The University of Texas System is joining the edX online platform project set up by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The University of Texas says it could offer degree credits through the online platform, with a tuition fee attached.
Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa said he wanted Texas to "lead this revolution

Lord Heseltine says the UK's skills shortage is a serious problem - and if it was up to him he would start industrial strategy in primary schools.

Article: The University of Texas (UT) System is joining the edX online platform project set up by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The University of Texas says it could offer degree credits through the online platform, with a tuition fee attached.
Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa said he wanted Texas to "lead this revolution".
"The UT System does plan to eventually offer courses for credit. There will be a tuition charge for credit-earning courses, but the amount hasn't been determined," said Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, spokeswoman for the UT System.
This would be a major step for this new wave of online universities set up this year by top universities in the US.
The edX alliance, launched this year, already includes MIT, Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley. But so far these have offered free courses which do not carry credit towards degrees.
The latest recruit to edX - with more expected this autumn - is one the biggest public university systems in the US.
The network of universities in the University of Texas System has more than 200,000 students, 19,000 academic staff and an annual operating budget of $13bn (Â£8bn).
There has been something of an academic format war emerging with a rival Coursera platform, started by academics from Stanford in California.
Coursera now has 1.6 million students around the world studying courses from more than 30 leading universities, including Edinburgh and the University of London.
The University of London reported that 9,000 students had signed up within the first 24 hours.
There have been online courses in the US and UK for a number of years - but there has been a recent surge of interest as self-study courses have been put online by some of the world's most famous institutions.
These can be studied anywhere in the world and the assessment is also carried out online.
Helping to drive the expansion of online courses in the US has been a concern about the high costs of university and the rising level of student loan debts.
Gene Powell, chairman of...

Summary: The latest expansion in prestigious online universities in the US includes plans to charge for courses which will count towards degrees.
###
Article: He told MPs the UK would never be a world-beating economy unless young people were better educated.
And he called for "much bigger devolution to the people who know where the [failing] schools are".
On improving literacy and numeracy, he added: "We need it across the country and we need it yesterday."
The Conservative grandee, who was deputy prime minister in the 1990s and subsequently advised David Cameron on regional strategy, made the comments as he gave evidence to the Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee alongside former chancellor George Osborne.
Claiming that the UK is "29th as a country in the world league of education" - it was 23rd in reading in 2015, according to the OECD's Pisa rankings and 26th in maths - he stressed: "If we accept that - we'll never be a world beating economy in the future because it's all about people - it's about education and then about skills.
"And if you want to have skilled people, you'd better educate them properly before you start making them skilled."
Lord Heseltine, whose leadership challenge helped trigger Margaret Thatcher's departure from Downing Street in 1990, said standards need to be set by a strategic commission, chaired by the prime minister "that are relevant to the best in the world and not the 29th".
"If I could design an industrial strategy it would start in the primary schools," he said, adding that about a quarter of children leaving primary schools are "illiterate and innumerate" by modern employment standards.
"My own view is clear - there needs to be a much bigger devolution to the people who know where those schools are and they know the people that run them and they know where the inadequate results are coming from - in my personal experience of life: show me the problem, show me the person in charge."
Lord Heseltine cited one success story - Northamptonshire's "Race to the top" initiative - which aims to make Northamptonshire one of the highest performing counties for education by 2020.
"We spend a lot of time discussing the theories of...

Summary:


The Liberal Democrats have launched an investigation into claims Norman Lamb's leadership campaign team may have breached data protection rules.
The party has launched an investigation into claims Norman Lamb's leadership campaign team may have breached data protection rules.
The party has launched an investigation into claims Norman Lamb's leadership campaign team may have breached data protection

On 23 August 1994, The KLF - one of Britain's most incendiary bands, in more ways than one - burned £1m on a remote Scottish island.

Article: Update 10 June 2016: Following an investigation by the party, Mark Gettleson and the other volunteer were cleared.
One volunteer has resigned and another is understood to have left over the claims, in the Independent on Sunday.
The paper says some party members claim they were polled by phone by someone they believed to be from Lib Dem HQ rather than Mr Lamb's personal team.
The party is considering referring the matter to the Information Commissioner.
Mr Lamb, the MP for North Norfolk and former care minister, is running against Tim Farron, former party president, for the Lib Dem leadership following the resignation of Nick Clegg.
Mark Gettleson, a strategic communications and research professional, confirmed he had resigned, saying he regretted "any harm done to Norman Lamb and his campaign".
The Independent on Sunday reported accusations that the line of questioning in the apparent "opinion poll" may have gone into territory which could have cast doubt on Mr Farron's suitability.
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: "We have been made aware of an alleged breach of party rules and are looking into the issue as a matter of urgency.
"The Liberal Democrats take any alleged breaches of party rules extremely seriously. The party has contacted both teams to reiterate rules on the leadership process."
Mr Lamb told the newspaper: "Volunteer members of my team acted without my authority. As soon as it was clear what had happened, I had to be decisive and removed them from my campaign.
"As soon as I saw Tim I talked to him about it and said I won't tolerate it from my campaign.
"In a situation we [the Lib Dems] are in at the moment we cannot allow ourselves to fall out or behave irresponsibly."
It is understood there will be a formal discussion with the party's data controller on Monday regarding a potential referral to the Information Commissioner.
Mr Gettleson said the poll in question - which was conducted on Thursday and Friday last week - had been carried out to gauge the state of the race between the two...

Summary: The Liberal Democrats have launched an investigation into allegations Norman Lamb's leadership campaign team may have breached data protection rules.
###
Article: They then vowed to put their careers on hold for 23 years.
That time is now up.
So at 23 seconds past midnight on Wednesday they made their comeback at a book launch in Liverpool.
The duo were greeted by 500 fans as they arrived at the News From Nowhere book shop in an ice cream van that played their hit What Time Is Love? and O Sole Mio.
That marked the start of a three-day festival of talks, performance and live art, which will continue on Wednesday with a debate on the topic "Why Did the K Foundation Burn a Million Quid?"
However, fans have been told that The KLF's Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond will not be performing any music.
Their new novel 2023, described as "a utopian costume drama set in the near future written in the recent past", is due to be performed in full in the city on Thursday.
The event will finish on Friday with a "Graduation Ball" headlined by a hitherto unknown artist named Badger Kull, who is billed as having just one three-minute song, titled Toxteth Day of the Dead.
The KLF - who also went by names including The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, The K Foundation and The Timelords - had hits like 3AM Eternal, Last Train to Trancentral and What Time Is Love? in the late 1980s and early '90s.
As well as their electrifying pop-trance hits, Cauty and Drummond became known for sabotaging their own success and subverting the music business in a serious of infamous stunts.
Here are four of them:
The duo were ordered to destroy all copies of their 1987 debut album after a complaint from Abba, who objected to the unauthorised sampling of Dancing Queen.
Cauty and Drummond travelled to Sweden to try to track Abba down in person. But they failed, so they presented the gold disc they had brought with them to a Swedish prostitute instead.
As you do.
They burned some of the LPs in a field before throwing the rest overboard from the ferry on the way home.
The album was eventually released with large stretches of silence where the samples had been.
After getting to number one as The Timelords with Doctor...

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The European Parliament has approved a report calling for greater transparency in the EU's spending.
The report, by French Socialist MEP Gilles Pargneaux, was approved by a vote of 751 to 5.
The report calls for the EU to set up a "comprehensive and independent" body to

Hugh Grant has been cast in Guy Ritchie's big-screen adaptation of the 1960s TV show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Article: The Parliamentary Assistance Allowance, currently €21,379 (£15,250; $23,460) per month, will rise to €22,879.
The European Parliament's 751 MEPs also raised the parliament's total budget to €1.84bn for 2016, from €1.75bn now.
Some MEPs want stricter monitoring of MEPs' expenses. But a report urging greater transparency was watered down.
The spending increases come despite many calls for the EU to rein in spending on its own administration - including strong calls from the UK Conservatives. The parliament's costs account for about 1% of the total EU budget.
The 2008 financial crisis forced national governments across Europe to cut administrative spending, and fuelled demands for the EU to do likewise.
Another EU institution, the European Court of Justice, has asked for 21 extra judges to be appointed. That would almost double the current total of 27. The change would cost an estimated €13.8m annually.
The ECJ says more judges are needed because of a "dramatic increase" in the court's caseload - from 398 in 2000 to 912 in 2014.
But some ECJ judges themselves oppose the proposal, calling it too expensive, the EUobserver website reports.
On Wednesday MEPs approved a report by a French Socialist MEP, Gilles Pargneaux, including a clause saying the parliament "stresses the need for greater transparency as regards the general spending allowances for members".
They said parliament officials should establish "more precise rules" for MEPs' spending.
But an amendment removed a strong demand by Mr Pargneaux for more transparency concerning the General Expenditure Allowance (GEA), a €4,320 monthly payment to each MEP to cover office costs, such as rent and phone calls.
One of the two deleted clauses expressed astonishment that MEPs "do not have to account for the way they have used the allowance and that for members who wish to do so, verification of their accounts by the Internal Auditor of Parliament is not possible".
That clause had also called for "the introduction of obligatory annual reporting by the members of...

Summary: Euro MPs have voted to increase their allowances to cover staff costs while rejecting a move to subject their expenses to an obligatory audit.
###
Article: The Love Actually star will have a supporting role in the spy film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander and Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill will also feature in the adaptation of the TV series, which ran from 1964 to 1968.
Grant, who most recently starred in Cloud Atlas with Tom Hanks, will play the head of British Naval Intelligence.
The film follows special agents Napoleon Solo, played by Cavill, and Illya Kuryakin - Lone Ranger star Hammer - who work for the mysterious United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.).
Swedish actress Vikander, known for her role as Kitty in Joe Wright's Anna Karenina, has been cast as the female lead, while The Great Gatsby's Elisabeth Debicki will also star in the adaptation.
Tom Cruise had been tipped for the role of Solo, originally portrayed by Robert Vaughn in the TV series, while George Clooney was set to play the lead role in director Steven Soderbergh's earlier version of the film.
However, Clooney withdrew from the film and Soderbergh subsequently dropped out of the project.
Director Ritchie will co-write the script with Lionel Wigram, who wrote both of Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films, starring Robert Downey Jr.
Production is due to begin in September with a release planned for 2014.
There were 105 episodes of the multi-award winning TV show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, with the first series broadcast in black-and-white.

Summary:


The Owlz are a rookie-league team in California.
The team is associated with the Angels, a major league team in California.
The team is associated with the Angels, a major league team in California.
The team is associated with the Angels, a major league team in California.
The team is

A minor league baseball team in Utah has cancelled plans to host a "Caucasian Heritage Night" in August, according to the team's website.

Article: That is according to statistics released by the UCAS.
In 2016-17, 4,060 students from Northern Ireland were accepted into English universities - a rise from 3,430 in 2014-14.
Overall, 5,380 Northern Ireland students were accepted by universities elsewhere in the UK this year.
That is a rise of 17% since 2013-14.
According to additional figures released by the Department for the Economy (DfE), fewer than a third of those who graduate elsewhere in the UK return to Northern Ireland to work.
In 2014/15, according to DfE figures, only 31.5% of Northern Ireland students returned home to work after graduation.
According to UCAS, there has been a 1% increase across the UK in the number of young people accepted to university this year, compared to 2015-16.
While Queen's University and Ulster University have a cap in the number of students they can admit, the student numbers cap for English universities was lifted in 2015.
As a result, there has been increased competition to attract students in England.
However, tuition fees are higher at English universities at Â£9,000 per year, compared to Â£3,925 in Northern Ireland.

Summary: There has been an increase of almost 20% in the number of Northern Ireland students beginning university in England since 2013-14.
###
Article: "Caucasian Heritage Night: Irish, Italian, Scandinavian, German --- or even Utahn! Whatever your background, celebrate it at the Home of the Owlz!" a calendar entry reads.
Other promotions included "Christmas in August" and "Throwback Night".
The team is associated with the Angels, a major league team in California.
"Our goal in this promotion, like any of our promotions, is to have fun and make fun of everyday normalcies," the team said.
"Our night was to include wonder bread on burgers with mayonnaise, clips from shows like Friends and Seinfeld and trying to solve the vertical leaping challenge.
"We understand, in light of recent tragic events, that our intentions have been misconstrued. For that, we sincerely apologise."
On Wednesday night, nine people were shot dead in an African-American church in South Carolina in what police termed a hate crime.
The Owlz are a rookie-league team - the most entry level division of the minor leagues. The league is designed for new players hone their skills.
On Friday, "Caucasian Heritage Night" quickly became a top trending term on Twitter in the US.

Summary:


A new £1.5m centre for the arts and culture of the North West has been launched in Manchester.
The centre, which is being funded by the Arts Council England, will be based at the Lowry, a former cotton mill in the city centre.
It will be run by the Manchester International Festival and

The centenary of the Easter Rising, the rebellion that began on Easter Monday 1916, is to be marked in Irish towns and cities with wreath-laying events.

Article: Activate Learning want to build a three-storey technical facility offering vocational-based education for about 300 14 to 19-year-olds.
It plans to use 0.29 hectares (0.71 acres) of sports field at Bicester Community College.
Sport England objected to the "net loss" of outdoor recreational space for the school and community.
The sports body said no land was offered as a replacement.
It said if the plan is approved, it will refer the decision to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
A report by Cherwell District Council said the council's own local plan highlighted a "shortfall of sports and recreational facilities in Bicester".
But it said in balance, the loss of land was "comparatively small" and represented a "relatively under-used corner" of the playing field, while the new college brought benefits to the town.
The technical college will employ up to 30 people and will be operated by Activate Learning, who will also oversee Bicester Community College which is converting to an academy.
Bicester Town Council "strongly supports" the application.
Concerns have also been raised about increased traffic.
Cherwell councillors are due to decide on the planning application, which has been recommended for approval by officers, on 3 September.

Summary: Plans to build a new college on a playing field at an Oxfordshire school have been opposed by Sport England.
###
Article: Synchronised wreath-laying ceremonies will take place in counties Cork, Meath, Wexford, Galway and Dublin, beginning at 09:45 local time in Cork.
Thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin on Sunday for a parade to mark the centenary.
The commemoration events have been organised by the Irish government.
The rebellion is viewed as a seminal event in the founding of the state.
The Easter Rising was quelled within six days by British troops, but despite its failure it is seen as a significant stepping stone to the eventual creation of the Republic of Ireland and the partition of Ireland.
More than 450 people were killed and 2,500 injured during the fighting.
A weekend of events to mark the centenary of the Rising began on Saturday with a remembrance ceremony in Dublin at which Irish president Michael D Higgins laid a wreath.
Wreaths were also laid in Dublin at Kilmainham Gaol, where 14 of the Rising's leaders were executed, and at the Sigerson Monument in Glasnevin Cemetery, which is dedicated to to all those who lost their lives in the Rising.
The synchronised wreath-laying ceremonies on Monday have been organised by the Irish Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking areas).
The locations and times are:
Then, at 12:30 local time, wreaths will be laid at various buildings and landmarks around the Irish capital that became focal points during the rebellion.
They include Boland's Mill, Jacob's Factory, Dublin Castle/City Hall, The Four Courts, Royal College of Surgeons and Moore Street.

Summary:


The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has applied them in 1989, after fears two firms, taken over by FirstGroup in 1996, could have too strong a bargaining position with the council.
The CMA said it was seeking views from a number of groups.
First Bristol said it "welcomed the

Restrictions on bus operator First Bristol, put in place almost 20 years ago, are to be reviewed to "see if they are still appropriate".

Article: But the study shows occasional use does not seem linked to reduced achievement.
The research is based on a long-term study tracking the health of people born in the Bristol area in the 1990s.
But the study warns it is difficult to distinguish the specific impact of cannabis from other overlapping "risky behaviours" such as drinking alcohol.
"It's hard to know what causes what. Do kids do badly at school because they are smoking weed, or do they smoke weed because they're doing badly? This study suggests it is not as simple as saying cannabis is the problem," says lead researcher Claire Mokrysz, from University College London.
The research, from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, tracked more than 2,000 teenagers to examine links between cannabis use and poorer educational performance.
The research looked at intelligence tests taken by the young people when they were aged eight and then compared the results with tests at the age of 15 and GCSE exams a year later.
It concluded that for occasional users, there is no relationship between cannabis use and a loss in achievement. But for heavier users, youngsters who had used cannabis at least 50 times by the age of 15, there was a link to poorer exam results.
That suggests that adolescents using cannabis once a week were associated with a decline in educational performance.
But the tracking study, also known as Children of the Nineties and using self-reported drug use, shows it is difficult to separate the use of cannabis from other factors in these teenagers' lives.
Young people using cannabis were "associated with decreased intellectual performance".
But these teenagers were also likely to be involved in other types of behaviour, such as drinking alcohol or taking other types of drugs.
Once these other risk factors were taken into account, there was no discernible impact on intelligence from occasional cannabis use.
But for heavy cannabis users, there were slightly poorer exam results at age 16, even when other factors such as alcohol use were...

Summary: Teenagers who are regular cannabis users by the age of 15 risk "impairing" their educational ability, suggests a study of young people in the UK.
###
Article: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) applied them in 1989, after fears two firms, taken over by FirstGroup in 1996, could have too strong a bargaining position with the council.
The CMA said it was seeking views from a number of groups.
First Bristol said it "welcomed the decision to review these undertakings".
The company added it had "already assisted" the CMA as part of the review process.
The restrictions were implemented following the 1989 merger of two local bus companies Badgerline and Midland Red West.
The Monopolies and Mergers Commission, at the time, ruled the merger would remove competition for bus services contracted by the former Avon County Council.
The CMA said the merged company was "therefore required to sign up to a number of restrictions".
These included a cap on the amount they could receive from the local authority for running a tendered service - and a requirement to return any excess profit from such services.
The CMA said it was carrying out the review "to see if there has been a change in circumstances which justifies their removal or variation" and was "seeking views" from local authorities, bus operators and bodies representing bus passengers in Bristol and the surrounding area.
It said it aimed to publish the results of the review in the summer.

Summary:


The UK government has announced a new £1.5m fund to help farmers in the North East of England.
The fund, which is part of the government's Rural Development Programme, will be used to help farmers in the region to improve their businesses.
The fund will be administered by the North East Local Enterprise

Downton Abbey will be coming back for a sixth series in 2015, ITV has confirmed.

Article: The UK government has applied for the county's new potatoes and the "Ayrshire earlies" brand to be granted Protected Geographical Indicator (PGI) status by Brussels.
The proposal was put forward by a growers' group based in Girvan.
If successful, Ayrshire new potatoes would join more than 70 UK food and drink products with PGI status.
These include Arbroath smokies and Stornoway black pudding.
Only three other types of potato in the UK, including the Jersey Royal, already have the status.
In November, applications were also lodged for Dundee cake and Forfar bridies to be protected.
The Ayrshire application went through a Scottish government consultation last year, without objections being lodged.
The application cites evidence of commercial potato farming in Ayrshire as far back as 1793.
The sandy soil and milder weather made it ideal for early sowing and early harvests, with potatoes typically getting to market within seven days of harvesting.
Farmers traditionally used seaweed from Ayrshire beaches as fertiliser, and manure from local dairy farms.
From 1859, they adopted growing practices learned in Jersey. The following year, the trade was helped by a rail link from Girvan to Glasgow.
In 1918, records show a peak of potato farming in the county, with 11,400 acres under potatoes.
The protected status application says that in 1951, the main occupation in the town of Maybole was in South Ayrshire early potatoes - planted in February, and harvested from early May until the end of July.

Summary: Ayrshire new potatoes are in line to have their identity protected under European law.
###
Article: The drama, which focuses of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, will go into production next year.
This is in addition to the special one-off episode which will air at Christmas.
Created by writer Julian Fellowes, who is set to return for the next series, the show first aired in 2010.
"It is fantastic that Downton continues to be such a phenomenon - still the most popular drama on ITV in its fifth series - and we are thrilled to have commissioned a sixth series," said Steve November, ITV's director of drama commissioning.
"We don't know yet what Julian has planned, but we are looking forward to working with him, the fantastic cast and Carnival again, and have no doubt series six will be unmissable."
Producers have yet to confirm the full cast.
Earlier this week Hugh Bonneville, who plays Lord Grantham, talked to Newsbeat about some of the celebrities, including Kim Kardasian and Kanye West, who are said to be fans of the show.
"It's only a matter of time before they are on the show," joked Bonneville about the pair.
"Hillary Clinton and John Kerry [United States Secretary of State] are fans of the show too.
"To have them like the show as well as trying to run countries and economies is great."
The fifth series of Downton Abbey ends on Sunday 9 November.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary:


A former police officer has been jailed for eight years for his part in a conspiracy to murder a man in a bid to secure a lucrative contract.
The court heard that in the early hours of the morning of May 12, 2014, Mr Flynn was walking home from a pub in the Dunmurry area of Belfast when

The PSNI has failed in an appeal against an order to disclose police documents related to two murder attempts on a Catholic taxi driver.

Article: Employment charity - Shaw Trust Scotland - delivered the scheme at HMP Low Moss near Bishopbriggs.
Of the 11 participants taking part in the programme, six are now in employment with the other five securing jobs ahead of their release.
Shaw Trust said the scheme was designed to help tackle re-offending in Scotland.
Those taking part in the scheme were offered advice and training in CV writing and interview skills starting 12 weeks prior to their release.
The scheme took into consideration their own individual ambitions and skill sets, along with their employment history.
The charity also arranged for suitable employers to visit the prison to interview participants for roles upon their release.
Commenting on the success of the pilot, Ashley McCloy, Operations Manager for Shaw Trust in Scotland, said:
"Offenders are less likely to commit crime after release if they are given the tools to change their lives for the better and can see a clear route into employment.
"Given the success of the pilot, Shaw Trust Scotland is looking to offer the programme to more prisoners at HMP Low Moss, with a long-term view of integrating it into the core services offered at prisons across the country."
Shaw Trust Scotland is a national employment, disability, learning and skills charity which manages and delivers the Department for Work and Pensions' national disability employment programme, Work Choice.

Summary: A new scheme aimed at getting prisoners into employment upon release has seen all of its participants find work.
###
Article: The police admitted a claim of wrongdoing in public office in 2015 after being sued by John Flynn over two attempts on his life in the 1990s.
However, it appealed against an attempt to access police documents.
Judges dismissed the appeal and said it was hard to contemplate a more grave subject matter.
Mr Flynn has said the PSNI did not fully examine claims of security force collusion with loyalists.
A notorious UVF unit, based in Mount Vernon, north Belfast, is believed to be responsible for two attempts to murder Mr Flynn.
A gunman tried to ambush him as he picked up a taxi fare, and a bomb was placed under his car. It is alleged the attacker was a police informer.
The PSNI argued that it had already admitted liability in the case and that producing the documents would be irrelevant, costly and divert resources from other cases.
However, judges at the appeal court said the full extent of police misconduct needed to be established before compensation for Mr Flynn can be decided.
The judges said discovery of documents in the case has a long and tortuous history, and that the PSNI should provide the papers as quickly as possible.
Mr Flynn's claim is linked to an investigation in 2007 by former police ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan.
That report found that members of the RUC Special Branch had allowed UVF informers to act with impunity, and that the Mount Vernon gang may have been involved in up to 15 murders.
Mr Flynn claimed Mrs O'Loan's successor, Al Hutchinson, did not adequately implement recommendations from the 2007 report to examine whether agents' handlers committed any crimes.

Summary:


A teenager from Blackburn has been charged with preparing to carry out an attack on police officers at an Anzac Day commemoration in Australia.
The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Preston Crown Court via video link from Manchester Crown Court, where he was remanded in custody.

The Belgian king has provoked a sharp response to a Christmas message in which he drew parallels with the rise of fascism in the 1930s.

Article: The 15-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of inciting terrorism by encouraging the murder of police officers during the event in Melbourne in April. No attack ever took place.
The boy appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from Manchester Crown Court, speaking only to enter his plea.
He cannot be named for legal reasons.
The Old Bailey heard the boy, who was 14 at the time, sent thousands of instant messages to 18-year-old Sevdet Besim in Australia over a 10-day period in March.
They both supported the Islamic State militant group, also known as IS or Isis, the court was told.
The boy sent a message to the older teenager suggesting he got his "first taste of beheading," prosecutor Paul Greaney QC said, to which Besim replied that this seemed "risky".
Anzac Day, held on 25 April each year, commemorates the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps' World War One battle in Gallipoli, with this year marking its centenary.
The boy was initially arrested on 2 April in connection with an alleged plan to stage an attack in Melbourne and was detained again after officers examined electronic devices and discovered his communications with a man in Australia.
Outlining the case, Mr Greaney said: "Those messages reveal the intentions of the plotters and their targets, along with their motivation which may be summarised as support for Isis and their enthusiasm for the attack.
"The messages also set out the plotters' preparations for the attack. On 18 March 2015, as part of those preparations, the defendant sent Sevdet Besim a message that read, 'suggest you break into someone's house and get your first taste of beheading'.
"Sevdet Besim responded to say that this seemed 'a little risky' and that aspect of the preparations appears then to have drifted away."
That exchange was the subject of a second charge, of inciting terrorism overseas in relation to beheading a person in Australia, which has now been dropped by the prosecution.
Mr Greaney said the charge was deleted as the prosecution was dealing with it as "part and...

Summary: A teenager from Blackburn has admitted involvement in a terror plot targeting police at an Anzac Day remembrance parade in Australia.
###
Article: Albert II warned against the dangers of populists seeking scapegoats for current economic difficulties.
Flemish separatist leader Bart De Wever assumed the remarks were aimed at him and said he had overstepped his role.
Belgian political experts and commentators argued that the broadcast had intervened in political debate.
In his broadcast, the king said that "in these troubled times we live in, we should remain vigilant and see through populist arguments".
Populists were, he said, "trying to find scapegoats for the crisis, whether foreigners or compatriots from another part of the country".
Such thinking persisted in Belgium as much as in other European countries and "the crisis of the 1930s and the populist reactions of that time must not be forgotten", the king said.
Belgium has a deepening divide between its Flemish (Dutch-speaking) north and French-speaking south, and there has been speculation that the country could ultimately break up.
Mr De Wever, whose New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party made big gains in elections in October and is now the biggest political force in Flemish-speaking Flanders, accused the king of "implicitly" referring to the N-VA in his speech.
In a newspaper article in De Standaard, he accused the king of choosing "the path of a royalty of division", adding in a later broadcast interview that he could no longer see the monarch as playing the constitutional role of referee.
On Belgian radio he accused Belgium's French-speaking PM, Elio Di Rupo, of "hiding behind the throne", arguing that he must have seen an advance copy of the speech and given it the green light.
"[Di Rupo] won't say I'm a fascist but apparently believes it and lets the king say it," Mr De Wever said.
The separatist leader also took a swipe at a predecessor of Albert's, Belgium's wartime King Leopold III (then a prisoner of war), who met Adolf Hitler "for coffee" at Berchtesgaden in Bavaria in 1940 and took Belgium "to the brink of civil war".
Mr De Wever's angry remarks followed a series of objections from political...

Summary:


A car has ended up on its roof on the northbound carriageway of the M8.
The incident happened at about 14:20 on the northbound carriageway near the junction with the A75.
The northbound carriageway was closed for about an hour while the incident was

A multi-vehicle crash has taken place during a heavy hail shower on the A74(M) after a spate of incidents in similar conditions on Sunday.

Article: UK researchers say more trees and other vegetation at street level would clean air in areas that are normally exposed to higher pollution levels.
Plants in towns and cities have been shown to remove nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM), both of which are harmful to human health.
The findings
          appear in the journal Environmental Science and Technology
.
"Up until now, every initiative around reducing pollution has taken a top-down approach, [such as] scrapping old cars, adding catalytic converters, bringing in the congestion charge - some of which have not had the desired effect," said co-author Rob MacKenzie from the University of Birmingham.
"The benefit of green walls is that they clean up the air coming into and staying in the street canyon," Prof MacKenzie observed.
"Planting more [green walls] in a strategic way could be a relatively easy way to take control of our local pollution problems."
Street canyons refer to the effect created by high buildings lining a street, preventing much of the pollution escaping.
Previous studies have shown that greening urban spaces can cut pollution, but only by about 5%. This study suggests that strategic placement of vegetation in street canyons can cut air pollution by up to 30%.
Green walls, consisting of climbing plants such as ivy, built on billboard-like structures could act as air pollution filters, the team said.
Nicola Cheetham, head of environment (surface transport) for Transport for London (TfL), welcomed the findings.
"Our own research, conducted by Imperial College London, shows the ability of different plants to trap particulate matter," she said.
Ms Cheetham added that TfL had just installed its second green wall in the capital to help mitigate the pollution associated with heavy flows of urban traffic.
The team reached their findings about the effectiveness of green walls by using a computer model that showed the effect of street canyons trapping air at street level and the accumulation of pollution.
The model also showed that...

Summary: The creation of "green walls" in urban areas could cut pollution by up to 30%, scientists have suggested.
###
Article: The incident was reported near junction 16 at Johnstonebridge at about 14:20.
Police said that six vehicles had been involved and lanes on the southbound carriageway were blocked for a time but the route was subsequently cleared.
In another incident a car was reported to have ended up on its roof on the northbound carriageway.
It follows a string of incidents on the motorway on Sunday in similar weather conditions.
Policing units attended about 40 crashes - primarily on the A74(M) - throughout the day.
A number were also reported on the A75 near Carrutherstown.
"Thankfully the majority of the crashes were fairly minor in nature and as a result there were only three persons slightly injured," said a police spokesman.
"The crashes occurred as a result of freak hail showers in various locations throughout the region making driving conditions hazardous.
"Please remember that although it is now March and temperatures are generally higher, weather conditions are still very changeable so please take time to have a look at the weather forecast prior to your journey so that you may be better informed of the conditions ahead."

Summary:


The Scottish government has announced a new £1.5m fund to help tackle the "significant" problem of child sexual exploitation.
The Scottish government said the fund would be used to help tackle the "significant" problem of child sexual exploitation.
The Scottish government said the fund would be used to help tackle the "

Plans to develop a highly-skilled workforce to improve early years education are to be unveiled.

Article: The force said mental health issues resulted in 141,230 lost days among front-line officers.
The Liberal Democrats said the figures showed evidence of a force "being stretched to breaking point".
The Scottish government said the welfare of officers and support staff was taken "very seriously".
Police Scotland released the figures to the Lib Dems under Freedom of Information laws.
The party's justice spokesman Liam McArthur said police officers and civilian staff were not getting the support they needed from the Scottish government.
He said: "The savings that were promised by the SNP before the creation of Police Scotland have not materialised.
"As a result, officers and civilian staff are being asked to do more and more with less. With the chief constable warning that further cuts are coming, the pressure on staff is only likely to get worse."
He added: "We have already seen staff surveys which show morale is at rock bottom. The shortages are affecting the health of officers and civilian staff and these new figures are a huge concern.
"Policing is a high-stress profession at the best of times. The changes that the SNP forced through are stretching the mental health of officers and civilian staff to breaking point.
"This means giving police management the freedom to put resources where they are needed.
"Extra money is also required to plug the hole in the national force's budget and avert the loss of staff which would only put those remaining further under the cosh."
A Scottish government spokesman said Police Scotland would be expected to have "robust policies" in place to support staff and manage their health at work.
The spokesman added: "They have a number of targeted activities to support wellbeing and occupational health across the organisation.
"We have committed to protecting the police revenue budget in real terms, safeguarding policing from Westminster budget cuts and delivering an additional Â£100m of investment by the end of this parliament, in addition to Â£55m of reform funding in 2016-17."
A...

Summary: Police Scotland officers and staff suffering psychological problems took nearly 200,000 sick days over the last three years, new figures show.
###
Article: It is hoped it will help recognise the "vital role" of those educating and caring for children aged up to seven.
Education Minister Huw Lewis said the Welsh government's draft 10-year plan would help support "raise the status" of early years carers.
Since 2008 children aged between three and seven have been educated through the play-based Foundation Phase.
Reports into the effectiveness of the programme in May said that while it was having a positive impact on how children learned, it varied between schools and raised concerns about how well children were being prepared for exams later on in their education.
The draft plan will go out to public consultation until 15 December and should be published next April.
It would cover everyone who works with children in both state-run schools and nurseries and private childcare settings.
The plan wants to see staff highly skilled and "highly regarded" in their career, who understand children's development, help all children to meet their potential and are bilingual.
Mr Lewis is visiting a staff training session at Herbert Thompson Primary School in Cardiff to unveil the plan.
He said: "The ages of 0-7 are a crucial time in every child's development.
"It's important, therefore, that individuals like those I will meet today, that play such a key role in supporting children during these important years, receive the right level of support, are highly motivated and skilled and feel that they are valued.
"We're determined to raise the status of careers in early years, childcare and play to a level which better reflects the vital role these practitioners play in supporting children's development."
Some of the proposals include:
Communities Minister Lesley Griffiths said: "We owe it to our future generations to get this right.
"If we reach our goals we will improve the lives of young children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds."

Summary:


A new study has found that the number of people who have been diagnosed with cancer in the UK has fallen by more than a third in the last 30 years.
The study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, found that the number of people diagnosed with cancer in the UK has

Michelle Payne, the only female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, has been stood down from riding after testing positive for a banned substance.

Article: Lady the osprey has laid almost 70 eggs and reared 50 chicks at Loch of the Lowes.
The 29-year-old female, thought to be the oldest breeding raptor in the world, was spotted at the site near Dunkeld at 06:49.
Thousands of people watch her every year on a Scottish Wildlife Trust webcam.
Staff and volunteers at Loch of the Lowes had been on the lookout for Lady, who migrates to Scotland each spring after spending the winter in Africa.
She was identified after the sighting using close-up images of her plumage and eye markings.
Lady has already begun courtship with her regular partner - known as Laddie - and wildlife centre staff are hopeful the pair could again produce chicks this season.
Scottish Wildlife Trust ranger Emma Rawling said everyone at the centre was "thrilled" to see Lady return.
She said: "She is a very old bird and for her to undertake another successful migration is testament to just how special she is. However, it does demonstrate the conservation success story of the species as a whole.
"To think that ospreys were extinct in Britain just over a century ago really brings home how accomplished the concerted effort of conservation has been in that time.
"The questions now are whether she will breed, if any eggs will hatch and whether any chicks fledge."
The trust operates a special Ospreycam on their website for bird watchers to follow Lady's progress.
Ospreys were extinct in the British Isles between 1916 and 1954, but it's estimated there are currently between 250 and 300 nesting pairs in the UK.

Summary: An osprey has returned to a Perthshire nature reserve to breed for the 24th consecutive year.
###
Article: A urine sample showed the Australian, who rode at Royal Ascot last week, had the appetite suppressant Phentermine in her system when tested on 11 June.
The sample was provided by Payne, 31, at the Swan Hill Cup meeting in Victoria.
Racing Victoria stewards in Australia will hold an inquiry on Thursday.
Payne has only just returned to Australia after she rode Kaspersky into fifth place in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on 20 June.
She was advised of the test findings and stood down from riding in races and trackwork by stewards on 23 June.
Payne made history in 2015 when she became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup with Prince Of Penzance.
After her victory, she made headlines with her comment:  "I want to say to everyone else, get stuffed, because women can do anything and we can beat the world."
Her life story is being made into a film, produced and directed by actress Rachel Griffiths, who starred in Muriel's Wedding and Six Feet Under.
Payne made her Royal Ascot debut last week after serious injury ruled her out of the previous year's meeting.
She required surgery on her pancreas following a fall in May 2016 and spent a month in hospital.

Summary:


A man has been charged with the murder of a man in a flat in Edinburgh.
The body of a man was found in a flat in the city's New Town on Saturday.
Police Scotland said the body was found in a flat in the city's New Town on Saturday.
A post-mortem examination is

Article: Blake Ross, who was in care, was reported missing from Howdenhall at 15:15 on Saturday.
He was found unwell two days later on a city bus, and subsequently died at the Sick Kids Hospital.
Edinburgh Council is to conduct a Significant Case Review and police watchdogs are also investigating.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal has instructed the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) to conduct an independent investigation into the actions the police took in relation to the case.
The youngster's death, which is understood to have been related to his diabetes, is currently being treated as unexplained and police inquiries are continuing. One relative claimed he had suffered a cardiac arrest.
A crowdfunding charity page has been set up to raise money for a "send off" for Blake, describing him as a "much loved son, brother, triplet grandson, nephew and friend to many".
City of Edinburgh Council confirmed it would conduct a multi-agency significant case review into Blake's death.
A spokesman for the council said it was standard practice for an inquiry to be carried out when a child in care died.
He said: "The Care Inspectorate have been informed and there will be a multi-agency significant case review, commissioned by the chair of the Edinburgh Child Protection Committee, in accordance with our procedures.
"We are deeply shocked at Blake's sudden death and our thoughts are with his family.
"We will continue to liaise closely with Police Scotland as they carry out their inquiries."
Lothian Buses said the driver of the number four bus radioed his control room from Leopold Place to report that Blake was unwell.
A supervisor attended and police were also called before the teenager was taken to hospital.
Police Scotland Supt Lesley Clark said: "The matter has now been referred to PIRC. As in all matters concerning police contact before death, we will provide any necessary assistance to the PIRC as they conduct their investigation and we await the outcome of their report.
"This is a tragic set of...

Summary: Two investigations have been launched after a 13-year-old boy who went missing in Edinburgh without his diabetes medication fell ill and died.
###
Article: 1913 - Britain and the Ottoman government sign a treaty recognising the independence of Bahrain but the country remains under British administration.
Manama is a major port city, commercial centre
1931 - The Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company of California (Socal), discovers oil at Jabal al-Dukhan and production begins the following year.
1939 - Britain decides that the Hawar Islands which lie in the Gulf of Bahrain between Bahrain and Qatar belong to Bahrain not Qatar.
1961 - Sheikh Isa Bin-Salman Al Khalifah becomes ruler of Bahrain.
1967 - Britain moves its main regional naval base from Aden to Bahrain.
1968 - Britain announces it will close its bases east of Suez by 1971.
1970 - The Administrative Council becomes a 12-member Council of State, headed by a president, the ruler's brother, Sheikh Khalifah Bin-Salman Al Khalifah.
1970 May - Iran renounces its claim to sovereignty over Bahrain after a United Nations report shows that Bahrainis want to remain independent.
1971 - Bahrain declares independence and signs a new treaty of friendship with Britain. Sheikh Isa becomes the first Emir and the Council of State becomes a cabinet.
1971 - Bahrain gains formal independence from Britain.
1971 - Bahrain and the US sign an agreement which permits the US to rent naval and military facilities.
1972 December - Elections are held for a Constituent Assembly. Only Bahraini males over 20 can vote.
1973 December - After the constitution comes into force on 6 December, elections are held on 7 December for a National Assembly, an advisory legislative body, with 44 members (14 cabinet members and 30 elected by male voters) .
1975 August - Following claims by prime minister Sheikh Khalifah Bin-Salman Al Khalifah that the National Assembly is impeding the work of the government, the Emir dissolves the assembly and rules by decree.
1981 May - Bahrain joins the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, more usually known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which also...

Summary:


A new study has found that people who are overweight or obese are more likely to develop dementia.
The study, published in the journal Neurology, looked at data from more than 1.5 million people in the UK.
It found that people who were overweight or obese were more than twice as likely to develop dementia

Hubble has probed a clutch of monster stars about 170,000 light-years away on the edge of our Milky Way Galaxy.

Article: The investigation, funded by the Alzheimer's Society, will monitor 140 people with mild cognitive impairment or "pre-dementia" and look at how stress affects their condition.
The researchers will take blood and saliva samples at six-monthly intervals over the 18 months of the study to measure biological markers of stress.
They hope their work will reveal ways to prevent dementia.
The results could offer clues to new treatments or better ways of managing the condition, they say.
People who have mild cognitive impairment are at an increased risk of going on to develop dementia - although some will remain stable and others may improve.
BBC Health: Dementia in depth
And past work suggests mid-life stress may increase a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease.
A Swedish study that followed nearly 1,500 women for a period of 35 years found the risk of dementia was about 65% higher in women who reported repeated periods of stress in middle age than in those who did not.
Scottish scientists, who have done studies in animals, believe the link may be down to hormones the body releases in response to stress which interfere with brain function.
Prof Clive Holmes, from the University of Southampton, who will lead the study, said: "All of us go through stressful events. We are looking to understand how these may become a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's.
"Something such as bereavement or a traumatic experience - possibly even moving home - are also potential factors.
"This is the first stage in developing ways in which to intervene with psychological or drug-based treatments to fight the disease.
"We are looking at two aspects of stress relief - physical and psychological - and the body's response to that experience."
Dr Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "We welcome any research that could shed new light on Alzheimer's disease and other causes of dementia.
"Understanding the risk factors for Alzheimer's could provide one piece of the puzzle we need to take us closer to a treatment that could stop...

Summary: UK experts are to begin a study to find out if stress can trigger dementia.
###
Article: Some two dozen behemoths were identified, all with masses in excess of a hundred times that of the Sun.
Four were known previously, including the remarkable colossus catalogued as R136a1, which is 250 times as massive as our home star.
But the new survey finds many more of the super-objects in a tight patch of sky within the Large Magellanic Cloud.
"In just a tiny bit of this satellite galaxy, we see perhaps a couple of dozen stars with more than a 100 solar masses, of which nine are in a tight core just a few light-years across," explained Prof Paul Crowther from Sheffield University, UK.
"But that two dozen number - that's probably more than are in the entire Milky Way Galaxy for this type of star," he told BBC News.
The observations are to be published shortly in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
They build on earlier work reported in 2010 that first described R136a1 - the most massive and most luminous star identified to date.
That study used data gathered principally by a ground-based telescope in Chile.
This follow-up research employed the pin-sharp resolution and ultraviolet sensitivity of the orbiting Hubble telescope to tease out yet more detail.
In 2010, astronomers saw four monster stars including R136a1 in the central core. Thanks to Hubble, they detect a further five.
The stars are not only extremely massive, but they are also extremely bright. Together, these nine stars outshine our Sun by a factor of 30 million, said Prof Crowther.
"Because they are so massive, they are all close to their so-called Eddington limit, which is the maximum luminosity a star can have before it rips itself apart; and so they've got really powerful outflows. They are shedding mass at a fair rate of knots," the astronomer added - up to an Earth mass of gaseous material per month.
The question is why this tight corner of space, located in the Tarantula Nebula of the LMC, harbours so many giants.
Prof Crowther thinks it is because the gas and dust in the region has become compressed as the Large...

Summary:


The Nigerian government has said it is "not aware" of any missing girls from the Chibok school.
The government has also said it is not aware of any girls who escaped the attack.
The government has also said it is not aware of any girls who escaped the attack.
The government has also said

Nigeria's government has been accused of being too slow in its response to the kidnapping of more than 200 girls from a school in the north of the country.

Article: It's a key question in the debate about whether all schools in England should be forced to become academies, but the answer often seems frustratingly unclear.
An independent education data firm has carried out an analysis in an attempt to get an answer.
SchoolDash created a sample of secondary academies and local authority schools with similar characteristics to see how their exam results compare.
And the short answer is: Sometimes academies do better, sometimes not.
So what's the problem with getting a more definitive answer?
Almost two in three secondary schools in England are now academies - but it's become a term that is applied to very different types of school.
It's like using the same term to describe football teams in the promotion and relegation zones.
About 70% of secondary academies are known as "converter" academies - and these schools were usually doing well before they became academies.
For these academies, the SchoolDash analysis says there is no discernible pattern of any impact on results.
Based on raw averages - and because of the greater numbers of converter academies - this wouldn't show much of a positive story for overall academy results.
But there is another smaller group of "sponsored" academies, often drawn from schools in need of improvement.
Rather than look at these two types of academy together, this analysis treats the sponsored academies separately, and this finds a more positive impact.
Timo Hannay, founder of SchoolDash, says these schools on average do seem to make greater progress in GCSE results than local authority schools with a similar intake of pupils.
Taking a sample of schools which converted to academy status between 2010 and 2012, there were 3.6% more pupils achieving five good GCSEs including English and maths than comparable local authority schools.
There is also a greater improvement among disadvantaged pupils.
"GCSE results suggest that converting already high-performing schools to academies has little effect on their academic performance, so it's not true to...

Summary: If a school becomes an academy are the results more likely to improve?
###
Article: Security forces are still searching for the missing students, who were abducted by Boko Haram Islamist militants on 14 April.
The military fuelled confusion in the immediate aftermath by incorrectly saying most of the girls had been rescued.
Parents and some girls who escaped say more than 200 students were seized from their school in Chibok in north-eastern Borno state by gunmen overnight. A local government official confirms the incident, saying the exact number of missing students is unclear but puts the number at around 100.
Nigeria's military says most of the girls managed to escape or were freed and releases a statement saying only eight girls are still missing.
Locals say many remain unaccounted for and parents of the missing girls head into the Sambisa forest near the Cameroonian border to search for them. On their return they say they did not see any Nigerian soldiers in the forest.
Major General Chris Olukolade, a military spokesman, says a report stating that most of the girls had been freed was incorrect but was "not intended to deceive the public." Parents insist that more than 200 girls are still missing. The military has not rescued any of the girls.
Asabe Kwambura, headmistress of the school in Chibok, appeals to the government to do more to save the girls and calls on the kidnappers - thought to be members of the Boko Haram group - to "have mercy on the students."
Ms Kwambura tells the BBC that at least 190 girls are still missing, contradicting a local state governor who said that around 80 of the students were yet to be found. Footage emerges of the school shortly after the attack, showing the classrooms after they were set alight by gunmen.
A government source tries to explain the discrepancy, by telling the BBC it was initially thought only science students had been seized ahead of their exam but there were also 105 art students in the hostels at the time, which the authorities had not realised.
Nigerians take to social media to show their anger at the government response and Ibrahim M...

Summary:


A man has been jailed for five years after he was found guilty of sexually abusing a child.
The man, from Northfleet, was found guilty of sexually abusing a child at a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.
The court heard how the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in October

Vigilante groups seeking to expose paedophiles should stop taking the law into their own hands, Kent Police has said.

Article: It will become the 19th member of the eurozone out of 28 countries in the European Union, and the last of the Baltic states to join.
The Commission, in its report, said a formal decision would be made by EU governments next month.
The UK and Denmark are the only EU states with opt-outs from the euro.
All other countries are expected to join. Estonia was the first Baltic state to become a member of the eurozone in 2011, followed by Latvia on 1 January 2014.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, on a visit to Poland, welcomed the decision: "We'll be in the club of the strongest, we'll be able to take part in the decisions ourselves - currently we are on the other side of the door."
Looking forward to dropping the existing currency, the lita, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said joining the euro also gave Lithuania added security in the face of the Ukrainian crisis.
Prospective members have to meet "convergence criteria", which are also assessed by the European Central Bank (ECB), requiring
In its assessment, the ECB warned that keeping inflation low in Lithuania "will be challenging in the medium term". Lithuania tried to join the euro earlier but was badly affected by the financial crisis.
However, EU Economics Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn praised the economic reforms adopted by the government in Vilnius.
"That reform momentum, driven in part by Lithuania's EU accession 10 years ago, has led to a striking increase in Lithuanians' prosperity," he said in a statement.

Summary: Lithuania is set to adopt the euro on 1 January 2015, after the European Commission said it had met the criteria for joining the single currency.
###
Article: The force said paedophile hunter activities can hinder investigations and lead to offenders walking free.
Det Ch Supt Tom Richards of Kent Police said it also diverts resources away from cases involving real children.
Kent group The Hunted One said: "Police should concern themselves more with tackling paedophiles than us."
But Mr Richards said: "There have been zero cases in Kent where a vigilante paedophile hunter group has identified an individual who has at that stage presented a real risk to a real child.
"In the last two financial years, vigilante groups in Kent have contributed to 20 individuals being arrested but my resources alone in the same period have arrested 299 people."
Professor Martin Gill, a criminologist working for Perpetuity Research, said: "There is nothing worse than a police investigation to get to its crescendo and then be undermined by an often well-intentioned but disastrous intervention."
The Hunted One claims to have caught 57 people, leading to 27 convictions.
In October last year, Mark McKenna from Northfleet was jailed for five years after he was snared by The Hunted One.
The 38 year-old thought he was meeting an 11-year-old girl for sex at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent.
But instead of talking to a vulnerable child online, he was speaking to the group of concerned parents.
Ben Bleach of The Hunted One said he could not understand why "a child has to be raped" before action is taken.

Summary:


A man has been jailed for more than 20 years for the murder of a man in a "brutal and callous" attack.
The court heard how the victim, a man in his 40s, was found dead in a flat in the town of Llanelli on the morning of March 1, 2016

A "dominating bully" who led a gang which smuggled a machine gun, semi-automatic handguns and ammunition into the UK has been jailed for life.

Article: First Milk, one of the UK's largest dairy farmer co-operatives, announced in June many farmers would be paid 1p less per litre from the start of July.
National Farmers Union (NFU) Cymru say the move is a "nightmare" for farmers, leaving prices below the cost of production in many instances.
First Milk said it had to "factor in" lower commodity prices.
Last Wednesday, Paisley-based First Milk announced the cut alongside news that its chairman, Sir Jim Paice, would stand down. It also confirmed a loss of about Â£22m for 2014-2015.
Sir Jim said commodity markets were continuing to decline and, despite his "regret", this had to be reflected in lower milk prices.
NFU Cymru chairman Stephen James said the price per litre for some had dipped from to 32p a year ago to 16.6p this month.
He said: "It's a bit of a nightmare for us in the milk industry at the moment.
"We're down to half and it's not sustainable, we can't manage at that sort of price.
"First Milk have to get their act together and get this price up from here sooner rather than later."

Summary: A cut to the price of milk may make production unsustainable for many Welsh farmers, a union has warned.
###
Article: Muzaffer Ali, 39, from Maidenhall Road in Luton, Bedfordshire had denied importing prohibited weapons.
Judge Jonathan Carroll told St Alban's Crown Court the weapons were to be used for "terrorising, intimidating and causing serious injury and death".
Four other men were also jailed for their part in the gun smuggling.
The court heard the men brought two shipments into the UK in February and September 2016, unaware they were under police surveillance.
Ali sourced the weapons from criminals in Amsterdam while other members of the gang provided security, delivered the firearms and collected money, the jury was told.
In May 2016, two gang members were stopped at the UK border at Coquelles in France and a search discovered firearms hidden behind the dashboard.
The court was shown evidence from mobile phones, automatic recognition data and police surveillance, gathered in an investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operation Unit.
Ali was found guilty of conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of a prohibited weapon and conspiracy to evade the prohibition of the importation of ammunition.
He was told he must serve a minimum of 11 years before he can be considered for parole.
The judge described him as "a dominating bully" who had never had a legitimate income and had an "utter disregard" for the effects the weapons would have when used by criminals.
Ali's three "lieutenants" were found guilty of the same charges.
His older brother Khalid Hussain, 49, of Maidenhall Road in Luton was sentenced to 19 years, as was Haroon Khatab, 41, of Jasmine Road in Luton.
Sajid Khan, 25, of Manx Close, Luton was sentenced to 18 years.
Ali and Khan were also convicted of transferring a prohibited weapon and transferring ammunition.
A fourth man, Faisal Mahmood, 20, of Maidenhall Road in Luton pleaded guilty to importing guns and ammunition and was sentenced to seven years and 10 months.

Summary:


A dentist has been fined after a patient suffered a "serious injury" after he failed to remove a tooth that had been infected.
The patient, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he was referred to the dentist by his GP.
He said: "I was told I had a tooth that was infected

A woman who spent her life savings on dental implants that had to be taken out feels "butchered" by the dentist.

Article: Porsche's prototype 919 Hybrid won the Le Mans 24 Hours in each of the past three years and also won the 2015 and 2016 World Endurance Championships.
The manufacturer will halt its Le Mans programme at the end of this season, a year before its existing contract ends.
German rival Mercedes has also announced plans join Formula E in 2019.
Michael Steiner, of Porsche's research and development board, said: "Formula E is the ultimate competitive environment for driving forward the development of high performance vehicles in areas such as environmental friendliness, efficiency and sustainability."
Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag added: "If somebody told me when we started this project five years ago, that we'd be announcing a partnership with a brand like Porsche, I wouldn't have believed it."
Porsche's departure from Le Mans leaves Toyota as the only LMP1 manufacturer in the series, and also calls into question the Japanese company's future involvement.
Audi, like Porsche also part of the Volkswagen Group, announced last year that it was quitting Le Mans and the WEC to shift resources to Formula E.
Other manufacturers already involved in the electric series include BMW, Renault, Jaguar and Citroen.

Summary: Porsche will compete in the all-electric Formula E series from 2019, ending its involvement in the top category of Le Mans sportscar racing.
###
Article: Jackie Stokes, from Burton-upon-Trent, said she spent Â£9,500 on implants in Hungary but an investigation found her treatment plan caused "irreversible damage to otherwise healthy teeth".
Dentist Dr Zsolt Csillag was given a one-year supervision order by the General Dental Council.
He did not respond to attempts to contact him.
The Forest and Ray Medical Care Group said he had left the company due to "personal reasons".
The clinic said it "always puts patients first" and treated Mrs Stokes with extra care, above and beyond its normal routine.
Mrs Stokes said: "It has left me feeling like I have been assaulted, butchered and robbed of my life savings.
"I was advised by an NHS dentist to go down the implant road... because it wasn't on the NHS I would go seek help elsewhere.
"A friend of mine had been over to Hungary so we decided to go down that line," the 65-year-old added.
Mrs Stokes had implants in her upper jaw and crowns on eight teeth in her lower jaw, over two trips to Budapest.
On her second visit in June 2013, she said she was left with a "bulldog bite" - a gap between her gums and upper teeth through which food would seep.
The implants failed and were later removed. She now has to wear dentures.
In total, Mrs Stokes said she had 27 visits to the dental group over four years.
The General Dental Council found Dr Csillag should not have put crowns on her eight lower teeth because they were healthy.
In relation to Mrs Stokes and another patient, his treatment plan for them included "irreversible damage to otherwise healthy teeth", the investigation found.
The restrictions placed on Dr Csillag can only be imposed when he is working in the United Kingdom.

Summary:


The US coffee chain Starbucks has announced plans to open a new store in the UK.
The new store, which will be the chain's first in the country, will open in London's Covent Garden in the spring of 2019.
The new store will be the chain's first in the UK and will be located

Starbucks may be complaining of "global headwinds" but that did not stop the world's biggest coffee chain from reporting record annual profits.

Article: SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and Patrick Harvie of the Scottish Greens argued it would be undemocratic to rule out a referendum if enough people wanted one.
But the leaders of the other three parties called on them to respect the result of the last referendum.
The BBC Scotland debate was held at Hopetoun House, near Edinburgh.
It featured Ms Sturgeon and Mr Harvie alongside Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie.
The hour-long discussion was held just days before Thursday's Scottish Parliament election.
There were angry exchanges over delays to the UK government contracts to build Royal Navy frigates at the Clyde shipyards, which unions have claimed could cost hundreds of jobs.
But it was the issue of independence - and more specifically whether or not there should be a second referendum in the future - that sparked the fiercest responses.
Ms Sturgeon stuck to her position that there should be another referendum if it was clear a majority of people wanted one, or if there was a "material change" in circumstances, such as Scotland being taken out of the EU against its will.
The SNP leader said she continued to believe that independence offered the best future for the country.
She added: "But if those of us in Scotland who support independence cannot persuade people that we didn't persuade in 2014, if independence doesn't become the preferred option of a majority, we will not have earned the right to ask that question again.
"But on the other hand, if people do change their minds and there is clear and sustained evidence that independence has become the preference of a majority of people in Scotland, then no politician has the right to stand in the way of the democratic wishes of the Scottish people."
Speaking later, on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she clarified that opinion polls held over a period of time would be the deciding factor in calling a second referendum.
She reiterated that there would need to be "clear and...

Summary: The prospect of a second referendum on Scottish independence has dominated the final TV debate between the leaders of the country's five main parties.
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Article: It made an operating income of almost $4.2bn (Â£3.4bn) for the year to 2 October, up 16% on the previous year.
That was mainly down to a strong showing for its biggest market, the Americas, where net sales rose 11%.
However, in the fourth quarter of its financial year, global sales at existing stores rose by only 4%.
That was lower than the 4.9% rise analysts had expected.
The fastest growth was in the China and Asia Pacific region, which recorded growth of 23% for the year.
Starbucks boss Howard Schultz said its Chinese stores were the most efficient and lucrative.
While Starbucks still makes most of its profit in the US, Mr Schultz has said expansion in China will secure its future for "decades to come".
Last month, Starbucks announced plans to more than double its stores in China to 5,000 by 2021.
Mr Schultz said the company was facing "ongoing economic, consumer and geopolitical headwinds".
Mr Schultz, who has been warning of a "seismic shift in consumer traffic" for years, said the popularity of online shopping was keeping people at home and away from main shopping streets or malls.
In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sales dropped by 1% during the fourth quarter, while in China and Asia Pacific, sales were up by 1%.
Starbucks operates 25,085 stores in 75 countries worldwide, with 690 new ones having opened in the last quarter.

Summary:


The first new Routemaster has begun its first day of service in London, Transport for London (TfL) said.
The bus, which runs between Victoria Station in central London and Hackney in the east, was delayed for a week by paperwork.
The new bus, which runs on a hybrid diesel

Two new species of magnolia flower have been identified after being spotted on "Noah's Ark" online archive.

Article: The launch of the new bus, which will run between Victoria Station in central London and Hackney in the east, wasdelayed for a weekby paperwork.
TfL said a software glitch meant the bus had to be run with its distinctive rear platform shut, calling it "teething problems".
The mayor called the bus "stunning" and "tailored to the London passenger".
Following the new driver-and-conductor vehicle was a "protest" bus covered in slogans attacking the rise in public transport fares in London.
Mayor Boris Johnson has been criticised by the Labour, the Lib Dems and Green Party over the cost of the buses.
Mr Johnson announced plans for the new buses, which run on a hybrid diesel-electric motor, in his 2008 election manifesto.
In total, eight buses with an open "hop-on, hop-off" platform at the rear, costing £11.37m, will run on route 38. They will be staffed with conductors and will not run at night or during the weekends.
The last of the popular, open-platform Routemasters was withdrawn from regular service in December 2005, although some still run on tourist routes.
Mike Weston, of TfL, saidhe thought the new buses would become "a much-treasured sight on the streets of London".
But in an open letter to the mayor, Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy said each new bus costs £1.4m compared with the conventional double-decker bus which costs about £190,000.
"Riding this bus is surely the most expensive bus ticket in history," he said.
"With 62 seats at a cost of £1.4m, the cost per seat is £22,580. At £22,695, you can buy a brand new 3 series BMW."
The Green Party said its London mayoral candidate Jenny Jones had questioned "how the mayor will deal with the problem of fare evasion and also, whether expenditure on the new bus is the best environmental choice".
"Jenny is concerned that London bus operators will refuse to buy these new buses for London, as their costs will be considerably higher if they are unable to re-sell them second hand to either UK operators or foreign operators," a Green Party spokesman...

Summary: The first new Routemaster has begun its first day of service in London, Transport for London (TfL) said.
###
Article: Photographs of the endangered Magnolia dealbata, held by Bristol-based Arkive, were seen by a botanist at a Mexican university more than 5,500 miles away.
The plants were tracked to Mexico's Serra Gorda Biosphere Reserve and identified.
Lucie Muir, chief executive of Arkive, said they were "thrilled" by the discovery.
After seeing pictures of the flowers, botanist Dr Jose Antonio Vazquez asked the original photographer for more images of the plant.
Photographer Roberto Pedraza Ruiz said he then made several more trips to the forest "documenting the flowers and fruits of the trees until finally receiving confirmation that I had photographed not only one but two completely new species of magnolias".
The first specimen was named Magnolia rzedowskiana, after emininet Mexican botanist, Dr Jerzy Rzedowski, while the second is to be named Magnolia pedrazae, in honour of its photographer.
Mr Ruiz said: "This is without doubt the highest honour that a conservationist and nature photographer can receive."
The Arkive website, run by the charity Wildscreen, hosts 16,000 images of flora and fauna.
It claims to be the world's largest online encyclopaedia of life, receiving donations of images from wildlife film-makers, photographers, conservationists and scientists.

Summary:


A Malaysian Airlines plane carrying 162 people crashed into the Java Sea on Sunday, killing all on board.
The Boeing 777-200ER was flying from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore when it disappeared from radar on Sunday.
The plane was carrying 162 people, including the pilot, and was carrying 239 passengers and

The first victim of AirAsia Flight QZ8501, found in the Java Sea after the crash on Sunday, has been laid to rest.

Article: Perthshire-based Iain Burnett took gold at the International Chocolate Awards in London for his new velvet truffle - "Caramel with a Hint of Liquorice".
He was the only UK chocolatier to win the accolade in the truffle and praline category this year.
His "Dark Sao Tome" velvet truffle took top spot at the same awards in 2015.
Mr Burnett is based at the Highland Chocolatier in Grandtully, which has been specialising in gourmet chocolate for the past 10 years.
Following his gold award, Mr Burnett said: "I'm really pleased that my new caramelised white velvet truffle has been selected.
"Liquorice is a flavour that sometimes gets a bad press but I've developed a chocolate that uses a gentle hint of liquorice with white chocolate that has been caramelised to complement it.
"The balance of chocolate and spices is combined to create a complex chocolate that is above all, delicious."

Summary: A Scottish master chocolatier is enjoying sweet success after picking up a top international award for the second year in a row.
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Article: Officials earlier identified the remains as belonging to a female passenger called Hayati Lutfiah Hamid.
Ms Hamid, 49, was buried at a ceremony attended by family and friends in the Indonesian city of Surabaya.
The discovery of two bodies on Thursday brings the number recovered to nine. Bad weather has continued to hamper the search for the plane and other victims.
The Airbus A320-200 came down four days ago en route from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board.
No survivors have been found and the cause of the crash remains unknown.
The identity of Ms Hamid was confirmed using fingerprints "and other means," East Java disaster official Col Budiyono said. Her body was handed over to family members in a brief ceremony at a police hospital in Surabaya.
The coffin was then transported to a village, before being buried according to Islamic burial customs.
One of Ms Hamid's relatives told AP news agency: "We have been fraught with worry because at this point, three of our family members are still missing... we pray together every night that they will be found soon."
Previous media reports had incorrectly identified Ms Hamid as a flight attendant.
The nine recovered bodies were flown to an airbase in Borneo but some have since been sent onto Surabaya where relatives, providing DNA samples, are waiting for them to be identified.
For a second day in a row, search efforts have been hampered by heavy rain and rough seas.
Some 50 divers from Indonesia were on standby to investigate a large shadow in the sea, thought to be part of the airliner, but they were unable to gain access due to the bad weather.
AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes said on Thursday he believed the search was closing in on its final location, tweeting: "I am hoping that the latest information is correct and aircraft has been found."
Ships and planes have been scouring the Java Sea off Borneo since the plane disappeared on Sunday. Malaysia, Australia and Thailand are helping Indonesia with the search, while the US destroyer USS Sampson has been...

Summary:


A man has been arrested after a man was found dead in a car in Chesterfield.
Officers were called to the scene of the incident in the town centre at around 4.30pm on Thursday.
A police spokesman said: "A man was found in a car in the High Street.
"He was

A man wanted on recall to prison who taunted police with social media posts telling them "catch me if you can" is back behind bars.

Article: Ilkeston station was initially given the go-ahead in 2013 and had been expected to be in operation by now.
Great crested newts, which are protected by law, were found at the site in the winter halting work while they were moved elsewhere.
Derbyshire County Council said the station should open next year.
It said it had to seek new planning permission following advice from the Environment Agency over flooding concerns.
To keep on budget the design had to be changed. That included shortening the platforms.
Ilkeston is one of the largest towns in the UK without a railway station.
The town once had three stations but the last one closed in 1967 as a result of the Beeching Report, published in 1963.
The new facility, part-funded from the government's New Station Fund, will link Ilkeston with Nottingham, Chesterfield and Sheffield.

Summary: Work to build a railway station in Derbyshire could start in September, following delays due to flooding and the discovery of protected newts.
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Article: Convicted criminal Steven Johnson had been wanted since January 2014 after breaching the terms of his parole.
Police believe the 40-year-old went to Spain, where he posted Facebook and Twitter messages challenging officers to find him.
He was arrested in Whiston, Merseyside, on Thursday and returned to jail.
Read updates on this story and more from across Merseyside and Cheshire.
Johnson, of Prescot, was serving a sentence of six years and 11 months for possession with intent to supply class A drugs, before being released on licence.
During his time on the run, he used aliases on social media sites to post messages and photographs, including several of himself posing in front of luxury cars.
In one message, he wrote: "Just got out of bed. Going for a massage."
Merseyside Police said Johnson had now "got his wish".
Sgt Mark Worrall said: "The arrest of Johnson shows that we never give up.
"Johnson has been wanted on recall to prison for two years and he has obviously been living the high life abroad, but that has been cut short and he's now back behind bars."

Summary:


A man has been jailed for life for the murder of a man who was found dead in a flat in north London.
The body of the man, who was in his 40s, was found in a flat in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Police were called to the flat in the early hours of Sunday

A "serial liar" who made a series of bogus sexual assault allegations against 15 men has been jailed for 10 years.

Article: Caramel, aged four months, was taken in a burglary in Harlow, Essex, on 3 June.
The sick puppy belongs to Lexie Taylor, 8, who has juvenile arthritis, a condition which improved since she began walking her pet.
Mother Tracy Taylor said: "The search reached 13m people on Facebook. A woman saw reports and realised she had bought Caramel. She was returned yesterday."
The chocolate-coloured Chihuahua-cross has a lump on her stomach caused by a hernia and also a suspected tumour. She was scheduled to visit the vet shortly after she was stolen.
Three days after the theft the family posted Caramel's story on Facebook in the hope she would be recognised and returned.
In a little over a week 14,000 people had "liked" the page.
A lost pets website has also posted the story, and almost 60,000 people saw that post, Mrs Taylor said. Messages of support came in from as far away as India and Canada.
The family had been particularly keen to have Caramel back because of the puppy's positive effect on their daughter's health.
"Ever since Caramel was born she and Lexie have been inseparable. It has really helped with Lexie's mobility because she has been walking Caramel so much," Mrs Taylor said.
Late on Monday afternoon Mrs Taylor's husband Richard received a call from a woman who said she had bought a Chihuahua puppy, and having seen the publicity, thought it might be the family's pet. The dog is now safely back home.
"We are just the happiest family in the world right now," Mrs Taylor said.

Summary: A stolen Chihuahua puppy has been returned to its owners after the search for her went viral on Facebook.
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Article: Jemma Beale, 25, claimed she was raped by nine men and sexually assaulted by six, all strangers, in four encounters spanning three years.
One allegation led to the conviction of a man who was jailed for seven years.
Beale from Hounslow was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice at Southwark Crown Court.
Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith told Beale, who was in a relationship with a woman: "This trial has revealed, what was then not obvious, that you are a very, very convincing liar and you enjoy being seen as a victim.
"The prosecution described your life as a 'construct of bogus victimhood'.
"These offences usually began as a drunken attempt to get your partner's sympathy or perhaps to arouse her jealousy.
"They each began impulsively, but what is particularly chilling is the manner in which you persisted in making allegations which you knew were untrue even to the extent of committing and repeating perjury."
Prosecutor Madeleine Wolfe told the court police spent 6,400 hours investigating Beale's lies at a cost of at least £250,000, and the trial cost at least £109,000.
"Cases such as this bring a real risk that a woman who has been raped or sexually assaulted does not complain to the police for fear of not being believed", the judge added.
"False allegations are likely to have the perverse impact of increasing the likelihood of guilty men going free."
In a victim impact statement, Mahad Cassim, who was wrongly convicted of raping Beale in 2010, told the court he had been hugely affected by the false claim.
"One of my goals is to be a successful businessman, to have a nice family and be happy," he said.
"I am working on the happiness - I have a long way to go."
Beale had also falsely claimed she was groped by a stranger, Noam Shahzad, in a pub in July 2012.
She alleged she was then gang-raped by him and other men, and even self-inflicted injuries to back up her claims she was assaulted with barbed wire.
The following year Beale fabricated similar allegations against six other men.
She claimed...

Summary:


A US court has sentenced a former Rabobank trader to more than three years in prison for his role in manipulating the London interbank offered rate.
The US Department of Justice said in a statement that Michael J. O'Brien, 48, of New York, was sentenced on Friday.
O'Brien was

Two ex-Rabobank traders have been charged by the US Department of Justice with manipulating the Libor rate.

Article: The MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Christine Grahame, wants to increase the size of the park.
The park currently covers just 45% of the Pentland hills range.
The committee said there was little demand for the move and changing the boundaries would lead to an increased financial burden on councils.
James Dornan, Scottish Parliament's Pentland Hills Regional Park Boundary Bill Committee convener, said: "There is no doubt Christine Grahame is passionate about protecting the landscape of the Pentland hills for future generations.
"However, we are not convinced extending the Regional Park would give this protection.
"It was clear from the evidence given by local authorities that, far from being a simple line on a map, they were concerned the extension could place a very real financial burden on those local authorities involved in the maintenance of the Regional Park, which could see funding spread even more thinly.
"For a park which plays such an important role in the lives of many people, to do so would have a damaging impact.
"That is why we have decided that we cannot support the general principles of the bill."
Ms Grahame said: "I am of course very disappointed that the Pentland Hills Regional Park Boundary Bill Committee came to the conclusion that it did not support the general principles of my bill.
"There is a need to protect the whole of the Pentland Hills range and I had hoped that the committee would agree with me that this was a role for us, as politicians.
"I am pleased that the committee recognises the difficulties that local authorities will face in meeting the aims of the Pentland Hills Regional Park in the coming years and the acknowledgement that the introduction of this bill has created a focus on those difficulties."

Summary: A Holyrood committee is recommending a bill to extend the boundaries of the Pentland Hills regional park is rejected.
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Article: The two are Anthony Allen, 43, of Hertfordshire, England and Anthony Conti, 45, of Essex, England.
They were charged by US authorities with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud in an effort to manipulate Libor for Rabobank's financial gain.
That brings the total number of indicted Rabobank employees to six.
An earlier indictment had previously named traders Tetsuya Motomura, 42, of Tokyo, Japan and Paul Thompson, 48, of Dalkeith, Australia, as well as Paul Robson, a former Rabobank Libor submitter.
"[Libor] is a key benchmark interest rate that is relied upon to be free of bias and self-dealing, but the conduct of these traders was as galling as it was greedy," said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell in a statement.
Last year, Dutch lender Rabobank paid fines to US, British and Dutch regulators over allegations of Libor manipulation of €774m (£616m).

Summary:


A man has been arrested in connection with the theft of more than 15,000 bank account and credit card details from TalkTalk.
The man, who is in his 20s, was arrested in the early hours of Thursday in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, police said.
The man was arrested on suspicion

TalkTalk has given more details of the cyber-attack on its website, saying nearly 157,000 of its customers' personal details were accessed.

Article: He did not have the chance to use the pistol he was carrying for self-defence. He was shot many times and died at the scene.
But it was not his part-time job as a school security guard in Guaruja, a coastal city in Sao Paulo state, which made him a target.
Sales was also a police officer - one of more than 80 to die this year in what is a growing battle between the forces of law and order and the main criminal faction in this region of Brazil, the First Command of the Capital, or PCC as it is widely known.
The PCC is both ruthless and organised, and its commanders are said to sometimes issue orders for executions from within Sao Paulo's prisons.
The conflict between it and the police has escalated in recent weeks, with the murders of four police officers and 21 civilians in four different cities.
Most of the policemen were ambushed when they were off duty, often when arriving at their homes.
In a sinister pattern, hours after each police death, several civilians were killed in neighbouring areas by unidentified men in apparently random executions.
Alongside this disturbing trend is a rise in civilian deaths, suggesting that some police officers are seeking retaliation by taking the law into their own hands.
Between January and August this year, 3,109 civilians were murdered in Sao Paulo state, up 7.6% on the same period last year.
Privately, prosecutors and police in Sao Paulo believe the PCC is responsible for most of the officers' deaths, but in public the state authorities refer only to "criminal groups".
The PCC first emerged in Sao Paulo's prisons in the 1990s, with the aim of protecting inmates from abuses by the authorities.
However, it quickly expanded into an extensive criminal organisation involved in drug trafficking.
In 2006 it provoked the worst unrest ever seen in Sao Paulo, paralysing the city and resulting in the deaths of almost 500 civilians and close to 50 members of the security forces.
But in this latest stage of the conflict, it is the response of the police that is causing the greatest...

Summary: One morning in May, when Edilson Avelino de Sales arrived at the school where he worked as a security guard, five men armed with rifles and pistols were waiting for him.
###
Article: More than 15,600 bank account numbers and sort codes were stolen, the company said.
Customers should continue to protect themselves from scam phone calls and emails, TalkTalk added.
This week police released a 16-year-old boy on bail who was the fourth person arrested in connection with the hack.
Since news of the cyber-attack emerged, TalkTalk shares have lost about a third of their value.
The firm said 4% of TalkTalk customers have sensitive data at risk. It confirmed that scale of the attack was "much more limited than initially suspected".
TalkTalk said:
Customers whose financial details were stolen have been contacted, and the firm will contact other affected customers "within the coming days".
The cyber attack on TalkTalk's website happened on 21 October, it added.
Details that TalkTalk previously said had been stolen included names, addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers and email addresses.
So what can you do to try to protect yourself from danger?
In October, the firm described the attack as "significant and sustained", but that it was too early to say which data had been stolen.
It initially said that all of its customers may have been affected, but then reined in its estimate.
Four people have been arrested over the hack so far: a boy of 15 in Northern Ireland, a 16-year-old boy from west London, a 20-year-old Staffordshire man, and a 16-year-old boy in Norwich. All four have been released on bail.

Summary: