The pound has fallen against the US dollar and the euro in early trade, with the FTSE 100 closing lower.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.29% at 7,339.37.
The FTSE 250 closed down 0.29% at 7,923.
The pound

Shares in Paddy Power Betfair fell more than 5% despite the bookmaker reporting rising revenues and underlying profits.

Article: The number of people out of work fell by 161,000 to 2.16 million, bringing the unemployment rate down to 6.6%.
The number of people in work rose by a record 345,000, to 30.5 million, most of which are in full-time employment.
But the quarterly rate of earnings growth, including bonuses, slowed to 0.7% from 1.9% the previous month.
This was largely due to delayed bonus payments, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Excluding bonuses, pay rose by 0.9%.
The total number of people out of work is now at its lowest level for more than five years, with youth unemployment, which covers 16-24 year olds, standing at 853,000.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in May fell by 27,400 to 1.09 million, the ONS said.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted that the government had reached a "major milestone" in its long term economic plan, with "two million new private sector jobs since 2010".
Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves told the BBC that the slowing rise in wage increases meant that "even people in work are struggling to make ends meet".
The continuing improvement in the jobs market in the three months to April was due mainly to jobs created in the private sector.
By Robert PestonEconomics editor
The number of jobs lost in the public sector was 103,000, but much of this this was down to the reclassification of employees of Lloyds bank from the public to the private sector. Taking out the Lloyds workers, 11,000 jobs were lost in the public sector.
There were 5.4 million people employed in the public sector and 25.1 million in the private sector, up 447,000 on the previous three-month period.
"The rise in employment this month is concentrated in full-time employees, not self-employment, which in the past has been used to 'talk down' the strength of the rise," said David Tinsley at BNP Paribas.
"Indeed, there was a sharp fall in the proportion of people working part-time who say they are doing so because they can't find a full-time job, which is one of the Bank of England's...

Summary: The UK jobs market continued to improve in the three months to April, although the rate of wage increases slowed sharply, official figures show.
###
Article: It now ranks alongside the likes of Champagne, Parma ham and Greek feta cheese in having Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status under EU law.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the move would guarantee its heritage and be a major boost for Cumbria's butchers.
Other protected UK food and drink products include Cornish clotted cream and Stilton cheese.
To display the PGI mark, the sausage must be produced, processed and prepared in Cumbria and have a meat content of at least 80%.
Recipes vary from butcher to butcher, but must include seasoning and be sold in a long coil.
Food minister Jim Paice said: "We're justly proud of British food and I'm delighted to welcome traditional Cumberland sausage as the first of our many fine sausages to win protected status.
"This should be a significant boost to Cumbrian producers, who will now be able to prove that their product is the real thing."
He added: "Today's achievement is a tribute to all the hard work led by John Anderson, the force behind the Cumberland Sausage Association, who sadly died last year."
Peter Gott, of the Cumberland Sausage Association, said: "This is a great milestone for the county and a well deserved place in England's food history for a truly sensational, diverse food product."

Summary: Cumberland sausage has been successful in its bid to be made only in Cumbria.
###
Article: Figures for August showed 28,654 people waiting longer than nine months, the target time for everyone to be treated.
Tory spokesman Darren Millar blamed "record-breaking budget cuts", while Lib Dem leader Kirsty Williams said Labour had "lost control of our NHS".
The Welsh government said the figures were "not acceptable" but said spending on health was up by 9% in two years.
Mr Millar said: "Labour ministers have starved our NHS of more than Â£1bn over the past five years, while spending in other parts of the UK has been protected.
"These waiting time statistics show that it's patients and their loved ones who are paying the price."
Ms Williams accused Labour of "failure" on public services and a "poverty of ambition".
"NHS staff are working around the clock to offer the very best treatment they can," she said.
"Sadly they are having to work in very trying circumstances which is making their job incredibly difficult."
A Welsh government spokesman said: "These figures are not acceptable and we expect to see urgent improvement to reduce the number of people experiencing long waiting times for the start of their treatment.
"However, they do show that more than eight out of 10 were waiting less than 26 weeks to start treatment at the end of August 2015, with nearly 94% waiting less than 36 weeks.
"The standard referral to treatment time is 11 weeks."
He added that an extra Â£1.1bn had been invested in the Welsh NHS in the past two years, despite cuts in funding for the overall Welsh budget by the UK government.

Summary: The number of people waiting longer than nine months for hospital treatment in Wales has risen again.
###
Article: Revenues rose 18% to £1.55bn last year, with underlying operating profit jumping 44% to £330m.
But after the costs of last year's merger between Paddy Power and Betfair were taken into account the company reported a loss of £5.7m.
Analysts at Liberum said the company's performance in the final quarter of 2016 had been "disappointing".
"It seems likely that operational challenges will continue around the performance of cross-sell to sports customers and the investment required to stimulate growth," Liberum said in a research note.
Overall, the FTSE 100 closed lower, having traded higher for much of the sessions, losing 10.75 points, or 0.15% at 7,339.37.
"Markets remain becalmed for yet another day, hampered by a lack of data and a general wariness ahead of the ECB [European Central Bank] on Thursday, NFPs [US employment figures] on Friday and a Fed meeting next week," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
Shares in Direct Line fell 2.9% after the insurer reported a fall in full-year profits due to changes in the way that compensation payments are to be calculated.
Pre-tax profits fell 30% to £353m, with changes to the payment formula cutting profits by £217m.
In the FTSE 250, shares in Aggreko sank 11% after the temporary power provider said it expected profits to fall this year.
On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.29% against the US dollar to $1.2203 and was also 0.27% lower  against the euro at 1.1535 euros.

Summary:


The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been called off, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said.
The ATSB said it had "no reason to believe that the search for the missing aircraft is not still ongoing".
The ATSB said it had "no reason to believe that

The area where acoustic signals thought linked to the missing Malaysian plane were detected can now be ruled out as the final resting place of flight MH370, Australian officials say.

Article: New government proposals say victims have a right to know who is behind malicious messages without the need for costly legal battles.
The powers will be balanced by measures to prevent false claims in order to get material removed.
But privacy advocates are worried websites might end up divulging user details in a wider range of cases.
Last week, a British woman won a court order forcing Facebook to identify users who had harassed her.
Nicola Brookes had been falsely branded a paedophile and drug dealer by users - known as trolls - on Facebook.
Facebook, which did not contest the order, will now reveal the IP addresses of people who had abused her so she can prosecute them.
The new powers, to be added to the Defamation Bill, would make this process far less time-consuming and costly, the government said.
Complying with requests would afford the website greater protection from being sued in the event of a defamation claim.
The new rules would apply to all websites - regardless of where they are hosted - but the claimant would need to be able to show that the UK was the right place to bring the action.
Currently, in legal terms, every website "hit" - visit - on a defamatory article can be counted as a separate offence.
This means many websites remove articles as soon as a defamation claim is made - either rightly or wrongly.
"Website operators are in principle liable as publishers for everything that appears on their sites, even though the content is often determined by users," said Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.
"But most operators are not in a position to know whether the material posted is defamatory or not and very often - faced with a complaint - they will immediately remove material.
"Our proposed approach will mean that website operators have a defence against libel as long as they identify the authors of allegedly defamatory material when requested to do so by a complainant."
Mr Clarke said the measures would mean an end to "scurrilous rumour and allegation" being posted online without fear of adequate...

Summary: Websites will soon be forced to identify people who have posted defamatory messages online.
###
Article: Sales in the month grew 6.5% from the same month of 2014, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated.
The period covered was actually 30 August to 3 October, which means it includes the bank holiday weekend at the end of August.
But the ONS said that the effect of the bank holiday had been removed by seasonal adjustment.
September 2014 figures did not include the bank holiday weekend.
The quantity bought in the retail industry grew 1.9% last month compared with August.
"Falling in-store prices and promotions around the Rugby World Cup are likely to be the main factors why the quantity bought in the retail sector increased in September at the fastest monthly rate seen since December 2013," said Kate Davies head of retail sales at the ONS.
Average shop prices including petrol stations were 3.6% lower in September than they had been a year earlier.
The bank holiday applied in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
An earlier version of this story suggested that the rise in retail sales was due to the timing of the bank holiday weekend, but the ONS has now clarified that seasonal adjustment would have removed that effect.

Summary: UK retail sales grew for the 29th month in September, partly due to the Rugby World Cup.
###
Article: But this annoying behaviour may have a more profound undercurrent than we realise, according to scientists.
A new study of dog genetics reveals numerous genes involved in starch metabolism, compared with wolves.
It backs an idea that some dogs emerged from wolves that were able to scavenge and digest the food waste of early farmers, the team tells Nature journal.
No-one knows precisely when or how our ancestors became so intimately connected with dogs, but the archaeological evidence indicates it was many thousands of years ago.
One suggestion is that the modern mutt emerged from ancient hunter-gatherers' use of wolves as hunting companions or guards.
But another opinion holds that domestication started with wolves that stole our food leftovers and eventually came to live permanently around humans as a result.
"This second hypothesis says that when we settled down, and in conjunction with the development of agriculture, we produced waste dumps around our settlements; and suddenly there was this new food resource, a new niche, for wolves to make use of, and the wolf that was best able to make use of it became the ancestor of the dog," explained Erik Axelsson from Uppsala University.
"So, we think our findings fit well with this theory that the dog evolved on the waste dump," he told BBC News.
Dr Axelsson and colleagues examined the DNA of more than 50 modern dogs from breeds as diverse as the cocker spaniel and the German shepherd.  They then compared their generic genetic information with those of 12 wolves taken from across the world.
The Swedish-US team scanned the DNA sequences of the two types of canid for regions of major difference.  These would be locations likely to contain genes important in the rise of the domesticated dog.
Axelsson's group identified 36 such regions, carrying a little over a hundred genes. The analysis detected the presence of two major functional categories - genes involved in brain development and starch metabolism.
In the case of the latter, it seems dogs have many more genes...

Summary: Anyone who owns a dog knows that it will rummage around in the kitchen bin looking for food, given half a chance.
###
Article: The Bluefin-21 submersible robot had finished its search of the area and found nothing, they said.
Efforts would now focus on reviewing search data, surveying the sea floor and bringing in specialist equipment.
Flight MH370 went missing on 8 March as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Using satellite data, officials have concluded that the airliner, which had 239 people on board, ended its journey in the Indian Ocean, north-west of the Australian city of Perth.
No trace of the plane has been found and there is no explanation for its disappearance.
Four pings that officials believed could be from the missing plane's "black box" flight recorders were heard by search teams using a towed pinger locator device.
These pings were used to define the area for the sea-floor search, conducted by the Bluefin-21. It had scoured over 850 sq km of the ocean floor, JACC said.
"Yesterday afternoon, Bluefin-21 completed its last mission searching the remaining areas in the vicinity of the acoustic signals detected in early April by the towed pinger locator," a statement from the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC) said.
"The data collected on yesterday's mission has been analysed. As a result, the JACC can advise that no signs of aircraft debris have been found by the autonomous underwater vehicle since it joined the search effort.
"The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and in its professional judgement, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370."
Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said the search had been based on "the best information available at the time".
The statement came hours after a US Navy official told CNN that the acoustic signals probably came from some other man-made source.
The failure of the autonomous sub Bluefin-21 to find any wreckage in the ping search zone is a hammer blow to the families. It's also a sharp reminder to everyone of just how difficult...

Summary:

Article: {{document}}

Summary: ||| {{target}}


named for legal reasons, had been stalking Ms Waxman for 12 years.
He had been arrested in 2012 after she reported him to the police.
He

An MP has apologised for his "very offensive" and "damaging" comments on diabetes.

Article: Robert Faulds was severely injured when his right arm was pulled into machinery at the bottle-top factory in Bridge of Allan in September 2013.
The 58-year-old said United Closures and Plastics blamed him for the accident and demoted him.
The firm was also fined £12,000 after admitting health and safety breaches at Stirling Sheriff Court.
Mr Faulds, from Falkirk, was working on a printing machine when the accident happened.
His arm was dragged into the offset machine and crushed.
The Health and Safety Executive took United Closures and Plastics to court over the incident, where the firm admitted failing to do a sufficient risk assessment of the machine and failing to ensure proper access.
The firm was issued the £12,000 fine at Stirling Sheriff Court last week.
Mr Faulds, who was off work for more than 14 months after the accident, said he was sacked from his role as production engineer for gross misconduct but was offered another job as an operator.
The father-of-four said: "The thing that upsets me is that all the way through this, they have put the blame on me. They said I did an unsafe act and had a flippant attitude to safety.
"My arm was smashed to pieces and I am now 30% disabled in it.
"The money will change my life because I will be able to buy a flat and look to the future.
"But I am now doing a menial job packing boxes when I was working as a skilled engineer before. But who is going to employ me when it's on my record that I was sacked for gross misconduct?
"I have never had an apology but I would just like them to clear my record."
Mr Faulds' lawyer, Tracey McKenzie from Thompsons Solicitors, said: "Robert is a very hard-working man who was following instructions from his employer when he was seriously injured.
"He was used as a scapegoat and sacked before being reinstated in a lower role.
"His employers were then prosecuted and pled guilty to breaches of health and safety law which totally vindicates Robert's version of events.
"He has now been left with a life-changing injury and his future...

Summary: A factory worker who had his arm crushed by machinery has won a £125,000 payout from his employer.
###
Article: There are procedures for introducing changes to Scottish football, so what would need to happen for a summer calendar to be introduced, in whatever form?
Here, BBC Scotland looks at the process.
Media playback is not supported on this device
The Scottish Professional Football League runs the four league competitions and the Scottish League Cup, while the Scottish Football Association runs the Scottish Cup and the international fixtures.
So, changes to the calendar would need to involve both organisations, although it would primarily be based around the league schedule.
Ultimately, within both organisations, it's the clubs who decide.
In theory, yes. The vote would need to be held after June 27, 2016, since that is three years since the formation of the SPFL, when the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League agreed to merge.
When that decision was taken, all 42 clubs unanimously agreed to an effective moratorium on further reconstruction or structural changes for three years.
In that time, such issues can only be passed with a unanimous, 100% vote.
As the BBC Scotland survey shows, summer football does not have that backing just now. However, after June 27, 2016, the old voting structures are restored, so it does not require the support of every club in Scotland.
The board of the SPFL could do that, or alternatively, the vote could be raised at a general meeting, which can be called by two clubs.
This is where the situation becomes 'complex', as SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster put it. Summer football means different things to different people.
Some clubs consider it to be a season that runs from March to November, however for others with a more practical perspective, it means a season that runs from July to December and then February to May. The difference is significant.
As the Premiership currently stands, a season from March to November could not accommodate all of the games.
A switch to that calendar would therefore require structural change and a revised financial distribution model, with...

Summary: With three-quarters of Scotland's top-flight clubs having told a BBC Scotland survey that they would consider a move to summer football, the issue is back at the forefront of the game.
###
Article: Elliot Fogel, who was jailed on Tuesday for breaching a restraining order, had stalked Claire Waxman for 12 years.
Despite the order, he had tried to sue her in the civil courts by claiming she had defamed him in media interviews.
Ms Waxman said criminal and civil courts must work more closely together. The Ministry of Justice said it was working to address the concerns.
Fogel, 40, had:
And on Tuesday, the former television producer from Edgware, in north London, was given a three-and-a-half year jail sentence at Harrow Crown Court over his attempts to sue Ms Waxman for defamation in the civil courts.
He had claimed she had defamed him in various media interviews in 2012, including one with Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Radio 5 live, in which she had discussed his previous conviction for breaching a restraining order.
The court found that he had breached the order again by obtaining and keeping information on her.
On Wednesday, Ms Waxman, 38, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme that Fogel had gone through her previous interview "word-by-word, of everything I said, and disputed it [in court]".
"I think he just uses anything in order to force contact with me," she added.
When asked why Fogel had been allowed to take his defamation claim to the civil courts, Ms Waxman - a victims' rights campaigner from Willesden in north-west London - said: "There's no joined-up approach between the civil and the criminal courts.
"So whatever's going on in the criminal court, the civil courts aren't aware of it."
She said she could have faced a County Court judgement if she had ignored the claims.
She described it as a "clever tactic", adding that as many as one in 12 stalking victims who contacted the National Stalking Helpline had experienced the same issue.
"When a victim gets the courage to speak up and speak out, [whether] it's to their friends for support or police, that's often when stalkers will respond in this way," she said.
"All perpetrators want to silence their victims. [Fogel] wants to silence me, control me...

Summary: Stalkers must be stopped from using a loophole in the legal system to harass their targets, a victim has said.
###
Article: Conservative MP for St Ives, Derek Thomas, claimed diabetes is "completely avoidable through good diet and exercise" on his Facebook page.
Dozens of constituents in Cornwall complained that his comments were inaccurate and "insulting".
He said he was "sincerely sorry" and would raise the issue with government to prevent confusion in future.
Mr Thomas' post provoked more than one hundred comments, many of which pointed out that type 1 diabetes "is genetic", and type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to obesity, is "not preventable for all".
Orson Cornick commented: "Being an ignorant human being is avoidable, not type 1 diabetes!"
Marianna Baxter whose daughter has type 2 diabetes said she was "very angry and hurt" at the "very offensive" remarks.
Mr Thomas told the BBC he was told the information by "two medical professionals" and had simply been trying to raise awareness that many people can help themselves by improving their diet.
He said: "I certainly got it wrong and I apologise for that. I certainly wasn't going out to intentionally upset a number of people that can do nothing about their ill health, so I do apologise for the way that was worded."
He said he would raise the issue with the government ahead of its national diabetes strategy launch next year to make sure no discrimination took place.
Mr Thomas removed the post on Saturday and replaced it with another offering a "sincere apology".
Many commended him like Charlotte Clews who commented: "I stand up and applaud you. So does my type one son. It really is very heart warming to see that you have corrected a mistake and educated yourself and now others."
The charity Diabetes UK declined to comment but said information on any link with diet and lifestyle was available on its website.

Summary:


The trio will lead Australia in the limited-overs matches that

Steve Smith will become Australia's Test captain after the Ashes following Michael Clarke's decision to retire at the end of the series.

Article: The ministry said an air strike may have killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and up to 330 other fighters on 28 May.
It said the raid had targeted a meeting of the IS military council in the group's de-facto capital of Raqqa, in northern Syria.
There have been a number of previous reports of Baghdadi's death.
This is the first time, however, that Russia has said it may have killed the IS leader. Other media reports have previously claimed he had been killed or critically injured by US-led coalition air strikes.
A statement by Russia's defence ministry published by the state-funded Sputnik news agency said 30 IS commanders and up to 300 soldiers were at the Raqqa meeting.
"According to information that is checked through various channels, IS leader Ibrahim Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed as a result of the strike, was also present at the meeting," it added.
Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, said the US could not confirm whether Baghdadi had been killed.
There has been no official comment from Syria's government.
Islamic State group: The full story
Life under IS: A Raqqa diary
Baghdadi's whereabouts have been unknown for some time, although he was believed to be in Mosul in Iraq before a US-led coalition began an effort to reclaim the city in October 2016.
Reuters reported that he was recently believed to have been "hiding in thousands of square miles of desert" rather than living in either Mosul or Raqqa.
His only public appearance since IS declared the creation of a caliphate in June 2014 was in a video days later, showing him delivering a sermon in Mosul after IS took control of the city.
Since then, the group has lost considerable amounts of territory and has been under pressure from air strikes by Russian-led forces and by the US and its allies.
In March, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that "nearly all" of Baghdadi's deputies had been killed.
"It is only a matter of time before Baghdadi himself meets this same fate," he added.
Baghdadi - thought to be a nom de guerre rather...

Summary: Russia's defence ministry is investigating whether one of its air strikes in Syria killed the leader of the Islamic State militant group (IS).
###
Article: In January, their fighters grabbed world attention when they drove IS out of Kobane, another border town further east.
Now, the YPG, working with some Free Syrian Army-aligned rebels, and backed by US-led coalition air strikes, have taken control of Tal Abyad, with its ethnically mixed population, that had been held by IS since last year.
The YPG's victory in Kobane was symbolically significant, but Tal Abyad offers far more strategic value.
Long-term control of Tal Abyad would further the YPG's goal of connecting the non-contiguous zones of territory it holds across northern Syria, which it organises into three "cantons": Afrin (north-west of Aleppo); Kobane (west of Tal Abyad); and al-Jazira (north-east Hasakeh province).
If the YPG is able to hold Tal Abyad and use it to connect Kobane to al-Jazira, it will increase its strategic value to the US-led anti-IS coalition and will empower its self-governance structures in predominately Kurdish north-eastern Syria.
Tal Abyad is important to the anti-IS coalition because the town has long served as a key IS supply route, and a crossing point for foreign fighters seeking to join IS in Raqqa, the group's de facto capital.
There are few organised, trained and willing forces in Syria that the anti-IS coalition can rely on as a ground partner in its campaign in Syria.
Moreover, Turkey has been reluctant to fully co-operate with the coalition, instead tolerating a porous border with Syria that has, in the words of one US official, created a "permissive environment" for jihadists.
While Tal Abyad has been under firm IS control, for instance, Turkey has continued to allow some supplies to cross in from the Turkish border town of Akcakale, including sacks of fertiliser that contain ammonium nitrate used by IS to build explosives.
Turkey's vacillation stems in part from its prioritisation of toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over fighting IS, and in part from its fear of the YPG. It views the latter as equivalent to the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), which it...

Summary: The capture of the strategic northern border town of Tal Abyad from Islamic State (IS) is the latest in a string of gains by the dominant Kurdish militia in Syria, the YPG, and its political branch, the PYD, across the north of the country since 2011.
###
Article: The deal, which was signed in a ceremony on Monday in the Colombian city of Cartagena, will be put to a popular vote on Sunday.
Colombians will be asked to reject or endorse the agreement reached between the government and the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
The 297-page agreement will not come into force unless a simple majority of voters back it.
While it has the support of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and many influential international figures, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, there has also been significant opposition to it within Colombia.
One of the leading "no" campaigners is former President Alvaro Uribe.
Here, BBC Monitoring examines some of the reasons Colombians in the "no" camp are citing for their opposition to the deal.
This is not the first time the Colombian government has negotiated with the Farc.
In the 52 years since the Farc were founded and started fighting the Colombian government there have been several attempts at negotiating a peace deal.
However, this is the first time the two sides have reached and signed an agreement.
Previous failed attempts have made many Colombians weary of the rebels' intentions.
President Andres Pastrana, who governed from 1998 to 2002, ordered the demilitarisation of an area the size of Switzerland so that peace talks could take place there.
But after almost three years of negotiations, it transpired that the Farc had used the demilitarised zone to re-group and re-arm.
Mr Pastrana broke off the negotiations and trust in the Farc's intentions were seriously undermined for years to come.
Mr Pastrana has been campaigning against the peace agreement, calling it "a coup d'etat against justice".
Opponents of the peace deal have accused those who back it of being in the pay of the Cuban and Venezuelan governments.
They fear that allowing the Farc rebels, who follow a Marxist ideology and who were inspired by the Cuban Revolution, to take part in politics will open the door to radical left-wing...

Summary: The future of a peace agreement aimed at ending the longest-running armed conflict in the Americas is now in the hands of the Colombian people.
###
Article: Smith, 26, already leads the one-day side and will also captain the Twenty20 team in the absence of the injured Aaron Finch.
Fellow batsman David Warner, 28, has been named as Smith's vice-captain.
"At 26, Steve is a fine young man with extraordinary talent," said national selector Rod Marsh.
"He is highly regarded by the selectors and we congratulate him on being appointed to the role on an ongoing basis. He should be incredibly proud."
Clarke, 34, confirmed his decision to retire after his side surrendered the Ashes with a heavy defeat by England at Trent Bridge, which gave the hosts a 3-1 lead.
Smith had already captained the side in three Tests against India last summer, when Clarke was recovering from hamstring surgery and back issues.
The New South Welshman has played in 32 Tests for his country, scoring 2,952 runs at an average of 54.66.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"When Michael made his decision to retire last week it was a very straightforward decision for us to nominate Steve as his successor," added Marsh.
"He has big shoes to fill but everything about him suggests he is the right man for the job."
Warner has earned the vice-captain's role despite a history of disciplinary problems, and Marsh said of the opener: "David has matured and developed into an important senior figure in the Australian team. He has come a long way.
"We believe that he will respond well to the added responsibility of leadership."
Smith and Warner will lead Australia in the limited-overs matches that follow the final Ashes Test at the Oval, which starts on 20 August.

Summary:


A man has been arrested after a man was stabbed in the neck in a suspected terror attack in the city of Manchester.
The man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police said the man was stabbed in the neck in the city centre.
A police spokesman said: "We can confirm that a

Sightings of "creepy clowns" have been reported across Wales, with police warning people they could be arrested for scaring others.

Article: He stays in charge of the second largest party in the UK Parliament, after he won almost 62% of the vote to beat rival Owen Smith.
Mr Corbyn became Labour leader in September 2015 but faced a challenge this year from many of his own Labour Members of Parliament.
They didn't think he was doing a good enough job.
But 313,209 members of the Labour party disagreed with those MPs, and decided that Jeremy Corbyn should carry on as leader.
Jeremy Corbyn's been MP for Islington North in London since 1983.
He's a vegetarian, makes his own jam and has won parliamentary beard of the year five times.
Mr Corbyn argued for the UK to stay in the a club of countries called the European Union, but was criticised by many but was criticised by many MPs in the Labour Party.
They said he was not enthusiastic enough about the EU during the referendum vote.
He wants to spend money to boost the UK's economy and get people working.
Jeremy would aim to build one million new homes over five years and said he wants to create two million new skilled jobs.

Summary: Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected as the leader of the Labour Party.
###
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: Explosions rocked the Qasr hotel, the headquarters of the UAE's forces in the city and a camp early on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and members of his government escaped unharmed.
The UAE blamed rocket-fire from Houthi rebels, but Islamic State (IS) said suicide bombers were responsible.
Jihadist militants have reportedly been seen on the streets of Aden since southern militiamen backed by coalition forces drove the Houthis out of the city in July before advancing northwards and creating a security vacuum.
Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi told the Associated Press that the Qasr hotel in the al-Buraiqa district, the UAE's military headquarters in the nearby palace of Sheikh Farid al-Awlaqi, and a camp where Emirati troops are housed in the al-Shaab district were all hit by rockets fired from outside the city limits.
The prime minister and his ministers were safe and unhurt, he said.
The official Saudi Press Agency also cited a coalition statement blaming rocket fire. Coalition forces had "responded to the source of fire and destroyed the vehicles" used to launch them, it said.
But a statement posted online by a newly formed IS affiliate, Aden-Abyan Province, asserted that it had carried out four suicide attacks, two of them targeting the Qasr hotel.
The local newspaper Aden al-Ghad had earlier cited Yemeni security sources as saying the explosions were the result of car bombings.
The sources said gunmen armed with automatic weapons and mortars had fought guards stationed at the main gate of the Qasr Hotel, before driving an explosives-packed vehicle into the compound and blowing it up.
The attacks on the other two locations also saw gunmen attack before detonating car bombs, the sources added.
Before IS claimed responsibility, the UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs had blamed the attacks on the Houthis and allied army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who he claimed were determined to destroy Yemen.
"The situation on the ground shows that they are waging a losing battle...

Summary: Attacks in Aden on a hotel used by Yemen's prime minister and two military installations have killed 15 Saudi-led coalition troops and pro-government fighters, Emirati state media say.
###
Article: Complaints have been made across the UK about the fad, which sees people dress up in order to frighten passers-by.
Dyfed-Powys Police received about 30 reports over the weekend and North Wales Police said it was aware of incidents.
Gwent Police had 18 reports, including clowns "peering through windows".
South Wales Police put out a warning at the weekend after receiving complaints about people dressed as clowns "frightening others intentionally".
Chf Insp Paul Staniforth of Gwent Police said: "Some of the reports have included, clowns running through gardens and peering through windows, lurking around shopping centres, parks and schools and jumping from trees.
"Fortunately, to date, we've had no reports of anyone being harmed during these reports."
He said people could be arrested for a public order offence - causing harassment, alarm or distress.
The culprits are said to be following a trend that started in the US.
Sgt Rhys Williams of Dyfed-Powys Police said while dressing up was not a criminal offence, "deliberately scaring someone, causing harassment, alarm or distress could lead to arrest".
Officers were looking into some of the reports, but no arrests have been made.
Sgt Williams added: "Please be mindful that what seems like a bit of fun to you, could not be seen the same way by those on the receiving end of this prank.
"There is also the possibility that you could attempt to scare the wrong person and they could retaliate.
"Anyone who commits a criminal offence should be aware that dressing as a clown does not make them exempt from being investigated and dealt with through the Criminal Justice System."
North Wales Police said officers were aware of incidents, but no offences had been reported.

Summary:


The Environment Agency has said it is "not in a position" to comment on the impact of the government's decision to close the Crossnacreevy plant in Northern Ireland.
The agency said it was "not in a position" to comment on the impact of the government's decision to close the Crossnac

Water experts are calling on ministers to show greater leadership on flooding.

Article: It comes after community group Energise Galashiels claimed the move would have "significant advantages".
Scottish Borders Council had initially selected the Tweedbank terminus of the Borders Railway but an alternative site in Galashiels has since emerged.
Mr Kerr, an SNP MP, said the newer option could have a greater impact.
"It's clear that the presence of such a remarkable attraction in the heart of Galashiels could be transformative for the town centre, which is still struggling to recover from long term economic challenges in the retail sector," he said.
"Although the greenfield site at Tweedbank may appear to be the more straight-forward option, I don't think it offers comparable economic benefits.
"On the other hand, a site in the heart of Galashiels could kick off a new phase of town centre regeneration."
The MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk has written to Scotland's Culture Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, to express his support for the move.
Energise Galashiels said it could provide a "major boost" for the town but also offer "greater benefits" to the region as a whole.
It said the potential visitor market on both sites was exactly the same.
The group said Galashiels had a wide choice of retail offerings and was the "prime hub" for transport in the region.
It added that putting the tapestry in the town would help its overall commercial viability.
"In the absence of a major intervention, it is doubtful that 'retail trading' will ever resolve the current level of vacancies," it said.
"Having the Great Tapestry of Scotland's home in Galashiels town centre will be an investment which will provide a massive boost to the existing efforts being made to regenerate the 'old town centre'."
The organisation said there were already a number of other projects ongoing in the town which could also boost visitor numbers to the tapestry.
"Energise Galashiels believe that securing the Great Tapestry of Scotland in a town centre location will act as a catalyst for other projects and initiatives which offer the...

Summary: Borders MP Calum Kerr has given his backing to Galashiels as the best place for a permanent home for the Great Tapestry of Scotland.
###
Article: All chickens at the wholesale market where the positive test took place were to be destroyed, the government said.
The government has also banned the import of live chickens from the mainland for three weeks.
H7N9 made the jump from infecting domestic chickens and ducks to infecting people in early 2013.
In mainland China, where most of the recent cases have been, state media said live poultry trading had been halted in three cities in Zhejiang province, where 12 people have died from H7N9 this month.
Shanghai would also halt live poultry trading from 31 January for three months, state media said.
The measures come as China prepares to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, with hundreds of millions of people travelling across the country to spend time with relatives.
Sales of live chickens traditionally rise ahead of the holiday period.
According to the World Health Organisation, cases of human H7N9 infection have been reported so far in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The virus emerged in humans in early 2013. To date there have been more than 200 cases, with more than 50 deaths.
Most of those infected reported contact with live poultry, and information so far did not support sustained human-to-human transmission, the WHO said.
Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said in a statement that Cheung Sha Wan market - the territory's only wholesale poultry market - would be closed for 21 days for disinfection.
Local farms would also suspend sending chickens to the wholesale market.
Officials would "inspect all the local chicken farms and collect more samples for testing to ensure that local farms are not affected by H7 avian influenza", he said.
Television footage showed officials in protective suits putting chickens into bins pumped with carbon dioxide to cull them.
The operation was expected to take around 10 hours, and the dead chicken would be taken to a landfill, a spokesman from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department told AFP news agency.
This is Hong Kong's first mass cull of...

Summary: Hong Kong has begun culling 20,000 chickens after the H7N9 bird flu virus was found in poultry imported from mainland China.
###
Article: It carries out testing and research for the Department of Agriculture (DARD), other public bodies and firms.
The closure of the Crossnacreevy plant is part of a wider review of AFBI's operations which will see it withdraw from some research projects.
DARD will also stop funding a potato breeding research programme.
The department is also withdrawing funding for renewable energy, biomass and poultry production research.
AFBI's operations are spread across seven sites in Northern Ireland.
Its Crossnacreevy site incorporates Northern Ireland's Official Seed Testing Station, a plant testing station and centre of expertise on seed and cultivar science.
The plant testing station and some other research functions will be transferred to another AFBI site in a gradual closure that will take four years to complete.
AFBI representatives will discuss their new strategy with relevant groups at an open day at its site in Hillsborough, County Down, on 3 September.
In a statement, DARD said it had been in discussions with AFBI "on how it can reposition itself to meet the priority needs of government and industry while responding to the budget reductions that affect all parts of the public sector".
It said "difficult choices" had been necessary as it sought to focus available funding on the "most strategically important areas" of the DARD work programme delivered by AFBI.

Summary: Northern Ireland's Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) is to close its plant and crop testing facility outside Belfast.
###
Article: They say the government is failing to promote back-to-nature schemes which protect lowland homes by deliberately creating floods in the hills.
The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) say upland schemes to slow river flow cost a fraction of conventional flood walls – and should be spread round the UK.
Ministers back the principle but say the details need to be worked out.
The idea of creating floods upstream to prevent floods downstream was a key message from the Pitt Review into the 2007 floods.
A handful of pilot projects have pioneered cheap small-scale measures like felling trees into streams to slow down the flow, and building earth banks to catch run-off water and allow it to soak away.
One low-tech scheme in the hills above Belford in Northumberland cost about £300,000. It was put in place after a study suggested the cost of conventional flood defences would cost £4m.
But progress nationally has been slow, with funding a major problem.
Katherine Pygott, from CIWEM, told the BBC: “Flooding is getting worse with changing weather patterns, but these schemes are taking a very long time and a lot of energy.
“Projects working with nature to reduce flood risk are needed right across the country but it is complicated with many different organisations involved and it will need political leadership from the highest level to make it happen. So far we haven’t seen that leadership.”
The upland schemes are designed to reduce the regularity of flooding, not remove risk completely. Conventional flood defences will still be needed but CIWEM estimates that re-wilding rivers will save ten of millions by reducing the peak flow and lowering the specification for flood walls. The projects should also benefit wildlife.
Phil Welton, from the Environment Agency, says the UK should aspire to have "a pond in every field in the areas where flood prevention is needed.
"We have got to give incentives to farmers to persuade them to capture water on their land," he argues. "Farmers will lose a bit of...

Summary:


The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg says the decision to stand down is a "huge blow" to the party.
The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg has said she will stand down from her role as a Conservative MP.
The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg has said

An MP facing deselection after being criticised over his role in a loan to a football club will not stand for re-election.

Article: Built for a G8 summit in 2014 that was called off because of the Ukraine crisis, and still weeks away from this winter's ski season, the resort had the look of an extravagant white elephant.
But for the Russian government it is a useful backdrop for occasions like the annual Valdai meeting where President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials can showcase their views in exchanges with foreign scholars.
This year the conversation was dominated by Syria and Russia's intentions there.
First and foremost, President Putin and other top Kremlin officials insisted that military victory in Syria was not Russia's real objective.
There had to be a parallel diplomatic track to push for a grand settlement, involving global players like Russia and the US, neighbours like Iran and Saudi Arabia, and  - as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov put it - "a full spectrum of the opposition".
And that is where the first puzzle in Russia's Syria policy lies.
Exactly which opposition movements does Russia want to crush militarily and which does it want to include in talks?
President Putin told us that Russia's aim was to "liberate Syria from terrorists" and stop jihadists from the Islamic State group (IS) from taking over Damascus and then the entire country.
IS extremists and al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra fighters, then, were the main enemy - but also "all other terrorist groups".
In his Valdai speech President Putin at first seemed to dismiss all opposition forces hostile to the government of President Bashar-al-Assad.
He said there was no difference between "moderate" and "non-moderate" terrorists, and accused the US and its allies of playing a dangerous double game, bombing some groups and arming others.
Yet when it comes to US-backed fighters in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Russia's position does seem to be shifting.
"Let me raise the curtain on my talks with President Assad," said Mr Putin, revealing that he had asked for and got (who knows how grudgingly?) acceptance from the Syrian leader to explore the idea of helping...

Summary: In the mountains above Sochi in southern Russia, the marble halls and panoramic terraces of the Krasnaya Polyana hotel were almost empty.
###
Article: The Hang Seng index closed up 2.7% at 26,944.39, its highest closing level since January 2008.
The surge in interest was triggered by Beijing's move last month to let mutual funds invest in Hong Kong through the connect plan.
The Shanghai Composite ended down 0.9%.
The mainland index closed at 3,957.53 as investors rushed to buy relatively cheaper Hong Kong shares.
Chinese investors had used the entire 10.5bn yuan ($1.69bn) daily investment quota for buying Hong Kong stocks under the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme for a second day.
Shares in the rest of Asia were mixed despite a rise in US markets on Wednesday.
Investor sentiment remained cautious following the latest committee minutes from the Federal Reserve, which showed the central bank was split over when to raise interest rates.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 0.75% at 19,937.72, edging closer to the key threshold of 20,000 which was last seen in 2000.
Analysts said the psychologically important level was likely to be hit soon.
Shares in Asia's biggest clothing retailer, Japan's Fast Retailing, closed up nearly 2% after it raised its annual profit forecast by 20% on Thursday.
The owner of Uniqlo, which has been expanding aggressively overseas, said its net income would be 120bn yen ($998m) for the year ending in August, up from its previous forecast of 100bn yen.
The company's profits were boosted by sales outside Japan.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.48% at 5,932.20 as a result of falling oil prices, which analysts said would affect the energy sector.
US-based oil and gas giant, Apache, said it was selling its Australian operations for $2.1bn (Â£1.4bn) as it shifts its focus back to North America.
"Following the sale of our Australian assets, about 70% of Apache's production will come from North America onshore," said the firm's chief executive, John Christmann.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index closed down 0.02% at 2,058.87.
After a surprise cut in March, South Korea's central bank said on Thursday it would hold...

Summary: Hong Kong shares surged to seven-year highs on Thursday as mainland Chinese investors poured money into the market via the new stock connect trading link.
###
Article: A Diana super-fan who has amassed memorabilia dedicated to the late Princess of Wales has lent some of her collection to a special exhibition.
Jo Dobson has hundreds of plates, portraits and trinkets which are in a show at Gloucester Life Museum about local people who collect for a hobby.
Mrs Dobson, 78, started her collection, with her late husband Ken, in 1999 and said "there'll never be another Diana".
She has also written to her MP calling for a Diana Day each year.
Mrs Dobson, of Hucclecote, Gloucester, said she had now stopped collecting.
She said: "We had to stop. There comes a time when you've run out of room on the wall. We've spent thousands but she was worth it."
Gloucester Life Museum curator Sarah Orton said: "The exhibition is less about the collection and more about the collectors.
"Without such people in the past many museums including our own would not have been established."

Summary: The exhibition opens at the Gloucester Life Museum on 26 August and runs until 16 December.
###
Article: David Mackintosh, Conservative MP for Northampton South, announced his decision ahead of a local party meeting where his candidacy was expected to be opposed.
The BBC reported millions of pounds of public money loaned to Northampton Town FC appeared to have vanished.
The MP has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Mackintosh was criticised over the loan to Northampton Town Football Club from the borough council - when he was leader - to rebuild Sixfields stadium and develop nearby land.
About £10.25m of that money is now missing and the loan is subject to a police investigation into "alleged financial irregularities".
The football stand remains half built.
When contacted by the BBC last week, a majority of his party's local executive council said they would vote to deselect him.
Mr Mackintosh had previously said he intended to stand for re-election.
But in a statement, he said: "It has been a huge honour to be the member of Parliament since 2015, but I now feel it is the right time for my constituents to have a new representative."

Summary:


A man who was jailed for eight years for sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel has been given a suspended jail sentence.
The victim, a woman in her 40s, was staying at the hotel in the early hours of 12 November 2016.
The man, who was in his 20s, was arrested at the

A head teacher has defended his decision to offer staff at a Lincolnshire school a "duvet day".

Article: Gayle Newland was jailed for eight years on 12 November after being convicted of three sexual assaults.
The 25-year-old, of Willaston, Cheshire, demanded her victim wear a blindfold when they met and used a prosthetic penis during the assaults.
Newland previously applied for leave to appeal against her conviction.
That appeal will be heard before judges at London's Court of Appeal and, if successful will make her sentence appeal redundant.
However, if the second appeal is heard it could result in her jail term being raised or lowered.
During Newland's four-day trial, Chester Crown Court heard she and her victim spent more than 100 hours with each other, in hotels and the victim's flat.
The deception was only uncovered when the victim ripped off her blindfold to see Newland.
Newland had fooled her victim by posing as a man called Kye Fortune, using a bogus Facebook account, wearing an elaborate disguise and insisting the blindfold was worn throughout meetings.
In mitigation, Newland told the court her accuser was fully aware she was a woman and that they both struggled with their sexuality.
She maintained the pair were engaged in consensual "role play" and "fantasy".

Summary: A woman who was jailed after posing as a man to dupe a friend into having sex with her has lodged an appeal against her sentence.
###
Article: It comes as the Home Office is set to decide whether to allow an upgraded Taser model to be issued to police.
About 20,000 police officers in England and Wales - one in six - are currently allowed to use Tasers.
The federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, argues they should be available to all who want one.
They are "vital" in dealing with violence and the threat from terrorism, it says.
Its Ipsos MORI poll of 2,004 people suggests 71% of people think it is acceptable for officers on patrol to carry the weapon.
Of those surveyed, four out of five people said that if an officer was carrying a Taser, it would make no difference to their likelihood of approaching them for assistance.
However, nearly one in five people (17%) said they did not believe all police officers should be given the option of being equipped with a Taser.
Tasers were introduced by UK police forces in 2003, following trials in some force areas.
Since 2004, at least 19 people in England and Wales have died after police deployed the weapon.
In September, the Home Affairs Select Committee criticised police forces for a "complete lack on consistency" over whether officers armed with Tasers were also deployed with body cameras.
Of the people surveyed, 89% said police forces should be allowed to train and equip officers if their use of Taser was automatically recorded by a body camera.
Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation, said: "We know officers support the use of Taser and Body Worn Video, and now we have the evidence that shows the public do as well."
The Federation has written to all chief constables and commissioners across England and Wales to urge them to support a wider rollout of Tasers.

Summary: The majority of the public support the wider rollout of Tasers to police officers in England and Wales, a Police Federation survey suggests.
###
Article: Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show a drop from the 5.3% rise in the year to April.
The average UK house price stood at £221,000 in May, up £10,000 from the same month last year.
The main contribution to the rise in house prices came from England, where prices jumped by 5%.
The average price of a house in England is now £238,000, the ONS said, while a property in Wales costs £150,000 after a 3.8% increase in prices over the past 12 months.
House prices in Scotland rose 3.5% to £143,000, while the average price of a Northern Ireland home stands at £124,000 after a 4.3% rise for the year to May.
Take the test: Where in Britain would you be happiest?
Within England, the smallest price rise in the year to May was seen in the North East, up 1.6%, while London had the second lowest price rise of 3%.
The highest price rise was 7.5% in the East, just ahead of the East Midlands where property values went up by 7.2%.
Richard Snook, senior economist at business services company PwC, said: "The figures are in line with our expectations that growth in 2017 will be around half that of 2016.
"Our main scenario anticipates a softening of the market over the year with house price inflation falling from 7% in 2016 to 3.7% in 2017.
"We expect London to be one of the UK's worst performing regions, achieving price growth of just 2.8% in 2017.
"The key drivers of this slowdown are uncertainty related to Brexit and a softening in the economic outlook."
Where can I afford to live?

Summary: Growth in UK house prices has continued to slow, but the cost of the average home still increased by 4.7% in the year to May 2017.
###
Article: Bill Lord sets aside Â£3,500 from his annual budget to pay for the extra holiday for everyone at Long Sutton Primary School in Spalding.
He said it was about both recruiting and keeping "fantastic teachers in front of children".
A 'duvet day' is an absence which can be approved by the employer with no reason given.
Read more about this story and others from across Lincolnshire
Mr Lord said all staff - including himself and the cleaner - were offered one additional day a year, but had to give notice and could not take the first or last day of term off.
He said the scheme cost less to implement than the Â£4,000 process of hiring new staff and it was difficult to hire staff in rural schools.
"Often young teachers coming out of university want to be near the bright lights so they will head to [big cities].
"Each year we get to July panicking as to whether we are going to be able to have the fantastic staff that our kids deserve."
The head teacher added it was essential to offer incentives to recruit and retain employees and one member of staff used her day to attend events at her children's school.
"She said the time was far more valuable to her than a pay enhancement."
Kevin Courtney, from the National Union of Teachers, said it was "no surprise" some head teachers were offering additional benefits.
"The teacher recruitment and retention crisis that is blighting schools is brought about by the unacceptable levels of workload expected of teachers - which are unusually high in our country."
The Education Select Committee warned the government in February about a shortage of teachers in England.
At the time the Department for Education said there were record numbers of teachers and it was investing Â£1.3bn in recruitment.

Summary:


The Co-op Group has reported a pre-tax profit of Â£36m for the first half of 2015, compared with a loss of Â£9m a year earlier.
The group said the turnaround was due to "robust trading" in its food and funeral businesses.
These are the

The Co-operative Group has said increased investment means profits this year will be lower than in 2014.

Article: Primary debates, where political parties choose their presidential candidates, regularly feature seven or more participants. As the discussion heats up it becomes increasingly important for the moderator to give equal time to each, but does this end up being the case?
Research into the 2012 Republican presidential candidate debates by Dr. Eric Ostermeier from the University of Minnesota shows that it's not. He painstakingly monitored how much time each participant was allowed to speak for in each debate.
Answers in the debate are generally limited to one minute each, with rebuttals limited to 30 seconds.  However, one seven-way Republican debate in 2011 saw Mitt Romney speaking for a total of 17 minutes 22 seconds. Newt Gingrich on the other hand spoke for only 8 minutes 23 seconds. That's around twice the amount of time to promote policy and engage with viewers.
Some in the US believe that the media deliberately favours the frontrunners. Indeed, Romney spoke for the longest amount of time in six of the nine monitored debates and went on to win the nomination. While there's no proven link between the two, it certainly doesn't look like a level playing field.
What's the truth behind the politicians' claims on the campaign trail? Our experts investigate the facts, and wider stories, behind the soundbites.
Read latest updates or follow us on Twitter @BBCRealityCheck

Summary: A seven-way TV debate may be unprecedented in the UK, but Americans have got used to the idea.
###
Article: I have to admit I'm responsible for some of the 36 million views of HUGE CYST EXTRACTION (capitals not mine).
It's a gruesome experience reminiscent of a never-ending tube of toothpaste or watching an ice-cream seller slowly fill a cone.
And it's not alone, there's the allure of Woman's 20-Year-Old Cyst Finally Gets Popped or the disgustingly named The Pus Cannon.
Dermatologist Dr Pimple Popper, whose real name is Sandra Lee, gleefully tells her million-plus subscribers: "I know you guys love them."
On the BBC World Service's Health Check programme, we subjected one innocent volunteer, Matt, to his first cyst-burst viewing.
"Oh gosh, she's using scissors to cut it off, it's gross, argh," he squealed, but he stuck with it. "Aw, look at that, it's amazing what's in there."
So why do they have such an, albeit nauseating, appeal?
The answer is all down to "disgust", says Daniel Kelly, an associate professor in the department of philosophy at Purdue University and author of the book Yuck!.
Disgust is an emotional response that protects us from things that are poisonous or likely to spread infectious disease, whether it's rats or spoilt food.
Prof Kelly tells the BBC: "One of the really salient things that disgust keeps an eye out for are abnormal bodily fluids - so that is the key to these videos I think.
"What disgust does is when it detects one of these things, it keeps our attention trained on it, so it sort of generates this fascination."
And he argues such videos are a safe way to experience the "thrill" of disgust.
He says: "I think of it as analogous to the thrill people get riding a rollercoaster, or bungee jumping, where you get the 'voltage' of an emotional experience, without actually being at risk.
"Watching these kinds of videos, you get the thrill of an interesting emotional experience of feeling disgust, but you're not at risk of catching anything."
Dr Nisith Sheth, a consultant dermatologist for the British Skin Foundation, says: "I'm fascinated by the way people are really drawn in and people have...

Summary: This image of a cyst growing on the back of the head is gross enough, but a video of one being burst?
###
Article: At present, school league tables are published in January - after the application process has finished.
But from this year, the Department for Education will publish provisional GCSE results in mid-October.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb said it would provide a more "informed choice".
The plans, announced by the Department for Education, will mean that parents looking at local secondary school places for the following autumn will have the most up-to-date exam results, at least in provisional form.
At present, families may be shown individual school results from the most recent summer exams, but the official comparisons are based on results from the previous year.
The full performance tables will still be published in January, but a provisional version will be brought forward to the autumn term.
They will be on a searchable website, so parents can draw up comparative league tables for their local area.
The provisional figures will show headline information such as the percentage of pupils achieving five good GCSEs, including English and maths.
They will be based on the grades from exam boards in the summer - but will show the position before the outcome of any appeals.
It will also include information about the proposed new way of measuring school performance, based on average achievement across eight subjects including English and maths.
"Choosing the right school is one of the most important decisions parents will make for their child and so we want to make sure they have as much up-to-date information as possible to make an informed choice," said Mr Gibb.
"This is why we will now publish provisional GCSE results before the admissions window closes - further empowering parents and continuing our commitment to transparency."
But there will also be another rival set of school league tables this autumn, with head teachers planning to run their own alternative tables, which they say will include a broader picture of school achievement.
It remains uncertain which league tables - head teachers' or the DFE's - will be...

Summary: Secondary school league tables in England are going to be published earlier this year so parents can compare the most recent GCSE results when choosing schools.
###
Article: This is despite the company reporting a pre-tax profit of Â£36m in the first half of 2015, compared with a loss of Â£9m a year earlier.
The group said the turnaround was due to "robust trading" in its food and funeral businesses.
These are the first results since radical changes to the business were brought in at the end of last year.
Following a review of the business by Lord Myners, the number of board members was cut drastically, while directors had to have qualifications suited to running the business. Members were also given one vote each.
The business recorded a deficit of Â£2.5bn in 2013 following massive losses at the Co-operative Bank. Following changes in the ownership structure of the bank, the Co-op Group now holds just a 20% stake in the bank.
"We've made a good start on the three year journey to rebuild the Co-operative Group," said chief executive Richard Pennycook of the half-year results.
"These early days are about fixing the basics - putting in place new leadership teams and providing the investment to deliver the strategies for our businesses. Our customers and members are beginning to see the difference.
The food business saw like-for-like sales at its main convenience stores increase by 3.3%, as well as 35 new store openings.
The funeral business saw volumes rise by almost 12%, "principally due to a high death rate".
Despite the improvement in the business seen in the first half of the year, the company warned that "we expect full-year profitability to reduce year on year, given the planned and increased levels of investment we are making in the second half of the year".
It also said that, again due to greater investment, it was unlikely to declare any dividends before 2018.

Summary:


's decision to leave the EU.
The UK government has said it will not be making a formal application to the European Court of Justice to challenge the UK's decision to leave the EU.
The UK

A public spending watchdog has cleared Scotland's culture secretary of any wrongdoing over a government grant to the organiser of T in the Park.

Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
In addition to 200 hours of network TV coverage, brought to you by presenters Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine and Jonathan Edwards, there will also be more than 650 hours of live action via six HD streams.
BBC Sport will also bring all the analysis, insight, news and highlights from Sochi 2014 to audiences wherever they are, on whichever device they want, across all 17 days of the Games.
Building on the BBC's digital success at London 2012 and other major sporting events in 2013, an innovative new approach to delivering world-class live coverage across PC, tablet and mobile has been developed for Sochi 2014. This will power the BBC's digital offering of a live event for the first time ever throughout the Winter Olympic Games.
The action in Sochi starts on 6 February, with the opening ceremony on 7 February.
2010 gold medallist Amy Williams and former Olympians Graham Bell, Colin Bryce, Emma Carrick-Anderson, Robin Cousins, Jackie Lockhart and Wilf O'Reilly form BBC Sport's world-class team of winter sports experts. Each will draw on their Winter Olympic experience to bring the most unique and insightful analysis to viewers.
All of Team GB's medal moments will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 5 live throughout the event with Chris Mitchell, Eleanor Oldroyd and Will Perry presenting all the main events and races live across 5 live's daytime schedules.
BBC Two will bring you live coverage every day from early in the morning and will have an hour-long daily highlights programme in the evening.
The 11th Winter Paralympic Games, which are being held from 7-16 March, will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 live and online.
Guidance on BBC Red Button services for the Winter Olympics
The new Winter Olympic Games live page, available from www.bbc.co.uk/sport, provides the best of the BBC's live action in one place, allowing audiences to follow the event how and where they like. Whether it's getting the latest news via a smartphone, watching favourite events on the office PC, using...

Summary: The 22nd Winter Olympics get under way in Russia on 7 February and BBC Sport will deliver the most complete digital coverage of a Winter Games to date.
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Article: The next two years of negotiations will have far-reaching implications for British businesses and their staff.
The three main areas companies will be watching in the Brexit talks are: migration, customs, and tariffs.
But different firms - often within the same industry - will rank them in different orders of importance.
With so many competing interests, what message is business sending to the government about the Brexit talks?
In many cases, British trade groups said they wanted to hold on to the best possible access to the EU, the UK's biggest trading partner. How far this is possible, though, will be at the crux of the talks.
The prime minister made it clear in January that her plan was for the UK to leave the EU single market and potentially the customs union.
Unless a new trade deal is put in its place, UK companies face tariffs on imports and exports with the EU, tighter customs checks and more controls on EU workers.
Firms need to know as soon as possible about the new trading relationship, says Steven Altmann-Richer, head of EU policy at business lobby group CBI.
If a trade deal isn't possible in the next two years, interim arrangements are essential, he adds.
What are Brexit Britain's trade options?
Firms are not shy of making their views heard by ministers. More than 80% of big businesses are lobbying the government on the Brexit talks, according to a report by law firm Eversheds Sutherland.
But rather than putting some firms ahead of others, ministers must "prioritise what's best for UK business across the board", says Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.
Worth £19bn to the UK economy; employs 800,000 workers
The car industry, though, says it has already been identified as a "priority sector" by the government ahead of the talks.
It points out that Theresa May gave two examples in January of industries she hoped could still enjoy some access to the EU single market after Brexit. They were the export of cars and lorries, and the financial services sector.
Ministers...

Summary: Prime Minister Theresa May has triggered Article 50, formally starting the process of the UK leaving the European Union.
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Article: While the UK, Greece, Spain and Portugal pay the least, on average, for the drugs they use, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland pay the most.
The authors said more transparency was needed because some countries risked overpaying for drugs.
The pharmaceutical industry said the UK was getting a fair deal on medicines.
Prices of cancer drugs have risen steeply in recent years, placing major stress on many healthcare systems, including the NHS.
The report said drugs had accounted for nearly a third of the EU's 51 billion euro (Â£37bn) cancer healthcare spending in 2009.
And the researchers then compared the 2013 price of 31 cancer drugs in 18 high-income countries, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Greece, Switzerland, Sweden and Portugal.
Prices in Greece were the lowest for 14 out of the 24 cancer drugs available there.
The price of drugs in the UK was also low.
Prices of drugs in Switzerland, Germany and Sweden were frequently the highest - and for some drugs, such as interferon alfa 2b to treat leukaemia and skin cancer, were twice as high.
The price figures come from the Pharma Price Information service in Austria, which details what manufacturers charge per unit - a single tablet or vial of a drug, for example.
But although the official list prices published in this report are freely available, any further discounts - which are often negotiated by organisations in different countries - remain confidential.
Sabine Vogler, report author and researcher at the Austrian Public Health Institute, said some countries risked overpaying for drugs as a result.
"The discounts should be open to everyone, but industry doesn't want to do it. However, it would allow some countries to see that they are overpaying."
David Watson, director of pricing and reimbursement at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said the report was evidence that newer medicines "are affordable in the UK".
He said the UK was "getting a fair deal with regards to medicines pricing" and the NHS was "getting good value for money".

Summary: The UK is paying less for new cancer drugs than a number of other high-income countries, according to a report in The Lancet Oncology.
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Article: Fiona Hyslop had been accused of "cronyism" after Â£150,000 of public funds were given to DF Concerts.
It emerged that former SNP aide had set up a meeting between Ms Hyslop and the festival organisers.
But Audit Scotland has now concluded there was a "clear rationale for the grant".
It said clear conditions had been attached to the money.
The grant was made to help DF Concerts with operational costs related to the change of venue for the annual music festival.
In a letter to an unnamed MSP, the watchdog said the Scottish government had the legal authority to make the grant.
And it said the decision to award the grant to DF Concerts had been a "legitimate policy decision" for Ms Hyslop, and was consistent with advice she received from Scottish government officials.
There was also budget provision for the grant within the Culture and European Affairs budget for major events and themed years, the letter stated.
It added: "There is evidence that the DF Concerts consultants' costs associated with gaining planning consent incurred in 2014 and 2015 for the 2015 event, together with the increase in venue costs, exceeded the grant Scottish government provided.
"There is also evidence that Scottish government has taken steps to confirm that the money was spent in line with the grant conditions through its review of the final report provided by DF Concerts and related invoices."
But Audit Scotland also said there was a need for "enhanced internal clarity and evidence to support decision-making" when similar decisions were made in the future.
It concluded: "We understand that Scottish government requires flexibility to react promptly to circumstances as they arise, but in our view this needs to be balanced with enhanced internal clarity and evidence to support decision-making.
"The Scottish government has work ongoing in this area."
Opposition politicians had questioned why money was given to the festival, which they said brought in huge profits for its organiser.
They also questioned the involvement of Jennifer...

Summary:


A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was found dead in a river in north Wales.
The body of a man was found in the River Conwy at around 3.30pm on Sunday.
Police said the body was found in the river by a member of the public.
A spokesman

Tributes have been paid to a "gentle giant" who died while swimming near a waterfall in a north Wales village.

Article: The National Cyber Security Centre - part of intelligence agency GCHQ - started work in October as part of a Â£1.9bn five-year strategy.
Staff in Victoria, central London, will be joined by experts from the private sector to help identify threats.
NCSC chief Ciaran Martin said: "We want to make the UK the hardest target".
The secondments to the centre by 100 private sector employees will be funded by their own companies.
Announcing the initiative, Chancellor Philip Hammond said the "best and the brightest in industry" will help "test and to challenge the government's thinking" in cyber security.
He added: "Government cannot protect business and the general public from the risks of cyber-attack on its own. It has to be a team effort. It is only in this way that we can stay one step ahead of the scale and pace of the threat that we face."
There were 188 cyber attacks classed by the NCSC as Category Two or Three during the last three months.
And even though the UK has not experienced a Category One attack - the highest level, an example of which would have been the theft of confidential details of millions of Americans from the Office of Personnel Management - there is no air of complacency at the NCSC's new headquarters.
Ciaran Martin, the centre's chief executive, told the BBC: "We have had significant losses of personal data, significant intrusions by hostile state actors, significant reconnaissance against critical national infrastructure - and our job is to make sure we deal with it in the most effective way possible."
As well as protecting against and responding to high-end attacks on government and business, the NCSC also aims to protect the economy and wider society.
The UK is one of the most digitally dependent economies, with the digital sector estimated to be worth over Â£118bn per year - which means the country has much to lose.
It is not just a crippling cyber-attack on infrastructure that could turn out the lights which worries officials, but also a loss of confidence in the digital economy from...

Summary: The Queen was shown how hackers could target the UK's electricity supply as she opened a centre to protect the nation from cyber attacks.
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Article: The birds, also known as sea eagles, were absent from the UK for nearly 60 years until a re-introduction programme began in 1975.
The first young white-tailed eagles from Norway were released on Rum.
A total of 82 young eagles were released over 10 years on the island, with the first wild chick fledging on Mull in 1985.
The re-introduction programme was run by RSPB Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), formerly the Natural Conservancy Council.
More young eagles were released under the programme in Wester Ross between 1993 and 1998 while further releases took place in Fife from 2007 to 2012, through a partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland, including in the National Forest Estate.
The 100th breeding pair nested on Hoy in Orkney, the first white-tailed eagles to nest in Orkney for 142 years, it was revealed on Thursday evening's edition of BBC Springwatch.
RSPB Scotland director Stuart Housden said: "The 100th breeding pair marks a huge milestone for the re-introduction of white-tailed eagles, and to reach it in this important anniversary year for the programme makes it even more special.
"The success of bringing white-tailed eagles back to Scotland over the last 40 years owes a great deal to the partners involved, as well as the support of Police Scotland, landowners, farmers, local community groups and organisations, and to Norway, who gifted the young eagles.
"It's fantastic to see how these magnificent birds have captured the public's imagination and that the sight of a white-tailed eagle soaring in the Scottish sky is no longer a thing of the past."
White-tailed eagles became extinct in the UK due to widespread persecution.
They bred in England and the Isle of Man, and across Scotland and Ireland, but by 1900 only a handful of eyries remained, all in Scotland.
The last known nesting attempt was on Skye in 1916 and in 1918 the last British white-tailed eagle was shot in Shetland.
The white-tailed eagles on Hoy have been seen in the area every spring and summer since 2013, and are both thought...

Summary: The number of white-tailed eagles in Scotland has reached 100 breeding pairs, according to conservationists.
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Article: In a survey, the motoring organisation found most people were unaware that the emergency number in Europe is 112.
Some people thought the number was 111, which is in fact the non-emergency number for the NHS in most of the UK.
Others thought they should dial 911, the emergency number in the United States and Canada.
The 112 number works in all 28 member states of the EU - including the UK - as well as in 11 other countries.
They are: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia.
It is free, and connects the caller with the Police, the Fire Brigade or emergency medical assistance. In many cases, the call will be answered in English.
The RAC is advising motorists going abroad to make a note of the 112 number.
"It doesn't get a lot of promotion - certainly not in Britain, where we have 999 anyway, but not a great deal in continental Europe either," said RAC European breakdown manager David Huggon.
The introduction of the 101 number in the UK has caused further complications, according to the RAC.
That is the non-emergency assistance line for the Police.
The non-emergency number for the NHS - 111 - currently operates in England and Scotland, but not in Wales.
*For consumers who are deaf or have a speech impediment, a text phone is available on 18000
** For consumers who are deaf, a text phone is available on 18001 101
The UK regulator Ofcom had no comment to make on the RAC's claims, which it said were the responsibility of the European Commission.

Summary: Motorists crossing the Channel are confused about which three-digit number to dial in an emergency, the RAC has claimed.
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Article: Steffan Roberts Vernon, 33, from Caernarfon, died at the Llanberis beauty spot in Gwynedd, on Sunday alongside Alexander Hadley, 21, from nearby Dinorwig.
Two others, aged 27 and 25, were treated in hospital and later released.
Police believe the men got into difficulty while swimming in the "extremely cold" water.
Friends have been posting tributes on a Facebook page called 'Steffan Vernon and why we all love him'.
Debbie Ann Williams wrote: "So sad such a lovely smiley soul the gentle giant who always had a big hug 4 everyone rip steff xxxx"
Eve Maria posted: "Xxx always ready for an adventure full of smiles and a beautiful crazy laugh xxx"
Emma O'Neill said: "Some souls leave the world a far better place than when they arrived....just by being a part of it."
The coroner for north west Wales has launched an investigation into their deaths and an inquest will be opened at a later date.

Summary:


The German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed that Hoffenheim's Julian Nagelsmann has been banned for two games and fined 15,000 euros for insulting Hoffenheim's Julian Draxler.
The DFB said the decision was taken by the disciplinary committee on Monday.
It said: "The

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Roger Schmidt has been banned and fined for calling an opposing manager "a nutcase" during a Bundesliga game.

Article: Michael Maguire is taking the PSNI to court in an attempt to force it to hand over sensitive intelligence material.
A judge has delayed the legal hearing for two weeks to allow both parties to come to an agreement.
The High Court heard that investigators for the ombudsman were turned away from PSNI buildings.
It was also claimed that requests for information on the cases had been turned down on more than 100 occasions.
The action centres on investigations into recent and historic cases involving allegations of police criminality and misconduct by failing to properly probe murders.
Claims of collusion between some police officers and the killers feature in many.
One of the cases in which the PSNI stands accused of obstructing Police Ombudsman Michael Maguire's staff is the loyalist murders of six people in Loughinisland, County Down.
The men were shot dead as they watched the 1994 World Cup in the Heights bar.
The High Court also heard that access to material is being sought in up to 19 ongoing investigations.
Barrister Stephen McQuitty, for the ombudsman, told Mr Justice Treacy proceedings had not been issued lightly.
Arguing that the PSNI was under an obligation to hand over information, he claimed: "The refusal to provide that material is irrational."
It was contended that the police reasoning was misconceived and mistaken.
"There's been an unjustified departure from a memorandum of understanding that exists between the police and the ombudsman," he said.
Although the document came into operation last September, the court heard that the breakdown in relationships was confirmed in April.
Referring to an affidavit from Adrian McAllister, chief executive in the police ombudsman's office, Mr McQuitty claimed the PSNI began to express concerns about sharing information.
"It was not raised formally but manifested itself in police ombudsman staff being turned away from PSNI buildings when they had arranged to view sensitive material," he said.
"It became apparent to the police ombudsman that a different approach...

Summary: The police ombudsman has been granted leave for a judicial review of the chief constable's decision to withhold information about 60 murders.
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Article: When browsing the internet, certificates are designed to ensure the communication between a computer and web server is secure.
Google said it would no longer accept certificates issued by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) following a security lapse.
The CNNIC said Google's decision was "unacceptable and unintelligible".
The CNNIC is responsible for providing certificates for websites with .cn domain names, as well as Chinese-language domains - including banks and government sites.
It means users of Google's Chrome browser will see a warning notice when trying to access sites with CNNIC certificates.
It will state that the website the user is attempting to access may be unsecure.
Google discovered last month that unauthorised security certificates were issued to several of its own domains.
After an investigation, conducted with the help of the CNNIC, it became clear that there was a problem with MCS Holdings, a Cairo-based firm contracted by the CNNIC to provide certificates.
Google said domains with security certificates issued by MCS Holdings were vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks - a method of hacking that involves intercepting communications between, for example, a person's computer and a web server.
MCS Holdings has said the problem was an accident and was due to human error.
While Google welcomed the CNNIC's help with the investigation, it said the regulator had "delegated their substantial authority to an organisation that was not fit to hold it".
As a result, Google has decided to no longer trust domains with certificates issued by, or on behalf of, the CNNIC.
Users will be presented with a warning screen before being asked if they want to proceed to the "unsecure" site.
However, there will be some exceptions.
Google has offered a grace period to some major CNNIC-approved sites - such as banks - so they can obtain certificates from a different issuing authority.
The search giant said the CNNIC was welcome to reapply for trusted status "once suitable technical and procedural...

Summary: A Chinese internet regulator has hit out at Google for no longer accepting its security certificates.
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Article: Keepers at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC only discovered Mei Xiang was pregnant during an ultrasound scan last week.
Giant pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world and are notoriously hard to breed in captivity.
The National Zoo is one of only four zoos in the US to have pandas, which are on loan from China.
Mei Xiang, who has two other offspring, is one of the zoo's star attractions and a Panda Cam on her enclosure crashed within seconds of the birth being announced because of the volume of interest.
Female pandas are able to conceive for only two or three days a year, leading to a very low reproduction rate.
Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated with sperm from the zoo's resident male Tian Tian and a panda named Hui Hui from Wolong, China.
It will not be known for a while which is the father, or whether the cub is male or female.
It has previously taken months before Mei Xiang's cubs have been introduced to the public.
The panda population is threatened by habitat loss as land is increasingly inhabited by humans, with about 1,800 pandas left in the wild in China.
However, the number living in the wild in China has gone up over the last 10 years.

Summary: A giant panda at a zoo in the United States has given birth to a cub.
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Article: Schmidt was sent off by the referee for insulting Hoffenheim's Julian Nagelsmann in Saturday's 3-0 home loss.
"That was nothing, what sort of a nutcase are you? Just shut your mouth," Schmidt shouted after going 2-0 down.
The 49-year-old has been banned for two games and handed a 15,000 euros (£13,373) fine.
The German was sanctioned after triggering a suspended sentence from February this year.
He had been banned for three games, with a further two in the event of a repeat offence before June 2017, for refusing a referee's order to leave the sidelines during a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
Schmidt will be unable to have any contact with the team for half an hour before, during and after Tuesday's German Cup second-round match against Lotte and Saturday's league match against Wolfsburg.
Leverkusen's director of sport Rudi Voller has sought a meeting with the head of the disciplinary committee.

Summary: