The UK's first ever national strategy for the environment has been published.
The strategy sets out a vision for the environment in the UK, and sets out the actions that the government will take to achieve it.
It is the first time that the UK has produced a national strategy for the environment.
The strategy sets

A new devolved authority has been ordered to review its estimated budget after it rose by £500,000.

Article: The galaxy NGC 1277, just a quarter the size of our own Milky Way, hosts a black hole 4,000 times larger than the one at the Milky Way's centre.
A report in Nature shows it has a mass some 17 billion times that of our Sun.
The surprise finding is hard to reconcile with existing models of black hole growth, which hold that they evolve in tandem with host galaxies.
Getting to grips with just how large black holes are is a tricky business - after all, since they swallow light in their vicinities, they cannot be seen.
Instead, astronomers measure the black holes' "sphere of influence" - the gravitational effects they have on surrounding gas and stars.
In the Milky Way, it is possible to observe individual stars as they orbit Sagittarius A*, our own local black hole, to guess its mass.
But for the 100 or so far more distant black holes whose masses have been estimated, astronomers have made average measurements of associated stars' speeds - their "velocity dispersion".
On a hunt for the Universe's largest black holes, astronomers using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in the US state of Texas undertook a survey that brought in a haul of nearly 900 host galaxies.
But Remco van den Bosch, then at the University of Texas at Austin, and his colleagues were surprised to find that some of the largest black holes were to be found in small galaxies.
Among them was NGC 1277, 220 million light years away in the constellation Perseus, which happens to appear also in a high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope image, helping the researchers to refine their computer models.
"We make a model of the galaxy and compute all the possible stellar orbits," Dr Van den Bosch, who is now at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, explained to BBC News.
Could you survive falling into one?
"Like a big jigsaw, we try to put those orbits together to reproduce that galaxy so it has the same stellar velocities we measure. "
What the team found was that the NGC 1277 black hole was enormous - as large as our Solar System, and comprising some...

Summary: Astronomers have spotted an enormous black hole - the second most massive ever - but it resides in a tiny galaxy.
###
Article: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCC), set up this year, originally estimated annual running costs of about £1.3m.
But the authority's scrutiny committee voted against approving it, with one member asking if recruitment plans were "written on the back of a bus ticket".
CPCC said a reason for the rise was that a new authority was being created.
The authority, created under government devolution plans, intends to employ 15 staff, including newly-created housing, skills and transport director roles all on annual salaries above £100,000.
After Wednesday's decision by the scrutiny committee, the process of recruiting any new staff cannot begin until CPCC has reconsidered its budget, the deadline for which is 31 August.
Labour Cambridge city councillor Dave Baigent, a member of the scrutiny committee, asked of the new jobs: "Were these ideas written down on the back of a bus ticket? Were they discussed with councillors in advance?"
Lucy Nethsinga, a Liberal Democrat county councillor, said she had concerns over how these jobs overlapped with those in county and district councils.
CPCC chief executive Martin Whiteley said: "We, with 15 staff, will be substantially smaller than any other devolved authority in the country.
"I don't envisage us creating a big shiny office. We'll be looking to work flexibly across council offices."

Summary:


The trial will see 1,000 people with mobility problems wear badges with their name, contact details and the name of their mobility aid.
The trial is being run by TfL and the charity Leonard Cheshire Disability.
It is being run in partnership with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID

People with hidden health conditions are being offered "Please offer me a seat" badges in a bid to help ease their suffering on London transport.

Article: The layouts seem to converge over time to a similar structure regardless of where or over how long they were built.
The study,
          in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface
, analysed 14 subway networks around the world.
It found common distributions of stations within the networks, as well as common proportions of the numbers of lines, stations, and total distances.
In some senses, it is unsurprising that the study found that networks tended over time to comprise a dense core of central stations with a number of lines radiating outward from it.
By choosing the world's largest networks, from Beijing to Barcelona, the results were bound to represent networks that serve city centres with a dense collection of stations and bring commuters inward from more distant stations.
But the analysis shows a number of less obvious similarities across all 14 networks.
It found the total number of stations was proportional to the square of the number of lines - that is, a four-fold increase in station number would result in a doubling of the number of lines.
The dense core of central stations all had the same average number of neighbours in the network, and in all cases, about half the total number of stations were found outside the core.
In addition, the length of any one branch from the core's centre was about the same as twice the diameter of the core.
The number of stations at a given distance from the centre was proportional to the square of that distance, but only up to the edge of the core; at more distant reaches of the network, the number of stations contained was directly proportional to distance.
The authors analysed how the networks grew and added lines and stations, finding that they all converged over time to these similar structures.
They authors point out that the similarities exist regardless of where the networks were, when they were begun, or how quickly they reached their current layout.
"Although these (networks) might appear to be planned in some centralised manner, it is our contention here...

Summary: A study of the world's largest subway networks has revealed that they are remarkably mathematically similar.
###
Article: The Transport for London (TfL) trial follows the success of its "Baby on board" badge for pregnant women.
TfL is recruiting 1,000 people to start wearing the blue badges from 12 September.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he hoped they would "give confidence" to people who find standing difficult.
Some travellers, such as James McNaught who is joining the trial, had already started making their own badges to alert fellow passengers to their condition.
The 45-year-old designed "Cancer on board" badges after travelling on the Tube between Kentish Town and University College Hospital for chemotherapy.
Radiotherapy on his throat left him unable to speak to ask for a seat, and the morphine made him appear drunk.
"I'm really pleased TfL is doing this trial," he said. "A badge and card could help make a real difference to the lives of people undergoing drug treatment or with longer term conditions or disabilities."
TfL will use social media and customer information to encourage other passengers to look out for the badges.
"This small act of consideration from Londoners could make a huge difference to disabled people getting around the city and being fully involved in all London has to offer," said Alice Mitchell-Pye of charity Leonard Cheshire Disability.
The six-week trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Europe.

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The government has promised to support any buyer of the business by taking up to a 25% stake in a new business and making hundreds of millions of pounds of finance available.
The government has promised to support any buyer of the business by taking up to a 25% stake in a new business and making hundreds of millions of

Liberty House plans to submit a formal bid on Tuesday to buy Tata Steel's UK assets, which include the Port Talbot works employing about 4,000 people.

Article: Paintings by 54 artists, using materials ranging from Plasticine to industrial aluminium foil, have been selected by a panel of four experts.
The act of painting itself is a theme explored within several works, which will be showcased at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery from 9 July to 27 November.
A shortlist of four artists will be announced in June, with the overall winner unveiled on 7 July.
The sources of inspiration behind the paintings are varied, ranging from George Orwell's Animal Farm to a statue of an assassinated politician.
Director of Art Galleries at National Museums Liverpool, Sandra Penketh, said there is an "especially vibrant use of colour" in this year's selection.
"We also see many artists addressing the topical issues facing our world today, touching on subjects such as migration."
The entries were whittled down from more than 2,500 pieces by jury members Gillian Carnegie, Ansel Krut, Phoebe Unwin and Ding Yi, and author and freelance curator The Reverend Dr Richard Henry Davey.
Previous recipients of the prize include David Hockney and, most recently in 2014, Rose Wylie from Kent.
Sir John Moores, the owner of the Littlewoods company and a keen amateur painter, founded the competition to challenge London's domination of the national arts scene.
It was first held in 1957 and is open to anyone.

Summary: The longlist for the John Moores Painting Prize has been announced.
###
Article: Liberty, headed by Sanjeev Gupta, was first to express an interest in the assets when they were put up for sale.
A spokesman for Liberty told the BBC that the firm had put together a team of advisers and financial backers.
"The formal process is to submit a letter of intent; it amounts to a bid. It will be done on Tuesday," he said.
In addition to the Port Talbot factory - the UK's largest steelworks - Tata's remaining assets include sites at Newport, where more than 1,300 people are employed, and Rotherham, which employs 1,200. Tata also has operations at Corby, Shotton and Teesside.
Macquarie, the Australian bank, was advising Liberty on a potential bid, and is considered a potential financial backer of any takeover.
Liberty House started life in the university room of Indian-born founder Sanjeev Gupta.
While a student at Cambridge University in 1992, the budding entrepreneur started what has since become a global steel and commodities business with annual sales of more than £2bn.
With operations in 30 countries, and headquarters in London, Dubai, and Singapore, Mr Gupta's Liberty has also emerged as a possible saviour of Britain's steel industry.
Liberty's focus is on recycling the mountains of scrap metal generated in the UK, rather than the historical method of producing steel in blast furnaces.
Last month, it acquired Tata Steel's plants in Lanarkshire. In recent years, it has reached similar deals for steel plants in Newport and the Black Country.
A management buyout team is also planning to submit a bid under the name Excalibur Steel UK Limited.
It has appointed investment banker Mark Rhydderch-Roberts as a non-executive director. He joins Stuart Wilkie, the head of Tata's United Kingdom strip steel business, and former Alcan senior executive and venture capitalist Roger Maggs, on the board.
The government has promised to support any buyer of the business by taking up to a 25% stake in a new business and making hundreds of millions of pounds of finance available.
Tata has not publicly set a deadline...

Summary:


A man has been jailed for life for murdering a woman in a car park in Portsmouth.
The court heard that the victim, who has not been named, was found dead in a car park in Portsmouth in the early hours of Sunday, January 30, last year.
The court heard that the victim, who has

A transgender woman has been found guilty of raping a girl when still living as a man.

Article: Though imposing, the 3.7m (12ft) cephalopod was much smaller than the 13m they can grow to.
It spent several hours in the harbour and was filmed by local divers on Christmas Eve.
Mitsuhiro Fuwa, a curator at the local Uozu Aquarium, told the BBC there had been more than a dozen giant squid sightings in the last year.
Giant squid are more often seen trapped in fishing nets than swimming near the surface.
Professional underwater cameraman Takayoshi Kojima told the BBC he rushed to the harbour from nearby Toyama city when a manager at the marina called him.
He helped guide the squid to a deeper part of the marina, near the exit to the sea, where it disappeared.
Mr Kojima said he did not know whether the squid made it to open waters but said it did not look like it would survive long.
Mr  Fuwa said that although the squid showed some signs of energy - squirting ink and trying to wrap its legs around the divers - it did not look very healthy, with its body pointing downwards and its legs up.
Mr Kojima said that with a rise in sea temperature, giant squid have moved north to waters off Toyama, from where they swim up from deeper waters during the winter season.
He added that most sightings happen between December and January.
Toyama is about 300km (186 miles) west of Tokyo.

Summary: Giant squid prefer the deep sea, so it was a rare treat for onlookers in Toyama Bay harbour when one swam in.
###
Article: The girl, aged 15 at the time, had met a man called David Ayrton in a Portsmouth garage in the autumn of 2004.
The defendant, now 34 and called Davina, denied the charge. She will be sentenced on 4 March.
Judge Ian Pearson remanded her into custody and said it was likely she would be held at a male prison.
He added: "If I were to release on bail there are substantial grounds to believe she would be a risk to herself and a risk of failing to attend for whatever reason.
"I will therefore have to remand in custody. It will have to be a male prison in Winchester but it will be an issue for the prison service."
He also told the jury at Portsmouth Crown Court: "It's been a slightly unusual case and it's not been an easy case."
The court heard that Ayrton, who has learning difficulties, attempted to commit suicide last summer.
Protocols have been put in place for her detention at the prison, a court officer explained.
During the trial Ayrton spoke about her sexuality, and said she she had not "made any physical changes or enhancements" to her body or taken any medication. She changed her name in 2012.
Portsmouth Crown Court was told she raped the teenager while two others were asleep in the garage.
The victim said she shouted and swore at Ayrton to stop the attack, but her friends had not woken up.
She had "only drunk a can and a half of Foster's" and clearly recollected the events.
The court heard that in 2014 Ayrton told a worker at the care home where she lived in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, about the attack.

Summary:


A new report has found that the number of people in the UK who have been bullied at work has increased by a fifth in the past year.
The report, by the TUC, the Trades Union Congress, found that the number of people who have been bullied at work has increased by a fifth in the past

A group has called on Ceredigion council to delay plans to sell-off a former school site so it can bid to buy and retain it for community use.

Article: With such potential power, comes huge responsibility.
Demis Hassabis, the head of Google's £400m machine learning business and one of the world's leading authorities on the subject, has now called for a responsible debate about the role of ethics in the development of artificial intelligence.
"I think artificial intelligence is like any powerful new technology," Mr Hassabis, DeepMind's co-founder, told me.
"It has to be used responsibly. If it's used irresponsibly it could do harm.
"I think we have to be aware of that and I think that people developing that - us and other companies and universities - need to realise and take seriously our responsibilities and to have ethical concerns at the top of our minds.
"We engage very actively with [the artificial intelligence] community - at MIT, at Cambridge, at Oxford - so there are a lot of academic institutes thinking about this and we engage with them very actively and openly with our research.
"I think there are valid concerns and they should be discussed and debated now, decades before there's anything that's actually of any potential consequence or power that we need to worry about, so we have the answers in place well ahead of time."
Mr Hassabis was responding to concerns about the development of artificial intelligence raised, among others, by Elon Musk, the technology entrepreneur and a DeepMind investor, and Professor Stephen Hawking.
Prof Hawking told my colleague Rory Cellan-Jones that artificial intelligence could "end mankind".
Mr Hassabis is not at the "robots" end of artificial intelligence.
His work focuses on learning machines which are able to sift huge amounts of data and support human understanding of the exponential rise of digitised information.
"Artificial intelligence is the science of making machines smart," he said.
"If we're able to imbue machines with intelligence then they might be able to help us as a society to solve all kinds of big problems that we would like to have a better mastery of - all the way from things like disease and...

Summary: It is a technology so powerful that - on a distant day well into the future - it could mean computers that are able to advise on the best way to treat patients, tackle climate change or feed the poor.
###
Article: Ceredigion council plans to auction the site of former Ysgol Dyffryn Teifi in Llandysul, which closed last term, for development.
The council cabinet meets on Tuesday to discuss the sale set for 30 September.
But a new group, Plant y Dyffryn, wants more time to draw up a bid to buy it.
The site has a price tag of between Â£250,000 and Â£300,000, with proceeds earmarked for the new-build Ysgol Bro Teifi school which opened this month providing education for three to 19-year-olds.
Leah Williams, one of the founders of Plant y Dyffryn, said "any developer could come in and squeeze the community".
She said: "Llandysul is so small and so Welsh it would just tip the balance.
"There are eight acres of land on a large site with plenty of potential," she said.
Plant y Dyffryn is looking at the example of the Cardigan community venture 4CG in order to raise funds to purchase the site, and then run it.
It took over the Pwllhai site in the centre of Cardigan in 2010, and turned it into a car park to generate income from parking fees with buildings and workshops leased out to small businesses.
A public meeting was held on Sunday when Llandysul residents voted to call on Ceredigion council to delay the process of selling the school site.
In response, cabinet member Gareth Lloyd said that if the cabinet delayed the process of selling, then they would consider offering help to the community with their application.

Summary:


The BBC has announced the nominees for the Bafta Film Awards, which will be presented at a ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall on 12 February.
The Bafta Film Awards are the only major film awards to be decided by the public.
The Bafta Film Awards are the only major film awards

Curzon will receive an outstanding British contribution to cinema prize at this year's Bafta film awards.

Article: Mr Murphy announced his intention to resign last month despite narrowly winning a confidence vote in the wake of Labour's general election defeat.
He had since been drawing up plans for reforms which he hopes will lead to the party's recovery in Scotland.
Labour lost 40 of its 41 Scottish constituencies to the SNP, including Mr Murphy's East Renfrewshire seat.
The party has also announced a timetable for the election of a new leader and deputy leader, with the result of the contests to announced on 15 August.
The leadership contest is expected to be between current deputy leader Kezia Dugdale and the party's social justice spokesman, Ken MacIntosh.
Speaking at a media conference in Glasgow on Saturday afternoon, Mr Murphy said Scottish Labour should better reflect modern Scotland.
He unveiled five proposals which he said had been agreed in principle by party's executive council.
These included electing a new leader through a one member one vote system rather than the electoral college system which requires a majority vote in at least two out of three blocks, comprising elected members, ordinary members and unions.
Mr Murphy was elected as leader despite opposition from the union college, which backed his opponent Neil Findlay last year.
The party will also reopen its selection process for the Regional Lists to attract the widest possible range of candidates for the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections.
This would "abolish the closed shop arrangements for list MSPs so that every Labour Party member has a fair chance of standing for the list, and so that incumbency isn't a guarantee of re-selection", Mr Murphy said.
Mr Murphy also said the party would consider establishing a national selection panel for local councillors, and consider the use of primaries in the selection of MP candidates in future elections.
And he said the party would do more to publicise a "little-known rule" which would allow it to waive the qualifying period before members can become candidates.
Mr Murphy added: "While commitment to the...

Summary: Jim Murphy has stood down as Scottish Labour leader as the party agreed to his plan for "dramatic" change.
###
Article: The cinema chain has "provided the British public with unforgettable, cinema experiences", Bafta said.
The awards will be held at London's Royal Albert Hall on 12 February.
The Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award is presented annually in honour of Michael Balcon, the British film producer known for his work with Ealing Studios.
Previous recipients include Mike Leigh, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Working Title Films, Sir John Hurt and BBC Films.
Curzon's history stretches back to 1934 with the opening of its first cinema Curzon Mayfair.
Dame Pippa Harris, chair of Bafta's Film Committee, said: "I am thrilled that Bafta is honouring Curzon with the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award.
"For over 80 years, Curzon has provided the British public with unforgettable cinema experiences, while championing independent, art house and foreign language film-making.
"I would like to thank everyone at Curzon for their extraordinary contribution to our industry, and for their unwavering commitment to bringing the very best in film to audiences across the UK.
Philip Knatchbull, Curzon's chief executive, said he was "delighted" at the award.
"Curzon has a long and proud history in the British film industry and many talented and passionate people have contributed to its success story over the years," he said.
"We think of ourselves as champions of bold and visionary film-making from around the world supported by our growing network of cinemas and home cinema digital platforms."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Summary:


The council has apologised for the "inadequate" training of staff at the crematorium.
The council has apologised for the "inadequate" training of staff at the crematorium.
The council has apologised for the "inadequate" training of staff at the crematorium.
The council has apologised

Lawyers representing families in the baby ashes scandal have said they are to take legal action against Shropshire Council.

Article: The project aims to take a snapshot of current trends and map out the ways the public engage with music.
It is hoped the survey will help measure live music's cultural and economic value and identify future challenges and opportunities.
The 24-hour survey began at 12:00 on Thursday in Glasgow, Newcastle, Oxford, Leeds, Southampton and Brighton.
It has been commissioned by UK Music, the campaigning and lobbying group that represents the recorded and live music industry, and is being led by the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle.
Prof Martin Cloonan, professor of popular music politics at Glasgow University, said: "What is being proposed has never been done before and is set to reveal the true state of the UK's live music industry.
"Live music is a vital cultural and economic asset and it is important to monitor its health and to support it.
"The results will help to provide the clearest picture of the Glasgow live music scene yet, illustrating that vibrancy while also show issues which need to be addressed."
According to UK Music, the music industry is worth an estimated Â£3.5bn to the UK economy and creates almost 101,600 jobs.
The group said that despite the value of live music to the economy, the full picture of what the public is listening to and how they listen and interact has never been fully and accurately surveyed.
Dr Matt Brennan, from Edinburgh University, is leading the UK Census project.
He said: "Venues around the country have been telling us that they already operate on thin margins, so proposed increases in rateable values of up to 55% in some cases will have a significant impact.
"The UK Live Music Census will be very important in identifying challenges that the industry faces, such as rising rates and other issues.
"It will give us a detailed picture of what exactly it means to be venue owner, a musician, and a live music lover in 2017. Our hope is that the census will be a vital tool in strengthening a much-loved part of the UK's culture."
The census aims to cover 70 music...

Summary: The UK's first ever live music census is being carried out in six cities across the UK.
###
Article: About 60 families were unable to get their child's remains because of poor training and out-of-date equipment at council-owned Emstrey Crematorium, Shrewsbury, between 1996 and 2012.
Lawyers believe the crematorium breached the Human Rights Act.
The council said it was liaising with its insurers.
A spokesman for the authority said: "Shropshire Council confirms it has received a letter of notification in respect of Emstrey Crematorium and this has been passed to the council's insurers, who will deal with the matter confidentially in the usual way."
If the legal challenge is successful, it could pave the way for action against crematoriums across the UK where other families were not given their child's ashes.
A Freedom of Information inquiry by the BBC last year found the ashes of more than 1,000 babies were not handed to their parents between 2008 and 2013.
The scandal in Shropshire came to light following a BBC Radio Shropshire investigation.
The lawyers are representing families who have joined the campaign group Action for Ashes.
In June, an independent inquiry into what happened in Shropshire ruled a national inspector should be created for crematoriums.

Summary:


The Alabama Securities Commission has closed its investigation into Harper Lee, the 88-year-old author of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Lee's lawyer, Tonja Carter, said: "We are pleased that the Alabama Securities Commission has closed its investigation into Harper Lee.
"We are pleased that the Alabama Securities

US investigators have closed an inquiry into whether To Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Lee was pressured into publishing a sequel.

Article: 18 January 2016 Last updated at 19:54 GMT
VPN services are useful for securely accessing your work computer systems while you are away from the office.
But they are also commonly used to circumvent government censorship, or location blocking on movie streaming websites.
BBC Technology reporter Chris Foxx explains what some people use a VPN service for.

Summary: A virtual private network (or VPN) is a secure connection between your device and another computer over the internet.
###
Article: The Alabama Securities Commission led the investigation, which helps prevent financial fraud against the elderly.
After an agent interviewed Lee, the commission's head said he was satisfied she wanted a second book published.
The new work - Go Set a Watchman - will be the 88-year-old American author's first release since the 1960s.
The surprise move prompted some suggestions Lee was manipulated into publishing the decades-old manuscript, which was discovered by her lawyer in the author's possessions last year.
"We closed the file. Let's just say that she was able to answer questions we asked to our satisfaction from our point of view,'' said Joseph Borg, Alabama Securities Commission director.
The New York Times reported that the investigation was sparked by requests from a doctor that the state investigate whether Lee was capable to have consented to the release of the work.
Lee herself was "extremely hurt" by allegations she was manipulated, her lawyer Tonja Carter said.
To Kill a Mockingbird was published in July 1960 and has sold more than 40 million copies around the world.
Go Set a Watchman was written before To Kill A Mockingbird, and features many of the same characters, with an adult Scout Finch returning to her native Alabama from New York to visit her father.

Summary:


The skeleton of a new species of dinosaur has been discovered in the remote mountains of western China.
The new species, which is the first to be named from the Cretaceous of China, is described in the journal Nature.
The new species is named after the Chinese province where it was found, the Liaoning

Scientists have begun the most detailed analysis ever carried out on a Stegosaurus skeleton.

Article: Inspectors also found the treatments handed out by custody staff were "unreasonable" and included the handcuffing of women and children.
Cells were found to be daubed with pornographic and racist graffiti.
The care of detainees, including those with ill health or who had been self-harming, was given "very little importance", inspectors found.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons' report said: "The condition of the court custody suites in Kent was among the worst we have seen.
"In many cells, there was scarcely an inch of wall or door that was not covered in graffiti. Much of it was obscene or racist, and some contained allegations against named individuals."
In one cell at Folkestone Magistrates' Court, there was a swastika and graffiti with the phrase "Muslim scum", the report said.
The Inspectors reported they were concerned to hear a custody officer refer to a transgender detainee as "it".
Another officer was found to have called a detainee with a mental illness "nutter".
The inspectors looked at two crown and eight magistrates' courts in Kent.
The report said the introduction of virtual courts, where detainees appear via a video-link, had the potential to reduce long journeys and cut waiting times at court.
Low staff morale stopped many workers from trying to improve the poor conditions for the detainees, the inspectors found.
Nick Hardwick, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, said the various agencies involved in providing court custody facilities in Kent rarely worked together and none had overall responsibility.
He said: "This report contains recommendations that we hope will encourage the various agencies involved in the provision of court custody to work together more effectively.
"Those detained at Kent courts should be held in a safer and more decent environment than is currently in place."
An HM Courts and Tribunals Service spokesman said inter-agency relationships had been strengthened since the inspection "to ensure that operations are run effectively and in accordance with the contract".
He said it would be...

Summary: Custody suites in Kent courts are "among the worst" seen by the prison watchdog, a report has said.
###
Article: Researchers hope to learn how much it weighed, how it moved and what it used its iconic back plates for.
A UK team has scanned each of its 360 bones into a computer and has digitally reconstructed the dinosaur.
The specimen, nicknamed "Sophie", has been acquired by the Natural History Museum in London.
Although Stegosauruses are one of the most well known dinosaurs, they are among those that scientists know the least about. There are only six partial skeletons of the creature, which lived around 150 million years ago.
It could grow to the size of a minibus and the gigantic plates which ran along its back were its most distinctive feature.
Surprisingly, it was 100 years ago that the dinosaur's skeleton was properly assessed and scientifically described. Now, using medical imaging techniques and 3D modelling, researchers at the Natural History Museum hope to learn much more about this iconic creature.
Prof Paul Barrett, who is leading the research, said that they were particularly interested in finding out what stegosauruses used their plates for.
"We want to find out whether they were used for defence or whether they were used as a radiator to help the animal pick up or lose heat," he told BBC News.
Sophie is 80% complete and is thought to be the most complete specimen in the world. Dr Charlotte Brassey, who is working with Prof Barrett, helped to scan in its 360 bones and digitally recreate it on her computer as a detailed 3D model.
"I reconstructed the skeleton to see what it might have looked like and then began to reconstruct the muscles and how they connected with the skeleton. From that we can begin to say how effective its muscles were and eventually in the future we would like to reconstruct how it moved," she told BBC News.
Among the mysteries the researchers would like to solve is how the species was able to walk with such small front legs and such large back legs.
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Summary:


The French government has ordered the closure of all its diplomatic missions in the Muslim world.
The French government has ordered the closure of all its diplomatic missions in the Muslim world.
The French government has ordered the closure of all its diplomatic missions in the Muslim world.
The French government has ordered the closure of all its

Security has been increased at France's interests abroad after a French satirical magazine published obscene cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Article: The film, starring Richard E Grant and Paul McGann, depicts the lives of two unemployed actors who spend a disastrous weekend in the countryside.
The copy of Bruce Robinson's novel, written between 1969 and 1970, is estimated to reach between Â£4,000 and Â£6,000 when it goes under the hammer.
It includes extensive handwritten revisions by Robinson.
He has described Withnail and I as "70% autobiographical" - and was living in a house in Camden, north London, where much of it is set, when he was writing the novel.
The work for sale also includes a page torn from a magazine featuring the author and his flatmates outside their house in the late 1960s.
Withnail and I was adapted for the screen in 1987, produced by former Beatle George Harrison's HandMade Films and directed by Robinson.
It also starred Richard Griffiths as the flamboyant Uncle Monty, in whose rural cottage Withnail (Grant) and McGann (I) stay.
While it did not make an impression at the box office at the time, it became hugely popular in the following decade - particularly with students.
It became famous for lines including Withnail's: "We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here, and we want them now."
The draft is to be auctioned as part of Sotheby's sale of English literature, history, children's books and illustrations on 15 December.

Summary: The first draft of the novel that went on to be turned into cult film Withnail and I is set for auction at Sotheby's.
###
Article: French embassies, consulates, cultural centres and schools in some 20 countries will be closed for the next few days as a precaution.
Government ministers voiced concern at the Charlie Hebdo cartoons but defended the freedom of the press.
Riot police have been deployed around the magazine's offices in Paris.
The magazine has confirmed that its website has been attacked.
Its paper edition features caricatures which play on both the uproar in the Islamic world over an amateur video which mocks Islam and the row over the publication in France of topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge.
A tenet of Islam bans the portrayal of its founder, the Prophet Muhammad.
Some 30 people have died in violent protests which erupted early last week over the Innocence of Muslims video, which was made in the United States.
The dead include the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans, who died in Benghazi. US and other Western embassies have come under attack in mainly Muslim countries.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he was "concerned" at the cartoons and had ordered "special security measures... in all the countries where this [publication] could pose a problem".
By Christian FraserBBC News, Paris
The French schools are already closed in Tunisia. In Libya, French journalists are withdrawing from known hotels. And in the Muslim community of Belleville in Paris, they have been buying the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo just to rip it up.
No wonder the French authorities are concerned. The foreign minister acted quickly this morning in an attempt to suppress the anger, while articulating the government's frustrations. The decision to print the cartoons at a time when Western embassies are already threatened, he said, would only "add fuel to the fire".
Last night Charb, the editor of Charlie Hebdo, told me he rejected criticism that he was inciting violence, putting French lives at risk. He was using the cartoons, he said, to make fun of the film rather than the Prophet. But he would know what...

Summary:


The Scottish Police Federation has called for the Scottish Government to "urgently" review the way it funds the police.
The Scottish Police Federation has called for the Scottish Government to "urgently" review the way it funds the police.
The Scottish Police Federation has called for the Scottish Government to "urgently" review

The US Supreme Court has upheld a key portion of President Barack Obama's healthcare law, preserving health insurance for millions of Americans.

Article: The discussion is expected at the Scottish Police Federation's annual conference on Tuesday.
It follows the terror attack on Westminster last week when four people were killed, including PC Keith Palmer.
SPF general secretary Calum Steele said there would be a focus on improving readiness for terror attacks.
The topic of arming more police officers was not originally on the agenda of the event, according to The Sunday Post.
However it reports that it is now a "racing certainty" to be examined following the events in London on Wednesday.
Mr Steele told BBC Scotland that the conference had taken on much more significance, given its timing less than a week after the attack.
He added: "It is inconceivable that in light of the events that have taken place in London over the past number of days, that delegates attending for the Scottish Police Federation conference would not be minded to have significant debates and discussions round about the state of readiness for policing in Scotland and how that is likely to impact on them as individuals."
He said one of the main considerations of any discussion was likely to centre on the resources available to police officers.
"I have said repeatedly that the issue of firearms is a tactical response arguably towards the end of the scale and once something has taken place rather than trying to prevent and mitigate incidents in the first place," he added.
"Ultimately terrorism or the fight against terrorism does not start a few yards from the intended target, it starts with communities. And the importance of having police officers embedded in our communities, building trusting relationships, gathering intelligence and helping communities thrive is where the real fight against terrorism begins - and not by bolstering the numbers of tactical officers to deal with the event after it has taken place or as it is taking place.
"Surely it's much better to invest in the prevention than to invest in the response. Although in saying that, clearly it is vital that we have adequate...

Summary: Rank-and-file police officers in Scotland are expected to hold an emergency on debate whether more of their number should carry guns.
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Article: In a 6-3 decision, the justices said that tax subsidies that make health insurance affordable for low-income individuals can continue.
The ruling preserves the law known as Obamacare, which Mr Obama considers a major part of his presidential legacy.
Republicans have vowed to continue fighting the law.
"We've got more work to do, but what we're not going to do is unravel what has now been woven into the fabric of America," Mr Obama said.
The case, known as King v Burwell, was the second major challenge the law has faced in the US's highest court.
Unlike in many other western countries, the US does not have a single-payer healthcare system. Private companies, rather than the US government, provide health insurance for US citizens.
The enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - one of Mr Obama's most significant and controversial domestic achievements - in 2010 mandated that every American had to purchase private insurance. It provided the subsidies to allow many to do so.
In 2012, the mandate portion of the law was challenged in the court. The justices ruled to preserve it.
In that decision, as in the decision on Thursday, Chief Justice John Roberts surprised observers by siding with his liberal colleagues in support of the law.
"Congress passed the Affordable Care act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion.
Justice Anthony Kennedy dissented in 2012, but sided with the majority on Thursday.
Had the court made the opposite decision, an estimated 8.7 million people in the US would have been at risk of losing the aid that makes healthcare affordable.
The stakes could not have been higher.
People's health (crucially important) and Obama's legacy (less important, but for him and those around him fairly vital) were at stake.
Well a politically finely balanced Supreme Court has given an emphatic, overwhelming vote in favour of the president by 6-3.
I bet "No-drama Obama" is high-fiving anyone and everyone in the White House - that is how big it...

Summary:


The Rhinos have been training across the city of Leeds since the river Aire burst its banks at Christmas.
The Rhinos have been training across the city of Leeds since the river Aire burst its banks at Christmas.
The Rhinos have been training across the city of Leeds since the river Aire burst its

Leeds Rhinos rugby league team face a £1m bill for flood damage that could keep them out of their training ground for a further six months.

Article: The Food and Drug Administration said it had given approval on the grounds that "food from the fish is safe to eat".
The biotech company behind the fish, AquaBounty, first submitted its application almost 20 years ago.
Opponents say consumers do not want to eat genetically engineered seafood.
They have also expressed concern that the salmon could pose risks to other fish if it were to escape into the environment.
Dr Bernadette Dunham of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine said: "The FDA has thoroughly analysed and evaluated the data and information submitted by AquaBounty Technologies regarding AquAdvantage Salmon and determined that they have met the regulatory requirements for approval, including that food from the fish is safe to eat."
The FDA ruled that the salmon must be raised in tanks on land at only two facilities in Canada and Panama. It will not be bred or raised in the US.
Safety measures include producing fish that are sterile to prevent cross breeding with wild fish "in the highly unlikely event of an escape".
The transgenic salmon is a type of Atlantic salmon injected with a gene from Pacific Chinook salmon to make it grow faster.
Dr Ron Stotish, chief executive of AquaBounty, said the salmon was "a game-changer that brings healthy and nutritious food to consumers in an environmentally responsible manner without damaging the ocean and other marine habitats".
He said the young reach adult size much quicker than conventional fish, making it feasible to raise salmon in tanks on land near urban areas.
However, it is unclear whether retailers will want to sell the salmon and whether the public will want to buy it.
Lisa Archer, food and technology programme director at Friends of the Earth, said despite the FDA's "flawed and irresponsible approval of the first genetically engineered animal for human consumption, it's clear that there is no place in the US market for genetically engineered salmon".
There are also uncertainties over how long it will take for the salmon to be produced in sufficient...

Summary: US regulators have given the go-ahead to genetically modified salmon, making it the first GM animal destined for human consumption.
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Article: The Rhinos have been training across the city of Leeds since the river Aire burst its banks at Christmas.
Chief executive Gary Hetherington told BBC Radio Leeds: "It is looking like £1m in total. It has caused massive disruption.
"But sport throws up all sorts of challenges and this is another one."
All seven training pitches and the main building at the Kirkstall site the Rhinos share with rugby union side Yorkshire Carnegie were contaminated by flood water at the end of December.
The Rhinos, who begin the defence of their Super League title against Warrington on 4 February, say that 80 members of staff based at the site, plus 120 players, have been kept out for the last month.
"We couldn't get anywhere near the site," said Hetherington.
"When we were able to access it, the reality hit everybody. The whole site was under water. The changing rooms, medical rooms and gymnasium, and all the equipment was completely destroyed.
"All the pitches are contaminated so they need to be dug up and reseeded. The 3G pitch needs to be replaced. The buildings need to be replastered, all the floors need to come up.
"It will be the best part of six months before we can use the grass pitches and gymnasium."

Summary:


The Chilcot Inquiry has been criticised for taking so long to report.
The inquiry was set up in 2009, after the UK's troops left Iraq.
The inquiry was set up in 2009, after the UK's troops left Iraq.
The inquiry was set up in 2009, after the UK's troops left

MPs will question the chairman of the Iraq War Inquiry later this month for the first time since it published its official report in July.

Article: Leaders and managers in public life rarely escape criticism when they make unpopular decisions either. "The power has gone to his head" is an oft-heard accusation.
So are leaders losing touch with reality when they act in a power-hungry way?
According to psychologist Guy Claxton, professor of learning sciences at the University of Winchester, their actions could be to do with "a disorder of intelligence".
At a Royal Society of Medicine conference this week, entitled The Intoxication Of Power, Prof Claxton says that human intelligence is made up of four different mental systems working in harmony.
When one of these systems is not used, the decision-making process can become unreliable and potentially dangerous.
Instead of analysing actions, checking through the consequences of those actions and chatting through the decisions made, leaders too often rely on impulsive decision-making - and this is when hubris can set in.
"None of these systems is infallible. You need a jazz quartet of them to achieve full human intelligence," Prof Claxton says.
When it comes to governments and prime ministers, this failure of intelligence creates the need for ways of stopping power getting out of hand like the House of Lords checking the power of the House of Commons.
When individuals are in positions of great power, there are other dangers, he says.
"Politics can become dangerous. Leaders have the power to create wars."
When the rest of the world makes it known that they do not like this type of leadership, they tend to resort to something which Prof Claxton calls 'messianic hubris'.
"They transpose their leadership into a sense of humility, as if they are listening to an inner god or higher power when making decisions."
This is when self-deception and an inflated sense of self-worth sets in.
To combat against this, a sense of humour is a useful tool, Prof Claxton says.
"Traditionally, powerful people had a joker following them around, making jokes and poking fun at them, reminding them that they are just human beings."
This...

Summary: World leaders are often accused of hubris, of wielding power in arrogant and self-serving ways.
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Article: Former civil servant Sir John Chilcot will appear before MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee on 18 October.
The report, which took seven years to complete, criticised Tony Blair and his government's case for going to war in 2003.
Mr Blair defended his actions, saying military action had been justified.
The Chilcot Inquiry, which began its work in 2009, after UK troops left Iraq, did not attempt to reach a verdict on the legality or otherwise of the military action.
Mr Blair has continued to insist the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was justified, although he has acknowledged that the intelligence on which it was based was flawed.
Appearing before a separate committee of MPs last month, Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heyward said he and other civil servants were in the "preliminary" phase of learning lessons from the report in terms of how government should operate in future.
He said he was frustrated at the length of time the inquiry had taken but believed that it could not have been expedited without changing the large terms of reference or restricting access to vital declassified documents and other material.
The liaison committee, made up of the chairs of individual parliamentary committees, is best known for questioning the prime minister of the day two or three times a year.

Summary:


A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman who was found in a field in Wakefield.
The body of a woman was found in a field in Wakefield on Friday.
She has not yet been formally identified.
Police have arrested a man in connection with her death.
The man

A plea has been made to trace the mother of a baby whose remains were found in a plastic bag at a nature reserve a year ago.

Article: "We know that after two weeks they're starting to have some immune response and there are no adverse reactions," says Dr Samba Sow, an infectious disease epidemiologist and vaccine expert and director of Centre for Vaccine Development (CVD) in Mali.
The first volunteer in Mali was paediatrician Dr Seydou Sissoko, who was vaccinated on 8 October at the CVD in the capital, Bamako.
"Since I received the vaccine, I feel well, there is no difference in the way a feel now and how I felt before," he said.
Ten other healthcare workers are due to receive more Ebola vaccines on Thursday in the trial.
The exercise is part of a bigger multi-country study which began in the UK in September.
It is a joint effort involving the World Health Organization (WHO), the US National Institutes of Health and UK pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline.
It is also one of the most fast-tracked vaccines in history - with experts hoping to find a way to develop immunity to Ebola - which has killed nearly 5,000 people this year in West Africa - in a matter of months.
"What motivated me to join the study was the fact that I am a medical doctor and I'll be regularly in touch with patients of Ebola," says Dr Sissoko.
This week he has been asked to investigate two suspected cases of Ebola - one of them was a man who died after bleeding from the mouth.
"It is first to protect myself and secondly to help the scientific community find a good vaccine against the disease."
At first, his family were worried about his participation in the trial, which is being funded from the research charity the Wellcome Trust, the UK's Medical Research Council and Department for International Development.
"I explained to my wife and brother how it works and now they are fine with it.
"But I have not talked about it to my parents because I thought they may not understand," he adds.
In total 40 volunteers are taking part in the Mali study - all of them are health workers who could be called upon to deal with Ebola should more cases appear in the country.
The first and...

Summary: Preliminary indications in Mali from the first trial for an Ebola vaccine taking place in Africa seem promising.
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Article: Police now have a DNA profile for the mother of the girl whose bones were discovered by a member of the public at Washlands nature reserve in Wakefield.
Forensic analysis of the remains suggest they had been left in the area some time before October 2015.
A post-mortem examination was inconclusive, police said.
Live updates on this story and others from around Yorkshire
The bones were found in a blue plastic bag wrapped in a pair of dark leggings or trousers, which had a drawstring at the waist and were from Matalan, police said.
They were discovered just off a towpath leading from Welbeck Lane on 3 May last year.
West Yorkshire Police said it was believed the baby was born at full term.
Det Ch Insp Nicola Bryar, from the homicide and major inquiry team, said the DNA profile of the mother meant several people had been ruled out of the inquiry.
She said: "Twelve months on we continue to appeal for the mother of this baby to come forward.
"While she may not require medical assistance, she will have suffered deep trauma and may very well be in need of some counselling and professional emotional support."

Summary:


The UK's largest energy supplier has been fined £1.2m for breaching competition law.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said SSE had failed to take action against a former employee who had been found to have been involved in a "serious breach of competition law".
The CMA said it

Hundreds of eggs belonging to a protected species of bird have been stolen from an important nesting site, with fears they could be sold to the restaurant industry.

Article: The government regulator has voiced concerns over how sites not yet connected to the grid choose where they get their power from.
The regulator said it had also found evidence that SSE may have breached competition law.
Ofgem will now examine whether SSE put its competitors at a disadvantage.
Customers who are not yet connected to the electricity grid, such as new housing developments, can choose who they get their electricity connection from, with the option to select an alternative, independent connection provider rather than the local distribution company.
Publishing the findings of a six month review into the electricity connections market, Ofgem said: "While we have seen more progress over the last five years to increase competition, the network company remains the sole provider for a number of key parts of the connections process."
Ofgem opened the review into the market for new connection in response to concerns about whether competition in the market was effective.
The watchdog invited responses from the public, carried out customer research and met a broad range of connection providers.
The review also identified differences in how connection services were provided across Britain.
Ofgem suggests network companies commit to an enforceable code of practice which would "level the playing field for competitors by reducing their reliance on the local electricity network companies".
The regulator said it was expecting electricity distribution network companies to confirm their commitment to the code by 18 February 2015.
Ofgem's senior partner for distribution, Maxine Frerk said: "We are requiring electricity network companies to work quickly to resolve the issues identified in the connections market, to reduce the hassle of getting connected to the grid and help lower costs for customers.
"We are determined to ensure this part of the energy market works in customers' interest and will use the full range of our powers to do so."
Ofgem, however, stressed that the fact it had launched an investigation did not...

Summary: Energy firm SSE is to be investigated by Ofgem over concerns that it restricted competition in the electricity connections market.
###
Article: The Mediterranean gull and black-headed gull eggs were illegally harvested from from islands in Poole Harbour, Dorset.
The theft has been branded "sickening" by bird charity Birds of Poole Harbour.
The group said some eggs - sometimes eaten as a delicacy - were not cleared for human consumption.
Dorset Police and Natural England have launched an investigation.
Natural England is urging any restaurants or pubs to ask to see a valid licence before buying eggs to prepare in meals.
Birds of Poole Harbour had been surveying a group of islands in the harbour when the theft was discovered.
Mediterranean gulls are classified as a Schedule One species, meaning anyone disturbing their nests must have a special licence.
Paul Morton, who runs the charity, said Mediterranean gulls' eggs were not approved for human consumption, and could be a "health issue".
"I'm distraught, really. To see the taking of hundreds and hundreds of eggs from an important colony is quite sickening," he said.
Mr Moreton said there had been previous convictions for egg poaching in the last 10 or 15 years.
He said continued monitoring was needed to understand the effect on the gull population in the harbour, which he said had fallen by 70% since 2008.

Summary:


The EU has agreed to a list of countries that are not cooperating with tax authorities.
The EU has agreed to a list of countries that are not cooperating with tax authorities.
The EU has agreed to a list of countries that are not cooperating with tax authorities.
The EU has agreed to a list of countries that

EU nations have agreed to draw up a blacklist of tax havens in the wake of the Panama Papers leaks.

Article: These ephemeral ecosystems support unique flora and fauna species that do not occur in permanent wetlands.
Yet these poorly understood habitats are being lost to future generations as a result of poor land-use practices, the authors observed.
The details have been published in the Global Change Biology journal.
Although these intermittent, shallow-water seasonal natural features are most closely associated with arid or semi-arid landscapes, they are more widespread than generally realised.
For example, more than half of the total river length in the US, Greece and South Africa is made up by sections that have temporary flow.
"They tend to occur during the rainy season which is when you will see shallow water but for most months of the year, it will appear to be dry,"  explained co-author Tatenda Dalu, from Rhodes University, South Africa.
The seasonal wetlands are dominated by aquatic biodiversity, he told BBC News.
"You have your plankton, you have your insects, which then brings in the birds to feed on these insects," Dr Dalu said.
"Some of these systems have unique communities of fish, such as the 'lung fish'."
However, these unique ecosystems were vulnerable for a number of reasons, explained Dr Dalu.
"The biggest threat we are seeing at the moment is either the digging up of the ecosystems or making them permanent.
"By making them permanent, people accidently introduce invasive species which then wipe out the unique invertebrate communities."
For example, people look to have a lake full of fish on their land. Very often, the introduced species of fish results in the unique habitat that had previously thrived in the intermittent water being squeezed to the point of becoming locally extinct.
The team also recognised that changes to the climate system were set to alter rainfall and temperature patterns.
The researchers observed in their paper: "In tropical regions of southern Africa, for example, drought is projected to be particularly problematic.
"In such areas, ephemeral wetlands are highly likely to be...

Summary: Seasonal wetlands - ecologically important habitats that become visible during rainy seasons - are facing an uncertain future, warn scientists.
###
Article: Finance ministers have endorsed the move, which is to be completed by the end of the summer.
The European Commission says nations on the tax blacklist should be sanctioned if appeals for change go unheeded.
The leak of millions of files from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.
Full coverage: Panama Papers
Plans for a single EU list of "non-cooperative jurisdictions" have been blocked in the past by conflicting national interests.
Currently the 28 EU states have different national lists of tax havens and can decide individually whether to impose restrictive measures.
Negotiations on the new common list are expected to be complex and the number of jurisdictions to be included remains unclear.
Ministers have also agreed to exchange information on the beneficial owners of companies and the EU is planning a crackdown on banks and tax advisers who help clients hide money offshore.

Summary:


The bill would allow Ukrainians to apply for Russian passports at Russian diplomatic missions before they have to prove they have sufficient funds to support themselves.
The bill would allow Ukrainians to apply for Russian passports at Russian diplomatic missions before they have to prove they have sufficient funds to support themselves.
The bill would allow Ukrainians to apply for

Russian MPs have proposed new laws that would make it easier for Russia to incorporate parts of Ukraine, and allow Russian citizenship to be fast-tracked.

Article: The Izumo is the largest vessel built by Japan since the end of World War Two - and she looks very much like an aircraft carrier.  She has already participated in Singapore's first ever fleet review, an international naval gathering with fleets from Asia and beyond to demonstrate their power.
There is growing support in Japan for a more strident response to Chinese military assertiveness around Japanese waters and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has been increasingly active in the region.
It is all part of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's determination to loosen constitutional strictures over the role of Japan's self-defence forces.
The sea is where this is playing out right now.
Japanese navy officials are careful to describe the ship as a "helicopter destroyer" capable of carrying more than 20 helicopters from its expansive flight deck, and thus playing down any offensive capabilities forbidden under Japan's constitution.
Against the backdrop of China's narrative of suffering and humiliation at the hands of Japanese imperial forces during World War Two, the transit of the Izumo through the South China Sea is particularly sensitive for China, since Japan has been very vocal in its support of a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration overwhelmingly against China's claims to a large expanse of the South China Sea and its features.
The widening of Japanese naval operations in the South China Sea and beyond is also a response to a more pressing concern for Japan: China's own relentless drive to dominate the waters around Japan.
Chinese critics of Japan's naval modernisation will point out that with a few minor adjustments, this ship could carry vertical take-off and landing fighter jets, including the F-35 stealth fighter.
For China, therefore, the Izumo and the latest additions to the JMSDF fleet are both a symbol of a new era of military expansionism under Prime Minister Abe's administration and a painful reminder of China's wartime suffering and the destruction wrought by Japan's powerful carrier...

Summary: The pride of Japan's naval defence, the JS Izumo, is making an unprecedented journey through Asian waters over the next three months.
###
Article: Pro-Kremlin party A Just Russia put forward both bills, and linked them directly to the situation in Ukraine.
Separatist and pro-Russian feelings are strong in Ukraine's Crimea region, which is now the focus of the crisis.
Russian MPs say a referendum or a plea from a territory's leaders would be enough to trigger the new provisions.
There are already many Russian citizens in Crimea.
In Sevastopol, base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, a majority hold Russian passports.
Under Russia's existing law, a neighbouring state would have to sign a treaty with Russia to allow part of its territory to become a new "subject" of the Russian Federation.
But Mikhail Yemelyanov, deputy leader of A Just Russia, said the law had been drafted for peaceful times, and did not go far enough for situations where a state was falling apart.
"In conditions where a neighbouring state is disintegrating I don't think the Russian Federation should be restricted in its ability to accept a territory whose people have expressed a clear will and desire to be in Russia," he said.
Since Russia's war with Georgia in 2008, the breakaway Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have come under Moscow's control.
Russia poured troops into both regions to help pro-Russian separatists who did not recognise Georgia's authority.
The other bill to be considered by the Duma - Russia's lower house - would speed up the procedures for issuing Russian passports.
Passport applicants would not have to pay a state tax, and previous residence in Russia would no longer be required.
In addition, they would not have to have sufficient funds to support themselves and would not have to give up their Ukrainian citizenship.
The bill's preamble says it is aimed "at supporting the fraternal people of Ukraine, especially the Russian-speaking ones, who are defenceless in the face of the 'brown threat'," a reference to World War Two fascists who wore brown uniforms.
The bill would allow Ukrainians to apply for Russian passports at Russian diplomatic missions before...

Summary:


The Welsh Government has announced a new mental health strategy, which will see a new mental health commissioner appointed.
The Welsh Government has announced a new mental health strategy, which will see a new mental health commissioner appointed.
The Welsh Government has announced a new mental health strategy, which will see a new mental health commissioner appointed

The number of people waiting for mental health treatment has doubled in the past six years, figures have shown.

Article: It fell again today - a move some are interpreting as a second devaluation.
However, the system China has put in place means the yuan could, in theory, keep on devaluing.
As long as it decides it wants it to.
For the first time the central bank is allowing the market to play a part in setting the exchange rate.
The central bank, the People's Bank of China, said in a statement: "Since China's trade in goods continues to post relatively large surpluses, the yuan's real effective exchange rate is still relatively strong versus various global currencies, and is deviating from market expectations.
"Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the yuan's midpoint pricing to meet the needs of the market."
Before Monday the official rate for the yuan or renminbi was arbitrarily fixed each day by the bank.
Since then bank has said it will still fix the rate, but will base it on the level it reached in the market on the previous day.
So in theory the market will dictate the rate at which the yuan is traded at at the beginning of each day.
The devaluations of the last two days have therefore been in response to the downward pressure of the market on the currency, with Wednesday's opening rate reflecting Tuesday's close.
However, in reality the central bank will intervene in the market to keep some control over the exchange rate.
On Wednesday the yuan fell almost 2% during the day as investors aggressively sold it off.
But it was then yanked back by the central bank buying equally aggressively just before the close. So the new trading level on Thursday will be only 0.8% lower than the start of the previous day's trade.
Jonathan Fenby, managing director of the China team at Trusted Sources believes that the central bank really is moving towards liberalisation.
He said: "What you've done is gone to market fixing for the currency. It's still controlled. There's still a 2% band either side of the fixing. But this is a move towards market liberalisation."
He says that there is a genuine desire among the reformers in the...

Summary: China devalued its currency on Tuesday, a move that left it with its biggest one day fall in more than 20 years.
###
Article: There were 1,820 patients waiting to be seen in May, compared to 916 in 2011.
About half had waits of up to four weeks, the other half up to 26 weeks and a small number waited longer.
Charity Mind Cymru said it was "very concerned" by the figures but the Welsh Government said more money was being ploughed into services and more people were being referred.
Sara Moseley, director of Mind Cymru, said: "Our own research shows that far too many people are waiting for significant periods, sometimes as long as 12 months, to get the treatment they need to stay well.
"We also know that the services offered across Wales are patchy, with some health board areas providing a much better service than others."
She added the vast majority of Welsh speakers were not offered the choice of therapy in their first language.
Although the figures have risen steadily over the six years, this year's were slightly down on 2016 but still double of that in 2011.
Andrew Tamplin suffered a breakdown and paid to be seen privately.
"I couldn't wait six months to see someone," he said. "I don't like to think what would've happened. I paid thousands for 20 to 30 sessions.
"When you're suffering mental illness the last thing you need is more stress and anxiety [from waiting]."
Gwen Goddard also paid privately for treatment but now works for Training in Mind, which teaches first aiders about mental health.
She told Newyddion 9: "It was a crisis, I was so ill. When you talk about self harming and suicidal feelings it is a crisis.
"People have to have prompt treatment."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We want to ensure that people experiencing mental health problems have access to appropriate and timely services as close to their home as practical.
"We continue to spend more on mental health services than on any other part of our NHS and have put in place more stringent waiting time targets to help us achieve that ambition.
"We recognise there is more to be done to improve waiting time performance, but this needs to be set in context of...

Summary:


The US government has announced that it will not appeal a ruling that it has no legal right to seize $50bn (£29.5bn) in assets.
The US government has announced that it will not appeal a ruling that it has no legal right to seize $50bn in assets.
The US government has

The deep, growling roar of the howler monkey may hide reproductive shortcomings, according to biologists.

Article: Russia was told to pay the money to former shareholders in the now defunct oil producer Yukos.
The Hague court said Russian officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail its boss.
The Russian finance ministry said the ruling was "flawed", "one-sided" and "politically biased".
The ministry added that the Permanent Court for Arbitration in The Hague "had no jurisdiction to consider the questions it was given".
The claim was filed by a subsidiary for the financial holding company GML, once the biggest shareholder in Yukos Oil Co.
GML Executive Director Tim Osborne said: "The majority shareholders of Yukos Oil were left without compensation for the loss of their investment when Russia illegally expropriated Yukos."
"It is a major step forward for the majority shareholders, who have been battling for over 10 years for this decision."
In an interview with the BBC's World Business Report, Mr Osborne added that his next step would be to use local courts worldwide to pursue Russian state property which could be seized as recompense.
Commenting on the tribunal's findings, he told the BBC: "In their view Rosneft, for instance, is an instrumentality of the state and was the vehicle that the Russian state chose to bankrupt and expropriate Yukos."
Pursuing Rosneft for the funds is a "distinct possibility", he said.
However, in a statement, the Russian ministry said: "Because of substantial shortcomings in the rulings of the arbitration court, the Russian Federation will challenge the rulings of the arbitration court in Dutch courts and expects to obtain a fair result there".
GML's lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard said: "This is an historic award. It is now judicially established that the Russian Federation's actions were not a legitimate exercise in tax collection but, rather, were aimed at destroying Yukos and illegally expropriating its assets for the benefit of State instrumentalities Rosneft and Gazprom."
Dr Florian Otto from risk advisory company Maplecroft said that Russia will be hoping to win time...

Summary: Russia will appeal against a international court ruling that it should  pay $50bn (£29.5bn) in damages, the biggest compensation package ever.
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Article: A study by an international team of scientists has revealed that the primates either develop big voices, or big testes - but not both.
Scientists made the discovery while trying to understand the "evolution of the animals' incredible roars".
The findings suggest such evolutionary trade-offs may be more common that previously thought.
They are published in the journal Current Biology.
Howler monkeys are named for their impressive howling roars - sounds they make to intimidate rivals and impress potential mates.
And their anatomical musical instrument is a bone in their throat called the hyoid bone, which acts as a resonator
So, while their vocal folds act like the strings of an instrument, the hyoid bone is the body - and its size relates directly to the depth of their howl.
"Females find a deeper howl more attractive," explained lead researcher Dr Jake Dunn from the University of Cambridge.
Looking at research into the different howler monkey species, the researchers found that there was "huge variation" in the size of the hyoid bone.
"The largest hyoid is 14 times the size of the smallest," explained Dr Dunn.
"We became really interested in understanding how and why such amazing variation exists in this trait."
With colleagues from the University of Utah, the team carried out laser scans to calculate the volumes of more than 200 howler monkey hyoid bones from museums in the US and Europe. And to confirm the scans were accurate, the team made MRI images of two adult male monkeys.
As well as measuring the variation, they found that it was connected to another striking physical difference between the species.
"There's also a dramatic difference in the size of the monkeys' testes", said Dr Dunn. "The largest are 6.5 times bigger than the smallest."
Comparing the animals, Dr Dunn and his team found that different species of howler monkeys seemed to face a trade-off between "investing in either a huge vocal tract - for making lower frequency, more impressive calls - or large testes - for producing lots of...

Summary:


The council has been consulting on a new protection order which would ban dogs from play areas and sports pitches, and require them to be kept on leads on public roads and pavements.
The council has been consulting on a new protection order which would ban dogs from play areas and sports pitches, and require them to be kept

The RSPCA is urging Wrexham council not to "demonise" responsible dog owners.

Article: The vote is a choice between MSPs Kezia Dugdale and Ken Macintosh, with the result expected on 15 August.
The election was prompted by the resignation of Jim Murphy after the party's MPs were almost wiped out in Scotland at the general election.
It will be a one member one vote ballot, while non-members can  register as supporters to take part.
Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson and MSPs Alex Rowley and Richard Baker are standing for deputy.
Ahead of the ballot, Ms Dugdale said: "I am honoured to have received the backing of the overwhelming majority of local parties, trade unions and elected representatives who have nominated a candidate.
"The task in the weeks ahead is to convert that support into votes."
She added: "We need to catch up with the people of Scotland or risk getting left behind for good.
"People in Scotland are ambitious - for themselves, their family and their community. The Labour Party must prove that we are as ambitious as the people of Scotland."
The two leadership contenders will go head-to-head in a live TV debate on the BBC later this month.
Mr Macintosh said: "From Monday, my team of volunteers will be hitting the phones to get the message of change across.
"I am offering something different. I want to take our party in a new direction, more collaborative, more positive and more forward looking."
He added: "I have been clear from day one about how I will reclaim our party to rebuild the trust we have lost. These have not just been words - I have laid out in some detail the practical changes I will make and the policies I will pursue.
"Under my leadership, Scottish Labour will be driven by our positive vision for Scotland's future and not by our opposition to the SNP."

Summary: The ballot is getting under way in the contest for the leadership of the Scottish Labour Party.
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Article: The council has been consulting on a new protection order which would ban dogs from play areas and sports pitches, and require them to be kept on leads on public roads and pavements.
The RSPCA said the order could create a "negative view of dog ownership".
Wrexham council said it recognised that dogs must have space to exercise and the recommendations allow this on informal open space and country parks.
The council currently has three dog control orders and wants to replace them with a new Public Spaces and Protection Order (PSPO).
The order recommends:
Responding to the consultation, the RSPCA said banning dogs from sport pitches was "restrictive," especially if there was no other spaces nearby.
It said dogs need to have exercise off the lead, allowing them to express "their normal behaviour".
The charity recognised that dog faeces can be "a nuisance" to people that use the pitches, but said it can be removed.
"Imposing the restriction would punish responsible dog owners," it said.
Councils were given powers to introduce PSPOs in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
RSPCA Cymru public affairs manager Paul Smith said: "We don't want these powers to accidentally create a negative view of dog ownership by implementing undue restrictions, or inadvertently demonise responsible dog owners."
Councillor David Bithell, Wrexham council's lead member for environment and transport, said they have had "an extensive consultation" and listened to all views about the proposed PSPO.
"Dogs have been excluded on marked sports pitches since 2009, and we recognise that dogs must have space to exercise," he said.
"The recommendations allow this on informal open space and country parks, although around the visitors areas and car parks, we are asking that they are put on a lead."

Summary:


The council has decided to introduce a new smoking ban in the town centre.
The council has decided to introduce a new smoking ban in the town centre.
The council has decided to introduce a new smoking ban in the town centre.
The council has decided to introduce a new smoking ban in the town centre.

Proposals to make workers clock off when they go for a cigarette break have been backed by a Norfolk council.

Article: German company DB Regio took over running the system from Nexus in 2010 but has consistently failed to hit punctuality targets.
The firm has been penalised by Â£4.4m over the seven years and its contract has not been renewed. It has been approached for comment.
However, Nexus managing director Tobyn Hughes said the service was improving.
"Although it has undoubtedly had one or two moments of difficulty, generally the contract has gone well," he said.
"Every day around 450 trains operate on the system, carrying around 130,000 people and day in, day out this system continues to perform."
The network has seen an increasing number of complaints about poor service and low levels of customer satisfaction.
Metro's Public Transport Users group welcomed the return of Nexus, but said the existing 40-year-old trains needed to be replaced with a new fleet.
Nexus is bidding for Â£550m from the government to improve the system.

Summary: The operation of the Tyne and Wear Metro has been returned to the public body Nexus.
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Article: Staff at Breckland Council will not be paid in future for the time they take to have a cigarette after the proposals were given the go-ahead.
Simon Clark, from Smokers' lobby group Forest, said earlier that everyone was entitled to a break during work.
The council said the move was aimed at making the issue of smoke breaks fairer for individuals who did not smoke.
William Nunn, leader of the Conservative-run council, said: "We are not trying to stop smoking... what we are saying is when people go for a cigarette they should do it in their own time."
Mr Clark said: "Are they going to introduce clocking in and off for people who go on the internet, on Facebook, or people who want to have a cup of coffee?
"I am sure there are some smokers who abuse the situation and go out too often but if that is happening that is a failure of management."
A meeting of the full council voted to approve the measure on Wednesday.

Summary:


A teacher in Bangladesh has been sacked after a video emerged of him being made to do a series of humiliating exercises.
The teacher, Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, was sacked from his job at a school in Narayanganj district.
The incident happened in the town of Narayanganj,

The Bangladeshi government has reinstated a headmaster who was sacked after being publicly humiliated over allegations that he insulted Islam.

Article: A teaching union said it showed Wales is facing a problem with recruiting new teachers.
Only 553 students started initial secondary teacher training in September 2015 but the official target is 880.
The Welsh Government said the overall teacher vacancy rate "remains very low".
The Ucac teaching union said the figures were "dramatic" and blamed the "out of control" workload as one factor in making the profession less attractive.
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Conservative AM Angela Burns said: "With almost 40% of secondary school teacher training places not filled, these worrying figures further emphasise the deeply worrying recruitment problems faced in Wales.
"The new administration must place a greater emphasis on supporting teachers, with a renewed focus on continuous professional development, and giving the profession greater freedom and control."
Teacher training in Wales is currently provided by three centres involving five universities.
Each year, the centres are set recruitment targets for initial teacher training.
The all-Wales target for secondary teacher training courses starting in September 2015 was 880 but figures from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales show only 553 places were filled - 37% below the target.
Recruitment to primary teacher training courses showed a slight drop in relation to the target.
Major reforms of teacher training in Wales are due to be introduced by September 2018.
Rebecca Williams, policy officer at Ucac, said she believed it was not pay and conditions in Wales which was the issue, but workload, which was leading to stress.
"The figures are beginning to tell quite a strong story that we have a recruitment problem into the teaching profession in Wales," she said.
"In a way it's just the tip of the iceberg, it doesn't take into account the drop out of those who don't finish the course and those who drop out in the early years in the profession because they find it's not what they wanted or it doesn't suit them."
The Welsh Government said it wanted to...

Summary: A third of secondary school teacher training places were not filled at the start of this academic year, official figures show.
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Article: Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, who is a Hindu, was made to hold his ears while performing squats, before being beaten.
Many Bangladeshis were angered by his treatment, posting photos of themselves holding their ears in solidarity.
The government said the sacking was illegal and dismissed the school board. Mr Bhakta denies insulting Islam.
"The head teacher was a victim of injustice. This was a heinous act," Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said.
But he made no mention of local MP AKM Selim Osman who was present at the teacher's ritual humiliation in Narayanganj District near Dhaka last Friday.
The MP has refused to apologise for what happened, the Daily Star reports.
In footage of Friday's incident, a crowd can be heard cheering as Mr Bhakta was made to squat repeatedly and folds his hands - an action associated with shame and apology and usually reserved for children.
Video and photographs showing Mr Bhakta's treatment soon went viral on social media.
Mr Bhakta has told the BBC his treatment was the result of personal grudges against him.
It comes in the wake of a series of attacks on secular writers and bloggers, professors and members of religious minorities in the country.

Summary:


A Rugeley mother has launched a campaign to encourage more women to breastfeed in public.
Swansea mother Ms Richards, who is originally from Staffordshire, said she was inspired to launch her own event after hearing about Ms Slough's story.
"I think it's great that there's a breastfeeding

More than 100 people have supported a breastfeeding protest in Swansea after a Staffordshire mother was labelled a "tramp" for feeding her baby in public.

Article: Routine inspections at Old Vienna in Eastwood Road, Leigh, revealed congealed dirt, broken glass, and cooked food left unrefrigerated.
The proprietor, Walter Haiser, 76, admitted food safety breaches at Southend Magistrates' Court.
Southend Borough Council said Mr Haiser had been "failing to comply" for some time.
Read this and more stories from Essex
The council said the business sold unfit food, failed to comply with improvement notices issued by environmental health officers and failed to provide essential information, despite repeated requests.
Officers said they gave advice on how to address the failings, but Mr Haiser, from Woodlands Park, Leigh, failed to take action.
The  Southend Echo also reported the restaurant's food safety rating sank to zero.
Executive councillor for housing, planning and public protection services, Mark Flewitt said: "We had to take this action to protect public health and make sure that the food hygiene regulations would be complied with in future.
"Friern Leasing Limited and Mr Haiser had been failing to do this for a long time."
The restaurant is yet to comment.

Summary: A restaurateur must pay nearly £60,000 in fines after admitting a string of food safety failings.
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Article: Emily Slough launched a campaign after finding a photograph on Facebook of her feeding her daughter in Rugeley.
In a show of support, Swansea mother Jade Richards organised a breastfeeding protest in Castle Square on Saturday at midday.
Ms Slough staged her own event in Rugeley.
Ms Slough, 27, said she had "discreetly" stopped to feed her eight-month-old daughter Matilda during a shopping trip on 7 March.
Her campaign has attracted thousands of "likes" on Facebook and more than 1,000 people are expected to attend her mass breastfeeding protest.
Swansea mother Ms Richards, who is originally from Staffordshire, said she was inspired to launch her own event after hearing about Ms Slough's story.
"We had about 120 people join us to support Emily," said Ms Richards.
"Mothers, fathers and families came along. It was a great turn out and great weather.
"We handed out flyers explaining that we were here today in support of Emily and the flyers also contained information about feeding babies and why public feeding is necessary.
"There were details about the Equality Act which says people can't discriminate against women breastfeeding.
"During the event, one lady came up to me and said it was the first time she had breastfed in public without covering her baby's head with a blanket to conceal what she was doing."
Ms Richards said it was hard to explain why Ms Slough had received such a harsh reaction while breastfeeding in public.
"People are not used to seeing mothers breastfeeding in public," she added.
"Mothers are normally discreet when they're feeding, I'm not saying they should be, but when a mother is spotted they sometimes receive odd reactions."
She said people were used to seeing breasts as sexual objects and were "freaked out" when they saw them being used for what they were designed for.
"I think the breastfeeding protest in Swansea will serve as a confidence boost for mothers and it'll give them a chance to meet like-minded people," Ms Richards said.
"Perhaps this could become an annual event and then...

Summary:


The BBC has announced it will close BBC Three, the BBC's children's channel, in a move that will see the loss of a popular and successful children's channel.
The BBC has announced it will close BBC Three, the BBC's children's channel, in a move that will see the loss of a popular and

Decriminalising TV licence fee evasion could close BBC channels, the corporation's strategy director has warned.

Article: A report found most Syrians had lost their legal status since the measures were adopted a year ago, putting them at risk of exploitation and abuse.
Only two out of the 40 refugees HRW researchers interviewed said they had been able to renew their residencies.
Last week, the Lebanese authorities forcefully repatriated 400 Syrians.
They had arrived at Beirut's international airport with the intention of travelling on to Turkey but were unable to board connecting Turkish Airlines flights before new visa regulations for Syrians imposed by the Turkish authorities came into force.
Amnesty International called Lebanon's decision to deport the Syrians "an outrageous breach" of its international obligations to protect refugees.
Lebanon is home to more than 1.07 million Syrians who have fled their country since the start of the civil war almost five years ago.
Under the residency regulations introduced last January, refugees applying to renew their residency permits are sorted into two categories: those registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and those who are not and must find a Lebanese sponsor.
HRW found that prohibitive paperwork requirements and fees, combined with arbitrary application of the regulations, effectively barred Syrians in both categories from renewal.
There are no official statistics, but local and international aid workers told HRW that most Syrians they were assisting had lost their legal status.
Almost all the refugees interviewed by HRW's researchers said they could not pay the $200 (Â£139) annual residency renewal fee. The UNHCR says 70% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon fall below the poverty line and rely on aid to survive.
HRW said the need to find a sponsor increased Syrians' exposure to harassment and facilitated corruption.
One refugee was quoted as saying that sponsors were making a business out of the Syria crisis, selling sponsorships for up to $1,000 a person. "Potential sponsors wait on the Syrian border or at the airport to sell sponsorships to new arrivals," the...

Summary: Regulations being imposed in Lebanon effectively bar many Syrian refugees from renewing their residency permits, Human Rights Watch says.
###
Article: James Purnell said it would increase non-payment and cost the BBC £200m.
The sum is the equivalent of BBC Four, CBBC and CBeebies, which would have to be taken off air, Mr Purnell said at an event to  relaunch the iPlayer service.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller said the move should be discussed during talks to renew the BBC's charter before 2017.
Mr Purnell, who previously held the post in the Labour government, said "it would be a huge risk to do it now".
"The choice would be: either we take those services off or the government would have to have a higher licence fee," he said in reference to BBC Four - the arts and culture channel - and the BBC's children's stations.
He argued decriminalisation would inevitably lead to greater non-payment of the TV licence, which would force an increase in the fee.
It is currently £145.50 and has been frozen at that annual amount since 2010. It is needed to watch or record live broadcasts on any device.
In 2012 about 155,000 people were convicted and fined for not paying the licence fee, while there were some 180,000 prosecutions.
Mr Purnell added downgrading licence fee evasion to a civil offence would penalise the poor.
"Either you have a low penalty - in which case the evasion rates would go up and everyone would have to pay a higher licence fee - or a penalty which is higher and more difficult to pay," he said.
The BBC has previously said "legislation is a matter for the government".
"Just a 1% increase in evasion would lead to the loss of around £35m, the equivalent of around 10 BBC local radio stations," it added.
The government has floated the idea to ease pressure on the courts system.
But it will not be discussed before charter renewal talks - which determine how the BBC is funded what it does and how it is managed.
The current BBC charter runs out in 2016.
Meanwhile, Labour MP John McDonnell has tabled an Early Day Motion in parliament calling on the BBC to reverse its decision to close BBC Three as a television channel.
The motion stated BBC Three has been the...

Summary:


A jury has been told that a man who was found guilty of murdering his former partner was "very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very

A jury trying two brothers accused of murdering a cash-and-carry manager from Cardiff has retired to consider its verdicts at Birmingham Crown Court.

Article: The awards of the 2018 and 2022 events to Russia and Qatar have been tainted by allegations of corruption.
Infantino, who was elected Fifa boss last month, wants to begin bidding for the 2026 World Cup within three months.
"We have to get the 2026 bidding process absolutely right," Infantino told BBC Sport.
"It's certainly the commitment that I want to give; that I will do everything I can to make sure that this happens because I think that the credibility of Fifa is, as well, at stake here.
"We need to make sure that we do everything we possibly can, not only to prevent strange things to happen around bidding processes but also to prevent the perception that strange things could happen.
"We need to make sure that bidding process that we put in place is absolutely bullet-proof."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Every World Cup bidding process since 1998 has been the subject of allegations of corruption and bribery.
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is the subject of an ongoing Swiss criminal investigation, while there is also a US inquiry following the arrest and indictment of several top Fifa executives by the US Department of Justice on corruption charges.
In October last year, Blatter appeared to suggest there had been an agreement in place for Russia to host the event - before the vote took place.
On Friday, a report into 2006 World Cup corruption allegations failed to completely rule out the possibility that a payment of 6.7m euros from the German football federation (DFB) to world governing body Fifa in April 2005 was used to buy votes.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Infantino, 45, was elected as Fifa chief following the suspension of predecessor Blatter, who had been in charge of the governing body since 1998.
Following his election, the former Uefa boss denied that promises to the United States over who would host the 2026 World Cup secured his election win.
He insisted it was now time to focus on making the next two World Cups a success.
"I am a...

Summary: Fifa president Gianni Infantino says it is the responsibility of the governing body to ensure the bidding process for future World Cups is "bullet-proof".
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Article: Costco store manager Roger Cooper, 41, and ex-soldier David Cooper, 39, both deny killing Sameena Imam, 34.
Her body was found buried at an allotment in Leicester in January after allegedly been killed with chloroform.
Ms Imam had been having a two-year affair with Roger Cooper and issued him with an ultimatum to leave his partner.
Roger Cooper, of Coventry, denies murdering his colleague after driving her from Coventry to Leicester on December 24, claiming he dropped her off at a supermarket following an argument.
His brother, of Leicester, has admitted burying Ms Imam's body but denies doing anything to cause her death.
The prosecution claim Roger Cooper wanted Ms Imam out of his life as he conducted three relationships, and enlisted the help of his brother to "plan and execute" the alleged murder.
A trial at Birmingham Crown Court, which began in August, was told by a toxicologist that several metallic elements were found in the body of Ms Imam.
She had worked at Costco outlets in Cardiff, Coventry, Southampton and Bristol.

Summary: