Baltimore's mayor has sacked the US city's police chief, saying his leadership had become a distraction from fighting a "crime surge".

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she was replacing Police Commissioner Anthony Batts with his deputy, Kevin Davis, for an interim period.

The city was rocked by riots in April when a black man died after suffering injuries in police custody.

Six officers were charged over the death of the 25-year-old, Freddie Gray.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Mayor Rawlings-Blake said Mr Batts had "served this city with distinction" since becoming police chief in October 2012.

But referring to the city's high homicide rate, she said "too many continue to die".

"The focus has been too much on the leadership of the department and not enough on the crime fighting," she told reporters, adding: "We need to get the crime surge under control."

The city has seen a sharp increase in violence since Freddie Gray's death on 19 April, with 155 homicides this year, a 48% increase over the same period last year.

On Tuesday, the police department announced that an outside organisation will review its response to the civil unrest that followed Mr Gray's death.

The US justice department is also conducting a civil rights review of the Baltimore force and Mr Batts has been criticised by the city's police union.

Earlier on Wednesday, the union released its report into the police handling of the rioting.

It said officers had complained "that they lacked basic riot equipment, training, and, as events unfolded, direction from leadership".

The report also said "officers repeatedly expressed concern that the passive response to the civil unrest had allowed the disorder to grow into full scale rioting".

Recent events had "placed attention on police leadership", Ms Rawlings-Blake said, but denied her decision was influenced by the union report.

Mr Davis, who is taking over immediately as interim police chief, praised his "friend" Mr Batts and said he was a "true reform commissioner".

Mayor Rawlings-Blake said Mr Davis would "bring accountability to police, hold officers who act out of line accountable for their actions".

Summary: After the death of an African American man in police custody, Baltimore's crime rate increased dramatically and civil unrest lead to many riots. After multiple outside investigations and the scrutiny of the people, the Mayor has replaced the Police Commissioner and has appointed Kevin Davis as interim Commissioner.


Summary: The mayor of Baltimore fired the police chief and replaced him with his deputy. According to the mayor, crime in the city was unacceptable. Riots in the city after a man died in police custody and a surge in homicide rates were cited as reasons for the firing.


Summary: Baltimore's mayor is replacing Police Commissioner Anthony Batts with deputy Kevin Davis for an interim period that is effective immediately. The city was rocked by riots after 25-year-old, Freddie Grey, died after suffering injuries in police custody. Due to the sharp increase in violence seen after the incident, Batts has been criticized by the city's police union.


Leeds striker Steve Morison admits he has never experienced anything like the current circus surrounding the SkyBet Championship side.

Six players - Mirco Antenucci, Giuseppe Bellusci, Dario Del Fabro, Marco Silvestri, Souleymane Doukara and Edgar Cani - withdrew from the squad on the eve of Saturday's trip to Charlton citing injuries, and this is just the latest incident in another turbulent period at Elland Road.

A 'freakish set of events' was how beleaguered boss Neil Redfearn described the sextet's absence after the game but Morison, who scored Leeds' goal in the 2-1 defeat at The Valley, told BBC West Yorkshire Sport: 'We're around it every day.

Leeds United striker Steve Morison (centre) admits he is surprised by the chaos at Elland Road at the moment.

Giuseppe Bellusci and three other Italians were among those who withdrew form the Leeds squad.

Souleymane Doukara was another player that withdrew as part of the latest drama at Elland Road.

'People draw their own conclusions over what happened (with the withdrawals). It's a tough situation and you have to take everything at face value, but it's been like it all season in one way or another.'

When asked if there was a split in the camp, the 31-year-old added: 'It's just been one of those seasons where every day something different has happened.

'I've never known anything like it in football and I've played for teams scrapping for their lives - Millwall last year - and teams that have been promoted. I've played in the Premier League with a bunch of Championship players that should never have stayed up and the one thing we had ultimately was a team and team spirit.

'Sometimes you can get away with being very, very average - I would class myself as an average footballer - but I've had a team around me and it works.'

Former Leeds captain Trevor Cherry, meanwhile, branded the players who withdrew at short notice from Saturday's match a 'disgrace' and called for them to be sacked by the club.

Italian quartet Antenucci, Bellusci, Del Fabro and Silvestri, Frenchman Doukara and Albanian Cani all told Redfearn they were injured and could not travel to London.

According to the manager, Silvestri had been rested since sustaining a knock but had been expected to recover, while Antenucci and Cani declared themselves unfit after training on Thursday with the rest pulling out following a 'light' session on Friday.

But Cherry was unimpressed and wants the players out of Elland Road.

'I would sack them and take the PFA (Professional Footballers' Association) on,' he said on BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek.

'I don't think players can do that, it's scandalous and it's just another story for Leeds United that is disgraceful.'

Striker Antenucci used Twitter to defend himself, as did goalkeeper Silvestri who posted a picture of a cut on his back suffered against Norwich on Tuesday night.

However, Cherry questioned if they were legitimate reasons to withdraw.

'In the old days you used to play with anything, cuts or one thing or another,' he said.

'The managers had a big say in whether you were fit or not. You didn't just come in and say 'I've got a headache, I'm going home'. I'm sure with George Graham or Don Revie, I can't imagine what would have happened if you'd have done that.'

The withdrawals continued the chaos that has plagued Leeds.

Mirco Antenucci was also among the six players to withdraw from the squad ahead of the defeat by Charlton.

Neil Redfearn had a depleted squad to pick from when six players withdrew ahead of the Charlton game.

Redfearn's position has become increasingly threatened over recent weeks, despite leading the club to Championship safety after taking over from ill-fated predecessors David Hockaday and Darko Milanic.

He saw assistant Steve Thompson lose his job without warning on April 2 and his own deal, which expires at the end of the season, looks increasingly unlikely to be renewed under the club's current regime.

Club president Massimo Cellino has been banned since January after being found guilty of not paying tax on a yacht in Italy, but is due to return in a fortnight's time.

Cherry, who played for Leeds between 1972 and 1982, was left to lament the situation at his old club.

'It's a club that's a shambles and has been a shambles for 10 years,' the ex-England defender said.

'We just stutter from disaster to disaster, joke to joke. If it wasn't sickening it would be funny. You couldn't write a book about Leeds United and what's happened.

'Personally, I don't know the Italian guy but I don't think he realises the size of the club, it's just a little play thing and he's making a mess of it in my opinion.'

Summary: Leeds United striker Steve Morison expressed surprise at the chaos ruling Elland Road at the moment. This response comes after the club experienced a "freakish set of events" in which six players withdrew from the squad the evening before they were set to play Charlton. All cited injuries, but some connected to Leeds aren't convinced.


Summary: Leeds United has had a chaotic season, culminating in 6 players withdrawing for medical reasons. They have been met with heavy criticism, and some believe the team have become a joke. Team manager Neil Redfearn job may be in jeopardy, but he says it's just been a series of unrelated events.


Green party leader Natalie Bennett has been forced to distance herself from a bizarre online site run by her boyfriend.

Jim Jepps used a blog called The Daily Maybe to defend 'rape fantasies', describe paedophiles as 'complex human beings' and question why teachers who have relationships with pupils are put on the sex offenders register.

The couple met five years ago when Ms Bennett contacted him to correct something he had written about her, but now the Green party stresses they do not 'want to be associated' with his internet rants.

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Green party leader Natalie Bennett has distanced herself from the bizarre blog posts of her boyfriend Jim Jepps, insisting he is a 'private individual not involved in party politics'

Ms Bennett's profile has soared in recent months, buoyed by rising poll ratings and Green party membership in England passing 60,000 for the first time.

However, little is known about her private life, in contrast to the spouses of David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg who have been frequently seen on the campaign trail.

Ms Bennett has been dating Mr Jepps for five years, after meeting online. He continued blogging on the Daily Maybe site until 2011.

He quit the Socialist Workers Party in around 2003 and later joined the Greens.

Bizarrely, he left the party in 2012, the year Ms Bennett replaced the more high-profile Caroline Lucas as Green leader.

On his website, Mr Jepps appears to have deliberately courted controversy with a series of controversial blog posts, often related to sex, rape or paedophiles.

In one post, seen by MailOnline, he joked that gay sex is not a sin 'unless you do it really well or claim it on expenses'.

In 2007, he tackled a news story about demands for music books written by a paedophile to be withdrawn, because the recorder lessons were used to groom victims.

Mr Jepps wrote: 'We can burn these books as a public statement against the author (who is in jail for his crimes) or try to understand that whatever monstrous acts individuals commit they are still complex human beings for all that.

'Good, evil, interesting and banal by turns - not devils who can taint everything they touch with evil.'

He also dismissed a case in which a blogger was charged with obscenity for writing an article imagining the kidnap and murder of the pop group Girls Aloud.

'Either I'm hopelessly jaded or getting depraved and corrupted is a lot duller than I remember… Personally I didn't find it that shocking.'

Mr Jepps quit the Green party in 2012, the same year Ms Bennett became leader after replacing Caroline Lucas (left)

According to the Sunday Mirror another posting included: 'New Poll: Sex with pupils - good idea/bad idea? Personally I'm ambivalent and would appreciate any guidance.

'It seems to me the sex offenders register is a sledgehammer to crack a nut sometimes. When you have a teacher who kissed a 17-year-old placed on the same register as Gary Glitter it does make you wonder how useful the list is, no matter how creepy that teacher might be.'

Another post entitled 'Even monsters have feelings' is said to have covered the case of Austrian schoolgirl Natascha Kampusch, who was kidnapped aged 10 by Wolfgang Přiklopil and held in a cellar for.

Mr Jepps wrote: 'These are two people who had a long term and human relationship.'

Ms Bennett and Mr Jepp reportedly share a flat she bought for £249,950 in 2007 in North London.

Last night the Green Party distanced itself from Mr Jepp's remarks.

A spokesman said: 'The Daily Maybe was a personal blog written by Mr Jepps until 2011.

'The party does not endorse the views expressed and would not want to be associated with them. Jim Jepps has not been a member of the party since 2012.'

Ms Bennett said: 'Jim is a private individual not involved in party politics. I will not be commenting on words he's said or written.'

Summary: Although Green Party leader, Natalie Bennet is in a relationship with blogger Jim Jepps, the Green Party distances itself from Jepps’ private blog. Jepps’ blog contains controversial posts related to rape, sex, and pedophiles. Natalie Bennet states that Jepps is not involved in party politics, and has not been a Green Party member since 2012.


Summary: Green party leader Natalie Bennett has been forced to distance herself from the controversial blog comments of her boyfriend Jim Jepps. Jepps has taken positions in favor of rape fantasies, has defended child rapists, and has advocated for placing teachers who have relationships with their students on the sex offender list. The party has called Jepps an individual who is not involved in party politics.


Summary: Natalie Bennett, leader of the green party, has recently had to distance herself from a website created by her boyfriend, Jim Jepps.  The bizarre site, a blog titled The Daily Maybe, reportedly defends those individuals who have "rape fantasies" and refers to pedophiles as "complex human beings."


A man has admitted killing his wife of 25 years while she slept.

Asghar Buksh, 55, repeatedly struck mother-of-six Nasreen Buksh over the head with a heavy blunt object which has never been found.

He admitted culpable homicide on the basis of diminished responsibility after saying he had no recollection of the killing at Dixon Avenue, Glasgow, on 24 September last year.

Buksh will be sentenced on 27 June.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that 43-year-old Mrs Buksh died after being struck on the head at least five times.

Pathologists told the court that the lack of defensive injuries and the position of her body suggested she was assaulted as she slept.

Following the attack, Buksh went to Cathcart Police Station and told an officer: "I've come to hand myself in. I think my wife's dead. I hit her on the head. I did it."

The court was told that three psychiatrists described Buksh as suffering from an acute stress disorder at the time.

Prosecutor Gordon Lamont said: "The accused and his wife had been married for 25 years, but over the last 10 or 11 years their relationship appears to have broken down and they became increasingly estranged, albeit, still residing under the one roof.

"They slept separately and Mrs Buksh routinely slept on the sofa in the living room. Their children report that they barely spoke to each other."

Mr Lamont said the problems in the marriage intensified after Mrs Buksh went to Pakistan on holiday in May last year.

He said she had become involved with another man and was making plans to move to Pakistan.

The court also heard that two days before he killed his wife, Buksh went to Paisley Police Office and spoke with a support officer saying he feared his wife was going to take their youngest child, aged 10, to Pakistan and not return.

He also made an emergency doctor's appointment and said he was suffering from stress and not sleeping.

He was prescribed medication for stress.

Defence counsel Sarah Livingstone said: "My client has no memory of this incident. His amnesia is absolutely genuine.

"This is not a case where this man was a bad husband, there was no domestic abuse. This was an unhappy marriage, but however, unhappy it was it didn't justify killing his wife.

"He suffered an acute stress reaction. Three psychiatrists all agree that he was suffering from an abnormality of the mind."

Judge Lord Burns deferred sentence on Buksh until 27 June at the High Court in Edinburgh for background reports.

Summary: A man has plead guilty of killing his wife, but claimed he has no recollection of it. They had been married for 25 years, but the couple was barely speaking to each other, there were reports of infidelity and concerns about custody. Multiple specialists have confirmed his amnesia claim.


Summary: Asghar Buksh turned himself on after beating his wife to death with a blunt object. Nasreen Buksh was seeing another man and making plans to move to Pakistan to be with him. Pyschiatrists diagnosed Mr. Bush with stress related "abnormality of the mind".


Summary: A 55-year-old man has admitted to killing his wife while she was sleeping. Despite the confession, he claims to have no memory of the incident.


A call to deselect a UKIP member of the Welsh assembly has been rejected by the party's ruling body.

A letter sent by party activists in north Wales claimed Michelle Brown has been "abrasive and discourteous" to them.

It was sent to UKIP's national executive committee (NEC) before a row over racial slurs about a Labour MP, for which Ms Brown apologised.

But UKIP chairman Paul Oakden said the letter did not follow proper process.

A UKIP assembly group spokesman said the letter was written by a group with a "long-standing grudge" against the AM.

The ruling NEC body discussed the issue at a meeting on Friday, where they also decided to allow a controversial anti-Islam campaigner to run for the UKIP leadership.

Mr Oakden said: "A member of the NEC had contacted the person that is putting this forward and said to them they need to follow the proper process of completing the necessary forms and submitting them to the NEC.

"Members simply emailing the NEC saying we want you to do this is not the correct disciplinary process for the party, by any stretch of the imagination.

"A member of the NEC has gone back and given advice on what they need to do."

Shaun Owen, secretary of UKIP's Delyn branch, wrote to the NEC saying: "For some time we have been appalled by the abrasive and discourteous manner of Ms Brown towards UKIP locally.

"Her lack of effort in pursuing the aims of the party both locally and nationally is of concern to members across the region."

Mr Owen added he believed members would stop supporting UKIP if Ms Brown remained in the role.

However, a spokesman for the party's assembly group dismissed the letter as written by a "tiny and insignificant group".

In February, Ms Brown denied an allegation she had smoked recreational drugs in a hotel room.

Later that month, she said she had acted "with propriety" after it was revealed she had discussed how an advert for a job in her assembly office could be changed to help her brother get an interview for the post.

Meanwhile, UKIP's NEC confirmed that 11 hopefuls in the contest to succeed Paul Nuttall as leader will be able to run as candidates.

The list includes Anne Marie Waters, the founder of the Sharia Watch pressure group, who has described Islam as evil.

UKIP AM David Rowlands had said Ms Waters is probably "too extreme" to be allowed to stand but she claimed the party was trying to "ostracise" her.

Other candidates who have also cleared the NEC's vetting process and are going forward to a vote of the membership include Welsh activist John Rees-Evans, London Assembly member Peter Whittle and Scottish MEP David Coburn.

Mr Nuttall resigned after the general election in June when the party failed to win any seats and saw its vote plummet.

Summary: A letter has been sent to UKIP of Welsh to remove Michelle Brown claiming Brown was abrasive. The chairman responded the letter did not follow the process.  At the same meeting other candidates were chosen including the founder of the Sharia Watch.


Summary: UKIP Welsh assembly member, Michelle Brown, is under scrutiny. While the call to have her deselected has been shut down, it does highlight relevant concerns about Ms. Brown's ability to fulfill her post. Accusations of recreational drug use, nepotism, and the use of racist language are the most relevant concerns brought forward thus far.


Summary: A call to dismiss Michelle Brown from the Welsh assembly failed after members of the review committee cited improper procedure to the complaint. Eleven other candidates will be running for the leadership position in UKIP, some more extreme than Ms. Brown.


Summary: A small group has accused UKIP member Michelle Brown of inappropriate behavior and called for her dismissal. The request was denied partially due to the informal method of the complaint, so it is possible the group will try again. Ms Brown has had several controversies but seems secure for now.


The daughter of Chicago socialite Sheila Von Wiese-Mack accused of brutally murdering her mother during a Bali vacation will turn over a 'significant percentage' of her $1.3million trust fund to care for her newborn daughter.

Vanessa Favia, attorney for 19-year-old Heather Mack, has filed court documents for her client agreeing to turn over funds for the care of four-month-old Stella.

CBS reports the petition asks for around a half a million dollars to be transferred to Stella, who was born in Kerobakan Prison and who has urgent needs, including clothing and baby wipes.

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Child care: A US-based attorney for Heather Mack, 19, who is accused of murdering her socialite mother in Bali, has filed for about half a million dollars to be transferred to Mack's daughter Stella from Mack's trust fund.

Heather Mack smiles at her baby daughter Stella before her sentencing hearing in Denpasar, Bali, in March.

Mack wept as prosecutors said she should be sentenced to 15 years - but spared her the death penalty.

'What ever your opinion of the adults in this case, I believe everyone would agree that the baby bears no culpability in this truly sad affair,' Favia said in a press release.

Mack filed a claim in court back in February that her uncle, Wiese-Mack's brother and trustee of her estate, had blocked her access to the funds, according to NBC.

A judge ordered $150,000 be released to pay for Mack's defense, along with another $2,240 for living expenses, but required that Mack not share the money with anyone.

Indonesian officials accused Mack of helping her 21-year-old boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, murder her mother at a luxury Bali hotel before stuffing her body in a suitcase last August.

The pair are awaiting sentencing, with prosecutors having asked for a sentence of 15 years for Mack and 18 for Schaefer.

Chief Prosecutor Eddy Arta Wijaya said Mack 'committed sadistic acts to her own mother,' but wanted her to be spared the death penalty 'because she repeatedly expressed remorse and has a newborn baby.'

The 21-year-old gazes at his baby daughter, held by a relative, before his sentence demand hearing.

Mack claimed her daughter - who had to return to hospital shortly after her birth with jaundice - has six fingers on her left hand.

Since being held in jail, the 19-year-old from Chicago has been keeping her newborn Stella with her in the crowded cell in Bali's Kerobokan prison.

In a bizarre comment from her holding cell last week, Mack said with a grin that Stella has six fingers on her left hand, saying, 'But don't worry, she's OK, thank you.'

As she waited in the cell, nervously puffing on a cigarette, Mack added that she and her co-accused boyfriend were married 'in spirit.'

She said: 'He has made us a ring each to wear from his side of the prison.'

She held up a hand revealing a red plastic ring. 'Tommy's is blue,' she added.

Jail sentences of less than 20 years for each of the defendants are far more lenient than the death penalty or lifetime in prison that many had expected to be handed down for the gruesome crime.

Schaefer has admitted to hitting Wiese-Mack with the metal handle of a fruit bowl in self-defense while his girlfriend has been accused of helping him to force the body into a suitcase, which was then loaded into the trunk of a taxi they had ordered.

The couple did not board the taxi, however, instead leaving the hotel by a rear exit.

They tried to leave Bali through the airport but they did not have their passports, which were being held in a safe deposit box at the hotel.

Mack and Schaefer were arrested the following day at another Bali hotel.

Mack, who said during an earlier court hearing that she did not wish her mother dead, said they panicked after Schaefer’s attack with the metal bowl.

She said they thought about either calling the police or taking the body in a suitcase to the US Consulate. She did not explain why they did not do either one.

When the prison gates opened to allow the couple to exit last month, onlookers were surprised to see Schaefer carrying baby Stella - the first time he had been seen with her.

Shortly after the baby's birth Mack was being accused by prison sources of failing to wash the child properly.

Mack said she intended to continue breastfeeding for two years.

The baby was born on March 17 and had to be treated in the jail clinic and then in hospital after developing a high fever and jaundice.

The child was later allowed to be taken back to the prison with her mother.

Mack is allowed to keep her baby with her in her cell - which she is sharing with eight other women - until the child is two years old.

She revealed there was another prison baby, aged seven months, in a separate cell.

Summary: Heather Mack, 19, and her 21-year-old boyfriend Tommy Schaefer are accused of murdering her socialite mother while on vacation in Bali. While the case may seem straightforward, it's complicated by the fact that Mack is currently trying to care for her newborn daughter Stella while in also incarcerated in Bali's Kerobokan prison.


Summary: Heather Mack, a 19-year-old socialite accused of murdering her mother in Bali, is being held in a crowded Kerobakan prison with her four-month-old baby. Mack is facing up to 15 years in prison, and has requested half a million dollars from her trust fund to care for her infant daughter.


Summary: Heather Mack will turn over a portion of her trust fund to take care of her newborn daughter. She was sentenced to 15 years after being accused of murdering her mother. But because she intends on breastfeeding her newborn, Heather was allowed to keep the baby in her cell for two years.


North Charleston police are facing growing accusations that killer cop Michael Slager would have got away with a cover up had a bystander video not emerged - as questions emerge over his colleagues' conduct after the shooting.

Seven of Slager's fellow cops responded to his call forback-up after the shooting - as handcuffed Walter Scott lay dead or dying with five bullet wounds to the back.

But the fact that his wounds were to the back do not feature in subsequent accounts of the shooting given to the media, or in the force's incident report filed after the shooting.

Officers also told an internal report that they gave Scott CPR, but the video only shows them checking his pulse and standing over his body.

One officer is also present when Slager picks up an object - allegedly his Taser - and puts it near Scott's body.

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Questions: Officer Clarence Haberdashem searches Walter Scott's handcuffed body in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. He later told colleagues that he administered CPR.

Scott's father said of the incident: 'It would have never come to light [had video not emerged]. They would have swept it under the rug, like they did with many others.'

Slager's former attorney had initially claimed that the officer fired on Scott during a struggle for his Taser and had felt threatened.

'When confronted, Officer Slager reached for his Taser — as trained by the department — and then a struggle ensued,' David Aylor said.

'The driver tried to overpower Officer Slager in an effort to take his Taser. [He] felt threatened and reached for his department-issued firearm and fired his weapon.'

On Wednesday North Charleston Mayor Keith Sumney refused to answer a question on Slager's fellow officers' culpability, saying it would be addressed in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division [SLED] investigation.

There are also questions over discrepancies between responding officers' version of events in an internal incident report and what the witness video shows.

It is not known what accounts those officers gave to the subsequent SLED investigation.

The video of the shooting shows Officer Clarence Haberdasham was the first to arrive on scene as Scott lay handcuffed on the ground.

As Haberdasham arrives, Slager runs back to position where he fired the fatal shots and appears to retrieve a dark object - claimed to be his Taser - and places it next to Scott's body.

Haberdasham dons a pair of blue gloves, checks Scott's pulse, goes through his pockets and speaks on his radio and then walks away.

Radio records show that an officer reported that Scott had gunshot wounds to the chest and right side and was 'unresponsive'. He later added that the vicitm had wounds to the back. Both Slager and Haberdasham stand over Scott's body, which remains handcuffed and face down.

The same officer's account of events as reported in the NCPD incident report obtained by BuzzFeed is two sentences. The second reads: 'I attempted to render aid to the victim by applying pressure to the gunshot wounds and directing the best route for EMS and fire to get to the victim faster.'

Aftermath: Officer Slager is pictured standing over Walter Scott and feeling for a pulse after he put the man's fallen body in handcuffs. According to police reports, officers performed CPR on the 50-year-old father - but the cop was not filmed giving any medical assistance.

POLICE VERSION.

Police officer Michael Slager said in a statement earlier this week that his encounter with Walter Scott began at around 9.30am on Saturday.

He said he pulled Scott's Mercedes over as a routine traffic stop for a broken brake light.

He said Scott then ran away into a vacant grassy lot where, at some point during the chase, the victim confronts Slager.

The officer then tried to use his Taser to subdue Scott, but claims the suspect grabbed the stun gun during the struggle, according to the statement.

According to police reports, Slager fired the stun gun, but it did not stop Scott.

At that point, the officer fired at Scott several times because he 'felt threatened,' Slager's statement said.

He added that his actions were in line with procedure.

Police then said Slager reported on his radio moments after the struggle: 'Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser.'

His department said the officers then performed CPR and delivered first aid to the victim.

WHAT THE VIDEO SHOWS.

Slager's account has been called into question after the video appears to show him shooting Scott in the back.

The footage begins in the vacant lot apparently moments after Slager fires his Taser.

Wires which administer the electrical current appear to be extending from Scott's body.

As Scott turns to run, Slager draws his pistol and, only when he is 15 to 20 feet away, starts to fire the first of the eight shots at his back.

The video shows Slager handcuffing Scott's lifeless body.

Footage then appears to show Slager jogging back to the point where the Taser fell to the ground, bringing it over to Scott's body around 30 feet away and dropping it next to him.

It is only after two-and-a-half minutes that Slager is seen placing his hand on Scott's neck in an apparent attempt to check his pulse.

A black colleague then arrives and puts on blue medical gloves before handling the body, but is not seen performing first aid.

They are joined by a third officer, who also does not appear to tend to the victim.

The report is signed off by Sergeant James Gann. He states: 'I arrived on scene and observed that Officer Haberdasham was administering first aid to the driver. I exited my vehicle and assisted Officer Haberdasham with first aid and CPR to the driver.'

He says they continued to give CPR until EMS arrived and Scott was pronounced dead.

There is no evidence in Feidin Santana's video that Scott received CPR.

A second video of the scene shows two other police officers arriving at the scene and getting out a medical kit. But they do not give CPR.

Six other officers' version of what happened after the shooting is recorded in the incident report.

They were: R. Terrell, J Bariss, M Cooper, R Killin, B Williams, and Sgt Webb.

They all say that they heard Slager's call for help and arrived at the scene later.

Gann says the crime scene was handed over to SLED, who then concluded their crime scene investigation that day.

Edward Bryant III, president of the North Charleston NAACP, also told the Los Angeles Times that he suspects North Charleston cops have covered up other shootings.

He said; 'This incident fits a pattern of abuse that has gone on for years. There is a code of conduct to cover their behinds. We call it Code Blue.'

Marc Moria, President of the president of the National Urban League, told the Washington Post: 'But for this video, this would have been another coverup, another fabrication, another lie told by a police officer when the police officer was clearly in the wrong.'

The discrepancies were also discussed on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning.

Host Joe Scarborough said: 'That cop is two feet away when he dropped the taser next to the dead body. I'm sorry, what cop is okay with that?'

Mika Brzezinski added: 'There should be more charges'

After Officer Michael Slager was charged with murder on Tuesday and terminated from the North Charleston Police on Wednesday, his department released his personnel file.

Some 100 pages including his job application, training records, firearm test scores and work appraisals were published online.

Among the details were that Slager had graduated from Lenape High School in Medford, N.J, in 2001 and was a waiter at an Italian restaurant before he joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 2003.

He spent six years with the Coast Guard working as a mechanic and engineer and then became involved in security on board vessels.

He was hired by the North Charleston Police Department in December 2009 and attended the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy for a nine-week training course.

Major Florence McCants told Yahoo News that Slager 'didn't create any issues nor was he an award winner in any of the categories'.

Slager also took course in first-aid and use of a Taser, according to his personnel records.

Summary: A bystander video is shedding light on the Walter Scott case, indicating that more officers may have attempted to cover up Michael Slager's misconduct. Slager initially claimed to have fired shots after Scott attempted to wrestle his Taser away- a story that is corroborated by fellow officers. However, the bystander video reveals another story.


Summary: A North Charleston Police Officer was charged with murder after a video went public showing him shooting an unarmed black man in the back and failing to provide CPR. His actions do not match his, and other responding officers reports, and is considered an attempted coverup.


Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United team-mate Marouane Fellaini has gone from Old Trafford scapegoat to one of the most dangerous forwards in Europe.

Fellaini was one of the stars of United's Manchester derby demolition of neighbours City on Sunday and was recently described as almost undroppable by manager Louis van Gaal.

Now Rooney has revealed his admiration for the former Everton forward, saying: 'He is getting used in the right way. He is a handful for defenders to mark.

Marouane Fellaini has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes in recent week at Manchester United.

'We like to play out from the back and if teams are pressing us then we have him as an option.

'He is probably the best in world football at bringing the ball down and getting us out of that pressure and further up the pitch. He is being used in the right way by the manager and he is repaying the manager with goals and good performances.'

Fellaini was signed from Everton by Van Gaal's predecessor David Moyes in the summer of 2013 but endured a terrible first season as he suffered with injuries and tried and failed to establish himself as a holding midfield player.

Wayne Rooney hailed his Belgian team-mate as one of the best in world football at the moment.

Fellaini has proved a handful for defences and was instrumental in wins over Manchester City and Liverpool.

Now the Belgian has emerged as a potent attacking weapon under Van Gaal, used as a second striker behind Rooney. On Sunday, City couldn't cope with him just as Liverpool had suffered at his hands at Anfield three weeks earlier.

'Last year was awful for him but in fairness he kept his head down worked hard and come through that tough period,' reflected Rooney.

'He is showing now what he did at Everton and why Manchester United bought him.

'He is a quality player. He is a different option for us. It is starting to show on the pitch.

'It was tough for him but he had the whole team's support. We knew he was working hard and it wasn't just him struggling last season a lot of us were.

'He was the one who took most of the blame for it. It was hard for him. Thankfully the manager has shown faith in him.

'He is big and he is strong and always a goal threat which he is showing now. He is awkward to mark. It is great for him and we hope it continues.'

Fellaini wheels away after heading in at the far post to beat Joe Hart and give United the lead in the derby.

United are now in third place in the Barclays Premier League after six league wins in a row. This weekend they travel to Chelsea with renewed hope.

'We said earlier on in the season that we were working on things and it was going to take time,' added Rooney.

'It is starting to show now, the training we have been putting in.

'We have been working really hard.

'Each game is different and we have been training for each game in a different way depending on how the opposition plays. There is no detail left unturned. We have been prepared really well.'

'We are confident going to Chelsea.

'We are in a good run of form and have beaten some good teams. It is a big test for us at Chelsea.

Louis van Gaal suggested that Fellaini is almost undroppable at the moment and hailed his rebirth.

'They are top of the league and it is always tough at Stamford Bridge. They are in a very commanding position. We just have to try and win our games and finish as high as we can.

'We are still a work in progress. We are still learning. It is great how things are going and the performances we are putting in but it is has to continue.

'There is more space in the bigger games out those kinds of teams like to attack. We felt against City we could capitalise on it. We have found it tougher when teams have sat back and defended.'

Summary: Wayne Rooney praises Belgian teammate, Marouane Fellaini as one of the most dangerous forwards in the league. Although he wasn't really considered a great player at first, Rooney explains that their manager, Louis van Gaal saw Fellaini's potential and utilized him in the right way. Their team has become unstoppable ever since.


Summary: Marouane Fellaini was signed from Everton in the summer of 2013 by Manchester United. He has been hailed by his teammate, Wayne Rooney as one of the best football players in the world. The manager of Manchester United, Louis van Gaal, has suggested that Fellaini is undroppable at the moment.


Summary: Wayne Rooney commends teammate and fellow striker Marouane Fellaini for his remarkable improvement. Manchester United now sits in third place thanks in part to Fellaini's increased performance. Rooney believes that the manager is using Fellaini in the right way and the team is being rewarded for it.


The trial of a group of cult members in China who beat a woman to death at a McDonald's restaurant has opened in the city of Yantai in Shandong province.

The woman, 37-year-old Wu Shuoyan, is alleged to have been killed last May simply for refusing to hand over her phone number to cult members.

The murder, filmed on CCTV and on mobile phones, sparked outrage.

The  Church of the Almighty God cult is banned in China but claims to have millions of members.

Following the brutal killing in May, Chinese authorities said that they detained hundreds of members of the cult, reports the BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing.

Interviewed in prison later, one of the defendants, Zhang Lidong showed no remorse.

He said: "I beat her with all my might and stamped on her too. She was a demon. We had to destroy her."

The group had entered a small McDonalds branch in Zhaoyuan in Shandong province last May soliciting phone numbers and hoping to recruit members to their cult.

Ms Wu was waiting in the restaurant with her seven-year-old son and when she refused to give her number, an act which prompted the beating while they screamed at other diners to keep away or they would face the same fate.

The public face of the Church of the Almighty God is a website full of uplifting hymns and homilies. But its core belief is that God has returned to earth as a Chinese woman to wreak the apocalypse.

The only person who claims direct contact with this god is a former physics teacher, Zhao Weishan, who founded the cult 25 years ago and has since fled to the United States, says BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie.

No-one knows exactly where he is, but much of the website's message of outright hostility to the Chinese government is delivered in English as well as Chinese. The cult complains that religious faith has suffered from persecution by the Communist Party.

Since the McDonald's murder, public outrage has forced the authorities to increase pressure on the Church of the Almighty God with almost daily arrests and raids.

Summary: Members of the Church of the Almighty God cult are set to stand trial in Shandong province for the murder of 37-year-old Wu Shuoyan. It has been alleged that Shuoyan was killed by cult members in a McDonald's for refusing to give them her phone number.


Summary: The trial of cult members belonging to the Church of the Almighty God began in Yantai. Cult members beat to death the mother of a seven-year-old boy after she refused to hand over her phone number to the cult. The public is outraged.


Summary: Members of a banned cult called Church of the Almighty God have gone to trial for beating a woman to death. The cult has existed for 25 years, and claims God is reborn as a Chinese woman to start the apocalypse. Police have increased raids and arrests of cult members since the murder.


Summary: The trial of a group of cult members who beat a woman, 37-year-old Wu Shuoyan, to death at a McDonald's restaurant because she refused to hand over her phone number. The Chinese authorities said they detained some members of the Church of the Almighty God cult following the killing.


England had to settle for a draw after an extraordinary final session on the fifth day of the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan seemed to be cruising to a draw before debutant Adil Rashid - who returned 0-163 in the first innings - turned the match with five wickets.

Needing 99 to win, England sent out Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in the top four.

But they were eventually beaten by the fading light, finishing 25 runs short of a famous victory on 74-4.

The tourists could not find the boundary frequently enough before the umpires brought the teams off, with Joe Root 33 not out.

However, this was a hugely impressive performance from England and one that will fill them with confidence ahead of the second Test in Dubai, which begins on Thursday.

After England concluded their innings on 598-9 in the morning, Pakistan looked assured at 113-3 shortly after tea, leading by 38 with seven second-innings wickets remaining.

But the match turned when veteran batsman Younus Khan, playing in his 102nd Test match, mistimed a wild heave to give Rashid his first Test wicket - caught at point by Stokes.

Rashid - whose figures in the first innings were the worst ever by a debutant - then quickly added a second victim, having Asad Shafiq caught behind for six.

The door was opened for England, and Rashid and Moeen Ali barged through it as they polished off the last five wickets for 14 runs.

Pakistan skipper Misbah ul-Haq - who had played with restraint for his 51 - inexplicably aimed an uncharacteristic slog at Moeen and was bowled.

Moeen then removed Wahab Riaz caught behind, before Rashid claimed the final three wickets - all superbly caught at first slip by James Anderson.

England sensed an unlikely victory, but their reorganised batting order could not score quickly enough as Pakistan's tactic of spin from both ends and fielders on the boundary brought them regular wickets.

Makeshift opener Buttler was trapped lbw for four, Moeen and Stokes were caught on the boundary in quick succession, and Jonny Bairstow was stumped attempting a big shot.

However, in truth it was mistakes earlier in the match that ultimately proved more costly as England fell just short of their first win on the subcontinent since beating India in Kolkata in 2012.

In Pakistan's first innings, Ian Bell dropped Mohammad Hafeez (98) and Shafiq (107) at slip early in their innings.

And Shoaib Malik, who made 245, was dismissed off a no-ball by Stuart Broad.

England captain Alastair Cook, whose record-breaking 263 in the first innings was ultimately in vain, admitted England were frustrated to come so close to victory.

"We'd have liked another three or four overs at the end but that's the way it goes," he said. "I can't fault the guys for hanging in there on that wicket.

"The pitch did deteriorate and spun more today which gave us hope, so it's a bit of a bittersweet finish. We knew we had to put the pressure on Pakistan and then on the last day you never know.

"We played a good game and so did Pakistan. They were a bit sloppy today and we put them under pressure.

"It was brilliant from Adil Rashid who I think got some unfair criticism after the first innings. He's a very fine bowler."

Overall this was a vastly improved overseas display from England, who were whitewashed 3-0 on their last tour of the United Arab Emirates and have not won any of their last three away series.

In contrast to their limp displays with the bat in the 2012 series against Pakistan and more recent overseas disappointments in Australia and West Indies, England's victory charge was built on a superb total of 598-9 declared in their first innings.

Resuming on 569-8, England added 29 quick runs in the morning session, with Rashid out for 12 in his maiden Test innings.

But the innings hinged on Cook's magnificent 263, the longest-ever innings by an Englishman, compiled over days two, three and four.

England's pace bowlers also showed that they could be threatening on the dusty, spin-friendly tracks of the UAE, with Ben Stokes taking 4-57 in the first innings and Anderson also taking four wickets over the course of the match.

With England's new-look opening partnership of Cook and Moeen adding 113 for the first wicket in the first innings, and the under-pressure Bell scoring a half-century at number three, England will head to Dubai knowing that many parts of their team are in good working order.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan: "Many people will be watching and listening and wondering why they can't continue and I agree with them. This goes back to last night when they came off and you wonder was there a real threat to the players then. It shouldn't take the shine off what has been a good day from England and Adil Rashid."

Former England spinner Graeme Swann: "I am proud of the way England played. The only way they were going to win this game was to persevere and stick it at - and they did that even though they didn't get the result in the end.

"I'm really pleased for Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali who copped a load of stick in the first innings. I don't buy into the Pakistan time-wasting because anyone in their shoes would do the same."

Richard Oelmann: Umpires had no choice with current rules - Rules need changing though. England would have done the same as Pakistan if positions reversed.

Chris Tudor: England have been 'saved by the bell' loads of times. No-one complained when play stopped at EXACTLY 6:30pm at Cardiff in 2009.

Jonathan Wilson: England robbed. Cook out off a no ball delayed things. Lbw in Pakistan inns not given. England win if these called correctly.

Rachel T: England will take huge heart from being within an ace of winning, having been almost written off beforehand.

Flemming Jensen: Get rid of the light meter. Also, Pakistan being allowed to meander along at an over rate of less than 12 is an utter disgrace.

Summary: After a tight, controversial match in Abu Dhabi, England and Pakistan ended their first Test in a draw. Players from both teams had highs and lows during the match, but overall England is left in an improved position from their last tour where they lost all three matches.


Summary: England was unable to beat Pakistan in their sporting bout, which took place in Abu Dhabi. However, the performance that ended in a draw is still a vast improvement over their previous performance in the 2012 series against Pakistan. English players will be entering their second bout with Pakistan in Dubai with increased confidence.


Summary: The English cricket team had to settle for a draw against Pakistan. England fell just short of their first win on the subcontinent since beating India in 2012. England heads to Dubai knowing that their team is healthy and in working order.


In telly terms, the FA Cup has had quite - what they like to call in the trade - a 'journey’ this season. This weekend saw its TV channel sidekicks deliver a double header with a new ally to help set the scene.

This no doubt will have the purists, and perhaps even some fans of the four teams involved, spitting at the very mention. But with Wembley on board for both games, I doubt the BBC and BT Sport will have minded presenting their coverage from HQ. However, on Saturday evening, Ian Wright was dead sheepish about it in the BBC’s on-site studio.

‘I don’t like semi finals at Wembley’, said Wrighty squirming awkwardly in his seat at the prospect of it. Well, some twenty four hour or so later, Wembley was certainly delighted to host them.

Arsenal players celebrate during the victory over Reading which saw the Gunners reach the FA Cup final.

Fabian Delph (centre) is congratulated by his team-mates after scoring against Liverpool at Wembley.

Wembley Stadium was a great setting for this weekend's two FA Cup semi-final clashes.

Prior to that first clash on Saturday between Arsenal and Reading, there had also been disgruntled talk from inside the Emirates Stadium. This time about the fact the match clashed with the big Premier league game between Chelsea and Manchester United. Yes, over on Sky Sports, you could have witnessed business as usual at Stamford Bridge. With a first half that Jamie Redknapp at one point described as ‘difficult to watch’.

If you weren’t watching Chelsea's victory, what you could see instead was what turned out to be a genuine sporting event, a real footballing occasion.

Alongside Wright, the extremely engaging Jason Roberts hoped his old club Reading wouldn’t treat their premature trip to north west London as ‘a day out' and believed there was a chance the Royals could win against Arsenal.

Well, they most certainly set aside the chance for some selfies and instead contributed wholly to a cracking game of football. A clash that was bursting out of the telly screen with atmosphere as the sun soaked some thrilling football and the crowd generated a groundswell of excitement.

Reading, pictured celebrating after Garath McCleary's goal, contributed to a great encounter on Saturday.

What’s more, there were also a couple of errors that led to two memorable moments in the coverage. Firstly, when a film about the infamous 1990 FA Cup Semi Finals failed, Gary Lineker was left with a spare few minutes to fill. Which he did with a great chat about his guests' Cup Final Wembley memories.

‘It’s a wonderful experience, winning an FA Cup, isn’t it Wrighty?’, observed Lineker before turning to the distinctly pot free Alan Shearer. ‘Don’t start again, Gary!’, barked Al, his brief annoyance serving only to make the moment even funnier for his fellow ex pros.

And then there was Reading’s Adam Federici. I was amazed at the end of the game when the director went through the familiar montage of close ups, and while doing so chose to cut away from manager Steve Clarke beginning to console his crestfallen keeper. A few minutes later, they did decide to show it, though. I almost wished they hadn’t as it was nearly too harrowing to watch the poor fella’s suffering. Nevertheless it was compelling stuff, and helped seal that first semi final as something a bit special.

Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici (centre) is consoled by Royals boss Steve Clarke after the final whistle.

Come Sunday, and the man who would be drawing the camera’s unblinking gaze was this time established right from the get go. As soon as Steven Gerrard was announced in the starting line up, there was no doubt which player was going to be at the heart of BT Sport’s story.

Although it wasn’t  all about the outgoing captain. They opened their coverage with a lovely little film in which two young fans - Villa’s Tom and Liverpool’s John-Paul (naturally!) - recreated each team’s cup runs in their back gardens. We then saw the two young stars walking up Wembley way together, helping to remind us about the supporter’s part in the occasion.

This was reiterated with a pre-match lap of the pitch by host Jake Humphrey and his pundits which really drew those of us at home into the moment. It also enabled us to hear the Villa fans give Robbie Savage a, shall we say, robust welcome as he approached their end!

Former Birmingham City midfielder Robbie Savage (right) received a robust welcome from the Villa faithful.

From the moment we first saw Stevie G trotting out onto the pitch to warm up, right up until the moment  commentator Ian Darke exclaimed ‘off the line, Gerrard’s header’, the outgoing skipper was very rarely far from the centre of attention. Come the final whistle, the Liverpool captain was clearly reluctant to be.

It was something BT handled very cleverly by using their inset box innovation to show the on pitch interview with Man of the Match Fabian Delph as the main shot showed Gerrard sullenly leaving the Wembley turf for possibly the last time.

Yet another moment that made Wembley the ideal setting for an FA Cup semi-final TV audience to enjoy even more magic from this season’s tournament? I’ll leave that thought with you.

Much of the attention was on Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard during Sunday's semi-final clash on BT Sport.

Summary: This weekend's two FA Cup semi-finals were at Wembley Stadium. The football game came with memorable moments including a montage of close-ups that showed Reading's goalkeeper, Adam Federici, being consoled by Steve Clarke after the final whistle.


Summary: For this weekend's FA semi-finals event, BBC and BT Sports did the coverage on-site at Wembly stadium. And the TV networks did a stellar job of presenting every aspect of the game through the telly screens of fans who weren't able to be there in person by incorporating montages, interviews, and a live audience.


The town of Reading may have been swept up in FA Cup euphoria, but Steve Clarke has instructed his players to approach this weekend's semi-final like any other day at work.

It has been 88 years since the Royals last reached the last-four juncture and the SkyBet Championship side travel to Wembley facing the unenviable task of overcoming in-form Arsenal.

Reading are striving to make the FA Cup final for the first time in their history, leading to excitement understandably building in Berkshire - if not the club's Hogwood Park training ground.

Reading overcame League One side Bradford with a 3-0 replay win to progress to FA Cup semi-final.

Clarke, a winner as player and coach at Chelsea, has told his players not to get caught up in the occasion, with progression the only objective.

'I think when you go through to semi-finals, the only way to enjoy it is to win the game,' the Reading manager said.

'You can't go to Wembley and play the occasion. It is not about playing the occasion, we're playing Arsenal.

'For us, it has to be a day of work. We have to go there focused only on what happens on the pitch.

The Royals face Premier League giants Arsenal in crunch clash on Saturday at Wembley.

'The supporters can go and enjoy the day, that's their little reward for a cup run.

'For us, it is to go there with a mentality that we are there to do a job and if we do that right we can go through.'

Clarke is confident his players can make history on Saturday, even though few outsiders share his faith.

One bookmaker has them at 14/1 to win and Reading's manager accepts they will have to play the 'perfect game' to overcome an Arsenal side on the back of eight straight league wins.

It has been 88 years since Reading last made an appearance in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

'They look strong, well-balanced,' Clarke said. 'They're winning games.

'They have terrific players. Great problems for us to solve.

'Maybe they have left their run too late to catch Chelsea at the top but certainly a good chance to finish the season strongly.'

Reading have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the semi-final, with Pavel Pogrebnyak fit after a slight calf complaint ruled him out of Tuesday's 1-0 loss to table-topping Bournemouth.

Steve Clarke was appointed Reading manager in December 2014 to replace Nigel Adkins.

Clarke felt defeat was harsh on his side, stretching a run of winless matches to five since winning the quarter-final replay against Bradford.

'Cup competitions, one-off games, we seem to have approached it with a little bit more freedom, a little less nervousness, if you like,' the Royals boss said.

'I think the league campaign has been disappointing. There is sort of a feeling of doom and gloom around the league campaign this year which is never nice.

Reading have struggled in the Championship but have brought FA Cup euphoria to the town with their great run.

'I think that is reflected in the game (against Bournemouth), when we are knocking at the door in the last 10 minutes and knocking on the door very, very much.

'Bournemouth, because they're on a winning run, know how to get over the line and win at the moment.

'We're struggling in the league a little bit to find a way to win games, whereas in the cup we've been good.

'We've known how to win the cup games so hopefully that continues on Saturday.'

Summary: Chelsea coach Clark is cautioning his team against getting caught up in the euphoria of advancing to the semi-finals.  He instructs the to consider it just another day at work.  Although few others share his belief, Clark believes his team will prove victorious.


Summary: The Reading Royals FC are looking to make history and reach their first FA cup final ever. It has been 88 years since the club reached the quarterfinals, and team manager Steve Clark has urged his players to treat the occasion as just another day at the office.


Summary: It has been 88 years since the Reading Royals reached the FA Cup Semi-Finals. Their manager, Steve Clarke instructed the team to go into the game just like any other work day. Although playing in the semi-finals at Wembley is a special occasion, the only way to enjoy is to win, according to Clarke.


A 6,000-year-old "eco-home" has been discovered close to Stonehenge, archaeologists have revealed.

The shelter - in a hollow left behind by a fallen tree - at Blick Mead was used over a 90-year period from 4336 BC, it is believed.

Archaeologist David Jacques, said: "They... used the stump of the tree, about three metres high, as a wall."

The finds are being shown to United Nations heritage experts, who are currently visiting Stonehenge.

Archaeologists are concerned a planned 2.9km tunnel being considered for the nearby A303 main road will damage the site.

Discoveries have also shown stones were warmed up by the Mesolithic Period inhabitants and used in a hearth to emit heat in the earthy snug.

Mr Jacques, a senior research fellow at the University of Buckingham, has worked at Blick Mead for over a decade, making a number of discoveries about the inhabitants.

The tree stump created a wall height similar to a "modern bungalow".

"They've draped probably animal skins or thatch around the basin and connected it to a post so it's a very comfortable snug little place," he said.

The wooden wall of the hollow was lined with flints and the large earthy pit created by the tree root lined with cobbles and decorated with "exotic" stones from outside the area.

"There are some clever and sophisticated things going on, the hot stones that they put into this little type of alcove wouldn't have been on fire," explained Mr Jacques.

"It looks more like these people have been using these hot stones as a type of storage heater so that you've got a lot of warmth coming off them."

Mr Jacques will meet the UN experts later to ask for the route to be moved closer to Salisbury and for hydrological assessments to be made.

"It's very likely the water flow would be reduced in and around the site," he said.

"It would take out all the organics and destroy all the animal bone we've been finding which is crucial for finding where they have been living and for getting radiocarbon dates from all the organics like pollen and wood.

"This is massively important for reconstructing what the landscape would have looked like."

Andy Rhind-Tutt, former mayor and chairman of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust said: "I sincerely hope the team delivering the long-awaited A303 improvement look seriously at an alternative alignment south of Salisbury and away from this unequalled archaeological landscape.

"It would be criminal to destroy such a rich heritage and connection with our ancestors for the sake of blocking the view to the passing public of Stonehenge."

Summary: The discovery of the remains of a 6,000 year old home in a hollow tree stump near Stonehenge could affect the route of the A303 tunnel. The current proposed route would divert water runoff and damage the archeological site, which is considered an important link to understanding our ancestors.


Summary: A 6,000-year-old home has been discovered near Stonehenge. Archeologists discovered features in the home such as a stone fireplace. The home, as well as many animal bones, are at risk of being destroyed by the new A303 highway being built.


Summary: A 6,000-year-old home has been discovered at Blink Mead close to Stonehedge. The house was built in a hallow left by a fallen tree and used the tree stump as a wall. Construction of a 2.9km tunnel is being considered for the nearly A303 main road, which archeologists are concerned would damage the historical site.


Egypt's internet activists have played a key role in the pro-democracy protests from the outset, but they tell the BBC that the online campaigning is evolving to suit their real-life activism in Tahrir Square.

This revolution is the result of someone sending a Facebook invitation to many people.  I got it like other people on our network.  The buzz around it was then created on different social media websites and with videos.  I was here on 25 January when riot police forced us out and by the 28th, we were back following the violence.  I've been sleeping here most of the time since.

Our social network was established in 2005, when there was a democratic opening around the time of the presidential elections. People from different backgrounds all met through blogging and hoped to use technology for social change.  It meant we have all gained good contacts, experience and strong networks.

I like to think the social network is the people itself.  Things like Facebook, Twitter, SMS and phones are just social tools.  When they blocked Facebook and shut down technology, our network still operated because it's about people.  Internet activists are also people and a lot of our organising, social work and relationships are developed offline.

This is something that people dreamt of but didn't anticipate happening in reality.  If anything, it shows that all the effort we put in over the past few years has not been wasted.  It has climaxed into this critical mass of people you see in the square.

At the moment I'm not getting a lot of internet connection.  I'm trying not to drain my phone battery. We're still using it to distribute footage people are bringing to us that we've sorted through.

I hope the internet will continue to play a complementary role in activism.  At the moment we physically exist in downtown Cairo and I hope that when we have finished this sit-in, we will have won the right to organise ourselves outside the internet.

Twitter: Amr Gharbeia

I was involved in this revolution from the first day, 25 January, and I've now been spending my nights here for a while. For the past five years, I was very active online, blogging and tweeting.  As we live under emergency laws in Egypt it has been very difficult to meet or communicate except on the internet. I'd never been part of a demonstration on the ground.

At first we were mocking the event on 25 January.  We questioned whether it was really possible to have a "Facebook revolution". I came on the 25th because I felt it was my duty as a citizen and I couldn't believe how it turned into something so different from what we've seen before.  I was walking among the people and weeping.

Now I sometimes just tweet to update people about what's going on or to call for a million-man demonstration or a day to remember our martyrs.  I'm well-known among bloggers for my long articles and constant tweets, but once I was here I stopped communicating this way so much. I felt it was totally different to have real freedom rather than just hypothetical freedom or internet freedom.

Blogging and tweeting has been important as we were building our minds.  This regime stopped us from doing that.  We had have poor education and no national cultural programmes.  I am so proud now, especially when I think of our young martyrs.  In Egypt we have suffered a lot and it's about time that we start to live like real people.

Twitter: Nawara Negm

I'm not writing my blog right now.  We're just using Twitter as it's easy and flexible to do from your mobile.  If we have a lot of action here I might do as many as 20 or 30 tweets a day.  We also use Bambuser for live-streaming from our mobiles here in Tahrir Square.

The internet gave us our backbone but it is not because of Facebook that this happened.  It was the force used by the police that brought everybody together.  If they had let us leave peacefully on 25 January, this would never have happened.  It got worse with the violence on 28th: The shootings, the tear gas, the killings, the brutality.  When they cut the internet and mobile phone lines this only increased people's anger.

In the square we have organised our lives well. We have a co-ordinating committee telling us where there have been attacks and a group doing cleaning.  We have some people singing and some praying. We have Christians, Muslims, agnostics, leftists and rightists and we all live together well.   In our community we're trying to set an example of how we can all live together.  It's like a city inside the city here.  We are the kernel of the revolution.

Blog: MaLek X (in Arabic)

The revolution was publicised on the internet.  The spark was Facebook.  People were really sceptical about it because they didn't think you could have a revolution where you named the date, but now I look around me and I am really proud of the Egyptian people and the initiative.  I'm sure that those who named the date didn't think things would go this far.

To begin with on 25 January, we had mostly young people of all classes who somehow use the internet.  You have internet cafes even in the poorest areas of Egypt so even less well-educated people have access, especially to Facebook.  A lot was also achieved through word of mouth - people telling their friends and neighbours.  The independent media took a middle-ground to begin with as everyone was watching their backs but now they have got onboard.

After our huge turnout on the first Tuesday, demonstrations continued for the next two days and we publicised further action for Friday on the internet.  That day they cut our communications and took our cameras so we had an information blackout and the violence was unbelievable. A lot of people died.

Still the threshold of fear and pain had been broken and we have kept up momentum since. Now older people especially come up to us when we're collecting trash or whatever in the square and they say: "We're really proud of you... You did what we didn't manage to do for 60 years."

People have called this the "Facebook Revolution" because it gave us a form of expression even when people were too scared to talk in big groups about political issues.  We had already set up Facebook pages for people who were tortured to death.  We found it was a way to talk without being tracked.

In the square we have bridged a lot of gaps.  I've been living here since 29 January with tens of thousands of other people.  I put my head down to sleep and I don't know the people sleeping around me. I have wonderful conversations with people from all over Egypt who normally I would never have talked to.

We're finally getting to know each other. It's wonderful.

Summary: The internet has helped give voice and coordinate the pro-democracy movement in Egypt amid government backlash. Some are calling it the Facebook Revolution, because it has enabled protestors to communicate freely and plan their protests. Now, as the movement advances and develops, the internet continues to play an important role in other ways.


Summary: Internet activists in Egypt tell the BBC how influential technology is in their organizing efforts. Through Facebook and other social media platforms, Egyptian activists started a wave of protests. Activists also stated that social media is harder for authorities to track.


Summary: Activists in Egypt tell their stories of how they've used social media to further pro-democracy protests in Tahrir Square. Communicating outside of the internet has been difficult due to the violent political regime. Instead, citizens are turning to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and personal blogs to share footage and ideas about the revolution.


Edinburgh's winter festivals generated more than £241m for the city, according to organisers. Almost one million people visited the city during the six-week festival period over Christmas and Hogmanay. Organisers said almost 890,000 people visited the Edinburgh's Christmas events in 2014/15, contributing £199.5m to the local economy. The three-day Hogmanay celebrations attracted more than 150,000 people, creating an economic impact of £41.8m. Charlie Wood, Edinburgh's Christmas festival director, said: "This is great news for Edinburgh. The revenue generated does not go to the events themselves, the event organisers or to Edinburgh city council. "This is money, which is going to the businesses of Edinburgh, be it retail, accommodation, food, drink, shopping and entertainment."

Summary: Edinburgh's Christmas and Hogmanay festivals generated over 241 million pounds for the city over the six-week festival period. The money went mostly to small businesses in the local economy which is great for the city as a whole.


The fate of ailing department store BHS is likely to be decided later on Thursday, with an announcement expected from administrators Duff & Phelps.

BHS entered administration in April. Since then, efforts have been continuing to rescue it from closure and save the jobs of its 11,000 staff.

Last week, a surprise late bid led by retail veteran Greg Tufnell transformed the race to acquire the retailer.

His team, said to be backed by Portuguese money, is the front-runner.

But if a deal cannot be struck, the business may still have to be liquidated.

The remaining bidders have faded into the background. Another consortium led by Matalan tycoon John Hargreaves and Turkish retail entrepreneur Cafer Mahiroglu has reportedly run into difficulties, while other suitors have apparently failed to impress with their proposals.

Some of those involved in the different bids have impressive retailing histories.

But then Sir Philip Green, who controlled BHS from 2000 to 2015, also had a brilliant track record. And he ended up selling the business for Â£1.

So what are the chances of saving BHS from the liquidators? And just who are the people aiming to do it?

In the public eye, Greg Tufnell is easily overshadowed by his more famous brother Phil, the former England cricketer.

But that could change if his bid for BHS is successful, because he hopes to become the firm's next chairman.

And as far as his credentials for the job are concerned, the 54-year-old executive certainly talks the talk.

He describes himself as "a highly experienced managing director with Mothercare and Arcadia, a blend of entrepreneur, strategist and hands-on operator with significant commercial business turnaround, acquisition and fund-raising experience".

His record shows that he was buying and merchandising director at Next from 1991 to 1994.

He then spent three years as managing director of menswear retailer Burton, part of the Arcadia group, followed by another three years as managing director of Mothercare.

He currently appears to occupy a portfolio of different jobs, including the chairmanships of leather accessories brand Zatchels and recruitment consultancy hga Group.

Earlier this month, he registered a new firm, Richess Group, at Companies House.

Its other directors are Nick de Scossa, a Swiss banker, and Lisbon-based entrepreneur Jose Maria Soares Bento.

Until Mr Tufnell's bid turned up, many observers had assumed that BHS would be snapped up by Matalan founder Mr Hargreaves.

But it appears that the cost of a deal may have proved too high. Sources say Mr Hargreaves was asked to improve his offer and balked.

Like Sir Philip Green, 71-year-old John Hargreaves also enjoys the life of the super-rich. He has an estimated fortune of Â£1bn, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

But in stark contrast to the ebullient Sir Philip, Mr Hargreaves is described by industry insiders as quiet-spoken, someone who shuns the limelight.

Mr Hargreaves is no longer directly involved in the business he founded. He sold his 69% stake in Matalan in 2000, then in 2006 took it private through Missouri Bidco, a company 53.5% owned by him and his family.

As a partner in Mr Hargreaves' bid, there is also Cafer Mahiroglu, the owner of Select Fashions. At 50, he is the youngest of these High Street players.

Mr Mahiroglu's family owns a music store chain in Turkey and, crucially, factories across Turkey, Romania and Vietnam, which supply about 80% of Select's clothing merchandise.

Names that had been mentioned included Poundstretcher boss Aziz Tayub and Mike Ashley's Sports Direct, although Mr Ashley's proposal was reportedly rejected for being too low.

One factor that has complicated matters is that BHS has been selling off much of its stock in a discount sale, reducing the value of its assets and making it more expensive for any new owner to replenish the items.

If no deal can be struck, Duff & Phelps have already lined up three firms to act as liquidators. Alteri, Hilco and Gordon Brothers would then break up the business and sell it off piecemeal.

The 164-store chain includes about 40 loss-making shops. Freed from the need to take them all, many other bidders might be prepared to cherry-pick parts of the once-prosperous empire.

Summary: Potential investors are deciding the fate of BHS, a failing department store with 164 locations. There are several ultra-rich businessmen who have made bids, although the details vary and no deal has been made. If no sales agreement is made, the company has arrangements for their assets to be liquidated.


Summary: Retailer BHS is flailing and other companies are bidding on it to save it from bankruptcy. The leading bidder is Greg Tufnell, however, if a deal cannot be struck the business will be liquidated. The next closest bidder is Matalan founder Mr. Hargreaves.


Summary: The BHS empire is under significant duress. The once-prosperous department store has been in administration since April, and a decision about the chain's fate is likely to emerge on Thursday. Aside from retail store and stock concerns, the livelihoods of BHS's 11,000 employees are also on the line if it has to be liquidated.


Summary: The department store BHS is up for bid on Thursday, with the lead by Greg Tuffnell. Other bidders have faded, like John Hargreaves and Cafer Mahiroglu. Tuffnell hopes to be chariman and has the credentials. If the bid fails, Duff & Phelps have lined up three liquidators


DNA in dog mess could be used to catch owners who fail to clear up their pet's mess. A firm in north Wales wants to bring the PooPrints service from the United States to the UK with up to 15 councils reportedly interested in the scheme. Councils could make owners in problem areas register their dogs to a database which involves a mouth swab taken. Then, DNA could be taken from mess left on a street, path or grass and used to find a match on the database. Gary Downie, managing director of Streetkleen Bio in Ruthin, Denbighshire, believes local authorities can use new powers granted by the Antisocial Behaviour and Policing Act 2014 to force dog owners to comply. "The purpose of the system is to get cleaner, safer open spaces," he said. Councils the company is in talks with include Kingston-upon-Thames in south-west London, Aberdeen and Cheshire East.

Summary: DNA in dog poop can now be used to catch owners who fail to clean up their dog's mess. Under new powers granted by the Antisocial Behaviour and Policing Act of 2014, councils could make dog owners register their dogs to a database via a mouth swab.


(CNN)The number of new HIV infections in a rural Indiana county has grown, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The institute is working with state health leaders to control the "severe outbreak," which has spread among users of a prescription opioid called Opana.

The outbreak has been ongoing since mid-December. As of Friday, 142 people have tested positive for HIV, with 136 confirmed cases and six more with preliminary positive test results, all in rural Scott and Jackson counties. This is a huge number of cases for an area that has a population of only a few thousand people.

The CDC and state health leaders held a news conference Friday to talk about the new numbers and about the growing threat of the spread of disease from IV drug use, especially in isolated rural areas that have sparse health resources.

Scott County, the epicenter of the outbreak, has only one doctor who deals with infectious disease, but the doctor is not an HIV specialist, the State Department of Health said. Since the rampant HIV outbreak was first noticed in mid-December, the state has tried to flood the area with additional resources. Indiana declared a public health emergency in that county in March.

Indiana University has sent health volunteers to provide a clinic, open once a week to help treat people and test them for HIV. These workers are also going door to door to try to educate the population about the danger of sharing needles.

So far, 33 patients have visited the temporary clinic, which is starting to see patients return to seek treatment.

It's no coincidence that many of the cases of the newly infected there are younger people "who weren't around in the '80s and '90s when HIV was at its peak," Dr. Jonathan Mermin said. In the 1980s, doctors were seeing an average of 35,000 new HIV infections among IV drug users, and that figure has been down 90% nationally, he said. So people aren't as aware about the danger of sharing needles.

Mermin is the director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. Education will be key, he emphasized. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence also signed a 30-day executive order that allows for a needle exchange. It was set to expire Friday, but he extended the order another 30 days Tuesday. Needle exchanges have been scientifically shown to reduce new infections.

The state is also offering job services to people in the area. Dr. Joan Duwve, the chief medical consultant with the Indiana State Department of Health, spoke at length about how communities all along the Ohio River in her state and in Kentucky and West Virginia have seen a huge problem with prescription drug abuse, particularly in areas where there "is not a lot to do."

Many family members, across generations, live in the same house and will use the drugs together as "a community activity," Duwve said. And this has led to more needle sharing, which spreads infection. She said this has been a problem for these areas for at least a decade.

Another reason this infection has spread so rapidly is the nature of the drug itself. Opana, as the prescription opioid is known, needs to be injected more than once a day. Duwve said residents have reported injecting it four to 10 times a day to stay under its influence. When people start to feel the drug wear off after about four hours, they begin to feel sick and go into withdrawal. Often they'll turn to an injecting partner in the same house who will share their needle and their drug to give the person relief from these symptoms.

The other problem with this drug is that it requires a larger-gauge needle that exposes users to more blood, which increases the risk of infection.

Health leaders worry about the spread of HIV and other diseases such as hepatitis C around the country as the number of illegal prescription drug users has grown. There has been a 150% increase in hepatitis C between 2010 and 2013, the majority of the increase believed to be from injection drug abusers, the CDC said.

"The situation in Indiana should serve as a warning not to let our guard down," Mermin said. "This is a powerful reminder" that HIV and other infectious diseases "can gain ground at any time, unless you remain vigilant."

Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that the opioid crisis in rural Scott, Indiana, has grown. The culprit, a prescription opioid called Opana, is being used interveineously by residents. Both the lack of clean needles and the composition of the drug itself has contributed to a startling string of new HIV infections.


Summary: Indiana declared a public health emergency due to high numbers of new HIV infections in rural counties. The spread is believed to be from sharing needles by those abusing a prescription opioid medication. The CDC has established a clinic and provided assistance and education in hopes of stopping the spread.


Sacked: But Jeremy Clarkson will not face prosecution over the incident which got him sacked from Top Gear.

Jeremy Clarkson will not face prosecution over the attack on a Top Gear producer which led to him being sacked from the hit BBC show.

Police had opened an investigation into the incident, which took place at a hotel in Hawes, North Yorkshire last month after Clarkson had been filming Top Gear in the area.

However, after the victim Oisin Tymon said that he did not want to press charges, officers have now decided to drop the probe without taking action against Clarkson.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: ‘North Yorkshire Police has now completed its routine enquiries following the incident at Hawes involving Mr Jeremy Clarkson, and we will not be pursuing this matter any further.

‘North Yorkshire Police takes a thorough and victim-led approach to all investigations.

‘Last week, the person at the centre of the incident, Mr Tymon, said that he did not wish the police to take action on his behalf.

‘However, at that point we still needed to speak to some members of the public who were present at the time of the incident, who had been affected by the event, and whose views also needed to be considered.

‘Now that all the interviews are complete, we have properly established that there is no need for further police action.’

The incident, described as a 'fracas' by BBC officials, occurred when Clarkson discovered that the hotel where he was staying could not serve him a hot meal following a day's filming.

An official report found that the 54-year-old presenter punched Mr Tymon in the mouth before being dragged away by a witness, causing the producer to go to A&E for emergency treatment.

He also verbally abused him for 20 minutes, blaming Mr Tymon for failing to ensure that he could get a steak at the hotel.

Victim: Oisin Tymon told police he did not wish to press charges against Mr Clarkson.

Mr Clarkson was suspended as Top Gear presenter as soon as news of the fight came to light, and after the report was released the BBC announced that it would not renew his contract.

He has repeatedly apologised to Mr Tymon both in public and privately, and the producer told North Yorkshire Police he did not want to see Mr Clarkson prosecuted.

Despite his sacking, Mr Clarkson is set to take part in a series of Top Gear Live shows alongside co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May, although the performances will be rebranded.

The BBC has said that Top Gear is likely to continue in some form, but Mr Hammond and Mr May are not expected to return.

The star initially received widespread public support - including from his friend, Prime Minister David Cameron - in the aftermath of the incident, while one million people signed a petition calling for the BBC to reinstate him.

Trio: Mr Clarkson is still set to appear in Top Gear live shows alongside Richard Hammond and James May.

But director-general Tony Hall said 'a line has been crossed' and that 'there cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another'.

Lord Hall has faced death threats since he announced that Mr Clarkson would be sacked, and has had bodyguards assigned to protect him and his family.

It is not yet known what Mr Clarkson's next move will be - he has been linked with a move to another channel, while the decision to continue the live shows has prompted speculation that he could continue to work with Mr Hammond and Mr May.

It has also been suggested that Top Gear boss Andy Wilman, a childhood friend of Mr Clarkson, could be leaving the show, after an email to staff which was widely interpreted as a farewell to Top Gear was leaked last week.

Last week it emerged that Mr Hammond and Mr May were each selling off several classic motorbikes from their extensive collections.

The 12 cycles have a guide price estimate of £66,000, but the novelty value could push up the price far beyond that - though Mr May insisted the sale was not linked to Mr Clarkson's dismissal.

The co-presenter has mocked his own newfound unemployment since the incident, recently posting a video of cooking tips in which he instructs viewers how to make a shepherd's pie.

Summary: Top Gear host, Jeremy Clarkson will not face prosecution over attacking one of the producers of the show. Although Clarkson was sacked from the program, the victim, Mr. Tymon did not want to press charges. Tymon was punched and verbally abused by Clarkson after finding out that he couldn't get a steak after filming.


Summary: Jeremy Clarkson was fired by the BBC after an incident in North Yorkshire where he allegedly punched a producer for not ensuring he had a meal available after work. Although the police investigated, the victim declined to press charges and the investigation was dropped.


Sport funding in Scotland is facing a 20% reduction over a three-year period, a move described as "heartbreaking" by the national agency.

sportscotland says it has yet to decide where the cuts will fall amid concerns that elite athletes could suffer.

The cuts are being blamed on reduced government spending and a drop in National Lottery ticket sales - a major contributor to sports backing.

Governing bodies are bracing themselves for potential job losses.

About 60% of funding is made up from Scottish Government money, with lottery sales making up the rest.

In the year ending 2015, total revenue was £65.1m, which is divided up and awarded to 52 sports.

By the end of next year, that figure will have fallen to £51.8m - a cut to the Scottish sporting budget of 20% in just three years.

sportscotland chairman Mel Young said: "It's heartbreaking to me because I know the effort the sport governing bodies and the community that's around it; the volunteers and the mums and dads.

"And, to have to say that we're having to cut some money back is, I believe, not the right way to go."

Former badminton player Susan Egelstaff, a double bronze medallist at the Commonwealth Games [in 2002 and 2006] and an Olympian, fears the cuts will have "a huge impact".

"What that means in the future is that Scotland will be constantly playing catch-up," she said. "It's almost impossible to catch up if you fall too far behind the leading nations."

The Scottish Government said sport and physical activity play a "key role" in a healthy Scotland and that "significant" investment would continue in those areas.

"Having successfully delivered the Commonwealth Games [in 2014] we are now focusing on protecting or raising investment in areas intended to decrease health inequality and improve life chances, and the small reduction in the sport budget allows us to support those priorities," Minister for Sport Aileen Campbell said.

"There is on-going support for active lifestyles through capital investment in cycling and walking, and over the last 10 years we have invested £168m in sport infrastructure - from grassroots to the elite performance which has increased the facilities and opportunities to get people active and achieve on the world stage at both the Olympics and Commonwealth Games."

Summary: Funding for sports in Scotland is facing a 20% reduction over the next three years. The budget is divided between 52 different sports and lesser-played sports like badminton may face the most cuts. The Scottish government says physical activity plays a key role and funding will continue.


Summary: The country of Scotland is potentially facing a 20% reduction in sports funding over the next three years.  The expected cuts are being blamed on a reduction in government spending.  Bodies of government are preparing for an increase in possible job losses.


Summary: Funding is important in sports, as sports and physical activities play a key role in people's health. Scotland has been facing a 20% reduction in sports funding over 3 years. But certain measures are being put in place to restore the balance.


Summary: Scotland is reducing funding for sports by 20% over a three-year period. This decision was made to prioritize investments in other areas that intend to decrease health inequality and improve life chances. Critics of the budget cut say that this will put Scotland behind other countries in terms of sports achievements.


Another election is probably the last thing the public want to hear about after what we've just gone through but that's exactly what the parties at the assembly are gearing up for next year.

The Conservatives have been given a huge confidence boost and will feel in a position to challenge in more constituencies next year, rather than just on the list.

At the party's weekly press briefing, I asked the Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies, who was elected on the list, whether he'd stand as a constituency candidate in his home turf of the Vale of Glamorgan but he said he hadn't thought about it.

Presumably those are the kind of decisions they will now feel more confident contemplating.

The party will also have a huge amount of new data on voters which it'll be able to call upon and the belief that campaigning hard on the NHS helped the Tories cross the line in places like the Vale of Clwyd and Gower.

The Conservatives feel it's them, rather than any of the other opposition parties, who have become the repository of votes from those who are disaffected by the state of the NHS.

Welsh Labour are going to hold a "short sharp" analysis into what went wrong.

Carwyn Jones was in line with most of the criticism of Ed Miliband when he told AMs that the party needed to appeal to small business owners who are not millionaires but who work hard.

What will be more difficult is countering the argument on the NHS, which the former minister Alun Davies believes is already lost.

Another potential difficulty for Welsh Labour will be dealing with unhappiness within the party over council re-organisation.

Bernie Attridge, the deputy leader of Flintshire Council, has tweeted saying the party needs to be careful on local government reform if it wants to retain the support of grassroots councillors.

It also seems to have been the case that Labour lost more votes to UKIP than the Conservatives, which is another challenge to overcome.

But Labour will at least have the advantage that it will be David Cameron, and not Ed Miliband, carrying out the latest round of public sector cuts that are likely to take effect sooner rather than later.

The question is whether Carwyn Jones is going to be able to turn that to his advantage when his own record in government will be under scrutiny.

Plaid Cymru's education spokesman, Simon Thomas, also in the party's weekly press briefing, said he believed Leanne Wood could portray herself as an alternative first minister because of the way she emotionally connected with people in the campaign.

The party now has a year to make that a credible proposition after it failed to gain any new seats and came fourth, behind UKIP, in the overall share of the vote, despite her unprecedented profile.

He also said that on the campaign trail people wanted to know what Plaid was going to do about the NHS and that people "did not see the strengths" of its arguments.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are still licking their wounds but in a "je ne regrette rien" moment, the leader Kirsty Williams said she had no regrets over the coalition.

She has admitted the party failed to communicate what they were standing for. It will now hold a series of meetings across Wales as it tries to rally members for an election that it'll be able to fight unshackled of being in coalition government which was clearly a burden to many of them.

Summary: Although not what people are hoping for, the parties at the assembly are gearing up for an election next year. The Conservatives have been given a huge confidence boost. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are still licking their wounds, but Kirsty Williams says she has no regrets over the coalition.


Summary: The Welsh Liberal Democrats lost more seats to the rival UKIP party than the Conservative party did. Many have pointed out the poor condition of the NHS as a cause for the shift. The Liberal Democrats also failed to deliver a compelling message to voters.


Summary: The Conservatives were recently given a rather significant confidence boost as an announcement of another election would come next year.  The question remains if Carwyn Jones can overcome scrutiny over his current time in government.   Many also believe the Democrats are licking their wounds over their current coalition.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy has charged six guards accused of assaulting detainees in May at Camp Bucca in Iraq, naval officials said Thursday. U.S. guards patrol at Camp Bucca in Iraq in May. The Army Criminal Investigation Division investigated alleged incidents that left two detainees with minor bruises. The division also investigated an incident in which eight prisoners were confined overnight to a housing cell that had been sprayed with a riot control agent, the Navy said. The six guards will face courts-martial. Seven other cases have been resolved through nonjudicial punishment, according to a statement from the commander of U.S. Naval Forces-Central Command. The courts-martial are expected to start within 30 days at Camp Bucca, which is in southern Iraq near the Kuwaiti border. The guards accused in the case are assigned to Navy Provisional Detainee Battalion 4.

Summary: The US Navy has charged six guards with assaulting detainees. The guards will face courts-martial which are expected to start in 30 days at camp Bucca.