original work.
The auctioneers noted that Anne switched her style of handwriting midway through writing.
Her diaries have become one the most important documents to emerge from the Holocaust. Her father published them after she died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen Nazi death camp aged 15.
|
A poem by Dutch schoolgirl Anne Frank written shortly before her family went into hiding from the Nazis has sold at auction for €140,000 ($148,000; £120,000), well over the estimate.
|
38080032
|
Pacquiao was unanimously outpointed in Brisbane last week as 29-year-old Horn won his first world title.
The Filipino, 38, urged governing body the WBO to review an "unfair decision and officiating".
It asked five judges to analyse the fight and they found "Pacquiao won five rounds while Horn won seven rounds".
The five "anonymous, competent judges from different countries" watched the fight without sound, it added.
The WBO stressed the analysis was carried out for "transparency" as it did not have the power to reverse the original decision.
"It can only be revoked when fraud or a violation of law has occurred, which is not relevant in this case," a spokesperson said.
|
Former welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao's controversial loss to Jeff Horn has been rescored by WBO judges - who reached the same result.
|
40564759
|
Walkers have been warned to keep away from the site at Seaford Head, with the coastguard warning it could fall away at any time.
Amanda Death, who lives in Seaford, spotted the crack and alerted Newhaven Coastguard after going out for a walk with her daughter.
Coastguard spokesman Graham Easton said there had been cliff falls at Seaford, Birling Gap and Hastings this year.
"It could go at any time but it could hang on for quite a long time," he said.
"The advice is simple to stay away from cliff edges - but equally we want people to stay away from the base of cliffs.
"They can be crumbly and fall away and obviously a big crack like this would cause a massive cliff fall but even small rocks will cause a lot of damage if you're underneath at that sort of height."
BBC reporter Lucinda Adam estimated the crack was about 6ft (1.8m) to 7ft (2.1m) long.
She said the land above the crack was on the other side of the safety fence, closest to the sea.
Mrs Death said she went to have breakfast on the beach with her daughter on Saturday and spotted the crack when the pair walked further along the coast.
She said she stayed back from the edge but was able to zoom in on the crack with her phone and added: "It looks like it could go pretty soon."
Seaford is the start of a six-mile (10km) stretch of protected limestone sea cliffs that lead up to Beachy Head, according to Natural England.
Walkers follow a cliff top footpath from Seaford to reach Hope Gap and Cuckmere Haven.
|
A large crack has appeared in a cliff face in East Sussex.
|
29323754
|
Express Wi-fi allows users to purchase data from local providers in order to access the web.
A pilot version with a state-run telecoms company has already been offered at 125 rural wi-fi hotspots.
In a statement, Facebook said the tests were being carried out with "multiple local ISP partners".
Facebook is probably hoping that users who first encounter the web via a Facebook initiative will be more likely to become users of the social network - rather than a competitor - according to Ian Fogg, an analyst at IHS Technology.
"In emerging economies, Facebook is pursuing an intervention strategy to increase the pace of internet and online usage because this will also raise the addressable market for Facebook," he told the BBC.
Earlier this year, Facebook's Free Basics internet service app was blocked by India's telecoms regulator.
A ruling in favour of net neutrality put a stop to the plans, which would have offered free access to a select number of websites only.
|
Facebook has confirmed that it is in the early stages of testing a wi-fi service with Indian internet service providers (ISPs).
|
37011806
|
The country's bank central bank also raised interest rates from 12% to 13% in a bid to stem foreign reserve loses.
Nigeria has spent billions of dollars defending the naira using "dwindling foreign reserves", the bank's governor said.
Falling oil prices also affected the Angolan kwanza, which hit a record low against the dollar on Tuesday.
The bank's governor Godwin Emefiele said: "Falling oil prices have consistently reduced the accretion to external reserves, thus constraining the ability of the bank to continually defend the naira and sustain the stability of the naira exchange rate."
The bank moved the target band of the currency to 160-176 naira to the US dollar, compared with 150-160 naira previously.
It also raised interest rates by 100 basis points.
Nigeria, which has one of the biggest economies in Africa, and is one of the continent's leading energy producers, has spent billions of dollars in the past year shoring up the naira, Mr Emefiele said.
Foreign reserves stood at around $37bn (£23.5bn), down over 18% from a year ago.
"Big surprises from the central bank," said Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered.
"With these moves the central bank has shown absolute commitment to dealing with current challenges," she said. "They have not shied away from the tightening needed to sustain current FX [foreign exchange] reserves."
Meanwhile, Angola's kwanza traded traded as low as 100.895 against the dollar before recovering some ground to 100.700 on Tuesday.
Angola is Africa's biggest oil producer after Nigeria.
|
Nigeria has devalued the naira, saying a drop in oil prices had made it hard to defend its currency.
|
30196496
|
Sir Bob Kerslake said one of the difficulties was that "easier" savings had already been made.
He said the "sense of urgency" would be reduced and the need for cuts would be hard to explain to public sector staff.
Sir Bob stepped down from his role this month and was replaced by former Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood.
He said the civil service had "excelled" during his time in charge.
Speaking at the Institute for Government think tank, he said it was clear that "under any government, we face up to a further five years of austerity in public sector spending".
"The first five years have been challenging but the second five years are likely to prove even harder for three reasons," he said.
"Firstly, the easier savings have already been made.
"Secondly, we are likely to be doing it against a background of a growing economy and greater competition for good staff.
"Thirdly, the sense of urgency that underpinned the first savings programme will be reduced.
"In reality, the task is not yet complete. But this will be hard to explain to those in the public sector, including our own staff, who are looking for some relief."
Sir Bob said the civil service had "excelled" in its challenge to "deliver big programme savings at the same time as undergoing huge change and reduction itself".
The roles of cabinet secretary and head of the civil service were split into two jobs when Sir Gus O'Donnell retired as both in 2012.
Sir Bob, who was already permanent secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), took the role as head of the civil service at that time.
He will retire from his DCLG role early next year.
|
The outgoing head of the civil service has predicted another five years of UK government spending cuts - and he said making the cuts would be "even harder".
|
29373230
|
The award was created in 2011 by BBC Radio 1 presenter Huw Stephens and promoter John Rostron.
This year's shortlist includes a mix of established artists and emerging stars, with songs that embrace a range of genres, sounds and influences.
Past winners of the prize include Gwenno and Gruff Rhys.
The 2016 shortlist of artists and their albums:
9Bach - Anian
Alun Gaffey - Alun Gaffey
Cate Le Bon - Crab Day
Climbing Trees - Borders
Datblygu - Porwr Trallod
Meilyr Jones - 2013
Plu - Tir a Golau
Right Hand Left Hand - Right Hand Left Hand
Simon Love - It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
Skindred - Volume
Swnami - Swnami
The Anchoress - Confessions of a Romance Novelist
The winner will be chosen by a panel of industry experts including musician Amy Wadge, Dwynwen Morgan from BBC Radio Cymru and critic Lowri Cooke.
The winner will be announced on 24 November at The Depot in Cardiff.
Mr Rostron, from the Welsh Music Prize, said: "So many great albums are being released from Wales at the moment - it's a really good time to be listening to new music and finding some new favourites."
|
A shortlist of 12 artists has been announced for the Welsh Music Prize 2016.
|
37310972
|
Officials said further refinement of satellite data found the plane may have turned south earlier than thought.
The announcement came as Australia and Malaysia signed an agreement on the search's next phase, which will see the two countries sharing costs.
The Beijing-bound plane disappeared on 8 March with 239 people onboard.
Based on analysis of satellite data, it is believed to have ended its journey in seas far west of the Australian city of Perth.
Investigators do not know what happened to the flight and finding its "black box" flight recorders is seen as key to understanding the factors behind its disappearance.
Australia, which is responsible for search and rescue operations, has been looking for the plane in an area about 1,800km off its west coast.
The latest detail on the plane's possible flight path came from an analysis of a failed attempted satellite phone call from Malaysia Airlines to the plane, said Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss.
"The search area remains the same, but some of the information that we now have suggests to us that areas a little further to the south... are of particular interest and priority," he told reporters in Canberra.
A Dutch contractor, Fugro Survey, will kick off the next phase in the search in September. Three vessels towing underwater vehicles will scan for the plane.
The search will focus on an area of about 60,000 sq km and is estimated to cost about A$52m (£29m, $49m).
Malaysia's Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai signed the memorandum of understanding with Mr Truss.
The two were also briefed on search efforts, together with China's Transport Vice-Minister He Jianzhong.
Most of the passengers onboard the flight were Chinese. The ministers issued a statement saying they "remain cautiously optimistic" that the plane will be found.
|
Australia says the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will focus on the southern part of the search area in the Indian Ocean.
|
28962994
|
The money would ensure anyone waiting 12 months to either see a consultant or start treatment by March 2017 would be seen and treated by March 2018.
Michelle O'Neill said she was confident the money would be agreed after the election on 2 March.
She told BBC News NI she believes the plan is achievable.
The minister published her strategy to tackle hospital waiting lists on Tuesday.
The minister revealed that £1m is being invested in the private sector in order to start tackling waiting lists immediately, although this is not detailed in the action plan.
While welcoming the announcement of the plan, the DUP's health spokesperson Paula Bradley said improvement on waiting lists was being hampered by the lack of a budget and election demands.
"Progress was being made on waiting lists previously," she said. "At the start of 2016, figures for both outpatient and inpatient waiting times were coming down and we need to see a continuation of that kind of progress."
Jo-Anne Dobson from the Ulster Unionist Party claimed the health minister was "engaging in a pre-election stunt."
"Michelle O'Neill is right to say that when she took up office last May lengthy waiting times were a major problem," she said. "Yet under her watch those delays have only worsened."
The SDLP's Nichola Mallon said patients who are waiting for procedures would want to know what the strategy means for them.
"We need to know when people are going to be treated and have cast iron guarantees that the money is going to be there," she said. "Unfortunately we don't have those guarantees."
Paula Bradshaw, the Alliance Party's spokesperson on health, said more detail and further scrutiny was required.
"It is concerning the lack of a Budget means the allocation of funding which is needed to achieve what the plan sets out to do remains unclear," she said.
|
More than £31m is required to treat patients who have been waiting more than a year for some appointments, the health minister has said.
|
38895344
|
A team from Strathclyde University in Glasgow tested 22 different brands of compost and found that 14 contained a variety of Legionella species.
It says a larger survey is needed to determine the extent of the issue.
The study, "Legionella spp. in UK composts - a potential public health issue", is published by Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
Dr Beattie, one of those who conducted the study, said: "Disease causing micro-organisms are widespread in the environment, and therefore it is not too surprising that species of Legionella that can cause human disease are present in compost.
"Any environment where you have pathogenic bacteria could be a source of infection, and we already know that compost has been linked to human Legionella infection in countries such as Australia and New Zealand."
Dr Beattie said European produced composts have traditionally been composed of peat, whereas those from Australia and New Zealand had more often used sawdust and bark.
"It may be that the change in composition of composts in the UK, moving away from peat-based products, could be resulting in species such as Legionella longbeachae being present in compost and therefore more cases of infection could occur," she said.
Dr Beattie wants a larger scale survey, covering a wider range of compost products, to be carried out to see if Legionella bacteria are as widespread in composts as her study suggests.
She added: "It should be emphasised though, that although Legionella seem to be common in compost, human infection is very rare, especially if you consider the volume of compost sold and used.
"But with any potential source of infection precautions should always be taken.
"The occurrence of these bacteria in composts in Australia and New Zealand, and the cases of infection that have been traced to compost has resulted in hygiene warnings on compost packaging in these countries, and this is something manufacturers in the UK may wish to consider."
The study was conducted by Dr Tara Beattie, fellow academic Dr Charles Knapp, Strathclyde PhD student Sandra Currie and Dr Diane Lindsay of the Scottish Haemophilus, Legionella, Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory.
|
Legionella bacteria appears to be "common" in many compost brands sold in the UK, a study has found.
|
24348811
|
CNOOC had offered to pay $27.50 cash per share for Nexen in July, a 60% premium on its share price at the time.
However, the deal still needs to be approved by the Canadian government which has launched a review to assess its benefit to Canada.
If approved, the deal will be China's largest foreign business takeover.
"The offer is a compelling one, and offers benefits for all Nexen's stakeholders, including employees and communities," CNOOC spokesman Peter Hunt was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"CNOOC Limited will continue to pursue all regulatory approvals required to close the transaction."
While Nexen shareholders have backed the deal, there seems to be growing opposition to it among politicians and even the general public in Canada.
Canada's biggest opposition party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), has voiced its concerns over the deal.
"We're very concerned about the potential sale of a strategic Canadian asset, not only to a foreign enterprise, but one that is wholly controlled by a foreign government that doesn't follow the same market rules as Canada," said Thomas Mulcair, leader of the NDP.
"The question is how can it be in Canada's interest, how can it be of a net benefit to Canada, to sell a strategic natural resource to a corporation that is wholly owned by a foreign country?"
Meanwhile, according to a latest survey conducted by Abacus Data, 69% of Canadians are also against the deal, while only 8% approve of it, with the rest being unsure.
"A majority of those opposed to the deal (58%) cited the fact that Nexen operates in one of Canada's core strategic industries, and a foreign company should not have control of such an important resource," Abacus Data said.
Mr Mulcair added that the survey indicated that "Canadians share our concerns".
Canada's government has the right to block any foreign investments over 330m Canadian dollars if it believes they are not in the country's best interests.
CNOOC, which is China's biggest offshore oil producer, has made commitments to ensure the authorities that the deal will bring benefit to the country.
It has said that it will retain Nexen employees and make Nexen's Calgary office as its headquarters for North and Central America. It has also offered to list shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Kevin Reinhart, Nexen's interim chief executive, said the Chinese firm also wanted to keep the Nexen brand name.
"This transaction will in no way close the book on Nexen or our way of doing business," he said.
|
Shareholders of Canada's Nexen have approved the takeover bid by China's state-owned CNOOC to acquire the firm in a $15.1bn (£9.3bn) deal.
|
19671219
|
Among her prizes were best female artist, best streaming song for Shake It Off and the ceremony's top honour, artist of the year.
Sam Smith won best new artist and accepted his trophy via a video message using a series of cards.
One Direction came away with two trophies, for best group and best touring artist, dedicating one of the awards to Zayn Malik, who left the band in March.
Other Brit winners were Coldplay who won best rock album for Ghost Stories, while Irish singer Hozier picked up best rock song for Take Me To Church.
|
Taylor Swift dominated at the Billboard music awards winning eight of the 14 categories in which she was nominated.
|
32780956
|
The local authority said it currently had no power to restrict the number operating as a business, or to regulate the safety or prevent nuisance.
There is currently only one horse-drawn carriage business in the county, in Tenby.
Kate Telford, of Tenby Carriage Rides, said she had not been contacted about the consultation and felt "targeted".
A report by the council's head of legal and democratic services said there had been a horse-drawn carriage operating within the walled town in Tenby for more than 25 years.
It said the same operator provided the service until retirement a few years ago when a new operator took over.
Shortly after, a second new operator moved into the town, which led to complaints about the operation of two services in a confined area, and the health and safety implications this had on pedestrians and other road users, the report said.
Historically the authority has licensed horse-drawn carriages of less than eight seats as hackney carriages, but, the report said, the current operator has a carriage with more than eight seats.
The consultation is looking at whether the council should introduce a licensing regime, with byelaws.
Ms Telford said: "I'm quite shocked about it. We do it to help the town and have people from all over the world coming to us.
"If it's going to cost thousands of pounds, we won't be able to do it."
The consultation runs until 22 September.
|
Pembrokeshire council is consulting on how to best regulate horse-drawn carriages in the county.
|
40964509
|
Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox already owns 39% and he first tried to buy the remainder five years ago before abandoning the attempt in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.
Martin Gilbert, the chairman of the independent directors (which excludes James Murdoch, who is unable to vote because of his role as chief executive of Fox), recommended the deal today saying it delivered good value for shareholders.
Not all of them agree with Gilbert. One shareholder told the BBC, "this is a patsy deal. Many of the directors are not really independent and as a group they should be ashamed of themselves"
The BBC understands that James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's son and chief executive of 21st Century Fox, met with directors in early December and told them "we are either a buyer or seller of our stake. The status quo is not an option".
James Murdoch offered a 30% premium to the existing price on the condition the directors recommended it. After further meetings, that premium was raised to 40%.
Even with that premium, the sale price is roughly what the company was worth six months ago and many shareholders will feel short-changed.
The directors felt that if Fox had pursued a hostile bid, it could have bought shares in the open market at the prevailing price to take its 39% stake to more than 50%. After making an offer for the remaining shares, Sky shareholders may have ended up with a lower premium of around 20-25%.
Fox will require 75% of the independent shareholders to approve the deal. It may also be referred to regulators to check whether it breaks national interest tests on the plurality of media.
The Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, Karen Bradley has 10 days to decide whether to take that option.
Given the outcry over the last bid, it seems likely she will do that but the media landscape has changed a great deal since the last takeover attempt.
The last bid came from NewsCorp, which owns the Wall Street Journal, The Times and The Sun. This bid is from Fox which owns television and film businesses.
The emergence of new players in media like Netflix and Amazon mean that this deal would mean less concentration of power in the sector.
|
Sky's independent directors have recommended a takeover offer from 21st Century Fox valuing the company at £18.5bn.
|
38331954
|
Written by Stephen Baxter, The Massacre of Mankind will see the Martians from Wells's story invading Earth once more, having learned from the mistakes they made first time around.
Gollancz will publish the sequel in hardback and eBook on 19 January 2017.
The copyright on the original, which was published in book form in 1898, lasts until 31 December 2016.
In a statement, Baxter said it was "an honour... to celebrate [Wells's] enduring imaginative legacy, more than 150 years after his birth."
The author of more than 20 novels previously penned The Time Ships, a sequel to Wells's 1895 story The Time Machine.
"Steve has a great track record of collaborating with other authors," said Marcus Gipps, commissioning editor at Gollancz.
"I've seen early material from this remarkable new project and can't wait to unleash Steve's new Martian terror upon the world."
The lucrative film rights to the novel will also certainly be hotly contested after a 2005 film, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg, earned nearly $600m at the global box office.
|
A sequel to HG Wells's The War of the Worlds is to be published in 2017 when the copyright on the original expires.
|
35004565
|
Okja, starring Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal, had been booed by some in the audience after the Netflix logo appeared at the beginning.
But it then became clear the film was playing in the wrong aspect ratio.
The film has been controversial because producer Netflix has refused to screen it in French cinemas.
After the jeers, the movie was stopped and restarted without explanation.
Some film journalists in the screening uploaded videos of the heckling on social media.
The BBC's Lauren Turner, who was at the screening, said: "There was shouting from the upper seats and it became apparent the aspect ratio was wrong, so they restarted it after about 10 minutes.
"The second time around the audience booed the Netflix logo again. But there was also some cheering at the same time and a warm round of applause at the end."
A statement from the Cannes Film Festival said: "This incident was entirely the responsibility of the Festival's technical service, which offers its apologies to the director and his team, to the producers and the audience."
On Thursday, there was also some booing when the Amazon logo came up at the beginning of Wonderstruck, which stars Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams.
Earlier this week, Cannes jury chair Pedro Almodovar said he agreed that films should have to be screened in cinemas if producers want them to be considered.
Indiewire film critic David Ehrlich tweeted: "Okja starts, huge boos at Netflix logo. Then film plays in wrong aspect ratio and Grand Lumiere almost rioted. Movie stopped."
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin wrote: "Cannes making an A+ case for the primacy of the cinema experience by projecting the first ten mins of Okja in the wrong aspect ratio."
Blogger Elena Lazic said: "That didn't start well. Screen not open properly, significantly cropped at top... the boos at the Netflix logo were immediately followed by boos at the terrible projection."
The film is a South Korean-American adventure movie about a young girl named Mija who tries to prevent a multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend, a genetically engineered super-pig named Okja.
Speaking after the film, director Bong Joon Ho said he "loved working with Netflix", adding it was a luxury to be given such a huge budget for it.
Swinton said: "It's an enormous and really interesting conversation that's beginning. But I think, as in many matters, there's room for everybody."
Gyllenhaal added: "It's important to have artistic expression in whatever form we can.
"Debate is essential always. It's a useful thing to have this discussion about how art is perceived and distributed."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
|
A screening at the Cannes Film Festival had to be stopped after technical problems during the first few minutes of the film.
|
39972987
|
A trailer and tractor backed into Harry Whitlam at Swithens Farm, Rothwell, West Yorkshire, on 9 August 2013. He died later the same day.
Leeds Coroners' Court heard Harry was struck at an area of the farm not usually open to the public.
Tractor driver Gary Green was arrested but never charged.
Mr Green had 90 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath at the time of the accident. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.
The court heard Mr Green was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and causing death by dangerous driving but was later released and never charged.
West Yorkshire Police said a criminal prosecution could not be brought because the incident occurred on private land.
Jurors were told Harry had gone into the area where he was run over just after 09:00 BST.
His mother, Pamela Whitlam, who worked at the farm's cafe, said she had not explained to him where he could or could not go because she was not familiar with the layout of the site.
In a statement to the court, she described how just before the accident she told her son: "Be careful."
Moments later she ran outside to find him lying on the floor after being hit by the vehicle.
Jurors heard Mr Green had drunk "three of four pints" at the pub the night before the accident and continued drinking at home until 01:45.
Following his arrest, he told police officers: "I don't know where he came from because no-one should be down the back of the tractor."
The inquest continues.
Update 31 July 2015: This story has been amended following updated information supplied by West Yorkshire Police about why a prosecution could not be brought.
|
A tractor driver was almost three times the legal alcohol limit when he reversed into an 11-year-old boy, an inquest has heard.
|
33717879
|
13 May 2016 Last updated at 07:08 BST
A lot of time and money is spent trying to keep animals safe.
Rangers at Kariega Game Reserve have lots of high-tech gear to keep track of their animals and keep poachers away.
Patrols are carried out by the rangers, especially at night.
Armed with special cameras and night vision goggles, Ayshah joins the rangers as they head out in the night to keep a watch on the wildlife.
|
South Africa is home to some amazing wild animals, but poaching from wildlife reserves in Africa is a big problem.
|
36280756
|
The inaugural three-day event, involving communities from England and Wales, featured competitive sports - all Whitchurch versus Whitchurch.
Organisers also received a message of support from the mayor of Whitchurch-Stoufville, in Canada.
The next event is already being planned in Shropshire for 2017.
The places represented were in Shropshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Somerset, Herefordshire, Dorset, Cardiff, Cardigan and St David's.
Competitors took part in archery, bowls, tug-of-war and a bake-off. Non-competitive activities included a vintage car parade and live music.
Organising committee member Paul Driver said: "We were just looking for something unique and the amount of times we got contacted by other Whitchurches looking for the wrong venue, we just thought, that's got to be something different, let's get them all together.
"'Come on Whitchurch' is all you can hear, which is great. Everybody is being cheered on.
"We had a great response to this. We said it's something we envisage taking place every two years and this week, luckily, Shropshire have said they want to be the hosts next time so we are all looking forward already for two years time."
|
People from 11 towns, villages and suburbs all called Whitchurch, have gathered in Whitchurch, Hampshire, for the Worldwide Whitchurch Weekend.
|
33586247
|
The pair, in their 20s, became stranded in the 2.5m (8ft) vessel about 200m (665ft) off the Essex coast at 14:30 BST on Monday.
Clacton RNLI said the boat, made from insulation boards, had been "held together with coat-hangers" and glue.
One of the men said it had been "a successful fishing trip" before they had run into trouble.
The 27-year-old, a self-employed builder from Jaywick, said the pair had caught two or three cod and some crabs before they were rescued.
"The boat didn't leak," he said. "I'd do it again."
The men, who were unhurt, were given safety advice and the boat was destroyed.
Volunteer Joff Strutt said the pair had been fishing in the boat all weekend but had run into trouble near Jaywick when the weather turned.
It was "a bit of a project that went a little pear-shaped", Mr Strutt said.
The vessel, built in two days from eight sheets of board, was "not something we've ever seen before", he added.
"[They] are very lucky they were spotted or things could have been a lot worse."
Mr Strutt said it was vital that people only sailed using the correct equipment.
"Neither of the men had lifejackets and one of them couldn't swim," he said.
More on this story from BBC Radio 4's Six O'Clock News.
|
Two fishermen who went to sea in a homemade boat they built for £9 had to be rescued when their oars broke.
|
32201995
|
The catch-up app is not ready to launch alongside the revamped set top box when it goes on sale this week, but the broadcaster signalled it would be soon.
iPlayer was absent on earlier Apple TVs, despite the fact it is on other platforms including Amazon's Fire TV, Roku, Google Chromecast, Sky's Now TV box and several video game consoles.
One analyst said the move should aid sales of the new kit in the UK.
"Available on over 10,000 devices, BBC iPlayer is one of the biggest and best on-demand video services in the world, and has transformed how UK audiences watch programmes online," said the BBC's director-general Tony Hall.
"I am delighted that iPlayer will be coming to the new Apple TV in the coming months, helping to bring the BBC's distinctive and loved content to an even wider audience."
Until now, Sky was the only major British broadcaster to offer an app for the US firm's set top boxes.
The BBC has, however, allowed users to stream content from iPlayer's iPhone and iPad apps to older Apple TVs.
In September, its iPlayer team indicated it had "no plans" to change this. for the new device.
But a key part of Apple's pitch for its new box is that owners can use their voices to request programmes and movies by theme from across a range of services without having to open and close individual apps.
Users can, for example, ask for popular science fiction shows and be shown a range of suggestions from Netflix, NowTV and other apps that communicate their content with Apple's computer servers.
For iPlayer's content to be added to the list of recommendations, the service has to become a native app rather than be run off a separate device.
Earlier this month, the MacRumors news site reported that two Bournemouth-based developers had created a tvOS app they dubbed Auntie Player to demonstrate that it would be relatively easy for the BBC to support the new platform.
They noted it had taken them less than nine hours to build a working program and urged the BBC to build an official version of its own.
"iPlayer coming to the Apple TV is a landmark deal," commented Ian Maude from the research firm Enders Analysis.
"I think it's very difficult for any internet-based video streaming service to launch in the UK without it now.
"That was true for Sky's Now TV box - it was huge when it got iPlayer - and I think the same will be true for Apple."
The BBC understands that ITV has no plans to release an app for Apple TV.
Channel 4 and Channel 5's intentions are unknown.
|
The BBC has confirmed that its iPlayer service is coming to the new Apple TV.
|
34660204
|
Paul Gallihawk, 34, failed to finish the initial swimming part of the race at Leybourne Lakes and was reported missing after he did not arrive to collect his bike for the cycling stage.
The cause of his death remains unclear.
His girlfriend Hayley said: "He was the most amazing and thoughtful partner. I loved him to bits and always will."
"He was incredible in every way and he always put others before himself," she added.
In a statement, the family said: "[Paul] had such a caring nature and will be sadly missed by all the family, extended family and friends.
"Paul was a brilliant son and brother to Nick - he would do anything to help anyone and would always put them first."
His friends also issued a statement: "Many of us have known Paul since we went to school together and we are all completely heartbroken.
"He was a genuine and honest man - he was the funniest person in the world."
The triathlon event was organised by Ocean Lake Triathlon, who said: "We are shocked by what happened."
The triathlon club, based at Leybourne Lake Country Park and Simon Langton School in Canterbury, organises a series of six sprint distance races.
Mr Gallihawk had been missing since a 750m swim at the start of the triathlon.
He had written on his JustGiving page that he was competing to raise money for King's College Hospital in London, which had looked after his father. Since his disappearance was announced, donations on the page have risen to over £6,000.
One donor wrote on the site: "Paul, you always had a smile and a laugh about everything, and a great teammate playing for Lenham. An absolute gent and our thoughts are with your loved ones."
|
Tributes have been paid to a triathlete whose body was found after he disappeared during a race near Maidstone on Saturday.
|
34107335
|
People logging on are asked which team they want to follow to get the latest news during the tournament.
All countries taking part in the competition were listed apart from Wales, Turkey, Switzerland and Ukraine.
Football body UEFA, which runs the app, blamed a "technical issue" on some devices which it has now resolved.
Wales fan Tim Hartley said he was "very disappointed" that his team was not on the app after it launched.
"It's surprising that I've received tickets to follow my team right through to the final, and yet UEFA has left Wales out of app," he said.
"But having said that, the fans will stand together in France next month regardless, app or not."
After BBC Wales contacted UEFA it said it resolved the glitch and the missing countries were now available to fans.
A spokesman said no teams were left out but a technical issue had meant the last row of participating teams could not be seen.
|
Wales fans hoping to follow their team on the official Euro 2016 app were left disappointed - after the country was not included.
|
36340699
|
This contradict earlier reports that a Canadair aircraft went down near the central Pedrógão Grande area.
More than 1,000 firefighters on the ground and planes from several countries are battling the fires.
The fires have claimed the lives of at least 64 people and since Saturday.
Many of the victims died in their cars as they tried to escape.
More than 130 people have been injured.
Portugal fires: Varzeas mourns villagers who fled
Civil protection officials have said they expect the blazes to be under control soon, but warn that soaring temperatures are hampering efforts.
The week's highest temperatures in the area are expected to reach about 38C (100F) and, together with windy conditions, could reignite fires that have already been brought under control.
Wildfires are an annual menace in Portugal. More broke out there between 1993 and 2013 than in Spain, France, Italy or Greece, the European Environment Agency reported last year, despite the country's relatively small geographical size.
Given that, was this year's tragedy preventable? Could Portugal have done anything more to save lives and minimise the damage?
Read more: Just what makes Portugal such a tinderbox?
One of the worst-hit areas was around the village of Nodeirinho. Thirty bodies were found inside cars and another 17 next to vehicles on the N-236 road.
Portuguese media have dubbed the N-236 the "road of death".
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has questioned why the emergency services did not close the road.
|
Reports that a firefighting plane crashed during an operation to tackle huge blazes in central Portugal have been denied by the country's civil protection authority.
|
40348252
|
Robson-Kanu has not featured for the Championship side since suffering a thigh injury in the 1-1 draw with Cardiff on 19 March.
The 26-year-old featured in eight of Wales' qualifiers but injury ruled him out of the past four international friendlies.
"I'll be fit for the summer," he told BBC Wales Sport.
"I'm getting on well. No-one likes being injured, but it is just a little strain, so I am just managing it now and getting it right, and it will be right come the summer.
"I am definitely on the mend and looking forward to getting back fit."
Robson-Kanu, who is out of contract at the end of the season, expects to feature for Reading before the campaign finishes.
"I will hopefully play a few games and get my fitness up ahead of the camp and as we get ready for the summer," he said.
Wales have qualified their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and will face Slovakia, England and Russia at the European Championship.
Robson-Kanu believes the success of Chris Coleman's team has helped to challenge the notion Wales is a rugby nation.
"Things have changed, there is this perception that Wales is a rugby nation and of course rugby is a massive part of this nation," he said.
"But if you look at the support Swansea and Cardiff get, especially when Cardiff were in the top league, it was fantastic.
"Now we are doing so well at international level, you can really feel the buzz and the attendances reflect that.
"We know how much it means to the fans, it is that special feeling isn't it? And that is what it is all about."
Robson-Kanu hopes to add to his tally of two international goals in France, and believes Wales can challenge in the tournament.
"What we've achieved getting there, great, but we want to do better than that," he said.
"We have players in the group who are programmed week in and week out to do better than that.
"It will be an exciting summer, but we want to be successful."
|
Reading forward Hal Robson-Kanu says he will be fit for Wales' Euro 2016 campaign in France this summer.
|
35982705
|
The club revealed the 'Story Of My Life' singer was behind the design on Monday after the poll had closed.
In the wake of the announcement some fans have criticised the club and questioned the credibility of the vote.
Doncaster Rovers say the voting process "was all was fair and above board".
Writing on Twitter one fan said: "I wonder if the vote was rigged or that shirt actually won??? #drfc."
The design for the 2016/17 away kit submitted by Tomlinson and his grandfather was one of five put to the public vote. It received 33.7% of votes while the second placed design polled 26.2% of votes.
After being announced as the winner Tomlinson told the club's website: "I designed the kit with my granddad when I was home a few weeks ago.
"We used to go to Belle Vue together so it has always been a family affair with us and to now have a hand in next seasons away shirt is brilliant. I can't wait to see my team wearing it".
Doncaster Rovers revealed the winning design in February, but did not say who was responsible.
At the time it said the winner would be taken to Thailand to see the first stage of manufacturing.
Fans have also raised their eyebrows at the clubs decision to give away 20 shirts signed by Tomlinson to fans who pre-order the strip.
One asked if he could receive a signed version of the new home strip, also chosen from a poll of fan designs.
Other fans however, have tweeted their support for Tomlinson's design.
A spokesperson for Doncaster Rovers said: "The process for receiving kit designs, shortlisting and the public voting for our kit design competition followed strict legal guidance to ensure that the club adhered to competition law and that all processes were fair.
"We are aware that the result of the competition has attracted some negative feedback, but we can assure our fans that the voting process for the 2016/17 shirt designs was all was fair and above board."
Tomlinson, who was part of a failed bid to buy Doncaster Rovers in 2014 , signed for the club as a non-contract player in August 2013 and made his debut for the side's reserve team in February 2014.
|
Doncaster Rovers fans have reacted angrily to One Direction star Louis Tomlinson and his grandfather winning a competition to design the football club's new away kit.
|
35966906
|
A search is continuing for four other people missing at the site.
Reports say an initial collapse caused a crane to fall, bringing down more of the multi-storey building.
At least 20 people were treated for injuries following the incident in Ramat Hahayil, a commercial area in the north of the city.
Pictures from the scene show clouds of dust rising from a huge crater, with large amounts of debris at the bottom.
Dozens of firefighters, rescue and security services were dispatched to the site to help the injured and search for those feared missing.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper quoted a fire service spokesman as saying there were "people buried beneath the sand".
Police moved people away from the area, fearing other parts of the building might also collapse.
|
The death toll after a car park collapsed while under construction in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv has risen to three, rescue workers say.
|
37274232
|
Plymouth planning officers concluded the plans for Drake's Island should be rejected partly because the little egrets would be disturbed and leave.
Developers Rotolok, who want to build a 25-bed hotel on the uninhabited island, said there was "no problem" with its effect on the birds.
No-one from the council was available for immediate comment.
Drake's Island, which was bought by the Tiverton-based businessman and former Plymouth Argyle chairman Dan McCauley, covers about six acres and contains military barracks and buildings from the Napoleonic era.
Mr McCauley is trying for a third time to get permission to build a £10m boutique hotel, bar and restaurant on the island.
Last year, plans submitted by his company Rotolok Holdings for Drake's Island in Plymouth Sound were rejected by city councillors who said more information on the risks to wildlife was needed.
Natural England has now told officers: "The little egrets have selected a roosting and breeding site distant from human activity.
"If the development were to result in disturbance, as we believe is likely even with the proposed mitigation in place, this may result in the complete loss of the breeding colony from this site and communal roost rather than a reduction in numbers of birds present."
Little Egrets
There are thought to be about 700 breeding pairs nationally and it is ranked amber on the RSPB's conservation list, as a rare breeding species.
They first arrived in the UK in 1989, and only started nesting in 1996.
Source: RSPB
Officers recommended refusal to the planning committee on 15 January citing the effect on the egrets and flooding risk.
Mr McCauley's son Aidan said: "I am staggered that after years of close working with council officers they are choosing to ignore the evidence that is before them and turn our proposed investment away.
"My professional team has provided the council with all they need to approve this existing scheme and it is clear that there is no problem with the little egrets, and no need for any off-site mitigation measures to be taken."
|
A colony of rare birds could thwart a multimillion-pound scheme to redevelop an island in Plymouth Sound.
|
30722871
|
Daly replaces lock Courtney Lawes in the only change from the squad that beat Italy.
"Elliot Daly has impressed in training and is now ready to be part of the matchday 23," Jones said.
England won their opening two matches and top the table, while Ireland lost to France and drew with Wales.
Daly, 23, has played four times for England Saxons and also represented England at under-18 and under-20 level.
Ireland could also bring a debutant into midfield, with Ulster's Stuart McCloskey in contention for a first cap if fitness-doubt Jared Payne is ruled out.
Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Alex Goode (Saracens), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Paul Hill (Northampton Saints), Maro Itodje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens).
Have you added the new Top Story alerts in the BBC Sport app? Simply head to the menu in the app - and don't forget you can also add alerts for the Six Nations, cricket scores, your football team and more.
|
Wasps centre Elliot Daly is set for his England debut after being named in Eddie Jones' 23-man squad for Saturday's match against Ireland.
|
35646531
|
The environmental watchdog said it received a large number of complaints to its pollution hotline after a fault caused high-pressure steam venting.
The noise stopped when the fault, which took several hours to investigate, was fixed at about 23.00.
Sepa said its inspectors would be following up the incident with Ineos.
Scott Cumming, 42, who lives in Linlithgow, about seven miles away from the site, said: "It was a bit like the noise from an aircraft landing or taking off.
"It went on for literally hours. I wrote an email to Ineos asking if they could give an explanation but I haven't had a reply from them."
A post on the Sepa Facebook page read: "We're aware of a very loud noise in Grangemouth last night, which caused significant disturbance and public complaints in the wider area.
"This was caused by high pressure steam venting from the Ineos Power Station at Grangemouth, due to a fault.
"It took a numbers of hours to investigate and correct. The noise ceased when it was corrected at 11pm.
"We'll be following the incident up with Ineos."
|
Noise from the Ineos petrochemical site in Grangemouth caused "significant disturbance" to the public on Tuesday night, according to Sepa.
|
35421179
|
Media playback is not supported on this device
The Lowland League side take on East of Scotland League outfit Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale for the right to host Celtic in the competition's last 16.
"I was sitting with my wee girl about to change her nappy. I just jumped up and went mad," said Russell.
Asked where the nappy ended up, he replied, "I don't know!"
The centre-back said he told his girlfriend, who was also watching the draw being made at Hampden, he was certain that when his own team and Vale's names were pulled out that Celtic's would follow.
However, the 26-year-old plumbing and heating engineer confessed he might struggle to focus on his job in the coming days.
"I think my boss will understand if I try to put my head down a toilet or something," he joked.
"I tried to go the gym. I was sitting on the bike just shaking my head."
Russell and his team-mates are determined to focus on their rearranged home game at K Park against Vale on 20 January, but the prospect of the Scottish champions playing at their tiny Lanarkshire ground inevitably seeps into the conversation.
So, can he imagine Celtic manager Ronny Deila watching him play from the stand?
"I'll put it out my head and make sure we get the win," he replied matter-of-factly.
"But after the game if he wants to talk contracts I'll be free!"
Sean Winter was also at home watching Monday's draw.
The former Stranraer midfielder told BBC Scotland: "It was me, my wee boy and my girlfriend and I just had a feeling. I've had a feeling for a few weeks it was going to be Celtic.
"I've played Rangers but I've never had a chance to play Celtic. As soon as I saw East Kilbride, I knew the next one was going to be Celtic. I was absolutely delighted.
"Whether it's us or Lothian Thistle, we have earned the right to be there. It's a fantastic thing for the town."
Fellow midfielder Craig Hastings, who works at the town's tax office, said: "I'm excited. I was sitting there with my wee maw, watching the telly, and she said, 'Who do you think it will be?'
"When Celtic came out she started screaming and then the phone was red hot, with my dad and my gran and everybody phoning me.
"Everyone is talking about it but we're not there yet. It's a great draw if we get there. We've got to prepare well."
Matt McGinley, a PE teacher at Calderglen High in the town, added: "It's the draw we wanted, the big-money tie, we are all absolutely buzzing."
"Bring them on. You want to test yourself against them the best, so why not?"
|
East Kilbride captain Barry Russell admits that seeing Celtic being drawn on TV as potential Scottish Cup opponents led to a domestic mishap.
|
35290605
|
The undefeated Manchester fighter, 26, was awarded a 117-110, 115-112, 117-110 verdict over his Liverpool opponent.
Flanagan was docked a point in the eighth round by referee Phil Edwards for using his forearm, after receiving repeated warnings for pushing.
But it made no difference at the Liverpool Echo Arena as 32-year-old Mathews slipped to a 10th defeat.
Flanagan has now won all 30 of his professional fights.
His promoter, Frank Warren, says "the obvious next fight" for him is against fellow Mancunian and holder of the WBA lightweight world title Anthony Crolla.
"We've made him a big offer," said Warren on Box Nation. "Let the two of them fight. There's no problem from our end. It's a fight that could be made.
"Other than that I like the Linares fight," he added, referring to Venezuelan three-weight champion Jorge Linares, who currently holds the WBC version of the world lightweight title.
Crolla is scheduled to defend his WBA lightweight title against Ismael Barroso at the Manchester Arena on 7 May.
|
Terry Flanagan retained his WBO world lightweight title with a unanimous points decision over Derry Mathews.
|
35796605
|
Lord Waldegrave was a local government minister when Margaret Thatcher asked him to find an alternative to rates.
But the former Bristol West MP told BBC Points West he had not intended it to be introduced in such a "gung-ho" way.
The community charge, introduced in Scotland in 1989 and England and Wales in 1990, led to riots in London and a mass non-payment campaign in Scotland.
The charge, which replaced the rates system, was levied on individuals rather than properties.
In his memoirs, William Waldegrave, who was Conservative MP for Bristol West from 1979 until 1997, described the community charge as "all my own work".
In an interview with BBC Points West, he said he was not alone among ministers backing the plan but added: "I think that I made a policy that looked as if it would work, intellectually if you like, theoretically, and delivered it to Mrs Thatcher, who liked it very much. And it was a serious mistake.
"I was too trusting of my bosses, as it were, to see as I saw, all the difficulties with it. They went gung ho and introduced it overnight in one go, which was never my plan and I thought they must know what there were doing - but they didn't."
In the London poll tax riots in 1990, up to 3,000 demonstrators turned on police. Of 113 people injured, 45 were police.
By the end of the year, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had stood down. She was replaced by John Major who scrapped the charge in favour of the council tax that continues today.
|
Creating the poll tax was a "serious mistake", one of the architects of the ill-fated charge has said.
|
33594395
|
The huts on Friars Cliff beach in Christchurch, Dorset, have no fittings, running water or electricity and cannot be used between 22:00 and 06:00.
Even so the 8ft x 7ft huts were sold within weeks by Christchurch Borough Council, fetching £42,000 each.
The buyers will also have to pay a £757 annual licence fee to the council and rates of about £450.
Judith Plumley, from the council, said: "The fact that these huts have sold so quickly shows that there is a great demand for people to have a hut in one of the prime locations on the south coast.
"The funds generated will help to resource other projects and services across the borough."
There are 167 privately-owned huts on Friars Cliff beach.
|
Eleven new beach huts the size of garden sheds have sold for a total of £462,000.
|
32230135
|
The 25-year-old former Celebrity Big Brother winner and Geordie Shore cast member was stopped for driving erratically in Newcastle in January.
The city's magistrates heard she had earlier been drinking on a train home from London to Tyneside.
The court heard the conviction would scupper plans for a career in the US.
Crosby, who admitted the charge, was also ordered to pay £1,185.
Magistrates were told Crosby's Range Rover was seen weaving down the road by two police officers in the early hours of 28 January.
When she was pulled over, a breath test showed she had 80 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, compared with the legal limit of 35.
The court heard because she also had been banned from driving for 18 months in 2012, she would not be able to get a visa to travel to the United States, where she had planned to work.
Nick Freeman, defending, said Crosby had decided to make the short journey from the railway station to her hotel despite having initially planned to get a taxi.
He said: "She accepts that she is the author of her misfortune and is bitterly ashamed, contrite and embarrassed."
He added his client had been close to landing a TV career in America but "that will not now happen as she will not get a visa".
Banning Crosby, chairman of the bench Keith McIntosh said it "beggared belief" that she had been caught for a second time.
"We take drink-driving offences very seriously in this court, even more so when it's not the first offence," he said.
Crosby, from Sunderland, won Celebrity Big Brother in 2013 and appeared in all 11 series of Geordie Shore.
|
Reality TV star Charlotte Crosby has been banned from driving for three years after being convicted of a second drink-driving offence.
|
35781986
|
Four people were on board the Irish Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 116 when it went down on 14 March.
Cpt Dara Fitzpatrick died after she was rescued from the sea.
Police said that the body of another crew member had been found but they could not yet confirm identification.
The missing coastguard crew were Cpt Mark Duffy, winch operator Paul Ormsby and winchman Ciaran Smith - it is not yet known which member has been found.
Search teams are trying to remove the body of the crew member from the cockpit of the aircraft, but investigators said sea conditions have meant dives to the wreckage on Saturday have been prevented.
On Friday the black box recorder from the rescue helicopter was recovered.
The chief inspector with the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (IAAIU) Jurgen Whyte said: "We're happy to announce we had a positive recovery of the data recorder at 1630 from the seabed just off Blackrock."
Mr Whyte said the recorder will be brought to Dublin before being sent to the UK air accident investigation branch where it will be prepared for download, hopefully successfully, by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
Late on Friday afternoon, searchers began diving at Blackrock island off the coast of Blacksod, County Mayo, where the wreckage of the helicopter was found on Wednesday
It was discovered about 60m west of Blackrock island, in waters about 40m deep.
R116 lost contact with the Irish Coastguard at about 01:00 on 14 March, as it made its final approach to Blacksod refuelling depot.
The crew had been providing communications support to another coastguard helicopter that had been deployed to take an injured fisherman to hospital.
The wreckage of R116 was pinpointed after search teams deployed a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), fitted with an underwater camera.
|
The body of a crew member has been located in the wreckage of a rescue helicopter which crashed earlier this month, gardaà (Irish police) have confirmed.
|
39388727
|
The 25-year-old had been with Silkmen since 2013 after starting his career at Stockport County.
He was captain of the Macclesfield side that lost at Wembley in the FA Trophy final this season to York City.
Halls is Chester's third close-season signing, after the arrival of strikers Harry White and Nyal Bell.
White was signed from Solihull Moors, while Nyal Bell has joined on a half-season loan from Gateshead until 7 January.
Jon McCarthy's side finished 19th in the table, narrowly avoiding relegation, having been seventh at Christmas.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
|
Chester have signed full-back Andy Halls on a one-year deal after he turned down a new contract with fellow National League side Macclesfield Town.
|
40100610
|
Sexton suffered a calf injury during Leinster's 24-24 European Champions Cup draw away to Castres on Friday.
"There's not a lot of damage there, nothing's showing up that's overly significant," said Schmidt.
"We'd be confident he'll be able to train next week and therefore be fully available to face Scotland."
He continued: "Johnny's already starting back doing a little bit."
The New Zealander was also upbeat about the fitness of Sean O'Brien, with the Leinster back-row another player with a calf injury.
"He's slightly further ahead than Johnny," said Schmidt.
"We're confident he may train before the end of the week fully, but he should train fully next week."
Schmidt left out Bordeaux's Ian Madigan from his 40-man tournament squad following the fly-half's decision to play club rugby in France, and brought in Munster's uncapped midfielder Rory Scannell as cover for Sexton.
But he said former Leinster player Madigan could come back into Ireland contention later this Six Nations.
"The first time I saw Rory play for Dolphin against Belvedere he had a fantastic game at 10," said Schmidt.
"There's a big difference between that and Murrayfield but he would be the guy who could cover there.
"We've also got Paddy Jackson available obviously."
He added: "With Ian [Madigan], he could only have done those two first days' training with us. You only get that three-day opportunity with the window. So it complicates that.
"Ian had an injury earlier in the season so he hasn't had a lot of rugby really.
"I've kept in touch with Ian. He would slot back in pretty seamlessly for us, so that's still something potentially that we could look at."
|
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt expects fly-half Jonathan Sexton to be fit for the Six Nations opener away to Scotland on 4 February.
|
38742900
|
Elba, 42, has given the album the working title Murder Loves John.
"I'd like to dissect the idea of someone who has to deal with so much darkness," he told John Wilson on BBC Radio 4's Front Row.
Next week the actor releases his debut album, mi Mandela - inspired by Elba's African heritage and his role as Nelson Mandela in 2013's Long Walk to Freedom.
It is intended as the first of a series of albums which are character-inspired.
Elba said: "Detectives carry a lot of stuff. They meet someone who's done something heinous, but they have to have an objective perspective on them until proven."
"That could create some really good songs... and definitely an interesting mood, musically," he added.
The "character albums" are not Elba's first foray into the music world. The Wire actor released a five-song EP called High Class Problems Vol 1 in 2010, under the moniker Driis. He released an earlier EP - Big Man - in 2006.
He told Wilson he believed David Bowie would be a significant influence on the album.
"Luther listens to Bowie. He likes Bowie. John loves the idea that David's music is escapism for a complex mind."
"I'm not saying that I am going to make an album that sounds like a Bowie album. I'm just saying that would be an inspiration for some of the writing and songs."
Elba is due to return to the role of the troubled police detective in a two-part Luther special for broadcast next year.
He added he hoped to perform on stage in the near future and is in talks over a possible musical role.
Idris Elba appears on BBC Radio 4's Front Row on Wednesday 26 November, at 19:15 GMT.
|
Idris Elba is planning to release an album of music inspired by his BBC detective character Luther.
|
30148177
|
The 96-tonne crane exploded into a fireball just before 21:30 BST on Wednesday between J2 for Beaconsfield and J1a for the M25.
A number of cars were trapped for several hours. The road partially re-opened on Thursday morning.
Highways England said one lane would remain closed for safety reasons.
Updates on this and other stories from Buckinghamshire
It said the "intense fire" happened after a "significant spillage of hydraulic fluid", causing "serious damage to the road surface", which is due to be resurfaced on Thursday night.
A specialist lifting team removed the crane from lane one and the hard shoulder earlier.
Drivers near Beaconsfield are being advised to allow extra time for their journeys.
|
Cars were trapped on the southbound M40 in Buckinghamshire overnight after a crane burst into flames, closing the motorway,
|
37437985
|
Video gamer Felix Kjellberg, known as PewDiePie, suggested changes to YouTube's algorithms had affected the discoverability of creators' content.
On Tuesday, a Forbes report named the Swedish gamer who now lives in the UK as the highest-earning YouTuber.
YouTube told the BBC it had not made any changes to its "suggested videos" algorithms.
However, other video-makers have reported the same problem, with new videos being viewed fewer times than old content.
The "suggested videos" feed appears when a video is being watched, and recommends more content to watch.
Mr Kjellberg said the feed usually accounted for more than 30% of his video traffic, but in recent weeks it had suddenly fallen to under 1%, signalling an undisclosed algorithm change.
Other criticisms aimed at YouTube included suggestions that:
Film-makers have argued that YouTube has made it more difficult for fans to keep track of their latest uploads, and for new viewers to discover their content, since the platform was acquired by Google.
In a video uploaded on Friday, video gamer Mr Kjellberg said he would delete his channel when it reached 50 million subscribers as a result of his frustration with the platform.
His channel, currently the most-followed on the video-sharing site, is about 200,000 subscribers short of that target.
However, when asked by the BBC, YouTube denied that it had made any changes to its algorithms in recent months.
It added that it had found no evidence that people were being unsubscribed from channels they followed.
A spokeswoman said: "Some creators have expressed concerns around a drop in their subscriber numbers.
"We've done an extensive review and found there have been no decreases in creators' subscriber numbers beyond what normally happens when viewers either unsubscribe from a creator's channel or when YouTube removes spammed subscribers."
Mr Kjellberg is currently producing new episodes of his YouTube-financed series Scare PewDiePie, and on Tuesday topped Forbes' list of highest-paid YouTube stars for the second year in a row.
His PewDiePie gaming channel is likely to reach 50 million subscribers in a matter of days.
Mr Kjellberg suggested at that stage he would "start fresh" with a new channel, although some have taken his claim as light-hearted.
Source: Forbes
|
YouTube has denied making changes to its algorithms, after its most popular star said he would delete his channel.
|
38236644
|
The painting was revealed by the veteran broadcaster and naturalist at New Walk Museum, in Leicester.
He grew up in the city and volunteered at the museum as a teenager.
The artist - Bryan Organ - has also painted Sir David's brother Lord Attenborough, Prince Charles and former prime minister Harold Macmillan.
The portrait was commissioned by the City of Leicester Museums Trust and will complement the portrait of Lord Attenborough, the acclaimed actor and film director, which also hangs in New Walk Museum.
More on this and other Leicestershire stories
Sir David said it was "an honour" to sit for Mr Organ.
When asked what he made of the portrait, he said: "I haven't had the chance to have a look at it - I mean, I've only seen it obliquely. As far as I can see, it's very nice.
"It was great fun sitting with Bryan, the only problem was the painting got in the way."
The Attenborough brothers grew up in the city where their father was principal of the then University College Leicester.
Tributes have been paid to Sir David throughout the year since he turned 90 in May.
|
A portrait of Sir David Attenborough has been unveiled to commemorate his 90th birthday - in a museum where he once volunteered.
|
37448795
|
The 22-year-old, who was a former England youth international, started his career at Everton before joining Burnley in 2015.
Long had loan spells at both Fleetwood Town and Bolton Wanderers in League One last season.
"He is a quality striker and possesses real pace which frightens defenders," said Town manager Justin Edinburgh.
"I think all we will be adding now is another goalkeeper, which should complete a strong summer of recruitment for us. We are happy with the balance of the squad."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
|
League One club Northampton Town have signed Burnley striker Chris Long on a season-long loan deal.
|
40753748
|
Two new pictures of the third in line to the throne have been released to mark the occasion on Tuesday.
One shows Prince George transfixed by a butterfly, while a second shows him with his mother and father, staring at an object above their heads.
In a statement the duke and duchess thanked people for their "warm and generous good wishes".
The couple said: "We would like to take this opportunity on George's first birthday to thank everyone over the last year, wherever we have met them, both at home and overseas, for their warm and generous good wishes to George and our family."
The duke and duchess are expected to hold a birthday party for the young prince on Tuesday at their Kensington Palace apartment.
Prince George was first revealed to the public on the steps of St Mary's hospital in London on 23 July 2013.
The couple and their son were also warmly welcomed when they travelled to New Zealand and Australia on a royal visit.
An image of Prince George was released on Sunday and the new pictures published on Monday night complete the set.
One shows the young royal fascinated by a blue morpho butterfly, which has landed on his father's hand.
The other image shows the two future kings and the Duchess of Cambridge looking at an object above their heads.
The pictures were taken a few weeks ago at London's Natural History Museum by the Press Association's John Stillwell.
Just like many of the other 2,200 babies born in the UK on the same day, last year, George Alexander Louis will mark his birthday with a party.
His though, will be at a palace and his guest of honour will be his great-grandmother, the Queen.
Prince George offers the institution she has served for decades the prospect of renewal, but not - as things stand - for many years to come, after the reigns of his grandfather and his father.
For now, the emphasis will be on him leading as normal a life as possible - not easy when you're a prince growing up in a palace - and on shielding the child, destined to be a king, from too much public exposure.
But George will continue to fascinate and he will continue to be showered with presents. A Kenyan women's group has given the baby prince, who will one day inherit the Duchy of Cornwall's 53,000 hectares, two fattened bulls, a heifer and a goat.
Sir Michael Dixon, director of the Natural History Museum, said: "It was a real pleasure to host our patron and her family earlier this month. They seemed to enjoy their visit, wandering through the tropical plants as brightly coloured butterflies took flight around them."
The duchess became patron of the museum in April last year.
|
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have thanked well-wishers as Prince George celebrates his first birthday.
|
28413458
|
She has been removed for allegedly bringing the party into disrepute.
Ms Patterson recently criticised the party's decision to overlook her for the South Belfast assembly seat vacated by Jimmy Spratt, and instead appointing former special adviser Emma Pengelly.
Mr Robinson said Ms Patterson has a right to appeal her expulsion.
He said party officers "unanimously decided to expel her earlier this week".
He added that he believed "there has been some correspondence" between the party and Ms Patterson since she was informed of the decision.
Ms Pengelly took her place in the Northern Ireland Assembly in September through the co-option system, which allows parties to replace departing MLAs with a party colleague without a by-election.
It has been used extensively by many of the parties in the assembly.
Within a month of her selection as an MLA for South Belfast, Ms Pengelly was appointed as a junior minister in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister.
She had previously worked in the department as a special adviser to the first minister for almost nine years.
Last month, Ms Patterson, a former deputy lord mayor of Belfast, said she had been annoyed by Ms Pengelly's dual promotion.
"There is a principle, in my book, of giving someone who has earned something the chance, rather than someone who does not have one solitary vote, who has never stood for election, who has never run the gauntlet of an election," she said.
"It it not sour grapes. Anyone in my position would feel exactly the same - not surprised, but let down.
"I thought I was worth a little more."
Ms Patterson also said last month that her party's return to the Northern Ireland Executive after the publication of a report on paramilitaries had shocked her "to the core".
She said she had major difficulties with the move, and had been considering her position in the party.
|
Belfast councillor Ruth Patterson has been expelled from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), its leader Peter Robinson has told the BBC.
|
34891002
|
Mexico's women overcame challengers Kyrgyzstan in a 5-0 thriller to lift the trophy.
The men's team also put in a powerful performance to see off Brazil 6-1, and keep the silverware.
More than 500 men and women from 52 countries around the world competed in four-a-side matches over several days.
Nearly 100,000 spectators watched the free-to-watch games, which were staged in George Square in the heart of Glasgow.
Organisers said two million people also watched the tournament online.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who attended the event, said the Homeless World Cup would energise and engage people who, for whatever reason, had become socially excluded.
The event was set up by the International Network of Street Papers and Mel Young, founder of the Big Issue in Scotland.
Mr Young said: "We promised that George Square would be the most inspiring place on the planet for the duration of this tournament, that so it has been.
"The people of Glasgow have taken our players to their hearts, and made this such a very special tournament in the history of the Homeless World Cup.
"As our players head back to their countries, we wish them every success as they look to build on this experience, and create a life they would want for themselves.
"Rightly, they should stand tall. We can genuinely say: you are all winners."
Scottish Minister for Sport Aileen Campbell said: "The Homeless World Cup has been a fantastic and exciting tournament that all of Scotland has got behind.
"It's been great to see George Square busy every day and is a perfect example of how the power of sport can both transform lives and change perceptions for the better."
The next Homeless World Cup will be held in Oslo in the summer of 2017.
|
Mexico celebrated double success at the 14th Homeless World Cup in Glasgow after both their men's and women's teams retained their titles.
|
36819350
|
The first was for the development of tidal arrays in Alderney's waters.
The second involves the development of an electricity interconnector cable between France, Alderney and Britain.
Paul Clark, chief executive officer, said it was a move towards the creation off Alderney of one of Europe's largest tidal stream developments.
Alderney Renewable Energy (ARE) was set up in 2004 and holds an exclusive licence to commercially develop tidal and wave power around the coast of the northern most of the Channel Islands.
The first agreement was signed with French industrial group DCNS and the second with ARE, its partner Transmission Capital and the French grid operator RTE.
ARE said the electricity interconnector cable between France, Alderney and Britain would enable the export of up to four gigawatts of tidal power from Alderney.
It said the cable, known as the FABLink, could also be used as a power trading link between the two countries.
The agreements were signed at the Anglo-French summit held in Paris, with the French Industry Minister Eric Besson and the UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey signing on the behalf of their governments.
Mr Davey said: "We are determined to promote the potential of marine energies. We welcome the plan for a tidal turbine farm off Alderney in the Channel Islands."
He said: "We believe this project could encourage the emergence of industrial co-operation between France and the UK, while opening up new international prospects.
"We acknowledge the importance of developing new electricity interconnectors between our two countries in order to strengthen further the linking of our grids, improve the security of our energy supplies and facilitate the integration of intermittent energy sources."
|
Two agreements have been signed aimed at creating one of the most significant tidal power sites in Europe, Alderney Renewable Energy has announced.
|
17076403
|
Falls in clothing and food prices were the main contributors to the change in the rate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The ONS said the rate was also affected by a smaller rise in air fares in June than a year ago.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said he expects inflation to remain low in the immediate short term.
But the Bank expects it to start picking up around the turn of the year.
The rate of Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation - which includes housing costs such as mortgage interest payments and council tax - was 1% in June, unchanged from May.
"Inflation has continued its pattern of recent months, when prices have been very little changed on the previous year," said Philip Gooding from the ONS.
"The headline rate for June has dropped very slightly on May, back to zero, thanks to small downwards effects from movements in clothing and food prices and air fares."
The CPI rate has been hovering around zero since February, and moved into negative territory in April for the first time on record, dropping to -0.1%.
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said the latest figure was good news for consumers.
"With earnings growth currently seeing clear improvement and employment high and rising, purchasing power is currently in rude heath," he added.
While flat or low inflation can be good news for consumers, a prolonged period of negative inflation is generally perceived as harmful to an economy. The fear is that people will defer spending in the hope that goods or services will become cheaper later.
The current inflation figure is well below the Bank of England's target of around 2%.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, fell last month to 0.8%. That was down from 0.9% and the joint-lowest rate since 2001.
"The data therefore raise questions over the whether underlying price pressures are really picking up to the extent than the Bank of England is anticipating," said Chris Williamson, chief UK economist at Markit.
He said that attention would now turn to Wednesday's wage growth data,
"The Bank of England needs to determine whether pay growth will continue to accelerate as firms compete for staff, or whether low inflation will keep the overall rate of increase below levels that would normally worry the monetary policy committee into hiking interest rates," he added.
|
The rate of UK Consumer Prices Index inflation fell to 0% in June, from 0.1% in May, official figures show.
|
33518710
|
The 24-year-old defender, who has been with Rosenborg since 2008, will join Celtic in January after signing a three-and-a-half year deal.
Lustig told the Glasgow club's website: "This is a really exciting time for me and I am delighted to be committing my future to Celtic.
"I know a lot about Celtic, about the size of the club."
Lustig won his 23rd cap for Sweden in this month's 1-0 friendly defeat by England at Wembley.
We believe he has the qualities to make a real impact at the club and we look forward to him joining us in January
"I'm really looking forward to joining this squad, to the challenges ahead and hopefully playing my part in bringing some success to the club," he said.
With Wales international Adam Matthews having moved to Glasgow after leaving Cardiff City in the summer, Celtic already have three first-team right-backs on their books, the others being Scotland cap Mark Wilson and South Korea's Cha Du-Ri.
However, Celtic manager Neil Lennon said Lustig would be a quality addition to his squad.
"We are delighted to bring Mikael to Celtic," he said about a player who can play at full-back or in central defence.
"We believe he has the qualities to make a real impact at the club and we look forward to him joining us in January.
"He is a player with international pedigree and a defender with great versatility.
"He is someone who I feel will be a very positive addition to the squad.
"I like his attributes and he can play both positions, but he's predominantly a right-back."
|
Celtic have signed Sweden international right-back Mikael Lustig on a pre-contract agreement.
|
15844449
|
Daran Hill, director of the 2011 Yes for Wales referendum campaign, said bills passed had been mainly "managerial".
AMs are expected to pass the last of 26 government laws for this assembly term on Wednesday.
Labour's Jane Hutt said the term was a success, with pioneering laws passed.
The National Assembly for Wales gained primary law-making powers after the result of the 2011 referendum, which the Yes side won.
If the Public Health Bill passes as expected on Wednesday on the last day of business, the government will have completed its legislative programme.
The Senedd AMs have passed 25 government bills into law so far. They have included:
Mr Hill, managing director of Welsh public affairs company Positif, said the bills had been "mainly managerial and unambitious", and were "aimed at the public sector and not individuals".
He said: "I don't think they ever intended to be particularly ambitious with this new system to start with."
Mr Hill said: "I remember somebody from the Labour camp telling me back in 2010, 2011, that Labour's first legislative programme would be as dull as the one Alex Salmond had done in Scotland, when he had a minority government from 2007 to 2011... proving you can use the system and making law but not necessarily particularly dynamic law either."
He added the government had handled getting its law plans through "pretty shrewdly".
Jane Hutt, Welsh Government business minister, refuted his claim the programme had not been ambitious.
She said there had been "pioneering legislation" passed by the assembly, such as the law on violence against women.
Ms Hutt said the legislative term had been a success for the Welsh Government because it had "got through policies into legislation with financial backing at a time of austerity when our budgets are being cut".
Asked if the government had been assisted in its legislative programme by a lack of unity among the opposition, Plaid Cymru North Wales AM Llyr Gruffydd said: "I don't think we should be in a position to vote legislation down just because we want to have a go at the government."
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives said there had been "opportunities missed" for the opposition to work together, but said the government had not put forward "tough decisions" to vote on.
|
The first laws passed by the assembly have been largely unambitious, a leading figure in the campaign for law-making powers in Wales has said.
|
35804030
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.