The Uzbek government announced his death on Friday after a period of rumours about his ill health. As is often the case with strongman regimes, no tried and tested succession mechanism is in place in Uzbekistan, and the transition of power may well be a complicated process. Uzbekistan is the most populous Central Asian country and has the largest army. Mr Karimov, who came to power during the Soviet era, has led the country since independence in 1991. During his long rule, President Karimov has built a relatively stable secular regime in a region threatened by Islamist radicalism. But many believe this has been done at the expense of human rights, and has often been an excuse to hound legitimate opposition. It also has not completely eradicated the long-term risk posed by Islamist militancy. Many Uzbek Islamists have simply dodged the tight security at home by fighting for the Islamic State group abroad, but should the secular government weaken, they might be tempted to come back. Some also say that Uzbekistan's fractured and exiled opposition may turn to Islamism to boost its appeal in the majority Muslim country. Positioned on the ancient Great Silk Road between Europe and Asia, Uzbekistan enjoys a strategic location that has attracted the interest of many foreign states throughout its long history. Most recently, it has been one reason why Russia and Western powers have been vying for a foothold. In 2001, Uzbekistan allowed the US to use its air bases in support of military action in Afghanistan, but four years later all foreign troops were evicted following Washington's criticism of the Uzbek government's human rights record. Moscow will be keen to ensure that Mr Karimov's successor leans towards Russia rather than the West. So far, unlike most Central Asian countries, Uzbekistan has been wary of Russian influence. In 2012, it withdrew from the main Russia-led regional military bloc, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. Political instability caused by Mr Karimov's demise could be felt far beyond Uzbekistan's borders. The country is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas and gold, and any turbulence may push up the price of these commodities on world markets. Tension could could also spill over into Uzbekistan's energy-rich neighbours, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Regional transport corridors may be disrupted, including gas and oil pipelines running to Russia and China. Uzbekistan also supplies electricity to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and southern Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan lies on key opium routes from Afghanistan to Russia and on to Europe, and drug smugglers could take advantage of instability to distract or disrupt law-enforcement efforts. President Karimov has never been shy of deploying his powerful security apparatus to exercise a firm grip on power. This, among other things, has enabled him to maintain a delicate balance between the various ethnic groups inside the country. Should it be upset, the ripple effect may be felt as far away as in China. Uzbekistan hosts a sizeable Uighur community, and the predominantly Muslim Uighur minority in China has long been seen as a source of concern by Beijing. President Karimov's successor will also

Summary: The departure from the helm by Uzbekistan's long-serving President Islam Karimov is likely to have wide-ranging repercussions for the region.


Katy Bethel, 28, and Aaron Harris, 33, were arrested on 4 July 2015 at Coquelles' Eurotunnel check-in. The couple were returning from Calais to Folkestone when they were stopped by customs officers after a four-hour trip to France. Both were charged with aiding and abetting unlawful immigration. Harris had previously pleaded guilty to the charge. Ms Bethel, of Dial Road, Gillingham in Kent, appearing at Maidstone Crown Court, denies the charge. Ms Bethel was six months pregnant with her fourth child when the Mercedes van she was in was stopped for border checks, the jury was told on Thursday. When Harris was asked to open the van doors a police officer glimpsed a person's legs, and discovered 12 people concealed amongst tyres in the back of the van. Ms Bethel told the court she had "no idea" the people were in there. The prosecution questioned why she had previously stated they were going to buy alcohol and cigarettes for a party, but did not return with any purchases on what was a very short day out. In the four hours the pair were in France, they sent and received 67 messages and voicemails to and from unknown numbers, the court heard. Ms Bethel said Harris was using her phone on the trip to make calls and texts and she was unaware of their content. She and Harris, the father of two of her children, were loaned the van from a friend of Harris' for a last minute day trip, the court was told. They got lost while looking for a beach so instead left the van on a roadside to take an hour-long walk to a strawberry field near Calais, she said. The prosecution accused Miss Bethel of talking "nonsense". The case continues.

Summary: A pregnant mother had "no idea" there were 12 Vietnamese migrants in the back of a van she was travelling in, a court heard.


The newspaper Okaz said 55 people were awaiting execution for "terrorist crimes", while a now-deleted report by al-Riyadh said 52 would die soon. They are thought to include Shia who took part in anti-government protests. Amnesty said that given the spike in executions this year, it had no option but to take the reports very seriously. The group believes at least 151 people have been put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year - the highest recorded figure since 1995. In 2014, the total number of executions carried out was reported to be 90. The Saudi newspaper reports said those facing execution in the coming days included "al-Qaeda terrorists" and people from the Awamiya area. The alleged al-Qaeda militants were accused of attempting to overthrow the government and carry out attacks using small arms, explosives and surface-to-air missiles, Okaz reported. The Awamiya residents were meanwhile convicted of sedition, attacks on security personnel and interference in neighbouring Bahrain, it said. Awamiya is a town in the Qatif region of oil-rich Eastern Province. Since 2011, it has been the centre of protests by Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, which has long complained of marginalisation at the hands of the Sunni monarchy. Among those at imminent risk of execution were six Shia activists from Awamiya "who were clearly convicted in unfair trials", according to Amnesty. "It is clear that the Saudi Arabian authorities are using the guise of counter-terrorism to settle political scores," said James Lynch, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa deputy director. "Three of those six activists were sentenced for 'crimes' committed while they were children and have said that they were tortured to confess." The three juvenile offenders are Ali al-Nimr - whose case sparked a global outcry earlier this year - Abdullah al-Zaher and Hussein al-Marhoon. On Tuesday, the mothers of five of the six activists wrote to King Salman, imploring him to grant clemency, after learning that their sons had been subjected to a "random" medical examination. They believed it was a sign of impending execution. Four of the five have been kept in solitary confinement, in a wing housing death row inmates, since being moved to al-Hair prison in Riyadh in early October. "These executions must not go ahead and Saudi Arabia must lift the veil of secrecy around its death penalty cases, as part of a fundamental overhaul of its criminal justice system," Mr Lynch warned. Last month, the UK foreign secretary said he did not expect Ali al-Nimr - the nephew of a prominent Shia cleric also sentenced to death - to be executed. Saudi Arabia argues that death sentences are carried out in line with Sharia and with the strictest fair trial standards and safeguards in place.

Summary: Amnesty International has expressed alarm at reports that the authorities in Saudi Arabia are planning to execute dozens of people in a single day.


He was shot as he drove to work on the M1 in County Armagh on 1 November. The new paramilitary group is believed to have been formed from an amalgamation of previously disparate dissident republican organisations. In a statement issued to the Belfast-based newspaper, the Irish News, the group said it killed him "to protect and defend" republican prisoners. Mr Black was driving to work at Maghaberry Prison, Northern Ireland's high security jail, when he was attacked and killed. There is an on-going dispute at the prison, where 41 dissident republican prisoners are detained. Many of them are refusing to wash in protest at strip searches, and in a bid to secure political status. Mr Black, a 52-year-old father of two, was the first prison officer to be murdered in Northern Ireland in almost 20 years. A new organisation calling itself the IRA was formed during the summer, bringing together the Real IRA, Republican Action Against Drugs, and a group of non-aligned republicans - a number of whom are believed to be based in the Craigavon area of County Armagh.

Summary: A group calling itself "the IRA" has said it murdered the Northern Ireland prison officer David Black.


Katy James was refused leave to remain because her British husband Dominic, a self-employed bike dealer, earns less than Â£18,600 per year. Mr and Mrs James live in Eastbourne and have a daughter, Madeleine, aged two. Immigration Minister James Brokenshire has written to their MP to say after an interval review the Home Office would reconsider her application to remain. Caroline Ansell MP wrote on her website she was confident the government would reverse the decision because "the three have a right to family life under human rights legislation and because of the impact on young Madeleine should Katy be forced to leave." Katy's father-in-law Jim Needham told BBC Sussex: "It is a great relief, it is early days yet but we are very hopeful things will progress and justice will be done." The couple, who married in 2006, said they were victims of a rule change in 2012 which requires British citizens with non-EU spouses to prove an income of at least Â£18,600. Mrs James said on Wednesday it was "outrageous" the Home Office thought a child did not need her mother. Legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg said the purpose of the income threshold was to prevent non-Europeans marrying into the UK and becoming a burden on the taxpayer.

Summary: The government is to reconsider a visa for an American mother facing deportation from the UK.


The British Government permitted changing the name of the local authority to Derry City Council in 1985. The council's town clerk was instructed to write to NI Secretary Douglas Hurd. He asked that staff in government departments be allowed to use 'Derry' or 'Londonderry' in official letters. In response, Londonderry Unionist Association said it reinforced the claim for a separate district council for the East Bank of the Foyle. Pat Carvill, a Stormont official, said its real effect was to force council staff and the public to indicate where they stood on the name-change issue. His advice was that government bodies should employ the current terminology, using Derry City Council, but Londonderry as the postal address. The controversy over the city's name re-surfaced the following year. DUP MLA Gregory Campbell protested to David Fell, the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Economic Development in Stormont, about the use of the word 'Derry' in a job advertisement for the local Shantallow Area Workshop. Writing from the Stormont Assembly on 22 April 1986, Mr Campbell told the official: "As you are probably aware, the way in which advertisements are worded can very often affect the type of people who apply. "An ad placed in Londonderry with the term 'Derry' is virtually certain to preclude many Protestants from applying." In this case, it suggested that the business in question was exclusively Catholic. The MLA said: "Whether or not this is the case I feel a workshop sponsored by the DED ought not to have an incorrect or politically-motivated version of the city's name in the advertisement." He asked if action could be taken by the department or if he should refer the case to the Fair Employment Agency for investigation. In a minute on the file, Trevor Pearson of the Stormont Central Secretariat said on 30 April 1986: "The issue of the use of Derry or Londonderry drags on interminably. "The government position is simply that the correct address is Londonderry and that Derry is used only when referring to the council. "In the case of bodies funded from public money it is more difficult to apply the policy," he said. "If a body insists on using Derry as its postal address, the only sanction which the DED can impose is the cutting-off of funds." He very much doubted if any government department would wish to contemplate such drastic action.

Summary: The controversy over the use of the terms 'Derry' and 'Londonderry' surfaces in state papers that have just been released.


21 March 2016 Last updated at 15:37 GMT The pair were working on a new 'augmented-reality' programme called Project Sidekick that's designed to give mission control a better view of what's happening on the station. Tim explained: "Sidekick creates a virtual-reality world on the International Space Station .... Ground control can come into our virtual world and we can use it for doing tasks together - for example the VR world can point out exactly what switches to flip or which screws to loosen, handles to turn and even guide us to storage locations." After two hours of working on the project, they found the hidden Space Invaders game and were allowed to take a break and have some fun! The special effects were added in later by the ESA.

Summary: The European Space Agency has shared footage of Tim with his former crew mate Scott Kelly fighting virtual aliens on the ISS, before Kelly returned to Earth earlier this month.


The unmanned cargo ship was launched from Kazakhstan on Tuesday, but contact was lost with it soon afterwards. Russia's space agency says Progress M-27M is now orbiting in an uncontrolled spin. It cannot reach the ISS and is likely to break up on re-entering Earth's atmosphere. The craft carried on to a higher orbit after contact was lost. Igor Komarov, the head of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said: "The craft's continued flight and its docking with the ISS is not possible." Two astronauts spending a year on the ISS, Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko, told the Associated Press news agency that flight controllers had given up hope of controlling Progress again. Progress is likely to re-enter Earth's atmosphere some time between 5 and 7 May. Other capsules - including one Progress craft last year - have burned up and disintegrated on re-entering Earth's atmosphere without posing a threat to the planet's population. Cathleen Lewis, a specialist in Russian space programmes at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, said it was not yet known where debris will fall - but that it was highly unlikely to hit urban areas. "I always remind people that two-thirds of Earth's surface is water," she said. "The likelihood of it coming down and hitting someone is so remote as to be minuscule." The problem with the loss of the Progress is that it puts further pressure on the volume of stores held on the space station. ISS managers like to keep a good six months' supply of food, water, fuel and other resources in reserve at all times. Currently, however, this volume is somewhat depleted - in part because of the explosion on launch last year of the American Cygnus freighter. The responsibility for keeping the stores topped up leans heavily on Progress and the second American freighter, Dragon. The latter is due to make its next supply run in June. As long as it keeps working well, ISS officials in Houston and Moscow will not be unduly concerned. If, for some reason, supplies did become marginal, the space agencies would simply reduce the size of the normal six-person crew until matters could be improved. Progress was to deliver food, water, fuel, oxygen and clothing to the crew of six people on the space station that orbits about 420km (250 miles) above Earth. Even after Progress' loss, the astronauts have enough supplies to keep them going until the next expected delivery on 19 June. A Roscosmos spokesman told Reuters that the loss was valued at 2.59 billion roubles ($50.7m, Â£32.9m).

Summary: A Russian spacecraft delivering supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) is out of control and will fall back to Earth, officials say.


Handing over an envelope containing 50,000 Vietnamese dong (VND) ($2.4, Â£1.6) did not do the trick, but when she added another 50,000 VND, the referral was secured. The 33-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, then gave an envelope containing 500,000 VND ($24, Â£16) to the medical staff at the provincial hospital, an amount that was more than two months of her income. "All other patients told me that everyone must give envelopes to thank the doctors and nurses for the treatment, and that was the rate for such an operation," she said. The staff did not ask for it but she believed that by giving the envelope her son would receive better care. She is not alone. Mrs Phin, a pensioner from a Hanoi suburb who lives on 3m VND per month, handed over an envelope containing 200,000 VND after eye treatment in hospital. But she was sent home before the treatment was complete. So she was admitted to hospital again and that meant another thank-you envelope. "It cost me another 200,000 VND to thank the doctors and nurses. I could only afford the smallest amount suggested by other patients," she said. Mrs Luyen, a retired teacher from a small town 35km outside of Hanoi, said passing over a cash gift for medical treatment was effectively mandatory. "Not all doctors ask for the envelopes but giving envelopes is a must when you go to hospital. It's in our culture," she said. In Vietnam, medical treatment is mostly subsidised by the state via an insurance system free to civil servants and children, or paid for privately or by employers. But queues for treatment under insurance cover are long and public hospitals overcrowded, while salaries for much of the medical profession remain low. And with growing capitalist sentiment meeting entrenched Confucian values, the practice of handing over a cash-filled envelope to secure faster or better service has become widespread. The number of people who gave envelopes doubled in the three years from 2007-2010 - from 13% to 29%, one study showed. In 2012, a survey published by the World Bank and Vietnam's Government Inspectorate (which runs the Anti-Corruption Bureau) showed that 76% of those who had paid a bribe to health service personnel did so voluntarily, with only 21% responding to a request. In an effort to fight corruption, five big hospitals in Hanoi launched a campaign in October 2011 to bolster ethical behaviour among staff, including a "Say no to envelopes" policy. Vietnam's Research and Training Centre for Community Development (RTCCD) also conducted a similar campaign to change perceptions of informal payments, using the media to raise patients' awareness of their rights as well as of doctors' duties. Nguyen Huu Ngoc, a well-known scholar in Hanoi, said the root of the problem lay in the Confucian gift-giving tradition. "In Vietnamese society as well as in Chinese, gifts stem from gratitude," the scholar said. "Showing gratitude used to have more spiritual value than material value. But over the years, it has become more material and less spiritual, and now in the

Summary: Three months ago, a woman from a village south of Hanoi needed her son referred to a provincial hospital by a district doctor for an operation.


Mark Fitzpatrick's store was destroyed after explosives lit up the sky at neighbouring Southern Firework Factory in Southampton on 13 May. Hampshire Fire said plastic-wrapped cardboard boxes ignited after they were stacked close to a 300 watt lightbulb. Mr Fitzpatrick said rebuilding the business was a priority. He said he was "absolutely devastated" when he discovered the blaze at the family business on Bitterne Road West. "When I was coming over the Itchen bridge , I saw the smoke and I began screaming. The business is my life. The feeling I got when I saw the shop ablaze was absolutely horrendous - a feeling I never want to experience again," he said. No-one was injured during the incident but homes and properties within 100 metres (328 ft) of the fire were evacuated. Bitterne Manor Primary School was also closed. "There was just nothing I could do. It was gone. We were just lucky that nobody got hurt." Mr Fitzpatrick's daughter, Jessica said she feared her father would suffer a heart attack following the "emotional rollercoaster". "We have lost a lot - including three olive trees worth Â£2k each. The fixtures and fittings also need to be replaced. I don't know how much the clean-up bill will be - but it will be a lot." The family said they have set up a market stall in Southampton but hope to rebuild the store "as soon as possible".

Summary: A florist whose business was destroyed in a fire which set off explosions at a neighbouring fireworks factory has pledged to rebuild his business.


The Tigers trailed 12-4 at the break after tries from Mark Percival and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook. However, Cas, for whom debutant Kieran Gill scored in the first half, reduced the deficit through Mike McMeeken. Tom Holmes crossed to secure a seventh straight victory for Daryl Powell's side. Second-placed Salford Red Devils were beaten 34-24 at home by Wakefield. Powell, whose side played three games in nine days last week, made several changes, following the lead of other Super League coaches this weekend as he described their schedule as "a nonsense" and "appalling". In contrast, Saints, who went into the game after a nine-day rest, will be disappointed they did not do more with the pressure they had at the start of the second half when leading by eight points. Cas return to action with a home game against struggling Warrington next Sunday, while Saints host improving Widnes on Friday. Castleford coach Daryl Powell: "It's one of the biggest wins I've been involved in. "For a team that had been played about with to roll into a game against opposition that had a significant rest period on us and a full-strength team and come out with that kind of performance was awesome. "We had to dig in right at the end and the amount of scrambled tackles to keep them out shows the character we've got. "What we've become as a club is we've got genuine depth and belief that we've got something special here." St Helens coach Justin Holbrook: "We knew it was going to be a tough game and it would have been great to win. To fall just short is very disappointing. "Castleford obviously weren't at full strength but they haven't lost here for a reason. They're a very good footy side and they showed that again today. "But it was a missed opportunity. They had the luxury to rest a few today because of where they are sitting in the table and they earned that. "For us to fall just short, it's really costly for where we're sitting in the table. "It was disappointing we didn't get the win but I'm really happy with the squad and we came really close today. It's important we just move on to next week." Castleford: Eden; Gill, Webster, Monaghan, Minikin; Roberts, T Holmes; Lynch, McShane, Massey, Foster, Larroyer, Sene-Lefao. Replacements: McMeeken, Moors, Hitchcox, Trueman. St Helens: Makinson; Swift, Morgan, Percival, Grace; Lomax, Smith; Walmsley, Roby, Amor, Taia, Wilkin, Knowles. Replacements: Lee, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Douglas, Thompson. Referee: Chris Campbell (RFL).

Summary: Castleford Tigers came from behind to beat St Helens at The Jungle and extend their lead at the top of Super League to four points.


The association and groups including the Mountaineering Council of Scotland have raised concerns in the past about rubbish being left in the shelters. Use of bothies increases in summer months. The MBA has now issued a new message asking people to help keep bothies in a tidy state. The association said: "With summer upon us we are seeing many visitors to bothies, especially on the more popular long-distance trails, who perhaps have not used one before and who seem unaware that unlike in some other countries, our mountain bothies are not serviced and have no rubbish collection service. "Bothies rely on you to remove your litter, and that of any inconsiderate others, so please help where you can." Last year, one of two volunteers who looks after Corrour Bothy in the Lairig Ghru, Cairngorms, told of taking four hours to sort through and burn waste left there. Neil Reid said hillwalkers had to be willing to pick up litter they find.

Summary: The Mountain Bothies Association has appealed to hillwalkers and climbers to help keep more than 100 shelters it looks after in the UK clean and tidy.


Conservative MP for St Ives, Derek Thomas, claimed diabetes is "completely avoidable through good diet and exercise" on his Facebook page. Dozens of constituents in Cornwall complained that his comments were inaccurate and "insulting". He said he was "sincerely sorry" and would raise the issue with government to prevent confusion in future. Mr Thomas' post provoked more than one hundred comments, many of which pointed out that type 1 diabetes "is genetic", and type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to obesity, is "not preventable for all". Orson Cornick commented: "Being an ignorant human being is avoidable, not type 1 diabetes!" Marianna Baxter whose daughter has type 2 diabetes said she was "very angry and hurt" at the "very offensive" remarks. Mr Thomas told the BBC he was told the information by "two medical professionals" and had simply been trying to raise awareness that many people can help themselves by improving their diet. He said: "I certainly got it wrong and I apologise for that. I certainly wasn't going out to intentionally upset a number of people that can do nothing about their ill health, so I do apologise for the way that was worded." He said he would raise the issue with the government ahead of its national diabetes strategy launch next year to make sure no discrimination took place. Mr Thomas removed the post on Saturday and replaced it with another offering a "sincere apology". Many commended him like Charlotte Clews who commented: "I stand up and applaud you. So does my type one son. It really is very heart warming to see that you have corrected a mistake and educated yourself and now others." The charity Diabetes UK declined to comment but said information on any link with diet and lifestyle was available on its website.

Summary: An MP has apologised for his "very offensive" and "damaging" comments on diabetes.


Malala Yousafzai was attacked on her way home from school in Mingora, the region's main town. She came to public attention in 2009 by writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under Taliban militants who had taken control of the valley. A Pakistani Taliban spokesman told the BBC they carried out the attack. Ehsanullah Ehsan told BBC Urdu that they attacked her because she was anti-Taliban and secular, adding that she would not be spared. Malala Yousafzai was travelling with at least one other girl when she was shot, but there are differing accounts of how events unfolded. By Orla GuerinBBC News, Islamabad The chilling attack on the young peace campaigner has been leading TV news bulletins here. Malala Yousafzai is one of the best-known schoolgirls in the country. Young as she is, she has dared to do what many others do not - publicly criticise the Taliban. Malala's confident, articulate campaign for girls' education has won her admirers - and recognition - at home and abroad. She has appeared on national and international television, and spoken of her dream of a future Pakistan where education would prevail. Even by the standards of blood-soaked Pakistan, there has been shock at the shooting. It has been condemned by Pakistan's Prime Minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, who sent a helicopter to transfer Malala to hospital in Peshawar. The head of Pakistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, Zohra Yusuf, said "this tragic attack on this courageous child" sends a very disturbing message to all those working for women and girls. One report, citing local sources, says a bearded gunman stopped a car full of schoolgirls, and asked for Malala Yousafzai by name, before opening fire. But a police official also told BBC Urdu that unidentified gunmen opened fire on the schoolgirls as they were about to board a van or bus. She was hit in the head and, some reports say, in the neck area by a second bullet, but is now in hospital and is reportedly out of danger. Another girl who was with her at the time was also injured. Malala Yousafzai was just 11 when she was writing her diary, two years after the Taliban took over the Swat Valley, and ordered girls' schools to close. In the diary, which she kept for the BBC's Urdu service under a pen name, she exposed the suffering caused by the militants as they ruled. She used the pen-name Gul Makai when writing the diary. Her identity only emerged after the Taliban were driven out of Swat and she later won a national award for bravery and was also nominated for an international children's peace award. Correspondents say she earned the admiration of many across Pakistan for her courage in speaking out about life under the brutal rule of Taliban militants. One poignant entry reflects on the Taliban decree banning girls' education: "Since today was the last day of our school, we decided to play in the playground a bit longer. I am of the view that the school will one day reopen but while leaving

Summary: Gunmen have wounded a 14-year-old rights activist who has campaigned for girls' education in the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan.


It happened at the Mill Street level crossing in Leominster, Herefordshire, at 05:50 GMT on Friday. The nearby A44 is likely to be closed all day, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue service said. Rail services between Hereford and Shrewsbury are expected to be disrupted for most of the day. No-one was injured in the crash. Follow the latest on this and other stories in Herefordshire and Worcestershire here A specialist firm was brought in to help move the lorry, which was left leaning at an angle against the house. The house is damaged but inspections are still going on to see how bad the situation is, Martin Lown from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said. "We've got a structural engineer on site and as the recovery continues we will monitor the situation," he said. Replacement buses are running between Shrewsbury and Hereford.

Summary: A lorry carrying 28 tonnes of grain has crashed into a house next to a level crossing.


Official data showed the US economy added 209,000 jobs last month, beating analysts' expectations, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%. The Dow Jones closed at a record for the eighth consecutive day, rising 0.3% to 22,092.81. The wider S&P 500 index closed up 0.19% at 2,476.83, while the Nasdaq rose 0.18% to 6,351.56. Analysts said the latest jobs report meant the Federal Reserve was still on track to raise interest rates later this year, which would be the third increase in 2017. Shares of banks, which benefit from higher rates, saw some of the most significant gains on Friday. Goldman Sachs was among the biggest winners on the Dow, rising 2.6%. Among individual stocks, Viacom shares sank nearly 14% after it forecast a drop in sales to US pay-TV companies and streaming services in the current quarter. Consumer review website operator Yelp saw its shares jump by more than a quarter after it announced the sale of its Eat24 business to Grubhub for $287.5m. Yelp also reported revenues of $209m for the second quarter of the year, which beat analysts' expectations. US stocks are in record territory this year. The Nasdaq is up almost 17% since January. The Dow has risen 11% and the S&P 500 is climbed almost 10%.

Summary: Stronger than expected jobs figures helped to lift US stocks on Friday, leading the Dow to another record.


The Scots lost their final warm-up Test 19-16 to France and Cotter believes the run-out in Paris will help his side in their World Cup opener against Japan. "It certainly went up a level and was a very physical game against a very aggressive defence," he said. "It was a big game with some pleasing things but things we need to work on." Scotland went in 9-6 at the interval at the Stade de France thanks to the boot of Greig Laidlaw but lost momentum on occasions with problems at the set piece and losing line-out ball. "We didn't get ball and when we did it wasn't clean," said Cotter who was in charge of Scotland for the 16th time. "Despite that, I thought the players defended really well. The guys put in some big hits. Sometimes in days like that if you don't have the ball then you make up for it in other ways. That means you're adapting." Cotter had special praise for John Hardie in the week the New Zealander picked his fellow countryman for Scotland's World Cup squad despite only having played an hour of rugby for the national side. He said: "Crikey, John added an edge. He was very effective and got through an enormous amount of work. "This sort of thing inspires people. He's a class player. We've got some class players and there are some class players that didn't make it." Scotland's attention now turns to the World Cup and the opening match against Japan on 23 September, followed by games against the United States, South Africa and Samoa. And, while acknowledging more work needs to be done, Cotter says there is a determination ahead of travelling to England for the finals. "We're getting better," he said. "We got a reminder that we need to work on our line-out. I thought our scrum was better. "I think we're showing agility on the field - both mental and physical. We're lining up for the arm wrestle, which is good. "We're showing a little bit more explosiveness around the contact areas but we need to develop a bit more confidence. We want to do really well in this World Cup and the players are determined."

Summary: Scotland head coach Vern Cotter says his team are "lining up for the arm wrestle" and are showing more "explosiveness" ahead of the World Cup.


Of the 863 men who died, an estimated 120, known as "the Jersey Pals", were killed during the Battle of the Somme. Made from Jersey granite, the memorial stone was officially unveiled by Bailiff William Bailhache in the French village of Guillemont. The delegation from the island also included the Lieutenant Governor, Chief Minister and the Dean of Jersey. Ian Ronanye, an author and historian, said the memorial would be a permanent reminder of the role Jersey played in the great war, although part of it would return to the island. "A core has been removed from the middle of the stone - about the height of a person's heart - and that is being brought back to Jersey to become part of a monument in Royal Square," he told BBC News. In July, hundreds of people attended a ceremony to reveal the memorial stone.

Summary: A memorial dedicated to the Jersey men who died in World War I has been unveiled in the Somme region of France.


Amina Ali Nkeki, 19, was found with a baby by an army-backed vigilante group on Tuesday in the huge Sambisa Forest, close to the border with Cameroon. She was one of 219 pupils missing since they were abducted from a secondary school in eastern Chibok in April 2014. They were taken by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Amina was reportedly recognised by a civilian fighter of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), a vigilante group set up to help fight Boko Haram. She was with a suspected Boko Haram fighter who is now in the Nigerian military's custody. Named as Mohammed Hayatu, he said he was Amina's husband. Aboku Gaji, leader of the JTF in Chibok: "The moment this girl was discovered by our vigilantes, she was brought to my house. I instantly recognised her, and insisted we should take her to her parents. "When we arrived at the house... I asked the mother to come and identify someone. The moment she saw her, she shouted her name: 'Amina, Amina!' She gave her the biggest hug ever, as if they were going to roll on the ground, we had to stabilise them. "The mother called the attention of other relations to come out and see what is happening. The girl started comforting the mother, saying: 'Please Mum, take it easy, relax. I never thought I would ever see you again, wipe your tears. God has made it possible for us to see each other again.' "Afterwards, we had to make them understand that the girl would not be left in their care. She must be handed over to the authority." Interview with BBC Hausa service Amina and her baby have been taken to taken to the regional capital Maiduguri for medical attention, the military said. A spokesman for Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said the rescued young woman would be brought to meet the head of state, before being helped to reintegrate into society. Chibok rescue revives Twitter campaign Inside Mbalala, the town that lost its girls Chibok abductions: What we know Hosea Abana Tsambido, the chairman of the Chibok community in the capital, Abuja, told the BBC that Amina had been found after venturing into the forest to search for firewood. "She was sayingâ€¦ all the Chibok girls are still there in the Sambisa except six of them that have already died." By Will Ross, BBC News Amina was found by a local vigilante group out on a routine patrol. These groups, which have played a vital role in the fight against Boko Haram, sprang up in 2013 in the main city of north-east Nigeria, Maiduguri. It was a desperate measure at a terrible time when the jihadists were winning the war, seizing territory whilst reports of soldiers fleeing rather than fighting were common. More vigilante groups then sprang up across the north-east and, with local knowledge of the terrain, they had some success stopping their homes from being taken over - even though they were armed with just rudimentary weapons. As the Nigerian military started getting its act together at

Summary: The first of the missing Nigerian schoolgirls to be rescued since her capture two years ago has had an emotional reunion with her mother.


More than 700,000 employees face unpaid leave due to the shutdown which was triggered after the two houses of Congress did not agree on a new budget. Hyundai said affected employees who currently own its vehicles will be given a payment relief "for as long as they are out of work". Employees looking to buy a new car will be given a 90-day payment deferral. "We recognize the impact on family budgets that the furlough will drive," John Krafcik, chief executive of Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement. Hyundai had offered a similar scheme, the Hyundai Assurance programme, during the peak of the global financial crisis four years ago to help consumers who had lost their jobs. Many analysts have said that the move had helped the South Korean firm win customer loyalty and boosted its sales in recent years. The company said that its latest offer to help the federal employees was an addition to that programme and aimed at "helping workers at a time when they most need it". "Like we did almost four years ago when we launched Hyundai Assurance, this is our way of saying 'We've got your back' during this uncertain time," Mr Krafcik said. Under the latest offer, Hyundai will extend all auto loan and lease payments during the shutdown for current Hyundai owners who are put on unpaid leave. The programme is available to all customers who have financed their purchase or lease through Hyundai Finance America.

Summary: Hyundai Motor will defer payments due from US federal employees affected by the partial government shutdown.


In particular, she likes fancy china and plates, and is happy to show off her latest purchase. She ordered a platter online, and took it out of the bubble wrap excitedly. She bought that item, and some more china, toiletries and a bike, on a cashback website so she is expecting about £14 to be paid back to her. But Ms Sen might have to be patient. It will take up to four months for her to be paid. Cashback sites are a simple idea. Instead of going directly to a shop, you access a retailer's online store through a link from a cashback website. You still receive your item directly from the retailer, but you also get some money from the cashback website. It is often a percentage of the total price you paid. The sites have links to retailers of everything from groceries and toiletries, to insurance policies and broadband deals. But Ms Sen has not actually had any money back yet. "I thought it was going to be as easy as one-two-three, just make the purchase to the website and get the cash back the next day," she said. "But that didn't happen. It's been well over a month and I'm still waiting for it." Ms Sen thinks the website is not clear enough about how long that wait will be. "I have no idea how long it's going to take me to get the cash back," she said. She went through one of the biggest cashback sites, Quidco. It says it has more than 2 million members in the UK, and that the average user can make £262 a year. That is small change for its more committed users. Quidco says more than a hundred of them have made over £10,000. But, like all cashback websites, its customers can face long waits for their money to start coming in. Andy Oldham is the company's managing director and said every attempt is made to be clear and transparent. "That's the whole ethos of the site," he said. "On every single merchant page, we've got statistics that show the time it takes for those transactions to be paid out." For example, with the bike Ms Sen bought, the information about the length of time is displayed underneath the deal. We pointed this out to Ms Sen, who said she had never noticed the warning before. She thinks that four months is too long to wait for her money. "It's right down the bottom of the page," she said. "Look how light the shade of the font is. It's just not prominent enough. They need to make it clearer," she added. Despite all this, she says she will carry on using cashback websites. "My attitude is, it's better than getting no money back at all," she said. Quidco's Andy Oldham said he would take Ms Sen's feedback on board. He admitted there was "quite possibly" an argument for rethinking how this information is shown on the website. Mr Oldham maintains that it is impossible to give an average waiting time, because

Summary: Swagata Sen likes her home to look good.


Patrick Ewing, 66, collapsed at his home in Oakham, Rutland, and was given resuscitation by his partner, Yvonne Ainsworth. Paramedics used a defibrillator to shock Mr Ewing to restore his normal heart rhythm for almost an hour. East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) said only about 8% of patients survived a cardiac arrest outside hospital. Andy Swinburn, of EMAS, said: "Patrick's case is extremely rare. His heart muscle was very unstable, which lead to a repeated cardiac arrest meaning the crew had to shock him 17 times." Mr Ewing said: "It's an astonishing thing to tip over the edge and be hauled back again. "What they did for me might of just been part of their day job but they worked so hard to keep me going. I will forever be grateful."

Summary: Ambulance crews who gave a cardiac arrest patient 17 high-energy electric shocks say he is lucky to be alive.


They are asking him to "reconcile" the "tensions" between tougher restrictions and the desire for economic growth. Net migration figures fell last year, with officials saying this was "largely due" to a drop in foreign students. But the government says it is committed to stamping out abuses of the immigration system. On Thursday, the House of Lords is set to debate the impact of immigration policy on UK higher education. The coalition has pledged to restrict the level of annual net migration - the balance between the number of people who come to live in the UK for the long-term and the number who are leaving - to "tens of thousands". Since last year, all institutions which want to sponsor non-European Union students for a visa must be accredited as "highly trusted". Potential entrants have to speak a higher standard of English and the "post-study work route" to staying on has been closed, unless graduates have an offer of one of a list of skilled jobs. The overall UK net migration figure fell from 242,000 to 183,000 in the year to March. The Office for National Statistics said this was "largely due" to a decline in the number of foreign students despite an increase in the number of arrivals from China - the UK's largest overseas student market. Opponents of the government's changes say they damage the economy by restricting the lucrative movement of students to the UK, putting universities at a disadvantage. In their letter to Mr Cameron, the five select committee chairmen urge "further action to encourage international university students to study in the UK". They add: "Doing so has the potential to support economic growth in the immediate and longer term, supporting jobs in university towns and increasing export earnings. "International students who study in the UK also build relationships which last over time, laying the foundations for future business opportunities in emerging economies, and supporting our foreign policy objectives." They also ask the prime minister to "reconcile the remaining tensions between visa policy and aspirations for growth by removing international students from the net migration target". The signatories include three Labour MPs: Keith Vaz (Home Affairs Committee), Adrian Bailey (Business Committee) and Margaret Hodge (Public Accounts Committee). The others are cross-bench peers Lord Hannay (Europe Sub-Committee) and Lord Krebs (Science and Technology Committee).

Summary: The chairmen of five parliamentary committees have written to David Cameron to urge him to remove overseas student numbers from migration targets.


The 22-year-old man needed hospital treatment after the incident on Bridge Street on New Year's Day. Police Scotland said a 15-year-old boy had been charged. The teenager is expected to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Summary: A teenager has been charged in connection with an Aberdeen assault which left a man with a fractured jaw.


Mrs May will be the first foreign leader to meet the new president after his inauguration. A post-Brexit free trade deal is thought likely to be high on her agenda as she travels to the US for talks. Confirmation of the meeting came as hundreds of thousands of people around the world joined women's marches to protest Mr Trump's presidency. Mr Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer gave details of Mrs May's visit in his first briefing to journalists at the White House on Saturday. Earlier, while visiting the CIA's headquarters, President Trump said the PM "is coming over to our country very shortly". Nato, the European Union, defence and Russia are all likely to be discussed in the meeting. The BBC's political correspondent Iain Watson said the "symbolism will be very important" and with Brexit negotiations about to get under way, the fact Mrs May will be meeting the new president so soon will be "politically significant". Our correspondent said there had been a lot of effort to make sure Mrs May was one of the first leaders President Trump would meet. In December the PM's joint chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, travelled to the US to build links with the incoming president's team ahead of his inauguration on 20 January. Theresa May congratulates Trump on taking office In a statement issued after the inauguration, Mrs May said: "From our conversations to date, I know we are both committed to advancing the special relationship between our two countries and working together for the prosperity and security of people on both sides of the Atlantic. "I look forward to discussing these issues and more when we meet in Washington." Mrs May has promised to hold "very frank" discussions with Mr Trump. She told the Financial Times she believed the new president recognised the importance and significance of Nato and the "importance of the co-operation we have in Europe to ensure our collective defence and collective security". On the day after his inauguration, at least 500,000 people gathered for a rally outside the US Capitol building in Washington while organisers said an estimated 100,000 descended on central London on Saturday as similar events were staged in major cities across the US and around the world.

Summary: Prime Minister Theresa May will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington DC on Friday, the White House has said.


Mr Cowen had to deny being drunk or hungover during the RTE interview. The taoiseach was interviewed live from his party's conference, which is taking place in Galway. On Wednesday he said: "I'm sorry that it emerged in the quality it did. There was a hoarseness in my voice throughout the day yesterday." He added: "It wasn't my best performance and I would like to apologise for that. "I would hate to think the reputation of the country or the office of taoiseach would in any way be affected by what I had to say." Mr Cowen again denied any suggestions he was hungover. "The assertions made subsequent to it were without justification, without foundation, were not correct, were not true," he said. Mr Cowen had attended the Fianna Fail party dinner at the Ardilaun Hotel in Galway on Monday night. Following the interview, the finance spokesman for the Republic's opposition claimed there were concerns over the leadership of the country. "There was a feeling this morning that this can't continue, the game is up," said Fine Gael's Michael Noonan. Simon Coveney, also of Fine Gael, who said in a Twitter message on Tuesday that Mr Cowen sounded "half-way between drunk and hungover" in the interview, has said he accepted the taoiseach's apology. Mr Coveney said that he believed Mr Cowen, but added that he did not regret his previous tweet. He said it took "a big person to apologise when big mistakes are made as was the case yesterday morning and the Taosieach should be recognised for that."

Summary: Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen has admitted that a controversial radio interview he gave on Tuesday was not his "best performance".


Pte Sean Benton, 20, from Hastings, was found with five bullet wounds to his chest in June 1995 while on guard at a perimeter fence at Deepcut. An original inquest into his death recorded a verdict of suicide. His family applied for a new hearing after using the Human Rights Act to access evidence held by police. His twin, Tony Benton, and sister, Tracy Lewis, wept and said: "We are just happy and relieved. It's been too long." A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: "We care deeply about our young recruits and our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Private Sean Benton." BBC Local Live: For the latest updates and more news The malevolent culture at Deepcut barracks Justice Collins said fresh evidence had "come to light which casts some doubt upon the correctness" of the original decision. He added that under article two of the Human Rights Act there was material that questioned the care Pte Benton received from the Army at the time. Mrs Lewis said: "Our family had just 20 years with Sean. It has taken us another 21 to secure the thorough, independent inquiry we should have seen immediately after his death." "For two decades, our family has been tormented by questions about what Sean went through at Deepcut," she added. "If his death had been properly investigated in 1995, we would have been spared years of uncertainty and pain. "It should be a source of huge shame to the Ministry of Defence and Surrey Police that our mother had to fight for so long - far longer than she should have had to - to force the authorities to answer basic questions." The family said the original inquest took less than two hours and heard from six people. A criminal investigation seven years later found no evidence of third party involvement. Pte Benton's medical records were not obtained and no evidence was gathered or presented about his experiences at the base. The family, who are represented by human rights group Liberty, believe he was subjected to severe bullying. In a statement, the MoD said: "The Armed Forces will not tolerate abuse, bullying, or discrimination. All allegations are taken very seriously and will be thoroughly investigated, either by the civil or military police and, where appropriate, action will be taken." "It would be inappropriate to comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing - we will assist the coroner as necessary," it added. Pte Benton was the first of four young soldiers to die at the barracks between 1995 and 2002. Pte Cheryl James, 18, from Llangollen, North Wales, shot herself in November 1995, according to a second inquest into her death which concluded in June. However, the coroner criticised a lack of training, structure and inappropriate sexual relationships in the camp. Pte James' father, Des, said he had applied to the MoD for a full public inquiry into what went on at the barracks. Pte Geoff Gray, 17, from Hackney, east London, was found dead with two gunshot wounds to his head on

Summary: A fresh inquest can take place into the death of a young soldier at an army barracks in Surrey 21 years ago, a high court judge has ruled.


James, 29, who presents the drive-time show, studied drama and had a number of shows on the students' union radio station before rising to fame. The DJ, who is covering Radio 1's Big Weekend in Norwich this bank holiday, said he was "completely honoured". Father Ted co-writer Graham Linehan and broadcaster Dame Jenni Murray are also receiving degrees. James said: "My affair with UEA continues - it really is wonderful and I'm completely honoured to be given this. "I spent a very happy three years there and it's the place where I fell in love with drama and radio, so it's very special to me. "As soon as the ceremony is over, I'll set about officially changing my name on all credit cards, mortgage documents and, most importantly, the Radio 1 website." James and Linehan will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Letters at a ceremony in Norwich in July, with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour presenter Murray being given an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law. Other names being recognised for their distinguished careers include comedian Arthur Smith, author Erica Wagner, actor Samuel West and the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham James.

Summary: BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James is to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of East Anglia (UEA).


The pavilion and green from Billingham's John Whitehead Park are to form part of the 1950s town in Beamish open air museum. Once it is complete, visitors will be able to try their hand at bowls and discover stories of the popular leisure pursuit and wider community life. The Â£10.7m 1950s development will also include an original house, shop and cinema from the era. Beamish is also seeking people's memories of the bowling pavilion, and staff will be attending an open day at the Billingham Bowling Club on Sunday. Geraldine Straker, of Beamish, said: "We'll be telling the story of life in the region's tight-knit communities, and clubs such as this played an important part. "We really want to hear people's memories of life in the 1950s, particularly any early memories of the bowling pavilion, and this will help shape the stories we share at Beamish."

Summary: A Teesside bowling club is being replicated at a County Durham museum.


An 18th Century building containing two businesses was destroyed in Sudbury on Sunday, with one woman rescued from an upstairs flat. Suffolk Fire Service was investigating why all on-call fire fighters at Sudbury station were not alerted. The Sudbury engine arrived two minutes later than the Long Melford crew, which was three miles further away. The fire service said the control room was called at 18:17 BST and the first engine, also crewed by on-call retained fire fighters, arrived from Long Melford at 18:32 BST. The engine from Sudbury, which was based about 300 yards from the fire on Market Hill, arrived at 18:34 BST. The 15-minute response time missed the target of 11 minutes. Mark Hardingham, Suffolk's chief fire officer, said paging equipment was usually "pretty reliable and effective". "There are a number of factors that affect the way the equipment operates, so we need to look at each one of those before we can make any firm conclusions," he said. "Initial tests reveal the hardware and the way the system operates was OK, but we're now working with Ofcom and Arqiva to check the radio signal in the Sudbury area." Suffolk County Council is considering making Â£1m cuts to the fire service's Â£22m annual budget by 2016/17. Fire stations outside of Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds are only staffed by retained crews following previous cuts. Andy Vingoe, Suffolk chairman of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "The whole thing just goes to show the under-investment we have in the fire service at the moment. "This fire shows they got there just in time that night - next time we don't know if we're going to be so lucky." Earlier today a hamster was recovered alive from a burnt out flat to the rear of the Market Hill building.

Summary: Only three of eight pagers for retained fire fighters went off when they were needed to tackle a blaze in Suffolk.


The 78-year-old ex-Scotland international says several of his old team-mates are affected. He believes it is as the result of heading heavy footballs in the 1950s and '60s. "People of our era, the balls we played with were big, heavy things," he told BBC Radio 5 live. "To lift them up to take a throw-in you'd have to do special training, and the conditions we played in - snow, rain and mud - and we trained with these things as well, every day, heading practice as well. "Whether this problem of dementia hastens the end of your life or not I don't know, I'm not a medical person - but what I am saying is these were my pals, these were the guys I played with and they have got these problems." St John believes football as an industry should help ex-pros with care costs and said: "If someone needs special care as a result of their career and their career was football, then football should pay for that." The Football Association said it was committed to supporting research into degenerative brain disease among former players. St John's former Liverpool team-mate Geoff Strong, who won the FA Cup in 1965 alongside the Scot, died aged 75 from Alzheimer's in 2013 while last year it was revealed that three members of England's 1966 World Cup squad - Martin Peters, Nobby Stiles and Ray Wilson - have the condition. Former West Brom striker Jeff Astle died in 2002, aged 59, from brain trauma caused by heading footballs throughout his career. He was originally diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, but a re-examination of his brain found he had died from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) - a progressive degeneration caused by repeated head trauma. St John praised the work that Astle's family have done through the Jeff Astle Foundation, which aims to raise awareness of brain injury in all forms of sport. But he still believes the Professional Footballers' Association and other football authorities can do more to help former players and the families who are caring for them. "The game is awash with money, absolutely, so you can't turn round and say it's a finance thing," said St John, who played 336 times for Liverpool, scoring 95 goals. Last year, the FA said it wanted world governing body Fifa to investigate whether former players have dementia as a consequence of playing the game and added that it took concerns about concussion and head injuries "extremely seriously". "In 2015 we established an expert panel which led to the publication of the FA concussion guidelines," it said. "The expert panel further agreed that research is particularly required into the issue of whether degenerative brain disease is more common in ex-footballers. "The FA is determined to support this research and we have recently agreed with the PFA to jointly fund and support this research as we believe that a collaborative approach will strengthen the credibility and resource available."

Summary: Former Liverpool striker Ian St John has called on football's leaders to look after former professionals who have dementia and Alzheimer's disease.


The Bantams went ahead on 43 minutes when Billy Clarke started and finished a move, linking up with Steve Davies who crossed for him to score. But the Shrews levelled a minute after the restart with a messy goal. Tyrone Barnett chased a long ball and his shot hit Rory McArdle before rebounding back off him and spinning into the net past keeper Ben Williams.

Summary: Two goals either side of half-time meant a point apiece for Bradford and Shrewsbury in League One.


In February 2016 ministers said funding would stay at £6.7m in 2016-17, whilst S4C's remit and funding was reviewed. MPs urged ministers to drop plans to cut their contribution to £6.1m as the review had not yet begun. Culture Minister Matt Hancock said secretary of state Karen Bradley was considering the matter. Most of S4C's £80m budget comes from the licence fee. The Wales Office does not expect the investigation to be completed until the end of 2017. During a Westminster debate on Wednesday, Mr Hancock said the Department of Culture, Media and Sport's contribution to S4C's budget was currently set to fall to £6.1m in 2017-18. "We are aware of commitments given by our predecessor [ex-Culture Secretary John Whittingdale] around timing - and this is an issue the secretary of state [Karen Bradley] is currently considering," he said. Ceredigion MP Mark Williams, who called the debate on S4C's future, said: "It is absolutely right that a review takes place to ensure that it has the funding necessary to fulfil its remit and strategy over the longer term. "The comprehensive review into S4C announced in February last year, by the former secretary of state, along with a reversal of a cut, prior to the outcome of the review, was welcome. "But we are now in 2017 and still waiting for a promised review, and there is cross-party concern about the delay." Mr Hancock said there would be an announcement about the review "shortly" and promised that it would be chaired by someone with "a thorough understanding of Wales and an interest in the Welsh language".

Summary: MPs have called on the UK government not to cut its funding of Welsh language channel S4C.


The star wore a Gary Barlow mask as he began playing Could It Be Magic on a piano at Cabot Circus shopping centre. Shoppers watching the mystery performer were astonished when he revealed his true identity and sang the hit song. The 45-year-old entertainer is known for surprising fans - in 2015 he "crashed" a number of weddings. Hundreds of people had soon gathered to watch the former X Factor judge at the city centre mall, with many posting videos and photographs of the performance on social media. As news of the concert spread, people around the UK tweeted the star to ask him to attend weddings, birthday parties - and other shopping centres. In 2015, Barlow promised to sing at the weddings of three fans - but went on to sing at more. Among them was Natalie Purkis, who was stunned when the star turned up at her wedding reception in Oxfordshire at the request of her husband Martin. Barlow later tweeted: "I'll look back fondly at 2015 as the year of the wedding crasher!"

Summary: Take That star Gary Barlow surprised shoppers in Bristol with an impromptu concert - which started with him wearing a disguise... as himself.


Leon Mugesera, an academic, was extradited back to his home country from Canada four years ago. He made his incendiary speech against the Tutsi minority in 1992. Some 800,000 people died in the genocide. Mugesera later worked as a lecturer in Quebec province and lost a 12-year legal battle to avoid extradition. In 1992, then an official in Rwanda's ruling Hutu party, Mugesera told more than 1,000 party members that they should kill Tutsis and dump their bodies in the river. Mugesera later maintained his innocence, saying the speech had been taken out of context. The genocide ended when rebels, led by current Tutsi President Paul Kagame, seized power in July 1994. Militias from the majority Hutu ethnic group were blamed for the mass slaughter.

Summary: A former politician who described Tutsis as "cockroaches" and called for their extermination has been jailed for life in Rwanda over the 1994 genocide.


Jason Rezaian, a dual US-Iranian citizen, has been accused of passing information to "hostile governments". He defended himself in court, saying he had carried out his activities as a journalist, Iranian media reported. Mr Rezaian could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He is being tried in one of Tehran's revolutionary courts, usually reserved for political cases or those related to national security. Mr Rezaian appeared in court alongside his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and a third detainee, reported to be a female photojournalist. The judge, Abolghassem Salavati, outlined the charges against Mr Rezaian as "espionage through collecting classified information and providing it to hostile governments" and "spreading propaganda against the regime", Iran's Mehr news agency reported. Mr Rezaian rejected some of the charges, Mehr reported, saying: "I am a journalist and I carried out all my activities legally and as a journalist." The presiding judge, Abolghassem Salavati, is known for handing down harsh sentences and is accused by human rights groups of cracking down on journalists and activists. He has been dubbed the "judge of death" for imposing several death sentences after the 2009 post-election opposition protests. He first came to public attention in 2006 when he sentenced two defendants to death for the murder of Hassan Moghadas, the Revolutionary Court judge who sentenced a prominent journalist - Akbar Ganji - to 15 years in jail. Since then, Mr Salavati has presided over or sat in the trials of several prominent political figures, including a daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. In January 2009, he found four people guilty of conspiring with the US government against Iran in their work on an HIV prevention programme. In September 2014, Mr Salavati sentenced Mohsen Amir-Aslani to death for heresy for his interpretation of the Jonah and the Whale story as a symbolic tale. Source: BBC Monitoring's Armen Shahbazian What are Iran's revolutionary courts? The US State Department repeated its call for the "absurd charges" to be dropped. Iran has not recently commented on the case, but the Washington Post has spoken out forcefully. "The shameful acts of injustice continue without end in the treatment of [Mr] Rezaian," a statement by the newspaper's Executive Editor Martin Baron said on Monday. "Now we learn his trial will be closed to the world. And so it will be closed to the scrutiny it fully deserves. "There is no justice in this system, not an ounce of it, and yet the fate of a good, innocent man hangs in the balance." The paper points out that Mr Rezaian was arrested without charge and jailed in Iran's notorious Evin prison - placed in isolation for many months and denied medical care he needed. His brother, Ali, meanwhile told the BBC there was no evidence to support the charges: "They've cherry-picked information to come up with whatever they could to charge him with to make it seem like there was a reason that they've held him." The BBC's US state department correspondent, Barbara Plett Usher, says US officials have repeatedly raised his case during months of

Summary: The trial of a Washington Post journalist detained in Iran for almost 10 months on charges that include "espionage" has opened in the capital Tehran behind closed doors.


Casey posted a one-under 71 to move to seven under, while Fleetwood and Americans Brian Harman and Brooks Koepka signed for 70s at Erin Hills. For the first time since world rankings began in 1986, the world's top three have missed the cut at a major. Defending champion Dustin Johnson (+4), Rory McIlory (+5) and Jason Day (+10) finished above the one-over-par cut. Overnight leader Rickie Fowler was going on serenely at nine under until three successive bogeys from the 11th saw him drop back into the pack. The American recovered to post five pars and salvage a one-over 73 to sit one off the lead, with Jamie Lovemark and JB Holmes who both shot 69s. World number one Johnson, who recorded his first major victory in this tournament at Oakmont a year ago, flirted with the projected cut mark all day. He opened on three over but birdied the first two holes. However, he was unable to build on that momentum and was still one over par after a birdie on the 12th. Bogeys on the 13th and 14th dropped him back to three over and a further shot went on the 17th. Northern Ireland's McIlroy, who was playing his first tournament after a month out injured and only his seventh of the year, signed for a one-under 71, after knocking in four birdies in his final six holes, but the damage was done by his six-over 78 in round one. "I showed up for the last six holes at least," joked world number two McIlroy, who misses his second successive US Open cut. "I saw some positives on the back nine to take into next week and, even though this is disappointing, the last two rounds will serve me well in this busy summer." World number three Day followed his opening 79 with a 75 to limp out on 10 over. "It's been the best preparation going into a major in my career," said the Australian, who conceded: "I was in the hay too much over the last couple of days." After opening with a six-under 66, Casey was one off the overnight lead as he went out among the early starters on Friday. He started on the 10th, birdied the 11th but bogeyed the 12th before coming unstuck on the 14th. He was within 100 yards of the green after two shots but hit his third in to deep rough and took five from there to post a triple-bogey eight. A bogey on 15 dropped him to two under but a run of five birdies followed to catapult him to the top of the leaderboard. "It's very difficult to get through a major championship, let alone a US Open, without a blemish on your card," the 39-year-old told BBC Sport. "I made a complete mess on the 14th. It's how you react to it. I tried to take my medicine and then messed up the next hole. But I got on a wonderful birdie streak. "It was important to do that. I didn't change the game plan. John, my

Summary: English duo Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood are in a four-way tie for the lead after two rounds of the US Open.


Attendances have fallen in recent years since the Premiership side moved from Edgeley Park in Stockport to AJ Bell Stadium in Barton in 2012. Sale have moved home games back to Friday nights for the upcoming season. "I think there is some rebuilding to do because I think people in the early days of moving have had a pretty poor experience," Cotton told BBC Sport. "That could be queuing up on a motorway, couldn't get away from the stadium, couldn't buy a drink at the ground. Listening to the things we're going to do to change that, if people come down from now they will find a very different experience. "The infrastructure is still well away from where it needs to be but there are plans to develop that." Cotton, 69, a former England and British and Irish Lions prop returned to Sale - a club he served as both a player and director - after Simon Orange's takeover of the Premiership side in June. He has promised to be active in his role, despite his commitments with his clothing business. "What I really want to see is a very strong north of England club that can compete at the highest level," he added. "That is my motivation for giving up the precious thing that I have got, and that is my time. "I think what was lacking before was that the board weren't very often represented at games home and away, and I think that is very wrong - board members will travel to away games and home games." One of the standout announcements from Sale's new 10-man board was that director of rugby Steve Diamond will have a seat on it. However, Cotton insists there will be no conflict of interest with a member of the coaching staff also working as a director. "It will put no strain whatsoever on the relationship, we're here to support him," Cotton continued. "We'll be working very closely with Diamond to make sure we can achieve the ambition which we all hold - if we went down we'd still be with them." Diamond also confirmed they are close to signing a new full-back and are still looking for another player to add to their backline, with former Bath and London Welsh winger Nick Scott on trial with the club.

Summary: New Sale Sharks chairman Fran Cotton has conceded they must work to restore their relationship with some fans.


The trial, which targets women who are too late to undergo surgery, gives six weeks of additional chemotherapy. On average, 94 women in Northern Ireland each year are diagnosed with cervical cancer. Approximately 22 will die. Tara Millar from Belfast was diagnosed on 1 April 2015. After her diagnosis which was stage 2b, research staff at the cancer centre in Belfast offered her the choice of joining the UK trial. "After I did all the research it was a no brainer," she said. "I knew I was going to lose my hair and I had a mane of hair at the time. In fact, it weighed four pounds when it was cut off. "But I looked at the facts and it gave me a higher percentage chance of surviving. " The trial, which is called Interlace, is being conducted by Cancer Research UK. This week it awarded Â£1.3m to Belfast Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre for trials. Currently, four women in Northern Ireland are taking part in the trial, which is now in phase three of its research. Additional nurses are often required which offer one-to-one treatment to the patient. Wendy Cunningham has been a cancer research nurse for 20 years and looked after Tara. "The trial involves half of the women getting two extra drugs (carboplatin and paclitaxel) for about six weeks before their standard round of chemotherapy starts," she said. "And these drugs are already being used for ovarian and breast cancer. So we know what their side effects are like. "We know they work but they are given at a certain dose, and weekly, so it is not harmful. That means the patient, all being well, can be ready to start the standard treatment after six weeks." While not all women are suitable for the trial, even those who are eligible sometimes refuse. as it adds another six weeks to the standard round of treatment. According to Tara, who was 31 when diagnosed and is now two years in remission, the prospect of losing her hair, while daunting, was worth it. "I knew my hair would grow back and it has. I said 'yes' to the trial very easily. "I was asked, 'Do you want more drugs? If it gives you more of a chance to survive, it was just an extra six weeks'. So far it's been worth it." One of the problems around the condition is women are being diagnosed too late. Tara said she regrets not taking up the offer of a smear test in her local GP surgery and is appealing for other women to go. Richard Wilson is a consultant oncologist and a professor at the centre of cell research at Queen's University Belfast (QUB). Prof Wilson said this it was a very exciting time for Belfast and its research into cancer. He said there was one current area of research that is particularly exciting. "This is a trial in ovarian cancer and it's a trial of a drug that's being developed from research in QUB. "We're giving this drug here and in two English

Summary: The first woman to take part in a cervical cancer trial in Northern Ireland has said signing up to it was a "no brainer".


The Legend of Barney Thomson will open the 69th year of the festival on Wednesday 17 June. The film, which stars Carlyle alongside Emma Thompson and Ray Winstone, will receive its world premiere at the start of the 12-day festival. Mark Adams, the new artistic director of EIFF, said he was "thrilled". Tickets for the film's public screening at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre go on sale on Wednesday. Starring alongside Carlyle, Thompson and Winstone are Tom Courtenay, Ashley Jensen, Martin Compston, Brian Pettifer, Kevin Guthrie, James Cosmo, Stephen McCole and Samuel Robertson, with a screenplay by Colin McLaren and Richard Cowan. Mr Carlyle said: "After a career-long association with EIFF it gives me enormous pleasure to have The Legend of Barney Thomson chosen as opening night film. "It really is such an honour for me to have my first feature as director premiered here in Edinburgh at the festival that has played such a huge part in my life." Mr Adams said: "We are thrilled to be opening this year's festival with Robert Carlyle's wonderful black comedy. "It is a marvellously macabre and playful film, impressively directed and with a terrific cast. "It is the perfect film to kick off what promises to be an exciting festival." Based on the book "The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson" by Douglas Lindsay, the film is a dark comedy that tells the story of Barney (Carlyle), an awkward barber who inadvertently stumbles into serial murder.

Summary: Movie star Robert Carlyle's directorial debut film is to open the Edinburgh International Film Festival, it has been announced.


Tommy Sheldon, from Southampton, died two weeks after being pulled from the inferno by a passer-by in Merdon Castle Lane, Hursley, Hampshire, on 11 August. His mother Teresa Sheldon, from Kent, has also been charged with the attempted murder of another person, who cannot be named for legal reasons. She was remanded in custody when she appeared at Winchester Crown Court. Ms Sheldon, 38, from Leyton Cross Road, Dartford, also faces a count of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and is due back at court at a date yet to be fixed. Tommy was rescued from inside the burning car and airlifted to hospital with serious burns. He died on 25 August.

Summary: The mother of a five-year-old boy has been charged with his murder after he died in a car fire.


8 March 2016 Last updated at 17:25 GMT Despite equal pay legislation being introduced in 1970 a gender pay gap still exists today. According to the Office of National Statistics, women are still paid 24.6% less than their male counterparts in skilled trades. Video produced by BBC Rewind

Summary: Parity is this year's theme for International Women's Day so 46 years after the introduction of the Equal Pay Act, BBC Rewind looks back on the history of the gender pay gap.


The Seasiders struck with the first real chance after 12 minutes as Nathan Delfouneso jinked past his man and delivered a pinpoint chip into the area, where Jamille Matt turned the ball home from three yards. Blackpool goalkeeper Sam Slocombe denied Matthew Briggs with a sensational save to push the ball behind after 17 minutes, but the visitors did equalise from the resulting corner as Kurtis Guthrie prodded in from close range after a goalmouth scramble. Somehow, Colchester failed to re-take the lead on the stroke of half-time as Slocombe produced a brilliant save from George Elokobi's close-range effort, before Guthrie headed against the bar from two yards. Blackpool should have clinched the win 15 minutes from time, as Tom Aldred was found unmarked from a corner, but he headed wide from eight yards. Colchester finished the game with 10 men, after substitute Sean Murray was shown a straight red for a bad tackle on Jim McAlister in injury time. Report supplied by the Press Association Match ends, Blackpool 1, Colchester United 1. Second Half ends, Blackpool 1, Colchester United 1. Foul by Jamille Matt (Blackpool). Chris Porter (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt missed. Jamille Matt (Blackpool) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Substitution, Blackpool. Eddie Nolan replaces Jim McAlister because of an injury. Colin Daniel (Blackpool) is shown the yellow card. Sean Murray (Colchester United) is shown the red card for violent conduct. Jim McAlister (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Sean Murray (Colchester United). Delay in match Tom Eastman (Colchester United) because of an injury. Attempt blocked. Colin Daniel (Blackpool) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Attempt saved. Jim McAlister (Blackpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt saved. Colin Daniel (Blackpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Corner, Colchester United. Conceded by Clark Robertson. Foul by Jamille Matt (Blackpool). Tom Eastman (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt missed. Colin Daniel (Blackpool) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Substitution, Colchester United. Denny Johnstone replaces Kurtis Guthrie. Attempt blocked. Jordan Flores (Blackpool) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Substitution, Colchester United. Kane Vincent-Young replaces Richard Brindley. Will Aimson (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Kurtis Guthrie (Colchester United). Attempt saved. Tom Aldred (Blackpool) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Matthew Briggs (Colchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Jim McAlister (Blackpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Matthew Briggs (Colchester United). Corner, Colchester United. Conceded by Jim McAlister. Attempt blocked. Owen Garvan (Colchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Attempt blocked. Sean Murray (Colchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the

Summary: Blackpool's winless run was extended to five games as they were held at home by fellow League Two play-off chasers Colchester.


Smells of fresh sushi fill the meeting room, and Japanese artwork covers the walls of the house. Outside, traditional Japanese plants and water features make it feel more like Japan than Northern Ireland. Set up nearly two decades ago, in 1996, the group was formed to help Japanese people new to Northern Ireland to integrate, but its members say the society is about much more than that too. On Saturday, the society held its first meeting of the year. The society's secretary, Séan Greer, said many members joined because they had lived in Japan for a time. "I used to live in Japan, for about nine years in total, and I came back just at the end of 2003," he said. "I wanted to keep my contact with Japan, I heard about the society and looked them up. People are interested in Japanese culture for a lot of different reasons. "It might be the language, for a lot of people it's food, for a lot of younger people it's the animation and manga (Japanese cartoons). Everything they do seems to be a little bit different or sometimes very different from our own and therefore it's sort of endlessly fascinating." There was plenty of culture on show at the meeting, including a performance by a group of Japanese taiko drummers from Londonderry. One of the group's founders, Fiona Umetsu, said it was an exciting art form, mixing both music and performance. "Taiko is a part of nearly every Japanese festival that you see, and it's a brilliant part of their summer," she said. "When I lived there I saw it and thought it was amazing, and was lucky enough to be able to join a local group." The society was joined by a very special guest - students visiting Belfast from Rikkyo University in Tokyo joined in the festivities. For many of them, it was their first time visiting Belfast and they told me they were keen to stay. "Belfast is very fantastic and an exciting city, many students say they want to retire here in Northern Ireland," their professor said. The Japan society's chairperson, Junko McNeely, said the group provides a way for people who are learning Japanese to practise with native speakers. "The purpose is to introduce Japanese culture, anything like that to get local people interested in Japan, but it's also a place to communicate and have entertainment with Japanese people as well," she said. Séan Greer said the society also allows Japanese visitors to find out how the western world views their culture. "If you got to Japan the first question a Japanese person will ask you is: "あなたは、日本どう思いますか", which means, 'what do you think of Japan?' and they're really curious about what others think of them," he said. "So when they come here they can learn a little bit more about that, and realise what non-Japanese people find interesting about Japan. "We ourselves are interested to know what other people think of Northern Ireland and we're keen to show them that it's a welcoming place as well."

Summary: Tucked away in a little guest house next to a manufacturing firm in Glengormley, County Antrim, members of the Japan Society of Northern Ireland chat away - some easily switching in and out of Japanese and English.


Media playback is unsupported on your device 19 May 2015 Last updated at 00:20 BST The interactive 3D renderings are assembled from photos of the objects, sourced from tourists who visited them before the destruction. So far the project has received more than 700 photos and produced 15 3D images of artefacts, mostly from the ransacked Mosul Museum. The archaeologists who established the project hope to widen its scope to include objects lost at other sites, to violence or natural disasters such as the recent Nepal earthquakes.

Summary: In an initiative called Project Mosul, cyber-archaeologists and volunteers are re-creating works of art destroyed by IS militants in Iraq.


Meghan Ambrozevich-Blair, 26, died following a collision between her car and a pick-up truck on the A1 near Dunbar in East Lothian in December. The student, who was engaged, was at Edinburgh Napier University. She is survived by parents Kevin and Lauren, siblings Jared and Ethan and fiance Scot. In a statement, her family said: "We are extremely proud of our daughter's achievement. "Meghan worked so hard at university, on placements and overseas, learning about and caring for animals. "Her dyslexia and dyscalculia meant she had to work harder than most to keep up with her fellow students. "Even from a very young age, it was clear that Meghan loved animals. She was always drawn to the leftovers and the misfits, the runts that nobody else wanted. "Meghan's loss has affected all the family deeply but we take comfort from the fact that all the creatures in animal heaven are being very well cared for." Ms Ambrozevich-Blair was a volunteer at vet nursing open days and had been part of a team from the university that visited Kerala, India, in 2015 to help develop local interest in animal welfare and training veterinary nurses. Academic staff at the university said she achieved the top grading through "hard work and good humour". Life sciences programme leader Dr David Smith said: "She was on track to be one of the outstanding students in the history of the programme, not just academically - her profile shows straight merits - but also in being at the forefront of showing what veterinary nurses can do. "The slogan Meghan provided for the School of Applied Sciences' pop-up banner - Edinburgh Napier gives you the opportunity to become the best veterinary nurse you can be - sums her up well." Dr Smith, who taught Meghan for four years, said: "She was always on the front row, eager and willing to go. "She usually had a lovely big smile on her face - unless she wasn't quite satisfied with your answer to her questions. "She will be sadly missed by the staff of Edinburgh Napier University and the college of animal welfare." The 26-year-old, from Dunbar, previously studied at Barony Agricultural College, Dumfries, and was also involved in campaigning against animal cruelty and fundraising for the Scottish SPCA. Her close friend and Edinburgh Napier colleague Kirsty Dougherty said: "Meghan was a special friend, warm-hearted and fun, and generous with her laughter and enthusiasm. "The world seemed like a kinder place when she was around, not only to her friends and family but for her animal patients too. Her compassion and energy were boundless - she is sorely missed."

Summary: A veterinary nursing student who died in a crash the day after her final exam has been awarded a posthumous first-class honours degree.


A cabinet source has said that a "big reset" on subsidies paid by consumers, which push up household energy bills, is coming in the autumn. "There is a hardening view in the cabinet that we've got to deal with green subsidies," the source added. Last month, the government announced that new onshore wind farms would be excluded from a subsidy scheme from April next year. Within a few weeks, the solar power industry is expecting its subsidies will be cut. The issue of renewable energy subsidies was discussed at the weekly meeting of the government's most senior ministers on Tuesday. Subsidies to the renewable energy industry, paid for by consumers, are expected to add up to Â£4.3bn this year. This week, the think tank Policy Exchange said the average household energy bill has risen by Â£120 over the last five years due to what they called "ill-thought through energy and climate policies". A spokeswoman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change said: "Reducing energy bills for hard-working British families and businesses is this government's priority. We've already announced reforms to remove subsidies for onshore wind, and that work to make sure bill payers are getting the best possible deal is going to continue." But the renewable energy industry fears a cut now could seriously damage an industry at a crucial point in its development. "We are getting very anxious about what might be coming," Leonie Greene, from the Solar Trade Association, told the BBC. "The British industry is already very significant today. It employs over 30,000 people and turns over billions of pounds. It is quite clear that globally this industry is going to be worth trillions. So it is incredibly important that in terms of the global race that the prime minister talks about, that we make sure we have a strong solar industry in the UK." In a speech last month, the Energy Secretary Amber Rudd warned the renewables industry and campaigners that support for the environment has to be weighed against the impact on energy bills. "All that support costs money," she said. "We cannot ignore the fact that, obviously, people want subsidies if they are on the receiving end of subsidies, but we have to ensure that we get the good measure of it." And there lies the conundrum for the government: attempting to keep bills low, supporting emerging industries and keeping to climate change targets - with the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris just a few months away now in December.

Summary: Green taxes are set to be cut further, the BBC has learnt.


No-one here is in any doubt that Boko Haram did it. It seems people do not know where to vent their anger now but hostility hangs in the air. Inside the mosque, the sight is shocking. Beyond the blood-soaked steps, the floor is strewn with debris: scattered prayer mats, beads, smashed spectacles and pages from the Koran. There are bullet marks on the pillars and the suicide bombers' blood can be seen splattered across the walls and right up inside the dome. "We heard a loud sound outside, but people said let's continue praying," said Adamu Magashi, who was inside facing the imam who had just finished his sermon at the time of the attack. "Then a bomb went off right inside the mosque and somebody started shooting. We tried to move towards the imam and there was another blast - we couldn't even see each other as we tried to escape," he told me after returning to the scene. Outside, a large crowd stands over the twisted remains of the motorbikes and bicycles that were engulfed in the flames when the first bomber struck, driving a car into the assembled worshippers. Policemen occasionally disperse the agitated throng. Another crowd stares at a collection of blackened shoes that has been gathered up in the large open sandy area in front of the green domed mosque. "This was the first time ever the five daily prayers were not observed in this mosque," one shocked man, who has often prayed here, told me, describing the attack as unimaginable. On Friday, the terror swiftly turned to fury when three of the gunmen were overpowered right outside the mosque. They were beaten and burnt to death. Had their lives been spared, they could have provided useful intelligence on the group behind the violence - not that the police have a good record of investigating and prosecuting. Boko Haram's former leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed when in police custody in 2009. At one of the hospitals, where the hundreds of injured are being treated, the police had to intervene to stop a mob lynching a man who had somehow caused fury by taking a photograph. By targeting such a prominent place of worship, the jihadists have sent shockwaves right across Nigeria. This was not just another attack - Boko Haram seemed to be stating it had no respect for the way Islam is practised here. The people of Kano have been shocked and traumatised before by bombers and gunmen working in tandem. This was by no means the first Boko Haram attack on a mosque. But it was possibly the most devastating. And whilst some have portrayed the Boko Haram insurgency as a war on Christianity, this attack is yet another stark reminder that the vast majority of victims in the conflict have been Muslims. Back in April 2007, a high-profile Muslim cleric was killed in Kano. Sheikh Ja'afar Mahmoud Adam, was gunned down as he prayed at a mosque here after criticising the group's hardline ideology. Seven years on and the list of targets has grown

Summary: The tension is palpable in Kano, after bombers and gunmen struck killing more than 100 people at the central mosque.


The 36-year-old was sacked from his first managerial post at League One club Oldham in January after just 20 games in charge. Former midfielder Dunn, who won one England cap in 2002, joined Rovers aged eight and made 377 appearances in two spells at Ewood Park. "I don't have to say how much this club means to me," he told the club website. "I think everyone knows what Blackburn Rovers means to me personally. "I'm looking forward to learning from the manager, as well as Alan Irvine and Rob Kelly who are some of the best coaches around." Meanwhile, Blackburn boss Paul Lambert has called for a winter break to be introduced into English football. The 46-year-old made five changes for the FA Cup loss to West Ham and then six changes for Wednesday's defeat by Derby as they have a run of 10 games in 32 days. "I would have it," Lambert told BBC Radio Lancashire when asked about the break. "I've experienced it and I know it's brilliant. "It's really refreshing, you go away and you come back and you've done another pre-season. "It gives everyone so much recovery from long-term injuries, for people mentally and it gives everyone a break."

Summary: David Dunn has returned to Blackburn Rovers to take up a position as Under-21 assistant coach.


Experts say a lack of early support means patients are reaching crisis. Data compiled for the BBC by NHS Digital showed that between 2011-12 and 2015-16 the number of patients attending A&E units with psychiatric problems rose by nearly 50% to 165,000. For the under 18s alone the numbers almost doubled to nearly 22,000. These figures represent a small minority of overall A&E attendances - just over 1% in total. But the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said that was likely to be the "tip of the iceberg" as these figures just included cases where the primary diagnosis was a psychiatric condition. Patients coming in with self-harm or after an attempted suicide may have been recorded as having a different reason for attending hospital. Some trusts the BBC spoke to said as many as a tenth of patients were attending A&E because of mental health problems. A 999 call comes in. The man says he is ill, he's hearing voices and wants to kill someone. Usually emergency services would be despatched and he'd probably be taken to an already overstretched accident and emergency department. But in Birmingham, the street triage team is sent with a paramedic, police officer and psychiatric nurse on board. By intervening at this stage, they aim to get the patient appropriate help and ease pressures on A&E - the man has been taken there about half a dozen times already in the last few weeks. After talking to the team and physical health checks, it's agreed he'll remain at home and keep an appointment in the morning. The initiative set up by the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust has reduced the numbers in mental health crisis going to A&Es locally. As part of RAID - Rapid Assessment, Interface and Discharge - psychiatric teams are also based in emergency departments. They aim to see people with psychiatric problems within an hour. Dr Peter Aitken, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the figures were "extremely concerning" "Years of underfunding has meant these children have not been able to benefit from early intervention." He said A&Es needed to invest in specialist psychiatric services to ensure people with mental health problems got the right support. "Mental health presentations to A&E are unlikely to be minor as they represent an urgent crisis point in a person's life," he added. Dr Marc Bush, chief policy adviser at the charity Young Minds, said: "Far too many young people end up in A&E, which can be crowded and stressful, because there's nowhere more appropriate for them to go. "One of the main reasons that crisis services are so overstretched is that young people who are struggling don't get help soon enough, which means that problems often escalate. "Unless we see greater investment in early intervention, the numbers will continue to rise." The figures have been revealed just a day after the prime minister announced a package of measures to support people with mental health problems. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "As the prime minister has made clear this week - improvements

Summary: There has been a steep rise in the number of people arriving at A&E departments in England with mental health problems, figures show.