The number of people attending the Rugby World Cup in 2015 was the highest ever, with more than 2.5 million people attending the tournament.
The number of people attending the Rugby World Cup in 2015 was the highest ever, with more than 2.5 million people attending the tournament.
The tournament, which was held

Attendances at professional sports events in the UK topped 70 million this year, up 5% on 2014, according to Deloitte's sports business group.

Article: Red-necked phalaropes migrate to the Western Isles and to Orkney and Shetland during the summer.
Thirty-six breeding males were counted on RSPB Scotland's reserve in Fetlar, Shetland, equalling the highest number that has ever been recorded there.
A pair also bred at an RSPB reserve at Balranald in North Uist for the first time in 31 years.
Argyll, the most southerly the birds breed in the UK, had its best year on record with six males present, RSPB Scotland said.
Malcie Smith, the charity's species and habitats officer for Shetland, said: "It was so exciting to see that many phalaropes about for their very short summer season.
"It's very satisfying that our work here is paying off and that birds are now breeding in record numbers."
In a reversal of roles among birds, it is male red-necked phalaropes that incubate eggs and raise chicks.

Summary: A bird described as an "extremely rare" visitor to the UK has had one its best breeding seasons in years in Scotland.
###
Article: Football was the overall winner in the attendance stakes at 43.4 million, while three of the 10 best attended showpieces were horseracing events.
Rugby union attendances, boosted by the 2.5 million fans at the Rugby World Cup, climbed to 7.5 million.
This year's total was less than the 75 million at UK sports events in 2012.
However, that year was boosted by 11 million visitors to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.
Excluding the Rugby World Cup, the 10 most popular individual sporting events of 2015 had a combined attendance of 2.5 million, with Wimbledon topping the list again.
The tennis tournament attracted just under half a million spectators during the fortnight.
In terms of attendees-per-event-day, Formula 1's British Grand Prix was the winner, averaging more than 100,000 per day.
Referring to the popularity of horseracing events, Alan Switzer, director in Deloitte's sports business group, said: "British racecourses are on track for record attendances of 6.2 million in 2015.
"Flagship events such as Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival and the Epsom Derby are firmly established in the top tier of best-attended annual UK sporting events, whilst the breadth and depth of other meetings throughout the year ensure horseracing remains one of the UK's most popular spectator sports."
Two new individual events entered the top 10 best-attended sporting events in 2015: MotoGP's British Grand Prix (154,000) and the Badminton Horse Trials (147,000).
These events replaced the Ryder Cup and Aintree Grand National from 2014.
Deloitte said that although overall attendances for the year fell short of the record of 75 million set in 2012, taking away the one-off effects of the Olympic and Paralympic Games that year, and the Rugby World Cup in 2015, attendances rose by 6% across the period.
Major sporting events in the UK next year include the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, the European Aquatics Championships and the FIH Women's Champions Trophy in hockey.

Summary:


The company has been hit by a data breach.
Article: The company has been hit by a data breach.
Summary: The company has been hit by a data breach.
Article: The company has been hit by a data breach.
Summary: The company has been hit by a data breach.
Article

A company offering software that allows people to spy on others has admitted it has been hacked and had thousands of customer records leaked online.

Article: The company will also begin to offer Sunday parcel deliveries but this will be in the London area only.
Allowing customers to collect parcels on a Sunday for the first time is the latest in a number of changes introduced by the company.
Royal Mail, which was part-privatised last year, is facing competition from business rivals such Amazon.
Royal Mail said its decision to open some delivery offices on Sundays would make it easier for people who shop online, but are not normally home during the day, to get their goods.
The offices, which are located across the UK, will be open between 12:00 and 16:00 on Sundays. The company is also launching some Sunday delivery services, to addresses within the M25 area.
Royal Mail spokesman Mike Newnham said it was about making things easier for customers.
"In the last year or so we've launched our Delivery to Neighbour service, we've opened up about 600 of our delivery offices on a Wednesday evening to provide more convenience, and also we've launched the country's largest click-and-collect service in conjunction with the Post Office," he said.
Royal Mail's Delivery to Neighbour service involves items being delivered to a neighbouring address for collection if the intended recipient is not at home.
Parcel deliveries account for more than half of Royal Mail's revenues but it is facing increasing competition from rival operators such as online retailer Amazon which began offering Sunday deliveries earlier this year.
Analysts believe the growing popularity of so-called click-and-collect services, which allow goods to be ordered online before being picked up at local stores or collection points, is also having a significant effect on the parcels business.
Last month, Royal Mail said it was bringing forward the final collection times at thousands of post boxes in order to save money.
Royal Mail's network of about 1,400 delivery offices is currently open six days a week.
Nick Landon, managing director of Royal Mail Parcels, said: "We are continuing to be more customer responsive...

Summary: Royal Mail has launched a trial scheme with the opening of 100 of its busiest delivery offices UK-wide on Sundays.
###
Article: The admission comes a day after mSpy told BBC News it had not been hacked and no data had been stolen.
It has also emerged that the UK's Information Commissioner is investigating the company.
It told the BBC it was "aware of the breach and is trying to find out where the company is based".
MSpy offers software it says is aimed at parents worried about what their children are up to online and employers who want to legitimately track their employees.
But it is also used for more nefarious purposes, such as spouses spying on their partners.
Security expert Brian Krebs broke the news that a vast vault of highly personal data from mSpy customers had been dumped on the so-called dark web - an area of the internet that cannot be reached by traditional search engines.
He had been contacted by an anonymous source who had sent him a link to the data on a Tor-based site - technology that allows people to mask the identity of their websites.
BBC News has now also been sent links to the data, which it is currently analysing.
After insisting that the data was fake and no breach had taken place, mSpy has now admitted that data had been stolen.
"Much to our regret, we must inform you that data leakage has actually taken place," spokeswoman Amelie Ross told BBC News.
"However, the scope and format of the aforesaid information is way too exaggerated."
She said that 80,000 customers had been affected. Initial reports suggested up to 400,000 customer details had been exposed.
"Naturally, we have communicated with our customers whose data could have been stolen, and described them a situation.  We put in place all the necessary remedial measures and continue to work on mechanism of data encryption," she added.
Mr Krebs said that he had also contacted "multiple customers of mSpy" via the link he had been sent.
"I spent the better part of the day today pulling customer records from the hundreds of gigabytes of data leaked from mSpy. I spoke with multiple customers whose payment and personal data â€” and that of their kids,...

Summary:

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A man was shot dead by police after a standoff at a Sydney factory.
The man was shot dead by police after a standoff at a Sydney factory.
Police said the man was armed with a gun and was "acting in a threatening manner".
The man was shot dead by police after a standoff at a Sydney

A council's response to a collapsed road following a landslip was "disjointed", a local government watchdog has found.

Article: His death came shortly after three people were seen leaving the building and entering a police vehicle. It has not been confirmed they were hostages.
The gunman had opened fire at the industrial unit on Monday morning, killing a man and injuring two others.
Police quickly surrounded the factory, located in the industrial suburb of Ingleburn in the city's southwest.
Authorities have named the gunman as Wayne Williams.
His motives and relationship to those in the factory remain unclear, but the Sydney Morning Herald said Williams was a member of a motorcycle gang and that the man who was shot dead was connected to another motorcycle club.
The two injured men were transported to Liverpool Hospital and were in a stable condition, staff told the BBC.
One of the men underwent emergency surgery, while the second suffered superficial wounds to his lower body.
Reports from media at the scene said the man was believed to be using an automatic rifle.
Photographs show heavily armed police surrounding the Inline National Signage factory, and what appears to be a body underneath a white sheet on the sidewalk.
A man was arrested at the scene, but police said he was detained for "hindering" the investigation.

Summary: A gunman who engaged police in an hours-long standoff at a Sydney factory has shot himself dead, say authorities.
###
Article: Eight houses on the A3055 Undercliff Drive on the Isle of Wight were evacuated in 2014.
One family complained to the Local Government Ombudsman over the council's response to the evacuation and subsequent work on the road.
The council agreed to pay Â£5,000 compensation to the family.
Emergency services helped residents leave their homes on Undercliff Drive - between Niton and St Lawrence - following the landslip after heavy rain in February 2014.
The road was closed with properties only accessible on foot.  In 2016, a temporary route to provide full access for local residents was created.
Council statements in the years following the landslip insisted householders were "an absolute priority" and said they would be "fully informed of progress" on road works.
The ombudsman's report said: "I also have seen no persuasive evidence to show it properly planned and adequately managed the situation."
It also said its road plans were "disjointed and reactive" and it did not give "timely and clear responses" to householders.
Delays in carrying out work were blamed on a "lack of effective liaison and project planning".
The ombudsman said the unnamed family, some of whom had long-term medical conditions, suffered "avoidable distress" due to the council's actions.
The council was also ordered to help pay the family's costs in returning their house to a habitable condition.
A spokeswoman said: "The council has worked with the family to ensure that the recommendations of the report are being met.
"The family is now living in their home and work to meet the recommendations remain ongoing, in close consultation with the family, as required."

Summary:


A man has been jailed for life for murdering his wife and two children in a brutal attack in a house in the north-east of England.
The court heard how the man, who was also found guilty of attempted murder, had been suffering from mental health problems.
The court heard how the man had been suffering

A paedophile who raped a 12-year-old boy after grooming him online has been jailed for 13 years.

Article: Croatia joined the European Union three years ago, but nationalism and neighbour-bashing have become a feature of the debate. And memories of the Balkan Wars of the 1990s and World War Two have been stirred up as rivals try to bolster support and distract from domestic problems.
The nationalist HDZ, the largest party in the short-lived coalition government that fell apart in June, astonished most Croatians this year with its choice of culture minister.
Zlatko Hasanbegovic was a historian who had repeatedly venerated the genocidal, pro-Nazi Ustasha movement which ruled Croatia in World War Two as "heroes" and "martyrs".
Meanwhile, the short-lived Veterans Affairs Minister, Mijo Crnoja, caused still more outrage when he proposed a "register of traitors".
Ugly rhetoric has not been limited to parties on the nationalist right.
Former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, leader of the centre-left Social Democratic Party, made a clumsy attempt to curry favour with veterans of the "Homeland War" of the 1990s.
International outrage ensued when his off-the-record remarks leaked out, in which he compared the current government of neighbouring Serbia to Nazi collaborators from World War Two.
Mr Milanovic followed this up by saying another neighbour, Bosnia, was full of "villains".
"It's sad to see the forces of the left are actually adopting populist discourse in order to win votes," says Senada Selo Sabic of Zagreb's Institute for Development and International Relations.
She says that nationalist sentiment was successfully buried during Croatia's decade-long EU accession process. But stifling debate in that time meant some issues were never properly debated.
"The sense of freedom came the moment Croatia joined the European Union in 2013. There was this sense of relief: now we are free to say what we want. This onslaught of nationalism and hardline speech is somehow the opening of a vent."
But the collapse of the last government has brought about at least a few changes.
The HDZ is running on its own this time, without any of...

Summary: The rhetoric has turned ugly in the run-up to Croatia's second general election in less than 12 months.
###
Article: Ben Flynn, 24, enticed the boy to his home in Droylsden, Greater Manchester, with promises to use his Playstation and offered to pay his bus fare.
Police described Flynn as a "dangerous predator".
At Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court Flynn, of Kings Walk, admitted 13 sex offences including two counts of rape and two sexual assaults.
He also pleaded guilty to three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act.
Flynn also admitted a breach of sex offence prevention order and one count of meeting a child following sexual grooming.
He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.
In March last year, Flynn sent his victim a friend request on Facebook despite having never met or spoken to him.
The boy was then bombarded with private messages and Flynn offered to let him play computer games at his home.
When they met Flynn kissed the boy and touched him sexually before trying to take him to his bedroom but the boy refused.
He then pestered his victim, offered to pay his victim and went on to abuse him on two further occasions.
The boy's sister came across Flynn's messages to her brother and told her mother who phoned the police.
Det Con Claire Pickavance, of Greater Manchester Police, said the paedophile did not "show a shred of humanity" to the boy.
She added: "Ben Flynn is a dangerous predator who preyed on a young boy via social media before arranging to meet with him so that he could satisfy his own depraved urges."

Summary:


The US government has appointed its first presidential envoy for hostage affairs as part of the US government's review on responding to hostage situations.
The US State Department said Mr O'Brien was "uniquely qualified to serve in this position given his extensive background in diplomacy and international negotiations".
It follows criticism over how the government

A UKIP parliamentary candidate who said in a Facebook post that Israel should "kidnap" US President Barack Obama has been replaced by his party.

Article: James O'Brien will serve in the new role created to boost efforts "to safely recover American hostages abroad," it said in statement.
It follows criticism over how the government handles hostage situations after a number of deaths this year.
In June, the White House gave families permission to make ransom payments.
Until that point, the US government had the power to threaten them with prosecution if they tried to pay their relative's captors ransom - although to date the Justice Department has never followed through on this threat.
President Barack Obama's administration has drawn criticism for its long-standing policy of prohibiting concessions to militant groups.
It has also come under increasing pressure since it was revealed some European governments had been paying Islamic State (IS) militants to free their nationals abducted in Syria and Iraq.
The family of US journalist James Foley, who was beheaded by IS a year ago, said they felt they had no-one "accountable for Jim" during the time he was being held hostage.
The father of Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker who died whilst held in IS captivity in February, has also expressed frustration with US policies regarding hostages.
"They put policy in front of American citizens' lives," Carl Mueller told NBC Today, two weeks after his daughter's death was confirmed.
The policy changes announced two months ago said the administration needed to enhance its focus "on diplomatic efforts to ensure the safe return of American hostages to their families".
In a statement released on Friday, the White House said Mr O'Brien was "uniquely qualified to serve in this position given his extensive background in diplomacy and international negotiations".
Mr O'Brien, a former special presidential envoy for the Balkans, has been instructed to work directly with families of hostages and help synchronise efforts to to secure the release of their family members.

Summary: The White House has appointed its first presidential envoy for hostage affairs as part of the US government's review on responding to hostage situations.
###
Article: Jeremy Zeid, who was standing in Hendon, said President Obama should be "locked up" by the Israelis for "leaking state secrets".
He was referring to the declassifying of documents on Israel's secret nuclear programme.
UKIP said Mr Zeid resigned last week due to health issues.
It is not clear exactly when he resigned, but he made the posts last Wednesday and Thursday.
Raymond Shamash, a surgeon originally from north-west London, was revealed as Mr Zeid's replacement after news of the Facebook posts emerged.
Mr Zeid also said Israel should "do an Eichmann" on President Obama.
Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi war criminal abducted by Israeli agents in 1960 and later hanged for his role in the murders of millions of Jews in World War Two.
Hendon is one of the most marginal seats in the country with the Conservatives defending a majority of 106.

Summary:


The government has announced a new £1.5bn fund to help young people into work.
The fund will be used to help young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) to get into work.
The fund will be used to help young people who are not in education, employment

Apprenticeships in England need to be overhauled to stop many young people being awarded practical qualifications that have little worth, a report says.

Article: Samsung said: "Shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 are being temporarily delayed for additional quality assurance inspections."
There are reports in South Korea and the US of the Galaxy Note 7 "exploding" either during or just after charging.
However, it is unclear whether the delay is because of these reports.
Pictures and videos shared online depict charred and burnt handsets.
Shares fell as much as 3.5% during trade in Seoul before making a partial recovery to close 2% down on the day.
Sister company Samsung SDI told Reuters that while it was a supplier of Galaxy Note 7 batteries, it had received no information to suggest the batteries were faulty.
A YouTube user who says they live in the US uploaded a video of a Galaxy Note 7 with burnt rubber casing and damaged screen under the name Ariel Gonzalez on 29 August.
He said the handset "caught fire" shortly after he unplugged the official Samsung charger, less than a fortnight after purchasing it.
"I came home after work, put it to charge for a little bit before I had class, went to put it on my waist and it caught fire," he said.
He added that while he was unharmed, his carpet was burnt in the incident.
At least five other claims of phones "exploding" had been made by 24 August, according to the Korean news agency Yonhap News.
Further images of a burnt Galaxy Note 7 were uploaded to Kakao Story, a popular social media site in Korea, on 30 August.
A user wrote: "There was another explosion of the Galaxy Note 7. It was my friend's phone. A Samsung employee checked the site and he is currently in talks over the compensation with Samsung. You should use its original charger just in case and leave the phone far away from where you are while charging."
The post has since been deleted, according to Business Korea.
Rival Apple is due to hold an event on 7 September, where it is expected to announce its latest iPhone.
"The timing could not be worse for Samsung," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner.
"Samsung was back on track with its premium phones after the...

Summary: Shares in Samsung have fallen after it delayed shipments of its latest smartphone - but without giving a detailed reason for the decision.
###
Article: Compared with other European countries, many apprenticeships are low quality and too short, the Sutton Trust warns.
It says thousands of apprenticeships should be created to boost the economy and improve youngsters' job prospects.
The Department for Education says apprenticeships are being reformed to "drive up standards".
The Association of Colleges said some existing apprenticeships were respected by industry and should be preserved.
The study, which was carried out by the Boston Consulting Group on behalf of the Sutton Trust, says fewer than 200,000 of the 520,000 apprenticeships starting in England every year are rated at level three - which is equivalent to A-level.
The report cites figures that suggest  apprenticeships are offered by just one in five (20%) of employers in England, compared with over half (51%) in Germany, which, the report says, is considered to have one of the best vocational education systems.
Only 61,000 new apprenticeship starts were for young people, whereas in Germany, 570,000 new apprenticeships are for youngsters and 90% of these are equivalent to A-levels.
The report also notes that England's vocational system has 18,000 different qualifications, while Germany has 330.
The report warns that since 2010, more than half (58%) of apprenticeships have been below level three and three-quarters have been aimed at those over the age of 25, many of whom are already in work.
And it warns 11 young people are competing for each apprenticeship.
In his foreword to the report, Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl said the report had found that, with some exceptions, the opportunities on offer to young people who did not go to university were "poor".
The attitude in England, with some exceptions, was very different to that in countries such as Germany and Switzerland, he said.
"Instead of a clear system of respected vocational routes, we suffer from a complicated patchwork where too many young people are offered qualifications of little worth in a system that confuses employers and is not...

Summary:


The inquest into the deaths of two men who died in a "fierce fire" at a Norwich-based paint-spraying firm has heard how the men were working in one of two booths bought from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
The inquest was told the men died as a result of the effects

Two men who died in a paint-spraying booth were so badly burned they could only be identified using their dental records, an inquest has heard.

Article: First Minister Carwyn Jones said "it would be difficult to conceive" a scenario where fees are abolished in England but not Wales.
Labour's leaked draft manifesto included a pledge to abolish fees.
Grants that cover the bulk of fees are set to be scrapped from next September, replaced with support for living costs following an earlier review.
Thursday's leaked UK Labour manifesto contained a pledge that Labour "will reintroduce maintenance grants for university students, and we will abolish university tuition fees".
It is estimated that the policy would cost more than £7bn a year.
Welsh Labour leader Mr Jones said: "Clearly if there are no tuition fees in England that's bound to have an effect on the way we see things in Wales."
Universities can charge a maximum of £9,000 for a full-time undergraduate course but Welsh students only currently pay the first £3,900.
The rest has been paid for by the taxpayer - at a cost of £237m in 2015-16.
But last year the Welsh Government outlined a new system which would give all students £1,000 a year towards the costs of living, before a means tested grant is then awarded.
A student from a family on average income should receive £7,000 a year.
Ministers in the Welsh Government have maintained that living costs rather than fees - which can be paid back over time after students start work - are a bigger barrier to poorer students going to university.
Since 2012, a significant portion of Welsh students' fees have been paid for by the Welsh government, wherever they study in the UK.
The current Welsh education minister is the assembly's only Welsh Liberal Democrat - Kirsty Williams.
A Welsh Lib Dem spokesman said Jeremy Corbyn "isn't going to win the election". "Living costs, not fees, are the biggest barrier to young people accessing universities," he added.
Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts said her party "has a longstanding policy to work towards scrapping tuition fees altogether so that higher education is accessible to as many young people as possible".
UKIP's education...

Summary: Wales could follow England's lead and abolish tuition fees if Labour wins the general election.
###
Article: Barry Joy, 56 and Daniel Timbers, 28, died in a "fierce fire" following an explosion at digger bucket maker Harford Attachments in Norwich in 2015.
The coroner said Mr Timbers had been standing in for his father who was ill.
Post-mortem examinations said the men died as a result of the effects of fire and inhalation of fumes of combustion.
The inquest was told staff heard a "loud noise" at about 09:00 BST on 13 July 2015.
"Staff evacuated the premises, with some of them bravely trying to rescue Mr Timbers and Mr Joy," coroner Yvonne Blake told the Norwich inquest.
She added, "Their bodies were recovered from the booth afterwards."
Paint sprayer Mr Joy, of Spencer Street, Norwich and production operative Daniel Timbers, of Dereham Road, Norwich, were working in one of two booths bought from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire when the base was closed down.
Kenneth Stedman, managing director of Ipswich-based Industrial Powder and Paint Services, advised Harford Attachments on the transaction.
The inquest heard the two units were "well kept for their age" and he advised the company that they would be suitable to be set up as they were on the airbase.
The coroner said the jury inquest, which is continuing, would hear evidence about training of staff, policies on site and extraction equipment on the paint-spraying booths.

Summary:


The UK government has been asked to respond to a legal challenge over the UK leaving the EU.
The case is being brought by a group of politicians and human-rights activists.
The group, which includes former justice minister David Ford, has written to Prime Minister Theresa May asking her to consider the NI peace process before

A legal challenge over the UK leaving the European Union (EU) is to be launched in Northern Ireland.

Article: Humza Yousaf revealed the move after widespread criticism of existing ScotRail services.
He said the contract could be cancelled in 2020 and contingency plans were in place for the Scottish government to take over train services earlier.
ScotRail said it was working to implement a 246-point improvement plan.
Scottish Labour said Mr Yousaf was "running out of excuses".
Dutch firm Abellio took over the ScotRail franchise in April last year in a 10-year deal worth up to Â£6bn but with the option for the Scottish government to cancel it at the halfway point.
Since then it has been regularly criticised over punctuality and reliability, with a broken-down train in Edinburgh last week causing widespread disruption.
Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme, he said current performance levels were "unacceptable" and confirmed Abellio could be stripped of the contract if punctuality dipped below 84.3% for three consecutive months.
He said:  "If the Scottish government, if Transport Scotland had to take over the railways tomorrow, we have contingency plans in place to do that."
According to the latest performance data from ScotRail, 86% of trains were on time or less than five minutes late between 16 October and 12 November.
Mr Yousaf confirmed the Scottish government's preference for a public sector operator to run the service, suggesting this could happen from 2020 when there is a break point in the contract.
He said: "My position is that we're going to put together a public sector bid.
"I'm going to be calling on the unions this week - and indeed other political parties - to join with me in a discussion about how we might put together a viable public sector bid."
The SNP has previously promised to open up the rail franchise to public sector bids, under powers devolved in the Scotland Act 2016.
Mr Yousaf refused be drawn on whether he favoured nationalising the railways in Scotland, pointing out that the Scottish Parliament does not currently have that power.
However, he said there was "a strong...

Summary: Scotland's transport minister is to invite unions and other political parties to talks next week on setting up a public sector train operator.
###
Article: Former justice minister David Ford is among a cross-community group of politicians and human-rights activists involved in the bid.
Their lawyers have written to Prime Minister Theresa May urging her to consider the NI peace process before formally triggering Brexit.
A majority in Northern Ireland backed Remain in the June referendum.
Solicitors have threatened to take a judicial review before the High Court in Belfast - and ultimately to Europe's highest court - unless Mrs May addresses legal obligations which, they say, she must meet, including gaining the consent of the Stormont Assembly.
The prime minister and Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire have been asked to reply within two weeks.
Can the law stop Brexit?
Others supporting the warning letter include: Green Party leader Steven Agnew; Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood; senior Sinn FÃ©in Stormont Assembly member John O'Dowd; former head of the Progressive Unionist Party Dawn Purvis; ex-Equality Commission member and disability rights activist Monica Wilson OBE and the the Committee on the Administration of Justice human-rights group.
A legal challenge over the UK leaving the EU will be heard by the High Court in London in October, two judges have decided.
Government lawyers are expected to argue that the prime minister can use historic Royal Prerogative powers to start the process of withdrawing from the EU, a course the challengers say is unlawful.
They say Parliament must give its authorisation.

Summary:


The Syrian government has been using the citadel as a military position.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said the explosion occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"The blast caused the collapse of part of the wall of the citadel," the organisation's chief, R

A bomb explosion has caused part of the walls of Aleppo's ancient citadel to collapse.

Article: The calculator works by adding up your costs for tickets, food and programmes and multiplying them across the season.
This season we have also compiled data on replica shirt prices, sourced from the clubs.
Because there is such a great variation in ticket prices between and within clubs, this figure is intended to give a general indication only.
Choosing 'season ticket' assumes that the holder buys the cheapest season ticket, and attends every home game in that league during the season, spending the same amount on food and drink per game.
Cup ties and play-off games are not included in the calculation.
The comparison of ticket costs between clubs works best if you enter realistic figures.
To provide a comparison at the end, we show how the price of the cheapest season tickets vary within your club's league.
Throughout the calculator, we compare how various costs have changed using data from previous BBC Price of Football surveys.
Some data comparisons are not available for clubs which were not included in previous years.
The 'price of a goal' is calculated by dividing the cost of a club's cheapest season ticket last season by the number of goals scored by the team at home in the same season.
Comparisons are not available for clubs which were not surveyed last season, or promoted to the Conference in 2014 (Altrincham, Dover, Eastleigh and Telford) or which do not operate traditional season tickets (Barnet).
Programme costs were not collected from European clubs, as many do not publish match-day programmes in the same way as British teams.
Some women's teams did not provide costs for a replica shirt; in these cases the calculator uses the equivalent price for a replica men's shirt.
The BBC contacted 207 clubs for the study. Of those, 176 were in England, Scotland and Wales and another 31 in Europe.
We recorded the prices for the most expensive, and cheapest, season tickets and adult match-day tickets as well as the cost of a cup of tea, a pie, a programme and an adult replica shirt.
The data was collated and...

Summary: Here's how the BBC's 2014 Price of Football calculator and survey were compiled.
###
Article: Built in the 13th Century, it overlooks Aleppo's Old City and is part of a UN-listed World Heritage site.
Syrian government forces have been using the citadel as a military position.
Government and rebel forces have been fighting for control of the city for over three years. It is not known which side caused the explosion.
Fighting on the ground and government air strikes have left thousands dead, and destroyed more than 60% of the Old City.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said the explosion occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"The blast caused the collapse of part of the wall of the citadel," the organisation's chief, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP news agency.
The government says that rebel fighters set off a bomb in a tunnel beneath the citadel.
The use of tunnel bombs has become a common rebel tactic.
Since the start of July, rebel groups have been waging a major offensive against President Bashar al-Assad's troops in the city.
More than 230,000 people are believed to have been killed in Syria since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011. Some 11.5 million others - more than half of the country's population - have fled their homes.

Summary:


The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance.
Article: The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance.
Article: The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance.
Article: The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance.
Article: The Haka is a traditional Maori

Prince Harry has taken part in a traditional Maori Haka during his tour of New Zealand.

Article: The Bosawas Biosphere Reserve is Central America's largest tropical forest with clouds constantly drifting over the hilly terrain.
But the Mayangna and Miskito people who live there say 30,000 hectares a year are being deforested by "colonists".
They are calling on US president Barack Obama, who is visiting the region, to support their battle.
Described by the United Nations as a global biological treasure, the reserve is located on the border between Nicaragua and Honduras and teems with wildlife.
The two million hectares are said to be home to 150,000 insect species, rare jaguars, eagles and crocodiles as well as the world's last populations of Baird's Tapir and the Central American Spider Monkey.
The Bosawas reserve also overlaps the homes of indigenous communities who have been there for centuries, living by hunting and fishing.
The Nicaraguan government recognised the full legal title of the Mayangna to their lands in 2007.
Since then, they say they have been subject to what they term an "invasion" by landless people from other parts of the country.
They claim to have documented 11,500 "colonists" who have deforested around 150,000 hectares since 2009.
Arisio Genaro, president of the Nacion Mayangna, told BBC News that this was an extremely serious threat to the future of the forest.
"The problem is that in the parts of our territory that we have zoned to be conservation forest, they are being invaded by settlers."
"Even we the Mayangna don't touch these forests, that's where the animals we hunt reproduce. If they destroy that, they will destroy our people."
"The world needs to know that we are in crisis because of our efforts to defend the natural resources that we survive on," he added.
Scientists are also concerned that the struggles between natives and colonists will have a detrimental impact on the region's biodiversity.
Leading researcher, Dr Thomas Lovejoy, who first coined the term back in 1980 said that protecting the Bosawas reserve was critical.
"Nicaragua has one of the three great blocs of...

Summary: A famed rainforest in Nicaragua is under growing threat from illegal loggers, say indigenous leaders.
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Article: Media playback is unsupported on your device
13 May 2015 Last updated at 12:41 BST
The Haka means "fierce dance" and was traditionally performed by the Maoris before going into battle.
Nowadays the Haka is performed during special ceremonies.
The New Zealand rugby team also perform the special dance before all their international matches.
Prince Harry is currently on a week-long tour of New Zealand.

Summary:


A new study has found that a common type of heart rhythm disorder, atrial fibrillation, is more common in people with a history of depression.
The study, published in the journal Circulation, found that people with a history of depression were more likely to have atrial fibrillation.
The researchers

A new blood test could help diagnose people with inherited heart conditions, the British Heart Foundation has said.

Article: Hotels, restaurants, caterers and other businesses in the hospitality sector have benefited from the reduced 9% VAT rate since 2011.
Industry lobbyists say the rate has encouraged sales and employment.
But figures show the prices charged to consumers in many of these industries have actually risen in the last year.
Figures from the Revenue Commissioners show that if VAT returns had been paid at the full 13.5% there would have been an additional 644m euro (£472m) paid to the state, since 2011.
It is not possible to tell how much of those returns only exist because the rate was reduced.
Irish finance minister Michael Noonan warned the industry last year that the reduced rate would be reconsidered if prices began to rise.
However, the Consumer Price Index shows the cost of hotel accommodation rose by 5.2% between January 2014 and January 2015.
During the same period, hotel sector VAT returns totalled 135.6m euro (£99.5m).
If those sales had been charged at the higher rate, the return to the exchequer would have been an additional 69m euro (£50.6m).
A similar pattern emerged in the restaurant sector, with prices rising by almost 2% in the last 12 months.
During the same period, the Revenue may have lost out on 72m euro (£52.8m) in VAT payments from restaurants.
The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) warned that the long-term future of the industry could be affected if the rate is returned to 13.5%.
It said tourist numbers have increased from 5.9m in 2011 to 7.3m in 2014 and significant employment has been generated as a result of the measure.
IHF president Stephen McNally said: "The government has to think if they turn off the tap are they at risk of chasing tourists away from the country?
"If you talk to anyone in the industry they will tell you it has worked for them. If the rate is not maintained big questions will be asked about what will happen."
However, the trade union SIPTU has accused the industry of "pocketing" the reduced VAT rate.

Summary: A reduced VAT rate for the hospitality industry in the Republic of Ireland may have cost the state more than 600m euros (£440m).
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Article: Researchers funded by the charity found that by looking at a specific group of genes they were able to reliably detect underlying problems.
It follows the death of Sir David Frost's son Miles, who died suddenly from a condition thought to have been inherited from his father.
His family aims to raise Â£1.5m to make genetic testing available in the UK.
The eldest son of the late presenter and broadcaster died last year, aged 31, when he was out jogging near his family's home in Oxfordshire.
He was suffering from an undiagnosed heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Previous genetic tests looked at a small number of genes and were only able to identify specific conditions, leading to higher costs and longer diagnosis time - a major barrier to rolling the test out across the NHS.
But researchers from Imperial College London and the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre say the new test, which looks at 174 genes, is quicker and more reliable.
It has already been rolled out at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in London , with around 40 patients per month being successfully tested.
Dr James Ware, a consultant cardiologist specialising in inherited heart conditions, said: "Without a genetic test we often have to keep the whole family under regular surveillance for many years. This is hugely costly for both the families and the health system.
"By contrast, when a genetic test reveals the precise genetic abnormality causing the condition in one member of the family, it becomes simple to test other family members. Those who do not carry the faulty gene copy can be reassured and spared countless hospital visits."
The research has been funded by the British Heart Foundation and the findings published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research.

Summary:


A man has been arrested after allegedly trying to lure children into a wood in New Zealand.
Police said the man, who was in his 20s, was arrested after he allegedly tried to lure children into a wood in the Wairarapa region.
The man was arrested on suspicion of child cruelty and was taken

Australian police in Victoria have warned the public not to engage in "intimidating" behaviour after reports of clowns terrorising people in Melbourne.

Article: Researchers have developed an app for people to submit readings from Secchi disks - a method used since 1865.
The team hopes the data will help them understand what is happening beneath the waves.
They have been "astonished" by the response so far but are hoping for more readings from the southern hemisphere.
'Dramatic decline'
The Secchi disk, invented in 1865 by Angelo Secchi - the Pope's astronomer - is a circular disk that is used to measure water transparency in oceans and lakes.
The concept had long been used as a navigational tool by sailors. By lowering a dinner plate beneath the waves and measuring the depth it disappeared, it provided the crew with an indication of what ocean current they were currently sailing through.
Fr Secchi was asked by the head of the Papal Navy to measure the transparency in the Mediterranean Sea. This task gave rise to the formalised measuring system.
Ever since the first measurement was taken aboard the Papal yacht in April 1865, marine biologists have used it to measure phytoplankton abundance.
Since Secchi's first design, there have been a number of subsequent revisions. The two most common colour variations in use today are the all-white disk and the black-and-white quadrant version.
"The reason the project came about was because, in 2010, some Canadian scientists wrote a paper that suggested that the phytoplankton in the world's oceans had declined by 40% since the 1950s," explained project leader Richard Kirby, a research fellow at Plymouth University's Marine Institute.
"If true, this is a dramatic decline. As phytoplankton starts the food chain, they dictate the productivity at every level above," he observed.
"Ultimately, phytoplankton determines the amount of fish in the sea and the number of polar bears on the ice."
Marine biologists have been using the Secchi disk method to measure the abundance of phytoplankton for 150 years.
The white disk measures 30cm (1ft) in diameter and is lowered into the water on the end of a tape measure. When it is no longer visible...

Summary: A study is calling on the world's sailors to help map the oceans' phytoplankton, microscopic plants that form the bedrock of marine food chains.
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Article: Sightings of creepy clowns have sparked minor hysteria across the US since August.
People in clown masks have reportedly chased others and tried to lure children into woods.
Victoria police warned that such escapades would "not be tolerated".
Creepy clown sightings leave US baffled
'Killer clowns' come to Canada
Lurking clown arrested in Kentucky woods
In a statement on its Facebook page, which appears to have since been deleted, the force wrote: "Victoria Police are aware of people who are parading in public wearing clown masks.
"The clown purge appears to be a copycat of incidents being seen in the USA recently.
"Any intimidating and threatening as well as anti-social behaviours will not be tolerated and will be investigated by Police."
Clowns have also been spotted in Sydney, with one pictured loitering outside a fast food restaurant in the Campbelltown area.
Australians have responded by setting up Facebook pages dedicated to "clown hunting", as the sightings spread.
One theory has it that the upswing in "killer clown" antics is linked to the release of novelist Stephen King's new film, It.
The plot involves a child-slaughtering being which takes the form of a clown called Pennywise to lure its prey.
But King has criticised the craze. This week, he tweeted: "Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria - most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh."
The sinister craze began in South Carolina with reports that men dressed as clowns were trying to coax children into the woods with money. It was followed by sightings in Alabama, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Schools in Texas and Alabama have even shut down over the phenomenon.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told a press briefing that President Barack Obama had not been briefed on the issue, but added, "this is a situation that local law enforcement authorities take quite seriously".
Reports suggest New Zealand has also been sucked into the epidemic, after a clown "lurking" at a school spooked parents on Wednesday.
Some...

Summary:


A new app is helping people to find out what is going on in their local area.
The app, called "My City", is being launched in the UK by the charity Action for Children.
It is a free app which allows people to find out what is going on in their local area, and to share

These amazing forest buildings could help tackle China's pollution problems.

Article: They are available via a new location-based food app which connects neighbours in the city and beyond.
The aim of users is to cut waste.
Olio app's Saasha Celestial-One told BBC Radio Wales the idea came about when her co-founder was moving home and did not know what to do with unused food she did not want to throw away.
She told the Jason Mohammad programme: "Not only does preventing good food from going to waste feel amazing, it's a really fun way to get to know new people in the community."
Since its launch in January, over 66,000 people have downloaded the app with plans to expand into 33 more countries.
Individuals and Cardiff eateries have signed up, with leftover bread and unsold cakes being offered.
"Katherine" is offering 12 coconuts bought wholesale and which "survived a coconut shy unharmed - free to a good home". They are available for collection from Adamsdown.
As well as half a bag of carrots at Bute Street, there is a packet of unopened biscuits left over from a coffee morning at Ninian Park.
And they could be washed down with tea being given away by "Luce", near Cathays station.
She has 18 beetroot tea bags remaining from a box of 20, saying they were "bought to be adventurous - but I don't like it".

Summary: Twelve coconuts, a packet of biscuits, half a bag of carrots and unsold shop-made cakes are some of the unwanted food items being given away in Cardiff.
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Article: China has one of the biggest air pollution problems in the world.
Lots of people living there tend to wear special facemasks to help to filter out the pollution.
Italian architect Stefano Boeri came up with the idea of creating buildings which are full of plants, to help fight pollution.
These two special buildings will be home to more than 1,000 trees and 2,500 shrubs and bushes which should absorb the pollution in the air and help to filter it and make it cleaner.
The buildings will be built in the Chinese city of Nanjing, and should be finished by 2018.
The shorter tower will be a hotel, while the taller one will be home to a museum, offices and an architecture school.
The buildings are the first of their kind in Asia, but will join two other buildings like them, from Italy and Switzerland.
The architect has plans to build similar buildings in other Chinese cities like Chongqing, Shijiazhuang, Liuzhou, Guizhou and Shanghai.
In 2014 China's government said they were working hard to reduce the amount of pollution in the air - and since then they've been closing down coal-burning factories, and limiting the amount of traffic on roads.

Summary:


Almost half (45%) of young people are checking their mobile phones after they have gone to bed, a poll suggests.

Article: About eight staff members who were part of the Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP) Team in London have been told to move.
The decision follows the departure of the team's managing director, Nick Advani.
Goldman Sachs said that the move had nothing to do with the UK's exit from the European Union.
'This is a discrete decision for reasons specific to GSIP, one investment team within Goldman Sachs, and shouldn't be construed as anything but that," it said in a statement.
Mr Advani announced last year that he would be stepping down from his role as managing director. He is now an advisory director with Goldman.
GSIP was set up in 2008 with $7bn (Â£5.6bn) in assets and at the time was one of the biggest-ever  hedge fund launches. According to its website it has offices in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo, as well as London.
It is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, an investment manager with $1.15tn in assets under supervision.
The news of GSIP's departure comes amid widespread speculation that many financial jobs based in London might migrate to cities in the rest of Europe, such as Dublin, Paris or Frankfurt, so that the banks concerned could continue to offer their services to EU clients.
HSBC and UBS have warned that they will have to move some London staff abroad when the UK leaves the EU.
Last month, Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, said the bank had been moving parts of its "global operations" team to London, but was now "slowing that decision".

Summary: A Goldman Sachs hedge fund is closing its London operations and moving staff to New York, the firm has confirmed.
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Article: A survey of 2,750 11- to 18-year-olds found one in 10 admitted checking their mobile phones for notifications at least 10 times a night.
The poll was carried out by Digital Awareness UK and the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
The organisations warn night-time usage of mobiles means pupils are coming to school tired and unable to concentrate.
They recommend having a "digital detox" and putting mobile devices away for 90 minutes before lights-out or keeping them out of the bedroom.
Of the 45% of survey respondents who check their phones when they should be sleeping, almost all (94%) are on social media - with a tenth saying they would feel stressed about missing out if they did not check their device before going to sleep.
Of this group, 75% are listening to music and over half (57%) are watching films.
A third (32%) of these youngsters say their parents are not aware that they check their mobile device after going to bed.
The findings also show:
Charlotte Robertson, DAUK co-founder, said: "One of the biggest topics around at the moment is excessive social media consumption and how it is affecting our physical and emotional wellbeing.
"A lot of them [children] are waking up sometimes with over 100 notifications from conversations that have happened overnight.
"They want to be that person that is responding at 01:00, and seen to be quite cool, to make sure they catch the joke - it's a huge driver, that anxiety of wanting to know what's happened."
HMC chairman Mike Buchanan said: "The data suggests those who do check their phones, they're mostly driven by not wishing to miss out.
"Clearly there are some times when children are not concentrating because they are tired, and that has an obvious impact on their ability to keep up with what's going on - there is a desire to stay within the group.
"It's not that this [technology] is all horrible and terrible and that we should all be wringing our hands.
"It is more a case that here's the reality, let's use it and try to influence the use of technology in a...

Summary:


The BBC has apologised to residents of a street in Birmingham after a reality TV show was filmed there.
The BBC has apologised to residents of a street in Birmingham after a reality TV show was filmed there.
The BBC has apologised to residents of a street in Birmingham after a reality TV show was filmed there.
The

Despite being a ratings winner for Channel 4, Benefits Street came with its fair share of complaints.

Article: Sir de Vic Carey says his grandfather "was not responsible" for the deportation of three Jewish women to a concentration camp during the war.
Sir Victor Gosselin Carey had overall responsibility of islanders between 1935-1945.
In 1942 three Jewish women from Guernsey were removed from the island and died in Auschwitz's gas chambers.
Since Guernsey's liberation Sir Victor Carey has received criticism for some of the decisions that had been made under his authority and his relationship with the Nazis.
Former Bailiff Sir de Vic Carey said Guernsey's Royal Court was forced to pass legislation against Jews but his grandfather was blamed.
He said: "My grandfather at that time was fairly confident there weren't any Jews in the island. He had taken great trouble to make people who were of Jewish extraction to leave the island."
"I don't think he was responsible, I think it would have happened anyway."
Of the six Jewish residents in the Bailiwick of Guernsey during the occupation three of them - Marianne Grunfeld, Auguste Spitz and Therese Steiner - were deported.
Sir de Vic Carey believed if the island's administration had all resigned over the issue it "would've meant the Germans would've taken over, the civilian administration would've stopped."
He said by the end of the war his grandfather was "pretty shattered by the whole event" and "wanted to forget about it" because of "things he didn't want to recall".
He believes his grandfather was not recognised for the difficult role he played.
"Threats were made the whole time, so they had to try and keep in post because if they went there would be no one to argue for the population.
"I don't think he had that sense of history that he had to be scoring brownie points for posterity", he said.

Summary: The actions of Guernsey's Bailiff during the Nazi occupation have been defended by his grandson.
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Article: Some residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham complained that they had been misled before appearing on the programme.
Producers of the reality television show have denied that.
Now, one charity which accused the makers of misrepresenting residents has offered a solution: a self-defence kit against unwanted advances.
Oasis, a community and education charity, runs the primary school in Birmingham where Benefits Street was filmed.
Reverend Steve Chalke, who founded Oasis, said that other communities have approached them asking for advice on what to do if they get attention from reality TV producers.
He said: "We can't proactively defend every community in the country.
"However, we believe that the new self-defence kit will give people the chance to benefit from what we've learnt."
The kit, which is on its website, contains advice on how to discourage television producers.
It also has what it calls a "decoder" to translate what a producer might really mean if they describe the programme they want to make.
Despite more than 900 complaints, watchdog Ofcom ruled that Channel 4 did not breach the broadcasting code.
A second series is thought to be under way in Teesside.
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: "We are always transparent and clear with residents in the extensive briefings that are given pre-filming and operate highly robust duty of care protocols for contributors which were praised by the regulator Ofcom as 'demonstrating best practice'.
"Filming of the second series recently began in Stockton-On-Tees, many months after transmission of the first and the subsequent media reaction, so residents were already familiar with the nature and profile of the programme.
"The majority of them have been happy to co-operate and support filming, even in the face of external pressure put on them by vested interests outside of the street."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary:


A man has been jailed for life for murdering a pensioner in Glasgow.
The court heard that the 20-year-old, who had denied any wrongdoing during his week long trial, had now accepted he killed Mr Bolam.
Joni, who lived at various addresses in the south side of Glasgow, murdered

A man who murdered a pensioner at his home in Glasgow has been ordered to spend a minimum of 13 years in jail.

Article: It stands at 23.3 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17, which experts say is more in line with the rest of Western Europe.
There were 5,740 pregnancies in girls aged under 18 in the three months to June 2014, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.
This compares with 6,279 in the same period in 2013 and 7,083 for the June quarter the year before that.
Historically, the UK has had one of the highest teenage pregnancy and abortion rates in Western Europe.
In recent years, the government put a series of strategies in place in an attempt to get these figures down.
There are no comparable rates for conceptions across Europe, but the under-18 birth rate suggests England is closing the gap.
The under-18 birth rate in 2012 in England and Wales was 9.2, compared with an EU average of 6.9.
However, the UK birth rate has fallen by almost a third (32.3%) since 2004 compared with a fall of 15.6% in the EU.
In 2004, the UK rate was 13.6 births per 1,000 women aged 15-17 compared with an EU average rate of 7.7.
A spokeswoman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: "Contrary to popular perception, this data shows that the teenage pregnancy rate is falling dramatically in England and Wales. While the UK has historically had a high teenage conception rate, it is now at its lowest level on record and not significantly out of step with other European countries.
"We have seen a huge decline in the number of babies born to teenage mothers over the last decade, in part due to the improvements we've seen in contraception advice and services for younger women, with straightforward access to abortion services when their chosen method lets them down. But it also reflects broader societal shifts, with younger women quite rightly expecting and able to pursue educational and professional ambitions."

Summary: The teen pregnancy rate in England and Wales is continuing to fall, latest figures show.
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Article: Slovakian Imrich Joni, 20, stabbed and strangled Gordon Bolan, 68, at a flat in Kenmure Street in Pollokshields last summer.
An earlier trial at the High Court in Edinburgh heard that Joni hid the pensioner's body in a wardrobe.
Judge Lady Scott described it as "a brutal murder" which had left Mr Bolam's family "utterly devastated".
Joni, who lived at various addresses in the south side of Glasgow, murdered Mr Bolam at a date between 29 June and 14 July 2016.
In April, he was found guilty of murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
When he appeared for sentencing on Tuesday, the court heard the 20-year-old - who had denied any wrongdoing during his week long trial - had now accepted he killed Mr Bolam.
The court was told he had expressed "genuine remorse" for his actions because he could not continue living with "the lie" of denying his guilt.
His trial heard that Joni struck Mr Bolam with a knife before throttling him with a piece of fabric at an address in Kenmure Street. He then concealed his victim's remains in a bedroom wardrobe.
In a bid to cover up his crime and destroy DNA evidence, the murderer then washed upholstery, floors and other surfaces.
He also got rid of his trainers and the clothing he was wearing on the day he murdered Mr Bolam.
But Joni was caught after detectives found his DNA around Mr Bolam's property. Forensic scientists also discovered his DNA on the ligature which was placed around Mr Bolam's throat.
Defence advocate John Scott QC told the court that his client was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder caused by years of being physically abused by a family member.
Telling Joni that he was likely to be deported from the UK following his release from custody, judge Lady Scott said: "Mr Bolam was a man who struggled with ill health but nevertheless lived a normal life. He was a much-loved member of his community.
"His family have been left bereft and utterly devastated by his death.
"I accept that you have expressed genuine remorse. I also take into account that you...

Summary:


The death of the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has been met with a mixed reaction in Yorkshire.
The former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died at the age of 87.
The former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died at the age of 87.
The former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died at the age of 87.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic could "plug the financial gap" of Manchester United's failure to reach the Champions League - should he join the club.

Article: With the news of her death at the age of 87, emotions remain high in Yorkshire's former pit communities about the miners' strike and the role of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
At times, that strike - lasting from 5 March 1984 to 3 March 1985 - almost seemed to be a battle of wills between the Barnsley-born leader of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Arthur Scargill, and the Conservative prime minister.
In 1984, when there were 170 working collieries in Britain, employing more than 190,000 people, Mr Scargill obtained a "hit list" of mines the Thatcher government was planning to close.
The ensuing strike against job losses, for which the NUM controversially never held a national ballot among its members, pitted striking miners against Mrs Thatcher's government, the police and other miners, and led to divisions in families which remain to this day.
The bitter year-long stand-off between Margaret Thatcher, Arthur Scargill and the NUM has come to be seen as one of the defining events of the era - not least in Yorkshire where her legacy is often remembered less than fondly.
As Chris Kitchen, Yorkshire-based NUM general secretary, said: "Unfortunately for the vindictive acts she did to myself, my comrades and my family and for the mining community, I'll not be shedding a tear at her demise."
South Yorkshire saw some of the worst violence of the dispute - most most notably at British Steel's coking plant at Orgreave on 18 June 1984.
Those clashes saw about 10,000 striking miners go head-to-head with 5,000 police, and led to 93 pickets being arrested with 51 pickets and 72 police officers injured, according to South Yorkshire Police.
Darren Vaines, a former miner at Ackton Hall colliery near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, was on strike for the entire 12 months of the dispute and was at the so-called Battle of Orgreave.
"It's a very strange emotional feeling because her death brings back a lot of memories and opens up a wound that has never really healed," said Mr Vaines.
"The cut went so deep, people have...

Summary: In Yorkshire, the mere mention of Baroness Thatcher's name is often likely to lead quickly to talk of the 1984-5 miners' strike.
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Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
The Sweden striker, who is out of contract after four years at Paris St-Germain, could follow former manager Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford.
Football finance expert Rob Wilson says the 34-year-old would be United's most marketable player since Cristiano Ronaldo, and linking up with the three-time European champions would be a "match made in heaven".
Wilson says Ibrahimovic's shirt sales alone would help cover the cost of finishing fifth in the Premier League this season and missing out on the riches of playing in Europe's elite competition, worth up to £50m.
"It would not surprise me if Zlatan sold more shirts than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi," Wilson, a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, told BBC Sport.
"The cost of missing out on the Champions League is £30-50m. Zlatan will help plug that gap significantly with the number of shirts shifted by United.
"It is a match made in heaven. The football club is commercially so aware who will exploit every commercial opportunity.
"To them, they are signing a player who understands commercial endorsements and behaves in a way that allows him to maximise them.
"Put that together and you get the holy grail stakes of shirt sales, and stacks of corporate sponsorship.
"Zlatan is also the sort of player who brings ad hoc ticket buyers to a match, even if it is the Europa League or League Cup.
"It is matching the world's biggest sporting brands with one of the most marketable players, who has cult following, plus it is his career swansong.
"If you marry that with Manchester United, he will probably shift more shirts in the next year than any player in the squad because of the superstar status that he has."
Wilson claimed that Ibrahimovic could become the face of Manchester United.
"Zlatan has a global profile, and global appeal," he said. "Fans will buy shirts with Ibrahimovic on the back in Africa, South East Asia - markets United had a foothold in but not the leverage.
"Only a few select few players can do that: Gareth Bale,...

Summary:


The US government has been accused of spying on the internet.
Article: The US government has been accused of spying on the internet.
The New York Times has reported that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been spying on the internet for years.
The newspaper says the NSA has been collecting data on the internet

The discharge of black smelly wastewater at the base of Niagara Falls has prompted calls for a criminal inquiry.

Article: Yet this is the messaging service which could soon be banned by the British government because its use of encryption makes it too private for the security services to access. That at least was the story repeated in several newspapers in recent weeks, and frequently denied by Downing Street.
But this morning even the Financial Times seemed to back it up. In an article about the battle between governments and corporations over access to encrypted messages it says this: "David Cameron, UK prime minister, has proposed a complete ban on strong encryption 'to ensure that terrorists do not have a safe space in which to communicate'."
WhatsApp is just one of the services that uses strong encryption for their messages, along with Apple's iMessage and Skype's internet calls. Both the US and UK governments have expressed growing concerns that criminals and terrorists are making use of such services to communicate, knowing that they are completely private.
So does the prime minister really want to ban them? The idea first arose in a speech he made in January which posed this rhetorical question: "In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people which even in extremis, with a signed warrant from the Home Secretary personally,  that we cannot read?" His answer was no.
That was seen as a clear signal that the government would demand that corporations like Facebook, Apple and Microsoft - which owns Skype - should either provide a backdoor to their encryption or stop using it completely. The government insisted that this was an over-interpretation of his remarks, and everything went quiet for a while.
Then after the election it became clear that a new and comprehensive communications data bill would clarify and extend the access of the police and security services to data held by the internet companies.  That brought more speculation about a ban on end to end encryption.
That was reinforced when in a response to a question from a Conservative MP, the prime minister used a very similar form of words...

Summary: Eight hundred million people around the world use WhatsApp to communicate, we learned this week from its owners, Facebook.
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Article: The Niagara County Legislature voted in favour of asking New York's attorney general to investigate on Thursday.
The local water authority said the colour was caused by residue from black carbon filters used to clean the water.
The water authority says July's treatment process was necessary and the discharge within "permitted limits".
An inky and foul-smelling cloud of water appeared at the base of Niagara Falls on 29 July 2017.
Some initially suspected an oil spill, but the Niagara Falls Water Board (NFWB) said it was caused by a "routine" water treatment and apologised for causing alarm to residents and tourists.
In a statement the board said the "inky water" was the result of a "necessary and short term change in the waste water treatment process" at its plant near the city of Buffalo.
Officials say the plant had the correct paperwork to release the discharge - which came from one of its five sediment filtration basins and was being flushed out over the weekend in preparation for contractors to begin upgrade work.

Summary:


The European Commission has announced emergency EU funding of 125m euros (£100m; $170m) for fruit and vegetable growers hit by Russia's ban on most imported Western food.
The Commission said the funding would be used to help farmers and growers affected by the ban.
The ban, which came into force on

Reported incidents of livestock worrying have risen by 55%, according to police.

Article: The funding is compensation for fresh produce which will not be sold. Instead it will be distributed free to schools, hospitals and other institutions.
Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, grapes and pears are included in the scheme.
Russia has banned many food imports, angry at EU-US sanctions over Ukraine.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted on Monday that the EU sanctions must stay in place "in order to show how serious we are" on the Ukraine crisis.
She was speaking in Latvia, an EU member state with a large ethnic Russian minority. Its Baltic neighbour Lithuania is especially hard hit by the Russian import ban.
EU and US sanctions are targeting top Russian officials and key economic sectors, such as energy and finance, as Western leaders accuse the Kremlin of destabilising eastern Ukraine by supporting the pro-Russian separatists there.
The first round of Western sanctions came after Russia annexed Crimea in March.
Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he did not think the Russian ban would push up food prices, but he added: "I hope these measures won't last very long".
The embargo would encourage competition, giving Russian farmers more market access, he argued. He criticised "a situation where all the apples, for example, come from Poland or some other products - say fish is an example - all from Norway".
In the EU the biggest exporters of fresh fruit and nuts to Russia were its neighbours Poland (339m euros) and Lithuania (309m euros) in 2013. They were also the biggest for fresh vegetables (Lithuania - 340m and Poland - 173m).
Last week the Commission announced plans to pay peach and nectarine growers for 10% of their crop, and the new funding expands that aid to many more producers.
The crops affected by the EU compensation scheme are those in full season now, with no storage option for most of them and no immediate alternative market available, a statement from Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos said.
"All farmers of the concerned products - whether in producer organisations...

Summary: The European Commission has announced emergency EU funding of 125m euros (£100m; $170m) for fruit and vegetable growers hit by Russia's ban on most imported Western food.
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Article: There were 70 reports during the lambing season earlier this year compared with 45 over the same time last year.
Police Scotland said the crime, which involved dogs chasing farm animals, had previously been under-reported.
It said 60% of this year's incidents were detected and the dogs' owners reported to the procurator fiscal.
Most of the offences reported were in Aberdeenshire, Highlands and Islands and Lanarkshire.
Sheep were the most common animal affected. Other animals involved included horses and cattle.
In 79% of incidents, livestock were killed or injured, and on average this involved two or three sheep per incident.
Most incidents - 70% - involved only one dog and in 73% of cases the offending dog was local to that area, with more than half of all incidents involving a dog roaming free and where no owner was present.
Insp Jane Donaldson, Police Scotland's rural crime co-ordinator, said the rise in reports followed a campaign encouraging farmers and crofters to contact police about livestock worrying incidents.
She said: "Livestock worrying has previously been under-reported.
"Farmers were often reluctant to report incidents to police, particularly where there was a 'near miss' and no physical damage was done to their livestock.
"A significant part of the spring campaign was to get this message out to farmers and encourage them to report all incidents and I think that this is reflected in the increase in reported crimes.
"More accurate reporting has improved our understanding of the problem, increasing intelligence about the how, where and why these incidents are occurring."
Anne Gray, policy officer with Scottish Land and Estates, said: "We are very pleased with how successful this year's campaign has been and we will continue to support the initiative going forward.
"It is vital that livestock worrying incidents are reduced.
"No-one wants to see this type of completely unnecessary suffering and the higher the profile of these incidents the more, we hope, it will prompt the small minority of...

Summary:


The US president signed an executive order to stop federal money going to international groups which perform or provide information on abortions during his first week in office.
Known as the "Mexico City Policy", or global gag rule by critics, it was no surprise that he reinstated it.
First introduced by Ronald Reagan in 1984, it

Boris Johnson "should have known better" when he gave his wife a "backie" on his bike while cycling in London, safety campaigners have said.

Article: The US president signed the executive order to stop federal money going to international groups which perform or provide information on abortions during his first week in office.
Known as the "Mexico City Policy", or global gag rule by critics, it was no surprise that he reinstated it. First introduced by Ronald Reagan in 1984, it has been become a game of policy ping pong between Republican and Democrat presidents.
Supporters of the ban say it protects the fundamental right to life.
But some health workers in Africa say when it was last put in place under George W Bush in 2001, it had far-reaching consequences.
"Women could not have access to contraceptive services and so they were getting unintended pregnancies and that increased the number of unwanted pregnancies and as such they went to the backstreet to do unsafe abortions," says Kenyan gynaecologist Dr John Nyamu.
The policy blocks US funding to overseas organisations that "support or participate in the management of a programme of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation".
It even affects countries like Kenya - where abortion is illegal unless a mother's life is at risk - as some family planning clinics or organisations get their funding from US pro-abortion groups.
The Trump order goes even further than previous Republican administrations, which only targeted reproductive health services, by extending the ban to cover all global health assistance provided by all departments or agencies.
"By removing funding from organisations that also deal with malaria and other child health issues, the policy could threaten progress on many fronts, including efforts to reduce HIV-related deaths and new infections, and decrease childhood mortality through malaria prevention and treatment initiatives and immunisation programs," Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said in a statement.
The medical charity does not receive US government funding - so is not affected by the policy - but it fears that women's lives could be endangered.
Unsafe abortion is one of the five...

Summary: Donald Trump's pro-abortion funding ban has infuriated many global health organisations as they say it will unintentionally lead to more abortions and more deaths in Africa.
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Article: The mayor of London has been criticised for pedalling his barrister wife Marina Wheeler through the capital on Thursday on a bicycle designed for one person.
Giving a backie is illegal under the terms of the 1998 Road and Traffic Act. Offenders can be fined up to Â£200.
The mayor has apologised, saying he did not know he was breaking the law.
Sam Jones, from cycling charity CTC, said his actions were "very naughty".
Mr Jones said: "We wouldn't encourage other cyclists to carry passengers in such a fashion. We would never encourage cyclists to break the law."
The footage of Mr Johnson and his wife, obtained by the Sun newspaper, was shot by passengers in a passing car as the couple cycled along a road in North Kensington.
It shows Ms Wheeler sitting on the saddle, without a helmet, holding her handbag as her husband stands on the pedals.
After the passengers informed the mayor he was breaking the law, Mr Johnson stepped off the bike and said: "Night, night," to them.
They can be heard in the video asking the mayor: "Mate, you all right? Saddling, that's a good one, eh?" Another says: "You're not allowed to do that, mate."
Section 24 of the Road and Traffic Act states: "Not more than one person may be carried on a road on a bicycle not propelled by mechanical power unless it is constructed or adapted for the carriage of more than one person."
The mayor, whose responsibilities include London transport, is a keen cyclist and cycles available for public hire in London have gained the nickname "Boris bikes".
Mr Johnson's official spokesman said: "The mayor wishes to apologise for offering his wife a short-lived lift on the back of his bike!
"He was unaware that he was apparently in contravention of the Road and Traffic Act. He wasn't intending to ride all the way home from North Kensington to North London with Marina on the back; rather he was attempting to transport his wife to a main road, from where they hailed a black cab for her.
"As everyone knows the mayor is a huge supporter of cycling, and an even bigger...

Summary:


The UK's National Audit Office has warned that the government's plans to cut the number of people on the waiting list for social housing could lead to a rise in homelessness.
The report, published on Thursday, said the government's plans to cut the number of people on the waiting list for social housing could lead to a

Cities in California cut water use by 31.3% in July, exceeding a state-wide mandate of 25% to combat a record four-year drought there, officials say.

Article: The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said members will walk out from 21:30 GMT on 7 March to 03:59 on 8 March.
The union claims the type of breathalyzer used did not account for people with diabetes.
London Underground said the man was dismissed for failing two breath tests which were unaffected by the condition.
It said the case had gone through a full disciplinary hearing and appeals process, as well as a separate independent director's review.
The transport authority said it had explored in detail the suggestion that diabetes could affect the breathalyser result, but concluded that the type of test it used was not affected by acetone, which is produced in the bloodstream of people with the condition.
Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said there had been a campaign of "misinformation and smears" against his organisation.
He said: "This action is the first stage as part of a rolling programme of industrial action and I urge all RMT London Underground train operators and instructor operators to stand firm together against this and any future injustices against RMT members."
Nick Brown, chief operating officer of London Underground (LU), said: "This indefensible strike is about one RMT member dismissed for failing two alcohol breath tests.
"We will not be swayed by it as we will never compromise on the safety of our customers and staff. You wouldn't let someone who had been drinking alcohol drive your family in a car, and we don't let people who have been drinking alcohol drive people's families in Tube trains.
"For the RMT leadership to announce a strike regardless shows how completely out of touch they are, just as the timing demonstrates that they know they have very little support from their members on this issue."
Members voted by 299 votes to 221 to take action. The turnout was 42%.
LU said the number of drivers who had voted to take strike action represented 8% of all drivers.
In December, RMT workers held a 24-hour strike on the Northern line over the same issue.

Summary: Drivers on London Underground are to go on strike over the sacking of a colleague for failing an alcohol breath test.
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Article: It shows Californians are starting to understand "that we are in the drought of our lives," state water regulator official Felicia Marcus said.
It is the second month in a row the state has exceeded emergency conservation regulation.
California has been dealing with record low water levels for four years.
California Governor Jerry Brown imposed the state's first mandatory water restrictions four months ago, ordering a 25% reduction in all towns and cities.
In June, the state used 27% less water than it used in the same period of 2013, when the drought emergency was first declared.
This saving rose to 31.3% in July, with a cumulative saving for both months of 29.5%, the State Water Resources Control Board reported on Thursday.
Felicia Marcus, who chairs the board, praised the "millions of conscientious Californians" who she described as "the real heroes here".
She said record rain in July had played a role, as well as better enforcement, including warnings and penalties, and messaging by the water agencies.
But, she warned, "this isn't your mother's drought or your grandmother's drought, this is the drought of the century".
Drought monitors say 92% of California is currently in severe drought or worse, down from 94% at the start of the year.

Summary:


A man has been jailed for sexually assaulting four girls, aged between six and 12, from 1976 to 1990 in Gloucestershire and Hampshire.
Andrew Hocking, 57, of West Sussex, sexually assaulted four girls, aged between six and 12, from 1976 to 1990 in Gloucestershire and Hampshire.

A paedophile, branded "calculating and predatory", has been jailed for 15 years for a string of sex attacks on girls as young as six years old.

Article: Mr Turnbull told journalists at No 10: "We move quickly. Australians are fleet of foot. We don't muck around. We're very simple. So we will move as quickly as the UK will move."
Ahead of the Downing Street talks, the two leaders visited Borough Market.
Two Australians died in June's van and knife attacks in south-east London.
During a Downing Street press conference, Mr Turnbull said Australia "had been the first on the phone" to call for a free trade agreement with the UK following Britain's decision to leave the EU.
He said Australia stands "ready to enter into a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom as soon as the UK is able to do so - so once that Brexit has been achieved, then we look forward to speedily concluding a free trade agreement".
Mr Turnbull said he hoped the EU deal could be finalised before the expected date of Brexit in March 2019.
He said a UK agreement could follow swiftly: "My government's position is very simply this: economic prosperity has been demonstrated to be delivered by free trade and open markets - that is one of the major reasons why Australia has had 26 years of uninterrupted economic growth."
He said Mrs May's vision for post-Brexit Britain "is one filled with optimism". "It's not a counsel of despair as some people have said."
Turning to the PM, he added: "I know Theresa that you believe passionately that the British people can do anything, can achieve anything and that your post-Brexit Britain will be a Britain with big horizons, big opportunities, free trade, open markets.
"You're right, that is the future. That's where our prosperity has been delivered and I know that it's where your prosperity will come."
Mrs May said a trade deal with Australia was a "priority" for the UK after Brexit, to expand on the Â£14bn-worth of trade between the two nations.
"We've both made clear our intention to continue to deepen our trade and investment relationship as the UK leaves the EU," she said.
"Our Brexit negotiations have started well, and I have made clear to prime minister...

Summary: Australia is "very keen" to secure a trade deal with the UK post Brexit "as quickly as possible", Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull has said.
###
Article: Andrew Hocking, 57, of West Sussex, sexually assaulted four girls, aged between six and 12, from 1976 to 1990 in Gloucestershire and Hampshire.
He was found guilty of one count of rape and six indecent assaults following a trial at Lewes Crown Court.
Sussex Police said Hocking showed "no genuine remorse" for his actions.
"Hocking stands out as cold, calculating, predatory and ruthless," said Det Con Chris Smith.
"Despite the strong evidence against him, he put the victims through the ordeal of having to recount their episodes of abuse."
Detectives discovered records of allegations of indecent assaults on a seven-year-old girl at his home in Alveston, Gloucestershire in 1976 and 1977, while they were investigated him over the making of indecent images of children.
Police were contacted by three woman claiming they had been attacked, when they were aged six, seven and 12, by Hocking at his address in Fareham, Hampshire, in the 1980s and 1990, following an appeal for information.
Following a trial, Hocking was convicted of one count of rape and six indecent assaults and cleared of one indecent assault.
The 57-year-old admitted making indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography at an earlier hearing.
He was ordered to be put on the sex offenders register for life.

Summary:


The US airline industry is under pressure to stop transporting lion, rhinoceros, leopard, elephant and buffalo trophies.
The US airline industry is under pressure to stop transporting lion, rhinoceros, leopard, elephant and buffalo trophies, according to a new report.
The report, by the US

Delta, United and American Airlines have banned the shipment of big-game trophies on flights after the illegal killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe.

Article: The think-tank expects the US economy to grow just by 2% this year and 2.8% next, down from its November forecast of 3.1% and 3% respectively.
It blamed the cut on "transitory disruptions", including a strong dollar and bad weather early in the year.
It also cut its global growth forecasts for both this year and next.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development expects the world economy to grow 3.1% this year and 3.8% in 2016, down from its prediction six months ago of 3.6% and 3.9% growth respectively.
It blamed the cut on an unexpectedly weak first quarter, with world growth its lowest since the financial crisis.
"The global economy is expected to strengthen, but the pace of recovery remains weak and investment has yet to take off," OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria said.
Overall, the OECD said the economy's "B minus" grade equated to just "muddling through".
And it said to accelerate world growth, both businesses and government needed to invest more.
"By and large, firms have been unwilling to spend on plant, equipment, technology and services as vigorously as they have done in previous cyclical recoveries," it said.
The OECD said many governments had also delayed investing in infrastructure, negatively affecting jobs and living standards.
The think-tank also expects China to grow more slowly than it last predicted in November, expanding 6.8% this year rather than 7.1%.
But the OECD hiked its growth forecasts for the eurozone economy, crediting bolder-than-expected monetary easting by the European Central Bank for the increase.
It now expects growth in the euro area to rise by 1.4% this year and 2.1% in 2016, up from 1.1% and 1.7% respectively.
Overall the OECD said the global recovery since the 2008 economic and financial crisis had been "unusually weak".
"To move from a 'B-minus' grade to an 'A' means boosting investment in order to create jobs and stimulate consumption," said OECD chief economist Catherine Mann.

Summary: The OECD has slashed its US growth forecast for this year and next and given the global economy a "B minus" in its bi-annual assessment.
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Article: The airlines announced that they would no longer transport lion, rhinoceros, leopard, elephant or buffalo remains.
They have not, however, given official reasons for their announcements.
Delta flies direct to a number of African cities and was subjected to an online petition to ban such shipments.
American Airlines and United fly to fewer sub-Saharan cities than Delta, but United said in a tweet its decision to stop carrying trophies was "effective immediately".
United spokesman Charles Hobart said: "We felt it made sense to do so."
Cecil was shot illegally in July by US dentist Walter Palmer of Minnesota. Zimbabwe is seeking his extradition and that of a doctor from Pennsylvania, named as Jan Casimir Seski, who is suspected of killing a lion in April.
Mr Palmer is believed to have paid about $50,000 (Â£32,000) to hunt Cecil, a major tourist attraction in the Hwange National Park.
He says he thought the hunt was legal and was unaware Cecil was protected, but the killing triggered a huge online backlash.
Delta would not answer questions from journalists as to why it made its decision on Monday, nor would it detail how many hunting trophies it has transported in recent years.
"Effective immediately, Delta will officially ban shipment of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide as freight," the company said in a brief statement.
Its announcement came as several other airlines indicated that they are - or soon will be - stopping the transport of all trophy-hunting kills.
As recently as May, Delta said it would continue to allow such shipments.

Summary:


A man has been charged with the murder of a man in Aberdeen.
The body of Craig Grant, of Inverurie, was found in the Galleria shopping centre in August last year.
The body was found in a pool of blood.
The court heard that Mr Grant had been in the club and

A man was limp "like a teddy bear" after he was restrained by bouncers on the ground outside an Aberdeen bar, a murder trial has heard.

Article: Dr Gethin Thomas, a coaching science lecturer, also believes children should be split by ability as young as possible.
The Irish and Welsh rugby unions suggest starting scrums at under-nine level; they start at under-10 in England and under-11 in Scotland.
But Dr Thomas said children should not be in scrums until they are 13.
The call comes after World Rugby's chief medical officer, Dr Martin Rafterty, said changes could be made to tackle laws in order to reduce the risk of concussion.
When it comes to tackling, the home nations are almost unanimous in the way they introduce it to young players.
They all begin with tag rugby and bring in tackling at under-nine level, except for Ireland, where they start contact a year earlier.
Dr Thomas, who lectures at Cardiff Metropolitan University and Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, recently worked with the Rugby Football Union in England.
He said: "I wouldn't introduce scrums until 13 or 14 years old and when I spoke to a number of elite coaches, they agree.
"The same goes with lineouts - there's no reason to begin lineouts unless you can lift and individuals aren't strong enough to lift."
Last month, Wales and Worcester Warriors forward Jonathan Thomas was forced to retire from rugby on medical advice, after he was diagnosed with epilepsy thought to have resulted from multiple head traumas.
Wales wing George North also suffered from concussion in the run up to the World Cup, after suffering four blows to the head in a five-month period last season.

Summary: Banning scrums in children's rugby could help cut the number of injuries in the game, an academic has said.
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Article: Kiel Hauley, 33, Jonas Marcius, 23, and Adrian Morley, 33, deny assaulting and murdering Craig Grant, of Inverurie, outside the Galleria shopping centre in August last year.
Witness Shaun Wheeldon said he saw Mr Grant being held on the pavement.
He said he was "shocked" to see Mr Grant's face was light grey.
Mr Wheeldon told the High Court in Aberdeen he could see two men restraining Mr Grant on the ground outside Tonik and stopped to speak to a bouncer.
He said:  "He just said he had been in the club and he was highly drunk."
Mr Wheeldon said there was "quite a commotion" outside the bar with a lot of people standing outside.
Advocate depute James Keegan QC asked: "How did you react when you saw his face?"
He replied: "I was shocked at the colour of him. He was light grey."
Mr Keegan asked: "When you saw the colour of him what did you think?"
He replied: "That he was in a bad way."
He said Mr Grant's friends were trying to intervene when police arrived at the scene because he had shown no response on the ground.
He told the court police took over and tried to sit him up.
He said: "They sat him up like a teddy bear. It wasn't a recovery position."
Mr Keegan asked: "When you say a teddy bear what do you mean by that?"
He replied: "Because he was limp."
The trial continues.

Summary: