A senior adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the US of meddling in Ukraine, in breach of a 1994 agreement over non-intervention.

Article: The maximum this year was 14.5 million sq km, said the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
This is the lowest since 1979, when satellite records began.
A recent study found that Arctic sea ice had thinned by 65% between 1975 and 2012.
Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics said: "The gradual disappearance of ice at the poles is having profound consequences for people, animals and plants in the polar regions, as well as around the world, through sea level rise."
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said the maximum level of sea ice for winter was reached this year on 25 February and the ice was now beginning to melt as the Arctic moved into spring.
The amount measured at the end of February is 130,000 sq km below the previous record winter low, measured in 2011.
An unusually warm February in parts of Alaska and Russia may have contributed to the dwindling sea ice, scientists believe.
Researchers will provide the monthly average data for March in early April, which is viewed as a better indicator of climate effects.
Nasa scientist Walt Meier said:  "The amount of ice at the maximum is a function of not only the state of the climate but also ephemeral and often local weather conditions.
"The monthly value smoothes out these weather effects and so is a better reflection of climate effects."
Analysis by David Shukman, Science editor, BBC News
The Arctic Ocean freezes every winter and much of the sea-ice then thaws every summer, and that process will continue whatever happens with climate change. Even if the Arctic continues to be one of the fastest-warming regions of the world, it will always be plunged into bitterly cold polar dark every winter. And year-by-year, for all kinds of natural reasons, there's huge variety of the state of the ice.
So what does this new record for the lowest level of winter ice actually mean?
For a start, it does not automatically follow that a record amount of...

Summary: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has fallen to the lowest recorded level for the winter season, according to US scientists.
###
Article: Those who fail to meet the deadline for online returns risk incurring a £100 fine.
A record 11 million people are required by their tax arrangements to submit a return.
Most now do so online and as that can be done from a computer at home, many leave it until the last moment.
Last year 700,000 missed the deadline, though Revenue and Customs accepted some excuses - such as a death in the family, serious illness or flooding.
On deadline day last year, 557,000 people rushed to file in time.
Recent analysis by HMRC suggested that women were more likely to submit their tax returns on time than men.
For every 10,000 tax returns received last year from men, 394 were after the relevant deadlines, compared with 358 late returns from every 10,000 submitted by women.
Interest is charged on any tax paid late and those who still have not submitted the form by May face additional penalties fines of £10 a day.
It is already too late to send in paper tax returns for the 2013-14 tax year as that deadline passed on 31 October.
Those who have failed to register for online submissions have also missed the boat.
Help on filing a tax return is available from the gov.uk website or from the self-assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310. Customers with general queries can also tweet the @HMRCcustomers Twitter feed.

Summary: A million taxpayers who need to submit a self-assessment tax return must do so by midnight on Saturday.
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Article: Keep Wales Tidy gave an extra 22 sites the award - the national benchmark for publicly accessible parks - up from last year's total of 161.
The new additions include Aberfan Cemetery, Swansea University and The Kymin, in Penarth.
Environment Secretary Lesley Griffiths said green spaces were "fundamental to the wellbeing and quality of life".
Winners of the Green Flag Community Award, for sites that rely on volunteers for their maintenance, include The Dye Garden, at the National Wool Museum in Carmarthen, Cae Bryn Coed in Llan Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, and Llanfyllin Wetland in Powys.
The Green Flag scheme, which is run by environmental charity, Keep Wales Tidy, with support from the Welsh Government, is judged by green space experts.
They assess sites using eight criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, environmental management and community involvement.
Ms Griffiths said: "I am delighted to see so many green spaces achieving the standards of the Green Flag Award.
"The award helps to ensure that communities have top quality green space to enjoy and experience the outdoors, which are fundamental to the wellbeing and quality of life of our communities in Wales."
Lucy Prisk, Green Flag coordinator, said it was about "connecting people with the very best parks and green spaces".

Summary: More than 180 parks and green spaces in Wales have now been given the Green Flag award.
###
Article: In an interview with the Daily Mirror, she said wolf-whistlers were saying: "Cor, you look all right darlin'." Ms Lumley added: "What's wrong with that?"
The 70-year-old - an actor, presenter, campaigner, and former model - claimed people had become "sensitive flowers" who were "very offended by everything".
In July, Nottinghamshire Police said wolf-whistling could be a hate crime.
In the interview, Ms Lumley said people had been "tougher" in the 1960s.
"When I was modelling, photographers were much ruder," she said.
"They'd say: 'You look frightful, what's the matter with you?', 'You look podgy, you look fat as a pig.'
"It was good-natured banter. You kind of got on with it, it didn't upset you."
Last month, Nottinghamshire Police said they had recorded 11 misogynistic hate crimes since April, which covers offences including harassment, kidnapping, possession of weapons and causing public fear, alarm or distress.
There were also 19 misogynistic "hate incidents", which cover behaviour less serious than a criminal act such as name calling and offensive jokes.
In Worcester in April, a 23-year-old woman reported wolf-whistling builders to the police.
The police said it was a matter for the men's employers. A builder involved called the wolf-whistling "a bit of banter".
Ms Lumley was unavailable for comment when contacted by the BBC on Wednesday.

Summary: Women should regard wolf-whistling as a compliment, Joanna Lumley has said.
###
Article: SYHA Hostelling Scotland said three additional summer youth hostels will open in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth between June and August.
The new hostels will be based in existing student accommodation vacated during the summer months.
The announcement follows a refurbishment of Portree Youth Hostel on the Isle of Skye.
Edinburgh University's halls of residence on the Cowgate will provide 199 spaces, with 110 at the Glasgow School of Art's Margaret Macdonald House and 65 in Perth College's student residence.
The hostelling organisation said visitors would be offered a choice of self-catering apartments and single, double, and twin rooms.
SYHA Hostelling Scotland chief executive, Keith Legge, said: "In response to customer demand we are again delighted to be providing extra accommodation in three popular city destinations - Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
"All three youth hostels are perfectly situated for city tourist attractions, outdoor activities, cultural and music festivals and events, shopping, restaurants and bars; as well as for onward travel to our other hostels throughout Scotland."
The organisation will build a new youth hostel at Glen Nevis later this year.

Summary: Three Scottish cities will receive an extra 374 bed spaces to accommodate an influx of youth hostellers this summer.
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Article: Sergei Glazyev said the US was spending $20m (Â£12.3m; 14.8m euros) a week on Ukrainian opposition groups, supplying "rebels" with arms among other things.
Accusing the US of ignoring the Memorandum on Security Assurances, he suggested Moscow could also intervene.
The American embassy in Kiev declined to comment on his accusations.
21 November 2013: Ukraine announces it will not sign a deal aimed at strengthening ties with the EU, sparking protests
17 December: Russia agrees to buy $15bn of Ukrainian government bonds and slash the price of gas it sells to the country
16 January 2014: Parliament passes law restricting the right to protest
22 January: Two protesters die from bullet wounds during clashes with police in Kiev; protests spread across many cities
25 January: President Yanukovych offers senior jobs to the opposition, including that of prime minister, but these are rejected
28 January: Parliament votes to annul protest law and President Yanukovych accepts resignation of PM and cabinet
29 January: Parliament passes amnesty law for detained protesters, under the condition occupied buildings are vacated
Ukraine's protest leaders
Q&A: Stand-off in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is due to meet Mr Putin on Friday in Sochi, on the opening day of the Winter Olympic Games there.
He held talks in Kiev with US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland on Thursday, at which he said he favoured dialogue and compromise with the opposition.
Meanwhile, an audio recording has been posted online, which is purported to be a hacked phone conversation between Ms Nuland and US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, in which the female speaker dismisses EU efforts to resolve the crisis, using an expletive.
The two speakers also discuss frankly the merits of the three main Ukrainian opposition leaders in the conversation. The US embassy declined to comment on the tape.
Thousands of Ukrainian opposition activists, some carrying shields and baseball bats, marched from their camp on Independence Square in the capital Kiev...

Summary:


The amount of traffic using Wales' biggest hospital as a "rat run" and causing gridlock has dropped by 7% after changes were made to the roads.

Article: President Emmanuel Macron is hoping to obtain a strong mandate in parliament to help him pursue his reform plans.
His La République en Marche (Republic on the Move or LREM) with its MoDem allies is expected to win most seats.
Traditional parties are urging voters to back Mr Macron's rivals to stop a monopolisation of power.
President Macron formed his party just over a year ago, and half of its candidates have little or no political experience.
They include a retired bullfighter, a Rwandan refugee and a mathematician.
A party needs 289 seats to control the 577-seat National Assembly. LREM is predicted to win more than 400.
In the first round Mr Macron's LREM and MoDem won 32.3% of the vote.
The centre-right Republicans had 21.5%, while the far-right National Front (FN) had 13.2%, followed by the far-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) on just over 11%.
The Socialists, previously France's ruling party, and their allies won just 9.5%.
However, the turnout was low, despite claims that President Macron had re-energised the voting public.
Analysts said it reflected a sense of resignation among his opponents.
Only four seats were settled in the first round.
The second round will see the two top-placed contenders for each seat facing each other, along with any other candidate who won the support of at least 12.5% of registered voters in the district.
Here are some of the key battles to look out for:
Is Macron the anti-Trump?
Can Macron's new party win majority he needs?
Mr Macron, 39, defeated Marine Le Pen in the presidential run-off in May.
He needs a majority to push through the changes that he promised in his campaign, which include:
Macron's economic plans

Summary: France votes in the second round of parliamentary elections on Sunday, in run-off votes for the top candidates from last Sunday's first round.
###
Article: FRP Advisory were appointed as administrators after the European Development Company (EDC) ran into financial difficulties.
Two of the hotels for sale are in the Aberdeen area - a Holiday Inn Express on Chapel Street and a Holiday Inn in Westhill.
The third is a Holiday Inn Express in Picardy Place, Edinburgh.
FRP said they would trade as normal during the marketing process.
They added that there were no immediate plans for redundancies.
Nearly 120 of the 136 staff affected are based at the Aberdeen hotels.
In a statement, FRP Advisory said occupancy levels at the hotels had been high, but EDC had suffered "severe cash flow problems" as a result of the downturn in the oil and gas sector.
They also cited intense price competition from new build hotels in the Aberdeen market.
Joint administrator Iain Fraser said: "The administration presents a rare opportunity to acquire quality hotels with an established trade and reputation in their local markets.
"The hotels could appeal to an existing hotel operator looking to expand their business, or an entrepreneur keen to enter the hospitality market by acquiring quality properties in prime locations.
"I am pleased to say that we are in advanced discussions for the sale of the Edinburgh hotel, and would urge interested parties to contact us as soon as possible with respect to the Aberdeen properties."

Summary: Three Scottish Holiday Inn hotels have been put up for sale after the collapse of their Aberdeen-based owners.
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Article: Loraine Maurer of Evansville, Indiana, works two shifts per week, 44 years after joining the hamburger chain.
The nonagenarian great-grandmother first joined in 1973 after her husband retired due to disability.
"I told him we were too young to stay at home and so I went for a job," she recalled after enjoying a cake at a special party colleagues threw for her.
She never meant to stay as long as she did, Mrs Maurer told ABC News, adding that she never thought of becoming a manager because she prefers to interact with her customers.
"She is the only one here that knows how to make oats right," said one loyal customer who attended her party.
After her husband died in 1980, she began to travel more often with a friend, often visiting McDonald's wherever she went.
"I've been to Australia, Russia, Greece, Rome, and I'd always look when I could fly over the cities. I'd look for the arch."
One location even offered to serve her beer.
"That surprised me!" she said with a chuckle.
Even though she contemplates retirement every winter, she says she never plans to leave.
"I would miss it too much", says Mrs Maurer, who has four children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
"I really and truly enjoy it," Mrs Maurer adds. "Life is what you make it. And so I'm trying."

Summary: A 94-year-old American is celebrating more than four decades of working at McDonald's restaurants.
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Article: It gives fans an 88-second glimpse of the new film, the first new addition to the series since 2005.
Featuring shots of the Millennium Falcon, it also offers the first look of a new cross-shaped lightsaber.
The film, which reunites original stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher is scheduled to be released in cinemas on 18 December 2015.
The trailer opens with a sweeping desert landscape, with a voice saying: "There has been an awakening, have you felt it?", before British star John Boyega appears wearing a Stormtrooper uniform.
It goes on to feature a football-like droid, a Stormtrooper army and fellow British star Daisy Ridley on a type of speeder bike.
A hooded villain is seen walking through a snowy wood with the new lightsaber, along with shots of X-Wing and Tie Fighters, before the Millennium Falcon sweeps across the sky.
According to Time, one cinema in Austin, Texas, is playing the trailer in a separate standalone screening 17 consecutive times.
Each screening will be followed by two minutes of discussion by a panel of Star Wars experts.
The seventh instalment of the sci-fi saga is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

Summary: The first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been unveiled online and in US cinemas.
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Article: Dark matter is the mysterious, invisible stuff that makes up 85% of the matter in the cosmos - and these results rule out several theoretical models put forward to explain it.
This is because it barely interacts with anything at all, including the dark matter in the oncoming galaxies.
The work appears in Science magazine.
To conduct their study, astrophysicists looked at 72 smash-ups between galactic clusters, using two space telescopes: visible light was recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope, and X-rays by the Chandra Observatory.
Scouring multiple views of the collisions, the researchers tracked the movement of the three main components of galaxies: stars, clouds of gas, and dark matter.
The violently swirling clouds of gas are hot enough to glow with X-rays, which Chandra detects. And stars can be seen in regular, visible-light images from Hubble.
Dark matter is more difficult to "see" - but not impossible. Although it does not emit or absorb light, it does have gravity, and so it bends the path of light passing nearby. This warps our view of anything on the other side of it, in an effect called "gravitational lensing".
"Looking through dark matter is like looking through a bathroom window," said Dr Richard Massey from Durham University, one of the study's authors. "All the objects that you can see in the distance appear slightly distorted and warped."
Using this distortion allowed Dr Massey, with colleagues from the University of Edinburgh, University College London and Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), to "map" the dark matter in the clusters as they collided.
Galaxy clusters are vast and contain huge amounts of dark matter, so when they collide - over billions of years - it offers a unique glimpse of how the stuff behaves.
"We like these collisions because it's exactly what we'd do in the lab," Dr Massey told BBC News.
"If you want to figure out what something is made out of, you knock it, or you throw it across the room and see where the bits go."
In this case, the bits...

Summary: By observing multiple collisions between huge clusters of galaxies, scientists have witnessed dark matter coasting straight through the turmoil.
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Article: Hospital bosses made changes last August in a bid to help ambulances reach the emergency unit more quickly at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff.
Barriers were installed and traffic is not allowed to drive past the unit.
The gridlock also led to people being late for appointments.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is now planning to introduce a direct weekday park and ride service for patients, visitors and staff in a further bid to keep traffic off site.
It will start on 2 May and operate from Cardiff East park and ride at Pentwyn from 06:30 to 19:15, running every 20 minutes, which should also free up car parking by 12%.
There are also plans to introduce bus and cycle hubs at UHW.
Geoff Walsh, director of capital, estates and facilities at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: "The traffic management system was implemented to allow clear access for emergency vehicles onto the site which has been successful.
"It has also improved the bus access with Cardiff Bus reinstating two services following the improvement of site accessibility."
He added: "We are still looking at ways to stop people using the site as a thoroughfare."

Summary:

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Scientists from Dundee University have recreated the face of a young man who lived more than 4,000 years ago.

Article: The Scottish government bill will require councils to plan how they will support adult and young carers, and the definition of "carer" will be changed to include more people.
Local authorities will also have to set up advice services.
Scotland is believed to have about 745,000 adult carers and 44,000 young carers.
Together, they are estimated to provide care worth about Â£10bn every year.
The Carers Bill aims to help carers balance their caring responsibilities with other things they want to achieve in their lives and helping them to be healthier and happier.
Opposition MSPs broadly backed the proposals, although concerns had been expressed about the cost of implementation.
The Scottish government introduced the legislation, saying it would provide an important opportunity "to extend and enhance the rights of both adult and young carers".
Health boards and local authorities will also be required to create local carer strategies.
And Scottish ministers will be required to prepare a Carers' Charter.
Speaking during the final debate on the proposals at Holyrood, Health Improvement Minister Jamie Hepburn thanked politicians from all parties for the respect they had shown for the country's carers.
And he said the bill had been improved by the input from MSPs on all sides.

Summary: Legislation that promises to improve the lives of Scotland's carers has been passed by MSPs.
###
Article: The 50m (150ft) part of the wall was first discovered in 1998 but was kept undercover to protect it.
Now Segedunum Roman Fort in Wallsend is putting the section of wall on display, along with artefacts and a bath house recently excavated at the site.
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums manager, Geoff Woodward, said it was "really exciting" visitors could now see it.
Hadrian's Wall on Tyneside is a culmination of three-year project WallQuest - a community archaeology scheme which saw hundreds of volunteers taking part in urban digs over 30-miles of Hadrian's Wall between South Shields and Hexham.
Mr Woodward said: "We've uncovered another important part of our history at Segedunum and I can't wait for people to come and see it.
"Following conservation, visitors will now be able to see the new section of the wall, which is really exciting.
"Before the WallQuest project we knew very little about the civilian settlement outside the fort. Thanks to a team of dedicated volunteers, who have spent months working with the museum and conservation experts, we now know more about this unique landmark."
The original bath house, which was first discovered in 1814, was long forgotten until it was unearthed in 2014.
The 73-mile (117km) Hadrian's Wall stretches between Wallsend in North Tyneside and Bowness on Solway in Cumbria.
Hadrian's Wall on Tyneside is on display at Segedunum Roman Fort until 30 October.

Summary: An unearthed part of Hadrian's Wall is going on display for the first time in North Tyneside.
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Article: Bears feast and gain weight in the warm months, ready for the big winter doze.
In faecal samples from 16 wild bears, scientists found a bug population that was more suited to depositing fat in summer, and burning it in winter.
And when transplanted into lab mice, the "summer" bacteria caused greater fat gain than the "winter" ones.
The research is published in the journal Cell Reports.
Senior author Fredrik Bäckhed, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said it was not a huge surprise to see gut flora change with the seasons - but this is the first time anyone has revealed a role for these different bugs in the energy metabolism of a hibernating animal.
"We know that the microbiota is very responsive to what we eat," he told BBC News.
"So if a bear eats a lot in the summer and it doesn't eat in the winter, then there should be an altered microbiota. What we learn from our study is that it appears that the altered microbiome can contribute to the altered adiposity (fattiness)."
Despite this insight, Prof Bäckhed said his team's findings were not going to help tackle human obesity.
"I don't think that this study will have direct implications for obesity, as the summer microbiota will make you fat and the winter insulin resistant.
"But perhaps we can find clues for treating malnutrition from the summer bacteria, and help patients with anorexic disorders - including cancer patients."
To collect the samples, the researchers worked with the team from the Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project, who specialise in monitoring the creatures in the wild.
And specialist expertise was required; it is no small undertaking to wake up a hibernating bear and take a sample of its faeces.
"They go out in the forest in the winter, they identify a bear den and then they shoot it with a tranquiliser to get some samples," Prof Bäckhed said. "Then they put on a radio collar, and release the bear so it goes back to sleep and wakes up in the spring."
The radio collars were critical, he added, because it allowed the team to...

Summary: Researchers have discovered seasonal changes in the gut microbes of brown bears, which apparently help the beasts cope with the demands of hibernation.
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Article: The Treasury said the bank levy would be cut from its current 0.21% to 0.1% in 2021, by which time it would apply to banks' UK balance sheets only.
HSBC said earlier this year that the bank levy was a factor in whether to move its headquarters from the UK.
The new profit surcharge will start from 1 January next year.
The banking levy was introduced after the financial crisis as a way of forcing banks to contribute more to the UK economy, but also with the aim of discouraging them from risky borrowing.
Banks have pushed for the levy to be reduced or cut altogether, saying it puts them at an unfair disadvantage to their global competitors.
The levy particularly affects banks with large balance sheets, such as HSBC. Last year it paid £750m of the £1.9bn raised by the government through the tax.
Treasury estimates suggest the new profit surcharge and the changes to the levy will bring in about £1.7bn in extra revenue over the next five years.
The chief executive of the British Bankers' Association, Anthony Browne, said he welcomed the move to change the bank levy, but argued the new surcharge would "reinforce fears that Britain is becoming a less attractive place for banks to do business".
"We believe these moves will also undermine competition in the industry by making it harder for smaller players to break through and challenge larger banks," he said
PwC banking tax partner Matthew Barling agreed that the move sent a "mixed message" about the UK's competitiveness as a base for banks.
"The long-term phased nature of the reform coupled with the new profits based 8% corporation tax surcharge means that the overall tax burden on the banking sector will go up during this Parliament."
However, Anna Anthony, head of financial services tax at EY, said the move would be welcomed by the banking sector.
"The introduction of an 8% surcharge sounds high, but is likely to be more acceptable than the levy because it at least has a direct link to the profitability of an institution.
"In addition, the fact that overall...

Summary: The annual levy banks pay on their balance sheets is to be reduced gradually but an 8% surcharge on their profits will be introduced.
###
Article: French researchers say neonicotinoid pesticides harm individual honeybees, but whole colonies are able to recover in the wild.
This accounts for discrepancies between lab and field studies, they report in Royal Society journal Proceedings B.
A Europe-wide ban on neonicotinoid use on flowering crops is due to be reviewed at the end of the year.
It was introduced two years ago.
The debate over the use of neonics has centred on discrepancies between toxicity assessments in the laboratory, where bees are dosed artificially with insecticide, and the findings of field trials in the countryside.
The big unanswered question is whether harmful effects seen in lab studies occur in real-life conditions and cause population declines.
The new research provides an explanation for the "missing link", say French researchers.
Their monitoring of tagged honeybees in the wild suggests bees foraging around treated crops die off at a faster rate than normal.
However, colonies are able to make up for those dying off by boosting the number of worker bees in the hive.
Lead researcher Dr Mickael Henry of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, INRA, in Avignon, said the average life expectancy for an individual honeybee foraging on crops treated with neonics is lower than expected.
He told BBC News: "We could find evidence of troubles at the individual scale in the field but these troubles were compensated for by the colonies.
"The population inside the hive was able to compensate for the increased loss of worker honeybees by increasing brood production."
Dr Scott Hayward of the University of Birmingham, who was not connected with the study, said the work "re-ignites arguments to ban neonics", and similar studies are now needed on other pollinator species.
His comments were echoed by Dr Christopher Connolly of the University of Dundee.
"It is important to remember that all other insect pollinators do not possess the enormous buffering capacity of honeybees and are therefore more acutely at risk to the impact of...

Summary: Scientists say they have found the "missing link" in the debate over the risk of pesticides to bees.
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Article: The skeleton of "Thankerton Man" was found in a stone cist - a type of burial chamber - at Boatbridge Quarry, Thankerton, South Lanarkshire, in 1970.
It was radiocarbon-dated to between 2460BC and 2140BC and thought to have been that of a man aged 18 to 25.
The reconstructed image will go on show at the Biggar and Upper Clydesdale Museum, which opens on Tuesday.
The reconstruction was produced by specialists from Dundee University's Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) who worked from detailed analysis of the skull.
Caroline Erolin, lecturer in forensic and medical art at CAHID, said: "Given its age, the skeleton of Thankerton Man was in excellent condition, which allowed us to get a strong impression of how he may have looked.
"Once we built the basic shape of his face we then looked at historical data to get a better idea of how a man would have looked at that time. For instance, we know they had the ability to shave."
The estimated height of the man was around 1.8 metres (5ft 11ins), which is regarded as tall in Copper Age terms.
The cist contained a finely-decorated beaker which had held food or drink for the deceased's journey into the afterlife.
The pot and skeleton are curated by National Museums Scotland.
Dr Alison Sheridan, principal curator of early prehistory at National Museums Scotland, who provided archaeological advice, praised the reconstruction.
She said: "This is a magnificent piece of work that really brings the past to light. It has spurred us on to arrange the DNA analysis of this man's remains."

Summary:


A man who admitted the "vile murder" of an 82-year-old woman in her Norwich home has been jailed for life, with an order to serve 25 years and six months.

Article: Mao, one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party, was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th Century, but his legacy continues to divide opinions.
After he launched the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), millions of people were forced into manual labour and tens of thousands were executed as counter-revolutionaries.
The mainland Chinese media have mostly been playing down news of various activities that were staged in some cities over the weekend to commemorate the birth anniversary.
But over in Hong Kong, the Apple Daily says "Mao fans" staged rallies in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as smaller cities further inland such as Nanchang and Taiyuan.
On Saturday, students and teachers from the Taiyuan University of Science and Technology carried portraits of Mao and shouted "Swear allegiance to Mao Zedong", "Mao Zedong is our only centre" and "the Cultural Revolution is back", the paper says.
Students also reportedly recited poetry in homage to Mao, while others danced and sang: "China has Mao Zedong, he is the people's great saviour!"
Mao impersonator Zhang Ruiqi even mimicked the late helmsman's voice to deliver a speech during the rally.
However, one local dissident suspects that the rally was staged deliberately by certain groups for political ends.
"Some of them are Mao leftists and some are the black hand of the authorities fanning the flames behind the scenes and exploiting the ignorance of young people to achieve their political goals," Deng Taiqing tells the Apple Daily.
The Apple Daily also voices dismay at the revival of Mao fever and accuses Ai Yuejin, a "leftist" professor at Tianjin's Nankai University, of "whitewashing" the Cultural Revolution.
"During the Cultural Revolution, there was a satellite space launch, a successful missile test and a nuclear submarine launch. During the Cultural Revolution, we defeated Soviet revisionism, entered the United Nations and established diplomatic relations with more than 60 countries," Prof Ai said in a lecture at the Taiyuan...

Summary: The controversial legacy of Mao Zedong is back in the public eye ahead of his 120th birth anniversary on Thursday.
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Article: But it has been more than 40 years since the UK last got around the negotiating table and it could be a little rusty. Here are four key requirements to getting a good deal.
When it comes to trade deals, the devil is in the detail. Trade deals have grown incredibly complex - the recently concluded deal between the EU and Canada runs to almost 1,600 pages and covers everything from fisheries to  financial services.
Successful negotiations require a skilled - and large - team, but the UK has not negotiated a trade deal since 1973. The EU has 596 trade negotiators and the UK urgently needs a similarly sized team to craft new deals with major trade partners.
A first step will be to bring back the handful of experienced and expert UK nationals in the European Commission. They will know what to expect when facing European negotiators across the table.
Successful negotiation involves clearly identifying your own trade interests and not simply reacting to the other side's. The UK Government must know what it wants from any deal, what it wishes to keep off the negotiating table and the concessions it is willing to make.
This is not easy. A well-prepared government will have consulted extensively with businesses, small and large, as well as consumer groups and trade unions. UK-based banks need to be able to operate across the EU single market.
Communities in the North need manufacturing industries which serve that market, potentially creating thousands of jobs. But access probably comes at the price of accepting freedom of movement for EU citizens and paying contributions to the EU budget.
Getting a good deal requires strong leadership which galvanizes the whole of the government's machinery, across ministries and non-governmental stakeholders.
Positions taken in the trade negotiations should be backed up by communication between national leaders where necessary. Any sign of disunity is likely to be exploited by opponents in a negotiation.
As a rule of thumb, 80% of a trade negotiation is preparation, 20% execution....

Summary: Having voted to leave the EU, the UK will now need to negotiate a new set of trade deals with the bloc, and other foreign nations as soon as possible.
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Article: Powers to levy a land transaction tax to replace stamp duty and a landfill disposals tax take effect in 2018.
The assembly's finance committee said it was "disappointed" by the situation and called for a "phased approach".
It means HMRC could continue collecting the devolved taxes until councils or another body was judged to be ready.
The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) told the committee that councils were "best placed" to collect and manage devolved taxes.
However, it warned that the "degree of uncertainty" over the process of mergers and boundary changes would make it "extremely difficult ... to commit to new responsibilities from 2018".
Publishing a report on Thursday, committee chairwoman Jocelyn Davies said it could not take a "firm view" on who should collect Welsh taxes because of a lack of detailed costings.
She added: "We hope the expertise of local government will be utilised in the coming years to ensure an integrated tax system is developed in Wales."
The Welsh government said a Tax Collection and Management Bill would be published before the summer and more information on costings would be provided.

Summary: Local councils could collect new Welsh taxes, but warned they may struggle to meet the devolution deadline due to reorganisation.
###
Article: "Further stoking of anti-Russian sentiments... could significantly aggravate the atmosphere in Russian-French relations," the ministry said.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rebuked French police for detaining 43 Russian fans after clashes in Marseille.
Separately, France is to expel four Russians arrested in Lille.
France's crackdown on hooliganism among supporters relates to incidents outside the stadiums.
Uefa, football's European governing body, separately fined Russia and gave it a suspended disqualification following fan violence inside the stadium in Marseille where Russia played England on Saturday.
The Russian foreign ministry summoned Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert soon after a speech by Mr Lavrov to the lower house of the Russian parliament in Moscow.
Mr Lavrov suggested Russian fans had been provoked and criticised the way French police were subjecting them to security checks.
"It was an absolutely unacceptable incident when a bus with more than 40 Russian supporters was stopped and [the police] demanded that they leave the bus for document and ID checks," he told the State Duma.
He accused the French of violating international conventions by detaining the fans.
"It is a fact that the French behaved completely contrary to their obligations under the Vienna Convention, and I have already written to the French foreign minister, demanding that he does not allow any more such incidents to occur."
Mr Lavrov did concede that the behaviour of some Russian fans at the tournament had been poor.
"Behaving like some of our citizens did, bringing flares, fireworks and so on, is unacceptable."
"However..." he added, "we cannot close our eyes to the attempts to ignore the provocative actions of other countries' fans.
"You have probably seen the shocking images where they are jumping on the Russian flag, shouting insults at Russian leaders and top Russian athletes. Of course, it is never acceptable to resort to fist-fighting, but it is also unacceptable to ignore provocateurs who are trying to create crisis...

Summary: The French ambassador to Moscow has been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry after sharp criticism of policing at the Euro 2016 tournament.
###
Article: Jamie O'Rourke was arrested at a swimming pool in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in 2014, and went on to sexually assault two 15-year-old girls.
The 27-year-old admitted seven child sex offences and two of voyeurism.
O'Rourke, who was already on the sex offenders register, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
O'Rourke, of Crescent Road, Brinnington, was also placed on a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, which forbids him from entering public areas such as swimming pools and changing rooms.
He was arrested for an attack on one of the girls in Stockport in January, police said.
Inquiries then revealed he had engaged in a sexual relationship with another teenager between November 2015 and February.
Det Ch Insp John Harris said: "I want to commend the victims for supporting our investigations, during what has been a difficult time.
"With their help, we have been able to ensure O'Rourke is behind bars and cannot prey on any more young girls."

Summary: A man who sexually abused two teenage girls and was caught looking under swimming pool cubicles has been jailed.
###
Article: Pauline King, described by police as a "reclusive hermit", was found at The Avenues on 22 February.
Alexander Kerry, 23, of Kinghorn Road, Norwich, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court after he entered a guilty plea.
He denied a charge of sexual assault and the prosecution chose not to proceed on that count.
Ms King died as a result of a sustained assault with a knife and hammer during a burglary at her home, the court was told.
She lived alone in what police described as a "dilapidated" detached house and neighbours said she was a pleasant but reclusive woman.
Kerry was found later the same day wandering nearby streets covered in blood.
Det Sup Paul Durham described it as a "vile murder" which "sent a shudder of fear" through the community.
Prosecutor Andrew Jackson said Kerry, desperate for money after drinking in a Norwich city centre pub, had broken into the home and beat Ms King to death.
He then tried to set fire to the house to destroy the evidence, he said.
The court heard he was left deeply damaged after his father murdered his mother as he and his brother slept at their home in 2002.
Mr Justice Stuart-Smith said he acted with "animal brutality" to murder Miss King and sexually abuse her dying body in an "act of desecration".
He said: "Nothing begins to explain what you did to Pauline King. She must have suffered terribly."
Kerry had a criminal record including violence and disorderly behaviour dating back to his teens, he said.
Jonathan Goodman, mitigating, said his client had "self-medicated" through alcohol and drugs following the almost "unimaginable" events of his childhood.

Summary:


Lecturers at colleges in Glasgow will not take part in two planned national strikes next week.

Article: Soldier Bradley Manning has been held for three weeks without formal charge.
The US is investigating claims that he passed confidential information to Wikileaks.
Site editor Julian Assange told BBC News that, so far, the US authorities have not yet been in touch with him.
He said that lawyers representing Wikileaks have been in touch with the US administration but that neither the Department of State nor the Department of Defense had made any attempt to approach the site.
In spite of the silence from the US, Mr Assange said he felt it was "important to have a channel open in these matters".
No conversations could take place which might reveal the identity of any source, he added.
Mr Manning was identified as an alleged Wikileaks source after former hacker Adrian Lamo, in whom he had confided, contacted the authorities.
During a series of conversations conducted online, Mr Lamo claims that Mr Manning revealed he had passed 260,000 US diplomatic cables and two confidential military videos to Wikileaks.
US state department spokesperson PJ Crowley has said that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security was examining one or more hard drives used by Mr Manning in Iraq.
Wikileaks said it did not know whether Mr Manning, who had served in Iraq as an army intelligence analyst, was the source of the leak as the website does not keep personal records of the people who approach it.
One of the videos he allegedly leaked was released by Wikileaks in April.
It contained footage from a 2007 attack by US forces in Baghdad in which 12 people died including two Reuters employees.
In the immediate aftermath of Mr Manning's exposure as the alleged source, reports appeared online claiming that the Pentagon was actively seeking Julian Assange.
On Monday he appeared as a panelist at a seminar on free speech held in the European Parliament and organised by the Alliance of Liberals And Democrats for Europe.
At a press conference ahead of the seminar Mr Assange spoke about the risk of action against Wikileaks by the US.
"The signals from the...

Summary: Whistleblower website Wikileaks has made contact with the US government over claims that an American serviceman is one of its sources.
###
Article: Production from all Dunlin cluster fields will shut down in mid-June ahead of the decommissioning process.
Dunlin Alpha will remain "fully manned and operational", exporting third-party oil into the Brent system pipeline in the meantime.
Fairfield cited the depressed oil price and "challenging operational conditions" as reasons for the move.
The decommissioning process, which requires regulatory approvals, is expected to cost about Â£400m.
The Dunlin field started production in August 1978, with production peaking at about 120,000 barrels per day in 1979.
The oil field is situated 300 miles north-east of Aberdeen in the East Shetland basin, just a few miles from the Norway boundary line.
It was originally operated by Shell but Fairfield acquired the Dunlin, Dunlin SW, Merlin and Osprey fields in 2008.
Earlier this year, Royal Dutch Shell began consulting on its plan to remove the first of the iconic Brent platforms in what will be the biggest North Sea decommissioning project to date.
Like the Dunfield field, it was originally projected to last 25 years but produced oil for 37.
The decommissioning of oil and gas installations in the UK sector of the North Sea could cost Â£40bn over the next 35 years.
According to industry body Oil and Gas UK, there are 113 oil platforms and 189 gas platforms in the UK Continental Shelf.
Fairfield said its subsidiaries Fairfield Betula and Fairfield Fagus, along with joint venture partner MCX Dunlin, would launch the Dunlin decommissioning programme, subject to regulatory approvals.
The phased process is expected to take a number of years, with "high offshore activity levels maintained throughout".
Fairfield chief executive David Peattie said: "The Dunlin asset has now achieved maximum economic recovery.
"Taking into account the asset's lifecycle, the depressed oil price and challenging operational conditions in the North Sea, starting the decommissioning process is the most appropriate action.
"Our investment programme has prolonged the life of Dunlin leading to a notable...

Summary: Fairfield Energy has announced plans to decommission its Dunlin Alpha platform in the North Sea.
###
Article: He will give evidence to the culture, media and sport select committee, which is investigating doping in the sport.
Before the hearing, committee member Damian Collins MP said: "There needs to be more humility from the IAAF."
Russia was banned from international events after an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report alleged "state-sponsored doping".
Collins said that Coe "needs to recognise that there have clearly been problems with the way doping issues have been dealt with in the past".
The Conservative MP said he wanted to hear whether Coe will "set up an independent body to manage doping as cycling has done".
Coe ended an ambassadorial paid role with US sportswear giant Nike last week after conflict of interest claims.
It follows the awarding of the 2021 World Athletics Championships to Eugene, Oregon - which has close connections to Nike - without a bidding process.
On Monday three Kenya Athletics officials, including president Isaiah Kiplagat, were provisionally suspended by the ethics commission of the IAAF, which is looking into allegations of "subversion" of the anti-doping process in Kenya and "improper diversion" of funds received from Nike.
Coe was elected International Association of Athletics Federations president in August, succeeding Lamine Diack who is being investigated by French police over allegations he took bribes to cover up positive drugs tests when in charge of the sport's governing body.
Media playback is not supported on this device
The IAAF president will be questioned about the organisation's response to doping allegations, including Lord Coe's claim that a Sunday Times investigation into suspicious blood results amounted to "a declaration of war on my sport".
Coe's delay in ending a 38-year association with Nike is almost certain to be discussed, while Collins says "there are still questions to answer about the awarding of the Eugene 2021 World Championships".
A BBC investigation on 24 November revealed emails suggesting that when Coe was vice-president of the IAAF,...

Summary: IAAF president Lord Coe is to be questioned by MPs on Wednesday about blood doping in athletics.
###
Article: Prof Venki Ramakrishnan said the science of genetic modification had been misunderstood by the public and it was time to set the record straight.
He said it was inappropriate to ban an "entire technology" and products should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
But opponents say GM crop technology is untested and the ban should remain.
Prof Ramakrishnan said that the blanket ban on GM crops by European countries was misconceived.
His comments coincide with a guide published by the Royal Society, which describes itself as the UK's independent scientific academy, for the general public.
"GM is simply a technology for introducing a particular set of traits into a plant. And you have to decide on a case-by-case basis which of those traits are appropriate or not," he told BBC News.
"You should regulate each product, which should be properly tested for its health and environmental effects."
GM foods are not on sale in supermarkets and nor are they commercially grown in Europe for human consumption.
The Royal Society guide sets out to answer 18 key questions that it obtained from focus groups. These include:
The answers have been produced by an expert group of researchers who have drawn on evidence from scientific studies. The answers acknowledge areas of uncertainty and some of the technology's drawbacks.
The guide's stated intent is to provide clear, unbiased information on the science of GM crops.
It states that GM crops are safe to eat, though it acknowledges that they can cross breed with non-GM varieties and there might be unexpected and untoward side-effects.
Prof Ramakrishnan acknowledged there were some "legitimate worries".
One he said was the fear that a small number of multinational corporations would monopolise food production.
This could in turn lead to the loss of thousands of varieties of fruits, vegetables and cereals unless the technology was properly regulated.
"We should not conflate the issue of GM's reputation with its potential," he said.
"I hope the whole thing gets put on a more rational...

Summary: The ban on GM crops by European countries should be reassessed, the president of UK science body the Royal Society says.
###
Article: MEPs say "first-generation" biofuels - from crops like corn - should not exceed 6% of fuel used in transport by 2020, amending the target from 10%.
They want "advanced biofuels" - sourced from seaweed or certain types of waste - to make up at least 2.5%.
Biofuels have been seen as a way to cut fossil fuel use, but using food crops can displace food production.
MEPs vote by 356 votes to 327 to support a legislative report by Corinne Lepage, a French liberal MEP, which puts a limit on the proportion of food-based biofuels that should make up the fuel mix.
It is the parliament's contribution to the new EU policy on biofuels announced by the European Commission last October.
The EU is negotiating changes to the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive and the 1998 Fuel Quality Directive.
Before becoming law, the proposals still have to be agreed with the 28 member states' governments, represented in the EU Council.
Much negotiation still lies ahead, amid intense lobbying by biofuel industry groups and environmentalists.
The MEPs' target is slightly higher than the 5% cap proposed by the Commission - and there has been fierce argument among MEPs about the level at which to set the cap.
Ms Lepage's report argues that public subsidies for food-based biofuels in the EU encourage their cultivation on land that could otherwise be used for food production.
According to the environmental group Greenpeace, the US already uses 40% of its corn for ethanol, and in the EU more than 60% of rapeseed is used for biofuels.
Some studies suggest that continuing with the current level of EU incentives for food-based biofuels would actually cancel out the cuts in greenhouse gas emissions achieved by switching to biofuels.
Clearing land to plant food for biofuel releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) through ploughing and can involve deforestation, which reduces the "carbon sinks" - the trees that absorb CO2.
The EU's Joint Research Centre has calculated that scrapping the current biofuel incentives could lower the price of vegetable...

Summary: The European Parliament has backed proposals to limit the amount of food crops used to produce biofuel.
###
Article: It follows a decision by the city's three further education colleges to join a national pay bargaining system.
Members of the EIS union at other colleges across Scotland are due to strike on Tuesday and Wednesday in a separate dispute over pay.
The Glasgow lecturers may now be balloted to decide if they join future action in the wider pay dispute.
The Glasgow lecturers had joined a one-day strike on Thursday, prior to the local pay bargaining dispute being settled.
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said a "U-turn" by the Glasgow colleges marked a "significant early victory in the campaign for fair pay in all Scottish colleges".
He said: "The Glasgow colleges had refused to sign up to the national bargaining process, in the mistaken belief that this would remove them from their obligations on a fair pay offer.
"The strike action by our members has forced a quick change of mind on the part of the Glasgow colleges, and the EIS welcomes this development today."
Mr Flanagan added, "While these Glasgow disputes are now settled the national action in pursuit of a fair national pay offer and pay equality in all colleges will continue.
"Two days of strike action in this campaign are planned for next week, and these will take place in all colleges where lecturers have been balloted as part of the national dispute.
"Lecturers in the three Glasgow colleges, who are not currently part of the national action, will now be re-balloted as soon as possible to allow them to join their colleagues across Scotland in future strike days as part of the national campaign for fair pay."

Summary:


The carriage which carried Sir Winston Churchill's coffin to his final resting place has been restored.

Article: Carl Habrel loves his commute to work.
The 48-year-old paddle boards from his home in Banavie to his work in Fort William.
The operations manager for the School of Adventure Studies at West Highland College UHI takes less than an hour to make the journey on Loch Linnhe.
He says: "I have been a paddle boarder for about two years and try to board into work about twice or three times a week if conditions allow.
"Most days it takes about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the wind and tide.
"I enjoy the peace and tranquillity of connecting with nature before heading to my desk for the day.
"And the wind down after work when heading back home again. It also adds a fitness dimension to the day."
But the outdoor pursuits professional says he is mindful of being safe on the water.
"I take spare clothes and sometimes wear a wetsuit when the water is cold in the winter and spring," he says.
"I also take a waterproof mobile and a VHF. The safety precautions are in the knowledge beforehand of the weather, tides and particularly the wind strength and direction."
He adds: "I tend to board in very calm conditions near to the shoreline where I am very unlikely to fall in."

Summary: All images are copyrighted.
###
Article: The body was found at a property on Carlton Road, Bordesley Green, at about 23.30 BST on Friday.
The man is yet to be formally identified but police said he was believed to be a 34-year-old from the Yardley area, reported missing on Thursday.
They said they believed the 11 people arrested were known to the man.
They are: Five men aged 45, 33, 28, 24 and 23, four women aged 50, 41, 25 and 19 and two boys, both aged 15.
A post-mortem examination is yet to take place.
West Midlands Police called on anyone who saw the man's car - a white Toyota Yaris registration FM64 PHU - in and around Carlton Road in the last two days to come forward.
The car was found about a mile away in Adderley Road on Friday.
Det Insp Warren Hines said: "We are currently treating his death as suspicious and we took swift action to arrest 11 people at the scene - who we believe were known to the man - on suspicion of his murder."

Summary: Eleven people have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a man found dead in a Birmingham shed.
###
Article: Lara, 29, originally from Northern Ireland, made a 3ft (91cm) sponge replica of Prince George that won gold in the Cake International competition.
"Prince George is one of the most famous children and I wanted to do my nod to the Royal Family," she told BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster.
If the royal parents would like him, she would be happy to oblige, she said.
"If they come on the blower and ask me for him, I'll ship him down there."
George, dressed in his red shorts and white shirt - the outfit he wore for his baby sister's christening - took about 30 hours to create.
He took gold at the competition at Birmingham's NEC arena at the weekend.
"I started to plan the cake a month ago, but I got married two weeks ago," said Lara, who now lives in Walsall, England.
"I spent about two hours a night after work on him."
He needed a strong structure, she explained.
"If we, as humans, did not have a skeleton,  we would be a big bowl of jelly on the floor. It is the same with my cakes. I start from the inside out. I make a structure, stack the cake up, it is quite a challenge.
"The internal structure is metal rods and wood and it is all covered in cling film. After that, it is cake, icing, butter cream, chocolate. Anything your heart desires - Willy Wonka on a plate."
In theory, you could eat George, but Lara is not so sure.
"If I cut into him, does that mean it is treason? I'm having a nightmare here. So I'm going to pop him in the window at my house and maybe put a Christmas hat on him and turn him into a decoration."
Cake baking is a part-time hobby for Lara, who works in customer relations.
But it is also a passion. She has previously won gold in the same competition with a 6ft high cake of actress Jennifer Lawrence, and her initial creation was actor Johnny Depp.
"He was my first big cake," she said, and that made parting a sweet sorrow.
"I put him in my mother in law's garage for a good three months. Eventually she just said; 'Right Lara I've had enough. I'm putting him in the bin.'
" You should have seen their...

Summary: Amateur baker Lara Mason has licked the competition with a life-size cake fit for a future king.
###
Article: The Consumer Rights Act 2015 will make it far easier for groups of consumers to seek compensation from firms that have fixed prices and formed cartels.
It introduces "opt out" actions where everyone affected is automatically a member of the "class" which is suing.
Consumer groups say it is a huge step forward in helping secure compensation.
Previously, when groups of consumers or small and medium-sized businesses wanted to take action against companies who fixed the price of goods or services, on - for example - replica football shirts or air fares, it was very difficult.
All of those affected had ether had to "opt in" to the action or bring a claim in their own name.  As individual losses were small and legal costs and risks high, few did.
Such were the problems with opt-in actions that there has only been one of note. This was when consumer body Which? sued JJB Sports which had taken part in fixing the prices of some replica football shirts.
The action was settled and consumers who joined it who had paid up to Â£39.99 for certain England and Manchester United football shirts, during specific periods in 2000 or 2001, received a payment of Â£20 each.
JJB Sports also agreed to compensate those who bought one of the shirts but did not join the claim.
They were entitled to Â£10 if they presented either proof of purchase or the shirt itself, with its label intact, at a JJB Sports store.
It was all a bit messy and many who bought the shirts did not join the claim and so did not get any money back.
Under the new law, everyone who purchased the overpriced goods can be automatically "in" the claim unless they opt out.
It means there will be strength in numbers and consumers could get their money back without lifting a finger.
"The new collective redress rules will give consumers more power against unscrupulous businesses that have been found guilty of anti-competitive practices," said Which? executive director Richard Lloyd.
"Now everyone who has been affected will be automatically included so more people should get...

Summary: A newly introduced law allows British courts to hear US-style class actions - where one or several people sue on behalf of a much larger group.
###
Article: The rise of smartphones, then tablets and Google's Chromebooks and now the first wearable tech, have threatened to send shipments of Windows laptops and desktops adrift.
PC shipments slumped by about 10% between 2012 and 2013, according to research firm Gartner.
But recent data from the firm suggests the beginnings of a turnaround with many of the major manufacturers reporting rising demand for their Windows PCs, even if sales remain substantially below where they were two years ago.
Microsoft's phasing out of Windows XP has helped, but innovations including detachable keyboards, longer battery life and touchscreens have also played a role.
Taiwan's Computex - which has just got under way - has long been a good place to get a first peek at PC-makers' latest hardware.
The tech trade show - Asia's biggest - provides an opportunity for manufacturers to gauge reactions to what are sometimes "out there" designs before deciding which devices to throw production and marketing budgets behind.
Perhaps the oddest machine at this year's show is one by Asus.
The Transformer Book V laptop-tablet hybrid features a dock on the back of its screen into which a smartphone can be plugged.
The design allows the device to either run off its own processor or the handset's chip, in a bid to give its owner the best of every possible world.
"The tablet can be used independently and when combined with a keyboard dock turns into an Android laptop, and with the switch of a key will turn into a powerful Windows laptop for ultimate productivity," explains Jonney Shih, chief executive and president at Asus.
Not everyone is convinced it's ready to go mass market.
"It's very much a niche product," says Chris Green, a tech analyst at the Davies Murphy Group consultancy.
"It's not entirely clear what gap Asus is trying to fill, but if the firm is not looking for it to sell in high volumes, then it may well work in a limited space."
Acer's Aspire Switch 10 - which is also on show - might not be quite as radical a design but its introduction of...

Summary: The problem with being in the tech business is that it's easy to get left behind.
###
Article: Southern Railway luggage van No 2464 has spent four months being stripped and repainted at Locomotion, the National Railway Museum in Shildon.
The carriage transported Churchill's coffin from London to Oxfordshire in 1965.
Manager Gary Campbell, said the restoration was something a lot of people in the town were "proud of".
The newly restored carriage, which cost about Â£30,000, will now move to the National Railway Museum in York.
It will be joined by the locomotive which pulled it as part of an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the former Prime Minister's state funeral.
After the funeral in London, his coffin was loaded into the carriage which was then drawn by Battle of Britain locomotive Winston Churchill to Oxfordshire.
Thousands gathered along the route to pay their respects.
Churchill was laid to rest in the parish churchyard of Bladon, close to Blenheim Palace, where he was born 89 years earlier.
The carriage was built in 1931 and was used during World War Two on evacuation trains before being put into Pullman colours in the 1960s.
It was moved to Los Angeles in 1966 but returned to the UK in 2007 where it entered the Swanage Railway Collection.

Summary:


Female Islamic clerics in Indonesia have issued an unprecedented fatwa against child marriage.

Article: In November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stunned the country by announcing that 500 ($7.47; Â£5.96) and 1,000 rupee notes were as good as garbage.
Despite his insistence that the ban was meant to curb black money and put terrorists out of business, many analysts said it was motivated by politics rather than economics, and done with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh - or UP - elections.
Since the rise of the regional Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the late 1990s, India's national parties - the Congress and Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - have been often relegated to third and fourth positions in the state.
This time around, the Congress has joined the governing SP as a junior partner in an alliance, and the BJP is making an all out effort to win back the state.
In the past few days, I've travelled through several districts in the state to ask people if the currency ban - called demonetisation by Indian authorities and economists, and simply "notebandi" (Hindi for stopping of notes) here - is an election issue.
The Indian election no-one can afford to lose
The "notebandi" has without doubt touched every life, in the big cities, smaller towns, and tiny villages, and everyone talks about the problems they've faced.
But will it impact the way people vote?
In the main market in Barabanki town, not far from the state capital, Lucknow, the trading community is seething at the "BJP's betrayal".
Traders have traditionally supported the BJP, and in the past they have also contributed generously to party funds. But this time, they tell me they will not vote for the party.
"Notebandi is the biggest issue here," says Santosh Kumar Gupta, who along with his brothers runs the family hardware store.
"The public has been really hassled. The government set limits on withdrawals and even those little amounts were unavailable because banks had no money."
Mr Gupta points out that in his address to the nation, the prime minister said the government had been planning for it for six months and...

Summary: As the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh holds a seven-phased election to choose a new government, the BBC's Geeta Pandey travels through the politically key state to see if the recent currency ban is an issue with the voters.
###
Article: The technology allows a convoy of lorries to travel just a few feet from each other, with just the driver at the front in control.
The initiative would cut fuel consumption, backers said.
However, the plan has been criticised by motoring groups which said such a fleet would be "intimidating" to other road users.
The Sunday Times reported that UK ministers had visited Sweden to see the technology in action, and that tests would be carried out next year.
However in a statement, the Department for Transport said: "No decision has been reached on a trial using this new technology.
"However, road safety remains of paramount importance and will not be compromised."
The technology still requires a driver to be in each vehicle in the event of an emergency, but for the most part drivers will be able to relax - the proposal suggested reading a book or having lunch.
The convoy will be controlled by the driver in the front, with each lorry communicating via wi-fi. Infrared cameras and laser sensors are also used to monitor vehicle movements.
Paul Watters, head of road policy for breakdown rescue service the AA, said the idea may concern normal road users.
"For the car user in particular it does pose worries about platooning lorries taking up a lot of space and blocking others out," he told the BBC, but added that perhaps a dedicated lane may solve that issue.
He questioned whether the notion that drivers could take up another activity while in the autonomous convoy was misjudged.
"They're suggesting that an autonomous lorry driver can do other logistics work while they're driving," he said.
"The thought of a lorry driver doing administration is, dare I say it, pie in the sky."
The plans follow the announcement that driverless cars will be tested in the UK next year. The news was met with some trepidation - 65% of people polled by the AA said they would prefer to continue driving as normal rather than allow a computer to take the wheel.
But the organisation noted that younger drivers appeared to be more open to the...

Summary: Fleets of self-driving lorries could be tested on UK roads as soon as next year, according to reports.
###
Article: There were only 124 "disengagement" incidents last year, where a driver had to take control of a test vehicle on public roads, down from 341 in 2015.
The cars drove nearly 636,000 miles last year, compared with just over 424,000 in 2015.
Other states in the US do not require such reporting.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles published the annual reports on Wednesday.
Under law, every company that has a state permit to test autonomous vehicles in California must report how many times a driver had to intervene.
"Disengagements are a natural part of the testing process that allow our engineers to expand the software' s capabilities and identify areas of improvement," Waymo said in its report.
The most common reasons for interventions in Waymo cars were "software discrepancies, unwanted manoeuvres of the vehicle and perception discrepancies", according to the company.
Of the 124 incidents, only 10 were caused by the "reckless" behaviour of another road user.
Beyond Waymo's impressive results, the news was generally good.
Cruise, the start-up leading General Motors' autonomous driving development, upped its testing in San Francisco markedly. It went from driving fewer than five miles in June 2015, to nearly 400 in June 2016.
It reported 414 disengagements in almost 10,000 miles of driving in 2016 overall.
For some companies the records show a very small amount of mileage covered by the autonomous cars.
In other US states with self-driving regulations - including Nevada, Michigan, and Florida - there is no requirement for public disclosure of this type of data, which is why, for example, not much is known about Uber's autonomous vehicle testing.
Ford only reported 590 miles driven in 2016, all in the month of March. It only has two autonomous cars in California, but has a much larger fleet in Michigan, where reporting is not required.
Meanwhile BMW recorded one disengagement in its 638 miles of autonomous driving in March and April 2016, because lane markings on Highway 101 were not clear enough. The...

Summary: The number of human interventions in journeys made by driverless cars from Google company Waymo in California more than halved in 2016.
###
Article: It follows an incident at Castle View School in Canvey Island, Essex, when a boy was hit in the face by a flapjack.
Catering staff at the school have been told only to serve square or rectangular flapjacks.
The school said the "isolated accident" had led to a review of "the texture and shape of the flapjacks" provided.
How to cook flapjacks
A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: "We often come across half-baked decisions taken in the name of health and safety, but this one takes the biscuit.
"The real issue isn't what shape the flapjacks are, but the fact that pupils are throwing them at each other - and that's a matter of discipline, and has got nothing to do with health and safety as we know it.
"We're happy to make clear that flapjacks of all shapes and sizes continue to have our full backing."
Health and safety advisor Ray Hurst said he could not understand why triangular flapjacks had been banned, but not those cut into squares or rectangles.
"Anything that is thrown is likely to cause injury if it hits somebody, especially in the face or the eye," said Mr Hurst, former president of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.
"It does seem a little over the top to ban triangular flapjacks," he said.
Essex County Council said it did not give schools guidance on the shapes of foodstuffs.

Summary: A school's decision to ban triangular flapjacks after a pupil was hurt has been labelled "half-baked" by the Health and Safety Executive.
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Article: House Republicans approved a sweeping measure on Thursday that would ease rules on banks, weaken consumer protection and scrap federal bailouts for major financial institutions.
"Growth!" US President Donald Trump cheered in a tweet Friday morning.
But Democrats vowed to fight the bill, which few expect to advance further.
"It's fitting that @realDonaldTrump is celebrating a bill that will harm service members, seniors, and families #WrongChoiceAct," Nancy Pelosi, the leader of Democrats in the House, tweeted in reply.
Supporters say the bill, dubbed the Financial CHOICE Act, provides a simpler alternative to the oversight measures known as the Dodd-Frank Act, which passed in the wake of the financial crisis.
Among the major changes, the bill allows banks that maintain a certain level of financial surplus to opt-out of those rules and abolishes the bailout process established for major financial institutions.
It also rolls back a wide range of other rules, touching on issues from payday lending to shareholder proposals.
Republicans take aim at Dodd-Frank financial rules
Trump orders review that could relax Dodd-Frank bank rules
Congressman Jeb Hensarling, the sponsor of the bill, called it a "better, smarter way".
"It's called the Financial CHOICE Act.  It stands for economic growth for all, but bank bailouts for none," he said.
Financial stocks soared after the vote, which some say could push Republicans in the Senate to pursue more aggressive reform.
Senator Sherrod Brown, the Democrat who heads the banking committee in the Senate, has said he is open to loosening rules for smaller community banks.
But he lambasted the House measure, calling it "partisan, dangerous legislation [that] would once again leave families, seniors and service members at the mercy of predatory lenders, and put taxpayers back on the hook to pay for Wall Street's greed and recklessness.
"Democrats have shown we're willing to work with Republicans to tailor the rules where it makes sense, but not if it means killing the reforms that...

Summary: Democrats are slamming a Republican bid to dismantle financial rules put in place after the 2008 crisis as the "wrong choice" for the country.
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Article: The fatwa, which is not legally binding but will be influential, was issued after a three-day congress of female clerics in the country.
The clerics urged the government to raise the minimum legal age for women to marry to 18 from the current 16.
Indonesia is a majority Muslim country and has among the highest number of child brides in the world.
According to the UN's children office Unicef, one in four women in Indonesia marries before the age of 18.
Fatwas are issued regularly in Indonesia, but usually by the Indonesian Ulema Council - the highest Islamic authority in the country which is made up almost entirely of men.
Hundreds of women descended on Cirebon, on Java Island, for the Indonesian KUPI Women's Ulema Congress.
Most of the clerics - experts in Islamic sacred law and theology - were from Indonesia, but speakers travelled from as far away as Kenya, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to take part in the conference, said to be the first major gathering of female Muslim clerics.
Female clerics, or "ulema", have existed in Indonesia for hundreds of years, but their role has been played down previously. Nowadays, they help empower their communities and lead educational institutes, organisers say.
It is hoped the congress will highlight the vital role they play.
Steering committee chairman Badriyah Fayumi told the BBC: "Through this conference, we want to state that female clerics exist, and have been proven to contribute, and this is the time to acknowledge their existence, and to give an appreciation for the... contribution of the female clergy."
The committee will now present its recommendations to the relevant groups - including the government - which will then decide on whether or not to take them any further.
The fatwa called underage marriage "harmful" and said preventing it was mandatory.
"Female clerics know the issues and obstacles women face, we can take action and do not just wait for the government to protect these children," Ninik Rahayu, the conference organiser, told Reuters.
The female clerics...

Summary:


Bestival has revealed an all-female line-up in its second wave of announcements for this year's Isle of Wight event.

Article: It matters in a symbolic sense in that it would be the first time, since the Bank of England was given control over interest rates, that it has missed the target on the downside.
Although it missed the target on the upside (that is inflation was over 3%) for month after pricey month from May 2008 to February 2009 and then from the beginning of 2010 to April 2012 (when it was at 3% or less only once).
To labour the point (as is my wont, yawn) it would be the first time that the rules put in place by Gordon Brown as Chancellor would oblige the Governor to write a letter explaining why inflation is too low - and what he and his colleagues intend to do about it.
But the more important question is whether inflation at less than 1% is actually bad for us - given that the implication of the Bank of England's mandate, that inflation should not be more than 1 percentage point above or below 2%, suggests it would be bad.
Well, the big reason that inflation has been falling - falls in food and oil-linked prices - should be good for most consumers and businesses, in that we have to buy these things and the drops make our money go further.
The lower prices are the equivalent of a chunky tax cut.
So in theory they will encourage us to spend more, and thus provide positive momentum for the economy, to offset - inter alia - the drag from the stagnating eurozone.
That said, there is also very little inflation in categories of discretionary spending, such as recreation, culture, clothing and furniture.
And, as I mentioned last week, we are likely to start shipping in deflationary pressures from the eurozone, as the European Central Bank responds to falling prices there by weakening the euro - which means we will pay less for imports from our important eurozone trading partners.
The point is that inflation is likely to remain well below target for many months, and if we all started to defer discretionary spending in the hope of buying cheaper later, falling inflation could turn into deflation and slump.
So although there is no...

Summary: If official inflation falls below 1% tomorrow, which seems more-or-less certain, would that matter?
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Article: The Juno satellite is rapidly bearing down on the gas giant after a five-year journey from Earth.
It must slow itself to get captured by the gravity of the giant world.
This all-or-nothing job will be performed by its Leros-1b engine built by Moog-ISP in Westcott, Buckinghamshire.
"It's a tremendous thing for us," said Moog's chief engineer, Dr Ian Coxhill.
"The engine has to work for Juno to get into orbit; it has to burn at a precise time and burn for a continuous duration of at least 20 mins.
"There'll be some frayed nerves, for sure."
The Leros-1b was chosen to be the main engine on the Nasa satellite by its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.
Previous American space agency missions have also used the Westcott technology, including the Messenger probe that went into orbit around Mercury in 2011. So, there is high confidence this latest engine will be up to the task.
Indeed, Juno has already fired it during the epic journey to Jupiter.
Back in 2012, the Leros had to operate reliably twice to refine the trajectory of the spacecraft, and on each occasion the engine burned flawlessly for more than 20 minutes.
"In fact, things went so well that Lockheed Martin said initially they thought they had confused the real flight data on the engine burn with the simulation data. It was that accurate. So that's obviously really encouraging," Dr Coxhill told BBC News.
The Jupiter Orbit Insertion manoeuvre will be conducted in the early hours of Tuesday morning, British time.
Juno will turn and fire the Leros in the forward direction to try to remove about 500m/s from its velocity - enough so that it goes into a 53-day orbit around the gas giant.
No burn or a burn of insufficient length would send Juno into the oblivion of deep space.
The probe will send back a series of tones to update Nasa and Lockheed Martin engineers on the progress of the insertion.
The Leros should light at 04:18 BST (03:18 GMT) and terminate at 4:53 BST (03:53 GMT), for a full firing of 35 minutes in length.
These are what are called Earth-receive...

Summary: When the US space agency's latest probe to Jupiter tries to enter into orbit around the planet on Tuesday, it will be relying on a British rocket engine.
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Article: That represents a substantial gain on alternatives that can struggle to run longer than a day.
The Geak Watch 2 models achieve the feat by using a hybrid screen that switches between a "high definition" LCD colour display and a "standby mode" battery-saving e-ink one.
One expert said this was "very clever".
"One of the big challenges that smartwatch manufacturers have had is that people stop using the devices, and one of the reasons they do so is that they have to be charged on a regular basis, whereby they are being taken off constantly," said Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.
"Anything that enhances the battery life is a big win.
"That's why we've seen people who have Pebble devices typically using them longer than some of the rivals with daily charging requirements."
Pebble smartwatches also promise "up to seven days" between charges thanks to the use of a black-and-white e-paper display, but lack the ability to switch to a colour LCD screen or run Android, restricting the amount of apps they offer.
The new smartwatches are made by Shanda, a Shanghai-based company that helped pioneer the sector with its first Geak Watch in 2013.
Reviews at the time indicated that the first-generation device lasted between 10 and 15 hours.
Early adopters are being rewarded with an offer to trade in the old watch for a free new one.
Shanda says:
Owners can alternate between the two display modes by pressing a power button.
Both watches feature a circular 1.3in (3.2cm) display offering a resolution of 254 pixels per inch when the LCD is in use - roughly the same specifications as LG's G Watch R, which does not include the e-ink component.
Shanda's Pro model features a metal, rather than plastic, bezel and also includes a built-in heart rate monitor.
The models are powered by Geak Watch OS, a proprietary "skinned" version of Android 4.3 that has its own app store and user interface, rather than Google's Android Wear software.
This helps it overcome the fact that Google Now - the anticipatory search service that...

Summary: One of China's leading tech firms has unveiled two Android-powered smartwatches that it says can last about a week between charges.
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Article: He said critics who accused him of winning last month's elections through intimidation and fraud could "go to hell".
The West African regional body Ecowas said the electorate had been "cowed by repression".
Mr Jammeh, who took power in a coup in 1994, was re-elected with 72% of the figures, official figures show.
The 46 year old said he did not fear a fate similar to Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak or killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
"My fate is in the hands of almighty Allah," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
"I will deliver to the Gambian people and if I have to rule this country for one billion years, I will, if Allah says so."
The November poll was the fourth since Mr Jammeh overthrew The Gambia's first post-independence leader Dawda Jawara aged just 29.
Opposition candidates Ousainou Darboe and Hamat Bah took 17% and 11% respectively.
Mr Darboe called the results "bogus, fraudulent and preposterous".
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) refused to send observers, saying the polls would not be free and fair because voters and the opposition had been "cowed by repression and intimidation".
The media group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says there is "absolute intolerance of any form of criticism" in The Gambia, with death threats, surveillance and arbitrary night-time arrests the daily lot of journalists "who do not sing the government's praises".
In 2004, the editor of the privately owned The Point newspaper, Deyda Hydara, was gunned down, but no-one has been charged over his murder.
In the BBC interview, Mr Jammeh denied that the government's security agents had killed him.
"Listen to me: Is he the only Gambian who died? Is he better than Gambians who die in accidents, Gambians who die at sea, Gambians who die on their way to Europe?" Mr Jammeh asked.
"Other people have also died in this country. So why is Deyda Hydara so special?"
Mr Jammeh said he was not bothered by the criticism of human rights groups.
"I will not bow down before anybody, except the almighty...

Summary: The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh has told the BBC that he will rule for "one billion years", if God wills.
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Article: Scientists want these ubiquitous gadgets to be put to work helping them detect and investigate earthquakes.
The devices contain accelerometers and a team at the Berkeley Seismic Laboratory says the mechanisms are capable of monitoring tremors.
An app is being developed that will record the shaking during major events and then report the data back to a central server over the cell network.
The high numbers of smartphones now in circulation mean researchers could get very detailed information on who felt what, and where.
It is the sort of insight that is useful for future hazard assessment and risk planning, but real-time data could also eventually play an important role in California's earthquake early warning system.
This aims to give people precious seconds' advance notice that a big trembler is on its way.
"Nowadays, smartphones carry all sorts of sensors, and we can put these to use in unexpected ways," explained Qingkai Kong. "Right now, we can only detect earthquakes above about Magnitude 5.0, but with better accelerometers in future smartphones we would hope to detect smaller ones as well," he told BBC News.
The University of California, Berkeley, researcher was speaking here at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, the world's largest annual gathering of Earth scientists.
He and colleagues were not sure at first that mobile phones would be up to the task of being pocket seismometers.  So a selection of the gadgets was put on the lab's "shake table".
This instrument can simulate various grades of tremors. It is usually employed to test the robustness of various construction techniques, to provide confidence that buildings will not collapse during an earthquake.
The results clearly demonstrated that the accelerometers - used primarily in phones as part of the mechanism to tilt the screen - could pick up the shaking.
The confounding issue, of course, is that phones are rarely left alone on a flat surface - they are moving around with their owners.
But the team believes it can solve this...

Summary: The smartphones in our pockets are about to get even smarter.
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Article: Charli XCX, Ella Eyre and Lianne La Havas will appear alongside The Chemical Brothers and Underworld.
Other festivals have been criticised for the lack of women on their bills.
Last week, music blog Crack in the Road posted images of edited posters removing all the names of male performers.
The rather blank-looking page was shared on social media, with the bills at Reading and Leeds, Download and T in the Park also a focus for criticism.
Neneh Cherry, Andreya Triana and Radio 1 DJ B.Traits are among other female acts to be announced by Bestival.
Organiser Rob da Bank said: "There are shed-loads of amazing people making some startlingly good music at the moment and look, lots of them are female."
This year's Bestival theme is Summer of Love.
It takes place at Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight between 10 and 13 September, with 25 stages on offer.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

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