Kirsty Maxwell, from Livingston, died on Saturday in the tourist area in south east Spain. It is thought that she was part of a group of more than 30 women who had travelled to the resort for a hen weekend. A British man was arrested by police in Benidorm in connection with the incident, before being later released. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are supporting the family of a British national who sadly died in Benidorm on 29 April." He added: "We are in contact with the local authorities following the arrest of a British man." Mrs Maxwell's body is understood to be found near the swimming pool at the Apartamentos Payma on Saturday.

Summary: A West Lothian woman has died at a holiday apartment block in Benidorm during a hen party.


The measures include killing animals in infected areas and banning sales of poultry products from those areas. The Dutch government has reported the "highly contagious" H5N8 strain at a poultry farm there. The UK reported a case at a duck farm in East Yorkshire, and the Commission said it was "probably identical". H5N8 can potentially affect humans. EU officials say the outbreaks may be linked to bird flu recently found in Germany. They say it could have been spread by migratory wild birds heading south for winter, but that tests are continuing to confirm any links between the three cases. The European Commission said in a statement that the UK and the Netherlands were already applying directives on culling affected poultry, prohibiting sales of affected poultry products and live birds, and establishing protection zones. It said: "The measures aim at quickly bringing the disease under control and at preventing the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza within the affected member states, to other member states and to third countries." At the scene: BBC's Anna Holligan in Hekendorp It was a tense and traumatic day at the farm. The idyllic Dutch image was destroyed by the hum of a truck carrying an industrial size gas canister and the appearance of men in orange boiler suits. The health and safety teams came to Hekendorp to gas 150,000 hens. Their primary concern is to contain the outbreak. Poultry farmers, even those operating outside the 10km exclusion zone, have an additional concern. Many are worried about the potential damage to the reputation of Dutch poultry products. The industry has been brought to a standstill. A nationwide transportation ban will remain in place until at least Tuesday. The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world. It exports more than six billion eggs annually. We watched from behind the fire retardant barrier as diggers poured hundreds of dead chickens into trucks. Neighbours living around the contaminated farm see the cull as an unpleasant but essential sacrifice. The Dutch authorities have already begun destroying 150,000 hens at the infected farm, in the village of Hekendorp. "This highly pathogenic variant of avian influenza is very dangerous for bird life," the Dutch government said in a statement (in Dutch). "The disease can be transmitted from animals to humans." The Dutch economics ministry says humans can only be infected through very close contact with infected birds. The authorities have imposed a three-day nationwide ban on the transportation of poultry and eggs. Earlier this month, a farm in north-eastern Germany detected cases of H5N8, which had previously not been reported in Europe. The strain has never been detected in humans, but an outbreak in South Korea meant millions of farm birds had to be slaughtered to contain it. Also on Monday, Egyptian health officials said a woman had died from the deadliest strain of the virus, H5N1, after coming into contact with infected birds in the south of the country. Meanwhile, officials in the UK confirmed at least one case of bird flu in Yorkshire, but insisted

Summary: The European Commission has adopted protective measures to try to contain a bird flu outbreak after new cases were reported in the UK and the Netherlands.


Butane hash oil is made using large amounts of the flammable gas, which can explode with devastating consequences. A BBC investigation has learned of two deaths and 27 people being injured across the UK since 2014, as a result of making the drug. The warning comes on the same day a Glasgow man was jailed for more than six years after his drug lab exploded. Butane hash oil (BHO), which is illegal in the UK, is also known as honey oil, dabs or shatter. It is pure and strong and made by using solvents to strip out of cannabis plants one of the active ingredients of the drug - THC. Producers often use butane gas, which can ignite and cause a fireball. It has become popular in the US, especially in states where cannabis has been partly decriminalised. In Colorado there were more than 30 explosions linked to BHO in 2014 alone. Now there is evidence that it is coming to the UK. "They're using the butane as a solvent to extract the products they require," explains John Galvin from Fire Investigations UK. He demonstrates how the production process works. The gas is heavier than air, sticks to clothes and pools on the floor. Mr Galvin also explains that it takes very little to ignite it. "Flicking a light switch, or it could be a fridge switching on and off," he adds. Several people were badly injured and a dog and cat were killed when a home-made drug lab exploded, causing damage estimated at Â£1m to a Glasgow tenement, a court has heard. Scott Peden, 30, was bidding to make a super-strength form of cannabis at the flat in Tollcross when the equipment caught fire and blew up on 21 March. He has been jailed for six years and four months. The High Court in Glasgow was told gas released during the drug-making process ignited and caused an explosion, possibly due to a light being turned on. Windows and the front door of the flat were instantly blown off in the blast. Passing sentence, judge Lord Armstrong told Peden that he had shown "gross irresponsibility" and that his actions had had "traumatic and devastating consequences". Man jailed over drugs lab explosion There were just four injuries from production of the drug in the UK between 2010 and 2014. Alex Fraser, who has been campaigning for medicinal use of cannabis to be legalised, says BHO is becoming increasingly popular. "It's huge - comparative to last year, it's 10 times bigger and I expect it will be 10 times bigger next year." But he fears more people may try to make it themselves and get injured. An explosion at house in Birmingham in November 2014 left one man dead. The house was destroyed and hundreds of butane canisters were found in the property. West Midlands Fire Service investigator James McDonald calls the people who make BHO "YouTube chemists". There have been six explosions in his area since 2014 - two in the last month alone. His message is simple: "Do not try this... the

Summary: A highly dangerous method of producing super-strength cannabis is emerging in the UK, police and firefighters say.


20 December 2015 Last updated at 13:02 GMT Andrew Russell, 36, was found unconscious in a car park on Bradshaw Way, in Derby, shortly before 02:00 on 16 November. He was taken to hospital but later died. Det Insp Graham Prince, of Derbyshire Police, said: "We are trying to trace a number of cars seen driving along London Road between 1.30am and 2.15am that morning, along with several lone people walking down the road during the same time period. "These people have yet to come forward and they could have information which may help with the inquiry." A 41-year-old man has been charged in connection with the alleged attack.

Summary: Detectives investigating a fatal assault have released CCTV footage of potential witnesses who have yet to come forward.


When the Turkish Empire in the region disintegrated - consumed in the desert storms of the Great War - Britain and France were still, just about, major imperial powers. The blood of a lost generation of young men and the riches built up over centuries had been poured into a narrow strip of European land on the Western Front, but in the Old World there were no territorial spoils to be had. The Middle East though was different. With the Turks defeated in Jerusalem and Damascus and Sinai and Gaza there was a new world to be made. Britain, mandated by the League of Nations to govern the Holy Land, could set about honouring its commitment to the Jews of the world to build a national home for them in Palestine - probably not guessing that the issues surrounding the promise would remain a potent source of violence and discord a century later. It was a moment of cataclysmic global upheaval and new nation states were formed like new islands thrown up by an undersea volcanoes: Jordan and Iraq in the British sphere of influence and Syria and Lebanon in the French. In that age of empires no-one questioned the right of the Europeans to draw new borders to parcel up the old world - at least no-one the Europeans would have listened to. The Sykes-Picot agreement is a secret understanding concluded in May 1916, during World War I, between Great Britain and France, with the assent of Russia, for the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. The agreement led to the division of Turkish-held Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine into various French and British-administered areas. The agreement took its name from its negotiators, Sir Mark Sykes of Britain and Georges Picot of France. Some historians have pointed out that the agreement conflicted with pledges already given by the British to the Hashemite leader Husayn ibn Ali, Sharif of Mecca, who was about to lead an Arab revolt in the Hejaz against the Ottoman rulers on the understanding that the Arabs would eventually receive a much more important share of the territory won. Why border lines drawn with a ruler in WW1 still rock the Middle East In recent years of course those desert storms have begun to rise again and the structures built in that last great time of change are creaking in the wind. Syria is consumed in the fires of civil war and it is hard to see how it will emerge again as a unitary state. Next door in Lebanon - still traumatised by its own long years of conflict - a fragile tradition of co-operation between different religious communities just about hangs together. The Kurds, Sunnis and Shia gathered together in the single entity of Iraq by the British may ultimately choose in the future to separate. The old order lasted for almost exactly 100 years - one wonders if that is more or less time than its Anglo-French architects Sykes and Picot envisioned. There has been no global cataclysm on the scale of the Great War to

Summary: The last time an old order collapsed in the Middle East it seemed obvious who should be invited to construct a new one.


Captain John Rankin got the Doonhamers off to the perfect start with a seventh-minute opener from the edge of the area. Derek Lyle then turned in from close range following a corner. Jean-Yves Mvoto gave Rovers hope with a 61st-minute header but John Hughes' side could not find a way back. Home goalkeeper Lee Robinson made a couple of good saves to deny Rovers midfielder Chris Johnston, before Ryan Hardie spurned the chance to level when his header cleared the crossbar. Match ends, Queen of the South 2, Raith Rovers 1. Second Half ends, Queen of the South 2, Raith Rovers 1. Attempt missed. John Rankin (Queen of the South) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left from a direct free kick. Jim Atkinson (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers). Substitution, Queen of the South. Ross Fergusson replaces Stephen Dobbie. Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers). Kyle Jacobs (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jason Thomson (Raith Rovers). Lyndon Dykes (Queen of the South) wins a free kick on the right wing. Attempt missed. Declan McManus (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Attempt saved. Darren Brownlie (Queen of the South) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Corner, Queen of the South. Conceded by Declan McManus. Substitution, Queen of the South. Daniel Carmichael replaces Dom Thomas. Attempt missed. Ryan Hardie (Raith Rovers) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Attempt saved. Chris Johnston (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt saved. Declan McManus (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Corner, Queen of the South. Conceded by Declan McManus. Attempt blocked. Dom Thomas (Queen of the South) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Foul by Ross Callachan (Raith Rovers). Kyle Jacobs (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Craig Barr (Raith Rovers). Lyndon Dykes (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South). Substitution, Raith Rovers. Chris Johnston replaces Ryan Stevenson. Foul by John Rankin (Queen of the South). Mark Stewart (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt saved. Dom Thomas (Queen of the South) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Corner, Queen of the South. Conceded by Jean-Yves Mvoto. Substitution, Queen of the South. Lyndon Dykes replaces Derek Lyle. Corner, Raith Rovers. Conceded by Darren Brownlie. Foul by Dom Thomas (Queen of the South). Declan

Summary: Queen of the South kept their slim play-off hopes alive with a win against Raith Rovers, who remain without a win in 16 games in all competitions.


Once they had been some of the most powerful men in Libya, with the power of life and death over their fellow citizens. Now they just looked old and diminished, and some looked ill. One former minister (he was later found not guilty) seemed to be suffering from advanced senility. The most powerful of them all, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, was absent, as he had been for the entire trial. Col Gaddafi's son was locked in a prison nearly a 100 miles away. It was hard to think that these men once inspired such terror. None of them seemed cocky or aggressive as they waited to hear what their punishment would be. They sat quietly, some making nervous movements of their hands, one or two grasping the bars of the cage, others playing with imaginary worry-beads. One kept his eyes shut, moving gently backwards and forwards, muttering to himself. When the sentences were read out, though, their faces didn't register much emotion - though one man winced as he heard what would happen to him: life imprisonment. One prisoner, overweight and tough-looking, suddenly collapsed. Leaning against the man next to him, his face turned a blueish-grey and his eyes sightless. It looked like a stroke or a heart-attack, but it turned out to be a powerful asthma attack brought on by the stress of the sentencing. The presiding judge rarely glanced at the men in the dock; he must have seen them all so often during the past three years. He ran through the long list quickly and fluently. Even when the lights went out - in Tripoli, the electricity supply is constantly being cut - he continued reading aloud with scarcely a beat missed, using the emergency red lights around his microphone. No one could forget, though, that the star of the show was missing. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's sentence - death by shooting - was the first to be announced, and a little quiver ran around the court-room as it was. He may have been watching the proceedings in his prison in the centre of Zintan, in the western mountains. If so, he won't have been surprised. By the last years of the Gaddafi regime Saif al-Islam was deeply loathed in Libya, even while politicians in Britain, France and Italy were behaving as though he was a close friend. His dubious PhD from the London School of Economics was regarded in Tripoli with scorn. Yet he continued to lecture the nation on television, much as he lectured anyone who - like me - interviewed him, waving his forefinger in everyone's face. At first, when the men from the Zintan group captured Saif al-Islam Gaddafi after the fall of his father in 2011, some of them treated him brutally. They chopped off the admonitory forefinger, and, cradling his hand in a bloodstained handkerchief, he pretended his hand had been injured in a Western air strike. A year or so later, some of his self-confidence had returned. In 2013, when I went to Zintan to watch him make an appearance in court, he greeted

Summary: The accused men sat behind the bars of their cage in blue prison-issue pyjamas, their heads close-cropped.


Healthwatch Oxfordshire also highlights staff fears that "workforce pressures" are making it harder for them to deliver acceptable levels of care. Its report, written with Age UK, was based on 161 patients and 57 staff completing questionnaires, as well as six focus groups and 10 case studies. The majority of patients were still treated with dignity, the report added. Patients with communication difficulties and dementia were particularly unhappy with their care. One patient, who had suffered a stroke, said she was left for hours in her own excrement. She said: "I was sedated and my health needs were neglected." Another described finding her mother-in-law, who has Alzheimer's, "soaked, dirty" and ignored by nurses. Their report said that, in a small number of cases, their experiences were "shocking". A woman who suffers from trigeminal neuralgia, a condition which causes severe facial pain, said that while she was normally treated with respect, on one occasion she was called "unclean" by a staff member when she was in too much pain to wash. Healthwatch also found people were often reluctant to complain and did not always feel properly involved in decisions about their care. But 93% of patients who responded said they had been treated with dignity or respect "some of the time", "most of the time" or "always". While patients were receiving "a high level of dignity in their care", Healthwatch chief executive Rachel Coney said there was "still much that can be improved about how people are treated". The report, written in partnership with charity Age UK, said the county's care organisations have made commitments to improve. These include drawing up formal dignity standards, reviewing staff training, and involving patients more in decision making.

Summary: "Shocking" cases of patients not being treated with dignity in care have been uncovered by a health watchdog.


The length of the airport runways in Guernsey and Alderney, the airline's role in economics and the needs of the community will also be included. The loss-making airline no longer runs a Guernsey-Jersey service and concerns have grown about flights to Alderney. Deputy Lyndon Trott, leading the review, said transport was the biggest policy issue facing the States. Mr Trott said: "The many issues surrounding our air and sea connectivity currently present the Bailiwick with its number one strategic policy challenge." He described the review as "a genuine opportunity" to set long-term plans for the future of the States-owned airline. The island's government bought the airline in 2003 in a bid to safeguard slots at London Gatwick. The public has been asked to contribute to the review and the report including recommendations is due to go before the States in early 2017. Included in the Terms of Reference Source: Strategic Review of Aurigny

Summary: The future role of Guernsey States-owned airline Aurigny will form part of a review into its services.


A well-known reporter who was sacked from a long-standing job at the liberal Hurriyet newspaper last year, Mr Mumay says the news was a shock. "It's difficult to be facing such accusations," he told the BBC, "but I wasn't surprised." Mr Mumay described Turkey's record on press freedom as "troubled". The country ranked 151 out of 180 in media watchdog Reporters Without Borders' 2016 World Press Freedom Index. Mr Mumay said he had several journalist friends who had been arrested in recent years. "I am just a person who practises journalism and describes himself as a critic," he said. "So I am one of those they point the finger at and accuse of being part of the group who planned the coup." Mr Mumay called on the authorities to look at his social media accounts which would show that he had taken a stand against the coup from the moment he first heard military jets flying overhead. "Just look on Twitter and you will find several tweets from me strictly rejecting any kind of military coup," he said. Another name on the list is Fatih Yagmur, an investigative journalist sacked from another liberal daily, Radikal, after writing a story alleging the Turkish government was arming militants in Syria. In a defiant message on Twitter on Monday, he said that he had no intention of handing himself in to prosecutors, having witnessed torture in Turkish police stations. Many of the journalists named on the prosecutor's list only found out they were facing arrest when their names were published by the state news agency. So far only five have been detained, in dawn raids on Monday.

Summary: Bulent Mumay found out he was on a list of 42 journalists facing arrest when a friend called him on Monday morning.


The University of Glasgow's £32m Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE) aims to bring clinical academics together with industry to improve patient care. It is the first time a 7 Tesla MRI scanner will be used in the UK in a clinical setting. It will be used to improve treatment for conditions such as stroke, vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The facility was built in collaboration with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC), with £16m of funding from the Medical Research Council and Glasgow City Region City Deal. The project is expected to bring 396 new jobs to the city over a seven year period, contributing about £88m to the local economy. The 7 Tesla MRI scanner was delivered to the site last November. A giant crane eased the 18-tonne device down an alleyway with inches to spare on each side, then through a hole in the wall of the new building. The building will also house the Clinical Innovation Zone to help biomedical companies improve healthcare technology through collaborative work. There willl be a further floor of neuro-operating theatres, which will be funded by the NHS GGC. Prof Dame Anna Dominiczak, of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, said it would be a "world-leading" example of a precision medicine centre. "The ICE isn't about ivory tower research," she said. "It is about bringing world-leading clinical academics together with industry to collaborate and to create something that not only positively benefits patients but also brings a meaningful economic benefit as well." Glasgow City Council leader Frank McAveety said the facility was a great example of how the Glasgow City Region City Deal was helping to reinforce Glasgow's global reputation, while also delivering economic and social benefits. Principal of the university, Prof Anton Muscatelli, said: "ICE exemplifies the university's goal to create visionary buildings that promote interaction with industry and other key stakeholders, bringing inspiring people together in a world-class environment to share knowledge that can ultimately change the world."

Summary: A new state-of-the-art medical research facility, which houses a powerful MRI scanner, is to be officially opened.


John Barclay is one of the few men who played then and who's still playing now. Whenever the game is mentioned and he's asked if it feels like half a decade ago, he smiles and says, no, it doesn't, it feels a whole lot longer ago than that. It does. Barclay's partners in the back-row that day were Alasdair Strokosch and Ross Rennie. Nick de Luca was in the midfield, Joe Ansbro on the wing. Tom Brown won his one and only cap in that match. Tom Ryder was the back-up lock on the bench. That Scotland side didn't possess much in the way of an attack compared to this one. Scotland didn't score a try in Newcastle and yet they won. In their last two meetings with the Australians, the Scots have scored six tries and lost them both. As they left Singapore after a pleasing performance in the win over the Italians, Gregor Townsend's team arrived in Sydney for a proper Test against a side that has caused them no end of strife in recent times. They'll have travelled in good heart. Some of the stuff that Scotland produced against Italy was really good, but it has to be viewed in the context of a woeful opponent. It was a solid win laced with some excellence in difficult conditions. It got things off to a nice beginning under Townsend, but Italy are so lamentable these days that nobody in the Scotland camp will be fooling themselves about the significance of the win. There were obvious successes. Some players - Damien Hoyland and Ben Toolis - that have previously been bit-part, or no-part, performers stepped up impressively. An old soldier, WP Nel, returned. A class act, Duncan Taylor, reappeared. What will have gladdened Townsend's heart wasn't just the way the five tries were constructed, it was the way his player options now look to be increasing. Australia will be an infinitely bigger test of that theory in Sydney next weekend, but if Townsend is going to take this thing where he wants to take it then building depth is paramount. Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Greig Laidlaw, Huw Jones, Sean Maitland, Mark Bennett, Alasdair Dickinson, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, Hamish Watson and John Hardie were absent against Italy. Most of them won't be involved in Sydney either. That's another dimension to what should be an intriguing Test match. Can Scotland beat an eminently beatable Wallabies side while missing so many go-to men? What do we know of Australia? We know that they are experimenting with selection right now, we know that they played Fiji on Saturday and put them away 37-14 after racing into an 18-0 half-time lead. We know that the wondrous attacker, Israel Folau, who hadn't scored a try for his country in a year, scored two against the Pacific Islanders. We know that, despite the dire straits of some of their clubs in Super Rugby, they can still pick a squad of 23 that is formidable. They are also flawed, however. They're not to be feared. They were good

Summary: Five years - and a whole lot of pain - have passed since Scotland last beat the Wallabies, a 9-6 gruntathon in the monsoon of Newcastle in New South Wales.


The Indomitable Lions, who lifted the trophy on Sunday after beating Egypt 2-1 in the final in Gabon, attended a ceremony in Yaounde on Wednesday. They presented the Nations Cup trophy to President Biya at Unity Palace. Later, they travelled in open-top vehicles through the streets of the capital to parade the trophy to fans. Cameroon's players were given medals by the president, who said their victory should be celebrated by Cameroonians as one nation. At the end of the ceremony Cameroon First Lady Chantal Biya posed for a series of photos with the players - at one point she used Fabrice Ondoa's phone to take a 'selfie' with them. Cameroon's success in Gabon ended a 15-year wait to win the tournament again and gave them their fifth title. The country will host the next edition of the Nations Cup in 2019.

Summary: Cameroon's Africa Cup of Nations-winning squad have been given a special state reception by the country's president Paul Biya.


Highway police say they found more than 200 large pieces of meteorites hidden under the seats of a truck which they had stopped in a random check. Three Argentines and a Paraguayan were arrested. The province of Chaco is world famous for meteorites, which are protected under Argentine law. Chaco contains an area known as "Campo del Cielo", or the "Field of Heaven". It spreads out over an area of 1,300 sq km (500 sq miles) and is littered with meteorites which fell around 4,000 years ago. The largest, named El Chaco, was discovered with a metal detector in 1967 and weighs 37 tonnes. El Chaco is the second-biggest meteorite ever found - and it too aroused avarice among speculators and collectors. In 1990, an Argentine highway police officer foiled a plot to steal it for sale to a private US collector.

Summary: Police in Argentina have arrested four men who appear to have been trying to steal more than a tonne of meteorites in the northern province of Chaco.


A worldwide one-child policy would mean the number of people in 2100 remained around current levels, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Even a catastrophic event that killed billions of people would have little effect on the overall impact, it said. There may be 12 billion humans on Earth by 2100, latest projections suggest. Concerns about the impact of people on the planet's resources have been growing, especially if the population continues to increase. The authors of this new study said roughly 14% of all the people who ever existed were alive today. These growing numbers mean a greater impact on the environment than ever, with worries about the conversion of forests for agriculture, the rise of urbanisation, the pressure on species, pollution, and climate change. The picture is complicated by the fact that while the overall figures have been growing, the world's per-capita fertility has been declining for several decades. The impact on the environment has increased substantially, however, because of rising affluence and consumption rates. Many experts have argued the best way of tackling this impact is to facilitate a rapid transition to much lower fertility rates. To work out the impact on population, the team constructed nine different scenarios for population change up to the year 2100, using data from the World Health Organization, and the US Census Bureau's international database. They also used "catastrophe scenarios" to simulate the impacts of climate disruption, wars or global pandemics on population trends. According to the study, attempts to curb our population as a short-term fix will not work. If China's much criticised one-child policy was implemented worldwide, the Earth's population in 2100 would still be between five and 10 billion, it says. "We've gone past the point where we can do it easily, just by the sheer magnitude of the population, what we call the demographic momentum. We just can't stop it fast enough," said Prof Corey Bradshaw from the University of Adelaide. "Even draconian measures for fertility control still won't arrest that growth rate - we're talking century-scale reductions rather than decadal scale, because of the magnitude." In their paper, the researchers also look at the impact on numbers of a global catastrophe in the middle of this century. They found that even an event that wiped out two billion people would still leave about eight and a half billion in 2100. "Even if we had a third world war in the middle of this century, you would barely make a dent in the trajectory over the next 100 years," said Prof Bradshaw, something he described as "sobering". The scientists said the issue of population and its impact on global consumption was often described as the "elephant in the room" - a problem that the world ignores as it is politically and ethically difficult to tackle. But the research shows that curbing numbers will not deal with environmental challenges in the short term. "Our work reveals that effective family planning and reproduction education worldwide have great potential to constrain the size of

Summary: Restricting population growth will not solve global issues of sustainability in the short term, new research says.


The Wales Audit Office has criticised how staff handled criminal records checks for volunteers on the council's Kerbcraft programme. At one point, poor record-keeping meant auditors were unable to determine if volunteers had been checked or not. Monmouthshire council said a "comprehensive and robust" action plan was being implemented. The report said auditors were "extremely concerned" about "inconsistent, partial and misleading information" provided by the council in response to their work. "The council has failed to provide a thorough and coherent evidence-based response to our enquiries and we have received inconsistent information about the chronology of events from officers," auditors wrote. There was no suggestion in the report, produced in February this year, of any wrongdoing by a volunteer. Under Kerbcraft, which was introduced by the Welsh Government in 2002 and is run by all 22 Welsh councils, children are taken out of school by trained volunteers to learn skills for crossing roads safely. Monmouthshire received Â£50,000 a year from Welsh ministers to run Kerbcraft, which had been delegated to a private/public joint venture until 2012 when it was transferred to the authority. In June 2015, the scheme was suspended because of concerns over record-keeping. That meant auditors were unable to confirm if volunteers had previously been subject to disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks - which have replaced criminal records bureau checks - or health and safety checks. "As a result, we consider that children were placed at risk during that time," the report said. "The council held no central record of information relating to volunteers and it appeared solely reliant on verbal assurances from the Kerbcraft co-ordinator that safe recruitment arrangements had been followed by staff operating the scheme." Following a council review, Monmouthshire told auditors it had put stronger measures in place - but despite improvements after the scheme restarted in September 2015, auditors found further problems. Staff were not requesting or looking at volunteers' DBS certificates and the council was not following up references for some volunteers. The report found children were "being put at risk because of continuing weakness" in arrangements for their safeguarding on the scheme that the council had not addressed at the time the report was published. Opposition councillor and Labour group leader Dimitri Batrouni said: "It is deeply disturbing that auditors were provided misleading information by the council. "We are talking about our children's safety." From August 2016 and in response to audit office concerns, the council stopped using volunteers on Kerbcraft. A council spokesman said the authority had now adopted an action plan and new procedures had been approved, along with improved governance arrangements. The new policy appears to permit volunteers but limit them to six at once to simplify the checking and recording of information. The council is due to consider a revision to its safeguarding policy on Friday.

Summary: The way a road safety scheme was run by Monmouthshire council put children at risk, a report has found.


Lundy was found guilty in 2002 of killing Christine and seven-year-old Amber in 2000, and was jailed for life. But the conviction was overturned in 2013 by Britain's Privy Council after new evidence emerged. The jury at the High Court in Wellington unanimously returned a new guilty verdict on Wednesday, and Lundy was sentenced again to life in prison. New Zealand media reported that Lundy stood open-mouthed in the dock as the verdict was delivered. His brother, Craig, told reporters the ruling "brings some form of closure" for the family. "For the past few months we have had to relive the moment we were told a despicable human being took the lives of our much cherished sister-in-law Christine, and our beautiful niece, Amber," the New Zealand Herald quoted him as saying. Justice Simon France said time already served in prison would be taken into account in Lundy's sentence. Christine and Amber Lundy were found dead at their home in Palmerston North in August 2000. They had been killed by multiple blows to the head from an axe or tomahawk. Lundy was accused of staging a burglary to killed them for insurance money. Police believe Amber was killed as she tried to run away after witnessing her mother's murder. Lundy, who was charged in February 2000, has always denied the murders, saying he was on a business trip in Wellington at the time and with a prostitute that evening. Following his first conviction, a group of supporters compiled a lengthy dossier questioning the evidence presented in court, including DNA samples found on his shirt which the prosecution said were Mrs Lundy's brain tissue. The appeal was lodged in Britain because New Zealand did not have a Supreme Court at the time. The Privy Council ordered a retrial and Lundy released on bail in 2013.

Summary: A New Zealand court has found Mark Lundy guilty for a second time of murdering his wife and daughter.


The Oromo and the Amhara make up about 60% of the population. They complain power is held by a tiny Tigrean elite. Violence has intensified since last Sunday when at least 55 people were killed in clashes between police and protesters at an Oromo festival. Hundreds have died in months of protests, human rights groups say. Tens of thousands have also been detained, they say. Declaring the state of emergency, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said in a televised address: "We put our citizens' safety first. Besides, we want to put an end to the damage that is being carried out against infrastructure projects, education institutions, health centres, administration and justice buildings." The state of emergency will last for six months. BBC World Service Africa editor Mary Harper says the violent protests are the most serious threat to Ethiopian stability in a quarter of a century. Source: CIA World Factbook estimates from 2007 The protesters have been attacking foreign companies, she says, threatening Ethiopia's reputation as a growing economy, ripe for international investment. The details of the state of emergency remain unclear, but she adds that protesters have already shown they will not back down when faced with force. Many roads into and out of the capital, Addis Ababa, are blocked by protesters. The protests since last November are for manifold reason, and include: In the most recent unrest in Oromia, at least 55 people were killed in a stampede. Opposition activists blame the police for causing panic at the annual Ireecha celebrations - a traditional Oromo religious festival. The government blames "anti-peace forces" demonstrating in the crowd. Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters angered at their handling of the event, witnesses told the BBC. Protesters say violence by the security forces led to the stampede, but the PM denied security forces had opened fire. Correspondents say that while the ruling coalition has some solid achievements to show for its 25 years in power, it has been unable to manage the transition from being a secretive revolutionary movement to running an open, democratic government.

Summary: Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency following months of anti-government protests by members of the country's two largest ethnic groups.


The 30-year-old scored four goals in 22 appearances for the Spitfires last season and spent three months on loan at Aldershot Town. Lafayette has previously had spells with Welling, Woking and Luton Town. Dover host Boreham Wood in the National League on Tuesday, having begun the 2016-17 season with a 0-0 draw at Wrexham on Saturday. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

Summary: National League side Dover Athletic have signed Ross Lafayette following his departure from Eastleigh.


Taylor, 31, the first Kiwi double centurion against Australia, reached 290 before he was the last man to fall. His score surpassed that of England's Tip Foster, who scored 287 against Australia in Sydney in 1903. New Zealand made 624, their first 600 against Australia, but the hosts added 258-2 to lead by 193 with one day left. Resuming on 235 in Perth, Taylor made the third-highest score by a New Zealand batsman. Brendon McCullum got a triple century against India in Wellington last year. Taylor batted for nine and a half hours, facing 374 balls and hitting 43 boundaries before he was caught at deep square-leg by substitute fielder Jonny Wells. That denied him becoming only the second batsman to score a triple century against Australia, after England's Len Hutton, who made 364 at The Oval in 1938. It was New Zealand's fifth-highest Test team total, the record being set as recently as last year with 690 against Pakistan in Sharjah. Having begun day four on 510-6 at the Waca, New Zealand were soon reduced to 587-9 before last man Trent Boult helped Taylor guide them past 600 and a first-innings lead of 65. Australia lost Joe Burns for a duck in the third over but Steve Smith hit his fourth hundred as captain in only his fifth Test in charge. He shared an unbroken partnership of 212 in 55 overs with Adam Voges (101) who became the sixth centurion of the match. Taylor celebrated both his century and double century on day three by sticking his tongue out in a message to his daughter. He added he was "undercooked" going into the first Test, which New Zealand lost, after he was sidelined for six weeks by an injury to his testicles sustained in the nets in Zimbabwe in August. "I felt I just needed to get back in the groove," Taylor said. "You can either graft it out or go out and play your shots and the latter probably comes more natural to me. "It's surprising what happens when you hit a couple off the middle, the feet start moving and the confidence comes flooding back." Some observers highlighted the fact that Taylor was not congratulated by the Australian players at the end of his innings. Australia opening batsman David Warner took to Twitter to explain that as Taylor was the last player to be dismissed, the home batsmen had to leave the field to prepare for their second innings.

Summary: New Zealand's Ross Taylor struck the highest Test score by a visiting batsman in Australia as the runs continued to flow in the second Test.


The 6ft 4ins midfielder was recommended to the club by former Walsall and Bermuda striker Kyle Lightbourne. The 18-year-old has been training with the League One Saddlers since appearing in a development squad match in April. "I've loved it here, the way the club has treated me," he said. "And how the players have welcomed me straight in." Butterfield will initially work under the vastly experienced John Ward, Walsall's professional development coach. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

Summary: Walsall have completed the signing of Bermudian teenager Kacy Milan Butterfield on a one-year deal, subject to receiving international clearance.


BHS ran 16 Scottish branches, employing more than 520 staff, when it went into administration in April. Before Sunday, 15 had already closed, leaving only one store operating at St Enoch shopping centre in Glasgow. The branch employed more than 50 staff at the time of the store chain's collapse. The retail giant traded for almost 90 years on the British high street before going into administration. Attempts to find a buyer were unsuccessful and BHS was wound up in June with the loss of 11,000 UK jobs. MPS have been scathing about the collapse of BHS and the way in which it was run by Sir Philip Green. In a report, they claimed his failure to resolve BHS's Â£571m pension deficit was a major factor in the firm's demise. Sir Philip promised MPs in June that he would sort out the pensions "mess".

Summary: The last BHS store in Scotland has closed its doors for the final time, following the collapse of the high street retailer earlier this year.


The issue is being made worse by a lack of "fair and equal dispersal", with some areas taking hundreds of people and some taking none, its MPs said. They condemned an "appalling" episode where asylum seekers were told to wear wristbands, and an instance where their doors were all painted one colour. The Home Office said it was committed to providing safe and secure housing. "The dispersal system appears unfair, with whole swathes of the country never receiving a single asylum seeker," said committee chairman Keith Vaz. "The majority are being moved into low-cost housing in urban areas such as Glasgow, Stoke, Cardiff and of course Middlesbrough, where the ratio is 1 asylum seeker per 137 people. "However, on the data we have received, local authorities in areas such as Maidenhead, Lincoln and Warwick have housed none." Other areas listed in the report as having no-one in receipt of aid given to asylum seekers - known as Section 95 support - in the final quarter of 2015 included Cambridge, Cornwall, Midlothian and York. Local authorities with few asylum seekers, or none, should be "actively encouraged by ministers to volunteer" to take some, the MPs said. How many asylum seekers live in your area? At present, 200 local authorities are part of a scheme that provides housing for asylum seekers. The three private firms that operate the programme - known as Compass - the Home Office, and the home affairs committee all agree that getting more councils on board is the key to easing the chronic accommodation shortage. It may well become a crisis if the number of asylum applicants continues to increase. At 38,000 the rate is at its highest since 2004. Some councils would take part if the contractors could find enough suitable and affordable properties; in other areas, it may be the fear of a voter backlash which is putting off local politicians from agreeing to participate. With the government committed to resettling 20,000 Syrians by 2020, as well as accommodating asylum seekers, ministers will have to find a solution - or face the prospect of housing more of them in two-star and three-star hotels. The committee said its findings "leave major questions to be answered" about the running of Compass - the name of the contract for providing asylum support services. The main contractors involved are G4S, Clearsprings and Serco, and the committee said delivery "has been mostly unsatisfactory to date". "G4S, Serco and Clearsprings receive millions of pounds of public money to house asylum seekers, and revelations in recent months have been alarming," Mr Vaz said. "The compulsory wearing of wrist bands and the infamous red doors demonstrate an unacceptable attitude towards vulnerable people. "The Home Office has failed to provide proper oversight and inspection, and must do better." The Home Office said it was working with areas that had not taken part so far in asylum dispersal. A spokesman said: "The Home Office has worked closely with our providers to improve property standards over the lifetime of the Compass contract. "Where a contractor is found to be

Summary: There is an "impending shortage" of housing for asylum seekers in the UK, the home affairs committee has warned.


The relegation-threatened Harriers took the lead when Keith Lowe headed in Ben Whitfield's corner, before Harry White drove in a second six minutes later. Arthur Gnahoua added a third with a neat finish from inside the box after great midfield approach play. Kristian Dennis pulled a goal back late on with a free-kick, but Macclesfield have now suffered four straight losses. Kidderminster are now 23rd in the table, seven points from safety.

Summary: Kidderminster scored three first-half goals to beat Macclesfield and make it three league wins in succession.


Simon Brooks told BBC Wales "an unintended consequence" of devolution was more public sector jobs were being centralised in the capital. Rural areas have been "losing young people by the bucket load", he added. The Welsh Government said it was "fully committed" to ensuring Gwynedd benefits from public sector jobs and investment. "I think we need to start thinking about moving public sector jobs out of Cardiff to places like Gwynedd so that people can have meaningful employment with proper careers in places like this," said Mr Brooks, a Plaid Cymru councillor in Porthmadog. "We've just lost a tax office here in Porthmadog down to Cardiff. This can't carry on. "This is an unintended consequence of devolution and I think we have to do something about it, we can't deny there is a problem, there obviously is." He added: "This is the Welsh-speaking heartland of Wales and yet we don't have a national headquarters of any Welsh-language organisations up here, they're all in Cardiff - it's a ridiculous situation." Gwynedd council leader Dyfed Edwards said the number of young people leaving the county was a "huge problem". "If we lose our young people, who are the potential leaders for our communities and society for the future, then we'll get that imbalance in the population where we know we have got an elderly population and one that's going to grow in terms of percentage over the years," he said. In total, there are almost 50 public bodies in Wales that exist at arms length from the government, such as the Children's Commissioner and Older People's Commissioner. There are nine organisations which the Welsh Government said are under its direct control. Dafydd Gruffydd works for Arloesi Gwynedd, which aims to help keep young people in rural areas. He said it can be difficult to convince young people there are local jobs. "Obviously there are challenges, there are less opportunities here than in a big city. But where we are in Parc Menai, there's a cluster of high-value digital businesses here looking for staff," he said. "And maybe one of the main challenges is to tell the world, and to tell young people in Gwynedd and Anglesey, that those opportunities do exist." Dafydd Williams completed his master's degree in London last year and returned home to Pwllheli to find a job. He now works for an online gaming developer on Parc Menai, near Bangor, which means he has an hour-long journey to and from the office every day. He thinks some young people are too willing to look for work in big towns and cities without seeing what is available locally. "I think it's an assumption I've seen some of my colleagues and friends make over the years. But the opportunities are here, they might be more difficult to look up and find, but they are definitely are here," he said. A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We are fully committed to ensuring people in Gwynedd benefit from public sector jobs and investment. "Only last month, the Economy Secretary (Ken Skates) confirmed his wish for the

Summary: A public body should be moved to Gwynedd to stem the flow of young people leaving the county, a Welsh-language campaigner has said.


A year after a safety alert was first issued by Whirlpool, mystery shoppers for Which? were told that registering for a repair or replacement could take six to 12 weeks. Whirlpool said it has now repaired two-thirds of the machines affected. And it has told the BBC that waiting times can be as little as one month. Fires have been caused by excess fluff, which can catch on the heating element. On one occasion earlier this year, a machine, awaiting a repair, caused a huge tower block fire in west London which left families homeless and needed 120 firefighters to bring under control. Some five million affected machines were sold in the UK, under the Creda, Indesit and Hotpoint brands, between April 2004 and September 2015. Whirlpool has been undertaking a repair programme and offering discounted replacements to anyone with an affected dryer. There has been criticism of the speed of these modifications and of the company's advice that the machines can still be used as long as they are not left unattended. At times earlier in the year, there were cases of people being told they must wait well over a year for an engineer to visit. Now Which? has criticised the company for call handlers quoting six to 12 weeks for customers to simply receive an ID number. A customer ID number needed to be issued before anything could happen in the repair or replacement process, the consumer group said. "It is absolutely unacceptable that one year on, Whirlpool customers are still seeing slow, poor service and potentially receiving incorrect and dangerous advice," said Alex Neill, from Which?. "Its modification programme is clearly not progressing as fast as it should." However Whirlpool said it was making good progress with repairs. "To date, 1.46 million consumers have registered their affected dryers with us. Of these, we have already resolved more than one million cases," a spokesperson told the BBC. "We are now able to resolve customer cases in as little as one month from the date of them registering their appliance with us for a modification, depending on location." Emma Drackford, from charity Electrical Safety First, said: "We believe that [Whirlpool] should put their customers' safety first and advise people not to use their machine, whether the consumer is in attendance or not. It is simply too dangerous." Whirlpool said its priority was the safety of its customers and it was doing everything it could "to ensure that the tumble dryer modification programme is carried out in a safe and timely manner". In a recent letter to the Commons Business Select Committee, it said: "We have made significant progress in improving our response times. "From the moment of registering an affected dryer with us, in the vast majority of cases customers are now contacted within a few days to offer an estimated modification date. The maximum waiting time for this, in exceptional circumstances, is two weeks," wrote Whirlpool UK managing director, Maurizio Pettorino.

Summary: Households with fire-prone tumble dryers are still being told they may wait up to three months to register for a repair, a consumer group has said.


These aren't real products, of course, but an art project poking fun at Asia's obsession with beauty and its propensity for conspicuous consumption. The display was created by the inaugural cohort of Singapore-based graduates of the Glasgow School of Art, which set up its first overseas campus here in 2011. The Scottish arts institution is looking to expand its course offerings over the next few years and aims to help develop the city-state's creative scene. "We hope that we can use this platform and build relationships with other parts of the region using it as a hub," said its director, Tom Inns. "To be an international art schools you've got to understand how the world works in terms of regions and different thinking and different cultures. "It is only by being there that you can only really begin to understand that. You can't understand that from a distance." But if the experience of the last foreign creative arts school to open up in Singapore is anything to go by, there may be some challenges ahead. This summer, the editing labs and sound engineering stations at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in Asia will fall silent for good. The campus, set upon three-acres of prime property in central Singapore, is closing less than 10 years after opening due to millions of dollars of debts. NYU still operates two degree-granting, liberal arts research university campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. "Despite its significant creative success, the Tisch Asia campus failed to become financially sustainable," says a university statement. John Beckman, vice president for public affairs at New York University said that reflecting back, they had "learned a number of lessons" from their experience. "Academically and artistically, the Tisch Asia campus was a tremendous success," he said. "But academic excellence is also expensive". "We were too optimistic about prospective enrolments both internationally and locally, the latter of which has been pivotal to many global academic initiatives. "We operate on the principle that we will not direct money from the campus in New York to sustain global operations, we should have factored in a greater degree of support needed beyond tuition, especially in the critical start-up years." Mr Beckman added that Tisch Asia "as a relatively small, independent graduate arts conservatory, was an ambitious enterprise". "The general lesson we learned was that it would have been better to have developed such a significant project as part of - and not separate from - our university-wide global efforts." The closure was not just a high-profile and expensive failure for the school, but for the Singapore government, which had invited them to set up here in 2007. However, Tisch Asia is not alone. In recent years, Australia's University of New South Wales, the University of Las Vegas Nevada and Warwick University have all exited, mostly due to financial reasons. Singapore used to publicise its aim of becoming a global education hub, saying it hoped the sector would ultimately contribute up to 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP). More stories from the BBC's Knowledge economy

Summary: On the shelves of "Happy Mart," there are gleaming cans of "instant nose jobs", packets of "Same Face" cookies and boxes of "Luxurios" cereal.


Public Health Wales (PHW) officials were responding to Welsh Government plans launched in November. PHW backed moves to restrict smoking but said ministers should go further. The body was giving evidence to the assembly's health committee. The proposals are part of the Welsh Government's second attempt to bring in the Public Health Bill, that does not include a controversial ban on e-cigarettes in some enclosed places. Ministers hope the legislation will be passed by May. PHW's submission to the committee said: "We would suggest that there would need to be a clear definition of 'playground' and that 'schools' should include early years educational settings such as nurseries (private and public). "In the case of schools and playgrounds this should include the perimeter of these settings otherwise the intended impact of the restrictions is unlikely to be achieved i.e. if parents or other adults are permitted to smoke at the perimeter of a playground or at the school gates in clear view of children this will not impact on the intended goal of 'denormalisation' (reduce smoking being modelled to children as normal behaviour). "We would also propose that the restrictions should not be limited to hospitals but should include the grounds of premises used predominately for the delivery of healthcare to include community health facilities and primary care." Currently, the Welsh Government plans to ban smoking within five meters of playground equipment "due to this being beyond the distance of potential second hand smoke harm from a single cigarette, plus an additional buffer to protect against weather elements". On Wednesday, PHW Director of Health Improvement Dr Julie Bishop told the committee that a broader definition of a "playground" was needed. "If we're narrowing that definition to, literally be play equipment; so I presume by that we mean things like slides and swings and those kind of things, that's actually quite a small area of what most of us would consider to be playgrounds in the broader sense," she said. "So I would encourage playing fields and sports grounds to be included in that definition."

Summary: Plans to ban smoking in school and hospital grounds and playgrounds in Wales should also extend to outside all nurseries, GP practices, playing fields and sports grounds, a health promotion body has told AMs.


Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC tweeted the plea ahead of Wednesday night's away match against Dundee. The message included the line: "We have no right to ask, but be there if you can." It was posted just hours after ICTFC's Highland rivals Ross County beat Hamilton 3-2 in Dingwall. If Hamilton had won, the Inverness club would have been relegated to the Championship. County made the game free of charge to watch to home and away fans.

Summary: A Scottish Premiership football club fighting relegation has appealed to its fans to show their support at the team's latest crunch game.


The Blues topped the table while, at the other end, Sunderland could not escape the drop after 110 straight days at the bottom. Records tumbled through to the last day of the campaign, when we saw 33 goalscorers, more than ever before in a single day of a 38-game season. Goals scored from outside the penalty area fell to a Premier League low of 11.6% so, if you like a goalmouth scramble, this was your year. From the moment Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap General Election on 18 April, the title was as good as Chelsea's. The London club have won the title the past four times - 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2017 - the country has been asked to elect a government. They did so in style, with their 30 wins beating the Premier League record of 29, which the Blues also set in 2004-05 and 2005-06. As the graphic above shows, Antonio Conte would do well to hold on to Diego Costa as his goals won more points than anyone else in the league. The striker has been linked with a move to China, but why would he want to leave London? The city is home to the best and second-best sides in the league for just the third time in English top-flight history. For all their free-flowing attacking play, for all Dele Alli's quality and Christian Eriksen's guile, Tottenham didn't spend a single day on top of the table in 2016-17. That's less than relegated Hull City who spent 24 hours at the summit on the opening weekend. Incredibly, Spurs had four players who were involved in 20 or more league goals this season. No other side had two players who could boast of such a contribution. So many troops chipping in helped Mauricio Pochettino's side to a goal difference of +60, a record for any side who did not win the title. What would they have mustered had Harry Kane not missed eight games in the league? His mark of five hat-tricks in the season puts him among stellar company, as only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo can match the mark in any of Europe's top five leagues. Manchester United's season saw manager Jose Mourinho criticise Luke Shaw, take an age to utilise Henrikh Mkhitaryan and lament the workings of the fixture computer. It led to him making more changes to his starting line-up - 120 - than any other manager and he finished outside the top three for the first time in his managerial career. The Red Devils never finished a Premier League season lower than third under Sir Alex Ferguson but have now done so in each of the four seasons since he left. And those famous Manchester United v Arsenal battles for titles in recent memory now look further away than ever, with the pair outside the top four as a duo for the first time since 1979. The Gunners - fifth - can feel a little hard done by as their mark of 75 points is a record for any side finishing outside

Summary: It was the season in which Chelsea played by their own record book.


Australian half-back Miller, 23, arrived from Hull FC in 2014 and his previous deal was due to expire at the end of the current season. Tonga prop Fifita, 27, joined from NRL side Cronulla Sharks in June 2016 and his new contract includes an option for an additional year. "Fifita has become an important member of the squad," said boss Chris Chester. "He has so much passion for the club both on and off the field which is great to see. "Jacob is still a young player with exceptional talent - I am looking forward to working with him for another two years and see him improve even more."

Summary: Wakefield Trinity duo Jacob Miller and David Fifita have both signed new two-year contracts.


Almost 90 jobs were at risk after bus operator First Scotland East announced it was withdrawing services in East Lothian. In May 2016, First Group revealed plans to stop bus operations in the area from 14 August 2016. It also proposed closing its depots in North Berwick and Musselburgh. The firm had blamed "an increasingly competitive market". An agreement has now been reached which will see East Coast Buses Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lothian Buses Ltd, buy the Musselburgh and North Berwick depots with all staff having the option to be transferred. The buyer has also announced plans to improve services and increase the number of vehicles. Richard Hall, managing director of Lothian Buses, said: "We are pleased to be in a position to take on and continue providing these vital services and be part of the local economy." Paul McGowan, managing director of First Scotland East Ltd, said: "I'd like to thank all my colleagues in East Lothian for their hard work and loyalty over the years." He added: "We will be fully supporting them as they transfer to their new employer."

Summary: Threatened East Lothian bus services and jobs have been saved as part of a new takeover package from Lothian Buses Ltd.


The fifth most common cancer in UK women affects more than 6,500 a year. Researchers funded by the Department of Health compared the survival rates of 20,000 patients in five countries - Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the UK. The UK ranked worst. Its record of managing advanced stages of the disease was particularly poor. Survival rates have been improving - more than two-thirds of women with this cancer survive more than a year now in England and Wales compared with fewer than half in the mid-70s. But they still lag behind other countries. As the symptoms of ovarian cancer are similar to those of other conditions, it can be difficult to recognise until the disease is more advanced, and experts had thought late diagnosis could explain the UK's poorer track record. But the findings, in the journal Gynecologic Oncology, suggest problems accessing successful treatment are to blame. Lead author Dr Bernard Rachet, of the Cancer Survival Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "Our research is the first population-based study to examine whether low ovarian cancer survival in the UK is due to more women being diagnosed with advanced disease, or to the outcome of treatment in the UK being inferior at each stage. "The results show that the proportion of women with advanced disease is similar to that in other countries, but that survival for women with advanced disease is much lower. "This suggests that the success of treatment is lower in the UK, and more effort should be made to ensure that UK women with ovarian cancer have the same access to the best treatments." One year survival was 69% in the UK compared with 72% in Denmark and 74-75% in the other three countries. Women with advanced stages of the disease fared the worst - 61% survived for at least a year in the UK compared with up to 74% elsewhere. The UK was also worse at recording how far tumours had spread. Although these percentage differences may not sound large, they are significant and big in terms of avoidable cancer deaths, say the researchers. Past work by some of the same team suggested around 500 ovarian cancer deaths a year could be avoided in Britain if the country had a survival record that matched the rest of Europe. Sara Hiom, of Cancer Research UK (CRUK), said: "This disturbing research advances our knowledge about what needs to be done to tackle lower ovarian cancer survival in the UK." A recent study by the charity predicted that many cancers would see improvements in survival rates over coming years. CRUK estimates ovarian cancer death rates will drop by 43% by 2030. Gilda Witte of the charity Ovarian Cancer Action said: "We believe that women who have reached the advanced stages of the disease should have the opportunity to be treated within expert specialist centres, where they will benefit from the expertise of leading specialist surgeons implementing the latest research within experienced multidisciplinary teams. "We know that when these conditions are in place, it drastically increases a

Summary: Women in the UK are dying unnecessarily of ovarian cancer because of a lack of access to the best treatment, say experts.


The incident happened earlier outside an Edinburgh University building where a student occupation is underway. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal. It follows footage posted on social media showing an altercation between a security guard and a student. The university said it "deeply regretted the unfortunate incident". About 30 students have been occupying a university building in protest at its "failure to commit" to divestment from fossil fuels. Eric Lai, one of the occupiers inside, said: "We have been repeatedly told that the university supports our right to protest, but that couldn't feel further from the truth." "The university have posted dozens of guards to the doors, and have now taken to intimidation and violence to shut us up. It is hard to imagine a more inappropriate way to handle student protest." "The university need to immediately change their approach, allowing open access to the building and engaging with the politics of why we're here, rather than just covering their ears to both the demands of students and staff, and the desperate urgency of tackling climate change. "Until they move their money out of fossil fuels, we're going nowhere." An Edinburgh University spokesman said: "The university is aware of, and deeply regrets, the unfortunate incident that is currently being played on social media. The matter is now in the hands of the police. "We continue to support the right of students to peacefully and lawfully demonstrate and the University is using private security outside its buildings in Chambers Street in order to secure the safety of staff and students during the occupation." "We are constantly reviewing our security arrangements to make sure that they are appropriate to the circumstances in what is an evolving situation."

Summary: Two men have been arrested by police in connection with a disturbance in Chambers Street in Edinburgh.


The private member's bill comes amid heated debate among government MPs about whether to change the law or put the matter to a plebiscite. The government's official position is that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has denied government MPs a free vote on any bill legalising same-sex marriage. The bill allows couples, regardless of "sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status" to marry. Australia's Marriage Act limits marriage to a union of a man and a woman. The bill was introduced by government backbencher Warren Entsch, one of several government backbenchers who plan to defy Mr Abbott by crossing the floor of the parliament to vote in favour of marriage equality. The ban on a free vote for government MPs means it is likely to fail. Mr Abbott has said the matter should be "put to the people" in a non-binding plebiscite after the next general election, due in 2016. Meanwhile, cross bench senators have backed an Australian Greens bill calling for a gay marriage plebiscite before the election. In an impassioned speech, Mr Entsch spoke of how his bill, which has cross-party support, was designed to promote a more inclusive Australia. "Being gay is not a lifestyle choice," the Queensland MP told the parliament. "This bill does not create different classes of marriage," he said. "A divided nation is what we will be if we continue to allow discrimination in relation to marriage on the basis of a person's sexuality."

Summary: A controversial bill to legalise same-sex marriage has been introduced to the Australian parliament.


The 38-year-old seamer took the first five wickets to reduce the visitors to 48-5, before Ben Cox (63) and George Rhodes (59) shared a stand of 94. They were eventually all out for 230, losing their last four wickets for 30. England Test captain Alastair Cook closed on 43, with Tom Westley 58 not out, as Essex reached stumps on 111-1. Masters' seven-wicket haul added up to the second-best bowling figures of his career, bettered only by his 8-10 against Leicestershire at Southend in 2011. Essex fast bowler David Masters told BBC Radio Essex: "I'm getting a bit older now and can't play as many games, so when I am playing I'm generally fresh. They've looked after me well this year. I've played when they've needed me to play and hopefully I don't disappoint. "My body takes a bit more of a battering now and it takes me a bit more time to recover. But I still love playing, I love bowling. "It's quite a docile wicket actually. The shine came off the new-ball and it started to swing and I got the ball in the right areas. That can happen sometimes." Worcestershire assistant coach Matt Mason told BBC Hereford & Worcester: "We probably lacked a bit of application with the bat, particularly early on with some soft dismissals in there. And that last session was probably the poorest we have had as a bowling unit this year, so not an ideal day. "When you win the toss and bat first you want to post 400, let's be honest. It looked a good surface and if we'd applied ourselves better you could bat and get some good partnerships. "I wouldn't want to detract anything from Masters' spell. He did what he's done for his whole career - he put the ball on the spot and nagged away. He is very disciplined, but I don't think we were very good in defence."

Summary: David Masters took 7-52 to put Division Two leaders Essex in a strong position against Worcestershire on the opening day at Chelmsford.


Media playback is not supported on this device Carlos Tuimavave and Fetuli Talanoa tries and a Jake Connor penalty gave Hull a 14-12 half-time lead, Cas' Ben Roberts and Zak Hardaker replying. Connor kicked three more penalties and Roberts crossed again before Hull pulled away when Mahe Fonua and Jamie Shaul scored within two minutes. Greg Minikin's late try set up a tense finish but Hull's defence stood strong. Hull's victory set up a semi-final with Leeds Rhinos, while Wigan Warriors, winners against rivals Warrington on Saturday, face Salford Red Devils. The defeat was only the Tigers' fourth of the season, having won eight successive matches going into the game, with their last loss also coming against Lee Radford's side. The hosts had flown into a 12-0 lead early on when Tuimavave intercepted a pass to run nearly the full length of the pitch before Talanoa muscled off two defenders to cross. But Roberts showed fleet of foot to find a gap and score, while Hardaker touched down Luke Gale's smart kick. Connor's penalty kept Hull in the driving seat, and his kicks kept the score ticking over in the second, as Roberts once more found a gap to get his second try. But Hull took a firm grip on the match thanks to two quickfire tries, and although Minikin barrelled his way through down the right, Cas' handling mistakes throughout the match came back to haunt them. Hull head coach Lee Radford: "I'm very proud of my players. There were plenty of special efforts and that was needed. "This is the juicy part of the season, the excitement starts now. "Leeds will be a tough semi-final. I don't think we've beaten them in nine games so it will be a challenging and tough Yorkshire derby. But these are the exciting game to be involved in." Castleford boss Daryl Powell: "Obviously I'm disappointed because it was a poor performance. We didn't handle the start well but we battled back well and we thought we could resettle at half-time. "When we got in front, the way we tried to manage the game was crazy with offloads. "Hull were too good for us but we have an opportunity against these boys again in the season. They have beaten us twice now this season and we have to find a way to knock them off." Hull FC: Shaul, Michaels, Fonua, Tuimavave, Talanoa, Kelly, Connor, Taylor, Houghton, Watts, Washbrook, Minichiello, Manu. Replacements: Bowden, Fash, Thompson, Turgut. Castleford: Hardaker, Minikin, Webster, Shenton, Eden, Roberts, Gale, Lynch, McShane, Massey, Sene-Lefao, McMeeken, Milner. Replacements: Millington, Patrick, Larroyer, Foster. Referee: Phil Bentham

Summary: Defending champions Hull FC defeated Super League leaders Castleford Tigers to reach the Challenge Cup semi-finals.


He spoke after another day of talks between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin ended with no deal. Theresa May phoned DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Féin's northern leader, Michelle O'Neill on Friday evening. The PM told them her government was committed to doing all it could to help parties reach a successful conclusion. A No 10 spokesperson said Mrs Foster and Mrs O'Neill "both agreed on the need for the executive to be restored for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland". "The Prime Minister recognised that constructive discussions had taken place between the parties and urged them both to come together reach a collective agreement so that devolved government could be restored in Northern Ireland." The BBC understands the latest round of Stormont talks ended at about 19:30 BST on Friday, breaking up fairly abruptly and not in a positive mood. Sinn Féin said no progress was made but added talks will resume on Saturday. Speaking on the BBC's Any Questions programme, Mr Brokenshire said: "We've obviously had an extended period where Northern Ireland has not had politicians making decisions. "The Northern Ireland Civil Service has effectively been running the show here. That cannot continue for an extended period, for much longer. "I've already had to make certain statements over the budget to ensure that civil servants are able to do their job, so yes, it is about that focus on what now needs to happen." When the parties missed a government deadline on Thursday, the secretary of state extended the talks over the weekend, in the hope that a deal will be struck by Monday, when he is due to make a statement on Stormont's future. Earlier, Sinn Féin called for the British and Irish prime ministers to become directly involved in the talks process. The party said the DUP had not moved on a number of issues, including an Irish language act, same-sex marriage, a Bill of Rights and measures to deal with the legacy of the Troubles. Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy said it was a "source of frustration" there had been no closing of the gap between the parties throughout the day. He claimed that the DUP "haven't yet accepted what brought down the institutions in the first place". But the DUP's Christopher Stalford said Sinn Féin had presented a "shopping list" of demands and was refusing to go back into government until they had received every item on their list. His party colleague, Edwin Poots, rejected a call for the prime ministers to get involved and said Sinn Féin knows what is required and "don't need anyone to hold their hands". Mr Poots said Thursday's missed deadline meant Stormont was now "operating on a 95% budget, which is essentially a 5% cut across all of the departments". The DUP MLA described this as "far greater austerity than any Conservative ever imposed upon the Northern Ireland public". "Whilst we understand that Irish language is hugely important to Sinn Féin - health, education, jobs, the economy, infrastructure, environment, agriculture - all of these issues are

Summary: The absence of devolved government in Northern Ireland "cannot continue for much longer," Secretary of State James Brokenshire has said.


Police made the discovery when a van was stopped on the Hillsborough Road in Hillsborough on Friday. The man, 34, is due to appear before Lisburn Magistrates' Court on Monday. Police said the cocaine was "destined for distribution and sale" on the streets of Northern Ireland. "We are delighted to have removed it from circulation," said Det Insp Alan Pyper. "The Police Service of Northern Ireland is continually working to identify those involved in the supply of drugs and put an end to their deadly trade."

Summary: A man has been charged with possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply after cocaine worth an estimated £100,000 was seized by police in County Down.


Avast carried out the check to coincide with the first day of the Mobile World Congress trade show in the city. In addition, it said it had found more than 470,000 other types of vulnerable smart devices. The firm warned that unsuspecting owners could be spied upon as a consequence. "If webcams are set to livestream for example, hackers or anyone can connect making it easy for cybercriminals to spy on... oblivious school pupils, workers or citizens nearby," said the firm's chief executive Vince Steckler in a statement. "[But] what is far more likely is the possibility of a cyber-crook hijacking an insecure webcam, coffee machine or smart TV to turn it into a bot which, as part of a wider botnet, could be used in co-ordinated attacks on servers to take down major websites." Avast used the connected-objects search engine Shodan to identify the devices. It said to qualify they needed to either: It carried out the study to help promote its own security tools. But another independent expert said he thought the public needed to be aware of the threat. "This research underlines just how easy it is to locate potentially vulnerable 'smart' devices and how they might be compromised," said Ken Munro, from the cybersecurity testing specialists Pen Test Partners. "That's not to say that all internet-connected devices can be easily compromised; for example some more recent kettles, coffee machines and fridges are much harder to hack than earlier models. "But consumers should exercise caution with smart devices. Ask yourself first if you actually need that device, then think about what data it might collect about you and expose. "For example, baby monitors with video and two-way audio would obviously be more concerning than a simple audio-only device."

Summary: A leading security company says it has discovered 22,000 hackable internet-connected baby monitors and other types of webcam in Barcelona.


The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said that 80% of passengers do not claim compensation. It wants clearer forms, a national publicity campaign, and better staff training, to encourage claims. In response, the train operating companies promised to take action to improve the compensation process. The ORR was responding to a so-called "super-complaint" by the consumer group Which? Which? had complained in December 2015 that millions of people were being left out of pocket by the system. Under the law, the ORR had 90 days to respond. "We want all passengers to be able to claim the compensation they are entitled to. The information they receive needs to be better and the process must be clearer and simpler," said ORR chief executive Joanna Whittington. Now the ORR is proposing: Which? said the proposals were a step in the right direction. "But this alone will not be enough to solve the problem for passengers in the long term," said Richard Lloyd, the organisation's executive director. "The government must now ensure that the rail regulator has all the powers and duties it needs to be a consumer watchdog with real teeth." Click here for more information The Rail Delivery Group, which represents operating companies, said it would be making the necessary changes. "There is always room for improvement and we know that we can do more to give our customers an even better deal," said Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the operators. "We will address all of the regulator's recommendations." It promised a new National Rail Enquiries website, with links to individual train companies and their compensation schemes. It also said there would be better communication on social media, with barcodes on posters to enable people to claim on their smartphones. Since last July, passengers have been entitled to compensation in cash, rather than through vouchers. Different train operators still have different agreements on compensation, but generally passengers qualify if their train is delayed by more than 30 minutes. So-called "Delay Repay" is gradually being introduced across the network, which means that compensation will be paid regardless of what caused the delay. From April, all but four operators will be signed up to the scheme. In addition some operators, including Virgin and C2C, make automatic refunds in certain circumstances.

Summary: Millions of rail passengers should be given more help to claim money back when their train is delayed, the industry regulator has recommended.


The scooter was thrown from an over-bridge on Gartlea Road, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, at 17:50 on Thursday, landing on top of a train. The driver brought the train to a halt and later services on the line were subject to delays and cancellation. BTP said the incident was "incredibly dangerous". They appealed for anyone with information to get in touch. PC Mark Harrigan said: "This was a particularly alarming incident for the driver of the service in question and in particular was a great inconvenience to the wider public who were subjected to lengthy delays and cancelled services as a result of this reckless act of vandalism. "Fortunately no-one was hurt, but trespassing on the railway or risking coming into contact with overhead wires is incredibly dangerous. "Criminal damage to the railway can result in serious and even fatal consequences for rail passengers, workers and those committing the damage." BTP would like to speak to anyone who may have seen people acting out of the ordinary or loitering in the Gartlea Road area, adjacent to Halfords and Morrisons petrol station, around the time of the incident.

Summary: British Transport Police (BTP) have launched an investigation after a child's scooter was thrown at a train, causing lengthy delays to services.


In a festive season where most of our big retailers did better than expected, M&S stood out, finally shrugging off its clothing sales hoodoo. Clothing sales have been in decline - and often sharp decline - for the past five years, with the exception of one positive quarter two years ago. Over Christmas, however, like-for-like sales were up 2.3%, although the company was quick to point out that 1.5% of that was down to how Christmas fell, which meant there were five extra trading days compared to the relevant period a year earlier. Even so, a 0.8% increase is not to be sneezed at, and is evidence perhaps that the back-to-basics reforms of chief executive Steve Rowe, which include hundreds of job losses at head office and the closure of most of the international stores, is having some effect. M&S beats Christmas sales forecast Tesco hails 'strong progress' One good quarter doesn't make a revival, but a halt to the seemingly inexorable decline will give shareholders encouragement. Retail analysts say Mr Rowe's formula - a concentration on the basics - is a welcome contrast to the recent past, where management introduced eye-catching fashion and made mis-steps online. The real test will be at the next quarterly update, where the calendar is against Mr Rowe - just as he benefited at Christmas, he misses out next time. If he can turn in another positive number on clothing, there will be substance to the M&S revival. Elsewhere, there was good news tempered with caution about the coming year. This was best expressed at the John Lewis Partnership, which reported like for like sales growth of just under 3% at both the department store chain and the grocery business, Waitrose. Profits for the full year are likely to be up, but Sir Charlie Mayfield, the partnership's chairman, took the unusual step of warning staff their bonuses would be smaller than last year. The culprits? The pressure caused by a weaker pound and the need to invest heavily in new products.

Summary: Marks and Spencer has turned out to be this year's surprise Christmas package.


The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BPA), the group behind the clock, said the standing still is "not good news". The minute hand on the Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how vulnerable the world is to catastrophe. "It remains the closest it has been over the past 20 years," said Rachel Bronson, BPA's executive director. In addition to nuclear arms and climate change, the group also cited growing cyber threats and an uptick in terrorist attacks in their decision to keep clock unchanged. Lawrence Krauss, chairman of the BPA's Board of Sponsors said that the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris climate accord were good news, but said it remained unclear if the Paris agreement would actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also noted increased tensions between the US and Russia as a sore point. Last year, the scientists moved the clock up from five-minutes-to-midnight, noting the threat of climate change, the modernisation of nuclear weapons as well as large nuclear arsenals. At the time, they said the threats were "extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity". The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded at the University of Chicago in 1945 by a group of scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons. Their metaphorical clock was created two years later. Today, the group includes physicists and environmental scientists from around the world, who decide whether to adjust the clock in consultation with the group's Board of Sponsors - which includes 17 Nobel laureates. The closest the clock has come to midnight was in 1953, when it was moved to two minutes from the apocalyptic midnight, following hydrogen bomb tests by the US and Russia.

Summary: The so-called Doomsday Clock will remain set at three-minutes-to-midnight amid global perils such as climate change and nuclear proliferation.


The wall at Oxgangs Primary collapsed during stormy weather in January 2016. A senior employee at the subcontractor that built it, VB Contracts, told the BBC the inner and outer walls were not constructed at the same time. Architecture professor Alan Dunlop said this "design issue" could have been the root of the problem at Oxgangs. VB Contracts went bust in 2010, but the BBC spoke to a former employee, who did not want to be identified, as part of the BBC Scotland Investigates: How Safe is My School? programme, which was broadcast on Monday evening. The collapse of the Oxgangs wall led to 17 schools across Edinburgh being closed over safety concerns. They have all since reopened. The schools had all been built or refurbished following a Â£360m deal between the city council and a private finance consortium under the Public Private Partnership 1 (PPP1) scheme. The lead contractor for the Edinburgh schools project, Miller Construction, was bought by Galliford Try in 2014. Miller Construction had outsourced some of the work to VB Contracts, which was responsible for the brick and blockworks at Oxgangs Primary, and built the wall that collapsed. Internal blockworks for such walls are generally built at the same time as the brick which forms the outside skin of the building. This allows the builder to ensure the two parts are properly connected, with wall ties in the right places. But the former employee said Miller Construction had told VB Contracts to build the internal wall at Oxgangs first so the building could be made water and wind tight as quickly as possible in order to allow inside work such as plastering to get started. It was the outer wall that subsequently fell down at Oxgangs school. Architect Alan Dunlop told the BBC the way the walls were built was therefore not "standard practice" and in his view was at the "root of the problems" at Oxgangs school. He said: "If you're going to do that, I would expect a method statement for that to be done. That's a design issue. It's not an add, it's not something you do ad hoc. And you have to do it properly and you have to specify the right wall ties for doing it. "In the evidence of the photographs that we have seen, that doesn't look to be the proper wall tie that you would actually use in circumstances like that." Mr Dunlop added: "The evidence is clear in the Oxgangs project. The wall collapsed and evidently it doesn't look as though it was safe at all. That's another whole shocking and worrying aspect of this whole process." In a statement, Galliford Try said it had contractual responsibility for four of the 17 Edinburgh public private partnership schools built 10 years ago. The statement added: "Work required to reopen those four schools temporarily closed has been completed and the schools opened on 24 May and 6 June 2016. "Throughout, Galliford Try's priority has been to ensure the children return to their studies at the earliest opportunity. We worked tirelessly with

Summary: The collapse of a wall at an Edinburgh primary school could have been caused by the way it was built, a BBC Scotland investigation has found.


A statement said all employees involved in industrial action would be locked out from Monday evening and flights grounded from 0600 GMT on Saturday. Aircraft currently in the air will complete their flights, but there will be no further departures. Chief executive Alan Joyce called his decision "unbelievable". Fair Work Australia, the national industrial tribunal, adjourned a hearing on the Qantas dispute on Saturday night. The tribunal - which has the power to suspend or terminate industrial action - is to reconvene later on Sunday. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned that the dispute could have "implications" for the national economy. The airline has been hit by a series of costly strikes. Baggage handlers, engineers and pilots have been involved in the action which the company says is costing A$15m (US$16m) a week. The airline issued a statement on its Facebook page saying customers booked on Qantas flights should not go to the airport until further notice. The airline said a full refund would be available to those affected. Relations between the unions and Qantas management started deteriorating in August after the airline announced plans for restructuring and moving some operations to Asia. By Phil MercerBBC News, Sydney At the heart of the dispute are concerns about pay and job security along with cost-cutting and the subcontracting of work overseas as Qantas looks to set up new airlines in Asia and sack hundreds of staff to revive its sagging international fortunes. At Sydney international airport, feelings among marooned passengers oscillated between anger and frustration. Qantas' decision to pull its entire international and domestic fleets from the skies comes during one of Australia's busiest travel weekends, with tens thousands of people converging on the hugely popular Melbourne Cup horse race, an event that stops the nation for a few, brief minutes. Anger and dismay at Qantas move Qantas grounded: Your stories Qantas has a 65% share of the domestic Australian market, but has been making heavy losses on its international flights. The restructuring is expected to mean the loss of 1,000 jobs from its 35,000-strong workforce. The disruption to flights has also affected a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in Perth, with reports that members from 17 delegations have been stranded in the city because of the dispute. It comes on a busy travel weekend, just days before the country's biggest horse race, the Melbourne Cup. The Australian minister for transport, Anthony Albanese, said the government would take action to intervene in the dispute. "We are very concerned about Qantas' actions, of which we were notified only mid-afternoon, with no advance notice from Qantas at any stage," he said. Qantas homepage Qantas boss risks all for Asia In pictures: Qantas grounds flights "The government is making an urgent application to Fair Work Australia to terminate all industrial action at Qantas. This will be aimed at both actions by unions and by Qantas management." Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce announced the grounding of the airline on Saturday: "The airline will be grounded as long as it takes to reach a conclusion on

Summary: The Australian airline Qantas is grounding all international and domestic flights with immediate effect due to an industrial dispute.


Emergency services were called to the incident near Cathedine at 16:13 BST on Sunday. A Welsh Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the person was taken to Swansea's Morriston Hospital with minor injuries. Mid and West Fire Service sent two crews from Brecon and one from Crickhowell to the scene.

Summary: A person has been airlifted to hospital after a small aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in the Brecon Beacons in Powys.


The price of Brent crude oil hit 2015 highs above $63 (??42) a barrel, rallying on government data that showed oil inventories in the US rose less than expected last week. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed up 0.1% at 19,885.77, reversing earlier losses. Toyota's shares were up 0.4% after the firm said it would end a three-year, self-imposed break from expansion. The carmaker said it would build a new $1bn plant in Mexico and add a new production line to a plant in China. Sharp's shares surged 4.5% after sources said it would meet with banks on Thursday for a $1.7bn rescue deal for the loss-making electronics firm. In Greater China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 0.4% at 27,739.71, while the Shanghai Composite was up 2.7% to 4,194.82 - hitting another seven-year high. Shares on the mainland posted their biggest fall in a month on Wednesday after growth data showed China's economy had slowed further in the three months to March this year. In Australia, shares were higher on jobs data that came in above expectations. Employment rose 37,700 in March, more than double the market forecast of 15,000. February's increase was also revised up to show a 41,900 increase. The spike in hiring drove the unemployment rate down to 6.1%, from January's decade-peak of 6.3%. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 0.7% to 5,947.5 after ending down for the previous three sessions. Shares of heavyweight miner BHP Billiton were up 2.4% on the resources sector's gains. South Korea's benchmark Kospi index finished up 0.9% to 2,139.90 - its highest close since August 2011. The index has risen for the fifth consecutive day.

Summary: Asian shares headed higher on Thursday as rising oil prices boosted energy and mining shares in the region.