The prime minister has said he will not be "bullied" into staying in the EU.
"I will not be bullied into a bad deal. I will not be bullied into a bad deal for Britain," he said.
"I will not be bullied into a bad deal for the British people.
"

The poorest and most vulnerable people in the UK would be hit hardest by the economic consequences of leaving the EU, David Cameron has warned.

Article: A Fifa report found Australia's bidding consultants appeared to have "violated the bidding and ethics rules".
It also accused Australian officials of attempting to conceal "certain key relationships" in the bidding process.
The report also criticised the English Football Association but cleared Russia and Qatar of corruption allegations.
But since being released on Thursday, Fifa's report has been heavily criticised - most notably by Michael Garcia, the lawyer who investigated those claims of wrongdoing.
Fifa launched its inquiry into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups after a number of corruption allegations were made after voting took place in 2010.
Russia won the right to host the 2018 tournament, beating England and joint bids by the Netherlands and Belgium, and Spain and Portugal.
Qatar was awarded the 2022 event, edging out Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
The Australian government spent about A$46m (Â£26m; $40m) for the country's 2022 World Cup bid but received only one vote.
The Fifa report claimed Australia's bidding team tried to curry favour with members of Fifa's Executive Committee by directing government funds from development projects in Africa towards initiatives in members' home nations.
It also said there were "certain indications of potentially problematic conduct of specific individuals in the light of relevant Fifa ethics rules".
It found there were several incidents involving the Australia 2022 bid that displayed "potentially problematic connections between financial and other support for 'football development' and the bidding process".
However, it concluded that the connections identified were "all in all, not suited to compromise the integrity" of the bidding process "as a whole".
Football Federation Australia (FFA) said it would seek advice from the Fifa Ethics Committee before making any further comment.
"FFA notes that the Australian bid team co-operated fully with the inquiry and provided transparency on the conduct of the bid," the FFA said in...

Summary: Australia's conduct in its 2022 bid to stage the football World Cup has been criticised for attempts to divert government money to influence votes.
###
Article: The Surrey Mirror said it had received a letter from Surrey County Football Association advising it not to print scores of under-7 to under-11 matches.
Surrey FA chief exec Caroline McRoyall said: "Youngsters are not interested in results long after the game."
Editor Deanne Blaylock said the paper would continue to publish the scores.
The Surrey County FA said the guidance followed changes brought in by the FA Youth Review designed to make youth football more child centred and less results orientated.
The Surrey FA has also told clubs and leagues not to publish results on their websites or on social media.
Ms McRoyall said: "It's about not publishing results, it doesn't mean that they can't put some sort of report into the paper."
She added: "The game will be competitive when they play it... but after that they want to move on to the next thing," she said.
Research by the FA found thousands of  misconduct offences committed by adults at youth football matches including offensive remarks to referees and physical fights between parents or opposing club managers.
Somerset-based Woodspring JFL wrote to parents and clubs to ask them to stop verbally abusing referees - some of the officials were as young as 14.
Gary Lineker has attacked "maniacal parents on the touchline spouting nonsense at their children".
The FA's Respect Guide advises parents to focus on children's developing skills rather than on winning matches. And it says losing can be as valuable as winning.
The Surrey Mirror said it had asked youth football managers and parents whether they wanted to see their children's names and achievements in the paper.
Out of dozens of comments received, on social media and via email and letter, only one was in favour of the Surrey FA's demand.
"We have asked the Football Association for more information on what the penalties would be for breaking the directive and what exactly we are not allowed to publish," said Ms Blaylock.
"Until we receive a response, the Surrey Mirror will continue to publish match reports sent...

Summary: A newspaper has been urged not to publish final scores from youth football matches because it is detrimental to the players.
###
Article: The coastguard at Exmouth beach cordoned off the 15ft (4.6m) by 15ft hole on Thursday afternoon.
The hole, which was "bubbling" with water, has since been filled in by the incoming tide.
East Devon District Council said it was trying to find out what caused the hole and a cordon remains at Orcombe Point.
When the coastguard team arrived they said the surrounding sand was soft and fresh holes were appearing.
Kite surf instructor James Dart said: "I looked over and there were big plumes of water coming out of the beach it was all bubbling up much like a geyser, it was probably going about a foot above the beach - it was quite tremendous sight.
"I got closer and saw plant matter coming up a few snails coming out too. It was something to spice things up in the rain."
It is thought there could have been a chamber underneath the hole, about 10ft (3m) to 15ft (4.6m) deep.
Council officials said engineers would "continue to monitor the situation over the weekend and between tides".
They added: "The beach is very popular with dog walkers and bathers who are being advised to avoid the cordoned off area.
"Heavy rain yesterday may be the cause of the hole - a natural phenomenon - to have opened up, but is still a bit of a mystery."

Summary: A large mystery hole which spurted "big plumes of water" and sent plants and snails shooting into the air has appeared on a beach.
###
Article: Leaving the union would see prices rise and threaten jobs, the prime minister said, in a move seen as an attempt to reach out to Labour voters.
Writing in the Daily Mirror, he said leaving would be "a national error".
Meanwhile, more than 300 business figures and entrepreneurs have signed a letter in support of Brexit.
The referendum takes place on 23 June, when voters in the UK will be asked whether they want the country to remain in, or leave, the European Union.
With less than six weeks to go before polling day, Mr Cameron continued to make his case for staying in the EU.
He said being in the union helped working people and British manufacturing.
"I've been in this job for six years now. Whatever you think of me, I know how Britain gets things done in the world," he wrote in the Labour-supporting Daily Mirror.
"I've seen how free trade within Europe benefits working people. I've seen how manufacturing is boosted by trade deals the EU has done with the rest of the world.
"I've seen how shared intelligence keeps families safe. It's my deep, considered, steadfast belief that leaving Europe would be a national error, a big mistake."
He said three million people's livelihoods were directly linked to trade with Europe, with "countless more" linked indirectly.
Mr Cameron's comments comes as 320 business figures have signed a letter backing Vote Leave.
The letter, published in the Daily Telegraph, said being a member of the EU undermines British competitiveness and Brexit would "create more jobs".
Signatories include Peter Goldstein, a founder of Superdrug, Steve Dowdle, a former vice-president of Sony, and David Sismey, a managing director of Goldman Sachs.
Tim Martin, chairman of pub chain JD Wetherspoon, Adrian McAlpine, from construction firm Sir Robert McAlpine, and Jon Moulton, chairman of Better Capital LLP, also signed the letter.
They say British business would be free to "grow faster, expand into new markets and create more jobs" from outside the EU.
"Year-on-year the EU buys less from Britain because...

Summary:


The word dadbod is not a real word, but it is a real word.
The word dadbod is not a real word, but it is a real word.
The word dadbod is not a real word, but it is a real word.
The word dadbod is not

Collins English Dictionary has chosen binge-watch as its 2015 Word of the Year.

Article: A supermoon occurs when the Moon is in the closest part of its orbit to Earth, meaning it appears larger in the sky.
The eclipse - which made the Moon appear red - has been visible in North America, South America, West Africa and Western Europe.
This phenomenon was last observed in 1982 and will not be back before 2033.
But the definition of a supermoon is debated among astronomers.
Skywatchers in the western half of North America, the rest of Europe and Africa, the Middle East and South Asia saw a partial eclipse.
From the UK, observers watched the Moon pass through the Earth's shadow in the early hours of Monday morning. In North and South America the eclipse was seen on Sunday evening.
In a total lunar eclipse, the Earth, Sun and Moon are almost exactly in line and the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun.
As the full Moon moves into our planet's shadow, it dims dramatically but usually remains visible, lit by sunlight that passes through the Earth's atmosphere.
As this light travels through our planet's gaseous envelope, the green to violet portions get filtered out more than the red portion, with the result that light reaching the lunar surface is predominantly red in colour.
Observers on Earth may see a Moon that is brick-coloured, rusty, blood red or sometimes dark grey, depending on terrestrial conditions.
Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the UK's Royal Astronomical Society, told BBC News that the eclipse is an "incredibly beautiful event".
A supermoon occurs when a full or new moon coincides with a Moon that is nearing its minimum distance (perigee) to Earth.
The Moon takes an elliptical orbit around Earth, which means that its average distance changes from as far as 405,000km (its apogee) to as close as 363,000km at the perigee.
The coincidence between a supermoon and an eclipse means that Earth's lone companion is expected to look 7-8% bigger. But Dr Massey added: "The definition of 'supermoon' is slightly problematic.
"Is a supermoon taking place at the perigee, the...

Summary: People around the world have observed a rare celestial event, as a lunar eclipse coincided with a so-called "supermoon".
###
Article: All young people in Scotland need parental permission to withdraw from religious activities like assemblies.
The Humanist Society of Scotland (HSS) was seeking a judicial review of that policy for older pupils.
The Scottish government is now to consider revising guidance to head teachers.
Religious observance must take place in Scottish schools at least six times a year.
In England and Wales, sixth form pupils - normally aged between 16 and 18 - have the right to make their own decision about opting out.
The HHS called for older pupils in Scotland to be given the same right.
It came after a report by the UN committee on the rights of the child highlighted the fact that children in Scotland were not able to legally withdraw from religious observance.
It recommended that laws requiring compulsory attendance at religious worship were scrapped.
At that time, the Scottish government ruled out a review of the policy.
This prompted the HSS to take a legal challenge to the Court of Session, arguing that the government may have acted unlawfully by refusing to ensure their guidance remains in line with international humans rights law.
Now the Court of Session has granted a motion to halt that judicial review action for three months.
This was put forward by Scottish ministers with the consent of the HSS.
The three-month period will be used to carry out a consultation which will consider a revision of the guidance on religious observance in schools.
A Scottish government spokesman said: "We believe religious observance in schools should support the values of a diverse, outward-looking Scotland, which encourages young people to develop their own beliefs and values, and understand and respect the beliefs and values of others.
"Listening to the views of young people themselves on all aspects of education is very important, as we have clearly recognised through our approach in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 and the current Education Governance Review.
"We welcome the opportunity to work with key interests...

Summary: A consultation is to be held on whether older pupils should be allowed to opt themselves out of religious observance in schools, the BBC has learned.
###
Article: The bird is among a growing number of migratory species that have changed their behaviour due to human influences, says an international team.
Until recently, all white storks in Europe migrated south for the winter, but now more are flying shorter distances to snack on food on dumps.
The white stork breeds from Europe to north-west Africa and western Asia.
White storks in Europe have traditionally flown south to spend the winter in Africa but in recent decades an increasing number have stayed closer to home, drawn to the food discarded at landfill sites.
A team lead by Dr Andrea Flack of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany used GPS devices to study the migratory habits of 70 young storks from eight different countries during their first migration.
The research, published in Science Advances,  tracked birds hatched in Armenia, Greece, Poland, Russia, Spain, Germany, Tunisia and Uzbekistan.
The study found that storks from Russia, Poland and Greece followed the traditional migratory route of flying south as far as South Africa.
However, birds from Spain, Tunisia and Germany lingered north of the Sahara; birds from Armenia flew only a short distance; and, surprisingly, birds from Uzbekistan stayed in their home country.
The scientists say that most of the birds that stayed north of the Sahara survived by feeding on rubbish dumps, enabling them to obtain food without the added energy expenditure of long-distance flight.
Meanwhile, the birds staying in Uzbekistan probably obtained food from fish farms, suppressing their usual migratory habit of flying to Afghanistan or Pakistan for the winter.
Dr Flack said the white stork appeared to have changed its behaviour to live closer to humans where food is in good supply.
"There is some sort of human impact that causes these birds to change their migration strategy," she told BBC News.
"Those that stay north of the Sahara seem to have advantages from feeding on these landfill sites in Morocco.
"For a white stork it's a good place; they find a lot of food...

Summary: Storks feeding on rubbish dumps instead of migrating are more likely to survive the winter, research shows.
###
Article: Meaning "to watch a large number of television programmes (especially all the shows from one series) in succession", it reflects a marked change in viewing habits, due to subscription services like Netflix.
Lexicographers noticed that its usage was up 200% on 2014.
Other entries include dadbod, ghosting and clean eating.
Helen Newstead, Head of Language Content at Collins, said: "The rise in usage of 'binge-watch' is clearly linked to the biggest sea change in our viewing habits since the advent of the video recorder nearly 40 years ago.
"It's not uncommon for viewers to binge-watch a whole season of programmes such as House of Cards or Breaking Bad in just a couple of evenings - something that, in the past, would have taken months - then discuss their binge-watching on social media."
Those partaking in binge-watching run the risk of dadbod, one of ten in the word of the year list.
Referring to an untoned and slightly plump male physique, dadbod is not without its admirers, with actors like Seth Rogen and Leonardo DiCaprio fitting the purported brief.
"Once again, the list of Collins' Words of the Year offers a fascinating snapshot of the ever-changing English language," said Newstead.
Those words that remain popular could be included in the next print edition of the Collins English Dictionary, due in 2018.

Summary:

Article: {{document}}

Summary: ||| {{target}}


A 29-year-old man from Liverpool has been jailed for 18 months for attempting to buy a deadly poison.
The court has been told that the Bolton-born computer software programmer has displayed many traits of Asperger's syndrome.
The court has been told that the Bolton-born computer software programmer has displayed

A man tried to buy ricin from the "dark web" after the idea was "implanted in his brain" from watching the Breaking Bad television series, a court heard.

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

Summary: Energy firm SSE is to be investigated by Ofgem over concerns that it restricted competition in the electricity connections market.
###
Article: Researchers from the Victor Chang Institute in Sydney called it "a double breakthrough", as they found both a cause and a preventative solution.
With 7.9 million babies born each year with a birth defect worldwide, the team hopes the benefits are wide-reaching.
But an expert said the findings "cannot be translated into recommendations" for pregnancy.
The researchers analysed the DNA of four families where the mothers had suffered multiple miscarriages or their babies were born with multiple birth defects, such as heart, kidney, vertebrae and cleft palate problems.
They found mutations in two genes that caused the child to be deficient in a vital molecule known as Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which allows cells to generate energy and organs to develop normally.
Lead researcher Prof Sally Dunwoodie replicated these mutations in mice but found they could be corrected if the pregnant mother took niacin (vitamin B3).
"You can boost your levels of NAD and completely prevent the miscarriages and birth defects. It bypasses the genetic problem," she said. "It's rare that you find a cause and a prevention in the same study. And the prevention is so simple, it's a vitamin," she said.
Dr Katie Morris, an expert in maternal foetal medicine at the University of Birmingham, said: "While exciting, this discovery cannot be translated into recommendations for pregnant women, who at most may be deficient in vitamin B3.
"The doses used in this research were 10 times the recommended daily doses for supplementation in women."
She said the side-effects of this high dosage are not known, with pregnancy complications often occurring because of the complex interaction of a number of factors.
Prof Jean Golding, from the University of Bristol, called it a "solid piece of work" but cautioned against extrapolating too much from the findings, because they were based on the genetics of four families and mice.
For now, Prof Dunwoodie recommended pregnant women take a pregnancy-specific multivitamin, which includes the advised 18...

Summary: Taking Vitamin B3 could prevent miscarriages and birth defects, a study on mice suggests.
###
Article: Patrick Kiely, of Eleanor Street, Bow, pleaded guilty to the offence committed in February.
The man is already serving six years over the theft of 18 Chinese jade items from Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum.
He will serve 18 months more when that sentence ends, Judge Peter Jacobs at Norwich Crown Court said.
The judge said the rhino head, from the Victorian era, was valued at up to £500,000.
Rebecca Hill, defending, said that Kiely had been forced to take part in the raid and, because it failed, was again forced to take part in the Fitzwilliam burglary.
The attempted theft was made on 20 February when four men entered Norwich Castle Museum and forced open a display case containing the head.
The men grabbed the head and tried to escape, but were disturbed by museum staff who recovered it from them and they were later arrested and charged.
Norwich Castle Museum has since replaced the rhino horn with a replica.
How to get up close to a white rhino
Could legalising the horn trade save rhinos?
Nihad Mahmod, 19, of no fixed address, was jailed for two-and-a-half years in July for the attempted theft.
On the black market, rhino horns can sell for about £50,000 per kilo.
Kiely also belonged to a gang with three others and a 16-year-old boy who stole Chinese art worth up to £15m from Cambridge University's Fitzwilliam Museum in April.
All the gang members were jailed over that raid but the art is unlikely to be recovered.
Mr Justice Fulford described that crime as an "act of cultural vandalism".
He said: "This resulted in the loss to the museum and the public at large, not only in this country but across the world, of pieces of incalculable cultural significance and many millions of pounds in monetary value.
"The likelihood is they passed into private hands and will not be seen again for many generations, if at all."

Summary: A 29-year-old man from east London has been jailed for 18 months over the attempted theft of a rhino horn from Norwich Castle Museum.
###
Article: Mohammed Ali, of Prescot Road, Liverpool, is accused of attempting to possess a chemical weapon.
The father of two, 31, has denied the charge at the Old Bailey in London.
Using an online alias, Ali allegedly tried to order 500mg of the deadly toxin, the jury was told, which would have been enough to kill 1,400 people.
As "Weirdos 0000", Ali contacted a man on the black market and placed an order for the ricin, the court heard.
He went on to negotiate the deal in encrypted exchanges unaware the United States-based 'dealer' was actually an FBI agent who alerted the British authorities.
On 10 February, he took delivery of a toy car with "special batteries" at the home he shared with his wife and two young sons.
But instead of ricin, the five concealed packets contained a harmless powder and Ali was arrested.
The court has been told that the Bolton-born computer software programmer has displayed many traits of Asperger's syndrome.
Under cross-examination, defence clinical psychologist Alison Beck said: "I think that so far as I understand it, Mr Ali was motivated with pushing the boundaries of what was possible with the technology.
"The relevance of the dark net was to procure ricin and that idea was implanted in his brain having watched the series Breaking Bad."
Ali denies a charge of attempting to possess a chemical weapon between 10 January and 12 February.
The trial continues.

Summary:


at a Syrian airbase in response to a suspected chemical attack.
The US has launched 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airbase in response to a

"Be careful what you wish for", the old saying goes - and this is exactly what the Russian leadership must be thinking right now.

Article: A single turbine in Atlantis Resources' MeyGen project off the Caithness coast has been exporting electricity.
The device is the first of four 1.5MW tidal stream turbines that are to be installed in the Inner Sound.
Atlantis hopes to expand the project to have dozens of turbines generating about 400MW of electricity.
The generation of the first electricity follows work last year to lay subsea cables from the tidal power site to the shore, and the installation this year of four foundations on the seabed for the devices.
It also comes just months after Nova Innovation said its two-turbine Bluemull Sound project in Shetland had become the first offshore tidal array in the world to deliver electricity to the grid.
The company's Tim Cornelius said: "This is the moment we have been working towards since we first identified the MeyGen site back in 2007.
"I am immensely proud of and grateful for the remarkable team of people who have contributed to this milestone - our suppliers, our funders, our supportive shareholders, and of course the project team, whose commitment, tenacity and belief have been without equal.
"I look forward to bringing more news of the project development over the coming weeks and months as we move into the full operational phase."
Mr Cornelius added: "It's especially exciting to be making this announcement on the morning after the first 'super moon' in 68 years - last night, those of us with clear skies were able to get a good view of the powerhouse behind tidal energy, and be reminded that even in times like these there are still predictions we can rely on."
MeyGen has been described as the world's first large-scale tidal energy farm.
The first phase of the MeyGen project has been funded through a combination of debt, equity and grants from Atlantis, which is the majority owner of the scheme, and also Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Crown Estate and the former Department for Energy and Climate Change
The Scottish government's has provided Â£23m of funding to help...

Summary: A tidal power scheme in the Inner Sound of Scotland's Pentland Firth has generated electricity for the first time.
###
Article: It aimed to spare succeeding generations from the scourge of armed conflict, and its Security Council - which met for the first time in 1946 - was specifically tasked with ensuring global peace and security.
Once widely criticised as a talking-shop, the council has had a more active role on the world stage in recent years, introducing sanctions regimes and authorising the use of force in conflicts.
Five nations are permanently represented on the Security Council. They reflect the post-war power structure that held sway when the council was formed.
Members of this privileged group work alongside 10 non-permanent member countries. Each member - permanent or otherwise - holds the presidency of the council for a one-month period, on a rotating basis.
The non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by members of the UN General Assembly, the body that represents all UN members.
The aim is to achieve a regional balance, with five Asian or African members, two Latin American members, one east European, and two members from western Europe or other regions making up the mix of non-permanent members.
Nations compete keenly for council membership, maybe because of the prestige attached, or the chance to raise an issue that is in the national interest. Some countries announce their candidacy many years in advance and actively canvass votes.
Draft resolutions are drawn up by one or more members of the council and circulated privately to the others.
The drafts can be negotiated or changed in a process called "consultations". If agreed to by all members, the resolution is formally proposed to the council.
Each member has one vote. Decisions on what the council calls "substantive" issues need a majority of nine votes before they can be passed, including either votes or abstentions from all five permanent members.
Not surprisingly, the question of whether an issue is substantive or not is itself the subject of lively debate.
Thus, each of the permanent members has the right of veto; if one of them votes against a...

Summary: The United Nations rose from the ashes of World War II as an organisation of "peace-loving" states.
###
Article: The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader told the party's conference in Perth that Nicola Sturgeon was "determined" to hold an independence referendum.
He argued that the economic case for independence is weaker than in 2014.
But he said the case for the UK should be a "positive, uplifting one".
And he told delegates that "Britain is full of people who care" and that it was important to focus on the "ties that bind us rather than the differences some would use to divide us".
Ahead of Mr Rennie's speech, the conference formally backed calls for the party to be "the voice for the majority in Scotland, who want Scotland inside the UK and the UK in the EU", and to campaign for re-entry into the EU after Brexit.
Highlighting his own family's links to different parts of the UK, and to Europe, Mr Rennie told delegates that the constitutional debate was "personal" rather than merely a "dry, dusty debate about government structures".
He added: "It is about family, community, destiny. I want to bring communities and peoples together, not drive them apart.
"That is why I will oppose erecting a barrier, any barrier, in the heart of my family just like I will oppose erecting a barrier, any barrier, in the heart of the United Kingdom or the European Union.
"Because the United Kingdom is our family. The European Union is our family. And we stand with our family.
"Erecting barriers and division with independence - between us and the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland - is just as objectionable as the division we are seeing with the people of Europe as a result of Brexit."
Willie Rennie says that indyref2 is unwanted and unnecessary. Yet his speech was founded upon the presumption that such a ballot is coming reasonably soon.
Perhaps he took his clue from the interview with me in which the first minister agreed that indyref2 was now "all but inevitable". Or the many other interviews in which she has deployed comparable comments.
Either way, Mr Rennie says his party is ready for the fight. The economic case for...

Summary: Willie Rennie has set out what he said was the "new case for the United Kingdom" as he pledged to fight to keep Scotland in the UK and the UK in the EU.
###
Article: The Kremlin's dreams of a US-Russian rapprochement under President Donald Trump were shattered by the American Tomahawk cruise missiles slamming into the Syrian air base. One might add another piece of advice: "Choose your allies carefully".
It is an unexpected reversal of fortune for Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
Only a few days ago US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that removing Syria's Bashar al-Assad from power was no longer Washington's priority. This was probably taken by the Syrian president as carte blanche to step up his attacks on the opposition. But the chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun - believed to be the work of his forces - backfired.
Even if one sets moral considerations apart (and this was a war crime, pure and simple), Moscow's credibility among the leading players in the region is dented now.
Either: Moscow knew about the planned attack and condoned it - which means its co-sponsorship with the US of the 2013 Syrian chemical weapons liquidation deal was a ruse, a deception, and it therefore cannot be trusted;
Or: the Assad regime deceived Russia and kept some of its chemical weapons (or production facilities) hidden, to use them at will. Then it means that the Kremlin has zero leverage on Damascus. In the hard-power world of the Middle East one doesn't know which outcome is more damaging for Russia.
Two US destroyers casually launched 59 cruise missiles, worth nearly $1m (Â£m) each, just to make a political point. That underlines the discrepancy in financial and material resources between the US and Russia.
Trump sends a resolute signal on Syria
Dramatic turnaround for Trump
Why was Syria's Shayrat airbase bombed?
Six decisive points that changed Syria's war
The fact that the Americans told Moscow in advance about the strike, to avoid casualties among Russian military personnel stationed on the airbase, only added insult to injury. The message was unmistakable: "Step aside please while we do our own thing here."
The Trump administration is prepared to act...

Summary:


The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for the west coast of Scotland for strong winds and gales.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for the west coast of Scotland for strong winds and gales.
The yellow warning is in place from 12:00 Friday to 06:00 Saturday.
The Met

The Met Office has issued an amber "be prepared" weather warning for large parts of Scotland for Friday and Christmas Eve.

Article: The engineering giant said 187 posts would be lost from its Inchinnan plant in Renfrewshire and a further 31 jobs from its facility in East Kilbride.
The cuts are the latest in a wave of redundancies at Rolls-Royce plants in Scotland, as part of restructuring.
In November, Rolls-Royce said it planned to shed 2,600 jobs worldwide over a period of 18 months.
Staff were informed of the latest planned job losses on Thursday.
Rolls-Royce currently employs about 700 people at its Inchinnan manufacturing facility and about 630 at East Kilbride.
The company has already announced plans to transfer East Kilbride employees to Inchinnan by the end of 2015.
A Rolls-Royce spokeswoman said: "In November last year we announced a restructuring of our Aerospace division as part of an intensified programme to improve operational efficiency and reduce cost across the group.
"As part of that process we continually review current workload and assess future customer demand to remain competitive.
"We have identified a requirement to reduce the headcount at our Inchinnan manufacturing facilities by approximately 90 during 2015 and 97 during 2016.
"We have also identified a requirement to reduce the headcount at our East Kilbride facility by 31 during 2015.
She added: "It is never an easy decision to propose reductions in our workforce and we will look to meet this requirement by voluntary means wherever possible.
"We will also explore all mitigation including redeployment to other sites and are offering full support to employees who are impacted by the changes."

Summary: Rolls-Royce has announced plans to cut almost 220 jobs from two Scottish plants over the next two years.
###
Article: It gives fans an 88-second glimpse of the new film, the first new addition to the series since 2005.
Featuring shots of the Millennium Falcon, it also offers the first look of a new cross-shaped lightsaber.
The film, which reunites original stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher is scheduled to be released in cinemas on 18 December 2015.
The trailer opens with a sweeping desert landscape, with a voice saying: "There has been an awakening, have you felt it?", before British star John Boyega appears wearing a Stormtrooper uniform.
It goes on to feature a football-like droid, a Stormtrooper army and fellow British star Daisy Ridley on a type of speeder bike.
A hooded villain is seen walking through a snowy wood with the new lightsaber, along with shots of X-Wing and Tie Fighters, before the Millennium Falcon sweeps across the sky.
According to Time, one cinema in Austin, Texas, is playing the trailer in a separate standalone screening 17 consecutive times.
Each screening will be followed by two minutes of discussion by a panel of Star Wars experts.
The seventh instalment of the sci-fi saga is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

Summary: The first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been unveiled online and in US cinemas.
###
Article: Excluding abstentions, 33.5% of investors failed to back the pay deal, but the vote was non-binding.
The chief executive's 2015 pay package is one of the biggest in UK corporate history.
Sir Martin has previously said his pay was based on the performance of WPP, the world's largest advertising group.
In March, WPP reported a 2.8% increase in yearly profit to £1.5bn compared with 2014.
The company's remuneration policy will now face a binding vote by shareholders at next year's annual meeting, and under the firm's new scheme, Sir Martin's pay is set to fall next year.
Asset manager Hermes, a WPP shareholder, said before the vote that it would not support the remuneration package, in part because of "historic concerns about board composition and the remuneration committee's apparent lack of vigour and stress-testing".
This week Campaign group ShareAction said it objected to Sorrell's pay and last week advisory firm PIRC asked WPP shareholders to oppose it.
Recently there has been investor concern about excessive executive pay in a number of companies.
In April, BP shareholders voted against chief executive Bob Dudley's £14m pay deal for 2015 after the company recorded a record annual loss.
In March, WPP defended Sir Martin's pay package by noting that the company's share price had risen by 98% between 2011 and 2015, compared with a 5.8% rise in the FTSE 100 over the same period.
On Wednesday, WPP said sales, profits and revenues were all "well above budget" in the first four months of 2016.

Summary: One third of WPP investors have failed to back Sir Martin Sorrell's £70m pay deal at the advertising firm's annual general meeting.
###
Article: Yellow "be aware" warnings are also in place for Scotland for Wednesday to Saturday.
The Met Office said a storm, named Storm Barbara, could see winds gusting to 90mph over western and northern parts of Scotland.
Forecasters have warned of possible disruption to power supplies.
The amber warning is in place from 12:00 Friday to 06:00 Saturday.
The Met Office said: "A spell of very strong south to southwesterly winds is expected to develop on Friday.
"Gusts of 80mph are likely quite widely, with westerly winds gusting to 90mph likely across parts of western and northern Scotland later on Friday and overnight into Saturday.
"Winds will then ease on Saturday morning."
It added: "Be aware of the potential for some structural damage - this more likely across the northwest of the warning area - as well as disruption to power supplies and travel, with restrictions on bridges and disruption to ferries."
Shetland is likely to be the last place to see winds easing on Saturday, the Met Office said.
The yellow warnings warns of winds gusting to up to 55mph on Wednesday to Thursday and to 70mph on Friday and Saturday.
Snowfalls with accumulations of five to 10cm have also been forecast upland areas of western and central Highlands.
Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has said 21 of its 26 routes have already been disrupted by the weather. Several services have been cancelled.
Western Isles Council - Comhairle nan Eilean Siar - has shut the Braighe, the causeway to Point on Lewis, because of strong winds and high tides.

Summary:


The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced a series of tax rises and spending cuts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced a series of tax rises and spending cuts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced a series of tax rises

It was indeed a "big" Budget - just as the chancellor said it would be.

Article: The Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel prizes, said it had received "a personal letter" saying he was unable to attend next month's Nobel ceremony "due to pre-existing commitments".
Dylan, the organisation said, felt "very honoured" and wished he could receive the prize personally.
The singer is required to give a Nobel lecture between now and next June.
The 75-year-old will not be the first recipient of the prestigious award to have been a no-show at the prize-giving ceremony.
Harold Pinter and Doris Lessing, winners of the prize in 2005 and 2007 respectively, were among others who did not attend the event.
"The prize still belongs to them, just as it belongs to Bob Dylan," the Academy said in a statement.
"We look forward to Bob Dylan's Nobel lecture, which he must give - it is the only requirement - within six months counting from December 10, 2016."
Dylan's win was a major talking point when it was announced last month, as was his apparent silence on the matter.
Some interpreted this as a sign he was ambivalent about the award, though the Academy later said he appreciated it "so much".
The veteran rock star was awarded the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
The Nobel Prize award ceremony and banquet will be held in Stockholm on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Summary: Bob Dylan will not travel to Sweden to receive his Nobel Prize for Literature in person, it has been announced.
###
Article: It had been alleged that data-gathering centre GCHQ circumvented the law to gain information on UK citizens.
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) reviewed the GCHQ reports produced with US intelligence.
The ISC said the evidence showed that any intelligence sought had "conformed with GCHQ's statutory duties".
Prism is a programme through which the US Government obtains intelligence material - such as communications - from Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Details of the highly classified programme run by the US National Security Agency (NSA) were leaked by former US intelligence analyst, Edward Snowden.
Now wanted by the US, Mr Snowden is in Russia where he has applied for temporary asylum.
The ISC, chaired by former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, took detailed evidence from GCHQ for its investigation, including a list of counter-terrorist operations for which the UK was able to obtain intelligence from the US.
It also examined a list of 'selectors' (such as email addresses) that requested information on a list of UK nationals or individuals who were under surveillance in such operations.
The committee, which reports directly to the Prime Minister who also chooses its members, then looked at a number of UK intelligence reports that were produced as a result of this activity.
In a statement on the allegations against GCHQ, the ISC said: "The legal authority for this is contained in the Intelligence Services Act 1994."
The Director of GCHQ, Sir Iain Lobban, was questioned "in detail" by the committee, it said.
Members of the committee also met the US National Security Agency (NSA) and their Congressional counterparts to discuss Prism on a recent trip to the US.
The ISC added that in each case where GCHQ sought information from the US, a warrant for interception - signed by a minister - was "already in place".
While the committee found that GCHQ had acted within the law, it expressed concern that legal frameworks in some areas were expressed in "general terms".
"More detailed policies and...

Summary: UK security services did not break the law in accessing personal data through the US Prism programme, a parliamentary committee has said.
###
Article: The head of Google UK and top managers from Starbucks and Amazon appeared before the Public Accounts Committee.
Starbucks admitted the Dutch government had granted a special tax deal on its European headquarters, which receives royalty payments from its UK business.
Amazon and Google also confirmed they used favourable European tax jurisdictions for their UK businesses.
Amazon's sales are handled out of Luxembourg, while Google's advertising space is sold by a team in the Republic of Ireland, the executives confirmed.
Margaret Hodge, who chairs the parliamentary committee, told the BBC that she thought it was right for customers to boycott the three companies.
"One of our concerns is that the ability of global companies to choose where to they put their costs and their profits gives them an unfair tax advantage that damages UK-based businesses," she said.
Starbucks has reported a taxable profit only once in its 15 years of operating in the UK.
"We're not at all pleased about our financial performance here," the coffee chain's chief financial officer Troy Alstead told the committee. "The most competitive coffee and espresso market we face is here in the UK."
A four-month investigation by news agency Reuters revealed that Starbucks reportedly paid just £8.6m in corporation tax in the UK over 14 years - including reporting accounting losses when it was profitable.
Ms Hodge questioned why the company even continued to do business in the UK, if it was making such perennial losses.
The taxable profits of its UK business are calculated net of the royalty paid to its Netherlands regional headquarters.
Mr Alstead said that these royalties were subject to a combined tax rate in the Netherlands and the US of approximately 16%. The UK's main corporation tax rate is 24%.
Starbucks' royalty rate used to be 6% of sales, but was recently reduced to 4.7% after being challenged by the UK tax authorities.
The chief financial officer said the 6% royalty rate was paid by its businesses in other countries, including by independent...

Summary: Executives from some of the world's most-recognised firms have been grilled by MPs on the issue of tax avoidance.
###
Article: It was delivered by a politician with "big ambitions".
George Osborne's stated aim was to create what he called a "new settlement". That's politician's code for re-writing the rules of politics to suit your side.
So it is that he did something rather surprising - slowing and softening spending and welfare cuts now having promised faster and deeper cuts in the run up to the election.
So it is that he adopted a series of Labour policies - a higher re-badged minimum wage, a levy on firms to pay for apprentices, an assault on the tax privilege of so-called non doms.
This in addition to delivering Tory promises to cut income tax, corporation tax and inheritance tax.
But hold on - below those headlines are some potentially eye-watering cuts to benefits - the cuts to tax credits for families will dwarf the pay rise many will get.
There are cuts too to Whitehall budgets on the same scale as seen over the past five years - though where they'll hit is as yet unspelt out.
And there are tax rises - on buying insurance, on buying a car, on pensions - which dwarf the headline tax cuts.
So, yes, it was a "big Budget" - whether it's a big game-changer, a big mess or a big outrage is a judgement for you.

Summary:


A new art exhibition in Scunthorpe is looking for the public's help to find the most valuable object in the town.
The exhibition, which is part of the Scunthorpe Art Trail, is called "Treasure City" and is on display at the Scunthorpe Art Centre

The last of five gold artefacts hidden in Scunthorpe as part of an artistic treasure hunt has been discovered.

Article: The Pixel desktop has been re-worked so it runs on PCs and Apple Mac machines, said the Foundation.
People who use it on a Raspberry Pi and other machines will now get the same familiar software across both.
The Pi Foundation said the release also aided its plan to produce the "best" desktop computing experience.
Raspberry Pi co-creator Eben Upton said the software should help schoolchildren who use the credit-card sized Pi in class or for their own projects but have to continue their work on PCs or Macs.
The Pi edition of Pixel and the version translated for bigger machines uses "exactly the same productivity software and programming tools, in exactly the same desktop environment", he wrote.
"There is no learning curve, and no need to tweak... schoolwork to run on two subtly different operating systems," he said.
In addition, he said, producing such a version of Pixel kept the Raspberry Pi foundation "honest" as it would help the organisation's coders work out what bits of the user interface needed work.
Mr Upton said that because the core software underlying Pixel was based on a relatively old computer architecture, it should run on "vintage" machines.
He warned that the software was still "experimental" so might have bugs or other "minor issues" that might mean it does not run well on some machines.
Pixel was first released in September this year and overhauled the main graphical interface owners see and use when working with their Pi. It is based on a version of the open source Linux software known as Debian.
The desktop version lacks two programs - Minecraft and Mathematica - because the Pi organisation has not licensed those applications on any machines other than its own.
In April last year, the Raspberry Pi officially became the most popular British computer ever made. More than 10 million have now been sold.
The computer was first released in 2012 and is widely used as an educational tool for programming.

Summary: The makers of the Raspberry Pi computer have created a version of its graphical front end that can run on ordinary desktop computers.
###
Article: It follows reports of dog fouling and damage at the Camperdown and Caird Park courses.
Dogs can still be walked across the courses but not if owners are playing a round of the game at the time.
A spokesman for Leisure and Culture Dundee said the rules were changed on 20 April.
He said: "This change reflects the concerns of many players and staff about dog fouling and damage being caused to the courses, particularly greens and bunkers.
"The new management rules, which do not affect the Right to Roam legislation, are clearly signed at the courses and on the Leisure and Culture Dundee website.
"Most golf courses in Scotland do not allow players to bring dogs with them."

Summary: Golfers at Dundee's public courses have been banned from bringing their dogs with them after complaints from fellow players and staff.
###
Article: Half of English-medium schools should be doing it within 10 years but Welsh-speaking areas would be the priority for its new Foundation Phase policy.
Education spokesman Simon Thomas said bilingualism was "a valuable skill".
The National Union of Teachers said there was "merit" in the plan but asked if sufficient teachers could be found.
Plaid Cymru was launching its language strategies ahead of May's general election at an event in Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire, on Friday.
"Accessing services and operating in the workplace in their language of choice is a basic right for all the people of Wales," said Mr Thomas.
"Nowhere is this right more important than in our schools and playgrounds where the foundations of children's confidence to converse in Welsh is formed.
"We know that bilingualism is a valuable skill and benefits children's cognitive development."
Owen Hathway, Wales policy officer for the National Union of Teachers, said there was "merit" in the plan but added that "finding enough teachers capable, and wishing, to teach through the medium of Welsh can be difficult".
Rex Phillips, national official in Wales for the NASUWT, asked whether Plaid Cymru had considered "parental choice and the views of pupils, teachers and the wider education workforce before making this announcement".

Summary: Schools in Wales should teach three to seven year olds mainly through the medium of Welsh within 20 years, Plaid Cymru has said.
###
Article: Beckie Allen, from Grimsby, found the replica ammonite shell at the base of a fence post in Scunthorpe's High Street East.
The objects were hidden by artist Luke Jerram for his installation Treasure City, with clues placed in paintings at the 2021 arts centre.
Mrs Allen said her husband and two daughters helped to solve the mystery.
The art centre said she was "the first to spot secret dots" in a white painting in the gallery.
Mrs Allen then followed the clue and found the golden shell hidden outside Italian restaurant San Pietro.
"I spotted something that looked a lot like discarded litter at the base of a fence across the road from San Pietro," said Mrs Allen.
She said her daughters "did the honours and opened up the velvet bag to reveal the final piece of treasure".
The event, which is part of an art exhibition at the centre, started on 18 February.
All five objects are replicas of pieces at North Lincolnshire Museum and were made from gold worth Â£1,000, but could be worth much more.
People had to study five paintings and solve the code within them to find and keep the artefacts.
The fourth item, the golden train, was found by a family from Grimsby in Scunthorpe's Central Park on 24 February.

Summary:


has also said he will ask the intelligence chiefs to come up

Russia says US allegations that it ran a hacking campaign to influence the American presidential elections are "reminiscent of a witch-hunt".

Article: By training two space telescopes on a supermassive black hole with the mass of a billion Suns, they measured the strength of its ferocious winds.
The team also confirmed that these winds blow outwards in every direction, an idea that had been tricky to prove.
The work shows how such black holes can affect the evolution of their galaxies.
It was conducted by an international team of astronomers using the telescopes XMM-Newton and Nustar, run by the European Space Agency (Esa) and Nasa respectively.
"We know that black holes in the centre of galaxies can feed on matter, and this process can produce winds. This is thought to regulate the growth of galaxies," said Prof Fiona Harrison of the California Institute of Technology, Nustar's principal investigator.
The two telescopes simultaneously recorded different wavelengths of light coming from their distant target: a black hole two billion light-years away known as PDS 456. It shines brightly with many types of light, making it a quasar.
Nustar specialises in high-energy X-rays while XMM-Newton views low-energy X-rays.
XMM-Newton had already detected a wind blowing from PDS 456 towards the earth, because iron atoms carried by the huge gusts block X-rays in a characteristic way. It had also allowed astronomers to calculate that the wind was travelling at one third of the speed of light.
But by adding high-energy observations from Nustar, the team was able to pick up a different signature of iron that was scattered to the sides, demonstrating that the wind rushes out in an almost spherical blast.
"Knowing the speed, shape and size of the winds, we can now figure out how powerful they are," Prof Harrison said.
That power is something to behold: about ten times the mass of the Sun is blown out every year, along with a trillion times more energy than our star emits.
Those quantities, and the shape of the wind, suggest that PDS 456 has quite some impact on the surrounding galaxy - and this is likely to be the case for other supermassive black holes, including...

Summary: Winds blasted out by the giant black holes found at the centre of galaxies are strong enough to stunt the birth of new stars, astronomers have found.
###
Article: The highly unusual move is necessary because the Brunt Ice Shelf on which the research station sits has developed a big new crack.
BAS officials say neither staff nor the base are in any immediate danger but believe it would be prudent to withdraw while the situation is assessed.
The plan would be to go back once the Antarctic winter is over, in November.
Halley station comprises a series of hi-tech pods that are mounted on hydraulic legs and skis so that they can be moved periodically further inland, to get away from the shelf edge where icebergs are calved into the ocean.
BAS is in the process of conducting such a move right now. The relocation is all but complete, with the last pod currently in the final stage of being shifted 23km to the new site.
The move was necessitated by a chasm that had opened up in the shelf and which threatened to cut off Halley. But this huge fissure to the west of the station is not the cause of the temporary closure.
Rather, it is another break in the ice some 17km to the north and east of the new base position. It has been dubbed the "Halloween Crack" because it was discovered on 31 October.
"Changes to the ice, particularly the growth of a new crack, presents a complex glaciological picture that means that BAS scientists are unable to predict with certainty what will happen to the ice shelf during the forthcoming Antarctic winter," the research organisation said in a statement.
"As a precautionary measure, BAS will remove its people before the Antarctic winter begins."
The organisation says it does not believe the ice shelf is about to experience a major calving event, but makes the point that if something were to happen it would be very difficult to react in the depths of an Antarctic winter.
"What we've decided is that given the unpredictability, combined with our inability to do anything about it in winter - no aircraft in the continent, it's dark, it's very cold; all those kinds of issues - then actually the prudent thing to do is withdraw our staff, close the station...

Summary: The British Antarctic Survey is to pull all staff out of its space-age Halley base in March for safety reasons.
###
Article: Tamara Rojo told Radio Times magazine that children were often praised for quick results rather than hard work.
"We live in a society that rewards fast success based on little talent or commitment, which is transient and a dangerous place to be," she said.
"Do we want to promote instant success and instant failure, or do we want to promote self-esteem and hard work?"
The Spanish dancer, who is also the artistic director of the ballet company, began classes at the age of five, and joined her first ballet company aged 11.
She said her success was based upon persistence and hard work.
"I never had natural flexibility or the physical abilities that some people had.
"I had a strong technique and was hard-working - I trained for six hours, six days a week from the age of 11 - and that made up for the things I didn't naturally have.
"I rose up the company very fast and was a principal by 18."
Carlos Acosta, who has partnered Rojo in several productions, including Romeo and Juliet, once attested to the ballerina's perseverance, saying she had "no sense of pain or exhaustion".
Rojo took over at the English National Ballet two years ago, shortly before her 38th birthday.
Since then, she has overhauled its programme with a new production of Le Corsaire, and a bold, contemporary season of works inspired by World War One.
One of those, Akram Khan's Dust, was performed at Glastonbury; while earlier this year, Rojo announced a triple-bill dedicated to female choreography for the ballet's 2015/16 season.
The ballerina, who is a judge on the BBC Young Dancer award, has previously spoken of her desire to create a legacy.
"I hope to inspire a whole new generation of dancers that will in turn become teachers, choreographers and managers themselves," she told the Telegraph last year.
"I think you can really transform attitudes both for the audience and the artists and therefore you can grow a healthy, productive and interesting art form."
Rojo is also a strong believer in government subsidies for the arts - which she says are...

Summary: The principal dancer at the English National Ballet says many of today's pupils lack the discipline to succeed.
###
Article: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow was tired of the accusations.
He said a report released by US intelligence agencies detailing the allegations was groundless.
It is the first official reaction from Russia since President-elect Donald Trump received the report on Friday.
The unclassified report contains allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the hacking of Democratic Party emails to damage Donald Trump's Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, and influence the election.
When presidents and spies fall out
Can US election hack be traced to Russia?
Does Trump need a daily briefing?
What can Trump's tweets tell us?
In his comments on Monday, Mr Peskov said Russia "categorically denied that Moscow had been involved in any hacking attacks".
"Groundless accusations which are not supported by anything are being rehearsed in an amateurish, unprofessional way. We don't know what information they are actually relying on."
The claims amounted to a "witch-hunt", he added.
Read more on the report here
Mr Trump used the same "witch-hunt" term last week in a New York Times interview to disparage the hacking claims, which he has repeatedly rejected since winning the presidential election in November.
But his incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, told Fox News Sunday that the president-elect had accepted the findings of the report, which was presented to him by intelligence chiefs on Friday.
"He's not denying that entities in Russia were behind this particular campaign," Mr Priebus added.
He did not clarify whether Mr Trump believed the report's assertion that Russian President Vladimir Putin had directly ordered the hack.
Mr Trump described his meeting on Friday with National Intelligence Director James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey as "constructive" and said he would ask, within 90 days of taking office, for a plan on how to stop cyber attacks.
But he declined to single out Russia, saying it was one of several countries, outside groups and people who...

Summary:


He, the legendary Chinese explorer who is said to have discovered

Standing seven feet tall, China's maritime giant Admiral Zheng He led the world's mightiest fleet, with 300 ships and as many as 30,000 troops under his command.

Article: The move means Glasgow-based Loganair will stop flying under the Flybe brand from 31 August next year.
The Scottish airline operates on lifeline routes between the Scottish mainland and islands, including the Western and Northern isles.
Loganair, which has operated under franchise agreements for 24 years with other airlines, said it will operate in "its own right" from 1 September 2017.
The company, which also operates flights between Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee to airports in England, had a franchise agreement with British Airways from 1993 to 2007, and then from later in 2007 with Flybe.
Flybe said its decision followed "a failure to agree future operational standards and commercial arrangements".
Executive chairman Simon Laffin said: "Scotland is very important to Flybe, and we want to ensure that we serve our customers there to the highest standards, whilst delivering a return to our shareholders.
"We shall announce our plans on continuing to serve Scotland in due course.
"In the meantime our customers can travel and book tickets exactly as before, while any new arrangements will be put in place from September 2017 onwards."
Loganair said it was looking forward to operating under its own brand. The company said it was continuing to discuss with Flybe potential opportunities to work together in future.
Peter Simpson, chief executive of Airline Investments Ltd, Loganair's parent company, said: "Today's announcement is a major milestone in the 54-year history of Loganair.
"Although Loganair has flown as a franchise carrier for larger airlines over the last 24 years, there is still a huge level of recognition and affinity for the Loganair name throughout Scotland and beyond.
"We believe the time is right for Scotland's airline to now spread its wings once again, and are delighted to be introducing a bold new corporate identity to accompany this important move."
Jonathan Hinkles, Loganair's managing director, told BBC Radio Scotland that the end of the franchise agreement would not change its route...

Summary: Flybe is ending its franchise agreement with Scottish airline Loganair.
###
Article: His comments came as official figures showed just 4.4% of full-time firefighters in England and Wales are from non-white communities.
In Greater Manchester the figure is just 2.8% - even though 16.2% of the population is from an ethnic minority.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the figures were "totally unacceptable".
Mr Penning, who took over the fire and rescue portfolio in January, said diversity was "not an optional extra".
"Firefighters, like police officers and other local emergency services personnel, should reflect the communities they serve and we expect fire and rescue authorities to do much more to improve BME... representation," he said.
In West Yorkshire, which includes the cities of Leeds and Bradford, ethnic minority firefighters make up 3.8% of full-time firefighters, compared with 18.2% of the population, the figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government showed.
In the West Midlands - where the BME community makes up 29.9% of the population - only 8.1% of full-time firefighters are from ethnic minorities.
Mick Nicholas, the most senior black member of the FBU, told BC Radio 5 live the fire service had been "inconsistent" at recruiting from non-white communities.
Percentage of BME firefighters compared to proportion of local population
Greater Manchester - 2.8% (compared to 16.2% local population)
Merseyside - 3.6% (compared to 5.5% local population)
South Yorkshire - 2.6% (compared to 9.4% local population)
West Midlands - 8.1% (compared to 29.9% local population)
West Yorkshire - 3.8% (compared to 18.2% local population)
Greater London - 12.2% (compared to 40.2% local population)
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
"I think BME people don't go for fire jobs because they don't know about them. It's still quite nepotistic. There's a dearth of information about the fire service in BME communities," he said.
"The figures for places like West Yorkshire and Manchester are totally unacceptable. Manchester has just recruited a load of fire officers but not...

Summary: Fire services must do "much more" to recruit black and minority ethnic (BME) firefighters, new fire minister Mike Penning has said.
###
Article: The BBC spoke to nuclear and defence experts Ankit Panda, James Acton and Bruce Bennett about the latest test.
At this stage, not a lot. The United States Geological Survey did say it generated seismic waves equivalent to a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, although analysts at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said it was equivalent to a 4.9 quake.
Working out exactly how powerful the blast was - also known as its "yield" - depends partly on how deep underground the test was.
Initial estimates have been in the 10 to 15 kiloton range, according to Bruce Bennett, a senior defence analyst at the Rand Corporation, making it just slightly larger than the 2013 test.
However, some reports say the yield was smaller.
North Korea's tests in 2006 and 2009 are thought to have been plutonium fission devices, but speculation was rife that its 2013 test was of an uranium-enriched device, though this has never been confirmed.
"In general, uranium devices are much more difficult to fabricate and operate," says Ankit Panda, associate editor of The Diplomat.
A test based on a uranium device would spell new dangers because weapons-grade plutonium enrichment happens in large facilities that are easier to spot and uranium enrichment uses many, possibly small, centrifuges that can be hidden away.
North Korea has also depleted its stocks of weapons-grade plutonium but has plentiful reserves of uranium ore.
Whatever your starting material, the significance of an H-bomb is that it is more powerful and technologically advanced than atomic weapons, such as those that devastated two Japanese cities in World War II.
H-bombs use fusion - the merging of atoms - to unleash massive amounts of energy, whereas atomic bombs use nuclear fission, or the splitting of atoms.
The estimated size of the blast suggests that they did not succeed in detonating a full thermonuclear device, experts say, because in that case you would expect a blast closer to 100 kilotons or more.
"It tentatively appears too small to be a hydrogen bomb," James...

Summary: North Korea says it has carried out an underground test of a hydrogen bomb, a more powerful weapon than the atomic bombs it has tested before.
###
Article: Next month, archaeologists will begin work off the coast of Kenya to identify a wreck believed to have belonged to the man some historians believe inspired the adventures of Sinbad the Sailor.
Chinese archaeologists, who arrived in the African country this week, are hoping that the shipwreck could provide evidence of the first contact between China and east Africa.
Setting sail more than 600 years ago, Zheng's armada made seven epic voyages, reaching south-east Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Some say he even made it to America - several decades before the celebrated European explorer Christopher Columbus - although this has been widely disputed by historians.
Zheng, known as the Three-Jewel Eunuch Admiral, carried gifts from the Chinese emperor aboard his "treasure ship", which groaned with valuable cargo including gold, porcelain and silks.
These were exchanged along the established Arab trade routes for ivory, myrrh and even China's first giraffe, promoting recognition of the new Ming dynasty.
But within years of his death, Zheng appeared to fade from public consciousness, and for centuries his legend was overlooked as China turned its back on the world and entered a long period of isolation.
Now Zheng is enjoying a resurgence - and there appears to be more than historical curiosity behind his revival.
The sunken ship is believed to have been part of Zheng's armada, which reached the coastal town of Malindi in 1418.
The Chinese seem confident they will find the wreck near the Lamu archipelago, where pieces of Ming-era ceramics have already surfaced.
The Chinese government is investing Â£2m ($3m) in the three-year joint project, which Kenya says it hopes will throw up important findings about early relations between China and Africa.
Analysts say this ties in well with China's diplomatic overtures to African nations, as it goes about securing natural resources and political influence.
Zheng He - also known as Cheng Ho - is being hailed anew as a national hero; invoked by the Communist Party as a pioneer...

Summary:


A former inmate at Chelmsford prison has told how he was "flooded" with mobile phones and other contraband.
The prison was "flooded" with mobile phones and other contraband, the Ministry of Justice has said.
The prison was "flooded" with mobile phones and other

A prison has written to people who live nearby asking them to help stop packets of "illicit articles" being thrown over the jail walls.

Article: Angus Carpenter, 62, has played the Scottish instrument in Liverpool city centre for more than 30 years, usually dressed in kilt and piper's regalia.
Liverpool Crown Court heard he gave the impression he was collecting for charity three times in 2015.
He denied three charges of fraud and told the court he was busking.
Sgt Chris Gaynor told the court Mr Carpenter was spotted by police on three occasions in 2015, each time giving the impression he was collecting cash for charity.
On one occasion his collecting bucket was adorned with stickers resembling the Help for Heroes logo and the other two with a Hillsborough Justice Campaign banner draped on his bagpipes.
Passers-by would have assumed he was collecting on behalf of those organisations, the court heard.
Mr Carpenter said he has piped for charity in the past but on these occasions he was busking.
The court heard Kenneth Derbyshire, chairman of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, said he had given Mr Carpenter permission to design and display a banner featuring the eternal flame and the word justice.
But he said he had made it clear to Mr Carpenter he was not use it to collect funds for the charity.
Mr Carpenter told the court the banner was a tribute to the victims not an attempt to deceive anyone.
He told the court he was a busker who made money from performing on the streets and he never intended to give the impression he was raising money for charity.
On occasions when he did fundraise, he said, he always insisted that representatives from the relevant charities collected the cash.
The trial continues.

Summary: A bagpiping busker used a Hillsborough charity banner to dupe big-hearted Scousers into handing over money, a court has heard.
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Article: Plenty it seems, especially if the minister decides that he can't walk through ankle-deep water.
A picture showing Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, being carried by police officials through flood waters went viral at the weekend.
The picture has sparked anger, memes and jokes on Twitter.
Large parts of India have been flooded after a number of rivers started flowing above the danger level. At least 17 people have been reportedly killed in flood-related incidents in Madhya Pradesh.
And in the eastern state of Bihar, at least 15,000 people have been evacuated from their homes after a "flood-like situation" in a dozen districts. Floods are common in India during the monsoon season between June and September.
Mr Chouhan, like other chief ministers, visited the flood-affected areas over the weekend to review rescue efforts, but ended up becoming the recipient of bad publicity.
His office told the Hindustan Times that police officials decided to carry him because "he had trouble walking after his foot hit a hard object in the mud".
But the statement did not stop Twitter users from reacting with amusement. Some Twitter users said the minister's picture had redefined the meaning of "aerial survey".
Some Twitter users also expressed anger over Mr Chouhan's conduct.

Summary: What could possibly go wrong if people take pictures of a chief minister visiting his state's flood-hit areas?
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Article: National Grid, which owns and operates the UK's gas and electricity networks, faces "conflicts of interest", said the Energy and Climate Change Committee.
Despite its "technical expertise", it should be broken up, the MPs said.
But National Grid said there was "little evidence" that switching to the US system would bring any benefits.
The committee said that the change was necessary because more power was being generated by regional networks, making energy flows more complicated.
The committee complained of "legislative and regulatory inertia" and said small-scale generators, such as solar power producers, faced problems in connecting to the grid.
"The UK needs clean, renewable power, but it won't be built if it's too costly or difficult for generators to connect to the electricity grid," said committee chairman Angus MacNeil.
"Distribution networks have been overwhelmed at times by the challenge of integrating small-scale renewables."
The Independent System Operator (ISO) system advocated by the committee is used in the US. An ISO oversees the electrical power system in one or more states. The committee would like to see it adopted for energy transmission at a national level, while regional operators would control power flows locally.
"The Independent System Operator model has worked in the USA. It is time for it to be brought to these shores," said Mr MacNeil.
National Grid, a private company listed on the London Stock Exchange, rejected the committee's findings.
"There is little evidence that an Independent System Operator model would provide any benefits that would justify the cost to households, potential disruption to much of the energy sector, and the risks to security of supply such uncertainty could create," a spokeswoman said.

Summary: The UK's energy system needs major reform, with the National Grid replaced by a US-style independent operator, a committee of MPs has said.
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Article: Chelmsford Prison told residents there had recently been "numerous incidents" of packages being hurled over the wall.
One former inmate said the jail was "notorious" for being "flooded" with mobile phones and synthetic cannabis.
The Ministry of Justice said staff worked "extremely hard" to stop contraband from getting into prisons.
"However more must be done, which is why the Justice Secretary has asked us to look at how we can ensure prisons have the tools in place to tackle this kind of problem," the spokeswoman added.
Follow updates on this story and other news from Essex
A woman who lives near the prison, who did not want to be named, said she had witnessed packages being thrown over the wall "four times in two weeks."
"It's getting quite bad at the minute. The prison wants us to come to an evening to talk about what to do if anything does get thrown over," she said.
"I don't feel frightened, but obviously it's not nice - I always lock the doors and everything."
The former inmate claimed drones were used to fly contraband goods "straight up to prison windows", but the Ministry of Justice said there was no evidence of drones coming into the Chelmsford site.
The spokeswoman said laws had been introduced which mean people who smuggle packages over prison walls could be jailed for up to two years.

Summary:


The family of a doctor who was killed in a road accident in Bradford have paid tribute to him.
Dr Andrew Platten, a consultant in the department of radiology at Leeds General Infirmary, was killed in the crash on the A65 at Cottingley on Tuesday.
His family said: "We

A cyclist who was killed when he was hit by a car police were pursuing has been described by his family "as a respected and dedicated academic".

Article: The statement comes as a committee of AMs found the number of stillbirths in Wales to be "unacceptably high" at an average of 180 each year.
They say evidence from a one-day inquiry into stillbirths held last June showed 64 babies could be saved each year if Wales could emulate Scandinavian success in reducing the rate.
Julia Chandler, national officer for the RCM in Wales, also told BBC News the way foetal growth was measured needed to be standardised, and customised growth charts which made allowances for things like the mother's ethnic group should be rolled out across the country.
A study published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in January concluded better monitoring of pregnancies including measuring foetal growth, using scans at a later stage and recording the movements of foetuses more accurately could save up to 600 babies a year in the UK.
It came two days after the RCM warned a shortage of midwives and a fall in students and any future cuts would risk the quality of services.
Ms Chandler said all midwives used tape measures to monitor foetal growth past around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
However she said one thing which both midwives and doctors seemed to find very hard to do was to talk to pregnant women about the possibility of stillbirth occurring.
A sign that something may be wrong is often a reduction in foetal movements, and getting that investigated promptly can make a difference to the outcome.
"What the reduction of midwives will do is reduce the amount of time midwives have with women. You need some continuity with someone so that they trust them," she said.
"You need some time with people and it's not the sort of thing you can do if you only have two minutes with them.
"It's easier to have a difficult conversation if the mother knows someone.
"If you have just met somebody it's difficult to say midway through, 'we need to have a chat about stillbirth'."
She said since the inquiry into stillbirths had begun, many people had commented on how common stillbirth was but it was not in the...

Summary: The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) says a drop in midwife numbers in Wales could be taking vital time away from appointments which could be used to talk to women about the risks of stillbirth and how to help avoid it.
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Article: The Conservative leader told the BBC the idea of SNP influence over a Labour PM was a "frightening prospect".
But Ms Sturgeon said the SNP "want to be constructive, to get better politics coming out of the Westminster system".
Labour's Ed Balls said the Tories and SNP wanted each other to do well. "They are in bed together," he told Sky News.
The possible role of the SNP in a post-election government has been one of the key issues in the campaign so far.
Labour has rejected the idea of a coalition or deal with the SNP - who are threatening to take a swathe of seats from them in Scotland, if opinion polls turn out to be accurate.
But the Conservatives have demanded that Labour also rule out any prospect of operating as a minority government and relying on SNP support on a vote-by-vote basis.
The SNP have said that they would seek to prevent a Conservative government and would seek to ensure any Labour government was "progressive".
SNP deputy leader Stewart Hosie told the BBC's Sunday Politics the party would vote against "cuts that we didn't like", highlighting the SNP's opposition to the Trident nuclear weapons system.
In the absence of a five-year deal, he said: "There would be no deal so we would be perfectly at liberty to table amendments to Budgets and legislation, vote against or table amendments to estimates, perfectly sensible."
Earlier on the Andrew Marr Show, Mr Cameron said: "The SNP is a party that doesn't want to come to Westminster to contribute to a government; it wants to come to Westminster to break up our country.
"When you have a group of Nationalists that want to be involved with the government of a country which they don't want to belong to you have to ask yourself if you're a voter in England, or Wales, or Northern Ireland would these people care at all about what happens in my life and my constituency? The answer is 'no'."
Ms Sturgeon rejected the view the SNP would attempt to cause disruption at Westminster to further its goal of independence - while also ruling out any deal with the...

Summary: Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon has dismissed David Cameron's claim that they would be "coming to Westminster to break up our country".
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Article: The firm went into administration last month.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise has been selected as the preferred bidder to take over the assets of the company.
But administrators KMPG said they had been unable to sell the business as a going concern, so the remaining staff will now lose their jobs.
Edinburgh-based Pelamis Wave Power had employed more than 50 staff in the design, manufacture and operation of wave energy converters which it had been testing at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
Administrators were called in after Pelamis failed to secure enough funding to develop its technology.
The majority of Pelamis employees were made redundant following the joint administrators' appointment.
By Douglas FraserBusiness and economy editor, Scotland
Administrators found the best option was to sell the assets to the government.
That suggests a lack of other options.
Now, the challenge taken on by the Scottish government, its agencies, and the Wave Power Forum it set up when Pelamis went into administration, is to find a way to make use of the invention.
The aim is to stop it becoming another technology lost to foreign competitors.
The Scottish government announced it was establishing a public innovation company Wave Energy Scotland following Pelamis' demise and pledged to offer job opportunities for some of its staff.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise is responsible for setting up the new body and delivering on its remit.
Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring at KPMG in Scotland, said: "Following the sales process, I am pleased to confirm that Highland and Islands Enterprise has been appointed preferred bidder in relation to acquiring the assets of Pelamis Wave Power Limited.
"Over the coming days we will be working to finalise the sale and are hopeful that the transaction can be concluded in the near future.
"Unfortunately, as no going concern solution has been found, the remaining staff will shortly be made redundant. We are working with government agencies to ensure...

Summary: The 16 remaining staff at collapsed wave power company Pelamis are to be made redundant after no final offers were made for the business.
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Article: Andrew Platten, 55, from Bingley, died at the scene in Cottingley Cliffe Road in the town on Tuesday.ã€€
West Yorkshire Police said officers had tried to stop the car after seeing the driver "acting suspiciously".
Police said the car then "sped off and collided" with Dr Platten a short distance away.
The matter has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
A 22-year-old Bradford man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He has been released on bail.
Dr Platten worked at Leeds Beckett University. Its website describes him as an associate dean for international and collaborative provision in the Faculty of Arts, Environment and Technology.
In a statement, his family said: "Andrew excelled as a respected and dedicated academic, with a love for art, poetry and music. For anyone that knew him, cycling was his true passion as he became a recognised competitive rider on the roads. ã€€
"Most importantly he was a loved friend, loyal brother and uncle, loving partner and a truly inspirational father. He will be deeply missed, but he has left his stamp on all who met him.
"He will always be cherished and never forgotten, living on in all our hearts."

Summary:


The A344 is a major route through the heart of Shropshire.
The A344 is a major route through the heart of Shropshire.
It is a major route through the heart of Shropshire.
The A344 is a major route through the heart of Shropshire

People concerned with traffic congestion in villages near Stonehenge are stepping up a campaign for "urgent action" to be taken.

Article: The leading UK authority on sports ground safety has distanced itself from a report seen by some as a 'route map' to getting the scheme back on track.
The report was published last month. It is called a "project assessment review" and was compiled by Cabinet Office officials.
The BBC understands that the Sports Grounds Safety Authority is unhappy with parts of it.
That is even though it referred to them as specialist contributors.
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is planning to build a 38,000-capacity stadium at its existing west Belfast sports ground, Casement Park.
However, the project has been dogged by issues of safety in its design.
Paul Scott, a safety chief on the project, raised concerns. He said that any design must allow for the ground to be evacuated in an emergency within eight minutes and that the pitch itself cannot be part of the emergency exiting plan.
His comments prompted several investigations.
Last month the project assessment review, commissioned by the Culture and Leisure Minister Carál Ní Chuilín and carried out by the Cabinet Office, recommended Mr Scott's removal as head of the safety group and concluded the new stadium was still achievable.
It said there could be flexibility on the eight minutes and that the pitch could be used as part of the plan.
Now, information has been provided to Stormont MLAs by the Sports Ground Safety Authority.
Known as the SGSA, it is the leading UK body on stadium safety.
Its chief executive said that while its experts were referred to in the Cabinet Office report, they had been asked general questions and were not asked to comment in detail on the specifics of the Casement plans.
It went on to say the conclusions "should not be taken to represent the SGSA's advice on the specifics" in relation to Casement.
Crucially, when it comes to the disputed eight-minute timescale and the pitch being used as a place of safety, the SGSA appears to agree with Paul Scott.
The SGSA also told MLAs that in new stadia, the exit routes should "allow all spectators to...

Summary: The GAA's Casement Park stadium project looks set for more problems.
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Article: Mutations in BRCA genes can give women up to an 80% chance of developing breast cancer.
A trial involving 1,034 Ashkenazi Jews, who are at high risk, suggested more than half of their cases were not being picked up under the current NHS guidelines.
The Eve Appeal charity said wider testing would save lives and money.
Mutations in BRCA genes stop DNA repairing itself and increase the risk of cancer developing.
As well as breast cancer, they are also linked to ovarian and prostate cancers.
Around one in 800 people carry a BRCA mutation. But in the Ashkenazi Jewish population the figure reaches one in 40.
The research team, based at University College London and the University of Manchester, compared the effectiveness of screening all Ashkenazi Jews with just screening those who were identified as being at risk because of their family history.
They showed that 56% of those carrying a mutation would not have had a test for BRCA based on family history alone.
The findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, show extra screening could save lives and money.
There are an estimated 114,400 Ashkenazi Jewish women in the UK.
A separate analysis showed screening all of them over the age of 30 would lead to "a reduction in ovarian cancer and breast cancer by 276 and 508 cases, respectively, at a discounted cost savings of Â£3.7m."
Prof Ian Jacobs, one of the researchers at the University of Manchester, said: "For the Ashkenazi Jewish community specifically, this suggests that population testing for BRCA1/2 mutations could save lives."
He told the BBC: "This can save lives and money, why wouldn't the NHS want to do something that could achieve both objectives.
"But the NHS does need to do its own proper evaluation."
The cost of this kind of screening, both for BRCA and other risk genes, is plummeting.
The NHS will eventually have to deal with questions about screening the whole population.
"No-one is suggesting we test the entire UK population for BRCA right now," Prof Ian Jacobs told the BBC.
He...

Summary: More people in high risk groups should have their DNA tested for breast cancer risk genes, a cancer charity says.
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Article: The report gives details of a study into the potential for seals coming into contact with the renewable energy devices in the Pentland Firth.
The research suggests collisions could happen, but were not likely to be fatal to grey seals, a large seal species.
Smaller harbour seals might be "less robust", the report noted.
The report and analysis was commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).
The study examined the movements of tagged seals in the Pentland Firth, a narrow stretch of sea separating mainland Scotland and the Orkney Islands.
Scientists based their research on a hypothetical array of up to 86 tidal turbines.
In their report, the researchers said there was potential for seals to collide with turbines, adding that larger grey seals were unlikely to be fatally injured.
But they also pointed out that seals should be able to detect turbines "both visually and acoustically and are also likely to be able to modify their behaviour to avoid collisions".
The scientists said this avoidance behaviour required additional research.

Summary: The ability of seals to avoid collisions with tidal turbines has still to be properly understood, a new report has suggested.
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Article: The A344 next to the monument was shut in June to "restore the dignity" of the stone circle as part of a Â£27m project.
Residents of villages including Shrewton and Orcheston say their lanes have become "rat runs" for drivers avoiding congestion on the A303.
Campaigners will collect signatures for a petition this weekend.
Janice Hassett, from the Shrewton Traffic Action Group (Stag), said: "The A344 should not have been closed before the A303 was dualled.
"The A303 at Stonehenge Bottom was bad before, but it's a nightmare now.
"Traffic is stupidly backing up to Thruxton on a holiday weekend.
"Sat-navs are sending people right through our villages. There's going to be an accident."
The petition is asking for "urgent action" to be taken to tackle high volumes of non-local traffic using the B3086 through Shrewton, a 20mph speed limit to be introduced and better signage to be installed.

Summary: