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Evaluation on the Hub 34

The one-year-old was handed in to the Dogs Trust near Darlington in December after being found wandering the streets as a stray. Following an appeal on social media, the canine with "a heart of gold" has found a new forever family. The trust said Fester would be leaving the charity's kennels early next week. Fester was born with a narrow jaw which causes his lower teeth to stick out - creating some "unique features", a trust spokeswoman said. "We were concerned that fun-loving Fester may have ended up being over-looked by potential new owners due to his unusual eye-catching appearance," she added. "He is a gorgeous boy with an amazing character, so we couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to have him as part of their family. "He's had a rough time and it is fantastic news he will have a new home where he can settle and hopefully his character will shine through."

Abandoned because of his bizarre looks, Fester the boxer dog, who is blind in one eye and has a protruding lower jaw, has finally been found a new home.

Fellow Briton Stephen Cummings won the final stage from Le-Pont-de-Claix to Superdevoluy, but it was Froome who added to his 2013 and 2015 titles. The Team Sky rider had opened a 21-second lead heading into stage seven and held out to win by 12 seconds from Frenchman Romain Bardet. Froome won the Tour de France after both his previous Dauphine successes. This year's edition begins on 2 July. The 31-year-old had to survive some nervous moments in the final 15km on Sunday, as Spaniard Alberto Contador launched several accelerations on the penultimate climb. Bardet also tried his chances on a rapid descent between the final two climbs but Froome chased down every attack. Cummings, 35, was the last of a 20-man breakaway group to wilt and finished well clear of the chasing pack. Ireland's Dan Martin won the sprint for second with Bardet third, and both moved up a place in the overall standings thanks to the bonus points available on the line. Tasmanian Richie Porte, who started the day second, was caught out in the uphill sprint finish and lost two places. Meanwhile, Froome's Team Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas is 17th overall in the Tour de Suisse after finishing three seconds behind stage-two winner Peter Sagan. Stage seven result: 1. Stephen Cummings (GB/Dimension Data) 4hrs 05mins 06secs 2. Daniel Martin (Ire/Etixx-Quick-Step) +3:58" 3. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) same time 4. Wout Poels (Ned/Team Sky) 5. Adam Yates (GB/Orica) 6. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Etixx-Quick-Step) 7. Diego Rosa (Ita/Astana) 8. Louis Meintjes (SA/Lampre) 9. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing) +4:03" 10. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) same time General classification: 1. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) 29hrs 59mins 31secs 2. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +12" 3. Daniel Martin (Ire/Etixx - Quick-Step) +19" 4. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing) +21" 5. Alberto Contador (Spa/Tinkoff) +35" 6. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Etixx-Quick-Step) +51" 7. Adam Yates (GB/Orica) +57" 8. Diego Rosa (Ita/Astana) +1:13" 9. Louis Meintjes (SA/Lampre) +1:30" 10. Pierre Rolland (Fra/Cannondale) +2:43"

Britain's Chris Froome won a third Criterium du Dauphine title on Sunday.

Ministers promised a response after AMs claimed the 2013 Active Travel Act had failed to achieve its potential due to a lack of funding and leadership. Healthy travel will be promoted in school lessons, public health campaigns, and investment decisions, backed up by monitored targets. Transport Minister Edwina Hart said there was a need for "culture change". Local councils are obliged to provide routes for cyclists and walkers and to consider their needs when planning new road and rail links under the 2013 legislation. But there was "considerable frustration" among supporters of active travel at the lack of progress, the business and enterprise committee reported in February. Chairman William Graham claimed AMs felt the commitment of ministers had "started to waver before it has properly begun". The Active Travel Action Plan published by the Welsh government on Tuesday sets out expectations in areas ranging from leadership and infrastructure to skills and training. An annual progress report will monitor how many more adults and children have been encouraged to take up walking or cycling. "Increasing levels of walking and cycling offers many health and social benefits," said Mrs Hart. "We know that most people in Wales currently make no or very few walking and cycling journeys. "This plan sets out how we can achieve our ambition of making walking and cycling part of everyday life through a culture change, both within organisations, and among individuals, as well as action to reduce barriers to active travel."

Schools, the health service and planning laws will be used to boost walking and cycling in an action plan.

Edinburgh University found chronic pain is caused partly by a person's genetic make-up and partly by as-yet-unidentified risk factors shared by partners in the same environment. The team also identified significant overlaps between the risk factors for chronic pain and depression. The scientists said chronic pain is a common cause of disability. Scientists hope the research will help explain why some people suffer from the condition and not others. The study used data from more than 100,000 people taking part in the Generation Scotland and UK Biobank projects - major studies investigating genetic links to health conditions. The results of the collaboration with Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow universities are published in the latest edition of the journal PLOS Medicine. Prof Andrew McIntosh, chair of biological psychiatry at Edinburgh University, said: "We hope our research will encourage people to think about the relationship between chronic pain and depression, and whether physical and mental illnesses are as separate as some believe."

Partners of people with depression are more likely to suffer from chronic pain, a new study suggests.

The opposition Socialists struck a deal with two smaller far-left parties over the weekend, all but guaranteeing Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho will fall. Mr Passos Coelho's party emerged as the largest in October's election, but has no absolute majority. Government bond yields hit a five-month high, while shares fell 1.9%. "The scenario of a left-wing government and the ousting of the centre-right is about to become reality, which the markets obviously don't like," said Joao Lampreia, an analyst at Banco BiG. Portugal's benchmark 10-year bond yields jumped over 20 basis points to 2.87%, the highest since July, as investors anticipated higher borrowing costs. Socialist Party leader Antonio Costa sealed the so-called "Triple Left" pact with the Communist Party and Left Bloc over the weekend. Together they will have 122 seats, enough to out-vote the centre-right coalition government, which was left with only 107 after October's inconclusive elections. A vote on the government's programme is likely to take place on Tuesday, when the leftist parties are set to use their parliamentary advantage to topple the minority administration. Matt Cairns, a strategist at Rabobank, said there were fears a change in government "could end up in some wind-back of austerity measures". Another analyst, Rainer Guntermann at Commerzbank, warned "rating jitters are also on the rise for Portugal". Amid the political uncertainty, Portugal's only investment grade credit rating will be assessed on Friday by credit agency DBRS. The loss of that rating would bar Portugal from the European Central Bank's quantitative easing (QE) programme, Commerzbank warns.

Portuguese bonds and stocks were hit on Monday as a coalition of left-of-centre anti-austerity parties looked set to form the country's next government.

The South American country will be the first in the world to legally sell the drug over the counter for recreational use. The move was set in motion in 2013 with a law that fully legalised the cannabis trade. However, it has been a slow process to put the law into practice. "Cannabis will be dispensed in pharmacies starting in the month of July," presidential aide Juan Andres Roballo told a press conference. The law requires buyers to sign up to a national registry, which Mr Roballo said would be up and running by 2 May. The price will be US$1.30 (£1) per gram. Registrants - who must be Uruguayan citizens or permanent residents - can purchase up to a maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) per month. The marijuana sold will come from state-supervised fields. The law also allows users to grow their own at home, or join cooperative clubs that farm it. Many pharmacists have doubted the financial benefits of selling a cost-controlled product. Some Uruguayan buyers were also reluctant to sign up to a national registry, complaining of the invasion of their privacy and of having to keep to the monthly limits. The government has now done a deal with 16 pharmacies, but it hopes to sign up more. Mr Roballo said there would be a public health campaign before the registry was opened. He also said the government was not close to covering the predicted demand, but it does not believe there will be "an avalanche of users" signing up,

Uruguay will begin selling cannabis in pharmacies from July, the final stage in the country's pioneering regularisation of the drug.

Project director David Climie told MSPs that any bad weather could still make it "challenging" to hit the target, but said that "everything that can safely be done is being done". It was originally hoped the Queensferry Crossing could open by December 2016. Mr Climie said changing the date was a "painful process", but said the new target date was "realistic". The project also remains within its budget of £1.35bn. The contract for completion of the bridge runs until June 2017, but a target had been set of opening it by December 2016. However, it was announced in June that this deadline now could not be met due to high winds forcing work to stop on 25 days during April and May, using up the time contractors had put aside for contingencies. Mr Climie said there had been a "worse than average winter", which had caused delays, but that he was now confident it could be open by May 2017 after a "good three months". Questioned by MSPs at Holyrood's rural economy and connectivity committee, Mr Climie said: "I'm always an optimist so I hope it will be before May, but I'm also a realist so I accept there are certain circumstances where it could be after May. "The main issue that could affect it is one we can't control, the weather. May is a very reasonable assumption and that's certainly what were aiming for, that we believe we can achieve and that the contractor is telling us they believe they can achieve." MSPs were told that 93 of 110 deck units were now in place, and that work had progressed well on supporting roads and infrastructure. The committee heard there were still "incredibly frustrating" days when work could not be done due to wind, but that contractors Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors had shown flexibility to keep the project moving forward. There was also a pause in the project after a 60-year-old worker was killed on the site. Mr Climie said the fatal accident had been "a great shock to the project and a great setback to us all", and said that safety was top priority for the project team. The Health and Safety Executive are still investigating the incident, which occurred during "routine maintenance". Mr Climie was also questioned about why the completion date had changed by six months after previous hopes the project could open early. He said: "It was reasonable at the beginning of March for the contactor to expect that the weather would improve, that we would get into a better period of weather, and that even though they were behind where they wanted to be, they could recover to get there by December. "What happened in April and May was exactly the contrary of that, it was significantly worse than expected. And therefore rather than recovering time they were losing time. "And realistically it comes to a point where if you're trying to recover one month in 10, that's realistically possible in terms of a major construction project. "But if you're trying to recover two months in seven, that's really not realistic any more and we have to say right, we've given this our best shot, we've thrown everything at it we can and we have to say sorry, we just aren't going to get there. "They key is that, if you don't get December, that pushes you significantly into 2017. There's a multiplying effect - a day lost in April or May is not equivalent to a day in January or February."

The new Forth Crossing remains on course to be opened by May 2017, Transport Scotland has said.

Surrey's six-wicket victory in front of a crowd of 2,250 at The Oval consigned Diamonds to their second defeat in two games since the competition started. Yorkshire posted 134-5, Hollie Armitage leading the way with 43. Beaumont shared a 65-run first-wicket stand with Bryony Smith to help the Stars triumph in their first home game. Assisted by a quick outfield, the visitors raced along to 74 without loss before Alex Hartley struck twice in three balls - the England off-spinner taking a simple caught and bowled after a leading edge from Lauren Winfield before she bowled Armitage. Stars skipper Natalie Sciver, with one stump to aim at, ran out Beth Mooney after collecting the ball sharply at extra cover, as the hosts battled their way back into the contest brilliantly and the visitors stuttered. The home side looked to attack the ball from the off and Diamonds debutant Laura Spragg's only over went disastrously wrong, with the former England bowler opening up with three wides on the way to conceding 16 runs in an 11-ball over. Smith batted fearlessly, hitting four boundaries in one Katherine Brunt over, before being caught at point off Jenny Gunn for 31. Beaumont was largely untroubled, hitting six fours in her 45-ball innings, and was eventually caught off Stephanie Butler late on - with Sciver left to lead her side home with 11 balls to spare.

England opener Tammy Beaumont top-scored 47 against Yorkshire Diamonds to lead Surrey Stars to their first Super League win.

Lancashire batsman Livingstone, who scored 129 from 83 balls for England Lions against South Africa A last week, is one of five uncapped players named. Mason Crane, Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and Craig Overton are the other four players yet to make their debut. The three-match series starts in Southampton on 21 June. England lost their last Twenty20 series 2-1 to India in February. Moeen Ali, Jake Ball, Adil Rashid, Joe Root and Ben Stokes have been rested and will instead play for their respective counties in the inaugural day-night round of the County Championship, which starts on 26 June. This will allow them to gain experience of playing with the pink Dukes balls that will be used for the first day-night Test to be played in England, against West Indies at Edgbaston in August. Sussex fast bowler Tymal Mills, meanwhile, has been ruled out with a back injury, but Durham seamer Mark Wood returns after missing the India series through injury. Middlesex opener Malan, Surrey paceman Curran and Somerset all-rounder Overton have previously been included in England squads, while Hampshire leg-spinner Crane is called up after impressing in the North-South series in March. Overton will replace Wood in the squad after the first match, while wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow will be available for the first two matches before returning to Yorkshire. Jason Roy, who has managed just 18 runs in three innings for England in the ongoing Champions Trophy, is named in the squad. Chairman of selectors James Whitaker said: "The squad has an exciting blend of youth and experience and we are looking forward to a competitive series against strong opposition. "With five uncapped players selected, there is undoubted talent coming through the system and we are excited to see some of these players showcase their skills at the highest level." BBC Radio Lancashire's Scott Read There is a touch of Kevin Pietersen about Liam Livingstone when he gets onto the front foot to pull through mid-wicket. He is a powerful, destructive batsman who in white-ball cricket has the ability to take games away from the opposition and is great fun to watch.

Liam Livingstone has been given his first senior international call-up as England rest five players for the Twenty20 series against South Africa.

Richard Ratcliffe will celebrate Gabriella's second birthday near the Iranian embassy in London's Hyde Park. His wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 37, was arrested on 3 April at an airport in Iran after visiting her family. He says she has been held without charge, while Gabriella is in Iran because her passport has been taken. Mr Ratcliffe, who is from north London and has been advised to stay away from Iran, says his British-Iranian wife has been held in solitary confinement over an issue of "national security". Their daughter, a British citizen, has had to stay with her grandparents in Iran because she cannot return to the UK without her passport. Under Iranian law only her father or mother can bring the toddler home. More than 757,000 people have signed a petition calling for Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene in the case. The Free Nazanin Campaign event will also be the culmination of its birthday card campaign, which has seen thousands of people sending cards for Gabriella via Iranian embassies around the world. It will be attended by family and friends, neighbours, Gabriella's MP Tulip Siddiq and representatives of campaign website Change.org. Mr Ratcliffe will attempt to present a card to the embassy at 13:00 BST and ask that they pass it on to his daughter. He told the Press Association news agency that he was "overwhelmed" by the public outcry about his family's situation. Of his daughter, he said: "I am grateful that she is with her loving Iranian grandparents but, nonetheless, I want her and her mother together and back home with me as soon as possible. "It has been really moving for all my family here to see the kindness of people across the country connecting with our story, making cards for Gabriella with their own children or grandchildren, and doing something to make Gabriella's world a better place. "In my bones, I feel it is that kindness that will in the end bring them home." Mr Ratcliffe says his wife had been about to return to the UK when she was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and taken to an unknown location in Kerman Province, 621 miles (1,000km) south of Tehran. He says Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works as a project coordinator for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, has not been allowed access to a lawyer or to see her daughter. According to him, she has not been charged but has been forced to sign a confession "under duress", despite not knowing what she was confessing to. Mr Ratcliffe has previously told the BBC there was nothing in her work or personal background to explain why she was detained, saying she had travelled to the country before without any problem. He said her family in Iran heard nothing after her arrest for three days, when she was allowed to phone and tell them she was safe. They were told she would be released within a couple of days, he said, but after they heard nothing they later learned she had been transferred to southern Iran. Mr Ratcliffe has said he was going against the advice of the Foreign Office in speaking publicly about his wife's detainment because he hoped public pressure might help secure her release. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We have been providing support to the family of a British-Iranian national since we were first informed of her arrest, and will continue to do so."

The father of a toddler stuck in Iran without either of her parents nearby plans to sing Happy Birthday to her via Skype at a campaign event later.

Labour would bring back the 50p tax on incomes above £150,000 and introduce a "mansion tax" on homes worth over £2m. But Plaid Cymru will challenge Labour politicians to drop what it calls their "commitment to Tory cuts". Meanwhile, the Conservatives will say housing association tenants should gain the right to buy their homes in Wales. David Cameron announced the policy for England when he launched the Tory UK manifesto on Tuesday. The Welsh Conservatives will also highlight their opposition to plans by Labour ministers in Wales to scrap right to buy for people renting their council homes if Labour is in power after next year's assembly election. The Welsh Liberal Democrats will warn that a "BLUKIP" alliance of "right wing Tories and UKIP" could hold the balance of power after polling day, urging voters to back Lib Dem candidates, to keep the next UK government "anchored in the centre ground". Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood will take part in a live televised debate in London involving five of Westminster's opposition party leaders. Welsh Labour, which will launch its manifesto on Thursday morning in Llandudno, said it would guarantee a minimum overall level for the Welsh government budget - although there is no figure placed on this "floor". The idea is to prevent the population-based formula for setting the budget from short-changing Wales. Speaking before the event, Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith said: "Increasing the minimum wage, scrapping abusive zero-hours contracts, taking on the energy companies are just a few of the practical, fully costed plans that will make a difference to working people in Wales. "And I think people will also be pleased to hear that unlike the Tories, who have cut £1.5bn from the Welsh budget, Labour will deliver fair funding and a guaranteed funding floor." With three weeks to go until polling day, Labour said it was confident Ed Miliband was on course to be the next prime minister. The party currently holds 26 of Wales' 40 seats, and among its target seats are Conservative-held Cardiff North, Lib Dem-held Cardiff Central and Plaid Cymru-held Arfon.

Tax rises will mean £375m extra a year for the Welsh government if Labour wins May's election, the party will say as it launches its Welsh manifesto.

Prof Allyson Pollock and colleagues at Queen Mary University of London say the contact sport is too dangerous. They do not want an outright ban but say the sport must change and safeguards are needed. The Rugby Football Union said steps had been taken to make the sport safer. The RFU says the physical and social benefits that rugby offers to children "massively outweigh any potential drawbacks" and that myriad safety measures are already in place. These include the provision of a safe environment through investment in pitches and facilities, ensuring adequate first aid and medical facilities, and fully training coaches in methods to prevent injuries to young players. Ministers also want to see more children taking up sport. In 2012, then Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt announced a plan to link up thousands of schools with rugby clubs. But Prof Pollock fears there are not enough safety checks and measures to support this, meaning children could get hurt. She wants to see an increase in the recording of injuries and better injury prevention analysis. She claims that, compared with New Zealand, the UK has few strategies to protect players. Each season, children have about a one in 10 chance of getting injured badly enough that they need at least seven days off the pitch. Some injuries are minor, but others can cause permanent disability. Most rugby injuries occur during the tackle, as players collide at speed. But scrums are the most dangerous part of play, where some of the most serious injuries occur, Prof Pollock and colleagues say in their report in the British Medical Journal. Concussion and spinal trauma are the big concerns. Some injuries can prove fatal - as the Robinson family from County Antrim know only too well after their 14-year-old son, Ben, died having been hurt in a school rugby match in 2011. He collapsed at the end of that match after he was involved in a series of heavy tackles. An inquest heard that the teenager died from brain injuries. Prof Pollock says not enough is being done to put in place injury monitoring and prevention strategies - and little is known about what really works. "Only by collecting injury data and by providing feedback to individuals and organisations working on safety initiatives will the short - and long-term impact of injury prevention programmes, whether for rugby or any other sport, be known," she said. She added some measures - such as matching child rugby players by size rather than age, playing only non-contact matches and having fewer players on the pitch at any one time - may help reduce the frequency of the most severe injuries. The RFU says set-phase play such as scrums and line-outs are introduced gradually, according to a child's rugby development, with scrums initially only containing three players per side and are uncontested. An RFU spokesman said: "We take player safety extremely seriously, and this is at the core of all the training we deliver to coaches, referees and medics, at all levels of the game. "Rugby for young people at schools or clubs in England exists in different forms, both contact and non-contact. "Significant work has been undertaken over a number of years to develop new rules of play to ensure maximum possible safety, with a structured progression to cover the introduction, playing, teaching and refereeing of the game from under-seven to under-18." A government spokesman said: "Player safety in schools and at all levels of sport is absolutely paramount and sports governing bodies and the government are completely committed to it. "The rugby governing bodies work hard to ensure the sport in schools is played as safely as possible and that young people reap the benefits of participating - boosting their health, self-esteem and encouraging teamwork."

A government drive to boost participation in rugby in English schools is ill-conceived and risks children getting seriously hurt, public health doctors have warned.

The small objects were hidden by artist Luke Jerram for his installation Treasure City, with clues hidden in paintings at the 20-21 Arts Centre. The first one, a replica Viking brooch, was found in a wall in Kingsway Gardens, Scunthorpe, by Rachel Welch. Ms Welch, of Grimsby, said she looked around town on the off-chance she could find one without cracking the codes. The object was found hours after the treasure hunt began on Saturday. She said: "We had a look at them, but we didn't really spend much time with them because we are no good at codes. "We thought we'd go out and have a look round and see if we are able to find one and we did." Bristol-based artist Mr Jerram said a Scoutmaster had cracked the code in the corresponding painting moments before, and arrived at the park to see it had already been claimed. This particular artwork used semaphore to spell out the clue "in the gardens seven metres from the flag is the Kingsway xx(rest)." The gold was hidden in a dry stone wall near a flag, given to the gardens as an environmental award. Each of the objects is worth more than £1,000 and Ms Welch said she was going to sell it to pay for a holiday. The second object, a small 18 carat gold lamb, was found in a bandstand in Brigg on Sunday night by a teacher from Beverley. She solved one of the painting's codes to lead her to a place which was "an octagonal place to listen". Mr Jerram said the woman searched Scunthorpe for somewhere that fit that description and settled on the bandstand but when she got to the one in Scunthorpe there was nothing there. It was that night that she realised there was one in nearby Brigg and went down there with her husband at midnight to claim the gold. The third piece, a model of a Tudor fisherwoman, was found on Monday but the exact details of where are not yet known.

Three of five gold artworks hidden in Lincolnshire as part of a treasure hunt have been found - the first by chance.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter announced plans last week to form an 11-person panel to review football's scandal-hit world governing body. Domenico Scala had earlier said he would only lead the taskforce if he is guaranteed full independence. The Swiss businessman is already the independent chair of Fifa's audit and compliance committee. Scala was believed to have been prepared to lead the taskforce, after meeting presidents of three of Fifa's six continental confederations. But a spokesman for Scala told BBC Sport: "Domenico Scala never applied for such a chairmanship." He added that the post would only be considered "under the strict condition" that "independence was guaranteed". As well as an independent chair, the taskforce will have two representatives from the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), Concacaf (North, Central America and the Caribbean) and Uefa (Europe), as well as one representative from each of Conmebol (South America) and the OFC (Oceania). In a statement, Fifa said representatives from federations would not necessarily have to be "members of the football community" and the confederations could decide that themselves. Blatter, who has announced his intention to stand down as president, has said presidential term limits and integrity checks for top officials are potential areas of reform. Recommendations are due to be presented at the next meeting of Fifa's executive committee in Zurich on 24 and 25 September. The prospect of Scala leading an independent review of Fifa was described as "laughable" by campaign group New Fifa Now. And Alexandra Wrage, who resigned from Fifa's independent governance committee in April 2013 in protest at a lack of meaningful action, said even an independent chairman of the reform taskforce "can't work". She told BBC Sport: "The process needs to be taken out of Fifa's hands. Short of that, it's another reform dead-end." Blatter's resignation on 2 June followed the arrest of seven Fifa officials as part of a United States investigation that saw 14 people indicted on corruption charges. A separate criminal investigation by Swiss authorities into how the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were allocated is also under way.

Fifa has said its reform taskforce will be chaired by an independent person from outside of football.

In London, Labour's Sadiq Khan defeated Conservative Zac Goldsmith to become mayor. Khan came out on top in three constituencies that had voted for former mayor of London Boris Johnson in 2012. After second preferences were counted and transferred, Khan received a total of 1,310,143 votes (56.8%) and Goldsmith 994,614 (43.2%). The Labour candidate gained 44.2% of first preference votes, with Goldsmith securing 35%. Green Party candidate Sian Berry came in third with 5.8%. Full details of London's results are available here. The mayor has control over four major policy areas in London - transport, policing, environment, and housing and planning - and the London Assembly scrutinises the mayor's policies. In the London Assembly election, Labour secured 12 seats while the Conservatives ended up with eight. The Green Party had the third most votes and have two seats in the Assembly, as do UKIP. The Lib Dems claimed the remaining seat. The SNP will retain its grip on government, after having claimed 59 of the 73 constituency seats up for grabs - up six on their 2011 result. Overall, the SNP will occupy 63 of the 129 seats at Holyrood, with the Conservatives becoming the second-largest party on 31. Labour took 24, the Greens six (all from the regional lists), and the Lib Dems five. Some of the SNP's gains came at Labour's expense in Glasgow, which now represents a clean sweep for the governing party. It also took Edinburgh Northern and Leith from Labour. But it faltered elsewhere in the capital, losing Edinburgh Central to the Conservatives and Edinburgh Western to the Lib Dems. The Scottish Labour Party recaptured Edinburgh Southern from the SNP. Your browser does not support this interactive content As the interactive vote-share map above demonstrates, the Labour party's share of the constituency vote in Scotland was concentrated in areas where it largely failed to get over the finish line ahead of the SNP. The SNP, on the other hand, dominated the count nearly everywhere in the country, winning more than 30% of the vote in all but three constituencies. The Scottish Conservatives increased their share of the vote by more than eight percentage points, once again doing best along the border with England, but their strong performance in Aberdeenshire and Perthshire was enough to win them one constituency seat there too. With regional results factored in, the party gained 16 seats on the previous election in 2011 and will now be the second-largest party in the Scottish parliament. That the Lib Dems doubled their constituency seat count, from two to four, masks a dismal night for the party, which lost its deposit in 48 constituencies. For the first time since the parliament's creation in 1999, the Lib Dems are fifth in the political pecking order. With six MSPs - one less than it had in 2003 but four more than the 2011 election - the Scottish Greens now stand as the fourth largest party in the Holyrood chamber. It won all of its seats through the regional list system and not through the constituency vote. Labour is likely to seek to form a minority government after winning 29 of the 60 seats in Thursday's election, according to first minister Carwyn Jones. Just one constituency changed hands, when Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood captured the Rhondda from the governing party. The biggest shift in Welsh politics was the rise of UKIP, which has won seven regional seats. Your browser does not support this interactive content Although UKIP did not manage to clinch any constituency seats, the interactive map above shows the five places where it won more than 20% of the constituency vote: Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Newport East, Islwyn, and Torfaen, where it came in second place, and Caerphilly, where it came third. In three of these seats, UKIP's gains appear to have come mostly at Labour's expense, in one the losses were shared fairly evenly between Labour and the Lib Dems, and in one the Lib Dems lost out the most. The Conservatives also lost vote share in three of the five constituencies, but to a lesser extent. A total of 124 councils were up for re-election, in part or in whole. After all the results were counted Labour lost 18 councillors, but held on to control of all but one of its 58 councils: Dudley, and gained control of Bristol. The Conservatives lost a total of 48 council seats. The party lost control of two councils, but gained control of Peterborough. The Lib Dems gained 45 councillors in total, and won back Watford council from no overall control. UKIP gained 25 more council seats - but was not able to convert these gains into control of any council. At 68.3%, turnout was highest in Scotland in the battle for Eastwood, a constituency to the south west of Glasgow, in which the Conservatives ultimately prevailed over Labour. It was lowest at 42.9% just 20 miles up the road in Glasgow Provan, where the SNP delivered a drubbing to Labour. Your browser does not support this interactive content In general, turnout was significantly lower in Wales, but it was highest at 56.8% in Cardiff North where Labour won with about 45% of the vote and Brecon and Radnorshire where the Lib Dems took more than half of the vote. The biggest increase in turnout in Wales was in the Rhondda, the only constituency seat that changed hands. Your browser does not support this interactive content

What impact have the elections had on the political maps of London, Scotland, Wales and England?

Rherras is a 23-year-old left-sided player of Moroccan descent who has spent the last year playing for Sint-Truiden in the Belgian top flight. Sammon, the 29-year-old ex-Kilmarnock forward, has agreed a three-year contract as he leaves Derby County. They will arrive as Hearts prepare for their first Europa League qualifier. Six players left Tynecastle in the summer, with three first-team regulars - defender Blaze Augustyn, goalkeeper Neil Alexander and midfielder Miguel Pallardo - all now on the lookout for new clubs.

Hearts are expected to confirm the signing of defender Faycal Rherras and striker Conor Sammon ahead of a return to pre-season training next week.

Helen Garner initially dismissed the message from Yale University as a hoax. "I thought what the hell is this? Somebody's having me on," Ms Garner told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. She was going to delete the email but thought to call her publisher, who informed her that the Windham-Campbell prize was in fact real. The Windham-Campbell prize is one of world's richest literary awards, according to reports. Garner, 73, won for her body of non-fiction work. She is also the author of novels and screenplays, including 1977's Monkey Grip, considered a classic of Australian literature. She was not the only author to be taken aback by the surprise award, because the prizes have no submission process. "Writers are judged anonymously and unaware that they are in the running," Yale says on its website.

An Australian author says she "fell off her chair" when she discovered an email about a $150,000 (A$207,000; £106,000) literary award was not a hoax.

Tanks were seen on the streets and explosions could be heard throughout the day in Libya's second-biggest city. General Khalifa Haftar, who accuses the government of supporting terrorism, began an assault against Islamist fighters in the city last month. The government in Tripoli says Gen Haftar has no authority to act, but several army units have joined him. The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli says a battalion within one of the biggest rival militias has also defected to join the general. The clashes on Sunday were said to have been some of the worst since Gen Haftar began his offensive against Islamists, dubbed "Operation Dignity," in May. Residents told the BBC that explosions could be heard across the city intermittently for several hours. An electricity plant was also hit by rockets, causing power outages in large parts of Benghazi. Many residents who live in the area where the fighting erupted fled their homes to stay with relatives or friends in quieter neighbourhoods. The number of casualties remains unclear but doctors in the city said at least six people had been killed and a dozen more injured. A spokesman for Gen Haftar's force told local media that they had seized several senior Islamists as part of their offensive, but this could not be independently verified. Since launching his offensive, Gen Haftar has rallied support from the public and members of the security forces. He survived an assassination attempt earlier in June after a suicide bomb attack on his home in the town of Abyar, about 60km (37 miles) east of Benghazi. Libya is still in turmoil three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, with political, religious and political factions locked in disagreement about the country's future. Profile: General Khalifa Haftar

Fresh clashes broke out in Benghazi on Sunday after a rogue general launched a fresh assault on Islamist militants.

Lachie Stewart, 30, from Easter Ross, was thought to have been travelling to Delhi when he lost touch with his family earlier this month. However, a Facebook page set up as part of efforts to find him, said he had been found on Saturday. Mr Stewart had been working on a contract in Bhogpur in India before his disappearance. His family and friends had made contact with the Foreign Office after becoming increasingly concerned when he failed to make contact by his birthday on Thursday. Details about his whereabouts have not been released.

A Scottish architect who had been reported missing in India is understood to have been found.

Hannah Miley, Camilla Hattersley, Robbie Renwick, Ross Murdoch, Stephen Milne, Dan Wallace, Duncan Scott and Craig Benson will travel to Brazil. It means that Scottish swimmers make up 31% of the Team GB swim team for Rio. Wallace, a wildcard pick after falling short of the qualifying standard, Murdoch, Scott, Milne and Hattersley will be making their Olympic debuts. But, as expected, there is no place for Michael Jamieson, the 27-year-old who won a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke at the 2012 Olympics in London and had moved back to Edinburgh in a bid to make the team. Renwick and Miley will be competing in their third Olympics. Miley, who competed in Beijing and London, said: "It's quite hard to put into words what it feels like to be selected for my third Olympics. "I still love my sport as much as I've always done and to reach my third Olympics just highlights the dedication that me and my family have put into the sport." "It's another fantastic opportunity to put myself out there against the very best in the world - in the biggest event in the world - and hopefully I can come out on top." The 26-year-old, from the Garioch club, is hopeful of winning her first Olympic medal. "I feel a lot more confident, centred and happy this time around," said Miley. "My previous experiences have been great in Beijing and London, but I feel different heading into Rio and I'm confident that will help me to perform. "I'm more mature and more experienced and I'll approach this one differently to the previous two." Murdoch will swim in the 100m breaststroke after failing to qualify for the more favoured 200m event. "It's bittersweet I didn't qualify in that event I was very close to but I was touched out by my team-mate Craig Benson, who I can say I'm absolutely delighted for," said Murdoch. This will be Murdoch's first appearance at an Olympic Games - but after winning bronze in the 100m breaststroke at the recent World Championships in Russia he's aiming high in Rio. "The time that I swam during the trials would be good enough to qualify for every Olympics final in history," he explained. "As I showed from Kazan all you need is a lane and I was in lane eight and I managed to get myself a bronze medal so at the minute my focus is to get myself through the rounds as easy as possible, get myself into an Olympic final and then anything can happen. "I'm really, really please to be selected as part of Team GB for this summer. It's a bit of relief for me as I made the consideration time not the outright qualifying time. I was pretty confident I would go, but now I know." Renwick will also be eyeing a medal having won gold as part of the 4x200m freestyle relay team at the World Championships. For Stirling University team-mate Benson, it is a second Olympics having been the youngest member of the GB team in 2012.

Eight Scots have been named in the British swimming team for this summer's Olympic Games.

Sir Gareth attended a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Thursday, after being named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June. The 68-year-old former scrum half won 53 caps for Wales from 1967 to 1978. He also won 10 caps for the British Lions' winning series in New Zealand and South Africa. At 20 he became Wales's youngest captain, and during his era the Welsh side dominated the Five Nations Championship Originally from Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen in the Swansea Valley, Edwards spent his playing career with Cardiff RFC. In 1974 Edwards was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the year. After his retirement in 1978, he became Captain on the popular sports quiz, Question of Sport. He now works as a pundit for both the BBC and S4C. He is married to his childhood sweetheart Maureen and they have two sons, Owen and Rhys.

Wales rugby great Gareth Edwards has been knighted by the Duke of Cambridge in recognition of a glittering sporting career and services to charity.

The man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to intercept voicemail messages and attempting to pervert the course of justice. The arrest took place by appointment at a north London police station; the man is in police custody. He has been bailed to a date in mid January 2012. He was arrested by officers from Scotland Yard's fresh investigation into phone hacking, Operation Weeting. On Tuesday, a 71-year-old Stuart Kuttner, an ex-News of the World managing editor, was rearrested and bailed as part of the phone-hacking probe. Mr Kuttner was originally arrested on 2 August on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption, and bailed. He has now been bailed to a date in September, the Metropolitan Police said. The Met's Operation Weeting is investigating illegal hacking of the mobile phone voicemails of public figures by the now-defunct News of the World newspaper. The latest arrest is the 15th to be made on suspicion of phone hacking since Operation Weeting was launched in January. It happened just after midday. BBC home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds said the age of the arrested person suggested someone more junior compared to some of the more senior executives who have been arrested by the police so far. It is a long-running investigation and there would almost certainly be further arrests, our correspondent added. Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and ex-Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson are among those who have already been arrested as part of the inquiry. The scandal has led Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and Assistant Commissioner John Yates to resign, and the News of the World to close down after 168 years.

A 30-year-old man has been released on bail after being arrested by police investigating phone hacking at the News of the World.

In a speech, Ian Murray said the party could take inspiration from dominant figures such as John Smith, Donald Dewar and Gordon Brown. However, Mr Murray added that a new generation must now be responsible for safeguarding the party's future. Party members are set to vote for new leaders at Holyrood and Westminster. The Shadow Scottish Secretary has given his backing to Scottish leadership contender Kezia Dugdale, ahead of her MSP rival Ken Macintosh. He is also backing Yvette Cooper to become the next Labour Party leader. In his speech at Morningside Parish Church in Edinburgh, he said: "Our lowest points can be the catalyst for our greatest victories. "We will elect a new leader in a matter of weeks and the hard work will begin. "A fresh team, a fresh approach, a new generation. I'll play my part in whatever way I can. "A party which takes inspiration from those who went before - Smith, Dewar, McConnell, Brown. All of them made their own unique and lasting contribution to our party and to our country. "But the Scottish Labour Party can no longer turn to the big beasts. It falls to a new generation to take the Scottish Labour Party forward." For many years, Scottish Labour figures played a dominant role on the UK political stage and in government. Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, John Reid, the list goes on. But these figures have since stepped down from frontline politics, while the party has fallen out of favour with voters. Today, Labour supporters gathered at Edinburgh's Morningside Church - where former Labour leader John Smith's funeral was held 21 years ago - not to dwell on the past, but to look forward. Speaking at the event, Ian Murray - now Scotland's only Labour MP - told them that while the legacy of these "big beasts" should serve to inspire, the party must now turn to a new generation of party talent. His comments were, in part, a nod to one of the youthful audience members, Kezia Dugdale, who Mr Murray has backed to become Scottish Labour's new leader over Ken Macintosh, an MSP since 1999. At the same time, he also gave his support to Yvette Cooper for the UK Labour leadership at a time when veteran MP Jeremy Corbyn is seen by some as a favourite to get the gig. Ian Murray and his Labour colleagues are all too aware of the challenge ahead, and with polls indicating victory for the SNP in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the party knows it will have to work extra hard to win back the trust of voters. Mr Murray added: "I want us to look back 20 years from now, in government in the UK and in Scotland, and be able to say that when the burden of responsibility passed to the next generation we were up to the challenge. "This will be the work of the new generation. It has to be the work of the new generation because we cannot go back." Mr Murray was the only Labour candidate to win in Scotland at May's election, when the SNP took 56 of the 59 seats. Recent polling suggested the SNP is also on course for a landslide in next year's Holyrood election.

Scottish Labour can no longer turn to the "big beasts" as it recovers from the general election defeat, according to the party's only MP in Scotland.

Homeowners hit by the flooding in December can apply for up to £5,000 from the government's Future Flood Prevention Funding scheme. Figures seen by the BBC show that only 13 people have applied for the money. Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, said she had received complaints about accessing the fund. "The form filling is incredibly complicated and that's where people have been struggling," she said. "It's putting off a lot on people." Hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded in the city after the Rivers Foss and Ouse burst their banks. The scheme is administered by City of York Council and requires a survey to be carried out on the flooded property before funding can be applied for. The council said that 360 private homes were eligible for the grant. The authority added: "We very much welcome grant applications but know that this can take time while people wait for quotes and loss adjustor reports. "We're appointing a case worker to help residents and businesses through the application process."

York residents are being put off applying for flood protection grants as the process is "incredibly complicated", a local MP has claimed.

About 80,000 works of art, ceramics, manuscripts, letters and photographs faced being auctioned to help pay off the pottery firm's pension debt. But a public fundraising campaign launched in September hit its target in just a month. Adminstrators Begbies Traynor said the collection will remain on display at the museum in Barlaston, Staffordshire. The Art Fund, which led the campaign, will gift the collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum, before it is loaned to the Wedgwood Museum. Administrator Bob Young said it had been "incredibly satisfying" to sign off on the sale on Monday. "Today's fantastic outcome wouldn't have been possible without the spirit of goodwill and determination shown during the often complex negotiations," he said. The Wedgwood Museum inherited Waterford Wedgwood plc's pension bill after the firm collapsed in 2009. In 2010 the museum also went into administration, and in 2011 a high court judge ruled its collection could be sold to reimburse the Pension Protection Fund. Alison Wedgwood, whose husband Tom is a direct descendant of company founder Josiah Wedgwood, said the collection was "important" for Staffordshire. The collection risked being "sold and scattered around the globe" had the money not been raised, she added. Tristram Hunt MP, who was involved in the campaign, said the sale was "fantastic news". "The items contained within the Wedgwood collection chart a significant part of Britain's cultural development over centuries and play a crucial part in defining our national identity today," he said.

The Wedgwood Museum collection has been bought from administrators after £15.75m was raised to save it.

Allan Whittern ran the grocer's store in Suffolk Parade from 1932 until his death 50 years later, in 1982. Following its closure in 1991, the door painted with his father's likeness was donated by his son to the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum in the town. The Cheltenham Trust, which runs the gallery, wants to restore it for an exhibition later in the year. His daughter-in-law, Thelma Whittern, said it was painted with Mr Whittern's portrait after he refused a request by a Whitbread representative to place an advert on the warehouse door. "The chap said 'well what can we put on?' and Allan promptly replied 'you can put me on'. And so the chap did," she said. She said since it disappeared, people have asked after its whereabouts. "People used to pass by in semi-darkness and see the portrait there and [say] 'goodnight Mr Whittern', thinking he was coming out of the warehouse. "Since he's gone we've been asked by so many, 'where is it? What have you done with it? You haven't destroyed it?" A crowdfunding campaign for donations has reached more than half of the £3,000 needed for the work to be carried out. A further £1,400 needs to be raised by Friday. The trust's Chloe Moorhead said: "Championing Cheltenham's rich heritage is of huge importance to the trust and to the town. "This is a fantastic opportunity for people to play their part in preserving an important part of Cheltenham's art history for generations to come."

A portrait of a well-known Cheltenham grocer which was painted onto his shop door in the 1960s could be restored.

Daniel Filmus, Argentina's minister for the islands - called the Malvinas locally - announced the case in London. The companies involved are Falkland Oil and Gas, Premier Oil, Rockhopper, Edison International and Noble Energy. Mr Filmus told the BBC the companies were "performing illegal acts by entering Argentine territory". He added: "I want to make it clear for the directors of these companies and for British public opinion that Argentina will use the full force of the law - both national and international law - to prevent these countries from taking the riches which belong to 40 million Argentine citizens. "Argentina has extradition treaties around the world and we intend to use them." He added that the area being drilled was "as much ours as the centre of Buenos Aires. Neither the UK nor any other country would allow anyone to enter their territory and take away their riches." In response, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond accused the Argentines of "outrageous bullying". He said the islanders had a "perfect right to develop their own economic resources and Argentina needs to stop this kind of behaviour and start acting like a responsible member of the international community". The Falklands Islands government also said the Argentines had no case. "We have the right to develop our economy, including the hydrocarbons industry, and we are exercising that right," it said. "It is worth remembering that it was the government of Argentina who walked away from working with the Falkland Islands on the development of a hydrocarbons industry some years ago. "Argentine domestic law does not apply to the Falkland Islands and this latest action is clearly another attempt by Argentina to try to block economic growth in the Falkland Islands." Analysts suggested Argentina would have little joy in the courts. "The Argentines will lose," Malcolm Bracken at Redmayne Bentley told the BBC. "They have no jurisdiction - the UN settled the matter in 1982." In fact, he said the country's current position would prove counterproductive. "All they're doing is handing any possible benefit that Argentina may have had from the oil boom in the south Atlantic to Chile. "There'd be an awful lot of logistic support needed for drilling that simply isn't available in the Falklands. They'd need a port somewhere and that's likely to be near Chile rather than Argentina, so they're cutting their own nose off to spite their face." Earlier this month, Argentine foreign ministry officials said they would prosecute oil companies operating near the Falkland Islands. The officials said companies active there were operating illegally in Argentine territory. This came after the three British oil companies announced new oil and gas finds north of the islands, and as Argentina marked the 33rd anniversary of the war with the UK over the islands. Tensions between the UK and Argentina were already running high after the UK announced it would spend £280m over the next 10 years on improving defences on the islands.

Argentina has begun legal proceedings against three British and two US companies for drilling oil near the Falkland Islands.

"I wouldn't say I'm tough...just lucky", said Reg Foggerdy who disappeared last month while hunting a feral camel in Western Australia. Police trackers found him sitting under a tree on 12 October, around 15km (9 miles) from where he went missing. A diabetic who recently had a heart attack, he said he had given up hope. "I've heard of people dying after three days with no water, I don't know why I survived six days," he told 7News. "There was a piece of me that wanted to lie there and pass away. I was thinking of my family who would see me laying there." Wearing only a T-shirt, shorts, a cap and flip-flops, Mr Foggerdy became disorientated in the fierce heat of the desert after chasing the camel. He said he poked a stick into an ants nest and ate the insects for nutrition, a tactic he said he learnt from British survival expert Bear Grylls. "They tasted quite good. On the first day I had about 12 and on the second day about 18. If they want to call me ant man I don't care," he said. The retired miner said he spotted police search helicopters several times, mustered all his energy to wave his hat at the sky, but rescuers could not see him. In the end, a local Aboriginal man provided police with the vital clue - Mr Foggerdy's slipper print. After coming so close to death, he says that he has a new lease on life. But asked whether he would return to the site of his ordeal he replied: "I might go back and look for me gun".

A 62-year-old Australian man, who says he survived without water by eating ants while lost in the Outback for six days, has spoken of his ordeal.

The 82-year-old was threatened by two masked men who came to the door of his home in Gillies Lane, Baillieston, at 22:15 on Thursday. The attackers pushed the pensioner and demanded money, before searching the house and leaving empty-handed. Both men were wearing balaclavas and dressed all in black. Police have appealed for information. The men, one of whom is thought to have been wearing a black "puffa" or bomber jacket, made off in the direction of Bredisholm Road. Det Sgt Raymond Hunter, from the community investigations unit in Pollok, said the incident was "very frightening" for the victim. He said: "We have been checking CCTV and speaking to neighbours but need to hear from people who may have been in the area at the time. There is a pub at the top of the lane on Bredisholm Road, so we would appeal to patrons from there to get in touch if they saw or heard anything. "At this time we still have to establish why the man was targeted. The suspects seemed to think he had a significant amount of cash in his home, which was not the case, hence the reason they left empty-handed. "Whether this was mistaken identity or a rumour, we do not know, but in any case to subject an elderly man in his home to this, is not just wrong, it was cowardly."

An elderly man has been assaulted in his Glasgow home during an attempted robbery.

Footage secretly filmed by France 2 TV shows Francoise Olcay selling dinghies and life jackets to migrants hoping to reach the Greek islands. The UN says 124,000 people reached Greece's shores by sea in the first seven months of 2015. Ms Olcay said the items would be bought elsewhere if she did not sell them. Admitting that she was taking part in the trade, she alleged that local Turkish authorities were also involved. She said others would have taken her place if she stopped selling supplies to the migrants. The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says that while honorary consuls are not members of the diplomatic corps, the news will be a big embarrassment to the French foreign ministry. The reporter on France 2 TV who uncovered the news had been investigating where migrants in Bodrum were purchasing their supplies. His inquiries brought him to a large store, with a French flag flying outside and a sign at the entrance saying "French honorary consul". Ms Olcay confirmed she was the consul, and that she sold boats to the migrants despite knowing it could lead to disaster. She told the reporter that it was wrong but everyone was doing it. Thousands of refugees have used Bodrum as a gateway to fulfil their dream of reaching Europe. However, correspondents say the number of nightly departures appears to have slightly decreased after Turkish police stepped up patrols in the wake of the death of Alan Kurdi. The body of the three-year-old was washed up at Bodrum last week, after he drowned along with his mother, four-year-old brother and nine other Syrians as they attempted to sail to the Greek island of Kos. Images of the boy's body sparked international outrage and highlighted the dangers faced by migrants who make the crossing. Alan Kurdi death: A Syrian Kurdish family forced to flee Migrant crisis in maps and charts

France has suspended its honorary consul in the Turkish port of Bodrum after a TV report showed a shop she owns selling dinghies to migrants.

Dead Men Risen, written by Toby Harnden and published by Quercus, took the prize at a ceremony in Westminster and was the judges' unanimous choice. It focuses on the death of Lt Colonel Rupert Thorneloe in 2009. It was published in amended form after the first print run was destroyed by the MoD. The judges said the book "takes us into the hearts and minds of the Welsh Guards in a way that is both interesting and visceral". "It challenges every citizen of this country to examine exactly what we're asking soldiers to do in Afghanistan," the panel continued. "Rather than offering easy answers it lets the soldiers speak for themselves." Other awards presented included a posthumous honour for Christopher Hitchens, whose final book, Arguably, was included on the long list for the top prize. Hitchens' widow Carol Blue accepted the award on behalf of the Vanity Fair writer. The journalism prize was awarded to Amelia Gentleman for her work in The Guardian, while the blog award went to Rangers Tax Case - an online commentary on the ongoing financial problems at the historic Scottish football club. The writers of the blog said they aimed to "provide the details of what Rangers FC have done, why it was illegal and what the implications are for one of the largest football clubs in Britain". The winners were chosen from shortlists of six books, six journalists and seven bloggers, whittled down from longlists of 17 books, 12 journalists and 18 bloggers. Each of the winners received a £3,000 prize.

A book about the death of a British officer in Afghanistan, once pulped by the Ministry of Defence, has won the Orwell Prize for political writing.

Haroon Syed, of west London, admitted preparing acts of terrorism after trying to source weapons including a suicide bomb and machine gun. He was caught after approaching MI5 officers, who were posing as a fellow extremist, via social media. Syed was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years and six months. Last year, his brother was jailed for life for plotting to behead someone on Remembrance Sunday. Judge Michael Topolski QC said Syed wanted to carry out "an act of mass murder" and therefore a discretionary life sentence was warranted. Prosecutors say Syed's plans ranged from becoming a suicide bomber to staging a gun attack, and while he initially boasted of working with others, those people did not materialise. Instead, over the summer of last year, he made increasingly urgent efforts to secure weaponry. After he went online looking for help, a purported jihadist fighting overseas, known only as Abu Isa, introduced him to another extremist going by the name Abu Yusuf. This second man was, in fact, a group of MI5 officers who were playing the role of a jihadist in what became weeks of social media chat with Syed. Teen admits planning 'London bomb attack' Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey there was initially some "suspicion on both sides" before Abu Yusuf concluded that Syed was a "committed brother" he could deal with. Syed then began talking about his aspirations and gave his contact a shopping list, saying he wanted "do martyrdom" after first causing "damage" with a machine gun. "Can you get the gear?" asked Syed. "You will be involved right? "Two things. Number one, machine gun and we need someone who can make a vest you know the dugma [button] one. So after some damage with machine gun then do itishadi [martyrdom] ... that's what I'm planning to do." The undercover officer told Syed guns were expensive - but he might be able to get someone to build a bomb. Syed floated the idea of going to fight overseas with his new-found friend - but revealed his passport had been cancelled by the authorities. He tried and failed twice to get fraudulent loans of thousands of pounds to cover the cost of firearms - and eventually agreed to meet his contact in a coffee shop in Slough, Berkshire, to finalise an alternative plan. Over two meetings, he talked about his aspirations and then handed over £150, asking for a bomb packed with nails. The conversation was secretly recorded. "I was thinking of Oxford Street," he told his contact. "If you put those things inside called nails, do you know what that is, nails? Those sharp things - lots of them inside. "Good man, can't wait akhi [brother]. If I go to prison, I go to prison. If I die, I die, you understand? I have got to get to Jannah [heaven]." The undercover officer later told Syed a "bomb-making brother" would have the device ready within days - and the suspect went online to narrow his list of targets. His web searches included "packed places in London" and "Elton John, Hyde Park, 11 September" - a major concert hosted by BBC Radio 2 which also featured Status Quo and Madness. Prosecutors say Syed's character had begun to change outwardly in late 2014, coinciding with the growing support among British extremists for the self-styled Islamic State group. During the course of the investigation, detectives found his web searches jumped about as he tried to satisfy himself that an attack on civilians was theologically justifiable. One of his last searches, a week before his arrest, was: "How can I stop being upset about the UK killing innocent Syrians and get on with my day?" When counter-terrorist detectives arrested him in September and asked him for the password for his phone, he replied: "ISIS - you like that?" Syed's was one of 18 terror plots to have been foiled since 2013. Mitigating, Mark Summers QC said it was a "crude, ill-thought-out" plan made at the behest of others. The court heard Syed had fallen under the influence of members of banned extremist group Al-Muhajiroun, and that he now publicly rejected his past beliefs and condemned the recent bomb attack in Manchester. But Judge Topolski told Syed: "You were not lured, you were not enticed, you were not entrapped. "You became, and in my judgement as shown by your online activities away from your contact with Abu Yusuf, deeply committed to the ideology of a brutal and barbaric organisation that sought to hijack and corrupt an ancient and venerable religion for its own purposes and you wanted to be part of it." Deb Walsh, deputy head of the counter-terrorism division of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Haroon Syed is clearly a danger to the public who was prepared to carry out indiscriminate attacks against innocent people. "The compelling evidence presented by the CPS left him with no choice but to plead guilty."

A 19-year-old man has been jailed for life for planning a bomb attack that may have targeted an Elton John concert or Oxford Street in central London.

Victory lifted the Shrimpers up to fifth, while Posh have only won six of their 17 home league games this term. "If you don't believe you're going to get there [to the play-offs] you never will. My belief won't stop until it's mathematically impossible," he said. "We're five points off the play-offs. It's not a lot with 13 games to go." He continued to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "I know we've just been thrashed at home, but we need to continue to support each other. All I can do is apologise to the fans after the performance. "I always take the blame when we lose and I'll do it again now. It's down to me why the team lost. What we've got to do now is stand up like men, puff our chests out, come back on Saturday and produce a win." Two goals from Marc-Antoine Fortune set the Shrimpers on their way to victory at the ABAX Stadium, while Tom Nichols scored the only goal for ninth-placed Posh. However, McCann has received positive news regarding Gwion Edwards' knee injury, picked up in Saturday's defeat by Walsall. "It'll be seven or eight weeks instead of seven or eight months. We feared the worst to be honest, but we got the good news it's not too serious. "He's been top drawer this season, he's got a great attitude and he's a tough little cookie."

Manager Grant McCann has apologised to the fans for Peterborough United's 4-1 home defeat by fellow League One play-off hopefuls Southend United.

Media playback is not supported on this device Flower, 26, punched Hohaia to the ground two minutes into Saturday's Grand Final, then landed a second blow to his face while he lay on the ground. Wales prop Flower was sent off as the Warriors were beaten 14-6. The ban until 14 April takes in 10 Super League games and the World Club Series match against Brisbane Broncos. New Zealander Hohaia had already accepted a one-game suspension for a forearm strike which came before Flower's punches. Flower was charged with a Grade F offence - the most serious in the sport's disciplinary rules - of "violent and aggressive punching" and "punching an off-guard opponent", a charge which carries a minimum of an eight-game ban. Wigan rugby general manager Kris Radlinski, who accompanied Flower to the hearing at the Rugby Football League in Leeds, said in a statement: "Wigan Warriors would like to go on record in saying that the RFL disciplinary committee handled a very difficult situation with professionalism and integrity. "We fully support their assessment of Saturday night's incident involving our player, Ben Flower. We will be making no appeal. "We would like to apologise to Lance Hohaia and his family and to the St Helens club and fans. St Helens' win on Saturday has been overshadowed by the incident and that is wrong." In becoming the first man to be sent off in a Grand Final, Flower left his side down to 12 men for the vast majority of the match at Old Trafford, which St Helens won to end an eight-year wait for the Super League title. Saints chairman Eamonn McManus said: "The sport of rugby league should not be judged by this event, but by how it deals with it. "We must assist [Flower] in any way that we can and accept him back into the sport. There is a person behind the player, and I am reliably informed by all that it is a good one." For Wigan, the defeat ended their defence of the Super League crown and the pursuit of a fourth title. Former Wigan and Great Britain player Martin Offiah told BBC Radio 5 live: "There is a lot of emotion around what was a big occasion but sadly it was in effect ruined by this incident in which I believe both players played their part. It was a sad day for rugby league. "The sport was on show, it's a big event and the pictures are very graphic and all the apologies in the world won't wipe these away. "No one can condone that second punch to the head and he's apologised for that but Lance Hohaia must take some consideration for his actions." Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police said in a tweet they are investigating "abusive social media activity" surrounding the Grand Final.

Wigan prop Ben Flower has been given a six-month ban - the longest in Super League history - for punching St Helens' Lance Hohaia.