The "Dismaland" exhibition is a "darkly comic" take on the seaside, says one critic.
The exhibition is a "darkly comic take on the seaside", says one critic.
The exhibition is a "darkly comic take on the seaside", says one critic.

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

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

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

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

Summary:


A baculovirus is a virus that is spread by a living organism, such as a caterpillar, and can be passed on to other insects.
The virus is not spread by people.
The baculovirus is a virus that is spread by a living organism, such as a caterpillar

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

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

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

Summary: A global recall of Galaxy Note 7 phones has seen 60% of owners following Samsung's advice and exchanging them.
###
Article: Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust said the skins of insects have been found on Winmarleigh Moss, near Garstang.
The baculovirus drives caterpillars on a "death march" to the top of plants, then when it dies the bug bursts out to seek other victims.
The trust's Dr Chris Miller said it was "gruesome - like a zombie horror film".
Dr Miller was carrying out a butterfly survey on Winmarleigh Moss when he noticed a caterpillar hanging from the end of a branch of a small bush.
He then saw another one hanging from a tall blade of grass.
"Both were dead but otherwise intact," he said.
Dr Miller also noticed "small scraps of caterpillar skin" on other branches he checked.
He said research is showing that the baculovirus affects the way the "zombie" insects respond to light, "making them climb to higher and more dangerous places and when they get there they die".
"It is really unusual seeing caterpillars high up as they can be eaten by birds.
"This is a caterpillar of the oak eggar moth which eats heather and bilberry so it is normally hidden in the undergrowth, not at the top of plants."
Source: Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust

Summary:

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The world's football governing body has been rocked by a series of corruption scandals.
The latest to hit Fifa is the arrest of its president Sepp Blatter, who is facing a Swiss court trial for alleged corruption.
He is also facing a separate trial in the US for racketeering.
The Swiss justice system

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

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

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

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

Summary:


The seven men who were found guilty of manslaughter in the L'Aquila earthquake have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
The seven men who were found guilty of manslaughter in the L'Aquila earthquake have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
The seven men who were found guilty of manslaughter in the L'Aquila earthquake

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

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

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

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

Summary:


The Airports Commission has said that the case for expansion at Heathrow is "robust".
The report says: "The case for expansion is robust.
"The case for expansion is not as strong as the case for expansion made by Gatwick.
"The case for expansion is that the airport is already

The chairman of the Airports Commission has rejected Gatwick's criticism of its report recommending expansion at Heathrow.

Article: Lin Zulian will head the new Communist Party Committee in Wukan and organise elections for a new village committee.
His predecessor is under investigation for alleged corruption.
Anger in Wukan over land seizures by officials resulted in an open revolt against local party leaders in December.
The villagers' key demands - including removing two local officials from their posts - were granted by officials amid considerable public backing for the villagers.
The move was seen as a rare compromise by the Chinese government.
Mr Lin on Sunday replaced the incumbent Wukan chief, a businessman who had headed the village for decades but who local people accused of land grabs.
"This is a decision that everyone in Wukan supports and it is an important move that will help resolve the land and village finance disputes," a villager with the surname of Zhang was quoted by news agency Agence France Presse as saying.
Protests began to simmer in Wukan, in Guangdong province, in September and escalated into deadlock after the death of a village negotiator in police custody.
Villagers said officials sold off their land to developers and failed to compensate them properly.
They also called for an investigation into the death of Xue Jinbo, who died on 11 December while in the hands of local police. Police say he died of a "sudden illness", but his family say he was beaten to death.
In December deputy provincial Communist Party secretary Zhu Mingguo met village representatives and reached an agreement to end the stand-off.
There are thousands of protests over land grabs in China each year, with the Wukan protest becoming a symbol of public outrage at perceived injustices.

Summary: The leader of protests against land grabs in a southern Chinese village has been appointed its new chief.
###
Article: That was the choice one shopper made recently at a Japanese convenience store.
The non-Japanese man was seen openly drinking from a bottle of lemon iced tea which he had taken from the shelf, resulting in an argument with store staff.
"What did I do that was wrong? It's written right there on the label," he apparently questioned angrily.
After an explanation by the cashier, it became evident that it was all lost in translation. Free Tea was the brand name, not an offer of a complimentary drink.
The formerly outraged man sheepishly replied: "The store should change its label."
The heated argument was witnessed by Twitter user Domoboku in Tokyo, real name Akiyama Kojiro, who shared his account with his followers.
He told BBC News he had tried to help translating for the foreigner and the staffer, but there was a "bad atmosphere".
His take on the episode generated more than 34,000 retweets and was liked by more than 18,500 users, with people sharing their own experiences of linguistic confusion.
The confusingly named tea is a product of Japanese beverage giant Pokka Sapporo.
The drink "encourages people to be free from a stress-filled society," read an official description on its site.
Mr Kojiro, noted the "irony" of it drink's name and health properties, because the beverage clearly did the opposite in this case.
"This tea ended up causing a stressful problem for both the traveller who came all the way to Japan and an honest shopkeeper," he mused.
The abundance of freebies in Japan, like free oolong tea at restaurants and pocket tissues distributed on the streets, could have added to the confusion, he said.
"Foreigners may misunderstand what a wonderful and free country Japan is!"
He also said that Japanese people too were often sometimes confused by language.
"There are many examples of odd Japanese translations," he said.
"Everyone make mistakes. And I want to emphasise that using foreign languages, we need to be generous and understand each other."

Summary: Would you help yourself to a beverage labelled Free Tea?
###
Article: Gatwick claims Sir Howard Davies's decision not to back a second runway at the airport in West Sussex was flawed.
Sir Howard has written to the government insisting issues raised by Gatwick were carefully considered before the report was written.
The government is due to decide which airport should expand by Christmas.
The Airports Commission spent three years hearing submissions, including those from Gatwick and Heathrow, about how best to expand airport capacity in the South East.
Its report, on 1 July, said there should be a third runway at Heathrow.
Gatwick had argued strongly that it should be allowed to expand instead.
It has said the economic argument for expanding Heathrow is flawed and Sir Howard was using passenger numbers that were "10 years out".
Sir Howard forecasts Gatwick at 40 million passengers by 2024 but the airport says it will hit that number this year.
In a letter to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, Sir Howard says the Airports Commission believes strongly its work is robust.
"The majority of the points made by Gatwick Airport Ltd were also made to the commission in the course of its work and we considered them carefully before we reached our conclusions," he said.
Crispin Blunt MP for Reigate, who chairs a group of local MPs who oppose expansion at Gatwick hit out at the airport for continuing to campaign for expansion.
"Sir Howard Davies has demolished Gatwick's arguments, which amount to a feeble public relations effort to undermine the credibility of the Airports Commission's work and recommendations," he said.
Gatwick said it stood by its view that Sir Howard's report was flawed.
"If backed by government it will inevitably lead to 'Heathrow Groundhog Day' with nothing happening once again," said chief executive Stewart Wingate.

Summary:


The Scottish government has said it will respond to the consultation.
The Scottish government has said it will respond to the consultation.
The Scottish government has said it will respond to the consultation.
The Scottish government has said it will respond to the consultation.
The Scottish government has said it will respond to the consultation.

A majority of Scottish councils want the right to buy for council and social housing tenants scrapped, a government report has said.

Article: Critics had claimed that well-documented problems over some of their candidates would continue to plague them.
It's early stages but so far in Wales at least it has followed that script.
Rows over the selection of candidates have continued to bubble away and the entire local branch committee in Brecon and Radnorshire was suspended by UKIP Wales.
And now the national organiser has stepped down just as we head into the campaign. The significance of the timing will be lost on no-one.
UKIP Wales leader Nathan Gill told me there's never a good time for this to happen and in politics you have to cope with the hand that you're dealt. He says that overall the party is light years ahead of where it was five years ago.
John Atkinson had been in the role during last year's successful campaign in the European elections, in which it failed by just 4,000 votes to beat Labour and come top in Wales.
Despite the problems, the party still has plenty to build on.
UKIP has opened shops in Holyhead, Penarth, Shotton, Merthyr and Llanelli. It says it has 22 constituency branches and is fielding candidates in every Welsh constituency.
However, it operates in a radically different way to the other more established parties.
Plaid Cymru, for example, has already launched its campaign and manifesto, while UKIP don't have a date for its manifesto launch which will be the party's one set-piece event in Wales.
And yet UKIP have been higher in the polls than Plaid.
In fact the lack of organisation has been a factor which has worked in its favour as its members portray themselves as the outsiders and natural home of the protest voter.
The question is whether that is going to work in the full glare of a general election campaign.

Summary: Many people have been wondering what kind of election campaign UKIP would be running.
###
Article: They are investigating tiny changes in the length of the collider's 27km-circumference ring, which occur on a daily and a seasonal basis.
The short cycle is explained by normal tidal forces.
But the winter-summer pattern which affects the huge underground facility is not so obvious.
Except researchers think they can now show that winter rain and snow is gravitationally pulling on the ring.
"My hypothesis is that in winter there's a lot more water in the ground, and even snow sitting on the ground. So, basically, this mass pulls on the ring. And when that extra mass melts away and evaporates away in summer - the ring stretches a bit," said Rolf Hut from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands.
If that's true, you could use the LHC to study precipitation and other aspects of hydrology - not just the secrets of the Universe.
"I can make a rain gauge out of anything," said Dr Hut.  He was speaking here at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly.
Changes in the size of the LHC's ring are known from the behaviour of the beam of particles whizzing around inside it at near-light-speed.
The length of the particles' orbit is fixed and controlled by the collider's operators such as to position the beam in the centre of the ring's vacuum chamber.
An alteration in the circumference will force the particles to move inwards or outwards relative to this centre point.
This movement can be measured with micrometre accuracy and is corrected. The adjustments made by the operators therefore represent a very precise measure of the change in the circumference of the LHC.
This issue was first noticed in the LEP accelerator, which occupied the mighty tunnel under the Franco-Swiss border before the LHC.
The daily changes were quickly attributed to the flexure of the surrounding rock by the Moon's tides, but the longer seasonal cycle could have a number of explanations.
One of these is the change in temperature between summer and winter months: the rock could simply be flexing as it warms and cools. Except, temperatures...

Summary: The LHC is not just the world's most powerful particle accelerator, it could also be its biggest rain meter, scientists say.
###
Article: Many tenants and social landlords also want to see an end to the policy, according to a consultation.
The Scottish government has already ended right to buy for new tenants, amid concern over a shortage of rented affordable homes.
Right to buy has also been suspended by a number of local authorities.
Ministers are currently considering proposals to protect and increase the supply of affordable housing.
The government's consultation on the issue got 169 responses in total from registered social landlords, tenant and resident groups, councils, charities and others.
Of the 161 respondents which answered the question on ending right to buy altogether, 83% said the policy - introduced in the early 80s - should go.
In all, 92% of social landlords, 81% of councils and 80% of tenant and resident groups which responses said right to buy should be scrapped.
The policy was introduced by the Thatcher government to make owning a home more affordable and, since its introduction, more than 500,000 homes have been sold in Scotland.
But in recent years councils have been forced to suspend the policy, as their stock of social housing to rent has dwindled.
The Scottish government's 2010 Housing Act brought in several changes, including ending right to buy for new council and social housing tenants, alongside a three-year £1.5bn house-building plan.
Ministers said stopping all new tenants from buying their homes could see up to 18,000 properties retained over 10 years.
The Scottish government said it would respond to the consultation in due course.

Summary:


The government has announced a new national curriculum for English and maths, which will be introduced in September.
The new curriculum will be introduced in England from September, with the first year of the new curriculum starting in September 2016.
The new curriculum will be based on the new National Curriculum for England, which was

Every pupil in England will be tested on their times tables before leaving primary school, under government plans.

Article: The spacecraft - model numbers five and six - went up on a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana.
Galileo is now finally moving towards full deployment after years of delay.
The European Space Agency, which is building the system on behalf of the EU, expects to have a 26-satellite constellation in orbit by 2017.
To that end, it has just ordered three big Ariane-5 rockets at a cost of half a billion euros.
Europe's premier launch vehicle can loft four spacecraft at a time, and this should allow for six to eight satellites to be put in space every 12 months from now on.
"Every spacecraft is, after in-orbit commissioning, put into operation, and is broadcasting a navigation signal that is a valid signal for users with a combined Galileo/GPS receiver; and there are already receivers on the market that have this capability. So, you have to see the service as being increased one by one," explained Esa Galileo project manager, Javier Benedicto.
Friday's Soyuz lift-off occurred on schedule at precisely at 09:27:11 local time (13:27 BST; 14:27 CEST).
The "instant launch window" was required to get the satellites into just the right part of the sky demanded by the network's multi-plane configuration.
The latest platforms, dubbed "Doresa" and "Milena" in a public competition, are somewhat different to their four predecessors, which were used to validate the Galileo technology in orbit.
Formally described as the first Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites, they have been produced by a new manufacturing consortium, comprising the German outfit OHB System and the UK firm SSTL.
This pair have been contracted to supply the next 20 spacecraft as well.
SSTL's role is to integrate all the Galileo system components inside a satellite.
"It's been a high-volume operation," said SSTL director John Paffett, "and we're now turning out a payload every six weeks.  By the middle of next year, all our payloads will have shipped to OHB, and it won't be long after that that all the finished satellites will have been handed over to...

Summary: Europe has launched the next two satellites in the Galileo network - its version of the American Global Positioning System (GPS).
###
Article: The letter, from all political group leaders at East Sussex County Council (ESCC), said the county faced cuts that would significantly reduce the quality of life for many people.
It comes as the council considers raising council tax by 3.99%, which includes the 2% social care precept.
The government said ESCC's spending power was forecast to grow by 1%.
Conservative-run ESCC said it had saved more than £78m since 2010 but faced a further £70m to £90m savings by April 2019, including £40m from its adult social care budget.
The letter said the government's approach to local government did not reflect the "varying needs" of different areas and East Sussex's ageing population made it particularly vulnerable to cuts.
And it said there would be significant savings in adult social care, withdrawal of early help and support to young people, significant reductions in library services, and reductions in the integrated transport offer.
Council leader Keith Glazier said savings being made would place a heavy burden on some residents.
A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: "This government is providing a long-term funding settlement for the first time allowing local authorities to plan with certainty.
"Councils will have almost £200bn to spend on local services, including a £3.5 billion social care package, over the lifetime of this parliament.
"East Sussex County Council core spending power is forecast to increase by 1% and the county will still have over £1.4bn to spend between now and 2020."

Summary: Politicians in East Sussex have raised "concerns" in a letter to the Prime Minister over government funding cuts.
###
Article: Pupils aged 11 will be expected to know their tables up to 12x12, and will be tested using an "on-screen check".
The checks will be piloted to about 3,000 pupils in 80 primary schools this summer, before being rolled out across the country in 2017.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said maths was a non-negotiable aspect of a good education.
The "on-screen check" examination will involve children completing multiplication challenges against the clock, which will be scored instantly.
The Department for Education says it is the first use of on-screen technology in National Curriculum tests.
Ms Morgan has also said teachers will be judged by the results of the tests: "Since 2010, we've seen record numbers of 11 year olds start secondary school with a good grasp of the three Rs. But some continue to struggle.
"That is why, as part of our commitment to extend opportunity and deliver educational excellence everywhere we are introducing a new check to ensure that all pupils know their times tables by age 11.
"They will help teachers recognise those pupils at risk of falling behind and allow us to target those areas where children aren't being given a fair shot to succeed."
In 2015, 80% of Year 6 pupils achieved Level 4 in maths, reading and writing, up from 78% last year.
But Labour says standards are being threatened by a shortage of teachers, and in the past some teaching unions have warned additional tests can place unwelcome pressure on teachers and pupils.

Summary:


The US president has been accused of being a conman, a liar, a racist, a misogynist, a xenophobe and a bigot.
But he's also been accused of being a conman, a liar, a racist, a misogynist, a xenophobe and a bigot.
The US

With just 20 days to go until Americans go to the polls, millennials suggest they'd rather die than vote for the two main parties, while Canadians try to keep their neighbours' spirits up.

Article: The 35-year-old is moving to French side Toulon after the tournament having being released early from his dual Munster and Ireland contract.
Iain Henderson, who replaced O'Connell, is likely to start Sunday's quarter-final game with Argentina in Cardiff.
Number eight Jamie Heaslip will lead the team in O'Connell's absence.
"Paul O'Connell suffered a significant hamstring injury and will undergo surgery this week," said an Irish Rugby statement.
"Paul will not play again at Rugby World Cup 2015 and his time out of the game will depend on the outcome of the surgery."
The end of O'Connell's involvement in the campaign follows Peter O'Mahony  while fly-half Johnny Sexton is a doubt for the quarter-final because of a groin injury.
Flanker Sean O'Brien may also be missing for the match against the Pumas after he was cited for an apparent punch on France second row Pascal Pape.
Leinster's Mike McCarthy has been called into the Ireland squad as O'Connell's replacement.
Media playback is not supported on this device
O'Connell began his international career with a try-scoring debut against Wales in 2002 and has been a key member of the Ireland side since.
After playing a leadership role alongside captain Brian O'Driscoll in Ireland's Six Nations Grand Slam in 2009, O'Connell captained the British and Irish Lions in their 2-1 Test series defeat by South Africa later that year.
England 2015 was O'Connell's fourth World Cup campaign with Ireland. He has never been beyond the quarter-finals in the tournament.
He finishes his international career with 108 Ireland caps and another seven for the British and Irish Lions.
Former Ireland team-mate Peter Stringer paid tribute to O'Connell, describing him as an "inspirational leader".
"What a captain he has been. He is the first second row I have played with who has been the complete player," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
"I have never met anybody like him. He demands the highest of standards from everyone within an organisation to make sure the team succeeds.
"It is devastating for...

Summary: Paul O'Connell's international career is over after the Ireland captain tore his hamstring during Sunday's World Cup victory over France.
###
Article: The Yadav family, reported to have 20 members and counting in politics, dominates the Samajwadi Party (SP) at all levels.
Its founder and patriarch, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is the national president of the party.  His elder son Akhilesh Yadav is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother Shivpal Yadav is a minister in the state government. All SP members of the lower house of the Indian parliament are from the Yadav family. Other members occupy local and regional offices.
Even though political families now dominate, or are found burrowed within most major political parties in India, no other political family has the sheer numbers and sprawl across political offices at all levels of Indian politics that the Yadav family does.
Is India's politics becoming less dynastic?
But last month, old tensions among the Yadavs broke out into open conflict.
Akhilesh Yadav moved against his uncle Shivpal by sacking ministers and bureaucrats believed to be loyal to him.
Mulayam Singh Yadav backed his brother, removing his son from the position of state president of the Samajwadi Party and appointing Shivpal Yadav to the position instead.
For the past month, son and uncle and their respective factions have been fighting it out, with the patriarch playing mediator.
The drama is still unfolding. As of today, several of Akhilesh Yadav's loyalists, including family members Ram Gopal Yadav and Udaiveer Yadav, have been expelled from the party, while Shivpal Yadav and his loyalists have been sacked from the cabinet.
It is also not clear who the party's chief ministerial candidate is: although the SP had on 17 October named Akhilesh Yadav as its candidate for chief minister, the Shivpal Yadav faction is now proposing Mulayam Singh Yadav's name for the position.
In the meantime, the SP's election campaign has come to a standstill.
The Yadavs are only one of several families in charge of India's regional governments.
According to data I collected after India's most recent round of regional elections this year, the...

Summary: As India's largest state - Uttar Pradesh - prepares to go to the polls early next year, its largest political dynasty - the Yadavs, whose Samajwadi Party heads the state government - is in disarray.
###
Article: The third and final debate is upon us but Donald Trump has shown little interest in ditching the campaign trail for prep sessions.
Speaking at a rally in Colorado on Tuesday, he told supporters he was "gonna take back the White House" and "deliver real, real change". And, for a real, real change he even mentioned some policy, saying he wanted to end government corruption and "drain the swamp in Washington DC". We've spoken to some transparency advocates about his plan and you can see what they think here.
Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has disappeared from the public eye to prepare. Once again, her ability to focus will be tested by Mr Trump, who is reported to have invited two interesting guests to the show: President Barack Obama's Kenyan-born, Trump-supporting, half-brother Malik; and Pat Smith, the mother of a US officer who was killed in the Benghazi attack in September 2012.
Polling in recent days has suggested that voters are finding the increasingly fractious campaign a bit of a turnoff, meaning we could see a decline in turnout come 8 November. One group that is particularly exasperated with the candidates appears to be younger voters, with one survey finding that many of them would rather see a giant meteor destroy Earth than vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.
"Obviously we don't think that they're serious," Joshua Dyck, co-director of UMass Lowell's Center for Public Opinion, which conducted the survey, told Reuters. But it "tells you something about the political disaffection that is being shown by American youth," he added.
Perhaps sensing this moment of misery, some cheery folk across the border in Canada have launched a campaign to #TellAmericaItsGreat. Their uplifting video has had nearly a million views in the last couple of days, winning praise from Star Trek star George Takei, who tweeted: "O, Canada! My ears are moist seeing these. Thank you. This election has been exhausting us all." It sure has.
Bruce Springsteen tells the BBC that he thinks Donald Trump is a conman
15
The number of...

Summary:


The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a warning to drone operators to "behave responsibly" at the Super Bowl.
The FAA has issued a warning to drone operators to "behave responsibly" at the Super Bowl.
The FAA has issued a warning to drone operators to "behave responsibly"

Sports Direct has warned that the extreme swings in the pound overnight will hit its profits.

Article: The Tories said "failings" over local policing and IT systems had not been addressed since the force was created.
And they urged the Scottish government to heed the warnings it had been given by communities and police officers.
The government recently set seven new priority areas for the force, including localism, inclusion and adaptability.
As part of the consultation phase for the new priority framework, Edinburgh City Council submitted feedback saying it was "difficult" for officers to maintain relationships at a local level due to police being moved around different areas within the force.
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) also listed a range of concerns which included Scottish government funding of the force for tools such as an effective IT system.
Conservative justice spokesman Douglas Ross said these were "very severe warnings that cover a range of areas where Police Scotland is struggling".
He added: "This falls completely at the SNP's door, which created the single force and has overseen its first few years.
"Ministers said local policing wouldn't be hampered, but here we have Scotland's capital city saying otherwise.
"This message is replicated across the country and I hear concerns about local policy everywhere I go."
He added: "Communities and police officers alike are highlighting failings which we were assured by the SNP would not occur.
"The Scottish government has to take heed of this, and make sure the police can deal not only with current challenges, but future ones too."
A Scottish government spokeswoman said the new Strategic Police Priorities would strengthen the community focus of policing, ensuring that national priorities take account of the needs of local communities.
She added: "In terms of funding, the Scottish government is committed to protecting the police revenue budget in real terms for the entirety of this parliament, delivering an additional Â£100m of investment over the next five years, in addition to Â£55m of reform funding in 2016-17.
"It is for the Scottish Police...

Summary: Concerns about the performance of Police Scotland "fall completely at the SNP's door", the Scottish Conservatives have claimed.
###
Article: In a video to sports fans, the FAA warns the stadium is a "no-drone zone".
The restrictions cover anywhere within 32 miles of the Super Bowl stadium in Santa Clara, California, between 14:00 and 23:59 PST on 7 February.
FAA regulations also advise that "deadly force" may be used if a drone is perceived as a security threat.
The Super Bowl is the climax of the football season, and a crowd of 70,000 is expected for this year's game.
"Bring your lucky jersey, bring your facepaint, bring your team spirit," the video announces, "but leave your drone at home."
No-drone zones have become commonplace in the United States at sports and entertainment events at which large crowds gather.
Furthermore, permanent restrictions are in place over sensitive buildings - such as airports and the White House.
FAA regulations state: "The United States government may use deadly force against the airborne aircraft, if it is determined that the aircraft poses an imminent security threat."

Summary: Drones have been banned from flying within 32 miles of American Football's Super Bowl, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said.
###
Article: In a statement, the company said the move will hit next year's profit by about £15m.
In addition, if the pound averages $1.20 over the financial year, it may lose another £20m.
Overnight on Friday the pound temporarily plunged by 6%, in a flash crash that is thought to have been triggered by automated trading.
Shares in Sports Direct closed down 9% on Friday.
The company had expected to report underlying profit of £300m based on the pound trading at $1.30 against the dollar.
However, the retailer said that "extreme movements overnight" would result "in a negative impact of approximately £15m" on its results for the current financial year.
The swings overnight hit the company's hedging arrangements, which are designed to protect a business against volatile currency prices.
It also sustained a large loss in its last financial year because of currency movements.
In that case, because of a fall in the value of the pound against the euro, it took a £65m hit.
As a result, Sports Direct reported underlying earnings of £381.4m for the year to 24 April against expectations of £420m, resulting in staff missing out on a bonus.
It has been a tumultuous year for Sports Direct which has been criticised for working conditions at its Shirebrook distribution centre. Most recently, its chief executive Dave Forsey stepped down and was replaced by Mike Ashley, the founder and majority shareholder of the retail chain.
The company has an acting finance director after its former financial chief Bob Mellors stepped down in December 2013 after a decade with the business.
Matt Pearson was appointed as interim chief financial officer on 2 June 2015.

Summary:


A court has ruled that parents can be fined for taking their children on holiday during term time.
The case was brought by a father who took his six-year-old daughter on holiday to Florida.
The council said it was "disappointed" with the decision.
The case was brought by the Isle of

Isle of Wight Council begins a High Court appeal after the case against a father who took his child on holiday during term-time was thrown out by magistrates.

Article: Specialisterne Northern Ireland plans to link people with high functioning autism with employers.
More than 50 digital content and film production companies will be attending.
Young people and adults on the autistic spectrum from across Northern Ireland and university staff are to take part.
The audience at the Skainos Centre in east Belfast will gain insight into the abilities of people with autism to organise and make systems.
Specialisterne has traditionally helped people with autism get jobs in IT and software development.
The initiative is the final and flagship event of Creativity Month in Northern Ireland.
Autism and Asperger syndrome are part of a range of conditions known as autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). They affect the way the brain processes information.
Since its launch in April 2014, Specialisterne NI has identified 120 people who are on the autistic spectrum and who have the skills and talent for IT and creative roles.

Summary: An initiative aimed at matching the specific skills of people with autism with the creative industries is to be launched later.
###
Article: The education minister has written to councils advising them head teachers should instead exercise discretion.
Pupils are allowed to have up to 10 days away, but schools are judged on absenteeism rates.
Campaign group Parents Want a Say said the advice was a "terrific result".
Nearly 2,000 people signed a petition after hundreds of parents were fined over term-time holidays.
In his letter to councils on Wednesday, Huw Lewis said he was concerned some councils were advising "head teachers should not exercise their discretion and should instead refuse all requests for term-time absence as a matter of course", regardless of the circumstances.
"This is contrary to the regulations which allow a margin of discretion for the school in such matters so that each request can be considered fairly and on its merits," the minister wrote.
A BBC Wales Freedom of Information request in 2015 found wide variations in policy of imposing fines.
While Cardiff council issued 370 fixed penalty notices between January and May, 10 other councils did not issue any.
After receiving the petition in December, petitions committee chairman, William Powell AM, wrote to Mr Lewis saying some parents may have been dealt with unfairly and unlawfully.
He welcomed the minister's response, saying some councils had been "engaging in a cynical game of 'pass the parcel' on this issue".
"It is clear that the minister's intention, contrary to what applies in England, is for the discretion of individual head teachers to be respected," Mr Powell said.
"The Minister's response to the petitioners, in the light of compelling evidence received, is, in my view, a victory for common sense."
Craig Langman, chairman of campaign group Parents Want a Say, said it was a "terrific result" for parents in Wales.
"We hope this will encourage Westminster to reconsider its position on the policy in England," he added.

Summary: Campaigners who petitioned against parents being fined for taking term-time holidays are claiming a victory after it was agreed a blanket ban breached regulations.
###
Article: Jon Platt was taken to court after refusing to pay a Â£120 fine for taking his daughter, aged six, to Florida.
He had argued the law only required children to attend school regularly.
The council said it wanted to know why the court decided there was no case to answer.
Mr Platt, a solicitor, took his daughter on holiday with the extended family, despite an absence request being rejected by the school.
At a magistrates' court earlier this month he successfully argued Section 444 of the Education Act required parents ensured their children attended school "regularly", and did not put restrictions on taking them on holidays in term time.
His daughter had a 93.8% attendance rate the previous academic year.
Isle of Wight Council said it has started the formal process of appeal to the High Court for clarification on a matter of law.
Council leader Jonathan Bacon said: "The recent media attention given to this case shows that there is interest, concern and, above all, uncertainty as to what constitutes 'regular attendance' for the purposes of the legislation in question.
"The Isle of Wight Council has received clear advice that the magistrates may have failed to interpret and apply the law correctly in making their decision.
"Where the law created by Parliament is uncertain, the appeal courts have the ability to lay down a binding ruling as to the correct interpretation of the law."

Summary:


The Labour Party has called for a "full and frank" debate on the future of the NHS.
The party has called for a "full and frank" debate on the future of the NHS.
The party has called for a "full and frank" debate on the future of the NHS.
The party has

Voting has begun in local elections across Merseyside.

Article: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it wanted to raise awareness among people who may get a drone as a gift.
Research carried out by the CAA suggests about 39% of owners know about the safe-flying regulations.
The update comes after four near-misses between between drones and civil aircraft were reported in October.
"Drones are an incredible, inspiring technology but it's vital that people are using them safely," said Andrew Sage from air traffic control body NATS in a statement.
"With the number of reported drone incidents on the rise, it's important that people understand their legal obligations and fly safe," he said.
The revised code turns the five main safety tips into a mnemonic, spelling drone, to make it easier to remember.
The CAA has also updated it dronesafe website which collects information about how to operate the unmanned craft safely.
The CAA and NATS are also working with online and high street retailers to ensure that customers are told about their responsibilities when they buy a drone.
CAA research suggests that only 36% of drone buyers get guidance about safe flying at the point of sale.
The UK Airprox Board reported four separate near-miss incidents in October involving drones. One took place near Liverpool Airport and the other three happened on consecutive days at Heathrow.
The Airprox board said 56 near-miss incidents had been recorded so far in 2016 compared to 29 in 2015.
Some European bodies are pushing for drone makers to include "geo-fencing" systems that automatically stop the craft being flown into danger areas such as airfields.

Summary: The UK's drone code has been revised and updated to help pilots of the unmanned craft ensure they fly the gadgets safely.
###
Article: The train drivers' union Aslef said its 24-hour action would start at 21:30 BST on Wednesday.
London Underground (LU) had offered four unions a deal aimed at improving work-life balance.
BBC London correspondent Karl Mercer said all four unions had rejected the offer as talks continued.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has also rejected the deal while Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) is yet to make official its response to the offer.
Unite previously said its action "would go ahead". Talks are being held at conciliatory service Acas.
LU said the new offer included an extra £200 per night Tube shift for drivers and a £500 bonus for station staff by next February as well as a further guarantees for a 32-hour, four-day week.
After a short transition period while the service is introduced, drivers will have the choice whether to work nights, said LU, and everyone will be entitled to two days off in seven.
But Aslef said LU should postpone the planned launch of the all-night Tube on 12 September so further negotiations could be held.
It said the new deal was "completely inflexible", leaving it with "no other choice" than to walk out.
Finn Brennan from the union said the main concern was the "complete lack of firm commitments on work life balance for train drivers" and the number of weekend rest days they would get.
The RMT said it had also rejected the "re-packaged" offer, saying its reps were "furious" when they examined details of the proposed deal.
It said: "They are a re-hash of previous plans and would continue along the course of smashing up long-standing agreements and destroying work-life balance."
LU's managing director Nick Brown said he was "hugely disappointed" the unions had rejected the "very fair" offer for "pretty thin" reasons, but that LU remained open to further talks.
Transport for London (TfL) has warned that Tube services will stop running at 18:30 BST on Wednesday, with services "exceptionally busy" from 16:30 BST.
There will be no Tube services all day on...

Summary: A 24-hour Tube strike is set to go ahead in a row over pay and conditions for the new night Tube service for London, a union has said.
###
Article: Polling stations opened their doors at 07:00 BST and will close at 22:00.
Votes are being cast in council elections in Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. In Liverpool, voters will also elect a city mayor.
Voters across Merseyside will also be asked to choose a police and crime commissioner. In England, elections are taking place for more than 120 councils and the London Assembly.

Summary:


A man who was found guilty of murdering a man in a flat in Brighton has been jailed for life.
The court heard how the victim, who has not been named, was found with serious head injuries in a flat in Gloucester Street, Brighton, in March 2011.
He was taken to the Royal Sussex County

A man has been jailed for life for the "motiveless and brutal" murder of a Brighton man in his city centre flat.

Article: Anne McTaggart's Organ Donation (Scotland) Bill has secured cross-party support, and is backed by 22 Labour MSPs, four SNP, two Lib Dems and one each from the Conservatives and Greens.
The Bill proposes to change the current "opt-in" system of organ donation.
It would mean people would have to opt out or their name would be added to the NHS Organ Donation Register.
Ms McTaggart said: "I would encourage those MSPs who have previously indicated that they support a change - including Nicola Sturgeon - to back us and change the lives of those people on organ waiting lists.
"With three people dying every day across the UK, we simply cannot afford to wait any longer on this issue."
She added: "Promoting organ donation is vital but on its own it will not deliver the much-needed increase in organs that we need just now and that's why my Bill is essential.
"It represents a shift to a more positive, proactive approach which will save people's lives."
A Scottish government spokesman said: "This government is committed to continuing to increase donation and transplantation rates in Scotland and continue the success that the Donation and Transplantation Plan for Scotland 2013-2020 is already delivering.
"Thanks to these efforts, the numbers of donors in Scotland have increased significantly and the number of people waiting for a transplant has fallen by 25% in the last seven years.
"Whilst we welcome any debate in relation to the important issues of organ donation and transplant, we do need to examine the evaluation of the impact of opt-out on organ donation on Wales before making a decision on any changes within Scotland.
"This is because there is not, as yet, a consensus amongst experts as to whether opt-out will make a significant difference, and the international evidence is not clear."

Summary: A Labour MSP has called on the first minister to support the introduction of her organ donation bill later.
###
Article: Dubbed the "Panini Cheapskates", Alex and Sian Pratchett, from Oxford, created all 639 stickers of the World Cup Panini album in 2014.
Last year, the duo then turned their hands to politics, sketching party leaders ahead of May's election.
They now hope to create 800 stickers for the Euro 2016 album, for charity.
They plan to start their latest challenge on 10 June - the day the tournament starts - and finish when it ends on 10 July.
Raising cash for Cancer Research UK and Macintyre Charities would give the pair "the motivation to keep churning out our dishevelled little men even when our brains and bodies are telling us to stop", Mr Pratchett said.
He admitted the couple, who "have actual jobs and, in many ways, actual lives" had not got any better at drawing since 2014, describing their attempts as "uniformly awful".
As well as creating all 800 players, Mr and Mrs Pratchett have also pledged to sketch personalised pictures of the top 100 donors.

Summary: A couple who completed a World Cup sticker album with their own drawings of players have picked up their pens again to sketch for charity.
###
Article: David Sole, 33, of no fixed address, had denied murdering Jonathan Ellison but was found guilty at Lewes Crown Court of beating him to death.
Denise Antonia, 33, of Appledore Road, Brighton, was cleared of murder but found guilty of assisting an offender. She was jailed for five years.
Mr Ellison was found dead in his flat in Gloucester Street on 8 April 2011.
Sole and Antonia were arrested in Winchester, Hampshire, on 16 April following an investigation by Sussex Police's major crime branch.
Following the two-week trial, Sole was told he would serve a minimum term of 18 years.
Det Ch Insp Trevor Bowles said: "Jon Ellison was killed by a man who had befriended him and who he trusted.
"His trust led to his death, as the result of a motiveless but brutal drug and drink-fuelled assault, which caused some of the worst injuries any of us have ever seen."
Mr Bowles said Mr Ellison was a "vulnerable man with many health and personal problems" but he was regarded as "a kind and trusted person".
In a statement issued through Sussex Police, Mr Ellison's brothers said: "He did not deserve to be taken in such a brutal way.
"It was completely at odds with his kind and gentle spirit."

Summary:


The search for a missing kayaker has been called off.
The search for a missing kayaker has been called off.
The search for a missing kayaker has been called off.
The search for a missing kayaker has been called off.
The search for a missing kayaker has been called off.

The coastguard has called off a search for a kayaker after it declared the alarm an "elaborate hoax".

Article: The claim: Rail fares have increased at double the rate of wages since 2010.
Reality Check verdict: Rail fares have risen by double the rate of wages since 2010, but the rate of growth has slowed considerably in the second half of that period.
As a result, we know that fares have risen by about 24% since January 2010.
We also know from the ONS that average weekly wages have risen by about 12% over the same period.
So the TUC is correct when it says that average train fares have risen by double the rate of wages since 2010.
But, there has been a change in government policy since 2010, which means that looking at the average since then does not give a fair picture.
After widespread criticism of rising fares, the coalition government, which took office in 2010, decided to act.
In 2013 it cut the cap on regulated fares from RPI inflation plus one percentage point, to July's RPI inflation rate. A year later it further tightened the rules, removing train companies' ability to increase certain fares within the cap.
The new rules meant regulated train fares - which cover about half of all tickets - could rise no faster than RPI inflation in July of the previous year until the end of the Parliament in 2015. That policy looks set to continue until 2020.
It means that the rise in rail fares has slowed considerably.
In fact, since January 2013, wages have risen by 5.7% while train fares have risen by 5.6%.
In 2015, the low rate of inflation meant that fares rose by less than wages.

Summary: Average rail fares are one of the items in the basket of goods that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses to measure inflation.
###
Article: Film critic Mark Adams will replace Chris Fujiwara, who stepped down from the role this year.
Mr Adams, who writes reviews for the Sunday Mirror and trade magazine Screen International, said he would help the annual festival "develop and grow".
He was head of programming at the National Film Theatre in London and at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.
Next year marks the 69th Edinburgh Film Festival. The celebration of UK and world cinema has seen admissions increase by about a third in recent years.
Mr Adams, who will take up the role in March, said: "I'm thrilled to be helping the Edinburgh International Film Festival develop and grow, and am looking forward to bringing new, challenging, entertaining and exciting cinema to the city.
"This is a great festival that deserves its recognition and can only get better and better."
Ken Hay, EIFF chief executive, said: "We are delighted to have Mark joining the team.
"His passion for film, his fantastic experience as a programmer, journalist and critic, along with his reputation in the UK and internationally, make him the ideal choice to drive the future success of the festival."

Summary: The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has appointed a new artistic director.
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Article: The search was launched after the coastguard received reports from an individual claiming to be in difficulty off the coast of County Down.
Two RNLI boats and a coastguard helicopter from Scotland were launched to assist in the search.
The kayaker was reported to be near Mew Island, one of the Copeland Islands near Donaghadee.
A coastguard spokesman said it received several calls from a person claiming to be in difficulty.
However, the alarm was declared to be a hoax following a thorough search.

Summary:


The new law, which was passed by MPs on Wednesday evening, will now go to the president to sign into law.
The bill, which was passed by MPs on Wednesday evening, will now go to the president to sign into law.
The bill, which was passed by MPs on Wednesday evening, will now go

Outgoing ministers in Ghana could be forcibly evicted from their official residences if they fail to move out in time, under new laws.

Article: Andrew Crook, 48, struck 46-year-old Robert Allaway head-on in the crash on the A65 near Settle in October.
Crook, of Swinnow Grove, Leeds, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Allaway's death by driving without due care and attention.
He was jailed at Bradford Crown Court for four years and eight months and banned from driving for five years.
North Yorkshire Police said Crook had 83mg of alcohol per 100mg of breath when he hit Mr Allaway, from Long Preston, near Skipton - the legal limit is 35mg.
Mr Allaway's wife Lorraine, who lost her sister to cancer on the same day, said: "It is impossible to find the words to describe how we feel about Bob's death.
"He was my soul mate and is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night.
"This is without doubt the hardest and most painful experience of my life."
Mrs Allaway said she planned to campaign for tougher sentencing for drivers convicted of causing death by dangerous or careless driving or while under the influence of drink or drugs.
Traffic constable Dave Seavers, from North Yorkshire Police, said: "Crook gave no consideration to the safety of other road users that day and got behind the wheel with a blatant disregard for the law.
"The bad choice Crook made meant that a man has lost his life through no fault of his own and his family faces a future without a loved one."

Summary: A man who was more than twice the drink-drive limit and driving on the wrong side of the road when he hit and killed a motorcyclist has been jailed.
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Article: An area of ancient woodland in the rolling hills of the South Downs in West Sussex, Markwells Wood is a world away from rain-lashed oil rigs in the North Sea or sun-bleached oil refineries in the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
Yet hidden behind the trees is one of the UK's newest onshore oil wells.
With testing work continuing, the owner, London-based Northern Petroleum, estimates it could produce about five million barrels of oil.
This is tiny in comparison with reserves in the Middle East, but with the UK's offshore oil supplies in the North Sea running low, Northern's argument is that such small onshore oil fields - of which there are currently 28 scattered across Britain - together play a vital role in reducing our dependence upon imports.
As Derek Musgrove, Northern's managing director, drives up to Markwells Wood in his Land Rover, the only obvious sign it houses anything at all is a basic gravel access track.
"As you can see, the facility is very much hidden away," he says.
"The trees all the way around the site are not just a visual barrier, but excellent sound proofing - you would be surprised at just how effectively trees absorb noise."
At present all is quiet at Northern's site - two acres of levelled land cut from the wood, with the small wellhead roughly in the middle.
Beneath the flooring of basic compacted stone is a thick plastic membrane, which covers the entire site, including a trench running all the way around the perimeter.
"While it is highly unlikely that there will be any leaks, we don't take any chances, and the membrane is there for containment," says Mr Musgrove.
"Everything we do is about best environmental and safety practice. We wish to be the best possible neighbour, and behave with the utmost care."
But while Northern Petroleum is keen to stress its environmental credentials, it has a fight on its hands to win planning permission to start actual production.
Especially as Markwells Wood, near Chichester, lies within the new South Downs National Park, which came into being on 1 April...

Summary: A Â£500m battle is welling up over a picture postcard piece of English countryside.
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Article: Ministers and other government officials are being given a three-month deadline to hand over state-owned homes and vehicles, from the date of the new president's inauguration.
The law targets presidential appointees who try to cling on to the perks of office after a new leader is elected.
Ghana goes to the polls on 7 December.
After previous transfers of power, some officials have had to be forcibly evicted and had their state-owned vehicles seized after failing to hand them back.
The law does not apply to presidents and vice-presidents as we earlier reported.
The bill, which was passed by MPs on Wednesday evening, will now go to the president to sign into law.
Existing legislation requires officials to hand back government property after they leave office, but this is the first time a strict time limit has been applied.
Ghana's current leader John Mahama is standing for re-election and his main opponent is Nana Akufo-Addo. The winner will be inaugurated on 7 January 2017.
Ghana's presidential candidates:

Summary:


The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a new coronavirus.
The virus is a member of the coronavirus family, which includes SARS, and is closely related to the one that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (

Spending on private ambulances in London grew by 1,000% between 2011 and 2013, the Labour party has claimed.

Article: CorporateHealth International ApS is to invest Â£5.7m in establishing a new diagnostics centre at the Inverness Campus.
The centre's staff will analyse images captured by video camera capsules - small devices swallowed by patients.
The capsules offer an alternative to diagnostic endoscopies and colonoscopies.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise is supporting the project with investment of Â£600,000.
CorporateHealth International UK Ltd, a subsidiary of the Danish firm, will run the centre.

Summary: A Danish life science company is to create 30 jobs over the next three years in the Highlands.
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Article: It has produced advice for scientists and the media on choosing names.
The WHO says Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Spanish Flu are examples of what to avoid because they mention specific locations.
Instead, names should contain generic terms that are "easy to pronounce".
The WHO said several new human infectious diseases had emerged in recent years and some had stigmatised certain cultures, regions and economies.
Dr Keiji Fukuda, assistant director general for health security at the WHO, said: "This may seem like a trivial issue to come, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected."
Dr Fukuda said certain disease names had created a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities.
They had also put up barriers to travel, commerce and trade, he added, and in some cases triggered the needless slaughtering of animals.
"This can have serious consequences for people's lives and livelihoods."
The WHO has listed a number of best practices for naming new diseases which have not been recognised in humans before.
They include using specific or generic descriptive terms if they are known, such as 'severe', 'progressive' or 'respiratory disease' and making names short and easily pronounceable.
Any acronyms for longer names should be checked, the advice adds.
Disease names which incite fear, include people's names, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or refer to specific occupations, for example Legionnaires' disease, should be avoided.

Summary: New human diseases should be given socially acceptable names which do not offend people and countries or mention animals, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
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Article: The NHS spent £8.84m on private ambulances in the capital last year compared to £795,000 in 2011, according to Freedom of Information data.
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) conceded it was losing staff due to "pressure on the organisation".
But LAS denied claims it had employed private staff previously sacked by the NHS.
Heidi Alexander, Labour MP for Lewisham East, claimed London ambulances were taking "on average two minutes longer than three years ago" to respond to the most serious call-outs.
Labour said its research discovered private ambulance usage by ambulance trusts across the country grew by 82% between financial years 2011/12 and 2013/14, from £37m to £67.5m last year.
Private ambulance spending In Yorkshire and the North East more than quadrupled to hit £3.56m and £2.9m respectively, said Labour, although other ambulance services maintained low spending during the two years, while one trust reduced its reliance on private vehicles.
Shadow health minister Jamie Reed raised concerns over the figures and the "increasing use" of private ambulances during health questions in the House of Commons.
But his comments were branded "absolute nonsense" by public health minister Jane Ellison, who said that previous Labour government "occasionally deployed private ambulances too".
Brendan Kemp, regional organiser for the GMB union, questioned the hiring practices of ambulance trusts and their ability to keep staff.
"Who's checking the qualifications of the staff that man these vehicles?" he said on BBC London 94.9.
"Often staff that have been dismissed by London Ambulance Service for something, often they'll reappear working for a private contractor."
But Jason Killens, director of operations for the LAS, said every private contractor "is checked by us before we use them".
"Staff that leave the LAS for reasons of clinical safety would not be redeployed on those private contracts with us," he told BBC London 94.9.
Mr Killens said increasing demand each year "is adding pressure in the organisation" and conceded...

Summary:


The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he is "very pleased" that the Church of England is to be able to celebrate Easter on the same day as the Western Christian church.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has said he is "very pleased" that the Church of England is to be able to celebrate Easter

The Archbishop of Canterbury is working with other Christian churches to agree on a fixed date for Easter.

Article: Mark Carney, speaking at the annual Jackson Hole convention in the US of central bankers and economists, said: "The prospect of sustained momentum in the UK economy and the gradual firming of underlying inflationary pressures will likely put the decision as to when to start the process of gradual monetary policy normalisation [or interest rate rises] into sharper relief at the turn of this year."
Which is another way of saying that he stands by the economic timetable for possibly raising rates that he set out in Lincoln Cathedral on 16 July.
He was giving his first response to the rout in shares on the Shanghai stock market over the past few days - a rout which for a couple of days infected stock markets all over the world.
Mr Carney said an interest rate rise was by no means inevitable in the opening months of 2016.
But he wanted to dampen speculation that "developments in China" have changed "the process of rate increases from limited and gradual to infinitesimal and inert".
What the Bank of England has to weigh up, he said, was whether domestic demand - spending by British consumers, investing by British investors - was strong enough to offset the potential for further "material slowing of growth in China and more broadly in non-Japan Asia", coupled with the deflationary impact of falling currencies of China and other emerging markets.
Although Wall Street and European stock markets have since recovered from last week's shocks, central bankers and economists are concerned that a pronounced deceleration of growth in China is having a big negative impact on other emerging market economies, and therefore on the prosperity of the world as a whole.
There has therefore been widespread speculation that the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England would delay the first rises in interest rates since the great crash of 2008 in the US and UK.
Mr Carney made clear that the decision on whether to increase the so-called Bank Rate - the interest rate set by the Bank of England - by 0.25% from 0.5% would depend on...

Summary: The decision on when to raise interest rates is still likely be at the top of the Bank of England's agenda at the turn of the year, the governor said this afternoon - even though he acknowledged that China's economic slowdown means the world's second biggest economy is likely to be a drag on growth in the whole world.
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Article: Their funding was cut by a quarter from 2011 to 2016, according to an investigation by the agency.
The government is committed to raising parks' budgets between now and 2020.
However, funding in 2020 will be as much as a fifth below 2010 levels, said the study, even before inflation is taken into account.
Among the parks affected were the Peak District, with annual funding cut from £8.3m to £6.3m, and the Lake District from £6.9m to £5.2m.
The investigation found that once inflation was taken into account cuts over the five years were even more severe, at 40% in real terms.
In 2015, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) pledged to increase the direct grant for National Parks by 1.72% a year for most parks up to 2020.
The figures exclude South Downs National Park which did not become fully operational until April 2011.
The park saw funding fall from £11.4m in 2011-12 to £9.8m in the last financial year.
The Yorkshire Dales will see a bigger boost in its grant in the next two years as a result of the extension of the park area by almost a quarter in 2016.
The Campaign for National Parks said that since 2010, the Norfolk Broads had closed three out of six information centres, Dartmoor had reduced staff by 35% and various parks had cut bus services transporting people to the attractions.
Chief executive Fiona Howie said the charity welcomed the government's desire for more people to benefit from National Parks.
"If we want the parks to inspire current and future generations we need to make sure they receive the resources necessary for them to be maintained and, ideally, enhanced," she said.
A Defra spokeswoman said: "National Parks are treasured landscapes and an important part of our country's identity, attracting 90 million visitors and generating £4bn a year.
"We are committed to helping them thrive, which is why we have protected their budgets to 2020, committing over £350m for English National Parks, AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and public forests."
National Parks in...

Summary: National Parks in England have lost millions of pounds of government funding in the past five years, says the Press Association news agency.
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Article: Justin Welby made the announcement after a meeting of primates from the Anglican Communion in Canterbury.
In the UK, an act of Parliament passed in 1928 allowed for Easter Sunday to be fixed on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April.
However, this has never been activated and Easter has remained variable, determined by the moon's cycle.
Easter is the most important Christian festival, as it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his death by crucifixion on Good Friday.
The archbishop said he was in talks with Pope Francis, Coptic leader Pope Tawadros, and the leader of the Orthodox church Patriarch Bartholomew.
Mr Welby said he hoped the change would happen "in between five and 10 years time".
"I would love to see it before I retired", he said, although he warned the first attempt to make such a change was in the 10th Century.
An Anglican source told the BBC there had been 15 attempts to agree a common date since then.
Easter is on the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon following the spring equinox, meaning it can be celebrated on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April.
But the Orthodox church follows the Julian calendar, hence has later Easter celebrations compared with those of Western Christianity.
In 1990, the Vatican approved a proposal for a fixed date, which was subject to agreement with other Christian churches and governments. It has not yet been reached.

Summary:


The choir is made up of boys and girls aged between seven and 18.
The choir is made up of boys and girls aged between seven and 18.
The choir is made up of boys and girls aged between seven and 18.
The choir is made up of boys and girls aged between seven and 18.

Girls are being invited to audition to join Gloucester Cathedral's Choir for the first time in its 477 year history.

Article: The footage revealed that the clever primates habitually make special water-dipping sticks - chewing the end of the stick to turn it into a soft, water-absorbing brush.
Primate researchers examined the "dipping sticks" and concluded they were made specifically for drinking.
The findings are reported in the American Journal of Primatology.
Lead researcher Juan Lapuente, from the Comoe Chimpanzee Conservation Project, in Ivory Coast, explained that using similar brush-tipped sticks to dip into bees' nests for honey was common in chimpanzee populations across Africa.
"But the use of brush-tipped sticks to dip for water is completely new and had never been described before," he told BBC News.
"These chimps use especially long brush tips that they make specifically for water - much longer than those used for honey."
The researchers tested the chimps' drinking sticks in an "absorption experiment", which showed that the particularly long brush-tips provided an advantage.
"The longer the brush, the more water they collect," said Mr Lapuente.
"This technology allows Comoe chimpanzees to obtain water from extremely narrow and deep tree holes that only they  - and no other animal - can exploit, which [gives] them a superb adaptive advantage to survive in this dry and unpredictable environment."
This suggests that this particular population of chimpanzees has what the researchers call a "drinking culture" - a custom shared throughout this group of making these special water-dipping sticks to help them through the dry season.
The population belongs to the Western Chimpanzee sub-species, now critically endangered.
Follow Victoria on Twitter

Summary: Researchers have used camera traps to film tool-use that is unique to chimpanzees in Ivory Coast.
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Article: Meeting in secret and banned from using mobile phones or electronic recording devices, the 124 members will propose candidates, vote to create a shortlist and pick a winner.
A member of the voting committee will call the winner. If they do not want the job, the orchestra will reconvene.
Sir Simon said two years ago he would leave when his contract ended in 2018.
He will join the London Symphony Orchestra as its music director.
The Berlin Philharmonic, founded in 1882, has had three chief conductors over the past six decades:
Among the possible successors are:

Summary: The Berlin Philharmonic orchestra is electing a chief conductor and artistic director to succeed Sir Simon Rattle.
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Article: The choir was established by Henry VIII in 1539 and is currently made up of 20 boys and 12 adults.
The Dean of Gloucester said including girl choristers would be an "exciting new chapter" in the choir's history.
The aim is to find youngsters from local schools and a range of backgrounds who may not have considered singing in a cathedral choir before.
Adrian Partington, director of music at Gloucester Cathedral, said the aim is to "discover" some very talented girls.
New recruits will play a full part in the cathedral's musical worship, beginning with rehearsals in September before singing at evensong each Monday from October as well as at Christmas and Easter services.
The dean, the Very Reverend Stephen Lake, said: "This will ensure that young girls and boys will be lifting their voices in song at Gloucester Cathedral for many years to come."
The cathedral is hosting a "come and sing" open day on 9 April with girls and boys aged between seven and 12 invited to experience singing in the cathedral.
Auditions for girls will be held on 23 April.

Summary:


The Duke of Wellington's body lay in state at Walmer Castle for two months.
The Duke of Wellington's body lay in state at Walmer Castle for two months.
The Duke of Wellington's body lay in state at Walmer Castle for two months.
The Duke of Wellington's body lay in state at

The bedroom where the Duke of Wellington died at Walmer Castle has been recreated to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Article: Fewer international journalists come here nowadays, she tells me. There is less interest now that the city is no longer murder capital of the world.
Back in 2011, Honduras had a murder rate of 86.5 per 100,000 people, according to the National University's Violence Observatory.
The country's industrial capital, San Pedro Sula, was the worst-hit.
But by 2015, the national murder rate had decreased to 60 per 100,000. Still not low, but quite a drop.
At the same time, neighbouring El Salvador has been climbing the ladder of violence.
Its national murder rate last year was closer to 100 per 100,000 people. El Salvador is currently the most deadly country outside a war zone.
Ms Cruz points out how much has changed in the past couple of years. Security cameras have been installed on street corners across San Pedro Sula.
More than 2,000 in the past few months.
"The Honduran government has real political will to clean up," she tells me.
"To heal the wounds of the violence, the statistics and deaths through drug trafficking and organised crime."
Ms Cruz says funding from the United States has helped too; programmes that have helped bring the violence down.
Latin America makes up just 8% of the world's population but accounts for nearly a third of all murders.
How did Central America in particular get so bad?
A combination of organised crime and weak institutions has played a huge part, as well as regional instability.
"We've practically got two generations who've grown up in an environment of ideological warfare," says Ramon Renaud, a political analyst who explains that even though Honduras - unlike many of its neighbours - escaped civil war, violence has made its mark.
"The violence in Honduras doesn't have its roots in social issues or a class war. It's more about the bridge that drug-trafficking has formed in Honduras and the Northern Triangle of Guatemala and El Salvador.
"Previous governments have not taken the right decisions to tackle this problem head on. So what happens? It's infiltrated and rooted itself in...

Summary: The first person I meet when I land in San Pedro Sula, in north-western Honduras, is local journalist Ingrid Cruz who gives me a tour of her city.
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Article: John Burke stole money from the 83-year-old from Warrington, Cheshire, over five years, using the cash to buy a Mercedes and a new kitchen.
Burke, 74, of Teal Close in Altrincham, admitted fraud by abuse of position.
He was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
Burke befriended the woman and gained her trust between 2007 and 2012, persuading her to give him cheques, Greater Manchester Police said.
He promised she would see good returns on her investment, despite not being a registered accountant or qualified to give financial advice.
Burke was arrested in January 2015 after a family solicitor became concerned about a lack of paperwork and interest payments from the victim's purported investments.
An investigation then found he had stolen £160,000 and prepared a homemade will, which the victim had signed, appointing him as sole executor.
As well as the car and kitchen, Burke had spent most of the money on loans to another company, paying off his own debts, loaning money to a friend and other living expenses.
By 2014, the woman had been repaid just over £25,500 from the accounts held by Burke.
Det Con Laura Watson said Burke was a "callous fraudster" who had "gained and then obliterated" the trust of a "vulnerable" woman.
She added: "This is a sad case where an elderly woman has lost her savings and has been left extremely upset by what has happened."

Summary: A "callous fraudster" who conned an elderly woman out of £160,000 by convincing her he would invest her savings has been jailed.
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Article: The military hero who defeated Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815 stayed at the Kent castle regularly from 1829 until 1852.
Copying a watercolour made shortly after his death, English Heritage has recreated the carpet and wallpaper in the room when he died aged  83.
A pair of his original Wellington boots and his death mask are also on show.
The bed and armchair he used are also on display as part of the new exhibition at the castle, which opens on Friday.
Displays in other rooms explore the career of Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley and his "celebrity" status and state funeral, where more than 1.5m people lined the route.
Wellington's body lay in state at Walmer for two months while preparations for his funeral at St Paul's Cathedral were taking place.
"In 1852, the eyes of the world fell upon Walmer Castle as one of the most important figures of that century died within a small and modest room there," said senior curator Rowena Willard-Wright .
Walmer Castle, near Deal, was completed in 1540 as one of a chain of coastal artillery forts.
From 1708 it became the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, a position occupied by Sir Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as well as the Duke of Wellington.
The Lord Warden is now a ceremonial post but the holder was originally in charge of five port towns on England's south east coast.

Summary: