Plans have been unveiled for a glass lift to take tourists to the top of one of Humber Bridge's 510 ft (155m) high towers.

Article: A vial of unmatured malt from the Ardbeg Distillery on Islay was blasted up to the International Space Station in a cargo spacecraft in October 2011, along with particles of charred oak.
Scientists hope to understand how they interact at close-to-zero gravity.
It is expected to land in Kazakhstan aboard a rocket on 12 September.
The vial of Ardbeg has already been orbiting the Earth's atmosphere for 1,045 days.
Ardbeg was invited in late 2011 by Texas-based space research company NanoRacks to take part in the space experiment.
The vial, launched by Soyuz rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan in late 2011, contains a class of chemical compounds known as "terpenes".
An identical bottle has been housed at the distillery on Islay to act as a control sample.
The two samples will then be reunited at a laboratory in Houston, Texas, where scientists will compare them to see what differences there are between Earth whisky and space whisky.
Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg's director of distilling and whisky creation, said: "This is one small step for man but one giant leap for whisky.
"The team hope to uncover how flavours develop in different gravitational conditions - findings which could revolutionise the whisky-making process.
"We hope to shine new light on the effect of gravity on the maturation process but who knows where it will lead us? It could be to infinity and beyond."

Summary: Whisky that was fired into space three years ago as part of a scientific experiment is to return to Earth next month.
###
Article: The Team Ireland star returned home to County Londonderry last week, fresh from success at the World Para-athletics Championships in London.
The visually impaired athlete won two golds in the T13 100m and 200m.
The 30 year old said he is aware that his career has a limited shelf life.
In an interview with the BBC's Sunday News programme, Smyth said he was delighted with his latest performance and still plans to compete at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
"As long as I feel I can kick on and sustain at that level, I will continue to do so, and once I get to Tokyo I'll probably reassess and see where I'm at and where the future is," he said.
The Eglinton para-athlete, however, acknowledged that he is "not getting any younger" and said he had already taken steps for life after his sporting career.
"The hard thing is that people often look at sport and think 'lots of money, flashy lifestyle', and yes, that is the case within certain sports, but a for a lot of sports that's a long way from the reality of the situation," said Smyth.
"I don't think there are a lot of things in place for athletes as they try to transition, because you give 100% to something constantly and so you have to let everything else sit on the backburner."
Far removed from his running career, he revealed that he is interested in finance, and on Monday, he is starting the first of two stints of work experience.
"One is more retail banking, and the other is more in investing and stock-broking, just to get an overview of things to see if I can gain some experience and over the next few years help me transition from sport," said Smyth.
Asked about pursuing a coaching career, he said he had not ruled it out - but added that he would like the opportunity to try something different from the life he has led so far.
"When it comes to things like coaching, there's not really the opportunities, there's no money in it," he said.
Smyth is confident that the qualities which brought him success in his professional sporting career will propel him further in...

Summary: The world's fastest paralympian, Jason Smyth, has revealed he is planning ahead for life after competitive sport, by starting work experience in the financial sector on Monday.
###
Article: Carwyn Jones said the OECD report "nails the lie that the NHS in Wales is being out-performed by England".
The Welsh Conservatives pointed out the OECD had not looked at waiting times.
Plaid Cymru said the report backed its view that local health boards were "not fit for purpose".
Mr Jones claimed David Cameron and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had "denigrated" NHS staff in Wales to gain political advantage.
He said the UK government should examine its own record on health in England.
"There is a good reason that junior doctors are not on strike in Wales," he said.
"It is because we value our NHS workforce, and work with them to modernise and bring through change.
"With a growing social care crisis in England, and the continuing doctors' strike, it is time the Tories focused on getting their own house in order.
"We accept that the NHS in Wales has challenges ahead - just like every healthcare system in Europe - and we are up for meeting that challenge.
"That is why we spend more on the NHS and on social care than in England; why access to cancer drugs is faster and why we are investing more than ever in training nurses and other NHS staff."
Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said Labour needed to apologise for longer waiting times in Wales, availability of cancer treatments, and £1bn of budget cuts since 2011.
"Let's be clear - this report is not a comparison study, and it fails to take into consideration one of the most important aspects of the patient experience - waiting times," he said.
"Previous reports by the House of Commons Library, the Wales Audit Office and the Nuffield Trust have showed that spending has been slashed by Labour since 2011 and that waiting times are much longer here in Wales."
Plaid Cymru's health spokeswoman Elin Jones pointed to the OECD's criticism of the local health boards in Wales, and recommendation of "a stronger central guiding hand".
"The health board model that currently exists in Wales is too cumbersome and unwieldy, and Plaid Cymru is proposing a model to create...

Summary: NHS staff in Wales deserve an apology from the Tories, the first minister has said, after a major report said the health service was no worse in Wales than elsewhere in the UK.
###
Article: On offer, some quite repulsive fare:  burgers made of human flesh.
All rather stomach churning, even after you realise they are actually made of veal, pork and bone marrow - although the taste was based on first hand accounts of cannibalism - and were a publicity stunt to publicise a television horror show.
The event, as was intended, generated masses of coverage online, in newspapers and on television. All of it for free.
Yet the concept didn't come from a huge ad agency with a multi-million pound budget. It was the brainchild of a one woman publicity machine, London-based, Emma Thomas, who works under the title Miss Cakehead.
A couple of years earlier she went even further down the road of bad taste, organising a pop-up shop selling what appeared to be freshly-butchered human body parts. This included arms, hands, feet and even penises which in fact were crafted from prosciutto ham, pork ribs and other ordinary meat cuts.  For that, Ms Thomas wrote the press releases in her own blood.
And hers is not the only small scale business learning how to generate vast amounts of publicity by going out on a limb.
Earlier this year, New York creative partnership Thinkmodo unveiled the latest in a line of headline grabbing videos. "The Super Strong Meter Maid", has had more than  a million and a half Youtube hits and miles of column inches both in the UK and the US. As in all Thinkmodo's campaigns it relies on a carefully rigged public staging of an event that makes onlookers gasp.
In this one, publicising an online car dealership start-up, a traffic warden confronted by a rude taxi driver, picks up and moves his cab with seeming superhuman strength.
But it's rather tame compared to Thinkmodo's previous videos. One was nicknamed the "Devil Baby Attack" and was part of a promotion for horror film, "Devil's Due." The stunt featured a pram with a doll inside which cried and then, when approached, rose up suddenly and vomited.  Another involved turning a cafe upside down, as an actor, posing as a customer, was apparently...

Summary: If you were walking down Brick Lane in East London this time last year I can guarantee you would remember one particular stall.
###
Article: The proposed tourist development would also include a visitors' centre and hotel, with a restaurant overlooking the water.
The Humber Bridge Board said it hoped to submit a planning application by the end of the month.
If approved the new centre could be open at the end of 2017.
The proposal would see visitors travelling under the bridge in a glass gondola before changing to a glass lift to ride to a platform on the top of the North tower.
Construction began in July 1972, taking eight years to complete
It is held up by 44,117 miles (71,000km) of steel wire, almost enough to travel twice around the world
The bridge is 7,283 ft (2,220 m) long from shore to shore
It weighs more than 500,000 tonnes
With a central span of 4,626 ft (1,410m), it is the seventh longest suspension bridge in the world
It was officially opened by HM the Queen on 17 July 1981
Source: Humber Bridge Board
Bridge Master Peter Hill said the scheme was about "making the best of what we've got".
"People have for years had wanted to get more access to their bridge, so we're going to make it happen, " he said.
Mr Hill said the project would be financed by the bridge board but "would not be funded from bridge tolls".
A public exhibition of the proposals has gone on display at the bridge.

Summary:


A new gene-editing technique could be used to treat cancer.
Article: A new gene-editing technique could be used to treat cancer.
The technique, called CRISPR, is a type of gene editing that uses a virus to cut out and replace faulty DNA.
It is already being used

Scientists have used a gene-editing tool to stunt tumour growth in mice.

Article: Thomas Docherty, who is originally from Bellshill, took his inspiration from the wreath that lies at the foot of The Royal Mint's own on-site war memorial.
His Â£5 coin features a full-colour wreath surrounded by the inscription: Their name liveth for evermore.
He is the fourth designer to be chosen to produce a Remembrance Day coin.
What is Remembrance Day?
The coin will be struck at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taff.
Thomas, who has worked at the Royal Mint for 11 years, said: "This wreath is not only personal to us at The Royal Mint but also reflects the 'everyman' we all commemorate on Remembrance Day; from the wreath-layers to the poppy wearers all over the country.
"I wanted to paint the colours of the poppies boldly and vibrantly, hopefully emphasising that the poppy is a symbol of remembrance, but also one of hope for the future."

Summary: A Royal Mint designer from North Lanarkshire has been selected to design this year's special Remembrance Day coin.
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Article: Dave Sykes, from Dewsbury, has landed at Truscott on Australia's north west coast 103 days after leaving Yorkshire.
Mr Sykes, who broke his back in a motorbike accident in 1993, is thought to be the first paraplegic to fly from England to Australia in a microlight.
Mr Sykes, 43, used the 12,000 mile journey to help raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Speaking to ABC News in Darwin, Mr Sykes said it had not been an easy journey.
"It's been really difficult at times with the bad weather, permissions holding me up and things going wrong with the aircraft," he said.
In November 1993, a motorbike accident left Mr Sykes with a broken back, clavicle and thigh bone, together with broken ribs and punctured lungs.
However, he was released from hospital in May 1994 after doctors had said he would remain there for at least two years.
Mr Sykes took up microlighting in 2000 and gained his pilot's licence in 2001.
He said: "I started flying 10 years ago and saw a video of a guy who flew around the world.
"I've always wanted to do something similar so I decided on Australia because I couldn't afford to fly around the world."
Mr Sykes now plans to fly to Sydney in his microlight.

Summary: A paraplegic microlight pilot from West Yorkshire has reached Australia after a three-month solo flight from England.
###
Article: Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) expert Matthew Oliver grew the gourd from a seed which cost Â£1,250 and came from the current world record holder.
His pumpkin's weight was confirmed as 95st (605kg) at the weekend.
"Unfortunately giant pumpkins are not known for their culinary properties," a spokeswoman for the RHS said. "So we will be making this one into a boat."
Horticulturalist Mr Oliver, from Essex, said he was "over the moon" at the weekend when his fruit's credentials were confirmed at the Autumn Pumpkin Festival in Southampton.
The spokeswoman for the RHS said the pumpkin would be on display at Hyde Hall, near South Woodham Ferrers, where Mr Oliver works, between 22 and 30 October before its floating credentials were tested.
"We will cut a lid off, hollow it out, pop an external motor on it and send Matthew Oliver into the middle of the lake at the RHS Garden Hyde Hall," she said.
The parent pumpkin was grown in Switzerland in 2014 by Beni Meier, who still holds the world record for the heaviest gourd, at 166st (1,054kg).
Mr Oliver's pumpkin seed, which was bought by Ipswich-based seed company Thompson and Morgan, was planted in mid April. He said it took six days to germinate before becoming a "vigorous grower".

Summary: A giant pumpkin which set a new record for the UK's heaviest to be grown outdoors is to be turned into a boat.
###
Article: He announced four options for "English votes for English laws" in Parliament, including giving English MPs enhanced scrutiny and a veto over new laws.
He said new arrangements for England were a "fundamental issue of fairness".
But Labour said the plans, which follow the pledge of new powers for Scotland, were a "backroom stitch-up".
Plaid Cymru said the principles involved were "reasonable" but it would be "unjust" if Welsh MPs were unable to vote on laws which affected funding for Wales under the existing Barnett formula.
The options announced by Mr Hague in a Commons statement include three Conservative proposals and one Lib Dem suggestion. They are:
Many Conservatives argue that it is unfair that Scottish MPs should currently help decide how things such as schools and the health service are run in England when English MPs have no such say over how they are run in Scotland.
"Devolution to other parts of the United Kingdom has created the situation in which MPs representing constituencies outside England may vote on legislation which does not affect their constituents while English MPs are not able to influence these policies in other nations where they are devolved," Mr Hague said.
The Commons leader said the proposals built on the recommendations of last year's McKay Commission, which supported the principle that Commons decisions with a "separate and distinct effect" for England should "normally be taken only with the consent of a majority of MPs sitting for constituencies in England".
Analysis by UK editor Mark Easton
It all sounds so straightforward - only English MPs should vote on matters that affect only England. But defining an English law is far from easy.
For a start, any law that involves government departments spending extra money in England, or which reduces the amount of money spent in England, will have a knock-on impact on how much money other parts of the United Kingdom receive under the Barnett formula - the system for allocating Treasury funds to devolved administrations.
How much...

Summary: Commons Leader William Hague has said legislation affecting just England should only be passed "with the consent of the majority" of English MPs.
###
Article: Crispr-Cas9 replaces harmful DNA with new code that kills cancerous cells while leaving healthy ones unharmed.
Mice with the reprogrammed code developed tumours that were much smaller than cancers in mice that did not get this treatment.
Experts call the study, in Nature Methods, promising but say it is unclear yet whether the technique would work in humans.
Dr Weiren Huang, from the First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, in China, and colleagues used Crispr-Cas9 to reprogram a cell-signalling pathway that would normally feed tumour growth in mice.
How gene editing works
Gene editing: A game-changer
Crispr-Cas9 is a DNA cutting and pasting system scientists have borrowed from nature.
Bacteria use it to protect themselves against foreign DNA from viruses.
Scientists have already begun using it in the lab to target and cut out faulty DNA in human cells that cause illnesses.
But it is not without risks.
While effective, the editing process is less than perfect and can cut out too much DNA.
These unwanted or "off-target" edits could alter other important genes, inadvertently triggering cancer, for example.
Dr Chris Lord, a gene expert at the Institute of Cancer Research, said: ""The key to translating this technique into the clinic will be to see how specific to the tumour cell the Crispr activation will be and how specific, in terms of genes, the Crispr-mediated gene cutting will be.
"These are essentially the same two issues you have with all cancer treatments - how specific for the tumour cell and how specific for the target."

Summary:

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There has been a dramatic rise in the number of technology patents filed that relate to reading brainwaves.

Article: The institution spent £168,747.16 on Prof John Hughes' house between 2010 and 2015.
The NUS said it was wrong that, "those who get paid the most money also get the greatest perks".
The university said it owned the building, and that it was a, "normal arrangement".
Freedom of information (FOI) figures reveal that the institution spent almost £130,000 refurbishing the house.
Payments for new furniture include £2,080 for a Laura Ashley bedframe and mattress, £1,289 for Laura Ashley curtains, as well as £1,499 for a sideboard.
Prof Hughes' broadband and telephone bills are also covered.
The university bought the residence for £475,000 in 2010 when Prof Hughes took up his position.
Fflur Elin, Bangor NUS president, said: "Is it right that people who get paid the most also get the most perks?
"Nobody has done anything illegal. But we should be moving to a system where this doesn't happen.
A Bangor University spokesman said a June 2011 independent report valued the property at £750,000 at that time.
They added: "The university has invested in a house for the vice-chancellor which is also used for events and meetings with the vice-chancellor.
"This is a normal arrangement for universities and the university own the house.
"It's important to note that the house is a university asset like many other buildings and can be sold at any point in the future, should the university wish to do so.
"During the same period, the university has also invested over £100 million in facilities for students at Bangor."

Summary: Bangor University has been criticised for spending over £150,000 refurbishing and furnishing its vice-chancellor's home.
###
Article: In the past 542 million years, the average size of a marine animals has gone up by a factor of 150.
New research suggests bulkier animals generally fare better at sea.
Today's tiniest sea creature - with a body covered in a hard shall - is less than 10 times smaller than those from hundreds of millions of years ago, when measured in terms of volume.
At the other end of the scale, the mighty blue whale is more than 100,000 times the size of the largest animal 542 million years ago.
This was a crustacean with a clam-like, hinged shell.
The idea that natural selection could make animals gradually gain weight over millions of years isn't new.
The American fossil specialist Edward Drinker Cope - who was a 19th-Century palaeontologist - who examined fossils, found that the ancient ancestors of modern mammals were often smaller.
For example horses, can be traced a dog-sized animal from 50 million years ago.
But this pattern isn't the same across the whole animal kingdom.
Most groups of dinosaurs got bigger until they died out - but the birds that evolved from them, grew smaller and lighter because they needed to fly quicker.
Dr Noel Heim, from Stanford University in California, wanted to test Cope's findings in the vast realm of the ocean.
For five years he got dozens of workmates, students and even high school pupils, to look through all the scientific record for body size data.
They also measured hundreds of illustrations from old books about fossils.
Eventually they put together information on more than 17,000 groups of species, called genera. That's over 60% of all the animal genera ever to have lived.
This information showed animals were getting bigger and bigger over time.
The team also wanted to work out whether their massive size was driven by evolution, or was simply a matter of chance.
They put their size data from the oldest animals into a computer model where each species could die out, stay the same, get bigger or smaller.
The results that best matched the real fossil history was one where animals were...

Summary: Sea creatures in all our oceans are getting bigger.
###
Article: The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) said it saw a 7.2% increase across all its UK sites last year but Scotland went up 15.6%.
The 10 most popular sites in the UK were all in London.
The National Museum of Scotland, which opened 10 new galleries in 2016, was the most-visited attraction in Scotland, with 1.8 million visitors.
It was the most popular museum outside London and 15th on the UK visitor attraction list, one place above Edinburgh Castle.
The castle was the most-visited paid-for attraction in Scotland, with 1,778,548 visitors, up 13%.
The Scottish National Gallery was at 18 on the UK-wide list.
Glasgow attractions the Kelvingrove Museum and the Riverside Museum were at 24 and 25 on the ALVA list.
The first visitor attraction outside Glasgow and Edinburgh was Stirling Castle at 68, with 481,970 visitors.
Bernard Donoghue, director of ALVA, said: "Like the 2015 figures, Scotland has continued to outperform the rest of the UK with a substantial increase in their visitor numbers.
"2016 was a great year for Scottish Tourism - proving that Scotland is reaping the benefits of significant capital investment in attractions and creative programming by its institutions."
Scottish government Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "As these figures illustrate, this has been a record year for Scotland's leading visitor attractions.
"Our wide range of attractions and excellent heritage and museum collections continue to provide high-quality and exciting experiences, both to people who live here, and to our visitors.
"The success of our leading visitor attractions will continue to play a vital role in making Scotland a destination of first choice for visitors from the UK and across the world."

Summary: Scottish leading visitor attractions "outperformed" the UK average last year, according to new figures.
###
Article: The suggestion is in a discussion document launched at Stormont by Unite.
It says the Executive has "considerable unused borrowing powers" of about Â£1.2bn that could be used to fund a public sector investment programme.
The document also calls on London "to provide special support for Northern Ireland."
Unite's Ireland secretary Jimmy Kelly said: "Unite recognises that the NI Executive is facing significant budgetary constraints as a result of Conservative austerity cuts.
"But there are always choices. We want to start a dialogue about those choices."
Other proposals in the document which is entitled Growing the Economy & Living Standards are:
Unite said its ideas are "realistic and realisable", but it warned against "brutal cuts to the public sector" as a way of rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy.
"Our paper identifies some options for a more proactive approach to growing the economy," Mr Kelly said.
"The Executive needs to investigate options to invest to grow a high-value added, outward looking, export-oriented economy based on a strong manufacturing sector, a robust skills-base and world-class infrastructure."

Summary: The Northern Ireland Executive needs to borrow more money to boost the economy, according to proposals from Britain's biggest union.
###
Article: Fewer than 400 so-called neuro-technology patents a year had been filed in 2000-09, research company SharpBrains said. But that had doubled to 800 in 2010. And 1,600 such patents had been lodged in the US in 2014.
Research company Nielsen holds the most neuro-technology patents - with 100.
Microsoft holds 89 patents for software that can assess mental states.
The expansion into non-medical uses represented a dawn of the "pervasive neuro-technology age", said SharpBrains chief executive Alvaro Fernandez.
"Neuro-tech has gone well beyond medicine, with non-medical corporations, often under the radar, developing neuro-technologies to enhance work and life," he added.
There has been a rise in the number of companies such as Thync, a start-up working to connect to the brain sensors that can alter mood in the same way as a coffee or energy drink.
And there are moves afoot to come up with ways of controlling video games via brainwaves - such as a collaboration between EEG headset-maker Emotiv and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
There are also plenty of so-called neuro-marketing companies using with Electroencephalography (EEG) - a way of recording the electrical activity of the brain by placing sensors on the scalp - to try to find out what someone thinks about a new product or advert.
Matt Wall, of the Centre for Imaging Science, at Hammersmith Hospital, said: "There probably are some decent companies doing work in that space, but there are a massive number of neuro-marketing companies that have sprung up in the last few years.
"Because of the wide availability and low-cost of the EEG hardware these days, they all seek to define their [unique selling point] and intellectual property (ie patents) based on their fancy analysis techniques and claim to measure things like 'engagement' or 'interest' from EEG signals.
"Any EEG researcher knows this is absolute rubbish, but they do succeed in producing fancy sciencey-looking graphs and results that appear convincing enough for the marketing...

Summary:


population has increased by 1,000 since the start of the year, but

A town centre footfall study in the Borders has recorded a 6% rise across eight main towns in the region in 2015 compared with the previous year.

Article: Anthony Osmond, 52, of Velindre, Carmarthenshire, admitted unlawfully wounding Gareth Jones after he started dating his daughter Oasis, 20.
Swansea Crown Court heard Mr Jones, 29, needed surgery in September 2015 to repair a cut to his heart.
Osmond fled but was caught by police.
Helen Randall, prosecuting, told the court the couple kept their relationship secret at first because Osmond was "overprotective and obsessed with Oasis".
When they eventually met, Osmond and Mr Jones got into a fight at the Nags Head pub in Pembrokeshire, and Osmond stabbed him with a 15cm-long (6in) kitchen knife.
Osmond made off in his car and police later stopped him as he approached the Second Severn Crossing in Monmouthshire.
During police interviews, Osmond told officers he did not think Mr Jones was "appropriate" for Oasis.
Janet Gedrych, defending, said Osmond had not picked up the knife deliberately and was "devastated at how close he came to killing that young man".

Summary: An "overprotective" father who stabbed his stepdaughter's new boyfriend in the chest because he did not approve of him, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.
###
Article: John Akomfrah was chosen for his "substantial body of outstanding work" over a number of years, including his latest video installation Auto Da Fé.
The international prize was awarded in Cardiff, where an exhibition of the six shortlisted artists is being held.
London-based Akomfrah said he was "absolutely touched" by the award.
The Ghanaian-born filmmaker is founder of the Black Audio Film Collective, whose work has involved use of archive film, newsreel and still photos.
The winning video installation, which lasts 40 minutes over two screens at National Museum Wales, was inspired while he was teaching in Barbados in 2009.
Akomfrah, 59, saw a cemetery containing 17th Century graves of Sephardic Jewish refugees who had fled Brazil.
"I was asking 'how did they get here?'" he said.
Themes of migration and global politics dominated the shortlist for the seventh biannual prize.
Welsh artist Bedwyr Williams, whose giant video installation imagined a futuristic city built on the slopes of Cadair Idris, won The Derek Williams Trust Purchase Award.
Williams' entry, Tyrrau Mawr, will now be added to National Museum Wales' permanent collection.
Karen Mackinnon, Artes Mundi director said: "The judges felt that all the shortlisted artists showed outstanding work.
"However the prize is awarded not just for the work in the exhibition but for the continued excellence of their practice over the past eight years.
"The Artes Mundi 7 Prize was awarded for Akomfrah's presentation of Auto Da Fé and for a substantial body of outstanding work dealing with issues of migration, racism and religious persecution. To speak of these things in this particular moment feels more important than ever."
The filmmaker came to prominence in the mid 1980s for his award-winning documentary for Channel Four, Handsworth Songs, made in the aftermath of riots in that district of Birmingham.
As well as films examining black British identity and the migrant experience in the UK, Akomfrah has directed documentaries on Louis Armstrong and Martin Luther...

Summary: The £40,000 Artes Mundi contemporary art prize has been won by a filmmaker inspired by migration and religious persecution over four centuries.
###
Article: Orion is Nasa's next-generation astronaut vehicle, which will take humans to Mars and other destinations.
The American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is developing the front section, which includes the crew capsule.
The structural test article, despatched by Airbus, will be used to check the overall design is on track.
It is the first time the US has gone outside its territory for a key component of an astronaut transportation system.
Engineers are working towards an unmanned demonstration flight in 2018, and a first crewed outing no later than April 2023.
The European Space Agency's contribution - being primed industrially by Airbus - is what is called the "service module".
This is the element that pushes Orion through space after coming off the top of the launch rocket.
It also provides the electrical power, and holds the air and water needed by the crew in their protective capsule.
The structural test article is an exact replica of the eventual module - but without the final functionality.
It has gone from Airbus's subcontractor on the project, Thales Alenia Apace in Italy, to Nasa's Plum Brook Station in Ohio where it will be evaluated.
The module's mass and interfaces with the American element will need to be checked.
The article will also be loaded and stressed to ensure it can handle the intense vibrations of launch.
Any lessons learned will then be fed back into the fully functional flight hardware being made ready for 2018.
That mission will see the debut of Nasa's new "monster rocket" - the Space Launch System.
It will send the complete Orion system on a trip around the Moon.
The capsule itself has already had one demonstration trip into space - in December 2014, again with no-one onboard.
On that occasion, the service module was a dummy used just to replicate the size and shape of the real element.
Europe's design for the future service module borrows heavily from the unmanned cargo truck it used to re-supply the space station.
At one time, Europe thought of adapting this vessel into a human...

Summary: The test model for what will become the European-built "back end" of America's Orion spaceship has been despatched to the US.
###
Article: The study, led by the University of Hull, studied sightings and population numbers for creatures introduced into Britain over the last 150 years.
It found 13,000 yellow-tailed scorpions and between 30,000 and 50,000 ring-necked parakeets in south-east England.
About 10 coatis, which are also known as Brazilian aardvarks, and about 20 snapping turtles were also found.
The coatis, which are members of the racoon family and hail from North America, are thought to be living wild in Cumbria.
The snapping turtles, also from North America, are believed to be living in parts of Kent, London, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
The scorpions originate from north-west Africa and southern Europe and the ring-necked parakeets come from Africa and Asia.
Report author Dr Toni Bunnell, of the University of Hull, said it was thought some of the animals had originally been kept as pets but were released when their owners could no longer look after them.
"If you get enough turfed out in the same area and they can survive and the habitat suits them, then you have got a breeding population. That seems to be what's happening."
She added that other species were thought to have escaped from private collections.
The report was commissioned by the Eden television channel.

Summary: Scorpions, parakeets and turtles have all been found living wild in the UK, according to a new study.
###
Article: Kelso, Galashiels, Peebles, Hawick, Selkirk and Eyemouth saw increases but numbers fell in Duns and Jedburgh.
Figures in Melrose also rose sharply compared with 2014 but exceptionally low levels were recorded that year due to "atrocious weather".
Councillor Stuart Bell said it was "pleasing" to see numbers rising.
A survey has been carried out across the region since 2007.
The latest figures were collected during September and October 2015 with the rise in the region higher than the Scottish average of 2%.
Last year numbers fell by 11% but this was largely blamed on the very low levels recorded in Melrose.
Mr Bell said: "These figures are only ever going to give us a snapshot of a short period of time and can fluctuate depending on weather, however it is pleasing to see that overall average footfall has increased and the figures for several towns are particularly encouraging.
"We need to build on these increases in footfall and the council, partner and community organisations and businesses can all play their part in that, making our town centres as attractive as possible to local shoppers and visitors to the Borders.
"This study started in 2007 and has in effect charted the impact of the recession and increase in internet shopping on our town centres, which largely accounts for the 23% reduction in footfall over that period."
He said the issues were not unique to the Borders and would remain challenges in the longer term.

Summary:


A woman who added Skywalker as a middle name has had her passport cancelled after being told her application was "frivolous".

Article: Estate agents Your Move found the average house price rose 1.7% to a new record high of £169,742.
Prices rose 6% over the year - the strongest increase since August 2010.
Your Move said the rise was driven by high-end buyers trying to complete purchases under stamp duty rates.
Stamp duty was replaced by the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) in April.
The Your Move/Acadata house price index for February found the Shetland Islands had the highest yearly rise in Scotland, with a 26.9% increase.
Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh City, Aberdeen City, East Lothian and Angus also experienced peak prices in February.
Edinburgh topped the table with an average house price of £248,791, the report found.
Fifteen properties priced at £1m or more were sold in Scotland in February, compared to six the previous month.
They included one on the outskirts of Edinburgh which sold for just under £3.7m, the most expensive house to be purchased in Scotland since July 2011.
Your Move regional managing director Christine Campbell said: "Tactical tax considerations have helped foster price growth in the Scottish housing market and are likely to play a significant role in the months to come too.
"Now that the LBTT has come into force, we expect to see a temporary drop-off in the number of properties sold above £750,000, now liable for the top rate of tax - similar to the impact we're currently seeing in London among £2m properties - in light of December's stamp duty changes.
"Typically in the housing market cycle, we would expect home sales to ease back in February, in the aftermath of the costly Christmas period."

Summary: Scottish property prices in February rose at their fastest rate since the 2007 housing boom as high-end buyers completed purchases to avoid new tax rates, according to a report.
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Article: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) shut its operations control room in Inverness last month.
Emergency calls for the Highlands and Islands are now handled by staff based in Dundee.
Highland Council, which opposed the closure of the Inverness site, said local knowledge has been lost.
The Scottish government said fire service operations drew on the professional experience of control staff supported by sophisticated systems and technology and the knowledge of locally-based crews.
According to Alec Kidd, a former fire service area commander, there have been instances of fire crews being called out to emergencies closer to other stations following the closure of control rooms in Inverness and Aberdeen.
These have included a crew from Lairg in Sutherland being initially called out to attend an incident about 100 miles away on the Isle of Skye.
Also, on Shetland, an emergency team on the island of Bressay was asked to deal with an incident on the isle of Yell - despite five different teams being nearer.
A spokesman for the fire service said they were convinced the correct resources had been sent to the incidents involved but were rectifying some procedural issues.
Matthew Reiss, a Highland councillor for Landward Caithness and a former area police commander, said place names in the Highlands and Islands could cause problems for "well-intentioned" but centrally-based control room staff.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: "It is simply not possible for them to distinguish between, for example, Tain in Caithness and Tain in Easter Ross, unless you have a knowledge of these places.
"You can have all the technology in the world, but nothing substitutes for local knowledge."

Summary: Highland Council's ruling administration has renewed its call for the region to have a dedicated fire control room service.
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Article: Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said Better Together agents had been "taking tallies" of postal votes at sample openings held in the weeks before the count.
Election rules state the results of these openings must be kept secret.
Police Scotland said it was assessing whether a crime had been committed.
It is understood a number of complaints were made to the Electoral Commission.
The commission does not have the power to investigate criminal allegations, and has made police aware of the concerns.
The allegations surround comments made to BBC Scotland by Ms Davidson about 45 minutes after polls closed in last Thursday's Scottish independence referendum.
Ms Davidson told the Scotland Decides programme: "We have had people at every sample opening around the country over the last few weeks... and we have been incredibly encouraged by the results from that.
"Going into today, going by the postal votes that were cast, our side would have had a lead and I think that we have a confidence, I hope a quiet confidence, that the quiet majority of Scots have spoken today."
She said postal votes were not counted until after the polls closed, but added: "Different local authorities have had openings around the country. It is illegal to discuss that while any ballot is ongoing, so until ten o'clock tonight no one could talk about it.
"But there is people in the room that have been sampling those ballot boxes as they have been opened and they have been taking tallies and the reports have been very positive for us."
The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 states that those attending the sample openings must not "attempt to ascertain at the proceedings in connection with the receipt of the ballot papers the outcome for which any vote is given in any particular ballot paper or communicate any information with respect thereto obtained at those proceedings".
Anyone convicted of breaching the law can be jailed for up to a year, and/or receive a fine of up to Â£5,000.
The sample postal vote openings, which were attended by...

Summary: Police have been asked to examine claims that pro-UK campaigners breached electoral law by counting some postal votes ahead of referendum polling day.
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Article: Researchers found patients with lower levels of the protein troponin were less likely to die after an operation.
The test is normally used to diagnose a heart attack, during which the protein is released into the bloodstream.
Dr Matthew Jackson from Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital said the test could identify patients who needed extra medication, tests and monitoring.
"Now we need to find out why troponin levels are raised in some patients before surgery, and why these patients are more likely to die, in order to identify treatments that could reduce the risk of death following non-cardiac surgery," he said.
The study, which looked at patients who had not had a heart attack, has been presented to the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester.
Blood samples from 993 patients were tested for troponin levels before they had non-cardiac surgery.
A quarter with levels above 50 nanograms per litre (ng/l) died within six months and 37% within a year, the researchers found.
Of those with lower than 17ng/l, just 2.5% died within six months of surgery and 3.7% within a year.
The link is not yet clear but patients with high troponin levels could have underlying inflammation, researchers said.
British Heart Foundation associate medical director Prof Metin Avkiran said if the "underlying causes" could be understood, treatment could be "tailored to improve outcome".

Summary: A routine blood test could predict whether a patient is likely to survive after surgery, a new study suggests.
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Article: Laura Matthews, 29, was told her signature - "L. Skywalker" - infringed a trademark in July this year.
She was issued with the document several weeks later, after threatening to take legal action.
But she has now been told the passport was issued in error and has been cancelled.
Ms Matthews told the BBC the decision has left her feeling "upset, frustrated and disappointed".
A Home Office spokesman said: "Protecting the integrity of the UK passport is vital and we do not accept a change of name for frivolous reasons."
In a letter to Ms Matthews, the Passport Office said its "published guidance provides that we will refuse to recognise a change of name... if it is made for a bet or frivolous purpose.
"Additionally, in your case, the signature used in the passport is different to your surname and by your own admission was done for 'a laugh'".
"Regrettably, an error was made in issuing your passport," the letter said.
"I am sorry that the error was made but I have to inform you that your passport will be cancelled."
Ms Matthews, from Southend in Essex, added the middle name using a deed poll in 2008 "for a bit of fun".
She had not renewed her passport since adding the moniker, and experienced several weeks of delays when she tried to do so in April.
She was told the delays were because her signature "infringed a trademark".
Her passport was issued at the end of August after she contacted a law firm specialising in intellectual property law and said she would take legal action unless her application was approved.
Ms Matthews said this was the fourth time the Passport Office had changed its mind about her case.
"Now I'm not sure if it's my signature they have a problem with, or my middle name," she said.
"All I know it's extremely disappointing that I've been let down again by an organisation which doesn't seem to know if it's coming or going.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to fight it. I don't know what else I can do."
The Home Office spokesman added: "We have apologised to the applicant and agreed to meet...

Summary:


People have been warned not to eat shellfish in parts of Argyll and Bute after raised levels of toxins were found.

Article: Leonard Riggio, the company's founder and largest shareholder, said he sold 3.7 million shares on Thursday at $17.30 each.
Investors followed suit and the company's shares fell by 12.5% to close at $16.26 per share on the US markets.
Mr Riggio said he does not plan to sell more shares this year. In December 2013, he sold 2 million shares.
Even with the latest offload, Leonard Riggio remains the largest shareholder at Barnes & Noble.
In a statement, he said the latest sale "is part of his long-term financial and estate planning."
Barnes & Noble operates about 700 stores across 50 states in the US.
As with other brick-and-mortar booksellers, the company has been struggling with competition from online rivals and e-book sellers such as Amazon.
The Borders Group was at one time the second-largest bookstore chain in the US. It too struggled with competition from customers who switched to placing orders for print books online, instead of browsing at the stores.
Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011, burdened by too much debt.

Summary: Barnes & Noble's chairman has trimmed his stake in the bookstore to 20%, by selling shares worth $64m (Â£38m).
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Article: Reading Buses' "Bus Hound" was recorded doing a lap speed of 76.785mph (123.57km/h) at Bedford's Millbrook Proving Ground.
It runs on biomethane compressed natural gas and is painted black and white like a Friesian cow. It normally carries passengers around Reading.
The UK Timing Association confirmed the new record.
Trevor Duckworth, the association's chief timekeeper, said this was the first time a bus had been on Millbrook Proving Ground and described it as "quite a sight".
The bus is normally speed limited to 56mph (90km/h).
Martijn Gilbert, chief executive of Reading Buses, said it would not be recognised as a Guinness World Record unless it reached speeds above 150mph (241km/h).
Chief engineer John Bickerton said the company wanted the "world's first service bus speed record" to bring to light the viability, power and credibility of buses fuelled by cow poo.
"We've laid down a challenge for other bus operators to best our record and we had to make it a bit hard for them.
"Most importantly we wanted to get the image of bus transport away from being dirty, smelly, and slow. We're modern, fast, and at the cutting edge of innovation.
"It was an impressive sight as it swept by on the track. It sounded like a Vulcan bomber - the aerodynamics aren't designed for going 80mph."
Its fuel is made from animal waste which is broken down in a process called anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, which is then liquefied, Mr Gilbert said.
It is stored in seven tanks fixed inside the roof of the bus.
The vehicle's name was inspired by the British Bloodhound super-sonic car which aims to go beyond 1,000mph in 2016.

Summary: A bus powered by cow manure has set a land speed record for a regular bus by driving at 77mph.
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Article: The ERS said the first-past-the-post system to elect MPs takes no account of how big their majorities are or how many voted for losing candidates.
The society said this meant they were "wasted" votes and the system was "fundamentally broken".
The UK government said it had no plans to change the voting system.
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) estimated 1,063,610 votes out of the total of 1,575,814 cast in Wales at the 2017 general election on 8 June were "wasted".
Campaigners said the votes were made up of 746,269 votes for losing candidates and 317,341 votes in excess of the number needed to elect the winning candidates.
It noted that Labour won 70% of seats with under half the vote, while the Tories gained vote share but lost seats.
With big Labour majorities at Aberavon, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Cynon Valley and Cardiff Central, campaigners claimed more than 80% of votes in those seats had no impact.
The society also claimed nearly a quarter of Welsh voters had been forced to vote tactically on the grounds their preferred party or candidate had no chance of winning the local seat.
ERS Cymru director Jess Blair called for a new electoral system which more closely reflected the proportion of votes cast for each party.
"This report reveals a picture of a voting system which is fundamentally broken," she said.
"There are a wide range of systems where votes are not thrown on the electoral scrapheap.
"We need to move towards a means of electing our MPs where people's voices are properly heard and where people don't feel forced to hold their nose at the ballot box."
A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office, who set electoral rules, said: "First Past The Post is a voting system that offers a robust method of electing MPs.
"A referendum on changing the voting system for General Elections was held in 2011 and the public voted overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the First Past the Post system."

Summary: More than a million votes - two-thirds of the total - had "no impact" on the general election result in Wales, the Electoral Reform Society has claimed.
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Article: The Warriors pulled off a huge result to beat French champions Racing 92 in Paris last weekend and host the return game at Scotstoun on Friday.
Fagerson says the focus has to be on one game at a time but admits the Warriors have big ambitions.
"That's every team's aim in the Champions Cup - to win it. If I told you otherwise, I'd be lying," he said.
"But I'm not thinking about that at all - just focused on the task ahead this weekend."
Warriors are second in Pool One, one point behind Munster, who have a game in hand along with Racing, although the French side sit bottom without a point.
Fagerson has four caps for Scotland but is still surprised to be starting in a side so close to qualifying for the quarter-finals of Europe's top club competition.
"We've been close before and had some tough pools a few times and this is definitely the goal," said the 20-year-old.
"It is amazing to be part of and I have to pinch myself at times. I didn't expect any of this at all."
Fagerson broke into the Warriors side as they won the 2014-15 Pro12 title and agrees that the win over Racing was their best achievement since then.
However, the forward stressed that "the job is only half done" and coach Gregor Townsend pointed out that, with only three pool games played, it is too early to think beyond qualifying for the last eight.
"We will have to win two out of our next three games and we have Racing, Munster and Leicester still to go, so these are very tough matches," said Townsend.
"Munster have been on fire for the last six or seven weeks. They beat Leicester easily at home.
"We are going to have to play very well just to get out of our pool and, if we did so, it would be historic."
Townsend was coy about Warriors' chances of winning the trophy.
"No Glasgow team has made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup and, once you are into the last eight, anything can happen," he said.
"If you look at history, we have never got out of our pool, so let's just deal with the difficulty that is qualifying for the quarter-final...

Summary: Scotland prop Zander Fagerson says his Glasgow Warriors team have targeted winning the European Champions Cup.
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Article: Routine monitoring by Argyll and Bute Council discovered raised levels of algal toxins in Loch Melfort and Seil Sound.
The naturally-occurring toxins were above the "legally-permitted levels for harvest".
Members of the public have been asked not to gather them.
The toxins accumulate in molluscs such as mussels, oysters, cockles and razor clams, and when levels breach statutory limits, harvesting of affected species is prohibited.
Elsewhere, raised levels of Escheria coli (E.coli) bacteria have been identified in Oitir Mhor Bay.
It follows the discovery of raised levels at Kerrera West, Loch Craignish, Kilfinichen Bay and Castle Stalker.
They were discovered by the council's environmental health team as part of their work to maintain the quality of shellfish.
Potential raised levels of E.coli were also found at Dunstaffnage, Kerrera East, Loch na Cille and Loch Riddon.
A council spokesman said: "Eating shellfish such as cockles, mussels, oysters and razor fish from affected areas can pose a risk to human health.
"Notices to warn the public and casual gatherers have been posted along the shore. Commercial shellfish harvesters in these areas have been contacted by the council and steps taken to postpone harvesting until bacterial levels subside.
"People are advised to avoid eating shellfish from these areas until further notice as a precaution. When levels subside, the warning notices will be removed."

Summary:


A jury has heard how a "vulnerable" man died after a "sustained attack" with knives and scissors in his own home.

Article: Visitors will now be able to travel on a Pole-to-Pole journey that features flightless birds of Australasia as well as the scenery of the Arctic.
Work on the gallery began in 2015, with the first phase completed in April this year.
It was closed again at the beginning of October and reopened on Saturday.
Situated in the museum's West Court, the Life Gallery is home to Sir Roger the Asian elephant and the ever-popular Spitfire.
The work was completed after a public consultation found that visitors wanted to know where in the world the animals on display had come from and how they had lived.
The new displays will group animals, plants and some geological and world culture objects from the same areas of the world into distinct eco-zones.
Archie Graham, chairman of Glasgow Life and depute leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "The completion of phase two of the redisplay of the Life gallery at Kelvingrove Art Gallery will allow visitors to fully experience this new vision for the West Court of the building and these items from Glasgow's collection.
"The process, which started with the lowering and re-installation of the spitfire, is a reminder of how much flexibility the refurbishment of Kelvingrove allows.
"The gallery tells new stories and includes objects our research told us people wanted to see on display and which you can enjoy over the festive period and for years to come."
Situated on Argyle Street in Glasgow, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is among Scotland's most popular attractions, with more than 1.2 million visitors in 2015.

Summary: The popular Life Gallery at Kelvingrove Museum has reopened to the public after a two-year project to redesign and update it.
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Article: David Clarke, who had learning difficulties, was beaten to death in his flat at Forthriver Road in the north of the city on 6 June 2001.
At the time, police said it was one of the most savage and brutal killings they had ever dealt with.
The arrested man, who is 34, was bailed pending further inquiries.
He had been detained in north Belfast on Monday morning.
The day before, police announced that they had re-opened the murder investigation after detectives received new information.
They also revealed that the victim had been bullied in the weeks leading up to his murder.
Mr Clarke's body was found in his flat by friends who were concerned for him.
Former Assistant Chief Constable Allan McQuillan was involved in the original 2001 inquiry.
He said Mr Clarke's killing was not Troubles-related and was "quite simply that he had some issue with someone and they murdered him".
Mr McQuillan described the 26-year-old's death as a "mystery" and was "one of the cases you really wanted to solve and we weren't able to do it".
Det Ch Insp Alan Dickson described Mr Clarke as an "inoffensive and vulnerable" man who died after an "increasingly frenzied" assault.

Summary: A man who was arrested by detectives investigating the murder of a 26-year-old man in Belfast 14 years ago has been released on bail.
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Article: The toys were stolen from the 1st Sensory Legion Charity, which was storing them in a Peterborough garage.
They were to be used to raise funds for its Feel the Force Day event, an annual sensory sci-fi convention for people with disabilities.
The items were worth about Â£1,000.
The Feel the Force Day event started in Peterborough in 2013 with 20 deafblind adults who wanted to learn about Star Wars.
More news from Cambridgeshire
The charity which runs it now holds three events each year, attracting 32,000 people from across the UK.
However, plans have hit a setback after the break-in at the garage in Westwood between 7 and 11 August, where the toys were being temporarily stored.
"Thieves not only made off with all the items we had planned on using for fundraising to help cover the costs of the next event, but also took various items we were looking to add to our sensory touch tables," co-founder Simon Howard said.
The six inflatable radio-controlled Darth Vaders were worth about Â£50 each, and other items taken include "beanie" toys, Doctor Who and Hot Wheels toys, an interactive DeLorean Back to the Future car and a "pair of googley eyes in a white and green box".
But they did leave a 5ft-tall Dalek behind.
"The stolen items may not have a high financial value, but they are of enormous value to this organisation in supporting people," Mr Howard added.
Feel the Force Day uses toys and props, tactile costumes and smell jars to help include those with disabilities, additional needs and sensory impairments in film and TV culture.
Cambridgeshire Police has confirmed it is investigating the theft.

Summary: Six inflatable Darth Vaders, a Star Trek Klingon gun and Doctor Who sonic screwdrivers are among items stolen from a charity ahead of a special event for people with disabilities.
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Article: The Class 385 train, which was built by Hitachi, is the first of 70 that will operate on Scotland's busiest route from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk.
They will also be used between Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane, as well as some routes south of Glasgow.
Night testing of the train will start this week, ScotRail said.
All Edinburgh - Falkirk High - Glasgow services will be using the new trains from December 2017 and the whole fleet will be delivered by 2019.
ScotRail said the trains were inspired by the Japanese Shinkansen bullet train and would offer rail travellers in Scotland a "21st Century passenger experience".
The electric aluminium trains are much lighter than the current diesel stock which means they can accelerate faster and offer potentially shorter journey times.
They will also provide thousands of extra seats, according to ScotRail.
The four-car train was unveiled in Glasgow.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: "The arrival of the first new class 385 train for testing in Scotland is a great milestone in this government's commitment to our railway and a tangible sign to passengers of the very real efforts we are making to improve capacity and comfort.
"Since 2007, we have introduced an extra 140 carriages with 200 more to follow by 2019, increasing the ScotRail fleet by 50%.
"This forms part of the Scottish government's Â£5bn investment in transforming Scotland's railways and I will continue to push for improvements of this kind."
There has been much recent criticism from the public over the punctuality and reliability of ScotRail services since Dutch firm Abellio took over the franchise in 2015.
Opposition parties have also repeatedly questioned the Scottish government over the level of service.
In November, Mr Yousaf called for "immediate improvement" in rail services as the government published its improvement plan for ScotRail.
Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said the delivery of the first Class 385 train was a "landmark day".
"We now have a visible symbol of our...

Summary: ScotRail has unveiled the first in a fleet of electric trains the company is billing as "faster, longer and greener".
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Article: The partially-dismembered body of David Miller, 56, was found at his flat in Patterdale Walk in Boothville, Northampton, on 14 June 2016.
He had been stabbed multiple times and "crude attempts" were made to destroy his body, a court heard.
Ian Cuthbertson, 49, Michael Hallett, 37, Joseph Catlin, 30, and Zena Kane, 35, of no fixed address, deny murder.
At the start of their trial, Northampton Crown Court heard police officers had forced entry into the flat and found Mr Miller's remains in the bedroom.
Several items were found at the property including knives, scissors and a rolling pin which had been used as weapons during the attack on 10 June, and an angle grinder which had been borrowed to try and destroy the body.
A post-mortem examination found he had substantial facial injuries and had been stabbed fifteen times in the back and in the chest.
Peter Joyce QC, prosecuting, said that Mr Catlin had been living with Mr Miller in the two months before his death and that the pair had known each other for years.
The court heard that Mr Miller was "well known and well liked" in the area but had long-standing issues with drink.
Mr Joyce said the four defendants were part of the "Northampton street drinking fraternity".
"They lived chaotic lives with long periods of homelessness and regularly used Mr Miller's flat as a place to drink, " he said.
"These four defendants all took part in the murder of a vulnerable man in his own home and then spent days trying to cover up what they had done," he added.
The trial, expected to last for four weeks, continues.

Summary:


A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was stabbed in the neck in a street in the south-west of England.
Police said the woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The incident happened in the early hours of Thursday morning in the town of Bournemouth.
The woman

A sex attack on woman near a university campus could be linked to two other attempted assaults, investigators have said.

Article: Sara Rowbotham, who was played by Maxine Peak in the BBC drama Three Girls, collected evidence that helped convict nine abusers in Rochdale.
She was made redundant in 2014, two years after the men were jailed.
The online petition says Ms Rowbotham and her team should be "applauded" for their services to the town.
Three Girls tells to story of how girls as young as 13 were being abused by a group of Asian men, but police initially failed to pursue prosecutions.
Greater Manchester Police later apologised and admitted there had been a "complete lack of understanding" of child exploitation in Rochdale and a failure to recognise the "scale of abuse".
Ms Rowbotham, who now works as a councillor on Rochdale Borough Council, said it had been a "frustrating" and "incredibly difficult" time.
"I spent a lot of time thinking it didn't really make very much sense," she said.
A statement on the petition said: "Sara and her team should be applauded by not only Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, but the government and Crown for her services for young people.
"Sara and her team should be the highest advocates for future national guidance surrounding the grooming of children."

Summary: More than 100,000 people have signed a petition demanding a sexual health worker who exposed a child grooming ring is recognised for her actions.
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Article: The All England Lawn Tennis Club has warned the sticks - which help with taking self-portrait photos - will not be allowed into this year's event.
The ticketholders' guide said: "In common with many other major sports and entertainment events and cultural attractions, the championships will not allow selfie sticks into the grounds."
The devices have already been banned at some museums and sports grounds.
A spokesman for the club told the Sunday Times the move was brought in partly because of the "nuisance value" but "primarily so it doesn't interfere with spectators' enjoyment".
A selfie stick allows its user a longer reach when using a smartphone or camera to take a "selfie" - a self-portrait photo.
Last month the National Gallery, in Trafalgar Square, placed the devices in the same category as tripods, which were already prohibited.
The Palace of Versailles in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome and US museum group, The Smithsonian, have also banned selfie sticks.
And after a complaint from a fan, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club prohibited the sticks from their White Hart Lane ground.

Summary: Selfie sticks have been banned from the Wimbledon tennis championship.
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Article: However, Chibok campaigners say that while the girl in question was a pupil at the school, she was actually kidnapped from her home elsewhere.
This comes days after the first of the Chibok girls was freed.
The Islamist militant group has seized thousands of women and girls in northern Nigeria, rights groups say.
But it was the abduction of the girls from Chibok that gained international attention through the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which was supported by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai.
The army has made several mistakes in its statements about the Chibok girls - in its initial statement after the first girl was found on Wednesday, it used the wrong name.
It has claimed to have freed more than 100 of them before later backtracking.
In all, 218 girls remain missing since they were seized from Chibok secondary school in Borno state, north-eastern Nigeria, in April 2014.
The girl rescued earlier this week told a Chibok community leader that six of the kidnapped girls had died but the rest were still in the Sambisa forest where she was found.
It would have been ideal for the Nigerian army to rescue two of the Chibok girls in three days - only it did not happen, despite the speed and enthusiasm with which the press statements were sent out.
The military has been trying to win over the public following heavy criticism it has received for its inability to bring back the schoolgirls. Such has been its focus that it has not capitalised on the work of its troops in rescuing thousands of Boko Haram captives.
In fact, army records show it freed 11,595 people between February and April this year. That has barely been publicised - although the abductions of those people also did not make headlines, unlike the schoolgirls whose disappearance raised concern around the world.
As important as the Chibok girls are, it appears their fate is being used as a measure of success in the fight against Boko Haram.
In a statement, army spokesman Col Sani Usman said the 97 women and girls had...

Summary: The Nigerian army says it has freed 97 women and girls from Boko Haram, including one of the more than 200 girls abducted from Chibok school.
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Article: Almost 10,000 climate simulations were run on volunteers' home computers.
The projections,published in Nature Geoscience, are somewhat higher than those from other models.
The researchers aimed to explore a wider range of possible futures, which they say helps "get a handle" on the uncertainties of the climate system.
People planning for the impacts of climate change need to consider the possibility of warming of up to 3C by 2050, even on a mid-range emission scenario, the researchers say.
The study - run throughclimateprediction.netwith the BBC Climate Change Experiment - ran simulations using a complex atmosphere-ocean climate model.
The representations of physical parameters were varied between runs of the model, reflecting uncertainties about precisely how the climate system works.
And the forecast range was derived from models that accurately reproduced observed temperature changes over the last 50 years.
The low end of their range is similar to that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 2007 report, but the high end is somewhat above the range their analysis produced.
Myles Allen of the School of Geography and Environment and Department of Physics, Oxford University, principal investigator of climateprediction.net, said other climate modelling groups' data did not "set out to explore the full range of uncertainty, which is why studies like ours are needed."
The research was described as "an important step toward estimating uncertainty more comprehensively," by Gabi Hegerl, professor of climate system science at the University of Edinburgh.
The results were also described as "very promising" by Prof Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia.
"Better constrained climate projections are needed to help plan a wide range of adaptation measures, from sea defences to water storage capacity and biodiversity conservation areas," she added.
However, the research was questioned by Julian Hunt, emeritus professor of climate...

Summary: Global temperatures could rise by 1.4-3.0C (2.5-5.4F) above levels for late last century by 2050, a computer simulation has suggested.
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Article: A woman in her 20s was pushed to the ground and assaulted by a man on a bike on Boundary Road near Bournemouth University's Talbot campus on Thursday.
Dorset Police said they believe it could be linked to two attempted sexual assaults on women in September.
Thursday's attacker is described as white and in his late 20s or early 30s.
Officers said he was approximately 5ft 7in (1.7m), of slight to medium build with short dark hair and wearing a black thigh-length coat and dark trousers.
The victim was walking down a footpath at about 21:40 GMT when the cyclist approached and then assaulted her.
The attacker was riding a dark-coloured mountain bike with silver handle bars and rode off towards Columbia Road after the assault.
Det Ch Insp Sarah Derbyshire said it could be linked to the attempted assaults of women on 13 and 14 September at Boundary Road and Slades Farm.
She is appealing for witnesses.

Summary:


Solar storms are a natural occurrence caused by high-energy particles hitting the Earth.

Article: It is the showpiece of the oil- and gas-rich nation's efforts to turn its financial largesse into outsized global influence and visibility, a two-decades long effort that includes its successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
But there are growing fears that the current diplomatic crisis in Qatar could place the high-profile network's future in jeopardy.
Al Jazeera's broadcasting has caused controversy and drawn anger in various Arab states, not least in Egypt after the fall of Hosni Mubarak during the Arab Spring and the subsequent ousting of the elected president, Mohammed Morsi - a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It has already been caught up in the current crisis, with its website blocked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain in late May.
Those nations all severed ties with Qatar on 5 June, accusing the country of supporting extremism. Saudi Arabia has closed Al Jazeera's offices and withdrawn its broadcast licence, saying it promotes terrorist "plots", supports Houthi militias that Saudi Arabia is fighting in Yemen, and has attempted to "break the Saudi internal ranks".
Al Jazeera has long defended its editorial independence and says it is objective.
Qatar crisis: What's it about?
Qatar travel: What does it mean for me?
Qatar now finds itself isolated and vulnerable. It denies backing terrorist groups but will be pressed for concessions in order to resolve the tense situation, which left its international airport, a key hub, virtually deserted, and residents stocking up on food supplies.
BBC Arabic's Feras Kilani, in Doha, says sources tell him that media reforms will be a key condition placed on Qatar. Al Jazeera might not be closed but its editorial policies will have to change, he says, while the newer Qatari Al-Araby TV network, based in London, could be shuttered.
"For many years Al Jazeera has been a bone of contention for the Gulf states and Egypt, even before its heyday of rolling news coverage during the Arab Spring," writes the Emirati commentator Sultan Sooud...

Summary: Qatar's Al Jazeera media network has undoubtedly put the tiny Gulf state on the international map.
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Article: The charity said it issued more than 130,000 supplies of nutritionally-balanced food in 2015/16, up from 117,689 in the previous year.
Its new statistics suggest that food bank growth has slowed, however.
Last year the charity reported that food bank use had increased by two thirds on the previous 12 months.
The Trussell Trust said each of its emergency parcels contained enough food for 10 meals.
Everyone who received a food parcel was referred to the food bank by professionals such as a welfare rights adviser, a social worker or a health visitor.
Of the 113,726 handed out across Scotland last year, 43,952 went to children.
The charity said that it had evidence to suggest that, on average, people needed two food bank referrals in one year.
Its network of food banks increased to 51 last year with the controversial opening of a new facility in Dumfries by Scotland's only Conservative MP David Mundell.
Ewan Gurr, Scotland network manager for The Trussell Trust, said the figures highlighted an "alarming" number of people who were unable to buy food.
The charity's data showed that the number of referrals due to a low income increased by 2,845 on 2014/15.
However it said benefits delays were the main reason people turned to food banks - they made up a total of 26% of all referrals in Scotland.
Mr Gurr added: "In Scotland, we have heard from people using food banks due to the heart-breaking reality of losing a job in the oil and steel industries, others feeling a sense of despair after delays to a Universal Credit payment and some who have experienced sanctions that have impacted on their physical and mental wellbeing."

Summary: The number of three-day emergency food parcels handed out by The Trussell Trust in Scotland increased by more than 13% in the last year.
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Article: The move will reduce the workforce by around a quarter, taking civil servant numbers to around 890.
Sources say the reductions will be mainly by early retirement, voluntary redundancy and departmenal transfers.
The assembly government said the restructuring would support the economic renewal programme outlined by the Deputy First Minister recently.
The announcement is not directly linked to the UK government's spending cuts but unions say they are concerned about the size of the reductions.
It follows a review published earlier in the month, the economic renewal programme, which outlined a major change in the approach to how the assembly government's economic development budget should be spent.
That included getting rid of grants to business and focusing support on six key sectors.
The reduction in jobs could increase to 300 depending on the outcome of a review into the technium programme, which provides support to new science and technology businesses.
Further reductions in staffing are being anticipated across all assembly government departments in the future once the Treasury decides on its spending levels.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents many rank and file civil servants, expressed concern about the assembly government's plans.
A PCS spokesperson said: "We are concerned about the sheer scale of the cuts and the likely effects on workload and work-life balance for staff.
"We will be meeting with [assembly government] management shortly to improve opportunities for displaced staff across all of Wales, especially in areas where there is little alternative work at this moment, particularly at the more senior levels."
The spokesperson added that the union acknowledged that the assembly government's redeployment efforts since the mergers of quangos in 2006 had been successful.
An assembly government spokesperson said the current restructuring was to support the economic renewal programme set out by Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones two weeks ago.
The spokesperson said: "This...

Summary: At least 250 jobs are to be axed in a shake-up of the assembly government's department for the economy.
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Article: Supplements containing omega-3 offered no greater protection than dummy pills despite suggestions otherwise, the Cochrane Review team found.
The three large studies in the review involved over 3,500 people.
But experts say longer-term studies need to be carried out for more conclusive results.
The current work tracked the health of individuals over a period of three-and-a-half years, so it is still unclear whether there might be some brain protection that kicks in if supplements are taken for much longer than this.
The work looked at randomised controlled trials - the "gold standard" test scientists use to check whether a treatment works.
And it considered different ways of taking omega-3 - in capsules or margarine spread.
Eating plenty of oily fish, such as mackerel, salmon and sardines, will also provide this important fatty acid, which has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
Experts already advise that a healthy diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish.
However, scientific backing for omega-3's use to prevent dementia has been less forthcoming.
This latest review, published by the Cochrane Library, found that participants taking omega-3 scored no better in standard tests of memory and mental performance than those given a placebo.
Co-author Dr Alan Dangour, a nutritionist from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "From these studies, there doesn't appear to be any benefit for cognitive health for older people of taking omega-3 supplements.
"So the evidence at the moment is very disappointing. But there's still an open question - if we conducted a longer study, what would that show?"
He added: "Fish is an important part of a healthy diet and we would still support the recommendation to eat two portions a week, including one portion of oily fish."
Dr Marie Janson of Alzheimer's Research UK said: "Cochrane reviews are an excellent way of pulling together high quality scientific evidence.
"While taking omega-3 supplements may not be the...

Summary: Taking fish-oil supplements to ward off dementia could be a waste of time, say researchers who have reviewed the best available evidence.
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Article: These clouds of particles are released in explosive outbursts from the Sun.
With the Sun in an active part of its cycle, there are concerns that some storms could disrupt technology on Earth including satellite navigation signals and aircraft communications.
The Sun may seem to change little from our viewing position on Earth. With the right equipment, it is possible to see dark regions called sunspots. But up close, our Sun is a dynamic, violent beast.
Bright loops of matter arch and twist like fiery fountains above the surface of this gigantic natural nuclear reactor. And every so often an intense burst of radiation called a solar flare appears when magnetic energy - stored in our star's atmosphere - is suddenly released.
Solar flares are sometimes associated with the release of high energy particles into space - eruptions that are known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), though these can also occur on their own.
A large CME can contain billions of tonnes of gas and other matter that pours into space at several million km per hour. The charged particles in this cloud stream towards any planet or spacecraft in its path.
When these particles collide with the Earth, they can cause a geomagnetic storm - a disturbance in the magnetic sheath (or magnetosphere) that surrounds our planet, protecting its denizens from the worst effects of cosmic rays.
Many of the effects of charged particles hitting the Earth's magnetosphere are benign, such as polar lights - the Aurora borealis and australis.
Geomagnetic storms - often referred to as solar storms - cause these northern or southern lights to become visible at lower latitudes.
However, they also disrupt technology on Earth, such as communications systems - including those used by aircraft, satellite navigation signals and electrical power grids.
As such, they could wreak long-lasting havoc with communications and power infrastructure across the globe.
A 2008 report by the US National Academy of Sciences concluded that an extreme storm could cause up to $2 trillion in...

Summary:


Almost nobody now believes the Cypriot bailout deal negotiated in the early hours of Saturday morning was smart.

Article: The 29-year-old Wimbledon champion replaced Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings at the end of 2016.
Murray returns to Grand Slam action at the Australian Open in Melbourne next week, where he has been runner-up on five occasions.
"The reality is, in sport, that things obviously keep moving on, the game will get better," the Scot said.
"I'll obviously get older, the young guys will continue to improve, and also Novak, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafa Nadal and all the guys at the top are still going to be wanting to get there.
"I need to continue to improve. I for sure need to keep working hard.''
Murray's first-round match against unseeded Ukrainain Illya Marchenko is scheduled third on Monday on Rod Laver Arena, following Simona Halep v Shelby Rogers and Kateryna Kozlova v Venus Williams.
Play begins at 00:00 GMT.
Murray's successful 2016 - in which he also became Wimbledon champion for the second time and defended his Olympic title - ended with him being awarded a knighthood in the Queen's New Year Honours list.
But he says he has not been treated any differently by his fellow competitors.
"It kind of happened for me right at the end of the year, so I haven't been on the Tour much as the number one player," said Murray.
"So I haven't noticed it yet. I don't know if that will come over time, if I'm able to stay there or not."
Murray was also asked about Michael Downey's resignation as chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association after only three years in the role.
He said it was "disappointing" and another example of short-term thinking at the top of British tennis.
"I think for a system that - maybe everyone would say - has not really worked for quite a long time, for change to happen you need someone, or a team, in there that's going to be in it for the long haul and not just a few years," he added.
Despite winning 17 Grand Slam titles, including four in Australia, Roger Federer said he was "clearly an underdog" in Melbourne.
"Yeah, why not for a change? I mean, I prefer to be the favourite....

Summary: Britain's Andy Murray says he needs to continue to improve if he is to remain world number one.
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Article: The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has announced how it will allocate £132m of public money.
Research and part-time undergraduate provision has been prioritised.
But it warned the increasing cost of the student tuition fee grant could also impact higher education funding.
HEFCW received a reduced budget from the Welsh Government this year, though the cut of £11m was less than originally feared.
Scrapping support for part-time postgraduate study - which received £6.5m last year - was one of the outcomes of a lower budget settlement, it said.
As well as funding from HEFCW, universities receive student tuition fees of up to £9,000 per student, which include more than £5,000 per year through the tuition fee grant for Welsh students.
HEFCW's budget from the Welsh Government has dropped as the tuition fee grant payments have increased.
It is estimated tuition fee grants will cost the Welsh government £237 million in 2016-17.
But it has told HEFCW that it might withhold another £21m of its budget if the cost exceeds this sum.
For the next academic year HEFCW allocated:
Dr David Blaney, chief executive of HEFCW, said: "Using HEFCW funding, universities and other higher education providers can continue to ensure part-time courses are as accessible as possible by keeping the cost down.
"These courses must continue to be an attractive option for students whose circumstances are not suited to a full-time course.
"Research funding accounts for over 60% of our total allocation and, as the largest public investor in research in Wales, we are pleased that we can continue to provide universities with this critical research funding.
"The increasing cost of the tuition fee grant may impact further on these funding allocations.
"The findings of Professor Sir Ian Diamond's independent review of higher education funding and student finance arrangements will be critical to informing a future policy that provides a sustainable balance of investment between Welsh students and Welsh higher education providers."

Summary: Support for part-time postgraduate study has been scrapped due to a reduced budget this year, the body in charge of funding Welsh universities has said.
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Article: The image, which was daubed onto a London shop 15 years ago, was chosen above the likes of Constable's Hay Wain and Jack Vettriano's Singing Butler.
Some 2,000 people chose their favourite artwork from a shortlist of 20 works drawn up by arts editors and writers.
The Fighting Temeraire, by JMW Turner, and Antony Gormley's The Angel Of The North sculpture completed the top five.
Banksy, an anonymous street artist from Bristol, painted the Balloon Girl onto the wall of a printing shop in Shoreditch in 2002.
A decade later a version of the image, painted onto cardboard, sold at auction for Â£73,250.
Then in 2014 the original stencil mural was removed from the wall of the shop to be exhibited and then sold.
The poll, carried out by Samsung, results in full:

Summary: Banksy's mural of a girl letting go of a heart-shaped balloon has been voted the nation's favourite artwork.
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Article: "I believe I was born a fa'afafine. Though originally I was born male, my feminine side is much stronger", says Velda Collins.
"A woman trapped in a man's body", is how she describes herself. "We are unique from the lesbian and gay community around the world, we have our own identity."
Despite the fa'afafine being an accepted part of Samoan culture for generations, she says life was hard growing up, as her parents never quite accepted her. They were afraid her identity would close doors for her in life.
So taking part in Miss Fa'afafine 2007 was one of the "most liberating experiences" of her life.
She went on to win that pageant, and is now one of the contest organisers.
This year, Miss Fa'afafine celebrates its 10th anniversary, and will see nine contestants from various countries and across all ages gather in front of a thousand-strong crowd on Friday.
The Samoa Fa'afafine Association (SFA), which organises the pageant, uses it to generate funds for their community work, but also to raise awareness of various human rights issues, especially their push for Samoan laws banning homosexuality to be repealed.
Ymania Brown, 53 and an SFA founder, says she has identified as a girl "since about the age of three", and remembers "having a crush on this particular boy in kindergarten".
But she says being fa'afafine is not the same as being gay.
"When you try to fit cultural idioms into Western boxes, what you end up doing is trying to find the nearest fit," she says.
"It's a very painful life to lead because of all the stigma and negative connotations," she said.
Her mother was accepting of her identity, though her father resisted.
"No parent would wish it upon their child, but once they see it's a losing battle they usually embrace it."
There is added weight to the contest this year, as the community feels their identity, traditionally accepted or tolerated in society, is coming under increasing pressure from religious conservatism in strongly Christian Samoa.
In June, a national newspaper caused outrage by...

Summary: Bright lights, glittering dresses and dazzling smiles are a feature of every beauty pageant, but Samoa's Miss Fa'afafine is a pageant with a difference - an annual celebration of the island nation's third gender tradition.
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Article: As the economist Paul Krugman put it, it was as if Europeans were holding up a sign which read "time to stage a run on your bank".  In Europe's corridors of power there is the sound and sight of officials pointing fingers and rowing back from previous positions held.
Here's the reality: Cyprus's banks will remain closed at least until Thursday while they try and unravel this. The Cypriot parliament may delay again today voting on a bailout deal that has brought protesters onto the streets. Bank shares in Europe have been under pressure. The markets are unnerved. Fear has returned to the eurozone. The EU's reputation has been damaged.
Not a good day's work.
So what's happening? After a conference call on Monday, Europe's finance ministers said that small savers, who were going to be taxed at 6.5%, should be protected.
A new proposal from the finance ministry has surfaced today. The aim is to better protect the small savers. Under the plan those with savings less than 20,000 euros would pay nothing. Those with deposits between 20,000 and 100,000 would pay a one-off levy of 6.75%. Savings above 100,000 would face a 9.9% tax.
The proposal leaves in doubt whether it could raise the nearly 6bn euros that was a central part of the bailout deal.
And in a further indication of just how complicated this could become, the Cypriot Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades said he expected that 10% of deposits would be withdrawn when banks finally open.
The Cypriot government appears to have decided against raising the levy on those with deposits of more than 100,000 euros to over 15%.
Here's the rub: The government fears this would effectively destroy its financial sector. Those wealthy Russians, who are the largest foreign investors, are likely to pull their funds out of the island if the one-off tax is too high. The Russians are angry and the Cypriot finance minister is heading to Moscow to explain.
The Cypriots argue that the bailout would end up undermining a key sector of the economy. The suspicion in Nicosia is...

Summary:


A full DNA profile has been developed of a man whose near-complete skeleton was found close to a motorway.

Article: The measures would bar people who travelled to Iraq and Syria after March 2011 from the visa waiver programme.
People who have visited Iran and Sudan - which the US accuses of supporting terrorism - would also need a visa.
The White House-backed bill was proposed because the Paris attackers could have travelled to the US without a visa.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for far greater restrictions, proposing that all Muslims be barred from entering the US until further notice.
But his comments - made after a deadly mass shooting in California by Islamist sympathisers - have been condemned by politicians from across the political spectrum.
The House voted 407 to 19 in support of the proposed change to visa-free travel.
"In an abundance of caution, we will now require those individuals to apply for a visa and go through the formal visa screening process," said House Republican Candice Miller, the bill's main sponsor.
There are 38 nations currently included in the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
US officials say about 5,000 Europeans, including many from VWP nations, have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with extremist groups such as the so-called Islamic State and pose a risk to the US.
If the bill passes through the Senate and is signed into law, it would also require all travellers arriving in the US under the VWP to have electronic passports containing biometric data from next April.
The bill also calls for countries participating in the VWP to share more information about suspected terrorists and criminals.

Summary: The House of Representatives has voted to tighten visa-free travel to the US following the Paris attacks.
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Article: Council members discussed the current state of Scotland's economy following the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
The group will continue to monitor the country's economic performance as the impact of Brexit becomes clearer.
Nicola Sturgeon said the council plays a critical role in growing the economy.
She said: "We have acted to take further measures to stimulate the economy and support jobs by adding an additional Â£100m to our capital infrastructure programme this year.
"While Scotland's economy has a range of fundamental strengths, in the face of the continuing uncertainty following the Brexit vote Council members will consider the current economic outlook, prospects for growth and advise on our economic approach as our potential future relationship with the EU becomes clearer."
Chairman of the council Crawford Beveridge said: "This is a challenging time for Scotland's economy given the uncertainties that lie ahead.
"In our role as an independent advisory group, our members bring expertise from across a range of areas, both nationally and internationally, and benefit from direct links to the Standing Council on Europe.
"We act as a 'critical friend' and sounding board to advise the first minister on key areas impacting on Scotland's performance, including on the economic implications of the EU referendum outcome, innovation and inclusive growth."

Summary: The first minister's council of economic advisers has met for the first time since the EU referendum result.
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Article: "What election madness!" tabloid Bild exclaims in a banner headline, while the a report in Sueddeutsche Zeitung predicts: "These elections will change Germany."
Several papers believe Ms Merkel and her Christian Democrats are "paying the price" for her liberal policy on immigration.
"The refugee crisis has re-shaped the party landscape," an editorial in Die Welt says, adding that not everyone in her party will forgive her for putting its interests behind those of "Europe and her country too".
A commentary in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung agrees, saying Ms Merkel was "punished" for her course.
"Merkel stood in none of the federal states where people went to the polls on Sunday," it says, "but everywhere was a vote on her policy".
But - reaching for Biblical allusions - it adds that it is more likely "for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" than for Ms Merkel to change her mind.
A commentary in Bild, however, rejects the idea that the result is a rejection of Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy, despite her Christian Democrat party's "crushing defeat".
It points out that the pro-immigration Social Democrat and Green premiers of two states - Rhineland Palatinate and Baden Wuerttemberg - gained votes.
The Tageszeitung agrees. Under the front-page headline "85% stay cool", it points out that the "overwhelming majority" have voted for parties that support Ms Merkel's course.
"The winners of these elections are fear, exclusion and authoritarianism," a commentary in the paper concedes.
But it adds that the rise of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany is largely the result of the mainstream parties' "confusion and loss of trust" in their own programme, in their own supporters and even in Germany.
A commentary in business paper Handelsblatt says the results are a "wake-up call" for Germany's mainstream parties - the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats.
It adds that the crisis goes beyond the refugee issue, and that neither of the two seems able to provide answers to people's...

Summary: Germany's press is reeling from the dramatic - and partly contradictory - results of Sunday's elections in three federal states.
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Article: The Federal Reserve increased rates on Wednesday by 0.25% to a range of 0.5% to 0.75%, citing a stronger US economy.
When the Fed changes policy on rates, it ripples across the globe. So, how does it affect people in the UK?
The short answer is not a lot.
There might have been a time when a rate rise in the US could have added to pressure here to raise rates.
But the Bank of England is in a very different place now.
It cut interest rates in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union - and it is expecting growth to slow next year.
Policy makers are unlikely to be swayed by anything the Federal Reserve does at this meeting.
UK interest rates are not expected to rise in 2017, and indeed are more likely to be cut further from the current historic low of 0.25%, according to Anna Stupnytska, global economist at Fidelity Investment Management.
But in the US, the Fed now thinks that there could be three rises next year, up from the two that were predicted in September. That's because of the expansionary policies expected to be introduced by President-elect Donald Trump.
So, in the UK you might not be immediately affected, but for those of you looking at longer term mortgages - such as a 10-year fixed rate - these are influenced not just by the UK's base rate, but also by the global bond market, which is already seeing yields rise.
And if US rates continue to increase, that may continue to push bond yields higher, in turn pushing up some mortgage rates.
It might.
Traditionally a rate rise means that an investor can get a better return on their investment and that usually benefits the currency, so the dollar might rise in response.
However, this rate rise has been so well signalled that investors have effectively "priced it in", in other words they are already acting on the assumption that it will happen.
The pound has already fallen significantly against the dollar since the referendum (about 14%) and it's likely that EU exit negotiations will have a major influence.
But Ms Stupnytska points out that if Mr Trump...

Summary: America's central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate for only the second time in 10 years.
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Article: Remains of a man aged between 30 and 49, were found close to the M54 motorway in Shropshire, in August.
West Mercia Police said two metal bracelets - including one thought to be a Kara, a Sikh symbol - were found inside a jacket that was also uncovered.
There have been no matches with DNA profiles of missing people in England.
The force said it was still unable to ascertain the cause of death, but it was keeping an open mind as to how the remains came to be at junction four of the M54 at Shifnal.
It is understood the remains lay undiscovered for up to three years.
2 - 3
Years the bones of a nearly complete skeleton belonging to a man had lain at the site, next to junction four of the M54
5 7 - 5 11 Height of the man
30 to 49  Years old at the time of death
Detectives said they could not rule out that "he may have been subjected to a crime".
The man, who was between 5ft 7ins and 5ft 11ins tall, was discovered by a highway worker at the bottom of an embankment.
He was wearing a black "dare2be" soft-shell outdoor jacket in a large size, a navy blue V-neck T-shirt from George at Asda and a pair of dark coloured, medium-size Nike tracksuit bottoms.
Police said that specific type of T-shirt was first manufactured in November 2007 and first sold in March 2008.

Summary: