The chairmen of five parliamentary committees have written to David Cameron to urge him to remove overseas student numbers from migration targets.

Article: Conservative judges on the high court seemed to agree with Oklahoma's use of midazolam, with some questioning why the court was hearing the case at all.
Lawyers for three of the state's death row inmates say the drug presents an unconstitutional risk of pain and suffering.
Their executions have been put on hold amid the court review.
The Supreme Court justices previously ruled Oklahoma could not execute Richard Glossip, John Grant and Benjamin Cole by lethal injection using midazolam while the case is pending.
At issue before the Supreme Court is not the constitutionality of the death penalty, but whether the use of midazolam violates the US constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
The drug was used in three executions seen as botched in 2014.
Lawyers for the three inmates argue that midazolam cannot achieve the level of unconsciousness required and is therefore unsuitable for executions.
Oklahoma has maintained the drug is effective and that a botched execution in 2014 was the result of other factors.
The court's liberal justices questioned whether the drug was effective enough, with Justice Elena Kagan saying that if it does not work, then inmates would be "burned alive from the inside" from the other drug used in the process, potassium chloride.
Meanwhile, Justice Samuel Alito queried why the court had agreed to take the case, complaining of a "guerrilla war" by opponents of the death penalty to limit the options available for execution.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, often a deciding vote in sharply split cases, said little during the arguments.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin recently signed a law allowing the state to use nitrogen gas as an alternative execution method.
Arizona, Florida, Ohio have also used the drug in executions.
A decision by the Supreme Court on the case is due by the end of June.

Summary: US justices appear sharply divided over whether an execution drug can be used, after arguments at the Supreme Court.
###
Article: Until now, passengers could order a car only when they were ready to ride.
Passengers may still be charged a higher "surge price" at the time of their scheduled ride if there is high demand for Uber vehicles on the day.
The feature will be enabled for business users in London first, with other Londoners getting access over the next two weeks.
Surge pricing increases the cost of fares when there is high demand for Uber vehicles.
Cars booked in advance will be subject to surge pricing - but passengers will have the option to cancel a booking if it is too expensive.
Analysis by Leo Kelion, Technology desk editor
Uber's latest move should help it take a bigger bite out of the business travel market.
Companies will be able to use Uber, knowing executives won't have to wait for a post-meeting pick-up or early morning trip to the airport.
But unlike at many minicab companies, the passenger and motorist are not paired in advance.
Uber will need to work out when to send a car towards each pre-booked pick-up, taking into account not only traffic but the likelihood that the driver will actually accept the request.
London is a big city, giving Uber a big pool of drivers to call on - it has 30,000 "partners" in the city - but it must deliver a reliable service if it is to woo passengers away from the likes of Addison Lee.
A bigger issue could be that Uber's drivers won't necessarily wait if a customer is running late. Other minicab companies will - for an added fee.
Uber says if there's a last minute delay, it will be up to the passenger to try to convince the driver to stay.
But the fact surge pricing could still kick in may deter some riders, especially when it comes to scheduling a rush-hour trip.
Scheduled rides were first introduced in Seattle on 9 June and now operate in several US cities.
Uber is also testing a travelcard-style option in cities such as San Francisco and Miami, which lets riders buy access to cheaper fares.
For example, riders in San Francisco can pay $20 (Â£15) upfront in exchange for 20 Uber Pool...

Summary: Transport app Uber has allowed customers in London to book journeys up to 30 days in advance.
###
Article: The government insisted it did not have a "targeted killing" policy, but was clearly willing to use lethal force overseas for counter-terrorism, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said.
Two UK citizens were killed in Syria last year by an RAF drone.
The government says it takes "lawful action" over direct threats to the UK.
Reyaad Khan, a British member of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, was targeted and killed by an RAF drone in Syria last August. Ruhul Amin, 26, from Aberdeen, also died in the strike.
When is it legal to kill your own citizens?
Drone strikes: Do they actually work?
Informing Parliament of the death, Prime Minister David Cameron said Mr Khan, 21, from Cardiff, had been plotting "barbaric" attacks on UK soil.
The British military was not authorised by Parliament to engage in military action inside Syria at that stage - but the strike was justified as an "act of self-defence", Mr Cameron said.
But that position is not justified under international law, and later statements justified the killing in the context of the armed conflict in Iraq.
The committee said it accepted that the drone strike had been part of the armed conflict against IS in Iraq and Syria, and therefore covered by the Law of War.
But there were contradictions and inconsistencies in the government's explanation of its policy on drone strikes, the committee added.
It said the government's policy on using lethal force abroad outside of armed conflict, and the legal basis for that, must be clarified.
The MPs and peers said international law permitting self-defence did not extend to using force "pre-emptively against a threat which is more remote, such as plans which have been merely discussed but which lack the necessary intent or capability to make them imminent".
Committee chairman and Labour MP Harriet Harman said the legal justification for the drone strike on Khan was "confused and confusing".
She called for the UK government to lead the way internationally by defining a clear legal basis for action, and to make sure...

Summary: The legal case for using drone strikes outside of armed conflict needs "urgent clarification" from ministers, a cross-party parliamentary committee has said.
###
Article: Ahead of the service, Biggs' coffin travelled from Barnet to Golders Green Crematorium accompanied by 13 members of the motorcycle club.
Mourners included Biggs' son Michael, gangland celebrity author Dave Courtney and former gangster Freddie Foreman.
The robber, infamous for his 30 years on the run, died in December aged 84.
When he was last seen in public, at the funeral of fellow Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds, Biggs stuck two fingers up at journalists.
A floral display of the salute travelled in the back of the hearse, behind Biggs' coffin which was draped with a Charlton Athletic scarf, a union jack and the flag of Brazil, the country where he spent many years as a fugitive.
Ronald Arthur "Ronnie" Biggs, who spent more than three decades on the run, had been living at Carlton Court Care Home in East Barnet after suffering several strokes in recent years.
His carers at the home were among those who joined the funeral procession.
A six-piece Dixie band also joined the cortege for the final part of the journey to the crematorium, playing songs including When the Saints Come Marching In and When You're Smiling.
Floral tributes at the crematorium included one from Charles Bronson, one of the country's longest-serving prisoners, who sent a bouquet containing an old ten-bob note with the words "Ronnie Biggs RIP" scrawled across it.
Leading the service, Rev Dave Tomlinson said: "People have asked me 'How can you take part in the funeral of a Great Train Robber?'
"What we need to remember is that Jesus didn't hang out with hoity-toity folk, he just treated people as people."
Michael Biggs paid tribute to this father, saying that he "always had a way of looking at things and saying something that was fair and often funny".
He said Biggs had "embraced the culture" of Brazil after arriving there and become a "carioca, someone from Rio".
"He always had a soft spot for the underdog and he considered himself to be one, he always had a few pennies for the street beggars.
"He spoke the lingo and enjoyed the samba."
He...

Summary: The funeral of Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, complete with a Hell's Angels guard of honour and a floral two-fingered salute, has taken place.
###
Article: They are asking him to "reconcile" the "tensions" between tougher restrictions and the desire for economic growth.
Net migration figures fell last year, with officials saying this was "largely due" to a drop in foreign students.
But the government says it is committed to stamping out abuses of the immigration system.
On Thursday, the House of Lords is set to debate the impact of immigration policy on UK higher education.
The coalition has pledged to restrict the level of annual net migration - the balance between the number of people who come to live in the UK for the long-term and the number who are leaving - to "tens of thousands".
Since last year, all institutions which want to sponsor non-European Union students for a visa must be accredited as "highly trusted".
Potential entrants have to speak a higher standard of English and the "post-study work route" to staying on has been closed, unless graduates have an offer of one of a list of skilled jobs.
The overall UK net migration figure fell from 242,000 to 183,000 in the year to March.
The Office for National Statistics said this was "largely due" to a decline in the number of foreign students despite an increase in the number of arrivals from China - the UK's largest overseas student market.
Opponents of the government's changes say they damage the economy by restricting the lucrative movement of students to the UK, putting universities at a disadvantage.
In their letter to Mr Cameron, the five select committee chairmen urge "further action to encourage international university students to study in the UK".
They add: "Doing so has the potential to support economic growth in the immediate and longer term, supporting jobs in university towns and increasing export earnings.
"International students who study in the UK also build relationships which last over time, laying the foundations for future business opportunities in emerging economies, and supporting our foreign policy objectives."
They also ask the prime minister to "reconcile the remaining tensions...

Summary:


The bank has been forced to pay out £1.7bn in compensation to customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) and interest rate hedging products.
The bank has been working hard to offload the Clydesdale, which has amassed a large portfolio of bad property loans.
It

Clydesdale Bank is to set aside as much as £500m in extra funding this year to compensate customers for mis-selling of financial products.

Article: A court was told that John Duncan, who had only taken six driving lessons, was spotted driving at "grossly excessive" speed on Dundee's Kingsway.
Duncan ploughed through a barrier before hitting a set of concrete steps leading to a pedestrian bridge.
The bridge has not re-opened since the incident and is waiting to be repaired.
Depute fiscal Susan Ruta told Dundee Sheriff Court that Duncan had only been released from prison a few months earlier after serving another sentence.
She said: "He drove off down the A90 Kingsway and a few minutes later approached the roundabout driving at grossly excessive speed.
"He attempted to negotiate it but took it too wide.
"He moved through the safety barrier and collided with the footbridge, causing significant damage.
"One of his passengers was taken to Ninewells Hospital with a cut to her forehead and significant swelling to her eye."
Duncan, 23, of Dundee, pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, and driving without a licence or insurance on 21 January.
Solicitor advocate Kris Gilmartin, defending, said: "He had been given driving lessons for Christmas and had taken six, and in the excitement of being able to drive bought the car.
"The people he was driving that night had asked him for a favour and the temptation was too much for him."
Sheriff Alastair Brown jailed Duncan for 12 months to be served consecutively to a further five months outstanding from his licence on his previous offence.
Duncan was also banned from driving for three years and eight months.
Sheriff Brown said: "You shouldn't have been anywhere near a car that night.
"You were incompetent and over-confident."

Summary: A learner driver who caused £60,000 worth of damage after crashing a BMW into a footbridge has been jailed for 17 months.
###
Article: The male birds at Kirby Hall in Corby, Northamptonshire, had fanned out their tail feathers at squirrels, park benches and bins last year, said staff.
Two peahens have since been donated and have settled among the flock.
Site manager Beryl Spearman said: "I am really pleased. It's so kind of people to think of us."
The home lost some of its peahens to a fox two years ago but now it has seven peacocks and nine peahens, which is the "right balance".
One donated peahen had been found roaming in a built-up area of the county, while the other was handed over as her mate had died and her owner, who lived near Milton Keynes, said she was lonely.
"It's good they have settled as they might have left, so they are quite happy," said Mrs Spearman.
"It's now mating season and the boys are displaying their feathers, so who knows what might happen.
"Any time now the hens might start to lay and the eggs will hatch in early June so we might have some chicks."
Peacocks have lived in the hall's grounds since it was built in the 17th Century.

Summary: A stately home that launched an appeal for peahens to mate with its "frustrated" peacocks has said it hopes to welcome some chicks this summer.
###
Article: The X Dactyloglossum mixtum has only been found at 15 sites in Britain since 2000 and was discovered at Plantlife's Augill Pasture reserve near Brough.
A cross between a frog orchid and a common spotted orchid, it was found by Lois Harbron who had been counting the frog orchids at the reserve.
Ms Harbron said it was something she had "always hoped" to see, but she never expected it would be at Augill.
The newly discovered orchid is so rare it does not have a common English name, charity Plantlife said.

Summary: A rare orchid has been discovered for the first time in Cumbria.
###
Article: The party leadership will table an amendment setting out measures Labour backs and those it would change.
If the amendment is rejected, Labour MPs will be expected to abstain.
The move follows a party split over the scale of its support for the government's welfare reform proposals after interim leader Harriet Harman warned against "blanket opposition".
Three of the four leadership contenders had called for a different approach to allow some elements of the Bill to be opposed.
Now the leadership has acted to try to quell the revolt from MPs unhappy at the party's backing for changes including limiting child tax credit to two children.
Labour's amendment to the bill, which enacts measures set out in George Osborne's Budget, offers backing for the household welfare cap, and moving mortgage support from grants to loans.
But it opposes the abolition of child poverty targets and changes to Employment and Support Allowance.
It makes no mention of the child tax credit change.
The move comes after former shadow welfare minister Helen Goodman, backed by over 40 MPs, tabled her own amendment to the bill, raising the prospect of the party being divided in the Commons vote.
A party spokesman said the approach would allow leave the party's next leader free to decide how to handle the later stages of the bill's passage through Parliament.
He added: "As Harriet said at the weekend, Labour is going to listen to the public's concerns on welfare and at the same time be an effective opposition challenging Tory policies which are unfair and unworkable."
The change of heart was "the best way forward", he said.

Summary: Labour has changed its approach to the government's Welfare Bill after an internal party row.
###
Article: The sum is on top of more than £1.2bn set aside in previous years' provisions.
Parent company National Australian Bank (NAB) said between £350m and £500m more would be set aside this year, but added that the final cost remained uncertain.
The move was announced in its third quarter results on Monday.
Up until the end of March, NAB had set aside £806m to compensate customers for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). A total of £325m has already been paid out.
NAB's cumulative provisions relating to interest rate hedging products amounted to £431m, about half of which has been paid out.
This year's extra funding will come from a £1.7bn mis-selling fund, which the bank is being required by UK regulators to make available after the Clydesdale is floated.
NAB is in the process of demerging and floating Glasgow-based Clydesdale, which includes the Yorkshire Bank.
It intends to complete the break-up by the end of this year.
In a statement, NAB said "substantial progress" had been made on the demerger and stock market sale. It will provide more detail with full-year results in late October.
The Australian banking group has been working hard to offload the Clydesdale, which amassed a large portfolio of bad property loans.
It has also been facing high costs of redress for mis-selling payment protection insurance and complex systems for business customers to protect against interest rate changes.

Summary:

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The company's turnover fell by £1m to £100m in the year to the end of June 2016, but pre-tax profit rose by £800,000 to £3.5m.
### Summary: The company's turnover fell by £1m to £100m in the year to the end

One of Scotland's largest animal feed producers has posted a rise in profits, despite reporting a "challenging" year for the industry.

Article: The statistics agency currently publishes data at 10:00 local time and had planned to change that to 07:00.
But traders argued it could create instability in the currency, as well as making it tricky to get their children to nursery.
The agency has now agreed to publish the data at 08:00.
Statistics Norway said it had been contacted by several people in the finance industry, pointing out that such an early release time might lead to increased volatility in the buying and selling of the Norwegian krone at a time of day when trading on the markets is thin.
"By adjusting the new release time from 7 to 8am we believe we have found a good balance between the needs of Statistics Norway and the finance industry", a statement said.
The data has been released at 10:00 for nearly 20 years. The agency said this was in part because it used to be printed on paper, but now there were no such technical limitations since they were now released digitally.
The change will be introduced on 23 September.
The Norwegian Securities Dealers Association said it was "an important improvement" since dealers could at least contact clients at that hour. A spokesperson said that while they were not totally satisfied, they would accept the decision and monitor its effect on liquidity when it was introduced.

Summary: Traders in Norway have won an hour's reprieve in the battle over the new timing of the country's economic data releases.
###
Article: Police and Crime Commissioner Stephen Bett has nominated Deputy Chief Constable Simon Bailey as his preferred choice for Chief Constable.
Mr Bailey's nomination will now be referred to the police and crime panel for confirmation on 25 October.
Mr Bett said the recruitment process had been completely open.
"Mr Bailey has proved himself to be highly competent in all his Association of Chief Police Officers roles to date.
"I am confident he is the right person to take the Norfolk Constabulary forward in these challenging times.
"He is an excellent leader and I will look to him to ensure that Norfolk remains an exemplary force driving through efficiencies and economies.
"I hope that the police and crime panel will endorse my choice".
Mr Bailey has been a police officer for 27 years, serving predominantly as a detective.
In 1998, he was seconded to the National Crime Squad and as detective inspector he was responsible for managing covert operations targeting organised crime gangs.
In 2000, he worked on the investigation into the murder of human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson, who was killed by a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland in 1999.
He worked for three years on the probe before he returned to Norfolk as a detective superintendent with responsibility for intelligence.
Mr Bailey was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable with responsibility for legal services, human resources, and force performance in September 2010.
He was promoted to temporary Chief Constable when Phil Gormley left to join National Crime Agency in June this year.

Summary: A police officer who has risen through the ranks from constable is the preferred candidate to become head of the force in Norfolk.
###
Article: It may ultimately impact on other institutions such as the National Library of Wales and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.
But its creation is the result of a study, undertaken by PwC in March 2016 and published in the summer, to examine ways of maximising the potential commercial revenue of Cadw, the Welsh government body that looks after many of Wales' historic castles and monuments.
The report made a number of recommendations, from loose collaboration to a complete merger of national heritage bodies such as the museum and library.
A steering group, with representatives from the heritage sector as well as unions representing staff, is currently considering areas where greater collaboration could be achieved.
There is widespread agreement that collaboration can enhance the sector, but it is the prospect of formally merging some activity that has made the proposal so controversial.
Officially, the final form will be decided by the Welsh Government once the organisations and the unions have had their say.
That is likely to be early in 2017, after which a public consultation will be carried out.
The Welsh Labour government said it made a manifesto commitment to establish Historic Wales and the economy secretary said closer collaboration was vital if the bodies are to increase their commercial success.
Continued public funding for the institutions is not under threat, but the government says only a closer working relationship can generate more private income and present a united front in marketing Wales' heritage to the world.
For many of those who have objected, any new organisation that takes functions away from the national museum will be undermining its independence and stripping it of its ability to raise its own commercial income.
The Museums Association has warned that any commercial merger would have a wider negative impact on NMW's exhibition programming and on its ability to form partnerships with communities and museums across Wales.
The Welsh Government insists it...

Summary: The final form Historic Wales will take is still under discussion, but its purpose is already defined: to merge some of the commercial functions of Cadw with those of National Museum Wales (NMW).
###
Article: The latest estimate puts the population at about 14,600 - more than twice the previous figure, based on a survey of nests where the apes sleep.
Ecologists say the rise is not due to population growth but because some apes were missed in past surveys.
The species remains at serious threat from poaching and loss of forests, they report in Science Advances.
Orangutans are the world's largest tree-climbing mammal - and Asia's only great ape.
They were once found across South East Asia, but today are confined to two islands, Borneo and Sumatra.
Their forest habitat is rapidly disappearing, putting their future in jeopardy.
Until now, the total Sumatran orangutan population was put at 6,600 individuals, based on data from 2004.
In the new survey in 2015, orangutans were found in unexpected places, including at higher altitudes in the mountains, forests recovering from logging and areas west of the Toba Lake that had not been previously examined.
An international team of scientists says that while there are evidently more Sumatran orangutans remaining in the wild than once thought, the species remains under serious threat.
It is very important that these findings are not interpreted as suggesting that numbers have increased, nor that their range has expanded, the group reports.
"The known current range is now 17,797 sq km (6,871 sq miles), roughly 2.56 times larger," said a team led by Serge Wich, professor of primate biology at Liverpool John Moores University.
"Since 2004, Sumatran orangutan numbers have undoubtedly declined, and they continue to do so at an alarming rate because of ongoing deforestation and poaching/persecution," they wrote in Science Advances.
Prof Wich thinks it is good news that there are more of the apes in Sumatra, but says conservation efforts must continue.
"The overall finding that there are more orangutans certainly is positive because it is always good to have more of a critically endangered species," he told BBC News.
But he warned: "The threats to the forest are as real as ever and...

Summary: There are more Sumatran orangutans in the wild than previously thought, according to a new survey.
###
Article: Aberdeenshire-based Harbro Group saw pre-tax profit increase by £800,000, to £3.5m, in the year to the end of June 2016.
This was despite turnover falling by £1m to just over £100m.
Harbro said international sales grew over the year, both in Europe and in new markets further afield.
The Turriff-based company manufactures and supplies feeds for the beef, sheep, dairy, pig and poultry sectors.
It also has a network of 19 shops across Scotland, operating under the Country Store brand. The stores cater for farming and rural communities with a range of products, including fireside supplies, country clothing and footwear.
In accounts filed with Companies House, the company said: "As always, the outlook for agriculture is difficult to predict.
"We have certainly been experiencing challenging times over the last 12-18 months but the industry is a robust one.
"The impact of Brexit is still to be fully understood, although the board are confident that the group will be well positioned for whatever business challenges this may bring about."

Summary:


Authorities in Nigeria's Lagos State have shut 70 churches and 20 mosques in an attempt to reduce high noise levels.

Article: She won a Sony Radio Award in 2012 along with co-presenter Betty Smith and the show's presenter and producer David Reeves.
Smith, who died last year aged 93, and Renwick were the oldest winners of the prestigious radio industry award.
BBC Radio Humberside's managing editor Simon Pattern described her as "a delightful and very caring Hull woman".
Her family said she had died peacefully earlier this week and had lived for her broadcasting days.
They added she was very proud of the fame she had gained for being one half of the "Dynamic Duo" with Betty Smith.
Born in 1926, Renwick worked as a conductor on Hull's trolley buses and as an assistant in a department store, before meeting Smith at a lunch club in 1999.
The friends first went on air in 2006 after meeting Reeves during a tour of the station.
The weekly, hour-long show was a mix of music and chat and ran for six years.
After picking up the best entertainment show award, they became celebrities, appearing on the BBC's One Show, and featured in newspapers and on radio stations around the world.
Co-star Reeves said she would be "sorely missed".
"Beryl was a wonderful storyteller and a great friend," he said.
"During our six years on air together she evolved into a skilled broadcaster, mastering the art to perform, entertain and shock on the radio but most importantly just to be herself.
"The Beryl and Betty Show enriched her life as much as it did the audience that tuned in every week to soak up yet more wisdom from a life well lived."

Summary: Beryl Renwick, one of the stars of an award-winning BBC Radio Humberside show, has died at the age of 89.
###
Article: ECB President Mario Draghi said the bank expected the bloc's economy to shrink by about 0.5% this year, before recovering later in 2013.
He said weak consumer and investor sentiment was weighing on growth.
Earlier, the ECB held the benchmark eurozone interest rate at the record low of 0.75%, as had been expected.
Mr Draghi said rates had been left unchanged due to higher energy prices, rising taxes and the fact inflation fell from 2.5% to 2.2% last month.
Interest rates are the main tool used by central banks to influence demand and therefore prices in the economy.
Mr Draghi said the bank expected inflation to fall below 2% next year. The target rate is below but close to 2%.
Interest rates have been at 0.75% for five months, after July's cut from 1%. The Bank of England also kept its main interest rate unchanged on Thursday, leaving it at 0.5%.
The ECB revised down is forecast for the eurozone economic growth in 2013 to between minus 0.9% and plus 0.4%.
For 2014, it forecast growth of between 0.2% and 2.2%.
Mr Draghi said "persistent uncertainty" was weighing on economic activity.
He said the bank continued to see "downside risks", in particular "uncertainties about the resolution of sovereign debt issues in the euro area, geopolitical issues and fiscal policy decisions in the United States".
He was referring to the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic spending cuts and tax rises which kick in in the new year and which will push the US economy back into recession. US policymakers are trying to agree a way to avoid the cliff.
However, Mr Draghi said a "strengthening global demand and a significant improvement in financial market confidence" would help fuel a recovery later in 2013.
The eurozone is back in recession as austerity measures designed to reduce debt levels continue to undermine demand and confidence.
The economy of the 17-member bloc contracted by 0.1% between July and September, after shrinking 0.2% in the previous three months.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is at a record high of 11.7%.
The...

Summary: The European Central Bank (ECB) has revised down its eurozone growth forecasts for this year and next as "economic weakness extends into 2013".
###
Article: The evocative images are being exhibited at the Bluecoat Arts Centre as part of the Look/15 international photography festival.
Tricia Porter's photographs of life in the L8 district of the city show a time when its tight-knit communities were being fragmented.
She said the project was an attempt to make a photo documentary.
The pictures were taken a decade before the area became nationally known following the Toxteth Riots in 1981.
The project was a joint venture between Tricia Porter and her future husband David, then a student at Liverpool University.
The pair lived in the area and photographed the people they came across.
They gained the trust of residents who allowed them access to their lives, businesses and homes.
The project is divided into two series: Bedford Street, Liverpool 8 (1972) and Some Liverpool Kids (1974).
The first focuses on residents in their homes, at work, or out and about in the area.
Bedford Street, Liverpool 8 (1972) includes well-known characters including social campaigner and local councillor Margaret Simey and eminent Liverpool sculptor Herbert Tyson Smith at work in his studio at Bluecoat.
Young people predominate Some Liverpool Kids (1974) in their homes, schools, clubs, shops and streets.
Ms Porter said: "It was an attempt to make a photo-documentary which would be a positive and meaningful statement about my neighbours, who had all too often been treated as statistical fodder and sociological phenomena."
The Bluecoat's Artistic Director Bryan Biggs said: "Tricia's images have an immediacy and freshness, despite being taken over four decades ago and the places they evoke having changed, in some cases beyond all recognition.
"There is an honesty to them that makes them so compelling and resonant today."
The exhibition runs between 4 April and 5 July and is supported by L8 Legacy Projects.

Summary: Black-and-white photographs depicting life in Toxteth in the 1970s are to go on display at a Liverpool arts centre.
###
Article: It will be organised by Daran Hill, a key figure in the successful 1997 and 2011 devolution referendum campaigns.
He told BBC Wales the campaign will have cross-party support and a budget of between £20,000 and £30,000.
To get a Yes/No referendum on Cardiff having a directly elected mayor, 24,647 signatures - 10% of the electorate - must be collected over six months.
The earliest potential date for that referendum would be autumn 2016.
If the Yes side were to win, a Cardiff mayoral election could then be held in the summer of 2017.
There are currently 17 directly elected mayors in England, with more on the way, but there are none in Wales.
Ceredigion is the only Welsh local authority to have had a referendum on the matter.
Voters there rejected the idea in 2004 by a margin of nearly three to one.
The leaders of all 22 local authorities in Wales are elected by their fellow councillors, rather than directly by voters.
Mr Hill said having an elected mayor was a "new, fresh idea" that he believed would "energise the people of Cardiff".
"The vision and the idea is to give the people of Cardiff a say at long last as to whether they'll have an elected mayor to represent the whole of the city," he said.
"To take us forward to a new political level that'll make us fit, I suppose, for the 21st Century."
Mr Hill said the "pressure" for having a mayor was coming from other cities.
"We see Bristol has had an elected mayor for a long time, there's a big push across the north of England," he added.
"I think for a city with size, Cardiff needs that extra momentum."
But Cardiff North Labour AM Julie Morgan is sceptical about the idea.
"It's a difficult, complicated, expensive way of going about getting a mayor, and there are no proven benefits," she said.
"It's also completely the wrong time because we're talking about local government reorganisation, where local authorities are coming together, we're talking about a City Region.
"I'm a great believer in collective responsibility from whatever party may be in power, and I...

Summary: A campaign for Cardiff to have Wales' first directly elected mayor will be launched in January.
###
Article: About 10 hotels, pubs and club houses were also closed, officials said.
Some estimates put Lagos' population at around 20 million, creating a constant background of noise - from the blaring of car horns, to the Muslim call to prayer and loud singing in churches.
The state government has vowed to make the city, the biggest in Africa, noise-free by 2020.
Africa Live: More on this and other news stories
In August, the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LEPA) closed 22 premises after residents complained about noise emanating from them.
Following the latest crackdown, its general manager Bola Shabi said the agency would no longer allow people to pray in makeshift buildings and tents.
Mr Shabi said noise levels had been reduced by about 35%, but this was not a "pass mark yet".
"Enforcement is a continuous exercise and we have set a target for ourselves. We want to ensure that Lagos is noise-free by the year 2020," he said.
Mr Shabi said mosques complied with their instructions more than churches because when they are ordered to shut down, they "instantly bring down their speakers or reduce the noise they make''.
Nigerians are extremely religious, with a large number of evangelical churches operating in Lagos.
Christians form the majority in the city.
In 2014, 116 people died when a building owned by popular televangelist TB Joshua collapsed in Lagos.

Summary:


Labour has been "ploughing on as if they have a divine right to rule" in Wales, the Welsh Conservative leader has said.

Article: The bank said its next notes would be printed on polymer, replacing the cotton paper used for notes currently in issue.
The notes will be slightly smaller and will reuse the existing Bank of Scotland designs.
A one-off limited edition £5 note will be issued in November and auctioned to raise money for BBC Children in Need.
The circulation will be limited to just 50. They will feature designs from the winners of a children's competition which has just been launched.
The main replacement polymer banknotes will continue to feature Sir Walter Scott and The Mound on the front and the bridges theme on the back.
The images will be "adapted and modernised" so they are suitable for polymer.
The design of the polymer £5 note will be unveiled before the end of this year, with the notes due to be issued in the second half of 2016.
It will be followed about a year later by the polymer £10 note.
The announcement follows discussions with the Bank of England, which is due to bring plastic banknotes into circulation next year.
The Bank of Scotland is one of three in Scotland authorised to issue banknotes.
Managing director Robin Bulloch said: "Bank of Scotland has been issuing banknotes for over 300 years and we take seriously our responsibility to create good quality genuine banknotes that can be used with confidence.
"Polymer notes are cleaner, more secure, and more durable than paper notes.
"They will provide enhanced counterfeit resilience, and increase the quality of Bank of Scotland notes in circulation."
In March, the Clydesdale Bank announced it was issuing two million polymer £5 notes.
The new note features an image of the Forth Bridge and has been issued to commemorate the bridge's 125th anniversary.
The note also features a portrait of Sir William Arrol, whose company constructed the bridge among many other landmarks in Scotland.

Summary: The Bank of Scotland has announced plans to introduce plastic £5 and £10 banknotes.
###
Article: The top-level figure - that Scotland's population has grown to a record high of 5.37m - is no surprise. It's been growing steadily since 2000 and NRS statisticians predict it will continue to do so until at least 2039.
But beneath that top number is a huge amount of other data, contained in almost endless spreadsheets, which is published each year as part of the review.
The statistics paint a fascinating and occasionally surprising picture of Scotland - the state of the nation, as the NRS puts it.
Births, deaths and marriages are the bread and butter of the NRS's annual review.
1. The figures tell us there were 55,098 births and 57,579 deaths registered.
2. There were also 29,691 weddings and 1,671 of them were same-sex marriages.
3. Only 64 couples opted for a civil partnership last year - 33 of them male couples and 31 female couples.
4. Of the deaths, 1,150 were related to alcohol.
5. 147 men died in transport accidents, compared to 44 women.
6. There were 504 adoptions - the highest figure for 10 years
7. In 2014, there were 433,235 people in Scotland aged over 75.
8. NRS statisticians predict this figure will grow to more than 800,000 by 2039 - an increase of 85%.
9. If you were a woman aged 50 or 51 last year, there were more of you than anyone else.
10. Your life expectancy at birth in Glasgow was 73.4. In East Dunbartonshire, it was 80.7.
11. The average age at death last year was 76.9.
12. The area of Scotland with the fastest growing population over the last 10 years is East Lothian - up 11.1%.
13. Argyll & Bute and Inverclyde are the fastest shrinking - both down 3.8%.
14. 24 is the most common age for people to leave Scotland. The destination for 2,060 of you last year was elsewhere in the UK, with 1,011 going abroad.
15. If you're aged 90 or more and moved to Scotland from overseas last year, there are seven others who did just that.

Summary: The National Records of Scotland (NRS) has published its annual review of the country's population statistics in 2015.
###
Article: In 2016/17 there were 10,822 cases reported - an increase of 5.2% on the previous year and a record high.
Two reports containing the latest statistics are due to be presented to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) next week.
They also highlight the fact that much of the increase came from non-recent cases and online offences.
BBC Scotland's home affairs correspondent Reevel Alderson said the persistent rise in sexual offences, including rape, was against a general trend of reduced crime and had caused concern among police.
In the year to the end of last March, 1,755 rapes were reported - with the figure up by 2.3%.
However, 41.5% of those rapes were classed as non-recent which means they were reported more than one year after they were committed. Recently-committed rapes were slightly down (1.6%).
According to campaigners, such as Rape Crisis Scotland, this reflected an increase in historical reporting as victims gain confidence that they will be believed.
The number of indecent or sexual assaults recorded rose 9.8% to 6,996. Of these, more than 2,000 were classed as non-contact - a rise of almost 10%.
Many of these were related to indecent communications by mobile phone or online.
The reports also looked at children and sex crimes.
As of the beginning of April 2017, the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit had been notified of 32 significant child abuse investigations from local policing divisions since January 2017. All were still live and ongoing and four of them had an "online footprint".
The reports said that the majority of rapes reported, where the victim was under 13, were non-recent and most were committed by a family member.
In reported rapes where the victim was 13-15, the majority were recent, but again, the majority were committed by a family member. Most reported rapes of children took place in either their own home or that of the abuser.
The two reports due to go before the SPA are Police Scotland's Performance Summary Report Quarter 4 and The Sexual Crime Overview.
The second of these...

Summary: The number of sex crimes recorded by Police Scotland has gone up, according to the force's own figures.
###
Article: The National Audit Office (NAO) said the penalties, imposed since 2005, gave the UK the sixth worst record of the 28 EU member states.
It said the government had made progress in the past year in managing the Common Agricultural Policy fines.
But it warned the amount of fines levied was likely to rise because the policy had been made more complex.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which supports the agricultural sector with subsidies, is the most expensive scheme in the EU, accounting for about 38% of its budget.
The money is spent on direct payments to farmers and rural development programmes.
The European Commission can impose fines where it does not think member states have complied with its guidelines.
The NAO said that of every £100 received from Brussels through the policy, £2.70 was given back in fines, with late payments to farmers and poor mapping data among the reasons.
Despite attempts to make the scheme more simple, the NAO said the updated policy had become more complex - with the government warning it will be 15% more expensive to manage than the old version.
Meg Hillier, the chairwoman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, which oversees the work of the NAO, said the prospect of further fines was "frightening".
"Complicated CAP rules don't help but the department must get a grip to deal with these persistent problems and ensure we aren't throwing away taxpayers' money on financial penalties," she said.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is considering spending £25m to £45m to improve mapping and avoid penalties of up to £370m, the report said.

Summary: The UK government has incurred fines of £642m from the European Commission for the way it manages EU farming payments.
###
Article: Speaking to Huw Edwards on The Wales Report, Andrew RT Davies defended his party from criticism that it simply opposes Labour policies rather than putting forward its own programme for government.
"At every juncture we bring forward an alternative, we don't just criticise," he said.
"There is a clear agenda for what the Welsh Conservatives stand for, and it's action.
"It's action to improve the economy, it's action to improve public services in Wales and it's action to strengthen communities the length and breadth of Wales."
Asked about his priority if the Tories won power after the assembly election in May, Mr Davies said: "The first spending commitment is protecting the NHS budget for the lifetime of this parliament, or the assembly's term, the five years.
"I would suggest that the outcomes in Wales regrettably aren't as good as we want them to be.
"And we want to make sure those outcomes are improved.
"That's why we've called for an independent Keogh-style enquiry into the NHS here in Wales so we can make those improvements, not on political whims, but led by clinicians themselves telling us what we need to be doing to improve the health service here in Wales."
Prof Sir Bruce Keogh investigated 14 NHS trusts in England for a review into higher-than-expected hospital death rates, published in 2013.
Speaking about the Wales Bill on further devolution, the Welsh Conservative leader praised Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb's handling of the legislation, put on hold on Monday after MPs called for a re-think.
It followed claims that the draft bill was confusing, and would leave Welsh ministers with fewer powers rather than more.
Mr Davies said: "The secretary of state deserves huge credit; for instead of ploughing on with this bill, actually saying 'I've listened to what people have said to me'.
"Actually, the Welsh Labour government could learn a lot from this legislative process."
First Minister Carwyn Jones had called Monday's announcement on the Wales Bill an "avoidable delay to clear up an avoidable mess".

Summary:


Scotland's media landscape is being bulldozed - transformed by digital technology, burgeoning choice, and quite a bit of politics - particularly as the future of the BBC is now in play.

Article: Scientists at the University of Lincoln tested 36 animals, offering them bowls containing chocolate or less appealing coffee beans in two fixed locations.
Pigs were considered optimists if they investigated a third bowl, placed in the middle of the two bowls, even though it might not contain treats.
Dr Lisa Collins said it suggested the judgment of pigs was similar to humans.
The research, which has been published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, saw some pigs treated to improved living conditions with more living space and extra-deep layers of straw.
The other animals, with less space and no straw, tended to be negative and pessimistic, the research suggested.
They were, however, found to have been cheered up by an improvement in their living conditions.
Dr Collins, from the University of Lincoln, and colleagues wrote: "Reactive pigs in the less enriched environment were more pessimistic and those in the more enriched environment more optimistic.
"These results suggest that judgment in non-human animals is similar to humans, incorporating aspects of stable personality traits and more transient mood states."

Summary: Pigs have personalities and can be pessimists or optimists, much like humans, new research has suggested.
###
Article: At its policy meeting, the ECB has the option of stepping up "quantitative easing", buying financial assets with newly created money.
It could also cut the interest rate on overnight bank deposits at the ECB.
This is to encourage lending, as with a rate of -0.2%, the banks in effect pay the ECB for holding their reserves.
The policy is designed to make it more profitable for banks to offer loans to consumers and businesses, ensuring a free flow of money.
The immediate problem driving this expected action is inflation. It is too low.
The most recent figure for the eurozone is 0.1%. The ECB's target is below, but close to, 2%.
The figure has been below zero - that is, prices were falling - as recently as September.
This has been because of falls in international energy prices, particularly crude oil.
But "core inflation", which strips out volatile food and energy prices, is also low, hovering persistently around 1%.
The latest figure, for November, was down on the previous month.
So why would low inflation be seen as a problem?
ECB President Mario Draghi spelt out a number of reasons in a speech last year.
Low or even below-zero inflation - otherwise known as deflation - can aggravate debt problems. It can lead to households and firms delaying spending.
For some countries which need to improve competitiveness, low average inflation across the eurozone means they may need to have falling prices, as some do: Greece, Cyprus and Spain.
It doesn't mean their economies cannot recover, but it is a potential obstacle to stronger growth.
Mr Draghi has made a number of comments suggesting that the ECB will take further steps to get inflation up.
At the ECB's last policy meeting in October, he said the amount of stimulus provided would be re-examined in December.
As mentioned, this is likely to be a cut in the interest rate on overnight bank deposits held at the central bank and a ramping up of its quantitative easing (QE) programme, which it launched in January.
This involves buying financial assets, notably government...

Summary: The European Central Bank is expected to announce further stimulus measures to boost growth in the eurozone's economy later on Thursday.
###
Article: They sniff and sip a type of Oolong tea from tiny, white china cups while making notes on its aroma, body and aftertaste, and consider what food with which to pair it.
Part of a generation that had eschewed tea leaves in favour of the lattÃ©s, espressos and frappucinos sold by international chains like Starbucks, young Chinese are rediscovering the country's tea drinking tradition.
And in doing so, they have sparked a boom that is both a cultural and business phenomenon.
"My parents drink tea like this every day but I seldom do," says Sharon Ho, a 30-year-old who works in accounting, as she sips a cup of Wuyi Dark Rock Oolong tea grown in the mountains in Fujian province in southeastern China.
"Normally I drink coffee, but as Chinese we should know about this."
Prices of rare, high-end Chinese teas - such as Pu Erh, a black, fermented tea that can be aged for up to 100 years, or First Flush Longjin, a freshly picked green tea - have rocketed over the past decade.
The industry has been shaped in ways that parallel the Western captivation with wine, with tea becoming a distinctly Chinese way to flaunt your wealth and invest your savings.
Vivian Mak, the tea master who runs the tastings, brews the tea in the traditional way using small fine china tea sets and metal implements on a wooden tray that drains off excess water. But she prides herself on taking an innovative approach to an old industry.
Her signature drink is a jasmine blossom-scented green tea she likes to serve in a martini glass. She serves the fragrant and visually arresting beverage as an alternative to wine at corporate events for clients like Goldman Sachs.
"There's not too much water inside, so you can sip while you mingle," she says.
Mak believes different Chinese teas can complement any type of cuisine, be it a nutty, malty Longjing green tea with a Chinese seafood dish, or a stronger Oolong tea to accompany a hearty French casserole. She also likes to pair teas with different types of chocolate.
"It's like wine. You serve something more...

Summary: On a humid September Saturday, a group of 20- and 30-something professionals gather at a tea house in an industrial building in a now gentrified Hong Kong neighbourhood.
###
Article: Juventus take on Real Madrid in the city on 3 June with tens of thousands of fans expected from Italy and Spain alone.
But Cardiff's 4,000 hotel rooms is a fraction of those in previous host cities Paris (76,000) and Berlin (135,000).
Those unable to secure bookings are expected to look to alternatives such as tents or lodge with local residents.
There is a temporary campsite for about 5,000 supporters at Pontcanna Fields which features 1,500 tents and will be in place between 22 May and 5 June.
Geoff Vaughan from the private firm Campingninja, which is organising the site, said its aim was to provide fans with an alternative to hotels.
"It's about being able for someone to fly in, or take the train in, and just arrive and have everything ready for them," he said.
"So if it's one of our two man tents it'll have a bed in it, it'll have pillows, it'll have sleeping bags."
The lowest price two person tent at the site starts at Â£300 for the night of the final, illustrating the cost for fans travelling to the event.
Local residents have also tried to cash in and adverts on websites such as Gumtree and Airbnb have some putting their homes up for between Â£80 and Â£2,000.
Katarzyna Minor, a lecturer in hospitality at Cardiff Metropolitan University, thinks most people advertising their homes will be able to find guests for the final.
"If you've got a spare room in Cardiff, that eliminates the need to travel in from Swansea or from Bristol, then why wouldn't you do it?" she said.
"This is how the whole idea of Airbnb came about in the first place.
"The people who came up with the idea rented out their own floor space essentially, because their city had run out of hotel space."
Ms Minor also believes the number of people renting out their own homes in cities like Cardiff means it is unlikely more hotels will be built in the future.
"You've got bed and breakfast accommodation, you've got self-catering accommodation and also increasingly these days what you're looking at is the rise of Airbnb," she added.
"You're not...

Summary: Hotels for the Champions League Final in Cardiff sold out months ago - so what will happen to the rest of the 170,000 visitors expected?
###
Article: The politics is also apparent in the newspaper sales figures for the first half of the year. Out this week, they show the average decline at more than 10% since the first half of last year, continuing the industry's painful downward trajectory.
Scotland on Sunday saw print sales fall more than 20%. It now has an average weekly sale of less than 25,000. It doesn't have its own staff any more, relying on a journalism pool shared with its stablemate, The Scotsman.
"SoS" is now being beaten by the only weekly "regional" paper to register a rise in print sales, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation. The Sunday Herald looked to be on its last legs, but found a niche by backing the independence cause.
Approving "Yes" campaigners backed it, with a big lift in the back half of last year, from which it's fallen back, but still retained an average 29,000 weekly sales.
Its publisher, Newsquest, also saw a gap in the daily market for pro-independence readers. Although the figures aren't audited, we're told they're selling nearly 17,000 a day.
These are small numbers when set alongside the total sale of newspapers. The constitutional debate may have polarised opinion and changed some buying behaviour, but it can be overstated. The decline of sales in Scotland has recently been steeper than those for the rest of the UK, but the trends are similar.
Meanwhile, publishers point out there's a rise in online readership. But that's not making them enough money to sustain their cost bases. In the case of the Scotsman's figures, daily online readers are down 33% since a busy referendum period.
Those news publishers are competing with broadcasters for online readers. We've just got half year figures for STV which show  it aiming to achieve its turnaround by the end of next year.
A high priority is the desire to find a new earner from making drama series, as royalties from Taggart re-runs fade to black.
It's finding the transition and investing in new services can be expensive, with an Â£800,000 half-year loss on its two city...

Summary:


The charity is appealing for donations to help it reach its target of £75,000.
Article: The charity is appealing for donations to help it reach its target of £75,000.
### Article: The charity is appealing for donations to help it reach its target of £75,000.
Article:

A skin cancer appeal backed by a BBC presenter has reached its £45,000 target after just six weeks.

Article: Paul Mansfield, 28, of no fixed address, denied the charges but was found guilty at Preston Crown Court and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Police said he befriended the "clearly intoxicated and vulnerable" victims, promising to help them.
The two attacks took place in 2014, the second while he was on bail for rape.
Police said Mansfield befriended a 20-year-old homeless woman and promised to give her somewhere safe to stay in the early hours of 17 June.
He took her to a flat on Charnley Road in the resort but when the victim tried to go to sleep, Mansfield raped her, biting her neck and striking her face during the attack.
She managed to escape and ran to Blackpool police station to report the attack.
Mansfield struck a second time on 9 September when he befriended a woman, 21, from Glasgow on a night out in the resort, said police.
She had become separated from her boyfriend after an argument, said police, and Mansfield offered to take her back to her hotel in a taxi.
Police said they ended up on Loftus Avenue where he dragged her down an alley and attempted to rape her.
She managed to push him off and run away, said police.
Lancashire Constabulary's Det Con Lisa Wainwright said Mansfield was a "dangerous sexual predator" who targeted his victims when they were intoxicated.
She said it was disturbing that he used the guise of befriending them when he had "clear intentions of assaulting them to satisfy his own sexual urges".
Mansfield was also found guilty of two sexual assaults and supplying Class A drugs, for which he was sentenced to two years to run concurrently.

Summary: A "dangerous sexual predator" who raped a woman and attempted to rape another in  separate attacks in Blackpool has been jailed.
###
Article: The index, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will initially monitor air quality in 10 cities.
Last year the Environmental Preference Index ranked India 174 out of 178 countries for air quality.
The rising and health-endangering pollution has been mainly blamed on a huge increase in vehicles, particularly diesel-driven cars, on Indian roads.
Polluting industries, open burning of refuse and leaves, massive quantities of construction waste and substantial loss of forests have also led to high pollution levels in cities.
A World Health Organization (WHO) survey last year found that 13 of the most polluted 20 cities in the world were in India. The capital, Delhi, was the most polluted city in the world, the survey said.
It is a leading cause of premature death in India, with about 620,000 people dying every year from pollution-related diseases, says the WHO.
On Monday, Mr Modi said India "has to take the lead in guiding the world on thinking of ways to combat climate change".
"The world thinks India doesn't care about the environment, we must change that... India has always respected the environment," he said. He also called on Indians to make changes to their lifestyle to help reduce pollution.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the air quality index "may prove to be a major impetus to improving air quality in urban areas, as it will improve public awareness in cities to take steps for air pollution mitigation".
But he did not provide any details on what the government would do to curb air pollution except introducing new rules on disposal of waste from construction work.
The new index will initially cover 10 cities - Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad - and will be extended to more than 60 cities, reports say.
Details of how the index's data will be gathered were not immediately clear.
But officials say it will provide "composite and comprehensive" information on the air quality, which will be displayed publicly and uploaded on the...

Summary: India has launched its first air quality index, to provide real time information about pollution levels.
###
Article: The train was designed by architect Kazuyo Sejima and has semi-transparent and mirrored surfaces to help it blend into the background.
The company who make the trains said that they wanted the carriages to feel like a living room, so that passengers can feel relaxed.
It's expected to be rolled out in 2018.
Japan often uses the latest technology on its trains, which are considered some of the best and quickest in the world.

Summary: Look closely, and you might be able to see this new 'invisible' train, unveiled in Japan.
###
Article: The answer lies in the folds of a multi-dimensional conflict in which the aims of various parties are often at odds with each other.
At one level, an increasingly aggressive insurgency rages across Afghanistan, preventing the government in Kabul and its international allies from stabilising the country.
At another, much of the insurgency appears to stem from another conflict further east - the rivalry between India and Pakistan.
All this is happening at a time when Afghan President Hamid Karzai is nearing the end of his term, and Nato's deadline for a drawdown is approaching.
'Reconcilable' elements
Meanwhile, Pakistan is known to have invested heavily to ensure that Afghanistan does not revert to its traditional anti-Pakistan, pro-India role of the pre-1980s, when Pakistan had to live under the threat of a two-front war.
This policy led to the creation of the Taliban movement in the early 1990s, and enabled them to regroup as a guerrilla force in the post-9/11 era after they found sanctuary in Pakistan.
Pakistanis are likely to continue with this policy unless India and Pakistan resolve their mutual conflict over Kashmir - a highly unlikely scenario.
Against this backdrop, the relentless focus on Mullah Baradar's release points to an underlying hope that he could become a catalyst in bringing all the warring parties to a grand resolution.
But is this hope realistic?
When Pakistanis arrested Mullah Baradar in February 2010, some Afghan officials claimed the move was meant to sabotage a peace process he had initiated with the Karzai government behind the Pakistanis' backs.
The Pakistanis, for their part, never made clear why they had arrested him, or some 50-odd other prominent Taliban leaders, while many others are free and actively engaging in the insurgency.
Months after his arrest, President Karzai appointed a 74-member High Peace Council to negotiate peace with the "reconcilable" elements within the Taliban.
Since then, Pakistan has been under constant pressure from Kabul to release Mullah Baradar and...

Summary: Pakistan has freed its highest-ranking Taliban captive, Mullah Baradar - but where does he go from here?
###
Article: The Colin Bloomfield Melanoma Appeal was launched in February to raise awareness of skin cancer and educate children in schools about sun safety.
The target was reached on Monday after the Freemasons in Derby donated £10,000 with a new target set at £75,000.
Radio Derby presenter Colin Bloomfield - who has stage four melanoma - said the donations were "hugely generous".
BBC Radio Derby is working with the Derby Telegraph and charity Skcin, which specialises in skin cancer prevention.
The station launched the appeal after Colin's diagnosis in 2013, and his openness and optimism on the disease touched thousands of listeners.
The 33-year-old had a malignant melanoma removed from his leg 10 years ago but in 2013 he was told the cancer had returned and in November he was given months to live when it spread to his brain.
"Every single pound has made such a big difference," he said,
"As a child I never understood the seriousness of getting burnt but I'm living through it now.
"[Melanoma] is a truly horrible disease that a lot of people don't understand the seriousness of.
"We are not used to seeing the sun in this country and when we go out and enjoy it, it is about doing it safely and responsibly.
"If we can hammer home that message to kids in schools that can only be a good thing."
Earlier this month Derby County Football Club raised more than £14,000 after donating £10 for every away ticket sold at Norwich.
The appeal aims to take the sun safe scheme to 200 schools in Derbyshire and East Staffordshire.

Summary:


A Russian court has jailed three women for performing a twerking dance in front of a World War Two memorial.

Article: Amir Ali Qureshi, from the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, predicts adverts featuring a dog on a trampoline will boost sales.
But he also expects a spike in people with broken bones turning up at A&E this Christmas.
He said injuries were common, even with trampolines that come with safety netting.
"Just last week I had a 27-year-old female referred to me with a life-changing injury to her left knee as a result of a trampoline accident," Mr Qureshi said.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) says more than 13,000 trampolining injuries are treated each year.
Broken arms, legs, knee dislocations and neck injuries can all result from having an accident on a trampoline.
Mr Qureshi added: "Some of these injuries are simply unpleasant, but others can be extremely serious.
"The issue at the moment, particularly where young people are involved, is that the use of nets gives children and their parents a false sense of security that they will be fine whatever the level and intensity of activity on a trampoline.
"In my opinion, as an experienced orthopaedic surgeon, the equipment is dangerous and should only be used in appropriate circumstances, which I believe can only be achieved under professional supervision."
Dave Walker, the leisure safety manager at RoSPA, said: "When using a trampoline at home parents must be aware that, just like any high-energy leisure activity, there is a risk, and they should take precautions to prevent potentially serious and life-changing injuries.
"Having netting around the trampoline is a good preventative measure, as is only allowing one child on at a time, and supervision to ensure the activity being carried out on the trampoline is appropriate.
"Many serious injuries occur when a larger person is on with a child, so parents should avoid getting on at the same time as their children."

Summary: Trampolines should be used only under professional supervision, according to a senior bone surgeon.
###
Article: The infection has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains.
Some areas have declared a state of emergency, doctors have described it as "a pandemic in progress" and some are even advising women in affected countries to delay getting pregnant.
But there is much we do not know.
Deaths are rare and only one-in-five people infected is thought to develop symptoms.
These include:
A rare nervous system disorder, Guillain-BarrÃ© syndrome, that can cause temporary paralysis has been linked to the infection.
There is no vaccine or drug treatment so patients are advised to rest and drink plenty of fluids.
But the biggest concern is the impact it could have on babies developing in the womb and the surge in microcephaly.
It is when a baby is born with an abnormally small head, as their brain has not developed properly.
The severity varies, but it can be deadly if the brain is so underdeveloped that it cannot regulate the functions vital to life.
Children that do survive face intellectual disability and development delays.
It can be caused by infections such as rubella, substance abuse during pregnancy or genetic abnormalities.
Case study: 'It's not the end of the world'
The WHO says there is "scientific consensus" that Zika causes microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Some babies who died had the virus in their brain and it has been detected in placenta and amniotic fluid too.
Some governments have advised women to delay getting pregnant until more is known.
Experts now believe Zika is linked to a broader set of complications in pregnancy, including miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and eye problems.
The US Centres for Disease Control says Zika lingers in the blood for about a week and can be spread by sexual intercourse.
"The virus will not cause infections in a baby that is conceived after the virus is cleared from the blood," it says.
"There is currently no evidence that Zika-virus infection poses a risk of birth defects in future pregnancies."
The WHO advises couples...

Summary: The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency.
###
Article: Millions of Chinese people are believed to have been affected by the data leaks, said security experts at the University of Toronto.
The data reveals where people are, search terms, sites visited and the ID numbers of devices they own.
Baidu said it had tackled the problems with the insecure computer code.
The code is found in a software development kit that can be used to create apps for Android phones and programs for Windows.
Baidu itself used it to make web browsers for Android and Windows and many other firms have used the kit too.
Apps and browsers made using the Baidu kit have been downloaded hundreds of millions of times, said researchers at Toronto's Citizen Lab in the report. As part of a long-running research project, the Lab has focussed on privacy and personal data use in China. Last year the team found shortcomings in the Alibaba browser.
The latest report found several security and privacy shortcomings in the Baidu code.
Some data, including GPS coordinates and search terms, is sent in plain text.
In addition, the protections added to other forms of information, such as unique device IDs, could easily be broken.
Poor protection of apps made with the kit also made users "susceptible" to fake updates that could give an attacker access to a phone or a Windows computer.
"The transmission of personal data without properly implemented encryption can expose a user's data to surveillance," said the authors in their report.
Worryingly, they added, users would have no warning that the data was being transmitted or gathered.
"The leakage of such user data is particularly problematic for individuals who use these applications and their devices to engage in politically sensitive communications," said the report.
"It's either shoddy design or it's surveillance by design," Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab, told Reuters.
Citizen Lab said that Baidu had fixed some of the bugs in the code since it had first been told about them in November last year.
However, it added, the poor encryption scheme was...

Summary: Personal data is being collected and transmitted insecurely by thousands of apps using code from the Chinese net giant Baidu, say security researchers.
###
Article: Holly, an eight-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier, has both male and female reproductive organs.
It does not cause Holly any physical problems, but Coventry RSPCA said there had been no interest from adopters.
Kennel supervisor Danni Holder said: "Canine hermaphrodites are very rare, so Holly is a very special dog to us."
She added: "This doesn't cause Holly any physical issues or difficulties, but it might put people off from adopting her.
"It absolutely shouldn't though, as Holly is such a lovely and friendly dog."
The pet, who is "very playful and loves walks", came into the charity's care in 2016 when the previous owner could no longer look after it.
"Holly has such a big 'Staffie smile' which is infectious," added Ms Holder. "We have fallen in love with her and we think she would be a wonderful dog to have at home."
RSPCA chief vet James Yeates said: "Hermaphrodites have both ovaries and testicles and this is rare. Some of these animals have a mixture of genes in their cells.
"It is more common for some males to have some female genitalia and undescended testicles, known as hermaphrodites. But it is also possible to get females with some male organs which would be known as pseudo-hermaphrodites."

Summary: A rare hermaphrodite dog has been unable to find a home because potential owners are "put off" when learning about its condition.
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Article: The court in Novorossiysk gave two of the dancers 10 days in jail each, a third 15 days and two others received fines on charges of petty hooliganism.
Prosecutors had said their "erotic and sexual twerk dance" was disrespectful to historic memory and unacceptable.
Earlier this month, Russian officials closed a dance school after a similar dance video emerged on the internet.
The latest incident involves six dancers - one of them a minor who was not convicted - who had posted a video on YouTube.
"This incident of disrespect for the memory of war history is unacceptable  and any attempts to desecrate sites of military glory will be stopped  immediately," prosecutors said.
The sentences come as Russia prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of  the World War Two victory.
They also follow the incident early in April when a video clip from the Orenburg dance school on YouTube was viewed millions of times.
The video clip, entitled Winnie the Pooh and the Bees, showed a group of teenage girls dancing on stage in striped leotards, long socks and mini-skirts,
They perform hip-thrusting moves characteristic of twerking.
A committee is investigating whether the performance amounts to negligence or even "debauched action", which is punishable by a range of sanctions from community service to three years behind bars.

Summary:


first Grand Slam tournament of the year and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year for the US Open Series.
The US Open Series is a tennis tournament series that began in 2015.
The US Open Series is a tennis tournament series that began in 2015.
The US Open Series is a

Former world number one Victoria Azarenka will miss the US Open because of an "ongoing family situation".

Article: The advisory group set up by the Scottish government in 2015 issued a report examining some of the "many changes" which need to be made.
The report said tackling hate crime should be "a priority concern for the whole of society".
The Scottish government said it contained "important messages that we should all reflect on".
A review of available evidence on hate crime for the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research has warned that "there is a problem of hate crime in contemporary Scotland", adding that all stakeholders spoken to reported higher levels of hate crime than is recorded in official figures.
There have been concerns about an increase in hate crimes across the UK in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, although some reports have shown a reduction in such offences in Scotland.
However, the number of hate crime offences relating to football in Scotland have risen 49% in the past year.
The Advisory Group on Hate Crime, Prejudice and Community Cohesion was established in 2015 to provide advice and analysis on the issue.
Their report notes that racist offences are the most prominent hate crime category, but have been falling slightly while reports of offences based on sexual orientation had increased 20% in the past year.
It said the Scottish government's approach was "widely appreciated", but said that while the criminal justice system was seen to take the matter seriously, the system "continues to feel disjointed from the perspective of many victims".
The group also heard "disturbing" evidence about the "rapidly growing" phenomenon of online abuse, and warned that too often offenders are not challenged.
They recommended a multi-agency approach, with groups from across government and society treating hate crime as a high priority.
Specific recommendations include:
Chairman Dr Duncan Morrow said it was clear that "hatred and prejudice continue to have very serious consequences for people and communities across society".
He said: "Prejudice and hate have a huge impact on the quality of life of...

Summary: An independent review has called for a stronger approach to tackling hate crime in Scotland.
###
Article: He led the Tykes to victory in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final and League One play-off final after being appointed as caretaker in January.
"At the end of an unforgettable few months I am absolutely delighted to have signed as head coach," the 38-year-old told the club website.
"We have a clear vision of how we want to continue to improve the club."
The former Oakwell youth coach took over on a short-term basis after previous boss Lee Johnson left for Bristol City.
Heckingbottom won 13 of his 21 games in charge, culminating in a 3-1 win over Millwall at Wembley as Barnsley returned to the Championship after a two-season absence.
"We've enjoyed one of the most unforgettable and remarkable seasons ever here at Barnsley Football Club and it goes without saying that Paul has been instrumental in the success we have achieved," chief executive Ben Mansford said of the Barnsley-born coach.
"He's one of the brightest and hard-working young coaches in the country and we're absolutely delighted that he's agreed to become our permanent head coach."
Meanwhile, full-backs George Williams and George Smith are to leave Oakwell after the club withdrew contract offers to the pair.
Williams, 23, made 27 appearances last season, including both Wembley finals, while Smith, 19, played 29 games and had a spell on loan at Crawley.

Summary: Barnsley have appointed Paul Heckingbottom as their head coach on a 12-month rolling contract.
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Article: Kiira Motors' Kayoola prototype electric bus was shown off at a stadium in Uganda's capital, Kampala.
One of its two batteries can be charged by solar panels on the roof which increases the vehicle's 80km (50 mile) range.
The makers now hope to attract partners to help manufacture the bus for the mass market.
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Kiira Motors' chief executive Paul Isaac Musasizi told BBC News that he had been "humbled" by the large and positive reaction to the test drive.
People have been excited by the idea that Uganda is able to produce the concept vehicle, or prototype, and Mr Musasizi said he wanted it to help the country "champion the automotive, engineering and manufacturing industries" in the region.
He also hopes that it will generate employment, predicting that by 2018, more than 7,000 people could be directly and indirectly employed in the making of the Kayoola.
But backing from international companies, which make vehicle parts, is essential for the project to take off.
The vision is that by 2039 the company will be able to manufacture all the parts and assemble the vehicle in Uganda.
The 35-seat bus is intended for urban areas rather than inter-city use because of the restrictions on how far it can travel.
If it is mass produced, each bus would cost up to $58,000 (Â£40,000), which Mr Musasizi says is a a competitive price.
Kiira Motors grew out of a project at Uganda's Makerere University, which is now a shareholder in the company, and it has also benefitted from government funding.

Summary: A solar-powered bus described by its Ugandan makers as the first in Africa has been driven in public.
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Article: After an emergency committee meeting on Tuesday, the UN health agency also said there was increasing evidence of links between Zika and various birth defects.
Zika is most commonly spread by mosquitoes but several countries have reported cases of sexual transmission.
The WHO last month said the outbreak constitutes a global emergency.
WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan said "reports and investigations in several countries strongly suggest that sexual transmission of the virus is more common than previously assumed".
She called the development "alarming".
Dr Chan also said that microcephaly - a birth defect strongly linked to the Zika outbreak in Brazil - was just one of several conditions that the WHO had linked to the virus.
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Another is Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). Nine countries have now reported an increase in cases of GBS, a rare condition that can cause temporary paralysis and death.
Dr Chan said problems linked to Zika were now being seen not just in women of child-bearing age, but children, teenagers and older adults.
She said public health officials should not wait for definitive scientific proof of links between the virus and various health conditions before issuing guidance.
The WHO has advised pregnant women to avoid travelling to areas with ongoing Zika outbreaks, and to practice safe sex with anyone who has or abstain from sex for the duration of their pregnancy.
"Women who are pregnant in affected countries or travel to these countries are understandably deeply worried," Dr Chan said.
The US is investigating more than a dozen possible cases of Zika in people who may have been infected through sex.
A vaccine for the Zika virus could be ready for human trials later this year, Dr Anthony Fauci, who is leading the US government's...

Summary: Sexual transmission of the Zika virus is more common than previously thought, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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Article: The Belarusian only returned to tennis in June after giving birth to her son, Leo, in December.
Azarenka, 28, separated from his father in July and last week she issued a statement saying she could only play in the tournament "if I leave Leo behind".
Misa Eguchi, of Japan, moves into the main draw for the tournament, which starts on 28 August.
"I am sadly unable to compete in this year's US Open due to my ongoing family situation that I am working through," Azarenka said on Monday.
"While I will dearly miss being in New York and playing in one of my favourite tournaments where I have enjoyed some of the best moments in my career, I am already looking forward to being back next year."
Earlier this month Azarenka pulled out of the Cincinnati Open because of "a family matter".
The Australian Open champion in 2012 and 2013, she reached the final in New York in the same two years.
She was knocked out in the fourth round at Wimbledon this year.

Summary:


A killer who boasted he was the "hardest man" in town has been found guilty of murdering a soldier in Powys.

Article: In the general election two years ago, 138 people put their name forward.
Ulster Unionist MLA Alan Chambers has withdrawn his candidacy in North Down, where the party said the independent unionist Lady Sylvia Hermon enjoyed overwhelming support.
Three of the main parties - Sinn FÃ©in, the SDLP and Alliance - are contesting Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies.
Of the 109 candidates, 36 are women - that amounts to 33%, up on 2015 when just under a quarter of the candidates were women.
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The Democratic Unionist Party is standing aside in Fermanagh South Tyrone but is fighting the remaining 17 seats.
In addition to North Down, the Ulster Unionist Party is not contesting North Belfast, West Belfast or Foyle.
The Green Party and the Conservative Party are both fighting seven seats, People Before Profit two seats, and the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), just one.
The UK Independence Party, which put up 10 candidates in 2015, is not contesting any Northern Ireland seats this time around.
The number of TUV and Conservative candidates is also sharply reduced - the TUV fielded 10 candidates in 2015, and the Conservatives, 16.
One candidate is standing for the Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance, formed by ex-members of the Cannabis is Safer Than Alcohol party and sharing the same initials.
Four independents are in the race including Lady Hermon.
Nominations closed on Thursday 11 May.

Summary: A total of 109 candidates are standing for election in Northern Ireland in the Westminster poll on 8 June.
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Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
A 2014 BBC investigation found that 17 of England's top-flight clubs failed to provide enough wheelchair spaces.
At the moment, 15 out of 20 clubs will have to increase capacity to comply with guidelines on accessible stadiums.
Earlier on Monday, a government report had criticised the inadequate facilities and support for disabled fans at Premier League grounds.
Minister for disabled people Justin Tomlinson MP had said "common sense can fix" some issues, but accepted other areas "will need some work".
"Frankly, some of it is disgraceful," he told BBC Sport. "There isn't provision in some grounds, supporters are split up or are put in with the away fans. I find that totally unacceptable.
"We are in the last chance saloon with those football bodies saying: 'You need to get your house in order.' We need to get this addressed."
Media playback is not supported on this device
A Premier League statement said: "We are undertaking our own assessment by surveying every Premier League stadium to determine improvements for disabled access.
"Disability access was discussed at the Premier League shareholders meeting last week with several new proposals agreed."
Monday's report - done jointly by the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Culture, Media and Sport - recommends:
In August, a survey carried out by charity Revitalise before the start of the new Premier League season suggested that many clubs are continuing to fail disabled fans.
It followed the second reading of the Accessible Sports Grounds Bill in the House of Lords in July, where Lord Holmes of Richmond - Britain's most successful Paralympic swimmer - called on Premier League sponsors and broadcasters to pull out of football unless progress was made in providing facilities for disabled fans.
In June, top-flight clubs were threatened with legal action after the Equality and Human Rights Commission said it had received a number of complaints, including about Manchester United removing walking aids from...

Summary: All Premier League clubs have agreed to improve access for disabled supporters by August 2017.
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Article: Some will pull out a debit or credit card ready to put in a reader. Others might use their smartphone to complete their purchase, the rest will be paying in cash.
The group using notes and coins is still significant but their numbers are starting to dwindle, particularly among the young.
That spells trouble for the operators of cash machines. Time then for a reinvention of the humble ATM [automated teller machine] but in a digital world what can you do with a hole in the wall whose primary function is dispensing cash?
The answer is a "bank in a box", a machine that is the alternative to a branch serving all your financial needs with 24/7 opening hours, says one manufacturer.
Other experts are more sceptical. They say all that can be done is to manage the decline of ATMs, and cash in general, until they are replaced entirely by a digital wallet found on our phones.
This debate is a far cry from the hurried signing of contracts, over a pink gin, between Barclays and John Shepherd-Barron in the UK some 50 years ago.
The deal, between bank and inventor, led to the first ever cash machine being installed in London in 1967.
All did not go entirely to plan. When one was installed in Zurich, Switzerland, there was a mysterious malfunction. Eventually, it was found that wires from two intersecting nearby tramlines were interfering with the mechanism.
Yet with other devices also being patented, the ATM soon evolved and its use spread widely.
The latest figures show that ATM numbers in the BRIC nations [Brazil, Russia, India, China] have gone up sharply and machines remain a constant if not growing sight in Western Europe.
Russia, has seen rapid growth in recent years, according to a report by Payments UK, while growth in India is coming, in part, from the development of solar-powered ATMs in rural areas.
Portugal has the highest proportion of cash machines in Western Europe with 1,516 machines per one million residents.
Sweden, typical of a Scandinavian shift towards a cashless society, has the lowest with 333 machines...

Summary: Watch a queue of shoppers for a minute and they will be preparing to pay in very different ways.
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Article: In Glasgow, officers said they were looking into one case of "personation".
A similar allegation involving a vote cast at a polling station in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency was also being probed.
Claims of personation in two Edinburgh constituencies - South and South West - have also been reported.
The Glasgow case was believed to have involved someone entering a polling station in the Glasgow East constituency and crossing a ballot paper under another person's name.
The presiding officer informed authorities earlier and counting staff were asked to be on the lookout for the paper when the box arrived at the Emirates Arena count.
Glasgow City Council said count staff would wear blue gloves to locate the paper, which will be counted and sealed in a bag before being handed to police.
At the North Lanarkshire count in Motherwell, a statement from the returning officer Gavin Whitefield said: "Following an allegation of personation at a polling station in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency, the police are investigating.
"We will verify the ballot box in question in isolation to help to provide evidence for the police inquiry. No other polling stations or ballot boxes are affected."
At the Edinburgh count, candidates from Edinburgh South and Edinburgh South West constituencies were summoned to a meeting.
An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: "Polling staff raised concern over two possible cases of voter personation. This was immediately reported to Police Scotland who are now investigating."
It is understood cases refer to one ballot paper in Gorgie Dalry parish church in Edinburgh South West, and one ballot paper in Edinburgh South neighbourhood office in Edinburgh South.

Summary: Police are investigating cases of possible fraudulent voting at a number of Scottish election counts.
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Article: Pte Matthew Boyd, 20, was off-duty on a night out in Brecon when he was punched and beaten by Jake Vallely.
But the jury cleared Vallely's friend Aaeron Evans of manslaughter after Cardiff Crown Court was told he was not present during the attack.
Vallely, 24, will be sentenced on 8 December.
The unconscious body of Pte Boyd, who served with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, was found by police in the town in the early hours of 8 May.
Pte Boyd, who is originally from Carrickfergus, County Antrim, had been in the town for training exercises at the infantry battle school.
During the trial, the court heard Pte Boyd was making his way back to the barracks when he was attacked outside a bar called The Cellar.
CCTV footage showed the soldier being punched, going to the ground and being beaten until he no longer moved.
Vallely then dragged his body from the scene before fleeing.
The trial was told the killer had been on a seven hour drinking binge and in the hour before the attack was boasting he was the "hardest man in Brecon".
His friend Mr Evans was cleared of any involvement in the attack, after the jury was told he had left the scene before the start of any violence.
Senior investigating officer Det Supt David Guiney, from Dyfed-Powys Police, called the attack "a despicable act" that "shocked" the community of Brecon.
"I plead with anyone who plans a night out drinking with their friends to please, walk away from any conflict, do not resort to violence," he said.
A family tribute described Pte Boyd as an "all-rounder" who had "a promising career ahead of him which has been cut short".
The tribute read: "Matthew was full of life. He was loving, caring and loyal. He was always playing jokes on his peers and family, and always brought smiles to our faces."
It said Vallely had created "a void in our family that will never be filled", adding the "unbearable pain" was something they will have to live with for the rest of their lives.
"During this trial, it has been mentioned that Jake Vallely called himself the 'hardest...

Summary: