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The Project Literacy alliance says that 11% of the world's population remains unable to read or write.
The campaign is lobbying leaders attending the United Nations general assembly in New York, which has been setting global education targets.
"The curse of illiteracy is global and devastating," said campaign spokeswoman Kate James.
The Project Literacy campaign says it is creating a virtual "petition" on behalf of 757 million people who cannot write their own name.
The partnership brings together charities such as the National Literacy Trust, BookAid and Room to Read, along with education businesses such as Pearson.
The campaign says that illiteracy is a major barrier to economic development, costing $1.19 trillion (£1.25tn) per year.
Global education targets, such as the goal of providing primary education for all, have been set since 1990.
But the campaign says that in sub-Saharan Africa, there are 37% more illiterate adults than there were in 1990.
The project highlights the gender gap in who is taught to read and write. Women represent about five in seven of those who are illiterate around the world.
The campaign argues that literacy is linked to better health, reducing crime, job opportunities and democratic engagement.
There are 32 million illiterate adults in the United States and more than 70% of the US prison population have the literacy levels of a nine-year-old or lower.
The impact of illiteracy was "inequality, poverty and disease", said Ms James.
World leaders have been gathering at the United Nations to approve global development targets - the sustainable development goals.
These replace pledges made in the millennium year.
Although some progress was made, none of the targets for education, such as universal primary education, were fully achieved by the deadline of 2015.
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A coalition of charities and businesses is calling on world leaders to make tackling illiteracy a global priority.
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The Northern Ireland Under-21 international will wear the number 28 shirt and was on the bench for Saturday's trip to Leyton Orient.
McKnight, 20, started out as a trainee at Barnsley without making any first team appearances.
He joined Shrewsbury last summer, but was released in January.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
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League Two side Morecambe have signed former Shrewsbury midfielder Darren McKnight on a short-term deal until the end of the season.
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The 31-year-old has been out since February with a cruciate knee ligament injury but is close to full fitness.
After beginning his career at Tottenham he spent time on loan at Swindon, QPR, Gillingham and Norwich and joined Hull in 2006, before switching to the Clarets four years later.
"I'm over the moon to secure my future for the next couple of years," he said.
"I love it here. If it was for five years to stay here, then I would have signed that."
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Burnley midfielder Dean Marney has signed a new two-year contract until 2017 with Championship side Burnley.
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Karen Gell, 50, from Manchester, and Ann Marie Dewhurst, known as Marie, 69, from Preston, perished in the crash on the A69 just before 10:00 BST on Saturday.
It happened on an eastbound stretch of the road between Haydon Bridge and Bardon Mill, Northumbria Police said.
Six people are recovering at home while two others remain in hospital. The road was closed for several hours.
One of those in hospital has critical but stable injuries and the other has serious but not life-threatening injuries, police said.
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Two people who died in a four-vehicle crash have been named by police.
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The retired American, 36, said he felt "exploited" by McGregor's camp.
Malignaggi also reacted angrily on social media to an image that showed him down on the canvas during one of two spars with UFC fighter McGregor.
"This was a push down in sparring, post the whole video, rounds one through 12, unedited," he said.
UFC lightweight title-holder McGregor will make his professional boxing debut when five-weight world champion Mayweather comes out of retirement to face him in Las Vegas on 26 August.
Two-weight world champion Malignaggi had been one of the sparring partners helping to prepare McGregor.
Malignaggi claimed he "beat the breaks off" McGregor during one session, and the Irishman pushed him down out of "frustration".
In a post on Instagram, Malignaggi said he will not give away any of McGregor's tactics but added he will speak about what has "upset" him "in time".
"I came with the best intentions and intended to help out," said Malignaggi.
"It's some of the stuff outside the ring and some ways things were handled in training camp that I didn't agree with and made me come to this decision."
Reacting later to the picture of him on the canvas on Twitter, Malignaggi added: "I came to help this camp out, not to be exploited, now you're going to get the truth."
Retired referee Joe Cortez - who officiated when Mayweather beat Ricky Hatton in 2007 - has been working with the McGregor camp to assist in helping the UFC champion adapt to boxing rules.
Earlier this week, Cortez revealed he had to stop a sparring session between McGregor and Malignaggi because the pair were "out of control".
Prior to joining McGregor's team, Malignaggi told BBC Radio 5 live in May that "not a second" of the 29-year-old's bout with former five-weight world champion Mayweather would be competitive.
A seat on the Las Vegas strip?
Mayweather, 40, was undefeated in 49 bouts prior to retiring in 2015 and is a heavy favourite for the sold-out T-Mobile Arena bout.
His promotional company has confirmed nine venues will be used on the Las Vegas strip to show the fight on closed circuit television at a cost of $150 (£114) a seat.
Over 400 cinemas across the US will also broadcast the fight at a cost of around £31 a seat, with organisers confident of "sold out auditoriums".
But earnings from home pay-per-view sales will make up the biggest portion of what is expected to be around $600m of revenue from the fight.
Households in the US will have to pay $99 (£75) for high-definition pictures, while in the UK, the figure will be considerably lower at £19.95.
Both fighters signed a confidentiality agreement, so their split of the earnings is not known, but it is widely accepted Mayweather will earn more than the reported £100m McGregor will make from his professional boxing debut.
Mayweather has said he expects to earn "$300m (£228m) or better in 36 minutes".
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Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi has left his role as Conor McGregor's sparring partner in the build-up to the Irishman's bout with Floyd Mayweather.
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Wildlife enthusiasts had been watching the chicks and their mother and last saw them on the evening of 27 May.
However all of the birds, which can be sold for thousands of pounds, disappeared from their Sutton Bank nest in the North York Moors before 4 June.
North Yorkshire Police is investigating whether the disappearance was because of a predator or a criminal act.
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Three peregrine falcon chicks have gone missing from a nest in North Yorkshire, sparking a police investigation.
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Conciliation service Acas confirmed talks had ended for the day and would continue on Friday.
The RMT told its members to return to work on Wednesday evening as Southern had "agreed to meet.. without the caveat of any preconditions".
Southern said it had arranged some trains on previously closed routes.
Reinstated trains included extra services to Eastbourne, where a four-day air show is being held.
The train operator had warned it was too late to replace the strike timetable on Thursday but said it had arranged additional trains on previously closed routes, including Horsham to Dorking, Eastbourne to Ashford International and Littlehampton to Portsmouth & Southsea.
An amended timetable will be in place on Friday, Southern posted on its website.
Nearly 1,000 services across the Southern network were cancelled on each strike day this week.
The disagreement centres on proposals by Southern operator Govia Thameslink (GTR) to turn conductors into "on-board supervisors", with drivers taking over responsibility for opening and closing carriage doors.
In a letter to RMT general secretary Mick Cash on Monday, GTR warned "change is happening".
It said: "Our plans to implement the new role will commence on 21 August... the window for you to reach agreement with us is closing."
Southern has said it wants the RMT to agree to a list of "exceptional circumstances" when a train could be dispatched from stations with only one member of staff on board.
The union argues guards help prevent passengers becoming trapped in train doors.
But the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) said there could be potential safety benefits from "the removal of any possible miscommunication, which could exist between driver and guard".
The RSSB said it had analysed safety data and found "no increased risk of harm to passengers" where drivers operate powered doors and follow correct procedures.
In June Mr Cash said the RSSB was funded by the train companies and it was "ludicrous" to regard it as independent.
He said previous RSSB studies questioned the safety of driver-only trains.
Seafront businesses in Sussex have blamed the long-running Southern train dispute for a downturn in tourist trade.
Brighton Pier estimated visitor numbers were down 10% to 30% on last year.
Its managing director Anne Martin told the BBC she believed visitors were reluctant to travel on trains they could not rely on.
Adam Chinnery of the Seafront Business Association in Brighton warned that traders could not afford to miss income in the summer holiday season.
Mr Chinnery, who runs a watersports shop, said: "Cafes, galleries and the traders are losing out and many of the deckchairs are empty.
"We've only got the summertime. They chose this time to make an impact and it's a bit selfish."
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Southern has added 89 trains to Thursday's timetable after the RMT union suspended a five-day conductors' strike and agreed to new negotiations.
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Foras na Gaeilge has said it will cut the number of Irish language groups for which it provides "core funding" across the island of Ireland from 19 to six.
None of the six successful organisations is currently based in Northern Ireland.
Pobal, Iontabhas Ultach, Forbairt Feirste and Altram will lose a significant portion of their budgets.
They provide support for the language in business, education and the arts in Northern Ireland.
Foras said the bodies it plans to fund in the future will promote the language and provide services on an all-island basis.
It agreed the plan at a board meeting in Dublin.
Chief executive of Foras, Ferdie Mac an Fhailigh, said: "`Foras na Gaeilge recognises that the six months ahead will be a difficult period for organisations whose funding from Foras na Gaeilge will come to an end following this decision.
"And every effort will be made to ensure that the Irish-language community will not suffer as a result of these huge changes, and that the important work being done by organisations which were not selected will continue."
Foras na Gaeilge had to rationalise because a significant proportion of the money it gave out was being spent on salaries.
In 2008, it allocated 40% of its budget, 8m euros (£6.6m), to the 19 "core-funded" organisations. They used more than half of that to pay salaries.
In subsequent years, the salary bill continued to increase and by 2011, close to 60% of grant money awarded was being spent on pay.
In a report drawn up as part of the rationalisation plan Foras said: `"Based on the above trend, and were it to continue, most of the funding would be spent on wages and there would be a risk to service provision."
Foras na Gaeilge was set up in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement to promote the language. It is funded by the Irish government and the Northern Ireland Executive. Its own budget has been significantly reduced in recent years.
The rationalisation plan was approved at a meeting of the language body of the North South Ministerial Council in July last year.
The meeting was attended by Culture Minister Caral NÃ ChuilÃn and her counterpart from the Republic of Ireland, Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Two organisations in Northern Ireland that receive core funding from Foras na Gaeilge will be protected from the changes.
Radio Failte, an Irish language station based in Belfast, and an t-Aisionad, an Irish education resources centre based at St Mary's teacher training college on the Falls Road will continue to be funded under separate arrangements.
The changes in funding arrangements will take effect from July.
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Four Irish language organisations in Northern Ireland are to lose key funding under a rationalisation plan.
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The 20-year-old, who played 12 games for Rovers last term, will be with the League Two club until January.
Calder has yet to make his first-team debut for Villa, who were relegated to the Championship last term, but has been an unused substitute.
He played 11 games for Dundee in the Scottish Premiership in 2015-16, prior to his first spell with Doncaster.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
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Doncaster Rovers have re-signed Aston Villa midfielder Riccardo Calder on a half-season loan.
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The Alert Line is designed to provide independent support for anyone wanting to raise concerns about practices within the health service.
The Scottish government will also introduce a new Whistleblowing Officer to scrutinise the handling of cases.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said she wanted staff to be able to "speak up without fear".
Ms Robison added: "I have always been clear that health boards must ensure that it is safe and acceptable for staff to speak up about any concerns they may have, particularly in relation to patient safety.
"We will continue to work with the NHS across Scotland to ensure an open and transparent reporting culture where all staff have the confidence to speak up."
The National Confidential Alert Line will be extended for one year from 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2017.
The phoneline, 0800 008 6112, will pass any concerns raised by employees on to the employer or the relevant regulatory organisation for investigation.
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A confidential whistleblowing line for NHS staff in Scotland has been extended for a year.
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The star said he felt he "shouldn't be doing it" because his late friend Cilla Black had originally hosted the show.
"I thought 'This isn't right, it's so synonymous with Cilla, she should be here, not me,'" he told Radio Times.
"But then I spoke to her sons and lots of people who knew her and they said 'You have to do it, because she'd want you to do it for everyone.'"
Black, who died in August 2015, hosted the ITV dating show from 1985 until 2003.
O'Grady said the pair had bonded over their working class Liverpudlian roots.
"We knew where we were both coming from," he said. "We both knew what outside loos were. All the stereotypical stuff."
O'Grady said it was more difficult to interview contestants than celebrities.
"You're interviewing the public, so they're not as confident. You have to be easy on them."
Blind Date, which will include LGBT contestants for the first time, begins on Channel 5 on Saturday 17 June.
The original ITV version of the show involved three individuals of the same sex being introduced to the audience. They were then asked questions by a contestant of the opposite sex who could not see them - and one would be chosen to go on a date,
The new format will retain the sliding panel that conceals the contestants, the three question format and live studio audience, but will also include "thematic twists" to "breathe new life" into the series, according to Channel 5.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
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Paul O'Grady says "it was a shock" when he first filmed the upcoming revived version of Blind Date.
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Chasing 177 for victory, the Tykes were 64-2 when the players went off with the scores tied on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern.
Joe Denly smashed 116 not out as several Kent records tumbled in their brilliant victory against Surrey.
Clint McKay took 5-11 - the best-ever T20 figures by a Leicestershire bowler - as the Foxes beat Worcestershire.
Northants overcame Birmingham Bears by five wickets in a final-ball thriller at Edgbaston, while Michael Carberry's superb 77 led Hampshire to a comfortable 29-run win over Middlesex.
But Friday's T20 Blast headlines belonged to Denly and McKay, whose record-breaking feats inspired their teams to success.
Given Kent had never chased more than 200 in a T20 match prior to Friday, they could have been forgiven for feeling pessimistic about hunting down Surrey's 205-5.
But, clearly inspired by Jason Roy (55) and Aaron Finch's (49) opening stand of 108 for Surrey, Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond embraced the prospect of breaking new ground for their county.
They shared 163 for the first wicket - a new Kent record partnership - before the latter fell for 64, setting the platform for an eight-wicket win at The Oval.
Denly was in fine form throughout, smashing six sixes and 10 fours in his 63-ball unbeaten 116, also a T20 record individual score for Kent.
Veteran Australian seamer McKay was out to prove that bowlers can still thrive with the white ball.
The 34-year-old, who played 59 one-day internationals for his country, returned career-best figures in helping limit Worcestershire to 148-8, also taking the first five-wicket haul of this year's competition.
Colin Ackermann's unbeaten 47 saw the Foxes chase down their target with relative ease.
Who wins your performance of the night - Denly or McKay?
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The Roses match between Yorkshire and Lancashire ended in a tie after rain brought their T20 Blast contest at Old Trafford to an early conclusion.
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However ITV's documentary, which began an hour earlier, did beat BBC One's Antiques Roadshow, which averaged 4.9m.
The Night Manager, an updated version of John Le Carre's 1993 novel, has been a hit with viewers and on social media.
The Queen's documentary featured royalty, politicians and celebrities.
Reviews have been positive for The Night Manager, starring Tom Hiddleston as the enigmatic Jonathan Pine, who goes undercover to try to expose the activities of billionaire arms dealer Richard Roper, played by Hugh Laurie.
The Daily Telegraph called it "a superb climax", while pointing out that the ending, in which Roper loses his money and his liberty, differed from the novel's, in which "Corky survived to expose Pine and thrash him to a pulp for days on end".
Producers told the newspaper they did it to keep viewers "on their toes".
The Guardian described the series as "stylish and trenchant espionage drama of, no doubt, award-garnering brilliance", but the reviewer suggested that Laurie's accent was too similar to one he used 30 years ago in a sketch for A Bit of Fry and Laurie, about about "two testosterone-charged, Uttoxeter-based health club entrepreneurs".
Tom Hiddleston did his "best 007 impersonation", according to the Huffington Post, while the Daily Mirror wrote that the drama gave viewers "palpitations" and the Daily Mail said it was "an explosive mix of gore and subterfuge".
Our Queen at 90, while described by the Daily Telegraph as "too long", was ITV's Easter showpiece offering for the Easter weekend, and included extensive behind-the-scenes footage of the Royal Family at work and at play.
The paper was impressed by interviews with the other members of the family, including the Duchess of Cambridge's revelation that she and the Queen "bonded on an away day in Leicester".
The Daily Mail said: "The real triumph of this film, celebrating the Queen not only as a monarch but also as a private person, was its glimpses of her off-duty."
It added: "The scene that summed up her unaffected kindness and, at the same time, her regal charm was filmed at the Sandringham stables. Her Majesty spoke of every animal as a friend, and knew its quirks."
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BBC One's tense thriller The Night Manager averaged 6.6m viewers for its final episode, beating ITV's Our Queen at 90 by one million viewers to win the Easter weekend TV battle.
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The 26-year-old Senegal international was airlifted to hospital after a crash on the M4 motorway in London on Sunday.
The injury also means he will miss the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
"He isn't having the best of times, but we're all very supportive," said Pardew. "We love Pape and can't wait to have him back."
Souare is expected to be released from hospital on Saturday.
When asked how much of the season Souare would miss, Pardew said: "Four, five months. Maybe six, he should be up and running again.
"I don't think we have any concerns about Pape returning. It was a broken thigh, that should repair as normal."
Palace are yet to learn the extent of the damage to some of Souare's muscles, but Pardew said the player was "very lucky".
He added: "It was a terrible accident. We owe a huge debt to the London Air Ambulance and the surgeons who helped him."
Souare, who joined side Palace from French club Lille in January 2015, has made 46 Premier League appearances for the Eagles.
Palace host Stoke on Sunday (14:15 BST)
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Crystal Palace defender Pape Souare will be out for up to six months after breaking his thighbone in a car crash, says manager Alan Pardew.
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Uncertainty over Black Friday trading, investment in online ordering, and a "challenging" first half could mean underlying full-year profit before tax is below £115m, Home Retail Group said.
In the half year to 29 August, group sales fell 2% to £2.6bn.
But underlying profit before tax increased by 10% to £34.1m.
Home Retail Group chief executive John Walden said: "While group benchmark profit before tax increased slightly during the first half, performance overall was mixed."
And he added: "At this stage of the financial year we expect the group's full-year benchmark profit before tax to be slightly below the bottom end of the current range of market expectations of £115m to £140m."
Home Retail Group shares dived almost 14% in early trading in reaction to the warning.
Mr Walden reiterated that trading at Argos over the key Christmas period was likely to be "less predictable than usual" due to the impact of Black Friday shopping deals.
Originating in the US, Black Friday is becoming a major day for UK retailers. Last year, police were called in a number of UK cities amid frenzied buying from shoppers.
Analysts said Black Friday offers caused a shift in spending patterns in the final quarter of last year, which may have had a negative impact on Christmas shopping.
Mr Walden said Home Retail Group had increased investment in "Fast Track", Argos' online ordering, delivery, and click-and-collect service.
The service, which was announced last week, offers a same-day delivery service across the UK, seven days a week.
Home Retail Group is in the process of trying to transform Argos from a catalogue-based retailer into a more digital business.
However, Mr Walden said that Argos had a "challenging first half", with like-for-like sales down 3.4%. The chain suffered from weak sales of TVs and tablet computers.
But Homebase like-for-like sales rose 5.6%, with Hygena kitchens, Ideal Standards bathrooms and Habitat furniture sales growing.
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The owner of Argos and Homebase, Home Retail Group, has warned that its full-year underlying profits are set to fall below market expectations.
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Pembrolizumab is a treatment for advanced skin cancer and is the first medicine to be approved through the Early Access to Medicines scheme (EAMS), launched in England last April.
The idea is to get pioneering drugs to severely ill patients much sooner.
Drugs signed off through EAMS have been scrutinised by regulators, weighing the risks and benefits.
A green light by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) means doctors anywhere in the UK can prescribe the drug in question before normal licensing procedures - which can take years - are complete.
Melanoma is the sixth most common cancer in the UK and kills more than 2,000 people in Britain each year.
Damage to the skin by the sun's harmful UV rays increases your risk of developing this cancer.
While advanced melanoma that has spread to other parts of the body may not be curable, targeted treatment can ease symptoms and may extend life.
Clinical trials of pembrolizumab, which is injected into the bloodstream, suggest it has great promise for treating advanced disease.
The treatment is considered a "next generation" drug in cancer care, stimulating the body's immune system to fight the disease.
It blocks a biological pathway that the cancer uses to disguise itself from attack.
Clinical trials are still under way, although the drug has already received a licence in the US for treating advanced melanoma.
Until now, UK patients would only have been able to get pembrolizumab if they were on a clinical trial.
Another government scheme in England, known as the The Cancer Drugs Fund, pays for cancer drugs that have already been licensed but not yet approved by the NHS watchdog NICE.
MHRA chief executive Dr Ian Hudson said: "We are delighted to issue the first positive Early Access to Medicines Scheme scientific opinion.
"The scientific opinion describes the risks and benefits of the medicine and the context for its use, supporting the prescriber and patient to make a decision on whether to use the medicine before its licence is approved."
Emma Greenwood of Cancer Research UK said: "Pembrolizumab is another example of the great progress we've made in developing immune treatments for cancer, so it's encouraging to see it being made available to patients earlier.
"NICE and the Cancer Drugs Fund only look at licensed drugs, so it's a step in the right direction in terms of patients getting access to new treatments faster. With this approach, relevant data will be collected and patients are closely monitored.
"We look forward to seeing whether it can be replicated with other promising drugs."
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An experimental and unlicensed cancer drug has been fast-tracked to NHS patients under a new government scheme.
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The US hit five targets related to the group, including several vehicles and buildings, near the border with Turkey.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the violence, said several militants and two children had died in the attack.
It is the second time US strikes have targeted Khorasan, whom it accuses of planning attacks on the US and Europe.
In a statement, the US Central Command (Centcom) said Thursday's strikes near the town of Sarmada had hit vehicles and buildings used for training and to produce explosive devices.
A senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters that one of the targets was a French militant called David Drugeon, who had joined the group.
The official said it was unclear as to whether he had been killed in the strikes, but added: "We think we got him."
Little is known about Khorasan other than information released by US officials.
They say the group is made up of veteran fighters from the Afghanistan and Pakistan region who have embedded within al-Qaeda's Syria branch, the al-Nusra Front.
Centcom said the group was using Syria as a base to attack the West, rather than seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or helping the Syrian people.
The first strikes on the group were on 23 September during the US-led coalition's first raids against Islamic State (IS) fighters in Syria.
At the time, Pentagon's operations chief Lt Gen William Mayville said Khorasan militants were in "the final stages of plans to execute major attacks".
The US-led coalition has launched several air strikes in Syria since September, mostly targeting IS fighters.
Syria's civil war, which is in its fourth year, has claimed more than 200,000 lives.
President Assad's government has been battling against an armed and increasingly fragmented uprising.
As well as fighting the government, rebel groups such as the Nusra Front and IS have also been fighting among themselves.
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The US military says it has carried out air strikes against the al-Qaeda-linked Khorasan group in north-western Syria.
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The 26-year old rejoined Stanley in the summer after spells at Stockport, Barrow and Chester on an initial one-year contract.
McConville has scored five goals in 28 games in his second spell at the club.
"Goals and assists are a plus but the most important thing is working hard for the shirt and I think I've done that," said McConville.
Stanley boss John Coleman said: "He won't be the last to sign up. We expect a few more to be putting pen to paper over the coming weeks."
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Midfielder Sean McConville has signed a new deal with Accrington Stanley until the summer of 2018.
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A Commons committee has said official copies of Acts of Parliament should be printed on archive paper to save money.
But member David Amess, Southend West MP, told the BBC he had had "second thoughts" and vellum should remain.
Fellow member James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire, said switching to paper would save "very little money, if any".
He was late for the meeting in October when the Commons Administration Committee decided to back a call from Lord Laming that Acts of Parliament should be recorded on "high-quality archive paper" instead of the vellum.
It said specialised printing on vellum cost too much and top quality archive paper could last for 500 years.
Lord Laming said the "slightly over £100,000 per year" cost of vellum could not be justified, when archival paper was "superior for print quality". An online database of legislation is also kept.
The change must be agreed in the House of Commons, which rejected a previous bid to ditch vellum in 1999.
Now one committee member has changed his mind.
"I should have given more careful consideration to what we had been asked to decide upon. I now believe that I made a mistake in not voicing my concerns then," Mr Amess told BBC Sunday Politics West.
"It's very precious and is at the heart of the United Kingdom's tradition as being the mother of all parliaments."
Paul Wright, manager of vellum manufacturer William Cowley, said he was "gobsmacked" at the committee's decision. He calculated the average yearly cost at nearer £47,000.
North Wiltshire MP Mr Gray said vellum would last for 5,000 years at least and "can be kept in an ordinary cupboard" while paper would require "a new archive centre" with environmental controls to stop it degrading.
"I can't think why it is that this committee in Parliament are thinking about changing something that's done perfectly well for 1,000 years. It's a real piece of Parliamentary history," he said.
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An MP who backed moves to scrap Parliament's centuries-old tradition of printing laws on calf skin has admitted he "made a mistake".
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The carmaker said it would build two new models at its Sunderland plant following talks with the government.
Ministers have declined to confirm reports that a written promise was made to protect the company from any consequences of Brexit.
Labour said the government should set out exactly what was promised.
Speaking on BBC Question Time, Mr Clark indicated there had been no offer of financial compensation or state aid.
"There's no cheque book. I don't have a cheque book," he said.
"The important thing is that they know this is a country in which they can have confidence they can invest. That was the assurance and the understanding they had and they have invested their money."
He said the announcement was "fantastic news", particularly for the workforce as the deal secures 7,000 jobs.
The Japanese company's commitment to Britain's biggest car plant had been in doubt following the referendum on EU membership.
Mr Clark's department declined to comment on a report in the Times newspaper that he had written to Nissan's board promising to ensure that UK operations would "remain competitive" after Britain left the EU.
According to the newspaper, "Mr Clark's letter is regarded by Nissan as a promise that it will not have to bear the cost of punitive tariffs on car exports if Britain leaves the EU customs area without a free trade agreement in place".
The Nissan announcement has led to calls from other car manufacturers for similar pledges.
Toyota said it trusted the government to provide "fair treatment".
But a senior Nissan Europe executive, Colin Lawther, said the company had received "no special deal".
"It's just a commitment from the government to work with the whole of the automotive industry to make sure the whole automotive industry in the UK remains competitive," he told the BBC.
"We would expect nothing for us that the rest of the industry wouldn't be able to have access to. We see this as a whole industry thing, not a Nissan thing."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government must disclose any deals struck with the firm, saying it could not hide it from the public.
Nissan confirmed it would build both the new Qashqai and the X-Trail SUV in Sunderland.
A company spokesman said making the X-Trail could lead to hundreds of new jobs being created in the coming years. It will be the first time the model has been made outside Japan.
The plant produced 475,000 vehicles last year - 80% of which were exported.
Production of the next Qashqai model is expected to begin in 2018 or 2019.
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There was "no cheque book" involved in the assurances given to Nissan ahead of its decision to boost UK production, Business Secretary Greg Clark has said.
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The FAI accepted 5m euros (£3.6m) from Fifa in 2010, in return for dropping court proceedings over Thierry Henry's handball in a 2009 World Cup play-off.
The FAI described it as an "interest-free loan" that was accounted for in its 2010 audited financial statements.
It said the 5m euros was recorded under "bank and other loans" in its accounts.
The timeline has been published on the FAI's website, and includes copies of its written agreement with Fifa and relevant bank documents.
It confirms that in 2013, the remaining loan amount was "reduced to nil as a result of the non-qualification for the World Cup South Africa in 2010 and the World Cup Brazil in 2014".
Details of the timeline were released just hours after Irish prime minister Enda Kenny publicly urged the FAI's chief executive John Delaney to explain the Fifa deal.
Mr Kenny described the payment as "quite extraordinary" and said the FAI boss must answer questions "in the interests of transparency and accountability".
The Republic of Ireland team was 16 minutes away from a penalty shootout for a place in the 2010 finals in South Africa when Henry handled in the build-up to William Gallas's extra-time equaliser in the second leg of the play-off in Paris.
In its latest statement, the FAI said that because FIFA has confirmed the transaction, FAI Board members believed they were "no longer obliged to abide by the confidentiality agreement" struck as part of the deal.
Its timeline detailed how the FAI wrote to Fifa in November 2009, saying it was considering referring the handball dispute to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In a press conference later that month, Fifa president Sepp Blatter joked about the FAI's request to be the 33rd team at the World Cup, which the FAI claimed caused it "reputational damage". Mr Blatter later made a personal apology for the remark.
Following negotiations with Fifa in Zurich in January 2010, the FAI said FIFA offered it "a 5m euros interest-free loan by way of compensation as well as a 400,000 euros (£290,000) Goal Project grant that was used for FAI Regional Football Centres".
It added that the 5m euros was lodged in to FAI's National Irish Bank deposit account on 20 January, 2010.
"This funding was used to make payments to New Stadium Ltd (trading name for Aviva Stadium management company) on February 25 and March 26 of 2010," the FAI statement said.
It said it had released the details "to demonstrate that the Board of the Association acted at all times in the best interests of Irish football, and in full compliance with Irish company law".
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The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has released the timeline of its controversial multi-million-euro deal with Fifa to stop a legal battle.
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Border Force officers searched a trailer at Immingham Docks which had arrived from the Netherlands on Thursday night.
They found 8,960,000 cigarettes inside 20 wooden pallets.
If undetected, the Border Force estimated the haul would have cost the Treasury £2.5m in unpaid duty and VAT.
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Almost nine million cigarettes hidden inside packages labelled as containing wooden flooring have been seized at a port on the River Humber.
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Passengers walked along the tracks for more than five minutes because a fault with the track led a train to get stuck outside Shepherd's Bush station.
It came to a halt at about 18:00 BST on Wednesday.
TfL said the evacuation was "safe and routine". Passengers thanked crews for "leading them into the light."
It said it was investigating why the line which carried the electrical current to the trains was dislodged.
All affected customers have been offered a full refund.
Jasmin Barras, one of the evacuated passengers, said TfL staff were "fantastic".
"It only took five minutes to walk once we could get off the train," she said.
"But I was in the very end carriage so first to get off - it would have been considerably longer for people further down the train."
Commenting on Twitter, Helen Pratt said: "Well, that was fun on the Central Line in the dark. Thanks TfL for sending friendly staff to lead us into the light."
A TfL spokesman confirmed nobody was hurt and said: "Emergency staff attended and led passengers off the train and back onto the platform."
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Up to 350 Tube passengers were forced to walk through London underground tunnels after being evacuated from a train, Transport for London (TfL) said.
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Defending champion Selby edged past Ding Junhui to set up a repeat of the 2007 showpiece against Higgins, who comfortably beat Barry Hawkins.
Scotland's Higgins last reached the final in 2011, when he beat Judd Trump.
"You'd favour Mark, because he has been more involved in the massive matches in recent years. I've not," said Higgins.
The final - the 41st to be held at the Crucible Theatre - starts at 14:00 BST on Sunday and will conclude on Monday.
Higgins features for the sixth time, and victory would take him second in the all-time list of ranking title wins on 29 - seven behind compatriot Stephen Hendry.
The 41-year-old, who has won three non-ranking events this season and beat Selby 18-13 a decade ago, added: "Mark will not go below a certain level, so I need to play better.
"I know what I need to do in the last, massive game to end the season.
"I am trying to stay focused and give it my all against the number one player in the world. Winning it would be my biggest achievement, without a doubt."
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Englishman Selby is attempting to become only the fourth player - after Hendry, Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan - to win consecutive world titles in the modern era.
He overcame a stern test against China's Ding, who he beat to claim his second crown in Sheffield 12 months ago.
The Leicester player has been in supreme form this season, winning four ranking titles and reaching the Shanghai Masters final.
Selby said: "It will be a fantastic occasion. I played in my first final 10 years ago against the same opponent and here we are on the 40th anniversary.
"John is a great player, one of the greats of the game. He has had a fantastic season and is in the final again. It will be another tough match for me.
"If he wins another world title, he will be equal with Ronnie O'Sullivan on five victories so he is trying to created history himself."
Former world champion John Parrott on BBC TV:
If there is one player whose game matches up to Mark Selby, who can match him in the safety and tactical departments, it is the man in the final with him - John Higgins.
The Scot is a consummate match player, we have all been there and played him and know what problems he causes his opponents. Higgins will be up for the fight.
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Four-time winner John Higgins says opponent Mark Selby is the "big favourite" for the World Championship final, which starts on Sunday.
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Arlene Foster told the BBC's The World This Weekend that data could be "sent to the cloud and tracked".
"It's not beyond the boundaries of possibility that we deal with the realities of the situation of today using new technologies," she said.
"I'm thinking of going through technology borders essentially.
"So when people move from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland, they're tracked in relation to technology and that data is sent to the cloud and can then be tracked."
Mrs Foster said she didn't foresee a time when heavy goods vehicles would be stopped and searched at a hard border.
"There is a border in reality, but if you go to any border road, you'll not see a particular sign that says you're leaving or coming into Northern Ireland and that's going to remain the case.
"If there are tariffs imposed, that could be done remotely."
Speaking at her party conference on Saturday, the first minister said Brexit presents the biggest economic opportunity for the UK in decades.
Mrs Foster also criticised the Irish government for allowing "political instability in Dublin" to drive its decision making "as much as any concern for Northern Ireland".
"While they seek to take the views of people in Northern Ireland on the issue of Brexit at home, their (the Irish government's) representatives are sent out around the world to talk down our economy and attempt to poach our investors," she said.
Reacting to her comments on Sunday, the Republic of Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said he was "very surprised and concerned" about Mrs Foster's remarks.
The Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness shared Mr Flanagan's sentiments in an interview with the Irish Broadcaster RTÉ.
Mr McGuinness told RTÉ he met with a Chinese investor alongside Mrs Foster and the Chief Executive of Invest NI, but that Mrs Foster's did not mention her concerns.
He added that Northern Ireland would be "living in a fools paradise" if it did not consider that US investors would be cautious about the market as a result of Brexit uncertainty.
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The first minister has said she believes technology could be used to control the border with the Republic of Ireland following Brexit.
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Japanese exports rose by just 0.6% in September from a year earlier, much slower than in previous months.
The data is seen as reflecting a slowdown in Japan's top trading partner, China.
However, the Nikkei 225 closed 1.9% higher at 18,554.28 on hopes the weak data would trigger more stimulus efforts from the government.
In China, the mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite closed down 3.06% at 3,320.68.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng remained closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.2%, closing at 5,248.30.
Shares in mining giant BHP Billiton rose 1% after it maintained its full-year production guidance for iron ore.
Slowing growth in China has been weighing on mining stocks in recent weeks as the country is the main importer of Australian commodities.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index rose marginally by 0.2% to finish at 2,042.98.
Shares of LG Electronics jumped by more than 14%, boosted by a fresh supply agreement with General Motors.
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Japanese shares rose on Wednesday, despite news of disappointing export growth last month.
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A loving spouse might spur you on to look after yourself better, they told a heart conference, based on their study of nearly a million UK adults.
All of these people had high blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes.
The married ones fared much better than those who were single.
Dr Paul Carter and colleagues at Aston Medical School, who carried out the work, have already shown that marriage is linked to a better chance of surviving a heart attack.
Their latest research, presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference, hints at why this might be.
They suspect marriage helps buffer against big heart disease risk factors, including cholesterol and high blood pressure.
The study looked at deaths from all causes, including heart disease.
Men and women in their 50s, 60s and 70s with high cholesterol were 16% more likely to be alive at the end of the 14-year ACALM study if they were married rather than single.
The same was true for diabetes and high blood pressure, with married people having a survival advantage.
The picture was less clear for people cohabiting, separated, divorced or widowed.
Also, the researchers did not test if the wedded people were in happy marriages.
They suspect having someone special in your life is what's important, rather than simply getting hitched.
Dr Carter said: "We need to unpick the underlying reasons a bit more, but it appears there's something about being married that is protective, not only in patients with heart disease but also those with heart disease risk factors.
"We're not saying that everyone should get married though.
"We need to replicate the positive effects of marriage and use friends, family and social support networks in the same way."
Dr Mike Knapton, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The take-home message is that our social interactions, as well as medical risk factors such as high blood pressure, are important determinants of both our health and wellbeing.
"Whether you are married or not, if you have any of the main risk factors for heart disease, then you can call upon loved ones to help you to manage them."
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Marriage appears to be good for your health, boosting your survival chances if you have a major heart risk factor such as high cholesterol, say researchers.
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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the controls were not "proportionate" to the "very low risk" and removing them would not compromise the consumer.
The disaster in 1986 affected 10,000 UK farms, including 334 in north Wales.
The movement of sheep was heavily restricted after the nuclear disaster.
Before farmers could sell livestock, the animals' radiation levels had to be monitored. If they were above a certain level, the sheep were moved to another area and the levels had to subside before they could be sold and consumed.
The lifting of the restrictions comes after a 12-week consultation with key stakeholders including consumers, affected farmers, farming unions and trade bodies.
The FSA board agreed to lift the controls from 1 June, 2012.
Ed Bailey, National Farmers' Union Cymru president, said: "It cannot be anything else apart from good news. We've had the assurances that the product is completely safe for human consumption and that's the main thing."
Farmer Peter Jones, from Capel Curig, in Conwy, has around 1,000 sheep. Last year, 60 of his sheep exceeded radiation levels and had to be moved to lower ground. In 2010, just 11 of his flock were affected.
Mr Jones welcomed the news the restrictions had been lifted.
He said: "I'm glad I won't have to scan (his flock). If the FSA says it's safe then it must be."
Farmer Glyn Roberts, deputy vice president of the Farmers' Union Wales, runs a beef and sheep farm in Betws-y-Coed in Conwy county.
He said: "In the beginning it did have a financial impact on us because we couldn't sell our sheep. But then, after a few months, we could sell them but supply outweighed demand.
"Now, after all this time, lifting the restrictions just means the final level of bureaucracy has been lifted.
"We can sell our stock, we just had to monitor their radiation levels."
Out of the 9,800 UK holdings, and more than 4m sheep originally placed under restriction, there are only 327 farms in north Wales and eight farms in Cumbria still under restrictions.
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Restrictions on hundreds of Welsh and Cumbrian sheep farms dating back to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have finally been lifted - 26 years on.
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Ofgem announced it had granted an electricity interconnector licence to Scandinavian consortium NorthConnect.
The developers plan to build a £1.3bn power cable between Boddam in Aberdeenshire and Eidfjord in Norway.
The project aims to link hydro power from Norway with wind energy from Scotland.
It is scheduled to start operating from 2022.
NorthConnect have said that the cable will have a capacity of 1.4GW - about 25% of Scottish peak demand.
Having been awarded the licence, NorthConnect still has to undertake further regulatory steps.
It can apply for Ofgem's "cap and floor" regime, which regulates how much money a developer can earn once in operation.
Alternatively, the consortium can ask for an exemption from certain European rules that apply to interconnectors.
Last year, Aberdeenshire Council approved an application by the consortium to build an electricity converter station and underground cables at Boddam.
The converter station and onshore cables are required to connect the interconnector cable to the National Grid.
Interconnectors are transmission cables that allow electricity to flow from one country to another.
Ofgem has said they can lower consumer bills by accessing cheaper power and boosting UK energy supplies.
Responding to the Ofgem announcement, WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: "If the UK and the rest of Europe are to move to a 100% renewable future then greater use of interconnectors is a sensible way forward.
"Sharing different renewable resources between nations would help drive down climate emissions much faster than relying on domestic action alone.
"However, it shouldn't be an excuse for any country to halt the development of their own renewable capacity.
"A European-wide 'supergrid' would also bring the double benefits of security of supply and a reduced need to build lots of expensive new nuclear or fossil fuel power stations."
NorthConnect is jointly owned by Swedish utility Vattenfall and Norwegian companies E-CO Energi, Agder Energi and Lyse.
In 2013, Perth-based energy giant SSE withdrew from the project, saying it wanted to focus instead on its markets in Britain and Ireland.
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UK regulators have given the green light to plans for a 400-mile subsea power cable linking Scotland and Norway.
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It will "be etched in my memory forever - quite an incredible feeling", said Peake, the first astronaut representing the UK to carry out a spacewalk.
He and US colleague Tim Kopra were outside the International Space Station (ISS) for almost five hours on Friday.
But the operation was cut short after water leaked into Col Kopra's helmet.
The pair had already replaced a failed electrical box, which was their main objective.
As it happened: Tim Peake's spacewalk
After they returned and were safely inside with the outer airlock hatch closed, Major Peake thanked mission controllers: "You guys did a great job."
Later on Friday night, he posted two tweets, two hours apart.
His first included three photographs and by Saturday morning it had had more than 9,000 retweets and 18,000 likes.
It included a selfie that showed his camera in the reflection of his helmet.
A later tweet from Maj Peake said: "Wrapping up today's spacewalk activities. Huge thanks to the ground teams who make it all possible & keep us safe out there - you guys rock!"
His colleague Tim Kopra also posted photos from the spacewalk, including one of him emerging from the airlock and another of him carrying out repairs on the end of the space station.
Maj Peake's parents later spoke of their excitement at watching their son fulfil a long-term ambition.
"We are absolutely thrilled. This is a proud day," his mother Angela said.
Before the spacewalk, the couple said they had watched the ISS fly over their home in the West Sussex village of Westbourne.
"It was a brilliant pass in clear blue skies... it seems quite surreal that your son is up there," his father Nigel Peake said.
Special report page: For the latest news, analysis and video
Guide: A day in the life of an astronaut
Explainer: The journey into space and back
Test yourself: Do you have what it takes to be an astronaut?
Social media: Twitter looks ahead to lift-off
Timeline: How Tim Peake became a British astronaut
Quiz: How dangerous is life in space?
The spacewalk was expected to last more than six hours but was halted at 16:58 GMT on Friday when a water globule measuring a few inches across developed inside Col Kopra's helmet.
Nasa is under a ruling to terminate a spacewalk under such circumstances after an incident in 2013, when a European astronaut developed a significant helmet leak and nearly drowned.
A sample of water and absorption pads from inside the Col Kopra's helmet were collected by the crew as evidence for investigators to determine the cause of the leak.
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UK astronaut Tim Peake described his first walk in space as "exhilarating", as he posted photos - including a selfie - of the feat on Twitter.
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United Utilities has been working at the Mancunian Way site over the weekend to assess the collapse.
A repair plan is "now in place" to stabilise the hole and make it watertight so engineers can repair the damage.
The road will remain closed in both directions while work takes place.
A spokesman for Manchester City Council said: "This initial phase of work could take up to 10 days, but until we are completely satisfied that the area is safe the section of the Mancunian Way will remain closed in both directions."
A diversion remains in place via London Road, Fairfield Street, A665, Hyde Road and Downing Street.
At the weekend, members of the public were warned not to cross a safety cordon as engineering work was being "hindered".
About two weeks' worth of rain fell in about six hours in Manchester on Friday before the hole appeared.
Tony Griffiths, of United Utilities, told the BBC: "An awful lot of rain fell on Friday - a few days' worth - which washed the ground material beneath the carriageway, causing the highway culvert to fail. Debris washed into the sewer, causing a domino effect leading to the collapse."
Mr Griffiths said the hole is still "quite unstable" and needs to be filled in before work can be carried out.
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A busy Manchester road which partly collapsed when a sinkhole appeared is to remain closed for at least 10 days.
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Liverpool made 11 changes and Tottenham 10 on Tuesday and the 10 top-flight teams made 71 changes, with a number of young or fringe players involved.
"I feel for the fans," said 55-year-old Waddle. "They should know who is going to play in the competition."
Former Tottenham manager David Pleat also said he was "very disappointed".
Pleat, who reached the semi-finals of the competition in 1987 as manager of Tottenham, said teams are treating the competition as a "secondary affair".
"It is almost as if the Premier League clubs have got together and said we are not going to give the competition our full attention," he said.
Ex-Spurs and Newcastle player Waddle said clubs should announce their squad for the cup's fixtures in advance at the start of the week.
"It would mean that if you're travelling a long way you'd know that it will be a weaker side and you may not buy a ticket," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
"For me, it is a total rip-off."
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, whose side are fifth in the Premier League and second in their Champions League group, defended his decision to use some of the younger members of his squad in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at Anfield.
"The young players are very important for our future, to be a better squad," he said.
"I think it was a fantastic opportunity to show their quality and a great experience to capitalise on, to take positive things for the future."
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The EFL Cup is a "total rip-off" for fans because Premier League managers field weakened teams, says former England winger Chris Waddle.
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The think tank's pre-election report, based on parties' spending pledges, says schools face up to 12% in real-terms cuts over the next parliament.
It says increasing pupil numbers and staff wages are adding to the pressure.
The Association of School and College Leaders said it presented a "bleak picture for education funding".
The IFS says day-to-day spending on schools has been relatively well-protected by the coalition government compared with other public service areas, but after the election that will change whoever is in government.
Analysing the spending pledges of the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, the IFS said they all suggest a real-terms reduction of 7% per child by 2020.
When the extra costs of teachers' pensions, national insurance contributions and wage increases are included, the real-terms reduction in spending could be closer to 12%, the report said.
The Conservatives have said they will protect school spending per pupil, while Labour and the Liberal Democrats have committed to protecting the education budget for three to 19-year-olds - covering early years, schools and 16-19 education - in real terms.
But the IFS said: "Pupil numbers are expected to grow by 7% between January 2016 and January 2020, whilst economy-wide inflation between 2015-16 and 2019-20 is currently forecast to be 7.7%.
"As a result, the overall level of school spending could grow by similar amounts under the different proposals. However, if only just met, all these proposals imply real-terms cuts in spending per pupil."
In response to the report, the Conservatives said they were committed to delivering a good deal for schools, and would spend at least half a billion pounds more than Labour.
Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said his party had a better plan than what he called the Tories' "big cuts", while the Liberal Democrats insisted they would protect education budgets in real terms.
ASCL deputy general secretary Malcolm Trobe said: "It is imperative that the government elected in May addresses this issue quickly and ensures that education funding is sufficient, sustainable and equitable.
"We recognise that there is considerable pressure on the national budget but the country must invest in education both for its long-term prosperity and, most importantly, the future of our children."
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said that the golden age of education funding was coming to an end right at the time when the demands and expectations of schools were accelerating.
"These budget cuts come at a time when cost pressures on schools from pensions and national insurance are also increasing.
"Salary increases are not funded by the government and you can't keep reducing salaries in real terms and still attract talented people into the profession."
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Schools in England will have less to spend per pupil over the next five years, no matter who wins the election, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says.
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The contaminated meat was discovered by a dog walker on the Cuckoo Trail in Hailsham on Wednesday.
The sausages, which had been sliced open and filled with the blue pellets, were handed in to police.
The RSPCA warned that dogs ingesting even small amounts of some substances could suffer kidney failure and die.
A spokesman said: "The RSPCA is deeply concerned about any spate of suspected poisonings, but especially one where evidence suggests it may be deliberate.
"Animals, and especially dogs, are often extremely curious and will be drawn to food.
"If anyone suspects that their dog has been poisoned they must take it to a vet immediately. If possible, they should take a sample of what the dog has eaten."
Poisoning is a criminal offence in the UK under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The maximum penalty for those found guilty is up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £20,000.
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Cocktail sausages believed to have been stuffed with toxic slug pellets have been found at a popular dog-walking spot in East Sussex.
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A newspaper report has suggested the UK government plans to "scale back and axe rail electrification projects".
During Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron told Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards that ministers were committed to the London-Swansea scheme.
But he said Network Rail needed to get its costs "under control".
Mr Edwards asked: "Can you inform the house and the people of Wales whether it continues to be the policy of your government to complete [the upgrade] to Swansea by 2018 and part-fund the Valley lines?"
Mr Cameron replied: "We're absolutely committed to electrifying the Great Western Main Line to Cardiff, through to Swansea.
"We're also contributing £125m to the cost of the wider Valley lines electrification. It's vital that this work goes ahead.
"We do need to make sure that Network Rail gets its costs under control and has strong leadership in place and we'll make sure those things happen."
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David Cameron has been challenged to say whether a project to electrify rail lines between London and Swansea will be completed by 2018.
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Chris Coleman's side are on the brink of qualifying for Euro 2016 after beating Cyprus and drawing with Israel.
They will swap places with Chile, who are set to drop one to ninth spot, and remain above England, who will stay 10th despite two wins.
Northern Ireland, 41st in the current rankings, are expected to move above Scotland, currently 31st.
Had Wales beaten Israel, they would have risen to fourth but reaching eighth is still the sixth time in the last seven rankings that they have set a new record.
Argentina will stay top, while Germany will regain second place from Belgium, who drop to third.
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Wales will rise to a new high of eighth when the next Fifa world rankings are released on 1 October.
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Members of the drivers union Aslef are due to walk out for three days in the dispute over driver-only trains.
Southern's parent company Govia Thameslink (GTR) has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week's High Court refusal to ban the strike action.
A decision will be given at the end of the hearing, due to last all day.
Lord Justice Elias, sitting with Lord Justice Lewison and Lord Justice Lloyd Jones, have been asked to overturn the refusal to grant an injunction blocking the "unprecedented" action.
GTR has already been hit by a series of strikes by the RMT union in a long-running dispute over the role of conductors.
Drivers are due to strike on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, with a week-long walkout planned from 9 to 14 January.
Southern said given the timing of the Court of Appeal's decision, it would be too late to get trains and drivers in the correct position for Tuesday, and any services it could run would be "extremely limited".
Angie Doll, passenger services director, said: "We hope for the sake of our passengers our application to the Court of Appeal is successful.
"Even if we are able to stop the strikes through the court, services will still be very heavily impacted tomorrow.
"We will work through the night to try and provide as many services as possible, but we are still advising passengers not to travel as we will not be able to offer a robust service they can rely on.
"We are sorry but the industrial action by Aslef leaves us no viable alternative, but be assured we will do all we can overnight," she said.
The RMT union, which has been staging strikes since April, is also planning further stoppages either side of Christmas.
00:01: Tuesday 13 December to 23:59 Wednesday 14 December (Aslef)
00:01 Friday 16 December to 23:59: Friday 16 December (Aslef)
00:01 Monday 19 December to 23:59 Tuesday 20 December (RMT)
00:01 Saturday 31 December to 23:59 Monday 2 January (RMT)
00:01 Monday 9 January to 23:59: Saturday 14 January (Aslef)
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Strike-hit rail operator Southern has warned passengers not to travel on Tuesday, irrespective of the outcome of a last-ditch bid to halt a walkout.
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Hain, the top run-scorer in last year's competition, helped his side reach their revised target of 159 in a game reduced to 30 overs.
He was aided by Will Porterfield's 63 in an unbroken first-wicket stand.
Northants struggled to 154 all out in their 30 overs, with Rob Keogh (64) the only one to make a real impression.
England international Ben Duckett was caught by Hain for seven off the bowling of Rikki Clarke (2-18), one of seven Northants batsmen to fail to get out of single figures as Oliver Hannon-Dalby (3-24) impressed.
Hain returned to the side having been left out of their previous County Championship game, on the day he received a reprimand from the ECB's Cricket Discipline Commission.
He was reported by the umpires during Warwickshire's Second XI Championship match against Worcestershire at Flagge Meadow last week, for a Level One breach of the code (bowling a fast short pitched ball and/or accidental high full pitched ball that results in the bowler being disallowed from bowling any further in that innings).
The penalty is a reprimand, which will remain on his record for two years. The accumulation of nine or more penalty points in any two-year period will result in an automatic suspension.
Hain scored more runs in the One-Day Cup last season than any other batsman (540 in 10 innings).
Northants coach David Ripley told BBC Radio Northampton:
"We just haven't come out of the blocks at all. We've been very well beaten. It's a pretty grim effort all round really.
"We had the sharp end of the conditions batting first, we had to stop start and couldn't get any partnerships together. But still our performance is way down from where we expect it to be.
"I expected our bowlers to be a handful and I was hopeful we could pull off something special but we never got started with the ball either."
Warwickshire batsman Sam Hain told BBC WM:
"I felt a bit of pressure coming into this competition so it's nice to get on the board here with a few runs.
"Especially after the start to my season in the red-ball game. I'm a little stumped to why it hasn't happened in the Championship.
"But I have no qualms about my white-ball game and now I have a block of games to work with now."
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Sam Hain's unbeaten 89 helped holders Warwickshire race to a 10-wicket victory over Northants in a rain-affected One-Day Cup match.
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The front of the note will continue to feature Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott alongside The Mound in Edinburgh.
The Glenfinnan Viaduct will remain on the reverse of the design.
However, it will now feature a steam locomotive hauling a heritage tourist train.
The locomotive is a Stanier "Black 5", which was designed for London, Midland and Scottish Railway and often seen on the West Highland line.
The new note, which was designed by banknote manufacturer De La Rue, is slightly smaller than the existing paper version in circulation.
It includes security features incorporated in the bank's new polymer £5 note, which entered circulation in October.
They include an anti-counterfeit "window effect", built into the windows of the image of The Mound, and metallic ink which changes colour as the note is moved.
There is also a new "tactile emboss", created by a series of raised dots, which is designed to aid the visually impaired.
All existing paper Bank of Scotland £10 notes will be gradually withdrawn following the issue of the new note.
However, they will continue to be accepted at shops, banks and cash payment machines.
Mike Moran, director at Bank of Scotland, said: "Bank of Scotland has been issuing bank notes for more than 320 years, evolving our designs to pay homage to our heritage.
"The new note retains our much loved design of Sir Walter Scott with the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct pictured on the back and we've evolved the design by introducing the popular heritage tourist train crossing the bridge.
"With polymer notes being cleaner, more secure, and more durable than paper notes, I'm sure our new £10 note will prove popular across Scotland."
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Bank of Scotland has unveiled the design of its new £10 polymer note, which is due to enter circulation in the autumn.
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It's all about #TheDress and whether it's blue and black (#blueandblack) or white and gold (#whiteandgold).
The whole debate started when Scottish singer Caitlin McNeill posted a picture of a dress on her Tumblr blog.
She asked her followers: "Guys please help me - is this dress white and gold, or blue and black? Me and my friends can't agree and we are freaking... out."
Caitlin told Newsbeat that it all started when her friend's mum wore the dress at a wedding.
"Two of my very good friends were getting married and they has asked me to put together a band to come and play at the wedding," she says.
"This was a wedding on the tiny island that we come from on the west coast of Scotland called Colonsay and about 100 people were there.
"A week beforehand the bride had been sent by her mother a picture of the dress she was going to wear and when the bride showed her fiance, they disagreed about what colour it was.
"She was like, 'It's white and gold' and he said, 'It's blue and black'.
"So they posted it on Facebook to try and see what their friends were saying but that caused carnage on Facebook.
"We forgot about it until we saw it at the wedding which the mother of the bride was wearing and it was obviously blue and black."
Read Newsbeat's interview with Caitlin McNeill
YouTube talent manager Sarah Weichel then spotted it on Tumblr and the rest is Twitter history...
Turns out a lot of people cared and thousands are still debating the colour of that badly-taken snapshot.
Various US news outlets have written stories about how the human eyes see different colours and why some people see blue and black while others see gold and white.
BuzzFeed's original article has been shared more than 20 million times and tech site Wired explains the science of colour.
The prime minster of Singapore liked the bit about science so much, he posted about it on his Facebook page.
And photo experts Adobe got involved as well, sending out this tweet.
It got celebrities talking on Twitter.
And then the memes started...
It's all great news for the makers of the £50 dress.
A quick check online shows Roman Women's Lace Detail Bodycon Dress is available in Royal Blue - so blue then...
And the company says it's looking into doing a gold and white version of the dress.
A spokesman told Newsbeat: "We're looking into getting it through the approval stages.
"We want to do it but it depends on the speed. We're trying to get it done as soon as possible.
"We are in contact with the suppliers to establish if we can get it manufactured in white and gold."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube
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It's the debate of the year so far - well - on Twitter at least and has been the top trending topic worldwide.
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The facility has already helped groom 100 national and one world champion as well as Commonwealth Games medallists.
Ms Jones, 18, from Bangor, Gwynedd, recently brought back a gold medal from the Youth Commonwealth Games in Apia, Samoa.
The grant-funded extension has new physiotherapy and activity areas.
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Gold medal weightlifter Catrin Jones has opened a £125,000 extension at the Holyhead and Anglesey weightlifting and fitness centre.
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Several of Cathro's recent signings are from various countries abroad, leading to some questioning their appreciation of the standards fans expect.
"This is tens of thousands of people's Real Madrid," said Cathro.
"Everybody understands clearly the size, the importance, how much love and passion there is for this club."
Hearts remain in fourth place in the Premiership but have gone four games without a victory.
Last week's Scottish Cup defeat by city rivals Hibernian, who are in the Championship, was followed by a top-flight defeat away to Partick Thistle.
More to follow.
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Hearts head coach Ian Cathro insists his players have a full understanding of the size and magnitude of the club they represent.
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He is a copy of one of the world's first ever robots, and has gone on show at the Science Museum in London.
Eric was originally built in 1928 by Captain WH Richards and AH Reffell.
However, after he amazed crowds all over the world, Eric mysteriously disappeared - never to be seen again.
That is until 2016, when the Science Museum launched a campaign to raise money to build a copy of Eric.
Artist and robot builder Giles Walker agreed to help build the new and improved Eric.
However, the only information he had to go off were old newspaper stories, a short video from the 1920s, and a scribbled copy of the original building plans.
Instead of his old gears and pulleys, Eric is now operated by wires and motors.
It took Giles five months to build the new robot and he stands at a whopping two metres tall.
He is made from aluminium and can move his arms and head, and speak a number of phrases.
Ben Russell, who put Eric on display at the Science Museum, said: "As the UK's first robot, Eric holds a unique place in our history.
"He was everything we now imagine a robot to be - a talking, moving mechanical person."
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Eric the robot is no ordinary robot.
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The Scottish Gamekeepers' Association said the latest employment figures showed the sector was outperforming other areas of the economy.
North Highland College in Thurso reported that every one of this year's Higher National Certificate students has secured a job on a sporting estate.
Country sports are thought to be worth £240m a year to the Scottish economy.
The gamekeeping and wildlife management course was designed to provide students with training in conservation as well as traditional gamekeeping skills, including snaring and the use of firearms.
North Highland College gamekeeping lecturer Richard MacNicol said: "The modern gamekeeper has to have a rounded, balanced approach to land management.
"Our graduates are helping to support the rural economy and a diverse, well managed countryside."
Borders College and Scotland's Rural University College in Fife also said the skills obtained by their students were proving valuable to landowners.
The Scottish Gamekeepers' Association has welcomed the news.
SGA chairman Alex Hogg said: "This is a major success story and the three colleges deserve immense credit.
"We are creating youth jobs at a time when the economy is faltering and young people, especially in remote areas, have few other opportunities."
There is real frustration amongst landowners and the gamekeepers they employ about the profession's image.
Political and media attention often focuses on cases of wildlife crime, most notably the illegal persecution of birds of prey.
Gamekeepers believe they do not get the credit they deserve for the stewardship of our countryside, while landowners argue the economic benefit of country sports is often overlooked.
They are hoping the new generation of gamekeepers being trained by Scotland's colleges will help change that.
Angus McNicol, of Cawdor Estates near Nairn, told BBC Scotland: "It's a highly-trained profession these days. It's very different to how things were in the past."
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Colleges across Scotland are reporting strong demand from sporting estates for newly-trained gamekeepers.
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The 37-year-old was competing in his first race of the season, after missing the start of the World Cup campaign following an operation on his back.
But his arm clipped a flag near the end of the super G course in Colorado and his right leg was severely lacerated.
"Feeling lucky since things could have been way worse," Miller later tweeted.
Some 15 skiers did not finish the race at the Beaver Creek resort in Colorado, won by Austrian Hannes Reichelt.
World Cup super-G points leader Kjetil Jansrud was another casualty but was able to finish fourth despite injuring his shoulder in the process.
Miller had the fastest time over the first half among the early starters, before his left arm slammed into a gate at about 100 km/h.
He spiralled down the icy track and appeared to fall on one of his skis, which caused the wound.
At 37 years and 115 days old, Miller was hoping to become the oldest gold medallist in an individual event at the world championships.
He has won six Olympic medals, five world championship medals and was overall World Cup champion in 2005 and 2008.
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Former Olympic and world champion Bode Miller will miss the remainder of the Alpine World Ski Championships after having surgery on a torn hamstring.
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A ceremony at India Gate will be an opportunity to honour a sacrifice that was in the past overlooked in both Britain and India.
The 70,000 Indian soldiers who fought and died for the British during World War One were once viewed in India as part of its difficult colonial history.
In a day devoted to paying tribute, William and Kate will also, quite literally, retrace Mahatma Gandhi's final footsteps before he was murdered.
The country's founding father - who once declared that non-violence, was a weapon for the brave - had a vision, which wasn't realised, of an independent, united land.
It was Prince William's relative, Louis Mountbatten - the last Viceroy - who oversaw the creation of India and Pakistan.
Prince William, with his wife, will end the day by speaking about his grandmother - a woman soon to turn 90, who's Britain's longest reigning monarch but who was never Queen Empress of India.
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first official visit to India moves on to New Delhi.
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The 28-year-old was a free agent after leaving Exeter's biggest rivals at the end of his contract in the summer.
Reid has also played for Yeovil Town, West Bromwich Albion, Brentford and Rotherham United.
He scored a hat-trick against Exeter in the Devon derby in 2015 - the first in the fixture since 1929 - and could make his debut for the Grecians against Argyle in League Two on Saturday.
Reid scored 21 goals for Argyle during the 2013-14 season while on loan at Home Park and 20 the season after.
But last term he managed just seven goals as he was hampered by a foot injury, later telling the BBC that his season had been a 'write off'.
Exeter need more firepower, having scored just six goals in the league so far this season, with half of those coming in their 3-2 victory at Colchester earlier this month.
"I have been in talks with a few teams, but I met the manager (Paul Tisdale) on Sunday in a nice pub in Bath and he explained what he wanted to do for me," said Reid
"I went home feeling refreshed and it left me with a massive smile on my face. I just couldn't wait to get the deal over the line."
"I played against his teams for years now throughout my career and Exeter, whether they have been in the division above or League Two, have always been good on the eye to watch," he added.
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Exeter City have signed former Plymouth Argyle top scorer Reuben Reid.
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Three converted first-half tries from Cory Hill, Ashton Hewitt and Jason Tovey gave the Welsh side a 24-0 lead at the break that did not flatter them.
Carl Meyer crossed after the break for a fourth try to secure the bonus point.
Paddy Butler, Mosese Ratuvou and Watisoni Votu all added tries for Pau but the Dragons were always in control.
Victory leaves the Dragons top of Pool Two, two points above second-placed Sale Sharks after their win over Castres.
Second row Hill's brilliant individual try gave the visitors an early lead, before a Tovey penalty made it 10-0 and then Sarel Pretorious' pass saw Hewitt burst through a gap in the Pau defence to cross for the second try.
Tovey ran clear after a mistake by the French side to add the Dragons' third try and he duly converted, before kicking through to Meyer for the fourth try after the break.
With Hill sent to the sin-bin, Pau capitalised to score through Butler, but they failed to convert and a Tovey drop-goal made it 34-5.
Word Cup-winning New Zealand centre Conrad Smith came on for his Pau debut and, shortly afterwards, Ratuvou barged his way over the line for the home side's second try.
Fijian Votu added a late third score but Pau remain bottom of the pool.
Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones told BBC Radio Wales:
"We're absolutely delighted. It was a great performance from us. It was as good as we get
"We were a far better team than them and we deserved to come away with the spoils.
"We kept (Colin) Slade quiet and they couldn't deal with us."
Pau: Damien Traille; Sireli Bobo, Julien Fumat (c), Jale Vatubua, Mosese Ratuvou; Colin Slade, Thierry Lacrampe; Jérémy Hurou, Mehdi Boundjema, Sylvain Charlet; Daniel Ramsay, Julien Pierre; Josefa Ulago Domolailai, Paddy Butler, Brice Monzeglio.
Replacements: Quentin Lespiaucq Brettes, Julien Jacquot, Euan Murray, James Coughlan, Sean Dougall, Thibault Daubagna, Conrad Smith, Watisoni Votu.
Newport Gwent Dragons: Carl Meyer; Nick Scott, Adam Hughes, Adam Warren, Ashton Hewitt; Jason Tovey, Sarel Pretorious; Phil Price, Elliot Dee, Lloyd Fairbrother; Cory Lewis Hill, Rynard Landman (c); Nick Crosswell, Nic Cudd, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacement: Rhys Buckley, Brok Harris, Shaun Knight, Matthew Screech, Ollie Griffiths, Charlie Davies, Dorian Jones, Ross Wardle.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Touch judges: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Stuart Douglas (Ireland)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Citing commissioner: Dave Guyan (England)
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Newport Gwent Dragons enjoyed a comfortable bonus-point win in Pau to edge one step closer to reaching the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
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Murray won 6-3 6-0 in 65 minutes to set up a final against world number one Novak Djokovic on Sunday (20:00 BST).
The result means the Scot will overtake Swiss Roger Federer in Monday's new ATP rankings and return to number two for the first time since 2013.
"It's good to get back close to the top," Murray said.
The US Open gets under way on 31 August, and it was following the same tournament last year that Murray lost his place in the top 10 after losing to Djokovic in the quarter-finals in New York.
"It's nice to get back especially after everything I went through last year with the hip surgery and dropping out of the top 10. A lot of questions were being asked about how my game was physically.
"I'll keep working hard and try to get that one spot higher."
Djokovic beat unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4 6-4 in the first semi-final.
The Serb improved his record against Chardy to 10-0 with victory in one hour and 20 minutes, despite requiring several bouts of treatment on a sore right elbow.
"It comes and goes, now is not very pleasant," Djokvoic said of the problem. "Every day is a new day. I try to bury the pain, play with the pain, it is part of what we do."
Murray, 28, powered away from Nishikori, converting six break points and winning the last eight games in a row, including 12 of the last 13 points.
He now faces another chance to end a losing streak against Djokovic that stretches across eight matches back to the 2013 Wimbledon final.
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Britain's Andy Murray swept past Kei Nishikori to reach the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal and guarantee a return to second in the world rankings.
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The cuts, which will be spread across the country, represent 7.5% of the company's 16,000-strong workforce.
The move follows the merger earlier this year of the two networks which together have 30 million customers.
At the time analysts warned the move would mean some staff overlap and would therefore mean a reduction in staff numbers.
The jobs will go from back office, headquarters and management.
The group said no cuts would be made among customer service or store staff.
Its main offices are in London, Bristol and Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
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Everything Everywhere, the company that runs Orange and T-Mobile in the UK has said that it will cut 1,200 jobs.
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Bomb disposal officers examined a suspicious item found at Thiepval Barracks but it was found to be "nothing untoward", police said.
A number of homes had been evacuated, but people have been allowed to return.
Part of the Belsize Road, which had been closed, has now reopened.
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A security alert at an Army base in Lisburn in County Antrim has ended.
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University of Aberdeen researchers found the link remained even after taking account of the smoking habits of the women themselves who miscarried.
But no link was found between exposure to cigarette smoke in the womb and a decrease in fertility.
The study examines data from 12,321 women born before 31 December 1972.
The university said an analysis of the data also showed that women exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb were more likely to have a pregnancy than those whose mothers did not smoke.
Women exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb were also likely to have a pregnancy earlier than those not exposed.
Dr Sohinee Bhattacharya, a pregnancy and childbirth expert from the University of Aberdeen, said previous research had suggested there may be a "small decrease" in the fertility of women whose mothers smoked in pregnancy.
"This study used a databank in Aberdeen to look at the birth records of more than 12,000 women and followed them through for 40 years to see whether being born to a smoker had any impact on women's future fertility," she said.
"The study did not find a link between mothers' smoking and a decrease in fertility in their daughters.
"Women whose mothers smoked were more likely to have a pregnancy, but this study suggests that this could simply be linked to the fact that they were also more likely to get pregnant at an earlier age and could be related to socioeconomic status.
"Worryingly the study did find a significant increase in the chances of having a miscarriage among the women whose mothers had smoked when pregnant with them. "
The lead author of the paper, Sam Tweed, completed the work as part of his undergraduate degree and graduated from the University of Aberdeen's Medical School in June.
The research was published in the Human Reproduction Open journal.
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Women exposed to cigarette smoke while in their mothers' wombs are more likely to experience miscarriage as adults, according to a study.
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27 August 2015 Last updated at 17:56 BST
Both games are free to play but have some features which cost money to add.
The Advertising Standards Agency, the UK authority in charge of checking advertising, say that the games put too much pressure on children to buy these additional features.
That's because they say things like 'Moshi Monster needs you', or tells players they will be 'super popular' if they pay to become members.
Now the companies behind both Moshi and Bin Weevils say they have changed the games and will stick to the rules in the future.
Watch Newsround reporter Jenny's full report on this.
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The popular online games Moshi Monsters and Bin Weevils have found themselves in trouble for putting unfair pressure on children to make in-game purchases.
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The carrier initially launched the three-times-a-day service until 21 October while the Severn Tunnel was closed as part of the rail electrification programme.
But it said there had been a "very promising" uptake, with 95% of passengers surveyed saying they would continue using it.
The service has now been extended.
Tickets are now available for the coming weeks, with Cardiff Airport chief executive Roger Lewis saying "the immediate future" is secure.
He wants to see continued use to make it a long-term route at the airport.
Flybe's chief revenue officer Vincent Hodder said: "This route has quite simply taken off, quickly becoming an early success.
"We have been heartened by the response it has received."
The flight time is about an hour, but the record journey to date is 35 minutes.
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Flights between Cardiff and London City airports will continue while demand exists, the airline Flybe has said.
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Cheng says a lot of people who aren't funny are afraid to be "weird" or "deviate from what's normal".
This is a mistake, he says, arguing that comedians shouldn't be worried about having controversial views.
"I think a lot of funniness comes from ideas which may be different, and that's why a lot of comedians come from a different background and have a different point of view," he says.
"Embrace that."
Cheng himself dropped out of his maths degree at Cambridge University in 2008 to become a professional poker player before later getting into comedy.
He brings an analytical approach to his comedy, using graphs and a PowerPoint presentation in his Edinburgh performance.
Read about the joke that won him the award, here.
With the growth of online streaming sites like Netflix, there is a lot of comedy available.
Cheng says those wanting to be funnier should be watching plenty of it - particularly the things they find most funny.
Doing this helps develop a sense of humour and potentially a distinct comedic voice, Cheng says.
"Start off imitating it and you will find your own voice, because a lot of comedy comes by imitating enough things, which can create a different voice."
Making friends laugh doesn't only make you and them feel good - it can be a stepping stone to making others laugh, Cheng argues.
"If you make your friends laugh I think it's one of the greatest ways to connect with people. It's a stepping stone to making others laugh."
While Cheng didn't do it himself, he knows other comedians and friends who have taken stand-up and improvisational comedy courses.
These courses can give people an understanding of joke writing and experience of performing in a supportive environment.
Cheng developed his own comedy skills in the familiar environment of students gigs in Cambridge, where he continued to live after dropping out of his degree in 2008.
Cheng says social media can be a good place to try out jokes without the pressure of getting on stage.
"It's a good way, because you don't have to go in front of people and you can realise 'I know how to do this.'"
But above all else, Cheng has some words of encouragement for people who hope to be funny.
"If you have a sense of humour then you probably have the potential to be funny," he adds.
"Being a Chinese comedian is much easier than being a female comedian because no one ever comes up to you after a gig and says 'you were pretty funny... for a Chinese comedian'."
"I walked in on my flatmate looking at an optical illusion with his pants down. He jumped up and screamed 'it's not what it looks like!'"
Ken Cheng is performing at The Cellar, Pleasance Courtyard, at the Fringe Festival, each day at 16:45 BST until 27 August.
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The winner of the best joke award at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Ken Cheng, shares five tips on how to be funnier, be it on stage or just in front of a group of friends.
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Despite this, net use among this group is growing with the numbers trying the net doubling since 2011, it found.
It also revealed that 25% of disabled people have yet to use the net - a figure campaigners called "shocking".
About 88% of all UK adults, about 46 million people, used the net in the last three months, it said.
The ONS bulletin on net use in the first three months of 2016 revealed that 91% of people living in London went online regularly. By contrast, in Northern Ireland only 82% of people are regular users of online sites and services.
Pete Lee, from the ONS's surveys and economic division, said the statistics revealed some significant changes in usage and exposed those sectors of the population where net use remained low or patchy.
Net use among women aged 75 and over had grown by 169% since 2011, it found. However, it found that a significant number of older people who start using the net did not do so consistently. About 5% of those aged 75 or more had stopped using the net in early 2016.
"While we have seen a notable increase in internet usage across all groups in recent years, many older and disabled people are still not online," said Mr Lee.
Mark Atkinson, chief executive at disability charity Scope, said it was "shocking" that 25% of disabled people had not used the net as it created a significant digital divide.
"Digital access has the power to make life cost less," he said. "Many people go online to compare the best consumer deals and offers."
"Life costs more if you are disabled, from higher energy bills to specialist equipment. Scope research shows these costs add up to on average £550 per month," he added.
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Almost two-thirds of people aged over 75 have never gone online, suggest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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The initiative at The Meadows, along the Melville Drive side, comes ahead of a wildlife meadow being planted.
At least 10 large tree logs have been installed by the City of Edinburgh Council after Friends of the Meadows and Bruntsfield requested them.
The logs have been donated by the forestry service.
Lesley Hinds, City of Edinburgh Council's environment convener, said: "We have been working closely with Friends of the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links over recent months to install these logs, which will not only deter drivers from parking along the edge of the Meadows, but will help our efforts to encourage and diversify wildlife in the area, along with a new wildflower meadow."
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Logs have been embedded into the grass at a huge city park in Edinburgh in a bid to encourage insects and other wildlife to the area.
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Gerald Jacob's family said he had retired last December and had been planning to "continue his life travelling" with partner.
The incident at Loggerheads is believed to have happened on Saturday at 19:30 GMT. Police were alerted to the crash scene on Sunday just before midday.
"Gerry, as we all knew him, loved life and lived it to the full," they said.
North Wales Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident on Ruthin Road involving a grey BMW car which was found in a hedge.
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A family has paid tribute to a "very special" 66-year-old man who died in a crash near Mold, Flintshire.
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Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness was speaking ahead of Saturday's meeting by his party's ard chomhairle (national executive) to discuss the crisis.
He said he was told the UK government plans to impose £12bn in welfare cuts.
He said Tory ministers plan a further £13bn in cuts across UK government departments.
The issue of welfare reform and its impact on Northern Ireland's budget has caused serious political difficulties at Stormont in recent years.
The crisis deepened earlier this week when the Welfare Bill was blocked by Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Green Party's only MLA.
The welfare legislation was an important part of last December's Stormont House Agreement, and would have provided a number of mitigation measures to protect people on benefits who may otherwise lose out under planned welfare changes.
Some of the reforms are already in force in other parts of the UK, but speaking ahead of this party's meeting in Dublin, Mr McGuinness said Northern Ireland was different from the rest of the UK.
"I am not prepared to reside over the austerity agenda that the British government are inflicting on our executive. My conscience would not allow me to do it.
"So I think what we have to do is rally the forces, both in Dublin, in the United State of America, and make it clear to David Cameron that this approach is folly of the worst kind," he said.
But First Minister Peter Robinson, who leads the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said there would be no renegotiation of the Stormont House Agreement.
He warned that failing to implement welfare reform would result in "£600m of cuts to vital public services".
Mr Robinson was interviewed at the Irish Open golf tournament, during his first public appearance since suffering heart attack last Monday.
"I've had the experience of being in hospital, talking to medical staff, knowing the difficulties that they're facing, the fact that without the funds that they presently have there would be loss of life, it would be an issue for public safety," Mr Robinson said.
"So, we do have to deal with all of these issues, but if they can't be dealt with then Her Majesty's government is going to have to step in and deal with them themselves."
On Wednesday, Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers said she could not rule out Westminster having to step in to legislate on welfare matters in Northern Ireland.
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Northern Ireland's deputy first minister has described the political situation at Stormont as "very grave" due to the row over welfare reform.
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The fire started at the "A list" Cirque Le Soir venue on London's Ganton Street, just off Carnaby Street at about 04:55 GMT.
Station manager Nic Myatt said: "No-one was inside at the time and there were no injuries." The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Cirque le Soir, a basement venue, describes itself as "London's most A-list club and decadent circus".
Entertainers perform on four stages at the nightclub, a popular venue for celebrities, with minimum spends starting "from as little as £100 per head" for a party of 500.
London Fire Brigade said it managed to contain the fire so it did not travel to the restaurant and offices above it.
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More than 50 firefighters have tackled a blaze at a Soho nightclub.
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Autumn Veatch had been on a small plane with her step-grandparents which crashed in the North Cascades National Park in Washington state.
She is being treated in hospital, but has no life-threatening injuries.
It is not known what happened to Autumn's step-grandparents, whom she attempted to pull from the wreckage.
Autumn's father, David, told reporters outside a hospital in the town of Brewster that his daughter was exhausted, but doing remarkably well.
He said she was able to joke with him about all the survival shows they watched together on television, according to the Associated Press news agency.
"She's just an amazing kid,'' he said. "There's more to her than she knows.''
Transport authorities said the Beech A-35, which was registered to Autumn's step-grandfather, left Kalispell in Montana at around 13:00 on Saturday.
It was due to land in Lynden, Washington, later on Saturday and family members raised the alarm when there was no sign of the plane.
Autumn left the scene of the crash after a day and followed the river, via a trail, downstream to the nearest road, family friend Santina Lampman told the Seattle Times.
A passing motorist spotted her on Monday and took her to the town of Mazama, where she received medical attention before being taken to hospital.
Doctors say she is suffering from dehydration and a treatable kind of muscle tissue breakdown caused by exercise without food or water, but that she is expected to make a full recovery.
"It's a miracle, no question about it," Lt Col Jeffrey Lustick of the Civil Air Patrol told reporters. "Moments of joy like this can be hard to find."
The plane's wreckage has not yet been found but the search was due to resume again on Tuesday.
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A 16-year-old girl has been found after hiking to safety from the scene of a plane crash in a mountainous area of the north-western US.
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It will allow the government to borrow additional money by selling bonds to pay for a large chunk of its expenses.
The approval comes amid fears that Japan's economy may be heading towards a recession.
The opposition had previously delayed the bill, demanding that the government call for elections first.
On Friday, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the parliament, paving the way for snap elections to be held next month.
In a separate move, Japan's government warned that the economy is showing "signs of weakness", adding to concerns about the health of the world's third-largest economy.
It said that industrial production is falling and exports continue to remain weak due to slowing global demand.
It added that private consumption and business investment also remain subdued.
Japan's economy shrunk 0.9% in the July to September quarter, from the previous three months, and there are fears it may contract further in the current quarter.
"Concerning short-term prospects, weak movements would remain for the time being," the Cabinet Office said in its monthly report.
This is the fourth successive month that Japan has lowered its assessment of the economy, the longest such streak since the 2008 - 2009 global financial crisis.
One of the big concerns among policymakers in Japan has been continued deflation, or falling consumer prices, in the country.
That has hampered their efforts to boost domestic consumption as consumers tend to put off purchases in hopes of getting a better deal later on.
Consumer prices in Japan fell 0.1% in September, from a year earlier, the fifth straight month of decline.
The government said that it "strongly expects the Bank of Japan to continue powerful monetary easing" to help fight deflation.
Meanwhile, Shinzo Abe, the leader of the main opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party, has said the central bank needed to set an inflation target of 3% instead of its current 1% goal to help revive growth in the economy.
Mr Abe, who's party is widely expected to win a snap election, has said that if elected, he will put pressure on the bank to ease its policies further and has called for it to print "unlimited yen" to help fight deflation.
His comments have had an impact on the financial markets.
The yen has fallen to its lowest level against the US dollar in six-and-half-months. It was trading close to 80.97 yen against the US dollar in Asian trade.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 2.2% to 9,024.16 points.
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Japan's lawmakers have approved a crucial bill that will ensure that the government does not run out of money at the end of this month.
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The base, near Albrighton, is home to the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering.
Its future was put in doubt after the government announced last year that RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire would open a training college in 2013.
The RAF said working with private firms could help Cosford survive.
Station Commander Jamie Johnston said: "We already have trained some elements of British industry.
"Industry are finding it harder to find trained people and it's expensive to train people. It makes sense to look at how we can do that in a smarter way."
RAF Cosford is estimated to contribute about £70m a year to the local economy.
The government has said the base could be used by soldiers returning from Germany, although that is unlikely to happen until 2020 at the earliest.
Shropshire councillor Malcolm Pate said it made sense to look at different ways to secure the base's future.
Mr Pate said: "Given the technical expertise that's at RAF Cosford, I think there's a great opportunity for Cosford to have a large income stream by selling its expertise to local companies and private business."
The government has revealed that a six-year review into the move of aeronautics training from Cosford to St Athan in south Wales cost taxpayers £150m.
Station Commander Johnston described it as a "large sum of money" and said the military had a duty to deliver best value for money for taxpayers.
Plans to move the training college were scrapped two years ago, news of which was welcomed by local business leaders, councillors and Conservative MP for the Wrekin Mark Pritchard.
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RAF Cosford in Shropshire could sell its training expertise to the business community if the government moves its defence operations.
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The will was filed at Manhattan Surrogate court in New York earlier this week leaving instructions from the pioneering rapper, also known as MCA.
It read: "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes."
Yauch died of cancer in May aged 47.
His will leaves his $6.4m (£4.1m) estate to his widow, Dechen Yauch, and their 13-year old daughter, and gives Dechen the right to sell and manage his artistic property as the executor of the estate.
The phrase "or any music or any artistic property created by me" was added in handwriting, according to Rolling Stone magazine which has seen a copy of the document.
Yauch founded the Beastie Boys with rappers Ad-Rock and Mike D in the 1980s, going on to have a string of hits including Fight for Your Right (to Party) and Sabotage.
He was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland in 2009 and underwent surgery and radiation therapy, which delayed the release of their latest album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.
Corporations have regularly used the images of deceased musicians, celebrities and historical figures in their advertisements, such as Apple's 1997 Think Different campaign featuring John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi.
This week the remaining members of the Beastie Boys took legal action against US energy drink company Monster over allegations of copyright infringement.
They lodged papers in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, claiming executives have been using their tracks in a promotional video and downloadable audio file without their permission.
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Late Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch has used his will to stop people from using his music or image in advertising.
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Simon, who previously worked for Renault, Ferrari and governing body the FIA, had been with Honda since they announced their return to F1 in 2013.
Simon is on gardening leave from his position and a Honda spokesman confirmed the 58-year-old's contract would end "some time this year".
He refused to comment on reports Simon left as his ideas were being ignored.
Honda has struggled since it returned to F1 with McLaren in 2015 and the Japanese company's programme for this year had a dismal start in last week's first pre-season test.
The company used at least five engines in the course of four days at Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as a series of reliability problems restricted running.
Honda F1 boss Yusuke Hasegawa admitted he "worried" about whether the company could solve a problem that led to an engine failure before the start of the season in Australia on 24-26 March.
And McLaren racing director Eric Boullier admitted that the situation was "not good enough".
Boullier added: "There is a bit more work to be done in Japan to investigate why we had those issues: issues that we absolutely did not expect to have - and for sure neither did Honda.
"It is fixable, but it was not the plan to have these issues. They are not really serious, as there are no fundamental issues with the design."
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French engine expert Gilles Simon has left his role as a consultant to Honda's struggling Formula 1 programme.
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When the dumbfounded PCSOs asked what was going on, the octogenarian replied: "I couldn't fit it in the car."
The man went on to say he was helping clear the house of a late relative who had collected stuffed animals.
An Altrincham Police spokeswoman said the reptile in question dated back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the 1900s.
While the crocodile clearly was not going anywhere fast, the PCSOs were certainly pretty snappy when it came to posing for a picture.
And there were no crocodile tears for the animal's owner either, as they helped him on his way down Navigation Road.
The three officers are bracing themselves for a host of Crocodile Dundee jokes down the station after breaking the cardinal rule of "never smile at a crocodile".
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Three police community support officers were in for a shock while on patrol in a leafy Greater Manchester suburb - an old man carrying a giant crocodile.
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The TUC said its research showed top executives receive a year's worth of the minimum wage in just one day.
It said the average FTSE 100 boss was paid 123 times the average full-time salary, and called for "reality in boardrooms".
A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said she had highlighted action was needed on executive pay.
The TUC research indicated the median pay award, discounting pensions, of a major FTSE 100 director soared by 47% in the five years to 2015, to £3.4m.
That compares with what the union body says was a 7% increase for average wages during the same time frame.
It took Sir Martin Sorrell of advertising giant WPP, the UK's highest paid chief executive, less than 45 minutes to earn what an average worker receives in a year, the TUC added.
"We're seeing a growing disconnect between Britain's boardrooms and shop floors when it comes to pay," the TUC's Deputy General Secretary, Paul Nowak, told the BBC.
Speaking ahead of the TUC annual conference in Brighton he added: "Over the last five years, Britain's bosses have seen their pay rise by nearly 50%.
"And at the same time, ordinary working people have seen real terms pay freezes, and we think that's unfair, it's not right, and it's not sustainable in the long term for the health of the economy."
Meanwhile, the TUC's general secretary Frances O'Grady, called on the prime minister to "deliver on her promise to put workers on company boards".
She added: "This would inject a much-needed dose of reality into boardrooms and help put the brakes on the multimillion pay packages that have damaged the reputation of corporate Britain."
As well as promising to put workers on boards, Theresa May has proposed making shareholder votes on executive pay binding, rather than advisory.
The prime minister has also said she wants more transparency about bonus targets and for companies to reveal the ratio between chief executive pay and that of its average worker.
In a speech to the G20 group of major economic nations last week, she said: "To restore greater fairness, we will bring forward a consultation this autumn on measures to tackle corporate irresponsibility, cracking down on excessive corporate pay and poor corporate governance, and giving employees and customers representation on company boards."
Professor Andre Spicer, from the Cass Business School which is part of City, University of London, says some firms are already coming under pressure to curb high managers' pay.
He told the BBC: "We're beginning to see disquiet amongst investors at the moment so there's been pushback amongst big executive pay deals at places like Deutsche Bank, Burberry and a number of organisations.
"So investors are beginning to become fed up with this. It's likely that we're beginning to see questioning of this widespread practice, that CEOs need to be paid a lot to perform well."
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The pay of directors' at FTSE 100 firms has reached "stratospheric" levels, according to a trade union body.
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David Obaze, 25, was fined A$3,000 (£1,643) after pleading guilty to fixing three semi-professional games in the Victoria Premier League.
Obaze is one of four Britons, all of whom played for VPL side Southern Stars, charged with corruption.
The four were handed life bans by world governing body Fifa last year.
Defender Reiss Noel and goalkeeper Joe Woolley were convicted and fined in December for throwing games.
A fourth Briton, Nicholas McKoy, 24, has also entered a guilty plea and is scheduled for a hearing in September.
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A third British footballer has been convicted by an Australian court of helping fix matches for a global betting syndicate.
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Ferguson retired in 2013 as the club's most successful manager.
The 74-year-old Scot had stayed away from Carrington since then.
"He had not been back since he left, but I brought him back to be with his people," Mourinho told the United We Stand fanzine (subscription required).
"I wanted the players to see the big man and for me and him to share some minutes and have lunch together. I enjoyed it, he enjoyed it."
In his 26 years at Old Trafford, Ferguson led United to 13 league titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups.
"I'm the type of person who does not see ghosts. I respect the past and I know he loves the club," said Mourinho, who was appointed in May as the third manager to succeed Ferguson after David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.
"We have good relations and I know this is his house.
"When he wants to come here, to the dressing room, to see the players train, he knows he is more than welcome."
Mourinho also said there was more expected of teenage forward Marcus Rashford in the current campaign after the 19-year-old's successful breakthrough last season.
"Last season there were no senior players on the bench waiting for him to make a mistake. The choice was Rashford or Rashford," he added.
"The situation is different this season. The number of injuries is smaller. The expectations about the players is higher.
"[Former United winger] Ryan Giggs' second season [1991-92] was not comparable to the season when he started. Then, in the third season, he reached the level of Giggs. It was the final explosion of Giggs. We want to play young players but sometimes in football, it is about the moment."
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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed former boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been back to the club's Carrington training ground several times this season.
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The names of 25 ministers were read out at a ceremony in Kabul presided over by Mr Ghani and government chief executive Abdullah Abdullah.
The announcement comes after tortuous negotiations between the two former rivals who agreed to work together following disputed elections last year.
The cabinet still needs to be approved by parliament.
Mr Ghani's cabinet contains three women, for the portfolios of women's affairs, culture and higher education.
As widely rumoured, his new foreign minister is confirmed as Salahuddin Rabbani, son of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani who was killed by a suicide bomber in 2011.
New heads for Afghanistan's National Bank and the NDS, Afghanistan's National Security Directorate, were also announced.
BBC Afghan's editor in Kabul, Waheed Massoud, says almost all the cabinet are new faces. Some are hardly known to the public.
Many of the new ministers are young and have not been deeply involved in the years of political fighting and war which have blighted Afghanistan's recent past, he says.
"The government will refer them to the parliament for a vote of confidence," Mr Ghani's chief of staff, Abdul Salam Rahimi, said. He did not say when the vote might be held.
The long delay in confirming the cabinet had prompted fears that the unity government might fall apart over the issue.
Mr Ghani marked his first 100 days in office last week. He was sworn in on 29 September after an election his rival accused him of winning by fraud.
The United States helped broker the unity deal.
Reuters news agency reports that the cabinet make-up reflects the two rival camps and contains "prominent ethnic and regional power-brokers".
Mr Ghani's time in office has seen a surge in Taliban attacks as militants seek to exploit the vacuum in government.
The president's biggest initiative has been to sign security agreements allowing US-led forces to end combat operations at the end of last year.
At the start of this year, Afghan forces took over full responsibility for security.
Some 13,000 mainly American soldiers remain in a training and support role, together with a few thousand US troops whose focus will be on counter-terrorist operations.
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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has unveiled his unity cabinet more than three months after he was sworn in.
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The Lesedi la Rona, almost the size of a tennis ball, was unearthed in Botswana in November.
The rough diamond is 1,109 carats and believed to be more than 2.5 billion years old.
It had been expected to sell for more than £52m ($70m) but the highest bid was about £45m ($61m).
The auction at Sotheby's was the first time a rough diamond of such a size has gone on public sale.
Why have so many huge diamonds been found recently?
The auction house had called its discovery "the find of a lifetime" and earlier said that "every aspect of this auction is unprecedented".
The Lesedi la Rona, which means "our light" in the Tswana language spoken in Botswana, was discovered by Lucara Diamond Corp's Karowe mine.
After it failed to sell, the Canada-based company - which has retained possession of the diamond - saw its stock fall more than 14% on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
According to a study by the Gemological Institute of America, the rough diamond's colour and transparency "exemplify" type IIA diamonds.
Stones in this group are said to be "the most chemically pure and often show extraordinary optical transparency".
In terms of its size the rough is exceeded only by the Cullinan Diamond, mined in South Africa in 1905 and presented to King Edward VII.
That 3,106-carat diamond was cut into nine stones, many of which are in the British Crown Jewels.
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The world's largest uncut diamond has failed to sell at a London auction after bids did not reach the minimum reserve price.
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China calls the island Yongxing and has been building up a settlement there for the last two years.
The school is expected to serve just 40 children, whose parents all work on the tiny island.
Last month, Chinese and Vietnamese ships clashed over a drilling rig that China has placed near the islands.
Beijing claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea that covers areas other South East Asian nations say are their territory.
The issue has been rumbling in recent years amid an increasingly assertive stance from China over its claims.
This is the latest construction project on the island of Yongxing.
There is already a hospital, a library and an airport. It also has mobile telephone coverage.
China has been building there for the last two years, ever since it announced that the tiny settlement was a city, the administrative centre for a vast swathe of the South China Sea.
The school will teach the children of the island's growing population, mostly made up of soldiers and construction workers.
But it has a wider significance: it helps cement China's territorial claims in the area.
Others may have competing claims - but those will be hard to enforce as China already has a growing presence there.
Earlier this month, the UN said it was willing to mediate between China and Vietnam in the dispute.
Beijing claims almost the entire sea, based on a mid-20th Century map with a line apparently delineating Chinese territory, and vague historical claims going back more than 1,000 years.
Vietnam says it has controlled the Paracels for centuries.
Last month China's decision to move the rig sparked anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam, with mobs attacking factories and businesses.
The Philippines is also in a territorial dispute with China and is in the process of taking China to a UN court over its territorial claims.
It has also recently signed a new security deal with the US which would allow an expanded US troop presence, in a move seen as linked to Manila's deteriorating ties with Beijing.
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China says it will build a school in the disputed Paracel Islands, boosting its presence in waters also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
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Stroud also remains a Conservative minority, while in Cheltenham the Liberal Democrats kept a majority rule.
The leader of Cheltenham's Conservatives, Rob Garnham, narrowly lost his seat to the Liberal Democrats, in a result that required a recount.
One of the country's youngest councillors was elected in Stroud.
In Gloucester, voters were deciding on 15 seats in the city.
Deputy council leader Jennie Dallimore held her Podsmead seat for the Conservatives, where she doubled her majority.
Stroud continues to be run by a Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat alliance.
Conservative Paul James, leader of Gloucester City Council, said it was a "big achievement" to defend the group's eight seats from the 15 being contested.
Overall the council is made up of 18 Conservative, nine Labour and nine Liberal Democrat seats.
The leader of the Liberal Democrat group in the city, Jeremy Hilton, said the council was balanced but it would require "a lot of close co-operation between the three groups" to do the best for Gloucester.
In Stroud, where a third of seats were up for election, the council is now made up of 22 Conservative, 20 Labour, six Green Party and three Liberal Democrat seats.
It meant an overall gain of one Conservative seat, three Labour seats and one Green seat and a loss of two Liberal Democrat.
Two seats on the council were vacant and one Independent candidate defected to the Conservatives.
One of the country's youngest councillors was elected in the Stroud district, when 20-year-old Tory Tim Williams won the seat for Bisley.
He said he would continue to work on his parents' farm while carrying out his duties.
In Cheltenham, the leader of the Conservatives, Rob Garnham, narrowly lost the Park ward seat to Max Wilkinson of the Liberal Democrats, in a result which needed a recount.
Overall the Liberal Democrats gained one seat and now have 24.
The Conservatives remain with 12 seats, People Against Bureaucracy remain with four seats, and one Independent seat was lost.
Turnout in Cheltenham was 37%.
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Gloucester remains a Conservative minority administration after every party held their seats in the local elections.
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The 51-year-old Welshman was only appointed in May, but the club are 16th in the table after Saturday's 4-0 home defeat by Swindon Town.
Saunders lost 11 of his 20 league games in charge, and the Spireites are only four points above the relegation zone.
Chairman Dave Allen said: "We will not be rushed into making a decision on a new manager."
Chesterfield's last league victory was a 3-0 win over Southend on 20 October, and they have lost their last four games.
Saunders succeeded Paul Cook as Spireites manager, signing a two-year contract.
Cook had guided the Derbyshire side to the League One play-offs, where they lost to Preston, before leaving to take over at Portsmouth.
Former Wales international Saunders had previously managed Wrexham, Doncaster Rovers and Wolves, and ended last season in interim charge of Crawley Town, but was unable to stop them being relegated to League Two.
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League One side Chesterfield have parted company with boss Dean Saunders after just six months in charge.
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Brookfield Renewable UK applied to develop a site at Larbrax, near Leswalt in Wigtownshire.
Dumfries and Galloway Council's landscape architect objected to the plans, claiming it would have an adverse visual impact on the surrounding coastal area.
Scottish Natural Heritage also raised "significant and serious concerns".
A spokesman for Brookfield Renewable UK said: "It is disappointing that the Dumfries and Galloway planning committee have failed to recognise both the many positive long-term economic benefits the Larbrax Wind Farm would bring to the Wigtownshire area, and also the limited effects of the proposal.
"We appreciate that there is frustration locally following the decision and we would like to thank local residents and businesses for the time and support that they have afforded the project over the last three years.
"We maintain our position that this is an acceptable and beneficial scheme and we will now carefully consider our next steps."
Meanwhile, a separate proposal for a wind farm at Gass Farm, north-east of Glenluce, has been approved.
Councillors backed WilloWind's plans for the nine-turbine development, subject to strict conditions.
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Plans to build eight new wind turbines in the far south-west of Scotland have been rejected by councillors.
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The seventh seeds beat three-time mixed doubles winners Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia 21-18 21-16 in Birmingham on Friday.
It means the Adcocks become the first British semi-finalists in the competition since 2008.
"We've broken the quarter-final curse that we've had for the last couple of years," said Chris Adcock.
The husband-and-wife pair will meet fifth seeds Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen in the semi-finals on Saturday (12:00 GMT), with the match live on the BBC Red Button.
"We've always had that belief in ourselves," said Gabby Adcock. "We are up there and beating the leading pairs."
Chris Adcock added: "To be playing on the Saturday and not watching on television is a great feeling.
"We've gradually played better as the tournament has gone on and right now we're over the moon to play in the semis of our favourite event. We are a bit overwhelmed but it's an amazing feeling."
Earlier, England's Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the men's doubles.
The pair lost 21-17 22-11 to world number ones Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong of Korea.
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British duo Chris and Gabby Adcock have reached the All-England Championships semi-finals for the first time.
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The UNHCR says it has accounted for 509,559 refugees so far, primarily in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, and that many more are yet to come forward.
More than 2m people are also thought to be internally displaced within Syria.
Meanwhile, a UK-based activist group says rebels led by an Islamist faction have seized an army base near Aleppo.
A video posted online on Monday showed rebels overrunning the Sheikh Suleiman base near the key northern city of Aleppo and seizing military vehicles.
The base is now fully under the control of rebels led by the Islamist al-Nusra Front, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Correspondents say the sprawling base was the only significant government facility remaining in a broad stretch of countryside west of Aleppo.
Western nations have expressed concern at the role of Islamist groups like the al-Nusra Front in the insurgency in Syria.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton designated the al-Nusra Front a foreign terrorist organisation, freezing any assets its members may have in US jurisdictions.
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The designation is largely symbolic because the group is not thought to have holdings or support in the United States, but officials hope the penalties will encourage others to take similar action and discourage Syrians from joining.
Activists also reported continued government bombardment and fighting in outlying areas of the capital Damascus, which has seen fierce clashes in recent weeks.
The UNHCR says Lebanon is playing host to most refugees, with 154,387 Syrian refugees either registered or in the process of being registered there.
Jordan has received 142,664, while there are in 136,319 in Turkey, 64,449 in Iraq and 11,740 in North Africa, the agency says.
"Syrian refugees arriving during recent bad weather reached Jordan with soaked clothing and mud-covered shoes due to heavy rainfall," UNHCR chief spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.
"Protection teams described the night-time arrivals as fearful, freezing and without proper winter clothing," she added.
Since the beginning of November, 3,200 new Syrian refugees have been registered every day in the region, although some of these are thought to be people who had been in the host countries for some time but had not sought help.
Most Syrian refugees were currently living outside camps "often in rental housing, with host families, or in various types of collective centres and renovated accommodation," the agency said.
"The numbers of those struggling to live on the local economy and who eventually come forward to register are expected to increase," it added.
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More than half a million people have now fled the conflict in Syria to neighbouring countries, according to the UN's refugee agency.
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The incident happened on the A923 Dundee to Coupar Angus road near Tullybaccart at about 02:30.
The 18-year-old was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee but did not survive. Four other people in the car sustained minor injuries.
The road was closed for investigation work and officers are urging anyone who saw the car prior to the crash to contact them.
Diversions were in place and people travelling to the Rewind Festival in Perth were urged to allow extra time for their journey.
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A teenager has died after a one-car crash on a road north of Dundee.
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Northern Pride is billed as one of the largest LGBT festivals in the UK and is now in its ninth year, with organisers hoping to top last year's record crowd of 71,000 people over its three days.
One of the highlights is the parade from the Civic Centre to the Town Moor.
Fun fair, stalls and musical performances will feature at the festival, which is on all weekend.
Mark Nichols, chair of Newcastle Pride, said: "We keep thinking we can't grow any more, and every year it has grown.
"We started off nine years ago in Leazes Park, we outgrew that, so moved to Exhibition Park, and outgrew that, so we're now over the fence on the Town Moor."
He added: "We grew from a one-day event to a three day one three years ago just because the numbers have grown so much.
"Last year we had a total of 71,000, and 10,000 people marched in the city centre."
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Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Newcastle for the annual Pride event.
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The government wants to reverse the effects of a court ruling which expands the number of people who can claim Personal Independence Payments.
The PM's official spokesman said the welfare system was a "strong safety net for those who are in need of it".
Meanwhile, a No 10 aide apologised for any offence after saying benefits should go to "really disabled people".
No 10 policy unit head George Freeman had faced calls to apologise after saying on Sunday those "taking pills at home, who suffer from anxiety" should not receive Personal Independence Payments.
On Monday he tweeted: "Having experienced myself traumatic anxiety as a child carer living w alcohol I know all too well the pain anxiety + depression causes...
"Which is why as a former health minister and policy adviser I am passionate about supporting mental health and disability, and hugely regret if my comment about the need to prioritise the most 'serious disabilities' inadvertently caused any offence which was not intended."
The prime minister's official spokesman said the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) reforms were not about saving money and said that about £50bn a year was spent on supporting people with disabilities and health conditions.
"The government has been clear on the parity of esteem we want to see between mental and physical health," the spokesman said.
"What we are doing now is restoring the original intention of the PIPs which was to make sure there was a sustainable benefit to provide continued support to those who face the greatest barrier to living independent lives."
Pressed on whether the prime minister had a message for those who could be affected by the changes, the spokesman said "nobody is losing out".
He said a recent tribunal on assessments for PIP payments had "broadened" the criteria.
The government is proposing changes to PIPs, which replaced the Disability Living Allowance, after tribunal rulings that claimants with psychological problems who cannot travel without help must be treated like those who are blind.
The government says the rulings - if unchallenged - would have added £3.7bn to the benefits bill by 2023.
The benefit is intended to help people cope with the extra costs of living with ill health or disability and are made according to the points a person scores in an assessment of their needs.
Disabilities minister Penny Mordaunt said she was reforming the PIP payments to "restore the original aim of the benefit" to make sure support was given to the most needy.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he was "furious" about the proposed changes to PIPS, and said Labour would pressurise the government to reverse them in next month's Budget.
The Liberal Democrats said the government was using court losses "as an excuse to severely restrict disability benefits".
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Downing Street has defended plans to change access to disability benefits, saying that "nobody is losing out".
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The 1996 world indoor champion, a bowls shop retailer, will again concentrate on his own competitive play.
Gourlay said: "For me, the head coach role was only ever going to be for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
"And I don't think that anything will ever beat that experience of being coach at a home Games."
Under Gourlay, Scotland returned from the Adelaide World Championships two years ago with six medals, including three golds.
The integrated team of mainstream and para bowlers went on to win four medals, three of them gold, at Glasgow 2014.
Gourlay expressed disappointment that, despite achieving twice as many medals as they targeted at the home Games, the women's team did not win any.
He also admitted standing down was "an incredibly hard decision to make because the squad and I have grown really close over the past three years" and he would miss working with the players.
"One of the highlights for me was the recognition and respect that bowls got at the Games, not only through the media but with other sports," said Gourlay.
"We've got to be a professional sport if we want to be taken seriously and we've taken a couple of steps on the performance ladder."
Double Glasgow gold medallist and Scottish Sportsperson of 2014 Alex Marshall paid tribute to the outgoing coach and team manager Ricky Taylor.
"With David as coach, we had far more training camps, test series, seminars, team-building days, psychology sessions with the full support of the sportscotland institute of sport, and lots of practice sessions at Kelvingrove," he said.
"David and Ricky built a programme based on the team's shots on every rink in every direction at Kelvingrove.
"So, when we competed at the Games, whatever green or rink we found ourselves on, we had a great idea how it was going to perform before we went on it. That made a massive difference."
Bowls Scotland believes that Gourlay helped change the sport's image - and the culture of performance bowling - in Scotland.
Chief executive Alan McMillan added: "Whilst I am disappointed that David is leaving the post, he has left performance bowls in a better place and set a benchmark for anyone who has aspirations to become a world-class player. "
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David Gourlay is to step down from his role as Bowls Scotland head coach after leading his team to four medals at this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
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Southgate effectively used a three-man defence in the 1-0 friendly loss in Germany on Wednesday.
It is the same system used to good effect by Premier League leaders Chelsea and Italian champions Juventus.
"If he [Southgate] feels that's the right way to go, I think it's a really good way of playing," former England player Scholes told BBC's Sportsweek.
"Over the past few years we seem to copy whoever is doing well, whether it's Spain or Germany. There was a spell when academies were copying what even Belgium were trying to do.
"I think it's about time now that Gareth and his staff brought an identity to English football and the national team that we can be proud of.
"It's going to be difficult and it will take a little bit of time, but if he's playing this way and England are being successful then that's what it's all about."
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England's defeat in Germany was their first in four games under Southgate, who was made permanent boss last November after having taken over on a temporary basis following the departure of Sam Allardyce.
Southgate, who represented England as a player, was previously manager of the under-21 side, after having led Middlesbrough from 2006 to 2009.
"I really liked Gareth when I played with him," said Scholes. "He was good with the young lads... he's been successful with England which not many players have been, getting to the semi-finals of Euro 96."
Scholes said that Southgate maybe hadn't fully "earned his stripes" at domestic club or European level, but added: "We've been down the route of so-called super coaches who haven't worked.
"Now we've got a passionate man in charge, he likes to play young players which is good," added the ex-Manchester United midfielder. "Hopefully the future is bright under him."
In Germany, England were without captain Wayne Rooney, who will also be missing for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Lithuania on Sunday as he recovers from a leg injury.
The 31-year-old has struggled to claim a starting place for Manchester United this season but former team-mate Scholes still feels he has "a part to play" for both club and country.
"He's got great experience and he can pass knowledge on to young players," said Scholes.
Rooney has been linked with a return to his first club Everton this summer, but Scholes believes staying and reclaiming his place in the United side would aid his England chances.
"I don't want him to go to another English club, I hope he gets back in the United team," he added. "If he gets back in the United team then he is straight back into the England side."
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England boss Gareth Southgate must establish an identity for the national side, says Paul Scholes.
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Although it was goalless at the break, the Villagers responded to four defeats in-a-row by taking the game to the hosts.
Thompson shot just wide from Taron Hare's cross, and Danny Clarke forced Sam Johnson into a good save.
It was no surprise when Thompson gave North Ferriby the advantage in the 49th minute. The deadline-day signing marked his first goal for the Grange Lane club by rounding the goalkeeper and slotting in from a tight angle.
Gus Mafuta's late strike almost levelled the scores, but North Ferriby held on for the win.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Gateshead 0, North Ferriby United 1.
Second Half ends, Gateshead 0, North Ferriby United 1.
Connor Oliver (North Ferriby United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Substitution, North Ferriby United. Ryan Fallowfield replaces Connor Robinson.
Mitch Brundle (Gateshead) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Gateshead. Adam Wrightson replaces James Bolton.
Substitution, North Ferriby United. Ryan Kendall replaces Reece Thompson.
Substitution, North Ferriby United. Danny Emerton replaces Jake Skelton.
Goal! Gateshead 0, North Ferriby United 1. Reece Thompson (North Ferriby United).
Substitution, Gateshead. Gus Mafuta replaces Rhys Oates.
Substitution, Gateshead. Danny Johnson replaces Sam Jones.
Second Half begins Gateshead 0, North Ferriby United 0.
First Half ends, Gateshead 0, North Ferriby United 0.
Patrick McLaughlin (Gateshead) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sam Jones (Gateshead) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
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Reece Thompson's second-half goal handed North Ferriby their first ever away win in the fifth tier as they beat struggling Gateshead.
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Donnelly popped up at the back post to net a downward header from Martin Donnelly's cross in the 33rd minute.
The Reds stay eight points behind their north Belfast rivals at the summit thanks to their ninth consecutive victory over Ronnie McFall's side.
The Ports have now lost their last six Premiership outings and remain eighth.
Ronnie McFall's side have failed to score a goal in each of their nine defeats at the hands of the Reds.
Early in the game, Philip Lowry had a clear sight of goal but his weak shot was easily gathered by home goalkeeper Conor Devlin.
At the other end, David Miskelly made fine saves from Chris Curran and a Jay Donnelly header.
Donnelly's strike proved to be the winner, although both sides had chances after the interval.
Lowry's weak header was saved by Devlin, while Martin Donnelly shot tamely at Miskelly, who also denied Curran's curling effort.
Cliftonville manager Gerard Lyttle: "The aims were to get a win and keep a clean sheet and we achieved both. We controlled most of the game and I'm happy with the three points.
"You are always wary of a 1-0 lead and I was disappointed that we passed up a couple of second-half chances, but I'd take that result for the remainder of the season, no problem."
Portadown assistant manager Kieran Harding: "I thought we were outstanding today and unfortunate not to get a draw. Defensively we had a good shape about us and created some clearcut chances on the break which we would have taken on another day."
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Jay Donnelly scored the only goal as Cliftonville extended their unbeaten league run to six matches and kept up their pursuit of leaders Crusaders.
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Government figures show the resort has the most pregnant smokers per head of population.
Blackpool Council said smoking levels in the town had fallen from 33% five years ago to 27.2% now.
In 2013, it won an award for its work tackling the issue of smoking by expectant mothers.
Current NHS data shows the rate of smoking throughout pregnancy in Blackpool was more than 10 times that in Westminster (2.1%).
Blackpool Councillor Eddie Collett, the Cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "In Blackpool, smoking in pregnancy numbers are falling. We have seen significant improvement since 2010."
He said they needed to continue the positive work to ensure mothers and babies were protected from harm caused by smoking.
"There is still a way to go," he added. "However, I am pleased that we are moving in the right direction."
He said there were close links between maternity services and support services.
Two years ago Blackpool received an award on smoking cessation from the Clear Partnership, which works with local authorities and is supported by charities such as Action on Smoking and Health (Ash).
Hazel Cheeseman, director of policy at Ash, said the data came from the government's Smoking at the Time of Delivery data.
She said it was unfair to single out Blackpool as they have done some "great work" and one of the reasons the figures may seem higher is because they are so good at recording the data and "not every other part of the country is quite as scrupulous."
She added there are lower rates of smoking in more affluent areas and higher in areas that are less affluent, and although Blackpool has invested a lot they "have such a mountain to climb,"
At the time of the award, Cancer Research UK's Tobacco Control lead, Alison Cox, said: "Blackpool's excellent work will ensure that more pregnant women get the help they need."
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A councillor in Blackpool, which has England's highest smoking rate among pregnant women, has defended the town's record.
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It comes after similar concerns about pressure on bed availability at the Borders General.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway said an upsurge in demand for services was being seen across Scotland.
It said work was ongoing to improve "patient flow" to deal with the increase in hospital admissions.
Infection control manager Elaine Ross said flu and other respiratory viruses were circulating in communities across the region.
She urged everyone to play their part in tackling the issue.
"Currently, the demand on our local hospital is extreme," she said.
"Patients are arriving at our emergency department and via GP referrals with flu-like symptoms and persistent coughs that may be compounded by underlying conditions.
"The flu vaccine is effective but won't protect against other viruses that are going round."
She asked anyone with symptoms to take lots of fluid and paracetamol and to stay indoors and rest until they felt better.
"We are also urging people to not visit relatives in the hospital if they are showing any symptoms," she said.
"It is vital that we stop the spread of infection."
Interim general manager Gail Meier said staff were "working round the clock" to assess patients and determine the need for admissions.
She said they aimed to ensure that people were "seen, treated and either discharged or admitted in a timely manner".
"It is a very demanding time for the health service and I take the opportunity to urge everyone to consider the use of emergency services as it is a finite resource," she said.
"Community pharmacies and NHS 24 offer help and advice as an alternative to attending hospital.
"I would like to thank everyone for their commitment over the past few weeks and 365 days of the year for that matter. It does not go unnoticed."
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Health chiefs have warned Dumfries Infirmary is facing "extreme" demand from people with flu-like symptoms and persistent coughs.
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The car was stopped in Duncrue Street in Belfast on Wednesday evening at 20.15 GMT.
Police seized suspected herbal cannabis and cocaine thought to be worth a substantial amount.
The men, aged 28 and 31, have both been arrested for possession and supply-of-drug offences.
Det Insp Tom McClure from the PSNI's Reactive and Organised Crime Branch said: "I believe that this intervention has struck a blow to the activities of an organised gang involved in serious drug criminality."
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Police say the arrests of two men following the seizure of drugs from a car in Belfast have dealt a blow to organised crime.
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38916805
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Root, 25, made his Notts debut in 2016 and his breakthrough came this season when he made 107 from 93 balls against Warwickshire in the One-Day Cup.
Bowler Luke Fletcher has also signed a new two-year deal at Trent Bridge.
Fletcher, 28, was struck on the head while bowling at Edgbaston in July - an injury that ended his season.
Before the incident, he took 36 wickets at 22.44 to help Notts move clear at the top of County Championship Division Two.
"It's a well-deserved contract for Luke because of what he has done in the last 12 months," said Notts head coach Peter Moores.
"He's gone away and looked quite hard at what he can do to get himself into the team.
"We have seen the results of that in the way he bowled in the first part of the County Championship."
Root came through the Yorkshire Academy before being released in 2011 and joining the MCC Young Cricketers.
He is now a regular in white-ball cricket for Notts and Moores wants him to push for a place in the four-day team.
"He's been an effective player for us, particularly in one-day cricket," Moores continued.
"We're looking for him to now push on in both white and red-ball cricket after working very hard for this opportunity."
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Billy Root, the younger brother of England captain Joe, has signed his first professional contract, agreeing a two-year deal with Nottinghamshire.
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The office building had been owned by the Royal London Mutual Insurance Society but was put on the market for £40m in October.
The Grade I listed property has the two famous Liver Birds on its roof.
Along with the Cunard and Port of Liverpool Buildings, it is one of the Three Graces on the city's waterfront.
The 330,000 sq ft (31,000 sq m) building is currently home to companies including ITV and HSBC.
Thomas Landschreiber, chief investment officer of Corestate, said the company is looking to "invest significant funds to maintain and strengthen this city-building office building in the long term".
"As a new owner of this emblematic building, we appreciate its heritage and its importance to the people of Liverpool," he added.
Source: Museum of Liverpool
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Liverpool's iconic Royal Liver Building has been sold for £48m to Luxembourg-based real estate investment manager Corestate Capital Holding.
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Mr Potts, who started his Tesco career at age 16 and rose to become retail director in the UK and chief executive of its Irish businesses, will take the helm on 16 March.
He takes over from Dalton Philips, who said in January he would leave the troubled supermarket after five years in charge.
The chain is battling falling sales.
It has been criticised for being slow in moving into the convenience store sector and setting up an online operation.
Current Morrisons chairman Andrew Higginson was previously the finance director at Tesco and worked with Mr Potts there for 15 years. He said was "delighted" by the appointment.
"David is the best retailer I have worked with in 25 years in the industry. Having worked alongside him for 15 years, I know he will bring to Morrisons a focus on the customer, a track record of delivery, flair, talent, and immense energy to his new role," he added.
Morrisons is being squeezed between the higher end of the market and the discount supermarkets chains.
The Bradford-based company reported a 3.1% drop in like-for-like sales in the six weeks to 4 January, and said it would close 10 loss-making stores this year.
Mr Potts will be tasked with returning the company to growth.
He said it "was an honour to have been selected".
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Morrisons has named former Tesco director David Potts as its new chief executive.
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31618375
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The Queensferry Crossing had been expected to open at the end of 2016 but there are fears that adverse weather conditions may delay its completion.
Transport Scotland said the contractor was working to ensure the £1.35bn bridge was open "as soon as possible".
The Scottish Conservatives said any delay would be of "serious concern" to commuters.
In February, the national transport agency said the project was scheduled to finish "on time and under budget".
But in the wake of newspaper reports that the opening of the bridge could be delayed, they would not name a completion date.
Nicola Sturgeon is to field a question on the matter on Thursday, with Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton lodging a query about the opening date at first minister's questions.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "As previously stated the contractor, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, is making every effort to open the bridge as soon as possible, despite the challenge that the weather presents."
Alex Johnstone, transport spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said the government "needs to be open" so commuters know when the bridge will open.
"Ministers weren't slow to celebrate the bridge coming in under budget, and have said for some time that it is on schedule," he said.
"The public will expect them to be equally open when things aren't going to plan."
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The Scottish government has been urged to confirm when the new Forth bridge will open.
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36468779
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Barclay suffered a shoulder injury in Scotland's 22-16 defeat by France on 12 February and came back to his Welsh region for a medical appraisal.
Pivac said the signs were promising after a scan on the injury.
"It was a good scan. He's getting treatment so fingers crossed he will be right for the Welsh Test," said Pivac.
"He goes back to Scotland now and they will be in charge of his recovery from here. It will be their call.
"But certainly it was nowhere near as serious as first thought."
Scotland are already without captain Greig Laidlaw (ankle) and number eight Josh Strauss (kidney) who have both been ruled out of the tournament.
There are also concerns over flanker John Hardie and hooker Fraser Brown who both suffered blows to the head in Paris.
And wing Sean Maitland was injured on Friday evening in Saracens' defeat by Gloucester in the Aviva Premiership.
A Welsh player who could be involved in Murrayfield - wing Steff Evans - scored the Scarlets' opening try in their 42-7 Pro12 win against Zebre.
Evans has not featured for Wales so far in the Six Nations, and impressed Pivac with his commitment against the Italian side.
"Steff was itching to get a run and he got his hands on the ball out there. He will be better for that," added Pivac.
"Tonight's game was important for him, to get a blow-out.
"He has been in camp and training well and really enjoying it by all accounts.
"He will be happy with that 80 minutes under his belt."
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Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac is hopeful John Barclay will be fit to play for Scotland against Wales in the Six Nations on 25 February.
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Robert Dick was born in Tullibody, in 1811 and was apprenticed to a local baker after leaving school, aged 13.
But he began to study in his spare time, eventually becoming a world-renowned expert on the botany and geology of Caithness.
His achievements are being marked by the Tullibody History Group.
The group said the event would look at the legacy of a "remarkable, entirely self-taught man".
Despite a relatively humble upbringing - the son of an excise officer - his achievements were noted by some of the most prominent scientists of the day.
Sir Roderick Murchison of the British Association of Scientists was said to have remarked about him: "I found to my humiliation that this baker knew more of botanical science - aye - 10 times more than I did."
And the well-known naturalist Hugh Miller, who received many fossils from Dick, wrote that "he has robbed himself to do me service".
In 1863, Dick had to sell part of his geological collection, which is now in the National Museums Scotland.
He continued his research, but in August 1866 he collapsed while gathering specimens in a quarry. He never recovered fully and died four months later.
The only memorial to him is in Thurso Cemetery, the Tullibody History Group said.
Members of the group hope to erect a new memorial to the man to mark the bicentenary of his birth this year, as well as publishing a book about his life.
An event on 27 August at the Tullibody Heritage centre would give a "fascinating insight into an unusual man", the group added.
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The life of a 19th Century Clackmannanshire baker who went on to become a world authority on botany is to be celebrated.
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That was better than the 3% pace that economists had been expecting and follows the 4.6% growth rate recorded in the April-June quarter.
Strong export growth and higher government spending helped to boost growth in the third quarter.
In a sign of confidence in the US recovery, on Wednesday the Federal Reserve ended its stimulus scheme.
The fall in the unemployment rate to a six-year low has helped to boost that confidence.
"Today's number represents a return to a healthy-looking trend. The most recent IMF forecasts suggest the US economy will grow 3.1% next year and 3.0% in 2016, and these could be revised further upwards in the coming months," said Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers.
The report was the first of three estimates of gross domestic product, so the figure could be revised up or down, over the coming months.
Growth was lifted in the third quarter by a sharp increase in government spending, which itself was boosted by a surge in defence expenditure.
Exports were another area of strength, they rose at an annual rate of 7.8%.
But there will be a question over whether that pace can be maintained as important export markets for the US are struggling.
Growth in many European countries is stagnant and the Chinese economy is slowing down.
Consumption growth was relatively weak in the third quarter, running at an annual rate of 1.8%, but economists expect that to improve.
"Conditions are in place for a pick-up in the pace of consumption growth," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.
"Real personal disposable incomes increased by a healthy 2.7% in the third quarter and, with the prospect of further big gains in employment and the impact of the slump in energy prices, real incomes should enjoy an even bigger gain in the fourth quarter."
Overall it has been a volatile year for US growth data.
In the first quarter the economy contracted at an annual rate of 2.1% after severe weather hampered economic activity.
But the second quarter saw a rebound, growing at an annual pace of 4.6%.
Taken together the latest two quarters are the strongest consecutive quarters of growth since the second half of 2003.
On Wednesday the US Federal Reserve announced the end of its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus programme.
QE started in November 2008 amid the financial crisis and fears that the US, and the rest of the world, might be facing another great depression.
Since then the Fed has bought $3.5 trillion of US government debt and bonds created out of home loans or mortgages.
It began to phase out the scheme last year and a fall in unemployment to 5.9% has encouraged the Fed to end it altogether.
However, interest rates will remain at a record low for a "considerable time" according to the US central bank.
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The US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the July-September quarter, the Commerce Department has said.
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The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations have their spending level dictated by the Barnett formula.
Under it, extra funding or cuts for England has an affect on the other nations, dependent on their population size and the powers devolved to them.
Stormont's finance committee says parts of the formula could be more open.
That could include requiring the Treasury to publish data upon which Barnett-related decisions are based.
As an example, the committee pointed to the initial Treasury decision to classify infrastructure spending on the London Olympics as having UK-wide rather than England-only benefits.
That meant there were was no so-called consequential spending for the devolved governments.
The devolved nations did eventually get extra spending, but only about £30m rather than the £330m they thought they were due.
Some expert witnesses suggested that an independent body, such as the Office for Budget Responsibility, should be given an oversight role.
Prof Gerry Holtham, who produced a report on funding and financing in Wales, told the committee that Northern Ireland would benefit from the formula "being put on a proper statutory basis with an element of independence from Treasury introduced".
The committee also said that the executive should take "pre-emptive measures" for the event that the government decides to dispense with or alter the Barnett formula.
It said this could include piloting a new needs-based formula and developing a "fully considered position" on what arrangements will be in Northern Ireland's best interests.
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The finance ministers of the devolved UK administrations should present joint proposals for improving the way they are funded, a Stormont committee says.
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The Stagecoach 585 service and the 4x4 crashed near the Rowan Tree restaurant, north of Ardrossan, at about 14:15.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has declared the scene a major incident. Two air ambulances attended, along with specialist trauma teams.
The road was closed while emergency crews dealt with the crash.
Police Scotland said: "At around 1415 hours on Monday 21 March, police and emergency services responded to reports of a serious road traffic collision between a service bus and a 4x4 vehicle on the A78, north of Ardrossan, close to the Rowan Tree Restaurant.
"There have been 12 people injured as a result of this incident. One person has been pronounced dead at the scene of the incident.
"Two people have been taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital by air and by road ambulance. Nine others have been treated at the scene or transferred to Crosshouse Hospital for observations."
A spokesman for the ambulance service said: "There are 11 casualties, several of whom are in a critical condition."
A spokeswoman for Stagecoach confirmed that the 585 service from Ayr to Greenock had been "involved in a serious incident...on the A78 near Ardrossan".
She said: "Our first thoughts are with those affected by this incident.
"The safety of our passengers and staff is our highest priority and we are assisting the police fully with their investigation into the circumstances."
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: "Our crews are at the scene of a serious road collision on the A78.
"We received a call from the ambulance service at 2.15pm today and firefighters reached the incident three minutes later.
"There were six appliances at the scene and firefighters worked alongside police and paramedics to assist those involved."
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One person has died and 11 others have been injured - two of them critically - after a bus and 4x4 vehicle collided on the A78 in North Ayrshire.
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The 21-year-old scored twice for the non-league team in their FA Cup first-round defeat by Carlisle in November.
Morais has previously played in the Football League for Wycombe.
"He has scored some great goals already this season for St Albans, and we are pleased to have secured his signature," said Posh boss Grant McCann.
Media playback is not supported on this device
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Peterborough United have signed striker Junior Morias from National League South side St Albans for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half year deal.
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It is the latest development in efforts to solve the mystery of the aircraft, which went missing in March 2014.
The plane, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, had 239 people on board when it vanished.
It is presumed to have crashed into the sea after veering off course.
Three ships are searching a 120,000 sq km area of the southern Indian Ocean but have so far found no trace of the plane.
Five pieces of debris have been confirmed as definitely or probably from the plane.
Each was found thousands of miles from the search zone, though within the area models of ocean currents have indicated debris could wash up.
1. A section of wing called a flaperon, found on Reunion Island in July 2015 - confirmed as debris in September 2015
2. Horizontal stabilizer from tail section, found in Mozambique in December 2015
3. Stabilizer panel with "No Step" stencil, found in Mozambique in February 2016
4. Engine cowling bearing Rolls-Royce logo, found in March 2016 in Mossel Bay, South Africa
5. Fragment of interior door panel found in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius in March 2016
All the debris is being examined in Australia by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and other experts.
They use manufacturing marks on the pieces as well as samples of marine ecology like barnacles to help confirm whether they are likely to have come from the missing Boeing 777.
Speaking on Thursday, Malaysia's Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the team had "confirmed that both pieces of debris from South Africa and Rodrigues Island are almost certainly from MH370".
The ATSB also said both sections were "almost certainly" from 9M-MRO, which is the plane's registration.
No other 777 has ever crashed in the southern hemisphere, and none has reported missing pieces.
The ocean search, involving Australia, Malaysia and China, has scoured more than 105,000 sq km of seafloor so far, much of it areas which have never been explored before.
But the countries have agreed that in the absence of "credible new information" the search will end by the middle of the year.
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Two pieces of aircraft debris found on beaches in Mauritius and South Africa almost certainly came from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, say Malaysian and Australian officials.
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The scrapping of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (Hefcw) was announced in January.
A white paper has now been published inviting views on the proposed Tertiary Education and Research Commission.
It aims to make sure Wales has "the skills needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive economy".
The new organisation will manage funding for universities, further education colleges, research and skills.
It will also seek to improve links between higher and further education and Welsh business.
Publishing the white paper on Tuesday, Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said the aim was to make it "easier for people to learn and acquire skills throughout their careers".
"Our lives and economy are undergoing huge technological change," she said, adding: "Our national mission does not stop at the school gates.
"We need to ensure that those leaving our schools progress into a post-compulsory system which provides genuine parity of esteem for vocational and academic routes and which equips them with the skills required for sustainable and rewarding careers.
"Such a workforce will allow our economy to be more productive and competitive and our people more prosperous and secure."
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Academic and workplace skills will be "equally valued" under plans to replace the university funding body, the Welsh Government has said.
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A total of 177 roads have been lined up to be reconstructed this financial year, Surrey County Council said.
The remaining roads in the £100m project will be dealt with over the following two financial years.
Each of the roads will have "better, longer-lasting surfaces" and will be guaranteed to last 10 years.
Work planned for this year includes the Godstone and Farnham bypasses, the Scilly Isles roundabout in Esher, West Street in Dorking, and Staines Road West in Sunbury Common.
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More than 800 roads in Surrey are to be given "pothole proof" coatings over the next three years in an initiative to overhaul more than 300 miles of road.
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