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

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

Summary: China devalued its currency on Tuesday, a move that left it with its biggest one day fall in more than 20 years.
###
Article: HM Inspectorate of Prisons said the influx of drugs at HMP Lindholme near Doncaster was "destabilising" the establishment.
The Category C prison holds just over 1,000 adult male inmates.
The National Offender Management Service said "the governor was working hard with police" to tackle the issue.
Prison inspectors said they were told "horrific" stories concerning the possible effects of new psychoactive substances (NPS).
Following the Psychoactive Substances Act, brought into effect on 26 May, the production, distribution, sale and supply of drugs previously called "legal highs" is now an offence punishable by up to seven years in prison.
The Inspectorate's report, following an unannounced inspection in March, said links with crime agencies were "impressive" and a kilo of NPS, 67 mobile phones and 145 Sim cards  had been seized in a month.
What are so-called "legal highs"?
Nearly two-thirds of prisoners told inspectors it was easy to obtain illegal drugs.
The report added: "The stories we were told, concerning the possible effects that NPS was having on individuals, including one young man who had literally blinded himself, were nothing short of horrific."
The watchdog said serious concerns still need addressing at HMP Lindholme, but its deterioration had been halted and work, training and education had improved.
Michael Spurr, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said the site had a "focus on rehabilitation", but efforts were "undermined by the illegal supply of new psychoactive substances".
"The governor is working hard with police colleagues to tackle this threat and to generally improve safety," he said.

Summary: A kilo of drugs previously known as "legal highs" and dozens of mobile phones have been seized at a  prison in a single month.
###
Article: In January, a painting showing Donald Trump and singer Madonna went viral. But who is artist Michael Forbes and why did he paint it?
The painting, called Not My President, was made in the days leading up to Mr Trump's inauguration as the 45th president of the USA.
It depicts the billionaire businessman as King Kong sitting on the head of Madonna. The superstar singer is portrayed as the Statue of Liberty, holding up a placard protesting against his election.
Madonna, a critic of Trump, posted an image of the painting to her Facebook and Instagram accounts. The posts soon gathered thousands of "likes".
The US singer is a fan of Forbes, who exhibits artwork at a gallery in Manhattan, New York City, and whose other celebrity supporters include Monty Python's Terry Gilliam and comedian Ricky Gervais.
Forbes describes himself as a Pop Surrealist.
His work has referenced women's rights campaigns, featured "mash ups" of glamorous Hollywood icons, also past US presidents such as Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln as well as bears wearing sunglasses.
But Forbes was born and brought up far from the glamour - and occasional controversy - of the subjects of his paintings.
The son of a mechanic, Forbes was born in Dingwall in Easter Ross and he grew up in the area surrounded by peers who joined the Armed Forces after leaving school.
But he was drawn in a different direction.
"I grew up in a world without 'art'," says Forbes. "There were no trips to museums or art galleries. I didn't know any artists and I remember at 15 having not even taken art in secondary school."
Later he was given a harsh lesson that carving a successful career in the Arts would not be easy.
Forbes says: "I was once stopped by someone taking a survey on Inverness High Street. I agreed to take her survey as she said no-one had stopped.
"I had some time to kill before catching my train. Her first question was 'what is your occupation? I said 'artist'. She went through her whole list of occupations but couldn't find 'artist'.
'It's not there," she said....

Summary: All images are copyrighted.
###
Article: Criminals used customer details gained from "an unknown source" to try to access accounts between Wednesday and Thursday, the company said.
The telecommunications giant said 1,827 customers had their accounts accessed, with criminals potentially gaining their names and some bank details.
But it insisted its systems had not been breached.
Vodafone said its investigation and "mitigating actions" meant only a "handful" of customers had been subject to any fraudulent attempts to use their data.
It comes just over a week after the phone and broadband provider TalkTalk was subjected to a cyber attack in which personal and banking details may have been accessed by hackers.
Vodafone said its security protocols had been "fundamentally effective", but the criminals had potentially gained customers' names, their mobile phone numbers, bank sort codes and the last four digits of their bank account numbers.
Vodafone says it has notified the 1,827 affected customers and there is no need for other customers to be concerned.
Those who are affected should:
The company said the details could not be used to access customers' bank accounts but the information meant they could be at risk of fraud or phishing attempts - the practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies.
The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said the email addresses and passwords criminals used to try to access Vodafone accounts appeared to have been bought on the dark web.
A Vodafone spokesman said the affected Vodafone accounts had been blocked and their banks notified.
The National Crime Agency, the Information Commissioner's Office and Ofcom have been notified of the incident, Vodafone added.
An NCA spokeswoman said: "The NCA can confirm that we have been contacted by Vodafone in relation to a compromise of customer data, and we are in dialogue with the company.
"Anyone who thinks they have been subject to attempted or successful fraud, or other online crime, should report it to action fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk."

Summary: Almost 2,000 Vodafone customers may be open to fraud after their personal details were accessed.
###
Article: There were 1,820 patients waiting to be seen in May, compared to 916 in 2011.
About half had waits of up to four weeks, the other half up to 26 weeks and a small number waited longer.
Charity Mind Cymru said it was "very concerned" by the figures but the Welsh Government said more money was being ploughed into services and more people were being referred.
Sara Moseley, director of Mind Cymru, said: "Our own research shows that far too many people are waiting for significant periods, sometimes as long as 12 months, to get the treatment they need to stay well.
"We also know that the services offered across Wales are patchy, with some health board areas providing a much better service than others."
She added the vast majority of Welsh speakers were not offered the choice of therapy in their first language.
Although the figures have risen steadily over the six years, this year's were slightly down on 2016 but still double of that in 2011.
Andrew Tamplin suffered a breakdown and paid to be seen privately.
"I couldn't wait six months to see someone," he said. "I don't like to think what would've happened. I paid thousands for 20 to 30 sessions.
"When you're suffering mental illness the last thing you need is more stress and anxiety [from waiting]."
Gwen Goddard also paid privately for treatment but now works for Training in Mind, which teaches first aiders about mental health.
She told Newyddion 9: "It was a crisis, I was so ill. When you talk about self harming and suicidal feelings it is a crisis.
"People have to have prompt treatment."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We want to ensure that people experiencing mental health problems have access to appropriate and timely services as close to their home as practical.
"We continue to spend more on mental health services than on any other part of our NHS and have put in place more stringent waiting time targets to help us achieve that ambition.
"We recognise there is more to be done to improve waiting time performance, but this needs to be set in context of...

Summary:


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

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

Summary: Russia will appeal against a international court ruling that it should  pay $50bn (£29.5bn) in damages, the biggest compensation package ever.
###
Article: Yahoo paid $1.1bn (Â£830m) for the company back in 2013 - but it has since slashed $712m (Â£541m) off its valuation.
CNN Money has suggested that the acquisition is now "effectively worthless".
Tumblr is a social network where members can post almost anything - photos, audio clips, videos, animations, feature-length text posts and more.
It was set up in 2007 and brings together a staggering breadth of content, including craft tutorials, clips of TV programmes, mental health support groups, political satire, naked selfies, funny cat pictures and hardcore pornography.
Members follow people who post the type of content they enjoy, and can repost items they like on to their own page, providing fertile ground for in-jokes and memes to go viral.
One recent obsession involved gate-crashing innocent-looking videos with the loud trumpeting intro to pop song Run Away With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen.
At the time of the acquisition - addressing concerns from Tumblr's fiercely loyal members - Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer promised not to "screw it up".
Those who keep a close eye on services such as Tumblr say the site has been slow to add new features.
Its latest big addition is live video support, following in the footsteps of Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter-owned Periscope.
"Tumblr has just added live video, and it's six months late," said Eleni Marouli, principal analyst at IHS Markit. "That's years in the technology world."
A bigger concern is that the site cannot find enough advertisers to fill its available space.
That could be, in part, due to the nature of the content on Tumblr - much of it adult-orientated, depending on whom you follow - although Ms Mayer blames the shortfall on a growing number of advertising formats.
"Supply, because it's growing so quickly, is outpacing demand, and it's causing this monetisation shortfall," she said.
Then there's the issue of mobile advertising. People are increasingly accessing content via mobiles, and Tumblr has been slow to react.
"Yahoo has been very slow at...

Summary: Three years have passed since Yahoo bought Tumblr, but the micro-blogging website has not proved to be the goldmine once hoped.
###
Article: Customers will be able to choose to use the free power either on Saturday or Sunday, between 9am and 5pm.
British Gas said consumers should see savings of about Â£60 a year.
But experts said it will not necessarily be the cheapest deal on the market, and advised people to shop around with other suppliers.
Most of British Gas's 11 million customers will not be eligible immediately, as only 2.4 million of these currently have smart meters.
For the first time, smart meters enable energy firms to work out the time of day when people are using power.
The move follows an announcement by British Gas in April that it had lost 224,000 customers in the first three months of 2016.
British Gas said the new FreeTime tariff will be the cheapest dual fuel deal on offer from the company.
But independent energy expert Ann Robinson said consumers can find lower tariffs elsewhere.
"Consumers need to think about the small print, shop around and see if there's a better deal out there," she said.
However, she welcomed the innovative use of smart meters, saying people might be prepared to change habits to save money.
"It's worth thinking about cooking your major roasts and stews, or doing two or three rounds of laundry on the same day," she said.
Experts expect other suppliers to follow suit.
Large energy suppliers have now installed 2.75 million residential smart meters across the UK, less than 6% of all meters, according to the latest government figures.
In total, 53 million smart meters are due to be installed by 2020.
British Gas said it would install a smart meter for anyone who wanted to go on the new tariff, as long as they were eligible.
Why are we using less energy than we used to?

Summary: British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two million customers who have smart meters installed.
###
Article: Rates have fallen by 3.5% in the two weeks since 24 June, said Tom McPhail, head of retirement policy at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Before the vote, a 65 year-old with savings of Â£100,000 would have been able to buy an annual income of Â£5,069.
Now the value of that pension has dropped to Â£4,890, a new record low.
Experts had predicted just such a development before the referendum, yet a majority of people over the age of 60 voted to leave the European Union.
"Annuity rates are disappearing off the bottom of the chart," said Mr McPhail.
"Just 6 months ago a 60 year old could get a better deal than the terms now being offered to a 65 year old. Even though rates are now at historic lows, there is no certainty whether or when rates will go back up again."
Annuity rates have been falling for many years, as life expectancy increases.
However the drop has been exacerbated by falling bond yields in the two weeks since the vote.
Nevertheless, Mr McPhail advised anyone thinking about buying an annuity not to wait for any upturn in rates.
"So if the question is, 'should I buy an annuity today?', then the answer is don't delay doing so just because today's rates are lower than in the past."

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

Summary:

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

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

Summary: The ballot is getting under way in the contest for the leadership of the Scottish Labour Party.
###
Article: Organisers said there would be 50,266 performances of 3,269 shows in 294 venues over three weeks in August.
It remains the largest arts festival in the world despite a small fall in the number of shows - down 1.3% from 3,314 last year.
Its new chief executive Shona McCarthy promised "unparalleled" breadth and diversity of talent.
She said the Fringe is "still at its core an open access festival which welcomes anyone with a story to tell".
"The Fringe simply wouldn't happen without all the performers and artists who come and take the risk and put their work on show for the benefit for all of us," she added.
The festival will be made up of:
Some of the famous names in the comedy line-up include Rory Bremner, Omid Djalili, David O'Doherty and Shappi Khorsandi.
Actor Richard Wilson will revive one of the UK's best-loved TV characters, One Foot in the Grave's cantankerous protagonist Victor Meldrew, for a one-man show.
In the music category, Colin Hay, former lead singer of Men at Work, will bring a group of international musicians together for his show while Fringe favourite Camille O'Sullivan will debut a new show featuring the music of Radiohead, Nick Cave and David Bowie.
The Queen's Hall will host concerts from big names in folk and traditional music including Capercaillie, The Peatbog Faeries and King Creosote.
Various theatrical performances will celebrate William Shakespeare's legacy as they mark the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death.
Both the UK poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Scotland's former makar (national poet) Liz Lochhead are bringing separate shows to the Fringe in the spoken-word section.
There will also be 643 free events on offer across the programme.
The Scottish Government is supporting a "Made in Scotland" showcase, providing a platform for 18 of the country's best performers and companies.
Councillor Richard Lewis, who is in charge of the capital's festivals and events, stressed the importance of the Fringe to locals and businesses alike.
"In terms of finances, the Fringe festival...

Summary: The programme for this year's Edinburgh Fringe has been unveiled.
###
Article: Civil Service World reported that seven out of ten Downing Street special advisers got pay rises of as much as £14,976 after last year's election.
It follows controversy over the size of severance packages to the ex-PM's aides after his resignation in July.
Labour said it was "uber-cronyism".
But the Cabinet Office said the pay increases reflected changes in responsibility and roles among Mr Cameron's staff after last year's Conservative election victory.
The ex-prime minister has already been criticised for giving 17 former advisers larger pay-offs than they were contractually entitled to upon his exit from Downing Street and giving many of them recognition in his resignation honours list.
The decision to give his advisers redundancy pay equivalent to six months salary each amounted to individual packages of £70,000 in certain cases.
The move was challenged at the time by the head of the civil service John Manzoni, who took the unusual step of asking Mr Cameron to give him a written ministerial direction to authorise the payments.
Civil Service World said its own research suggested most of the special advisers involved had already received inflation-busting pay increases less than a year before.
Those who received double-digit increases after the May 2015 victory, it said, included former director of strategy Ameet Gill, former head of operations Liz Sugg and Daniel Korski - deputy director of the Downing Street Policy Unit.
Although the total amount spent on special advisers last year has yet to be published, the magazine said it was estimated to be £8.4m - a substantial increase on the last year of the Labour government in 2009-2010 when it totalled £6.8m.
In opposition, Mr Cameron criticised the amount spent on special advisers - known around Westminster as spads - and said this should be reduced as part of a general drive to cut the cost of politics.
But Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said it was clear now that this was "empty rhetoric".
"This is a triple whammy - honours to cronies and a whacking great pay...

Summary: Theresa May is being urged to "claw back" money paid to some of David Cameron's former advisers after it was reported that they were given pay rises of up to 24% last year.
###
Article: It comes after problems with palliative care were highlighted during scrutiny of the Assisted Suicide Scotland bill.
The bill, which would have allowed those with terminal illnesses to seek the help of a doctor to end their own life, was rejected by MSPs in May.
Those who opposed the legislation said improvements should be made to palliative care instead.
Holyrood's Health Committee will be seeking views on how to provide high quality care for the terminally ill.
It will also examine whether access to care varies across the country and if those with certain conditions are more likely to get support.
The inquiry was launched at a Marie Curie hospice in Glasgow by committee convener and deputy convener Duncan McNeil MSP and Bob Doris MSP.
Mr McNeil said: "The recent debate on assisted dying highlighted that the provision of palliative care in Scotland is not good enough.
"Our committee heard that access to palliative care is not available on an equal basis.
"When faced with a terminal condition, it's clear that the priority must be to put patient's needs at the heart of their treatment and care.
"We want this inquiry to shine a light on access to palliative care in Scotland and what more can be done to improve care for people at the end of their lives."
Richard Meade, Marie Curie's head of policy and public affairs for Scotland, said: "We know that palliative care provides great care and support for people living with a terminal illness, but unfortunately thousands of people in Scotland are missing out or receiving it much later than they should.
"This inquiry will help us to complete the picture of unmet need and identify clear recommendations to address this."
The Assisted Suicide Scotland Bill was originally brought forward by the late independent MSP Margo MacDonald, who died last year after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, and was taken up by Green MSP Patrick Harvie.
It was rejected by MSPs by 82 votes to 36.

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

Summary:


The council has been criticised for not consulting the public on the proposals.
The council has been criticised for not consulting the public on the proposals.
The council has been criticised for not consulting the public on the proposals.
The council has been criticised for not consulting the public on the proposals.
The council has been

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

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

Summary: The operation of the Tyne and Wear Metro has been returned to the public body Nexus.
###
Article: It beat off stiff competition from Linwood, Gourock and Auchterarder to scoop the title at the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum awards ceremony in Glasgow on Tuesday.
Hazel Cross, from Fife Council, who helped make changes, accepted the award on behalf of the town.
Brian Schultz from Lochgelly Community Council said he was "overwhelmed".
Mr Schultz said: "I'm absolutely delighted that Lochgelly, and the hard work of all of the organisations and volunteers in Lochgelly, is finally getting the recognition it deserves as Lochgelly is a fantastic town that is always improving."
Ms Cross said: "Lochgelly has been on a journey of people and place and the collaborative working over a number of years has helped change the face of Lochgelly by improving the towns assets, creating new housing, leisure and business opportunities.
"The Lochgelly community is strong and determined and have delivered a range of community led projects throughout the town over the years and I know Lochgelly will continue to be successful."

Summary: The Fife town of Lochgelly has been named Scotland's Most Improved Town 2016.
###
Article: HIE, along with other enterprise and skills agencies, has been the subject of a review.
The process sparked a political row with opposition parties concerned HIE's board could lose its independence or be wound up altogether.
HIE supports businesses in the islands, Highlands, Argyll and Moray.
It began as the Highlands and Islands Development Board 50 years ago, becoming HIE in 1990.
The first phase of the Enterprise and Skills Review was published in October last year and recommended that a new national board co-ordinate the activities of HIE, Scottish Enterprise and other bodies.
In January, MSPs voted to demand the Scottish government allow HIE to retain its own board.
In his response, Mr Brown said HIE would "continue to be locally based, managed and directed" under his plans.
A report was recently published on the scope, structures and functions for a new board.
Prof Lorne Crerar's publication recommended HIE and the others retain their independent boards.
A new national strategic board would oversee the organisations' activities, it was suggested.
Ahead of Mr Brown's statement in the Scottish Parliament, former Labour MSP Maureen Macmillan has present a petition to Holyrood's public petitions committee.
The petition asks for the Scottish government "to reverse its decision to move power from the region to a centralised body".
Ahead of the statement, Mr Brown said the proposals were part of a wide-ranging programme to improve services for businesses and individuals.
He said: "It is essential that we do not lose sight of our aim of enhancing our enterprise and skills services to boost Scotland's economy, which will help to deliver our ambition of ranking among the top quartile of OECD countries in terms of productivity, equality, wellbeing and sustainability.
"In order to achieve this, our agencies must align behind a common purpose and be driven by strong leadership.
"Far from diminishing the role of agencies, the review will strengthen their capability and grow their capacity to jointly step-up the...

Summary: Economy Secretary Keith Brown is expected to make a statement on the future of the board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise later on Thursday.
###
Article: The Fire Phone allows its user to change an image's perspective by moving their head, rather than creating "pop-out" effects.
The owner can also scroll through a webpage or bring up menus by tilting the smartphone in their hand.
Chief executive Jeff Bezos announced the phone at a press event in Seattle.
One industry watcher had doubts about what was on show.
"We've seen similar gesture controls on Samsung's Galaxy range, and not many people use them," said Francisco Jeronimo, a mobile devices analyst at market research firm IDC.
"Unless the experience is extraordinary it can come across as a gimmick. I'd be surprised if Amazon has succeeded when Samsung hasn't, but I'll need to try it.
The launch comes at a time when Amazon's tablet sales appear to be on the wane, despite recent price promotions.
The basic version of the Fire Phone, with 32 gigabytes (GB) of storage, will cost $199 (Â£117) on top of a two-year contract with AT&T - the only network to offer it initially - on 25 July.
That is the same price AT&T charges for the 16GB versions of Apple's iPhone 5S and Samsung's Galaxy S5.
The "dynamic perspective" effect is made possible by the inclusion of four "ultra-low power" cameras coupled with four infrared LEDs, which permit the device to keep tracking the position of the user's eyes and mouth in the dark.
The process only requires two cameras, but the firm said the extra two meant users would not need to worry how they held the handset.
Mr Bezos gave the example of looking at a dress' design from different angles as an example of how the effect could be used, and showed how a handset could be tilted afterwards to make it move onto another garment.
Another innovation introduced by the Fire Phone is a dedicated side-button to activate Firefly, an app that allows it recognise text, images and sound in the smartphone's immediate vicinity.
It can be used to bring up information - for example details of a wine, the name of a song, or information about a painting - and when relevant, the chance to buy the same...

Summary: Amazon has unveiled its first handset, offering 3D visuals - thanks to four face-tracking cameras on its front - and gesture controls.
###
Article: Staff at Breckland Council will not be paid in future for the time they take to have a cigarette after the proposals were given the go-ahead.
Simon Clark, from Smokers' lobby group Forest, said earlier that everyone was entitled to a break during work.
The council said the move was aimed at making the issue of smoke breaks fairer for individuals who did not smoke.
William Nunn, leader of the Conservative-run council, said: "We are not trying to stop smoking... what we are saying is when people go for a cigarette they should do it in their own time."
Mr Clark said: "Are they going to introduce clocking in and off for people who go on the internet, on Facebook, or people who want to have a cup of coffee?
"I am sure there are some smokers who abuse the situation and go out too often but if that is happening that is a failure of management."
A meeting of the full council voted to approve the measure on Wednesday.

Summary:


in the country's capital Dhaka.
The man, Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, said he was beaten up by a group

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

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

Summary: A third of secondary school teacher training places were not filled at the start of this academic year, official figures show.
###
Article: Nemesis, a heavily-modified Lotus Exige body, will be driven by estate agent Nick Ponting, 21, from Gloucester.
Dale Vince said he had built the car to "smash the stereotype of electric cars as something Noddy would drive - slow, boring, not cool".
The record attempt is due to be made at Elvington Airfield, near York, on 27 September.
Nemesis was designed and built in under two years by a team of British motorsport engineers in Norfolk.
It can travel from 100-150 miles between charges, depending on driving style, and can be charged from empty in about 30 minutes using a rapid-charger.
The team believes theoretically the motors are capable of about 200mph but "real world" constraints like aerodynamic lift have to be addressed before the attempt.
Mr Vince, who runs the electricity company Ecotricity, said he was quietly confident the team would break the record.
The current record of 137mph (220km/h) was set by Don Wales, from Addlestone, Surrey, in 2000.
A separate attempt to beat the record last August was thwarted after the vehicle's suspension was damaged by a pothole.
The Bluebird Electric was being driven along Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire by Mr Wales's son Joe, who suffered mild whiplash as a result.

Summary: A battery-powered car will attempt to beat the UK land-speed record for electric vehicles later this month.
###
Article: The number of holidaymakers coming to the UK rose by 21.1% - although the number of business visitors declined.
Overall there were a record 8.3 million visits in the quarter, a rise of nearly 10% on the same period in 2016.
The visitors spent £4.4bn while in the country, also a record amount.
But at the same time the fall in the value of the pound did not discourage Britons from travelling overseas.
UK residents made 14.1 million trips abroad over the three months, a rise of 8.1% on 2016.
The decline in sterling makes it cheaper for foreign visitors to come to the UK, but more expensive for Britons going the other way.
The number of American visitors was particularly significant. Their numbers were up by 16%, while their spending grew 29% to £604m.
There were a record 54,000 visits from Chinese nationals, who spent a record £91m, and there was strong growth in the number of Australian and French visitors too.
Wales appears to have been one of the most popular destinations, with the number of overnight visits increasing by 28%.
But the "visitor balance of payments" remains tilted against the UK.
While visitors spent £4.4bn in Britain over the quarter, Britons spent nearly twice as much - £8.6bn - on trips abroad. a figure that has risen by 11.7% over the past year.

Summary: The weakness of sterling was behind a surge in the number of tourists visiting the UK in the first three months of 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
###
Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
However, world football's governing body insisted Russia and Qatar will stay as hosts of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments respectively.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter said he asked the executive committee to vote in favour of publishing the report.
"We have always been determined the truth should be known," he said.
"That is, after all, why we set up an independent ethics committee with an investigatory chamber that has all necessary means to undertake investigations on its own initiative."
Uefa president Michel Platini called for publication of the Garcia report as soon as possible.
"I have always battled for transparency and this is a step in the right direction. Let us hope that the report can now be published as quickly as possible. The credibility of Fifa depends on it."
Only a disputed summary of Michael Garcia's 430-page report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups has been published.
Releasing the full report, which is likely to be heavily redacted to preserve witness confidentiality, is a change in Fifa policy.
However, it will only be published once ongoing investigations into five individuals are completed.
Those five are:
"We need to ensure that we respect the rules of our organisation and that we do not breach confidentiality in a way that will prevent people from speaking out in the future," added Blatter.
The 78-year-old Swiss insisted later that there was no reason for Russia and Qatar to lose their rights to stage future World Cups.
"At the current time, there is no reason to go back on our decisions," he told a news conference following a two-day meeting of Fifa's executive committee in Morocco.
"The two World Cups are in the calendar, the only thing missing is the precise dates for 2022, but these two World Cups will take place."
Addressing Qatar specifically, he added that only an "earthquake" could change Fifa's decision to hold the 2022 tournament in the Gulf state.
"It would really need an earthquake, extremely important new...

Summary: Fifa executives have unanimously agreed to publish a "legally appropriate version" of a report into allegations of World Cup bidding corruption.
###
Article: Shyamal Kanti Bhakta, who is a Hindu, was made to hold his ears while performing squats, before being beaten.
Many Bangladeshis were angered by his treatment, posting photos of themselves holding their ears in solidarity.
The government said the sacking was illegal and dismissed the school board. Mr Bhakta denies insulting Islam.
"The head teacher was a victim of injustice. This was a heinous act," Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said.
But he made no mention of local MP AKM Selim Osman who was present at the teacher's ritual humiliation in Narayanganj District near Dhaka last Friday.
The MP has refused to apologise for what happened, the Daily Star reports.
In footage of Friday's incident, a crowd can be heard cheering as Mr Bhakta was made to squat repeatedly and folds his hands - an action associated with shame and apology and usually reserved for children.
Video and photographs showing Mr Bhakta's treatment soon went viral on social media.
Mr Bhakta has told the BBC his treatment was the result of personal grudges against him.
It comes in the wake of a series of attacks on secular writers and bloggers, professors and members of religious minorities in the country.

Summary:


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

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

Summary: A restaurateur must pay nearly £60,000 in fines after admitting a string of food safety failings.
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Article: The trio suffered serious side effects after taking blue tablets, known as Blue Ghost, at the music festival on the Shropshire-Staffordshire border.
Staffordshire Police said officers have seized several of the tablets.
Government scientists are at the same event in Essex analysing samples of so-called legal highs after campaigns warning people not to take them.
A ban on legal highs at the twin festival sites was introduced seven years ago.
So far, more than 120 people have received medical treatment at Weston Park in Staffordshire, with two people needing to go to hospital, ambulance crews said.
Paramedics said it had been a "steady start" for staff and volunteers since the gates opened to campers on Friday.
Staffordshire Police said the three people taken ill from the tablets did not need to go to hospital and officers were investigating the incidents.
"Emergency teams have treated three people who took a blue tablet they believed to be ecstasy at V Festival in Weston Park," a spokesman said.
"All had serious side effects after taking the tablets and needed urgent medical treatment."

Summary: Three people have been given urgent medical treatment after taking a drug they thought was ecstasy at V Festival.
###
Article: The measurement was made by the New Horizons probe which is just about to flyby the dwarf world.
The result means it is confirmed as the largest object yet detected in the outer zone of the Solar System known as the Kuiper Belt.
Nasa's probe is set to return a treasure trove of images and data when it sweeps past Pluto.
It is likely that in that data will be information that can further refine the object's size.
The new measurement has a number of implications. The first is that it makes Pluto slightly less dense than we thought, meaning the fraction of ice in its interior is probably higher than we had recognised.
The measurement also changes some of the expected properties of the atmosphere, given that the sphere it envelops is now considered to be larger.  For modellers, it suggests the troposphere, the lowest layer, is a bit shallower.
But perhaps the main consequence from this result is what it does for Pluto fans, because it finally settles the debate over which is the bigger - Pluto or Eris?
The latter's discovery in 2005, with its comparable girth, was partly responsible for getting Pluto demoted from full planet status in 2006. However, this new result indicates that Pluto really does have the upper-hand, if only by about 30km in terms of diameter.
One of the reasons for past uncertainty has been the presence of that atmosphere at Pluto - something Eris does not share in such abundance.  So, while scientists could be much more sure of Eris, Pluto's diameter has jumped about, depending on the assumptions made.
But New Horizons' fast-approaching cameras have put the arguments to bed.
"Before New Horizons, we had a range from 1,150km in radius, up to a little bit north of 1,200km. And what we found is that Pluto is almost at the top of that range," said Prof Alan Stern, the probe's principal investigator.
The probe will pass just 12,500km above the dwarf planet on Tuesday at 11:50 GMT (12:50 BST; 07:50 EDT).
The spacecraft will be out of radio contact with Earth when that happens.
All mission...

Summary: Pluto has just been found to be ever so slightly bigger than we thought, having a diameter of 2,370km.
###
Article: James Hipwell, who was jailed in 2006 for writing about firms whose shares he owned, said he witnessed repeated privacy infringements at the paper.
He told the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics that he overheard showbiz journalists openly talking about it.
Publisher Trinity Mirror has insisted its journalists work within the law.
It has also said they work within the Press Complaints Commission's (PCC) code of conduct.
Meanwhile, Heather Mills, the former wife of singer Sir Paul McCartney, has said in a statement that she never disclosed private voicemail messages from her ex-husband to former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan.
It comes after the former tabloid editor, now an interviewer for American broadcaster CNN, told the inquiry on Tuesday he had listened to a voicemail message left to her by Sir Paul.
Mr Morgan, who firmly denied any knowledge of hacking under his editorship, refused to say when or where he had heard the message - because he wanted to protect "a source". He said he had no reason to believe phone hacking was going on.
Ms Mills said she would be "more than happy" to answer any questions the inquiry had for her about the subject.
CNN said it was "seeking a response to the Mills statement from Morgan".
On Wednesday, Mr Hipwell told the inquiry he had never been given a copy of the code during his time at the paper, under Mr Morgan's editorship.
He said he never heard reference to the code, and said there were no visible signs of ethical leadership.
In a statement read to the inquiry, he stated: "I witnessed journalists carrying out repeated privacy infringements using what has now become a well-known technique - to hack into the voicemail systems of celebrities, their friends, publicists and public relations executives.
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"The openness and frequency of their hacking activities gave me the impression that hacking was considered a bog-standard journalistic tool for gathering information."
Mr Hipwell said he sat next to the showbiz team, where hacking took place...

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

Summary:


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

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

Summary: Regulations being imposed in Lebanon effectively bar many Syrian refugees from renewing their residency permits, Human Rights Watch says.
###
Article: Special Report: The Technology of Business
Keeping the cyber thieves at bay
Nollywood finds its global audience online
Joining up Ghana's healthcare to save lives
Ivory Coast stallholders turn to digital marketplace
South African education goes digital
With more than half a million people in the UK dying each year, the funeral industry makes about Â£2bn in annual revenues, according to market research company Ibis World.
Nearly 1,500 businesses employ 20,105 people, and industry revenue is expected to grow by 4.7% by the end of 2014, as increased competition for burial space is slowly pushing up the price of cremations.
With such a large and lucrative market, it's no surprise that tech firms have been eyeing up the death care and funeral industry.
Your Last Will, for example, is an iPhone app that lets anyone create a last message for loved ones in the form of a "video will", to be viewed after death.
You create and upload a private video will and are then issued your own QR code - a kind of smartphone readable bar code - which you give to a trusted confidant who is likely to outlive you.
After your death, your confidant signs in to the app using the specified QR code and receives an email containing a link to your last message video. This link is automatically sent to your chosen list of recipients.
The company acknowledges that "in most countries video wills cannot replace written wills", but for an additional fee, Your Last Will does provide the opportunity to have your video submitted for legal review in what it describes as "an easy process".
"Death is obviously an unpleasant but unavoidable part of life and it's much easier to leave a last message or last will via video than in the traditional way, which involves a lawyer and witnesses," Wolfgang Gabler, chief executive and founder of Your Last Will, told the BBC.
He believes technology will continue to influence death care in the UK and across the world.
"There will be many new businesses around this theme in the near future. I already met with other...

Summary: Death is big business.
###
Article: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt said the deal brokered by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday was "not enough".
Qatar's government "cannot be trusted", they added, citing previous agreements.
The four have accused the emirate of supporting terrorist groups across the region. It has denied any wrongdoing.
Qatar was presented with a list of demands two weeks ago that included shutting down the Al Jazeera news network, closing a Turkish military base, cutting ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and downgrading relations with Iran.
But after receiving what they called a "negative" response last week, the four states said they would take further "political, economic and legal measures".
Mr Tillerson flew to Doha on Tuesday to sign a memo of understanding between the US and Qatar on terrorism financing that was proposed when President Donald Trump attended the Arab Islamic American Summit in the Saudi capital in May.
"The agreement which we both have signed on behalf of our governments represents weeks of intensive discussions between experts and reinvigorates the spirit of the Riyadh summit," Mr Tillerson told a joint news conference with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.
"The memorandum lays out a series of steps that each country will take in coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counter-terrorism activities globally," he added.
Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar was the first country in the region to sign such an agreement with the US and called on the "siege" nations to follow suit.
Qatar has acknowledged providing assistance to Islamist groups designated as terrorist organisations by some of its neighbours, notably the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hamas movement. But it has denied aiding militant groups linked to al-Qaeda or so-called Islamic State.
Later on Tuesday, the Saudi-led bloc issued a joint statement saying that while it appreciated US efforts to combat terrorism, more needed to be done.
"It must...

Summary: The four Arab states leading a boycott of Qatar say it will continue despite a deal between Washington and Doha to combat the financing of terrorism.
###
Article: One of the best ways to do this is to keep the amount of tax you pay on your savings to a minimum.
The government allows you to do this by using a special kind of account called an individual savings account (Isa).
This is a tax-efficient way to save or invest, with no tax liability when the proceeds are withdrawn.
Any growth in the value of your savings or investments will be free of capital gains tax and there is no liability to tax on any income taken from the fund.
An Isa is not an investment in itself but a wrapper to shield an investment from tax - whether it is cash, bonds or equities.
There are two kinds of Isa: Cash Isas and stocks & shares Isas.
A cash Isa could be in the form of bank and building society deposits, and some money market unit trusts.
Some National Savings products may also be included, as well as a range of existing savings bonds and accounts on which tax is normally payable.
Stocks and shares Isas, often referred to as investment Isas, can include most authorised unit or investment trusts, open ended investment companies (OEICs) and exchange traded funds (ETFs), as well as any share quoted on a stock exchange recognised by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
If you want to invest in individual shares or choose the funds yourself, a 'self-select' Isa may be suitable.
Unit trusts and OEICs can usually be bought more cheaply within an Isa wrapper, as fund management groups often offer discounts on initial charges, particularly in the run-up to the end of the tax year in the period between January and March.
If you have a fund in mind for investment it is often worth shopping around as charges can vary between outlets.
Stocks and shares Isas are not entirely tax free; you pay no tax on any growth in the value of your investments, either during the time of investment or when you take your money out, but tax at 10% is paid on any dividends received within the fund.
Everyone aged over 16 can have a cash Isa, and those over 18 can also have an investment Isa.
For the 2012-13 tax year you can make...

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

Summary:


A man has been charged with the murder of a woman in Leicester.
The body of a woman was found in a car in a car park in Leicester.
The woman, who has not been named, was found in the car park of a Tesco store in the city centre.
The car was found in

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

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

Summary: Fifa president Gianni Infantino says it is the responsibility of the governing body to ensure the bidding process for future World Cups is "bullet-proof".
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Article: Some boxes or "TV sticks" support software add-ons that can stream subscription movies, sport and TV channels over the internet for free.
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact) said about half of its current investigations concerned the devices.
It said boxes configured to receive premium content for free were illegal.
The statements were made in the annual crime report of the government's intellectual property office (IPO).
Kodi is free software, built by volunteers, that is designed to bring videos, music, games and photographs together in one easy-to-use application.
Some shops sell set-top boxes and TV sticks known as Kodi boxes, preloaded with the software.
The developers behind Kodi say their software does not contain any content of its own and is designed to play legally owned media or content "freely available" on the internet.
However, the software can be modified with third-party add-ons that provide access to pirated copies of films and TV series, or provide free access to subscription television channels.
"Streaming boxes have steadily increased in popularity in recent years," said Ernesto van der Sar, from the news site Torrent Freak.
"Most use the entirely legal Kodi software, but some are augmented with illegal third-party add-ons.
"They are seen as convenient, as the set-top box format is ideal for the living room.
"Nowadays people often prefer to stream pirated content instead of using traditional torrent sites.
"They see streaming as more convenient and less cumbersome than downloading."
Fact said set-top boxes configured to receive premium content for free were "an emerging threat to the audiovisual industry".
"This is becoming an epidemic," Kieron Sharp, director general of Fact, told the BBC.
"If you are not paying for Sky, BT or one of the pay-TV providers for your subscription channels, you are clearly in possession of an illegal box."
The IPO said the increased availability of such devices presented a "significant challenge".
"We are aware that set-top boxes, while perfectly...

Summary: Tackling the use of Kodi and other set-top box software to stream pirated videos is now the top priority for rights-holders, a report says.
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Article: Media playback is unsupported on your device
2 June 2015 Last updated at 17:12 BST
The fossil was discovered after it fell from a cliff face onto a beach near Whitby.
Scientists at the University of Manchester said it is probably about 176 million years old.
The fossil will go on display at the Yorkshire Museum from 8 June.
Sauropods were some of the largest plant-eating dinosaurs to have walked on Earth.
They had long necks and tails, small heads, a large body and walked on all fours.
Some species, such as the Argentinosaurus, grew up to 115ft long and possibly weighed as much as 80 tonnes.

Summary: The UK's oldest sauropod dinosaur has been identified from a fossil bone discovered in North Yorkshire, experts have revealed.
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Article: And this "always on" culture - exacerbated by the smartphone - is actually making us more stressed and less productive, according to some reports.
"Something like 40% of people wake up, and the first thing they do is check their email," says Professor Sir Cary Cooper of Manchester Business School, who has studied e-mail and workplace stress.
"For another 40%, it's the last thing they do at night."
The Quality of Working Life 2016 report from the Chartered Management Institute earlier this year found that this obsession with checking emails outside of work hours is making it difficult for many of us to switch off.
And this is increasing our stress levels.
So what can we do about it?
The more enlightened firms have been stepping in to help. In 2012, Volkswagen began shutting off employees' email when they are off shift.
Daimler has allowed its workers to have all the work emails they receive while on holiday automatically erased. And France's new labour law, enacted a few weeks ago, encourages all companies to take similar measures.
Dave Coplin, Microsoft UK's chief envisioning officer, believes artificial intelligence tools will learn when we are busy and block alerts, waiting until we're less busy before bringing us the most relevant or interesting messages.
"The idea is to develop tools that help us knife and fork our way through deluges of information," he says.
Much of Microsoft's work centres on its personal assistant, Cortana.
Other firms are experimenting with social media-style messaging in an attempt to escape the tyranny of email.
Some tech firms believe monitoring our computer behaviour is a first step in seizing back control of our work-life balance.
Robby Macdonell from Nashville Tennessee, founded tech start-up RescueTime because he was so frustrated not knowing where his days were going. He was being distracted too easily.
"These alerts are very well designed to capture your attention and stimulate the parts of your brain that say, 'I have to react to this right now'," he says.
He developed a...

Summary: We are the distracted generations, wasting hours a day checking irrelevant emails and intrusive social media accounts.
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Article: Costco store manager Roger Cooper, 41, and ex-soldier David Cooper, 39, both deny killing Sameena Imam, 34.
Her body was found buried at an allotment in Leicester in January after allegedly been killed with chloroform.
Ms Imam had been having a two-year affair with Roger Cooper and issued him with an ultimatum to leave his partner.
Roger Cooper, of Coventry, denies murdering his colleague after driving her from Coventry to Leicester on December 24, claiming he dropped her off at a supermarket following an argument.
His brother, of Leicester, has admitted burying Ms Imam's body but denies doing anything to cause her death.
The prosecution claim Roger Cooper wanted Ms Imam out of his life as he conducted three relationships, and enlisted the help of his brother to "plan and execute" the alleged murder.
A trial at Birmingham Crown Court, which began in August, was told by a toxicologist that several metallic elements were found in the body of Ms Imam.
She had worked at Costco outlets in Cardiff, Coventry, Southampton and Bristol.

Summary:


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The Ryder Cup is the most popular sporting event in the UK, according to a new report.
The Ryder Cup is the most popular sporting event in the UK, according to a

Attendances at professional sports events in the UK topped 70 million this year, up 5% on 2014, according to Deloitte's sports business group.

Article: Red-necked phalaropes migrate to the Western Isles and to Orkney and Shetland during the summer.
Thirty-six breeding males were counted on RSPB Scotland's reserve in Fetlar, Shetland, equalling the highest number that has ever been recorded there.
A pair also bred at an RSPB reserve at Balranald in North Uist for the first time in 31 years.
Argyll, the most southerly the birds breed in the UK, had its best year on record with six males present, RSPB Scotland said.
Malcie Smith, the charity's species and habitats officer for Shetland, said: "It was so exciting to see that many phalaropes about for their very short summer season.
"It's very satisfying that our work here is paying off and that birds are now breeding in record numbers."
In a reversal of roles among birds, it is male red-necked phalaropes that incubate eggs and raise chicks.

Summary: A bird described as an "extremely rare" visitor to the UK has had one its best breeding seasons in years in Scotland.
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Article: The Lancaster PD214 set off on what was meant to be the crew's last operational mission from RAF Metheringham in Lincolnshire in October 1944.
But the plane lost contact with the base and it never returned and the crew was listed as missing.
Earlier this year, the remains were found beneath a field near Bremen.
The find came after family members of one of the crew asked the German authorities for permission to carry out an archaeological excavation at the site before a planned building scheme began.
Eight crew members lost their lives in the crash - but only two of their bodies were recovered.
Julie Barton, granddaughter of crew member flight engineer Ronald Barton, said the German authorities had been really helpful in dealing with the family's request.
Speaking at Metheringham airfield during a visit to see the wreckage, she said: "It's been an incredibly emotional day to see the place the plane took off from in 1944.
"To walk into what would have been the gymnasium at the time and see the parts of the plane laid out in front of us was very emotional."
Rod Sanders, curator at Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre, said: "You could say, spiritually, we've brought the boys home to Metheringham."
Describing the aircraft's last flight, Mr Sanders said: "She took off on the evening of the 6/7 October 1944 to carry out a raid on the docks at Bremen.
"Sadly, on the return trip she got a few miles south of Bremen and was shot down, crashing in a field close to the village of Cloppenburg."
RAF Metheringham was the wartime home to 106 Squadron.

Summary: The wreckage of a Lancaster bomber that crashed in Germany during World War Two has been brought back to the airfield from which it flew.
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Article: Medics at the British Medical Association's annual conference said they were being asked to do unnecessary tasks to prepare for assessments.
These included keeping schedules of cleaning regimes and detailed records of staff performance reviews.
The Royal College of GPs also spoke out against the inspection system.
Delegates at the BMA conference, in Liverpool, voted in favour of a motion saying the current Care Quality Commission regime was "unfit for purpose".
The inspection regime, which began last year, will see all 8,000 practices in England given a rating by September 2016. So far, more than 1,000 have been assessed.
BMA GP leader Dr Chaand Nagpaul said the inspection regime had "lost the confidence" of the profession and should be suspended.
And he objected to the suggestion patient safety would be put at risk if GPs failed to keep such detailed records.
"We have been voicing significant concerns about the [Care Quality Commission's] operation, particularly the overly bureaucratic and often nit-picking assessments that are wasting days of valuable GP and staff time that could be spent on treating patients."
The Royal College of GPs also used the vote to speak out against the inspection process, saying there should be an "emergency pause" to stop the GP system going into meltdown.
In recent weeks, there has been growing anger in the profession about work pressure.
A recent poll by the BMA suggested nine out of every 10 doctors felt their workloads were harming patient care.
RCGP president Dr Maureen Baker said: "The current inspection process tends to focus on those things that can be most easily documented and generates considerable additional clinical and administrative activity for practices."
She pointed to research done by the college suggesting every family doctor could gain 120 additional hours per year for patients if the administrative burden was reduced by half.
There should be an urgent review to eliminate "unnecessary bureaucracy", she added.
Professor Steve Field, chief inspector of general...

Summary: The inspection regime for GPs in England should be suspended because it is "overly bureaucratic" and "nit-picking", doctors say.
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Article: With more than 10,000 people aged 11 to 25 responding, 53% wanted votes at 16, with 29% saying no and 18% unsure.
Presiding Officer Dame Rosemary Butler said it gave a "crucial insight" into young people's views.
But Conservative Monmouth MP David Davies has warned votes at 16 would undermine the legal protection 16 and 17-year-olds currently receive.
The report comes as the UK government plans further devolution which will including giving the assembly control over its own elections, including the voting age currently set at 18.
Supporters of a lower voting age claim it will boost young people's interest in politics, pointing to the Scottish independence referendum in which 16 and 17-year-olds were allowed to vote.
Dame Rosemary said she was "inspired" by many of the comments given by young people in the survey, including one who spoke of "citizens playing their part as equally as politicians".
"Young people are integral to the process of shaping the future of our nation - we must give them the right support so that we optimise their contribution," she said.
But she added politicians had to tackle the "information vacuum", as many young people said they wanted to vote but did not understand the political process.

Summary: Most young people in Wales want the voting age lowered to 16, according to consultation by the Welsh assembly.
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Article: Football was the overall winner in the attendance stakes at 43.4 million, while three of the 10 best attended showpieces were horseracing events.
Rugby union attendances, boosted by the 2.5 million fans at the Rugby World Cup, climbed to 7.5 million.
This year's total was less than the 75 million at UK sports events in 2012.
However, that year was boosted by 11 million visitors to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.
Excluding the Rugby World Cup, the 10 most popular individual sporting events of 2015 had a combined attendance of 2.5 million, with Wimbledon topping the list again.
The tennis tournament attracted just under half a million spectators during the fortnight.
In terms of attendees-per-event-day, Formula 1's British Grand Prix was the winner, averaging more than 100,000 per day.
Referring to the popularity of horseracing events, Alan Switzer, director in Deloitte's sports business group, said: "British racecourses are on track for record attendances of 6.2 million in 2015.
"Flagship events such as Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival and the Epsom Derby are firmly established in the top tier of best-attended annual UK sporting events, whilst the breadth and depth of other meetings throughout the year ensure horseracing remains one of the UK's most popular spectator sports."
Two new individual events entered the top 10 best-attended sporting events in 2015: MotoGP's British Grand Prix (154,000) and the Badminton Horse Trials (147,000).
These events replaced the Ryder Cup and Aintree Grand National from 2014.
Deloitte said that although overall attendances for the year fell short of the record of 75 million set in 2012, taking away the one-off effects of the Olympic and Paralympic Games that year, and the Rugby World Cup in 2015, attendances rose by 6% across the period.
Major sporting events in the UK next year include the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, the European Aquatics Championships and the FIH Women's Champions Trophy in hockey.

Summary:


A company offering software that allows people to spy on others has admitted it has been hacked and had thousands of customer records leaked online.

Article: The company will also begin to offer Sunday parcel deliveries but this will be in the London area only.
Allowing customers to collect parcels on a Sunday for the first time is the latest in a number of changes introduced by the company.
Royal Mail, which was part-privatised last year, is facing competition from business rivals such Amazon.
Royal Mail said its decision to open some delivery offices on Sundays would make it easier for people who shop online, but are not normally home during the day, to get their goods.
The offices, which are located across the UK, will be open between 12:00 and 16:00 on Sundays. The company is also launching some Sunday delivery services, to addresses within the M25 area.
Royal Mail spokesman Mike Newnham said it was about making things easier for customers.
"In the last year or so we've launched our Delivery to Neighbour service, we've opened up about 600 of our delivery offices on a Wednesday evening to provide more convenience, and also we've launched the country's largest click-and-collect service in conjunction with the Post Office," he said.
Royal Mail's Delivery to Neighbour service involves items being delivered to a neighbouring address for collection if the intended recipient is not at home.
Parcel deliveries account for more than half of Royal Mail's revenues but it is facing increasing competition from rival operators such as online retailer Amazon which began offering Sunday deliveries earlier this year.
Analysts believe the growing popularity of so-called click-and-collect services, which allow goods to be ordered online before being picked up at local stores or collection points, is also having a significant effect on the parcels business.
Last month, Royal Mail said it was bringing forward the final collection times at thousands of post boxes in order to save money.
Royal Mail's network of about 1,400 delivery offices is currently open six days a week.
Nick Landon, managing director of Royal Mail Parcels, said: "We are continuing to be more customer responsive...

Summary: Royal Mail has launched a trial scheme with the opening of 100 of its busiest delivery offices UK-wide on Sundays.
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Article: On Tuesday, Geert Wilders, controversial leader of the right-wing Netherlands' Party for Freedom, will be the keynote speaker at the launch of the Australian Liberty Alliance (ALA).
Its manifesto states that "Islam is not merely a religion, it is a totalitarian ideology with global aspirations".
Australia's newest political party wants to curb Muslim immigration.
Speaking to the BBC from Perth, the ALA's Scottish-born president Debbie Robinson insisted that Islam was having a corrosive effect on many countries.
"It is dangerous for any Western society in that it is divisive and it promotes parallel societies," she said. "People are looking for an alternative because the major parties are not prepared to discuss some of the issues: the divisiveness of multiculturalism and the damage that is being done to Australia."
Little is known about Tuesday's secretive launch, perhaps unsurprisingly, given Mr Wilders' presence.
The West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has refused to allow the event to take place at any state government venue, while Muslim groups are divided over whether Mr Wilders should be allowed into Australia, which recently banned US rapper Chris Brown for his criminal convictions and deported the American anti-abortion activist, Troy Newman.
Mr Wilders' visit comes at a sensitive time, just over a fortnight after a 15-year old Muslim boy shot dead a police accountant in Sydney.  As Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was calling an emergency summit to address the radicalisation of the young, the head of the Australian Federal Police warned that the threat of domestic terrorism was getting worse.
But Mr Turnbull has also warned that those who vilify all Muslims for the acts of the few "are absolutely acting in a thoroughly counterproductive way".
Kuranda Seyit, the secretary of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said the principles of free speech should allow the Dutchman to come.
But he told the BBC that although he considered the ALA to be a fringe group, he was wary of its views on Islam.
"Relatively...

Summary: No press, and it's invitation-only to an event at an undisclosed location in Western Australia, attended by one of the democratic world's most divisive politicians.
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Article: A Dutch team has investigated ash fall deposits, finding the age of the materials to be a good match for the so-called Mayan "hiatus".
This was a time when the sophisticated central Americans experienced cultural upheaval and political instability.
They also abandoned many of their favoured lowland sites.
A sulphur spike in ice core records from the poles indicates there was a big eruption somewhere on Earth in AD 540 - right at the start of the multi-decade hiatus.
It must have been a major event to have left such a distinctive signature in the frozen layers, and very likely led to global climate impacts and severe environmental degradation in the region of the blast.
Previous research has offered up Ilopango in El Salvador as the culprit.
Radiocarbon dating of tree remains puts this volcano in the vicinity timewise - but not convincingly so, argues Kees Nooren from Utrecht University.
Instead, he is pointing the finger at El Chichon in southern Mexico, a case he has outlined here at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly.
His research centres on ash fall dispersed across what were the Mayan lowlands.
This tephra can be connected chemically to the 1,200m-high volcano. Samples have been collected from Lake Tuspan and the Usumacinta-Grijavala delta on the Mexican coast.
Using multiple techniques, not just radiocarbon, Mr Nooren tightly packs the ages of the ash fall around AD 540.
"We already had dates from proximal deposits near the volcano and now we have dates for distal deposits, and when you combine them you get a date of AD 546, plus or minus 16," he explained.
"So, we have a very narrow window, which means it is very likely there was a large eruption in 540."
El Chichon last let go in spectacular style in 1982, destroying local communities and killing 2,000 people.
It spewed vast quantities of sulphur dioxide and other particulates into the atmosphere.
The AD 540 eruption would have been much bigger, the Utrecht researcher said.
Whether El Chichon really is the source of the sulphur seen in the...

Summary: Scientists think they can now tie the disruption that hit Mayan civilisation in the 6th Century to an eruption of the El Chichon volcano.
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Article: Four out of 10 candidates failed the National 5 exam in media studies even though the pass mark was lowered to just 43%.
The SQA says it had "robust mechanisms" in place to ensure  candidates were challenged at the right level.
The new National 4 and 5 qualifications were introduced this year to replace Standard Grades.
One parent at a Glasgow school claimed she knew of several examples this year of youngsters getting a far worse grade in media studies than they had expected.
She said some who had expected an A grade had got a C, failed or were given no award.
"This if very frustrating as some pupils who want to sit Higher media are not being allowed to continue as they don't have the relevant grade," she said.
"Pupils and parents do not have any direct means of appealing and by the time that the schools do this it is too late for the pupils to pick up the subject at the higher level."
Overall, 60% of the people who sat the National 5 in media studies passed.
Pass rates varied from subject to subject but the overall pass rate for National 5s was 81%.
Meanwhile, a mark of just 43% was needed to pass media studies - an unusually low figure.
One possible explanation may be that the paper was harder than many candidates and teachers had anticipated. Another is simply that too few of the candidates reached the required standard.
The SQA  produced a sample exam paper - as it did with other subjects - and highlighted questions in previous exam papers which remained relevant.
In a statement, the SQA said: "SQA takes its responsibility to uphold the high standards of Scottish qualifications very seriously.
"It has a very robust set of mechanisms in place to ensure that qualifications offer an appropriate level of challenge for candidates and that every year's cohort is presented with a similar degree of challenge."
The authority said the new course had been well received by both education and industry commentators.
It added that the exam paper was similar in standard to the specimen paper it had previously published...

Summary: The qualifications agency has defended one of the new exams after an unusually large number of candidates failed.
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Article: The admission comes a day after mSpy told BBC News it had not been hacked and no data had been stolen.
It has also emerged that the UK's Information Commissioner is investigating the company.
It told the BBC it was "aware of the breach and is trying to find out where the company is based".
MSpy offers software it says is aimed at parents worried about what their children are up to online and employers who want to legitimately track their employees.
But it is also used for more nefarious purposes, such as spouses spying on their partners.
Security expert Brian Krebs broke the news that a vast vault of highly personal data from mSpy customers had been dumped on the so-called dark web - an area of the internet that cannot be reached by traditional search engines.
He had been contacted by an anonymous source who had sent him a link to the data on a Tor-based site - technology that allows people to mask the identity of their websites.
BBC News has now also been sent links to the data, which it is currently analysing.
After insisting that the data was fake and no breach had taken place, mSpy has now admitted that data had been stolen.
"Much to our regret, we must inform you that data leakage has actually taken place," spokeswoman Amelie Ross told BBC News.
"However, the scope and format of the aforesaid information is way too exaggerated."
She said that 80,000 customers had been affected. Initial reports suggested up to 400,000 customer details had been exposed.
"Naturally, we have communicated with our customers whose data could have been stolen, and described them a situation.  We put in place all the necessary remedial measures and continue to work on mechanism of data encryption," she added.
Mr Krebs said that he had also contacted "multiple customers of mSpy" via the link he had been sent.
"I spent the better part of the day today pulling customer records from the hundreds of gigabytes of data leaked from mSpy. I spoke with multiple customers whose payment and personal data â€” and that of their kids,...

Summary: