Nasa's Kepler telescope has recently found 216 new planets, meaning it has now discovered more than 4000 potential new worlds!

Article: Lynovex, developed by Aberdeen-based bio-technology company Novabiotics, is one of a number of new drugs being worked on to tackle the condition.
Cystic fibrosis affects one in every 2,500 babies born in Britain.
Sufferers often die before they reach 40 as mucus from the disease damages their lungs, risking infection.
Lynovex controls the bacteria and fungi that causes lung infections and could help the lungs to work effectively for as long as possible.
The results of Phase II clinical trials are due to be presented today in Brussels at the annual conference of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society.
Aberdeen-based Novabiotics concentrates on developing drugs for conditions which are rare or difficult to treat.
Last month, it was announced that a new combination drug had been developed which stops the genetic disorder damaging the lungs.
However, although the new drug is suitable for a lot of patients, it is not yet a 100% cure and there remains a critical need for more effective, safe, long-term treatments.
Lynovex breaks down the sticky mucus in the lungs of patients.
The active component of the new medicine is Cysteamine, a drug used for 20 years to treat an unrelated rare condition called cystinosis.
The fact it is already approved for clinical use means it could be quickly approved for use on people with cystic fibrosis.
"We know it's safe," said Novabiotics principal scientist Dr Douglas Fraser-Pitt. "Now we just need to prove its effectiveness in this group of patients in further trials.
"It has the potential to make a big difference to care.
"It is also a re-purposed drug so there is lots of potential for this drug to reach everyone who needs it quickly."

Summary: Scottish researchers believe a new drug could ease the symptoms of people with cystic fibrosis.
###
Article: Laurie Seaborn, 71, from West Bergholt, Essex, who is 6ft 6in (1.98m) tall, cannot fit inside Colchester General Hospital's MRI scanner and instead has to travel to Croydon.
He is calling on Colchester's managers to get a "decent-sized" MRI scanner.
The hospital has apologised for the "inconvenience this causes".
Mr Seaborn said he damaged his knee, back, head and neck in a motorbike accident 43 years ago and has been receiving treatment ever since.
He is awaiting an MRI scan for a problem with his spine but says he is too "broad-shouldered" to fit in the scanner at Colchester or a mobile unit.
Mr Seaborn, who weighs about 20 stone, said the situation was "unacceptable".
"It was a proper emergency ambulance that had to take me there - there was a driver, his assistant and a chaperone to take me there and back," he said.
"I think the hospital ought to get their act together and get this thing sorted out as soon as possible, because everyone knows the NHS is in dire straits, and surely this is adding insult to injury."
A spokesman for Colchester General Hospital said: "As far as we are aware, there is not a single NHS hospital in Essex which currently has a wide-bore MRI scanner for scanning larger patients.
"Therefore, about 10 of our patients a year who are either too heavy for the table or too wide for the scanner have to travel further afield for their MRI scan. This is about half the number of patients who have to travel to be scanned in a wide-bore or open MRI scanner because they have claustrophobia.
"We will look at the needs of all patients requiring MRI scans when the current arrangement for providing this service expires."

Summary: A hospital patient who is unable to fit inside an "outdated" MRI scanner has said he is forced to make a 150 mile (241km) round trip for treatment.
###
Article: The Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas put it in this way: "The sole question in this case is whether, as a matter of the constitutional law of the United Kingdom, the Crown - acting through the executive government of the day - is entitled to use its prerogative powers to give notice under Article 50 for the United Kingdom to cease to be a member of the European Union."
He stressed that it was a "pure question of law" with "no bearing" on the merits of the UK withdrawing from the EU.
Many of today's papers took issue with that.
In beginning his judgment, Lord Thomas firmly asserts the critical importance in our law of the sovereignty of parliament: "The most fundamental rule of UK constitutional law is that the Crown in Parliament is sovereign and that legislation enacted by the Crown with the consent of both Houses of Parliament is supreme."
He quotes a predecessor, Lord Bingham, who said: "The bedrock of the British constitution is... the supremacy of the Crown in Parliament."
He then turns to the Crown's prerogative powers.
These are a collection of executive powers derived from the Crown from medieval times.
Once exercised by all-powerful kings and queens, they have been dramatically reduced over centuries and the residue are now vested in the hands of ministers.
Exercising them is controversial because they have the effect of by-passing our "supreme" Parliament.
Lord Thomas says: "An important aspect of the fundamental principle of Parliamentary sovereignty is that primary legislation is not subject to displacement by the Crown through the exercise of its prerogative powers."
So, prerogative powers are strictly limited and in the relationship between them and Parliament it is Parliament that very firmly has the upper hand, because, "This subordination of the Crown [ie the executive government] to law is the foundation of the rule of law in the United Kingdom", he says.
In other words, Parliament is king - top dog of the constitution.
The government cannot use executive powers to override legislation. Only...

Summary: The ramifications might be seismic, but the question at issue in this momentous legal dispute could not have been clearer.
###
Article: But the judge - in halting the president's controversial executive order on immigration - said he was making sure President Trump's actions follow the law.
That sets two theoretically equal branches of the government against one another - and could bring about a crisis.
The separation of powers is crucial to understanding how the US is governed.
The country's constitution established its treasured system of checks and balances - where the different branches of government hold equal authority and offset one another.
The federal government's power is split into three distinct parts - the executive branch, which includes the president and his cabinet; the legislative branch, Congress, which makes the laws; and the judiciary.
This works well most of the time, with each branch co-operating with the next.
But with the president in open conflict with another branch, there are fears that an impasse could be reached.
That could lead to a constitutional crisis - a scenario in which the situation cannot be resolved - particularly after Mr Trump seemed to openly question the judge's authority.
"The President's hostility toward the rule of law is not just embarrassing, it is dangerous," Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, from the Senate judiciary committee, said.
"He seems intent on precipitating a constitutional crisis."
There are about 700 federal district judges in the US - the type facing down the president's order.
Unlike state court judges, these men and women are part of the federal court system - along with the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals.
Day to day, it's the 94 District Courts which deal with interpretation of US laws, treaties, and public officials - powers devolved to them from the Supreme Court.
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made...
But the courts do not offer opinions on government policy unless they are asked - they only interpret law when a case is brought...

Summary: Donald Trump says he is defending the United States from terrorism - but a "so-called judge" is "making the job very difficult".
###
Article: Of these 216 planets, 10 of them could potentially be home to some sort of life, because they are 'Earth-like'.
This means they have 'rocky' characteristics, and they are located in the 'Goldilocks Zone' of their solar system.
If a planet is in a 'Goldilocks Zone' it is not too hot or too cold, which means water can be in its liquid form there.
The Kepler Telescope has made some amazing discoveries since it was launched in 2009, but here are the top five findings...
In 2014 the telescope made a huge discovery by finding a planet nicknamed: 'Earth 2.0'.
The planet called, Kepler-452b has been dubbed as 'Earth 2.0', because it shares many characteristics with our Earth, even though it is 1,400 light years away from us.
The first potentially habitable planet the telescope found was Kepler-22b, way back in 2011.
Scientists agreed the planet was could be liveable because it was the perfect distance from its sun.
In April 2017 the telescope found a super-Earth.
This is a planet called LHS 1140b. It is a good candidate for life and orbits a red dwarf star 40 light years away.
However, scientists think the planet might have had an ocean made entirely out of magma! - which released steam into the atmosphere.
In February 2017, Kepler discovered seven new Earth-sized exoplanets.
Exoplanets are planets that orbit a different star to our Sun - in a different solar system to the one we are in.
In 2011 Nasa discovered the first planet to orbit two suns!
It is called Kepler-16b, and is roughly 200 light years away from Earth.
Some scientists have compared it to Luke Skywalker's home planet Tatooine, from the Star Wars movies, which also had two suns.

Summary:


A judge in the United States has ruled that Apple cannot be forced to give the FBI access to a locked iPhone in a case that echoes an ongoing legal battle.

Article: "If you want to be selected, one of the things you have to do is sign," said UK Athletics boss Ed Warner.
He wants the agreement in place for the 2016 World Indoor Championships, taking place in Portland, Oregon in March.
He told British MPs such an agreement "has never been tested" in court but said UKA was talking to its lawyers.
Warner also called for Russia to be prevented from sending an athletics team to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The country was banned from international athletics competition following an independent World Anti-Doping Agency report that alleged widespread doping by Russian athletes.
Warner believes the "state-organised" scandal has been so serious that Russia should not be allowed to send athletes to Brazil.
Former British world champion sprinter John Regis told BBC Radio 5 live: "I would have found it very easy to sign for the simple reason that I know that I'm a clean athlete. I would have just read it, said yeah that makes a lot of sense a put my signature down the bottom."
According to Warner, speaking at a Culture, Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday, Doha's bids for the 2017 and 2019 World Championships have been referred to the IAAF ethics commission.
However, he refused to reveal the names of the IAAF figures who had told him of rumours of brown envelopes full of cash being handed out just before the vote for the 2017 World Championships, which London won.
Warner said: "I have had a number of discussions with the IAAF and they have told me the 2017 and 2019 bids by Doha have been referred to their ethics commission."
Asked if IAAF president Lord Coe was one of those who had told him of the rumours, Warner replied: "It could have been any number of people."
Coe was a senior member of London's bid team before succeeding Lamine Diack as IAAF president in August last year.
Leaked emails from Diack's son, Papa Massata Diack, have revealed he appeared to request $5m from Doha while it was bidding against London.
Papa Massata Diack is wanted on corruption charges by...

Summary: British athletes will be asked to sign an agreement that will ban them from competing for GB if they are found guilty of a serious doping offence.
###
Article: Not using full names and proper titles, speaking without being called and naming officials who do not have the right to reply are the most common contretemps of 30 categories of behaviour highlighted.
The list, compiled by assembly officials, was acquired by BBC Wales using the Freedom of Information Act, and covers the period from the beginning of the assembly in 1999 to this year's election in May.
The presiding officer has warned current AMs to respect the assembly's dignity.
The list of more than 80 cases - which is not comprehensive - includes that of Mick Bates, a Liberal Democrat AM, who appeared in the chamber dressed as Father Christmas in 2002.
On another occasion, in 2006, he raised his middle finger arguing he was showing someone which finger to use to operate the assembly's push button voting system.
Cases of "disregarding the authority of the chair" include Plaid Cymru AM and now party leader Leanne Wood, who refused to withdraw her reference to the Queen as "Mrs Windsor" in 2004.
In 2013, former Conservative AM Antoinette Sandbach apologised "unreservedly" for statements on Twitter "which could have called into question" the presiding officer's role.
The Presiding Officer Elin Jones has warned AMs that she would "call to order anyone who detracts from the dignity of this assembly, or who insults the integrity of other members or the voters who elected them".
The list distinguishes between "chatter during question time", "standing and shouting", "interrupting replies to questions" and "barracking".
Other categories include:
Less serious categories are "standing in the body of the chamber", "asking ushers to distribute leaflets or documents" and "entering in a disruptive manner".
Here are some of the other categories:
On 4 December 2002, Conservative AM Alun Cairns raised a point of order, an issue concerning the assembly's rules, after Liberal Democrat AM Mick Bates appeared in a Santa suit to raise money for charity.
Mr Cairns, then AM for South Wales West and now Welsh Secretary, accused Mr...

Summary: Dressing as Father Christmas, raising a middle finger and calling the Queen "Mrs Windsor" are among the actions that have been ruled out of order in the Welsh Assembly chamber.
###
Article: "Being the compliant girl is never going to get you anywhere," says Helen Fraser, head of the trust, which runs 24 independent girls' schools.
She says girls are expected to be "docile at school" and then "dynamic, exciting leaders in the workplace".
Speaking ahead of the trust's annual conference, she said assertiveness was an important skill in business.
Ms Fraser said pupils challenging teachers was "very important" and a "great preparation for life".
"In single-sex girls' schools, crowd control is not a problem," she said.
"The danger is not having a riot, the danger is they're sitting quietly and taking notes.
"We've really got to push back against that and encourage a dynamic place of debate."
She said she saw some girls who had courage "built in from the beginning not to accept authority" and this "good disruptiveness" should be encouraged.
In a corporate environment, suggesting something innovative rather doing "whatever the boss hands down must be right".
"We need to build much more of a good disruptiveness into schools" to encourage girls to be excellent leaders in the workplace, she said.
She said this did not only apply to girls in independent schools.
"I think all children in education should be encouraged to challenge and take risks," she said.
She said she found "spoon feeding" of pupils in class disheartening.
"The most depressing question in a class is, 'Is this going to be in the exams?'
"Exam results should just be a side-effect of a great education and should come naturally, we should really fight against letting exams rule."

Summary: Girls should challenge their teachers more, says the head of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST).
###
Article: India, the last big emitter to publish its contribution, said it would need $2.5 trillion to meet its targets.
The Philippines said that without adequate climate compensation, their cuts in emissions wouldn't happen.
The UN says the plans increase the likelihood of a strong global treaty.
148 countries, out of a total of 196, have met a UN deadline for submitting a plan, termed an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC).
These INDCs cover close to 90% of global emissions of carbon dioxide. The commitments will form the centrepiece of a new global agreement on climate change that nations hope to agree in Paris in December.
Independent analysts at the Climate Action Tracker said that the plans, when added up, meant the world was on track for temperature rises of 2.7 degrees C above pre-industrial levels.
This is above the 2 degree target generally accepted as the threshold for dangerous climate change. But it is a significant improvement on a previous assessment of 3.1 degrees, made when fewer plans had been submitted.
India's contribution, which promised to reduce the carbon intensity of their emissions but didn't commit to peaking their CO2, drew praise from around the world.
"It's highly significant that India is joining the ranks of so many other developed and developing countries in putting serious commitments on the table ahead of the Paris climate talks," said former UK environment minister Richard Benyon MP.
But many environmentalists were critical, saying the plan would see a "phenomenal increase" in the use of coal.
"We're especially disappointed to not see a concrete renewable target," said Pujarini Sen from Greenpeace India.
"They are talking about 40% of electric power coming from non-fossil sources by 2030. This is not 40% renewable energy, it includes nukes, it includes large dams."
The plan says that India's transition will cost $2.5 trillion, a "scary number" according to one observer.
It is unclear how much of this money will come from India's own resources and how much from the...

Summary: Divisions over money between rich and poor countries re-emerged as nations submitted their plans for tackling climate change to the UN.
###
Article: The judge in Brooklyn denied a motion by the US Justice Department to get Apple to unlock a phone in a drug case.
In an unrelated case, the FBI wants Apple to unlock the iPhone of Syed Rizwan Farook, who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California in December.
But Apple has resisted, calling that demand "dangerous" and "unprecedented".
The ruling in Brooklyn on Monday centres on the same point as the San Bernardino case.
The two court cases are not linked - the magistrate in San Bernardino doesn't have to pay any attention to the ruling and remarks from the New York judge.
But Apple feels the decision in New York gives added strength to its position. A senior Apple spokesman told reporters in a conference call that he was confident the San Bernardino judge would carefully analyse the New York ruling.
Most promising for Apple is the reason for which Judge Orenstein threw out the New York case.
He said he was not at all convinced the All Writs Act, a law more than two centuries old, could be used to force Apple to comply. The same law is being used in San Bernardino.
The All Writs Act is designed to give law enforcement powers not specifically addressed in other laws - but using it requires meeting certain strict criteria, too burdensome to detail here.
No legal precedent has been set here - but as the magistrate in San Bernardino considers her ruling, momentum certainly appears to be with the computing giant.
Apple v the FBI - a plain English guide
Apple's boss hits back at FBI conduct
Bill Gates calls for terror data debate
Fourteen people were killed and 22 injured when gunman Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik opened fire in the Californian city in December.
A court order in California demanded Apple help circumvent security software on Farook's iPhone, which the FBI said contains crucial information.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook said the request was "an overreach by the US government" and risked giving authorities "the power to reach into anyone's device to capture their data". Last week, the company asked a...

Summary:

Article: {{document}}

Summary: ||| {{target}}


US consumer confidence fell sharply this month, a closely-watched report has suggested.

Article: Andy Marsh was appointed Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset last week but he is married to an assistant chief constable, Nikki Watson.
PCC Sue Mountstevens said a policy would be in place so Mr Marsh will "not be directly line-managing his wife".
The former Hampshire Police chief replaces Nick Gargan, who quit after being found guilty of misconduct.
Mr Marsh, who has taken a pay cut to return to the force, is due to take up office alongside his wife next February.
But Ms Mountstevens said the situation was "not unique in the workplace" and neither Mr Marsh or his wife "should be discriminated against".
"They have both been appointed through separate, independent and open processes," she said.
"The appointments panel and I were unanimously satisfied that a policy could be put in place around reporting lines and discipline matters.
"Mr Marsh will not be directly line managing his wife and if any discipline matters were to arise surrounding his wife these will be dealt with by a Chief Constable of another force."
Avon and Somerset has had four chiefs in the last three years.
Mr Gargan was appointed by Ms Mountstevens in January 2013, after his predecessor Colin Port quit when she asked him to reapply for his job.
Acting chief constable John Long filled in following Mr Gargan's suspension in May 2014.

Summary: A police and crime commissioner has defended recruiting a married couple as a new police chief and assistant chief.
###
Article: John Jamieson and Graham King, both 36, left Peter Shickle dying in his flat in Stevenage with 75 injuries last November, Luton Crown Court heard.
Jamieson, the instigator, was sentenced to a minimum term of 19 years and King was jailed for at least 16 years.
Both of Mr Shickle's daughters told the court they were traumatised about the level of violence inflicted on him.
Jamieson admitted he hit the father of two twice with the TV thinking Mr Shickle was holding a Stanley knife.
Judge Richard Foster told them: "The jury must have been satisfied that you entered his flat intending to inflict really serious bodily harm or death.
"You were both the aggressors throughout - this was not a case of excessive self defence."
A pathologist said his injuries were consistent with the TV being used as well as punches, kicks and stamps.
Dr Nat Carey told the court the 58 year old suffered a traumatic brain injury, 16 fractured ribs, damage to his voice box, a fracture to the nose and jaw and a split liver.
The court had been told that Jamieson from Wigram Way, Stevenage, and King, from Harrow Court, Stevenage, had gone to Mr Shickle's flat a few days after he had a row in a pub with Jamieson's mother.
Prosecutor Martin Mulgrew said Jamieson had decided on "a plan for brutal retribution".
King, who was described as "muscle back-up" did not give evidence, but his barrister Abbas Lakha QC said there was no evidence of his client going to the flat to cause any harm.
Both defendants were found guilty on Monday. Sentencing was delayed until Friday following psychiatric reports.

Summary: Two men convicted of a revenge murder in which a flat-screen TV was used as a weapon have been jailed for life.
###
Article: Customers could pay for ads with young African children shouting out promotional messages in Chinese.
This quickly sparked concerns over taste, parental consent and what these children were being paid.
Alibaba, which owns Taobao, said it had taken action to remove these vendors.
"We have been made aware of these listings which are posted by third-party sellers on the Taobao marketplace, and we have taken action to remove them and will continue to do so in future, " it said in a statement to the BBC.
It is unclear if the backlash against the vendors, which was widely debated in mainstream and social media, is what lies behind their removal.
It was earlier suggested that Taobao was investigating some of the vendors, but for breaches of Chinese advertising description law.
The services being offered by these online vendors included videos, which could be bought for as little as 120 yuan (US$18; Â£14), and photos available for even less. It was mostly small businesses who used these services to promote their businesses online.
Pictures would typically feature children holding up a board saying: "Looking for car loans? Come to Brother Long. Save money, save trouble. It will bring you happiness."
Another reads: "Come to Red Star for bikes! Not cheap? Count on me and trust me!"
The BBC got in touch with one buyer, who wanted to be known only as Mr Zhang, who said he paid 200 yuan ($30) for a video featuring African children for his bike business.  He justified it by saying the ad was a good marketing trick and had attracted more customers.
When asked about whether the money reached the children in the end he said: "Why should I care that much? I only care about the marketing effect."
Customers on Taobao appeared to be delighted with the services while they were on offer and there appeared to be to be little consideration by vendors and customers of the risk of cultural insensitivity or even an awareness of China's chequered history with regards to race and advertising.
Some Taobao vendors labelled these videos...

Summary: Chinese online shopping platform Taobao has removed controversial vendors offering personalised video and photo ads featuring African children, following an outcry about exploitation.
###
Article: Takings topped £528.3m in 2011  - up 3.1% on a like-for-like basis on the previous year.
Due to the closure of a number of theatres while new shows were set up, the overall attendance was 13.9m - down 1.73% on 2010.
According to Solt, though, the average audience at each performance was up.
The Society said the growth in sales could be attributed to sell-out productions such as Matilda the Musical and the continued success of Les Miserables, now in its 26th year.
Play revenue also received a 10% boost thanks to such sold-out productions as Frankenstein, Richard III, Jerusalem and One Man, Two Guvnors.
Last year saw several of London's bigger theatres welcome such major new productions as The Wizard of Oz, Shrek the Musical and Rock of Ages.
Solt said this led to an unusually high number of "dark" weeks - when theatres are closed to the public - while set installations took place, causing a fall in overall attendance.
Last year saw 146 dark weeks, when there were only 85 in 2010.
"We are extremely proud that our theatres have yet again gone on to achieve another record-breaking year of sales," said Solt president Mark Rubinstein.
"Despite the prevailing rigours of the economic climate, theatre-goers have acted with their feet and wallets."
The figures relate to the theatres represented in membership of the Society of London Theatre, which include all the commercial West End houses.
However, the Guardian's theatre critic, Michael Billington, sounded a warning about the figures, saying: "Dark weeks can be a convenient alibi for a slight drop in attendances.
"I hope we're not heading for a situation like Broadway, where revenues increase because of ever higher ticket prices while attendances slowly decline."
He added that the healthy state of London theatre might not be replicated elsewhere. "I was at the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme last night where they told me they'd had a 10% rise in attendance," he told the BBC.
"Other theatres have seen a marked drop in box-office. It's in the regions, I suspect, that...

Summary: The West End enjoyed record box office sales in 2011 for an eighth consecutive year, according to figures released by the Society of London Theatre (Solt).
###
Article: The Conference Board's index of consumer attitudes fell by 8.3 points to 59.7 in March.
The research group primarily blamed the fall on the US federal budget cuts that came into force at the start of this month.
Separate data on Tuesday from the Commerce Department was more positive, showing a rise in durable goods sales.
Sale of such long-lasting factory products rose by 5.7% in February, the biggest increase in five months.
Yet the Commerce Department also said that sales of new US homes fell in February.
Sale of new residential properties fell to a seasonally adjusted 411,000 in February, 4.6% lower than the 431,000 sold in January, which had been a five-year high.
The government cuts - called the "sequester" cuts - came into force earlier this month. They were due to the federal government running out of funds before a new budget was finally agreed by the US Senate on 20 March.
"This month's retreat was driven primarily by a sharp decline in expectations, although consumers were also more pessimistic in their assessment of current conditions," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's economic  indicators.
"The recent sequester has created uncertainty regarding the economic outlook, and as a result consumers are less confident."

Summary:


Five British men who were being held on arms charges have been freed on bail from an Indian jail, according to a lawyer close to the case.

Article: The research, in the
          British Medical Journal
, compared the costs of giving birth in different places and the health outcomes for mother and baby.
More than 60,000 low-risk women in England were studied over two years.
The Royal College of Midwives says all women should receive one-to-one care.
For women having their first baby, however, planned home birth was more risky for the baby but still the most cost-effective option.
The study used data from the Birthplace in England national study to calculate the cost, and health effects, of women at low-risk of complications giving birth.
It looked at planned births in obstetric units, midwifery units located in the same hospital as an obstetric unit, free-standing midwifery units not in a hospital and at home.
BBC Health: More about home births
The study takes into account all NHS costs associated with the birth itself - such as midwifery care during labour and immediately after the birth, the cost of pain relief in hospital, and the cost of any stay in hospital or neonatal unit immediately after the birth, either by the mother or the baby.
The costs for planned home and midwifery unit births take account of any hospital care a woman may receive if she is transferred into hospital during labour or after the birth.
But the costs do not include any longer term costs, for example the life-long cost of caring for babies who suffer serious birth injuries.
The study found that the average cost per low-risk woman planning birth at the start of labour was £1,631 for an obstetric unit, compared with £1,067 at home.
When the researchers analysed women who had already given birth or who had no complicating conditions, the cost differences between planned places of birth narrowed.
The authors of the study conclude that giving women the opportunity to give birth at home or in a midwifery unit saves the NHS money and is safe for baby and mother, resulting in fewer expensive interventions.
Source: BMJ study
Liz Schroeder, health economist and co-author of the study...

Summary: Planned births at home and in midwifery units are more cost-effective than giving birth in hospital, particularly for women who have given birth before, University of Oxford research suggests.
###
Article: An international trial on 945 patients found treatment with ipilimumab and nivolumab stopped the cancer advancing for nearly a year in 58% of cases.
UK doctors presented the data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Cancer Research UK said the drugs deliver a "powerful punch" against one of the most aggressive forms of cancer.
Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is the sixth most common cancer in the UK - it kills more than 2,000 people in Britain each year.
Harnessing the immune system is a rapidly developing field in cancer research.
The immune system is a powerful defence against infection. However, there are many "brakes" built in to stop the system attacking our own tissues.
Cancer - which is a corrupted version of healthy tissue - can take advantage of these brakes to evade assault from the immune system.
Ipilimumab, which was approved as an advanced melanoma treatment by the UK's health service last year, and nivolumab both take the brakes off.
An international trial on 945 people showed that taking both drugs led to tumours shrinking by at least a third in 58% of patients - with the tumours stable or shrinking for an average of 11.5 months.
The figures, published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine, for ipilimumab on its own were 19% and 2.5 months.
Dr James Larkin, a consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital and one of the UK's lead investigators, told BBC News: "By giving these drugs together you are effectively taking two brakes off the immune system rather than one so the immune system is able to recognise tumours it wasn't previously recognising and react to that and destroy them.
"For immunotherapies, we've never seen tumour shrinkage rates over 50% so that's very significant to see.
"This is a treatment modality that I think is going to have a big future for the treatment of cancer."
The first analysis of the data received top billing at the cancer conference in Chicago, but the key piece of information - how long treated patients live - is still...

Summary: A pair of cancer drugs can shrink tumours in nearly 60% of people with advanced  melanoma, a new trial has suggested.
###
Article: It will form part of a planning application the City of Edinburgh Council will submit next year.
It wants the public to give their views on the artist's impression showing a striking, gold-coloured building.
There is an online survey and two public information events at Meadowbank Sports Centre on 17 November and 22 November both between 15:00 and 20:00.
Current proposals for the new sports centre include:
•An outdoor athletics track with a 500 seat stand
•Two multi-sport games halls
•Three fitness studios
•A gym
•A gymnastics hall
•Two squash courts
•A combat studio for martial arts
•A  boxing gym with ring
•A 60m six lane indoor athletics track and jumps space
•An outdoor athletics track with jumps space
•An outdoor throwing area
•Two FIFA 1 3G (all weather) pitches - one which will be in the centre of the athletics track
•Cafe and meeting rooms
The new centre will be partly funded by a residential and commercial development on parts of the existing site.
This will include development of affordable and low cost housing.
In addition to the planning application for the new sports complex, a masterplan for the wider site development will be submitted with the aim of gaining outline planning permission.
Richard Lewis, City of Edinburgh Council's culture and sport convener, said: "We want the new Meadowbank Stadium and Sports Centre to be a venue fit for the 21st Century and the public's views on our proposals are key to this.
"Transforming Meadowbank into a brand new sports complex would provide a modern, fully accessible high quality sports centre for sports clubs and the local community.
"I would urge everyone to tell us what they think about the range of facilities being proposed and the masterplan."
The existing Meadowbank was originally built for Edinburgh's 1970 Commonwealth Games.

Summary: The design of a new sports complex to replace the existing Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh has been unveiled.
###
Article: The massive attack managed to inject the name of several rogue domains into hundreds of thousands of websites.
The link led to a page that carried out a fake virus scan and then recommended fake security software to clean up what it supposedly found.
But despite the huge success by the attackers, swift action by security firms looks to have limited the number of victims.
The Lizamoon attack was first detected by security firm Websense on 29 March and initially the rogue domains were only showing up on about 28,000 websites.
However, as Websense began tracking Lizamoon the sheer scale of the attack became apparent. By late on 3 April, Google was reporting that more than four million webpages were showing links to the domains involved in the attack.
The way Google counts webpages makes it hard to estimate exactly how many websites were hit but security firms said the number ran into the "hundreds of thousands".
The attack got its name because the first rogue domain appearing on compromised sites was lizamoon.com. A further 27 domains were also used as redirection points.
The numbers of victims who followed the link, suffered the bogus scan and then bought the fake security software or "scareware" was also hard to estimate.
The many domains used by Lizamoon's creators to peddle their scareware were shut down very soon after they were created thanks to the efforts of security researchers.
Some of the sites being used were notorious for harbouring scareware and other malicious programs and some security programs have been blocking them for weeks. This also may have helped to stop people ending up on the dangerous domains.
Rik Ferguson, senior security adviser at Trend Micro, said it had only seen a "small" number of victims.
As one of the firms that blocked the domains used in the attack before it was ramped up, it could monitor how many customers actually visiting them.
He said Trend Micro blocked just over 2,000 attempts to visit the domains.
"The sites that were compromised by the SQL injection attack were...

Summary: The Lizamoon website attack seems to have ensnared relatively few victims.
###
Article: They were on board an anti-piracy vessel, the Seaman Guard Ohio, which was detained in October, 2013.
They face charges including straying into Indian waters and carrying weapons without permission.
Another British man, Paul Towers from Yorkshire, remains in jail along with the ship's Ukrainian captain.
News of the men's release was confirmed by an international maritime lawyer who is close to the case. He said: "Yes, they are out. Checking in to hotel and looking forward to a beer."
The five men freed on bail were: Billy Irving, 33, of Oban in Argyll, John Armstrong, of Wigton, in Cumbria, Nick Dunn, 28, of Ashington in Northumberland, Ray Tindall, 38, of Chester, and Nicholas Simpson, originally of Cottingham in East Yorkshire.
All of them must remain in India.
Their employer AdvanFort, a maritime security patrol specialist, has always insisted the men were working to provide protection to other ships from pirate attacks.
Nick Dunn's sister Lisa has commented on social media: "After 169 horrific days that Nick Dunn has spent in prison and another five being detained on the ship, I'm over the moon to say that the first hurdle is now cleared ... he's out!"

Summary:


The Scottish government has said it will not be seeking a second independence referendum.
The Scottish government has said it will not be seeking a second independence referendum.
The Scottish government has said it will not be seeking a second independence referendum.
The Scottish government has said it will not be seeking a second independence referendum.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson is to host a summit of experts to consider how the UK's Brexit vote could affect Scotland's justice system.

Article: The annual report from the Census Bureau also found that the poverty rate fell for all racial groups, in the steepest decline found since 1968.
Low income workers received the largest boost, bringing median income levels back to before the recession.
This was the first recorded rise in American household incomes in eight years - or since the Obama presidency.
Figures for Americans who lack healthcare also dropped, as did the poverty rate.
In 2015 there were 43.1 million Americans living in poverty, 3.5 million fewer than in 2014.
Angry US middle classes feel the squeeze
The 40-year hurt
Real median household income was $56,500 (£42,900) in 2015, the Census Bureau reported, up from $53,700 (£40,700) the year before.
About 2.4 million more Americans have found full-time year-round work in 2015, according to Census officials.
But median incomes only rose for workers in US cities, and not for rural or farm workers.
There is still a large disparity between white and black workers' incomes.
The median household income for black Americans in 2015 was $36,898 (£28,000). The median household income for white Americans was $63,000 (£47,770).
Income inequality has been a major issue throughout the 2016 campaign.
Hillary Clinton has promised equal opportunities to all American workers, while Donald Trump says he will be the "the greatest jobs producing president that God ever created".

Summary: Average American incomes rose by 5.2% in 2015, in the fastest increase ever recorded by the federal government.
###
Article: The city of Hamburg had rejected Juergen Roemer's plea to be put in a more favourable tax category.
But that decision may amount to sex discrimination, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled.
Mr Roemer claimed he was entitled to 302 euros (£265) a month more.
The judges said that under German law same-sex partnerships - called "registered life partnerships" - are now comparable to marriage.
Mr Roemer had worked for the Hamburg city authorities for 40 years. He retired in 1990 and in October 2001 told his former employer that he had established a registered life partnership with his male partner.
Mr Roemer had been living with his companion since 1969 and German same-sex partnerships were given legal status in February 2001.
While many European states recognise homosexual civil unions, only Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Norway and Iceland legally acknowledge same-sex marriage.
The ECJ ruling on Tuesday may give legal weight to similar claims in other EU countries.
The judges said individuals could claim against a local authority for the right to equal treatment under EU law, even if national law contained no provision relevant to their case.

Summary: The EU's top court has ruled that a retired German man in a same-sex civil partnership should enjoy the same tax status as a married man when his pension is calculated.
###
Article: Brent crude fell 7% at one point before recovering some ground. In afternoon trade it fell 3.4% to $41.70 a barrel.
The meeting in Qatar was attended by most members of oil producers' group Opec, including Saudi Arabia, but not Iran.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest exporter, had been prepared to freeze output if all Opec members had agreed.
But Iran is continuing to increase output following the lifting of sanctions against it.
"As we're not going to sign anything, and as we're not part of the decision to freeze output, we ultimately decided it was not necessary to send a representative," the Iranian government said.
After hours of talks in Qatar, the country's energy minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada said that the oil producers needed "more time".
He said after the meeting: "We of course respect [Iran's] position... The freeze could be more effective definitely if major producers, be it from Opec members like Iran and others, as well as non-Opec members, are included in the freeze."
The price of US crude oil initially fell 6.8%, or $2.82, to $38.68 a barrel. It too clawed back some of those losses and in was trading down 3.6% in the afternoon at $38.90.
The Russian rouble also fell sharply, dropping 2% against the US dollar to 67.79. In mid-afternoon trading it was up 0.57% at 66.65.
The failure to agree a freeze is not going to help oil exporters desperate to see the price of crude oil rise. They are hurting. Even Saudi Arabia - despite having significant financial buffers - is overhauling its public finances and trying to diversify its economy away from oil.
Other major oil producers are finding life even harder. One Opec member, Angola, has even gone to the International Monetary Fund seeking to negotiate financial assistance.
There is, perhaps, some compensation for the countries at the Doha meeting in that their failure to agree to curtail supply increases is likely to renew the pressure on shale oil producers in the US, who were not and never would be represented at a gathering such as this.
The...

Summary: Oil prices have dropped sharply after a meeting of oil producers failed to agree an output freeze.
###
Article: Stephen Jamieson, 28, tied bed sheets together to scale a wall and reportedly put a pillow around his waist to avoid being hurt by razor wire.
He was serving a 12-year sentence for armed robbery.
Jamieson escaped, reportedly after cutting through a gate at the back of a small secure exercise yard attached to his cell.
Australia's audacious prison breaks
Police arrested Jamieson late Tuesday following a high-speed pursuit along the Hume Highway at Marulan, about 15 minutes drive from Goulburn prison in New South Wales.
Road spikes were deployed about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from where Jamieson was first intercepted.
He faces court on Tuesday on a number of charges, including escape from lawful custody.
New South Wales Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin told ABC News Jamieson had a history of trying to escape and was put into solitary confinement after a man-made hole was discovered inside a workshop at the prison.
"He was clearly somebody that was in maximum security for all the right reasons and furthermore he was actually segregated in the maximum security section," he said.
The commissioner said that the escape was "a very serious matter" and would be the subject of an intensive security review because there was "absolutely no excuse for anybody being able to escape from maximum security".

Summary: A maximum security prisoner is back behind bars in Australia after staging an audacious escape.
###
Article: The meeting will be attended by police officers, lawyers and Scotland's Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC.
The focus will be on how leaving the EU could affect law enforcement and criminal justice in Scotland.
It will also look at the possible implications for civil and family law, and commercial issues.
The meeting, which will also include experts from the Scottish Universities Legal Network on Europe and the Standing Council on Europe, is due to take place in Edinburgh on 24 November.
Mr Matheson said: "The UK Brexit vote raises many uncertainties for Scotland's unique justice system.
"That is why I am bringing together leaders and experts to help us understand these issues - and any steps we can take now to mitigate the risks.
"The cessation of EU membership and single market access would have significant and wide-ranging ramifications from a justice and legal perspective.
"The issues range from tackling cross-border crime through to an individual with an EU ex-partner securing child maintenance payment, from Europol co-ordination with other countries to protecting Scots consumers' rights when buying from abroad online."
It follows a court ruling that parliament must vote before the UK can start the process of leaving the EU.
The ruling means the UK government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - beginning formal exit negotiations with the EU - on its own.
The justice secretary added: "The summit discussions will help inform us of risks like these - and others - as the Scottish government continues to press for full involvement in all negotiations between the UK government and the EU.
"Despite the uncertainties caused by the threat of Brexit, we will continue our efforts to safeguard Scotland's communities and the integrity of our justice system, while protecting the personal and commercial interests of our families, consumers and businesses."

Summary:


A farmer has been fined after dumping 40 tonnes of industrial waste outside a village.

Article: Cheaper petrol and lower food prices - helped by a supermarket price war - cut the rate from 0.5% in December, Office for National Statistics figures show.
January's figure is the lowest rate of CPI inflation since estimates of the measure began in 1988.
The Bank of England said last week that inflation may temporarily turn negative in the spring.
Inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index fell to 1.1% from 1.6% the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said.
"Falling prices for motor fuels and food were the main contributors to the slowdown in the rate of inflation," it added.
ONS statistician Phil Gooding said average petrol prices had fallen on the month, as had prices for foodstuffs such as milk and fruit, while games, toys and hobbies had also become cheaper.
He added that a slowdown in the rate of price inflation for alcohol and some recreational goods and services had also contributed to the overall slowdown.
The ONS said that while the cost of food and fuel is lower than a year ago, prices for other items, such as clothing and furniture, are rising.
A lower inflation rate was "excellent news for the consumer's purchasing power", said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist for IHS Global Insight.
"With inflation likely to fall further and earnings growth now finally trending upwards, consumers should see appreciable improvement in their purchasing power as 2015 progresses," he said.
However, he noted that core inflation, which strips out food, energy, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose to 1.4% in January from 1.3% the month before.
"The rise in core inflation highlights the fact that the UK is far from suffering generalised deflation," he said.
Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said price cuts recently announced by the "big six" energy suppliers should help lower domestic energy costs, which could help lower inflation.
He added that the drop in oil prices was "sharply" lowering the price of goods bought and sold by manufacturers, which could also feed...

Summary: The rate of UK Consumer Prices Index inflation fell to 0.3% in January, its lowest level since records began.
###
Article: Silicon Valley will be keenly watching - it's the first glimpse at how the company may perform long term, and it comes at a time when the company faces an existential threat from its biggest, perhaps only, rival: Facebook.
When Snap floated on the market in March, its price surged by 44% to give it a value of almost $30bn.
But make no mistake, Facebook's F8 recent developer's conference was an onslaught on Snapchat's future. The disappearing messages app, popular with teens, has seen its core features lifted wholesale by Facebook's engineers and offered to its own 1.9bn users, a figure which dwarfs Snapchat's base.
Facebook's own head of messenger, David Marcus, admitted to me that Snapchat got there first with innovation in ephemeral messaging and augmented-reality filters - but the message from him was essentially: what does it matter? Facebook thinks it can bring the technology to the next level, crushing Snapchat in the process (something you suspect Mark Zuckerberg has had his eye on ever since he was snubbed by Snap founder Evan Spiegel).
The key thing to look out for on Wednesday is Snapchat's user growth, though as I'll explain in a moment, it won't be the whole picture.
An inability to attract new users has continually hobbled Twitter on Wall Street, and it's growth that will most likely dictate which way Snap's shares go in after-hours trading. It's not expected to be good news - the company has already warned growth is slowing, a symptom of saturation in its core market, the US.
That warning came amid intense competition from Instagram, the Facebook-owned messaging app that launched its own version of Snapchat's "Stories" feature in the middle of last year.
"Snapchat's growth is being cannibalised by Instagram Stories in literally every single market in the world," according to ValuePenguin, a financial research service.
But Snap can't blame all its user abandonment on Instagram or Facebook. In India, a massive campaign to boycott the app took hold after Mr Spiegel was quoted as saying he didn't...

Summary: Snap, the company that owns Snapchat, is posting its first earnings as a public company on Wednesday.
###
Article: Network Rail is lowering the track and carrying out platform modifications, in preparation for the electrification of the Great Western Main Line.
The line will be shut from Saturday until early on 11 April. Keynsham and Oldfield Park stations will be closed.
It is part of a Â£2.8bn project to electrify the line between London and South Wales.
Andy Haynes from Network Rail said: "Once completed, the residents of Bristol and Bath will be a step closer to the benefits that electrification will bring.
"These include faster trains with more seats and more legroom, and less noise and cleaner air for those who live close to the railway line.
"In addition, faster journeys and the ability to move more people by train will also benefit businesses in the area, helping to drive economic growth across the south west."
Regular rail replacement bus services will run between Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads while the line is shut.

Summary: The main railway line between Bristol and Bath has been closed while planned engineering work takes place.
###
Article: With more than 85% of votes counted, the centre-right Saenuri party has won 122 out of 300 seats. The opposition Minjoo Party has taken 123 seats.
Saenuri previously had only a slim majority in the National Assembly.
Saenuri's leader, Kim Moo-sung, has offered his resignation, saying he took responsibility for the defeat.
Analysts say discontent over South Korea's economy appears to have eroded the government's standing with voters.
The result also dents President Park Geun-hye's prospects of seeing her Saenuri party retain the presidency next year.
Ms Park has been criticised over her handling of the economy, which has seen rising unemployment - particularly among the young - falling exports and high levels of household debt.
The results indicate rising discontent probably over two issues.
Firstly, attempts by the government to weaken the legal protection workers have against being sacked. President Park's government had been pushing for this as the economy weakened and, she felt, became less competitive.
Secondly, unhappiness at what opponents of the government see as a heavier hand against dissidents and protesters. A left-wing opposition party was banned and its leaders arrested for their alleged sympathies with North Korea.
Household debt is high and rising in South Korea and unemployment among young people is at levels not seen for nearly two decades. These economic concerns seem to have dominated the election. North Korea was not a major issue.
Polls ahead of the election suggested Ms Park's party was on course to secure a substantial majority of seats.
But as the results started coming in, the success of the main opposition Minjoo Party became clear.
Other opposition parties also did well - the People's Party winning 38 seats and the Justice Party taking six.
"The Saenuri Party humbly accepts the election results and voters' choice," said spokesman Ahn Hyung-Hwan.
"The people are deeply disappointed with us, but we've failed to read their mind."
Voters cast ballots at nearly 14,000 polling stations to...

Summary: The governing party in South Korea has lost the parliamentary majority it has held for 16 years, partial results from Wednesday's general election show.
###
Article: William Johnston, of Walsham-le-Willows, Suffolk, admitted dumping the rubbish, described as building material and household waste, last April.
Suffolk Police said it was a "potential danger to motorists and other members of the public".
The 44-year-old admitted the whole episode was "hugely embarrassing" and "regrettable" as he left court.
He dumped the rubbish, described as building material and household waste, at the side of Finningham Road on 9 April last year.
Updates on this story and others from Suffolk
Police officers and the Environment Agency removed the waste, which they believe was unloaded using a tractor and trailer.
Johnston was fined Â£1000 plus costs of Â£1600 after pleading guilty to fly-tipping at Bury St Edmunds Magistrates Court.
In a statement, he said the rubbish had been unlawfully dumped on his own land before he moved it, and he later paid Â£4,000 for it to be cleared up from the side of the road.
Jonathan Reed, prosecuting on behalf of Mid Suffolk District Council said he was pleased the court had recognised the "severity of the offences as well as the dangers to users of the highway."

Summary:


A Botswanan cheetah called Legolas that was being studied by researchers has been killed, conservationists said.

Article: Scientists calculated individuals carrying this extra weight could contribute to more than 12,000 cases of cancer in the UK population every year.
They warn if obesity levels continue to rise there may be an additional 3,700 cancers diagnosed annually.
The study of five million people is the largest to date to confirm the link.
Doctors often warn being overweight can increase the risk of developing cancer, but this study highlights those forms of the disease where the risk is greatest.
Led by scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine researchers gathered data on five million people living in the UK, monitoring changes to their health over a period of seven years.
They found each 13-16kg (2-2.5 stone) of extra weight an average adult gained was linked firmly and linearly to a greater risk of six cancers.
How big this risk was varied depending on tumour type.
People who had a high body mass index (calculated using weight and height) were also more likely to develop cancer of the liver, colon, ovaries, and post-menopausal breast cancer.
But the effects for these cancers were less clear-cut and were influenced by individual factors such as the menopause.
Researchers say though obesity was associated with the development of the most common cancers  - which represent 90% of the cancers diagnosed in the UK, some showed no link at all.
And there is some evidence to suggest a higher BMI is associated with a lower chance of getting  prostate cancer.
Dr Krishnan Bhaskaran, who led the research, said: "There was a lot of variation in the effect of BMI on different cancers.
"For example, risk of cancer of the uterus increased substantially at higher body mass index, for other cancer we saw a more modest increase in risk or no effect at all.
"This variation tells us BMI must affect cancer risk through a number of different processes, depending on cancer type"
Tom Stansfeld, at Cancer Research UK, said: "Although the relationship between cancer and obesity is complex, it is clear carrying excess...

Summary: Being overweight and obese puts people at greater risk of developing 10 of the most common cancers, according to research in the Lancet medical journal.
###
Article: Emmi, who has no management or record deal, was hand-picked to sing the film's only song, called Blind Pig.
She recorded the vocal in her childhood bedroom after being contacted out of the blue by director David Yates.
However, she was kept in the dark about his identity, and the song's destiny, for almost a year.
"It feels too good to be true," says the singer, who will see her song on the big screen for the first time at the film's premiere in London on Tuesday night.
"I feel like it's a bit of a joke. I don't feel like it's real."
The 29-year-old was born in Devon but raised in Perth, Australia. She now lives in London, where she has been making music full-time for seven years.
A former child actress, who had a small role in Home and Away, she has spent much of that time writing for other artists, but decided to make music under her own name in 2013.
Her second single, Sleep On It, attracted the attention of Taylor Swift, who tweeted it as part of her playlist: "New Songs That Will Make Your Life More Awesome".
Although that raised her profile, she decided not to capitalise on the hype.
"I had a couple of deals on the table but I felt I wanted to do things in a more independent, organic way," she says.
"I wanted to make some mistakes on my own, and create something that was wholly me before I got a whole team on board."
When Yates got in touch in summer last year, she was back at her parents' house for a holiday.
"I have two weeks with my family ever year and I got this email from someone I didn't know saying, 'Do you mind singing this? Here are some lyrics, give it a try,'" she recalls.
"I was like, 'Well, this is a difficult time for me. I'm on holiday with my parents and we're about to eat pizza, can we put this off?'
"And they were like, 'Probably not. You should probably give this a go.'"
When the singer looked at the lyrics, she found references to magical creatures like the Hippogriff and Billywig.
"I started thinking, 'This sounds like something from Harry Potter,' so I Googled the words and...

Summary: An unsigned singer from Devon has been given her big break in the new Harry Potter spin-off, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.
###
Article: Researchers at King's College London found the mental exercises kept minds sharp and helped people with everyday skills such as shopping and cooking.
Nearly 7,000 people aged 50 and over signed up for the six-month experiment, launched by BBC TV's Bang Goes The Theory.
Longer studies are now beginning.
The volunteers were recruited from the general population by a partnership between the BBC, the Alzheimer's Society and the Medical Research Council.
As far as the investigators were aware, none had any problems with memory or cognition when they signed up to the experiment.
Play the BBC Lab UK brain training games
Some of the volunteers were encouraged to play online brain training games for 10 minutes at a time, as often as they wished. The others - the control group - were asked to do simple internet searches.
The researchers tested the subjects on a series of medically recognised cognitive tests at baseline and then again at three months and six months to see if there was any detectable difference between the groups.
The researchers found after six months, those who played "brain training" games for reasoning and problem-solving kept their broader cognitive skills better than those who did not.
The benefit appeared to kick in when people played the games at least five times a week.
And people over 60 who played these games reported better scores for carrying out essential everyday tasks, the Journal of Post-acute and Long Term Care Medicine reports.
But an earlier analysis by the same researchers suggests brain training has no benefit in people younger than 50.
The researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's are starting a longer trial to establish whether this approach could help prevent the development of dementia.
Dr Doug Brown of the Alzheimer's Society said: "Online brain training is rapidly growing into a multi-million pound industry and studies like this are vital to help us understand what these games can and cannot do.
"While this study wasn't long enough to...

Summary: Brain training - playing online games that give memory and reasoning skills a workout - is beneficial for older people, a large-scale study has concluded.
###
Article: The Task Force on Shale Gas says only after fracking has begun will it be possible to determine how much gas can be recovered.
It said shale could create thousands of jobs and improve UK energy security, but doubted if it would cut prices.
However, the report was criticised by Greenpeace, coming just days after a climate deal was agreed in Paris.
"Whatever planet the UK fracking lobby inhabits, it can't be the same one where world leaders just reached a historic deal that puts fossil fuels on the wrong side of history," Greenpeace said.
"If the UK government is really committed to keeping its end of the Paris deal, it must rethink its support for fracking and back safe, cheap clean energy instead."
The Task Force on Shale Gas said without reliable estimates of how much gas could be recovered, companies would not start to develop the industry.
The report calls on the government and local communities to allow initial exploratory wells.
Chairman of the task force, Lord Smith, said that shale could help cut emissions by replacing more polluting coal: "We need to be even clearer... about shale gas providing a bridge to a low carbon future."
However, he said he doubted whether shale gas would cut UK energy prices "because its almost impossible to tell if that is true or not".
Unlike previous reports, it does not attempt to estimate how much employment the industry could generate, but argued that thousands of jobs could result.
It admitted that the impact on prices of properties affected by fracking was uncertain and that owners of homes near fracking sites could see values fall.
Lord Smith said: "They are understandably worried. The evidence that we can see particularly from the States is that there is a dip in value but then it recovers."
He said that both the industry and government must ensure that any community payment scheme directly compensates property owners: "The people most directly affected should get some direct benefit."
Shale gas production has reduced energy prices in the US, but the UK is part of a...

Summary: The UK needs to start fracking to establish the economic impact of shale gas, an industry-funded body has said.
###
Article: Legolas, named after an elf in Lord of the Rings, helped researchers understand how the animals hunt together.
The body was found next to a highway along with a shotgun cartridge, in what Cheetah Conservation Botswana called an "unnecessary and unprovoked attack".
The death is being investigated as a poaching case.
It comes after another famous big cat, Cecil the Lion, was killed in Zimbabwe by a US dentist, sparking worldwide condemnation.
Legolas was not posing a danger to livestock because there were no cattle in the area, indicating the animal had instead been shot in an opportunistic attack, CCB said.
The group said it sympathised with farmers who have problems with predators, but described the killing as "needless and heartbreaking".
At 68.5kg in weight, Legolas was one of the biggest cheetahs ever caught.
He and two of the three other cheetahs he hunted with were fitted with collars that CCB said had "revolutionised" the study of the animals' collaborative hunting techniques, which until then had remained largely unknown.
The killing of Legolas means three of the seven cheetahs fitted with collars for the research project have been shot.
The estimated population of 10,000 wild cheetahs in Africa today is classified as 'vulnerable' in the IUCN's Red List of threatened species.

Summary:


File-sharing website The Pirate Bay (TPB) has been hit by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

Article: The sport's European governing body is already trialling a new way for penalties to be taken in decisive shootouts.
Instead of teams alternating spot-kicks, Uefa is considering a new system similar to the tie-break in tennis.
The system is being tried out at the European Under-17 Championship, which began in Croatia on Wednesday.
What makes the perfect World Cup shootout penalty?
As it stands, teams take turns in a shootout, with the choice of who goes first decided by a coin toss.
For example, team A goes first, then team B, then team A again.
The new system is called 'ABBA' and sees team A followed by team B - before team B goes again. Team A would then get two successive penalties, and so on until there is a winner.
A coin will still be tossed to decide who goes first.
The idea is to stop the team going second having to always, potentially, play catch-up. The sport's rule-making body, Ifab, approved the trial after looking at research it says proves the team taking the first penalty have an unfair advantage as they win 60% of shootouts.
"The hypothesis is that the player taking the second kick in the pair is under greater mental pressure," said Uefa.
The system is also being trialled at the women's European Under-17 Championship, which began in the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

Summary: Penalty shootouts in football could be transformed to make them fairer under new plans being looked at by Uefa.
###
Article: Kev Brady will paddle 208 miles (335km) along the Mahaweli and then around the island, adding 800 miles (1,287km) to his trip.
He said he felt compelled to do the challenge after "falling in love" with the country's rivers and coasts.
His previous feats include canoeing along the Mississippi and swimming the length of the River Severn.
Speaking before he began his challenge, he said: "I started paddle-boarding when I finished the swim (of the River Severn) and I've become obsessed with it.
"So a year on I want to take a paddle board abroad and take it on a big adventure.
"I had a voluntary job in Sri Lanka I was looking forward to and it fell through.
"By that time I'd already looked into Sri Lanka's rivers and coasts and I'd fallen in love with it."
When he began his challenge on Tuesday, he told the BBC some stretches of the river could not be paddled along due to shallows, waterfalls and rocks.
He said: "I'll be going through some really dense jungle along the river and I'm told there are 5m (16ft) crocodiles but apparently they won't come near me if I'm in the middle of the river, they just stalk things on the bank."
He added that wild elephants would also be a risk as the male elephants could be aggressive during the mating season.
Mr Brady, who has been training along the River Severn, hopes to complete the Sri Lanka river challenge in four months.

Summary: A paddle boarder has begun his quest to travel from source to sea along the longest river in Sri Lanka.
###
Article: In a statement,the US Department of Agriculture saidschools buying beef from a central government scheme could now choose from a range of options.
The term has become used to describe a type of beef trimming commonly found in school and restaurant beef in the US.
Reports it was widely used in schools prompted a popular outcry, although the beef is certified as safe to eat.
Social media campaigns and an online petition sprung up to oppose the use of the product. The beef's producerled a campaignto explain it was nutritional and safe.
Last year, British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver publicly criticised the product on his now-defunct US TV show, and McDonald's recently said it would phase out the use of "pink slime" in its burgers.
The US agriculture department said on Thursday it would now offer alternatives to the beef - officially called lean finely textured beef - for schools buying meat through its programmes.
The department (USDA) said the change was "due to customer demand".
"USDA continues to affirm the safety of Lean Finely Textured Beef product for all consumers and urges customers to consult science based information on the safety and quality of this product," it added.
School administrators reacted positively to the change.
"Our district has long advocated for purity and disclosure in food products. And we will definitely be moving to the pure ground beef when that becomes available," John Schuster, spokesman for Florida's Miami-Dade school system, told the Associated Press.
"Pink slime" - a term reportedly coined by a microbiologist working for the US government - is a form of lean beef formed by reclaiming the small parts of meat from leftover cuts with a high fat content.
The beef is spun in a centrifuge to separate the meat from the fat, before the final product is treated with a puff of ammonium hydroxide gas to kill any bacteria.
Produced in bulk by a firm in South Dakota, the pejorative nature of the term "pink slime" has coloured the debate, some experts say.
It is "unappetising", Sarah Klein,...

Summary: Schools across the US are to be allowed to stop serving so-called "pink slime" beef to their pupils at mealtimes.
###
Article: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced its repo rate to 6.5% from 6.75%, in line with the expectations  of many economists.
The repo rate is the level at which the central bank lends to commercial banks.
The latest cut takes interest rates in the country to the lowest level in five years. The RBI cited a fall in inflation for the latest cut.
"Retail inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI) dropped sharply in February after rising for six consecutive months," said Raghuram Rajan, India's central bank governor. The drop came largely from a bigger-than-anticipated fall in vegetable prices.
Analysts are factoring in more rate cuts to come, later in the year.
Mahantest Sabarad, from SBI Cap Securites in Mumbai, said: "We expect there could be further rate cuts ahead. One of the important data points that the governor had to work with is that there is a normal monsoon forecast ... which is the first preliminary forecast.
"Therefore it tells me that there could be another rate cut by 25 basis points sometime during May-July."
The central bank's rate cut today didn't come as much of a surprise for anyone.
Most business leaders have been hankering for a much bigger reduction.
The boss of one of India's private banks recently told me, he thinks there was a case to be made for a 0.75% rate cut given various economic factors.
Governor Raghuram Rajan has said that the bank's monetary policy stance will remain "accommodative", leading to expectations that there may be more rate cuts in the future if inflation continues to come down.
The RBI has cut rates by 1.5% since January 2015, but much of that has not been passed on to borrowers yet.
So perhaps the central bank's most significant move has been to introduce a mechanism which forces banks to revise their lending rates in accordance with those of the RBI.

Summary: India's central bank has cut its key interest rate for the first time this year.
###
Article: The site has been largely inaccessible for the last 24 hours, and the service is intermittent in the UK.
The Pirate Bay has confirmed the attack on its Facebook page, saying that it did not know who was behind it, although it "had its suspicions".
A provider of DDoS defence systems said that it was unlikely that the attack came from hacking group Anonymous.
"There will be further attacks, but what's significant about this whole story is that people think that it is the Anonymous attacking a site which is typically a type of site that they defend," said Andre Stewart of Corero Network Security.
"It could be the record labels, or a government somewhere that has had enough of not being able to catch The Pirate Bay, it could be just one person who had rented some cloud power from Amazon and is sitting in a cafe, and is able to launch an attack."
Although some users may have attempted to access the site using proxies, TPB itself warned them against doing so.
"Use proxies at own risk. Don't login unless you trust the proxy supplier. Don't freak out. You'll get your TPB fix tomorrow," said the site.
TPB allows users to illegally obtain copyrighted songs, films and other content for free.
Copyright holders argue this causes a significant loss in revenue.
However, others say that it is very difficult to assess the impact of downloading on sales.
"If they're losing money and seeing that the government is not being able to stop it, there's a real monetary value reason for them to try and bring it down," said Mr Stewart.
"And if they can do it in the name of Anonymous then it's great for them.
"Equally the governments that protect these industries are frustrated as well because they haven't been able to see it close down, unlike a number of other torrent sites."
Virgin Media began preventing access to the file-sharing site following a High Court order last week.
Some time later the Virgin Media website suffered a hack attack that many thought was organised to protest against efforts to block access to TPB.
Twitter feeds...

Summary:


to fight cancer.
The study, led by the University of Cambridge, involved researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the University

The deadly spread of cancer around the body has been cut by three-quarters in animal experiments, say scientists.

Article: In the Royal Economic Society's annual lecture on Tuesday, Professor Rachel Griffith will argue corporate tax should be charged like VAT.
"A preferable way to tax corporate income would be to tax profits at the destination of sales", she will argue.
Ms Griffith is professor of economics at Manchester University.
"We currently try to tax corporate profits at the location where value is created, under international agreements formed in the 1980s.
"Implementation of this system is increasingly difficult in the presence of intangible and internationally mobile assets," she is expected to say.
The fact that a company's assets often didn't have a physical presence - such as patents, trademarks and brands - made it difficult to calculate what a firm should pay and where, she believes.
"The most valuable ideas are often those that can be combined with other ideas to create even greater value.
"Tying the value created in this way to a physical location - and thus to a tax jurisdiction - can be very difficult," an advance version of her speech said.
Prof Griffith's lecture comes a month after social networking giant Facebook revealed it paid £4,327 in corporation tax in the UK in 2014, less than the £5,392.80 in income tax and national insurance contributions someone on the average UK salary of £26,500 would pay.
Several multinational corporations are being investigated by the European Commission over the tax arrangements they have with EU member states.
Amazon, Fiat Chrysler, and Starbucks are among several companies subject to the investigation and the Commission has said it could widen its probe.
The investigation came after Starbucks was revealed to have paid £8.6m in UK corporation tax in the 14 years between 1998 and 2012, despite making more than £3bn of UK sales in the same period.

Summary: Multinational companies should pay tax on their profits based on where their products are sold, not where they are made, a professor is to suggest.
###
Article: Initially broadcasters will be able to film the Court of Appeal from October.
Justice Minister Damian Green said the government had "a view to extending this to sentencing decisions in the Crown court in due course."
Cameras have been allowed in Scottish courts since 1992 but only if all parties have given their consent.
Crown courts deal with serious criminal cases such as murder, rape or robbery, and trials are heard by a judge and a 12-person jury.
Proceedings in the Supreme Court - the final court of appeal - can already be filmed, and later this year lawyers' arguments and judges' rulings in appeal cases will also be allowed to be filmed.
Mr Green said: "We believe televising court proceedings will help improve transparency and bring greater public confidence and understanding of the criminal justice system.
"We are working with broadcasters to ensure that any costs from broadcasting are not met from the public purse.
"Subject to passage through Parliament we intend to allow broadcasting from the Court of Appeal from October 2013, with a view to extending this to sentencing decisions in the Crown court in due course."
In Scotland a review of the filming policy was announced late last year, as Scotland's most senior judge said technology had changed dramatically in the 20 years since broadcasters were first allowed to televise some proceedings.

Summary: TV cameras could be allowed to film sentencing in crown courts in England and Wales under government plans to expand the scheme.
###
Article: Prof Andrew Morris, co-director of the university's Medical Research Institute, will succeed Prof Sir John Savill in the post.
A university spokesman said Prof Morris was "internationally renowned" for his research.
The chief scientist office is part of the Scottish government health and social care directorates.
Prof Sir Harry Burns, chief medical officer, said: "We are delighted to be able to appoint a researcher of Professor Morris's calibre to the post of chief scientist, where he will provide strategic leadership to the life sciences research community in Scotland.
"His particular area of expertise of health informatics is a growing area of interest both in Scotland and the wider UK and his appointment will further strengthen our position in this, and other clinical areas."
Prof Morris currently leads a research team at Dundee studying epidemiology and the genetics of diabetes. The academic said he was "honoured" to be appointed to the post.

Summary: A Dundee University professor has been appointed as Scotland's new chief scientist.
###
Article: The broadcaster has drawn up three options for a new format, but said no decision had yet been taken on which, if any, would be introduced.
The BBC said it aimed to deliver "the very best news" for Scottish audiences.
But the National of Union of Journalists said there had been no consultation with staff.
It is understood that BBC Scotland is to make a series of pilot episodes over the next three weeks before a final decision is taken.
The so-called Scottish Six has been a long-running controversy within Scottish broadcasting, with previous proposals being ruled out by the BBC's then-director general Mark Thompson in 2006.
The proposals are in response to criticism that the BBC's main Six O'Clock News programme often features stories - for example on education and health - that have no relevance to Scottish audiences.
The Scottish government has argued that the BBC needs to "catch up" with devolution, and to give its Scottish operation greater control of budgets, staffing and decision making.
The new programme could provide "an hour of UK, Scottish and international news", according to a document drawn up by senior BBC Scotland managers.
It would be edited and presented in Scotland, and would aim to "shape the day's news in a way relevant to Scottish audiences".
The Scottish news hour would also "use the best of BBC News' talent around the country and the world", the document states.
A team of producers would be based at the BBC's New Broadcasting House headquarters in London to ensure key correspondents around the world were available to the Scottish programme.
And about 70 new correspondents, producers and other staff could be recruited to work on the programme.
The document outlines three possible formats for the programme.
The first of these would see an hour-long programme presented entirely in Scotland, while the second would see a main Scottish presenter accompanied by a London-based journalist who would front a 10-minute roundup of UK and international news.
In both options, the document stresses that...

Summary: The BBC is to begin trialling a new hour-long news programme that could replace both Reporting Scotland and the Six O'Clock News in Scotland.
###
Article: Tumours can "seed" themselves elsewhere in the body and this process is behind 90% of cancer deaths.
The mouse study, published in Nature, showed altering the immune system slowed the spread of skin cancers to the lungs.
Cancer Research UK said the early work gave new insight into how tumours spread and may lead to new treatments.
The spread of cancer - known as metastasis - is a fight between a rapidly mutating cancer and the rest of the body.
The team at the Sanger Institute in Cambridge was trying to figure out what affected tumour spread in the body.
Researchers created 810 sets of genetically modified lab mice to discover which sections of the DNA were involved in the body resisting a cancer's spread.
The animals were injected with melanomas (skin cancer) and the team counted the number of tumours that formed in the lung.
Their hunt led them to discover 23 sections of DNA, or genes, that made it either easier or harder for a cancer to spread.
Many of them were involved in controlling the immune system.
Targeting one gene - called Spns2 - led to a three-quarters reduction in tumours spreading to the lungs.
"It regulated the balance of immune cells within the lung," Dr David Adams, one of the team, told the BBC News website.
"It changes the balance of cells that play a role in killing tumour cells and those that switch off the immune system."
The field of immunotherapy - harnessing the power of the immune system to fight cancer - has delivered dramatic results for some patients.
A rare few with a terminal diagnosis have seen all signs of cancer disappear from their body, although the drugs still fail to work in many patients.
Dr Adams said: "We've learnt some interesting new biology that we might be able to use - it's told us this gene is involved in tumour growth."
Drugs that target Spns2 could produce the same cancer-slowing effect but that remains a distant prospect.
Dr Justine Alford, from Cancer Research UK, said: "This study in mice gives a new insight into the genes that play a role in cancer...

Summary:


indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
The victim was a friend

A man has been jailed for grooming a 12-year-old girl on Facebook who he went on to abuse.

Article: The jet will be the launch platform for the satellite rocket being developed by another of the entrepreneur's companies - Virgin Galactic.
The 747 will carry this booster to high altitude where it will be released to ignite its engine and go into orbit.
Jumbos have long played a role in space activity, most famously to transport Nasa's old shuttles across America.
Virgin Galactic will be air-launching a tourist spaceplane from underneath a jet vehicle, and originally had planned for the satellite rocket to use the same platform.
But the performance requirements of the booster have driven engineers to seek an alternative carrier.
Earlier this year, they announced they would be increasing the payload capability of the forthcoming rocket after consultations with prospective customers - a jump from 120kg of satellite payload to 200kg, into a standard orbit.
That meant stretching the tanks on the booster to accommodate more propellant, and, as a consequence, its mass and length had to increase.
The old 747-400 jumbo can handle this. Coincidentally, it used to fly in its Virgin Atlantic livery under the nickname "Cosmic Girl". It will now get a new paint job in the Virgin Galactic colours. The company has produced a video visualisation of how the system will work.
"The Boeing 747 has a very special place in my heart: we began service on my first airline, Virgin Atlantic, with just one leased 747," Sir Richard said in a statement.
"I never imagined that today one of our 747s would get a second chance and help open access to space. I'm absolutely thrilled that Cosmic Girl can stay in the Virgin family - and truly live up to her name!"
Virgin Galactic is calling its satellite booster LauncherOne.
It intends to debut the liquid oxygen/kerosene rocket in 2016 or 2017, selling missions for under $10m. The company believes that with this price it can grab a major share of the market for launching small satellites.
Already, it has done a deal with satellite telecommunications company OneWeb. This British Channel...

Summary: Sir Richard Branson is reassigning one of his old Virgin Atlantic 747-400 jumbos to the service of space.
###
Article: Its demise was approved by MPs without a vote this afternoon. The lockstep, for those among you who have better things to do than focus on fiscal devolution, was the clause of the Wales Bill that would have ensured any change in the basic rate of Welsh income tax had to be mirrored by a similar change in the higher or top rate. Our devolution dictionary is here, should you require further assistance.
Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb told MPs: "By removing the lockstep we are removing what was widely seen as a deterrent to the Welsh government accepting the devolution of income tax in Wales."
He accused Labour First Minister Carwyn Jones of hiding behind "the self-imposed barrier of funding" in opposing the partial devolution of income tax until Wales gets a better financial settlement from Westminster. Mr Crabb suggested only Colin Jackson was capable of clearing all the hurdles Labour wanted to erect over income tax.
His Labour shadow, Owen Smith, said the UK government had performed a hand-brake U-turn on the lockstep months after it opposed its removal. He suggested that in the light of the Smith Commission report in Scotland there was now a case for going further with the devolution of income tax to Wales.
Mr Crabb said the tax powers transferred by the bill - and the full devolution of income tax - could see the Welsh government becoming responsible for raising around a quarter of the money it spends.
That share will only be reached after a referendum Carwyn Jones appears to be in no hurry to hold. Montgomeryshire Tory MP Glyn Davies suggested Mr Jones was now adding the non-devolution of air passenger duty to the list of hurdles stopping him holding a referendum.
Mr Davies's solution? Ditch the referendum and devolve tax powers if they're proposed in the winning party's (or parties') manifesto in next May's election. Wales Office Minister Alun Cairns gave a non-committal response to Mr Davies's suggestion.
There is sympathy in UK government circles for the tax referendum being a general plebiscite on a...

Summary: The lockstep is dead.
###
Article: The eggs were produced by the mating pair Monty and Glesni, who have previously produced four eggs in the last three years.
This batch of eggs was first spotted at the Cors Dyfi nature reserve near Machynlleth in Powys on 25 April.
The first chick hatched last Friday, with the second appearing on Sunday followed by the third late on Tuesday.
It was the first time Glesni had laid three eggs, the Dyfi Osprey Project said. The chicks have been named Bob 1, 2 and 3.
Another nesting pair in the Glaslyn Osprey Project, near Porthmadog, is currently incubating two eggs

Summary: A third osprey chick has hatched at a mid Wales nesting ground days after the first emerged from its egg.
###
Article: Joe Giron told the BBC that he discovered altered admin settings on his personal router on 28 September.
The compromised router was hacked to send web browsing data to a malicious internet address.
Netgear says the vulnerability is "serious" but affects fewer than 5,000 devices.
Mr Giron found that the Domain Name System (DNS) settings on his router had been changed to a suspicious IP address.
"Normally I set mine to Google's [IP address] and it wasn't that, it was something else," he said.
"For two or three days all my DNS traffic was being sent over to them."
This means that the attacker could have tracked what websites Mr Giron was visiting, or even redirected him to malicious sites had they chosen to do so.
He has decided to turn off the router and not use it for the time being.
Netgear released a firmware update on Monday.
The vulnerability itself has been documented by security researchers at Compass Security and Shellshock Labs in recent months.
"Is it serious? Yes it definitely is," said Jonathan Wu, senior director of product management at Netgear, one of the top three router brands in the US.
"Because whenever anybody gets access to your router, they can alter settings to direct traffic to places you don't want it to go to."
The vulnerability allows attackers to gain access to the router settings without needing to provide login credentials, according to security researchers Daniel Haake and Alexandre Herzog of Compass Security in Switzerland.
Mr Giron thinks that in his case, access was gained remotely because his router settings had been configured so that they could be accessed from outside his network.
Mr Wu said that Netgear router owners would be prompted to update their firmware if they logged into their router's admin settings or if they had the Netgear genie app installed on their computer, tablet or smartphone.
It's problematic that firmware updates can't be automatically "pushed" to routers, according to Mark James, IT security specialist at Eset.
"The average user will throw the router...

Summary: A security researcher in the US has said his Netgear router was hacked after attackers exploited a flaw in the machine.
###
Article: Shaun Coles, 24, of Church Street, Louth, admitted a charge of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13.
Lincoln Crown Court heard he and the girl had initially messaged each other on Facebook before meeting.
The messages between the two were uncovered by the girl's mother after she went missing. Coles was jailed for a total of 30 months.
Read more about this story and others from across Lincolnshire
The girl was meeting Coles and when she returned home she showed police messages between them on her phone.
Tony Standford, prosecuting, said: "Clearly there was a lot of inappropriate conversation and activity had taken place.
"There were numerous references to them being in love and to kissing and cuddling."
Coles admitted in police interviews he knew the girl was only 12 and that his behaviour was unacceptable.
Grace Hale, for the defence, described Coles as "very immature" and said he had issues with ADHD.
"He has been candid in his admissions to the police," she said.
"He had only known the girl for a short time before this incident.
Judge Michael Heath, imposing sentence, said: "You knew that she was 12 years old. You were twice her age.
"This was not the girl's fault. She was the victim and you should not have behaved in the way you did."
In addition to the jail term the judge also placed Coles on the sex offenders' register for life,
He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Summary: