The US Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate for the first time in almost a year, but warned that the US economy is still in a fragile state.
The central bank's decision to hold interest rates at a record low of 0.25% for the first time in a decade was widely expected.
The

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

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

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

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

Summary: Chinese online shopping platform Taobao has removed controversial vendors offering personalised video and photo ads featuring African children, following an outcry about exploitation.
###
Article: The Conference Board's index of consumer attitudes fell by 8.3 points to 59.7 in March.
The research group primarily blamed the fall on the US federal budget cuts that came into force at the start of this month.
Separate data on Tuesday from the Commerce Department was more positive, showing a rise in durable goods sales.
Sale of such long-lasting factory products rose by 5.7% in February, the biggest increase in five months.
Yet the Commerce Department also said that sales of new US homes fell in February.
Sale of new residential properties fell to a seasonally adjusted 411,000 in February, 4.6% lower than the 431,000 sold in January, which had been a five-year high.
The government cuts - called the "sequester" cuts - came into force earlier this month. They were due to the federal government running out of funds before a new budget was finally agreed by the US Senate on 20 March.
"This month's retreat was driven primarily by a sharp decline in expectations, although consumers were also more pessimistic in their assessment of current conditions," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's economic  indicators.
"The recent sequester has created uncertainty regarding the economic outlook, and as a result consumers are less confident."

Summary:


A man has been charged with the murder of a man in a "brutal" attack in the city of Hull.
The incident happened in the early hours of Sunday morning in the city's West End.
The victim, a man in his 30s, was found with serious injuries in a flat in the

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

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

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

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

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

Summary:

Article: {{document}}

Summary: ||| {{target}}


The European Court of Justice has ruled that a German man who was denied a job because of his sexual orientation was discriminated against because of his religion.
The court said the man was not discriminated against because of his sexual orientation because he was not a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
The court said the man was not

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

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

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

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

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

Summary:


A man has been jailed for three years after he was found guilty of causing a serious road traffic collision in Ipswich.
The incident happened on the A12 at the junction with the A14 at the junction with the A14 at the junction with the A14 at the junction with the A14 at the junction with

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

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

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

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

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

Summary:


A cheetah has been shot dead in Botswana after it was found with a shotgun cartridge in its stomach, the country's conservation agency said.
The animal was found dead in the Okavango Delta, in the north of the country, on Tuesday, the Botswana Cheetah Conservation Trust said.

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

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

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

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

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

Summary:


The Pirate Bay has been blocked in the UK, but the site is still accessible in the US.
The site has been blocked in the UK, but the site is still accessible in the US.
The Pirate Bay has been blocked in the UK, but the site is still accessible in the US.
The site

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

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

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

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

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

Summary:


A new study has found that the immune system can be used to fight cancer.
The study, published in the journal Nature, found that the immune system can be used to fight cancer.
The research team, led by Dr David Adams, from the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, found that the immune system can be

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

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

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

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

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

Summary:


A man has been jailed for four years after he was found guilty of causing a serious injury to a woman in a car.
The incident happened in the early hours of the morning on the A46 near the A4600 junction in Lincoln on 12 December last year.
The woman was driving her car when she was

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

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

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

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

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

Summary:


The Green Party has pledged to provide free sanitary products to all secondary school girls and women in financial need.
The party has also pledged to fund the provision of sanitary products to all primary school girls and women in financial need.
The party has also pledged to fund the provision of sanitary products to all primary

Free sanitary products for those who cannot afford them have been promised by the Green Party of England and Wales.

Article: Counting moles on the right arm was found to be a good indicator of total moles on the body. More than 100 indicates five times the normal risk.
The study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, used data from 3,000 twins in the UK.
GPs could use the findings to identify those most at risk, it said.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer affecting more than 13,000 people in the UK each year.
It develops from abnormal moles, so the risk of being diagnosed with a melanoma is linked to the number of moles a patient has.
Researchers from King's College London studied a large group of female twins over a period of eight years, collecting information on skin type, freckles and moles on their bodies.
After repeating the exercise on a smaller group of around 400 men and women with melanoma, they came up with a quick and easy way to assess the risk of skin cancer.
Females with more than seven moles on their right arm had nine times the risk of having more than 50 on their whole body.
Those with more than 11 on their right arm were more likely to have more than 100 on their body in total, meaning they were at a higher risk of developing a melanoma.
The findings could help GPs to identify those with an increased risk of developing a melanoma.
Lead author Simone Ribero, of the department of twin research and genetic epidemiology at King's, said: "The findings could have a significant impact for primary care, allowing GPs to more accurately estimate the total number of moles in a patient extremely quickly via an easily accessible body part."
Consultant dermatologist and study co-author Veronique Bataille said if a patient was worried about an abnormal mole and went to see their GP, counting moles on one arm "might ring alarm bells" and highlight those patients who should be seen by a specialist more quickly.
Dr Claire Knight, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said the study findings were helpful, but added that fewer than half of melanomas develop from existing moles.
"It's important to know what's...

Summary: Having more than 11 moles on one arm indicates a higher-than-average risk of skin cancer or melanoma, research suggests.
###
Article: The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) calculated that a mid-range household's income between 2013 and 2014 was 6% below its pre-crisis peak.
This was felt equally across high and low income groups when the cost of living was taken into account.
But those on low incomes could feel the squeeze more in the coming years.
This was the result of further cuts to benefits and tax credits, the IFS said.
The findings will further fuel the political debate about the UK's economic recovery and whether this will benefit all groups of society equally. The IFS suggested that, so far, this debate had suffered from a lack of up-to-date information.
In an early release of a chapter of the annual IFS Green Budget, the group has calculated that a household in the middle of the income scale has seen a 6% drop in income since 2007 to 2008, although the fall in income had now come to a halt.
The analysis suggests that those near the top end of the scale, 10% from the very richest, have seen their incomes hit hardest, with a fall of 9% since the recession.
Are we really better off?
Meanwhile, those near the bottom, 10% from the very poorest, have seen their incomes drop by 2.4% over the same period.
This reflected the fact that earnings had increased slower than prices, while benefit rates had kept up with the cost of living.
However, the IFS said that those with relatively high incomes had benefitted from cheaper mortgage rates.
In contrast, rising food and energy prices, which formed a bigger proportion of the spending of poorer households, had risen faster than the average cost of living measured by inflation.
The report said that inflation between 2008 and 2013 was 20%, while energy prices rose by 60% and food prices were up by 30% over the same period.
"Looking forward, there is little reason to expect a strong recovery in living standards over the next few years," the report said.
"Given this, it seems highly unlikely that living standards will recover their pre-crisis levels by 2015 to 2016."
It added that earnings might...

Summary: Average UK living standards have fallen "dramatically" since the recession and will not reach pre-crisis levels by the next election, economists have said.
###
Article: A total of 4,851 council seats are up for grabs in 88 councils - all of those in Scotland and Wales, plus 34 in England, including 27 counties.
Six new "metro mayors" will be elected, covering areas including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and the West of England.
Polling stations will open at 07:00 and close at 22:00 BST.
Some English and Welsh councils will begin counting ballots as soon as polls close - while others will start counting on Friday morning, with results continuing all day Friday.
Scotland's 32 councils will start their counts on Friday morning, with first results expected from midday. Most mayoral results will be declared on Friday.
A cloudy start is expected across much of the UK with light rain anticipated in parts of Wales, London and the south east - while sunny spells are expected in north west England and Scotland.
In England, (34 councils, 2,370 seats) this is a year of county council elections, but there will also be polls in six unitary authorities where county councils and district councils have merged.
In Scotland polls will be held in all councils (1,227 seats) and all 22 councils in Wales (1,254 seats).
For the first time voters in Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City region, the West Midlands, Tees Valley, the West of England, and Cambridge and Peterborough will elect new "metro mayors", covering combined local authority areas.
Doncaster and North Tyneside are also voting for local authority mayors, who are elected leaders of their respective councils.

Summary: Voters are set to go to the polls for local and mayoral elections in England, Wales and Scotland.
###
Article: The Greens pledged to end "period poverty" by providing towels and tampons to secondary school pupils and women in financial need.
A 5% tax on sanitary products has caused controversy and 320,000 people have signed a petition to abolish it.
The pledge may be funded by a tax on airship sales and aircraft repairs.
Sanitary products are not exempt from VAT, as some medical products are. Campaigns to end the tax on them have taken place in countries across the globe.
In the UK, a further row broke out in April when it was revealed some of the money raised from the tax and promised by the government to women's charities had been given to an anti-abortion group.
Of the Â£12m given to 70 UK charities, Â£250,000 had gone to Life.
Green MEP Molly Scott Cato, who has pressed in the European Parliament for a VAT exemption on tampons, towels and mooncups, said it was an "outrage those on low incomes are forced to use socks or newspapers during their period because they can't afford a sanitary product".
Children in secondary school from low-income backgrounds were routinely missing days at school, she said.
The Green Party said it wanted to work with health companies to provide the free products.
It will look at funding them by taxing other products and services such as air craft repairs and maintenance and airship sales.

Summary:


The government has announced a new £1.5m fund to help care homes improve the quality of their care.
The fund, which is part of the government's £1.5bn Care and Support Fund, will be available to care homes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The money will be available

Evidence of progress on reducing the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medication in care homes has been demanded by the Older People's Commissioner for Wales.

Article: But in September 2013, the process of switching became a lot less painful.
That was when Britain's 50m current account holders were first able to move their bank account to another provider within seven days.
It followed a recommendation from the Independent Commission on Banking, which said there should be more competition in the market.
So how easy is it to switch? What can go wrong? And what guarantees do you have if your bank makes a mistake?
How common is switching?
Before the 7 day switching service started, around a million people switched bank accounts every year. In the first two years of the service, 2.25m switched. But the number of switches declined by 14% between 2014 and 2015.
Where do we bank at the moment?
The big four High Street banks have a 77% share of the market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority. Lloyds Banking Group (which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland) is the largest bank in the UK, with 27% of all current accounts. Both Barclays and RBS (which includes Nat West) have 18%, and HSBC has  12%, according to Cass Business School.
How can I switch?
You can contact your new bank, or choose a new one via www.simplerworld.co.uk. Once you have switched, payments in or out of your old account will be automatically re-directed for a period of 13 months, to cover once-a-year payments. So your employer, for example, will be notified, and payments will be automatically switched to your new account. No one whom you pay, or who pays you, will have to take any action.
So how long will switching take?
Once your new bank has acknowledged your application, the switching will take seven working days. Or the switch can happen on a date of your choosing.
Do I have to notify my old bank?
No, you only need notify the new bank. It will tell your old bank, and transfer all your direct debits and standing orders automatically. You will be given a new bank account number, and a new sort code.
What happens if I miss a payment as a result of the switch?
If anything goes wrong, and you miss a...

Summary: A survey for Santander found that 20% of those questioned would rather go to the dentist than switch their bank accounts.
###
Article: The former Conservative leader said people should not expect everyone to be "perfect or normal", as senior politicians publish their tax returns.
He warned Parliament would be "one dimensional" if made up only of people with the "simplest possible" finances.
His comments come after a row over the prime minister's financial affairs.
David Cameron took the unprecedented step of releasing a summary of his tax return last week, following days of questions and speculation about his financial affairs after revelations about his holding in his late father's offshore fund.
Chancellor George Osborne, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Boris Johnson became the latest senior British politicians to publish details of their tax returns on Monday.
Politicians' taxes: Who's published what
Tax affairs: Public or private?
PM sets up anti-tax dodging task force
How does inheritance tax work?
Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme "we live in an age of greater transparency" and "the answer is not to fight that age, it has arrived and it will come all the more".
But he said a "mature acceptance" was needed by the public that someone's personal finances will not necessarily determine their leadership abilities.
"The consequence of greater transparency in tax, in medical records whatever else it may be among leaders is that there has to be a maturity in the public debate about those things and a recognition that the circumstances and habits of people who are effective leaders will vary greatly.
"And that those personal circumstances are not necessarily a good guide to how good they will be as a prime minister, a chancellor or anything else," he said.
Mr Hague said previous leaders, such as William Pitt the Younger, had "chaotic personal finances" but were "brilliant at handling the nation's finances".
And he added: "We've had leaders who had tax returns like (Winston) Churchill that would have been more difficult to defend in public than Prime Minister David Cameron's tax returns - but Churchill was the greatest...

Summary: Greater tax transparency among UK political leaders is here to stay but it needs to be matched by a maturity of public debate, William Hague has said.
###
Article: Inspectors say that almost half of pupils at secondary schools run by the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) are in schools that are "less than good".
Ofsted warns that poorer pupils do "particularly badly" in AET schools.
In response the trust said it was disappointed that its "significant achievements" had "not been sufficiently recognised".
The Department for Education is threatening that unless standards are raised there will be "further action".
AET runs 67 academies across England.  Such academy chains are independent but publicly funded to run schools. AET has charitable status and a financial report up to August 2014 said there was annual expenditure of £333m.
Inspectors say that 40% of pupils in primary schools run by AET are in "academies that do not provide a good standard of education".
"It is even worse in secondary, where 47% of pupils attend academies that are less than good," says Ofsted.
The performance of AET's secondary schools is described as "mediocre" and there has been a lack of progress since Ofsted highlighted weaknesses in the chain's schools two years ago.
The report says there is a particular weakness in the progress of disadvantaged pupils.
Inspectors also warned about "unacceptably low" attendance levels.
And there was criticism of "insufficient detail" about how the trust is governed.
Ofsted cannot give a judgement on an academy chain, but inspectors can carry out multiple inspections of individual schools it runs.
In this "focused inspection", inspectors visited seven academies and there were discussions by telephone with a further 18 schools.
AET runs schools across a wide geographical area - including the Isle of Wight, Hull, Birmingham, Essex, Leicestershire and Gloucestershire.
The trust's financial report says its expenditure of £333m included more than £9.5m on "fundraising expenses and other costs".
Ofsted's breakdown says four academies are rated outstanding, 35 are good, 20 require improvement, seven are inadequate and one has still to be inspected.
In response to...

Summary: The biggest academy chain in England has been accused by Ofsted of "failing too many pupils".
###
Article: In 2014, Sarah Rochira published the results of a major review of the experience of care home residents.
The use of antipsychotic drugs was a recurrent theme which she has branded a "national scandal".
Health boards and care homes have said changes are being made.
The commissioner is asking them to show significant improvements in practice.
"I know professionals don't like this phrase, but across Wales older people in care homes, through the inappropriate use of these drugs, are being 'chemically coshed'. That's the reality of it.
"It is a national scandal. I made that clear when I published my review. I was very clear I would come back and look for evidence of changes and I've now begun that process.
"I will publish the findings from the health boards later this year and I cannot be any clearer in my expectation that they understand how inappropriate the current situation is and that they can evidence real progress."
Antipsychotic drugs are primarily used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
A survey last November by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found nearly one in five - 18% - of dementia patients were being prescribed antipsychotics.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Wales published its own report into the use of medicines in care homes following the Ms Rochira's report.
The society's director in Wales, Mair Davies, told BBC Radio Wales' Eye on Wales programme that there were examples of expert practice.
"What we need is to make sure that happens in every care home in Wales," she said.
Steve Ford, the dementia care lead for Care Forum Wales, which represents more than 450 independent care homes in Wales, believes progress is being made.
"We need to look at the underlying reasons for unwanted behaviour that challenges, rather than picking up the phone to the GP and requesting those prescriptions," he said.

Summary:


A man has been arrested after a man was found dead in a car in the town of Braunau am Inn, in Austria.
The man, who was in his 20s, was found dead in the car in the town's main square on Monday afternoon, police said.
The car was found in the town

A Hitler lookalike has been arrested in Austria on charges of glorifying the Nazi era, local officials say.

Article: Austfonna on Norway's Svalbard archipelago covers just over 8,000 sq km and had been relatively stable for many years.
But the latest space data reveals a marked acceleration of the ice in its main outlet glacier to the Barents Sea.
The research was presented in Brussels on Thursday to mark the launch of the EU's new Sentinel-1a radar spacecraft.
This satellite has been in orbit barely a month but is already being tasked with a range of science observations and other duties.
European Commission officials are keen to showcase the platform's capabilities before it goes into full service, including what it can do at high latitudes.
Radar is particularly useful in these regions. It senses the surface whatever the weather conditions and even in the darkness of polar winter.
Scientists had suspected the Arctic's Austfonna Ice Cap was losing substantially more ice through its major drainage glacier at Cap Mohn, and asked if Sentinel-1a could take some pictures.
"We've observed Austfonna with various satellite radar datasets over the past 20 years, and it hasn't done very much," explained Prof Andy Shepherd from Leeds University, UK.
Copernicus uses a range of technologies to get a broad picture of the health status of the planet
"But we've now looked at it again with the new Sentienl-1a spacecraft, and it's clear it has speeded up quite considerably in the last two or three years. It is now flowing at least 10 times faster than previously measured."
That previous measurement was done using the German national TerraSAR-X radar mission.
The speed of a glacier is judged by how far prominent features such as a big crevasse travel in time.
An "ice cap" is much smaller than an "ice sheet", a term that more properly describes the huge frozen masses covering Greenland and Antarctica.
An ice cap does, however, share a similarity with its bigger cousin in that it too has glaciers flowing away in many directions.
The Earth's ice caps and glaciers have become a key focus for scientists because these are the ice fields that...

Summary: Melting at one of the largest ice caps on Earth has produced a big jump in its flow speed, satellite imagery suggests.
###
Article: Writing in the Sun in July, MacKenzie said a reporter wearing a headscarf should not have been allowed to report on the Nice terror attacks.
Manji said Ipso's clearing of MacKenzie signified "open season" on minorities.
But MacKenzie told BBC News there was a "legitimate debate" to be had about journalists wearing symbols of faith.
In a statement to the corporation, he said: "I agree 100% that no Muslim should be prevented from covering any story.
"But there is a legitimate debate about whether it is appropriate for journalists to wear prominent symbols of their faith on air, particularly when reporting on stories with a religious angle."
He also drew attention to the BBC's own debate around the issue several years ago, when bosses at the corporation were considering what was appropriate for newsreaders to wear.
MacKenzie added: "Let's not lose sight of that fact that for many people, including Muslims, the hijab is a symbol of the subjugation and oppression of women. In some countries, women are physically attacked, arrested and imprisoned for not covering their heads.
"Whatever your perspective, it is an important debate and we should not be banned from discussing it."
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday morning, Manji said: "I think the fact that Kelvin MacKenzie can write a column and suggest that I am somehow sympathetic to a perpetrator of a terrorist attack, that somehow I am not like the rest of us, that I am the other, means that other people are now open to attack."
"It was upsetting enough to find my picture in what is Britain's most widely read newspaper next to the words 'Muslim terror attack,'" she told Mishal Husain.
"It was upsetting enough to find myself the latest victim to Kelvin Mackenzie's tirade. But now to know that has been given the green light by the press regulator and that effectively it is open season on minorities, and Muslims in particular, is frightening."
Manji added that she had been "contacted privately by individuals who work at The Sun and at News UK to...

Summary: Channel 4 News journalist Fatima Manji has said the press regulator's decision not to uphold her complaint about Kelvin MacKenzie is "frightening".
###
Article: The reduction came despite the levy for single-use bags only being in place for the final 11 weeks of the year.
But in England - where large shops will have to charge for plastic bags from October - 200 million more bags were used in 2014, Defra research suggested.
Northern Ireland saw usage fall by 42.6%, while Wales had a rise of 5.2%.
The fall in Scotland follows statistics released three months ago, which suggested the number of carrier bags being used by shoppers had fallen by 90%.
However, in England, the number of single-use bags from supermarkets rose from 7.4 billion in 2013 to just over 7.6 billion last year, statistics from waste reduction body Wrap suggested.
The figures covered the 2014 calendar year in the UK from seven major grocery retailers.
From October, all retailers in England with 250 or more full-time equivalent employees will have to charge a minimum of 5p for bags they give out in stores and for deliveries.
The move will bring England in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, in the final quarter of the year following the introduction of the 5p charge was introduced, bag usage dropped by 129 million compared with the previous year.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the figures were "astounding" and showed the country was serious about tackling litter and reducing waste.
"I hope the public will continue to embrace re-using their bags and that even more retailers will sign up to donate money to good causes when it has been necessary for people to take a bag," he said.
He said the figures demonstrate how "small changes can make a big difference".
The Scottish government has said it aims to reduce the use of single-use bags in Scotland by 80% in the first full year of the charge.
Wales and Northern Ireland achieved similar figures in the first full year of their campaigns.
Previous statistics showed that people in Scotland used more than 800 million new single-use carrier bags every year - more per head of population than anywhere else in the UK.
Last year,...

Summary: The number of plastic bags handed out by supermarkets in Scotland fell by 147 million last year - the first figures since a 5p charge was introduced.
###
Article: The 25-year-old man reportedly calls himself Harald Hitler.
The man, sporting a side parting and a trademark moustache, had been seen having his photograph taken outside the house in Braunau am Inn in which Adolf Hitler was born.
The lookalike had recently moved to the town on the German border, police spokesman David Furtner told the BBC.
Mr Furtner said this was not a joke or a piece of performance art.
"The young man knows exactly what he is doing," the police spokesman said.
He said the man had also been spotted in Vienna and Graz.
Pictures of the man were published by Austria's Heute.at news website on Monday.
Glorifying the Nazi era is a crime in Austria.
Last October, the Austrian authorities decided to demolish Hitler's birthplace house to stop it becoming a focal point for neo-Nazis.
Hitler was born in a rented room on the top floor of the building on 20 April 1889.
During Nazi rule, the house was transformed into a shrine to Hitler as the town drew in a wave of tourists.
But as the Nazis began to lose control in 1944, it was shut.

Summary:


The sale of Battersea Power Station to a consortium of investors is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
The sale is expected to be worth around Â£502m, according to the consortium, which includes the UK's biggest housebuilder, Barratt.
The consortium is led by the UK

Battersea Power Station is being offered for sale on the open market for the first time.

Article: John Davies says more needs to be spent on marketing the project, which is heavily backed with public money.
Take up in areas that have had it for a year is 19% with just over £300,000 spent on marketing, which is around 1% of the overall cost so far.
But ministers said take up was where they expected it to be at this stage.
The Welsh government signed the deal - the largest of its kind in the UK - with BT in 2012 to roll out super fast broadband across Wales.
Download speeds of up to 80 megabits per second (Mbps) are being offered to domestic customers, compared to the average download speed currently available in Wales of around five to six Mbps. Even faster speeds are available to businesses.
The project, called Superfast Cymru, aims to ensure that 96% of homes in Wales are covered by 2016 and is seen as vital for Welsh businesses in an increasingly competitive global market.
Welsh ministers are spending £58m on the scheme, with a similar amount coming from the UK government and £90m from European funding.
In two years, the aim is for around 700,000 premises to have access but so far it has gone past the 150,000 mark.
Mr Davies, who chairs the Welsh advisory committee for the communications watchdog Ofcom, said the project was transformative but more needed to be done to make people aware of when it is rolled out in their communities to encourage demand for the high-speed broadband.
He said: "For small and medium sized businesses, it gives them an opportunity to compete on equal terms with businesses elsewhere in the UK and elsewhere in the world, and on the back of that they should be able to cut their costs and increase their revenues."
He added: "There is undoubtedly take up, there are undoubtedly benefits accruing now.
"The question is, if more is done on the stimulation side, can those benefits come through faster?"
In a statement the Welsh government said: "We are at an early stage in the programme and the marketing activity.
"Current take up figures for cabinets that have been in place for over one...

Summary: Wales is not making the most of a £425m contract to roll out superfast broadband in rural areas, according to the former head of BT in Wales.
###
Article: The European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA), based in Canary Wharf in London, employ more than 1,000 staff between them.
The Republic of Ireland has offered about €80m (£70m) across a decade to help the EMA relocate to Dublin.
Competing against other EU bids, it says a Dublin move would be the least disruptive for the agencies' staff.
The Irish application was officially submitted on Monday ahead of a midnight deadline.
Cities competing to host EMA
Cities competing to host EBA
The Irish government has committed to spending €15m (£13.5m) in the first year to help the EMA fit out the selected premises, and an annual contribution of €7m annually for rent and maintenance.
The banking and medicines agencies are seen as the first spoils of Brexit by the 27 remaining members of the EU.
The Irish government has earmarked three potential locations for the EMA headquarters, two in Dublin's docklands financial district and another by the city's airport.
Ireland's economy is likely to suffer  damage as a result of Brexit so landing one of the EU agencies would be some compensation.
The EMA looks like its best chance with the bid emphasising Ireland's expertise in life science and a proximity to London which could help the agency hold on to key staff.
However what could count against it is a previous EU commitment to spread agencies more evenly across the union.
Ireland is already home to Eurofound, an EU agency which monitors labour markets.
In the EBA bid's brochure, Irish Minister of State for Financial Services says the city offers a "seamless transition as Ireland is English speaking and culturally similar to London and is within the GMT time zone which helps maintain EBA routine option with minimal disruption".
There will be fierce competition to attract the agencies' highly skilled employees, their families and the business that comes with them. This includes about 40,000 hotel stays for visitors each year.
Each country could bid to host one or both agencies, but was only allowed one...

Summary: The Irish government has formally bid to host two major EU bodies that will be relocated from London after Brexit.
###
Article: Officers from North East Counter Terrorism Unit and the Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit executed six search warrants on Thursday.
The men, aged 19-32, were arrested under section 12 of the act, creating offences in relation to the support of proscribed organisations.
Two of the men have been named as Rofi Islam and Sajid Idris.
The arrests are not linked to two men charged with offences on Wednesday.
Police said the arrests were linked to the Grangetown area of Cardiff and were part of a wider counter-terrorism investigation in Wales, but are not linked to brothers Aseel and Nasser Muthana who went to fight with IS in Syria.
South Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Holland denied Cardiff was a hotbed of terrorism.
She said the Muthana brothers and Reyaad Khan had become poster boys in the UK for IS but said police were determined to tackle radicalisation.
"The scale of counter terrorism in Wales is minimal compared to other parts of the UK," she added.
Ramesh Rupaliyah, who works in a shop in Kent Street in Grangetown, said there were a number of police vehicles there at 07:00 GMT when the store opened.
"Police were already there when I got here," he said "there were police vehicles in the street."

Summary: Five men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act following raids in Cardiff and Barry.
###
Article: It is hoped the sale, to be handled by estate agent Knight Frank, will cover the Â£502m debts accrued by a firm which tried to redevelop the landmark site.
The 39-acre property is on the Thames and a new public park is planned there.
Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed government backing for plans to extend the London Underground's Northern Line into the heart of the area.
Stephan Miles-Brown, head of residential development at Knight Frank, said: "This is the first time Battersea Power Station has ever been offered for sale on the open market.
"As one of the UK's most recognisable landmarks, Knight Frank anticipates considerable interest in a scheme that is among the most exciting in the world today.
"Battersea Power Station is as iconic as the Chrysler Building in New York or the Eiffel Tower, and familiar to people who may have never even been to London."
The Grade II listed building opened in 1933 and generated power until 1983.
As such any building work would require listed building consent - even minor works, such as painting.
It was acquired by Real Estate Opportunities, the majority owner of the holding company, in 2006.
Last year its debts on the project were called in by creditors.

Summary:


The US energy giant said it had completed the first phase of a $1bn investment in a new ethane cracker in the US.
The company said the new plant, which will be the largest in the world, will be able to produce up to 1.5m tonnes of ethylene per year.

A second manufacturing unit at the Ineos KG ethylene plant in Grangemouth will be brought back to life eight years after it was mothballed.

Article: Uzbekistan is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of cotton, a mainstay of its economy.
Human rights campaigners say hundreds of thousands of children are being forced to bring in the harvest for minimal wages and under harsh, sometimes dangerous, conditions.
As the picking season gets under way in the Central Asian country, dozens of leading international clothing companies have pledged to avoid Uzbek produce.
In the US, the organisers of New York Fashion Week recently cancelled a show by the Uzbek president's daughter, amid protests by labour rights activists.
Gulnara Karimova was forced to hire a private venue in Manhattan to unveil her new collection, with protesters gathering outside the opulent Cipriani restaurant, waving placards and chanting.
Islomiddin Dolimov, a leader of an Uzbek opposition group who took part in the protest, said: "The main reason is to show how children are forcibly being taken to the cotton fields in Uzbekistan and to say it is time to stop this."
The Uzbek government denies that children are forced to harvest cotton and has signed up to International Labour Rights standards.
But so far it has refused to let international inspectors into the country to independently verify the progress the authorities say they have made.
The BBC's Uzbek service has received reports of school children being bussed to agricultural areas in various parts of the country.
One human rights worker in Uzbekistan said she had talked to a 10-year-old girl who said her class was made to pick cotton in the mornings and attend lessons only in the afternoon.
The activist was later detained by police for questioning.
"They said, 'you have no right to be here,' and started putting pressure on us, demanding that we should sign a paper stating that we will never visit the area again," she told the BBC.
Officers confiscated her bag, papers and camera and threatened to strip her to find the memory card, she said.
More than 60 international companies have now signed a pledge to not knowingly source...

Summary: Pressure is growing on the government of Uzbekistan to prove that it is ending the use of child labour during the cotton harvest.
###
Article: The timing of the handover of power from David Cameron looks set to be after PM's  questions on Wednesday.
Mrs May, 59, who backed staying in the EU, has been home secretary since 2010.
Mrs Leadsom, who campaigned to leave the EU, said the UK needed "strong and stable government" and that Mrs May was "ideally placed" to implement Brexit.
The 1922 committee of Tory MPs - which is overseeing the leadership contest - is holding talks with the Conservative Party board over formally declaring Mrs May the winner, after Mrs Leadsom dropped out.
A statement is expected from its chairman, Graham Brady, at about 17:00 BST.
Mrs May is also expected to make a public statement, at about 18:00 BST, according to BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith.
In a speech earlier on Monday setting out her leadership campaign platform, Mrs May - who rejected the argument that the next leader and prime minister had to have been someone on the winning side of the EU referendum - said: "Brexit means Brexit and we're going to make a success of it."
In her brief statement in Westminster, Mrs Leadsom - who was a leading light of the Brexit campaign - said a nine-week leadership campaign at such a "critical time" for the UK would be "highly undesirable".
A source close to the energy minister told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg "the abuse has been too great" for Mrs Leadsom during the contest.
Mrs Leadsom had apologised to Mrs May on Monday after suggesting in a weekend newspaper interview that being a mother made her a better candidate for the job.
Mrs Leadsom, who was flanked by some of her supporters as she read the statement, said: "Strong leadership is needed urgently to begin the work of withdrawing from the European Union. A nine-week leadership campaign at such a critical moment is highly undesirable."
She said Mrs May, the home secretary, had the support of more than 60% of Conservative MPs and was "ideally placed to implement Brexit on the best possible terms for the British people and she has promised she will do...

Summary: Theresa May is set to become the UK's next prime minister after Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the contest to become Conservative Party leader.
###
Article: The US banking giant said net income in its corporate and investment banking division was $2.5bn, up $412m compared with the same period a year earlier.
But it also reported an after-tax charge of $487m for legal expenses.
And it set aside a total of $959m to cover bad loans, $109m higher than a year earlier.
JPMorgan's legal expenses stem in part from the fact that it still faces an investigation by the US Justice Department into its involvement in the manipulation of foreign exchange markets.
It also faces a probe into its hiring policy in Asia.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo, the largest mortgage lender in the US, reported a 2.6% fall in profits in the first three months of the year and set aside more money to cover bad loans.
Net income was $5.46bn in the three months to the end of March ,compared with $5.61bn a  year earlier.
The bank said it was setting aside $617m for credit losses an increase of $198m on the same three months a year earlier.
JPMorgan said revenue from fixed-income bond trading rose 5% to $4.07bn, adjusted for the sale of businesses last year, including a commodities operation.
"We have an outstanding franchise which is getting safer and stronger, and is gaining market share over time," said chief executive Jamie Dimon.
"We continue to build the company for the long-term, we are investing in controls, infrastructure, systems, technology, new products and bankers."
The bank said it was increasing its second quarter dividend from $0.40 to $0.44.
JPMorgan's investment bank, along with its rivals, is under pressure to cut costs as customers have reduced their trading activity following the financial crisis.
Regulators have also demanded that big banks take fewer risks, hold more capital and improve controls.
The bank has said it wants to cut expenses by $2.8bn by 2017, excluding legal costs, though some of the savings are expected to be offset by more spending to improve risk controls.
JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are the first of the large US banks to report quarterly results.
Overall, results are...

Summary: JPMorgan Chase has reported a 12% rise in profit to $5.91bn (Â£4bn) for the three months to the end of March, as revenue from bond trading improved.
###
Article: The firm successfully completed operational trials of the Train 2 unit ahead of it receiving shale gas ethane from the US this autumn.
New docks and a new pipeline network have been built to receive the gas.
The company said the move means it is now in "great shape" to run the plant at full capacity.
The KG ethylene cracker was unable to operate at full capacity in 2008, leaving Ineos "no option" but to close the second manufacturing unit.
Ineos said the US ethane will be used as a supplementary feed for the KG ethylene plant and will allow the plant to run at increased rates.
Gordon Milne, Ineos Grangemouth operations director, said: "With the successful completion of the Train 2 trial we are now in great shape to receive shale gas from the US and to finally run the Grangemouth plant at full rates.
"All the parts of the jigsaw are finally coming together and Grangemouth will soon be back in the premier league of European petrochemical plants."
The plant's chief executive John McNally said: "Bringing the site back into profitability is the best way to secure our future here in Scotland.
"We know that ethane from US shale gas has transformed US manufacturing and we are now a step closer to seeing this advantage being brought to here to Grangemouth."

Summary: