A fake video report about Kenya's election that is made to appear as if it is from the BBC's Focus on Africa programme has been circulating on social media.

Article: The increase is particularly pronounced among middle-age white people who now account for a third of all US suicides.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report did not offer an explanation for the steep rise.
However, other experts have pointed to increased abuse of prescription opiates and the financial downturn that began in 2008 as likely factors.
The report did not break down the suicides by education level or income, but previous studies found rising suicide rates among white people without university degrees.
"This is part of the larger emerging pattern of evidence of the links between poverty, hopelessness and health," Robert D Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard, told the New York Times.
CDC reported on Friday that suicides have increased in the US to a rate of 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986.
Meanwhile, homicides and deaths from ailments like cancer and heart disease have declined.
In the past, suicides have been most common among white people, but the recent increases have been sharp.
The overall suicide rate rose by 24% from 1999 to 2014, according to the CDC. However, the rate increased 43% among white men ages 45 to 64 and 63% for women in the same age-range.
In 2014, more than 14,000 middle-aged white people killed themselves.
That figure is double the combined suicides total for all blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives.
The suicide rate declined for only two groups: black men and all people over 75.

Summary: The suicide rate in the US has surged to its highest level in almost three decades, according to a new report.
###
Article: The EU home affairs sub-committee said that net migration - immigration minus emigration - was consistently higher from outside the EU.
An immigration system for when the UK leaves the EU has not yet been outlined by ministers.
The government said it was considering "various options" as to how EU migration might work.
It has pledged to reduce net migration to below 100,000 by 2020.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she aims to trigger Article 50, to begin the two-year process of leaving the EU, by the end of this month.
In the report, the committee said: "Until end June 2016, migration to the UK from outside the EU was consistently higher than EU migration, even though the relevant policy levers are under national control.
"Restoration of national control over EU migration may or may not, therefore, deliver a reduction in overall net migration."
In the most recent official figures, covering the year to the end of September, both immigration and net migration from the EU were higher than that for the rest of the world for the first time.
Overall, net migration to the UK dropped to 273,000 in the year to September, down 49,000 from the previous year.
The committee said that cutting EU immigration is unlikely to provide a "quick fix" for low wages.
Factors such as the National Minimum Wage, National Living Wage and inflation were more significant in driving or impeding real wage growth for low earners, the report said.
It also said that extending the work permit system used for non-EU nationals to those from the EU would disproportionately affect some employers' ability to sponsor EU workers, and could result in labour shortages in areas including the NHS and horticulture.
The report endorsed the pursuit of a "two-way agreement", suggesting that offering preferential treatment to EU nationals in the UK's future immigration regime could increase the likelihood of securing a reciprocal approach to UK nationals in the EU.
Committee chairwoman Baroness Prashar said: "The precise manner in which the government...

Summary: Net migration to the UK may not fall as a result of ending EU free movement post-Brexit, a Lords report has said.
###
Article: John Falconar Slater was best known for his paintings of land and seascapes in the north-east of England.
Painting with a distinct impressionist style, one of his most celebrated works was Stormy Sea at Cullercoats.
Mr Slater was also part of the Cullercoats Colony - a group of professional artists from the North East who captured the character of the fishing community and the surrounding coastline throughout their work.
Born in 1897 in Rye Hill, Newcastle, in his later life Mr Slater lived in Whitley Bay before moving to Cullercoats 12 years before he died in 1937.
Now, on the 75th anniversary of his death, the current owners of the artist's final home are commemorating his life with a Blue Plaque.
Steve and Alwyne Barrigan approached North Tyneside Council earlier this year to request the blue plaque at their house on St Oswin's Avenue.
Blue plaques commemorate the links between notable figures of the past and the buildings in which they lived and worked.
Mr Barrigan said: "We have lived here for many years and when we discovered that John Falconar Slater had lived here we were inspired to mark his legacy in some way.
"This is a great achievement for us, Cullercoats and the North East."
Elected Mayor Linda Arkley was due to officially unveil the £300 plaque on Wednesday.
She said: "It is fantastic that we have been able to honour such a great artist and also fulfil a longstanding wish of Alwyne and Steve.
"The commemorative plaques are just one of the ways in which we are able to celebrate the borough's talent and heritage."

Summary: The life of a Tyneside artist is being honoured with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at his former home.
###
Article: In an address to Greens' autumn conference, party leader Natalie Bennett said Britain was a low-wage economy and people deserved "a decent return on their labour".
Under the plans, wages would rise by £1.15 to £7.65 an hour next year before increasing each year until 2020.
The party also proposes a "wealth tax" on those with assets of more than £3m.
The party, which currently has one MP, is promising a "progressive alternative" to the austerity agenda which it says the other Westminster parties have all embraced.
Under its plans, everyone over the age of 16 would earn a minimum of £10 an hour by 2020 and the current age-based differential rates would be abolished.
The minimum wage for workers over 21 is set to rise to £6.50 next month, the first real-terms cash increase since 2008. Rates for 18-20 year olds, under-18s and apprentices are set to go up to £5.13 an hour, £3.79 an hour and £2.73 an hour respectively at the same time.
MPs from all parties have called for the UK to move towards a "living wage", which campaigners have calculated to be £7.65 an hour outside London and £8.80 an hour in the capital.
Ms Bennett, an Australian-born former journalist who was recently re-elected as leader, told delegates in Birmingham that the policy showed the Greens were "the party of real change, the party with plans and policies for how to transform our economy so that it works for the common good".
Earlier, she told the BBC that the "gradual, plannable increase" her party was proposing would benefit 5.2 million people and rejected claims the move would cost jobs.
"We are not talking about a sudden increase," she told the BBC News channel.
"What we really have to do is rebalance our economy. At the moment, wealthy individuals and particularly big multinational companies aren't paying their taxes and aren't paying adequate wages.
"Britain is a low-wage economy. We have to allow people to get a decent return on their labour."
Ms Bennett also outlined plans to ask those with more than £3m in assets to pay an annual levy...

Summary: The Green Party of England and Wales is calling for the minimum wage to rise to £10 an hour by 2020.
###
Article: The report contains a bogus poll indicating that President Uhuru Kenyatta will win August's election.
The BBC has urged Kenyans to verify stories by visiting the BBC website.
A recent survey suggested that 90% of Kenyans had seen or heard false news in the run-up to the poll.
Many of the people surveyed felt that some news items had been deliberately misleading.
It also found that while traditional media remained the most trusted source of information, large numbers of people got their news from Facebook and WhatsApp.
The origin of the fake BBC news story is not clear but it began to be shared on WhatsApp on Friday morning.
A fake report made to look as if it came from CNN has also been circulating.
The presidential election on 8 August will see incumbent President Kenyatta run against seven candidates including his main challenger, opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Summary:


A large hole that appeared behind a row of houses was in one of the UK's most susceptible areas for sinkholes, the British Geological Survey has said.

Article: Eight thousand yuan ($1,300; Â£830): That was the price for a cute four-year-old Burmese girl from a broken home.
Crouched in the doorway of her bamboo house, Khin Khin Oo's grandmother Ma Shan told me the story. "I grow corn and rice but my son is a heroin addict so we have no money," she said.
Ma Shan's family life is in disarray. Just a couple of metres away in the dark of the house, her son sits listening to us talk about him, staring blankly ahead.
Ma Shan's daughter isn't in much better shape. She ran off with another man (according to Ma Shan, having been drugged with spiked orange juice), leaving her two small children to live with her parents.
One of them, an energetic boy, plays in the mud by the stilts of the bamboo house, as we look at pictures of his sister Khin Khin Oo.
"One day her father Soe Khine came back for her," Ma Shan recounted. "But after she'd been away four days I knew something was wrong."
Fearing the worst, Ma Shan turned detective and, with a village elder, went to speak some of Soe Khine's friends. They quickly found out he was in financial trouble.
"He'd lost all his money playing cards," she said, shaking her head.
At that point, the Burmese police became involved. They found Soe Khine and he confessed that with the help of a local Kachin woman, he had sold his daughter to a Chinese trafficker.
The police followed the trail to the Chinese border town of Ruili, where they discovered that Khin Khin Oo had been traded again, this time for 12,000 yuan ($2,000; Â£1,277), to a childless couple who wanted to adopt.
After a week and a joint operation with the Chinese police, Khin Khin Oo was rescued and returned to her grandmother.
"While she was gone, I didn't even want to eat. I was so worried," she said.
Luckily Khin Khin Oo had been well treated, with the Chinese couple seemingly unaware that she'd been trafficked.
She was returned to her grandmother in Hankan who, fearing for her safety, sent her back to China this time to live with an aunt.
The trafficking of Burmese children...

Summary: It's been a year since Khin Khin Oo was sold by her father.
###
Article: And if you have ever experienced a scorchingly hot Brazilian day, you'll know that this is actually a wise thing. You really do want your lager to be super-chilled in such climatic conditions.
While you can easily buy a cold beer from a supermarket or beach vendor, for many Brazilians their preferred port of call is still a boteco, the humble bar or pub.
Most botecos are small, family-run businesses, which, for reasons lost in the mists of time, don't actually serve draft beer. Instead the beer - always lager - typically comes in large 600ml bottles.
The idea is that friends share a bottle - or many - between them, which they drink while eating plates of petiscos (snacks).
The petiscos are typically something deep fried, such as breaded cod balls, or a pastel, which is a type of small pasty that also gets the hot oil treatment.
Imagine an authentic Spanish tapas bar, only with no sherry, and more use of a fryer.
With hundreds of botecos in Rio de Janeiro alone, the more ambitious ones try to boost their business by standing out from the crowd.
One way many do this is by entering an annual Brazil-wide competition to find the best botecos in the country.
Now in its 15th year, and free to enter, the Comida di Buteco contest judges bars according to four criteria - the quality of the food, the hygiene standards, the service, and crucially - the temperature of the beer.
Each boteco is judged by both a panel of judges, who visit anonymously and provide 50% of its final score, and by popular vote.
This year 45 bars in Rio entered the competition, which ran for a month until the middle of May. Each puts forward one dish upon which their food should be marked.
Botecos that take part generally enjoy a big boost in trade during the four weeks of the event, and then over the longer term if they win a prize.
David Bispo, owner of boteco Bar do David, says that entering Comida di Buteco "transformed" his business.
The 43-year-old opened his bar five years ago when he found himself out of work.
A fisherman by trade, and...

Summary: There is a saying in Brazil for how most people like their beer to be served - estupidamente gelada (stupidly cold).
###
Article: Jody Williams, from the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, told the BBC such weapons, which do not yet exist, would be regarded as "repulsive".
But some scientists argue existing laws are sufficient to regulate their use, should they become a reality.
The UK government has said it has no plans to develop such technology.
Weapons with a degree of autonomy, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - commonly known as drones - are already widely used on the battlefield.
Such weapons are described as "human-in-the-loop" systems because they can only select targets and deliver lethal force with a human command.
But organisers of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots - a global effort being launched on Tuesday - say advances in robotic technology mean it is only a matter of time before fully autonomous "human-out-of-the-loop" systems - capable of firing on their own - are developed.
They argue that giving machines the power over who lives and dies in war would be an unacceptable application of technology, and would pose a fundamental challenge to international human rights and humanitarian laws.
Estimates vary over how long it could be before such weapons are available, but the group says a new treaty is needed to pre-emptively outlaw their development, production and use.
Campaign leader Ms Williams, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work in bringing about a ban on anti-personnel landmines, told BBC News: "As people learn about our campaign, they will flock to it.
"The public conscience is horrified to learn about this possible advance in weapons systems. People don't want killer robots out there.
"Normal human beings find it repulsive."
But some experts have questioned the need for a ban, arguing instead for an open debate about the legal and ethical implications of such weapons.
Roboticist Professor Ronald Arkin, from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, told the BBC: "The most important thing from my point of view is that we do not rush these systems into the battlefield.
"A moratorium as opposed to ban...

Summary: A pre-emptive ban is needed to halt the production of weapons capable of attacking targets without any human intervention, a new campaign has urged.
###
Article: The sale of the brand by Berry Bros and Rudd brings it into the same ownership as the distillery where it is made.
Nearby is the cooperage, which is also owned by Edrington.
It joins other leading brands owned by the Glasgow-based distiller, including Highland Park and The Macallan, as well as blended whisky Famous Grouse.
Berry Bros and Rudd, established in 1698, bought the Glenrothes Speyside brand in 2010, as part of a portfolio including bourbon, gin, rum and ginger liqueur.
It will continue to distribute Glenrothes in the UK, while Edrington already sells it overseas.
Paul Ross, of Edrington's super premium division, said the company was "very much looking forward to accelerating growth" of Glenrothes Speyside in export markets.
In other whisky news, Loch Lomond Distillers has sealed a deal with a large Chinese food and drink distributor, Cofco, with hopes for strong growth in that market.
It is based in Dunbartonshire and has a distillery in Alexandria and another in Campbeltown.
Its brands, in addition to Loch Lomond whisky, include Glen Scotia, High Commissioner, Glengarry, Inchmurrin, Clansman and Littlemill single malt.
The company was bought three years ago from long-time family ownership, and is seeing new investment in distribution.

Summary: The Glenrothes Speyside single malt whisky has been bought by the Edrington Group from its previous owner, a long-established wine and spirits merchant.
###
Article: Twelve homes were evacuated after the hole opened in Ripon, North Yorkshire, at 22:30 GMT on Wednesday.
The hole measured about 20m (66ft) by 10m (33ft) and 9m (30ft) deep.
The BGS said Ripon lies in one of the most susceptible areas of the UK for sinkholes because of its "Permian gypsum deposits".
It said these can dissolve more quickly than surrounding limestone, leading to the enlargement of underground caves.
Experts are still examining data from the site behind the houses in Magdalen's Road but, releasing its initial findings, the BGS said sinkholes were often caused by surface water penetrating the ground, or fluctuations in groundwater levels.
In 2014, a 100-year-old detached house in an adjoining street was demolished after a 25ft-wide (8m) sinkhole opened.
According to the report, the wider area of Ripon periodically encounters sinkholes and in the 1980s and 1990s a hole was appearing every two to three years.
No-one was injured in the latest collapse with the back gardens of two properties the worst affected.
A sewerage system connected to several of the properties on the terrace fell in as the hole appeared.
One resident described seeing the ground moving and finding her steps leading into the garden had gone.
On Friday, further cracks appeared in the ground and on walls at the site.
Ben Cairns, North Yorkshire Fire Service station manager, said: "Our main concern at the moment is what impact the weather is going to have for the next few days."
The BGS is continuing to analyse data from the site.

Summary:

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It started as a mission to collect whiskey for a party towards the end of World War Two and ended in a blazing inferno in which 11 US personnel died.

Article: The unemployment total fell to 1.65 million in the March-to-May period, down 54,000 from the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The figures cover the period before the UK vote to leave the European Union.
But some analysts warned the outcome of the vote meant the positive trend was unlikely to continue for much longer.
"The vote to leave the EU will almost certainly now cause some firms to put hiring decisions on hold or cut back headcounts altogether.
"Indeed, we expect the unemployment rate to begin to drift up over the coming quarters. The upshot is that these may be the best set of labour market figures for a while," said Paul Hollingsworth, UK economist at Capital Economics.
The Bank of England had a similar view in its separate monthly summary of business conditions, which was also released on Wednesday.
It said: "A majority of firms spoken with did not expect a near-term impact from the result on their investment or hiring plans.
"But around a third of contacts thought there would be some negative impact on those plans over the next twelve months."
In the March-to-May period, the number of people in work rose by 176,000, with the employment rate remaining at a record high of 74.4%.
Earnings, not adjusted for inflation and excluding bonuses, rose by 2.2% compared with last year.
There were 23.19 million people working full-time, 401,000 more than for a year earlier.
"The labour market continued to strengthen in spring 2016, with record employment and the unemployment rate at its lowest since 2005," said ONS statistician Nick Palmer.
The inactivity rate, the proportion of people of working age considered economically inactive, was the lowest since comparable records began in 1971 at 21.6%.
If the unemployment number does start to rise that could take the momentum out of wage growth, according to Samuel Tombs, the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
"Rising unemployment and falling job vacancies [is likely to] ensure that wage growth does not respond fully to the...

Summary: The UK unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9%, the lowest since July 2005, according to official figures.
###
Article: Esso's Midline Pipeline, which carries fuel from Southampton to Birmingham, has twice been tampered with recently, in parts of Hampshire and Wiltshire.
There have been other breaches of fuel lines in the south of England, according to Hampshire Police.
Its detectives are working with West Mercia, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire police forces and fuel companies.
A major fuel leak was reported at the beginning of April, in Manton, Wiltshire.
Esso said the leak had occurred following an attempt by thieves to tap the buried pipeline and environmental specialists were working to monitor any impact and take appropriate further action.
Up to 150,000 litres of fuel was reported to have seeped out.
Then, on 17 April, a tapping device was found on the pipeline 37 miles away (59km) at East Wellow, Hampshire, after police discovered 30,000 litres of stolen diesel in tanks at a nearby industrial storage unit.
Hampshire Police said it believed the tanks were being filled from a "sophisticated system" which had tapped into the line.
Two men, aged 32 and 34, from Salisbury in Wiltshire were arrested and remain on police bail on suspicion of conspiracy to steal fuel.
Esso said the recent incidents had caused it to "strengthen" its security and monitoring procedures.
"Our pipeline network has been in place for decades and tapping incidents are rare," said a spokesperson.
"We have security and detection measures in place at all company facilities, including our petroleum product pipelines, and we work closely with the police to detect and close down illegal activity relating to our assets."

Summary: Two cases of theft from an underground fuel pipeline are part of a much wider police investigation, it has emerged.
###
Article: Chief executive Katrina Percy resigned on Tuesday following pressure over the way Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust investigated patient deaths.
Ms Percy's salary is quoted in the trust's annual report as between £180,000 and £190,000.
Sara Ryan said: "It is a scandal... it doesn't happen in the real world."
An NHS England-commissioned probe found 272 of the 722 deaths over the last four years at the trust were dealt with properly.
In June, the trust accepted responsibility for the death of Ms Ryan's 18-year-old son Connor Sparrowhawk, who drowned in a bath at Slade House in Oxford.
Southern admitted it caused the death of Connor, who had suffered an epileptic seizure before he died in July 2013, and offered his family £80,000 compensation.
Talking about Ms Percy's new job, Ms Ryan said: "This is public money that is paying for this ridiculously over-inflated salary.
"She failed as a chief executive. How she could possibly keep the same salary?"
Gail Hanrahan, from the Oxfordshire Family Support Network, said people were "really angry".
She added: "It's typical NHS culture, just shifting the deck chairs.
"There seems to be no consequences for her after years of documented failure... nothing surprises me anymore with what the trust do.
"They seem to go against everything that makes sense to everybody.
"It makes you wonder what you have to do to get sacked from a high powered NHS job."
Rob Greig, the former Department of Health director for learning disabilities, said the salary was not appropriate for an advisory role.
"Any reputable job evaluation process would not conclude that those two jobs merited the same salary."
The trust's chairman Tim Smart described the job as an "alternative role working with local GP leaders providing strategic advice on the transformation of local health services".
"There is vital work that needs to be done for which she is ideally suited," he said.

Summary: An NHS trust's decision to move its boss to a new role with the same salary is a "scandal", according to the mother of a teenager who died under its watch.
###
Article: She says she's split between loving the play and wanting to be back home at a politically crucial time in the US.
Jones played President Taylor in two series of 24, from 2009 to 2010. Many saw a distinct suggestion of Hillary Clinton in her appearance and characterisation.
But the actress says none of that gave her an extra reason to back Clinton in last November's US presidential elections.
"I didn't need any extra anything," she told the BBC. "We were all doing everything we could to support Hillary, and keep at bay the darkness that has now descended over America because of our own ignorance and arrogance.
"We are in this moment self-destructing. Even in the Vietnam War, we haven't seen people mobilise the way they're mobilising now."
Jones, one of America's most respected stage actresses, stars alongside her countryman Michael Esper in Williams' intense family drama.
Both are as happy to talk about politics as The Glass Menagerie, a production seen at last year's Edinburgh Festival that is now running in London's West End.
Esper, a 40 year-old New Yorker, recently appeared in London in the David Bowie musical Lazarus.
"When I was here before the election, people initially thought Donald Trump was almost funny and often they'd treat him as a harmless joke," he told the BBC.
"I think now reality has set in. America now has a president who's a constituency of one.
"For me Trump represents the worst of America, while Tennessee Williams was a creative genius Americans should be proud of. So it's a delight to be in the play."
Williams wrote The Glass Menagerie in 1944. A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof later brought him money and worldwide fame, but his early "memory play" had been an extraordinary achievement for a young writer.
"Tennessee was a poet, a rebel and a gay man," says Jones. "He was a unique talent and chose his own path.
"He's influenced other writers, but I don't think anyone has ever quite been like him."
Esper's role of Tom is usually seen as a self-portrait by the playwright,...

Summary: Cherry Jones - known to TV fans as President Allison Taylor in drama series 24 - is hitting the London stage in Tennessee Williams classic The Glass Menagerie.
###
Article: On 14 April 1945, just a month before the end of World War Two, 10 US servicemen and one woman died after their Flying Fortress bomber crashed in the Isle of Man.
Lt Robert Vielle, an experienced and decorated pilot, had been flying a B-17G from England to Northern Ireland when he hit bad weather over the Irish Sea.
The aircraft veered off-course by several miles before coming down and bursting into flames in a field above Port St May.
The exact cause of the crash has never been ascertained.
Those on board had been sent on a peaceful mission to Northern Ireland to collect supplies of whiskey for a party at the US Army Air Force station at Thurleigh in Essex.
Ivor Ramsden, a keen historian and aviation expert, said the flight was an example of the "sheer madness of war".

Summary:


The BBC's new series of Let It Shine has been praised by the RSPB.
The BBC's new series of Let It Shine has been praised by the RSPB.
The BBC's new series of Let It Shine has been praised by the RSPB.
The BBC's new series of Let

More than 1,000 young spiders from a hybrid species have been released into the Suffolk broads.

Article: Four buildings had to be temporarily closed in the capital after defects were discovered in schools built by Miller Construction a decade ago.
The new surveys centre on schools built by the same company in Glasgow, Fife and Inverclyde.
The contractor said inspections were "a precautionary measure".
Hundreds of bricks were blown from the wall of Oxgangs primary school during Storm Gertrude in January.
A safety inspection revealed issues with how the external wall was erected when the school was built in 2005, as part of the Public Private Partnership 1 project.
Oxgangs was part of a wider programme that saw 17 schools built or refurbished following a deal between the council and a private finance consortium.
When the wall collapsed, wider inspections revealed similar problems at three other schools in Edinburgh - St Peter's RC Primary, Firrhill High and Braidburn Special Schools.
All were built around the same time by Miller Construction - which was bought over by Galliford Try in 2014.
The four schools were deemed unsafe for pupils and temporarily closed.
They are due to reopen after the Easter holidays.
A spokesperson for Galliford Try said: "The four schools temporarily closed in Edinburgh comprised the second phase of the PPP1 programme, which was completed by Miller Construction in 2005.
"We have already started remedial work at Oxgangs Primary School and are assessing the requirement for work on the further three schools.
"Any remedial work required will be carried out as quickly as possible allowing the children to return to their studies with the minimum disruption.
"While we are not aware of any defects, as a precautionary measure, we have contacted the clients of the PPP school projects Miller Construction undertook in Glasgow, Fife and Inverclyde.
"Further investigations will be carried out as appropriate."
Signed in 2001, Edinburgh's Public Private Partnership deal for schools was worth £360m.
In return for 30 years of fixed payments from the council, a private consortium designed, built and...

Summary: Safety inspections will be carried out at schools across Scotland following the collapse of a wall at an Edinburgh primary, BBC Scotland has learned.
###
Article: Tony Rucinski was suspended from the Â£90,000-a-year role by the Board of Community Health Councils (CHC) in February 2016.
No reason has been given publicly for his suspension or sacking.
The Welsh Conservatives raised concerns over a lack of transparency in the case. Dr Rucinski said he cannot comment for legal reasons.
The Welsh Government said it was a matter for the CHC board.
Opposition AMs have previously criticised the lack of information given by the board and the Welsh Government about Mr Rucinski's lengthy suspension.
In a statement, the board's acting chief executives Alyson Thomas and Clare Jenkins said: "We can confirm that the employment of Dr Tony Rucinski as the chief executive officer of the Board of Community Health Councils in Wales has now been terminated.
"It would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment on an internal HR matter."
In response to a Freedom of Information request, the board said the bill for extra salary payments to other staff to cover for Dr Rucinski while he was suspended, stands at Â£58,135.
The organisation describes itself as the "independent voice of patients" in Wales.
It and the seven CHCs it oversees had an annual budget in 2015-16 of Â£3.8m.
Dr Rucinski was appointed as chief executive of the board in a newly-created role in July 2015.
At the time, he told BBC Wales he had been "put in place to make things happen" but was suspended seven months later.
Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: "Dr Rucinski's sacking is the latest episode on a worrying journey towards the total dismemberment of Community Health Councils and the removal of a vital plank of scrutiny."
"The Welsh Government's lack of communication to AMs and the public throughout this protracted case shows their outright disdain for the vital role Community Health Councils play in holding ministers to account."
He said Health Secretary Vaughan Gething's "silence" on the issue had been "deafening".
Some 18 months on from the initial suspension "we are still left waiting for...

Summary: The suspended chief executive of the NHS patients' watchdog in Wales has been sacked, it has been confirmed.
###
Article: But the judges have banned the practice of refunding the bride price on the dissolution of a marriage.
The custom of paying bride prices is widely practiced in Africa, but traditions vary, as some BBC Africa colleagues explain.
A bride price here is known as "lobola", where the groom's family presents either money or cows or both to the bride's family as a gesture of his willingness to marry her.
The payment of lobola is a sign of the man's commitment to take care of his wife and is seen as a symbolic act and a necessary part of upholding culture, rather than a purchase.
The term "lobola" is also used in southern Zimbabwe, but in Shona communities it is known as "roora" and while the tradition is to give cattle, this is now often replaced by cash - the amount is subject to negotiation.
There are several stages to the tradition and it is seen as a way of thanking the bride's family for bringing her up, but there is no sense that the bride is being bought.
The payment of bride price is customary in Senegal but largely symbolic.
A small amount of money and a kola nut is given to the bride's family at the mosque, after that the sum handed over can be any where from less than $100 to tens of thousands.
The Kenyan constitution outlaws the obligation to pay a bride price but it is widely understood that it will be paid.
Pastoral communities insist that it is paid in cattle and it has been cited as a cause of cattle rustling, whereas families in other communities will accept cash.
There is a sense that a transaction has taken place over the bride.
The bride price is commonly paid in Burkinabe culture and is largely a symbolic act.
There is no set amount and a little money is given, but it is mainly in goods such as kola nuts, drinks, cigarettes - and some ethnic groups may give a goat.
However, a bride's family is not normally too demanding.
In Niger there is an official maximum rate for a bride price of 50,000 CFA francs ($83, Â£54) but many pay much more than this.
The price is agreed between the families, but it...

Summary: Uganda's top court has ruled that "bride price", when a man pays his future wife's family for her hand in marriage, is legal.
###
Article: 27 February 2017 Last updated at 18:04 GMT
Gary Barlow led the search for the cast of a Take That musical and these guys didn't disappoint!
But how much do you know about them?
Find out about AJ's hair, who's the funny one and who snores...

Summary: Five To Five are the winners of BBC One's singing programme Let It Shine.
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Article: The Dolomedes plantarius spiderlings were released into suitable dykes at Castle Marshes between Lowestoft and Beccles on Wednesday.
About 4mm, they are hybrids between species found in Sussex and Suffolk.
The 1,600 spiderlings were hand-reared in the kitchen of project leader Dr Helen Smith, with the surplus reared at the John Innes Centre in Norwich.
Dr Smith said: "The hybrids bring the advantage of increased genetic variability to the new population.
"This... should give the new population at Castle Marshes the best potential to adapt to its surroundings and to cope with the impacts of climate change."
The project was organised by Natural England and Suffolk Wildlife Trust and was aided by a grant from the BBC Wildlife Fund.

Summary:


The Premier League has said it will not be able to guarantee the safety of fans at its matches.
The Premier League has said it will not be able to guarantee the safety of fans at its matches.
The Premier League has said it will not be able to guarantee the safety of fans at its matches.
The

European leagues are free to schedule domestic games on the same nights as Champions League and Europa League ties after an agreement with Uefa ended.

Article: Sunday's game was called off before kick-off after a suspect device -  which turned out to be a dummy bomb - was discovered in a toilet.
However, some estimates suggested as many as a third of fans did not return for the rescheduled fixture.
Fans faced strict security controls in and around the ground before kick-off.
Conor McNamara, BBC Radio 5 live's commentator at Old Trafford, said: "I'd guess we're two-thirds full. Loads of empty seats here."
After Sunday's game was called off, United agreed to refund all tickets and to allow ticket holders from both clubs to watch the rearranged game for free.
Bournemouth then offered away fans with valid tickets free coach travel for the 500-mile round trip to the rescheduled fixture.
United have the highest average attendance in the Premier League, at 75,000, and it is estimated that their ticket gesture will cost the club about £3m.
United went into Sunday's final round of Premier League fixtures with a chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League, but Manchester City's draw at Swansea meant Louis van Gaal's side needed an unlikely 19-goal victory on Tuesday.
BBC Sport's Simon Stone at Old Trafford.
"Manchester United are known for their worldwide support and it is true that fans tend to come from far and wide to games at Old Trafford.
"Evidently, with the FA Cup final to come on Saturday, many decided, at 48 hours' notice, this was a match too far.
"United count season ticket holders in their attendance figures whether they are present or not. Officially, since the ground was expanded to its current capacity, their lowest Premier League crowd was 73,401 for the visit of Stoke in January 2011.
"I can say with absolute certainty that the crowd tonight is below that, although the same could be said for the visits of Aston Villa and Crystal Palace last month, when higher figures were recorded."
The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and the Stretford End were evacuated and sniffer dogs brought in to search the ground, with an "operation red code" alert issued over the...

Summary: Manchester United have thanked fans for returning to Old Trafford for a rearranged game with Bournemouth, two days after it was abandoned.
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Article: Derek Forsyth and David Hunter, from accountancy firm, Campbell Dallas, said the venue would close immediately.
They will now "see whether elements of the business may be resurrected".
Glasgow Licensing Board cut the venue's opening times following police concerns about drug and alcohol incidents. The nightclub was its main source of funds.
Founded in 1991, the Arches employed 133 staff in full and part time posts.
Mr Forsyth said the closure and redundancies were unavoidable.
"The Arches was facing unsustainable cash flow problems and despite an immense effort by the board and funding partners it was clear that administration was the only option for the companies," he said.
"As a result of an uncertain future income profile the venue will immediately close.
"The prospect of job losses has been well documented, and it is with great regret that we have had no option but to make 129 members of staff redundant with immediate effect."
Mr Forsyth said a small number of people would be "retained to assist with the administration" and his team would work with "relevant agencies" to support those losing their jobs,
He added: "We have already contacted various funding partners and stakeholders to consider all options going forward and to see whether elements of the business may be resurrected.
"The Arches is an internationally recognised brand and we would encourage interested parties to make contact as soon as possible."

Summary: Administrators for the Arches venue in Glasgow have made 129 staff redundant after the business collapsed following the loss of its nightclub licence.
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Article: UK government papers from 30 years ago, released by the National Archive, include briefings from David Willetts.
He said Scotland benefited from Â£900m "over-provision" compared with England.
At the time he was serving in the Number 10 Policy Unit.  He later served as a minister under David Cameron and is now a Conservative peer.
In a briefing he wrote for the prime minister, dated 8 January 1986, he said Scotland was a "juicy target" for the Treasury to "pursue".
But he also noted that George Younger - who was Secretary of State for Scotland at the time - was "reported to be very 'emotional' on the subject" of cuts and "may well threaten to resign" at the prospect.
In another document, from the 12 February 1986, he said the position of the Tories in Scotland was "so bad that it might not deteriorate any further", and that the "envious North of England" might "welcome an attack on the pampered Scots", leading to more votes for the Tories.
Commenting on the release of the files, SNP MP Stewart Hosie said: "No one will be surprised at secret Tory plots to slash Scotland's budget."
He added: "To describe Scotland as 'pampered' and  a 'juicy target' may go some way to explaining why the Tories were wiped out in Scotland."

Summary: An advisor to Margaret Thatcher argued that the "pampered Scots" were a "juicy target" for spending cuts, according to newly-released records.
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Article: The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) has said about 20,000 students in universities and colleges could potentially access the loan.
It will become available next year. Students with lower incomes will still be able to access existing grants.
The DEL minister said grants were often not enough to cover the full cost of tuition and were also means tested.
"In reality, most part-time students are ineligible to receive any support and the vast majority must self-fund their studies," Stephen Farry said.
"Following a public consultation exercise, I am now pleased to announce a new, non-means tested, 'top-up' tuition fee loan for part-time students.
"Students from lower incomes will continue to be able to access the existing grants, but they will also be able to top them up with a loan for their tuition fees should they need to, providing them with the same level of tuition fee support over the lifetime of their course as their full-time counterparts.
"Students ineligible to receive the existing fee grants will also be able to access these new loans.
"This combination of grants and loans for part-time tuition fee support is unique within the UK."

Summary: Part-time students in Northern Ireland will be able to get top-up loans to pay for tuition fees under a new scheme.
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Article: "This will give all European Leagues total freedom to schedule their matches as they see fit," said the European Professional Football Leagues group.
The agreement ended on 15 March.
It had been in place between the EPFL and Uefa to boost attendances and television viewing figures for European matches.
Arsenal's FA Cup replay against Hull City in March 2016 was given special dispensation to be played on the same night as the Champions League last 16.
Manchester City hosted Stoke City in a rearranged Premier League fixture last month on the same night as the Champions League last-16 ties between Barcelona and Paris St-Germain, and Borussia Dortmund and Benfica.
The Premier League said the scheduling of the match on Wednesday, 8 March was "unavoidable", it was reported.
It was also reported in April 2013 that the Football Association was fined £1.1m for allowing domestic matches to be played on the same night as European games.
The EPFL said it will hold a general assembly of its member leagues in Geneva on 6 June.

Summary:


Researchers have identified a gene that appears to curb coffee consumption.

Article: The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said 549 miners would receive eight weeks' back pay of up to £3,800 each.
The union claimed miners at the North Yorkshire pit, which closed in 2015, received smaller payouts than workers at Thoresby in Nottinghamshire.
It successfully argued the closure of the two pits had been the same and therefore payouts should be similar.
Miners at Thoresby, which closed in July 2015, were granted a "protective award" when UK Coal, the mine's owner, and the government accepted the mine was closed without proper consultation with workers.
The union successfully argued before an industrial tribunal in Sheffield the same circumstances applied to the closure of Kellingley six months later, yet there was no agreement to provide the same level of financial support to workers.
An NUM spokesman said it was "money the men were entitled to and shouldn't have had to fight for".
Yvette Cooper, the Labour MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, whose constituency includes Kellingley, said: "This tribunal judgement proves that the government's decision to deny the Kellingley miners the same support as the Thoresby miners was an outrage and a betrayal of the Yorkshire miners who kept working until the very end."
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been approached for comment.

Summary: Miners made redundant through the closure of Kellingley colliery are to receive additional payments.
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Article: Victoria Prentis said that former armed forces inmates and women had "particularly low reoffending rates".
The Justice Select Committee member made the comments in a debate on the prison population, which has nearly doubled since the 1980s to 85,000.
But she admitted the proposal was just "tinkering around the edges".
The Banbury MP member added Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) prisoners - who remain in prison for public safety - could also be released.
In the Commons debate on Wednesday, she said: "Women prisoners and veterans have very low reoffending rates. But this is tinkering around the edges of the large prison population at the moment."
In November last year Justice Secretary Liz Truss unveiled a White Paper detailing Â£1.3bn investment in new prisons over the next five years, and plans for 2,100 extra officers.
But some high-profile prison riots in HMP Birmingham, Bedford and Lewes towards the end of 2016 led the National Council of Independent Monitoring Boards to claim low staffing levels had contributed to the disruption.
Ms Prentis added: "If we can't recruit, as I accept the department is trying desperately hard to do, would the minister commit today to at least considering whether we should have a shift in the sentencing framework, a shift... to community-based alternatives?"
Prisons minister Sam Gyimah, responding to a range of points at the end of the debate, said: "It is incredibly simplistic to say that the problems in our prisons are simply due to staffing. There is the rise of new psychoactive substances and old taboos in prisons have been broken.
"It used to be the case that prisoners never attacked a female prison officer. Now, we see that routinely on our wings. Our prisons have changed and to deal with that complex problem, we need a multifaceted set of answers. That is what this Government are delivering."

Summary: Women and army veteran prisoners should be considered for early release to ease pressure on the prison population, according to a Conservative MP.
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Article: Almost 5,000 people will begin degree apprenticeships in 2017-18, nearly eight times as many as when the scheme launched in 2015, says Universities UK.
The scheme was already reaching people who would not otherwise have gone to university, the report found.
But more needed to be done to communicate the benefits, said UUK President Dame Julia Goodfellow.
The degree apprenticeship scheme operates across England and Wales, although people can apply from throughout the UK.
The UUK study, launched to coincide with National Apprenticeships Week and based on a survey of 66 English universities, found:
The current growth was driven by the need to meet key skills shortages, the researchers found, with chartered management, digital and technology solutions and engineering the top three areas of provision.
"Degree apprenticeships could play a key role in reducing skills gaps and skills mismatches," says the report.
Additionally, with course fees shared between government and employers, the scheme offers particular benefits to people who might not have considered a degree, says UUK.
However, the report also found "a general perception among institutions" that awareness of the scheme among individuals and employers remained too low.
The report urges government and universities to increase efforts "to publicise and improve understanding of degree apprenticeships and their fundamental role in supporting social mobility and raising productivity".
Many larger companies, which are liable to pay the apprenticeship levy of 0.5% on payrolls from next month, are already aware of degree apprenticeships, say the researchers, but they want greater efforts to make small and medium sized enterprises aware of them.
'Artificial divide'
"Many people feel they have been left behind in the drive to increase higher level skills in recent years,"  said Dame Julia.
"Degree apprenticeships are an excellent way to get to these harder-to-reach groups while, at the same time, ensuring that what we deliver on campus meets the needs of students, the...

Summary: Degree apprenticeships, encompassing university and work, are "on the verge of significant success", says a report.
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Article: St Ninian's High, in Giffnock, covers three local and two Glasgow primaries.
East Renfrewshire Council wants to limit automatic entry to its own area with Glasgow pupils only gaining access through placing requests.
It looks set to back the move after a consultation showed most local parents supported plans. Glasgow respondents and most pupils were strongly opposed.
The recommendation to proceed is contained in a report detailing the results of the consultation which ran from September to December last year.
East Renfrewshire Council is seeking to change the current St Ninian's catchment area as it says the Roman Catholic-denominational school is at capacity and cannot cope with higher numbers.
The cross-border arrangement between East Renfrewshire Council and Glasgow City Council over the school was born out of local government reorganisation in the mid-1990s.
It was agreed that pupils from St Angela's and the former St Louise's primary schools in Glasgow would attend St Ninian's.
When St Louise's was closed during a merger with St Vincent's Primary, a portion of its pupils who stayed in certain postcode areas, retained the right to transfer to St Ninian's.
New housing developments in the St Angela's catchment area also saw more children from Glasgow qualify for transfer to St Ninian's.
East Renfrewshire now wants to limit automatic admission to St Ninian's to its three local schools - St Cadoc's, St Joseph's, and Our Lady of the Missions.
Under the new proposals, the authority would only accept pupils from the Glasgow schools under placing requests, with no guarantee given as to admission.
In the case of these placing requests, priority would be given to pupils who were baptised Catholics.
More than 4,000 people - including parents and pupils - responded to the consultation on the proposals.
A majority of parents from East Renfrewshire who responded backed the moves with a majority in Glasgow opposed.
Most of the pupils from East Renfrewshire who responded to the consultation disagreed with the proposals,...

Summary: Pupils at two Glasgow primaries look set to lose the right to attend one of Scotland's top performing secondaries.
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Article: People with a DNA variation in a gene called PDSS2 tend to drink fewer cups of coffee, a study carried out at the University of Edinburgh has found.
It suggests the gene reduces cell ability to break down caffeine.
This causes it to stay in the body for longer and means those with the gene get the same caffeine hit through less coffee.
One scientist working on the project said it suggests the "drive to drink coffee may be embedded in our genes".
The researchers studied the DNA of 370 people living in a small village in southern Italy and 843 people from six villages in north-east Italy.
The subjects were asked to complete a survey including a question about how many cups of coffee they drank each day.
The team found people with the PDSS2 DNA variation tended to consume fewer cups of coffee than people without the variation - equivalent to one fewer cup daily on average.
Researchers replicated the study in a group of 1,731 people from the Netherlands. The result was similar but the effect of the gene on the number of cups of coffee consumed was slightly lower.
The scientists said the change could be down to the different styles of coffee drunk in the two countries.
In Italy, people tend to drink smaller cups such as espresso whereas in the Netherlands the preference is towards larger cups which contain more caffeine overall.
Dr Nicola Pirastu, a Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, said: "The results of our study add to existing research suggesting that our drive to drink coffee may be embedded in our genes.
"We need to do larger studies to confirm the discovery and also to clarify the biological link between PDSS2 and coffee consumption."
The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports and was conducted at the universities of Edinburgh and Trieste, the Burlo Garofolo Pediatric Institute in Italy, the Erasmus Medical Centre and PolyOmica, a data analysis company based in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Summary:


One of the biggest Scotch whisky distillers has seen faster growth in sales of its Irish whiskey brand, according to new figures.

Article: But not so George Osborne. Because on Friday he announced he would redeem Â£218m of a so-called consolidated loan - a class of gilt-edged stock commonly known as Consols - which were issued in 1927 by his undistinguished (at the Treasury) predecessor, Winston Churchill.
The Treasury has had the option to repay or redeem the loan since 1957, according to the original prospectus terms.
But it has never done so, because 4% interest looked very good value for taxpayers.
So why is the chancellor paying off the loan now?
Well it is because - as I assume you know - the interest rate the government currently has to pay is exceptionally and amazingly low.
I wrote about this recently in a column about how investors are placing bets that the long term growth prospects for the UK and other big rich economies are lacklustre at best, and why they are prepared to lend colossal sums to the supposedly safe-as-houses government at rates of interest that don't match the rate of inflation.
Here is one measure of these extraordinary market conditions. Last Tuesday the Debt Management Office, which borrows on behalf of HM Treasury, sold Â£4bn of a loan that doesn't have to be repaid till 2068 and on this loan it is paying an interest rate, or yield, of 2.966%.
In other words, it is borrowing for 54 years at an interest rate of less than 3%.
Now the last time the interest rate paid by the government was almost as low as this when issuing gilts or borrowing for such a long period was in August 1937, 34 years before George Osborne was born.
And the Debt Management Office has no record of ever having paid a lower rate of interest when selling a loan of that kind of ultra-long maturity.
So of course there is logic to the chancellor repaying the perpetual loan, the Consols, on which he pays a 33% higher rate of interest of 4%.
That looks like smart business for taxpayers.
But is he tempting fate in the decision to repay?
Chancellors should not be superstitious, I suppose. But some might wonder whether in deciding to repay a loan which...

Summary: If most of us could borrow money at 4% interest, and would never have to repay it, we would be pretty happy.
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Article: Lawyers for Liam Adams said the level of media coverage on both sides of the Irish border even before his trial turned it into "a national issue".
They also argued guidance to the jury may have wrongly shifted the burden onto him to prove he was innocent of a string of sexual assaults on his daughter Áine. The appeal continues.
Liam Adams, 59, formerly of Bernagh Drive in Belfast, is serving a 16-year jail sentence for the offences against his daughter, who waived her right to anonymity.
The abuse was said to have been committed over a six-year period between 1977 and 1982 when she was aged between four and nine.
He consistently denied the allegations throughout a second trial at Belfast Crown Court in 2013.
However, a jury convicted him of 10 offences against his daughter: three charges of rape, four counts of indecent assault and a further three counts of gross indecency.
At the start of his appeal on Wednesday, he smiled at his wife Bronagh and other relatives who had gathered in the public gallery to support him.
Opening the case, his barrister said they were challenging what she said was the trial judge's failure to direct the jury on how they should assess issues about the extensive publicity before and after a first trial that had collapsed due to legal reasons.
She said a television documentary had sparked widespread media attention.
Her client's brother, Gerry Adams, revealed in an interview that his father subjected family members to sexual abuse, the court heard.
Giving evidence as a prosecution witness at the first trial, the Sinn Féin president claimed his brother confessed to him that he had "molested" his daughter.
Focusing on the level of publicity, the barrister said that by the time of the second trial, any jury member would have heard about the case and her client's earlier battle against being extradited from the Republic of Ireland.
"What makes this case different from a case where someone who is well-known to the public is being tried for serious criminal offences... (is) the...

Summary: Jurors who found a brother of Gerry Adams guilty of raping his own daughter were not properly directed on how to deal with widespread publicity in the case, the Court of Appeal has heard.
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Article: Green Party politicians Caroline Lucas MP and Baroness Jenny Jones argued a long-standing doctrine protecting MPs' communications was being breached.
But in a landmark decision the Investigatory Powers Tribunal said the so-called "Wilson Doctrine" was no bar to the incidental collection of data.
Ms Lucas said the decision was a "body blow" for democracy.
The Wilson Doctrine came into being in 1966 when the then Labour prime minister, Harold Wilson, gave assurances to MPs that their phone calls would not be intercepted without him knowing - and that he would tell Parliament of any change in that policy.
The doctrine has been repeatedly reaffirmed, including by Prime Minister David Cameron.
However, Ms Lucas, Baroness Jones and former MP George Galloway argued that GCHQ was acting outside the long-standing doctrine by bulk collecting communications data from the internet, which would inevitably include correspondence between parliamentarians and their constituents.
By Dominic Casciani, BBC Home Affairs correspondent
The IPT couldn't have been clearer about the worthlessness of the Wilson Doctrine had they shoved a copy of Hansard from 17 November 1966 into the courtroom shredder.
But while their ruling may come as something of a shock to some MPs - it's been abundantly clear for almost a decade that the doctrine's days were numbered.
Wilson gave his guarantee to MPs when the UK refused to admit that it even had spooky agencies working in the shadows. Today, there is legislation that sets out how agencies can intercept communications.
The existence of those laws has led to repeated questions about whether Wilson is still needed. MPs like Caroline Lucas argue that it still is because of the sensitive work that some parliamentarians do in holding the executive to account.
"We are satisfied that the Wilson Doctrine is not enforceable in English law by the claimants or other MPs or peers by way of legitimate expectation," said the IPT.
"The Wilson Doctrine has no legal effect, but in practice the agencies must...

Summary: MPs have no protection from having their communications read by UK security agencies, a tribunal has said.
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Article: The 17-year-old attacked Gordon Friel, 40, in Paisley last September, leaving him with a string of injuries including bleeding on the brain.
He had earlier pled guilty to assaulting Mr Friel to his severe injury and to danger of his life.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for three years and four months.
He was initially charged with attempted murder for what the judge described as a "savage assault".
Two girls - aged 17 and 16 - have also admitted a charge of assaulting the tannery worker.
The 17-year-old girl was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and the 16-year-old 100 hours. Neither of the girls can be identified.
The High Court in Glasgow heard the victim was set upon after he tried to act as a peacemaker when two teenagers began arguing.
Mr Friel had been standing in Paisley's High Street eating a takeaway when the row broke out.
He approached the pair and told the bigger of the two the smaller one did not want a fight.
Prosecutor David Taylor said: "At this point the 17-year-old girl became involved, dragging Gordon to the ground and punching and kicking him on the body.
"She was joined by the 16-year-old girl who shouted 'get him' and began punching him."
Mr Friel managed to get away before the 17-year-old boy arrived, the court was told.
The boy - who wrongly believed Mr Friel had attacked the older girl - and others then chased him to Forbes Place.
The group went on to stamp on the victim's head, leaving a "footwear mark" on his head.
He suffered bleeding in the brain, a liver injury and rib fractures, and needed three operations.
Mr Taylor said: "Before the incident Mr Friel weighed around 11 stone. On his discharge from hospital his weight was five-and-a-half stone.
"He was so weak he had to use a Zimmer frame to aid walking."
The court was told Mr Friel is now back at work and is expected to make a full recovery, although he has no memory of his ordeal.
The 17-year-old boy's lawyer, Billy Lavelle, said his client was now "ashamed of his actions".

Summary: A teenager who stamped on a man who was trying to break up a fight has been jailed.
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Article: Pernod Ricard, which is based in France, is the second biggest distiller of Scotch after Diageo.
Its brands include Chivas, The Glenlivet and Ballentine's.
However, the distiller reported that Jameson's, the biggest-selling Irish whiskey, continued to be the star performer among its premium brands.
American sales of the Cork-distilled whiskey were up more than 10%.
In its update for investors, the drinks company reported total sales rose 3% in the first three months of 2017, and the detail gave some pointers to the market for whisky and other drinks around the world.
Pernod Ricard reported the Chinese market "remains challenging for Scotch", while there were more positive sales figures for Martell brandy.
Imported spirits have been held back in China by official disapproval of conspicuous business hospitality and gifts. Bar and restaurant sales were reported to remain in decline.
The company said Korean sales continue a "strong decline" across its brands.
It also reported on the disruptive effect in India of the government removing large amounts of the nation's paper money from circulation, and a new law that will forbid the sale of alcohol close to highways.
In Latin America, which has been a strong growth area for Scotch exports, Brazilian sales were weaker due to prolonged recession. But sales across the Pernod Ricard brands were strongly up in other countries, led by Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay and Cuba.
The UK market was described as resilient and "dynamic", because its products were being imported ahead of price increases in March, linked to the weakening of sterling. Among the stronger performers were Absolut vodka and Jameson's.
With its full year results for 2015-16, Pernod Ricard reported Jameson's global sales were up 12% by volume and 16% by value.
In Scotch whisky, Ballentine's rose 5% by volume over the year, while Chivas was down 5% and Glenlivet single malt by 2%.
Another French company with a stake in Scotch whisky, Remy-Martin, this week reported that its sales of "Progressive Hebridean"...

Summary:


A bill to restrict foreign ownership in Russia's media will soon go before the parliament, which is dominated by MPs loyal to President Vladimir Putin.

Article: In a growing row between the government and bakers, officials said that bakeries could face fines if people had to queue to get their bread.
Severe shortages of basic goods mean that Venezuelans often have to queue for hours to buy essential items.
The government says the shortages are caused by an "economic war".
Venezuela does not produce wheat and relies on imports bought in by the government which it then sends to mills where it is ground and then distributed.
The government blames bakers for the bread shortages, accusing them of using the flour allocated to them to bake pastries rather than simple baguette-style bread in order to maximise their profits.
Croissants and other sweet baked goods are more expensive than baguettes and French-style breads, as the prices for the latter are controlled by the socialist government.
Under the new regulations, bakers will be forced to use 90% of the flour they are given to bake ordinary bread and only 10% for pastries and other sweetened goods.
On Sunday, President Nicolas Maduro announced that inspectors would be sent to 709 bakeries in the capital, Caracas, to ensure they were complying with the new rules.
He said that those "speculators who hide the bread from the people will face the weight of the law".
"They're going to pay, I swear. Those responsible for the bread war are going to pay and they better not complain that it was a political persecution," he added.
Vice-President Tareck El Aissami warned that "bakeries which do not follow [the rules] will be occupied by the government".
But the baker's federation, Fevipan, says it cannot produce more bread unless its members are given more flour.
On Tuesday, it said in a tweet [in Spanish]  that 80% of bakeries had "zero inventory", while the remaining bakeries had only received 10% of the monthly supplies".
"When there's flour, we sell bread, but they only send it every 15 or 20 days," a worker in a Caracas bakery told the Agence France Press news agency.
"We are given 20 sacks and normally we'd need eight a day,"...

Summary: The Venezuelan government says it will expropriate bakeries which fail to abide by new government regulations aimed at tackling bread shortages.
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Article: Opened in 2012, the institute aims to develop academic, economic and social ties with China.
The university's vice chancellor Prof Paddy Nixon has said the institute is not at risk.
UU decided to close its school of modern languages earlier this year as part of a response to budget cuts.
However, it said they would "continue to support the teaching of Chinese" in schools across Northern Ireland.
Although UU decided to close its school of modern languages, the university said it would "continue to support the teaching of Chinese" in schools across Northern Ireland.
Degrees in Chinese, French, Spanish and German will not be taught after 2019.
In its original bid for the Confucius Institute in 2011, UU said it wanted to lead "the development of the study of Chinese language and culture throughout Northern Ireland at all levels".
It also said it was "committed to the study of languages for professional life".
But in the letter to UU's vice-chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon, seen by the BBC, the nine academic staff in the university's modern language department warned: "Our reputation at a whole series of levels will be further damaged when the Confucius Institute, in the bid for which we showed unwavering commitment to the promotion of modern languages, is withdrawn from us, as inevitably it must, and relocated elsewhere in NI."
They also said the decision to close the school will cause "enormous damage" and expressed concern about how existing students will be able to finish their degrees.
In the letter, the staff took issue with "the reassurance given to new students and those in the early stages of their studies... that the quality of their student experience will be in no way compromised".
"It is hard to understand how you can give these students such an assurance," the letter said.
"No-one knows and no clear decision has as yet been taken, let alone communicated to interested parties, what the exact scenario for teaching out the final year of an honours degree in modern languages at Ulster University will...

Summary: Modern languages staff at Ulster University (UU) have warned its vice chancellor that its Confucius Institute may have to close.
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Article: Chris McGimpsey made his remarks after the zoo was criticised by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Eaza).
Eaza found many of the enclosures were too small and it listed seven minor concerns about the welfare of animals.
Belfast City Council, which owns the zoo, has said work is already under way to rectify the issues Eaza has raised.
The European body's findings were revealed earlier this week by the Belfast Telegraph.
Mr McGimpsey, an Ulster Unionist councillor in the city, is an animal rights activist and a long-time critic of zoos.
Speaking on the BBC's Nolan Show on Wednesday night, he said: "I think people should stay away until we're confident that the animals are being kept in proper husbandry conditions."
He said the council had sought accreditation from Eaza but it had responded with a long list of "very severe concerns" about the operation of Belfast Zoo.
"They talk about the sea lions being kept in fresh water instead of salt water; they talk about sea lions being kept in water that is unclean and they talk about them being kept in a compound that is not deep enough."
Mr McGimpsey, added: "Elephants, in their natural environment, maraud in their lives over 1,000 sq km; [247,100 acres].  Elephants in Belfast Zoo have two thirds of an acre."
Eaza's letter to the council also said the buildings where lemurs are kept are far too small and that rabbits and reptiles are not housed in acceptable conditions.
It raised concerns about the "unacceptable" level of aggression between Andean bears and the "questionable welfare" of the male.
Mr McGimpsey claimed the facility was "not up to standard" and was "not something that Belfast City Council can be proud of".
However, he added that he hoped the improvement works would be completed by April next year.
It is not the first time the UUP councillor has publicly criticised Belfast Zoo.
In September, he joined calls for the "Victorian peep show" to be shut down.
He said it should be replaced with a conservation area for priority species that are native...

Summary: A Belfast councillor has urged the public to stay away from Belfast Zoo until it addresses criticism of the conditions in which it keeps animals.
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Article: The US president-elect said he wanted to avoid "even the appearance" of any conflict of interest.
New York's attorney general is looking into suspected "impropriety" at the Foundation, which Mr Trump denies.
The attorney general's office said Mr Trump could not shut the Foundation while the investigation was continuing.
Mr Trump's statement on Saturday said that "the foundation has done enormous good works over the years in contributing millions of dollars to countless worthy groups, including supporting veterans, law enforcement officers and children.
"However, to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president I have decided to continue to pursue my strong interest in philanthropy in other ways."
Mr Trump will be inaugurated on 20 January, succeeding President Barack Obama.
The Republican billionaire beat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 8 November elections.
Why has the Trump Foundation become controversial?
New York's Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in September that his office wanted to ensure the Foundation was "complying with the laws that govern charities in New York".
"We have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view," Mr Schneiderman told CNN at the time.
US media say Mr Schneiderman's office has been investigating the Trump Foundation since at least June, when it formally questioned a donation made to a group backing Republican Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2013.
The $25,000 (Â£20,350, â‚¬23,920) payment was made at a time when Mrs Bondi's office was reportedly considering whether to open a fraud investigation into Trump University.
The fraud investigation never happened, although Mrs Bondi denies the decision was influenced by the donation she received.
Aides to Mr Trump have already admitted the donation was a mistake resulting from clerical errors, according to reports.
The Donald J Trump Foundation is a private charitable organisation started by Donald Trump in 1987 with money he earned...

Summary: Donald Trump has announced that he plans to shut his charitable foundation, although an investigation into its practices continues.
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Article: If made law, the measure will put a 20% ceiling on any foreign stakes in Russian media, including those held indirectly through Russian partners.
Russia's main media outlets are state-owned or controlled by loyal oligarchs.
But top Putin ally Sergei Zheleznyak said Russia was facing "an information war unleashed against the country".
Russian TV news has accused the Ukrainian government of provoking clashes in eastern Ukraine through acts of aggression, including indiscriminate shelling of civilians.
The Kiev government blames pro-Russian separatists for the violence, and says Russia has fomented it by supplying soldiers and heavy weapons to the rebels.
The media bill is to go before Duma (lower house) deputies on 23 September, Itar-Tass news agency reports.
The restrictions would apply to magazines and internet publications as well as newspapers and broadcast media.
The bill is highly likely to become law as it was proposed by MPs who usually support the pro-Kremlin group United Russia.
BBC Monitoring reports that foreigners directly own stakes in some Russian mainstream media:

Summary:


The amount of radon gas found in the Channel Islands is associated with the geology of the island and not construction materials, a survey finds.

Article: There were secret ballots for five positions, with Dai Lloyd of Plaid Cymru elected health committee chair.
Labour's Lynne Neagle will lead the education committee and Conservative Russell George the economy committee.
Conservative AM Nick Ramsay will chair the public accounts committee, scrutinising spending by public bodies.
AMs agreed on Tuesday which party the chairs for each committee would come from, with a Labour AM chairing six of the committees, Plaid Cymru three, the Conservatives two and UKIP one.
Only five of 13 of the assembly's committee chairs were contested. In seven other cases, only one AM was nominated and so there was no ballot.
Scrutiny of the First Minister Committee will be chaired by Ann Jones - the position comes with the job of being deputy presiding officer.
The results of the ballots were:
Those who have been appointed unopposed were:
The committees were divided among the parties based on the number of AMs they have.

Summary: Assembly members have voted for the first time to decide who leads some of the body's influential committees.
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Article: Carillion is part of a joint venture that has won a bid to design and build part of the Â£56bn high speed rail link.
But last week its chief executive stepped down and the firm warned results would fall short of forecasts.
A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said it was "confident" in the joint venture.
He said: "Obviously in the light of last Monday's announcement by Carillion, HS2 has carried out additional due diligence and sought re-assurance of both it and its two partners in the joint venture - Kier and Eiffage - that they remained committed and able to deliver the contract.
"Each company's boards have both given that assurance and confirmed that they underwrite the performance of each other in delivering the contract. And that is the key point. HS2, of course, will continue to monitor the situation."
Carillion disclosed on Monday that it had appointed consultancy firm EY to help with a strategic review of the business "with a particular focus upon cost reduction and cash collection".
Under its interim chief executive Keith Cochrane, Carillion said it was taking immediate action to generate significant cashflow in the short term and cut its debt.
Carillion's share price jumped by 23.33% to 69.25p, but it still remains far below the pre-profit warning level of 191p.
The consortium of Carillion, Kier and Eiffage of France is one of a number of partnerships that have won  contracts to build tunnels, bridges and viaducts between London and Birmingham for the first phase of HS2.
The spokesman for HS2 Ltd pointed out that each of the contracts had two parts, beginning with a 16-month design period where the government and the joint venture work closely together before starting on the second construction phase.

Summary: The government was forced to seek assurances from Carillion's partners on the HS2 project that they can step in to deliver on the work if necessary after the company warned on profits.
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Article: Chairman from the bottom two divisions indicated at a meeting in September that they are in favour of 3G surfaces being used from 2015-16.
The proposal could be approved at a further meeting in November.
"The PFA are surprised and disappointed by the recent decision," the PFA's Simon Barker told BBC Sport.
"It is a concern that the PFA as representatives of the players has not been asked to make representations before the club chairmen voted as ultimately it will be our members playing on these pitches."
Barker, assistant chief executive at the PFA, added that the League Managers Association had also not been consulted and raised fears over injuries and damage to the sport's integrity.
And he added that a survey of the PFA's members two years ago conducted as part of a wider consultation by the Football League saw players vote overwhelming against the reintroduction of artificial pitches.
Back in September, 26 out of 46 chairmen voted in favour of introducing the surfaces in theory after watching a presentation on the benefits of 3G surfaces.
Barker believes that the enthusiasm from chairman for a return to artificial pitches is based on inflated promises of income generated by installing a 3G surface.
"It would seem that they are being driven by promises of increased commercial revenue streams and not for reasons of quality, integrity and safety," he said.
"Discussions we have had with knowledgeable sources within the game suggest that figures quoted from additional revenue from hiring out an artificial pitch are often hugely inflated."
Former Blackburn Rovers, QPR and Port Vale midfielder Barker believes that the long-term dangers of playing on artificial surfaces, outlawed in English professional football in 1995, have not been examined.
"There have been no studies on long-term injuries with players playing regularly on artificial surfaces," he said. "This area is of major concern to the PFA and could lead to litigation if a player's career was cut short due to injuries associated with playing over an...

Summary: The Professional Footballers' Association has criticised Football League plans to introduce artificial pitches in League One and League Two.
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Article: Michael Piggin, from Loughborough, was accused of two counts of terrorism which included plans to attack his former school, a mosque and a cinema.
The 18-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to possessing explosives.
The prosecution confirmed there would be no retrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict after 11 days.
During the trial at the Old Bailey prosecuting lawyer Max Hill QC said Piggin had plotted a "Columbine-style massacre" in the Leicestershire town.
He showed weapons found in his bedroom and videos of the teenager making Neo-Nazi salutes and shouting 'EDL' outside a mosque.
Following a raid at his home in Beaumont Road, Shelthorpe, police found several air rifles, component parts of pipe bombs, a crossbow and a swastika flag hung above his bed.
Piggin, who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome after his arrest in February last year, said he wrote about attacks to cope with bullying and tested explosives "for entertainment".
Videos shown during the case showed him throwing petrol bombs behind a leisure centre and writing racist graffiti on a wall.
The teenager denied possessing articles for a purpose connected with terrorism and having a Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, which is banned under terrorism laws.
Throughout the trial Piggin denied any real plans for attacks and said it had all "just been in his head".
He said he "didn't have a problem with Muslims in general" and described racist comments made on videos as "banter".
On Friday the judge dismissed the jury after they said there was "no real prospect of them ever reaching a verdict that they agreed on".
This latest trial was a retrial after a previous jury failed to reach a verdict in November.
Det Chief Insp Will Catterton, from the counter terrorism unit, said: "We obviously treated this very seriously indeed.
"Anything of this type where a person is putting together items such as improvised explosive devices, one has to assume that they can prove fatal if handled incorrectly or if someone has a particular mindset to use them, it can...

Summary: The jury in the retrial of a teenager accused of plotting terrorist attacks in his Leicestershire home town has again failed to reach a verdict.
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Article: The three-month tests of 137 island homes, 73 in Guernsey and 64 in Jersey, measured the level of gas in the walls.
Radon occurs naturally in areas with a large amount of granite and 99 of the homes tested were below target levels.
Fourteen island homes were above the target level and owners have been told to ensure there is good ventilation.
The survey was carried by the islands' authorities with the UK Health Protection Agency. The 137 properties were selected to cover a range of geological conditions and population areas.
The aim was to find out more about radon and its distribution.
Val Cameron, the Channel Islands strategic lead for environmental health, said: "The recent survey updates and confirms the information from previous surveys; this is that radon is associated with the granite geology of the island, and not the construction material of an individual building."
International research has found exposure to radon gas can increase the chances of contracting lung cancer for people who smoke.
Dr Susan Turnbull, medical officer of health for Jersey, said: "To help put the main risk factors for the commonest form of lung cancer into perspective, for every 100 cases of lung cancer around 95 will have been caused by smoking alone, about four will be due to the combined effects of smoking and radon exposure.
"Only one will be due to radon exposure alone. So it is a real risk, albeit a low one. The most sensible thing anyone can do to reduce their risk of getting lung cancer is to stop smoking."
Mrs Cameron said: "Of the homes surveyed, some were identified as being above the action level. Advice has been given to those householders about measures to remedy the problem."
Previously radon surveys were carried out in Jersey in 1987, 1992 and 1997, and in Guernsey in 1985. In 2012, tests were also carried out in Herm, Alderney and Sark.
In 1984 the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the International Commission on Radiological Protection reported on the need for a reduction of radon exposures in homes.

Summary:


A £15m cash fund to boost culture and creativity across the North of England has been announced by the government.

Article: He told the Conservative conference the public finances should be in the black when the economy was strong as insurance against a "rainy day".
His comments were taken as suggesting more years of spending restraint.
Business welcomed the goal but Labour said Mr Osborne had missed targets before and could not be trusted.
The BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said Mr Osborne's underlying message was that austerity would continue after the next election despite the return to growth.
In his keynote speech in Manchester, Mr Osborne also said he intended to freeze fuel duty for the rest of the Parliament, up to May 2015, if the money could be found.
In other developments on the second day of Conservative conference:
The last time the government ran an absolute budget surplus - meaning that it generated more in revenues, including tax yields, than it spent - was in 2001.
The UK has only balanced the books in seven out of the last 50 years.
Mr Osborne pledged to continue to keep control of spending even after the economic recovery was secured to avoid repeating the mistakes of "deluded" predecessors who believed they had abolished boom and bust.
By Ross HawkinsPolitical correspondent, BBC News
George Osborne's new rule for the next parliament is easier to understand than the current one.
At the moment he aims to balance the books at the end of a five-year period, but the sums don't account for capital spending - the money that goes on big projects.
And they don't include the bit of the deficit expected to vanish as the economy recovers.
His new plan sees him aiming to get rid of the entire deficit by 2020, providing there's no recession, and keep capital spending growing at the same rate as the economy.
He will hold up his pledge as evidence of Tory prudence against a Labour Party he'll paint as spendthrifts.
Tory strategists will hope a plan to run up a surplus and provide investment sounds straightforward and appealing.
But it could mean extra austerity, and make quick tax cuts harder in...

Summary: Chancellor George Osborne has said he wants the government to be running a surplus in the next Parliament and can get there without raising taxes.
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Article: Antonio Bagnato is believed by Thai police to have killed former Hells Angels member Wayne Schneider.
A US man has also been arrested in Thailand in connection to the biker's death.
Wayne Schneider was one of New South Wales' 10-most-wanted fugitives in 2006.
The 37-year-old was abducted from his home by five masked men in the Thai beachside town of Pattaya early on Monday, Thai authorities said.
His body was later found in a 2m (6ft) deep grave in the jungle.
Cambodian and Thai officials say that Mr Bagnato, who is also Australian, has been caught in Phnom Penh.
The 27-year-old is said by Thai media to have had ties with Wayne Schneider back in Sydney. The Bangkok Post said they had owned a fitness business together, and Mr Bagnato was also involved in a bike gang.
A 21-year-old man from the US has also been arrested. He has been charged with kidnap and murder, AFP news agency said.
Thai authorities are still looking for other suspects.
The case has drawn attention in Australia where Wayne Schneider had a long criminal history.
He was on New South Wales' most wanted list for shooting a bouncer in the kneecap outside a Sydney nightclub, though the charges were later dropped, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
He also faced drug offence charges and was said to be a senior member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.

Summary: The prime suspect in the killing of an Australian biker in Thailand has been arrested in neighbouring Cambodia, authorities say.
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Article: This is in contrast to the meetings of particular committees, or individual political groups.
Twelve full plenary sittings take place in Strasbourg every year, generally once a month with the exception of August, which is replaced by a secondary plenary sitting in September or October.
The sittings last from Monday afternoon until Thursday lunchtime.
There are also a small number of "mini-plenary" sittings that take place in Brussels each year on a Wednesday afternoon.
Every sitting starts with an official opening by the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz. This gives MEPs the chance to formally approve the agenda for the week and make any amendments.
Proposals to add a debate to the agenda have to be made to the President at least one hour before the sitting opens, and can be tabled by one of the Parliament's committees, one of its political groups, or a group of 40 MEPs.
In order to be formally added, an item must be approved by a simple majority - and can be done on a show of hands.
The session is then taken up with five main types of business:
Once derided as a "rubber-stamping" chamber, the European Parliament's power to shape EU legislation increased significantly with the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009.
The body is now a co-legislator with the Council of Ministers on the majority of EU laws.
For the remainder of EU legislation, the European Parliament has a formal consultative role.
Legislative debates usually open with a speech by the appointed "rapporteur",  the MEP appointed by the relevant committee to draw up the Parliament's position on a proposed law.
A vote will have already been taken in committee, before going to the full parliament.
After this, the floor will normally be taken by spokespeople for other relevant committees, followed by the relevant EU Commissioner (it is the Commission that will have originally have proposed the legislation), and a representative of the EU Council of Ministers.
These interventions can be quite long, particularly if there has...

Summary: A plenary sitting is the name given to a full session of the European Parliament, attended by all MEPs.
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Article: Russia has been hit hard by the fall in oil prices and the crumble in the value of the rouble, triggering panic that the country may face an economic collapse.
The Global Times' Chinese edition observes two opposing views in China on Russia, pointing out that there are those who "look down on Russia" as they are influenced by the West and there are others who are hoping for the collapse of President Vladimir Putin's administration.
"However, it is foolish to brush off Beijing-Moscow relations. China and Russia have precious strategic resources for each otherâ€¦ If Moscow-Beijing ties break down, Washington will be more ruthless to Beijing," notes the daily.
The editorial adds that the fall in the rouble's value may hurt bilateral trade in the short term, but China should "respect Russia" and not "take advantage" during a difficult economic crisis.
Dismissing fears that Russia is on the brink of a collapse, an article in the state-run Haiwai Net recalls that Mr Putin brought Russia out of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998 and notes that "the supermarkets there are still fully stocked with necessities".
Some papers, however, urge China to learn a lesson from Russia and not rely too much on export of natural resources.
An article in the Beijing Youth Daily notes that Russia has solely relied on its oil export to grow the economy but has not developed other sectors such as manufacturing and service industries.
Mei Xinyu, a researcher with China's Ministry of Commerce, highlights the fact that countries that export natural resources often have to face huge market volatility, and urges China to "strengthen its manufacturing foundation".
The pundit further points out that the rouble is facing speculative attacks, adding that the countries where currencies are not "hegemonic" are prone to such attacks.
The article subtly criticises the US for being unwilling to co-operate, with the Fed saying it will not slow down the increase of interest rates because of the rouble crisis.
"The policy-makers of the monetary...

Summary: Papers discuss China's economic ties with Russia in the wake of a sharp decline in the rouble's value against the dollar.
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Article: Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said the money would be given "to develop inspirational projects that could have a transformative local effect".
She said it would be a legacy from next year's Great Exhibition Of The North, to be held in Newcastle and Gateshead.
It comes after the government scrapped projects in the north and then backed a £30bn Crossrail 2 scheme for London.
Jake Berry, minister for the so-called Northern Powerhouse, welcomed the cash injection.
He said: "The North is a cultural powerhouse, as well as an economic one, and this £15m fund will give a boost to the region's vibrant culture and tech sectors.
"We've already invested over £3.4bn for projects to boost local economies in the Northern Powerhouse and this latest funding will help make sure the Great Exhibition of the North creates a legacy for years to come."
Under the scheme, towns and cities across the north can apply for grants of up to £4m per project via the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund.
Projects such as opening a new tech start-up centre or renovating live music venues would be considered.
Ms Bradley said: "We want as many people as possible to benefit from the Great Exhibition Of The North, and this fund will boost the Northern Powerhouse and help build a lasting legacy across the whole region."
The first round of bids will be coordinated by Local Enterprise Partnerships in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, East Riding, Greater Manchester, Humber, Lancashire, Leeds, Liverpool, North East, Sheffield, Tees, York and North Yorkshire.
Successful projects are expected to be announced in March 2018.

Summary: