In their strongest statement yet on the issue, scientists say acidification could increase by 170% by 2100. The report's co-author said acidification had already caused a 30% loss of species in some ocean ecosystems. The researchers conclude that human emissions of CO2 are clearly to blame. The study will be presented at global climate talks in Poland next week. In 2012, over 500 of the world's leading experts on ocean acidification gathered in California. Led by the International Biosphere-Geosphere Programme, a review of the state of the science has now been published. This Summary for Policymakers states with "very high confidence" that increasing acidification is caused by human activities which are adding 24 million tonnes of CO2 to oceans every day. The addition of so much carbon has altered the chemistry of the waters. Since the start of the industrial revolution, the waters have become 26% more acidic. "This is the state of the art," said Prof Jean-Pierre Gattuso, from CNRS, the French national research agency. "My colleagues have not found in the geological record, rates of change that are faster than the ones we see today." What worries the scientists is the potential impact on many ocean species including corals. Studies carried out at deep sea vents, where the waters are naturally acidic thanks to CO2, show a 30% loss of biodiversity. These vents may be a "window on the future" according to the researchers. "You don't find a mollusc at the pH level expected for 2100, this is really quite a stunning fact," said Prof Gattuso. "It's an imperfect window, only the ocean's acidity is increasing at these sites, they don't reflect the warming we will see this century. "If you combine the two, it could be even more dramatic than what we see at CO2 vents." The effect of acidity is currently being felt most profoundly felt in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. These chilly waters hold more CO2 and increasing levels of the gas are turning them acidic more rapidly than the rest of the world. The more acidic they become, the more damaging they are to the shells and skeletons of marine organisms. The researchers say that by 2020, ten percent of the Arctic will be inhospitable to species that build their shells from calcium carbonate. By 2100 the entire Arctic will be a hostile environment. These effects are already visible says Prof Gattuso. "In the Southern Ocean, we already see corrosion of pteropods which are like sea snails, in the ocean we see corrosion of the shell. "They are a key component in the food chain, they are eaten by fish, birds and whales, so if one element is going then there is a cascading impact on the whole food chain." The authors warn that the economic impact of the losses from aquaculture could be huge - the global cost of the decline in molluscs could be $130bn by 2100 if emissions of CO2 continue on their current pathway. Adding alkaline substances such as crushed limestone to the waters has been mooted as a potential way

Summary: The world's oceans are becoming acidic at an "unprecedented rate" and may be souring more rapidly than at any time in the past 300 million years.


Parent company Mondelez says it plans to bring all Cadbury lines under its existing in-house fair trade scheme, Cocoa Life. As a result, it says it will offer five times more sustainable chocolate in the UK by 2019. But critics warn this could confuse consumers. They also fear that shared standards around ethical trade will be lost if more firms drop Fairtrade. So what prompted Mondelez's change of approach, and does it leave the future of the Fairtrade mark in doubt? Broadly, Fairtrade works as a voluntary certification system which holds adherents to strict standards - in particular paying a minimum price for raw materials such as cocoa, sugar and coffee. But Glenn Caton, northern Europe president at Mondelez, tells the BBC that while his firm and Fairtrade have the same goals, "sustainability is about much more to us than price". "The next generation of farmers aren't taking on cocoa farming like they used to because it is so unprofitable, so we have to make sure their communities thrive and this means investing more in their communities," he says. As such, Mondelez wants to lead its own sustainability efforts - investing more in areas such as its supply chain, bonuses for farmers, training and climate change prevention. The Fairtrade Foundation has welcomed the move, too, which it says will leave farmers in developing countries like Ghana at least as well off, if not better-off. "The relationship is not ending, it's changing," says policy and public affairs director Barbara Crowther, pointing out that the Fairtrade Foundation will remain a partner to Cocoa Life - independently assessing its progress and reporting its findings. The big question now is whether other firms will also choose to abandon Fairtrade certification and adopt their own systems of self-regulation. Certainly criticism of the Fairtrade system is mounting in the cocoa industry, says Dr Steve Davies of the Institute of Economic Affairs. The big issue is that most cocoa producers are small farmers who can't achieve the economies of scale of bigger farms, and that leaves many vulnerable to risks like drought and struggling to survive. "Fairtrade does bring benefits to some producers, but it will not be a way of transforming the world trade system as some people seem to see it," he says. "The only way to improve conditions for people working at bottom of the supply chain - those farming raw materials like cocoa - is by investing in the supply chain. Price floors might help but will only go so far." Another issue, says Tobias Webb, of supply chain consultancy the Innovation Forum, is that firms can find the web of overlapping ethical trade certifications out there complex to manage. These include not just Fairtrade's, but the Rainforest Alliance - which is dedicated to the conservation of tropical forests - and UTZ, the world's most prevalent label for sustainable farming. "Producers can end up putting four or five labels on their products, and achieving each one requires a costly and time consuming audit. "So many businesses like Mondelez are now moving towards in-house systems where

Summary: News that the UK's best known chocolate brand, Cadbury, is abandoning its Fairtrade certification has caused some concern in the food industry.


Customers who pay via direct debit often receive bills based on estimated meter readings. When an actual reading is taken, the company "back-bills" the customer for any shortfall between payments and the energy used. Citizens Advice says that the bills hit thousands of pounds in some cases. Its research last year showed that as many as 2.1 million consumers a year receive some sort of catch up bill, at an average of Â£206. In 2007, energy suppliers signed a voluntary commitment promising not to back-bill domestic customers for energy used more than 12 months previously, if the supplier was at fault. The expansion of the market has led to concerns that some are not keeping to this agreement, and regulator Ofgem wants to write it into the rules by the winter. "We expect suppliers to put their customers first, which is why we are proposing a new enforceable rule to provide this protection," said Rachel Fletcher, senior partner at Ofgem. Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "Shock gas and electricity bills can throw people's finances into disarray. "We helped one person who received a bill for over Â£3,000 after their energy company stopped taking their direct debit payment but didn't tell the customer. The firm refused to apply the 12 month back-bill limit, leaving the customer to pay the full bill. "We've long been calling on the regulator to introduce a mandatory time limit for back bills instead of relying on voluntary action, which suppliers have refused to apply in some cases." The regulator is planning to reduce the back bill time limit when more accurate smart meters become the norm in homes. Citizens Advice is calling for this deadline to be reduced to three months.

Summary: Energy firms will be banned from charging catch-up bills for gas and electricity used more than 12 months earlier, under the regulator's plans.


The Wales Air Ambulance and three road ambulances attended the crash at Pandy on the main road between Abergavenny and Hereford at about 15:10 BST. The A465 Hereford Road has been shut in both directions but it was expected to reopen on Thursday evening.

Summary: Two people have been airlifted to hospital after a four-vehicle crash on the A465 in Monmouthshire.


The fashion designer had told Yahoo that casting directors dressed Hadid in a poncho for a fashion show because she was not as thin as the other models. But he has now clarified his comments and said the story was misleading. Hilfiger said: "The suggestion that I thought [Hadid] wasn't thin enough upsets me to no end. Gigi is the epitome of perfection." In the Yahoo interview, Hilfiger referred to a 2015 fashion show in which Hadid wore a poncho which covered most of her body. Hilfiger said he wanted Hadid to be dressed in something which better showed off her figure, but members of his creative team disagreed. "Our casting director said, 'She doesn't really fit because you know she's not quite as tall as the other girls, she's not quite as thin,'" Hilfiger originally said. "So they put a red, white, and blue poncho on her. It covered a lot of her body unfortunately, but it received millions of hits." Hadid's appearance in the poncho proved hugely popular, and she later went on to collaborate with Hilfiger, launching her own line of clothing for the brand earlier this year. After Hilfiger's comments sparked criticism, the designer criticised the original story's headline as "misleading". Speaking to Page Six, Hilfiger said: "The casting people put Gigi in the poncho, and I was not happy. "I was saying, 'Don't hide her body.' Even though the poncho ended up being the best-selling piece, I was very unhappy." The designer also released a statement to Entertainment Tonight, in which he said he was "extremely proud" to have Hadid representing his brand. "Gigi is truly the definition of a 'Tommy Girl' - her magnetic personality is bright, confident and always optimistic," he said. "I've known her for many years, and am extremely proud to have her as the ambassador of my brand and as a collaborator of our collections. "Any statement to the contrary is completely false. The headline from the interview with Yahoo was misleading and has since been corrected." Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Summary: Tommy Hilfiger has said suggestions he thought Gigi Hadid was not thin enough to model are "completely false".


The 58-year-old, who will leave his England post, has managed Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, Crawley Town, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City. Reds academy coach Pep Lijnders joins the first-team staff, with talks continuing over a third new coach. Manager Brendan Rodgers needed replacements after the sackings of Colin Pascoe and Mike Marsh. He said: "I have made these appointments because I want to take us in a new technical direction, in terms of coaching. "I believe the entire first-team set-up will benefit and I am extremely positive and excited about what we can achieve, as a group, going forward. "My admiration for Sean, as a professional, is well documented. He is someone with a clear vision and philosophy and has proved he has the ability to transfer that knowledge, through his coaching, to the players." O'Driscoll, who had only been England Under-19s head coach since September, added: "I am excited to be joining one of the world's most iconic football clubs. "The hallmark of any successful club is its culture and that comes from the people who work there, from the chief executive and first-team manager to those people behind the scenes whose faces may not be known but who are the lifeblood of the club." The majority of Liverpool's players have reported back for pre-season training to be greeted by the revamped management team - put in place after an end-of-season review between Rodgers and owners Fenway Sports Group following a disappointing season in which Liverpool faded to finish sixth. Rodgers became the first Reds boss since the 1950s to fail to win a trophy in his first three seasons and, after a 6-1 thrashing at Stoke on the last day of the season, accepted his position was under threat. Liverpool are also expected to appoint another new face to the coaching set-up before the start of the season as Lijnders is likely to be involved in elite player development and will continue to oversee some top academy players rather than acting as a direct replacement for Marsh.

Summary: Liverpool have named England Under-19s boss Sean O'Driscoll as their new assistant manager.


Pars goalkeeper Sean Murdoch denied Jamie Adams in a first half of few chances before two quick fire goals put the visitors in control. El Bakhtaoui raced on to a Ryan Wallace ball to score his first, before scoring a stunning 30-yard volley from Michael Paton's cross. Craig Moore fired a late chance over for Ayr United, who remain third.

Summary: Faissal El Bakhtaoui netted a second-half double as League One leaders Dunfermline claimed victory at Ayr.


Here are the best bits we heard backstage at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In La La Land, Emma Stone plays aspiring actress Mia Dolan. So does the best actress winner think Mia could ever win a Bafta or Oscar? After a dramatic pause, she delivered her verdict. "Hopefully!" "It's been like a whirlwind," said Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, winner of the Rising Star Award. "I'm so happy everything seems to be working out." The 20-year-old Brit isn't wrong there. Having made his screen debut in tsunami disaster movie The Impossible, he first appeared as Spidey in Captain America: Civil War and recently finished filming for Spider-Man: Homecoming. But Tom admitted the super hero role has its drawbacks. "Ever since I was a kid I've wanted to be Spider-Man. It's been so fun, but my legs are in bits right now from spider poses after spider poses. "So I'll be sitting down for the rest of the evening!" It was perhaps inevitable that Meryl Streep's speech at the Golden Globes would come up at the Baftas. Asked about Donald Trump's response, supporting actress winner Viola Davis didn't hold back. "Anyone who labels Meryl Streep an 'overrated' actress obviously doesn't know anything about acting," she said. "That's not just directed towards Donald Trump - that's directed towards anyone." She didn't stop there. "This is someone who is the master at her skill and she has lasted for 40 years in a very difficult profession," Viola continued. "One of the things people have to know about this woman is that she is the most honourable, accessible human being you could possibly want to meet." Best actor winner Casey Affleck said he'd grabbed a word with Meryl Streep after the Baftas ceremony. "She was taking pictures of people... and I told her how much her speech at the Golden Globes meant to all of us and how grateful I was that she did it and kicked in the door a little bit," he said. The Manchester by the Sea star said he hoped more actors would speak out. "There is a big audience for these awards shows... and I have to say I'm very proud to be a part of the arts community. "I don't always say some of the things I would like to say in those opportunities because there are people like Meryl Streep who say them much better than I can - and if they are going to be said it should be said very, very well because they are important." "I'm a little bit wobbly," confessed Dev Patel a few minutes after winning the supporting actor prize for Lion. "I really did not expect it, we have gone to so many awards ceremony and this one is where everything changed, on home turf with my family." Dev recalled how he had made his acting debut a decade ago on E4's teen drama Skins. "I remember the first time I ever stepped on a film set, I never knew what a boom mic was," he laughed. "My mum took me to

Summary: The Bafta awards had laughter, passion and plenty of politics.


The government introduced fees in 2013 to reduce the number of malicious and weak cases, but that led to a 79% reduction over three years. Trade union Unison argued that the fees prevented workers getting access to justice. The Supreme Court also found fees were indirectly discriminatory to women. It ruled tht the government was acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally when it introduced the fees. Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: "This is absolutely a tremendous victory, it's probably the biggest victory of employment rights in this country." Fees ranged between £390 and £1,200 to get a case heard at a hearing. Discrimination cases cost more for claimants because of the complexity and time hearings took. The Supreme Court found this was indirectly discriminatory because a higher proportion of women would bring discrimination cases.

Summary: Fees for those bringing employment tribunal claims have been ruled unlawful, and the government will now have to repay up to £32m to claimants.


The teenager was detained at Riverside Retail Park in Coleraine earlier on Thursday. The arrest was made by detectives from the PSNI's Reactive and Organised Crime Branch, who took him to Coleraine police station for questioning. A PSNI spokesman said no further details about the case were being made available at present.

Summary: A 14-year-old boy has been arrested in County Londonderry "in connection with serious crime," police have said.


Media playback is not supported on this device Then 27, he was resigned to hanging up his spikes. The injuries were too frequent, the fractions of seconds he sought too elusive. He had had enough of fighting on two fronts. He decided to concentrate solely on a bobsleigh career in which he had already represented Great Britain at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. Less potential glory perhaps, but more financial security. "My heart had taken enough beating, enough disappointment," he told BBC Sport. "I would have left the sport if it wasn't for my beautiful wife and coach. They had more belief in me than I had." It proved well founded. Two weeks after they persuaded him to give athletics one last fling, Fearon dropped a performance as jaw-dropping as anything seen a few weeks later at Rio 2016. With Team GB's Olympians holed up at a training camp in Belo Horizonte, Fearon tore to victory in the 100m in the English Championships, clocking 9.96 seconds. It was faster than any other Briton ran in 2017, and a time bettered by only Linford Christie and James Dasaolu in the history of British sprinting. It may be the shortest distance on the ticket, but Fearon had taken the long route. In the immediate aftermath of finishing fifth in the four-man bobsleigh at Sochi 2014, Fearon forewent the winter sport funding to pursue his sprinting dreams. He ended up working as a delivery driver as the lack of pennies pinched on his young family. "I've always got my jobs as a husband and a father," he added. "The night before Bedford, I forgot to wash the dishes and my wife woke me up at midnight and told me to go and do the washing-up. "I felt all right, but sub-10? I didn't think that was possible for a guy like me. "It was only a couple of days later in church that I broke down and understood what it meant in my life. "I have always been in the background trying to be acknowledged as a sprinter and in that moment I was. "It was a real breakthrough. I felt like I was a somebody." But there was to be no late ticket to Brazil. His time - superior to any run by Britain's 100m representatives CJ Ujah, James Ellington and Dasaolu - fell outside the qualification period. Instead it was back to bobsleigh. While his rivals were laying down early-season markers on the track, Fearon was on the ice. Racing alongside Bruce Tasker, he finished ninth in the two-man at the World Championships in Germany in February. Playing catch-up, his best time from four 100m outings this season is a wind-assisted 10.23. But he still believes he can secure the top-two finish he needs to be on the start line at August's World Championship. "I am very focused on the Worlds," he said. "I have had to really believe in myself, push down boundaries and somehow I have ended up here. "I'm going to relish every opportunity to wear my country's

Summary: For a few days last year, Joel Fearon was an ex-athlete.


Sally Chidzoy said she was targeted after raising concerns when an MP appeared to convince a senior colleague to drop one of her stories. She further alleges she was "falsely imprisoned" by management during an attempt to seize her phone. Ms Chidzoy also claims she was sexually discriminated against and victimised. The tribunal in Cambridge was told Ms Chidzoy, who works as BBC Look East's home affairs correspondent, had been investigating East of England Ambulance Service boss Anthony Marsh's salary package. She said the story was dropped after assistant editor Steve Silk received a late-night email from then-Liberal Democrat health minister Norman Lamb in July 2014. Sent from a private account, it noted Mr Lamb's "real concern about the potential damage" the story could have on the service. Giving evidence, Ms Chidzoy said she had discovered a "very close" relationship between Mr Lamb and Dr Marsh and she felt the MP was "attempting, in my view, to stop a broadcast". "He should not be doing this and leaning on the BBC and its duty to be impartial and independent. "[It was] a direct attempt to interfere with an ongoing piece that had not yet been broadcast." Representing the BBC, Sophie Belgrave disputed the suggestion Mr Silk had been influenced by the email, saying he would have done it in a "clandestine" way had this been the case. She said: "If he was going to give in to political interference from Norman Lamb on the sly, they would just do it." Disciplinary proceedings were launched against Ms Chidzoy after she raised the issue of the MP's interference and after an email from Mr Lamb to Mr Silk was leaked to a Sunday newspaper. Bosses subsequently attempted to seize her phone and "falsely imprisoned" her at a meeting in September 2014, the tribunal was told. Ms Chidzoy said she investigated another story about the Centre for Business and Public Sector Ethics, which was receiving money from the Chinese government. She was informed BBC Look East editor Nikki O'Donnell was the "organisation's press spokesperson", the tribunal was told. Ms Chidzoy said: "The problems I encountered involved what I believe is internal corruption and poor management." She also alleges she was subjected to a covert investigation by ex-Met police officers at the BBC investigation unit while the proceedings were ongoing. The tribunal continues.

Summary: A BBC TV reporter was the victim of a "witch-hunt" after blowing the whistle on political interference, a tribunal has heard.


Australian businessman David Prior said he hoped to double production at Bladnoch Distillery, near Wigtown. The single malt will be relaunched and he also has plans to introduce a new blend called Pure Scot. Mr Prior said it would be aimed at a new generation of whisky drinkers in his homeland and hoped it would have a considerable local economic impact. "I think there's some great things happening in other parts of the world with whisky - but it has got a long way to go to catch up with Scotch," he said. "So I wanted to invest in that, I wanted to be part of that. "I didn't want to try doing it back home or some other market, I wanted to do it here." He said it was "very exciting" to have Bladnoch in his "stable of businesses". "I suppose our vision is to see this as a very, very vibrant and big, functioning distillery creating a lot of employment for this region and to be the cornerstone of this community," he said. "That is what we are working towards." Get live news updates from the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway throughout the day on our South of Scotland live page service.

Summary: The new owner of Scotland's most southerly distillery has revealed ambitious plans for its future.


Immigration, healthcare and outreach to Latino voters dominated the debate, which disintegrated into long periods of shouting and personal insults. Mr Trump has won three of the first four contests held so far. Next week's vote in 11 states is held on what is known as Super Tuesday. The three men are seeking to be named as the Republican candidate in November's presidential election. At long last the Republican candidates have come to the realisation that Donald Trump can actually win this race, but it may be too late. For more than two hours, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz took turns throwing punches at the New Yorker. They attacked him on his business record; they mentioned hypocrisy; they questioned his conservative credentials; and they criticised the lack of detail in his policies and his reliance on bluster. "We're having a lot of fun up here, aren't we?" the front-runner quipped at one point. But the truth is that Mr Trump was on his heels for much of the evening. The challenge for the men who would unseat the leader, however, is that the best time to bludgeon a candidate is before it is clear circumstances are forcing you to act. In a campaign where authenticity is worshipped above all, Thursday's fireworks could smack of the kind of political expediency many associate with traditional politicians. Both Mr Cruz and Mr Rubio drew blood with their attacks but Mr Trump will be likely to emerge unbowed. How Cruz and Rubio double-teamed Trump What makes Super Tuesday super? - The long day of voting explained The Republicans who hate Trump - Lifelong members of the party speak out Mr Rubio, who has come second in several recent contests, mounted a series of attacks on Mr Trump. "If he hadn't inherited $200m, you know where Donald Trump would be?" Mr Rubio said in one tense exchange. "Selling watches in Manhattan." Mr Rubio also criticised Mr Trump's failed online education venture, Trump University, and assailed him for hiring foreign workers rather than Americans in his construction projects. Mr Trump shot back: "I hired tens of thousands of people. You've hired nobody." The billionaire real estate mogul found himself increasingly on the defensive about his business dealings and his conservative credentials. In other exchanges The fruit salad of their life is what I will look at. Trump on Rubio: "This guy's a choke artist [not able to deliver on stage]." Rubio to Trump: "You're a lousy businessman." "If he hadn't inherited $200m, you know where Donald Trump would be right now, selling watches in Manhattan." Trump to Cruz: "This guy is a liar." Cruz response: "Falsely accusing someone of lying is itself a lie, and it's something Donald does daily." Trump to Cruz: "You get along with nobody. You don't have one Republican senator backing you. Not oneâ€¦You should be ashamed of yourself." "I know you're embarrassed." Rubio to Trump: "You're the only person on this stage that's ever been fined for hiring people to work on your projects illegally." Trump response: "I'm the only one on

Summary: Republican presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have unleashed a barrage of attacks on front-runner Donald Trump in the last debate before next Tuesday's pivotal US primaries.


The 31-year-old had publicly revealed she was expecting her third child during a concert in May. A statement on her Twitter account on Monday said: "Charlotte and Jonny are very sad to announce that they lost their baby. Now is a time for grieving and being together as a family. "We kindly ask everyone to respect that peace." The Cardiff-born star and her partner, musician Jonny Powell, have been together for seven years. She is already a mother to nine-year-old Ruby and Dexter, eight, from her previous relationship with Gavin Henson.

Summary: Singer Charlotte Church has lost her unborn baby, she has announced.


All glass and concrete beside a fast-flowing stream, the Longford Town Centre was to be a cathedral of commerce - now it stands as a monument to the end of the Celtic Tiger and the Republic of Ireland's economic crash and burn. But local traders believe the bad times are slowly changing. Matt O'Brien runs a family-owned men's clothing shop in the town centre. Recent years have been bad - 30% down on the boom - with a member of staff having to be laid off. But he can now see a turnaround. "Over the last year we've noticed that business has increased, although it was coming from a low base, but we have improved," he says. "We've done extra things to try to improve things. We've got into childrenswear and we do a very substantial dress-hire business. We've branched out into other areas, which have helped us." Fianna FÃ¡il, the main opposition party, is highly critical of how the Fine Gael-Labour coalition is dealing with the midlands, arguing that the half-a-billion euro investment in water meters that won't be operational for several years should instead be spent on broadband improvement. Its local TD Robert Troy accuses the government of negligence and says a targeted approach is needed for the area. "The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) haven't brought one potential client to Longford in over four years," he says. "And if the IDA, which is charged with bringing foreign direct investment to the regions, isn't marketing Longford, isn't showing Longford to potential clients, how then can we expect foreign direct investment to come to Longford?" But the government says it is doing its bit for County Longford, with the recent announcement that holiday company Center Parcs hopes to employ about 1,000 people at its planned tourism development in Ballymahon in the county when it opens in 2019. However, the proposed 200m euro (Â£146m) centre in 340 acres of wooded area still has to get planning permission. Nevertheless, James Bannon, the local Fine Gael TD, is confident the venture will be a success. He says: "The midlands has some of the finest scenery and watersports that you could avail of anywhere in the world. "You have the Shannon, just three miles from here you have the River Inny, you have the Royal Canal, you have huge infrastructure here and we're always open for new tourists to come in to this area." The Center Parcs announcement will not harm the government's chances in next year's expected general election, but traders like Matt O'Brien believe more could be done to boost local business. "At the moment a lot of people are unhappy at paying for parking on the street," he says. "Some of our neighbouring towns don't have parking charges. There are issues with the council and if we had free parking it would help bring more people into the town." So, the message coming from the midlands is that while it, too, is starting to see the beginnings of an economic recovery more still needs to be done.

Summary: At one end of the main thoroughfare in the centre of Longford town is the shopping centre that never opened.


Many women have questioned the safety of the implants, which are used to treat incontinence, after suffering debilitating side effects. Two patients sitting on the original review group quit in protest at what they said was a watered-down report. Now independent expert Alison Britton, a professor of healthcare and medical law, will examine the final report. Ms Robison told Holyrood's public petitions committee that Prof Britton, from Glasgow Caledonian University, would examine the process by which the report came to its conclusions. She told MSPs: "Professor Britton will produce a report on how the independent review process was undertaken and importantly what lessons can be learned in the future." The report concluded procedures should not be offered routinely to women with pelvic organ prolapse. It recommended patients be offered a range of treatments and given the information to make "informed choices". The report also said reporting of adverse events should be mandatory. Ms Robison confirmed the recommendations would continue to be implemented despite calls from campaigners for an all-out ban. The health secretary said the government did not have the power to ban the procedures as that lay with UK regulatory body the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. In other evidence, the chairwoman of the independent review Tracey Gillies apologised for failing to unite all panel members around the review's controversial final report. Ms Gillies took over as chairwoman of the independent review of transvaginal mesh implants in its final stages towards the end of last year. It emerged she had no conversations with previous chairwoman Lesley Wilkie, who resigned for personal reasons. Her evidence was punctuated by cries of "shame on you" and "rubbish" from a packed public gallery which included some women who had suffered painful and debilitating complications as a result of the procedure. Ms Gillies said her task had been "almost mission impossible from the beginning". She said: "It was clear that there were strongly-held views of difference at the point that I came in, so one could say more fool me for agreeing to chair this. "This is not something that most people would have ... welcomed would be the wrong word, but it's clearly going to be a very difficult thing and I personally have reflected and feel disappointed that I have not achieved what I would have set out to do, which would have been to bring this in in consensus. Olive McIlroy and Elaine Holmes - who had both suffered complications as a result of the surgery - quit the review group earlier this year, saying they felt "dismayed and disgusted" at the publication of the independent report. It was claimed that parts of the final report had been removed. Following their resignations, it emerged that a consultant also quit the expert group over concerns about the final draft of the report. Over the past 20 years, more than 20,000 women in Scotland have had mesh or tape implants but some have suffered painful and debilitating complications. There are more than 400 women currently taking legal action against Scottish health boards and manufacturers

Summary: Health Secretary Shona Robison has asked an expert to examine a review into the safety of mesh implants.


Doctors realised Maia Collingswood needed the transplant after her father Dan revealed he also had the procedure in 1997. Maia, from Barmouth, Gwynedd, had the transplant at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital in August after a three-month wait for a new heart. She has now been welcomed back to her school, Ysgol y Traeth. Maia, a year five pupil, fell ill at Easter while visiting her grandparents in Telford, Shropshire. "Maia was out of breath and could not move," explained her mother, Hannah Carter. "She was taken to the local hospital and then transferred to the Birmingham Children's Hospital where a heart problem was diagnosed." But Maia's father said when he questioned doctors and revealed he had undergone a heart transplant, the medical team realised her condition was serious. She was transferred to the London Children's Hospital, where surgeons confirmed she also needed a heart transplant. Her condition continued to deteriorate over the next three months, until she finally received the donor heart she needed on 15 August. It was three months of desperate worry for her parents, who are are separated, but remain friends. The local community rallied around to ensure they could spend as much time as possible with their daughter in London. "Dan's family, my family, the school, friends and indeed the whole community here in Barmouth and in Telford have been magnificent and supported us throughout the summer after Maia was taken ill," said Mrs Carter, who works for the Gwynedd home care team. Mr Collingswood, who works at a private care establishment near Dolgellau, added: "I am with the local lifeboat here in Barmouth and the RNLI helped us out financially when we had to visit Maia in hospital in London. "The community has been great, there were collection tins everywhere for Maia and it helped us out. We could not have managed without the support of the community." On Tuesday, Maia was greeted by pupils and the head teacher as she returned to class, seven weeks ahead of schedule. "Maia would have liked to have gone back to school last week but we had to travel to Great Ormond Street for check-ups," said her mother. "She asked if she could go back to school after returning home from London and the expert medical team said that it was OK. Maia was delighted." The long wait for the transplant meant Hannah's mother had to give up her flat in Barmouth to be with her daughter, but she has now moved into a new home with Maia after being rehoused by housing organisation Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd. Mrs Carter added: "I started back to work this week, Maia has started school, we have a new flat, it is all coming together. "It has been a long and traumatic summer and without the support of family, friends and the community and the medical team, I don't know how I got through it." Maia herself said she was delighted to be back in the classroom, and revealed how she had coped with her long stay in hospital. "I used to talk

Summary: A nine-year-old girl has undergone a heart transplant, 14 years after her father had the same operation.


After both sides missed chances in a goalless first half, Natasha Harding headed Wales in front five minutes after the break in Haverfordwest. Substitute Ward then scored twice in two minutes before sliding in for her third in the closing stages. Victory sees Wales leapfrog Kazakhstan and Israel into third place in Group 8. Wales had lost 3-0 away to Austria in their opening fixture before a 4-0 defeat by Norway in October. The match started in inauspicious fashion as organisers failed to play Kazakhstan's national anthem. Media playback is not supported on this device Jayne Ludlow's side started brightly and Nia Jones thought she had headed them in front after nine minutes, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. The defender, playing as a striker on this occasion, had a glorious opportunity to score four minutes later but shot wide when clean through in the penalty area. Kazakhstan had a similarly gilt-edged chance when Wales goalkeeper Alice Evans wandered out of position and Saule Karibayeva's shot was headed off the line by Harding. The Manchester City forward, switched to left-back for this game, gave Wales the lead five minutes into the second half as she headed in from Sophie Ingle's flick-on. Wales then took control, as Jess Fishlock set up Ward to fire in after an hour to double the hosts' lead. The same pair combined a minute later, as Fishlock's through-ball allowed Ward to slot in her second and Wales' third. Ludlow's side added a final gloss to the scoreline as Ward slid in from Rachel Rowe's pass to complete her hat-trick.

Summary: Helen Ward's hat-trick helped Wales women thrash Kazakhstan 4-0 to claim a first win of their Euro 2017 qualifying campaign at the Bridge Meadow Stadium.


After seeing the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield performing with his guitar or Scott Kelly of Nasa doing airborne somersaults, many might wonder if the ISS has a serious point. The reality is that everyone sent up there faces a very busy timetable which involves managing a range of experiments that make use of the state of weightlessness. The space station is a giant laboratory and every inhabitant is expected to get involved in the research. Just by being in space, Tim himself will serve as a lab rat, allowing his body to be monitored in great detail - with 23 different sets of measurements in all. By the end of his mission, he will be all too familiar with the regular processes of gathering samples of his blood and urine. Space research is not for the squeamish. But if there is ever to be a long trek through space to Mars or even beyond, medical knowledge of how humans cope will be essential. So some of the research is aimed specifically at gaining new insights that will benefit future generations of spacefarers while other experiments are designed to have a relevance to life here on Earth. One European Space Agency project is investigating the properties of metals in a level of detail that cannot be matched down on the ground because of the influence of gravity. Prof Mike Cruise of the University of Birmingham, who chairs ESA's human spaceflight science advisory committee, told me that the work "sounds really obscure but could have quite an effect on all our lives". Until now, any analysis of how metals behave is almost guaranteed to be undermined because gravity will force the sample to touch the walls of whatever container is being used and that means it will collect impurities. So the Electromagnetic Levitator experiment - in the European Columbus module - has a clever technique for allowing blobs of metal to be heated and then cooled while being suspended in the air. While this happens, measurements are made of the characteristics of the metal, all without the complicating effects of gravity risking the integrity of the research. Prof Cruise said: "If you look around your car, it probably has 20 or even 40 items made by casting molten metal into a mold - a process that requires huge knowledge of the properties, of how sticky or viscous the metal might be. "If we got better measurements, our casting could become far more efficient with fewer parts with holes in them - this seemingly innocuous experiment that could have a pretty huge industrial impacts." So the aim is to generate a far better understanding of key materials, and scientists from the Universities of Greenwich and Leeds are among those making use of the results. Another project, called Fluid Shifts and managed by Nasa, is exploring the question of pressure within the brain. Astronauts have often reported problems with their vision and the assumption is that this is the result of fluids shifting within the body and particularly moving towards the head. Researchers at University Hospital

Summary: After all the drama of the launch, what will Tim Peake actually do during his six long months on the International Space Station?


At least two missiles were fired at a house in North Waziristan tribal region early on Wednesday, the deadliest drone attack in Pakistan this year. It is the third such attack since new PM Nawaz Sharif won elections in May. He has demanded an end to such attacks. A government statement said the strike violated Pakistan's sovereignty. "Pakistan has repeatedly emphasised the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes," a foreign ministry spokesman said. "They are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications." In a separate development, at least six security personnel are reported to have been killed and at least six more injured in an early morning attack by militants at a checkpoint near Peshawar. At least two more are reported to be missing, possibly kidnapped by the attackers. Reports citing local officials said most of those killed in the drone strike were thought to be from the militant Haqqani group. Officials say four missiles were fired by a US drone, targeting two houses and two vehicles, near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. A number of other people were also injured. The Haqqani network has been described by US military commanders as one of the most resilient militant groups operating in Afghanistan. The troubled border region is a known stronghold for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. Seven people were killed in a similar strike on 8 June, also in North Waziristan, just three days after the new prime minister was sworn in. After that incident the Pakistani government summoned a senior US diplomat in protest, condemning what it called a "violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity". At least two key leaders of the Pakistani Taliban have been killed in earlier US drone strikes this year. Mullah Nazir was killed in January and Waliur Rehman was killed in May, shortly after Mr Sharif swept to election victory. The BBC's Richard Galpin in Islamabad says that the latest air strike by US forces will further heighten tensions between Washington and the new Pakistani government. Mr Sharif has called for a joint strategy to stop US drone strikes. The issue is hugely controversial in Pakistan, where parts of the government and military have often been accused of criticising the use of drones in public, but co-operating in private. Drone strikes are a source of severe tension between the US and Pakistan. It is estimated that between 2004 and 2013, CIA drone attacks in Pakistan killed up to 3,460 people. About 890 of them were civilians and the vast majority of strikes were carried out by the Obama administration, research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism said. Earlier this year, Mr Obama called the strikes part of a legitimate campaign against terrorism, but he also pledged more programme transparency and stricter targeting rules.

Summary: At least 17 people have been killed in a suspected US drone strike on a compound in north-west Pakistan, Pakistani officials say.


Government limits to teachers' pay and "real terms cuts" to school budgets risk undermining standards, they warn. "Teachers need a pay rise," they urge, in a joint statement to the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB), which sets their pay. The government said it was attracting "the best and brightest" to teaching. Teachers' pay increases have been limited to 1% or less for the past five years, and the government aims to keep to this limit for the next four years. With long, hard working hours and a relatively low starting salary for a graduate, it is hardly surprising that teacher recruitment is struggling. Qualified teachers in England can expect to start on Â£22,000 outside London or Â£27,000 in inner London. In most cases, this is after post-graduate training, a year's school placement and a degree course. And although there is room for growth and progression - based on performance of course - many newly-qualified teachers find the pressures of the job too much and leave soon after taking their first post. Teachers in England have some of the longest hours and largest classes in the developed world, says the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Teaching unions have complained that although their staff were promised a 1% pay rise, this has had to be found from within existing school budgets. Head teachers say school budgets are already at breaking point as they struggle to deal with other inflationary pressures. But the DfE maintains new trainees can benefit from financial support, a good salary, enviable job security and a generous pension. In October, England's education secretary, Nicky Morgan, wrote to the STRB to remind them of this policy. But the joint statement warns that "as pay and prospects improve in comparable occupations", further pressure will be placed on teacher recruitment and retention. This means more children will be taught by teachers who are not specialist in the subjects they teach, it adds. With budgets "at breaking point", schools will struggle to maintain current spending - "let alone afford pay increases", it continues. "The government must fully fund the necessary pay increases for teachers and school leaders in both England and Wales." The six unions are: Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, described four more years of pay austerity as a "false economy". Kevin Courtney, deputy general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said teachers "are already leaving in droves and new graduates looking elsewhere for a career". Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, claimed 160,000 more teachers would be needed over three years to cope with a rapid increase in pupil numbers. But she warned unless the picture improved the government would have little chance of meeting this target. "Schools will have to start increasing class sizes or shutting courses and cutting the subject options available to pupils". And Elaine Edwards, UCAC's general secretary urged the government to reconsider its pay policies "for the sake of our children and young people and the education system as a whole". The STRB is

Summary: A "national crisis" in teacher numbers is looming, six unions representing teachers and school leaders in England and Wales have warned.


Strachan would not be drawn on his future following last week's 3-0 defeat by England. The Scots are second bottom of their World Cup qualifying group on four points after four games. "I'd be amazed if he doesn't," said Motherwell boss McGhee when asked about Strachan continuing in the role. "I think in terms of the performance he got the best out of the players, so I think he's entitled to move on to the next games and see if we can improve on the results." Scotland next play Slovenia at home in March before the return meeting with England at Hampden in June. Double-headers against Lithuania and Malta and then Slovakia and Slovenia later in 2017 complete the qualifying campaign. Group winners progress to the 2018 finals in Russia while the eight best runners-up from the nine European sections will play-off for four further qualification spots. Group F started positively for Scotland with a 5-1 win away to Malta but only a late goal prevented defeat at home by Lithuania and Slovakia then humbled the Scots 3-0 in Bratislava before a repeat scoreline at Wembley. "Everyone has their opinions and they're entitled to those opinions," said McGhee. "Whatever anyone else says, we'll just keep doing what we're doing until someone takes the keys off of us. "If people look at it objectively and properly and see that players are doing their best but we fall short because we're either not good enough or have a bit of bad luck then I think we're entitled to say, 'okay let's keep going because we're still getting the best out of the players that we can get'."

Summary: Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee insists he would be surprised if Gordon Strachan did not carry on as national coach.


There have been calls for Carroll, 27, to make an international return after his recent hat-trick against Arsenal. But Hodgson said: "Every time someone scores a goal and he's English it is 'why is he not playing for England?' "I'm certainly not going to pick him on the basis that he scored a hat-trick so therefore has to be in the England team." Ex-Newcastle and Liverpool forward Carroll has scored two goals in nine England appearances, but has not featured for the national side since October 2012. Tottenham's Harry Kane, the Premier League's top-scorer with 22 goals this season, and Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, who has netted 21 times, have established themselves in the England set-up and both played in last month's friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands. Arsenal forwards Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott and Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge were also in those squads, while captain Wayne Rooney has now returned to the Manchester United side following injury. Media playback is not supported on this device Carroll has scored seven league goals this season and Hodgson will name his 23-man squad for this summer's tournament in France on 12 May. "We know Andy, we know his qualities," added the 68-year-old. "In an ideal world, if you had a lot of places at your disposal, you'd always include a guy like him because he is exceptional in the air - but whether or not I'd be able to include him with all these others, I don't know." The England boss hinted that even skipper Rooney might not be assured of a place after his two-month lay-off with a knee problem. "There's no disguising the fact that people like (Arsenal midfielder) Jack Wilshere, (Manchester City forward) Raheem Sterling, (Liverpool midfielder) Jordan Henderson, (Arsenal midfielder) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wayne Rooney - a year ago they were five players who were getting into every squad," said Hodgson. "Things have happened to them and we have to reassess. "If we can be sure they are at the level of fitness and capability to produce the performances they produced a year ago they will be serious contenders. If we are not convinced, we have to give it some thought."

Summary: England manager Roy Hodgson has played down West Ham striker Andy Carroll's chance of being selected for Euro 2016.


Universities minister Jo Johnson has announced plans for "better targeting" of Disabled Students' Allowances. From next September, universities will have "primary responsibility" for meeting disabled students' needs. The National Deaf Children's Society said it was "bitterly disappointed" by the announcement. "We have no way of knowing if universities will pick up the cost," said its chief executive, Susan Daniels. The announcement, in a written ministerial statement, sets out which support will continue to be provided by the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSAs) and which costs universities must meet. DSAs help disabled students afford the specialist equipment, support workers and extra travel costs they need. They are not repayable and not means-tested. In 2012-13, they provided £146m to 64,500 higher education students, a rise of 44% on the £101m paid out in 2009-10 to 47,400 students. Zanna, 18 and from Cumbria, is a foundation student at Manchester School of Art. "Being profoundly deaf, I only hear 30% of all conversation with the help of my hearing aid and cochlear implant, otherwise I only hear 2-5% of sounds. "Deaf students spend a lot of time strenuously trying to lip-read, this is often very frustrating and tiring. "A lot of extra work has to be done, such as obtaining notes prior to lectures and pre-learning so it is easier to understand what happens in lectures and classes. "I also have to use subtitles for any videos or films, any unexpected films in lectures with no subtitles are lost to me. "In my university accommodation I have a special fire alarm which flashes and vibrates under my pillow if an alarm sounds. "At university, I use a wireless microphone which transmits speech directly to my hearing aid and cochlear implant. I have funded this equipment myself, however one of the receivers for my hearing aid is loaned by the university. "My course was not eligible for DSA funding which is why the university has struggled to supply me with the full support I need, such as an electronic note-taker. "I will be applying for DSA for my degree in 2016. I am very concerned that I will not get the support that I need to achieve my full potential and I know that hundreds of other disabled students are also worried. "The government says it is unlikely to impact existing arrangements with students, but what about if you decided to do further study at a different university? "I aim to specialise my fashion design degree with a masters in knitwear, I have concerns this further study may not be possible for me due to lack of support. "Disabled students should be allowed equal opportunities to non-disabled students and to put it bluntly, the cuts to DSA limit our futures. "Having discussed the cuts to DSA with deaf and other disabled students I have seen a trend in a loss of hope. These students, myself included, feel disregarded by the government and our access to higher education has been unjustly restricted." In the statement, Mr Johnson said a review of the 25-year-old scheme had long been overdue. He

Summary: Disabled students could miss out on vital support when funding much of the help is transferred to universities next year, say campaigners.


Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said security has been beefed up at the residences of Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz following the mistake. Celebrity website TMZ.com said the pair were in fear of their lives. On Wednesday it emerged they will not be employed to do the Oscars job again. But TMZ.com reported that they will not lose their accountancy jobs. PwC spokeswoman Carey Bodenheimer said that they had been given protection after their home addresses and photos of their families were published in the media. This is why both PwC accountants have been banned How did the Oscars mistake happen? Nine epic awards fails On Sunday La La Land was mistakenly named best picture instead of winner Moonlight. The team behind La La Land were interrupted mid-acceptance speech before the real winner was revealed. It has been described as the biggest mistake in 89 years of Academy Awards history. Mr Cullinan mistakenly handed the wrong envelope to the two presenters, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. They were given the back-up envelope for best actress in a leading role - rather than the envelope which contained the name of the winner for the best film. PwC counts the votes and organises the envelopes. It has apologised for the mix-up. Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs on Wednesday said that the relationship with PwC was now under review. Mr Cullinan tweeted a picture of best actress winner Emma Stone minutes before handing the presenters the wrong envelope, and Ms Boone Isaacs blamed "distraction" for the error.

Summary: The two accountants who muddled up the main award envelopes at Sunday's Oscars ceremony have been given bodyguards following reports they have received death threats on social media.


The "Freital Group", named after the suspects' hometown near Dresden, consists of seven men and a woman. The German nationals are accused of targeting refugees and left-wing groups in 2015, causing two injuries. The female suspect confessed to carrying out the attacks, while the men refused to speak in court. The alleged members - aged between 19 and 39 - face life imprisonment if found guilty of attempted murder, and up to 10 years if the court rules they were part of a terrorist group. Their names have not been publicly released. "They wanted to create a climate of fear and repression," federal prosecutors said last year as they prepared the case. "The aim of this group was to carry out bomb attacks on asylum-seeker shelters, as well as on the apartments, offices and vehicles of those with differing political views." The group is accused of targeting refugee accommodation in Freital and a left-wing housing project in Dresden with explosive devices in 2015. In one of the assaults, the suspects threw explosives through the windows of a home for refugees, the prosecutors say. The suspects are also alleged to have targeted a left-wing councillor's car in Dresden. The trial is being held amid tight security. In 2016, there were about 3,500 attacks against refugees and asylum seekers across Germany, the AFP news agency reports citing data by the German interior ministry. More than 560 people - including children - were injured during the assaults.

Summary: Eight suspected members of a far-right group in Germany have gone on trial in the eastern city of Dresden, charged with terrorism and attempted murder.


South Wimbledon and Queensway stations will be the first to see their staff moved from ticket offices into ticket halls and on to platforms. Transport for London (TfL) said it would save £50m annually as it tries to save £4.2bn by 2020. But Manuel Cortes, from the TSSA union, said London Mayor Boris Johnson was "rushing through" the closures. Mr Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association said: "Talks on the safety implications of closing over 250 stations have not even been concluded. "The mayor doesn't seem concerned about how millions of tourists will cope with fewer staff to help them on their way." TfL said all stations would remain staffed and 150 new ticket machines would be installed by April 2016. It added that new visitor centres would be created at larger stations such as Victoria and King's Cross to help visitors. Nick Brown, London Underground's chief operating officer, said more staff were being placed "where they can offer the best possible assistance" as only 3% of Tube tickets were bought at ticket offices. He said: "This forms part of our wider vision for the Tube, which includes a 24-hour weekend service on core parts of the network." But the changes have led to previous strikes by the Aslef and RMT unions. Labour's London Assembly transport spokeswoman Val Shawcross said: "When he was elected, Boris Johnson promised Londoners he would protect the capital's ticket offices, but today he starts the process of dismantling each and every one of them. "Whilst there is obviously a big role for ticket machines to play, there is no substitute for a member of staff." London Underground said after 100 meetings with unions the number of roles to be reduced had fallen from 950 to 897 with no member of staff facing compulsory redundancy or losing money.

Summary: Ticket offices will start closing on the London Underground later in a move that has prompted past strikes.


Tourism NI said it expects a strategy to be in place by early next year. Janice Gault from the Hotels Federation told the BBC's Inside Business programme it was crucial for the industry. She said a "partnership" approach was essential. "I mean we've really urged people to get a strategy at sort of quite a high level so that everybody can buy into that," she said. "Hotels have probably spent about a billion pounds in the last decade and are set to spend more." Ms Gault said another big boom was expected in the hotel market which would probably generate another half a billion pounds. "The funny thing about the strategy is we still have the target, but we don't have the strategy. We only have one way to go and that's growth and the way for us to get that is to partnership," she added.

Summary: The Hotels Federation has called for a proper tourism strategy for Northern Ireland to help boost growth in the sector.


A YouGov survey suggested low name recognition of councillors across the UK, with 79% of East Midlands residents unable to name a single representative. Satisfaction with the work of councils is highest in North East England - but still less than one in three are happy. People have rated councils better than national government in past studies. Voters will go to the polls on 5 May to elect more than 9,500 councillors in nearly 280 councils across England. Research by polling firm YouGov, designed to coincide with the election campaign, has suggested that the majority of voters casting their ballots next month will do so not knowing any of the candidates. It asked more than 2,000 people aged over 18 across the UK whether they could name any of their local councillors. Recognition was highest in Scotland, where 47% of those canvassed were able to identify one of their local representatives. In Northern Ireland, the figure was 46%, while in Wales, the figure was 44%. Across the English regions, recognition was highest in the North East of England - at 43%. But in six regions - the East Midlands, the East of England, the West Midlands, London, the south west of England and the south east - less than one in three of those asked could identify the person representing them. Asked whether the local authority addressed the needs of their local communities, only 20% of people living in the North West of England said it did. Approval levels were highest in the North East (31%), the West Midlands (28%) and Wales (27%). Social networking site Streetlife, which commissioned the research, suggested it demonstrated there was a "real disconnection" between residents of local communities and those representing them. The findings contrast with those of the Hansard Society, whose recent audit of political engagement concluded that awareness and satisfaction with local politics had increased since last year's general election. It found that more than two out of three people were interested in how local services were provided and nearly half believed they were being delivered well - much higher than at a national level. The Hansard Society also found name recognition was also a problem for national politicians, with only 38% of people able to name their own MP. But its research suggested that interest in local politics did not translate into a wish to become involved - with only one in ten people saying their were likely to volunteer in their communities over the next couple of years. Elections are taking place next month in 36 metropolitan boroughs, including Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield, as well as 49 unitary authorities and 194 district councils - the biggest test of popular opinion since last year's general election. David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have all been campaigning in recent days to try and garner support.

Summary: Most people cannot name any of their local councillors and are dissatisfied with their work, research on attitudes to local authorities has suggested.


Sir Martin Moore-Bick sent the letter late on Thursday following weeks of discussion with survivors. There has been controversy over Sir Martin's suitability for the role and the areas the inquiry will cover. The prime minister will set out the terms of reference for the process in the coming weeks. Downing Street said: "The prime minister has received the letter and will consider it and respond shortly." How far the inquiry can go has been a source of controversy since the Sir Martin's appointment was announced. He angered survivors on his first day in the job by indicating the investigation would be "pretty well limited" to examining the cause of the fire, how it spread and how to prevent future incidents. But he later vowed to consider a "broad range of evidence" which could include why residents' warnings about fire safety were allegedly ignored by authorities. Survivors, bereaved families and other involved parties spent weeks making their case about what questions the inquiry should answer. More than 400 submissions were received during the consultation period. The "Justice 4 Grenfell" campaign said earlier this month it wanted an examination of local and national social housing policy and whether it "increased risks to residents". Questions were raised in the aftermath of the disaster about the cladding used on Grenfell and other buildings. More than 100 buildings have failed the latest fire safety tests set in the wake of the fire. Sir Martin has previously faced calls to resign from residents, while Labour MP David Lammy said he was a "white, upper-middle class man" who had "never" visited a tower block housing estate and should not have been appointed. The inquiry is due to start in September. Sir Martin has previously said an interim report could be produced within a year. The prime minister will set out the terms of reference for the process in the coming weeks.

Summary: The judge leading the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire has written to the prime minister with recommendations for its terms of reference.


The clause backing "common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange", was scrapped under Tony Blair in 1995. Speaking to the Independent on Sunday, Mr Corbyn said Labour "shouldn't shy away" from public control of railways and public investment in industry. Leadership rival Liz Kendall told the paper Clause IV belonged in the past. Tony Blair's move two decades ago to ditch the long-standing commitment in Labour's constitution to public ownership was seen by some as a symbolic step which made the party more electable in the post-Margaret Thatcher era. The original wording of Clause IV was replaced with a new commitment to "a thriving private sector and high-quality public services where those undertakings essential to the common good are either owned by the public or accountable to them". Mr Corbyn told the IoS he could consider bringing back the old Clause IV as part of a commitment to take "necessary things" back into public ownership. "I think we should talk about what the objectives of the party are, whether that's restoring the Clause IV as it was originally written or it's a different one, but I think we shouldn't shy away from public participation, public investment in industry and public control of the railways," he said. "I'm interested in the idea that we have a more inclusive, clearer set of objectives. I would want us to have a set of objectives which does include public ownership of some necessary things such as rail." Mr Corbyn's campaign momentum seems unflagging - to the alarm of senior figures in the party. But he says the party needs a new statement of objectives - and that could be the original Clause IV. Jeremy Corbyn has already promised to renationalise energy companies and the railways and increase public spending on industry. One of Mr Corbyn's leadership rivals, Liz Kendall, condemned the idea as a "throwback to the past". Some party donors are alarmed by the prospect of a Jeremy Corbyn win too. Businessman Assem Allam, who donated Â£300,000 to Labour during the election, has told the Sunday Telegraph he would stop giving money to the party if Mr Corbyn becomes leader, saying he never backed a "dead horse". Mr Corbyn is one of four candidates standing in next month's Labour leader election, alongside Liz Kendall, Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham. Ms Kendall - the leadership challenger seen as being the closest to Mr Blair's policies - fiercely condemned the idea of bringing back Clause IV. "This shows there is nothing new about Jeremy Corbyn's politics," she said. "Life had moved on from the old Clause IV in 1994, let alone 2015. We are a party of the future, not a preservation society." At-a-glance profiles of the four contenders

Summary: Jeremy Corbyn has said Labour could restore Clause IV committing it to public ownership if he became leader.


In an open letter to the girls, she criticised Nigeria's authorities and the international community for not doing enough to secure their release. The Boko Haram militants caused global outrage after abducting the girls from Nigeria's north-eastern Chibok town. The UN estimates that the insurgency has now displaced 800,000 children. "We cannot imagine the full extent of the horrors you have endured. But please know this: we will never forget you," Ms Yousafzai said in the letter to the 219 girls who were abducted during a night-time raid on their boarding school. She added that there were reasons for "hope and optimism", after recent successes by Nigeria's military in regaining territory from Boko Haram. "I look forward to the day I can hug each one of you, pray with you, and celebrate your freedom with your families," Ms Yousafzai said. In Nigeria, campaign group Bring Back Our Girls has launched a week of events encouraging people to remember the girls ahead of the first anniversary of their abduction on Tuesday. A vigil and candlelit procession is due to be held in the capital Abuja. The UN children's agency, Unicef, said the abduction of the schoolgirls from Chibok was "only one of the endless tragedies being replicated on an epic scale across Nigeria and the region". The number of children fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency has doubled in the past year and more than 1.5 million people have now been displaced in the six-year conflict, Unicef said in a report.

Summary: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has called for more action to free schoolgirls abducted by militant Islamists in Nigeria a year ago.


Rezgar Zengana posed as a taxi driver to pick up his 25-year-old victim in Argyle Street before raping her at a flat in Cessnock on 10 December 2006. The 33-year-old Iraqi national fled after being convicted of the attack. Zengana features in a most-wanted list of nine UK suspects who are thought to be in the Netherlands. The list has been put published by the UK charity Crimestoppers and the National Crime Agency (NCA). Dave Allen, from the NCA, said: "Those who believe they can use the Netherlands to evade capture or continue illegal activities soon find out that it is not a safe haven."

Summary: One of Scotland's most wanted fugitives is still believed to be hiding in the Netherlands almost 10 years after he raped a woman in Glasgow.


At the Paris climate summit last December, governments agreed that they would "pursue efforts" to keep warming below this figure. But a new study shows the limit will be breached over land, even if emissions of warming gases ceased immediately. The research has been published in the journal Scientific Reports. Around 180 countries have so far signed the Paris climate agreement in which they pledged not only to limit the global temperature rise since pre-industrial times to "well below" 2C but to do their very best to keep them to 1.5C. The lower target was crucial in gaining the support of small island states and the poorest developing countries. Rallying around the slogan, "1.5 to stay alive," they have argued their very survival is at stake with the rise in sea levels and the increase in storms that this amount of warming would bring. But as recorded temperatures this year have edged above 1C, scientists believe we are already "dancing" with the 1.5 degree target. This new study suggests that it will "almost certainly be surpassed", at least over land, based on the amount of CO2 already in the atmosphere. "Even if we just had a planet where we could prevent greenhouse gases going up any further, there would be an additional warming over land, in many places if not most it would 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels," said lead author Dr Chris Huntingford from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The researchers say there are two reasons behind the finding. The first is the fact that much of the heat created in the Earth's greenhouse is currently subsumed into the oceans. The authors argue that this sea sink will decline as the world cuts emissions of CO2 and other warming gases, putting more heat into the air. This will combine with the second reason, namely that warming rates over land are far higher than those over the oceans. "At the moment the oceans are drawing down a vast amount of heat from the atmosphere," said Dr Huntingford, "but as you stabilise the climate you get to the position where these net fluxes of heat actually become zero, and that would correspond to a higher temperature." Other researchers agree that keeping temperatures at the 1.5 figure is going to be a significant, if not impossible, challenge. "In my opinion we should work for as low a target as possible," said Dr Gavin Schmidt from Nasa, who was not involved with the study. "But we should be prepared for worse." The authors of the latest paper say that it was a good idea to have an "aspirational" 1.5 degree target in the Paris agreement. Emissions are going down they say and the uptake of renewable and green sources of energy is happening more quickly than expected. But if the world is to take the 1.5 target seriously, then a serious discussion needs to be held about the implications of that goal. "I think there needs to be a very thoughtful debate about what's to be gained at these different temperature levels, if

Summary: Scientists are calling for a "thoughtful debate" about the wisdom of attempts to keep a global rise in temperatures under 1.5C.


The £570m project to extend the Chilwell and Clifton lines began in March 2012. The first public trams started running at 06:00 BST. Despite facing criticism for causing disruption to businesses and commuters, Nottingham City Council insists the service will transform the local economy. Delays were initially blamed on unexpected numbers of pipes and cables having to be moved, and then on work to replace part of the track bed. £570m Initial budget 28 new stations 11 miles of new track 22 new trams 20 million passenger capacity Contractor Vinci has reported the problems contributed to a £165m loss for its civil engineering division. Jane Urquhart, who has lead responsibility for operation company NET at Nottingham City Council, said it was a "really great day" for the city. "With trams running from every seven minutes, it is all set to provide easier access to key locations right across the city," she said. "The tram provides the backbone to the city's integrated transport network, underpinning all the efforts to reduce congestion, improve the environment and make Nottingham an even better place to live, work or visit." NET and the city council had resisted calls to name a date for the new lines opening but final testing had been ongoing in recent weeks. Steve Barber, vice president of the Light Rail Transit Association and former Broxtowe borough councillor said: "We are very relieved, as, I think, are a lot of people in Beeston. "It has been a quite difficult ride over the past few years while construction has been at its worst ... and it is going to do wonders for the town and the city." Stephen Knight, a butcher in Clifton, said: "We are optimistic. It has caused disruption, normal trade dropped by a third but the workers have helped. "Now we will see if the public come back - but there are still a lot of parking restrictions outside." Lisa Withers, a nearby florist, said: "I was really pleased to have been on the first tram from Clifton - and seeing the one from Toton arrive has been fantastic. "It is a really great day for the city and I think we will now see some real regeneration and the tram driving Nottingham forward for people who live here and who work here and people who want to visit."

Summary: Full services on Nottingham's new tram lines have started, eight months behind schedule.


Despite calling it a "gimmick", Labour backed the Charter for Budget Responsibility, saying it was "fully consistent" with its approach. But as the parties clashed over spending plans, Chancellor George Osborne said Labour would create "a tax bombshell or a borrowing bombshell". Earlier, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said voters faced a "stark choice" between the parties. When the charter was unveiled by the government in December, it prompted a row between the Tories and Labour over their spending plans, with both sides accusing each other of shifting their deficit reduction targets. It commits the government to a goal of balancing day-to-day spending - the structural current deficit - by 2017-18. It would also ensure that debt is falling as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2016-17. The Treasury says that to meet these targets a new government would have to make additional tax rises or spending cuts of around £30bn - more than Labour plans. But Labour says the targets match its plans to eradicate the current deficit "as soon as possible" in the next parliament. In the Commons, Mr Osborne said the government had neither gone faster nor slower than it said it would on deficit reduction, and said Labour would borrow more than the Conservatives after 2015. But Mr Balls said Mr Osborne had "flat lined" the economy and missed his target to balance the books in 2015-16. Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander criticised Labour's record but added that the Conservative Party's plan to eliminate the deficit with spending cuts alone was "grossly unfair". "Taxes on the wealthy should, and must, play a significant part," he added. Mr Osborne referred to comments by the IFS that a future Labour government could add £170bn to the national debt by 2030 based on its spending plans. IFS director Paul Johnson said Labour's plan to ease spending cuts could require borrowing of up to £50bn a year more by 2020 than the Conservatives. This could hamper the UK's ability to cope with a future recession, he said. The Conservatives have pledged to balance the government's overall spending, covering current and capital spending, while Labour has promised to balance day-to-day spending but borrow for investment. In an analysis of the parties' plans for government, Mr Johnson said voters faced a stark choice between the two parties. He said the Tories planned to scale back public spending by at least £33bn, while Labour planned cuts of £7bn. "Lest there be any doubt, there is a big difference between £7bn of cuts and £33bn of cuts," he said. "If you take the plans set out in the autumn statement at face value, spending cuts of more than £50bn could be required after 2015-16." And the economist sounded a warning about the long-term risks of adding to the nation's debt. "The problem is that another recession will strike one day. Going into a new recession with debt still high - and it is higher now than at any time since the late 1960s - could leave less room for manoeuvre.

Summary: MPs have voted in favour of setting new binding targets on public spending.


The woman told Sheffield Crown Court she was just 12 when she was picked up from a children's home and abused by Basharat Hussain and two other men. She also said she had been taken to Blackpool and raped by several men. Mr Hussain, who denies the claims, is one of seven people on trial over alleged child abuse in Rotherham. The witness, who cannot be named due to the nature of the allegations, told jurors said she was first abused after she and a friend were taken out for a meal by Mr Hussain and a number of other Asian males. She said: "I felt very grown up. They took us out and paid for the meal. I did not feel I could say no." She went on to tell the court that she was taken to Blackpool aged 16 and made to work in a restaurant, in a move prosecutors say was orchestrated by Mr Hussain. She said that she was kept there for several months and was forced to have sex most days. She said that when she returned to Rotherham she discovered she had several sexually transmitted infections. Arshid Hussain, 40, High Street, East Cowick, Goole, faces 30 charges, including five counts of rape. Qurban Ali, 53, Clough Road, Rotherham, faces four charges, including rape and conspiracy to rape. Majid Bostan, 37, Ledsham Road, Rotherham faces one charge of indecent assault. Sajid Bostan, 38, Broom Avenue, Rotherham faces seven charges, including four counts of rape,. Basharat Hussain, 39, of no fixed abode, faces 15 charges including two counts of rape. Karen MacGregor, 58, Barnsley Road, Wath, South Yorkshire, faces four charges, including conspiracy to rape. Shelley Davies, 40, Wainwright Road, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, faces three charges, including conspiracy to rape. Cross-examining the witness on behalf of Mr Hussain, Gillian Batts said: "The truth of the situation is you've never met Basharat Hussain have you?" The witness replied: "Yes I have." It is alleged Mr Hussain was one of seven people involved in the sexual exploitation of children between 1987 and 2003. It is claimed the children were "targeted, sexualised and, in some instances, subjected to acts of a degrading and violent nature". The trial continues.

Summary: An alleged victim of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham said she felt she had no choice when asked to perform sex acts on several men.


But after losing their opening home fixture, 40 overs of play were possible before the weather closed in. It was dominated by Tom Westley and Cook following the loss of Nick Browne. Their unbroken stand of 128 in 37 overs, with the stylish Westley making an unbeaten 70, fully justified Essex's decision to bat first, reaching 144-1. He was the more aggressive batsmen, reaching his half century off 64 balls to brighten a gloomy, drizzly day. It was the sixth successive first-class match in which he has passed 50, starting with his appearance for the MCC in Abu Dhabi against county champions Yorkshire in March. England Test captain Cook, who has already scored two centuries this season against Gloucestershire and Sussex, hit seven fours and a six off England team-mate Moeen Ali as he completed a more sedate fifty off 112 balls. Rain and bad light meant the loss of the entire afternoon session following a morning session in which Worcestershire's New Zealand international fast bowler Matt Henry went for 11 off his first over before quickly claiming the only wicket to fall when he had Browne caught behind. Worcestershire assistant coach Matt Mason told BBC Hereford & Worcester: "It was a frustrating day to watch as a coach because I know anything we do isn't through lack of effort. "But we didn't quite have our discipline with us this morning and probably over-pitched and were a little bit on the full side with deliveries at times. "Credit to them in some ways in trying to get those wickets early but they just didn't quite get it right and it cost us momentum really." Essex head coach Chris Silverwood: "We were delighted to win the toss. We got off to a good start. It is essential if you want to capitalise when you have won the toss. "We have got ourselves in a reasonable position. I won't count any chickens yet. There is still along way to go. "But hopefully we can restart tomorrow morning and build on the start the guys at the top of the order have given us and see where that takes us."

Summary: England captain Alastair Cook continued his fine start to the season with an unbeaten 53 on another rain-hit day at New Road against Worcestershire.


Mostly made up of narrow streets, date trees and mud houses, the paramilitary Frontier Corps have a strong presence here as they do in the rest of the province. And it was the Frontier Corps which found itself at the forefront of the violent tremors which flattened much of the town. Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Arif is the officer in charge of the area, and saw his headquarters collapse before his eyes. "My residence is on a small hill. From there, I saw the shockwave ripping through the town and destroying houses with it." "It was a terrible sight which I can never forget." Officials estimate that about 80% of the houses in the Mashkel area collapsed - either partially or completely - in the quake. Army helicopters have been delivering tents from the provincial capital, Quetta. But we saw family after family sitting amid the ruins of their mud-brick houses under open skies with no shelter. Mashkel social worker Lareef Baloch says that most houses in the town are uninhabitable. "The structures still standing are dangerous because they have cracks in them," he told the BBC. "We see army helicopters flying in and out of town, but we haven't received any tents, blankets, medicines or food." The relief operation has been hampered by the remoteness of the affected area. The road journey from Quetta to Mashkel is long and dangerous. Since Tuesday, small aftershocks have continued to hit the area. One survivor told the BBC that he was traumatised by the experience and now has difficulty sleeping at night. The Pakistani army says it has tried its best in the rescue and relief effort. But an army spokesman told the BBC that people of the area will need help from national and international aid groups in the rehabilitation and reconstruction process in the weeks ahead. It could be that ties on the ground will also play a role in providing help to quake victims. Residents of Mashkel have close ties with ethnic Balochs in Iran's Sistan province. Many people have families and relatives on both sides of the border. The town's economy depends on oil smuggling from Iran and the annual date harvest. The BBC saw several vehicles with Iranian registration plates being used to transport people on sandy tracks. When the earthquake struck this week, many people preferred to take their injured across the border to the city of Zahidan in Sistan province. The Iranian authorities were quick to relax border movements to facilitate the relief effort. The road journey from Mashkel to Zahidan takes a few hours, compared with the 15 to 18 hours it takes to reach Balochistan's capital, Quetta. So far, one of the few Islamic charities that has managed to reach the remote town is Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The group, considered close the Pakistani army, is led by Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the banned jihadist outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Summary: The worst affected area of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which hit south-western Pakistan on Tuesday is the dust-strewn town of Mashkel, located just a few kilometres from the Iranian border in the province of Balochistan.


If confirmed by the Senate, James Comey will replace outgoing director Robert Mueller III, serving for 10 years. At the White House, Mr Obama praised Mr Comey as a model of "fierce independence and deep integrity". Mr Comey is known for successfully opposing a warrantless wiretapping programme backed by other Bush aides. Mr Mueller took up his post shortly before the 9/11 attacks and is retiring as director on 4 September. In remarks on Friday, Mr Obama said the outgoing director had displayed "a steady hand and strong leadership" during his time at the head of the FBI. The US president said Mr Comey had "law enforcement in his blood". "As a young prosecutor in the US attorney's office in Manhattan he helped bring down the Gambino crime family; as a federal prosecutor in Virginia he led an aggressive effort to combat gun violence that reduced homicide rates and saved lives," Mr Obama said. He also joked that Mr Comey - who is 6ft, 8in tall (2.03m) - was "a man who stands up very tall for justice and the rule of law". The nominee said he could not describe his excitement to work again with the FBI. "They are men and women who have devoted their lives to serving and protecting others and I simply can't wait to be their colleague," he said. One of the most dramatic episodes of Mr Comey's tenure as deputy attorney general in the Bush administration came in 2004, when then-Attorney General John Ashcroft was ill in hospital. Mr Bush's White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and Chief of Staff Andrew Card pressed him in his hospital bed to re-authorise a controversial programme allowing federal agents to eavesdrop on phone conversations without a warrant. Mr Comey, who was acting as attorney general in Mr Ashcroft's stead, rushed to the hospital and intervened. Changes were subsequently made to the programme and Mr Comey drew wide praise. Mr Obama alluded to the incident on Friday, saying Mr Comey "was prepared to give up a job he loved rather than be part of something he felt was fundamentally wrong". After leaving the Bush administration, Mr Comey was general counsel for Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund in the US state of Connecticut. He now lectures at Columbia University law school in New York. Before he became deputy attorney general, Mr Comey had a long tenure at the justice department, serving in many posts including as US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Summary: US President Barack Obama has nominated a former justice department official under President George W Bush as the next FBI director.


Denis O'Brien obtained the injunction to stop RTÉ from reporting details of his personal finances and relationship with former Anglo Irish Bank. Last week, a judge granted permission for the media to report details about Mr O'Brien's finances made under privilege in the Dáil (parliament). RTÉ lawyers said as a result there was no need for the injunction to remain. The media mogul's fortune is estimated to be around £5bn. Following the granting of the injunction, the purchase of one of Mr O'Brien's companies was discussed in the Dáil. The comments were made by TD Catherine Murphy under privilege. She said Mr O'Brien owed the former Anglo Irish Bank, now the nationalised Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), upwards of 500m euro (£362m). Ms Murphy, an independent left-wing TD, said Mr O'Brien was attempting to pay loans back at an interest rate of just over 1%, when it was arguable that the correct rate should be over 7%. In response to her comments, lawyers for RTÉ and the Irish Times returned to the high court to seek clarity over whether her remarks could be reported in light of the injunction. A judge told the media organisations that he never intended nor could he order any interference with what a TD may say under privilege in the Dáil. The application by RTÉ to have the injunction discharged relates to a planned broadcast regarding certain information regarding Mr O'Brien's relationship with IBRC. Lawyers for Mr O'Brien said they accepted that following comments made by the Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty in the Dáil on Tuesday evening, there was nothing in the proposed RTÉ script that had been injuncted that warranted further restraint. The lawyer added that as far as he was concerned, the script in its entirety could be published, as a result of events that had happened outside the courtroom. On Tuesday, Mr Doherty gave details of what he said were documents related to Mr O'Brien's IBRC loans during a debate in the Dáil. The Sinn Féin finance spokesman said he had documents which led to questions about the way IBRC was run in the public interest.

Summary: Irish state broadcaster RTÉ is trying to get an injunction granted to Ireland's richest man discharged.


Media playback is not supported on this device Almaz, 24, had won the 10,000m in world record time last week and had been expected to complete the 10,000m and 5,000m double. But she was overhauled by Cheruiyot, 32, and her Kenyan compatriot Hellen Onsando Obiri, 26, who took silver. Cheruiyot set an Olympic record time of 14 minutes 26.17 seconds. Britain's Eilish McColgan was 13th in 15:12.09. "It's my fourth Olympics and I hadn't had gold. Today I said 'I am not going to lose'," said Cheruiyot, who was runner-up to Almaz in the 10,000m in Rio and the London 2012 5,000m silver medallist. McColgan said: "Yes, I'm actually disappointed although it's good that I am disappointed. At the start of the year if someone had said that, I would have taken it. "Looking at the other girls' personal bests I thought that I should be around the top eight and to come 13th, I'm really disappointed. I'm in better shape than that. "To go and run 15:12, I don't think I've done myself justice but it was good experience and that burst of pace, I'm not used to doing it and I need to mentally get ready for it. " Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.

Summary: Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot won a shock 5,000m Olympic gold as race favourite Ayana Almaz of Ethiopia took bronze.


Labour's Jeremy Corbyn said there was a "disconnect" between the government's rhetoric and its actions and that HMRC's budget had been cut. The SNP's Angus Robertson said 10 times more officials were investigating welfare fraud than tax evasion. The PM said the figure sounded "bogus" and HMRC staff numbers were going up. The PMQs clash was the first since a huge leak of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed how some wealthy people use offshore firms to dodge tax and avoid sanctions. BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the tax debate's prominence in the Commons showed how much of a big issue it had been, with opposition parties determined to "hang it around the prime minister". Mr Corbyn focused all his questions on tax, saying Conservative MEPs have voted against new EU-wide country-by-country reporting measures, while the government had cut tax official jobs and shut down tax offices. The PM said the new reporting measures were "based on the work we've been doing" and had been proposed by the UK's commissioner, Lord Hill.. The leaders also traded blows over how transparent overseas territories would have to be under the new regime. Mr Corbyn said the Cayman Islands premier was "celebrating victory" because beneficial ownership information would not be available publicly or directly to UK agencies. The PM said overseas and crown dependencies would provide beneficial ownership information, but would not make the information public because otherwise some might have "walked away from this co-operation altogether". Mr Cameron, who has faced questions about his own tax arrangements and his father's offshore investment firm, aimed a joke at Mr Corbyn's recently-released tax return, saying the "late, chaotic, inaccurate and uncosted" document was a metaphor for Labour Party policy. Mr Corbyn hit back, saying he paid more tax than companies owned by people Mr Cameron "might know quite well". Green Party MP Caroline Lucas also asked the PM about tax, questioning how effective the investigation into Mossack Fonseca in the UK would be.

Summary: The Panama Papers tax revelations dominated Prime Minister's Questions, with David Cameron defending the action taken from opposition attacks.


A late first-half goal from Quinn Saunders helped St Peter's into a 1-8 to 0-5 interval lead at Inniskeen. The Derry school were boosted by an early second-half goal by Kevin Small but Rory O'Connor netted to make it 2-9 to 1-6 to St Peter's after 40 minutes. A late rally by St Mary's yielded 1-3 without reply, Cormac Murphy scoring the goal, but it was not enough. The Wexford school, who will contest the Hogan decider for the first time in their history, led by seven points, 2-10 to 1-6, with eight minutes remaining. They will take on reigning champions St Brendan's of Killarney in the final on Saturday 1 April. St Peter's were last in action in late January when they ended a 25-year wait for a Leinster senior crown, while St Mary's claimed their first MacRory Cup title by defeating 19-times winners St Colman's Newry on St Patrick's Day. The semi-final was switched from Drogheda to the Monaghan venue.

Summary: St Mary's Magherafelt lost 2-10 to 2-9 to St Peter's Wexford in the semi-finals of the Hogan Cup on Wednesday.