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Evans lost his serve just once as he beat Italian top seed Luca Vanni 7-6 (7-5) 6-4, and he will face Israel's Amir Weintraub in the second round.
Ward sent down 16 aces in a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 win over Canada's Peter Polansky.
Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios suffered a pre-Open scare when he pulled out of his opening match at the Kooyong Classic.
The 20-year-old Australian handed Belgian David Goffin victory as he retired with a foot injury. He later tweeted that it was precautionary.
The year's first Grand Slam starts in Melbourne on Monday.
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Britain's Dan Evans and James Ward both won their opening Australian Open qualifiers to move within two victories of the main draw.
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The breaches caused rivers of mud to descend on nearby villages in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais.
Eleven people were killed and 12 are missing, presumed dead.
Samarco is owned by mining giants Vale, from Brazil, and Anglo-Australian company BHP Billiton.
Vale and BHP Billiton "made all possible effort to prioritise the needs of the people who were in the accident area" on 5 November when the dams burst, it said in a statement.
Samarco says the "preliminary commitment" it signed will guarantee payment for "preventive emergency, mitigation, repair or compensation measures".
The authorities acknowledge that the amount agreed will not be enough to cover the damage to the environment and to the local population.
"This is only a first instalment," state prosecutor Carlos Eduardo Ferreira Pinto told O Estado de Minas newspaper.
Last week, Brazilian environmental agency Ibama fined Samarco 250m reais (£43.6m; $66.3m).
Ibama described the dam bursts as "the worst mining accident in Brazil's history".
The village of Bento Rodrigues was totally destroyed. More than 500 people lost their homes there.
Samarco could face even higher fines from environmental regulators for water pollution and damage to local areas.
The mud is being tested for potential toxins from the mine.
The cause of the dam breaches has not yet been determined, but one of the structures was being extended as part of an expansion project at the time.
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Brazil mining company Samarco has agreed to pay at least 1bn reais (£170m; $260m) in compensation for the collapse of two dams it used to hold waste water from iron ore.
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First Minister Carwyn Jones and Welsh Language Commissioner Meri Huws will also join the "Making Welsh Work" conference at Bangor University.
Mr Jones called the event "timely" and said having more chances to use the language were key to learning it.
Gwynedd council and Natural Resources Wales are among those taking part.
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The best ways to encourage people to speak Welsh at work will be discussed on Friday by more than 100 delegates from organisations across Wales.
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Emergency services, including an air ambulance were called to Coate Water, Swindon at about 19:30 BST on Friday, after reports a girl had collapsed.
Wiltshire Police said the 17-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers do not believe the death to be suspicious.
A spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with the girl's family and friends at this extremely difficult time."
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A teenage girl has died after suffering a cardiac arrest in a Wiltshire park.
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Iain Henderson, Dan Tuohy and Peter Nelson are the latest to join a long-term casualty list which already includes Tommy Bowe and Jared Payne.
Darren Cave is also set to miss the back-to-back games against Toulouse.
"Despite all the injuries, I believe we have the capability to win this weekend," said Ulster skipper Best.
Ireland star Henderson could miss the remainder of this season after tearing a hamstring in Friday's Pro12 win over Edinburgh with Nelson out for the rest of the campaign after suffering a dislocated foot in the same game.
Irish international lock Tuohy will be missing for at least two months after fracturing an ankle against Edinburgh while Ireland centre Cave will be out for a couple of weeks because of a shoulder injury.
After the opening Champions Cup home defeat by Saracens, another reverse at Kingspan Stadium would leave Ulster's qualification hopes in trouble but Best is refusing to get too worried.
The Ulster captain is calling for a repeat of the kind of committed display which saw them shock Toulouse at the quarter-final stage of the 1998-99 European Cup.
Best, as a 16-year-old, was in the stands at the old Ravenhill that day and says the occasion was formative in his decision to commit all his energy to forging a professional rugby career.
"You don't remember much about games from when you were that young. You remember two or three standout moments in the game but ultimately what you remember is the atmosphere and being surrounded by screaming people.
"Those are the sort of moments that make your mind up for you that you will do anything you can to be an Ulster rugby player.
"That's what we want to create again on Friday night."
Given Ulster's injury crisis and comparatively slow start to the season, Best has acknowledged that there appears to be a sense of pessimism from the club's supporters about the remainder of this season.
"People are very down on us.
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"I've heard people saying that if Ulster lose on Friday night that we are completely gone from Europe but actually that's not the case, because we will have played only two games.
"Bath lost their first two games last year and still went through - although they were the first team to do that."
Best believes Ulster must attempt to impose their game on Toulouse early on rather than adopting a cautious initial strategy.
"We have to pick it up. We can't wait to see what Toulouse are doing.
"We have to show them from the off: 'This is what Ulster Rugby is all about'.
"Yes, we have a couple of injuries but that hasn't affected our build-up. We've got to try to force them to have to cope with us."
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Rory Best has urged Ulster not to wallow in their injury woes and instead produce a big performance in Friday's European game against Toulouse.
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Construction workers moved fast to fill the hole, which spanned a five-lane street, stretching 30 metres (98 feet) wide and 15 metres deep.
The chasm first appeared on Tuesday, 8 November, in a business district of the south-west city of Fukuoka.
No one was hurt in the collapse, but local media reported disruptions to electricity, gas and water services.
The street reopened at 05:00 Tuesday (20:00 GMT Monday), in time for rush hour.
The city's Mayor Soichiro Takashima released a statement apologising for the "great trouble", thanking workers for their efforts, and insisting that an investigation into the incident's causes would continue.
City officials have said it could have been caused by underground construction nearby.
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A busy Japanese road reopened on Tuesday, just one week after it was wrecked by a gigantic sinkhole.
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RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire was initially named after the nearby town of Stamford.
Spitfires, Hurricanes, the V-Bomber Force and Harriers have been based at the airfield. It is now home to the RAF's A4 Force and trainee pilots.
A centennial memorial has been unveiled at All Saints' Church in Wittering.
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An airfield established during World War One as a Royal Flying Corps base for anti-Zeppelin fighters has marked 100 years of active service.
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The Dungannon man, one of Ireland's most successful riders, replaces colourful Lincolnshire man Guy Martin in the Northern Ireland-based team.
Forty-year-old Farquhar first raced for the TAS-run outfit 10 years ago.
"This is really exciting and has given me a new lease of life. I am more motivated than I have ever been," said Farquhar, who has won three TT races.
"I am not jumping ship because I will still be running my Kawasaki team in the Supertwins.
"For Superstock, I will be riding a BMW with a new personal sponsor and on the back of that I have managed to get Guy Martin's Superbike ride at the TT.
"I am proud to be in this situation. It is by far the best package I have had at the start of a season.
"I am up three mornings a week to go boxing training, trying to get myself in the best possible place I can be mentally and physically."
Farquhar will partner 11-time TT winner Ian Hutchinson in the Tyco BMW outfit for the Superbike and Senior TT events after Martin opted to sit out at least the opening half of the road racing season to participate in a mountain bike challenge in North America.
Previously a Kawasaki rider for many years, Farquhar has won two Supersport TT races and the inaugural Lightweight Supertwins class and last rode for Hector and Phillip Neill at TAS Racing back in 2006.
He boasts a record 200 successes on Irish roads, making him Ireland's most successful ever national road racer.
He will compete at the Mid Antrim 150 and Tandragee 100 races in April and race in the Supertwins class, alongside Jeremy McWilliams, Danny Webb and Canadian Darren James at the North West 200 in May.
Cameron Donald will join the team for the TT, riding McWilliams's supertwin in the Lightweight class.
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Northen Ireland's Ryan Farquhar is to ride a Tyco BMW factory Superbike at this year's Isle of Man TT road races.
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Taylor, 32, registered his 17th ODI century with an unbeaten 102 as New Zealand posted 289-4.
It took him past all-rounder Nathan Astle, who made 16 one-day centuries from 1995-2007.
Seamers Trent Boult and Tim Southee then restricted South Africa to 283-9 to level the five-match series at 1-1.
Former Test captain Taylor also became the country's quickest batsman to 6,000 runs in the 50-over format as he struck eight boundaries in his 110-ball innings.
"Nath was one of my idols growing up so I was fortunate towards the end of his career and start of mine to play with him," Taylor said.
"It's a little bit embarrassing from that point of view but records are there to be broken and hopefully someone will beat mine."
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Ross Taylor became New Zealand's leading one-day international centurion as the Black Caps beat South Africa by six runs in Christchurch.
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The adaptation of books by Diana Gabaldon tells the story of Claire Randall, a WW2 nurse swept back in time from 1945 to 18th Century Scotland.
It stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan and had been available on Amazon Prime, but has now been bought up for More4.
Channel 4 said the first season would begin airing later this month.
The show has garnered fans worldwide as well as Bafta Scotland and Critics Choice awards.
It follows the story of Claire after she falls back in time to become caught up in a Jacobite Rising and the Battle of Culloden.
Diana Gabaldon said she had been influenced by her visits to the battlefield near Inverness in the writing of her Outlander books.
The US show has built its own private film studio at Wardpark in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, prompting calls to improve studio production in Scotland.
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Hit Scottish time-travel drama Outlander has been given a slot on UK television for the first time.
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Riley's comments came after referee Neil Swarbrick sent off Gareth McAuley instead of Craig Dawson during West Brom's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City.
Swarbrick has apologised for the error.
"We need to see what technology we can use to help get referees' decisions more accurate," said Riley. "Football as a whole has to look at it."
Speaking about Swarbrick's error, Riley - head of the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) - told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek: "All it takes is a split-second lapse in concentration.
"Neil had four or five elements to judge in half a second and it is that type of situation that would lend itself to technology."
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Riley said he had been to the Netherlands with PGMOL performance director Howard Webb, another former referee, to study video assistant technology used in the Dutch league.
"Technology doesn't provide a solution to everything but we can all think of case where a quick reference to a video replay would help us get the decision right," he added.
Riley also revealed that he had spoken to Swarbrick "several times" since the City-West Brom match.
"All referees want to make correct decisions and when you don't do that, you feel you've let yourself and your colleagues down," he said.
"We need to make sure the next time Neil referees, he has learned from the experience and will be a better referee because of it."
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Video technology to help referees cut out clear mistakes should be introduced in English football, says referees' chief Mike Riley.
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Researchers from the British Trust for Ornithology used data from a 12-year garden bird survey in their study.
This revealed that many blackcaps from Central Europe had shifted their winter migration, partly because of the supply of garden food in Britain.
The findings are published in the journal Global Change Biology.
"This is the first time that we've shown that feeding birds actually influences the distribution of a bird species across a whole country," lead researcher Dr Kate Plummer told BBC News.
The northern nightingale
Source: RSPB
Until the 1950s, there were hardly any records of blackcaps being in Britain in the winter, but in the past 60 years, researchers say, the number has increased "dramatically".
"We saw that both [climate change and garden feeding] were driving this shift in migration [from the Mediterranean to Britain]," Dr Plummer said.
"Where there was a reliable supply of food, blackcaps were more likely to be seen."
Throughout the 12 year period during which the observations were gathered - by more than 14,000 volunteers submitting a weekly record of the birds in their gardens - blackcaps became more strongly associated with garden food supply.
"So it looks like like they're evolving to adapt to using this big supply of winter food," said Dr Plummer.
Graham Madge, from the RSPB, told BBC News that it was only because "people take such a keen interest" and "monitor birds in these surveys, that we're able to understand the impacts we're having on birds and wildlife".
"It's positive news that blackcap numbers are increasing here, but when it comes to house sparrows and starlings, unfortunately [in these same surveys] we're seeing massive declines," he added.
As for the blackcap's preferred variety of feed - the birds appear to particularly like fats and sunflower hearts.
Follow Victoria on Twitter
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Putting out birdfeed in Britain's gardens is shifting the migration of one particular winter visitor, the blackcap, scientists say.
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Andy Clewes had the transplant in Manchester after his friend Helen Crowther agreed to become a donor.
The 46-year-old suffered chronic kidney disease since birth and was on the verge of needing dialysis treatment.
Mr Clewes and Ms Crowther, 45, are now planning "a curry and a few beers" to celebrate the successful procedure, which was carried out in January.
"I've just got so much more energy now," Mr Clewes, a radio DJ from Crewe, Cheshire, said.
"There was a time when I could sleep 23-hour days, but now I struggle to get myself off to bed.
"It's hard to describe how it feels. Every now and then you remember how lucky you are to have your mate's kidney."
Mr Clewes said the pair would like to get involved in charity work to support others in need of transplants - and may even take on an extreme challenge.
"There are a few organisations who do skydives and things like that, and I've never done something like that before," he said.
"I think it's something I'd like to look at once I'm fully recovered."
Although his strength has returned, Mr Clewes will continue to need regular check-ups and medication to prevent his body rejecting the organ.
But he added: "I'm feeling great. I'm exercising. It's really a life-changing step and I don't want to let Helen down."
Ms Crowther, a charity worker from Runcorn, met her friend at a fundraising event in 2006 and later became "best woman" at his wedding.
She said: "I think Andy's a bit worried he might now take on some of my characteristics.
"I think his wife might like that as he might start tidying up around the house a bit more.
"We met up about four weeks after the operation and just fell back into normal every day chatting really.
"We have plans to celebrate properly and knowing Andy it will probably just be a few beers and curry."
About 3,000 people have kidney transplants each year in the UK and about a third of these are from living donors.
You can find more information on the NHS Organ Donation website.
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A man who was given a kidney by his best friend says he feels "100% better" and is considering a charity skydive.
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Sidwell made 34 league appearances last season as the Seagulls returned to the top flight after a 34-year absence.
The 34-year-old joined Brighton on an initial loan deal from Stoke in January 2016, before joining the club on a free transfer ahead of last season.
"Steve has been a key member of the squad over the past 18 months," manager Chris Hughton said.
"Our fans know his qualities well, and his experience, particularly at Premier League level, will be important for us."
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Brighton midfielder Steve Sidwell has signed a new one-year contract with the newly-promoted Premier League club.
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The opening session of the Scottish Parliament was largely devoted to ceremony, including swearing in MSPs and electing the presiding officer.
Members found time to lodge 51 questions and motions - 28 of them from Willie Rennie on the China agreement.
There was controversy about the issue during the election campaign.
It emerged during the election period that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had signed the memorandum, potentially worth up to £10bn of investment, with SinoFortone and China Railway No 3 Engineering Group.
At the time, Lib Dem leader Mr Rennie called for the agreement to be torn up after a parent firm of the engineering group had been blacklisted by Norway's state pension fund over fears of "gross corruption". Fears have also been voiced about human rights abuses.
Ms Sturgeon said no firm investment plans had been made and insisted that due diligence would be carried out, although a UK advisor to the Chinese firms said specific projects had been discussed and claimed Ms Sturgeon wanted work to begin "this year".
Mr Rennie lodged a total of 28 questions, all on the topic of the China agreement and government memoranda of understanding.
He asked a series of questions about whether government officials were aware of the Norwegian blacklisting, their assessment of the firm's human rights record, what advice was taken before signing the memorandum, and whether the government would suspend the memorandum until it had investigated concerns.
The Scottish Parliament website indicated that the questions were likely to be answered on 26 May.
Ms Sturgeon has previously said that "if there were any concerns that said these were deals we should not do, then we wouldn't do them".
A number of other MSPs also lodged questions on their first day back at work after the election.
Labour MSP Neil Findlay submitted three motions, one of them on the "growing number of Scottish citizens identified as being involved in undercover policing scandals".
His motion calls on the UK government to extend the Pitchford inquiry into undercover policing into Scotland, and says that if it does not, the Scottish government should set up an inquiry of its own.
Mr Findlay also submitted a motion to welcome the verdict of the Hillsborough inquests, and another calling for directors of companies that take part in blacklisting to be tried in court.
Green MSP Mark Ruskell, who has now returned to parliament having lost his seat in 2011, lodged 13 questions on his first day back in the job.
Mr Ruskell's questions focused on a series of environmental issues, including the culling of mountain hares and the reintroduction of beavers to Scotland.
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Dozens of questions about the Scottish government memorandum of understanding with Chinese firms were lodged during the first session at Holyrood.
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It followed a huge spike in applications for the non-domestic end of the renewable heat incentive scheme.
The investigation will include a check on one in 10 of all schemes approved.
The scheme was set up several years ago to encourage domestic and business users to change to biomass heating systems, mostly wood pellets.
Industry Minister Jonathan Bell announced on Friday his intention to close it to new applications.
On Tuesday, officials told the enterprise committee that £30m would have to come out of the block grant in 2016/7 to pay for it.
The renewable heat incentive scheme applies to both home and business users.
Businesses get about £24,000 a year over a 20-year term for installing one of the renewable heat systems.
The benefits to domestic applicants are less lucrative, with an upfront payment of about £3,500 and £1,200 a year for seven years.
Mr Bell told the assembly that the chancellor had limited the amount of money being paid to Northern Ireland out of the UK pot for renewable heat, and that had led to the problem.
He said the scheme had been oversubscribed and it had created a "huge budgetary pressure" not just for his department, but for the whole of Northern Ireland.
Dr Andrew McCormick, the Department of Enterprises's permanent secretary, said there had been a need to "turn the tap off" as quickly as possible to contain the overspend.
He said it produced a "very serious financial issue" and it was the minister's "judgement that it was necessary to suspend the scheme immediately to prevent that overspend becoming even worse".
The committee was told that "whistle-blower allegations" had been received through the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister.
These have been drawn to the attention of the regulator Ofgem, which administers the scheme across the UK.
Treasury funds covered the scheme up to a certain level, but due to the spike in applications at the end of last year, there was a large funding gap which would have to be covered from the Stormont budget.
Nine hundred applications had been received over three years. In a six-week period last Autumn, a further 900 applications flooded in.
Dr McCormick said with the scheme closed to new entrants, the funding gap would reduce in future years, but would still be £11m by 2021.
Committee chair Patsy McGlone said the sudden closure of the scheme would threaten jobs and businesses.
He said one installation company believed it could cost it up to £1m and put 25 jobs at risk.
The Ulster Farmers Union told the committee that 50 poultry projects could be at risk as a result of the scheme's closure.
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An investigation is under way after allegations from whistle-blowers about the operation of a renewable energy scheme that led to a £30m overspend.
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But since 2007, when Ian Paisley agreed to share power at Stormont with Sinn Féin, the DUP has become a party of government.
When Ian Paisley became MP in 1970, he stood as a Protestant Unionist, but his party was relaunched as the Democratic Unionist Party in 1971.
The party drew support from Protestants and was fiercely opposed to any moves towards involving the Republic of Ireland in Northern Ireland affairs.
During the 1990s, the DUP pulled out of talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement in protest against the decision to invite the IRA's political wing, Sinn Féin, to enter negotiations.
The DUP benefited from growing unionist unease over power-sharing and the failure of the IRA to decommission, overtaking the Ulster Unionists at the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 2003.
Nine DUP MPs were subsequently elected.
In 2006, the party was a key player in the St Andrews' Agreement in Scotland. A year later, the party made its historic decision to share power with Sinn Féin.
Ian Paisley served as first minister until 2008 when Peter Robinson took over.
But, in the most surprising result of the 2010 General Election, Mr Robinson lost his East Belfast Westminster seat to Alliance's Naomi Long.
Regaining East Belfast is a key DUP objective in 2015, and it is one of four seats covered by an electoral pact between the DUP and UUP.
The DUP currently has eight MPs and is the fourth largest party at Westminster - a fact it highlighted when it was excluded from UK pre-election television debates.
The relationship between Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness has never appeared as friendly as that between the deputy first minister and Mr Paisley.
It continues to appear strained, notably over the issue of welfare reform.
The DUP, which holds the ministry in the Northern Ireland Executive responsible for the implementation of the bill, and Sinn Féin, whose leadership in the Republic of Ireland has championed an anti-austerity approach, seem to be at loggerheads.
It was thought a deal had been done during talks at Stormont in December 2014, but in March - on the day the final stage of the bill was due to pass through the assembly - Sinn Féin withdrew its support and the bill's passage was halted.
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For more than three decades, the Democratic Unionist Party was the natural party of protest for unionists in Northern Ireland, the outsiders who challenged the establishment Official, or Ulster, Unionists.
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The 31-year-old completed the 40km route in 44 minutes 42.99 seconds, 45 seconds quicker than defending champion Vasil Kiryienka of Belarus.
Spain's Jonathan Castroviejo was third.
It was Martin's second gold of the week in Doha, following victory in the men's team time trial in his last race for Etixx-Quick Step.
Martin will be leaving the Belgium-based side to join Katusha from 2017.
Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, who is to retire this year and was not competing in Doha, won four titles between 2006 and 2010.
"I want to be world champion every year, so I am so proud I can ride in a world champion suit from next year," said Martin. "I've missed it a lot.
"The course was made for me. I just had fun on the road."
Commonwealth time trial champion Alex Dowsett was the best of two Britons competing, finishing 12th in 46 minutes 54.07 seconds. Compatriot Steve Cummings was 25th.
The women's elite road race takes place on Saturday, with Britain's Lizzie Deignan the defending champion.
The men's elite road race is on Sunday, with Britain's Mark Cavendish among the favourites.
2010 Commonwealth time trial champion David Millar on BBC TV:
"That was a phenomenal ride. Tony Martin at his very best.
"The course was flat, there are no surprises, it's just who can hold that power for the longest time. It was the display of a world champion. Nobody could ever have come close to matching that.
"Alex Dowsett will be disappointed in finishing 12th. I think he is capable of doing better. I'm not sure if it was the heat or the distance, because he's an hour record holder and we have seen him up there before.
"But I think it's only a matter of time before we see him up there again."
Find out how to get into cycling with our special guide.
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Germany's Tony Martin won a joint record fourth men's individual time trial world title at the Road Cycling World Championships in Qatar.
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The 23-year-old Scot, who holds five outdoor and indoor British records, ran a personal best four minutes 19.12 seconds over the distance last year.
Budd's mark, set in Switzerland in 1985, is 4:17.57.
"It would be brilliant one month out from the World Championships," Muir told BBC Sport.
"To have another British record, and in the London Stadium again, would be fantastic. Fingers crossed I will be able to do something."
The world record - set by Russian Svetlana Masterkova in 1996 - stands at 4:12.56.
At last year's Anniversary Games, Muir broke the British 1500m record that had stood since Dame Kelly Holmes' gold medal-winning run in the 2004 Olympic final in Athens.
She expects her return to bring back happy memories.
"The main thing was just how loud the crowd was," said Muir.
"I am usually very focused on my race but I was just aware as I came into the final 200m of the crowd getting louder and louder. It was brilliant."
With the Anniversary Games just four weeks before Muir plans to take on a 1500m and 5,000m double at the same venue in the World Championships, it will also be a chance to maximise home advantage.
"It is really really helpful to know where the call-room, the warm-up areas, the kit drop-off and the toilets are," she added.
"Knowing that set-up is one of athletes' biggest worries going into a major championship.
"You want to have everything ready and not have to worry about anything else apart from doing the best you can on the track."
Alongside leading Britain's next generation of elite athletes, Muir is also training to become a vet.
Juggling studying and sport dates back beyond the London 2012 Games, when she organised a placement on a dairy farm so she would finish inspecting the morning milking round in time to watch the Olympic action at home in Kinross.
This year she has already squeezed in experience with the Dogs Trust and various local practices around winning 1500m and 3,000m gold at the European Indoors. The rest of the season is dedicated solely to athletics.
"After the disappointment of finishing seventh in Rio, we knew how important the indoor season was for me in the build-up to London," she added.
"We wanted to do really well there. We ticked that box pretty well and now everything is building towards London."
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Laura Muir will attempt to break Zola Budd's 32-year-old British mile record at the London Anniversary Games on 9 July.
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The rapper's announced a 17-date tour starting in Sweden in March and ending in Glasgow a month later.
She said: "It's been way too long since I've seen my European Barbz! We have more than a few surprises in store."
The 32-year-old will perform nine dates in the UK in cities including London and Birmingham, with special guest, Grammy-nominated R&B star, Trey Songz.
He said he's thrilled to be heading to Europe, adding: "The love I feel overseas is overwhelming and I can't wait to get the tour started to bring fans the best TRIGGA show possible."
Last month, Minaj apologised after the lyric video for the track Only was accused of containing Nazi imagery.
The European leg of The Pinkprint Tour is announced days after Nicki Minaj found out she was nominated for two 2015 Grammy awards - best rap song for Anaconda and best pop duo/group performance for Bang Bang with Ariana Grande and Jessie J.
Her album - also called The Pinkprint - is released next Monday.
Tickets for the UK shows go on sale at 9am on Friday 12 December.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube
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Nicki Minaj is promising fans the "biggest and best tour yet" when she heads to Europe next year.
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However, he called for thorough reconstruction of the EU in an attempt to save it.
Before Thursday's UK referendum, Mr Soros had warned of financial meltdown if Britain voted to leave.
In his latest comments, he said the effects of the decision would damage Britain.
"Britain eventually may or may not be relatively better off than other countries by leaving the EU, but its economy and people stand to suffer significantly in the short- to medium term," he wrote on the Project Syndicate website.
Mr Soros made huge profits in 1992's "Black Wednesday" by betting against the British pound as it crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
Before Friday's vote he warned of a similar meltdown, predicting a Brexit victory would send the pound down by 15-20%. In the event, sterling fell about 10% to a 31-year low.
"Now the catastrophic scenario that many feared has materialised, making the disintegration of the EU practically irreversible," wrote Mr Soros in his latest article.
"The financial markets worldwide are likely to remain in turmoil as the long, complicated process of political and economic divorce from the EU is negotiated."
He said the consequences for the economy would be comparable to the financial crisis of 2007-2008.
"After Brexit, all of us who believe in the values and principles that the EU was designed to uphold must band together to save it by thoroughly reconstructing it," he wrote.
"I am convinced that as the consequences of Brexit unfold in the weeks and months ahead, more and more people will join us."
Brexit: What happens now?
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Billionaire investor George Soros has warned that Britain's vote to leave the European Union makes the disintegration of the bloc "practically irreversible".
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The 16ft (5m) beard statue - a "symbol of wisdom and learning" - will stand on the University of Salford's campus.
Arts company Engine, who are behind the piece, said the idea came from a 1980s plan to relocate an Eastern Bloc statue of the thinker to Manchester.
Engels, who wrote The Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx, lived in the area from the 1840s onwards.
The sculpture will depict the nose and whiskers of the father of Marxist theory and be situated on the university's Peel Park campus in 2016,
It features a climbing wall at the front, stairs to the rear and a viewing platform at the top, from which climbers can admire the view across Salford.
Engine's Jai Redman said the work used Engels' "signature magnificent beard as a symbol of wisdom and learning", while the climbing aspect came from a desire to make it an "interactive piece".
"We're aren't interested in making 'a hero on horseback', [which is] something Engels would have been horrified by.
"Engels' Beard is a metaphor for how it is an effort and a struggle to pull ourselves out of ignorance [and] a direct representation of how all philosophers 'stand on the shoulders of giants'."
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
He said Engels had been chosen as "a great socialist, thinker and a philosopher, a local historical figure and a champion of the working classes", who dealt with issues still "alive and real" today.
"There is a huge issue in Salford and Manchester, where wage inequality and mass poverty is being seen on levels not experienced here since Engels' time."
The idea had come from an "audacious" plan to relocate a statue of the thinker to nearby Castlefield Basin in the mid-1980s, which "attracted broad support, but failed to materialise when no suitable sculpture could be found", he said.
The plan was documented in former Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam's book, Manchester, England, where Redman first saw it.
He said that ever since, he had been waiting for "a good opportunity" to create the statue.
Haslam said the climbing wall was "bizarre and hilarious" but appropriate as "we should not be precious about Engels".
"Engels had a sense of fun. He used to go drinking in Manchester," he said.
"Landlords knew him and his friends, and he'd play jokes and get into scrapes."
The University of Salford's art curator Lindsay Taylor said she was "delighted that even before work has begun on Engels' Beard, it has engaged public imagination".
"All great art should provoke and encourage debate. It is entirely appropriate for the university as a place of learning to be involved with commissioning new art on educational subjects."
Engine said there were no plans to create an accompanying Karl Marx beard sculpture, but added they were "approaching authorities in Germany to perhaps site the other side of his face in Munich".
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The "magnificent" beard of socialist thinker Friedrich Engels has inspired a climbing wall sculpture in Salford.
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The relegation-threatened Harriers took the lead when Keith Lowe headed in Ben Whitfield's corner, before Harry White drove in a second six minutes later.
Arthur Gnahoua added a third with a neat finish from inside the box after great midfield approach play.
Kristian Dennis pulled a goal back late on with a free-kick, but Macclesfield have now suffered four straight losses.
Kidderminster are now 23rd in the table, seven points from safety.
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Kidderminster scored three first-half goals to beat Macclesfield and make it three league wins in succession.
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The Dragons have lost their last seven in the Pro12 while defending champions Gloucester have lost successive matches in the English Premiership.
"It's a fresh challenge, we go there with nothing to lose and we'll play with no fear," said Jones.
The Dragons reached the semi-final of the competition in 2015.
Gloucester beat the Dragons 45-17 at Kingsholm in the Anglo-Welsh LV Cup semi-final in 2011, after losing 18-12 at Rodney Parade earlier in the campaign.
The English side beat Edinburgh in the final of the 2015 Challenge Cup and won all their group matches on the way to the last eight in 2016.
But Jones believes his team can rise to the challenge against a Gloucester side unbeaten in their last 15 in Europe despite the Dragons' poor form.
"We've got a terrible record of the highest number of losing bonus points in the league, but we've done well in Europe," he said.
"But they (Gloucester) are going to turn up on the back of four defeats as well. We understand that Gloucester will be favourites but we've got nothing to lose.
"Last season we went to England for the first time and won a game of European rugby (at Newcastle), we went to France and won a game of European rugby (against Stade Francais), and this year we've been to France and won (at Castres).
"So going away from home in European competition is not an issue for us."
Dragons skipper T Rhys Thomas admits the squad have to take their share of responsibility for the recent slump in results.
"It hasn't been where we want to be as a region but the players, we've had an honesty call amongst ourselves and taken a lot of ownership. We feel as though we've let everyone down," he revealed.
Gloucester have experienced Wales internationals James Hook and Richard Hibbard in their squad as well as back-rower Ross Moriarty, who scored two tries for Wales against Italy.
Dragons three-quarter Adam Hughes knows his side will have to close Hook down if they are to stand a chance of upsetting Gloucester.
"He's very dangerous with ball in hand so you never know where he's going to pass or if he's going to go on his own. You've got to stay on him and his kicking game is really good."
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Newport Gwent Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones says the region have "nothing to lose" in their European Challenge Cup quarter-final at Gloucester.
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The 34-year-old carded a three-under-par 67 to end on five under alongside American Ricky Fowler at Avenel Farm.
Kyle Stanley, 29, beat fellow American Charles Howell III on the first hole of a play-off after both shot a final-round 66 to end on seven under.
They also secured places at The Open at Royal Birkdale from 20-23 July.
"Anytime you can play in an Open, that's my favourite tournament of the year," said Laird.
"To have the chance to play it anytime is special. I've heard great things about Birkdale."
Four Open qualifying spots were on offer for the leading four players in the top 12 in Maryland who were not exempt.
South Korean Sung Kang, who finished in an eight-way tie for fifth, also qualified.
Stanley holed a putt after Howell missed from 10 feet to claim his first on the PGA Tour in more than five years.
"I'm thrilled," Stanley said. "It's a special week. I knew it was just a matter of time."
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Scotland's Martin Laird qualified for this month's Open Championship by finishing tied for third at the Quicken Loans National in Maryland.
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Tuesday's 3-2 victory at Plymouth Argyle ended an eight-game winless run and means the O's are only in the drop zone on goal difference.
"I've got to keep the boys grounded but I've let them be happy because they deserve it," he told BBC Radio London.
"I won't get carried away if we win as we're still second from bottom."
Webb, 33, is the youngest manager in the English Football League and became Orient's fourth boss of the season on 29 January.
The former Southend and Hull striker has been forced to rely on young players, with 10 of the squad at Home Park being products of the east London club's academy.
After ending a six-game losing streak in his third game in charge against Yeovil on Saturday, late goals from Gavin Massey and Sandro Semedo gave Orient their first victory since beating Crawley on Boxing Day.
"I'm new to management but I have confidence in my own ability and I know how to set up a team," Webb added.
"I know what the young players can bring; heart, passion and all the things the supporters want to see.
"It's been a long time since we've been happy after a game but we have a long way to go. There is no point in everyone saying we are playing well and have team spirit if it is only for four games."
However, the win at Plymouth has been marred by Argyle reporting O's skipper Liam Kelly to the Football Association for an alleged shove on a ball boy.
Meanwhile, defender Nicky Hunt picked up his 10th caution of the season and will miss Saturday's visit of fellow strugglers Notts County, who are managed by former O's player-manager Kevin Nolan.
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Leyton Orient boss Danny Webb wants his squad to remain focused in their League Two relegation battle after recording their first win of 2017.
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The 21-year-old has played three times for Leeds, scoring the winner on his debut against Luton Town in the EFL Cup last season.
He signed a new three-year contract at Elland Road in 2016-17.
Leeds, who have signed Manchester United left-back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on a season-long loan, have the option to recall Denton in January.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
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League Two Port Vale have signed Leeds United left-back Tyler Denton on a season-long loan deal.
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During the first half of 2015, it received the most - 759 - from German citizens with the second-highest number of 559 coming from the UK.
These requests are made under the EU "Right to be Forgotten" ruling.
It also revealed the number of content removal requests from governments, with the highest - 165 - coming from China.
Requests for content removal from other governments were relatively infrequent - the US made 11, with Germany making five, the UK and Russia two each and Austria one - bringing the total to just 186 for the six-month period covered.
Microsoft received 3,546 requests for the removal of content from individuals and complied with half of them.
The majority of requests are for the removal of links to search results on Bing, although the firm also received requests for the removal of content from other Microsoft services, including OneDrive, Bing Ads and MSN.
Such requests were made possible by a controversial ruling from the European Court of Justice in May 2014.
This allowed European residents to ask search engines to remove results for queries that included their name if the results were inadequate, inaccurate or no longer relevant.
"This new report illustrates how Microsoft strives to comply with local and intellectual property laws while adhering to our commitment to transparency and free expression," the firm said in a blog post.
At the time, search engines worried that the ruling would mean they would be inundated with requests while internet rights campaigners raised concerns that the ruling amounted to censorship.
All of the major search engines now produce regular transparency reports, partly in reaction to the revelations about government snooping from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The vast majority of requests for data come from law enforcement agencies and Microsoft also revealed the numbers of these.
It received a total of 35,228 for customer information in the first half of 2015, which is a slight increase compared to the number of requests for the second half of 2014.
The US made the most requests - 254 - while the UK was second with 183.
The vast majority - 67% - of all government requests resulted in the disclosure of subscriber or transactional data with 12% of requests rejected. In 16% of cases no data was found.
Just 3% of law enforcement requests resulted in the disclosure of user content - and all of that was done in response to a court order or warrant, Microsoft revealed.
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Microsoft has revealed for the first time how many requests it has had from members of the public wanting online content about them to be removed.
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Construction bosses at the new Queensferry Crossing have come up with a plan by using nearby cranes to install temporary toilets at the top of each of its 206m (676ft) towers.
The move has prompted onlookers to ask if they are now the highest toilets in the country.
There are about 150 people working on each tower and, of those, a maximum of 12 people work at the very top of the tower at any given time.
Each tower has a barge at the base with a number of male and female toilets and washrooms and canteens.
The additional temporary toilets on the tower were installed when the towers got to about 120m (394ft) above sea level.
Robert Adam, aerial photographer with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) - the new public body formed by bringing together Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland - was flying over the Firth of Forth recently when he spotted the toilets hundreds of feet above the water.
He said: "The aerial survey team at HES record all aspects of the historic landscape, from architecture to archaeology.
"We've been recording the new Forth crossing since they began building it, and this isn't the first toilet we've photographed - but it's probably the highest."
A Transport Scotland spokesman said the Queensferry Crossing was one of the biggest construction projects Scotland had ever seen, directly employing over 1,200 people.
He said: "When open to traffic at the end of this year, it will be tallest bridge in the UK and the longest bridge of its type in the world.
"The project is on time and under budget thanks in large part to the efforts of a workforce facing often extreme weather conditions at great heights over the Firth of Forth.
"Taking all this into account, providing a toilet only seems fair.
"In all seriousness, health and safety is the absolute priority on the project and a fundamental part of that is providing appropriate welfare facilities for workers whatever their location."
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What do you do when you are building the highest bridge in the UK but the tower you are working on gets so tall it would take you ages to get to the toilets at the bottom?
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The latest investment round now sees the company, a rival to Whatsapp, valued at $1.4bn (£767m).
China's Tencent and Taiwan's Foxconn were the biggest investors in the latest cash injection.
The tie-up with Tencent - the company behind China's messenger giant WeChat - is seen as key to expanding the range of services on Hike.
Hike is a messenger app similar to many others, offering services such as messaging, voice calls and stickers.
But the Indian app has won over many customers by including features catering to local demands such as higher privacy and the ability to send messages to be received as SMS texts.
Given that many mobile phone users in India do not yet have data on their phones, the feature is a crucial advantage over competitors such as Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.
The link with China's Tencent as investor is expected to go beyond mere investment and involve collaboration on technology and knowledge.
Judging by the example that the Chinese giant set with WeChat in China, it is likely to set Hike on its way to become an all-in-one app.
WeChat in China offers just about everything from messaging to calling, mobile games, food deliveries and online shopping.
Hike already offers mobile games, news services, stickers and coupons.
"This shows you that messaging - even in India - can become a gateway to content services," Hike founder and chief executive Kavin Bharti Mittal told the BBC. "So expect us to double down on that path."
The company already has plans to integrate a payment platform into its services.
It is not Tencent's first foray into the Indian market. An attempt to launch their own WeChat app a few years ago was not very successful, despite significant marketing efforts.
Hike was originally a joint project between Bharti and Softbank and has rapidly developed into a success story across India.
The latest round of investments has added some $175m in funding with the majority coming from Tencent and Foxconn.
The new money raised has lifted the company's value to what's referred to as "unicorn" status - start-ups valued at more than $1bn.
Existing investors in the app, including Softbank, Bharti Enterprise and Tiger Global, also contributed to the latest cash injection.
Market leader Whatsapp says it has some 100 million active users in India. In January, Hike said it had more than 100 million registered users, although the number of active users might differ from that figure.
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Indian messenger app Hike has won fresh money from investors and a key partner from China.
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Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said it was to highlight wider problems including teacher redundancies.
Powys council's cabinet member for schools, Arwel Jones, said he was "surprised and disappointed".
The NUT said it represented about half of teachers in Powys and 83.5% of those balloted voted in favour of action.
The council is currently consulting on plans to reorganise secondary schools.
Mr Jones added: "Strike action will not deflect our programme but could disrupt the work of school pupils at a crucial time."
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Teachers in Powys are set to go on strike on Thursday in protest over "excessive workload and cuts".
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Sandra Charles' spent 375 hours knitting 350 strands out of thousands of recycled label transfers
Ms Charles, of Somerset, got the idea while at a recycling centre.
Her work is on display with other students' projects at Nottingham Trent University, including lingerie inspired by wartime love letters, and two-dimensional clothing.
Ms Charles said: "I wanted to develop my sculpture work and my knitting. I looked at different techniques and saw arm knitting.
"It's very difficult to describe but basically uses your arms as needles. It took three hours to make each strand at first - I got repetitive strain injury at one point and couldn't do any more for a couple of days."
Other work includes Chloe Bampton, a fashion design student, who created lingerie inspired by her grandparents' war time love letters.
Ms Bampton, from Dullingham, Cambridgeshire, said: "When you read through their letters you imagine yourself in a different way of life completely.
"They are so romantic. We've lost touch with the era of hand letter writing and courting and I wanted to design lingerie which provided an alternative to the modern day shock element."
Her grandparents Dennis and Kathleen Algar married shortly before Mr Algar was sent to fight. He spent four years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.
Meanwhile, South Korean student Dahye Jee designed concept clothing which appears two-dimensional, inspired by vintage paper dolls.
All the work is on display until 6 June.
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A student knitted almost 4,000 ft (1.2km) of waste material using her arms as needles for an art project.
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The firm collects data from thousands of smartphone owners via an app.
Of the four UK networks, EE was found to have the best 4G connectivity, while Three had the worst.
However, Three also had the fastest download speeds when it was connected to 4G, the researchers found.
Three was the last operator to roll out 4G in December 2013 and told the BBC it was continuing to extend its 4G network every day.
"Almost everyone now uses a mobile phone service and it's not good enough that the UK is lagging behind so many countries with our 4G network coverage," said Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which.
The State of the Mobile Network report also noted that O2 had the highest 3G and 4G latency - that's the amount of time data takes to travel along a network, measured in milliseconds.
The firms have committed to investing in mobile networks. Last year, EE unveiled a £1.5bn three-year network investment plan that included the expansion of 4G and the commitment to reach 99% of the population with "superfast 4G".
However, mobile phone providers have faced planning issues when creating the necessary infrastructure, said analyst Kester Mann from CCS Insight.
"Network operators will maintain that they are investing millions of pounds each day in network coverage and capacity to satisfy the insatiable demand for mobile data services among UK consumers," he said.
"They will also cite tough planning restrictions to allow taller masts to provide wider coverage, a challenge recognised in George Osborne's recent Budget.
"These findings show that, although the UK is a leading market in the uptake of 4G services, there is still plenty of work to be done in network roll-out."
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Smartphone users in the UK can only access 4G's data service about half of the time on average, according to a new report by OpenSignal and consumer watchdog Which.
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He is currently the managing director of retail banking for the Ulster Bank group.
Mr Donnan replaces Ellvena Graham, who is becoming a non-executive director of the bank.
She held the position as ‎head of Ulster Bank Northern Ireland since it was created just over two years ago.
Ulster Bank is the largest bank in Northern Ireland and the third largest in the Republic of Ireland.
Its chief executive Jim Brown said: "I would like to wish Ellvena well as she departs her executive role.
"She has always been a positive and energetic influence on the business with a solid understanding of what matters for our people and our business.
"She has also been a great support to me personally."
Mr Donnan has been with Ulster Bank for about 25 years.
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Ulster Bank has appointed Richard Donnan as its new boss in Northern Ireland.
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The pair made the announcement through what can only be described as a gushy YouTube video.
Set to music during an ultrasound scan, you see the pair with delighted smiles, rubbing noses.
The baby is due in May this year. The couple shared the news in the video after rumours of the pregnancy surfaced on Friday in a gossip column.
"Today the media speculated about some big news in our life. So we decided to share it with you ourselves," the couple said in the video posted Saturday on the YouTube account of Macklemore's musical partner, Ryan Lewis.
Within hours of the video being posted fans of the Grammy-award winner, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, shared tributes and best wishes for the happy couple.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube
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Macklemore and his fiancee Tricia Davis are expecting their first baby together.
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The 53-year-old's stock has never being higher after leading the Lions to a thrilling drawn Test series in New Zealand.
Gatland extended his Wales contract in 2013, keeping him in charge until the end of the 2019 World Cup.
"My focus is now on Wales, preparing for the World Cup in Japan," he said.
"I am a firm believer of what will be will be so I won't be looking too far ahead. I am looking forward to the next few years with Wales and then see what other opportunities are out there."
Gatland took the reins with Wales in December, 2007, and led them to 2008 and 2012 Six Nations Grand Slams as well as a World Cup semi-final in 2011.
Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive Martyn Phillips has said he would be prepared to release Gatland from his contract if the New Zealander wanted to leave.
But Gatland - who has been tipped as a future All Blacks head coach - reiterated his intention to see out his current WRU deal.
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"My focus is on Wales, for the autumn internationals and then looking towards the 2019 World Cup," he added.
"I'm definitely finishing up there, unless they decide to get rid of me sooner!"
Gatland coached the Lions to a series win in Australia four years ago and has not ruled out taking charge again - if asked - for the next tour to South Africa.
"You never say never," said Gatland.
"If there's a chat and opportunity to think about 2021, to do maybe the three as a head coach, to win two and draw one wouldn't be a bad achievement."
Lions tour manager John Spencer said he had no doubt Gatland had proved his coaching credentials during the tour to New Zealand.
"You have to be a very shrewd coach to come to New Zealand and achieve what the players have achieved," Spencer said.
"Without doubt I think he's the best head coach in the world... I think he's proved that with our guys.
"I don't want to take anything away from Wales, because he's got a job to do there, but I think his achievements on this tour have opened up the future for him.
"It's an incredible achievement to come halfway round the world, to adapt to all the difficulties you have with travelling and then to play back-to-back world champions on their own park, and to be as successful as he has been."
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Wales head coach Warren Gatland says he will honour his current contract after returning from his second stint in charge of the British and Irish Lions.
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The Blues are now one win away from securing their fifth league trophy after beating Middlesbrough 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Conte, 47, told BBC Match of the Day: "This is my first season in England in a tough championship.
"I'm delighted for my players, they deserve this. We are showing that we deserve to win the league."
Chelsea face West Brom on Friday with a seven-point advantage over Tottenham, who play Manchester United on Sunday.
The Blues finish their league season with games against Watford and relegated Sunderland.
"Now, we have taken another step to the title. We have to rest well and prepare for West Brom," Conte said after Monday's victory, which relegated Boro back to the Championship.
"We must try in the next game to become champions. West Brom will want to play a good game against us, but we are ready."
Cesc Fabregas was brought into Chelsea's starting line-up after N'Golo Kante was ruled out through injury, and the Spaniard was Chelsea's stand-out player.
He provided the pass for Diego Costa's opener and Nemanja Matic's third, and has now claimed 10 assists and four goals in 26 games. Marcos Alonso scored Chelsea's second.
"It's been a difficult year for me. I'm used to playing a lot but I feel I have matured a lot," former Arsenal midfielder Fabregas told Sky Sports.
"Many people told me I am not the type of player for Antonio Conte and I should leave but I like challenges.
"I hadn't played every game but I think I have played in the last 20 games. When I have been on the pitch maybe my contribution is better than a full season."
Former Chelsea and Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer said on Match of the Day: "His interview just shows the calibre of the player. He wants to play week in, week out.
"He has got so much in the locker, his ability on the ball, how he is able to pick out players from anywhere on the pitch is outstanding.
"He may be lacking pace but his reading of the game is still world class. Every time Chelsea want an option or need an outlet, they go to Fabregas.
"He has been the ultimate professional and a huge weapon for Chelsea."
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Manager Antonio Conte says his Chelsea players are worthy of winning the Premier League title.
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The Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek usually rescues between 50 and 60 pups over a whole winter but it has already rescued 52.
Staff also expect the influx to continue to the end of March, with Storm Henry preparing to sweep in.
The stormy conditions are preventing staff from releasing seals back into the wild.
Read more on this story as it develops throughout the day on our Local Live pages
Sanctuary curator Tamara Cooper said many pups were underweight and had been injured by being dashed on rocks.
"They have come in thick and fast over the stormy period and we are expecting more over the coming months," she said.
"Some are only a few months old and they come ashore to rest.
"They are very skinny and need feeding up. We have six ready to go so we are just waiting for a clear spell of weather."
Storm Henry is predicted to bring treacherous conditions and high winds of up to 90mph to the north of Britain today.
Storm Gertrude brought gusts of more than 100mph in places as well as heavy rain and snow.
Wildlife experts said an "extraordinary" number of dead dolphins have also washed up on Cornwall's shores this month due to recent weather systems.
Abby Crosby, Marine Conservation Officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "We've had 19 different cetaceans, that's dolphins porpoises or whales, recorded when the last ten yearly average is 11. So we're looking at almost double the January average."
"It's a really sad situation, however it's an invaluable opportunity for us to examine these carcasses further to try and work out how they died and find out more about the biology and ecology of these amazing creatures."
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A seal sanctuary in Cornwall has seen a huge rise in the number of injured pups in the wake of Storm Gertrude.
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Several publications suggested last week that the president-elect would offer the star a top job in the arts.
In a statement, Stallone said he was "incredibly flattered to have been suggested to be involved with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)".
But the star said he would prefer to highlight issues faced by US veterans.
"I believe I could be more effective by bringing national attention to returning military personnel in an effort to find gainful employment, suitable housing and financial assistance these heroes respectfully deserve," the statement said.
Stallone, famed for his role in the Rambo and Rocky films, is also an artist.
He has created hundreds of artworks and last year exhibited at the Modern Art Museum in Nice, France.
In 2013, a collection of his paintings went on display at The Russian Museum in St Petersburg.
At the show's opening the star said, if he had the choice, he would spend his life drawing instead of acting.
"I think I'm a much better painter than an actor," he said.
The Oscar-nominated actor studied art before his film career took off.
In an interview with Variety earlier this year, Stallone said: "I love Donald Trump. He's a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold [Schwarzenegger], Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I don't know how that translates to running the world."
Established in 1965, the NEA is an independent federal agency which distributes government grants to arts organisations.
The NEA has come under threat in the past from previous Republican governments, including Ronald Reagan's administration.
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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Actor Sylvester Stallone has said he is "flattered" by reports that Donald Trump may offer him an arts post - but would prefer a role helping veterans.
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Analysts and shareholders, uneasy about the multi-billion-dollar project, hoped Paris would be a turning point.
The 100-150 seat C-Series is two years late and over-budget.
Mr Cromer played down the show's importance for C-Series announcements, saying it provided brand "momentum".
Bombardier, which has a big operation in Belfast, has seen rivals unveil a series of deals in the show's first two days.
Mr Cromer was appointed as part of a wider management shake-up at the Canadian company, and the planemaker has a big presence at Paris show.
Cost overruns pushed Bombardier into a loss last year, its first in almost a decade.
The company has 243 firm orders for the C-Series - the biggest from Lufthansa's Swiss International - and wants to have 300 by the time it enters service in the middle of next year.
"I think we feel pretty good about being able to achieve that, and potentially beating that target," Mr Cromer said. "The momentum is very tangible right now, and our job is to turn that momentum into sales."
He said: "The focus on air shows (for orders) is in some ways unnecessary. Sales is a 365-day job. We will announce deals at the appropriate time."
But a lack of order news, even small ones, in the last two days - traditionally when planemakers tout their biggest deals - will concern analysts.
In April, Rolland Vincent, a former Bombardier director, told Canada's Financial Post that without any "blockbuster" orders at Paris, the show "will be a really dark week for them".
Analysts have urged Bombardier to be more aggressive on price and offer bigger discounts in order to book more orders quickly.
But this strategy could further strain relations with some big shareholders, already concerned about mounting development costs, which have reached about $5.5bn - more than $1bn above initial forecasts.
Mr Cromer does not seem in any hurry to cut costs for a bigger market share, however.
"Everyone wants to get into the price discussion and say that if you don't cut prices you won't get orders. The fact of the matter is, this is an all-new aircraft that fits into many different airline business plans. Price is just one of the aspects during negotiations," he said.
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New Bombardier president Fred Cromer says the planemaker is still set to meet sales targets for its key C-Series aircraft, despite so far failing to announce orders at the Paris Air Show.
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The Wales Audit Office has criticised how staff handled criminal records checks for volunteers on the council's Kerbcraft programme.
At one point, poor record-keeping meant auditors were unable to determine if volunteers had been checked or not.
Monmouthshire council said a "comprehensive and robust" action plan was being implemented.
The report said auditors were "extremely concerned" about "inconsistent, partial and misleading information" provided by the council in response to their work.
"The council has failed to provide a thorough and coherent evidence-based response to our enquiries and we have received inconsistent information about the chronology of events from officers," auditors wrote.
There was no suggestion in the report, produced in February this year, of any wrongdoing by a volunteer.
Under Kerbcraft, which was introduced by the Welsh Government in 2002 and is run by all 22 Welsh councils, children are taken out of school by trained volunteers to learn skills for crossing roads safely.
Monmouthshire received £50,000 a year from Welsh ministers to run Kerbcraft, which had been delegated to a private/public joint venture until 2012 when it was transferred to the authority.
In June 2015, the scheme was suspended because of concerns over record-keeping.
That meant auditors were unable to confirm if volunteers had previously been subject to disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks - which have replaced criminal records bureau checks - or health and safety checks.
"As a result, we consider that children were placed at risk during that time," the report said.
"The council held no central record of information relating to volunteers and it appeared solely reliant on verbal assurances from the Kerbcraft co-ordinator that safe recruitment arrangements had been followed by staff operating the scheme."
Following a council review, Monmouthshire told auditors it had put stronger measures in place - but despite improvements after the scheme restarted in September 2015, auditors found further problems.
Staff were not requesting or looking at volunteers' DBS certificates and the council was not following up references for some volunteers.
The report found children were "being put at risk because of continuing weakness" in arrangements for their safeguarding on the scheme that the council had not addressed at the time the report was published.
Opposition councillor and Labour group leader Dimitri Batrouni said: "It is deeply disturbing that auditors were provided misleading information by the council.
"We are talking about our children's safety."
From August 2016 and in response to audit office concerns, the council stopped using volunteers on Kerbcraft.
A council spokesman said the authority had now adopted an action plan and new procedures had been approved, along with improved governance arrangements.
The new policy appears to permit volunteers but limit them to six at once to simplify the checking and recording of information.
The council is due to consider a revision to its safeguarding policy on Friday.
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The way a road safety scheme was run by Monmouthshire council put children at risk, a report has found.
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The date was set at a meeting in Irbil chaired by President Massoud Barzani.
A statement said voting would take place in the three provinces that make up the region, and "areas of Kurdistan outside the region's administration".
There was no immediate comment from Iraq's central government, but it has urged Kurds not to hold a referendum.
Moves towards outright independence have historically been opposed by the governments of neighbouring Iran, Turkey and Syria, as well as by the US.
In April, senior Kurdish official Hoshyar Zebari told Reuters news agency that a "yes" vote would not necessarily mean independence would be declared.
Mr Zebari said it would merely help Kurds press their case for "the best deal" on self-determination once so-called Islamic State (IS) had been defeated in Iraq.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have played a major role in the US-backed campaign against the jihadist group, which seized large parts of northern Iraq in 2014.
But while driving IS militants out of the country, the Peshmerga have taken control of disputed territory claimed by both Kurds and the central government.
It includes the city of Kirkuk and the towns of Makhmour, Khanaqin and Sinjar - locations where President Barzani's senior assistant Hemin Hawrami declared voting would take place in September.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said holding an independence referendum now would be neither in the Kurdistan Region's interest nor Iraq's.
"The desire of our Kurdish brothers to create a country of their own is their right... and nobody has the right to deter them," he was quoted as saying by the Kurdish Rudaw news agency in April.
"But holding a referendum at this time is not right as the war [against IS] still rages, the region's situation is not suitable, and some neighbouring countries believe this move poses a threat to the nation's security themselves."
The head of Iraq's ruling Shia coalition, which includes Mr Abadi's Dawa party, meanwhile warned against any "unilateral" moves in the disputed areas.
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Top government officials and political parties in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region have agreed to hold a referendum on independence on 25 September.
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BBC Trust chairman Rona Fairhead wrote to the Welsh-language channel's authority chairman Huw Jones to confirm the arrangement on Wednesday.
S4C's current agreement runs to March 2017.
The trust had previously pledged to continue this year's level of funding to 2018.
In the letter, Ms Fairhead said it was "the right thing to do" in recognition of the "important role played by S4C for Welsh-speaking licence-fee payers".
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said he was delighted S4C's funding has been protected.
"Many organisations have worked hard to help secure this settlement, which will safeguard S4C's future for many years to come," he added.
"S4C plays an important role in Wales, cementing the Welsh language and culture within communities, and I will continue to do everything I can to ensure the channel's continued success."
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Funding for S4C will remain at its current level of £74.5m a year until the end of the current licence fee agreement in 2022.
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Ms Philbin has been honoured for her work in sparking young peoples' interest in working in science, technology and engineering.
She co-founded the TeenTech organisation, which holds events that introduce school children to technical and creative careers.
Ms Philbin has also had a long media career connected to science and tech.
Her broadcasting career began in the late 1970s when Ms Philbin presented the pioneering BBC saturday morning children's show Multi-Coloured Swap Shop.
From there, she went on to work on the iconic BBC science show Tomorrow's World. During the eight years she worked on that programme, Ms Philbin was first to demonstrate many innovations including car navigation systems, fax machines and mobile phones.
More recently, Ms Philbin was a reporter on the BBC's Bang Goes The Theory science show, and has regularly appeared on other radio and TV programmes as an science expert.
In 2008, she helped to start the non-profit TeenTech organisation that aimed to give young people a realistic view of what it is like to work in jobs that have a high science, technology, engineering and mathematics component.
It regularly runs events that let school children talk to people that work in different technical sectors and lets them get a feel for the techniques, equipment and approaches used in those professions.
Ms Philbin said giving children an insight into the ways that innovation and advances occur was important because an increasing proportion of jobs revolved around competence in science, technology and maths.
It's hard to think of anyone in the last 30 years who has had quite such an impact on enthusing people - and in particular young people - about technology as Maggie Philbin.
People of my generation will remember her as the woman who introduced us to everything from sat-nav to digital cameras on Tomorrow's World.
But today she is doing amazing work to get teenagers thinking about learning technology skills through her TeenTech organisation.
Having once acted as a judge at the TeenTech Awards, I can testify to Maggie's inspirational qualities, both in showing young people that technology is about creativity as well as consumption, and in persuading companies to back her vision.
Other technology figures recognised in the New Years Honours list include:
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TV presenter Maggie Philbin has been appointed OBE in the New Year Honours list.
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It makes changes to the way users navigate around the console's dashboard and speeds up many common tasks such as checking what friends are doing.
It also adds backwards compatibility to the console so it can play many older Xbox 360 games.
Initially, 104 older games, including Gears of War and Mirror's Edge, will be playable on the console.
The update started to roll out to consoles at 07:01 GMT, but it is being staggered because it needs to be being applied to more than 12 million devices.
The big update changes the console's underlying operating system so it works better with Windows 10 - the latest release of Microsoft's flagship software. Before now, the underlying software of the game system was much closer to Windows 8.
It changes the dashboard, and a further upgrade next year will add some specific Windows 10 features to the Xbox One such as the Cortana voice-driven query system.
It also removes some older features, including the gesture-based control system and menu layout required for the Kinect motion sensor.
The addition of backwards compatibility for older games will be activated in an update due to start 12 hours after the first global rollout.
The long list of games supported includes a lot of very old titles such as 1992's Wolfenstein 3D, but also some more-up-to date ones such as Assassin's Creed II.
Microsoft has said games including Halo Reach, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Skate 3 will be added to the list next year. It is also accepting nominations for games to add to the roster of older titles via its Xbox feedback site.
Xbox 360 owners who upgrade to the newer console will get copies of their older games on the Xbox One at no additional cost.
Sony has set its face against providing backwards compatibility on its PlayStation 4 console. In October, Sony Europe head Jim Ryan told Europe told Eurogamer that it was a feature that "was not used very much."
Early reviews of an updated console suggest it does improve basic navigation tasks.
"It feels like Microsoft is now recovering from its giant Xbox One launch mess, and the company has the right focus for its games console, said Tom Warren on tech news site The Verge.
However, he added, the update still had some "issues" with multiplayer-gaming and TV integration that had to be addressed in future updates.
Microsoft has acknowledged many of these problems on a dedicated support page and given advice about how to troubleshoot and fix them.
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A big update for Microsoft's Xbox One is due to start downloading to consoles around the world on Thursday.
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29 April 2015 Last updated at 16:35 BST
BBC News explains their significance - in 60 seconds.
Video produced by Mohamed Madi
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Saudi Arabia's new leader, King Salman, has announced a raft of changes to the royal line of succession.
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The Financial Exclusion Committee says banks are failing the customers who need them the most, leaving the poorest to rely on expensive products.
It adds that controls on "rent to own" products and other high cost credit deals must be introduced urgently.
Banks should be required to have a duty of care towards their customers.
The report highlights how regulation has been successful in battling abusive practices by payday loan companies.
The government asked regulators the Financial Conduct Authority to limit the interest rates they are able to charge.
It calls for similar restrictions to be applied to other forms of high cost credit, charges for unarranged overdrafts and "rent to own" products.
These are products that allow customers to buy items, such as televisions or mobile phones, through rental deals which can cost as much as four or five times the normal price tag.
Debt charities say that as high cost loan companies have been pushed out, demand for credit by people in poverty has moved into other areas.
The government is urged to appoint a minister for financial inclusion who has to report annually to Parliament on progress made towards addressing financial exclusion.
Committee chair Baroness Tyler of Enfield said: "Too many people still have no bank account or cannot get access to basic or fairly priced financial services.
"The 'poverty premium' - where the poor pay more for a range of services from heating their home to accessing credit - contributes to a vicious circle driving people ever deeper into debt and distress."
She added that the victims of financial exclusion were "often the most vulnerable in society - the elderly, the poor or those living with physical disabilities or mental health issues".
"Action must be taken to ensure the financial system in this country works for all.
All too often, disabled customers are being failed by banks who are not adjusting their communications and procedures to serve them properly, she said.
The committee had been told of banks contacting deaf people by phone and sending written PIN numbers to blind people instead of using Braille, she added.
The British Bankers Association said it was already working closely with the government, the regulator and consumer advocates on a number of the areas highlighted in the report.
"We will consider the report's recommendations in detail and reflect on how they might be adopted by the industry going forward," it added.
Polly Mackenzie, director of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said: "For too long it's been assumed that when people with mental health problems get behind on bills, or struggle to stick to their budget, it's because they're lazy or incompetent.
"That's simply not true, and we are delighted to see the Lords committee recognise this and the need for banks to step up and offer support.
"It's time for banks to adapt their services to help support people when they're unwell."
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The banks and financial regulators should do more to tackle the vicious cycle of debt and overcharging, says a Lords committee.
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Staunton won the UK Theatre Award for best performance in a musical for her role in the Chichester Festival Theatre's production of Gypsy.
Written in the 1950s with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Gypsy opened in Chichester a year ago and has since transferred to London's West End.
The show was also named best musical production at Sunday's ceremony.
Dame Eileen Atkins and choreographer Matthew Bourne received outstanding contribution awards, while Polly Lister and Joel MacCormack shared the trophy for best performance in a play.
Staunton was not present to pick up her award because she was saving her voice on her day off, according to Chichester artistic director Jonathan Church.
"She is, as part of her regime, lying down every Sunday," he said.
Accepting the award on her behalf, he said: "UK Theatre embraces the whole range of theatres she feels passionately she created some of her finest performances in.
"And of course the subsidy that enables those theatres to exist is important to her - she wanted that message to be heard."
Staunton plays Momma Rose in Gypsy, which transferred to London's Savoy Theatre in April and runs until the end of November.
Dame Eileen Atkins, who co-created TV dramas including Upstairs, Downstairs and The House of Eliott, said the Shakespeare Guild's Gielgud Award meant "an enormous amount". She was presented with the trophy by Sir Patrick Stewart.
Other presenters at the ceremony at London's Guildhall included actors Robert Powell, Barbara Windsor, Richard Wilson and Pauline McLynn, who received one of the afternoon's biggest cheers for rounding on "London-centric critics".
Matthew Bourne said receiving The Stage Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre was "very significant to me" because it was a theatre award and not just for dance.
"I've had dance awards before now, if I've had anything, and I'm always thinking that dance is theatre," he said.
The best new play prize went to Iphigenia In Splott, staged by Sherman Cymru and set in the Cardiff area of Splott. Its writer, Gary Own, described it as the story of "what happens to an ordinary woman in austerity Britain".
He said theatre, and not TV, was now portraying those struggling to make ends meet.
"In the '80s but I remember on TV there being things like The Boys From The Blackstuff - these really fierce dramas portrayals of how difficult life was becoming for ordinary people," he said.
"When this recession started, we expected the big beasts of British drama to show what was happening to people. And it hasn't happened at all. So thank God theatre is still there to shout about what is happening."
Newcastle Theatre Royal was named the country's most welcoming theatre - following a similar accolade for its backstage team at the Technical Theatre Awards.
The UK Theatre Awards do not cover National Theatre productions or West End shows unless they have transferred from a theatre outside the capital.
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Actress Imelda Staunton has been honoured at an award ceremony for the best theatre created outside London.
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As reported in the East Anglian Daily Times, East Bergholt - the birthplace of artist John Constable - may try to "divorce" Suffolk in the housing row.
Campaigner Peter Dent said Colchester Borough Council, in Essex, was known for its preservation of heritage sites.
"I don't care if Suffolk would miss us. That's their problem," he said.
"We've got a Colchester postcode, we've got a Colchester phone number, we would like to give it a try and work with a council that would respect the village and the heritage of Constable Country."
East Bergholt has been fighting plans for new homes for a number of years.
In 2016, residents won a judicial review to block the building of 10 homes.
The issue was raised by Mr Dent at an annual parish council meeting in the village, where the chair asked residents for a show of hands to signal their support for the idea of becoming part of Essex.
"Almost everybody, bar one or two, put their hands up," said Mr Dent, who reiterated the decision would have to be confirmed by the parish council before a village referendum would be held.
Mr Dent, chair of Action East Bergholt, claims Babergh District Council "ignored the neighbourhood plan" which residents had spent "a lot of time and money" putting together.
"We have fought with them long and hard for the last 18 months, and we are continuing to fight," Mr Dent said.
"Frankly, we'd like to move to somewhere where we don't have to battle night and day."
The chief executive of Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council, said he was "acutely conscious... many people have lost trust in their district council".
Arthur Charvonia said he has held meetings with the parish council and will shortly meet the East Bergholt Society.
"Repairing relationships and trust will take time... the community will need to judge Babergh District Council by our future actions rather than by my words," he added.
"I look forward to supporting East Bergholt to deliver its priorities as set out in its neighbourhood plan."
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Residents of a Suffolk village are considering a fight to become part of neighbouring Essex in their battle to prevent 144 homes being built.
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Belper Town FC thought everyone would realise they were joking when they advertised their next match as being against the Spanish giants.
But they received more than a dozen calls from people wanting tickets.
Even the club's caterer was taken in and started panicking about what to cook the fictitious opponents.
"I did have a bit of a panic myself because I thought 'blimey what can I feed these lads?" said Diane Collins.
"They are all into carbs, protein and veg, not like pie and chips that our footballers get."
After being told it was a joke, she said: "I was disappointed I wasn't going to see Ronaldo but never mind."
Belper Town FC play in the North Premier League Division One South - the eighth tier of the English football pyramid.
One of the club's directors, Mike Matthews, said: "Our view as directors is that Real Madrid would merely be the warm-up game for the true match tomorrow against Kidsgrove Athletic.
"We are expecting a big crowd."
The match was advertised last Tuesday and by the morning of 1 April the club had received 15 phone calls asking for tickets.
Three people also asked Mr Matthews for tickets directly - and two of those were serious.
"They were completely unaware of the date and the sheer unlikelihood of the world's most prestigious club visiting Christchurch Meadow," he said.
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A non-league football club has been left red faced after an April Fools' Day joke about playing Real Madrid went wrong.
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The Department of the Environment (DoE) said it had been five years since the first recorded death due to the virus in Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) said there appeared to be "little natural resistance to the virus within the local population".
It said sick squirrels tend to die within 10 days to two weeks.
NIEA Wildlife Inspector Declan Looney said red squirrels in Tollymore Forest had "recovered well" following the outbreak of the virus five years ago, but this was a "further blow".
"Sick red squirrels will appear lethargic, approachable, with painful sores on their faces and paws," he said.
"Unfortunately there appears little natural resistance to the virus within the local population and sick animals tend to die within 10 days to two weeks.
"If you have squirrels entering your garden to feed at bird feeders, please either remove these or clean them daily to reduce the spread of the virus."
The DoE said the disease "does not affect people or their domestic pets".
A spokesperson from the Forest Service said it was "not unusual" for the virus "to re-emerge some years after the initial outbreak".
"The fact that the red squirrel population recovered in the intervening years gives us great encouragement that working in partnership with the NIEA and the Tollymore Red Squirrel Group on the implementation of control measures will once again produce a successful outcome," they added.
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There has been a squirrel pox virus outbreak among red squirrels at Tollymore Forest Park in County Down.
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The Local Government Association is asking that councils in England be freed from restrictions on the ability to borrow to fund new home building.
It is also calling for powers to replace every council home that is sold off, as quickly as possible.
The government said it was delivering on its commitment to replace all properties sold on a one-for-one basis.
But in a submission to the Treasury, the LGA said the scale of the housing crisis demanded that action to fix the lack of affordable housing was taken immediately.
"The government's recent announcement of an additional £5bn investment in the form of loans to private sector organisations and for building homes on surplus public land is a welcome step," the LGA said.
"However, councils are also well placed to bridge the gap between housing need and future building levels and are keen to see - and support - delivery at speed."
The LGA wants to hold talks with ministers over whether councils' housing revenue accounts - the accounts covering rents and assets - could be removed from the public sector debt book so as to enable borrowing against these assets.
"This would allow local government to rapidly contribute new homes in the market, meet a wide range of local needs and generate significant medium and long term returns," it said.
Councils also want powers to replace council homes that are sold off under Right to Buy arrangements.
Currently, the government only allows local authorities to keep 30% of the cost for replacement council homes.
This means councils cannot build replacements - especially as they are unable to borrow to fund the rest.
The call comes as new figures were released on the sales of social housing.
These revealed nearly 22,000 social housing dwellings were sold from 2015-16 - 12,557 by local authorities and a further 9,435 by housing associations.
The sales amount to about 0.5% of the total stock of four million social houses in England.
There was a particular spike in the percentage of housing association homes sold to private firms.
This was up 46% and government statisticians said this was likely to be because of housing associations taking a more active approach to managing their assets.
The Department for Communities and Local Government said it was delivering on its commitment to replace all properties sold on a one-for-one basis.
"As of June 2016, there had been 7,018 starts and acquisitions.
"This delivers more than a one for one replacement on the 4,369 additional sales since the scheme was reinvigorated in 2012."
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Town hall bosses want urgent talks with the government on how they can rapidly build homes where they are needed.
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The B4270 and other local roads are affected, Vale of Glamorgan council has said.
The blaze at Llandow Industrial Estate started on Thursday, and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews are still on site.
Residents are also being advised to keep windows and doors closed.
A fire service spokesperson said: "Our crews are monitoring the fire and will do so over the coming days to ensure that the incident is contained."
Officials said no asbestos is believed to be at the site.
However, Public Health Wales (PHW) said substances in the smoke could cause coughing, wheezing, breathlessness and chest pain.
People with asthma and other respiratory conditions may be "particularly susceptible" to the smoke and should carry and use their medication.
Andrew Kibble of the PHW environmental public health team recommended people stay out of the smoke and if at home, close doors and windows.
The council's emergency planning team is working to limit disruption.
Local schools have been advised to open as usual, and there is no impact on the local water supply.
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Drivers have been warned to take care as smoke from a 2,000-tonne rubbish fire near Llandow in the Vale of Glamorgan is being blown over roads.
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The Spaniard, 31, lost the first set but fought back to win 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-1 6-4 after three hours and 16 minutes.
Nadal saw 13 break points go begging before finally breaking the world number 59 after nearly two hours.
He dropped just five more games on his way to a last-16 meeting with Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov.
"All the matches have been very tight - I am very happy," said Nadal.
"I don't know how many break points I had before I got the first one. Mentally, I fought a lot until that moment, then I think I played better."
Nadal could not land a telling return as the break points came and went against Mayer, and the Argentine took advantage by playing a fine tie-break to take the first set.
I am in the fourth round now. I don't think much about that.
When Nadal finally made the breakthrough at the 14th attempt, at 3-3 in the second set, he screamed "Vamos!" and his family and team celebrated in the stands.
The Spaniard had won all three previous matches against Mayer and went on to dominate after finally breaking.
There was a late flash of resistance when Mayer broke serve with Nadal trying to close out the match, but two games later the world number one sealed victory at 8.40pm local time.
Asked about a potential first-ever meeting with 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer at the US Open in the semi-finals next week, he said: "I am in the fourth round now. I don't think much about that.
"It's a long way away. All the matches have been very tough.
"The only thing I am looking for is the practice tomorrow to keep working hard and focus on the match against Dolgopolov."
Third seed Federer booked his place in the last 16 with a clinical 6-3 6-3 7-5 victory over Spain's Feliciano Lopez.
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Top seed Rafael Nadal overcame stubborn resistance from Argentina's Leonardo Mayer to reach the fourth round at the US Open in New York.
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Apache, a Jack Russell Terrier, was reluctant to leave the Belasco Theatre stage, where Rylance is starring in Richard III and Twelfth Night.
"He made an excellent entrance, but I'll have to teach him a few things about exits!" said Rylance, winner of two Tony awards.
The actor plays the medieval monarch and noblewoman Olivia in the two plays.
London's Globe Theatre is staging the productions, with Richard III in the afternoon and Twelfth Night in the evening - a total of six hours of theatre.
The company, putting on Shakespeare on Broadway for the first time, is following the Tudor tradition of having an all-male cast playing all of the roles, including the female ones.
Rylance, who added that his dog was also making his New York theatrical debut, was called "astonishing" in a review by Ben Brantley of the New York Times. "This is how Shakespeare was meant to be done," he added.
The two plays and gender-swapping roles allow him to be "as brilliant in trousers as he is in a dress", added the review.
Marilyn Stasio, writing in Variety, said that Rylance's portrayal of Richard III was "an assassin consumed less by envy and hatred of his victims than loathing for his own twisted self."
Stephen Fry, making his New York stage debut as Malvolio in Twelfth Night, was praised for his sympathetic portrayal of the usually malevolent character.
The New York Times said: "Malvolio is refreshingly embodied by Mr. Fry with the complacency and affectation of someone you might recognize from your own office."
Brantley said that the two productions were "a source of radiant illumination for the audience, while the bewilderment of the characters onstage floods us with pure, tickling joy.
"I can't remember being so ridiculously happy for the entirety of a Shakespeare performance since - let me think - August 2002."
He went on to explain this was when he last saw Twelfth Night at the Globe Theatre in London, starring Mark Rylance.
Both plays are due to continue at the Belasco Theatre until 30 November.
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Actor Mark Rylance has made his Broadway Shakespeare debut - but was upstaged by his own dog's performance.
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Utopia Coaches, based at Sherburn in Elmet, North Yorkshire, provided services to rural communities between Selby, Drax, Tadcaster and York.
The company announced it was going into liquidation in a tweet on Wednesday evening, about an hour after drivers said they received the text messages.
Utopia has not responded to the BBC's request for comment.
Read more about this and other stories from across Yorkshire
Driver Carl Longfield said he left work on Wednesday with no idea the company was going to cease operating.
"I left the depot thinking everything was OK saying, 'see you tomorrow' and I got home and got a text at about 19:55 saying 'thank you very much but we are ceasing trading at 00:01'.
"We had no idea the company was in such a bad state," he said.
"The more concern for me is the passengers we have left behind in the remote communities. They relied on our services to get into work, to school, to colleges and they've been left remote."
Richard Green, another driver, said he felt completely "deflated" by the news and said he was also concerned for passengers.
"They relied on us but evidently the company couldn't be bothered about them."
The drivers met the company's liquidator earlier.
They said they were told employees would receive two weeks' pay if they had been with the company for two years or more.
North Yorkshire County Council said it was working to offer alternatives for subsidised services, including school bus services.
It added it was in discussions with other operators about whether it might be possible to restore some of the company's commercial routes.
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Bus drivers say they were told by text message their company was closing and they would lose their jobs.
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The 25-year-old, who made his debut for the county in 2010, also plays as a right-handed, middle-order batsman.
"We have a great squad and coaching staff and I feel that there is more silverware to come," Taylor told Gloucestershire's club website.
He has taken 61 wickets in 42 first-class matches so far in his career.
Chief executive Will Brown added: "It is fantastic to see yet another of our young stars commit to Gloucestershire.
"Jack's drive to constantly improve, shown by his hugely improved batting performances, will no doubt keep him as a key member of the squad well into the future."
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Gloucestershire off-spinner Jack Taylor has signed an extended contract with the County Championship Division Two side until the end of the 2019 season.
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The £42m MV Loch Seaforth has been doing berthing trials at pier number three ahead of its introduction to the route.
The boat has already carried out trials at Ullpool.
Last month, Transport Minister Derek Mackay said he was confident the ferry will be operating by the end of May.
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A new ferry built to serve on the Ullapool to Stornoway route has berthed for the first time at Stornoway harbour.
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After a goalless first half, Fleetwood went in front when Bobby Grant's superb long-range effort flew beyond Shrimpers goalkeeper Daniel Bentley.
Adam Barrett's header and Jack Payne's 18-yard strike looked to have sealed a Southend comeback, but McLaughlin's close-range header levelled the scores.
The draw moved the Cod Army one point clear of the bottom four in League One.
But any chance of a late play-off push now looks to be over for Phil Brown's Southend, who drop to 11th, nine points behind sixth-placed Walsall.
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Conor McLaughlin's late header rescued a valuable point for relegation-threatened Fleetwood at Southend.
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It is trying to find 25 children who have shown promise to receive master classes from experts.
They will receive materials to practice at home and attend six one-day sessions.
Artists who have painted the Gwynedd landscape include Gwilym Prichard and Sir Kyffin Williams.
The Criw Celf initiative wants pupils who will be starting in year seven in Gwynedd schools in September.
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Many famous artists have captured Gwynedd's stunning scenery and now the local authority is looking for the next generation of talent.
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Donald Trump's running mate, a long-time opponent of Planned Parenthood, will be sent a gift certificate for every donation.
The campaign began in 2011 when as an Indiana congressman he introduced several anti-abortion measures.
They included the first bill to strip the provider of all federal funding.
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In March this year, as Indiana governor, Mr Pence signed an anti-abortion bill that is seen as one of the most restrictive in the US, barring abortion in Indiana on the basis of disability, gender or race of the foetus.
Parts of that law were blocked by the courts, but not until after a social media backlash which saw women phoning or tweeting Mr Pence details about their menstrual cycles under the hash tag #periodsforpence.
There had already been a significant rise in gifts to the country's biggest abortion provider in the wake of Mr Trump's election last week.
But then over the weekend, many women went on social media to say they had made a donation in Mike Pence's name.
Mike Pence's anti-abortion stance mirrors that of President-elect Trump, who wants to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, and who has in the past said women should be punished for undergoing an abortion if it were made illegal, though he later withdrew the statement.
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Planned Parenthood hasn't commented in detail on the post-election trend of donating in Mr Pence's honour.
But the organisation said on social media they had been "blown away by the support" and acknowledged that many people are donating in both Mike Pence's and Hillary Clinton's names.
The vice president-elect has so far not commented on being the nominal donor of thousands of dollars to the organisation.
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Donations to US family planning organisation Planned Parenthood in the name of Vice President-elect Mike Pence have surged.
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Around 180,000 wills are written by non-lawyers every year, and are exempt from the complaints handling body.
But a report by the Legal Ombudsman has called on the government to open up their services to those using non-regulated providers.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said more could be done but more regulation was not necessarily the answer.
A spokesperson said: "When people write a will it is extremely important for them to have peace of mind that their affairs will be dealt with how they want them to be.
"That is why we have agreed with the Legal Services Board that there is room for improvement in this area.
"However we are not convinced that regulation is the best way forward - we believe other options should be explored first, including better guidance for professionals and making better use of existing consumer information and protection."
The Legal Ombudsman's report claimed that wills and probate were the third highest source of received complaints, and that the market was "suffering from a number of quality issues".
It concluded that "all consumers of wills and probate service providers should have access to redress".
The Ombudsman helped resolve more than a thousand wills and probate related complaints last year.
Excessive costs, delays and a failure to follow instructions were some of the common problems faced.
But the independent body is only allowed to take on wills drawn up by regulated service providers.
It said that a lack of regulatory oversight meant that customers could be left with no options if they were "ripped off by the service provider".
Chief Legal Ombudsman Adam Sampson said: "Wills can be prepared by anyone in principle. For people on a budget, this creates headaches about the standard of service one could reasonably expect.
"It also means some people will have access to help if things go wrong, while others won't.
"We want the government to at least consider a voluntary ombudsman scheme into which service providers can opt themselves. Provision already exists for the Lord Chancellor to make this happen."
Claims for mishandling a deceased estate rose three-fold in 2013, with 368 claims lodged in 2013 compared with 107 in the previous 12 months, according to figures from the Chancery Division.
Last year, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling rejected the advice of the Legal Services Board to make will writing a reserved legal activity.
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The regulation of wills should be reformed to prevent people being ripped off, the Legal Ombudsman has warned.
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The Downham Market blaze is believed to have started during the night where a £250,000 fire engine was parked.
The fire station, built in 2006, had no sprinkler system.
Norfolk fire service is still waiting for a full forensic study and said the inquiry was "long and complex" but an independent report had been received.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is assisting with the investigation and their findings reveal it is believed the cause of the fire was due to an electrical fault in one of the appliances at the fire station.
"We are in discussion with Norfolk Constabulary to consider options for a joint location at the site with shared accommodation," a spokesman said.
"We currently have temporary accommodation in place and the station is fully operational from that location."
At the outset the fire service recognised the investigation was going to be a "challenge" for experts.
The fire engine was so damaged and the heat was so intense a forensic investigation was needed but experts were optimistic they would find evidence of a cause.
Head of community safety Stuart Horth said the fire had created concerns.
"Checks have been made at other fire stations to identify potential risks and all were registered as safe," he said.
The £1m single storey fire station was officially opened in July 2006.
It had an appliance bay where the fire is believed to have started, lecture room, offices, a kitchen and storage areas.
A year before the opening the fire station received a new state-of-the-art rescue pump.
The site was also shared with Norfolk Police and this was said at the time to be a great advantage.
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An electrical fault in an appliance parked at a "state-of-the-art" Norfolk fire station caused a disastrous blaze in April last year, a report has said.
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AnÃbal Cavaco Silva said the budget didn't treat citizens fairly, and hit some of them worse than others.
The right-of-centre government has argued that the unprecedented tax increases the budget contains were necessary to meet the terms of the country's eurozone bailout.
It is only the second time a Portuguese head of state has made such a move.
For most Portuguese workers the tax rises that came into effect on January 1 are equivalent to more than a month's wages.
President Cavaco Silva made the surprise announcement in his New Year's speech, the day after signing the budget into law.
"On my initiative, the Constitutional Court will be called on to decide on the conformity of the 2013 state budget with the constitution of the republic," he said.
In his speech he also said the country was in a vicious circle of austerity and recession and acknowledged that Portugal's foreign debt, now twice as high as Portugal's annual output, was unsustainable.
The opposition Socialists had already questioned the validity of the tax hikes and had threatened to take them to the Constitutional Court if the president did not.
Last year the court ruled against a pay cut for civil servants which forced the government to seek alternative sources of revenue.
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The Portuguese president has said that he will send this year's controversial budget to the Constitutional Court.
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The women, who famously appeared semi-nude in a charity calendar that inspired a hit film, joined Camilla at Buckingham Palace.
They were joined by thousands of Women's Institute (WI) members, at least one from every branch.
The duchess is a member of the Tetbury WI near her Highgrove home.
She was joined at the party by three other royals, the Countess of Wessex, the Duchess of Gloucester and the Queen's cousin Princess Alexandra.
Members of the Rylstone and District WI in North Yorkshire created the infamous calendar in 1999 to raise money after one of their husbands - John Baker - was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and later died from the illness.
Their story was immortalised in the hit movie Calendar Girls starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, and now Take That front man Gary Barlow is working on a musical based on their experiences.
Mr Baker's widow Angela, 69, who has since remarried, was one of six of the original Calendar Girls invited to the palace. She was played by Julie Walters in the film, and was the piano-playing Miss February in the calendar.
They all wore their trademark black dresses, string of pearls and a single sunflower - a flower Mr Baker grew before he died.
"It's just brilliant to be here with these ladies, all these fantastic WI ladies," she said.
"When we first did the calendar it was a big thing for me to do, John had just died and we were doing it in his memory and we've raised millions for (the charity) Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.
"We never thought we would sell so many copies of the calendar, we don't mind people having copied us, but we were the first."
The WI was formed in 1915, a year in to World War One, to rejuvenate rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food to help combat German naval blockades.
It was inspired by an idea from Canada and was first founded in the Anglesey village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll - famous for having Britain's longest place name.
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The WI's Calendar Girls have met the Duchess of Cornwall as she hosted a garden party to celebrate the institution's centenary year.
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Gilmour's Rattle That Lock topped the official chart nearly 20,000 copies ahead of Del Rey's record, Honeymoon.
It is the guitarist's second solo number one, after 2006's On An Island. He last topped the charts in November, with Pink Floyd's The Endless River.
"It's thrilling to get a number one," he said. "We all want to hit the top spot, however long we've been at it."
Gilmour easily outpaced the competition in a big week for new releases. He was joined in the Top 40 by new albums from Keith Richards, Drake & Future and Gabrielle Aplin.
Cliff Richard scored his 43rd top 10 album with the greatest hits collection 75 at 75, which landed at number four.
And country singer Ryan Adams also made a new appearance at 19, thanks to his "cover album" of Taylor Swift's 1989.
The original was two places higher, marking its 48th week in the top 40.
In the singles chart, Justin Bieber spent a third week at number one with his tropical dance track, What Do You Mean? - which was streamed 3.2 million times over the last week.
The Canadian singer has a fight on his hands next week from Sam Smith's Bond theme, Writing's On The Wall, which has already topped the iTunes chart after eight hours on sale.
Elsewhere in the top 40, Ellie Goulding scored her tenth Top 10 hit with On My Mind - the first single from her forthcoming album Delirium.
The song was originally released last Thursday, making it chart-eligible for 24 hours, during which time it reached number 165. This week, it climbed 158 places to land at number seven.
Other new entries included Runnin' (Lose It All), a collaboration between Beyonce and British producer Naughty Boy, which debuted at 11.
One Direction's Infinity, which became available on Tuesday to coincide with the announcement of the band's fifth album, Made In The AM, made its initial chart showing at number 36.
As well as Sam Smith, this week sees new singles from Little Mix and Rudimental featuring Ed Sheeran.
New Order, Disclosure, Chvrches and former Westlife member Shane Filan will all be vying to score the number one album.
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Lana Del Rey has been denied her third consecutive number one on the UK album chart by Pink Floyd star David Gilmour.
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The 32-year-old, who has eight caps for Jamaica, was released by the Royals at the end of last season after five years with the club.
He captained the side during their spell in the Premier League two years ago and made 35 appearances in the Championship last term.
"It's been a long summer for me," McAnuff told the Orient website.
"I've had a few offers but have been waiting for the right fit and I believe I've found it here at Orient."
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Former Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff has joined League One side Leyton Orient on a two-year contract.
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That is because on Thursday the town officially changed its name to its original indigenous title, Utqiagvik.
The city of about 4,300 people, which sits above the Arctic Circle, experiences more than two months of 24-hour darkness each winter.
Meteorologists predict that the sun will not rise again over the city until the afternoon of 22 January, 2017.
Due to a tilt in the earth's rotation, the sun never rises above the horizon in polar regions during the winter, and never sets there during the summer.
Residents of the city then known as Barrow voted in October to restore its traditional Inupiaq name, Utqiagvik, which means "a place to gather roots" in the local language.
Mayor Bob Harcharek said that the name change "reclaims our beautiful Inupiaq language".
The ordinance was introduced by city council member Qaiyaan Harcharek, son of the mayor, to "promote pride in identity" and "perpetuate healing and growth from the assimilation and oppression from the colonists".
He explained to Alaska Public Media that very few people still speak Inupiaq, and that "our people were severely punished from speaking our traditional language for many years", when missionaries first arrived in the region with the intent of assimilating native peoples.
The Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska estimates that only about 3,000 people speak Inupiaq today.
The name change passed by only six votes, with some residents disagreeing with the cost of changing official references on road signs and municipal documents.
In pictures: Living near the Arctic Circle
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On 18 November 2016 at 13:31 local time, the sun set forever on America's northernmost city of Barrow, Alaska.
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Last night, Rotherham MP John Healey met government business minister Anna Soubry to ask the government for a further £4.5m to match the cash.
It will be used to help retrain some workers and also to support those jobs affected in the local supply chain.
In July, Tata Steel announced 720 job losses, most of which will go in Rotherham.
In October it announced a further 1,200 job losses in Scunthorpe.
Ms Soubry, Conservative minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise, said she could see no reason why the government could not match the funding if a strong bid was made by Sheffield City Region local enterprise partnership (LEP).
Mr Healey said Sheffield City Region expected the government to match local resources as has happened elsewhere in the country, such as a £9m deal for Scunthorpe.
He said: "It's down to us in South Yorkshire to pull our finger out and get the plans together to put to government.
"South Yorkshire MPs must then lean on the government to say, 'do your bit'."
A Sheffield City Region LEP task force will shape the overall plan.
Councillor Chris Read, Rotherham Council leader and member of Sheffield City Region, said: "Workers in Rotherham facing redundancy will want to know we are doing everything to support them and help them back to work.
"I am determined that we will do all that we can. Companies in the supply chain will feel the impact too, and we will also be working to support these businesses, and their employees, as a key part of this plan."
Ms Soubry said she had already asked officials to see if £1.5m for training and skills could be made available more quickly.
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Sheffield City Region has announced £4.5m to help hundreds of steelworkers facing redundancy in South Yorkshire.
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"The attacker is trying to extort us money to make it stop," representatives of the company, which has 15 million users, said in a blog post.
"We refused to give in," they added.
On Tuesday, the popular online notes and web clippings service Evernote suffered a similar attack.
It is not yet known whether the two are linked, but Feedly and Evernote work closely together.
After coming under attack earlier on Wednesday, Feedly assured users their data was safe, and said it was working with its network provider to remove the threat.
On Tuesday, Evernote members were temporarily unable to synchronise their notes from one device to another while it continued.
The California-based company announced last month that it had more than 100 million users.
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are caused by what can be thousands of computers sending huge amounts of data to a target's servers in an effort to overwhelm them.
This sometimes involves hijacked PCs - whose owners may be unaware of their involvement - in what is known as a botnet.
This is not the first time Evernote has been compromised. In 2013 it said hackers had managed to access user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords.
However, it appears that the latest cyber-assault is more limited.
Spokeswoman Ronda Scott told the BBC that the cyber-assault, caused by an unknown perpetrator, began at 14:25 local time [22:25 BST] on Tuesday and had not yet ended.
"We continue to mitigate the effects of the attack, but have successfully returned Evernote to service," she added.
"As is the nature of DDoS attacks, there was no data loss, and no accounts were compromised."
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The news aggregator Feedly says it has come under a "distributed denial of service" attack from cyber criminals, which is preventing users from accessing its service.
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Fatbergs are caused when cooking fat, oil and grease are poured down drains and become tangled up with waste items like baby wipes and sanitary products.
The blockage is in a sewer beneath the Dublin Road in Belfast.
Northern Ireland Water said crews have already removed "a couple of hundred tonnes" of grease from the sewer.
The firm said cooking fat is a "significant" problem in the area as it houses several fast food outlets.
The company's networks sewerage manager, Gavin McCready, warned restaurant owners that fatbergs could have some very unpleasant side-effects.
"These fat blockages can not only result in out-of-sewer flooding, but odour problems and the risk of rat infestations both near and beyond your premises."
Mr McCready also said it was adding unnecessary costs to the businesses and the public purse.
"While most businesses use grease traps and bin their waste correctly, those that don't are contributing to a massive fatberg in the sewers around the area.
"Our team has been on the site, working over a number of Sunday mornings, clearing the fat that has solidified.
"This is labour intensive work that can only be done early in the morning before the traffic builds up."
In the last two years NI Water has spent over £5m clearing blockages from the sewer system.
The company said up to 80% of blockages were caused by fat, oil and grease and other inappropriate items being flushed into drains.
The items get stuck together and form a ball, which can build up over time to block sewer pipes.
Earlier this month, NI Water spent five hours clearing a fatberg from a drain in Newry, County Down.
The blockage was at Buttercrane Quay in the city centre.
In August 2013, Britain's biggest ever fatberg was removed from a London sewer.
Thames Water said the lump found under a street in Kingston upon Thames was the size of a bus.
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An operation to remove a "massive fatberg" from a Belfast sewer has been ongoing for the last six Sundays and is expected to take several more.
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His departure comes amid plans to cut about 1,200 jobs as part of a "strategic change" plan.
Woolworths is looking to cut millions of dollars in costs and improve sales after its first-half profits fell.
It hopes to win back customers from rivals such as Coles and Aldi by lowering prices and improving stores.
The retailer recently trimmed its profit guidance for the year to June, which would be only the second fall in annual profits for the company.
Since going public, the only other year that Woolworths' annual profits fell was 1999.
"The recent performance has been disappointing and below expectations. I believe it is in the best interests of the company for new leadership to see these plans to fruition," Mr O'Brien said.
Woolworths said it would start the search for a new chief executive. The company's head of retail services, Penny Winn, will also quit.
Shares in Woolworths rose by 2.4% in Sydney trading following the news.
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The chief executive of Australia's Woolworths, Grant O'Brien, is stepping down after nearly four years at the supermarket chain.
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The state's Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) said it wanted to better protect consumers, and prevent money-laundering.
It comes as a top Bitcoin exchange, Mt Gox, filed for bankruptcy last month.
Bitcoins have been gaining in popularity recently, but they are not governed by any financial regulator.
"The fact is that virtual currencies are unlikely to disappear entirely," said Benjamin Lawsky, New York's superintendent of financial services.
"As such, turning a blind eye and failing to put in place guardrails for virtual currency firms while consumers use that product is simply not a tenable strategy for regulators."
The lack of any regulatory control or oversight of Bitcoins has triggered concerns on various fronts.
It is difficult to trace transactions carried out using Bitcoins - one of the factors behind their popularity - and the currency has been linked to illegal activity online.
Bitcoins are also seen by some as a route for tax evasion and money laundering.
Russia has declared transactions using the digital currency illegal, China has banned its banks from handling Bitcoin trades, and there have been calls for the US to do the same.
Singapore has imposed a tax on Bitcoin trading and using it to pay for services, after classifying it as goods, rather than a currency.
Earlier this month, the Japanese government also said Bitcoin is not a currency and that some transactions using the virtual unit should be taxed.
The collapse of Mt Gox has only added to the concerns.
The firm filed for bankruptcy in Japan in February after losing about $473m (£284m) worth of customers' bitcoins to what it says was a hacking attack.
"The recent problems at Mt Gox and other firms further demonstrate the urgent need for stronger oversight of virtual currency exchanges," said Mr Lawsky.
"Consumers should understand and receive appropriate disclosures about the potential risks associated with using virtual currencies or any other financial product."
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New York's financial regulator has called on firms to submit proposals to set up "regulated" exchanges for digital currencies like Bitcoin.
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The company has been in dispute for more than a year with the RMT over changes to guards' roles on trains.
RMT conductors saw the changes as a ploy to phase out a second person on trains. It has now proposed a six-month trial with two staff guaranteed on all affected services.
But Southern said what the RMT wanted was "a guarantee to cancel trains".
Under the changes to guards' roles, which were also opposed by the Aslef train drivers' union, responsibility for opening and closing doors passes to the driver rather than the conductor.
The practice is called driver-only-operation (DOO).
Southern rail strike: What's it about?
RMT leaders have set out an "accessibility guarantee" plan, which would ensure a driver and an on-board supervisor staff all trains.
This would mean disabled, elderly and vulnerable passengers would be provided with guaranteed assistance from on-board staff on all services without the need to book in advance, the union said.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "We are hoping the company will reconsider our proposal for a trial six-month period of an accessibility guarantee.
"We would hope that they would agree to this sensible proposal as the Association of Train Operating Companies consultant's report has said train companies should guarantee a second person to comply with their legal obligations."
But a spokesman for Southern said: "The guarantee the RMT wants is a guarantee to cancel trains. We want to put the passenger first and keep trains running.
"Driver-controlled operation is safe and provision for those who need assistance has not deteriorated while, at the same time, service levels have steadily improved."
RMT members on Southern will stage a fresh strike next Monday, while Aslef has banned overtime.
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Union leaders have held talks with MPs over a plan they claim could end the long-running row on Southern rail.
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Charteris is expected to be ruled out of Racing 92's match with Grenoble in France's Top 14 on Saturday.
Wales team medical staff will assess his knee injury when he returns for international duty next week.
The 32-year-old Bath-bound second row played in Wales' Six Nations draw against Ireland and last Saturday's 27-23 win over Scotland.
Charteris is one of 10 current Wales squad members based in either England or France who have been released for domestic matches this weekend.
He was expected to be picked to face Grenoble, while centre Jonathan Davies could play for Clermont Auvergne on their trip to Castres.
There are seven members of Warren Gatland's squad at Aviva Premiership clubs - including George North and Jamie Roberts who both scored tries in the win against Scotland.
Bradley Davies, who would probably take over Charteris' place in the team if he is unavailable, is at Wasps who play Bath on Saturday.
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Wales lock Luke Charteris could be a doubt for the Six Nations match against France in Cardiff on 26 February.
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The 39-year-old took eight wickets in the County Championship win over Somerset last week.
"I'm totally happy with retiring," he told BBC Radio Leeds.
"To play 20 years and have the career I've had, I'm very lucky. I've always wanted to go out on a high and hopefully I can go away with a trophy."
Sidebottom has taken 16 wickets at an average of 15.18 in his three Championship matches so far this summer.
Andrew Gale's side are second in the County Championship but were beaten by Surrey in the quarter-finals of the One-Day Cup on Tuesday.
Despite the disappointment, Sidebottom feels the side will have benefitted from the experience.
"We've got a lot of young, talented players in the team who got us to that position and I think they will gain from the experience of playing stronger teams," he said.
"We have put our heart and soul into doing better in one-day cricket because we've not been good enough in recent years. Hopefully the younger lads will learn from it.
"Guys like Ben Coad, Matthew Fisher and Matthew Waite have all come through the academy and done brilliantly."
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Yorkshire seamer Ryan Sidebottom is not rethinking his plan to retire at the end of the season despite his strong start to the campaign.
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It said it does not intend to demolish any houses to make room for the multi-million-pounds stadium.
Senior official Stephen McGeehan said the GAA is willing to consider a capacity below 38,000, the number of seats in the original redesign plan.
A new community consultation about the proposal was announced on Tuesday.
"The GAA has no intention, and never had, of knocking people's houses down, of purchasing or demolishing anyone's homes," said Mr McGeehan, who is the Casement Park project manager.
Planning permission for the stadium's redevelopment was overturned in 2014 and since then the GAA has been working on a new planning application.
The GAA said it wants to hear feedback from people in west Belfast and further afield about the proposed new stadium and has organised a number of consultation initiatives.
The GAA has laid out a proposed timetable for the stadium:
The GAA said the redesigned stadium will take into account the fears over the emergency exiting arrangements in the original design.
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The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has said it hopes to start building a new Casement Park stadium next year and play matches at the ground by 2019.
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Oliver Scullion, son of the manager of Hilden Brewery, died in the incident at the premises on Grand Street.
It is understood he was crushed under a large metal tank. The boy's father is also believed to have been injured.
The Health and Safety Executive is investigating. In a statement, the boy's family said they were "deeply upset" and requested privacy.
SDLP councillor Pat Catney, who is a close friend of the family, said the child was "a force of nature".
"This little blond four-year-old wonder enchanted everyone who met him," he said.
"He was part of the life here at the brewery and I know that the staff are also devastated at his death."
The Health and Safety Executive said in a statement on Thursday it had been "notified of the death of a young child at a commercial premises in the Lisburn area and is investigating the circumstances".
It added: "We are unable to comment further at this stage except to offer our deepest sympathy to the family."
Established in 1981, Hilden Brewery is billed as the oldest independent brewery on the island of Ireland.
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A four-year-old boy has been killed in an accident at a family-owned brewery near Lisburn, County Antrim.
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The Portuguese, 39, replaced Mike Phelan in January on a deal until the end of the season but could not save them from the drop to the Championship.
He led Hull to six wins from his 18 Premier League games, with relegation confirmed after a 4-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on 14 May.
In a statement, Hull said they were "disappointed" by the departure of a "firm fans' favourite".
The club were relegated in the penultimate week of the season and Silva said at the time: "It's my goal as a manager to work in the Premier League."
The former Sporting Lisbon and Olympiakos manager has been linked with Watford after the dismissal of Walter Mazzarri, but said recently he had not received an offer from the Hornets or any other club.
"Everyone knows when you have the chance to work in the Premier League, you don't want to work in Championship, it's normal," he said last week.
A statement from Hull said Silva "will be forever remembered for his efforts to maintain our Premier League status".
It added: "Unfortunately, after considering his future, he has chosen to leave in order to further his career."
Assistant head coach Joao Pedro Sousa, first team coach Goncalo Pedro and goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira have also left the club.
BBC Radio Humberside sports editor Matt Dean:
Marco Silva is undoubtedly a loss, although his departure isn't exactly a surprise. His drive, energy and focus for the job was unwavering and his values rubbed off on his players and the fans. He was always viewed as a coach bound for bigger things and brighter times.
The club will be hard pressed to find another in his mould. Whoever gets the job will have to pick up the pieces of a squad shorn of six loan players now back with their parent clubs and be capable of galvanising those left, including the fans. There are no guarantees either that players such as Harry Maguire, Andy Robertson and Abel Hernandez will remain at the club.
Fans will watch with keen interest to see how serious the club's owners are to get the club back to the Premier League with the next appointment and the resources allocated to them.
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Marco Silva has resigned as Hull City manager after the club's relegation.
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The amount that landlords will be able to claim will be set at the basic rate of tax, which is currently 20%.
The move is aimed at creating a "level playing field" between homeowners and investors, chancellor George Osborne said.
The change will be introduced over four years from April 2017.
Currently property investors can claim tax relief on their monthly interest repayments at the top level of tax they pay, meaning the wealthiest can claim as much as 45%.
Mr Osborne said the current system gave buy-to-let landlords "a huge advantage in the market", compared with home buyers.
"The better-off the landlord, the more tax relief they get," he said.
Buy-to-let properties now account for over 15% of new mortgages, something the Bank of England warned last week could pose a risk to the UK's financial stability.
Separately, Mr Osborne said tax relief for people who rent out a room in their home would be increased from its current level of £4,250 - where it has been frozen for 18 years - to £7,500 from next year.
Nicholas Leeming, chairman of national estate agents Jackson-Stops & Staff, said the changes to tax relief would hit many small and older private investors.
"This is a major blow to a sector that is heavily reliant on private investors and who provide a crucial supply of property to the private rental sector," he added.
He also warned the move could hit the supply of rental properties making it harder for people who wanted the flexibility of being able to rent rather than buy.
Graham Davidson, the managing director of Sequre Property Investment, a firm which specialises solely in buy-to-let investments, said about half of its customers were cash buyers, meaning they would not be affected by the move.
But he said those that were affected were likely to increase their rental fee to compensate for the higher tax bill.
"The single biggest impact will be to tenants rather than landlords," he warned.
But the director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, Paul Smee, said the fact that the change was being introduced slowly would soften the blow.
"The phasing is important. We will need to understand whether this will have a behavioural impact on higher-rate buy-to-let landlords, but a four-year timetable does at least reduce the risk of sudden market shocks," he said.
Shares in house building firms fell, with Barratt Developments down 5.7% and Redrow down 5.2%.
July 2015 Budget full BBC online coverage
BBC Budget Live
HM Treasury link to Budget documents
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Buy-to-let landlords face cuts in the amount of tax relief they can claim on mortgage interest payments, the government has said.
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Locke was himself sacked by Raith Rovers last month with the Scottish Championship side on a run of 15 games without a victory.
The 41-year-old inherits a side sitting seven points adrift at the foot of Scottish League Two.
Caretakers Neil Hastings and Burton O'Brien take charge for the final time against Berwick Rangers on Saturday.
But Locke will be present as the Blue Brazil look to end a run of 15 games without a win.
Cowdenbeath said in a website statement: "We ask all fans to give Gary a very warm welcome to Central Park and their full support as we face the major challenge that lies ahead in the next couple of months."
The Fife club accepted Fox's resignation as head coach on Monday.
"The club regrets that, despite Liam's great efforts and true professionalism, he was not able to bring the success we all wished for," said Cowdenbeath.
"He did face a number of challenges this season, some of which few managers would normally expect to encounter, especially in their first season in management.
"He leaves Central Park with the respect and best wishes of the chairman and all the directors of the club."
Fox, who had previously been on the coaching staff at Hearts, had taken charge at Central Park during the summer.
The 33-year-old said: "Firstly, I'd like to thank Cowdenbeath for giving me the opportunity to manage their football club.
"The experience gained and lessons learned in a short period of time will no doubt prove invaluable to me in my career."
Locke is also a former Hearts player and started his managerial career at Tynecastle before moving on to Kilmarnock then, last summer, to Stark's Park.
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Gary Locke has been appointed manager of Cowdenbeath until the end of the season after the exit of Liam Fox.
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The Birmingham-born musician will host Jazz Now alongside singer Emma Smith and Irish trumpeter Al Ryan every Monday night from 4 April.
It replaces Jazz On 3, which has been running for 18 years. That show's host, Jez Nelson, will move to Jazz FM.
Kinch said he wanted the new show to "shake up our jazz world with a bit of controversy".
Its remit is to explore the "vibrant new and underground jazz scene" - broadcasting from car parks and dance music clubs as well as established jazz venues.
Kinch's appointment is significant because he bridges the divide between the often closeted world of jazz and contemporary mainstream music.
A double MOBO-award winner and Mercury Prize-nominee, he has been described as one of British music's "freshest and most exciting prospects".
"Mr Kinch demonstrates what England has to teach [the USA] about narrative Hip-Hop," wrote The New York Times, reviewing his first US show in 2004.
The first edition of Jazz Now will feature a concert by the British trio Malija; an interview with Mobo-winners Binker and Moses, and newly discovered recordings of organ legend Larry Young.
The following week will see the launch of a regular series of masterclasses by influential musicians, the first of which features saxophonist and composer Patrick Cornelius.
Future episodes will include the world premiere of Hans Koller's new composition, Twelve Re-Inventions for George Russell; up-and-coming trumpeter Ralph Alessi; and coverage of the BBC Young Musician 2016 Jazz Award.
"The underground and emerging jazz and wider contemporary music scene is really exciting right now," said Alan Davey, Controller of BBC Radio 3.
"We wanted to bring that scene to our audiences and through enlisting expert performers such as Soweto, Emma and Al, I am confident Jazz Now will do just that."
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Renowned saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch is to front a new-look jazz show on BBC Radio 3.
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The 40-year-old has succeeded compatriot Jose Riga, who helped the Addicks avoid relegation from the Championship.
Peeters was most recently in charge of Belgian outfit Waasland-Beveren and has also managed Cercle Brugge and Gent.
The former striker, who was capped 13 times by Belgium, also had a two-year spell as a player at Millwall between 2003 and 2005.
Peeters will work alongside Charlton first-team coach Damien Matthew.
Former Charlton assistant manager Alex Dyer will not be part of the new setup and has left the club after after three-and-a-half years at The Valley.
Riga, 56, took over as Charlton manager in March following Chris Powell's sacking and had hoped to remain in charge after seven wins from 16 games.
But Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet, who also owns Standard Liege, decided against that in favour of Peeters.
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Charlton have appointed former Belgium international Bob Peeters as manager.
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Traffic Scotland said the crash near the Gladsmuir junction took place in weather which was causing "dangerous driving conditions".
They urged drivers to be aware of potential problems.
Police confirmed they were at the scene but said that it was too early to give details of the accident.
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The A1 road in East Lothian has been closed in both directions following a collision.
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30 December 2014 Last updated at 14:11 GMT
Keepers have named the female Rothschild's giraffe calf Zahra, which means 'flower' in Swahili.
The 1.8m tall calf was born to mum Aiofe and dad Meru.
Rothschild's are one of the world's most endangered sub-species of giraffe, with experts predicting that there are less than 1,100 left in the wild.
"We're happy to report that our new, not-so-little, youngster is doing well and is already confident on her long legs," said Tim Rowlands, the curator of mammals at Chester Zoo.
The zoo now has a herd of eight Rothschild's giraffes - Meru, Aoife, Dagma, Orla, Tula, Kanzi, Millie and Zahra.
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Visitors to Chester Zoo are getting their first glimpse of a rare baby giraffe born just before Christmas.
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Hywel Dda University Health Board held a public meeting in Llanelli on Thursday and agreed the reduction should be made with "immediate effect".
It means the paediatric ambulatory care unit (PACU) at Withybush Hospital will be open from 10:00 GMT to 18:00 instead of 10:00 to 22:00.
The health board said it had experienced recruitment problems.
The move means sick children who require assessment after the new closing time will be referred or transferred by ambulance to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.
Speaking on behalf of the health board's Community Health Council, Alyson Thomas said: "It's incredibly disappointing the people of Pembrokeshire are now in this situation.
"We are concerned about the health board's handling of the situation."
The health board's medical director, Dr Philip Kloer, told the meeting there had been "difficulties for some time" with the recruitment of paediatric consultants.
"The action taken to address recruitment during the middle of the year was not as successful as hoped," he said.
The health board's chair Bernadine Rees said the recommendation was accepted with a "heavy heart," but that it was being done on an "interim" basis in the interest of safety.
Plaid Cymru AM Simon Thomas said a "further reduction of services" left him "very concerned at the long term safety at Withybush".
"As a parent I would not have confidence with this service," he said.
"I'm asking for the cabinet secretary for health to take action for the people of Pembrokeshire."
The Welsh Government said the move was so the health board could provide a safe, reliable service.
"What would be unacceptable is for the health board to run a service they know is unsafe," a spokeswoman said.
"It is important to note that the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's review of November 2015 concluded that it would make "no clinical sense" to revert to the previous 24/7 paediatric service model."
Labour AM Eluned Morgan said: "A lack of early action has meant that board members have had no option but to cut PACU by four hours each day.
"I am encouraged that the board has listened to my concerns over taking a more serious and focused approach to managing this service long-term.
"They have provided their assurance that they will work hard to return a 12 hour service for families in Pembrokeshire."
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Plans to temporarily reduce the opening hours of a children's care unit in Pembrokeshire have been backed.
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The annual June event - known as the Hoppings, after an old English word for dance - features more than 300 rides, sideshows, and other amusements.
The Discovery Museum exhibition explores the fair's history and the lives of the travelling showmen.
Visitors will also be able to play on vintage slot machines.
The gathering began as a Temperance Fair in 1882, in what was seen as an antidote to the Newcastle Races which had, up to then, been held on the Town Moor.
Through the years, generations of travelling families from all round the country have taken part in what is believed to be the largest such event in Europe, and it continues to attract tens of thousands of visitors.
The Discovery Museum exhibition - which runs until 1 October - features more than 50 vintage working amusement machines, from What the Butler Saw (early moving pictures) to pinball and fruit machines, which visitors can play using old pennies purchased from the museum.
Carolyn Ball, Museum Manager said: "The Hoppings is firmly placed in Tyneside's events calendar and has been loved by people in the area for generations.
"The exhibition will celebrate the history of the famous fair and visitors can step back in time and have a go on lots of rare vintage amusement machines."
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An exhibition celebrating the 135th anniversary of what is billed as the largest travelling funfair in Europe has opened in Newcastle.
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Portrait of Caterina, dated to 1657, has been at Penrhyn Castle, Llandegai, Gwynedd, since 1860 before being provisionally sold.
But the UK government withheld the export licence until February.
This was to enable a UK buyer to raise the money to buy the painting.
Auction house Sotheby's has now confirmed that the overseas buyer has withdrawn an application to take the picture out of the country. It may be loaned to a museum or art gallery.
The subject of the portrait, Catrina Hooghsaet, was a wealthy Amsterdam Christian Mennonite who was married but separated from her husband.
In a statement, the Art Fund said the painting was of "supreme national importance" and its future was still "perilously unsafe".
It had started fund raising to buy the picture for the nation.
Art experts say it is one of the Dutch master's finest portraits.
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A £35m painting by Rembrandt, which has been in Wales for 150 years, will stay in Britain for the time being after an overseas buyer withdrew an application for an export licence.
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The number of active users on the social network reached 255 million in the first three months of 2014, up 5.8% on the previous quarter but below analysts' expectations.
Twitter also reported a net loss of $132m (£78m) for the latest quarter.
But it posted revenue of $250m, $226m of which came through advertising.
Despite higher user growth than the previous quarter, when Twitter saw just a 3.8% rise, Twitter's stocks fell by more than 11% in after-hours trading, sending the price below its initial public offering of $38.80 per share.
The rise in Twitter active users comes after four consecutive quarters of declining growth, but the turnaround was not strong enough to convince investors.
Twitter's chief executive Dick Costolo highlighted the company's revenue increase, and said it was "fuelled by increased engagement and user growth".
The integration of advertising management software MoPub had helped Twitter "reach more than 1bn iOS and Android users each month", he added.
Another measure of user engagement, timeline views, increased 15% in the first three months of 2014 to 157 billion.
But the number of Twitter users is still well below its most high-profile competitor, Facebook, which boasts 1.28 billion active users.
WhatsApp, the messaging app Facebook bought for $19bn, recently passed the 500 million user milestone.
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Shares in Twitter dropped to their lowest levels since the company's stock market flotation, as it reported slower than expected user growth.
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Former Celtic boss Neil Lennon was quoted saying: "Nothing will prepare Warburton for his first taste of the Old Firm as a manager."
Warburton responded: "My background is one that's involved many pressurised situations in and out of football.
"If I can't deal with it, I shouldn't be doing the job, simple as that."
Rangers lost to Glasgow rivals Celtic in last season's League Cup in what was a one-sided contest.
Both sides lead their respective leagues, with Warburton close to clinching promotion to the top flight in his first campaign at Ibrox.
Asked about Lennon's comments, he continued: "I'm sure certain managers will say they have been misquoted or things have been taken out of context.
"You can't turn round and say you are ready for it but I'm also somewhat bemused by people who say you won't be able to deal with it.
"The fact is we've dealt with it all season. It's another game of football. We understand the significance of it. It's a highly-important game for the fans and it's a semi-final. I get all of that.
"But if you can't deal with that, don't be in the business."
Lennon also suggested Celtic will have the upper hand due to superior strength but Warburton does not fear being outmuscled at Hampden.
"Football is a game of opinions and that's the beauty of the sport, it incites so much opinions," said the former Brentford boss.
"But the fact is that we are very confident in our side and how we have fared this season. Our physicality in our minds is not in question."
Victory away to Raith Rovers on Saturday, coupled with a defeat for Hibernian at St Mirren, would deliver the Championship crown for runaway leaders Rangers.
"Raith are on a very good run of form right now so we need to go there and deliver a performance, otherwise we'll get hurt," added Warburton.
"The focus is very much on what we do. What happens away from us we can't control but what we can control is our own performance.
"On Saturday and Tuesday [at home to Dumbarton], the lads have the opportunity to take the club back to the top tier of Scottish football, so they are well aware of the significance and the expectations of the fans, the desire to get Rangers back to where they need to be.
"They recognise the opportunity but they've got to enjoy it. We don't want to limp over the line. We want to finish in a convincing manner."
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Rangers manager Mark Warburton insists he has the experience to deal with the pressure of facing Celtic in next month's Scottish Cup semi-final.
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It reported underlying pre-tax profits of £381m in the year to 2 May, with revenues up 6% to £9.9bn.
The firm was formed last year by the merger of Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail.
"This has been a terrific first year for Dixons Carphone," said the firm's chief executive Sebastian James.
"We have seen excellent increases in both sales and profitability and we have made very encouraging progress with the tricky job of integrating these two great companies," he continued.
In the UK and Ireland, where it trades under the Carphone Warehouse, Currys and PC World names, sales rose by 8%.
UK sales were helped by the failure of rival mobile retailer Phones4U, which collapsed last September.
Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers: "Profitability at the group's core UK and Irish operations has enjoyed a solid increase, aided by gains in market share, whilst merger cost savings remain on track."
In Greece, where Dixons Carphone trades under the Kotsovolos name, the firm said it recorded an increase in like-for-like revenues, with strong demand for large screen TVs.
"We have a fantastic team in Greece," Mr James told the BBC. "They've been very entrepreneurial in thinking about every possible outcome, and how we would react to it."
However, trading in southern Europe had struggled with like-for-like sales down 5%. The firm said its business in Spain continued to operate in a "tough marketplace".
Earlier this month, Dixons Carphone announced a deal with US telecoms firm Sprint, which could lead to a joint venture opening up to 500 stores in the US.
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Dixons Carphone has reported a 21% jump in profits in its first annual results since the merger that created the mobile phone and electrical goods firm.
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Hodgson resigned immediately after England were knocked out of Euro 2016 following a shock defeat to Iceland in the last 16.
Rodgers was named Celtic manager in May after leaving Liverpool in October.
"I've just landed my dream job. The team I've supported all my life," Rodgers said. "I'll be at Celtic, that's for sure."
England under-21 manager Gareth Southgate was installed as the favourite to succeed Hodgson, but he, like Rodgers, has said he is not interested in the job.
Rodgers will be in the Celtic dugout for the first time on Thursday as the Scottish champions take on NK Celje in Slovenia in a pre-season friendly.
Their first competitive action will be in the second week of July against either Estonian side Flora Tallinn or Lincoln of Gibraltar in the Champions League second qualifying round.
"I haven't even walked out for my first game," Rodgers continued.
"Imagine me as a Celtic supporter having walked out on the job at Parkhead!
Media playback is not supported on this device
"Is it flattering (being linked with England)? It's football. There are very few professions where one minute you're up, then down, then up again - that's just how it goes.
"If people think I can do jobs at a high level, then that's fine. But I'm busy here, worrying about what I have to do here."
Hodgson and the England players have come in for fierce criticism in the wake of the Iceland defeat, and Rodgers believes there will be enormous pressure on whoever is chosen to take the national team forward.
"It's a tough job, England. They've got a lot of good players but there is huge pressure, huge expectancy.
"There is a great group of players there. They've got some wonderful talents in that England squad, but it has been difficult for them at this tournament - and it has been like that for a few tournaments.
"So it's unfortunate how it ended for Roy because he's a good man, a very good coach.
"They now obviously have to appoint someone and look at creating an identity, a way the team can play."
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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has ruled himself out of the running to replace Roy Hodgson as England manager.
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Gotze, 24, made 83 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund before joining Bayern Munich in 2013.
The size of the deal is unknown, although reports have suggested it is in the region of £20m.
"I have since his departure in 2013, always hoped that he will one day return to us," Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told the club website.
Gotze helped Bayern to three Bundesliga titles, as well as scoring Germany's winning goal at the 2014 World Cup.
His move to Bayern for a reported 37m euros (£31.5m) was the most expensive German transfer at the time.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
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Borussia Dortmund have re-signed forward Mario Gotze on a four-year deal, subject to a medical.
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AutoRip, which is only available in the US, will automatically keep a digital copy of eligible CDs in a customer's cloud storage account.
Customers will be able to access the music via Amazon's Cloud Player on the web or via tablet and smartphone apps.
Amazon has drawn up a catalogue of 50,000 CDs that are eligible for AutoRip.
The catalogue has been compiled from those albums that have proved most popular with Amazon customers in the last 15 years.
The list includes "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson and "21" by Adele.
Any customer who has bought a CD in the catalogue from Amazon since the firm started trading in 1998 will be eligible to get a free MP3 copy of it. Amazon said it anticipated creating copies of millions of CDs.
"When we picked those 50,000 titles we focused on having a substantial majority of our physical CD sales covered," said Steve Boom, head of digital music at Amazon in a statement.
The service potentially makes it much easier for people to build up a library of digital music. Before now most CD owners had to rip the songs themselves to create digital versions.
The Amazon Cloud Player can be accessed a web browser, as well as on Android phones, iPhones, Kindle Fire tablets and other devices.
The move is widely seen as an attempt to take market share from arch-rival Apple's iTunes music store.
The Cupertino giant has similar cloud storage services for music and leads the market with more than 50% of the market share, while Amazon has less than 15%. Google offers a similar service.
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Online retailer Amazon has launched a service that stores free digital versions of CDs bought via its store.
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The 10-year-girl suffered multiple injuries following the crash on Manchester Road, Denton, on Friday.
She is in a serious, but stable condition, police said.
Murat Polat, 26, of Burlington Street, Ashton-under Lyne, will appear before Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Monday.
He is also charged with having no insurance.
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A man has been charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a child was badly hurt in a crash.
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Widnes led early on through Charly Runciman's try, but Jermaine McGillvary crossed to put Giants 6-4 ahead.
The visitors dominated from then on, as further tries from McGillvary, Lee Gaskell and Tom Symonds gave them a 14-point lead at half-time.
Stefan Marsh and Rhys Hanbury went over for Widnes, but tries from Aaron Murphy and Leroy Cudjoe sealed Giants' win.
Vikings finished seventh in Super League last season, but they have since seen influential stand-off Kevin Brown join Warrington, while scrum-half Joe Mellor will miss the first two months of the season through injury.
The hosts were punished for their inability to handle Giants' kicking game in the first half, as a number of spilled catches gave Giants good field position to punch over the line.
Huddersfield secured their position in Super League through the Qualifiers last season, but will hope for better this campaign after winning their first first season opener since beating Wigan in 2014.
Widnes head coach Denis Betts told BBC Radio Merseyside: "You could see it unfolding in front of your eyes, we were solid, defended well and controlled the collisions. We scored a really good try, I thought the practice is coming together and then we gave a couple of penalties away and Danny Brough's kicking game caused us problems.
"We were getting left on the floor and suddenly all the things we'd spoken about determination energy and effort we needed through the middle to control their hard-running middle unit went away.
"We're a decent side, run into a couple of things with injuries, but that was a good enough side that should have given us a performance to win the game. We're a miles better side than what we showed tonight."
Huddersfield Giants head coach Rick Stone told BBC Radio Leeds: "It wasn't too bad, we controlled the first half well, made a few little errors and Widens came pretty hard in the second half so there's a little bit to work on. But it's nice to go away and get a win in the first half.
"We had some good intent, played nice and direct and had good intent, some good last tackle options through Danny Brough.
"We came up with some decent plays to score some points and give ourselves a buffer that we needed in the end."
Widnes: Hanbury; Thompson, Armstrong, Runciman, Marsh; Bridge, Gilmore; Dudson, White, J Chapelhow, Whitley, Houston, Leuluai.
Replacements: Heremaia, Cahill, Olbison, T Chapelhow.
Huddersfield: Gaskell; McGillvary, Cudjoe, Mellor, Murphy; Brough, Brierley; Ikahihifo, Hinchcliffe, Ta'ai, Symonds, Ferguson, Lawrence.
Replacements: Wakeman, Leeming, Roberts, Clough.
Referee: Jack Smith.
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Huddersfield opened their Super League campaign with a comfortable 28-16 victory at Widnes Vikings.
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A stark warning issued by the UN's humanitarian office, Ocha, said the malnutrition situation is "alarming".
It added that nearly one million Somalis, one in 12 of the population, "struggle... to meet their food needs".
The drought in Somalia has been partly caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon which has affected east and southern Africa.
Africa Live: BBC news updates
Does Ethiopia need aid to cope with drought?
The worst-affected areas of the country are parts of Puntland and the self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Many of those in need of help are people who have been displaced by years of conflict in the country.
In all 4.7 million people, nearly 40% of the population, need some sort of humanitarian assistance.
As the drought is intensifying there "many more people risk relapsing into crisis," said the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia Peter de Clercq.
Highlighting the condition of the children, he said that 58,300 will die "if they are not treated".
Mr de Clercq appealed for more funds so they can be helped quickly.
In neighbouring Ethiopia more than 10 million people need food assistance following the failure of the rains.
And Zimbabwe has declared a state of disaster in some drought-affected areas of the country.
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More than 50,000 children in Somalia "face death" because of the ongoing drought there, the UN says.
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There are more than 1,000 Amazon Lockers in locations such as shopping centres, convenience stores, airports, train stations, and universities.
They enable customers who are unable to wait at home for orders to collect them from a location of their choice.
Amazon customers receive a unique barcode, which they enter or scan to retrieve their product at the locker.
Trevor Strain, chief financial officer of Morrisons, said he believed the option to pick items up "from one of our hundreds of conveniently located supermarkets will be attractive".
Meanwhile Amazon said the supermarkets were in "ideal locations" for customers to collect their items.
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Morrisons says it plans to install hundreds of Amazon lockers in its supermarkets this year.
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Mustafizur Rahman took 6-43 for Bangladesh as they bowled India out for 200, with opener Shikhar Dhawan top-scoring with 53 off 60 balls.
In reply, Shakib Al Hasan made 51 not out as Bangladesh comfortably won with nine overs to spare.
Bangladesh beat India by 79 runs in the first ODI on Thursday.
The result caps a remarkable period for the side who knocked out England of the World Cup in March. Bangladesh beat the English by 15 runs in Adelaide, with coach Peter Moores being sacked two months later.
Despite one game still left to play, Bangladesh clinched their first ever series win over India, aided by pace bowler Mustafizur's 11 wickets in the two matches so far.
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Bangladesh beat India by six wickets on the Duckworth-Lewis method to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their one-day international series.
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It is Samsung's equivalent of Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant - which is pre-installed already in Samsung phones as they run the Android operating system.
Bixby will initially be available in only two languages - US English and South Korean.
The launch had been delayed since April.
Samsung did not give a reason at the time but early testers of a limited demo model - including the BBC - had reported that it failed to understand commands.
The firm's latest device, the Galaxy Note 8, is due to be launched on 23 August.
What makes Bixby different from other voice assistants is that it is deeply integrated with functionalities unique to Samsung devices, said Ian Fogg, analyst at IHS Markit.
"Samsung always differentiates its phones by adding a lot of its own features to Android," he said.
These include tailored support for its own hardware such as the curved edge screen, stylus, VR support and camera.
Mr Fogg added that over time Bixby could also be included in other Samsung products which do not run on the Android operating system.
"A lot of people believe one voice agent will become the sole agent everyone will use," he said of the rivalry among the tech giants over digital assistants.
"But in life we don't have one single expert that we trust for everything. It might be they are good at different things.
"For the user it's just as easy to say Alexa, or Cortana, or Siri - there is no barrier to choosing an alternative voice agent."
However, he added that the technology will only be successful if it is dependable.
"To make it work you have to be able to understand speech reliably. If you don't do that nothing else happens. That should be a given".
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Samsung's voice-controlled digital assistant Bixby is being rolled out in 200 countries from today.
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