Free sanitary products for those who cannot afford them have been promised by the Green Party of England and Wales.

Article: Counting moles on the right arm was found to be a good indicator of total moles on the body. More than 100 indicates five times the normal risk.
The study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, used data from 3,000 twins in the UK.
GPs could use the findings to identify those most at risk, it said.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer affecting more than 13,000 people in the UK each year.
It develops from abnormal moles, so the risk of being diagnosed with a melanoma is linked to the number of moles a patient has.
Researchers from King's College London studied a large group of female twins over a period of eight years, collecting information on skin type, freckles and moles on their bodies.
After repeating the exercise on a smaller group of around 400 men and women with melanoma, they came up with a quick and easy way to assess the risk of skin cancer.
Females with more than seven moles on their right arm had nine times the risk of having more than 50 on their whole body.
Those with more than 11 on their right arm were more likely to have more than 100 on their body in total, meaning they were at a higher risk of developing a melanoma.
The findings could help GPs to identify those with an increased risk of developing a melanoma.
Lead author Simone Ribero, of the department of twin research and genetic epidemiology at King's, said: "The findings could have a significant impact for primary care, allowing GPs to more accurately estimate the total number of moles in a patient extremely quickly via an easily accessible body part."
Consultant dermatologist and study co-author Veronique Bataille said if a patient was worried about an abnormal mole and went to see their GP, counting moles on one arm "might ring alarm bells" and highlight those patients who should be seen by a specialist more quickly.
Dr Claire Knight, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said the study findings were helpful, but added that fewer than half of melanomas develop from existing moles.
"It's important to know what's...

Summary: Having more than 11 moles on one arm indicates a higher-than-average risk of skin cancer or melanoma, research suggests.
###
Article: The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) calculated that a mid-range household's income between 2013 and 2014 was 6% below its pre-crisis peak.
This was felt equally across high and low income groups when the cost of living was taken into account.
But those on low incomes could feel the squeeze more in the coming years.
This was the result of further cuts to benefits and tax credits, the IFS said.
The findings will further fuel the political debate about the UK's economic recovery and whether this will benefit all groups of society equally. The IFS suggested that, so far, this debate had suffered from a lack of up-to-date information.
In an early release of a chapter of the annual IFS Green Budget, the group has calculated that a household in the middle of the income scale has seen a 6% drop in income since 2007 to 2008, although the fall in income had now come to a halt.
The analysis suggests that those near the top end of the scale, 10% from the very richest, have seen their incomes hit hardest, with a fall of 9% since the recession.
Are we really better off?
Meanwhile, those near the bottom, 10% from the very poorest, have seen their incomes drop by 2.4% over the same period.
This reflected the fact that earnings had increased slower than prices, while benefit rates had kept up with the cost of living.
However, the IFS said that those with relatively high incomes had benefitted from cheaper mortgage rates.
In contrast, rising food and energy prices, which formed a bigger proportion of the spending of poorer households, had risen faster than the average cost of living measured by inflation.
The report said that inflation between 2008 and 2013 was 20%, while energy prices rose by 60% and food prices were up by 30% over the same period.
"Looking forward, there is little reason to expect a strong recovery in living standards over the next few years," the report said.
"Given this, it seems highly unlikely that living standards will recover their pre-crisis levels by 2015 to 2016."
It added that earnings might...

Summary: Average UK living standards have fallen "dramatically" since the recession and will not reach pre-crisis levels by the next election, economists have said.
###
Article: A total of 4,851 council seats are up for grabs in 88 councils - all of those in Scotland and Wales, plus 34 in England, including 27 counties.
Six new "metro mayors" will be elected, covering areas including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and the West of England.
Polling stations will open at 07:00 and close at 22:00 BST.
Some English and Welsh councils will begin counting ballots as soon as polls close - while others will start counting on Friday morning, with results continuing all day Friday.
Scotland's 32 councils will start their counts on Friday morning, with first results expected from midday. Most mayoral results will be declared on Friday.
A cloudy start is expected across much of the UK with light rain anticipated in parts of Wales, London and the south east - while sunny spells are expected in north west England and Scotland.
In England, (34 councils, 2,370 seats) this is a year of county council elections, but there will also be polls in six unitary authorities where county councils and district councils have merged.
In Scotland polls will be held in all councils (1,227 seats) and all 22 councils in Wales (1,254 seats).
For the first time voters in Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City region, the West Midlands, Tees Valley, the West of England, and Cambridge and Peterborough will elect new "metro mayors", covering combined local authority areas.
Doncaster and North Tyneside are also voting for local authority mayors, who are elected leaders of their respective councils.

Summary: Voters are set to go to the polls for local and mayoral elections in England, Wales and Scotland.
###
Article: National Museum Wales voiced fears for its independence, amid talk of a part merger with monuments body Cadw.
The report recommended a strategic partnership of four bodies, sharing back-office functions and marketing.
Economy Secretary Ken Skates, who had denied any wholesale merger plan, urged a "sharper commercial focus".
The steering group led by National Trust Wales director Justin Albert was set up to look at a Labour manifesto commitment to create Historic Wales by combining the commercial functions of Cadw and the museum.
Some functions of the National Library of Wales and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales were also under consideration.
The group's report called for a strategic partnership of the four organisations - underlined by a formal agreement - to collaborate on commercial activities, back-office functions, staff skills development, and promotion of cultural tourism under a joint brand.
The term "Historic Wales" could be used, subject to market testing.
It also recommended taking Cadw out of the control of the Welsh Government, turning it into a charity or an executive agency.
Mr Skates welcomed the report, although he called for more consideration of changes to Cadw, saying it was "performing exceptionally at the moment".
He also warned that it was time for each organisation to "start realising their full commercial potential" and bring a "much sharper commercial focus to the work they do".

Summary: Heritage bodies in Wales should work more closely to survive financially and bring economic benefits to the nation, a Welsh Government report has said.
###
Article: The Greens pledged to end "period poverty" by providing towels and tampons to secondary school pupils and women in financial need.
A 5% tax on sanitary products has caused controversy and 320,000 people have signed a petition to abolish it.
The pledge may be funded by a tax on airship sales and aircraft repairs.
Sanitary products are not exempt from VAT, as some medical products are. Campaigns to end the tax on them have taken place in countries across the globe.
In the UK, a further row broke out in April when it was revealed some of the money raised from the tax and promised by the government to women's charities had been given to an anti-abortion group.
Of the Â£12m given to 70 UK charities, Â£250,000 had gone to Life.
Green MEP Molly Scott Cato, who has pressed in the European Parliament for a VAT exemption on tampons, towels and mooncups, said it was an "outrage those on low incomes are forced to use socks or newspapers during their period because they can't afford a sanitary product".
Children in secondary school from low-income backgrounds were routinely missing days at school, she said.
The Green Party said it wanted to work with health companies to provide the free products.
It will look at funding them by taxing other products and services such as air craft repairs and maintenance and airship sales.

Summary:


Evidence of progress on reducing the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medication in care homes has been demanded by the Older People's Commissioner for Wales.

Article: But in September 2013, the process of switching became a lot less painful.
That was when Britain's 50m current account holders were first able to move their bank account to another provider within seven days.
It followed a recommendation from the Independent Commission on Banking, which said there should be more competition in the market.
So how easy is it to switch? What can go wrong? And what guarantees do you have if your bank makes a mistake?
How common is switching?
Before the 7 day switching service started, around a million people switched bank accounts every year. In the first two years of the service, 2.25m switched. But the number of switches declined by 14% between 2014 and 2015.
Where do we bank at the moment?
The big four High Street banks have a 77% share of the market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority. Lloyds Banking Group (which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland) is the largest bank in the UK, with 27% of all current accounts. Both Barclays and RBS (which includes Nat West) have 18%, and HSBC has  12%, according to Cass Business School.
How can I switch?
You can contact your new bank, or choose a new one via www.simplerworld.co.uk. Once you have switched, payments in or out of your old account will be automatically re-directed for a period of 13 months, to cover once-a-year payments. So your employer, for example, will be notified, and payments will be automatically switched to your new account. No one whom you pay, or who pays you, will have to take any action.
So how long will switching take?
Once your new bank has acknowledged your application, the switching will take seven working days. Or the switch can happen on a date of your choosing.
Do I have to notify my old bank?
No, you only need notify the new bank. It will tell your old bank, and transfer all your direct debits and standing orders automatically. You will be given a new bank account number, and a new sort code.
What happens if I miss a payment as a result of the switch?
If anything goes wrong, and you miss a...

Summary: A survey for Santander found that 20% of those questioned would rather go to the dentist than switch their bank accounts.
###
Article: The former Conservative leader said people should not expect everyone to be "perfect or normal", as senior politicians publish their tax returns.
He warned Parliament would be "one dimensional" if made up only of people with the "simplest possible" finances.
His comments come after a row over the prime minister's financial affairs.
David Cameron took the unprecedented step of releasing a summary of his tax return last week, following days of questions and speculation about his financial affairs after revelations about his holding in his late father's offshore fund.
Chancellor George Osborne, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Boris Johnson became the latest senior British politicians to publish details of their tax returns on Monday.
Politicians' taxes: Who's published what
Tax affairs: Public or private?
PM sets up anti-tax dodging task force
How does inheritance tax work?
Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme "we live in an age of greater transparency" and "the answer is not to fight that age, it has arrived and it will come all the more".
But he said a "mature acceptance" was needed by the public that someone's personal finances will not necessarily determine their leadership abilities.
"The consequence of greater transparency in tax, in medical records whatever else it may be among leaders is that there has to be a maturity in the public debate about those things and a recognition that the circumstances and habits of people who are effective leaders will vary greatly.
"And that those personal circumstances are not necessarily a good guide to how good they will be as a prime minister, a chancellor or anything else," he said.
Mr Hague said previous leaders, such as William Pitt the Younger, had "chaotic personal finances" but were "brilliant at handling the nation's finances".
And he added: "We've had leaders who had tax returns like (Winston) Churchill that would have been more difficult to defend in public than Prime Minister David Cameron's tax returns - but Churchill was the greatest...

Summary: Greater tax transparency among UK political leaders is here to stay but it needs to be matched by a maturity of public debate, William Hague has said.
###
Article: Inspectors say that almost half of pupils at secondary schools run by the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) are in schools that are "less than good".
Ofsted warns that poorer pupils do "particularly badly" in AET schools.
In response the trust said it was disappointed that its "significant achievements" had "not been sufficiently recognised".
The Department for Education is threatening that unless standards are raised there will be "further action".
AET runs 67 academies across England.  Such academy chains are independent but publicly funded to run schools. AET has charitable status and a financial report up to August 2014 said there was annual expenditure of £333m.
Inspectors say that 40% of pupils in primary schools run by AET are in "academies that do not provide a good standard of education".
"It is even worse in secondary, where 47% of pupils attend academies that are less than good," says Ofsted.
The performance of AET's secondary schools is described as "mediocre" and there has been a lack of progress since Ofsted highlighted weaknesses in the chain's schools two years ago.
The report says there is a particular weakness in the progress of disadvantaged pupils.
Inspectors also warned about "unacceptably low" attendance levels.
And there was criticism of "insufficient detail" about how the trust is governed.
Ofsted cannot give a judgement on an academy chain, but inspectors can carry out multiple inspections of individual schools it runs.
In this "focused inspection", inspectors visited seven academies and there were discussions by telephone with a further 18 schools.
AET runs schools across a wide geographical area - including the Isle of Wight, Hull, Birmingham, Essex, Leicestershire and Gloucestershire.
The trust's financial report says its expenditure of £333m included more than £9.5m on "fundraising expenses and other costs".
Ofsted's breakdown says four academies are rated outstanding, 35 are good, 20 require improvement, seven are inadequate and one has still to be inspected.
In response to...

Summary: The biggest academy chain in England has been accused by Ofsted of "failing too many pupils".
###
Article: Tom the cat had taken to the tree near his owner's home in Sawston, Cambridgeshire, on Friday, while being looked after by a neighbour.
Having tried everything to get the forlorn feline down, they eventually called the RSPCA who turned to the county's fire service to rescue him.
Tom was safely back on all four paws on solid ground after about an hour.
Officers from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service came to Tom's rescue at about 13:45 BST on Wednesday.
"The cat was about 40ft up in a tree. We had to cut through brambles to even get to the tree," crew commander Jason Leach said.
"The owners were away on holiday and the neighbour who has been looking after him tried everything to get him down."
The neighbour had done the right thing by not attempting to rescue the moggy themselves, he said.
"It is important members of the public do not attempt to carry out rescues which could put themselves in danger," Mr Leach said.
The cat was said to be none-the-worse for his ordeal, although "a little hungry".
"We're happy Tom the cat is safe, and hopefully he won't go on any more adventures while his owner is on holiday," Mr Leach added.

Summary: A cat pining for its holidaying owners had to be rescued after spending six days stuck 40ft (12m) up a tree.
###
Article: In 2014, Sarah Rochira published the results of a major review of the experience of care home residents.
The use of antipsychotic drugs was a recurrent theme which she has branded a "national scandal".
Health boards and care homes have said changes are being made.
The commissioner is asking them to show significant improvements in practice.
"I know professionals don't like this phrase, but across Wales older people in care homes, through the inappropriate use of these drugs, are being 'chemically coshed'. That's the reality of it.
"It is a national scandal. I made that clear when I published my review. I was very clear I would come back and look for evidence of changes and I've now begun that process.
"I will publish the findings from the health boards later this year and I cannot be any clearer in my expectation that they understand how inappropriate the current situation is and that they can evidence real progress."
Antipsychotic drugs are primarily used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
A survey last November by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found nearly one in five - 18% - of dementia patients were being prescribed antipsychotics.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Wales published its own report into the use of medicines in care homes following the Ms Rochira's report.
The society's director in Wales, Mair Davies, told BBC Radio Wales' Eye on Wales programme that there were examples of expert practice.
"What we need is to make sure that happens in every care home in Wales," she said.
Steve Ford, the dementia care lead for Care Forum Wales, which represents more than 450 independent care homes in Wales, believes progress is being made.
"We need to look at the underlying reasons for unwanted behaviour that challenges, rather than picking up the phone to the GP and requesting those prescriptions," he said.

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A Hitler lookalike has been arrested in Austria on charges of glorifying the Nazi era, local officials say.

Article: Austfonna on Norway's Svalbard archipelago covers just over 8,000 sq km and had been relatively stable for many years.
But the latest space data reveals a marked acceleration of the ice in its main outlet glacier to the Barents Sea.
The research was presented in Brussels on Thursday to mark the launch of the EU's new Sentinel-1a radar spacecraft.
This satellite has been in orbit barely a month but is already being tasked with a range of science observations and other duties.
European Commission officials are keen to showcase the platform's capabilities before it goes into full service, including what it can do at high latitudes.
Radar is particularly useful in these regions. It senses the surface whatever the weather conditions and even in the darkness of polar winter.
Scientists had suspected the Arctic's Austfonna Ice Cap was losing substantially more ice through its major drainage glacier at Cap Mohn, and asked if Sentinel-1a could take some pictures.
"We've observed Austfonna with various satellite radar datasets over the past 20 years, and it hasn't done very much," explained Prof Andy Shepherd from Leeds University, UK.
Copernicus uses a range of technologies to get a broad picture of the health status of the planet
"But we've now looked at it again with the new Sentienl-1a spacecraft, and it's clear it has speeded up quite considerably in the last two or three years. It is now flowing at least 10 times faster than previously measured."
That previous measurement was done using the German national TerraSAR-X radar mission.
The speed of a glacier is judged by how far prominent features such as a big crevasse travel in time.
An "ice cap" is much smaller than an "ice sheet", a term that more properly describes the huge frozen masses covering Greenland and Antarctica.
An ice cap does, however, share a similarity with its bigger cousin in that it too has glaciers flowing away in many directions.
The Earth's ice caps and glaciers have become a key focus for scientists because these are the ice fields that...

Summary: Melting at one of the largest ice caps on Earth has produced a big jump in its flow speed, satellite imagery suggests.
###
Article: Writing in the Sun in July, MacKenzie said a reporter wearing a headscarf should not have been allowed to report on the Nice terror attacks.
Manji said Ipso's clearing of MacKenzie signified "open season" on minorities.
But MacKenzie told BBC News there was a "legitimate debate" to be had about journalists wearing symbols of faith.
In a statement to the corporation, he said: "I agree 100% that no Muslim should be prevented from covering any story.
"But there is a legitimate debate about whether it is appropriate for journalists to wear prominent symbols of their faith on air, particularly when reporting on stories with a religious angle."
He also drew attention to the BBC's own debate around the issue several years ago, when bosses at the corporation were considering what was appropriate for newsreaders to wear.
MacKenzie added: "Let's not lose sight of that fact that for many people, including Muslims, the hijab is a symbol of the subjugation and oppression of women. In some countries, women are physically attacked, arrested and imprisoned for not covering their heads.
"Whatever your perspective, it is an important debate and we should not be banned from discussing it."
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday morning, Manji said: "I think the fact that Kelvin MacKenzie can write a column and suggest that I am somehow sympathetic to a perpetrator of a terrorist attack, that somehow I am not like the rest of us, that I am the other, means that other people are now open to attack."
"It was upsetting enough to find my picture in what is Britain's most widely read newspaper next to the words 'Muslim terror attack,'" she told Mishal Husain.
"It was upsetting enough to find myself the latest victim to Kelvin Mackenzie's tirade. But now to know that has been given the green light by the press regulator and that effectively it is open season on minorities, and Muslims in particular, is frightening."
Manji added that she had been "contacted privately by individuals who work at The Sun and at News UK to...

Summary: Channel 4 News journalist Fatima Manji has said the press regulator's decision not to uphold her complaint about Kelvin MacKenzie is "frightening".
###
Article: The reduction came despite the levy for single-use bags only being in place for the final 11 weeks of the year.
But in England - where large shops will have to charge for plastic bags from October - 200 million more bags were used in 2014, Defra research suggested.
Northern Ireland saw usage fall by 42.6%, while Wales had a rise of 5.2%.
The fall in Scotland follows statistics released three months ago, which suggested the number of carrier bags being used by shoppers had fallen by 90%.
However, in England, the number of single-use bags from supermarkets rose from 7.4 billion in 2013 to just over 7.6 billion last year, statistics from waste reduction body Wrap suggested.
The figures covered the 2014 calendar year in the UK from seven major grocery retailers.
From October, all retailers in England with 250 or more full-time equivalent employees will have to charge a minimum of 5p for bags they give out in stores and for deliveries.
The move will bring England in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, in the final quarter of the year following the introduction of the 5p charge was introduced, bag usage dropped by 129 million compared with the previous year.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the figures were "astounding" and showed the country was serious about tackling litter and reducing waste.
"I hope the public will continue to embrace re-using their bags and that even more retailers will sign up to donate money to good causes when it has been necessary for people to take a bag," he said.
He said the figures demonstrate how "small changes can make a big difference".
The Scottish government has said it aims to reduce the use of single-use bags in Scotland by 80% in the first full year of the charge.
Wales and Northern Ireland achieved similar figures in the first full year of their campaigns.
Previous statistics showed that people in Scotland used more than 800 million new single-use carrier bags every year - more per head of population than anywhere else in the UK.
Last year,...

Summary: The number of plastic bags handed out by supermarkets in Scotland fell by 147 million last year - the first figures since a 5p charge was introduced.
###
Article: The 54-year-old attended Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride after feeling unwell and was given the all-clear.
She later learned she had cancer and died while awaiting an appointment.
A watchdog found NHS Lanarkshire had "unreasonably delayed" informing the woman of her diagnosis and in offering an oncology appointment.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman was asked to investigate complaints made by the woman's sister.
It noted the woman (Ms A) had a past medical history of breast cancer and attended Hairmyres Hospital several years later after experiencing "breathlessness and abdominal pains".
During the appointment a chest x-ray was taken and Ms A was given the all clear and discharged home.
She returned to the hospital three weeks later after continuing to feel unwell and was given a CAT scan, which showed her breast cancer had returned and spread.
Following Ms A's death, her sister (Ms C) asked NHS Lanarkshire to re-check the chest x-ray from her first visit to Hairmyres.
The health board told Ms C that both a chest x-ray and a lumbar spine x-ray were carried out during that admission.
While the chest x-ray was clear, the lumbar spine x-ray was positive for spinal metastatic disease, showing that Ms A's cancer had returned and spread to her spine.
NHS Lanarkshire said it was unsure if this was communicated to Ms A at the time.
Following an investigation, the ombudsman said: "I have concluded that the three week delay in Ms A's diagnosis was caused by the board's failure to note the abnormalities in the lumbar spine x-ray taken during Ms A's admission.
The ombudsman continued: "I am critical that a scan showing a positive result of cancer was entirely missed.
"While Ms A's cancer was diagnosed three weeks later, this was due solely to Ms A's perseverance in seeking treatment for her symptoms.
"Had Ms A not sought further investigation, the delay in diagnosis could have continued indefinitely."
The ombudsman also expressed concern at "the failure of board staff properly to investigate the missed scan when...

Summary: A health board has apologised to the family of a woman who died of cancer over multiple failures in how medics dealt with her case.
###
Article: The 25-year-old man reportedly calls himself Harald Hitler.
The man, sporting a side parting and a trademark moustache, had been seen having his photograph taken outside the house in Braunau am Inn in which Adolf Hitler was born.
The lookalike had recently moved to the town on the German border, police spokesman David Furtner told the BBC.
Mr Furtner said this was not a joke or a piece of performance art.
"The young man knows exactly what he is doing," the police spokesman said.
He said the man had also been spotted in Vienna and Graz.
Pictures of the man were published by Austria's Heute.at news website on Monday.
Glorifying the Nazi era is a crime in Austria.
Last October, the Austrian authorities decided to demolish Hitler's birthplace house to stop it becoming a focal point for neo-Nazis.
Hitler was born in a rented room on the top floor of the building on 20 April 1889.
During Nazi rule, the house was transformed into a shrine to Hitler as the town drew in a wave of tourists.
But as the Nazis began to lose control in 1944, it was shut.

Summary:


Battersea Power Station is being offered for sale on the open market for the first time.

Article: John Davies says more needs to be spent on marketing the project, which is heavily backed with public money.
Take up in areas that have had it for a year is 19% with just over £300,000 spent on marketing, which is around 1% of the overall cost so far.
But ministers said take up was where they expected it to be at this stage.
The Welsh government signed the deal - the largest of its kind in the UK - with BT in 2012 to roll out super fast broadband across Wales.
Download speeds of up to 80 megabits per second (Mbps) are being offered to domestic customers, compared to the average download speed currently available in Wales of around five to six Mbps. Even faster speeds are available to businesses.
The project, called Superfast Cymru, aims to ensure that 96% of homes in Wales are covered by 2016 and is seen as vital for Welsh businesses in an increasingly competitive global market.
Welsh ministers are spending £58m on the scheme, with a similar amount coming from the UK government and £90m from European funding.
In two years, the aim is for around 700,000 premises to have access but so far it has gone past the 150,000 mark.
Mr Davies, who chairs the Welsh advisory committee for the communications watchdog Ofcom, said the project was transformative but more needed to be done to make people aware of when it is rolled out in their communities to encourage demand for the high-speed broadband.
He said: "For small and medium sized businesses, it gives them an opportunity to compete on equal terms with businesses elsewhere in the UK and elsewhere in the world, and on the back of that they should be able to cut their costs and increase their revenues."
He added: "There is undoubtedly take up, there are undoubtedly benefits accruing now.
"The question is, if more is done on the stimulation side, can those benefits come through faster?"
In a statement the Welsh government said: "We are at an early stage in the programme and the marketing activity.
"Current take up figures for cabinets that have been in place for over one...

Summary: Wales is not making the most of a £425m contract to roll out superfast broadband in rural areas, according to the former head of BT in Wales.
###
Article: The European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA), based in Canary Wharf in London, employ more than 1,000 staff between them.
The Republic of Ireland has offered about €80m (£70m) across a decade to help the EMA relocate to Dublin.
Competing against other EU bids, it says a Dublin move would be the least disruptive for the agencies' staff.
The Irish application was officially submitted on Monday ahead of a midnight deadline.
Cities competing to host EMA
Cities competing to host EBA
The Irish government has committed to spending €15m (£13.5m) in the first year to help the EMA fit out the selected premises, and an annual contribution of €7m annually for rent and maintenance.
The banking and medicines agencies are seen as the first spoils of Brexit by the 27 remaining members of the EU.
The Irish government has earmarked three potential locations for the EMA headquarters, two in Dublin's docklands financial district and another by the city's airport.
Ireland's economy is likely to suffer  damage as a result of Brexit so landing one of the EU agencies would be some compensation.
The EMA looks like its best chance with the bid emphasising Ireland's expertise in life science and a proximity to London which could help the agency hold on to key staff.
However what could count against it is a previous EU commitment to spread agencies more evenly across the union.
Ireland is already home to Eurofound, an EU agency which monitors labour markets.
In the EBA bid's brochure, Irish Minister of State for Financial Services says the city offers a "seamless transition as Ireland is English speaking and culturally similar to London and is within the GMT time zone which helps maintain EBA routine option with minimal disruption".
There will be fierce competition to attract the agencies' highly skilled employees, their families and the business that comes with them. This includes about 40,000 hotel stays for visitors each year.
Each country could bid to host one or both agencies, but was only allowed one...

Summary: The Irish government has formally bid to host two major EU bodies that will be relocated from London after Brexit.
###
Article: Officers from North East Counter Terrorism Unit and the Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit executed six search warrants on Thursday.
The men, aged 19-32, were arrested under section 12 of the act, creating offences in relation to the support of proscribed organisations.
Two of the men have been named as Rofi Islam and Sajid Idris.
The arrests are not linked to two men charged with offences on Wednesday.
Police said the arrests were linked to the Grangetown area of Cardiff and were part of a wider counter-terrorism investigation in Wales, but are not linked to brothers Aseel and Nasser Muthana who went to fight with IS in Syria.
South Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Holland denied Cardiff was a hotbed of terrorism.
She said the Muthana brothers and Reyaad Khan had become poster boys in the UK for IS but said police were determined to tackle radicalisation.
"The scale of counter terrorism in Wales is minimal compared to other parts of the UK," she added.
Ramesh Rupaliyah, who works in a shop in Kent Street in Grangetown, said there were a number of police vehicles there at 07:00 GMT when the store opened.
"Police were already there when I got here," he said "there were police vehicles in the street."

Summary: Five men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act following raids in Cardiff and Barry.
###
Article: Revenue Scotland is due to take over the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and the Scottish Landfill Tax on 1 April next year.
But Audit Scotland said the new body risked not being fully ready to begin collecting the taxes.
The Scottish government said preparations were "on track".
The new powers over LBTT - which is replacing stamp duty - and Landfill Tax were announced in the Scotland Act 2012.
Audit Scotland said it was worried the collection system might not be fully functional by next April - potentially increasing paperwork, processing times and costs.
Scotland is set to be given further tax raising powers - including over income tax rates and bands - following the publication of the Smith Commission into extra devolution.
The Audit Scotland report said: "Given the large volume of transactions anticipated, any move away from the electronic processing of LBTT is likely to have cost and performance implications.
"Revenue Scotland plans to decide in December 2014 whether it needs to implement any of its contingency plans.
"This could, for example, lead to an increase in processing costs and may bring reputational risks for Revenue Scotland."
Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said: "The Scottish government successfully developed the legislative framework for the devolved taxes but it must ensure that staff and systems are fully in place to manage the increased responsibilities that the Scotland Act brings."
Glenn Campbell, political correspondent
The watchdog is worried that Revenue Scotland won't be fully ready to collect landfill tax and land and buildings transaction tax from 1 April 2015.
It says delays in recruiting staff and developing computer systems have increased the risk of problems.
The finance secretary, John Swinney, says he is "confident" the system will work from day one and Revenue Scotland has "contingency plans" in case he's wrong about that.
Plan B would involve manually processing the tax on some or all of the 450-600 land and buildings transactions expected every...

Summary: Scotland's new tax collection agency has been criticised by auditors over delays in recruiting staff and developing computer systems.
###
Article: It is hoped the sale, to be handled by estate agent Knight Frank, will cover the Â£502m debts accrued by a firm which tried to redevelop the landmark site.
The 39-acre property is on the Thames and a new public park is planned there.
Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed government backing for plans to extend the London Underground's Northern Line into the heart of the area.
Stephan Miles-Brown, head of residential development at Knight Frank, said: "This is the first time Battersea Power Station has ever been offered for sale on the open market.
"As one of the UK's most recognisable landmarks, Knight Frank anticipates considerable interest in a scheme that is among the most exciting in the world today.
"Battersea Power Station is as iconic as the Chrysler Building in New York or the Eiffel Tower, and familiar to people who may have never even been to London."
The Grade II listed building opened in 1933 and generated power until 1983.
As such any building work would require listed building consent - even minor works, such as painting.
It was acquired by Real Estate Opportunities, the majority owner of the holding company, in 2006.
Last year its debts on the project were called in by creditors.

Summary:


A second manufacturing unit at the Ineos KG ethylene plant in Grangemouth will be brought back to life eight years after it was mothballed.

Article: Uzbekistan is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of cotton, a mainstay of its economy.
Human rights campaigners say hundreds of thousands of children are being forced to bring in the harvest for minimal wages and under harsh, sometimes dangerous, conditions.
As the picking season gets under way in the Central Asian country, dozens of leading international clothing companies have pledged to avoid Uzbek produce.
In the US, the organisers of New York Fashion Week recently cancelled a show by the Uzbek president's daughter, amid protests by labour rights activists.
Gulnara Karimova was forced to hire a private venue in Manhattan to unveil her new collection, with protesters gathering outside the opulent Cipriani restaurant, waving placards and chanting.
Islomiddin Dolimov, a leader of an Uzbek opposition group who took part in the protest, said: "The main reason is to show how children are forcibly being taken to the cotton fields in Uzbekistan and to say it is time to stop this."
The Uzbek government denies that children are forced to harvest cotton and has signed up to International Labour Rights standards.
But so far it has refused to let international inspectors into the country to independently verify the progress the authorities say they have made.
The BBC's Uzbek service has received reports of school children being bussed to agricultural areas in various parts of the country.
One human rights worker in Uzbekistan said she had talked to a 10-year-old girl who said her class was made to pick cotton in the mornings and attend lessons only in the afternoon.
The activist was later detained by police for questioning.
"They said, 'you have no right to be here,' and started putting pressure on us, demanding that we should sign a paper stating that we will never visit the area again," she told the BBC.
Officers confiscated her bag, papers and camera and threatened to strip her to find the memory card, she said.
More than 60 international companies have now signed a pledge to not knowingly source...

Summary: Pressure is growing on the government of Uzbekistan to prove that it is ending the use of child labour during the cotton harvest.
###
Article: The timing of the handover of power from David Cameron looks set to be after PM's  questions on Wednesday.
Mrs May, 59, who backed staying in the EU, has been home secretary since 2010.
Mrs Leadsom, who campaigned to leave the EU, said the UK needed "strong and stable government" and that Mrs May was "ideally placed" to implement Brexit.
The 1922 committee of Tory MPs - which is overseeing the leadership contest - is holding talks with the Conservative Party board over formally declaring Mrs May the winner, after Mrs Leadsom dropped out.
A statement is expected from its chairman, Graham Brady, at about 17:00 BST.
Mrs May is also expected to make a public statement, at about 18:00 BST, according to BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith.
In a speech earlier on Monday setting out her leadership campaign platform, Mrs May - who rejected the argument that the next leader and prime minister had to have been someone on the winning side of the EU referendum - said: "Brexit means Brexit and we're going to make a success of it."
In her brief statement in Westminster, Mrs Leadsom - who was a leading light of the Brexit campaign - said a nine-week leadership campaign at such a "critical time" for the UK would be "highly undesirable".
A source close to the energy minister told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg "the abuse has been too great" for Mrs Leadsom during the contest.
Mrs Leadsom had apologised to Mrs May on Monday after suggesting in a weekend newspaper interview that being a mother made her a better candidate for the job.
Mrs Leadsom, who was flanked by some of her supporters as she read the statement, said: "Strong leadership is needed urgently to begin the work of withdrawing from the European Union. A nine-week leadership campaign at such a critical moment is highly undesirable."
She said Mrs May, the home secretary, had the support of more than 60% of Conservative MPs and was "ideally placed to implement Brexit on the best possible terms for the British people and she has promised she will do...

Summary: Theresa May is set to become the UK's next prime minister after Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the contest to become Conservative Party leader.
###
Article: The US banking giant said net income in its corporate and investment banking division was $2.5bn, up $412m compared with the same period a year earlier.
But it also reported an after-tax charge of $487m for legal expenses.
And it set aside a total of $959m to cover bad loans, $109m higher than a year earlier.
JPMorgan's legal expenses stem in part from the fact that it still faces an investigation by the US Justice Department into its involvement in the manipulation of foreign exchange markets.
It also faces a probe into its hiring policy in Asia.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo, the largest mortgage lender in the US, reported a 2.6% fall in profits in the first three months of the year and set aside more money to cover bad loans.
Net income was $5.46bn in the three months to the end of March ,compared with $5.61bn a  year earlier.
The bank said it was setting aside $617m for credit losses an increase of $198m on the same three months a year earlier.
JPMorgan said revenue from fixed-income bond trading rose 5% to $4.07bn, adjusted for the sale of businesses last year, including a commodities operation.
"We have an outstanding franchise which is getting safer and stronger, and is gaining market share over time," said chief executive Jamie Dimon.
"We continue to build the company for the long-term, we are investing in controls, infrastructure, systems, technology, new products and bankers."
The bank said it was increasing its second quarter dividend from $0.40 to $0.44.
JPMorgan's investment bank, along with its rivals, is under pressure to cut costs as customers have reduced their trading activity following the financial crisis.
Regulators have also demanded that big banks take fewer risks, hold more capital and improve controls.
The bank has said it wants to cut expenses by $2.8bn by 2017, excluding legal costs, though some of the savings are expected to be offset by more spending to improve risk controls.
JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are the first of the large US banks to report quarterly results.
Overall, results are...

Summary: JPMorgan Chase has reported a 12% rise in profit to $5.91bn (Â£4bn) for the three months to the end of March, as revenue from bond trading improved.
###
Article: The deal means Channel 4 will be the exclusive broadcaster of British racing on terrestrial television.
The BBC put in as "competitive a bid as possible" to maintain the rights.
BBC director of sport Barbara Slater said: "We are of course disappointed that we have lost the rights, but we are pleased that all the races in the contract remain free to air."
This year's Grand National on 14 April, together with the Derby and Royal Ascot in June will be screened on the BBC.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"Our coverage this year will mark the end of a partnership covering some of the key events of British racing that extends over 50 years," Slater added.
"The BBC are proud of their long heritage of broadcasting horse racing and put in as competitive a bid as possible in the current climate.
"We still look forward to broadcasting the Grand National next month and then the Derby and Royal Ascot which have special significance in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year."
Slater said the BBC was "very proud" of its role in ensuring iconic moments in racing had reached the "widest possible audience".
"Over those many years we have consistently improved and enhanced our coverage, producing outstanding programming that viewers have hugely enjoyed," she said.
Radio rights for racing remain the subject of continuing negotiations.
Jamie Aitchison, Channel 4 sports editor, said: "This is an opportunity for us to work together to grow the sport, painting the full picture of both the flat and jumps seasons to attract new viewers whilst rewarding those loyal viewers we value so highly."
Richard FitzGerald, chief executive of Racecourse Media Group (RMG), who headed racing's negotiating team, said the BBC had been a "fantastic partner for British racing and helped the sport to grow its attendances and TV audience in recent times".
"This new deal will not only deliver increased revenues for British racing, but with all of our sport's crown jewels in its portfolio, Channel 4 offers a compelling vision to innovate the way...

Summary: Channel 4 has secured a four-year deal to broadcast the Grand National, the Derby and Royal Ascot from 2013.
###
Article: The firm successfully completed operational trials of the Train 2 unit ahead of it receiving shale gas ethane from the US this autumn.
New docks and a new pipeline network have been built to receive the gas.
The company said the move means it is now in "great shape" to run the plant at full capacity.
The KG ethylene cracker was unable to operate at full capacity in 2008, leaving Ineos "no option" but to close the second manufacturing unit.
Ineos said the US ethane will be used as a supplementary feed for the KG ethylene plant and will allow the plant to run at increased rates.
Gordon Milne, Ineos Grangemouth operations director, said: "With the successful completion of the Train 2 trial we are now in great shape to receive shale gas from the US and to finally run the Grangemouth plant at full rates.
"All the parts of the jigsaw are finally coming together and Grangemouth will soon be back in the premier league of European petrochemical plants."
The plant's chief executive John McNally said: "Bringing the site back into profitability is the best way to secure our future here in Scotland.
"We know that ethane from US shale gas has transformed US manufacturing and we are now a step closer to seeing this advantage being brought to here to Grangemouth."

Summary:


The six team hosts for this summer's inaugural Women's Cricket Super League have been announced.

Article: A study by Swansea and Milan universities found young people had "negative moods" when they stopped surfing the net.
Heavy internet-users also tended to be more depressed, the research found.
Internet addiction is said to be a clinical disorder marked by out-of-control internet use.
Swansea University said around half of the 60 young people it studied spent so much time on the net that it had negative consequences for the rest of their lives.
The results are part of a study looking at the negative psychological impacts of the internet.
The university said over the past decade internet addiction had became widely debated in medical literature.
Its research said the so-called addicts' web usage was varied, but it was common for them to gamble and access pornography online.
Prof Phil Reed, of Swansea University's college of human and health sciences, said: "Although we do not know exactly what internet addiction is, our results show that around half of the young people we studied spend so much time on the net that it has negative consequences for the rest of their lives.
"When these people come off-line, they suffer increased negative mood - just like people coming off illegal drugs like ecstasy.
"These initial results, and related studies of brain function, suggest that there are some nasty surprises lurking on the net for people's wellbeing.
"These results corroborate previous reports regarding the psychological characteristics and traits of internet users, but go beyond those findings to show the immediate effect of the Internet on the mood of those who are addicted."
The study explored the immediate impact of internet exposure on the mood and psychological states of internet addicts and low internet-users.
The 60 volunteers, made up of 27 men and 33 women aged in their 20s, were given psychological tests to explore levels of addiction, mood, anxiety, depression and autism traits.
They were then given exposure to the internet for 15 minutes and re-tested for mood and anxiety.
The research found the mood of...

Summary: Internet addicts can suffer a form of cold turkey when they stop using the web - just like people coming off drugs, according to research.
###
Article: The show will be made available the day after it is broadcast on CBS All Access, the network's US subscription streaming service.
It is the franchise's first return to television since 2005 with a new ship, characters and civilisations, although casting has yet to be announced.
Production is set to begin in Toronto in September.
Alex Kurtzman, who co-wrote and produced the blockbuster films Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) will also serve as executive producer for the series.
The Netflix deal will see the show available in 188 countries excluding the US and Canada.
The whole back catalogue of Star Trek TV series will also be made available to watch.
'Hailing on all frequencies'
"Star Trek is already a worldwide phenomenon and this international partnership will provide fans around the world, who have been craving a new series for more than a decade, the opportunity to see every episode virtually at the same time as viewers in the US," said Armando Nunez, CBS Studios president and chief executive officer.
"The new Star Trek will definitely be hailing on all frequencies throughout the planet."
The original Star Trek spawned 13 feature films and five television series.
It was last on screen with Enterprise, which was set a century before the original series featuring Captain Kirk, and ran from 2001 to 2005.
Paramount Pictures confirmed this week it had approved plans for a fourth Star Trek film featuring the current crew of the starship Enterprise.
Producer JJ Abrams has said the role of Chekov, played by Anton Yelchin who was killed by his own car at his home last month, will not be recast.
The actor's parents took out a full-page advert in the Hollywood Reporter on Monday to thank the industry for the support they have received since his death.
"We are deeply grateful for your unconditional love for our son. He would be surprised by how many hearts and souls he touched," they said.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Summary: The new Star Trek TV series is to be streamed globally on Netflix from January next year.
###
Article: Some 5.3% of Welsh NHS staff were absent from January to March 2016, down from 5.6% in the same period in 2015.
The ambulance service recorded the highest absence levels - remaining at 7.8% in both sets of statistics.
Ministers said sickness absence rates had fallen, but they were "not averse" to considering the Tory suggestion.
The Conservatives said the data showed each NHS employee losing the equivalent of one working day a month to sickness.
Welsh Conservative health spokeswoman Angela Burns said staff were "bearing the brunt of an NHS creaking at the seams" due to poor funding, understaffing, a lack of integration between health and social service and "ever-rising demand".
"The Labour-led Welsh Government needs to up their investment in frontline services and take urgent action to improve recruitment and retention initiatives," Ms Burns said.
She also suggested a "feasibility study into prioritising treatment for NHS staff, particularly those suffering from chronic orthopaedic and skeletal conditions".
"The quicker their problems can be addressed, the sooner they can get back to work. The NHS cannot be healthy without a healthy workforce," Ms Burns added.
The Welsh Government said its health budget was larger than ever, with health and social services receiving an extra Â£1.1bn over the last two years.
A spokesman added:  "We're not averse to considering whether treatment could be prioritised for NHS staff, however it's important to recognise the sickness absence rate in the NHS in Wales has decreased when compared to the same period the previous year.
"NHS Wales is taking action to support staff and reduce sickness rates, this includes participating in our corporate health standard initiative, which aims to develop healthy workplaces and promote the health and well-being of staff."

Summary: The Welsh Government should investigate whether to give Welsh NHS staff priority treatment due to high sickness levels, the Conservatives have said.
###
Article: The ITV soap is due to move from its current home in central Manchester to a new site in Trafford next spring.
English Heritage said the set, which has been used since 1982, was not historic enough to be listed. Listing would restrict how it could be altered.
ITV is selling the former Granada plot and the set's future is uncertain.
The broadcaster is considering all bids but has told the council it is looking at whether a tourist attraction based around the famous terraced street would be viable.
Listed status is given to buildings of special architectural and historic interest, but a building has normally to be at least 30 years old to be eligible.
A statement from English Heritage said the current Coronation Street set was "certainly unusual", but added: "However, the criteria against which we must assess the architectural significance of buildings - or in this case, a television set - is extremely strict.
"The oldest buildings are just less than 30 years old - and most do not have interiors and therefore exist as facades, most of which have been altered.
"The set as it stands today is an active reminder of the long-running television programme, rather than a survival of an earlier era of television productions."
English Heritage's Nick Bridgland added: "While listing is not appropriate for the set, a better solution could be for a local group or organisation with an interest to care for it and allow Corrie fans from all over the world to visit and enjoy it."
The soap, along with ITV's other Manchester operations, is due to move to purpose-built studios at the MediaCityUK complex, adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal.
An ITV spokesperson said: "ITV continues to consider the future use of the Coronation Street set ahead of our planned move to MediaCity."
ITV did not make the listing application. English Heritage said the application was made by an individual and it was unable to reveal their identity.
The Granada set did become a tourist attraction in 1988 and the tours are fondly remembered. But they ended...

Summary: An application to give listed status to the Coronation Street set, which would help secure its future when it is vacated next year, has been refused.
###
Article: The south will have three teams, with one based at The Oval with Surrey, who pipped a joint bid by Middlesex and the MCC for the one London spot.
There will also be a team based in the south west and another in Hampshire.
The north will have two sides, in Lancashire and Yorkshire, while the Midlands team for the Twenty20 league will be at Loughborough University.
Loughborough is also the long-term base of the England women's team.
All six hosts have been awarded hosting rights for a four-year period from 2016-2019.
The tournament will be played in a Twenty20 format this season, before adding a 50-over competition in the future.
The group stage of the 2016 competition will run from 30 July to 14 August, with the top four teams qualifying for a finals day.
Further details, including team names, will be revealed at a later date.
"This is a key day in the creation of the Women's Cricket Super League," said England & Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison.
"The bidding process for obtaining the hosts was competitive from the outset."
There were 28 initial expressions of interest for the WCSL.
Hampshire Cricket with partners: Berkshire Cricket Ltd, Dorset Cricket Board, Isle of Wight Cricket Board, Oxfordshire Cricket, Southampton Solent University, Sussex Cricket Ltd, Wiltshire Cricket Ltd
Lancashire County Cricket Board with partners: Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire County Cricket Club Foundation
Loughborough University
South West: Somerset County Cricket Club, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, University of Exeter
Surrey County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Summary:


The grandmother of a four-year-old boy who received part of his father's liver has said all is going "according to plan" following the operation.

Article: Millions of spermatogonia produce a constant supply of sperm in the testes.
But the University of Oxford study showed mutant spermatogonia gain a "tumour-like" competitive edge, leading to a greater proportion of sperm becoming defective.
Experts said couples should consider having children earlier in life.
A range of diseases including autism and schizophrenia are more likely with older dads due to mutations in their sperm.
And the risk of very serious health problems goes from around four in every 200 births to five in every 200 once the father passes the age of 50.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analysed 14 testes from men aged between 39 and 90.
The sexual organs were considered healthy, but were removed for other conditions such as a hernia causing swelling in the groin.
The researchers explored the "massive tangle of spaghetti" inside the testes to find the areas producing diseased sperm.
The analysis of the DNA - the instructions for life - in those defective zones showed mutations linked to a range of bodily processes.
They were linked to malformations and a predisposition to cancer, but they also had a role in growth and reproduction in the testes.
The same mutations that were ultimately damaging to children were encouraging the defective spermatogonia to spread - leading to a greater proportion of sperm being defective.
Prof Andrew Wilkie, one of the researchers, told the BBC: "This is why we call it selfish selection.
"These mutations within the testes get an advantage over their normal neighbours, but if that sperm fertilises an egg then that [mutation] carries a disadvantage to that person and causes disease.
"It's the first time anyone has been able to look at a piece of testis and say that's where this is happening."
That "selfish" growth is more commonly seen in cancer.
The researchers were able to find the mutations because their impact is so severe.
It is still unclear what the study means for the sections of DNA that increase the risk of disorders...

Summary: Mutant sperm-factories spread in men's testicles as they age to increase the risk of children with genetic diseases, researchers have shown.
###
Article: Sales in November at stores open for more than a year fell 0.4% from the same month in 2014.
The BRC/KPMG survey found shoppers held back in the hope of big discounts on Black Friday, 28 November.
But in the event, many retailers did not make the discounts that shoppers had been hoping for.
David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: "November's relatively flat sales figures are a reality check for the retail sector with consumers holding off for a Black Friday bargain pitted against retailers determined to hold onto their hard-earned margins.
"Despite the hype around Black Friday, there was minimal loosening of the family purse strings compared to last year."
Total sales across all stores increased by just 0.7%, compared with a rise of 2.2% last year.
However, online sales of non-food item outperformed, up 11.8% on last year.
Black Friday produced the expected spike in sales, with trading up 25% compared with the beginning of the month. Sales in furniture, and large and small electrical appliances, were higher than last year.
However, the BRC said an increase in "omni-channel" shopping, with consumers using a mix of online and in-store purchases. made it hard to know how and when people would spend their money in the crucial Christmas shopping period.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said: "As consumers and retailers continue to adapt to the changing patterns of omni-channel shopping, where the lines between channels become less and less relevant, this build-up to Christmas is one of the hardest to read in years.
"The conversion of people's higher disposable income into retail sales shouldn't be taken for granted."

Summary: November's Black Friday sales failed to boost turnover at UK stores according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and accountants KPMG.
###
Article: The centre tower deck has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest freestanding balanced cantilever in the world.
The record will not last long as it will disappear once the gaps between the towers are closed.
The bridge is due to open in May 2017. It was originally hoped it could open by December 2016. The project remains within its budget of £1.35bn.
Since last September each 16m, 750 tonne section of deck has been added piece by piece and the central tower deck fan is now fully complete.
Cabinet Secretary for the Economy Keith Brown said: "We can all agree the Queensferry Crossing is a modern marvel and a world-class feat of engineering.
"It's only fitting the bridge has been awarded a Guinness World Records title.
"This world-record breaking structure is all the more remarkable when you consider the extreme weather conditions often experienced out in the Firth of Forth, especially working up above the water between 60 metres and 210 metres high.
"Everyone who has worked so hard and skilfully to build this amazing bridge is a world record beater in their own right.
"It won't be long before the balanced cantilever disappears, when the small gaps between the towers are closed. But the record is still there to be beaten and the Queensferry Crossing will still be the tallest bridge in the UK and longest bridge of its type anywhere in the world."

Summary: The Queensferry Crossing has set a new world record.
###
Article: The new note will debut in 2020 to mark the 100th anniversary of the US Constitution's 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
The treasury will seek the public's input in the selection, looking for a "champion for our inclusive democracy".
Former US political leaders - all white men - currently headline US notes.
The woman who the Treasury Department ultimately selects will replace Alexander Hamilton, a key figure in the American Revolution and the first secretary of the US Treasury.
Hamilton began appearing on the $10 note in 1929. He along with diplomat and inventor Ben Franklin are the only non-presidents featured on current US notes.
Women have been featured on US money before, but the notes and coins were not widely used. Most recently women's rights activist Susan B Anthony and Native American Sacagawea appeared on dollar coins, but both coins quickly went out circulation.
The primary goal of the redesign is to add measures to thwart counterfeiters, the Treasury Department said. But women's groups have recently pressed for more representation on US notes.
"We have only made changes to the faces on our currency a few times since bills were first put into circulation, and I'm proud that the new 10 will be the first bill in more than a century to feature the portrait of a woman," said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
In March, an independent group held a contest to select a woman to headline the $20 note, replacing former President Andrew Jackson.
Abolitionist Harriet Tubman was the public's top choice, beating out finalists, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, civil rights activist Rosa Parks and leader of the Cherokee nation Wilma Mankiller.
Tubman was known as the "conductor" of the Underground Railroad that allowed many slaves to escape to freedom in the 1850s.
Mr Lew will make a decision about the selected woman by the end of year.

Summary: The US Treasury Department says a redesigned $10 note will feature a woman, but who she will be has not been decided.
###
Article: Harry Maceachen, from Shrewsbury, was born with a rare disease and had the life-saving transplant on Thursday.
His father Simon donated part of his liver after no suitable match was found from the organ donor register.
Grandmother Alison Price, a former theatre sister, said: "The consultants are very happy with their progress."
She said it had been a "very, very difficult 12 months", adding: "The operations were satisfactory. Everything is going on according to plan....the consultants are very happy with their progress."
Harry was born with biliary atresia, which meant he had blocked bile ducts.
He had a transplant before his first birthday but that liver had begun to fail, so a second one was required.
Harry underwent the operation on Thursday at Birmingham Children's Hospital and Mr Maceachen was operated on at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the city.
His grandmother said: "I used to look after him (Harry) three days a week when his mother went back to teaching and he got to know me very well.
"I think we've got a special bond. He was born on my 63rd birthday."
She said Harry's two-year-old brother, Sam, has been "impeccably behaved".
"It's hard for him. It's the first time he's been away from his mother for as long as this and he obviously misses Harry, as we all do."
She added: "It's brilliant with the support (the family have) had and the support we've had as grandparents.
"The whole family's pulled together and they have a wonderful lot of friends."

Summary:


Cinemas in the US are scheduling extra screenings of 12 Years a Slave after it won the best picture Oscar.

Article: Six cats which went missing in the Croydon and Norwood areas in south London were later found dismembered.
It was initially thought the animals had been killed by foxes.
But animal rescue workers have now urged owners to keep their pets indoors "where possible", saying it had become clear that "something sinister" was going on.
Boudicca Rising of South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) said her organisation had received a "deluge" of further concerns from local residents.
The animals had suffered "gruesome" injuries which appeared to have been made by a blade, she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
She urged anyone who comes across an injured animal in the area to contact her group.
A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: "We will be surveying any evidence we are given to see if there is deliberate cruelty involved here."
"Thankfully acts of deliberate violence against dead cats are rare and thorough research has shown that these kind of injuries can be caused by wildlife after death."
She added the police were leading on the investigation but said the RSPCA will provide any support as needed.
The Met confirmed it had received reports of animals being harmed and was working with Surrey Police.
Sgt Ross Spanton, of Surrey Police said:  "I would like to reassure the local community that active enquiries are under way to identify those responsible and I would urge anyone with any information to contact the police."

Summary: Animal welfare workers believe the same person may be responsible for a string of "gruesome" cat killings.
###
Article: Alex Stamos pressed NSA director Adm Mike Rogers on whether the access to encrypted data requested by the US authorities should also be granted to the Russian and Chinese governments.
Adm Rogers insisted an agreement could be reached "within a framework".
The tense exchange came after many top tech figures refused to attend a White House cybersecurity summit this month.
"If we're going to build defects, backdoors or golden master keys for the US government, do you believe we should do so... for the Chinese government, the Russian government, the Saudi Arabian government, the Israeli government, the French government?" asked Mr Stamos, Yahoo's chief information security officer.
After initially dodging the question, Adm Rogers - who took over as director of the NSA last year - responded: "I think that we're lying that this isn't technically feasible.
"Now, it needs to be done within a framework. I'm the first to acknowledge that."
According to a transcript provided by the Just Security website, he argued that he did not want the FBI and NSA to unilaterally decide what access they should have, but insisted an agreement was achievable.
Pressed on whether he thought that access should also be granted to other nations' governments, Adm Rogers said: "I think we can work our way through this."
Mr Stamos responded: "I'm sure the Chinese and Russians are going to have the same opinion."
The exchange took place before delegates at a cybersecurity conference hosted by the New America Foundation on Monday.
There has been an increasingly tense relationship between the US authorities and Silicon Valley since information was leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Encryption of user data has subsequently become increasingly popular and, in some cases, the companies hand over the keys to users, making it difficult to break.
But the White House has asked tech firms to share more data with law enforcement agencies. And the US authorities want them to build in vulnerabilities that they would be able to exploit.
The rift was...

Summary: A Yahoo executive has publicly challenged the National Security Agency (NSA) over encryption "backdoors".
###
Article: A total of 28 people have been executed so far this year, Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) figures show.
Death sentences dropped 33% from last year's historic low, with only 49 people sentenced to death. For the first time since 1995, the number of people on death row fell below 3,000.
Only six states carried out executions in 2015 - 13 of those were in Texas.
Six capital punishments were carried out in Missouri - which in September was reported to be executing its death row inmates faster than any other state in the country - and five in Georgia.
Texas, Missouri and Georgia accounted for 86% of all executions, says the DPIC, a group that opposes the death penalty and tracks executions.
Death sentences have been steadily declining in the US over the past 15 years, the DPIC says.
Its executive director, Robert Dunham, said that the use of the death penalty was becoming "increasingly rare and increasingly isolated" throughout the US.
"These are not just annual blips in statistics, but reflect a broad change in attitudes about capital punishment across the country," Mr Dunham said.
The DPIC figures revealed:
Six death row prisoners were exonerated of all charges this year, one each in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas. Since 1973, a total of 156 inmates have been exonerated and freed from death row.
Critics say there are inherent problems in how the death penalty is meted out in the US. Each state has individual laws about what types of murder are eligible for the death penalty - and within those states, similar crimes might be treated differently depending on the prosecutor.
Source: Death Penalty Information Center
Why is the US Supreme Court reviewing the lethal injection?

Summary: The number of executions in the US in 2015 is the lowest in nearly 25 years, new figures reveal.
###
Article: In his Mansion House speech Mr Carney will say individuals acted with a "culture of impunity".
But he will warn: "The age of irresponsibility is over."
Meanwhile, Chancellor George Osborne will say he plans to bind future governments to maintaining a budget surplus when the economy is growing.
Mr Osborne will give the Mansion House audience more details of the proposal he first announced in January.
Mr Carney will say markets responsible for trillions of pounds of global trade were stained by excess, collusion and abuse and "ethical drift" had taken hold.
"Criminal sanctions should be updated, with market abuse rules similarly extended and maximum prison terms lengthened," he will add.
He will say the Bank of England under his predecessor, Lord King, failed in the run-up to the financial crisis because of its arcane and ambiguous rules and its inability to identify risks in the banking system. It failed to effectively control markets where abuse was rife.
"Though markets can be powerful drivers of prosperity, markets can go wrong," according to Mr Carney.
"Left unattended, they are prone to instability, excess and abuse.
"Personal accountability was lacking, with a culture of impunity developing.
"All these factors contributed to an ethical drift. Unethical behaviour went unchecked, proliferated and eventually became the norm."
Mr Osborne, who is also speaking at the Mansion House, will say: "The public rightly asks: 'Why is it after so many scandals so few individuals have faced punishment in the courts?'
"Individuals who fraudulently manipulate markets and commit financial crime should be treated like the criminals they are - and they will be."
The chancellor and the governor will speak as the Fair and Effective Markets Review is published - a report by the Bank, the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority on strengthening controls in financial markets.
The report recommends a crackdown on rogue traders and a new Market Standards Board that would bring the "age of irresponsibility" to an end.
The...

Summary: Bank of England governor Mark Carney will call for longer prison sentences for bankers who break the law in an attack on ethics in the City later.
###
Article: Steve McQueen's drama will play at more than 1,000 locations in the US and Canada from Friday, up from 411 last weekend, according to Variety.
The memoir on which the film is based has seen a similar boost, jumping more than 300 places in Amazon.com's chart.
Solomon Northup's book is now in 16th place, having previously been ranked in 326th place before Sunday's ceremony.
The title charts even higher on this side of the Atlantic, currently occupying third place in the Amazon.co.uk bestsellers' countdown.
12 Years a Slave was named best picture at this year's Oscars and won additional honours for supporting actress Lupita Nyong'o and screenwriter John Ridley.
The film has made more than $50 million (Â£27 million) in North America, according to the Box Office Mojo site, and has just been released on DVD and Blu-ray.
McQueen's film tells of how a free-born black man, played by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, is kidnapped and forced into slavery before finally winning his freedom 12 years later.
Interest in Northup's 19th Century memoir has been revived following the success of the film, with many public high schools adding it to their curricula and reading lists.
According to Screen Daily, film distributor Lionsgate is also planning to increase the number of screens that Dallas Buyers Club is playing on in the US and Canada.
The film, about an HIV positive rodeo cowboy who uses illicit means to obtain unlicensed Aids medication, also received three Oscars on Sunday.
Stars Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto were named best actor and best supporting actor respectively, while the film received an additional accolade for its make-up and hair styling.
Meanwhile, the Walt Disney studio has announced that Frozen - winner of this year's best animated feature Oscar - has now made more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
It says the film is now the biggest non-sequel animated film ever released and the second biggest animated film of all time globally, after Toy Story 3.

Summary:


The ACT test is one of two entrance exams available to international and domestic students wanting to go to a US college.
###The ACT test is one of two entrance exams available to international and domestic students wanting to go to a US college.
###The ACT test is one of two entrance exams available to international and domestic

An examination for students in South Korea and Hong Kong hoping to study at US colleges has been cancelled after "credible evidence" emerged that it had been leaked in advance.

Article: The singer gave the record player as a wedding gift to Ellen Marschhauser in Germany in 1959, where he was stationed during his Army service.
She and husband Jim Jenkins retired to Cornwall, where she died in 2010.
The Perpetuum Ebner Musical 5v Luxus was expected to fetch £2,000, but sold for £4,400 to an overseas bidder at Penzance Auction House.
Proprietor David Lay said he had never come across anything that had created so much interest.
Mr Jenkins said the record player had also been a "thank you" from Elvis to his wife for doing some translation work for the singer's father, Vernon.
He said he and his wife had used the record player at parties, but it had been put away in the loft when the needle broke.
As well as playing records on it, it is believed that Elvis also used the player as an amplifier for his guitar.

Summary: A record player that once belonged to Elvis Presley has sold for double its estimated price at auction.
###
Article: The latest figures show 756 animals were killed in Dorset, 432 in Gloucestershire and 279 in Somerset as part of efforts to eradicate bovine TB.
The government said more than half of England was expected to be free of the disease by 2019.
However, campaigners said there was no evidence killing badgers was reducing the level of the disease in cattle.
It was the first year of culling in Dorset but the third for the other two counties as part of the government trial.
The minimum target numbers for Gloucestershire and Somerset for 2015 were less than those for 2014.
Environment Secretary Liz Truss told the House of Commons: "Our strategy to eradicate bovine TB is working.
"I'm pleased to report to the House today that the three badger control areas - Somerset, Gloucestershire and Dorset - all hit their targets this year.
"The chief vet is clear: this is delivering disease control benefits and it'll help us eradicate this terrible disease."
Ms Truss also said she was considering extending the badger cull programme.
"I'm pleased to say more than half of the country is on track to be officially free of the disease by the end of this parliament thanks to the strategy we put in place.
"And the chief veterinary officer is clear that licensing of future areas is needed to realise these disease control benefits, and I'm determined to follow through on that."
Dominic Dyer from the Badger Trust said: "Despite claiming all the cull contractors have met their targets for 2015, there is no evidence the killing of badgers is reducing the level of bovine TB in cattle.
"The claims by the NFU and pro-cull politicians that badger culling is delivering a significant reduction in bovine TB are looking increasingly bogus, and the exact opposite of the truth.
"Twenty million pounds of taxpayers' money has been spent killing thousands of badgers and yet cattle TB in Somerset is on the rise."
Culling took place from 31 August to 12 October in Somerset and Dorset and from 2 September to 14 October in Gloucestershire.
The number of...

Summary: Nearly 1,500 badgers were killed this year as part of the government's badger cull, Defra has announced.
###
Article: In a letter to the Guardian,  Nigel Dodds said that the Tories were in danger of "abusing" the House of Commons over Scotland.
He said he was both "alarmed" and "concerned" about the election campaign in England.
He also warned about the risk of fuelling "nationalist paranoia".
Mr Dodds' comments in a letter published in the Guardian on Monday, could affect the prime minister's hopes of remaining in office.
A recent YouGov/Sunday Times poll suggests Mr Cameron would need DUP support to stay in Downing Street.
The DUP could hold an influential number of votes if the general election results in a hung parliament.
Mr Dodds, who was leader of the DUP group in the last parliament, has already outlined demands from a potential government partner and has not ruled out working with Labour or the Conservative Party.
In his letter, Mr Dodds said the UK needed "responsible politicians", adding that "the current state of the campaign greatly concerns me".
He said the SNP was his first concern.
"In a hung parliament, regardless of ideology, these are not politicians set on stability and good government," he wrote.
Nevertheless, he defended the right of Scots to vote in the Commons.
"That's why we fought and won the referendum: to enshrine the rights of Scots to go on sending representatives, fully equal to every other, to Westminster," he said.
"Glib and lazy talk about SNP MPs somehow not being as entitled to vote in every division in the Commons as any other British MP, simply fuels nationalist paranoia".
Mr Dodds was highly critical of Tory moves to build up the SNP as a way of damaging the Labour party in Scotland.
In his letter, his focus was on the Conservative Party's tactics, particularly the idea of offering English votes for English laws, (Evel).
He claimed that using William Hague to "drum up support for Evel"  was "not just a flawed political tactic, it's also a constitutional mess".
Mr Dodds said the House of Commons could not be used as "a part-time English Assembly"
"It's the union parliament and abusing it...

Summary: David Cameron risks losing the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists over the Tories' handling of Scotland.
###
Article: Yankel Rosenthal, a former minister of investment, was arrested on Tuesday after landing at Miami airport.
His cousin Yani and uncle Jaime Rolando, a four-time presidential candidate and newspaper owner, were also charged.
They come from one of the wealthiest families in Honduras.
The three men were detained by customs officials when they landed at Miami airport on Tuesday morning.
They appeared before a federal judge in Miami on Wednesday.
The three men provided "money laundering and other services that support the international narcotics trafficking activities of multiple Central American drug traffickers and their criminal organisations," said the US Treasury Department in a statement.
Seven of their businesses were labelled under the US Kingpin Act as "specially designated narcotics traffickers".
They have been accused of transferring drugs money between accounts in New York and Honduras between 2004 and 2015, according to the Efe news agency.
Their lawyer, Andres Acosta Garcia, was also arrested at Miami airport on Tuesday and charged.
Yankel Rosenthal served as minister in President Juan Orlando Hernandez's administration but left the post unexpectedly in June.
During his term, he led Club Deportivo Marathon to several league titles.
He also built a brand-new stadium in the north-western city of San Pedro Sula which was named after him.

Summary: The president of one of Honduras's most famous football clubs has been charged in the United States with drug trafficking and money laundering.
###
Article: Administrators of the ACT test took the decision just hours before some 5,500 students were due to sit it.
The ACT is one of two entrance exams available to international and domestic students wanting to go to a US college.
This is not the first cheating scandal to hit the tests in East Asia.
The other entrance exam - the SAT - was cancelled in South Korea in 2013 because some of the questions were leaked.
The ACT test was due to be held at 56 test centres in both South Korea and Hong Kong on Saturday morning.
The Associated Press said teachers at some of Seoul's private "cram schools" said they were not notified until about an hour before the students were due to sit the test.
ACT Inc, an Iowa-based non-profit organisation that was operating the test, said it took the decision after receiving "credible evidence that test materials intended for administration in these regions have been compromised".
The organisation said in a statement that all students would get a refund but would only be able to resit when the tests are held again in September.

Summary:


The BBC has been accused of "sensationalism" after it claimed that the number of people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire was "in the hundreds".
The broadcaster said the number of people killed in the fire was "in the hundreds" and that the number of people who died was "in the thousands

YouTube has warned it will clamp down on users who buy 'fake views' to make their videos look more popular than they really are.

Article: Polar bear cubs were last born in the UK almost 25 years ago.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has begun preparations to pair up two bears at its Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore.
A crate has been placed in the male bears' enclosure which will be used to transport Arktos to where the female, Victoria, is kept.
RZSS said captive breeding formed an important part of conserving polar bears, which are classified as "vulnerable" on the International Union Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
But animal welfare organisations OneKind Scotland and Born Free Foundation said tackling climate change to better protect wild bears should be the focus of conservation efforts rather than captive breeding.
Arktos shares an enclosure with a younger male bear called Walker.
The older bear has been selected for breeding because he is considered to be a genetically more important male, according to RZSS. Walker's genes are already well represented within the captive population.
Victoria, who was brought to Scotland from Aalborg Zoo in Denmark last year and is kept in an enclosure about a mile away from the males, previously raised cubs in 2008.
Over the course of about a month, park staff hope Arktos will become accustomed to the 3m (9ft 10in) by 1.5m (4ft 11in) by 1.8m (5ft 10in) crate to a point where he can be safely locked inside and moved to the Victoria's enclosure.
Arktos will later be moved back to his own enclosure. RZSS said the areas where it keeps polar bears were larger than those of any other zoological institution in the world.
Douglas Richardson, head of living collections at the park, said: "When we first take Arktos to Victoria, he will live in a separate enclosure adjacent to hers.
"The two bears will be able to communicate and interact through a secure large fence to start with. We fully expect to see them showing an interest in each other right away.
"As with any introduction of large predators, the process must be approached slowly and carefully, paying close attention...

Summary: An attempt to breed polar bears in Scotland looks set to go ahead this year.
###
Article: In a single-celled pond slime, they observed how incoming rays are bent by the bug's spherical surface and focused in a spot on the far side of the cell.
By shuffling along in the opposite direction to that bright spot, the microbe then moves towards the light.
Other scientists were surprised and impressed by this "elegant" discovery.
Despite being just three micrometres (0.003mm) in diameter, the bacteria in the study use the same physical principles as the eye of a camera or a human.
This makes them "probably the world's smallest and oldest example" of such a lens, the researchers write in the journal eLife.
Cyanobacteria, including the Synechocystis species used in the study, are an ancient and abundant lifeform. They live in water and get their energy from photosynthesis - which explains their enthusiasm for bright light.
Bug eyes
"It has a way of detecting where the light is; we know that because of the direction that it moves. But we were puzzled about this because the cells are very, very small," said study co-author Conrad Mullineaux, from Queen Mary University of London.
He told the BBC it was a chance observation through a microscope that put his team on the right track.
"We noticed it accidentally, because we had cells on a surface and we were shining light from one side, in order to watch the movement towards the light.
"We suddenly saw these focused bright spots and we thought, 'bloody hell!'. Immediately, it was pretty obvious what was going on."
After more than three centuries of scientists eyeballing bugs under microscopes, Prof Mullineaux said it was remarkable that nobody had picked up on this before.
"It seemed really, really obvious afterwards."
To confirm and describe this single-cell "vision", he worked with colleagues in the UK, Germany and Portugal on a series of experiments.
As well as studying the bacteria's focusing ability with different types of microscope, they used a laser beam to probe exactly how such focused light affected the bugs' behaviour.
With the laser beam trained...

Summary: Biologists say they have solved the riddle of how a tiny bacterium senses light and moves towards it: the entire organism acts like an eyeball.
###
Article: But League chairman Greg Clarke still hopes City can resolve the long-running row with their Ricoh Arena landlords for the sake of their fans.
"The board did not take this decision lightly," said Clarke.
"It remains a matter of deep regret that the two parties involved cannot come to an agreement."
After the long-running saga of their rent row with Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL), Coventry agreed the groundshare deal at Sixfields in the wake of last month's takeover of the club by the Otium Entertainment Group.
Of course Coventry should be playing in Coventry but the reason why they cannot for this temporary period is not down to us
A statement released by the League on Monday afternoon stated that their board of directors had "reluctantly approved an application by Otium Entertainment Group - the administrator's preferred bidder for Coventry City FC Limited - for Coventry City to play its home matches at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium for an initial period of three seasons."
"Of course Coventry should be playing in Coventry, but the reason why they cannot for this temporary period is not down to us," said Northampton chairman David Cardoza.
"There wasn't any plan for us to try and tempt another club away from their local community for our financial gain. We are simply helping a fellow football club, at their request.
"Had we not reached agreement, and had Coventry been forced to look somewhere else, it may have been at a stadium even further away than Sixfields and with a club who were less aware of the sensitivity and emotion felt by Coventry fans.
"All we can do is make the period when they are playing their home games at Sixfields as bearable as possible for Coventry and their supporters."
When home fixtures clash, Northampton's games will take priority.
"If both teams are at home on the same weekend, Coventry will play on the Sunday and, if there is a midweek clash, Coventry will play on the Wednesday," said Cardoza.
"No Northampton Town games will be moved as part of this arrangement, subject to any...

Summary: Coventry City's plan to groundshare with Northampton Town for the next three years has been "reluctantly approved" by the Football League board.
###
Article: North west Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones confirmed the death of Avril Whitfield, 57, from Caernarfon, Gwynedd, who went missing in April.
Her remains were discovered by a man walking on the beach at Llanddwyn, Anglesey, in September.
"There was nothing to indicate that the foot had been forcibly removed from the leg," the coroner added.
A toothbrush, hairbrush and other materials were taken from Ms Whitfield's home and DNA tests found a "perfect match" with the bones.
Mr Pritchard-Jones said: "The samples in the boot definitely belong to the person who owned the toothbrush and hairbrush.
"It's now a matter for police to carry out their inquiries to try to find out what happened to Miss Whitfield, how she came to be in the sea."
The inquest was adjourned to a later date.

Summary: A missing Post Office worker whose bones were found in a boot on a beach has been declared dead by a coroner.
###
Article: With 100 hours of video added to the site every minutes it can be hard to get noticed, so some people buy fake views.
There are many companies that will sell YouTube views, likes or comments for a fee.
Most videos have genuine views but the website wants to crack down on the small number that don't.

Summary: