A protected bird of prey has been found dead in Bedfordshire and had likely been shot "at close range".

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15 October 2014 Last updated at 13:18 BST
The steppe eagle flew 45 times over the Brecon Beacons wearing a miniature rucksack packed with scientific instruments.
The experiment showed that by collapsing his wings in heavy wind, Cossack can fly in conditions that would have grounded an aircraft.
Scientists say birds such as vultures and kites may use the same technique.
During each "wing tuck" Cossack's wings are, for a split-second, folded beneath his body so that he is effectively falling. This occurs up to three times a minute in some conditions.
Study leader Professor Graham Taylor, from Oxford University's Department of Zoology, said: "Soaring flight may appear effortless but it isn't a free ride...it also puts an enormous strain on its flight muscles."
He compared the technique to suspension on a car stopping a disturbing ride.
The 75g (3 oz) "black box", which does not interfere with flying, tracks his position and records acceleration, rotation rate and airspeed.
Prof Taylor believes the lessons learned from Cossack could be useful to human aviation.
"This kind of technique could potentially be used to keep micro air vehicles aloft even in very windy conditions," he said.

Summary: An eagle called Cossack has been fitted with a "black box" to reveal his secret weapon against turbulence.
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Article: A study of the attitudes of 15- to 21-year-olds in 20 countries examined levels of optimism, confidence and a sense of being loved.
Japan was the only country lower than the UK on this wellbeing ranking, published by the Varkey Foundation education charity.
Only 15% of young people in the UK said they got enough sleep and exercise.
The study looked at the views and expectations of so-called Generation Z, born in the years around the new millennium, based on a survey of more than 20,000 people in countries including the UK, the United States. France, Germany, India, China and Argentina.
And it suggested that there was no clear link between material wellbeing and mental health.
While the UK was almost at the bottom of the rankings for wellbeing, along with countries such as Japan and South Korea, the top places were taken by young people in Indonesia, India and Nigeria.
South Korea, with a reputation for a fiercely pressurised education system, was the only country where young people actively disliked where they lived.
Young people across this global sample, including the UK, reported that they were more pessimistic than optimistic about the future.
Although young people in China and India both bucked these gloomy expectations - with their young anticipating a more positive future.
The perception of risk from extremism, terrorism and conflict was widespread - more so than worries about climate change or inequalities between rich and poor.
In the UK, extremism and terror was identified as the biggest single reason for being "fearful for the future", followed by the threat of "conflict and war".
There were big differences in attitudes towards the principle of free speech - and whether it should be protected even for views might offend.
Only about a third of young people in Nigeria supported the right to free speech, if it was likely to offend some ethnic groups or religious beliefs.
In contrast, more than two-thirds of young people in Argentina supported free speech, regardless of who it might antagonise.
But...

Summary: Young people in the UK have some of the lowest levels of "mental wellbeing", according to an international survey.
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Article: Employment in London and England's south east rose by 6.7% between 2009 and 2013, while it increased by 1.5% on average in industrial Wales.
The rise exceeded the 0.9% fall in jobs across older industrial Britain.
Earnings in ex-industrial areas of Wales remained 8% lower than the British average last year.
Professor Steve Fothergill, director of the Industrial Communities Alliance (ICA), which compiled the report, said: "Many people have suspected that the recovery is primarily a 'London & the South East' phenomenon.
"The new report is the first to confirm that this is indeed the case."
ICA featured Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Flintshire, Merthyr Tydfil and Neath Port Talbot among Britain's lagging older industrial areas.
The wider group - which represents 18m, or 30%, of the working British population - also included Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen and Wrexham.
"Long-established divides in economic well-being are widening still further," Professor Fothergill said.
Of the Welsh areas, Newport and Bridgend had the worst proportionate decline in employed jobs between 2009 and 2013, each with a drop of 4%.
By contrast, Torfaen enjoyed an increase of 6% - or 2,300 jobs - with Flintshire boosted by a 5% uplift of 3,500 extra employed positions.
Across all of older industrial Wales there was a total of 10,500 extra jobs created between 2009 and 2013.
ICA found that employment in defence and public administration in Wales fell by 3,100, or 5.6%, between 2010 and 2013.
But this was lower than London and the south east, which saw a 13.4% drop in these sectors. It was also a smaller decrease than the 13% British average.
The average weekly earnings in Wales in 2014 were Â£479 - 8% lower than that across Britain, the ICA study said.
That was versus Â£595 in London and the south east, which was 14% above the British average.

Summary: Former industrial areas of Wales have been left behind by some parts of Britain in the economic recovery, a new report shows.
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Article: Arnnon Geshuri, a former human resources manager at Google, was appointed to the board of the Wikimedia Foundation this month.
The online encyclopaedia's editors objected because of his links to an alleged no poaching scandal.
Last January, Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe agreed to settle a lawsuit over related claims for $415m (Â£289m).
One Wikipedia editor said they were "appalled" by Mr Geshuri's appointment to the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees, while another criticised the Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.
About 20 editors, including two trustees, have publicly backed Mr Geshuri.
One editor unhappy about the appointment wrote: "I'm appalled: Why this kind of person, with this kind of background, at all?"
Another added: "I have no more confidence for the whole board, especially also to name Mr Wales himself. The board presents itself in a tragic condition, all faith lost that it could work for the best of the projects."
The no confidence call was accompanied by a statement, which indicated that an open letter had already been sent to the chairman of Wikimedia's board.
It noted Mr Geshuri had been "widely known for having played a significant role in the anticompetitive agreements scandal at Google".
"A vote of the community has no legal weight, but should be taken into consideration by the board of trustees to fulfil the Wikimedia Foundation statement of values," it added.
Documents filed with a US court indicated that Mr Geshuri, who now works for Tesla Motors, had been involved in enforcing a deal struck between Apple and Google not to poach each other's staff.
In a 2007 email, while he was working at Google, he assured his boss Eric Schmidt that a company employee would be "terminated within the hour" for approaching an Apple staff member.
Mr Schmidt had contacted Mr Geshuri after Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs had complained to him, the documents indicated.
In 2015, those two firms, as well as Intel and Adobe, agreed to pay out damages before the case could be heard. They had been accused of...

Summary: More than 200 Wikipedia editors have backed a vote of no confidence in a trustee of the site's governing body.
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Article: The assault is the first attempt to evict IS from a major urban centre that they have controlled and fortified, a test case for the planned operation to retake Mosul - the Iraqi capital of the IS caliphate.
The Tikrit operation will be scrutinised to shed light on two main uncertainties.
Can predominately Shia volunteer forces play a productive leading role in operations within Sunni communities? And can the Iraqi military dislodge IS defenders from fortified urban settings?
The assault has been billed as a joint operation involving the Iraqi army, the paramilitary federal police, the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF), and the predominately Shia Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), the volunteer brigades and militias that have been formally integrated into the security forces since June 2014.
The one element conspicuously absent from the mix is the US-led international coalition.
No requests for coalition air strikes have been made by the Iraqi government, a common feature of operations led by the PMUs. Indeed, some 18,000 PMU fighters are providing the bulk of the troops for the assault.
The PMU are led by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was labelled by the US as a "specially designated global terrorist" in 2009 for his part in attacks on US forces and other targets.
He and many other PMU commanders have worked intensively with Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and continue to draw Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah advisers into their operations.
The apparent exclusion of coalition support by Iranian proxies was confirmed by Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who stated on 3 March that the battle had seen "overt conduct of Iranian support, in the form of artillery and other things".
Though Tikrit itself has been largely depopulated, the behaviour of the predominately Shia PMU forces - who are not subject to Iraqi military discipline - will be closely watched as they clear IS fighters from rural Sunni communities.
If the attack on Tikrit is successful it may increase the likelihood that Iraq...

Summary: On 1 March about 27,000 Iraqi troops commenced their attack on Tikrit, a city 150km (93 miles) north of Baghdad that has been occupied by Islamic State (IS) since June 2014.
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Article: The red kite was discovered by a member of the public at Daintry Wood near Toddington.
An X-ray image showed it had 10 pieces of lead shot lodged in its body.
The RSPB said: "This was clearly no accident and it is especially sad considering the lengths that have been taken to reintroduce these splendid birds to England."
RSPB inspector Jenny Shelton said: "The bird will most likely have been shot at close range to incur this level of damage.
"Red kites feed mainly on carrion, so there is no logical reason for these birds to be targeted".
Bedfordshire Police has appealed for information about the shooting.
Insp Mark Farrant said: "This is a particularly worrying incident against a bird that is fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
"I would ask anyone with information relating to this or similar incidents to call Bedfordshire Police."
According to the RSPB, the shooting of birds of prey is a widespread problem in the UK.
The organisation's latest Bird Crime report said there were 196 reports of shooting, trapping and destruction of birds of prey in 2015, including red kites.
The species is protected under schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the punishment for killing one is up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to Â£5,000.
Red kites became extinct in England in 1871, with only a handful of pairs left in remote parts of central Wales.
The RSPB helped reintroduce them in 1989 and there are now about 1,000 red kites in England.

Summary:


A school in Sydney has banned clapping in favour of "silent cheering", "excited faces" and "punching the air".

Article: Russell Hobby was responding to warnings that more young people from the UK could travel to the conflict in Syria during the school holidays.
He said schools would alert parents and "appropriate authorities" if they found evidence of extremism.
"We cannot reasonably expect schools to perform police functions," he said.
Mr Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said that schools would respond to any information they received, but would need the support of other agencies, if young people vulnerable to extremism were to be identified and intercepted.
He was responding to warnings from a senior prosecutor, Nazir Afzal, that some schools feared the Easter holidays would be used as a time for radicalised pupils to try to join the conflict in Syria.
Mr Afzal, who stepped down this week as chief prosecutor for north-west England, said two London head teachers had raised such concerns with him:
"They are worried that some of their children and some of the people they have care over will not be there when they return from the Easter break - and that must worry us all."
In February, three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy in east London disappeared from their homes and flew to Turkey. They are believed to have crossed into Syria.
Head teachers' leader Mr Hobby said that where there was evidence of extremism or plans to travel to Syria heads would act, but there were limits to what could be expected of schools.
"Schools' duty of protection involves educating people well and sharing what information they do have with other agencies.
"Beyond that, they need clear guidance and somewhere to turn to for help. We cannot reasonably expect schools to perform police functions."

Summary: Head teachers cannot be expected to be "counter-terrorism experts" or "conduct surveillance" on young people, said a head teachers' leader.
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Article: A Kalashnikov boutique has opened at Sheremetyevo to promote the world-famous Russian gunmaker's brand.
The shop's souvenirs include camouflage gear and "I love AK" T-shirts.
The AK-47 assault rifle has a worldwide reputation for reliability. The Soviet bloc countries, and many guerrillas, relied on the gun for decades.
An airport official quoted by Reuters news agency said the model guns were clearly imitations and would not pose security problems.
Sheremetyevo is Russia's biggest international airport, and handled more than 31 million passengers last year.
There is widespread international concern about replica weapons which can be mistaken for the real thing and potentially used by terrorists.
A Russian state corporation, Rostec, owns 51% of the shares in the Kalashnikov concern, which makes the guns at Izhevsk, in central Russia.
In 2014 the EU and US added Kalashnikov to their lists of Russian arms manufacturers subject to sanctions because of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.
The airport shop is part of the firm's drive to expand its civilian merchandise.
"Kalashnikov is one of the most popular brands that come to mind when people think of Russia," said the firm's marketing director Vladimir Dmitriyev, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency.
"So we are pleased to provide everyone with an opportunity to take home a souvenir with our brand on it."

Summary: Travellers at Moscow's Sheremetyevo international airport can now buy a model Kalashnikov assault rifle before they catch their flight.
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Article: Richard Morris, from Ancre Hill estates winery near Monmouth, said other countries with similar climates, such as Nova Scotia in Canada, have already developed a successful wine industry.
There are about 17 vineyards in Wales, according to the Welsh Vineyards Association.
Wales produces around 100,000 bottles of wine annually.
He told BBC Radio Wales' Country Focus programme: "We're predicting by 2035 that we'll have four to six wineries in Wales, that we'll have about 50 vineyards.
"That's based on the growth of the wine industry in Nova Scotia, for example, on the eastern seaboard of Canada.
"It's a massive industry there and Wales can quickly get to that level, I'd say, within 10 to 15 years."
The company's selling point is that the wine is "bio-dynamic" which means only natural products are used in production and the broader eco-system is considered.
And it has recently started supplying a wholesaler in the historic wine growing region of Bordeaux, France.
"I know everybody laughs at this but it's the honest truth - we've just had a wine order from a wholesaler in Bordeaux who's interested in selling good wine from around the world," he said.
According to the Welsh Vineyard Association, Welsh wine started with the Romans, who are thought to have brought grapes and wine-making to Wales.
Then, in 1875, Lord Bute planted a commercial vineyard at Castell Coch, near Cardiff.
From just a few vineyards in the mid-80s there are now about 17 across Wales and Wine Trail Wales has also been launched to show the part they can play in the tourism industry.
Welsh vineyards are producing around 100,000 bottles of wine a year, up 70% in the decade.
White Castle vineyard near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, has been going since 2008. It offers tours and tastings as a way of selling its wines.
Ancre Hill estates is the latest to expand with another 11 acres (2.8 hectares) of vines.
Its owners say south facing land with sheltered areas and good drainage provide ideal conditions for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.
And each...

Summary: Wales could have 50 vineyards in 20 years' time, according to one grower who is selling Welsh wine to France.
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Article: Tens of thousands of new cases have been reported in the Dominican Republic and its neighbour Haiti.
There is currently no vaccine or treatment for the mosquito-born virus, which resembles dengue fever and can cause fever, skin rash and joint pain.
European health authorities have warned travellers to take extra precautions.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control told people travelling to the Caribbean to apply insect repellent and avoid mosquito bites.
France has detected more than 70 imported cases of chikungunya, mainly in people returning from holidays in the French Antilles.
The centre said there was a risk the virus could spread in Europe if infected patients were bitten by mosquitoes on their return home and those mosquitoes then infected other people.
•Viral disease spread by mosquitoes that bite during daylight hours
•No direct person-to-person transmission
•Name derives from a word meaning "to become contorted" from the African Kimakonde language
•Symptoms include the sudden onset of fever and joint pain, particularly affecting the hands, wrists, ankles and feet
•Most patients recover after a few days but in some cases the joint pain may persist for weeks, months or even longer
There are also signs chikungunya is spreading further to Central and South America.
According to the latest figures released by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), almost 265,000 suspected and confirmed cases have been recorded since the outbreak began in December.
More than half of those have been in the Dominican Republic, which has stepped up its fumigation efforts in an attempt to reduce the number of mosquitoes.
Health officials warn that the true numbers may be much higher as some countries have been slow in testing and reporting cases.
Chikungunya is rarely fatal but, according to the PAHO, 21 people have died in the Caribbean after contracting the virus.
There have also been cases in Central America, with El Salvador the hardest hit with 1,300 suspected incidences.
Paraguay recorded its first...

Summary: The number of suspected and confirmed cases of chikungunya virus in Caribbean countries has risen sharply over past weeks, health officials say.
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Article: A UK flag is already available on smartphones and other devices.
Unicode has proposed a mechanism for making the flags available from 2017, but manufacturers will have to add the new emojis to their keyboards.
It has now launched a public consultation after the proposal to add the flags of the home nations.
Unicode also recommended adding the flags of US states and other territories that are not currently available as standard.
Emoji flags already available include those for Ascension Island, St Barthelemy, CuraÃ§ao, Diego Garcia and Djibouti.
The proposal for a new range of emoji flags was submitted by Jeremy Burge of Emojipedia and BBC Wales' head of social media, Owen Williams.
The flag for Northern Ireland has not been included in the proposal as it does not have official status, although it is included in an unrelated proposal asking Unicode to adopt "regional indicator" emojis.

Summary: Emoji flags for Wales, Scotland and England could be introduced to devices next year, the authority on computer text and characters has said.
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Article: The school says the rule was introduced to respect students who are "sensitive to noise" but says the practice also "reduces fidgeting".
It is the latest in the series of school regulations to have faced criticism in the Australian media.
Hugs and Australia Day celebrations have faced bans at different schools around the country.
Earlier this week, an all-girls school rejected a newspaper report that said its teachers were asked to stop addressing students as girls, ladies and women in favour of gender-neutral language.
Elanora Heights Public School, on Sydney's northern beaches, announced the no-clapping policy in its latest newsletter.
"If you've been to a school assembly recently, you may have noticed our students doing silent cheers," it said.
"Instead of clapping, the students are free to punch the air, pull excited faces and wriggle about on the spot.
"The practice has been adopted to respect members of our school community who are sensitive to noise.
It said teachers would "prompt the audience to conduct a silent cheer if it is needed" and that they had found it to be "a great way to expend children's energy and reduce fidgeting".

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Any inquiry into police actions during the Battle of Orgreave would not take place until Hillsborough investigations conclude, the Home Office said.

Article: The ONS said businesses used 1.5 million zero-hours contracts to employ staff in January this year, compared with 1.4 million a year earlier.
The data, collected in January, is the first that can be directly compared to a previous point in time, the ONS said.
But it added the rise in contracts was "not statistically significant".
Zero-hours contracts do not guarantee a minimum number of hours of employment and many argue they offer greater flexibility in working patterns.
But the contracts have proved controversial with the Labour party promising to ban them earlier this year if it won the general election.
The ONS said there had also been a rise in the number of people employed on zero-hours contracts.
It estimated that 744,000 people, or 2.4%, of those in employment between April and June 2015, were employed on zero-hours contracts up from 624,000, or 2%, for the same period a year earlier.
That represented a 19% rise year-on-year but the ONS again warned that it was impossible to say how much of the increase was due to greater recognition of the term "zero-hours contracts" rather than a rise in new contracts.
People on zero-hours contracts were more likely to be women, in full-time education or in young or older age groups compared with other people in employment, the ONS said.
Of those working on zero-hours contracts, 54% were women, while 34% were aged 16 to 24 and 6% aged 65 and over.
A further 20% of people on zero-hours contracts were in full-time education.
On average, someone on a zero-hours contract usually works 25 hours a week, with around 40% of them wanting more hours, most from their current job, rather than in a different or additional one, the ONS added.
The survey asked a sample of 5,000 businesses how many people were employed on contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours. More than 2,700 responses to the survey were received - a response rate of 55%.
Companies with more than 250 employees were more likely to employ some of their workforce using zero-hours contracts, the...

Summary: There has been a 6% rise in the use of zero-hours contracts by UK businesses in the last year, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows.
###
Article: If you haven't heard of Simon Cowell, chances are you have heard of one of his many artists.
But love him or hate him, how much do any of us really know about the boss of The X Factor?
Well, fret no more because he has opened up to Radio 1's Nick Grimshaw about "crazy" Miley Cyrus, his doubts about Olly Murs and who he thinks is the ultimate pop star.
As a kid Simon hated school and used to pretend to his parents that he was sick so he didn't have to go in.
The worst thing you could call a teenage Simon Cowell was a "show-off". However, he now hopes that is how he will be remembered.
At one point the 55-year-old worked at an estate agent, which he hated. We reckon he constantly looked like this.
Watch Radio 1's interview with Simon Cowell
The estate agent was based in swanky Mayfair in London - there's the Simon we know.
Simon's first job in the industry was working as a runner on a film set where he was paid £20 a week.
He's never looked back…
10 years since the X Factor began, Simon has said he is glad the show exists because it gives normal people the chance to become a star.
People like Olly Murs.
Simon has admitted that Olly almost did not make it to the live finals, but he decided to "take a chance on him".
"I don't think Olly would have got a contract outside the show, because the show defined his personality," Simon said. "I'm not interested in an object who just sings."
For Simon, others just had star quality …
"I used to call Cher Lloyd a brat, and she was, but I loved her," he explained.
"I didn't need to say, 'What kind of record do you want to make?' She knew exactly what record she wanted to make, even at 16. Those type of artists are rare."
And the world's number one performer?
Simon has admitted he does not know Beyonce well, but has called the singer "a killer in the nicest sense of the word".
"She wants to win. She always wants to be the biggest artist in the world and never, ever stops rehearsing or trying to get better," he said. "It's a dream to have an artist like that."
Simon also has a...

Summary: He's arguably one of the most famous people in the world.
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Article: It said that companies in the sector account for 30% of our total exports and employ about 40,000 people.
The report also said that 70% of sales come from outside the EU.
That makes the sector "a largely Brexit-proof opportunity to expand our economy".
On a council-by-council basis, Belfast and Londonderry are centres of excellence while Newry and Larne registered strongly.
Steve Orr, a director at Catalyst Inc, said: "Our priority recommendations are to focus on becoming world-class in research and development in specialist clusters of healthcare, cyber security and data analytics as well as advanced engineering."
Richard Johnston, from Ulster University's Economic Policy Centre, said: "The challenge for Northern Ireland going forward is to translate these record levels of activity into more jobs, better wages and higher profits."
The knowledge economy is made up businesses that rely on technology and research and development.
It includes pharmaceuticals, aerospace, software and medical device producers.

Summary: The knowledge economy in Northern Ireland is the second fastest growing in the UK, according to a new report by Catalyst Inc.
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Article: Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party and Alexander Van der Bellen are each on 50%, according to the estimate, which includes postal votes not yet counted.
Official figures from Sunday's ballot give Mr Hofer a lead of 3.8% but do not include postal voting.
The final official results will not be known until Monday.
For the first time since World War Two, both the main centrist parties were knocked out in the first round.
A key issue in the campaign was Europe's migrant crisis, which has seen asylum-seeker numbers soar.
About 90,000 people claimed asylum in Austria last year, equivalent to about 1% of the Austrian population, and the Freedom Party ran an anti-immigration campaign.
The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but a victory for Mr Hofer could be the springboard for Freedom Party success in the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2018.
The presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, have both expressed concern over a Hofer victory.
Austria is split. The soft-spoken, charismatic Mr Hofer, sometimes described as a wolf in sheep's clothing, caused turmoil in Austrian politics when he won a clear victory in the first round of voting in April.
But now his rival, Mr Van der Bellen from the Greens, has caught up. The far right has profited from deep frustration with the established parties of the centre left and the centre right in Austria. And in recent months, it has been boosted further by fears about the migrant crisis.
If Mr Hofer wins, it could have an impact far beyond Austria's borders - possibly giving momentum to far-right and Eurosceptic parties in other EU countries.
Is Europe lurching to the far right?
Europe's nationalist surge, country by country
According to the interior ministry's final count of votes cast at polling-stations (in German), Mr Hofer took 51.9% to 48.1% for Mr Van der Bellen.
But ORF public TV's projection (in German), which is usually considered reliable, has both men on 50%.
Postal voting accounts for some...

Summary: The far-right and independent candidates in Austria's presidential run-off face a dead heat, a public TV projection suggests.
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Article: The ban was imposed because it fails to comply with international standards.
Rio's is the sixth laboratory to be sanctioned by Wada in recent months.
Madrid, Bloemfontein, Beijing and Lisbon have also been suspended from Wada-related activities, while Moscow's laboratory had its accreditation revoked in April.
Rio's suspension took effect on 22 June and prohibits the laboratory from carrying out all anti-doping analyses on urine and blood samples.
The lab may appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of receipt of notice.
"Athletes can have confidence that the suspension will only be lifted by Wada when the laboratory is operating optimally," said Wada's incoming director general Olivier Niggli.
"The best solution will be put in place to ensure that sample analysis for the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games is robust."
Exactly how the laboratory, also known as Ladetec, has failed to comply with Wada standards was not revealed - but it is not the first time the anti-doping body has punished it.
In January 2012 Ladetec was suspended from testing for nine months for falsely accusing a Brazilian beach volleyball player of doping.
Its license was also suspended for not complying with international standards in August 2013 and its accreditation revoked a month later, meaning Rio did not have a functioning anti-doping lab for the duration of the football World Cup in 2014.
The nearest alternative Wada-accredited facility to Rio is 2,800 miles away in Bogota, Colombia.

Summary: Rio's anti-doping laboratory has been suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) just six weeks before the Brazilian city hosts the Olympic Games.
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Article: The House of Lords heard the government had not yet taken a decision as to whether an inquiry will be held.
Launching one now could prejudice the on-going investigations into the Hillsborough disaster, it heard.
About 10,000 strikers and 5,000 police officers clashed at the coking plant near Rotherham in June 1984.
More than 120 officers and pickets were injured and 93 people arrested.
On Tuesday, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) ruled a full report into allegations of police misconduct will not be made public.
Live updates on this story and others in South Yorkshire
What was the 'Battle of Orgreave'?
What happened at Hillsborough?
Lord Richard Keen, Lords spokesperson for the Home Office, said a barrister had been commissioned to go through 10,000 police documents "in the context of the investigation at Orgreave".
In response to a question from Lord Richard Balfe, he said: "The IPCC has told the Home Office officials that if it announces any action to set up an inquiry or other investigation relating to Orgreave it would have an impact on the Hillsborough investigation.
"For that reason, the decision will only be taken after that part has been concluded."
He added work was still on-going to "assess whether material related to the policing of Orgreave is relevant to the Hillsborough criminal investigations".
Barbara Jackson, from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, said: "We respect all that the Hillsborough campaigners have had to go through, but we would like our issue dealt with as quickly as possible, as soon as their verdict is in the public domain."

Summary:


Some stories reported by Newsround can make you feel sad - but you are not the only one and it's OK to have those feelings.

Article: Barristers have withdrawn from all new criminal cases requiring legal aid, in protest against the reduced payments.
Bar Council chairman, Gerry McAlinden, said the cuts meant barristers will not get "any money" for aspects of cases.
But the justice minister said Northern Ireland could not continue to fund the UK's highest level of legal aid pay.
David Ford, who is facing cuts to his departmental budget along with other Northern Ireland Executive ministers, has introduced new rules this month that reduce the legal aid payments available to lawyers who undertake criminal case work.
Last week, it emerged that the Bar Council of Northern Ireland and the Law Society have joined forces in a legal action against the minister, in an attempt to get the High Court to overturn the new payment rules.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Mr McAlinden said: "What these rules simply mean is that, for a lot of the work that is required to properly do a case - a criminal case or a civil case - the lawyers will not get any money.
"Basically, what in essence is happening under the 2015 rules in relation to criminal cases is that, for the work that is required - such as looking at documents that are disclosed by the Crown, looking at expert reports, looking at the documentation that is necessary to determine whether those expert reports are accurate in their conclusions - that type of work will not be paid under these rules."
The Bar Council chairman added: "It means that there is the potential for corners to be cut, in terms of the proper investigation when looking at criminal cases, and that cannot be allowed. Criminal practitioners must be properly remunerated for the work that is required to protect the defendants' interest. It's a simple matter of justice."
Mr McAlinden said the mood among his colleagues was "one of utter determination to ensure that this action holds for as long as is necessary, so that the message gets across to the minister that enough is enough".
Speaking on the same programme, the justice minister said he had...

Summary: Barristers are determined to continue a strike over cuts to legal aid payments for "as long as is necessary", the Bar Council of Northern Ireland has said.
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Article: They said the measure should be a priority for the Scottish government to consider in moves to ensure gender equality in pay.
It was a key recommendation in a report from Holyrood's economy, jobs and fair work committee.
Employability minister Jamie Hepburn said the government would consider the report carefully.
The MSPs said raising the pay for care workers - most of whom are women - would reduce the gender pay gap and encourage more men to work in the sector.
Other recommendations they believe could reduce pay inequality include:
Committee convener Gordon Lindhurst said: "The committee is clear there is a gender pay issue for Scotland's workforce.
"Women across Scotland's economy are still concentrated in low-paid jobs and part-time work.
"The pay gap primarily affects women and isn't just attributable to women choosing to start a family or to take time out of their careers."
Mr Lindhurst said his committee believed tackling pay rates in the care sector was a priority.
He added: "Each and every one of us is likely to rely on professional care at some time in our lives. Despite the radical change in skills over the years, this continues to be one of the lowest-paying, female-worker dominated sectors in Scotland.
"We want to see the government address this issue by prioritising the care sector; it is vital that we raise the status of care in Scotland."
Mr Hepburn said the government was committed to closing the gender pay gap.
He said: "We are already taking decisive action to address the issue, including transforming early learning and childcare to support more women back into work, as well as taking measures to challenge pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
"We are also funding returners' programmes that will help women returners get back into work after a career break - such as that delivered by Equate Scotland, which is helping women re-join the labour market by offering targeted support.
"While the gap in Scotland of 6.2% is well below the UK figure of 9.4%, we are not complacent and recognise we...

Summary: MSPs have said care workers should receive more than the living wage minimum.
###
Article: Duncan Fletcher's influence has touched so many, both on and off the cricket field - all of it done in his own quiet, analytical, observing-from-behind-the-shades kind of way.
Cricket lovers in England will fondly remember Fletcher as the man who masterminded their first Ashes series victory in 18 years in 2005 - getting the better of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath et al - but now he is back on these shores plotting the downfall of his former employers.
Don't be surprised if India's Zimbabwe-born head coach succeeds. The list of those queuing up to label him as one of the best coaches in cricket would form the basis of a pretty formidable World XI.
"Fletcher was simply the best analytical cricket coach I ever worked with," says former England captain Michael Vaughan.
"He understands batting better than anyone I know," adds South African Jacques Kallis, statistically the best all-rounder the game has seen.
"He changed the culture of how we played," enthuses Marcus Trescothick, who scored more than 10,000 international runs for England.
Such rave reviews would not look out of place on the back of a DVD, but what makes Fletcher such a five-star coach?
First of all, it's worth getting to know the work of the man away from cricket.
In his previous career in systems management, he helped devise the number-plate system in Zimbabwe.
Fletcher and his team were asked to make it easier for witnesses of hit-and-run accidents to remember the number plate, so they added an alpha character to the end of the existing six-digit sequential system.
That was no big deal in his eyes, though. He was more proud of a document he designed for Cimas, a medical aid society in his homeland.
"I could not understand why they needed to send out two documents to claimants, one containing financial details and one a cheque," wrote Fletcher in his autobiography.
"Why not have one page with the statement at the top and the cheque section at the bottom which can be torn off by having a perforated line?
"I was told that only sanctions prevented it...

Summary: From taxi drivers in Harare to recipients of medical aid cheques in Bulawayo; from the thousands at an open-top bus parade in Trafalgar Square to a billion-plus fans in India; from cricketing greats past to future stars.
###
Article: Labour's Mark Dempsey said it was important the town "gets better as it gets bigger", and James Faulkner, UKIP, said brown field sites should be used.
Liberal Democrat Janet Ellard and Poppy Hebden-Leeder, Green, agreed more needs to be done to develop communities.
Justin Tomlinson, Conservative, said the growth had resulted in Â£19.2m of New Homes Bonuses from the government.
The five candidates were speaking on a BBC Radio Wiltshire election debate programme.
In the last decade, the population of Swindon has grown by over 16% and the borough council is forecasting by 2021 there will be around, 240,000 people living in the town.
Poppy Hebden-Leeder, from the Green party, said the the infrastructure was not "keeping up" with the population.
"We're having to play catch-up very fast and I'm not sure just putting in a [northern link road] is sufficient," she said.
Liberal Democrat Janet Ellard said some areas lacked community feel and the town needed extra "community halls, shops and possibly new churches".
UKIP's James Faulkner said he wanted a new link road but said brownfield sites should be developed.
"There are areas - the park and ride facility and industrial sites behind Stratton Road - which could now be used for house building," he said.
But Labour's Mark Dempsey said a University of Swindon and a "better town centre" were the "big priorities".
Conservative Justin Tomlinson said Mr Dempsey's "grand plans to go on a spending spree" could be jeopardised if Labour came into power.
"The Labour shadow minister confirmed they would scrap the New Homes Bonus because that money should be going to towns where they don't have development," he said.
"Swindon is the fastest growing town. It would rob Swindon of Â£19.2m."
The candidates for the constituency are:
Mark Dempsey, Labour
Janet Ellard, Liberal Democrat
James Faulkner, UKIP
Poppy Hebden-Leeder, Green
Justin Tomlinson, Conservative

Summary: Swindon's rapid growth needs to be matched with better infrastructure and a new link road, candidates have said.
###
Article: 7 January 2016 Last updated at 20:25 GMT
Many are comparing it to the podcast Serial. But is the picture they are presenting the full one?
Filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi spoke to BBC Newsnight's Evan Davis in their first UK TV interview.

Summary: Making A Murderer is a true crime documentary series on Netflix that's become a massive hit.
###
Article: Upsetting events often make the news because they don't happen very often.
This section gives you some tips about what to do if you are feeling sad about what you've seen, heard or read.
You can rely on Newsround to tell you the important facts about a story - but some things you hear might be a bit scary or make you feel worried.
Remember that worrying stories are often in the news because they are rare - they don't happen very often.
It is incredibly unlikely that what you're reading about or watching might happen near you.
Discuss the stories with your parents or friends. You'll feel better that you're not the only one worried.
You could also talk to your teacher about it - maybe you could have a class discussion which would help you understand the issue better.
If you're having nightmares or trouble sleeping because of something you've heard in the news:

Summary:


Banksy has denied accusations he is "trolling" members of the public - after thousands have struggled to buy tickets for his new show.

Article: It was created by the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, with additional data from NASA and the US Geological Survey.
The centrepiece is an a click-and-play animation showing every eruption and earthquake for the last 50 years.
It is part of a project to create a record of every volcanic eruption on Earth for the last 10,000 years.
As well as monitoring active volcanoes, a global collaboration of researchers is gathering evidence of ancient eruptions in the geological record.
Elizabeth Cottrell, head of the Smithsonian Institution's program in Washington, DC, told the BBC that the animation was a view of "the living, breathing planet".
"You're watching the Earth respire - you're watching the pulse of the planet," she said.
"And you can see those patterns of where the tectonic plate boundaries are - the Earth's breath and pulse defines those plate boundaries."
The Global Volcanism Program has been running since 1968, with a mission to "document, understand and disseminate information about global volcanic activity".
This global network of scientists is building a database of all known and confirmed eruptions for the last 10,000 years.
Some of these remain as signals of ancient ash or lava left in rocks. But the program also uses scientific literature, eyewitness accounts and even old ship's logs, some of which contain detailed accounts of eruptions.
"Captain Cook provided a lot of information about volcanoes erupting that he saw," remarked Dr Cottrell.
But the last 50 years is a crucial period, because the scientists say they are confident that they have a complete record of every eruption and earthquake over that time.
Making it available to download and in an app, Dr Cottrell said, could be of value to scientists who are looking for patterns that help to improve volcanic eruption forecasting.
Individual volcanic eruptions on a human timescale can seem rare, but volcanic arcs - chains of volcanoes along the same plate boundary - have what Dr Cottrell described as "a sort of pulse".
"When we're looking for...

Summary: Half a century of the planet's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have been visualised in an animated app.
###
Article: The International Longevity Centre report said more should be done to make retirement housing "aspirational."
A lack of desirable retirement housing meant older people downsizing might end up chasing the same properties as first-time buyers, it added.
But critics said different generations had different housing priorities.
The International Longevity Centre (ILC) study, commissioned by Hanover Housing, criticised "scapegoating" of older people for "hoarding housing" as "ageist and irrelevant".
Rather than simply calling for older people to downsize, "we should be incentivising all generations to refrain from under-occupying properties", urge the authors.
However, they added that purpose-built housing for older people can improve their health and quality of life and "free up family-sized housing".
The report adds that elderly people are "often in denial about the realities of ageing" and struggle on in unsuitable, over-large homes when smaller properties might be more suitable.
"We must all think harder about the sort of housing we are likely to want to live in as we age," said Dylan Kneale of ILC-UK.
"Too many of us deny the impact of ageing and end up in inappropriate housing."
Mr Kneale urged local and central government to support the provision of appropriate housing for all ages.
"Planners and policy-makers must recognise the impact of our ageing society and develop adequate housing".
The report argues that the UK needs to build more homes but adds that a lack of desirable retirement housing means older people who downsize may end up chasing the same properties as first-time buyers.
Retirement housing needs an image overhaul, say the authors, with many people viewing it as "expensive and isolated" and prone to hidden charges.
Currently it is focused on people with the greatest health and social care needs - instead design should be improved to make it "aspirational", they argue.
The study suggests that designers of retirement homes could learn from age-segregated housing for other groups, for example...

Summary: Encouraging older people to downsize to smaller homes could backfire and worsen the housing shortage for first-time buyers, argues a report.
###
Article: They have published the results of a trial involving 600 women from Glasgow in the British Medical Journal.
More than 20% of the women offered vouchers stopped smoking, compared with 9% given normal NHS support alone.
The Royal College of Midwives said incentivising healthy behaviours using money was "not ideal" - and expensive.
Women taking part in the trial had breath tests - as well as providing saliva and urine samples - to check whether they were smoking. Blood samples were monitored too.
In the randomised controlled trial, the researchers assigned the women into two groups of around 300.
All were from the area covered by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which has large pockets of deprivation.
The control group were offered a face-to-face appointment with a smoking cessation adviser, as well as four follow-up phone calls and free nicotine replacement therapy for 10 weeks.
The financial incentive group received that standard support - as well as £50 in their first appointment, £50 if a breath test later suggested they had stopped smoking, and then a further £100 after another 12 weeks.
The final £200 voucher was given if another breath test at 34-38 weeks in pregnancy confirmed there was no carbon monoxide exhaled.
After a year, 15% of women who received the vouchers had managed to stay off cigarettes, compared with 4% in the control group.
The women used the vouchers at High Street stores such as Iceland, Argos and Mothercare.
The researchers from Glasgow and Stirling universities say providing the vouchers is cost-effective for the NHS, because smoking in pregnancy raises the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth.
But schemes using financial incentives to promote healthy behaviour have been criticised as "bribery" - and this remains a controversial area of research.
The authors say in the BMJ: "This study provides substantial evidence of a promising and potentially cost-effective new intervention to add to health service support.
"Smoking during pregnancy remains a major health problem, resulting in the...

Summary: Offering shopping vouchers worth a total of £400 to pregnant smokers makes them more likely to quit the habit, say researchers.
###
Article: Almost one million people visited the city during the six-week festival period over Christmas and Hogmanay.
Organisers said almost 890,000 people visited the Edinburgh's Christmas events in 2014/15, contributing £199.5m to the local economy.
The three-day Hogmanay celebrations attracted more than 150,000 people, creating an economic impact of £41.8m.
Charlie Wood, Edinburgh's Christmas festival director, said: "This is great news for Edinburgh. The revenue generated does not go to the events themselves, the event organisers or to Edinburgh city council.
"This is money, which is going to the businesses of Edinburgh, be it retail, accommodation, food, drink, shopping and entertainment."

Summary: Edinburgh's winter festivals generated more than £241m for the city, according to organisers.
###
Article: Data showed that non-native species were unlikely to out-compete native species, which were not widespread enough to have an impact nationally.
However, the study adds that invasive species are problematic in local areas, costing an estimated £1.7bn each year.
The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The team from the University of York looked at data from almost 500 plots across the UK, comparing results from 1990 with those from 2007. The dataset, the Countryside Survey, is described as a "unique study or audit of the natural resources of the UK's countryside" and has been collecting data since 1978.
Co-author Chris Thomas from the University of York said the study assessed the impact of non-native species on a national scale, not the impact recorded in localised areas.
"If you look at just one place, there are only going to be certain plants growing there," he explained.
"If there is a bunch of non-native or recently introduced species growing there then, inevitably, in that exact location you might not see quite as much of what you would regard as native species.
"Locally, it is clearly true that if a non-native species becomes extremely abundant then you'd think that native species were suffering but what we are arguing is that non-native plants are no different from the native ones because, over a period of time, native plants change their abundance as well."
Broader perspective
Prof Thomas added: "For examples, brambles might become abundant or a change in uplands management could result in bracken becoming more widespread."
In fact, when examined from a broader perspective, the study's findings show a tipping of the scale towards native species.
"We actually observe that it is the native species that have changed their abundance, in fact they have increased their abundance more than non-native species," Prof Thomas told BBC News.
In particular, he highlighted two of the study's main findings: "The first is that almost all non-native plant species are pretty rare and...

Summary: Non-native plant species do not pose a risk to native flora, as widely assumed, because impacts are limited to localised areas, a study has suggested.
###
Article: Online bookings for his "Dismaland" exhibition were suspended last week after the attraction's website crashed.
Many users reported issues when sales resumed earlier - prompting claims the problems were deliberate.
But a spokeswoman for Banksy insisted the rumours were untrue. Tickets have now become available on the website.
She said the attraction's website was "100% real" and had crashed under "huge demand".
Dismaland, housed in a derelict lido on Weston-super-Mare's seafront, is a dark take on theme parks with a nod to Disneyland, featuring work by more than 50 artists including Bristolian Banksy.
Among those tweeting their disappointment was Mark Ã–sten, who wrote: "On Friday, I believed 'technical difficulties'. Now, I'm reluctantly believing #Banksy is trolling those after tickets for #dismaland."
Caroline Harley tweeted: "It's easier to buy tickets to see the Beatles than tickets to go to  #Dismaland"
There were suggestions the site may be fake last week.
But the artist's spokeswoman told the BBC: "It's not true. It's 100% a real website. It crashed under the number of hits it received."
North Somerset Council, which worked with Bansky on the exhibition, has insisted the website is not a hoax.
Seafront manager Darren Fairchild said the website had crashed due to an "unprecented" number of hits, despite "huge amounts of work".
Dismaland has boosted visits to the seaside resort - one tour guide told the BBC he had not seen such crowds since the 1970s.
Among the exhibits are a distorted mermaid, a dilapidated fairy castle and a boat pond where all the boats are filled with models of migrants, as well as paintings and a beach ball hovering above upturned knives.

Summary:


Caterpillars are being killed by a bug which turns them into "exploding zombies", a wildlife expert has said.

Article: A quarter of councils are set to see falls in government funding when the free 30 hours scheme starts in 2017, the Pre-School Learning Alliance says.
It adds that the new rates will then be frozen until 2020, even though the cost of providing places is set to rise.
Ministers say funding was being allocated "more fairly" across England.
All three and four year olds are currently entitled to 15 hours of free childcare a week, but from September 2017, working parents will be entitled to an extra 15 hours a week, in school term-time, for each child.
The DfE has raised the hourly rates it pays to local authorities, who then pass that on to childcare settings, as an average across the country, but not all areas are getting a raise.
Chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance Neil Leitch said: "The government has tried to sell next year's funding changes as a solution to all the concerns about the 30 hours offer, but this simply isn't true.
"With a quarter of all local councils seeing a fall in funding next year, childcare costs in those areas are likely to sky-rocket as childcare providers face a choice between either raising fees or going out of business."
The alliance was quoting figures published by the DfE in its consultation on funding, which states 38 out of 150 local authorities face a fall in rates.
Mr Leitch said: "Of course, even in areas where funding rates are increasing, providers are still facing a fight for survival, as often funding simply doesn't meet the rising cost of delivering places."
Details obtained from a Freedom of Information request revealed that nearly 75% of councils had been given funding levels over the past five years that had failed to keep pace with inflation.
This added to future cost pressures would make it very difficult for the nursery sector.
Mr Leitch said: "Take staff costs, for example, which account for 70-80% of overall costs for providers.
"By 2020, the national living wage will have increased from Â£7.20 to Â£9 an hour, and yet childcare providers are somehow...

Summary: Childcare costs could "sky-rocket" in parts of England as nurseries grapple with less funding for a free government childcare scheme, a charity says.
###
Article: Reports emerged in late summer in the US and South Korea of the phone exploding during or after charging.
On 2 September, Samsung issued a global recall, saying it had been difficult to work out which phones were affected among the 2.5 million Note 7s sold.
Samsung said 90% of those swapping had chosen to replace their device with an updated version of the same model.
Samsung said it had worked with its suppliers to ensure the replacement devices followed the "highest quality manufacturing and quality assurance processes".
The device is due to go back on sale from 28 October, but that date is subject to a full completion of the exchange programme.
Meanwhile, a software update for all existing Note 7 devices has reset the maximum battery charge to 60% as a precaution.
David Lowes, chief marketing officer for Samsung Electronics Europe, said: "Our message of safety first is getting through to Galaxy Note 7 owners, who are doing the right thing by exchanging for a new device quickly and safely.
"We have worked hard to bring replacement Galaxy Note 7 phones to Europe so we can ensure the safety of our customers and minimise their inconvenience."
"For our remaining customers, we urge them to act now, exchange the device and get a brand new Galaxy Note 7 today."

Summary: A global recall of Galaxy Note 7 phones has seen 60% of owners following Samsung's advice and exchanging them.
###
Article: Thousands of migrants - mainly from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan - have been camping in Calais and trying to get across the Channel.
Meanwhile in Kent, Operation Stack has led to long tailbacks for lorries on sections of the M20 leading up to the Channel Tunnel.
There is also the ongoing possibility of disruption to cross-Channel ferry services as a result of industrial action and migrant activity in and around Calais.
Travellers intending to cross the Channel have been warned to be prepared for delays.
The Department of Transport recommends checking with your travel operator before setting off on your journey. It has also provided advice on the Calais situation and an interactive map with details of alternative routes for returning to the UK from France. Its Twitter feed @transportgovuk carries live updates.
Eurotunnel LeShuttle provides regular updates on passenger services on its website, including delays at both French and UK terminals, and the number of services running per hour each way. On occasion, when there are severe delays, day-return passengers have been advised to reschedule.
Information is also available 24 hours a day on Eurotunnel's recorded information line, which is updated at regular intervals: +44 (0) 8444 63 00 00. Calls cost up to 7p a minute.
The Eurotunnel Twitter feed @LeShuttle posts updates between 09:00 and 17:30 BST. It has also been retweeting passengers' tweets for useful live updates about the best routes to the terminal and delays.
Eurostar also uses the Channel Tunnel, but has largely been less affected by migrant activity and recent ferry-worker strikes in Calais. Passengers can check the Eurostar website for delays before travelling, sign up for travel alerts by SMS, or check the @Eurostar Twitter feed.
Operation Stack is an emergency procedure used by Kent Police to park lorries on the M20 motorway in Kent. It is implemented in various stages when services across the English Channel - including those through the Channel Tunnel or from the Port of Dover - are...

Summary: Migrant incursions have caused severe delays to Eurotunnel train services in recent weeks.
###
Article: Locals say some houses were recently refurbished and should be offered for sale to the public.
Since the resident battalion pulled out of the camp two years ago, 199 houses inside the perimeter are lying empty.
Parts of the Army's complex at Ballykinler are in regular use by the police and Army for training.
The adjoining Abercorn Barracks part of the base, which includes the three and four bedroom houses, is no longer in use.
As a result the Army says it is looking at a number of options, which includes knocking them down.
An MoD spokesman said: "With the reduction in military footprint we are not using the barracks as a base and Defence Infrastructure Organisation will be looking at a range of options.
"Demolition has not actually started and remains one of a number of options being examined. "
Asked what the other options are for the empty houses, the spokesman said:  "If and when any decisions are made regarding Abercorn Barracks I will let you know."
Local people say some of the houses were refurbished in 2008.
According to an MoD website: "Ballykinler offers modern housing (2007) with en-suite bathrooms and attached garages. Three and four bedroom houses are available. "
Local man David McMullan said he fears the houses will go. "They should be sold on the open market as happened elsewhere in Northern Ireland," he said.
"A lot of the houses are in very good condition. The officers' houses are quite big and have good sized gardens.
"It would be a terrible waste of taxpayers money if they were tossed."
At Ballykelly in County Londonderry the Army sold off 317 houses six years ago.
When they went on sale, people - many of them first-time buyers - queued up for a week beforehand to buy one.
Ballykelly resident Malcolm Johnston, who bought one of the houses, said the move from MoD to private housing estate was very successful.
"The houses were sold quite cheaply so it gave people a chance to get on the housing ladder.  It's nice and quiet here. It's a nice place to live," he said.
South Down MP and former...

Summary: The Ministry of Defence says it is considering knocking down 200 houses at the Ballykinler Army base in County Down.
###
Article: George Black, who reportedly earned close to Â£170,000 a year, is expected to leave by the end of 2014.
Mr Black, 61, took responsibility for some of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games but also had to deal with the impact of tight council funding.
The process to recruit his successor will now get under way.
Mr Black has been with Glasgow City Council - and its predecessor before the current local government structure took effect - for more than 20 years.
Before his move to Glasgow, the qualified accountant worked for the Hydro Electric Board and several other councils.
In a note to staff, Mr Black said:  "I have worked at a senior level in Glasgow for over 20 years and have witnessed first hand the improvements in the city.
"However, much still remains to be done and I believe now is the right time for a new chief executive to manage the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
"It has been a great privilege to have been chief executive at such an exciting time and I have been fortunate to have had the support of so many dedicated colleagues."
Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said: "I want to thank George for his exceptional work on behalf of the city."

Summary: The chief executive of Glasgow City Council is to retire after 11 years in the job.
###
Article: Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust said the skins of insects have been found on Winmarleigh Moss, near Garstang.
The baculovirus drives caterpillars on a "death march" to the top of plants, then when it dies the bug bursts out to seek other victims.
The trust's Dr Chris Miller said it was "gruesome - like a zombie horror film".
Dr Miller was carrying out a butterfly survey on Winmarleigh Moss when he noticed a caterpillar hanging from the end of a branch of a small bush.
He then saw another one hanging from a tall blade of grass.
"Both were dead but otherwise intact," he said.
Dr Miller also noticed "small scraps of caterpillar skin" on other branches he checked.
He said research is showing that the baculovirus affects the way the "zombie" insects respond to light, "making them climb to higher and more dangerous places and when they get there they die".
"It is really unusual seeing caterpillars high up as they can be eaten by birds.
"This is a caterpillar of the oak eggar moth which eats heather and bilberry so it is normally hidden in the undergrowth, not at the top of plants."
Source: Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust

Summary:


Fifa will get a new president on Friday when 207 delegates from around the world gather in Zurich, Switzerland to vote for a successor to Sepp Blatter.

Article: Standard Bank, FNB, Nedbank and ABSA, which is owned by Barclays, were all downgraded on Tuesday and Moody's warned of more possible ratings cuts.
The move comes a week after South Africa's central bank bailed out the smaller lender African Bank.
The South African Reserve Bank insisted the country's banking sector remained "healthy and robust."
Analysts said the downgrade was in response to what Moody's views as the risks of unsecured lending, or loans not based on collateral.
Chris Hart of Investment Solutions said: "The downgrade is in response to the deteriorating credit quality that we are seeing in unsecured lending space, the collapse of the African Bank is indicative of that."
Moody's reduced its ratings on the four big banks by one notch to Baa1.
Last week the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced a rescue plan for African Bank, a smaller lender that specialised in unsecured loans. The SARB bought up around $700m of bad loans from African Bank, but some investors still lost out.
On Monday, another lender, Capitec, saw its shares plunge after seeing its rating downgraded.
The central bank rejected Moody's decision on the big four banks.
"While the SARB respects the independent opinion of rating agencies, we do not agree with the rationale given in taking this step, nor do we agree with the assessment it is based on," it said in a statement.
The South African government has been encouraging banks to lend to low-earning people who lack collateral, in an effort to boost business start-ups and property ownership.
Nonetheless, analyst Chris Hart said that despite the relatively high level of unsecured lending, South Africa's banking system was sound.
"There are no fundamental problems with South African banks in terms of overall management, and overall asset and liquidity."

Summary: Shares in South Africa's largest banks fell on Wednesday, following downgrades from the ratings agency Moody's.
###
Article: Caerwent Post Office in Monmouthshire is facing closure as illness is forcing its current tenants to leave.
Sarah and Simon Woodfield, who took on the post office just over four years ago, said they have made it the "hub" of the rural community.
But they are struggling to find someone to take over the business - and its accompanying house.
They have advertised the property but despite lots of interest, nobody has made an offer, Mrs Woodfield said.
She is now concerned locals - many of them elderly and unable to drive - will end up feeling isolated as all other shops in the rural village have closed down.
Their next nearest post office would be in Rogiet or Caldicot.
"The clock is ticking. We just want someone with the enthusiasm and vigour to take the post office forward," said Mrs Woodfield.
The post office has been the centre of village life since 1932.
After taking it on four years ago, the Woodfields, who are local to Caerwent - revamped it and decided to stock "a little bit of everything" that people would need, from groceries and gifts to coffee and fresh cakes.
But they are being forced to stand down after Mrs Woodfield was diagnosed with fibromylagia - a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body and extreme tiredness - and struggled to run the branch full time.
The Reverend John Waters, parish priest of St Stephen and St Tathan, said the post office was valued in the community.
"For example, people know I'm here on a regular basis so they know that if they can't get hold of me any other way they can leave  a message with Sarah and she will ensure I get it," he said.
"So it's all working together to promote communication and caring about each other and each other's needs."
At that point any potential new operator would submit a business case and undertake the normal Post Office recruitment processes.
The Post Office spokesman said it would work to try to find someone else to run the branch if the Woodfields were not able to find anyone.
He said the number of post office closures in Wales...

Summary: If you have ever wanted to become a post master or mistress, this could be your chance.
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Article: The anxious process will have seen teenagers visiting university open days and worrying about personal statements on their application forms.
For some of the most competitive courses there are also interviews.
Oxford, keen to demystify its admissions process, has published the type of questions students might face.
"Interviews will be an entirely new experience for most students, and we know many prospective applicants are already worried about being in an unfamiliar place and being questioned by people they have not met," says director of admissions Samina Khan.
In an attempt to make it less intimidating the university has produced a video explaining how the interview works.
And it has published some sample questions - and suggestions for how students might have answered.
This was a question for a French course. Interviewer Helen Swift, from St Hilda's College, said:
"This is the sort of question that could emerge from a student's personal statement, where, in speaking about their engagement with literature and culture of the language they want to study, they state a keen interest in works (such as a novel, play or film) that are "political".
"We might start off by discussing the specific work that they cite (something that isn't included in their A-level syllabus), so they have chance to start off on something concrete and familiar, asking, for instance, "in what ways?", "why?", "why might someone not enjoy it for the same reason?".
"We'd then look to test the extent of their intellectual curiosity and capacities for critical engagement by broadening the questioning out to be more conceptually orientated and invite them to make comparisons between things that they've read/seen (in whatever language).
"So, in posing the overall question, 'What makes this political?' we'd want the candidate to start thinking about what one means in applying the label: what aspects of a work does it evoke? Is it a judgement about content or style? Could it be seen in and of itself a value judgement? How useful is it as a...

Summary: It's the university application season - with the first wave of deadlines, including Oxford and Cambridge, coming this week.
###
Article: Queen's University, Belfast, (QUB) was involved in a European project to solve the mystery of an "extraordinarily brilliant" light in a distant galaxy.
Last year, US scientists assumed that the light came from an exploding star.
But after studying it for 10 months, QUB astronomers believe the star was ripped apart by a spinning black hole.
Black holes are regions of space where gravity is so powerful that even light cannot escape.
The largest type of black hole is referred to as "supermassive" and the one under examination is believed to have a mass of "at least 100m times that of the sun", according to QUB.
The team from QUB's Astrophysics Research Centre was involved in gathering months of data from a selection of telescopes, both on earth and in space, including the Hubble space telescope.
The light source, named ASASSN-15lh, was initially categorised in the US in 2015 as the brightest supernova (exploding star) ever seen.
However, QUB Professor Stephen Smartt, said: "We observed it and thought: 'Nah, it doesn't look like a supernova to us.'"
Prof Smartt is the leader and principal investigator of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) project, based in Chile.
"We've a big group at Queen's," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.
"We work in the School of Maths and Physics at Queen's and our speciality is looking for things that move - like asteroids that might hit the earth, or things that flash, which might be supernova or these black holes."
He said the light "puzzled us for months" but based on their telescopic observations, the QUB team proposed a new explanation for the object in a galaxy far, far away.
It believes the sun-like star wandered too close to the black hole and was "ripped apart", a phenomenon known in astronomy as a "tidal disruption event".
In the process, the star was "spaghettified and some of the material was converted into huge amounts of radiated light," said a QUB statement.
"This gave the event the appearance of a very bright supernova explosion, even though the...

Summary: Belfast-based astronomers have helped to discover a very rare celestial event - a star being "swallowed" after it passed too close to a black hole.
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Article: Rebels who fought for the south during Sudan's long civil war are to be either integrated into the northern army or disarmed.
South Kordofan borders South Sudan, which is to become independent in July.
Some 70,000 people have fled their homes, with northern forces accusing of bombing Nuba-inhabited areas.
The agreement, mediated by the African Union, also covers the neighbouring Blue Nile state, which has been relatively peaceful.
The document stresses that any disarmament will be conducted without force.
An attempted disarmament seems to have been the trigger for the recent fierce fighting in South Kordofan, says a BBC reporter.
The framework agreement, signed in Ethiopia, stipulates that the northerners from South Kordofan and Blue Nile who fought for Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) rebels during the 21-year civil war will be integrated into the national army, or demobilised.
The SPLM now governs South Sudan.
The position of the northern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile has been fragile ever since the end of the war in 2005, says the BBC's James Copnall in the capital, Khartoum.
The deal commits the Sudanese government and the northern wing of the SPLM to working out the terms for a ceasefire.
In addition, joint political and security committees are to be formed, our reporter says.
The recent clashes in South Kordofan pitted rebels from the Nuba Mountains against the north's armed forces, backed by Arab militias.
On Tuesday, representatives of the Nuba asked the mainly Egyptian UN peacekeepers in South Kordofan to leave the area.
Members of the Nuba Mountains-South Kordofan Women and Children Group demonstrated in front of the UN compound in Kauda village, accusing the UN force of siding with President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) in the recent violence.
The SPLM-North, which enjoyed considerable support among the ethnic Nuba, says it was cheated of victory in recent South Kordofan governorship elections.
The fighting broke out when former SPLM fighters were ordered to...

Summary: A deal has been agreed to end weeks of violence in Sudan's South Kordofan state, where northern troops have been accused of ethnic cleansing.
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Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
In charge of world football's governing body since 1998, Blatter, 79, said last year he was standing down amid a growing corruption crisis.
Five candidates want to replace him.
They are Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, Gianni Infantino, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne.
The election process is expected to begin at 12:00 GMT, but several rounds of voting may be required before a winner is known.
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Each candidate has 15 minutes to address the congress before voting starts at approximately 12:00 GMT.
There are 209 Fifa nations but Kuwait and Indonesia are currently barred from taking part, so that makes 207 eligible voters.
To become president after the first round of voting, a candidate needs to secure two-thirds of the available votes. If no candidate achieves that mark, then a simple majority is required in the second round.
If there is still no winner, then a third round will take place, minus the candidate with the fewest votes in round two.
Fifa says a winner must be declared on Friday because an ice hockey rink is due to be installed at the Hallenstadion venue at midnight.
So determined is Fifa to get this election done that it has spent £500,000 converting its headquarters into a back-up venue.
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Given everything that has happened to Fifa, this is seen as a pivotal moment for an organisation which has been heavily criticised for its lack of transparency and for failing to clamp down on corruption within it.
A new leader, together with a raft of reform measures, is seen as a chance to start afresh.
Acting president Issa Hayatou said Friday can "signal a new dawn", adding: "This is our opportunity to show we are united in building a stronger Fifa."
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There have been widespread allegations of corruption, the arrest of leading officials, the banning of its president and the sight of big-name...

Summary:


A group of Italian scientists convicted of manslaughter for failing to predict a deadly earthquake have had the verdict quashed.

Article: Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed the measure into law on Monday.
The move makes Utah the only US state to use firing squads as a method of execution.
Some US states are considering alternative execution methods as they struggle to obtain lethal injection drugs amid a nationwide shortage.
Drug inventories dwindled after European manufacturers opposed to capital punishment refused to sell the lethal concoctions.
Civil rights groups have said use of firing squads makes Utah "look backward and backwoods".
Governor Herbert finds the firing squad "a little bit gruesome,'' but said the state needs a back-up execution method.
"We prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued," the governor's spokesman Marty Carpenter told the Associated Press.
"However, when a jury makes the decision and a judge signs a death warrant, enforcing that lawful decision is the obligation of the executive branch."
It will probably be years before Utah's next execution. The head of Utah's prison system has said the state does not have any reserves of lethal injection drugs.
The new Utah law reinstates the use of firing squads more than a decade after the state abandoned the practice.
Because of the intense media attention, Utah lawmakers stopped offering inmates the choice of a death by firing squad several years ago.
But a handful of inmates sentenced to death before 2004 still have the option of going before a firing squad.
Ronnie Lee Gardner, a convicted murderer who shot and killed a lawyer in attempt to escape from prison, was the last inmate executed by a firing squad in 2010.

Summary: Utah will resume the use of firing squads to carry out the death penalty when lethal injections drugs are not available.
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Article: First, let's look at the vote across the UK. The pollsters got one thing, at least, absolutely correct.
For months they have been suggesting that Scotland was the most pro-Remain part of the UK; that Northern Ireland was also pro-Remain, although somewhat less so; and that things looked much closer in both England and Wales, with Wales tending to be marginally more pro-Remain than England.
And that is exactly how it turned out. These are the figures for voting (and turnout) by nation:
Strikingly, the two nations that voted for Remain - Scotland and Northern Ireland - have both actually become more pro-EU since 1975. Wales and England have travelled a long way in the other direction.
It is also interesting that turnout was lower in the two pro-Remain nations.
This didn't change the result - even if both Scotland and Northern Ireland had had the same turnout rate as England, then Leave would still have won.
It may be simply that the referendum engaged more people in England and Wales.
But there may also have been some element of voter fatigue - and also activist fatigue - in Scotland, in particular, which has had a lot of campaigning and voting over the last three years.
What about the vote in Wales? Understanding exactly how Wales came to vote leave will take plenty of further analysis.
But we can see which areas voted for Remain and Leave.
Here I've listed the 22 Welsh local authorities in order of how they voted, from the most pro-Remain to the most pro-Leave:
One notable feature of the results is how many prominent Welsh politicians found themselves on the wrong side of their own local communities.
Among those who supported Remain:
Meanwhile, on the pro-Leave side, Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies also found himself on the opposite side of the majority of his fellow voters in the Vale of Glamorgan, as did MP David Davies in Monmouthshire. But that was not the case for all politicians.
Former Welsh Secretary David Jones - whose Clwyd West seat straddles the border of Conwy and Denbighshire - would have...

Summary: How did the EU referendum produce the result it did?
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Article: Official figures show that 300 people came off the register in March, putting the jobless total at 31,500.
The Northern Ireland unemployment rate also fell to 5.2% - the lowest it has been since last 2008 - but still above the UK average (4.7%).
Northern Ireland also trails the rest of the UK in terms of the proportion of its workforce in employment - 69% versus 75%.
However, one economist has said the data includes evidence of "a lost decade."
Dr Esmond Birnie, of the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre, said the Northern Ireland employment figure is "very similar" to 10 years ago.
"In other words over the last decade there has been no improvement," he said.
The figures also show a change in the composition of the labour market in recent times, with more self-employed and part-time workers.

Summary: Unemployment in Northern Ireland has fallen for a twelfth month in a row.
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Article: A freight train came off the tracks last October four miles from Gloucester station on the line to Newport.
A report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) found there were dips in the track known as "cyclic top", but repairs had been ineffective.
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is investigating whether health and safety laws have been breached.
The report said a speed restriction should have been put on the stretch of line, on which daily commuter services between Gloucester and Cardiff run.
It showed the train had been travelling at 69 mph (111 km/h) when the rear wagon derailed on 15 October 2013. An empty container fell off a wagon.
The investigation found that Network Rail had identified a problem with the track and carried out repairs, but water flowing beneath the track caused the problem of cyclic top to re-occur.
The RAIB report found: "The severity of the dips required immediate action by Network Rail, including the imposition of a speed restriction for the trains passing over it, but no such restriction had been put in place."
By the time the train stopped at Gloucester station, the rear wagon was severely damaged, the empty container it was carrying had fallen off, and there was damage to four miles of track, signalling cables, four level crossings and two bridges.
The line remained closed for four days while repairs were carried out. Repairs included replacement of 1,300 yds (1.2 km) of track, two sets of points, 300 sleepers, two miles of cable and a level crossing.
The report showed the type of wagon that derailed was susceptible to becoming derailed on track with dips in it, especially when loaded with the type of empty container it was carrying.
The investigation also found there were not enough staff working for Network's Rail's maintenance team.
The ORR said an Improvement Notice was served on Network Rail in June, after it found the Health and Safety at Work Act could have been contravened.
The inspector said an investigation indicated "that you are not conducting your...

Summary: A train derailment in Gloucester happened because a track had been badly repaired, an investigation has found.
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Article: The Witserface group referred to Ms Davidson, who is openly gay, as "Dykey D" at the launch of a pro-independence organisation at the weekend.
Joanna Cherry, who is also gay, described the routine on Twitter as "hilariously irreverent satire".
She later said she "regretted the offence that was caused".
And she said she had spent her life campaigning for LGBTI rights, and had herself been the victim of homophobic assaults.
Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells had written to Ms Cherry urging her to apologise to Ms Davidson for the "direct attack on her sexuality" and to "challenge homophobic behaviour in future rather than promote it".
And Colin MacFarlane, director of gay rights group Stonewall Scotland, said: "Calling someone a dyke is homophobic. If it goes unchallenged it gives the green light for others to follow suit."
The routine by all-female group Witserface at the launch of the Scottish Independence Convention in Glasgow saw the performers take part in a mock rap battle in the guise of SNP MP Mhairi Black, Nicola Sturgeon; Kezia Dugdale and Ms Davidson.
Footage of the performance has been circulating on social media.
In her letter to Ms Cherry, Ms Wells wrote: "In the piece, one of the rappers refers to Ms Davidson using the homophobic term 'dyke'.
"Both Ruth and the openly gay Scottish Labour leader (Ms Dugdale) are dismissed as 'poor excuse for women'.
"A character pretending to be Ruth Davidson then enacts a foul-mouthed rap of a highly sexual and predatory nature directed at Mhairi Black MP, also an openly LGBT politician of some profile."
She said the prevalence of "hate speech" such as the use of dyke as an insult was one of the reasons Stonewall had launched its No Bystanders campaign, asking people to stand up to homophobic language whenever they hear it.
Ms Wells added: "In light of the above, would you care to reassess your promotion of the act by Witserface, apologise to Ruth Davidson for the direct attack on her sexuality and consider signing up to the No Bystanders pledge yourself, in...

Summary: An SNP MP has been criticised for defending a comedy rap group's use of the word "dyke" to describe Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson.
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Article: The seven men had been given six-year jail sentences after an earthquake devastated the medieval town of L'Aquila in 2009, killing 309 people.
The verdict triggered alarm, with some saying that science itself had been put on trial.
On Monday an appeals court cleared the group of the manslaughter charges.
Judge Fabrizia Ida Francabandera ruled that there was no case to answer.
"The credibility of Italy's entire scientific community has been restored," said Stefano Gresta, the president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
The seven men - all leading scientists or disaster experts - had been members of a committee convened in L'Aquila in March 2009 following a series of tremors in the region.
Days after they met, a 6.3 magnitude quake struck the town in the middle of the night.
Many of L'Aquila's medieval buildings were destroyed, and some locals blamed the disaster committee for not providing adequate advice.
Prosecutors in the subsequent trial said the experts had offered falsely reassuring information to residents.
According to Reuters, they noted that one committee member had said there was "no danger" from the tremors.
Following the guilty verdicts, more than 5,000 scientists signed an open letter to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in support of the experts.
Many argued that the convictions represented a fundamental misunderstanding of earthquake science.
Monday's decision to overturn the verdicts came after a month-long appeal process.
The prosecution can still seek to have the original verdicts reinstated via a higher court.

Summary: