He was put on a flight from Paris to Moscow on Tuesday evening, the French interior ministry said. Mr Shprygin had previously been expelled on Saturday, a week after fan violence marred Russia's Euro 2016 match with England. But he returned overland via Spain, and was arrested at the Russia-Wales match in Toulouse on Monday. He is reported to hold far-right views and his All-Russia Supporters' Union is backed by the Kremlin. Mr Shprygin said four other Russians among those expelled on Saturday had also managed to get back into France for the match against Wales. Investigators believe he flew to Barcelona and crossed the border by car to travel to the French city of Toulouse, where Russia lost 3-0 to Wales. The Russian football team are also going home, having failed to go through to the quarter finals with only one point in the group stage.

Summary: The French authorities have expelled controversial Russia fan leader Alexander Shprygin for a second time.


A new report published by the corporation showed licence money spending had a positive knock-on effect for regional economies. The total expenditure over the two-year period came to £4.3bn, which led to a gross value-added (GVA) boost to the economy of £8.3bn. However, spending in London was three times the rest of the UK combined. The report said: "The effect of initial BBC spending is 'multiplied' as it ripples through the economy from region to region and sector to sector (and to the employees of those sectors). This is known as the 'multiplier effect'." The BBC's chief economic and policy adviser Najma Rajah explained: "The basic premise is that when the BBC spends a pound, the impact of that pound is 'multiplied' as that pound spent by the BBC creates value elsewhere in the economy. "So, for example, if the BBC were to buy a camera from a supplier in Manchester, the camera supplier would receive some money in return for the camera. "The camera company would then use the income generated from the sale of the camera to pay their suppliers for the components that went into the camera and to also pay their employees and so on." Rajah added: "A really good example of how this multiplier effect works is when the BBC commissions a programme that is made by an independent television production. "The programme might be filmed in Scotland using local runners, electricians, make-up artists etc. who are paid and then will spend their wages in Scotland to the benefit of the Scottish economy." The report revealed significant growth in the north of England following the opening of the new BBC North headquarters in Salford Quays, with GVA growing 19.7% to £391m. But in the Midlands, it fell 21.7% to £199m, while the south was down 18.8% to £699m and Wales dropped 6.2% to £276m. London saw the biggest expenditure of £2.98bn - nearly three times as much as the rest of the UK combined - which in turn generated £5.65bn GVA. John Tate, the BBC's director of policy and strategy, used the findings of the report to call on Ofcom to reverse its plans for a spectrum tax on broadcasters next year. In a blog post he wrote: "The wider benefit of the licence fee provides an extra reason for Ofcom to think again before it implements a spectrum tax next year: a levy on the spectrum broadcasters use to transmit their programmes. "As well as hitting licence fee payers, such a tax would remove much-needed cash from the UK's creative sector."

Summary: The BBC generated more than £8bn for the UK economy in 2011-12, almost twice its licence fee spend.


Navalny had denied the charges, saying the trial was politically motivated. The 37-year-old had been a leading campaigner against President Putin's United Russia party, and regularly blogged about corruption allegations. The EU said the verdict posed "serious questions" about the state of Russian law. The US said it was "deeply disappointed". Before he was handcuffed and led away, Navalny urged his supporters to continue his anti-corruption struggle, tweeting: "Don't sit around doing nothing." Navalny has previously said he would like to stand for president one day. He had recently registered his candidacy for the next mayor of Moscow, but his campaign team said that after the verdict he was withdrawing from the race, and called on his supporters to boycott the vote. By Oleg BoldyrevBBC News, Kirov Minutes after Judge Blinov started reading from the substantial sheaf of papers, it became evident the two defendants, Alexei Navalny and Pyotr Ofitserov, were going to be found guilty. Seasoned observers of this trial were just about able to pick up the judge's words. Others were bewildered by the hum-like reading. Entering the courtroom just before the verdict reading started, both defendants were far from gloomy. "Why sad faces?" quipped Navalny, walking past dozens of journalists and a row of cameras. Navalny has long acquired the skill of tweeting and blogging while interminable financial documents were read by prosecution, defence and, now, judge. Publishing his fiery comments on politics, corruption and the need to unite in opposition to Vladimir Putin's regime - that's one of the many things he won't be able to do from behind bars, waiting for the sentence to be appealed against. 'Explosion of anger' The BBC's Moscow correspondent Daniel Sandford says that when the sentence was handed down, there were tears from Navalny's supporters and an explosion of anger on the social networking sites that he has used so effectively. Anti-Putin activist and former cabinet minister Boris Nemtsov told reporters the trial was "completely fabricated from start to finish, and even the judge could not say what the reason for the crime was". Other countries have also voiced their concern at the verdict. The US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, said: "We are deeply disappointed in the conviction of Navalny and the apparent political motivations in this trial." A spokesperson for the EU's top foreign policy official, Catherine Ashton, said the embezzlement charges were unsubstantiated, and that Navalny's jailing posed "serious questions as to the state of the rule of law in Russia". French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot added his concern, but said: "We note that not all judicial remedies have been exhausted and that the sentence could be reviewed on appeal." Navalny's supporters in Moscow have vowed to stage protests against the verdict later on Thursday. 'Almost inevitable' Navalny arrived at the courtroom in Kirov to hear the verdict after a 12-hour overnight train journey from Moscow. Our correspondent said Navalny smiled in a resigned manner when the almost inevitable guilty verdict came. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said her husband knew he would get a non-suspended sentence and was

Summary: Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for five years, for embezzlement from a timber firm.


16 January 2017 Last updated at 17:18 GMT Mr Murphy said the party had been "stretched to the limits" by their former partners in government, the DUP. (Democratic Unionist Party).

Summary: Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy says it's time for an election as the deadline passes for Secretary of State James Brokenshire to call one, after the party refused to re-nominate a deputy first minister.


Three Giants' forwards Jonathan Boxill, Craig Peacock and Colin Shields make the 22-man squad while netminder Stephen Murphy returns after injury. GB take on hosts Italy, Netherlands and Serbia between 11-14 February. The winners will progress to final qualifying for the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang in Korea. Seventeen of the squad who won a silver medal at the 2015 World Championship (Division 1B) in Netherlands are named on the roster. While the tournament is taking place, host club Cortina will travel to Belfast to play at the SSE Arena on Friday 12 February and Saturday 13 February. The Serie A side will contest the 'Olympic Series' against the Belfast Giants in the first ever meeting between the teams.

Summary: Four Belfast Giants players have been included in the Great Britain squad for next month's Olympic pre-qualification tournament in Cortina, Italy.


The Charles Dickens Museum in London has been given the grant to buy the desk and chair, which has always been in private ownership. They had been passed down through the Dickens family after his death in 1870, but were auctioned for the Great Ormond Street Charitable Trust in 2004. Dickens used the desk in his final home in Gad's Hill Place in Kent. Our Mutual Friend and his unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood were also penned at the desk. The furniture would have been sold at public auction if it was not for the grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). Made famous in two paintings begun the year he died, the Empty Chair by Luke Fildes and Dickens' Dream by RW Buss, the desk and chair are already on display at the Charles Dickens Museum at the author's former home. Robert Moye, director of the Charles Dickens Museum, said: "We are delighted to have been able to acquire Charles Dickens' iconic writing desk and chair for permanent display in his study at 48 Doughty Street. "They hold a unique place in our literary heritage and, as we embark on our exhibition exploring The Mystery of Edwin Drood, it is timely that the desk he used when writing his final novel has been secured for the benefit of all our visitors."

Summary: The desk where Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations is finally on public display thanks to a £780,000 grant.


For decades, large numbers of Haitians have migrated - many of them without papers - to the Dominican Republic, to escape the poverty and lack of employment in their homeland. In 2013, the Dominican Republic's highest court ruled that children born there to undocumented migrants were not automatically eligible for Dominican nationality. An 18-month period followed in which undocumented migrants were asked to "regulate their status". Thousands who did not meet the deadline left the Dominican Republic, with many saying they were forced out by the authorities. As the BBC's Will Grant found, the Catholic Church has played a key role in the migration crisis with some priests defending the rights of the returnees while others have been criticised for promoting what activists describe as a policy of division. Weekly Mass at Parc Cadeau is a simple affair. The church is a small hut made of wicker and palm, the congregation spread out over a few wooden benches. Looking around the camp, one of several along Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic, you might think that the parishioners have little to be thankful for. It is surely one of the poorest places in Latin America. A year ago thousands of returning Haitians arrived at Parc Cadeau. Some had been forcibly deported from the Dominican Republic, others left voluntarily to avoid confrontation with the authorities. Today hundreds of families remain on the dusty ranch, living in hastily erected shacks of plastic sheeting, cardboard and rope, trapped in near stateless limbo. Soinicier Giles is typical of many in the camp. He spent 22 years living as a farmer in the Dominican Republic, before being deported last year. He takes me to a ramshackle hut to meet his wife Eleny and six of their eight children. The other two were left behind when he was deported. The conditions are extremely harsh, especially for the youngest. "We sleep directly on the floor and it gets wet inside when it rains," Eleny explains. The children were all born in the Dominican Republic itself. They are showing signs of malnutrition and have developed a skin condition since arriving at the camp. "They're very hungry, we all are, because we can only afford one meal a day," she says in Creole-accented Spanish. One of the few local figures helping the returnees is the parish priest, Father Luc Leandre. With funds from the International Organisation for Migration, he has helped relocate some of the most desperate families to nearby communities in Haiti. "It's a grave crisis, very, very bad," Father Leandre tells me. "The Church is like a mother for everyone and I have a duty to help. Not only that, the Pope told everyone they have to help the refugees wherever they are." But Father Leandre says the attitude of some conservative priests on the other side of the border, particularly in the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, has complicated his work. "The cardinal in Santo Domingo is personally very vocal in his support for the deportations. He supported sending all the Haitians back to their country." "It's racism," he

Summary: Immigration has long been a divisive issue on Hispaniola, the Caribbean island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.


The Ministry of Defence has outlined a third round of 5,300 Army redundancies to be set out in June, as it tries to reduce the number of regulars from 102,000 to 82,000 by 2017. The MoD said the cuts are necessary "to meet the challenges of the future". But campaigners said they created a "worrying" situation for Army families. Redundancy notices to those affected by this latest round will be issued on 18 June. No personnel preparing for, serving on, or recovering from deployments on that date will lose their jobs unless they have applied for redundancy, the MoD said, but they could be affected next year. This round of redundancies will be the largest set of cuts faced by the Army so far as the MoD bids to plug a £38bn hole in the defence budget. Catherine Spencer, of the Army Families Federation, said redundancy for soldiers often meant "a complicated and worrying process" for their families. By Jonathan BealeDefence correspondent, BBC News This round of Army redundancies, along with the next, will hit around one in 10 soldiers. And while those soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan will be protected from the axe this time, they could be included in the next round of cuts. But it's not just the impact on morale for those serving that's causing concern. It's the timing of the latest redundancies - just days after David Cameron's warning of a long struggle against Islamic extremism. How will cuts in the armed forces affect Britain's ability to deal with a threat within countries hardly noticed in the government's 2010 Strategic Defence Review? The prime minister has made clear that he will not be sending British combat troops to fight in Mali. He hopes that logistical support for the French from the RAF, intelligence and training will suffice. In his view it's not about the Army's size, but its capabilities. But what happens when those niche capabilities are not enough? It's at that point that politicians tend to think about force, and the size of the Army would suddenly matter. "The family are more likely to accompany a soldier, they are quite likely to be living in service family accommodation, so they're going to be asking themselves where they're going to be living, what their soldier is going to do for a job, where their children are going to go to school and, quite often, whether their spouse will lose their job because they'll have to relocate to another area." Defence minister Mark Francois insisted the MoD would ensure it retained the capabilities the Armed Forces required. Speaking in the House of Commons, he said he could not guarantee all of the redundancies would be made from those who had applied. But he said some 60% of redundancies in the first tranche had come from applicants and more than 70% in the second. Mr Francois added the Army "must live within its means". Labour questioned defence cuts in the wake of the recent hostage crisis in Algeria and concerns that the UK faces a growing battle with Islamist

Summary: Thousands of military personnel face a five-month wait to find out whether they will lose their jobs as part of a restructure of the armed forces.


The Italian, who won last month's Fifa elections to succeed Sepp Blatter, inaugurated the facility in the war-torn country's capital Juba. He also attended the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between South Sudan and Benin, which the away side won 2-1. South Sudan played their first official friendly, against Uganda, in July 2012. It was only in 2011 that organised football was first played in South Sudan, after the country gained its independence from Sudan. South Sudan officials dressed Infantino in traditional robes and made him dance. Officials also produced a large cake to celebrate the Italian's 46th birthday. After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan erupted into civil war in December 2013. Infantino, who won last month's Fifa elections to succeed Sepp Blatter, is due to visit South American football confederation CONMEBOL from 28 to 29 March in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay.

Summary: South Sudan Football Association's new office was opened by new Fifa president Gianni Infantino on Wednesday.


The unseeded Serb won 4-6 6-3 6-4 against the seventh seed to cause the first major upset of the tournament. Konta had been hoping to improve on previous semi-final appearances at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. "It's definitely not an easy defeat to take - it was a close match," Konta told BBC Radio 5 live. "It went to three sets and over two hours. I try to keep a very good perspective on how this sport works and that is there are no easy matches. "First rounds are always tricky and difficult, regardless of the tournament but I guess especially in Slams, so I think that's for everybody, not just me. "My opponent dealt with it and I competed until the very last ball, so I can't be too harsh on myself in that sense, but I've definitely got a lot to improve on, which is also a positive thing." Konta, 26, has enjoyed another terrific year, cementing her place inside the top 10, winning one of the biggest titles in the sport in Miami, and reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and semi-finals at Wimbledon. There was every reason to believe that she would reach similar heights at Flushing Meadows, on her favourite surface of hard courts, but she produced an erratic performance on day one. After easing into a 4-1 lead, the Briton's serve deserted her and hovered around the 40% mark, allowing Krunic to take the initiative. "Credit needs to be given where it's due and that's to how my opponent played," said Konta, who finished the match with 42 unforced errors. "I felt that she raised her level of tennis consistently throughout the match, whereas I struggled to maintain that and fluctuated a little bit more. "That's credit to her for playing as freely as she did." Konta had arrived in New York with an outside chance of taking the world number one ranking, but she is now looking the other way and hanging on to a place in the top eight. That would give her a place in the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time, after she narrowly missed out in 2016. "The goal is to stay healthy, for one, and play a full season, but also to keep trying to get better. "I think, if anything, today gives me a great opportunity to do just that, and I've got still a few tournaments left in the season, and if Singapore is in the cards for me, then I will take it and be very grateful. "If not, I will take what comes my way."

Summary: Britain's Johanna Konta said it was "tough to take" as she headed home from the US Open after just one day following defeat by Aleksandra Krunic.


Each year the library chooses films for preservation which are "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". This year's 25 additions bring the total number of preserved films to 700. Other inductees this year include The Princess Bride, The Breakfast Club, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller The Birds. To be eligible for preservation, films must be at least a decade old. The announcement of The Lion King's inclusion comes three months after Disney announced the movie would be remade as a live action film directed by Jon Favreau. The original animation was released in 1994 and later adapted for the stage. Other films to be added this year include Lost Horizon, Funny Girl, East of Eden and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Paris Is Burning, a 1990 documentary that explored drag ballroom dance culture through the eyes of New York City's black and Latino LGBTQ community, is also among the inductees. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Summary: The Lion King and Thelma & Louise are among 25 films that will be preserved by the US Library of Congress.


But now, for the first time, the dirt has been dug up by archaeologists eager to find out more about our ancestors. Perhaps the most interesting find has been the foundations of a house dating back to the 1300s. The archaeologists said it is a hugely significant find, opening another door into the past and allowing us to learn more about how people used to live. A flint scraper, used by people living more than 3,000 years ago, was also found. It would have been used to scrape animal skins, and as a sort of tool for eating food. The dig was organised by the Belfast Hills Partnership and Queen's University Belfast. First-year archaeology students were given their first chance to explore an ancient site. Some of those taking part said it had made them even more eager to follow this career path. The dig has been going on for several weeks, but at the end of next week it will all be covered up again and restored to how it was before the archaeologists dug their trowels into the previously untouched land. Lizzy Pinkerton from the Belfast Hills Partnership said they want to make sure it remains in good condition. They will now analyse all of the data and artefacts they have found. It is unclear how many other potted sites like the one in Slievenacloy are waiting to be explored all over Northern Ireland, but the enthusiastic archaeologists say they are determined to find out.

Summary: From the neolithic to the medieval period, a host of historical artefacts have been hiding in the Belfast hills.


The first minister signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SinoFortone and another Chinese firm in March. After reports that the agreement has now been cancelled, the Scottish government highlighted a "climate of hostility" from opposition parties. Opponents of the deal called for a full statement on the "sorry episode". The agreement, said to be worth up to £10bn, was signed with representatives of SinoFortone Group and China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group (CR3) at Nicola Sturgeon's official Bute House residence in Edinburgh. However opposition parties voiced fears about the deal, amid concerns CR3's parent company China Railway Group had been named in an Amnesty International report on human rights abuses and had been blacklisted by Norway's oil fund. Ms Sturgeon said no specific deals would be done with the Chinese consortium if legitimate concerns were uncovered, with all actual investments to be scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament. The Sunday Times newspaper reported the deal had collapsed in August and claimed it had become known in China as the "Scottish shambles". A spokesman for Economy Secretary Keith Brown said the government was aware of some concerns but had not thought the deal was off. He also said opposition parties should be "ashamed" for putting potential investments at risk. The spokesman said: "We did not consider that the MOU had been cancelled but were aware that SinoFortone felt they could not move ahead at that time in the climate of hostility they faced from other parties. "However, they continued to believe in the benefits for Scotland of an infrastructure partnership with China and we remained committed to pursuing these opportunities. "The MOU is about building relationships with a view to investment and we remain committed to it. We are sorry if the partners consider the MOU to be cancelled and we remain open to working together on projects in the future." Opposition parties maintained their stance, with Labour's Jackie Baillie demanding the government "come clean" about the fate of the agreement "as a matter of urgency". She said: "Scotland deserves answers on this backroom deal - the whole affair poses serious questions about the transparency and competence of SNP ministers. The SNP government's handling of this has been cackhanded from the very beginning, so it is no wonder it has been branded a shambles. "The SNP tried to hush up this deal throughout the election, and now we find out that it fell apart months ago, and yet the Scottish people - once again - were none the wiser." Scottish Conservative economy spokesman Dean Lockhart added: "This whole episode has shown the SNP just can't be trusted with economic matters. It thought it had struck gold, tried and failed to keep it a secret, and now doesn't seem to know what's going on. "We now need a calm assessment of all this to see if a potentially lucrative deal with China can be reached. These things can't be allowed to fall through because of SNP bungling." Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, who lodged 28 parliamentary questions about the MOU on the first

Summary: A row has broken out over an investment pact between Scotland and China after the Scottish government blamed the opposition for its reported collapse.


The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the area used to farm the poppy plant, the source of opium, increased by 10% to 201,000 hectares. But better farming conditions resulted in a higher yield per hectare, increasing overall production. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of the substance, which is the main ingredient in heroin. Growing opium is a crime in the country, but it is still a major cash crop for impoverished farming communities. The Taliban also taxes poppy production in areas it controls, which is a major source of income for its military activities. UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said the figures were "a worrying reversal in efforts". The opium produced from the poppy plant is used to make some of the most powerful medicinal painkillers, such as morphine. However, many nations cultivate their own supply for medicinal use, and Afghanistan's production of illicit opium is primarily sued for the illegal drug trade. The Afghan government has a stated policy of eradicating poppy crops, but the crop is widespread in many government-controlled regions, and officials are often accused of turning a blind eye. Earlier this year, the BBC's South Asia correspondent Justin Rowlatt visited poppy farms in the north-east, where one farmer told him the local government knew about his crop, but "they also know it is the only way anyone can make decent money." Just 355 hectares (877 acres) of poppies were eradicated by provincial authorities in the last year - down more than 90% since 2015, when almost 4,000 hectares were cleared. Seven insurgents and one officer died during attacks on eradication teams this year. Seven more people were injured. The southern region of the country is the most productive area, accounting for 54% of the entire national opium production. Helmand province, which has seen a resurgent Taliban presence, is the single largest producer, with more than 80,000 hectares of poppy cultivation. The region was a contested area between the Taliban and Nato-led forces, before the latter withdrew in 2014. Taliban militants launched a fresh assault on the Helmand regional capital of Lashkar Gah in early October.

Summary: Opium production in Afghanistan has increased by 43% in the past year, United Nations officials have said.


Clucas, 25, joined Hull from League One side Chesterfield in July 2015 for a reported £1.3m. He scored six goals in 52 appearances in all competitions last season as Hull won promotion from the Championship. "The spirit in the squad is second-to-none and we are determined to achieve our goals in the Premier League this season," Clucas told the club website. Clucas played for the first time in the Premier League last Saturday as Hull beat champions Leicester City 2-1.

Summary: Midfielder Sam Clucas has signed a new three-year deal with Premier League side Hull City.


Luke Judge, from Cornwall, learned of Rufa Fahmi's plight after meeting her uncle while volunteering in Greece. Mr Judge, 34, said the 11-year-old, who previously raised money for cancer patients in Yemen, needed surgery urgently. He spent ??25,000 of his own savings to fund treatment in Paris. Mr Judge said her story had "inspired" him. "When Rufa was nine years old she raised $2,000 (??1,400) for cancer patients in Yemen by selling her paintings. "So for [her] not to get treatment after raising that sort of money was just too much to walk away from," he said. Mr Judge, from Hayle, said hospitals in Yemen did not have the resources to manage Rufa's condition. He secured a visa for the youngster to be treated in Paris after pooling his life savings and raising an additional ??10,000 by calling on "everyone in my network - doctors, politicians and businessmen." "She's been discharged from hospital, is learning to walk again, is learning to eat properly and getting some strength back before her next operation," he said. "We have limited conversation because we don't speak a common language. "She's always smiling, waving and you can tell she's full of love and energy. She's so inspiring."

Summary: A stranger organised and helped fund a life-saving operation for a girl with a brain tumour who lives more than 3,500 miles (5,630 km) from him.


Monarchs are the only insects to migrate such a vast distance. So, by teaming up with biologists, mathematicians set out to recreate the internal compass they use to navigate on that journey. The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports. Lead researcher Prof Eli Shlizerman, from the University of Washington, explained that, as a mathematician, he wants to know how neurobiological systems are wired and what rules we can learn from them. "Monarch butterflies [complete their journey] in such an optimal, predetermined way," he told BBC News. "They end up in a particular location in Central Mexico after two months of flight, saving energy and only using a few cues." Prof Shlizerman worked with biologist colleagues, including Steven Reppert at the University of Massachusetts, to record directly from neurons in the butterflies' antennae and eyes. "We identified that the input cues depend entirely on the Sun," explained Prof Shlizerman. "One is the horizontal position of the Sun and the other is keeping the time of day. "This gives [the insects] an internal Sun compass for travelling southerly throughout the day." Having worked out the inputs for this internal compass, Prof Shlizerman then created a model system to simulate it. This consisted of two control mechanisms - one based on the timekeeping "clock" neurons in the butterflies' antennae and the other from what are called azimuth neurons in their eyes. These monitor the position of the Sun. "The circuit gets those two signals then matches them, according to how it's wired, to control signals that tell the system if a correction is needed to stay on the correct course," explained Prof Shlizerman. "For me this is very exciting - it shows how a behaviour is produced by the integration of signals," he added. "We can take these concepts to produce robotic versions of these systems - something [that is] powered by and that navigates by the Sun." Prof Shlizerman said that one of his team's goals was to build a robotic monarch butterfly that could follow the insects and track their entire migration. "It's a very interesting application that could follow the butterflies and even help maintain them. "Their numbers are decreasing, so we want to keep this insect - the only one that migrates these huge distances - with us for many years." Prof Matthew Cobb from the University of Manchester told BBC News that the study showed that "something as astounding as the monarch migration can be understood in terms of cellular circuitry". "Our current robots are far cruder than even the simplest nervous system," he added. Follow Victoria F on Twitter

Summary: Scientists have built a model circuit that solves the mystery of one of nature's most famous journeys - the great migration of monarch butterflies from Canada to Mexico.


The move would also ease the "growing burden" on politicians in Cardiff Bay as more power is devolved, the group's Wales director Martin Warren said. Peers serving in the UK cabinet have set the precedent, he added. Parties in the assembly have questioned the idea on the grounds of democracy and accountability. The accountants' organisation said scrutiny of Welsh legislation was suffering due to "significant workloads for politicians shifting from Westminster to Cardiff Bay". If it proved difficult to increase the number of AMs from the present 60, a bigger role could be given to the 40 MPs from Wales as their role in Parliament diminished, Mr Warren said. He suggested letting the first minister appoint MPs to the Welsh cabinet, or inviting MPs to serve on assembly committees, in both cases reducing the demands on the time of politicians in Cardiff Bay. Another idea put forward was the creation of a non-political body of professionals who could advise on and scrutinise policy. "Wales is a small country with limited resources and making best use of those resources within a democratic framework to achieve for Wales must surely be an objective that crosses all political borders," said Mr Warren. Dr Rebecca Rumbul, politics lecturer at the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Cardiff University, said involving MPs in assembly business might be "confusing" to voters. Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black was also doubtful, claiming MPs "won't be able to do either job properly". Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: "After 17 years of the same old, tired ideas in a Labour-run Wales, our country needs a change. "May's election is the chance to choose the Welsh Conservatives and secure new ministers, fresh ideas and a brighter future." For Plaid Cymru, former presiding officer Lord Elis-Thomas said it was "a completely anti-democratic idea". "The notion that people could come down to Cardiff, turn up and be ministers without having been elected takes us back to a pre-democratic period, and certainly before the assembly was in existence," he told BBC Radio Cymru. "If anyone is suggesting something like this, we'd need to have a referendum immediately." A Welsh government spokesman said: "Ministers are selected from the membership of the democratically elected National Assembly and we see no need to change this."

Summary: MPs could serve as Welsh government ministers in a bid to widen the talent pool, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales says.


The EAW is widely seen to have speeded up extradition proceedings in the EU, but there is also pressure to fix shortcomings in the system. What is the EAW? The EAW operates EU-wide and replaced separate extradition arrangements between the EU member states. The EAW was introduced in January 2004, and was prompted by the international anti-terror drive after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. A national judicial authority, such as a court, can issue an EAW to get a suspect extradited. For an EAW to be valid, the suspect must be accused of an offence incurring a maximum penalty of at least a year in prison, or must have been already sentenced to at least four months in prison. The EAW means faster and simpler surrender procedures for suspects. EU states can no longer refuse to extradite one of their citizens on grounds of nationality. Extradition no longer requires a political decision for a suspect to be handed over. The EAW means mutual recognition of criminal justice systems in the EU. How much faster are extradition proceedings now? Before the EAW was introduced extradition used to take an average of one year, but now that has been cut to an average of 48 days, the European Commission says. A suspect must be handed over within a maximum of 90 days after arrest. In cases where a suspect agrees to surrender the average extradition time is 16 days. How many EAWs are issued and how many suspects handed over? Figures for 2009 show that 15,827 EAWs were issued in total and of those 4,431 were executed. The breakdown, given in a European Commission report, shows that Poland issued the most EAWs - 4,844. Of those, fewer than half were executed - 1,367. Germany was second for the number of EAWs issued - 2,433, then Romania with 1,900. The figures for the UK were: 220 issued, 80 executed. What are the arguments for EAWs? A senior British police officer, Commander Allan Gibson, says the EAW has brought a big increase in extradition and has reduced delays and costs. Cmdr Gibson, of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), says the EAW has been a great help in cross-border operations against organised crime, such as joint UK-Czech and UK-Romanian action against people traffickers. In the UK, regional police forces can now issue EAWs, whereas previously extradition cases were all handled in London. There have been some high-profile successes for the EAW. Fugitive teacher Jeremy Forrest, who fled to France with a schoolgirl, was extradited to England on an EAW issued in September 2012. In 2005 an EAW enabled the UK to quickly extradite from Italy a fugitive bomber, Hussain Osman, who with accomplices had attempted to carry out a terror attack in London. In 2012 a murderer, Jason McKay, was arrested in Warsaw and sent back to the UK within a month. What are the criticisms of EAWs? There has been much debate about proportionality - that is, the need to use EAWs only for the most serious crimes. In a debate

Summary: The UK government wants to claw back some EU powers over justice and policing, but is likely to remain in the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) system.


Few details of the deal agreed by the Russians and Americans have been released. There was indeed something of a decline in hostilities, though no comprehensive calm. The ceasefire was supposed to open the way to aid deliveries in Syria, followed by the rolling out of a co-ordinated military campaign by Moscow and Washington against so-called Islamic State (IS) targets and other groups linked to al-Qaeda. In practice the latest attacks on the aid convoy and hospital seem to have taken things back to square one. Indeed the cynicism of the attack on the convoy in particular is remarkable. The Russians have shown drone footage of their monitoring of the convoy, the route and location of which were pre-announced. But what happened next is disputed. The Americans are hinting strongly that the convoy was attacked from the air by a pair of Sukhoi Su-24 jets - either Russian or Syrian. It makes little difference to Washington, which holds Moscow responsible either way. In contrast, the Russians deny any culpability; they say their aircraft were not in the area and that the destruction of the convoy was the result of action on the ground - the implication is from rebel forces. Quite what purpose anyone had in destroying the convoy is unclear, other than to jeopardise the ceasefire. But the seeds of its collapse were there from the outset. Firstly, the ceasefire was negotiated not between the warring parties on the ground but by two of their patrons - the US and Russia - who are both engaged in the conflict, in different ways and with very different goals. The Syrian Government and the various rebel factions were not involved. Secondly, neither the Russians nor the Americans were able to convince their allies to accept the deal. Moscow had the easier job, to convince the Assad regime, which is hugely dependent upon Russia. The Americans were able to convince some of the rebel groups to back the deal - but many others did not. Indeed many of them have no particular relationship with the Americans. Furthermore, the complex and untidy nature of the Syrian battlefield with multiple localised conflicts going on across the country, prosecuted by a variety of actors, made the idea of any ceasefire difficult from the outset. The idea that the guns should fall silent in one war - between the Assad government and a variety of rebel groups - while the US and Russia put their foot on the accelerator in another battle against IS is a little bizarre. Any hammering of IS would create local vacuums into which one or other actor, the government or the rebels, might step. In any case many at the Pentagon (and probably one would imagine some inside the Russian Defence Ministry as well) were far from enthusiastic about the proposed joint military campaign against IS. If there was insufficient trust at the outset, then the attack on the aid convoy and the recriminations between Washington and Moscow now, have only made matters worse. The conflict seems to be heading for a brutal

Summary: While US Secretary of State John Kerry is not giving up on the idea of a ceasefire in Syria, it is very hard to see his efforts bearing fruit.


The men, in their 20s, were stopped at Aston Quay in the city on Friday, 29 July. In a follow-up search at a D'Olier Street apartment, police found ecstasy tablets worth an estimated 418,000 euro (£353,176) and cocaine worth 24,000 euro (£20,278). A quantity of cash was also seized.

Summary: Irish police have arrested two men over the sale and supply of ecstasy tablets and cocaine in Dublin.


Powys council revealed its preferred site, the cemetery car park on Newtown Road, at a Machynlleth town council meeting last month. An engagement event takes place at Machynlleth bowling club on Monday from 14:00 GMT until 18:00. Powys council officers will be on hand to provide information and answer any questions. Machynlleth is one of three areas in the county deemed to need a travellers' site to meet rules set out by the Welsh Government. An assessment carried out last year found sites were also required in Brecon and Welshpool, but Machynlleth has been described by Powys council "as an immediate or urgent need". People will be able to provide comments formally on the proposed development when the council submits a planning application.

Summary: People are being invited to give their views on plans for a permanent site for Travellers and Gypsies in Powys.


The proposal, from the right-wing Swiss People's Party, calls on Switzerland to abandon its free movement of people treaty with the European Union and introduce strict quotas on immigration. Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but has adopted large sections of EU policy, including free movement and the Schengen open-borders agreement, in order to have access to Europe's single market. Brussels has always insisted that the Swiss will not be allowed to cherry-pick only the aspects of EU policy they like. But its successful economy, and soaring unemployment in many eurozone countries, make Switzerland a very attractive destination. In 2013, 80,000 immigrants joined Switzerland's population of eight million. To put that in perspective, that would be the equivalent of more than 600,000 people entering the United Kingdom, or more than 800,000 arriving in Germany. "It's getting too crowded," says farmer Martin Haab. "On the roads, on the trains, especially in the cities." Mr Haab's farm is just outside Zurich, sandwiched between a busy railway line and an even busier motorway. "I worry for my son," he explains, "and for my grandchildren. If we have 80,000 people a yearâ€¦ that means in 20 years, 10 million in Switzerland; in 40 years 12 or 13 million - that means the whole of north-west Switzerland will be one big city in the end." But while Mr Haab has genuine fears about overcrowding, he is also a local politician with the Swiss People's Party, and shares its hostility to the European Union, and its determination to crack down on immigration. He would like Switzerland to return to its earlier policy of hiring foreign workers on a temporary or seasonal basis, requiring them to come to Switzerland alone and to return home as soon the specific job they came to do is finished. "With free movement now, we know that only 50% of the immigrants work here," he explains. "The rest are just families." But Mr Haab's view is not shared by many Swiss employers, who claim their success is actually because of, rather than despite, free movement. Stephan Camenzind is director of one of Zurich's most successful architect firms, with orders including a contract to design Google's offices right across Europe. Of his 20 employees, just a third are Swiss, the rest are from the European Union. "We depend on a highly skilled workforce," he explains. "And that workforce we simply can't find in Switzerland, so we do depend on being able to look for talented staff in the European Union." So what would happen if his freedom to do that was restricted by quotas? "Well it's quite simple," he says. "We would have to shrink. We would lose our critical mass to compete globally, so basically there wouldn't be a business anymore." That is a worrying thought for his German employee Claudia Berkefeld, who has worked in the UK as well as Switzerland, and relishes the opportunities offered by free movement of people. "It concerns me in the sense that being able to move around freely and work in Europe [is important], I

Summary: Swiss voters are going to the polls on Sunday in a nationwide referendum on immigration which is being watched closely right across Europe.


Guthrie, who scored 12 goals last season as the National League club lost to Grimsby in the promotion final at Wembley, has signed a two-year deal. The Jersey-born 23-year-old previously played for Accrington Stanley, Southport, Bath City and Welling. Meanwhile, U's defenders Tom Eastman, 24, and Jamie Harney, 20, have signed new one-year contracts. Former Ipswich trainee Eastman has made 197 appearances since joining Colchester in 2011. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

Summary: League Two side Colchester United have signed Forest Green Rovers forward Kurtis Guthrie for an undisclosed fee.


In the space of two months, the 25-year-old has become one of the most controversial politicians in Hong Kong - and is now pitted in a court battle against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments - even though she has admitted it could bankrupt her. Ms Yau and fellow party member Sixtus Leung won elections in September, gaining more than 55,000 votes between them. Ms Yau, a daughter of two civil servants, had little previous political experience, and made headlines for edging out a veteran politician to win a seat. The Chinese Studies graduate had been involved in the 2014 pro-democracy protests, when tens of thousands of people, including large numbers of students, took to the streets demanding fully democratic elections in Hong Kong. She describes the protests as an important part of her political awakening. After the movement failed to win any concessions from Beijing, Ms Yau and Mr Leung became involved in a new political party - Youngspiration - that campaigns against mainland China's influence on Hong Kong, and advocates a "Hong Kong first" approach. The party struck a nerve with many young Hong Kongers unhappy with China and disillusioned with traditional pro-democracy parties, who they argue have failed to achieve any reform. But, after their election victory, things quickly spiralled out of control. Ms Yau and Mr Leung sparked a furore when they were being sworn in last month. Instead of pledging allegiance to the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China", the duo swore allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation", used a term considered derogatory towards China, and displayed a banner that read "Hong Kong is not China". Their oaths were invalidated, and thousands of people protested against their actions, demanding they be removed from parliament. A top Chinese official even likened the duo to "two cancer cells - if you don't care about it, it will continue to hurt your body". The Hong Kong government launched a court case to disqualify them. And the Chinese government also decided to intervene - issuing a controversial interpretation of Hong Kong's law on oath taking, to say that any oath that is not "sincere" should be automatically disqualified. After losing the court case, Ms Yau and Mr Leung were disqualified as legislators - and are now also bombarded with angry comments on social media, where people accuse them of being useless, politically naÃ¯ve, or insulting their country. But for all the controversy surrounding her, Ms Yau comes across as mild-mannered and determined in person - and less slick or media trained than many other politicians. "We know that appealing the court decision will cost a lot," she says. "We may face bankruptcy, but we have no choice." She is concerned that if the case is not challenged, it may set a legal precedent for other pro-independence legislators to be disqualified, which would allow the government to "negate the results of a democratic vote". She says she believes in independence for Hong Kong because the "One Country, Two Systems" model under which it is governed, after it

Summary: Yau Wai-ching is the youngest woman to be elected to Hong Kong's parliament - and she has been called many things, including: "radical", "goddess", "spy", "pretty" and "cancer cell".


Lee Radford's side crossed eight times as they thrashed Salford at home in their opening match of the season. Fetuli Talanoa touched down twice in France, adding to scores from Sika Manu, Josh Bowden, Jack Logan, Jamie Shaul and captain Gareth Ellis. Winger Pat Richards scored all 10 of Catalans' points in the first half. Media playback is not supported on this device The Dragons have lost their first two games of the campaign and such a heavy home defeat early in the season will be a concern, with much of their success in recent years being based on a formidable home record. Hull top the table ahead of Wigan, with both sides starting the campaign with two victories. Former England international Ellis was making his first appearance for the Black and Whites since July after recovering from a serious Achilles injury. Catalans Dragons: Gigot; Yaha, Inu, Duport, Richards; Carney, Myler; Anderson, Pelissier, Bousquet, Stewart, Horo, Baitieri. Replacements: Taylor, Mounis, Bosc, Elima. Hull FC: Shaul; Michaels, Logan, Tuimavave, Talanoa; Pryce, Sneyd; Taylor, Houghton, Watts, Minichiello, Manu, Thompson. Replacements: Pritchard, Ellis, Bowden, Washbrook. Referee: Robert Hicks

Summary: Hull FC secured a second convincing Super League win in succession, scoring seven tries in a stunning victory against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.


Jordan Hill, Brittany Covington and Tesfaye Cooper, all 18, and Tanishia Covington, 24, appeared in a Chicago court on Friday. The four have been charged with hate crimes and aggravated kidnapping and battery, among other things. An online fundraiser for their victim has collected $51,000 (Â£42,500) so far. Denying the four suspects bail, Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil asked: "Where was your sense of decency?" Prosecutors told the court the beating started in a van and continued at a house, where the suspects allegedly forced the 18-year-old white victim, who suffers from schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder, to drink toilet water and kiss the floor. Police allege the van was earlier stolen by Mr Hill, who is also accused of demanding $300 from the victim's mother while they held him captive, according to the Chicago Tribune. The court was also told the suspects stuffed a sock into his mouth, taped his mouth shut and bound his hands with a belt. In a video made for Facebook Live which was watched millions of times, the assailants can be heard making derogatory statements against white people and Donald Trump. The victim had been dropped off at a McDonalds to meet Mr Hill - who was one of his friends - on 31 December. He was found by a police officer on Tuesday, 3 January, a day after he was reported missing by his parents. Prosecutors say the suspects each face two hate crimes counts, one because of the victim's race and the other because of his disabilities.

Summary: Four people accused of kidnapping and torturing a mentally disabled man in a "racially motivated" attack streamed on Facebook have been denied bail.


World road champion Armitstead finished in the peloton to extend her overall lead over South Africa's Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio to eight seconds. The 2014 winner Vos won the 119km stage from Nottingham to Stoke in a sprint finish. Sunday's 113.2km final stage runs from Northampton to Kettering. Vos, who lost the yellow jersey to Armitstead on Friday, won in what was a reduced sprint, with only 20 riders at the front of the race to battle it out after the bulk of the day's climbing was packed into the second half of the stage. Boels Domans rider Armitstead had attacked along with Elisa Longo Borghini, Moolman-Pasio and Emma Johansson with a little under 20km remaining, catching and passing lone breakaway rider Emilia Fahlin. Armitstead said: "The race stayed together until the climb and then me, Ashleigh and Elisa went on the second Queen of the Mountains [intermediate sprint]. Emilia was in no-man's land so she came back up to us. "There was a bit of co-operation for maybe five kilometres and then Emma and Elisa started attacking." But the chasing pack, including Vos, battled back and caught them shortly before the 1km-to-go Flamme Rouge to set up the sprint finish. She added: "In the final kilometres I could tell [the peloton] were coming back. "Coming into the final kilometre there were a couple of turns with up-hill flickers and again Emma and Elisa were attacking, so it was just about covering them. "As the group from behind pulled, I tried to put myself in a good position but got caught out a little bit on the last corner." Women's Tour 2016 - stage four result 1. Marianne Vos (NED/Raboliv) 3hrs 7mins 0secs 2. Leah Kirchmann (CAN/Liv-Plantur) same time 3. Emma Johansson (SWE/Wiggle High5) same time 4. Amalie Dideriksen (DEN/Boels Dolmans) same time 5. Lisa Brennauer (GER/Canyon Sram) same time General Classification 1. Lizzie Armitstead (GBR/Boels Dolmans) 91hrs 2min 56secs 2. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (SA/Cervelo Bigla) +08s 3. Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA/Wiggle High5) +10s 4. Marianne Vos (NED/Raboliv) +15s 4. Amanda Spratt (AUS/Orica AIS) +17s

Summary: Britain's Lizzie Armitstead stretched her lead in the Women's Tour as the Netherlands' Marianne Vos claimed victory in stage four.


The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found the number had gone up by 200 million since 2013. There has been a big problem with plastic carrier bags in the last few years, many of them can't be recycled and are often thrown away after they have been used. The bags end up in rubbish dumps and even rivers causing big problems for the environment. From October people in England will have to pay 5p for their plastic bags in a bid to encourage them to reuse the ones that they already have. Supermarkets in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where people are charged for carrier bags, have all seen a decrease in bags used. Campaigners are hoping the charge in England will lessen the amount of bags being thrown away, helping the environment.

Summary: The number of plastic bags given out by UK supermarkets has increased for the fifth year in a row, rising to 8.5 billion.


Northumbria Police said a a 32-year-old man was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of sexual touching and one of sexual assault. A second man, aged 28, was charged with one count of rape. The pair, both from Sunderland, will appear before South Tyneside Magistrates' Court later.

Summary: Two men have been charged with rape following a sexual exploitation investigation in Sunderland.


It was three tries apiece in the first half, Wade scoring either side of Will Rowlands' try, with Josh Adams going over twice after Bryce Heem's score. After Heem saw red for a tackle on Willie le Roux, Wasps' Alapati Leiua, Josh Bassett and Brendan Macken scored. However, Biyi Alo and Jackson Willison crossed as Warriors gained two points. The hosts also finished the match with 14 men, as ex-Warriors man Matt Mullan was sent to the sin-bin. Second-bottom Worcester led on two occasions in the first half and were good value for their two bonus points. New Zealander Heem was dismissed on 45 minutes for a mistimed challenge on airborne Wasps full-back Le Roux, who was replaced by Bassett after receiving treatment on the pitch. Dai Young's side are now guaranteed a place in the end-of-season play-offs, while Warriors are nine points clear of Bristol and only four adrift of 10th-placed Sale. Wasps director of rugby Dai Young: "It's a win and five points but there were very few areas of our game that pleased me. "Worcester won nearly all the 50-50s and were first to react in terms of mind and our performance didn't match the five points. "Christian was probably the difference, but I always thought that we could respond if we needed to as we probably had that extra bit of quality. "It was a big message to us as we will have to be better against Leinster next week as they will match us for quality so we'll have to prove that we've got the belly for the fight." Worcester director of rugby Gary Gold: "We knew we had to put in an incredibly strong performance and we showed huge character in an absolutely outstanding effort. "We are a good team and improving but we want to keep our feet on the ground, although I believe we've turned the corner. "We defended very well but we conceded two tries to Wade, who is a world class finisher. If you don't get him first time, you end up chasing shadows." "Bryce was unfortunate but the referee had no choice. Luke is a good ref, he let the game flow and it was fun to watch." Wasps: Beale; Wade, Leiua, Gopperth, Le Roux; Cipriani, Robson; McIntyre, Johnson (capt), Moore, Rowlands, Myall, Haskell, Young, Rieder. Replacements: Cruse, Mullan, Cooper-Woolley, Symons, Thompson, Simpson, Macken, Bassett. Worcester: Pennell; Heem, Olivier, Willison, Adams; Mills, Hougaard; Rapava Ruskin, Taufete'e, Schonert, O'Callaghan (capt), Spencer, Vui, Lewis, Mama. Replacements: Bregvadze, Bower, Alo, Dowson, Potgieter, Baldwin, Humphreys, Hammond. For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

Summary: The Premiership's top try scorer Christian Wade scored two tries as leaders Wasps moved five points clear with a bonus-point win over Worcester.


Ms Yellen said current valuations were "quite high", but added she did not see any bubbles forming. Chinese shares saw the biggest falls in the region with the Shanghai Composite closing down 2.8% at 4,112.21 - marking a third day of declines. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.3% at 27,289.97 - falling for the sixth day. Several companies on the mainland have announced share offerings through the week, leading investors to pull funds from other stocks. Investors were also worried about reported new moves by regulators to cool China's market, such as capping the size of margin financing and limiting the type of stocks investors can buy with borrowed money. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 1.23% at 19,291.99 after being closed all week for a holiday. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.82% at 5,645.70. Shares in Australia had suffered their biggest one-day fall in more than two years on Wednesday following disappointing results from Australia's biggest banks. Investors are concerned about the country's big four banks facing slower growth. National Australia Bank (NAB), the last of the big banks to announce their results this week, reported a 5.4% rise in cash profit for the six months to March. It also announced a 5.5bn Australian dollar ($4.4bn; Â£2.8bn) capital-raising exercise which will involve the selling of new shares. NAB wants to demerge and float its troubled British bank, Clydesdale, and shore up its balance sheet. The lender's capital-raising announcement has been reported by some of Australia's media as being the largest in the country's corporate history. Also weighing on investor confidence were the latest figures on Australia's unemployment rate, which showed a slight rise to 6.2% in April. In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index closed down 0.65% at 2,091.00.

Summary: Asian shares fell on Thursday, tracking losses seen on US markets after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen expressed concerns over share valuations.


In the US it took $204.6m (£132m) according to early estimates, making it the second biggest opening weekend ever just behind 2012's Marvel's The Avengers with $207.4m (£133.8m). What is the secret to the film's success? Although he spent many years in supporting roles and is best known for his comic role in cult US sitcom Parks and Recreation, Pratt has become one of Hollywood's most bankable stars in the past year. He starred in two of 2014's top five grossing films at the US box office - The Lego Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy. An endearing mixture of charm, vulnerability and humour means he can humanise even the most effects-laden summer blockbusters - something he proved in Marvel's Guardians, where his co-stars were a talking raccoon and a giant animated tree. Against expectations, the film took $774m (£499m) at the global box office - making it the third highest-grossing film in 2014. The actor didn't exactly get hit with the ugly stick, either. There is a strict quota on the number of foreign films which can be screened in China - currently set at 34 movies a year. But the country's film market is the world's second largest after the US so getting your film on the list can boost box office takings considerably. Most Hollywood blockbusters do not open in China the same time as the US but unusually, Jurassic World opened in both territories the same weekend. The film opened in 66 foreign markets in total, earning $307.2m (£198m). China accounted for $100.8m (£65m) - almost 20% of its total haul. When Jurassic Park was released Imax screens were scarce, reserved usually for short films, documentaries and theme park novelties. With some 800 Imax screens around the world now, the prospect of seeing dinosaurs even larger than life-size has proved to be a compelling draw. With the added ability to see a T-Rex in 3D, it seems audiences have been happy to pay premium prices for extra spectacle - bumping up box office returns in the process. According to box office analysts Rentrak, nearly 50% of Jurassic World's US box office came from 3D screenings. Steven Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park holds a special place in the memories of many cinema fans. It set a new standard for CGI, and became a touchstone of 1990s cinema, capturing a generation's imagination. "I was 12 when Jurassic Park came out and it just blew me away," Jurassic World actress Dallas Bryce Howard told the BBC. "I remember watching it and thinking, 'I'm seeing real dinosaurs right now'. It felt so real." "I was 13 years old and I felt the same," her co-star Chris Pratt added. "I had complete Jurassic-mania and saw it twice in one weekend." After two sequels which failed to match the success of the original at both the box office and with critcs, fans hoped the new film would bring back the magic, thrills and horror of Spielberg's classic - and many dragged their children with them.

Summary: Jurassic World has become the first film to take more than $500m (£322m) at the global box office on its opening weekend.


Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Tomkins, 49, of Defence, Equipment and Support, based at Abbey Wood, near Bristol, is facing trial in the US. He allegedly attacked the woman in her hotel room where he went under false pretences after a drinks reception. The woman told the court Mr Tomkins was "very aggressive" and "took control". The trial is being heard at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. It is the first-ever court martial which will be held in the US and UK to allow more witnesses to testify. The court heard that Mr Tomkins said he had had sexual activity with the woman, which "wasn't rose petals or cupid's arrows, it was fairly animal". The incident is alleged to have happened after a dinner and a drinks reception at the Sheraton Hotel, Kampala, on 7 January 2015. By the end of the evening, the young woman said she was "very drunk" when Mr Tomkins went to her hotel room. "There was no talking, no romantic lead up to something that I recall. He did get much more aggressive and used some level of force to take things further," she said. "The room was spinning, it was a very brief memory." They later exchanged messages and he thanked her for a "wonderful evening" to which she agreed. She told investigators she initially feared reporting the incident in case it would harm her career. The case is expected to resume in Bulford, Wiltshire, on Monday.

Summary: A married British Army officer denies raping a young female colleague at a UN event in Uganda, a court martial has heard.


Jason James, 41, of Charles Road, Torquay, previously admitted manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court. Dave "Chewie" Coxon, from Torquay died after being struck once by his friend as they headed home after a night of heavy drinking. They had both attended the 40th anniversary rally of the Modrapheniacs Scooter Club near Wareham in Dorset. The pair, who were both members of the Cyder Commando Scooter Club, were heading back to their caravan on 5 March and stopped off to relieve themselves. Mr James told police his friend had urinated on his leg and said: "I punched him and knocked him out", describing the blow as a "little whack". He did not wait to see what state Mr Coxon, who never regained consciousness, was in, the court heard. Judge Keith Cutler said: "What clearly should have been a weekend of fun and enjoyment turned into this tragedy." Mr Coxon's brother Jonathan said after the case: "We can see very few circumstances where there would be sufficient provocation to justify this kind of cowardly attack."

Summary: A man has been jailed for four years for killing a fellow scooter enthusiast who urinated on his leg at a rally.


Contracts worth more than £400,000 have been approved for works at Slessor Gardens and at the rear of the Caird Hall, as well as the replacement of dock gates at Camperdown Dock. Dundee Waterfront is a regeneration project which is transforming 240 acres of land along the River Tay. Redevelopment is now well past the halfway mark. The work at Slessor Gardens, costing £250,000, will include the creation of the Discovery Walk of Fame, the commemorative Royal Arch of trees and the outline formation of the Waterfront Showcase Gardens. Contractor Sir Robert McAlpine was awarded the contract, which is due to be completed in January next year. Meanwhile, specialist consultant Mott MacDonald won a contract worth £150,000 to replace the existing dock gates to Camperdown Docks, as part of the City Quay Marina development. Will Dawson, convener of Dundee City Council's city development committee, said: "With a project as large, complex and lengthy as the redevelopment of the waterfront each element that is started or finished becomes something of a milestone." The overall project includes the construction of a new railway station, V&A Museum of Design Dundee, a new marina, port developments, offices, hotels, bars, shops, cafes and residential accommodation.

Summary: The latest stage of the £1bn transformation of Dundee's waterfront is getting under way.


The fold-out note, penned by Lennon when he was 11 years old, thanks his Aunt Harriet for presents she gave him, including a book about ships. He sent the thank you message shortly after Christmas in 1951 to his mother Julia's younger sister. During his Beatles career, Lennon often wrote to friends and family but this is understood to be his first letter. In the letter, which has a few grammatical errors, the young Lennon says how much he is enjoying reading a book about famous ships. He wrote: "Dear Harrie Thankyou for the book that you sent to me for Christmas and for the towel with my name on it, And I think it is the best towl (sic) I've ever seen. "The book that you sent to me is a very interesting one. I am at the bottom of page 18 at the moment. The story is famous Ships its all about a man called Captain kidd the pirate. "I am on the second chapter, the first chapter is called the Victory and the second is called the Mary Celeste. "Thankyou for the red jumper that you sent to me. "I hope you have a happy new year. Love from John x" The letter - which was formerly the property of his cousin David Birch, Harriet's son - is to be sold at an online auction that closes on 3 April. The auction contains around 300 lots of Beatles and music memorabilia, including the address book from Liverpool's Cavern Club where the group played many gigs, and a collection of records that were previously owned by Lennon.

Summary: The earliest known letter written by John Lennon is expected to fetch more than £30,000 at auction next month.


Paula Palmer said jewellery given to her by husband Dennis on their wedding day was among the items stolen from the house in Barnett Road, Brighton. "It's devastating to think people can do that," she said. "I am numb." Mrs Palmer said she believed the thieves knew where the occupants of the house were when the break-in happened on Friday evening. "We were waiting outside for the hearse to come for a good 20 minutes," she said. "It doesn't take long for people to know what you are doing." She said she knew something was wrong when she returned home with a group of people. "By the time I reached the top of the stairs I could see the devastation in the main bedroom," she said. "My husband's jewellery box was broken open, the wardrobe doors were open and all drawers tipped out. "I was numb anyway from burying my husband - but to come back, to that I was speechless." The stolen jewellery included gold earrings, necklaces and bracelets. The thieves also took the keys to Mrs Palmer's grey Kia Ce'ed car, registration BJ09 YBK, and drove it away from the front of the house. "It is quite brazen and quite unusual for people to walk out of the front door, get in the car and drive off," said Det Con Richard Valder-Davies. "This is an awful crime. This lady was at her husband's funeral. It doesn't get much worse than that." Sussex Police have appealed to anyone with information, or who is offered jewellery in suspicious circumstances, to come forward.

Summary: Thieves ransacked a widow's home and stole jewellery, cash and her car while she was at her husband's funeral.


Storms smashed a hole in the sea wall alongside the line above the seafront in Dawlish, south Devon in 2014. The railway line took two months to repair at an estimated cost of £1bn to the local economy. Network Rail is consulting with Devon and Cornwall residents about the plans. They include strengthening defences and cliffs, as well and building breakwaters to protect the line. More on the coastal rail protection work, and other Devon and Cornwall news Cliffs next to the line would be stabilised and reshaped so they are not as steep under the plans. A total of £270m is allocated for spending on priority areas including around Dawlish between 2019 and 2024. The line connects Devon and Cornwall with the rest of the UK.

Summary: Protecting a key coastal railway track from rising sea levels and falling cliffs is going to cost about £650m, Network Rail has said.


As part of the deal, the firm was meant to have built a saw line by Friday. Despite questioning by AMs, Emyr Roberts did not give a clear answer as to whether that has happened. He said the deal - an effort to deal with diseased larch - was a success. Although he was happy with the decision, Mr Roberts admitted that its documentation was "not good", that there should have been more discussion with Welsh Government and that the executive board could have had a greater role in scrutinising the deal. A member of the committee, Lee Waters, later dubbed the answers "unconvincing". In 2014 a company was awarded a £39m deal to purchased both spruce and larch timber - the latter of which was forests where a fungus disease causing extensive damage - Phytophthora ramorum - was present. No other company was given the opportunity to bid for the contracts. As part of that deal the company was meant to have built a new saw line by 31 March 2016. That deadline was missed and extended by 12 months to March 2017. During a session of the assembly's Public Accounts Committee, Labour Llanelli AM Lee Waters asked Mr Roberts if the line had been built. "We are in on going discussions with the operator on that," said Mr Roberts. Mr Waters pressed him again, pointing out that the date of the committee's meeting was 28 March. Mr Roberts repeated the answer, adding later it was a "commercial matter". Mr Waters asked if Mr Roberts felt the firm "pulled the wool over your eyes in making you feel that the only way they were going to deal with this crisis was by investing in new expensive capital equipment". Mr Roberts replied with a denial: "No, I don't think they have pulled the wool over our eyes at all." "At the time, there was no market for larch," he said, claiming timber merchants at the time "would not touch larch, let alone diseased larch". "What the operator did and the rest of the industry did was actually build up that market." Mr Roberts said there was a "real crisis on our hands at the time" and there had been a danger the timber market would collapse. "The situation today was a lot more stable than it was in 2013-14. Our policy, our decisions on these contracts together with the overarching policy in treating larch disease has been successful," he said. "It's stopped the spread, but it's meant the timber market has been able to carry on as well." A report by auditor general Huw Vaughan Thomas released earlier in March expressed doubt over whether the decision met state aid rules and said the decision-making process was not transparent. In a qualification to the body's accounts he said he was unable to satisfy himself on whether the decision to make the deal was lawful. NRW disputed the auditor's findings on state aid and had said it strongly believed the contracts were lawful. Neither NRW or the auditors have identified the company involved. Following

Summary: The chief executive of Natural Resources Wales has denied the organisation had the "wool pulled over our eyes" by a sawmill operator given a 10 year timber contract that was criticised by an audit.


The largest amount, of more than £100,000, was awarded to the Grade I-listed St Michael's Church in Munslow, to fund work to its roof and stonework. All of the churches are part of the Diocese of Hereford. The diocese said about £200,000 still needed to be raised to complete repairs at the churches. It said grants were vital with the cost of expensive heritage restoration projects often falling on small congregations. Anson Crouch, who helped put a bid together for St Michael's Church in Munslow, said the church still needed to find £30,000 to complete its repairs. "It is quite a challenge for a little parish like this. The population is less than 400," he said. "Initially we want to make the church weatherproof and then we'll start to look on the inside." The five Shropshire and three Herefordshire churches are all listed buildings, with many dating back to the 12th Century. St Tysilio, in Sellack, will receive £75,000 towards structural work on its spire and tower, as well as repairs to stonework and some windows. A £93,000 grant to St George's church in Milson is expected to help fund stabilisation work to walls, as well as re-roofing the chancel. Other grants have been given to St Mary's in Cleobury Mortimer, St Michael's in Stanton Long, St Milburga in Stoke St Milborough, St Peter's in Pipe cum Lyde and St Mary the Virgin in Middleton on the Hill. The work is due to be carried out over the next three years.

Summary: Eight churches in Herefordshire and Shropshire have been awarded £500,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help pay for urgent repairs.


Isle of Wight Council tried to fine Jon Platt Â£120 for taking his daughter to Florida during the school term. But magistrates backed the father, so the council appealed to the High Court, which again ruled in Mr Platt's favour. The Department for Education is meeting the council's legal costs. The legal case rests on what constitutes "regular attendance". Mr Platt has argued that even after the "once-in-a-lifetime" family trip to Disneyland, his daughter had 90% attendance at school and this argument was accepted by the High Court in May last year. At the time Lord Justice Lloyd Jones said the case "raised a point of law of general public importance". After losing the case the council, at the request of Schools Minister Nick Gibb, applied to the Supreme Court for permission to launch a final legal challenge. New guidelines came into force in England in 2013 making the policy on unauthorised term-time absences the toughest in the UK. The change followed concerns that some families had started to see going away in term-time as an entitlement. Under the rules, if a school declares an absence unauthorised, the council can fine each parent Â£60 per child - and this doubles to Â£120 if not paid within 21 days. Councils in England have varying policies on term-time holiday fines. Some issue thousands of fines - others barely any. The case is forcing many to look again at the detail. Most parents simply pay the fines to avoid prosecution, but Mr Platt says thousands have contacted him for advice on fighting the fines. Many parents complain that the cost of going away in the school holidays can be four times as much as during term-time - but the government says there is clear evidence "that every extra day of school missed can affect a pupil's chance of gaining good GCSEs, which has a lasting effect on their life chances". A DfE spokeswoman said the government's position remained that children should not be taken out of school "without good reason". "That is why we have tightened the rules and are supporting schools and local authorities to use their powers to tackle unauthorised absence." Ministers are also considering changing the law on term-time absences, depending on the outcome of the case. Judgement is expected during the first part of 2017.

Summary: A council which lost a High Court case over fining a father who took his daughter on a term-time holiday is having its appeal heard at the Supreme Court.


Most tax accountants would advise a wealthy family on "gifts" - payments of money - to their children and how to ensure they are not liable for inheritance tax by making payments in tranches to avoid breaching tax thresholds. Mr Cameron's family appear to have done this, and Downing Street says the payments were made by the Prime Minister's mother to "even out" the inheritance payments made to her children following her husband's death. Not to avoid tax. When Mr Cameron's mother dies, her estate becomes liable to inheritance tax. Under the "seven-year rule", if she dies before 2018, the value of that estate will include earlier gifts to her children. The rule was put in place to stop parents simply transferring assets to their children shortly before they died to avoid tax liabilities. Some may argue that it is morally wrong and that everyone should order their affairs so they take no advantage of rules which allow people to pay less tax on their wealth. And, of course, many millions of people are not wealthy enough to ever have to consider such issues. Whatever critics may desire, the UK's tax law is not governed by a "morality code", it is based on statute and is structured so that people, by following the rules, pay no more tax than they are legally obliged to. In fact, in one part of Mr Cameron's tax affairs, he has actually paid more tax than legally necessary, by waiving the tax-exempt £20,000 allowance that prime ministers receive to cover the expenses of holding the office of PM. He still faces questions, though. Downing Street is providing no details about the £72,000 the PM received for selling "other shares" beyond his investment in Blairmore Holdings. Or the £40,000 he received in cash from his stockbroking account. It is argued by some that Mr Cameron should reveal which shares he invested in and how he structured those investments. Also, it is worth noting that revealing tax returns reveals very little about a person's absolute wealth - which is a wholly different matter and one which the French economist, Thomas Piketty, would say is the real issue at hand when it comes to debates about wealth inequality. As he did in an interview with me last week. What the PM has done today is change the rules on what politicians will be obliged to reveal about their formerly private tax affairs. It is difficult to see how any member of the Cabinet, and indeed the whole government, can refuse to give details of their own tax affairs going back six years. To refuse would raise the question - why not? Members of the Opposition front bench will be under similar pressure - pressure that goes beyond, for example, what John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has so far published. In six short days, the prime minister has travelled from a position of "this is a private matter" to a personal tax shock and awe. For politicians, and possibly many other people, he has changed the long-held principle that tax is

Summary: One person's tax planning is another person's tax avoidance - so whether David Cameron's tax affairs are controversial or not is really a matter of where you stand on the payment of tax.


Hull City Council had hoped the decorative stones would help raise the profile of those in the city who were visually impaired. They were supposed to spell out the poem, The City Speaks, by Shane Rhodes. But Braille teacher Barry Wheatley said it made no sense as the Braille is too big and lacks spaces between words. The council said it was only intended to be "creative" tactile paving. Read more about this and other stories from East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire Mr Wheatley said he initially thought the stones along Jameson Street and King Edward Street were a great idea but soon realised they were pointless. "Braille is the size of your fingertips and to get down on your knees and feel this, well it is meaningless," he said. "Even if you are a sighted Braille reader then it is like reading a sentence in print without any spaces in it. "It is just gobbledygook." He also said it did not work to guide blind or partially sighted people down the street, as it ran into street furniture. Councillor Martin Mancey said he did not believe anything had "gone wrong" with the paving, which had only recently been installed. "It was never intended to be a clearly legible form of the poem, it was an artistic interpretation. "It has already achieved one of its purposes which was to raise the awareness of the needs of blind and partially sighted people in the city centre." He said he was not aware of any obstacles that prevented it being used as a navigational guide.

Summary: A council which installed Braille paving stones branded "gobbledygook" has said the slabs were only intended to be "creative".


Scientists have found that two types of chemicals called neonicotinoids and coumaphos are interfering with the insect's ability to learn and remember. Experiments revealed that exposure was also lowering brain activity, especially when the two pesticides were used in combination. The research is detailed in two papers in Nature Communications and the Journal of Experimental Biology. But a company that makes the substances said laboratory-based studies did not always apply to bees in the wild. And another report, published by the Defra's Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), concluded that there was no link between bee health and exposure to neonicotinoids. The government agency carried out a study looking at bumblebees living on the edges of fields treated with the chemicals. Falling numbers Honey bees around the world are facing an uncertain future. They have been hit with a host of diseases, losses of habitat, and in the US the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder has caused numbers to plummet. Now researchers are asking whether pesticides are also playing a role in their decline. To investigate, scientists looked at two common pesticides: neonicotinoids, which are used to control pests on oil seed rape and other crops, and a group of organophosphate chemicals called coumaphos, which are used to kill the Varroa mite, a parasite that attacks the honey bee. Neonicotinoids are used more commonly in Europe, while coumaphos are more often employed in the United States. Work carried out by the University of Dundee, in Scotland, revealed that if the pesticides were applied directly to the brains of the pollinators, they caused a loss of brain activity. Dr Christopher Connolly said: "We found neonicotinoids cause an immediate hyper-activation - so an epileptic type activity - this was proceeded by neuronal inactivation, where the brain goes quiet and cannot communicate any more. The same effects occur when we used organophosphates. "And if we used them together, the effect was additive, so they added to the toxicity: the effect was greater when both were present." Another series of laboratory-based experiments, carried out at Newcastle University, examined the behaviour of the bees. The researchers there found that bees exposed to both pesticides were unable to learn and then remember floral smells associated with a sweet nectar reward - a skill that is essential for bees in search of food. Dr Sally Williamson said: "It would imply that the bees are able to forage less effectively, they are less able to find and learn and remember and then communicate to their hive mates what the good sources of pollen and nectar are." 'No threat' She said that companies that are manufacturing the pesticides should take these findings into account when considering the safety of the chemicals. She explained: "At the moment, the initial tests for bee toxicity are giving the bees an acute dose and then watching them to see if they die. "But because bees do these complex learning tasks, they are very social animals and they have a complex behavioural repertoire, they don't need to be killed outright in order not to be affected." The

Summary: Commonly used pesticides are damaging honey bee brains, studies suggest.


Biker Mark Smith said he was told he would no longer be served at The Royal Oak at Ulley, near Rotherham. The pub is owned by Samuel Smiths brewery, based at Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, who have not responded to a BBC request for comment. Solicitor Euan Lawrence said it was not against the law for the brewery to ban a group of bikers from its pubs. Read more about this and other stories from across Yorkshire The independent brewery, which has around 200 pubs, recently banned people from swearing on its premises. Mr Smith said the new ban emerged when he visited his local pub. "Before I even got to the car park a guy greeted me and said 'we're not allowed in, bikers are barred'. "I parked up and I am getting my gear off and a staff member came out to greet me and said 'I can't serve you, we've barred bikes'." Mr Smith said the staff member told him the decision came from the brewery and no reason to bar him and other bikers was given. Euan Lawrence, from Black's Solicitors in Leeds, said bikers were not a "protected group" under the Equality Act. "Whilst many people would say 'well in the plain English meaning of the word discrimination then yes it is discrimination'. "But for the purposes of the law and whether or not there is a remedy in respect of that discrimination - the short answer is there is not."

Summary: Motorcyclists have claimed they have been banned from a pub chain which recently barred swearing.


Tony Hogg, who was elected in November 2012, made the announcement on his website and said he was "proud of his achievements". For the remaining eight months, he said his priorities included improving police funding for the force. PCCs work to ensure police forces are running effectively and replaced police authorities. The government insists they are not there to run local police forces but to hold them to account and respond to the needs of the public. Mr Hogg told the BBC he would still be doing the job in his 70s if he was re-elected and he wanted to spend more time with his family. It is a very big job and Tony Hogg has had a tough time with many members of the public being very sceptical over what he would achieve. He has had to deal with cuts, cuts and more cuts. Since 2011, officer numbers in the force have fallen by about 400. Looking ahead, he's facing more cuts. From talking to senior officers they expect the number of officers to fall below 3,000, in fact some say it is the minimum number Devon and Cornwall can be policed with and I think Mr Hogg has accepted he will not be able to maintain that number. It is a very tough time to be a leader in this sector.

Summary: Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has announced he will not be seeking re-election in May.


The code received widespread support during consultation and was unanimously approved by the Scottish Parliament. It was introduced following concerns over the number of people being searched without a legal basis. The code says statutory searches must be "necessary, proportionate and in accordance with the law". There is also specific guidance on dealing with children and vulnerable adults. Non-statutory or "consensual" stop-and-searches are now banned entirely. The new code was drawn up by an advisory group led by John Scott QC. Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: "The ability of police to stop and search individuals can be an intrusion into liberty and privacy, but remains a valuable tool in combating crime. "I have spent some time with police officers using the new code on our streets and am in no doubt that such searches will be carried out with fairness, integrity and respect. "The views expressed during the consultation period were absolutely key to shaping the new code." The code states that stopping and searching must be done for a good reason and be both "necessary and proportionate". This means that officers must have a "reasonable suspicion" based on "facts, information and/or intelligence" that the person being searched is likely to be carrying an illegal item. Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams said: "Police Scotland welcomes the introduction of the code and has worked closely with the Scottish government to support its development. "It provides clear guidance to all our officers and places the rights of the individuals at the centre of any decision to carry out a search. "In preparation for the introduction of the code, all frontline officers have received training and we will continue to work closely with partners, particularly children and young people, to monitor its impact."

Summary: A new code of practice on police stop-and-search powers has come into force.


The Chinese-made aircraft went down in the Andaman Sea on 7 June with no survivors. Investigators found the pilot had lost control after entering thick storm cloud. Ice had formed on the wings and sudden crosswinds had led the plane to stall, state media say. The disaster is among the worst in the country's aviation history. The aircraft, a Y-8 transporter made in China, was carrying 14 crew. Most of the passengers were military personnel and family members, including children. Although it was monsoon season in Myanmar (also called Burma), there were no reports of bad weather at the time. Communication with the flight was lost half an hour into the short, routine trip. "The accident occurred due to loss of control after experiencing adverse weather that caused the plane to stall... resulting in a nosedive," state media said. After studying black box data, investigators decided the crash was "not from any act of sabotage, explosion or engine failure". The plane was flying from Myeik to Yangon and the debris was found in the sea off the coastal town of Dawei. It remains unclear why the pilot flew into the storm, given that weather radar normally allows such clouds to be avoided. Myanmar has seen a number of aircraft incidents in recent years:

Summary: Bad weather caused a military plane to crash in Myanmar last month with 122 people on board, state media say.


Towns and cities along the Baltic coast were flooded, from Kiel in the far north to the resort island of Usedom near the Polish border. Sea levels were recorded in the port of Wismar at 1.83m (6ft) above normal overnight. Severe winter conditions also hit Sweden and Finland. The overnight temperature fell to -41.7C at Muonio in Finnish Lapland, near the north-western border with Sweden, the coldest night of the winter so far. Further west in northern Sweden, temperatures fell as low as -41.3C and road conditions were treacherous in much of the country. A passenger train became stuck without power and heating for several hours in the north-eastern Norrbotten region with outdoor temperatures at -38C. Swedish media said no replacement buses were prepared to venture out because of the cold. Some of the worst flooding in northern German was in the historic centre of Rostock and in Stralsund, as well as on Usedom, where major damage was reported. Outdoor staircases were washed away and snack bars badly affected. "This is no children's tea party," said one local official. However, water levels were expected to fall in the coming hours. Storm Axel was also responsible for the arrival of several hundred thousand plastic eggs on the island of Langeoog on Thursday. Local reports said the eggs contained little toys with Russian messages inside and appeared to have come from a container that had fallen off a ship.

Summary: A storm surge has caused the worst flooding on Germany's north-east coast since 2006, leaving streets and cars submerged and causing major damage.


The semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest took place on Saturday 15 April, 1989. The match was sold out, meaning more than 53,000 fans from the two sides would head for Hillsborough for the 15.00 kick-off. Despite being a far larger club, Liverpool supporters were allocated the smaller end of the stadium, Leppings Lane, so that their route would not bring them into contact with Forest fans arriving from the south. Football crowds at the time had a reputation for hooliganism and strict segregation was enforced. Fans began arriving at Leppings Lane at about midday. The entrance had a limited number of turnstiles, of which just seven were allocated to the 10,100 fans with tickets for the standing terraces. Once through the turnstiles, supporters would have seen a wide tunnel leading down to the terrace and signposted "Standing". As was common practice in grounds at the time, the terrace was divided into "pens" by high fences that corralled fans into blocks and separated them from the pitch. The tunnel led directly into the two pens behind the goal, pens 3 and 4. Access to other pens was poorly-marked - a sign for refreshments was bigger than one showing the way to pens 1 and 2, the inquests heard. There was no system on the day to ensure fans were evenly distributed across the pens and no way of counting how many were in each pen. The match commander was Ch Supt David Duckenfield. He was new in his post and had limited experience of policing football matches. Police expected supporters to "find their own level" by spreading out across the pens in search of space, but this was difficult to do as movement between the pens was by narrow gates at the rear. By 14.15 a crowd had started to build outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles and it swelled rapidly over the next quarter of an hour. Progress through the seven turnstiles was slow and by 14.30 just 4,383 people had entered, meaning 5,700 ticketed fans were set to enter the ground in the half hour before kick-off. The inquests were told Mr Duckenfield and Supt Bernard Murray discussed delaying the kick off to allow fans to enter but decided against it. By 14.45 CCTV footage showed there were thousands of people pressing into the turnstiles and alongside a large exit gate, called Gate C. The funnel-shaped nature of the area meant that the congestion was hard to escape for those at the front. The turnstiles became difficult to operate and people were starting to be crushed. The police officer in charge of the area, Supt Roger Marshall, told the inquests he thought somebody was "going to get killed here" unless the exit gates were opened to alleviate the pressure. He made several requests and at 14.52, Mr Duckenfield gave the order and the gates were opened. About 2,000 fans then made their way into the ground. Most of those entering through Gate C headed straight for the tunnel leading directly to pens 3 and 4. This influx caused severe crushing in

Summary: After two years of inquest evidence, a detailed picture has built up of how an FA Cup match at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground turned into a disaster that claimed 96 lives and left hundreds more injured.