Bowie received posthumous nominations for best British male and best album, for his haunting swansong Blackstar. After a row over diversity at last year's ceremony, the rest of the best male category comprises artists from BAME backgrounds. Craig David, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka and Skepta, who beat Bowie at the Mercury Prize, are all up for the title. Skepta has three nominations in total, with additional nods in the best breakthrough and best album categories. Girl band Little Mix also have three - including best group and best single, for their song Shout Out To My Ex. Meanwhile, Beyonce and her younger sister Solange Knowles are both up for best international female, after releasing albums about race and politics last year. Brit Awards 2017: Nominations in full There were calls for a boycott of last year's Brits, after BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) artists were absent from all but the international categories. Organisers later overhauled the voting system, improving the representation of both women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Grime star Stormzy, who called the Brits "embarrassing" in his single One Take Freestyle, this year receives a nomination in the best British breakthrough category. Craig David said he felt grime, urban and R&B artists had excelled themselves in the past year. "What they're doing for British music is pivotal, and it's moving a whole scene forward," he told BBC News. "Diversity is the key," added Michael Kiwanuka. "I don't think it's about just skin colour. "When you put a record on, it's about seeing things from a different perspective. It's deeper than what someone looks like, and I think the Brits are reflecting that." However, David said it would be hard for his fellow best male nominees to compete against Bowie. "His career has been so epic. He influenced me and so many other artists. There's no competition." The best female category sees competition between Ellie Goulding, Lianne La Havas, Emeli Sande, NAO and Anohni - who formerly performed under the name Antony and the Johnsons. In the international categories, there was also recognition for Leonard Cohen, who died late last year. For the first time, the nominations were revealed in a live programme on ITV1. The show included performances from best international female nominee Christine & The Queens and Britain's Got Talent contestant Callum Scott, whose cover of Dancing On My Own was a major international hit last year. Blues singer Rag 'N' Bone Man also performed, after being presented with the Brits Critics' Choice Award, singling him out as one to watch in 2017. The prize, which has previously gone to the likes of Adele, Sam Smith and Florence + The Machine, is one of only two awards to be announced in advance. The other - the Brits Icon award - will be given to Robbie Williams. It is the 18th Brit he has won, either as a solo artist or as a member of Take That. Little Mix, Emeli Sande and The 1975 will all perform at the event, at London's O2 Arena on Wednesday, 22 February, with

Summary: David Bowie, Skepta and Craig David are up for some of the biggest prizes at the 2017 Brit Awards.


Simply titled Chuck, the 2017 release will be "comprised primarily of new, original songs" and was recorded "in various studios around St Louis". "I've worked on this record for a long time," Berry said in a statement. "Now I can hang up my shoes!" The veteran musician said the record was dedicated to Themetta "Toddy" Berry, his "beloved" wife of 68 years. Two of Berry's children, Charles Berry Jr and Ingrid Berry, will be heard on the album playing guitar and harmonica respectively. Berry Jr said the new songs "cover the spectrum from hard-driving rockers to soulful, thought-provoking time capsules of a life's work." Other longtime members of Berry's hometown backing group - among them bass player Jimmy Marsala and pianist Robert Lohr - will play on the disc. In a career spanning seven decades, Berry has released a string of classic songs such as Roll Over Beethoven and Johnny B Goode. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1984 and was among the first inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. "It is a great honour to be a part of this record and the broader legacy of Chuck Berry," said Paul Roper of Dualtone Records. "This body of work stands with the best of his career and will further cement Chuck as one of the greatest icons of rock and roll." Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Summary: US rock and roll legend Chuck Berry has marked his 90th birthday by announcing his first new album in 38 years.


Over many years, he worked with Roald Dahl on some of his most famous books and his sketches captured the very essence of Willy Wonka, Matilda and the BFH. His own heavily illustrated and quirky books include Mister Magnolia, Zagazoo and Loveykins. Born Quentin Saxby Blake, he was born in 1932 in Sidcup, which is now part of south east London, and studied English at Cambridge. After National Service he did a postgraduate diploma at the University of London, going on to teach at the Royal College of Art, where he was the head of illustration between 1978-86. He was first published at the age of 16 in the satirical magazine Punch - while he was still a pupil a Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School. A later cover featured his illustration of a weightlifter at full stretch being aped by a dog carrying a bone. He said: "I can remember getting a letter from the art editor congratulating me on being the youngest contributor and I thought 'this is alright!'. I started drawing for print then." From there, he went on to illustrate nearly 300 books with writers such as Joan Aiken, Michael Rosen and John Yeoman. Blake also worked on more than 150 episodes of the BBC children's show Jackanory, providing the illustrations for the books narrated for the young audience. "I draw every day - unless I'm being interviewed," Blake told the BBC. "What is nice is to have different kinds of things to do." Blake began working with Dahl after a meeting in 1975 set up by their publisher. By that point, Dahl had already published some of his most famous works including James and The Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox. "Initially I was rather apprehensive because he was a big chap and very famous, but it was a relationship that worked," said Blake. "Because I had established myself as an illustrator, I had something to bring to it." Blake became the first ever Children's Laureate when the position was created in 1999, using his tenure to promote literature for the young. Among his other accolades are the JM Barrie lifetime achievement award, which he received in 2008, the Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration in 2002 and an honorary degree from the Anglia Ruskin university in Cambridge. He was made an OBE in 1988, a CBE in 2004 and will receive his knighthood at Buckingham Palace during 2013, for his services to illustration. The 80-year-old's most recent collaboration has been with comic actor and writer David Walliams. They first worked together on Walliams' debut children's novel The Boy in the Dress, which was published in 2008. He admitted he was initially apprehensive about working with the Little Britain co-creator. "I was also worried it would have loads of projectile vomiting," he said, "but I wanted to do it as soon as I read it." He added: "I had breakfast with David and I think we were on the same wavelength. It was very nice because he wanted me to do it and

Summary: Illustrator Quentin Blake, who has been knighted in the New Year Honours list, is perhaps best known for the distinctive drawings that helped bring to life some of the most popular characters in children's literature.


The bank announced the closures as part of a "strategic review". It said the move was a result of falling customer demand, and because of overlaps with other nearby branches. Seven are in Aberdeen and the north east, four in Tayside, and three in the Highlands. Two are in Edinburgh, two in central Scotland, two in west Scotland and one in Lothian, Glasgow and Forth. The full list is: A Bank of Scotland spokesperson said: "In 2014 Lloyds Banking Group announced a three-year strategy, which included a programme of planned branch closures. "As part of this strategic review, we can confirm today that Bank of Scotland will be closing 23 branches. "In most cases, this is as a result of falling customer demand while in others it is because of overlaps with other nearby branches. "Branches will continue to play an important role in our multi-channel customer offering. "Bank of Scotland is committed to maintaining a local presence and we expect to continue to have the largest branch network in Scotland."

Summary: The Bank of Scotland has announced it is to close 23 branches in Scotland.


A woman died and 19 people were injured when a car rammed a crowd of people opposing a far-right rally there. The FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the incident. Earlier, street brawls erupted between white nationalists and counter-protesters. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said "the violence and deaths in Charlottesville strike at the heart of American law and justice. "When such actions arise from racial bigotry and hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated," Twenty-year-old James Fields from Ohio, the alleged driver of the car, is in detention on suspicion of second-degree murder, In addition to those injured in the car incident, the Charlottesville Police Department said 15 were wounded in other violence related to the far-right march. Late in the afternoon, a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed in woodland south-west of the city, killing two people. There has been no sign that this was linked to the violence, however. The "Unite the Right" march was called to protest against plans to remove a statue of General Robert E Lee, who had fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War. Mr McAuliffe told a press conference: "I have a message for all the white supremacists, and the Nazis who came into Charlottesville today. Our message is plain and simple: Go home. You are not wanted in this great commonwealth. Shame on you. You pretend that you're patriots, but you are anything but a patriot. "You came here today to hurt people. And you did hurt people. But my message is clear: We are stronger than you." The governor, who is a Democrat, said he had spoken to President Trump, and twice urged him to begin a movement to bring people together. He thanked the police and law enforcement officials, who he said had prevented "a much worse day", and praised the emergency services who helped the wounded. The violence in Charlottesville - a liberal college town - is a stark demonstration of the growing political divide in the US, which has intensified since President Trump's election last year. Right-wing blogger Jason Kessler had called for a "pro-white" rally, and white nationalists promoted the gathering widely. Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, said several "white power" groups were present - including neo-Nazis and factions of the Ku Klux Klan. The New York Times reports that some were chanting "You will not replace us," and "Jew will not replace us." Anti-racism organisations such as Black Lives Matter held protests at the scene. On Friday, the white nationalists held lit torches and chanted "White lives matter" as they marched through the University of Virginia in the city. President Donald Trump condemned "in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides". "The hate and the division must stop right now," he told reporters, speaking in New Jersey, where he is on a working holiday. "We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation." Democrats and Republicans alike took issue with his choice of words, noting

Summary: The governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, has said that his only message for the white supremacists who brought chaos to the city of Charlottesville is "Go home".


Greater Manchester Police said the girl was attacked in Crow Croft Park, Levenshulme, Manchester at about 23:20 BST on Thursday. Officers were called to the scene following reports of "concern for a teenage girl", said a police spokesman. He added that police were carrying out inquiries at the scene, which has been cordoned off.

Summary: A 12-year-old girl has been raped in a late night attack at a park, police have said.


The star, whose third album 25 was the biggest-seller of 2015, was overlooked by the awards, which are voted for by her fellow composers and songwriters. Instead, Ed Sheeran, Jess Glynne and James Bay made the shortlist. And, following the row over diversity at the Brits, Roots Manuva and Skepta were listed for best contemporary song. Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, who has hosted the ceremony since 1987, says grime and UK hip-hop had been recognised because of the way the awards were set up. "This is what the Ivor judges do - they do deep listening, so the type of song that may not make it to The Brits has a chance here," he told the BBC. The full list of nominees is as follows: Best song musically and lyrically Best contemporary song Most performed work Best album Best film score Best television soundtrack The Ivor Novellos are highly prized by musicians because they are voted for by their peers. "It's really nice that it's celebrating the graft," said Jack Patterson, from dance act Clean Bandit, who is nominated this year for co-writing Jess Glynne's number one hit Hold My Hand. "It's about the stuff that you don't see - [working] in these grotty rooms for hours and hours with scraps of paper and gigabytes of discarded voice notes." "Music awards are funny things - but these ones seem to be actually controlled by writers and the writing community," added The Villagers' Conor O'Brien, nominated for best album. "Which feels good because writing can be a strange, solitary existence. So it can be nice to peek your head above the parapet and say 'hello.'" Although Adele did not receive a nomination at the awards' launch, she could still pick up a prize when the ceremony takes place on 19 May in London, as there are special awards for "outstanding song collection" and "songwriter of the year", decided by a panel from the British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors. The singer won the latter prize in 2011, in recognition of her breakthrough album, 21, while Rolling In The Deep won most performed work (recognising the song broadcast the most often on UK radio) at the same ceremony. "All this means is that she was not nominated in the five categories in which there were judges," said Gambaccini. "It does not mean that she hasn't won anything that was in the gift of the academy."

Summary: Adele has failed to win any nominations at the prestigious Ivor Novello Awards, which recognise achievement in songwriting.


Fjelde, 22, recently left Byrne in his native Norway and his move is subject to international clearance. Scottish forward Loy, 28, was previously loaned to St Mirren by Rangers in 2010. The Buddies - bottom of the Scottish Championship - visit Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday. Former Viking Stavanger player Fjelde told St Mirren's website: "It's a big challenge ahead but I'm looking forward to it and hopefully together we can stay up. It's always been my dream to play in the UK." And ex-Falkirk forward Loy, who has 58 career goals, said: "I've played in this division for two years and did very well in it so I'm not sure it's a case of having anything to prove. I want to score goals and I want to help keep the club up."

Summary: St Mirren have signed midfielder Pal Fjelde and striker Rory Loy until the end of the season, with the latter joining on loan from Dundee.


The Assembly Speaker says support for the Commonwealth is not part of his personal politics. However, he said he wanted his approach during his time as Speaker to be about "respect". He did not comment on whether Ireland should become part of the Commonwealth. "In upholding the independence and impartiality of the Speaker, my approach during my time in office is going to be one of respect," he added. "Involvement in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association has naturally not been part of my political life in the past. "However, I will represent all sides of the House as any Speaker should and I intend to respect and acknowledge the culture and traditions of all sides of the assembly chamber. "Taking up this position is a first step in demonstrating that approach. I look forward to hosting next week's event to mark Commonwealth Day and its theme of encouraging youth participation in our democratic system."

Summary: Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin has announced he will take up the position of President of the NI Assembly Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).


Members of the EIS Further Education Lecturers' Association were already set to go on strike on Thursday next week. The union has now confirmed it plans to hold two strikes the following week and more after Easter. If the dispute is not settled, they plan to go on strike three days a week indefinitely from the last week of April onwards. The planned strike dates are: The dispute is linked to the return of national pay bargaining in the sector. Lecturers at most colleges are angry about a 1% pay offer and are concerned about the differences between pay at different colleges. They claim there are disparities of up to Â£10,000 a year. The dispute at colleges in Glasgow is over a distinct issue - the union wants these colleges to join the national pay bargaining set-up. Colleges Scotland, the body that represents Scotland's colleges, has said the pay offer which it put before the union is the best deal possible.

Summary: Lecturers at further education colleges across Scotland have announced more details of a planned series of strikes.


A large wooden structure at Venture in Caia Park was destroyed by the blaze, which broke out at about 03:30 GMT on Wednesday. The main building was not affected and was operating as normal. North Wales Police and North Wales Fire Service are jointly investigating but the cause is unknown.

Summary: An investigation has been launched following a fire in the grounds of a youth centre in Wrexham.


Tycoon Sir Terry Matthews, JoJo Mamam Bebe founder Laura Tenison and Cardiff Airport chairman Roger Lewis are among 10 who have signed a letter backing the case for remaining in the EU. It highlights access to the European market and EU investment in skills. The Leave campaign argues that business would still be able to trade with the EU after Brexit. It also believes funding that comes from the EU to Wales could be replaced by Westminster from the savings of not paying for EU membership. But in the letter, the business leaders argue: "Our membership of the EU is vital to the Welsh economy - giving Wales favourable access to a market of 500 million people, supporting competitiveness and innovation and spreading investment in infrastructure to all parts of Wales." At the moment, 41% of exports from Wales go to the European Union. That has risen from £4.7 billion worth of goods and services in 1999 to £5 billion in 2015. Those who support leaving the EU claim it would allow exporters to focus more on growing markets further afield. Exports from Wales to countries outside the EU have risen from £1.7 billion in 1999 to £7.2 billion in 2015. If Brexit does happen, selling abroad will be dependent on what trade deals can be negotiated with other countries. Skills is one of the key areas for businesses and the letter goes on to say: "Investing in skills is so important to raise income levels and encourage further business growth, and in this decade, we will see £1 billion of EU funds invested in young people, training and skills." Others who signed the letter include: Advocates of leaving the EU argue the money saved from membership fees could be reinvested in other areas. Reality Check: Would Brexit put 400,000 jobs at risk? What does the EU referendum mean for Wales? Businesses on Anglesey on the referendum The independent think-tank, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), has warned the savings from membership fees do not take any account of the potential damage to the economy of leaving the EU. Most business surveys suggest that firms are, to a greater or lesser extent, in favour of remaining in the EU. In April, aerospace company Airbus, wrote to its 6,000 workers in Flintshire warning about the risks of voting to leave the European Union.

Summary: The Welsh economy is "stronger, safer and better off" in the European Union, a group of top business figures says.


But Mr Obama said those who looted and started fires on Monday "should be treated like criminals". The rioting came after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a black man fatally injured in police custody in Baltimore. A week-long curfew has been announced and thousands of troops have been deployed to the city. The National Guard has been sent to Baltimore to stop unrest for the first time since 1968, when some of the city's neighbourhoods went up in flames after the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. On Tuesday evening, hundreds of protesters took to the streets to express their frustration with what they see as excessive police force. The peaceful demonstrations were a contrast to the day before, when about 200 people were arrested as more than 100 cars were set alight and 15 buildings destroyed. Mr Obama harshly criticised "a handful of people" for "senseless violence and destruction". "That is not a protest, that is not a statement, they are stealing." But the US president said the rioting had distracted from the frustration over Gray's death. "This has been a slow-rolling crisis. This has been going on for a long time. This is not new. And we shouldn't pretend that it's new," Mr Obama said. He added such problems would not be solved just by changes to policing. "It would require everybody saying this is important, this is significant, and that we don't just pay attention to these communities when a CVS burns and we don't just pay attention when a young man gets shot or has his spine snapped." At an afternoon briefing, Baltimore Captain Eric Kowalczyk was asked why the police had not responded with more resources to prevent fires and rioting. He said police had originally deployed for a "high school event", expecting young students. "I don't think there's anyone in the country that would expect us to deploy automatic weapons and armoured vehicles to an event with 13, 14 and 15 year olds," but saw it turned into an incident that drew in older troublemakers and escalated in violence. It's been hours since the CVS was set alight here at Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, but fire fighters are still battling the flames. Earlier the stench of burning fumes filled the air as groups of people, armed with brooms and bin bags helped clear the mess from the night before. As the day progressed the crowds of protestors built up. A line of police, wearing full riot gear and carrying batons and shields have been blocking one of the road's here. For most of the afternoon protestors, danced and beat drums close by. There was the air of a carnival - a contrast to the violence this same area witnesses just the night before. At one point things did get a little tense. A conversation between protestors and police ended with pepper spray being directed at the crowds. But things have been calm overall. Protestors formed a human chain as the sun beat down on this bruised city. As nightfall a there'll be a curfew.

Summary: President Barack Obama has said police violence against African-Americans is a "slow-rolling crisis" after a night of violence in Baltimore.


Across England, 490,000 (77%) pupils met the required standard, up 120,000 on 2012, when the tests began. The National Union of Teachers said the jury was "still out" on the "obsession" with one teaching method. But the schools minister pledged to challenge councils with poor results to come up with swift plans to improve. Nick Gibb said the results showed the focus on phonics was ensuring children were becoming "confident, inquisitive and fluent readers". The top performing local authority was Richmond-upon-Thames, where 86.5% of six-year-olds made the grade, followed by the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Newham, Greenwich, Harrow, Bromley and Bexley - with Darlington, on 82.3%, the only non-London borough in the top 10. By contrast only 69.5% of six-year-olds met the standard in Nottingham, the worst performing council - followed by Peterborough, Wakefield, Doncaster, Derby, Liverpool, Bury, Oldham, Middlesbrough and Tameside. Mr Gibb said: "Today's results demonstrate the effectiveness of the government's continued focus on phonics as the primary way of helping young people to read. "For years, children were being denied the joy of becoming fluent readers because of a reliance on teaching methods that failed too many children. "We will continue to challenge those local authorities whose phonics results are below the levels achieved elsewhere. "The evidence is clear that the systematic teaching of phonics is the most effective way to help children master the basics of reading so they can go on to become confident, inquisitive and fluent readers." But NUT general secretary Christine Blower said the point was not whether test scores were rising. "It's whether the government's decision to focus the teaching of reading on one method, synthetic phonics, is producing an improvement in children's literacy. "Here, the jury is still out. "The [Department for Education's] own study, published earlier this year, found no conclusive evidence that any improvements are attributable to the check." This "very narrow approach to learning to read" risked sidelining reading for pleasure, Ms Blower added.

Summary: Nine of the 10 local authorities in which most six-year-olds passed the government's phonics reading test this year are in London, figures show.


The Austrian first became a shareholder in Williams in 2009 but has been slowly reducing his links since the start of his involvement with Mercedes in 2013. Wolff's shares, a little under 5%, have been bought by US businessman Brad Hollinger, whose stake rises to 15%. Healthcare entrepreneur Hollinger first bought into the team in 2014 but has no formal management role at this stage. However, he said that he would be "happy to participate in any way they see fit". And Williams chief executive officer Mike O'Driscoll said the team "would be delighted if he could make a greater contribution to our business in the future". Wolff, who agreed with Mercedes when he became its F1 boss that he would work towards ending his involvement with Williams, said: "I am surprised how emotional I am about this day, to be cutting my final business ties to [team founder] Sir Frank Williams and to the team at Williams. "Having entered the team from a pure investment perspective, I soon found myself in a much more active role, helping to restructure this great independent F1 team. "I am proud to have joined the sport with a team of true passionate racers, where we had to make spot-on decisions for the future of the business and its employees; I learned some lessons the hard way, but they were all valuable for understanding the industry." Sir Frank Williams remains the majority shareholder in his team with 52% of the stock; his co-founder Sir Patrick Head holds about 9%, with just under 21% listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and 4% held by an employee trust. Wolff added: "I look back with pride on the first ever IPO (initial public offering) of an F1 team in Frankfurt, and can see the next generation of the Williams family leading the team into a bright future." Sir Frank Williams said: "Given his role at Mercedes-Benz, a full divestment in Toto's shareholding became inevitable and we thank him for this judiciousness in only selling to a suitable buyer when the time was right. "In Brad Hollinger, Toto has sold his full shareholding to a highly successful businessman with an immense passion for Formula 1 and our team - he is a great asset."

Summary: Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has sold off his remaining shareholding in the Williams team.


The 32-year-old former Namibia captain has made 113 appearances since joining Sarries in 2009 and helped the club win two Premiership titles. Burger, who won 41 caps and appeared at the 2015 World Cup, will return to Namibia to become a farmer. "It is sad that it's coming to an end but playing rugby is something that I have really loved doing," he said. "Growing up I wanted to be a professional rugby player and I have been fortunate to live that dream." Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall described Burger, who leaves just two weeks before the Champions Cup final and the start of Sarries' Premiership play-off campaign, as "an amazing player and person". "He set a phenomenal example on the field with his bravery and the way that he gave everything he could in every game," McCall told the club website. "He will always be remembered as one of the true greats of Saracens."

Summary: Saracens back row Jacques Burger will retire from rugby after Sunday's Premiership game against Newcastle.


Terry Bywater led the scoring with 24 points in a 77-48 victory. "It's another dream, another Paralympics and there's no reason why we don't deserve it," he told BBC Sport. The women's team, who lost their final pool game 64-52 to the Netherlands, have already qualified for Rio. GB's men are chasing a third straight European title after back-to back successes in 2011 and 2013. They got off to a slow start against the Italians in the first period, but a three-point basket from Bywater sparked a run of 10 unanswered points to take a 36-27 half-time lead. Haj Bhania's side eased their nerves in the second half to earn a 29-point win and book a semi-final tie against Germany on Friday (14:45 BST). GB women will play London 2012 Paralympic champions Germany in their semi final at 18:15 BST on Friday after a hard-fought effort against the Netherlands. Helen Freeman finished the game with 28 points but it was not enough to upset the tournament favourites, who raced away with the lead in the second half to claim a 12-point victory.

Summary: Great Britain beat Italy in the men's quarter-finals of the European Wheelchair Basketball Championships to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympics.


A trailer featuring the number 13 in different locations was aired during the tennis on BBC One on Friday. It finished with the caption: "Meet the 13th Doctor after the Wimbledon men's final, Sunday 16th July." The actor will succeed Peter Capaldi who took the role in 2013 and will leave in the 2017 Christmas special. Capaldi made the announcement during an interview with BBC Radio 2 presenter Jo Whiley in January. The Glasgow-born star said: "I feel it's time to move on. I feel sad, I love Doctor Who, it is a fantastic programme to work on." The locations in the trailer included 10 Downing Street, Beachy Head cliffs and the Statue of Liberty. The popular sci-fi series features a Time Lord, known only as The Doctor, who travels through time and space in the Tardis, which resembles a 1960s police telephone box. The main character has the ability to regenerate, a quirk that has allowed a number of actors to have played the role over the years. Capaldi, who replaced Matt Smith as The Doctor, was previously best known for his role as foul-mouthed spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC series The Thick of It.

Summary: The identity of Doctor Who's 13th Time Lord will be revealed following the Wimbledon men's singles tennis final on Sunday, the BBC has announced.


The 10 letters were penned between 1951 and 1960 to her mentor and lifelong friend Sir Felix Aylmer. They reveal details of a dramatic decade of the screen siren's life as she rose from an unknown ballerina to Hollywood fame. In them she mentions her broken-off engagement, marriage, miscarriages and the birth of her first child. The letters are estimated to sell for up to Â£4,000. In one of the letters, dated 1951, a then 22-year-old Hepburn, wrote: "Would you believe it. I'm in Monte Carlo working on a French picture. The place is heavenly and this is the best thing that's ever happened to me." The actress was referring to filming Monte Carlo Baby, one of her very first movies. A year later she wrote that "with a heavy heart" she had broken off her engagement to socialite James Hanson. "It is all very unhappy-making," she said. "I fear I thought it possible to make our combined lives and careers work out." This was followed by joy at finding her future husband, actor Mel Ferrer, whom she married in private in 1954. "We want to keep [the wedding] a dark secret in order to have it without the 'press'," she confided a few weeks before the ceremony, which was to be held "in a tiny chapel with a wedding breakfast after". Hepburn and Ferrer went on to become co-stars in films such as Sabrina (1954) and War and Peace (1956) after they were married. Following two miscarriages the final letter in the collection ends on a celebratory note as the actress celebrated the birth of her first child, Sean Ferrer. "Sean is truly a dream. I find it hard to believe he is really ours to keep. I long to show him to you. We all three send our love and kisses, Audrey," she wrote. The letters will go on sale at the Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale in London on 29 June.

Summary: A series of never-before-seen letters written by Audrey Hepburn will be auctioned later this month.


Witnesses compared the blast, which sent a plume of smoke hundreds of metres into the sky, to an earthquake. The explosion occurred in the Faj Attan area of the capital, near the presidential compound. A Saudi-led coalition bombing campaign has been targeting Yemen's Shia Houthi rebels since late March. Local resident Adel Mansour told Reuters news agency it was largest explosion in more than three weeks of bombing by the coalition. "My children are terrified and one of my relatives fainted because of the force of the blast." Meanwhile, a BBC correspondent in the contested port city of Aden says its hospitals lack the supplies to treat patients. Orla Guerin says medical teams in the city are complaining that patients are dying for lack of equipment. They have appealed for more antibiotics and bandages. The Houthi rebels and their allies have been trying to capture Aden for weeks but have been held back by the air strikes and by forces of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who has fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia. In a televised address on Monday, rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said Yemenis would never give in to the Saudis' "savage aggression". The blast in Sanaa followed an air strike that hit an Oxfam humanitarian store in Saada, a Houthi stronghold in the north of the country. The charity condemned the strike, saying it had provided the co-ordinates of its warehouses to the Saudis. The UN says 150,000 people have been displaced by the latest fighting, and some 12 million are short of food.

Summary: At least 25 people were killed and 300 injured in Yemen's capital Sanaa after an air strike on a missile base caused a huge blast that flattened buildings.


The 20-year-old Wales Under-19 international had a recent loan spell at Stevenage, but did not make a first-team appearance. Crowe, who has yet to play for Ipswich, has been signed after Will Norris returned to Cambridge United. Braintree are due to face Kidderminster at home on Tuesday after their weekend game at Torquay was postponed.

Summary: Ipswich Town goalkeeper Michael Crowe has joined National League side Braintree Town on a one-month loan.


The boy was taken from a home in Velville Court in Newcastle to hospital with serious injuries, on Friday. A 34-year-old man and a woman, aged 30, are currently in police custody and are due to be questioned. Northumbria Police said the baby died on Monday and officers are treating the injuries he had suffered were "non-accidental". Det Ch Insp Mark Ord said: "We are treating the death as a homicide investigation. "We know this will shock and sadden the local community and I would like to reassure them we are doing everything we can to establish exactly what happened and how the baby came to suffer such fatal injuries. "This is a very tragic incident and our thoughts are with all those affected by this sad death."

Summary: Two people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 13-week-old baby died.


But the inquiry into the attack on the Pulse gay night club, in which 49 people were killed, is being treated as a terrorist investigation, he added. The FBI's director said the gunman was radicalised through the internet. Meanwhile Donald Trump said he would suspend immigration from certain areas of the world to the US. The presumptive Republican presidential candidate also renewed his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. The US authorities say gunman Omar Mateen pledged allegiance to IS shortly before the attack in Florida. However, the extent of any links to IS remains unclear. Speaking in Washington, Mr Obama said: "It does appear that at the last minute he [gunman Omar Mateen] announced allegiance to Isil [IS]. "But there is no evidence so far that he was in fact directed. "This is certainly an example of the kind of home-grown extremism that all of us have been concerned about for a very long time." How attacks unfolded Who was Omar Mateen? Police deny false claims of 'multiple gunmen' Orlando shooting: Special report The deadliest mass shooting in recent US history ended when police shot Mateen dead. The attack also left 53 people injured. Orlando Regional Medical Centre said on Monday that a number of the victims being treated there remained critically ill, and five patients were in a grave condition. Responding to the Orlando shootings, Mr Trump reiterated his proposal to ban foreign Muslims from entering the US. "We cannot continue to allow thousands upon thousands of people to pour into our country, many of whom have the same thought process as this savage killer." Mr Trump said: "When I'm elected I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies." He also spoke out against any move to increase gun controls, saying he would be "always defending" the Second Amendment which protects "the right of the people to keep and bear arms". 3.3 million AR-15s in the US in 2012 (estimated) 45 rounds per minute 26 people killed by AR-15 in Sandy Hook in 2012 0 days' wait needed to obtain one in Florida Meanwhile presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton promised to make stopping "lone wolf" attacks a top priority. Mrs Clinton called for action to stop militants getting hold of assault rifles, saying weapons of war had no place on America's streets. FBI Director James Comey told reporters in Washington that there were "strong indications of radicalisation and of potential inspiration by foreign terrorist organisations". "We're highly confident this killer was radicalised at least in some part through the internet," he said. In phone calls to the authorities from the nightclub, Mateen said he was carrying out the attack for IS but he also pledged allegiance to a suicide bomber for the al-Nusra Front group in Syria, and to the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing, none of whom is linked to IS. "We see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States, and

Summary: There is no clear evidence that the Orlando gunman was directed by the so-called Islamic State group (IS), US President Barack Obama has said.


Two pairs of identical twins who were mixed up soon after they were born in 1998 and grew up apart, find each other almost 25 years later through a combination of chance events. It made headlines in July last year when The New York Times published a long and comprehensive article about it. The daily covered almost every aspect of the story, but the relationship between its main characters has kept evolving since they first met. It all started when a colleague of Bogota office worker Jorge Enrique Bernal Castro went to buy meat at William Canas Velasco's butcher's shop also in Bogota. She could not believe how similar her colleague and the butcher were. Both had the same skinny body, narrow face, small mouth and a cheeky smile. Intrigued by the similarities, she took a photo of the butcher and showed it to Jorge, who was dumbstruck. His curiosity piqued, Jorge got in touch with the butcher and the two met up. Their surprise was doubled, or quadrupled if you would like, when they realised that the person they had up until now believed to be their respective fraternal twins, Carlos Bernal Castro and Wilber Canas Velasco, bore a striking resemblance to each other. Carlos and Wilber are both big men, with robust heads, full lips and serious expressions. They little resemble Jorge and William and not just in physical terms. Jorge and William are more talkative, less formal and like to joke, while Carlos and Wilber are quieter, do not like banter, have a quicker temper and take more care of their looks. When I met them, Carlos and Wilber both had very similar white mobile phones, which they said they had bought separately. William and Jorge were born on 21 December 1988 in the Materno Infantil Hospital in Bogota. Wilber and Carlos were born a day later in northern Santander province. All four were born prematurely at seven months and when Carlos fell ill, he was taken along with Wilber to the Materno Infantil Hospital to be treated. Jorge thinks that both pairs of twins were placed in the same room and that one or more of the identifying wristbands they were wearing fell off and were then placed on the wrong babies. They all left hospital on the same day with their mother none the wiser. William was taken with Wilber by Wilber and Carlos's parents to a rural area in Santander while Carlos and Jorge stayed with Jorge's mother in Bogota. Many years later, William moved to Bogota to work at a butcher's, where he was spotted by Jorge's colleague. They also had the same tendency to play with their phones when the conversation turned away from them. "We are a little bit more ego-centric, bigger flirts," said Carlos talking about the similarities between him and his identical twin Wilber and their differences to Jorge and William "I think the two of us are better dancers than them," Carlos added. Before they all met up for the first time, all four had been apprehensive and worried what

Summary: The story could well be the plot of a Latin American soap opera - a Colombian one, to be more precise.


Peter Higgs, from the UK, and Francois Englert from Belgium, share the prize. In the 1960s, they were among several physicists who proposed a mechanism to explain why the most basic building blocks of the Universe have mass. The mechanism predicts a particle - the Higgs boson - which was finally discovered in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, in Switzerland. Profile: Peter Higgs "This year's prize is about something small that makes all the difference," said Staffan Normark, permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Prof Higgs is renowned for shying away from the limelight, and he could not be located for interview in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. "He's gone on holiday without a phone," his Edinburgh University physics colleague Alan Walker told the BBC, adding that Higgs had also been unwell. "He is taking a break from all of this, taking some time to relax, because he knows when he comes back he'll have to face up to a media storm." But the university released a prepared statement from Higgs, 84, who is an emeritus professor of theoretical physics: "I am overwhelmed to receive this award and thank the Royal Swedish Academy," he said. "I would also like to congratulate all those who have contributed to the discovery of this new particle and to thank my family, friends and colleagues for their support. "I hope this recognition of fundamental science will help raise awareness of the value of blue-sky research." Francois Englert, 80, said he was "very happy" to win the award, speaking at the ceremony via phone link. "At first I thought I didn't have [the prize] because I didn't see the announcement," he told the committee, after their news conference was delayed by more than an hour. Higgs was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, but it was in Edinburgh in 1964 that he had his big idea - an explanation of why the matter in the Universe has substance, or mass. His theory involved a missing particle in the Standard Model of physics, which has come to be known as the Higgs boson. Within weeks, Francois Englert had independently published his own, similar theory, alongside his now deceased colleague Robert Brout. Three other physicists - Gerald Guralnik, Tom Kibble and Carl Hagen - also made key contributions to the theory, and spoke at the announcement of the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. Hagen has long argued for the name of the particle to be changed, protesting at the "rock star" status in which Higgs is held. And Higgs, too, has expressed his discomfort with the attention he has received, preferring to call the particle "the scalar boson". In a statement on Tuesday, Kibble, of Imperial College London, said he was "glad" the Nobel prize had gone to the work of Higgs and Englert. "My two collaborators, Gerald Guralnik and Carl Hagen, and I contributed to that discovery, but our paper was unquestionably the last of the three to be published. "It is therefore no surprise that the Swedish Academy

Summary: Two scientists have won the Nobel prize in physics for their work on the theory of the Higgs boson.


Media playback is not supported on this device A dominant performance from the pack enabled England to hit back after Alison Miller gave Ireland a 7-0 lead. Tries from Rochelle Clark, Kat Merchant, Kay Wilson and Marlie Packer (two) secured victory. England, who lost the three previous finals to New Zealand, will play Canada, with whom they drew 13-13 in the pool stage, in the final. Canada withstood late pressure to beat hosts France 18-16 in the other semi-final. Ireland were out-gunned by England's all-round superiority, led by a bruising scrummaging performance. However, after a previous best finish of seventh in a World Cup, they will look back with satisfaction at reaching the semi-finals for the first time. Their pool win over New Zealand - the defending champions - was the biggest shock in the history of the competition, but it is possible it left them too drained to once again hit the same heights in order to see off England at Stade Jean-Bouin. For the first 20 minutes the Irish were on top and they took the lead as winger Miller found herself at the bottom of the heap after Ireland's pack had driven a maul over from a line-out. Full-back Niamh Briggs, who had an outstanding tournament, landed the tricky conversion to make it 7-0 with 15 minutes played, and England were looking rattled as the Irish disrupted their line-out and used the choke tackle to force a steady stream of turnovers. England finally opened their account with a similar score to Ireland's as prop Clark burrowed over after a driving maul, and the Red Roses assumed control in the final 10 minutes of the half. Emily Scarratt was at the heart of the action, a couple of damaging runs opening up the Irish defence and a couple of accurate penalty kicks atoning for her earlier missed conversion. In between the outside centre's two penalties, she also converted England's second try after her 50m break set up the position for winger Merchant to finish in style. England were suddenly in total control and Ireland, 18-7 down at the break, needed to start the second half strongly if they were to reach a maiden final. Instead it was all England after the restart and, with their pack increasingly dominant in the scrum, the Red Roses first battered the Irish into submission up front and then exploited the space out wide to romp away. Scarratt extended the lead with her third penalty and Wilson added a third try just before the hour mark. England took off a number of players to rest them for the final, including captain and fly-half Katy Mclean, and replacement flanker Packer seized her chance to score a rapid brace of tries, both converted by replacement 10 Ceri Large. England: Waterman; Merchant, Scarratt, Burford, Wilson; Mclean (capt), Mason; Clark, Fleetwood, Hemming, Taylor, McGilchrist, Matthews, Alphonsi, Hunter. Replacements: Croker (for Fleetwood, 63 mins), Essex (for Clark, 63, Clark for Hemming, 69), Allan (for Scarratt, 68), Keates (for Taylor, 63), Large (for McLean, 68), Packer (for Alphonsi, 63), Hunt (for

Summary: England reached the Women's Rugby World Cup final for the fourth time in a row as they outclassed Ireland in Paris.


Allegri, 48, took charge in July 2014 and signed a new deal until 2017 after leading the Old Lady to the league title and the Coppa Italia. Having successfully defended their league crown, Juventus have announced the former AC Milan boss will now remain until 30 June 2018. Juventus face AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final on 21 May. They are 12 points clear of nearest rivals Napoli with two games remaining in Serie A. Juventus defeated Manchester City twice in the group stage of this season's Champions League before being knocked out by Bayern Munich in the round of 16.

Summary: Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has extended his contract with the Serie A champions until the summer of 2018.


But there is always an economic context that will feature as a major consideration for many voters. And whoever eventually walks into the Elysee Palace will face some difficult, even intractable challenges. The big picture is an economy with a high standard of living and high productivity but some persistent problems. The issue that stands out is unemployment. Close to three million people who want to work and are looking for a job don't have one. The unemployment rate is 10%. It's not as bad as some eurozone neighbours, but it is above average for the region and far worse than, for example, the Netherlands and Austria, where it is below 6%, and Germany, where it is below 4%. The figure for the UK is below 5%. You might think that unemployment will decline as the recovery from the eurozone's recession continues. Many forecasters expect it will, but not by all that much. The International Monetary Fund estimates that it will be hard to get unemployment down much below 8.5%. That judgement reflects what the IMF calls "deep rooted structural rigidities", factors that make the country's labour market less adaptable. They make it harder or less attractive for employers to take on new workers. Here are some examples. The "tax wedge" is relatively large - that's the difference between a worker's take home pay and what it costs the employer. There are long and uncertain procedures around dismissals, when an employer thinks they are needed. Of course there's a need to protect workers from unfair and arbitrary sackings, but many labour market experts do think that in France the balance is wrong and that it acts as a disincentive to hiring new workers. It is relatively easy to get out of work benefits and the IMF says the education system has failed to keep up with the changing skills needed by employers. There have been reforms intended to make inroads into these issues, including a package known as the Macron law, named after Emmanuel Macron, one of the presidential candidates when he was economy minister. The IMF has welcomed this but says more is needed. Then there is the 35-hour working week. It doesn't ban long hours, but is a threshold which triggers overtime payments. Critics think it raises costs for employers, supporters that it protects workers and encourages employers to hire more people. Follow French vote on the BBC There is also a feature of the French business regulation and taxation that affects the size of firms. Nicola Brandt from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) told the BBC that there's a threshold effect - regulations that kick in when a firm has 50 or more employees that inhibit those that might otherwise grow. So she says France is relatively lacking in medium-sized firms - a particular contrast with Germany whose "Mittelstand" is often seen as the backbone of the economy. France does have very high levels of productivity, a measure how much each worker produces. There are some good reasons for that. France has highly skilled managers and

Summary: As French voters go to the polls to elect a new president, the country's relationship with the European Union, immigration and terrorism will all be important themes.


The 18-year-old Manchester United supporter was watching at home in a village near Bingham, Nottinghamshire. He felt the red card shown to the United winger was a crime so called police. He later apologised for the call, saying he was caught up in the moment. Police will not take any action. The fan, who has not been named, called police at about 21:20 GMT during United's second leg clash against the Spanish giants. He was incensed by the referee's decision to show Nani the red card for a high challenge on Alvaro Arbeloa. Ch Insp Ted Antill said: "While this recent example may be amusing, it illustrates the sort of insincere calls we have to deal with on a daily basis in the control room. "They waste our time and they direct us away from genuine victims of crime, particularly if we dispatch officers out to something that turns out to be a bogus report." He warned that prank 999 calls were a crime and said people had been prosecuted in the past. "It's no joke. In this case, the man realised his bad judgement and apologised and we decided not to pursue it further," he added. Nottinghamshire Police said it received 6,933 recorded hoax calls in 2012, which is about 2% of all reported incidents. Had Tuesday's 999 caller followed Sir Alex Ferguson's example, he would have avoided a police telling off - the Manchester United manager was said afterwards to be "too distraught" to speak about the match. The game turned after the dismissal of Portuguese winger Nani - whose real name is Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha - with Real Madrid scoring two quick goals to win the match 2-1, knocking United out of the competition 3-2 on aggregate.

Summary: A football fan was so disgusted with the referee's decision to send off Nani in Tuesday's Champions League clash with Real Madrid he called 999.


The 23-year-old academy graduate only made a total of 18 first-team appearances for the county following his debut in 2011, and did not play a first-class game in 2015. "Saying goodbye to a man who has come through the club's youth structure is not something we enjoy doing," managing director of cricket Angus Fraser said. "The lack of first-team opportunities has frustrated him." Sandhu featured five times for Middlesex this year, with all of his appearances coming in one-day competitions. "Gurjit is fit, strong and capable," added Fraser. "I believe he has the potential to play far more first-team cricket at another club than he has for us and hopefully he will get those opportunities elsewhere."

Summary: Middlesex have released left-arm seamer Gurjit Sandhu.


Well it's worked as a game at least, the Angry Birds app was the first to get 500 million downloads. So inevitably its makers Rovio are now dipping their toes into the world of film. An animated feature is set for release in 2016, and they've just announced the cast. The main character "Red" is set to be played by Jason Sudeikis, and in his first role since Frozen, Josh Gad will play Speedy Chuck. Arguably the most useful bird, the Bomb, will be played by Danny McBride, who appeared in This is the End with Seth Rogan last year. Bill Hader however, will be on the receiving end of the birds' anger after joining the Pork Side. Maya Rudolph will act the role of Matilda, and the smooth-talking Tyrion Lannister, or Peter Dinklage, will swap the Game of Thrones set for providing the voice of the Mighty Eagle. There are a number of supporting roles being added to the flock too, including the YouTube stars Smosh (Ian Andrew Hecox and Anthony Padilla), who have more than 30 million subscribers. While it might be Rovio's first go at films, they've already enjoyed screen success with their recent animated TV series notching up more than 3 billion views in its first 18 months. The film's producer Josh Cohen says: "I'm extremely proud of this cast. "These are some of the funniest people out there today, and we're thrilled to have them all on board." Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary: It's your classic storyline, a group of different birds hurling themselves towards different structures to take out some green piggies.


According to court documents, Amjid Khan was working at a Morrisons petrol station in Birmingham in 2008 when he punched and kicked Ahmed Mohamud. Mr Mohamud died in 2014 of an illness not related to the incident, and his family continued his legal fight. Morrisons said Mr Khan had been sacked and that it had agreed to pay damages. The court ruled that Morrisons was "vicariously liable" for Mr Khan's actions. The attack happened in Small Heath, Birmingham, in March 2008, as Mr Mohamud was on his way to London for a demonstration against the war in Somalia. At the petrol station he asked staff to print some documents he had stored on a USB memory stick. Court documents say he asked this as a "favour", and Mr Khan responded by being abusive and using a racial slur. Mr Mohamud was not abusive in return, but the documents say Mr Khan followed him to his car, shouted more abuse, punched him twice in the head then leapt on him and subjected him to a "brutal attack involving punches and kicks while Mr Mohamud was curled up on the petrol station forecourt". By BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman The Supreme Court has sent employers a wake-up call. It has broadened the law which holds employers vicariously liable for the acts of their employees who commit a crime whilst at work. Previously an employer could argue that an employee was acting for entirely personal reasons - lawyers call it being "on a frolic of their own" if they committed a crime. It was only in cases where the employment itself involved a risk that a crime could be committed that employers had been held liable - so for instance in cases involving nightclub bouncers or wardens at residential care homes. This ruling makes it easier for customers of a business who are assaulted by staff - or affected by staff who commit any unlawful act whilst on duty - to hold the employer business liable. It is also likely to affect cases involving assaults or harassment by co-workers while at work. In his case for compensation, Mr Mohamud claimed he suffered psychological injuries and a head injury which led to epilepsy. BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the court had to consider two key points - the nature of the job entrusted to Mr Khan, and whether there was a sufficient connection between the role and his wrongful conduct to make it right for the employer to be held responsible. "The court found that the nature of the job was to be viewed broadly," our correspondent said. "In this case it was Mr Khan's job to attend to customers and respond to their inquiries. His response to Mr Mohamud's inquiry with abuse was inexcusable, but interacting with customers was within the scope of his job." In a statement, Morrisons said: "When this appalling incident happened we were horrified and dismissed Amjid Khan. "We then offered a settlement option to Mr Mohamud but he and his legal team wanted to progress a case which involved

Summary: Morrisons supermarket is liable for the actions of a staff member who physically attacked a customer, the Supreme Court has ruled.


Severino Seeger won â‚¬500,000 (Â£360,000; $530,900) on the show, Germany's Quest for a Superstar (DSDS) last month. The 28-year-old was accused of being part of a gang that tricked victims, mainly elderly women, out about â‚¬19,000 using a bank card scam. Reports say the court hearing in Frankfurt was delayed until after the DSDS final. Mr Seeger appeared before a judge on Tuesday as the court was due to hear testimony from several elderly witnesses. Local media showed images of fans crowding around the building, some wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Superstar 2015: Prince of hearts". The singer is alleged to have posed a as bank employee to help collect cards and pin numbers from victims, many of them older women. Gang members - several of whom have already been convicted - called their targets to tell them their cards needed to be checked because of technical problems. The oldest victim is said to have been 88 years old. Mr Seeger told the court he had just separated from his first wife when he was manipulated by a number of people including a cousin, according to German media. "I said yes because I was stupid," he said. He was earlier quoted as saying he was "ashamed" of what he had done. "I will pay the money back to the cent," he told Bild newspaper. The singer was voted winner of the 12th series of DSDS - part of the "Idol" franchise - in mid-May with the song Hero Of My Heart, written by Dieter Bohlen who is also a judge on the show. As well as the prize money, Mr Seeger, from the town of Waechtersbach, north-west of Frankfurt, won a top recording contract. He had been due to appear in court in March, according to reports. However his hearing was said to have been delayed initially after the judge fell ill, and later postponed due to his participation in the RTL TV show. RTL said it would not comment until after the court had given its verdict, expected on 10 June.

Summary: The newly-crowned winner of a German TV singing contest has admitted in court to defrauding pensioners.


The focus of their report is on BT's Openreach division and its alleged failure to invest in fast fibre. But there are others with questions to answer - notably the government, the regulator, and the broadband users. Because if, as the report says, "the UK is not adequately investing in critical telecoms infrastructure", and is "a laggard by international standards in providing fibre connectivity", that cannot be entirely BT's fault. The structure of our telecoms industry and the direction of our broadband strategy are, to a large extent, determined by the regulator Ofcom and by government ministers. Over the last decade, you could sum up their policy with those old retailers' maxims "pile it high, sell it cheap" or maybe "never mind the quality, feel the width". In other words, they have determined - perhaps rightly - that we as consumers want to get hold of broadband as quickly as we can but pay as little as possible. The intensely competitive landscape here and Ofcom's pressure on prices are presumably why the UK scores well compared with other EU countries when it comes to geographic coverage, take-up and lower prices. Where we score badly is in providing the most expensive but future-proof connection, FTTP, fibre to the premises. BT is now beginning to ramp up investment in FTTP, as are rivals like TalkTalk and Sky, but the UK has a lot of catching up to do. Five years ago just about all the big players in the industry seemed convinced that nobody would want or pay for such a luxury service, so they were not going to waste money in a competitive environment. Perhaps the regulator should have been more focused on the long term, rather than promoting competition. Competition was not the priority though in handing out the cash to reach rural Britain under the BDUK programme. Instead, it seemed to be speed and convenience that drove the decision to hand out all that money to BT. While the rollout has proceeded mostly on schedule, there are real concerns about a strategy which has seen the easier areas served first and information withheld from community schemes, making it difficult for them to know where to invest. But the biggest failure in broadband strategy is surely what has happened to small businesses. They have been told by the government that fast broadband connections are vital to their future and to Britain's economic wellbeing. But "the present system is unacceptable", says the report, describing a situation where small businesses are given a choice of a ridiculously expensive leased line or waiting for months or years until BT decides to hook up their business park. Yes, blame BT - but the MPs say it is being "perversely disincentivised" to put more effort into rolling out fibre to business parks, and that must be a failure of regulation. There is also a revealing exchange between the committee and the former digital minister Ed Vaizey about a voucher scheme designed to help small firms get better broadband. The scheme had been such a hit that the

Summary: The MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport committee are clear - our UK broadband strategy is going down the wrong path and BT must shoulder much of the blame.


The on-loan Fleetwood Town striker picked up the accolade after a string of impressive performances for the Ton. "I'm delighted. To be picked ahead of Hibs or Rangers players who have played so well is a big thing," he said. The 21-year old has been used in a more advanced midfield role this season to accommodate team-mate Denny Johnstone up front for the Greenock club. McManus is in his second loan spell at Cappielow. Following last season's League One success, he admits things are a lot more difficult at Championship level. "I've only been back here since January but I'm enjoying every minute," he continued. "We've been getting good results and teams like Rangers and Hibs haven't found it easy against us. "There are better players in this league, better teams. "I've played more of an attacking midfield role this season and I've tried to fill in for the team more so the gaffer's happy with me. "I've still got a few goals and a few assists so I'm happy all round. I hope now to just keep it up." Last month McManus scored once against Alloa in a 2-2 draw and a brace in a 3-2 defeat by Raith Rovers, both matches away from home.

Summary: Morton's Declan McManus has won the Ladbrokes Championship player of the month award for February.


The Welsh government brought in new regulations to prevent fraudsters abusing the system in 2013. Councils were told not to just rely on evidence from GPs and there are now concerns that people with genuine disabilities are being refused a badge. BBC Wales has found that in some areas the number of rejections has more than tripled inside three years. The Welsh government is looking into complaints from disabled drivers amid fears many elderly or deserving people could be missing out. Blue badges are issued to people with mobility problems or disabilities and allow the driver to park on double yellow lines or in specialist bays closer to their destination. Normandy veteran Neil McLeish, who landed on Sword beach with the Welsh Guards in 1944, had his application to renew his blue badge rejected by Neath Port Talbot council. The 92-year-old angina sufferer from Ystalyfera had held the badge for 10 years but said he was told he had been unable to provide independent evidence to show he had significant difficulty walking. He said: "Since they took the badge away I don't really go out much in the car because I'm afraid I won't get a parking place. I've just given up." A Neath Port Talbot council spokesman said: "Welsh government recommends that assessment of eligibility for a blue badge under the discretionary criteria requires the applicant to provide supporting evidence of their mobility-related difficulties from an independent medical practitioner but this does not include their GP." Of 10 councils which sent comparable data, eight have seen a rise in rejections in 2013-14 compared to 2010-11. The Vale of Glamorgan council area has seen the largest increase - from 72 up to 237. Neath MP Peter Hain said: "I'm horrified to learn that rejections are up to almost two thirds greater than they used to be, but it reflects my experience. "I've never had so many complaints from people who are genuinely disabled." A Welsh government spokesman said: "We introduced new regulations to ensure fairness and consistency in awarding of the badges, but several issues have been brought to our attention which we are now looking into."

Summary: Rejections for disabled parking badge applications have leapt up since tougher measures were introduced.


Too many over-65s end up in accident and emergency unnecessarily, says the NHS Confederation's Commission on Improving Urgent Care for Older People. The group said this was because of a lack of help when they fell ill. It called for radical steps, including providing urgent care at home and getting doctors to carry out "ward rounds" in care homes. The commission's report said older people were "poorly served" and "all too often forced to go to A&E". And once in hospital, they faced longer stays and losing some of their independence. The report said older people needed more help navigating the complexities of the health and care system. It pointed to an Age UK scheme in Cornwall, where the frailest people had co-ordinators helping organise their care. It also said GPs could identify and work with patients most at risk of hospital admission. The report also highlighted a scheme in north-east London, where hospital and ambulance staff were working together to provide emergency care in people's homes. Nurses and paramedics assess and treat older people who have fallen but not suffered a fracture. Equipment, such as walking frames, can be arranged. And from April to July last year, seven in 10 of the patients seen had stayed at home. Another project highlighted was in Hertfordshire, where GPs visited care home residents on a regular basis, with rapid response teams on call to attend to residents who needed urgent help. Source: Commission on Improving Urgent Care for Older People Dr Mark Newbold, who chairs the commission, said: "Older people do need to access A&E at times, and the best hospitals tailor their service to meet their needs. "But all too often, older people are forced to go to A&E because the alternative services that would help them be cared for at home are not available at the time they need them." A spokeswoman for the Department of Health in England said the government was fully supportive of the ideas put forward. She pointed out a pot of money known as the Better Care Fund - amounting to Â£5.3bn this year - had been set aside to fund schemes largely focused on keeping people out of hospital. The vision of improving care for older people was "being realised", she added. Meanwhile, the Local Government Association has called for more to be done to tackle loneliness, now a "major public health concern". Councillor Izzi Seccombe said it was increasingly being reported as an issue among older people referred to councils for care. She said the solution lay in supporting befriending schemes and those that tackled social isolation, many of which were run by the voluntary sector. "The impact of loneliness can be devastating," she added.

Summary: Older people in need of urgent help are being failed by the NHS, a group of English and Welsh health leaders say.


It comes in response to North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launch. The measures would for the first time require UN member states to inspect all cargo to or from North Korea. The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said it would be the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than 20 years. A vote is expected at the weekend. North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket in February and a nuclear test in January were widely condemned as a flagrant violation of UN resolutions. Carrots or sticks for North Korea? North Korea's missile programme A world leader in dramatic rhetoric How potent are the threats? China also condemned North Korea's actions but it has previously been reluctant to endorse sanctions that could threaten its neighbour's stability. "For the first time in history, all cargo going in and out of the DPRK (North Korea) would be subjected to mandatory inspection," Ms Power said after presenting the draft resolution measure to the Security Council. "These sanctions, if adopted, would send an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK regime. The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions." Ninety per cent of North Korea's trade is with China but the proposed sanctions do not prohibit that trade. They might make it harder to do business if inspections of North Korean ships became bureaucratic and burdensome, but as it ordered the cargo China already knows the contents of coal ships from North Korea. Where sanctions might bite is with aviation fuel. An effective block on fuel for Air Koryo would dent the tourist trade - and 30,000 Chinese tourists visit North Korea every year (though Air China also flies into Pyongyang). There is a bigger question and that is whether sanctions are the best way of bringing change. One American professor in a Korean university said sanctions were like "punishing a masochist". China may be more on board with the US now because it can see that North Korean progress towards deliverable nuclear weapons is relentless, and it might think that the US ultimately will simply not tolerate this. On this reading, the argument in Beijing may be: "we'd better stop them now before the US does it later". On top of that, the Americans are talking about installing a sophisticated anti-missile shield in South Korea. This would see far into Chinese airspace. There may be some negotiation going on where Washington promises Beijing to hold fire on the radar system in return for serious Chinese pressure on Pyongyang. Thursday's announcement followed weeks of negotiations between the US and China that culminated in talks in Washington this week between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The North insists its missile programme is purely scientific in nature, but the US, South Korea and even its ally China say such rocket launches are aimed at developing inter-continental ballistic missiles. The North's nuclear test in January, which it claimed was a test of hydrogen bomb technology, was its fourth

Summary: The US, backed by China, has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council aimed at imposing tougher sanctions on North Korea.


Home Secretary Theresa May said the government would make the "minimum possible changes" to comply with a 2010 Supreme Court ruling. She said ministers were "appalled" by the ruling and the bar for appeals would be set as "high as possible". Sex offenders will only be able to appeal 15 years after leaving prison. The Supreme Court ruled that denying offenders the right of appeal was incompatible with their human rights. But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the ruling did state that it should be "open to Parliament" to maintain the current position if it saw fit, so long as there was provision in law to review matters in future if it became appropriate to do so. She also said Labour was not convinced the new regime was tough enough to guarantee public safety. "Given the current evidence on repeat sex offending, it is hard to envisage any circumstances in which people will think it is justified to take someone who has been convicted of a serious sex offence off the register," Ms Cooper said. "Yet the home secretary's scheme makes it possible for the police to do exactly that with no appeal for victims or the public, and no consideration of Parliament's views on the wider risks and the importance of a strong precautionary approach." By Norman SmithChief political correspondent, BBC Radio 4 The ruling to allow sex offenders the right to have their names removed from the sex offenders register is one of those issues governments dread. It almost guarantees them sackloads of irate letters and coruscating tabloid headlines. And yet the inevitable row might not be as painful as ministers fear. Firstly, unlike the recent judgement on prisoners' votes, this was a decision made by Britain's Supreme Court, not the European Court of Human Rights. Secondly, it's not clear whether any change in the way the register is managed would require primary legislation, avoiding the possibility of a protracted Parliamentary tussle. And lastly the Scottish government has already implemented the change without suffering undue damage. Andrew Flanagan, chief executive of the NSPCC, said adults who sexually abused children should stay on the register for life, adding: "We can never be sure their behaviour will change." Only individuals sentenced to more than 30 months for a sex-related crime are required to register with police for life. It is estimated that about 24,000 sex offenders who were required to register for life, including paedophiles and rapists, could be affected by the ruling. Qualifying sex offenders are currently required to notify the police of their personal details, any change of address and when they travel abroad. There is no centrally held register of sex offenders in the UK, but the Home Office says the system of notifying the police is commonly known as the sex offenders register. Last year, two convicted sex offenders used human rights laws to challenge the system and won the right to appeal against their life-long registration. The two offenders were a teenager convicted of rape and a 59-year-old man guilty of indecent assault. The teenage boy,

Summary: Thousands of sex offenders in England and Wales are set to be given the right to appeal against having to register with the police for life.


National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidance urges medics to consider sepsis early on when treating any patients unwell with infections. The problem, caused when the body's immune system overreacts to infection, leads to 44,000 UK deaths a year. But experts estimate between 5,000 and 13,000 could be avoided. Sepsis can lead to severe organ failure, shock and death if not treated early enough. But initial symptoms - such as a rapid breathing or feeling generally unwell - can be vague, making it difficult to set apart from other conditions. In its first guidance on the issue, NICE acknowledges it is a complex medical problem. But the health watchdog says GPs, paramedics and hospital staff must make "Could this be sepsis?" the first consideration for anyone unwell with an infection - in much the same way that medics consider the possibility of a heart attack for patients with chest pain. Prof Mark Baker, from NICE, told the BBC: "The problem with those patients who died unnecessarily of sepsis is that staff did not think about it soon enough." He added: "This is complicated medicine. "It requires a depth of thought and experience and a way of examining patients which isn't always there - particularly because of time pressures and partly because we have got used to implementing guidelines without thinking." Cornwall mother Melissa Mead, whose one-year-old son William died from sepsis in 2014 after potential signs of the condition were missed by NHS 111 staff and GPs, welcomed the move. She added: "This could not come any sooner. Sadly we have been touched in very real terms by sepsis and could not agree more that clinicians need to start asking: 'Could this be sepsis?'" Sepsis happens when the body's immune system - the way the body responds to bugs and germs - goes into overdrive. The initial problem can be quite mild and start anywhere - from a cut on the finger to a chest or urine infection, for example. But when the immune system overreacts, this can lead to an unintended but catastrophic attack on the body. If left untreated, this sets off a cascade of reactions - from shock to organ failure and even death. There is a lot of research going on to attempt to find out what exactly triggers this sometimes fatal reaction. Read more: Why can sepsis be so hard to spot? Meanwhile, Dr Maureen Baker, of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: "The diagnosis of sepsis is a huge worry for GPs, as initial symptoms can be similar to common viral illnesses, so we welcome any guidance or support to help us identify it as early as possible." The guidelines say patients with possible sepsis should be sent to hospital in an ambulance and treated urgently by senior staff. Separately, NHS Improvement has launched an initiative to tackle children's health. It encourages parents to speak up if their child's health is deteriorating and urges staff to work more closely with parents. Dr Mike Durkin, NHS national director of patient safety, said: "Time and time

Summary: Suspected sepsis in patients must be treated as an emergency in the same way as heart attacks are, England's health watchdog says.


Journalist Richard Chambers was making his way to Letterkenny in Donegal when his car aquaplaned to the side of the road and became stuck in mud and gravel. He was unable to push his car free - until a mini-bus carrying a hen party from Northern Ireland pulled up. Dressed in pink feather boas the hens helped push the car back onto the road. Mr Chambers' car skidded to the side of the road outside Ballybofey when he drove over a large amount of surface water which was lying on the road. He told the Good Morning Ulster programme, "I tried to reverse it out, but it was stuck so I called the AA and they said they would be about an hour and a half. "A helpful fellow from Cork pulled up and offered to help with a push. The pair of us macho clowns really couldn't shift it at all." The bypasser told Mr Chambers that he didn't think the car could be moved without a tow-truck. At this point the journalist said, "I had resigned to my fate." However, much to his surprise a mini-bus carrying a hen party from Northern Ireland stopped to lend a hand. "They got straight out of the bus with pink feather boas and all that sort of stuff and said 'We'll push it out'. I was like, we'll give them a go anyway, you know? "Within minutes this gang of women, about five or six of them' were pushing. (They) all pushed the car, and that was the job done! "One of them came out with a face full of mud from a bit of reversing, but the photos I'd say will be great fun for them," Mr Chambers added. He says he hopes to find the women as he is "eternally thankful" for all that they did.

Summary: A hen party which helped a man whose car had become stuck in mud has been called 'heroic' by the driver.


At one stage, the judge told staff to turn up the court heaters as a result of the low temperature in Court 12. There was also a coldness to the proceedings, compared to the hot and heavy exchanges in the media on the issue. There was no heckling, no shouting, no jeering. In fact, the only time the volume was raised in court was when a journalist's mobile telephone rang loudly for 30 seconds, as the owner frantically fumbled around, failing to find the off-button. There was respect between the legal teams, politeness from the witnesses and a respectful atmosphere inside the courtroom, including the packed public gallery. A number of gay rights activists were present as were unionist politicians including Edwin Poots and Jim Allister. The air of calm seemed to take the authorities by surprise. On day one, a group of police officers was stationed outside Court 12. By day two, they had gone. At the centre of the case was Gareth Lee, a gay rights activist whose order for a cake bearing the slogan 'support gay marriage' was turned down. The Equality Commission supported his case. They claimed he was discriminated against on the grounds of his sexual orientation. Mr Lee sat on the left-hand side of the court. The baker from Ashers bakery who turned down his order for the cake, Karen McArthur, sat on the other side. Beside her was her husband, Colin, one of her three sons, Daniel, and her daughter-in-law Amy. They are a close-knit Christian family and they sat in the same seats each day. The most tense moment in court came when Karen McArthur was questioned about why she initially accepted Gareth Lee's order and then rang him a few days later to tell him that it was being cancelled. "In my heart I knew I would not be able to put that (slogan) on the cake," she said "I didn't want to embarrass him or have a confrontation in the bakery." So was Mr Lee's order turned down because he was gay? No, insisted Mrs McArthur. She did not know he was gay, and it would not have mattered even if she did. Ashers would not have been prepared to make a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan for anyone. The point was emphasised by the family's barrister, David Scoffield QC - "the issue was the cake not the customer". However, Gareth Lee felt he was discriminated against. He told the court that after ordering the cake and paying for it, only to be told two days later that his order had been rejected: "It made me feel unworthy, a lesser person." It will be up to district judge Isobel Brownlie whether these feelings were as result of discrimination or not. At the outset of the case, Mr Lee's barrister Robin Allen QC advised the judge to bear in mind "law must not be determined by those who shout loudest". It set the tone for three days of complex but courteous legal argument. Never has a courtroom heard so much evidence about

Summary: The public debate over the 'gay cake' controversy may have been heated, but the three-day court case was a chilly affair.


The ministry is asking for 180.5bn yen ($2.1bn, £1.3bn), some of which an official said would be spent on missile interceptors and fighter jets. The move comes with Japan embroiled in a territorial row with China. It also follows North Korea's recent successful long-range rocket launch. "We will request 180.5bn yen to be allocated to military spending from a stimulus package," a defence ministry spokesman told Agence-France Presse news agency. He said that part of it would fund the purchase of PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile systems and modernise four F-15 fighter jets. The defence ministry spokesman said the funds were needed "to prepare for the changing security environment surrounding Japan". The finance ministry has to approve the request before it can be added to the government stimulus package expected later this month. Q&A: China-Japan islands row The request for funds is in addition to news on Tuesday that the new government, which won elections in December, would increase the defence budget request by more than 100bn yen. Officials say the increase would be used for research into a new radar system and maintenance costs for military aircraft. The mooted increase is not large - the defence budget for the year ending in March 2012 stood at 4.65 trillion yen - but it represents a change. For 10 years, Japan's defence budget has been gradually declining. But in the last few months the country has been shaken from two sides, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo. In December, North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket that flew over southern Japan. Much more worrying for Tokyo is China's push to claim disputed East China Sea islands, our correspondent adds. The dispute over the islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, has rumbled for years. Japan controls the islands but its purchase of three of them from their private Japanese owner in September sparked a renewed row. Since then Chinese ships have been sailing in and out of what Japan says are its territorial waters around the islands, prompting warnings from Tokyo. New Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is known as a conservative, has pledged a strong stance on the territorial issue while also calling for dialogue with China.

Summary: Japan's defence ministry says it is seeking more funds for military spending, a day after news the government would boost the defence budget for the first time in 10 years.


The winners have been announced for a photography competition capturing wildlife and scenery from across the Galapagos Islands.

Summary: All images are subject to copyright.


An announcement from steel firm Tata is expected on Tuesday on the future of its plants in Motherwell, Cambuslang and Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. It is believed about 1,200 jobs will be affected, including 400 in Scotland. The Scottish government said it continued to "explore all options" to find a viable future for Tata's sites. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told her party conference in Aberdeen on Saturday that "if our worst fears are realised", she would immediately establish a task force to work with the company, the trade unions and local authorities. Tata employs about 70 people at its Clydebridge plant in Cambuslang, with the remainder of its Scottish workforce based at its Dalzell plate rolling works in Motherwell. Trade union Community, which represents steel workers, said it wanted any task force to support a programme which would keep the plants open while a long-term solution was sought. Assistant general secretary John Park said: "We are in the middle of the worst slump in steel prices in living memory and it is essential we maintain our capacity to produce steel in Scotland. "We welcome Nicola Sturgeon's announcement of a steel task force, but it cannot simply be an exercise in managing decline. "If the Scottish steel industry is to have a future, then Nicola Sturgeon must ensure the strategic assets at Dalzell and Clydebridge are maintained." Mr Park also called for a "proper industrial strategy" for the sector to be developed. He added: "For steel to have that future we must secure the skills of the men and women who work in the industry. "That is why we are calling on the Scottish government to support short-time working programme, should that be necessary over the coming weeks." A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "Since last year, when Tata Steel first announced the potential sale of its long products division, the Scottish government and its agencies have been in constant contact with both Tata Steel and with the trades unions. "We continue to be in contact to explore all possible options to find a viable future for the company's sites in Scotland." Labour MSP John Pentland said: "When Grangemouth, Fergusons and Prestwick Airport were at risk, the Scottish government stepped in to provide support and to secure jobs. "They need to do the same now - anything less will not be acceptable. "This is an iconic industry for our nation and the men and women who work at Clydesdale and Dalzell deserve all possible support."

Summary: Steel workers have called on Scottish ministers to help secure the industry's future by backing a "short-time working programme" if plant closures go ahead.


The British Infrastructure Group (BIG) report says a lack of runway capacity at Heathrow is causing "substantial damage to the industry as a whole". Both Heathrow and Gatwick are bidding for an extra runway to be built. A Department for Transport spokesman said it was important to consider all the evidence before making a decision. Last month, the then transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said a decision on expansion had been put back until "at least October" following the result of the EU referendum. However, BIG - a Commons group led by the Conservative MP Grant Shapps - says a decision should be made immediately, adding that it would show new Prime Minister Theresa May's "mettle". It says it has gathered evidence from local and national authorities as well as academics about future airport capacity. The report's recommendations state: "The problem of capacity at the current hub, Heathrow, is causing substantial damage to the industry as a whole. "It erodes confidence in the government's stated ambition of growing the economy and our international trade." Last July, the independent Airport Commission recommended Heathrow be expanded with a third runway - a 3,500m strip north of the two existing ones - at an estimated cost of Â£18.6bn. But in December the government delayed its decision, saying further work on noise, pollution and compensation needed to be carried out. Then, last month, Gatwick said the UK's Brexit vote showed it was "clearer than ever that only Gatwick can deliver the new runway Britain needs". The group of MPs also called for the expansion of regional airports "for the good of UK plc". "Only their expansion can address the coming 'capacity crunch' and deliver sustained growth, underlining the concepts of the Northern Powerhouse and the Midlands Engine and sharing the proceeds of growth across Britain," the report says. BIG also calls for infrastructure at regional airports to be "joined up" and for airport passenger duty to be made "progressively lower".

Summary: The government must make an "urgent and immediate decision" on airport expansion in south-east England, a group of cross-party MPs have said.


Yet despite their current struggle for survival, the Swans will not be short of reasons to be hopeful. As well as winning two of their past four matches at Old Trafford, their boss Paul Clement will be able to call on a particularly personal inspiration. The 44-year-old was in the away end at the 'Theatre of Dreams' 12 years ago, watching his brother Neil play for West Bromwich Albion in their bid to pull off the most dramatic of escapes from relegation. The Baggies had been bottom of the Premier League at Christmas but a remarkable turnaround in the second half of the season saw them visit Manchester United on the penultimate weekend with their hopes of survival somehow intact. "I actually remember going to Old Trafford that season when they got a draw. It was 1-1 and proved to be a massive point," Clement recalls. "I was sitting up in the corner with the West Brom fans, went up from London on the train. I was a coach at Fulham in the academy at the time. "I didn't go to the last game. They were bottom going into the last day of the season and played Portsmouth at home. The bottom three were changing - the great escape." It was indeed a great escape. West Brom started the final day of the 2004-05 campaign at the foot of the table and, despite leading Portsmouth 2-0, were heading to the Championship with 82 minutes gone as Crystal Palace led against Charlton. But Jonathan Fortune's equaliser for the Addicks - and defeats for Norwich and Southampton - secured survival for West Brom, whose jubilant fans spilled on to the Hawthorns pitch at full-time to celebrate an escape Harry Houdini might have deemed farfetched. The similarities to Swansea's current situation are striking. When Clement was appointed the club's third boss of the season in January, the Swans were bottom of the Premier League. They won five of their next eight league games to climb out of the relegation zone but a subsequent run of six matches without a win dumped them back into the bottom three. Last Saturday's win over Stoke lifted morale, yet the joy was tempered by Hull's victory against Watford which kept Swansea two points adrift of safety. Hull remain Swansea's chief competitors in their battle to avoid the drop and the Tigers are away at Southampton on Saturday, although Clement insists that game will have no bearing on his approach at Old Trafford. Media playback is not supported on this device "No. I've decided that already," he says. "Whatever happens in that game, we're going to approach United in the same way because we know there's different tests coming after that and that's not going to change. "I think we just have to focus on our performance and that's really what we did very well when we went to Liverpool [and won in January]. "Forget it's Liverpool, forget it's Anfield, focus on a good performance and we'll see what happens. That's what we're here to do." January's improbable win over

Summary: Facing Manchester United at Old Trafford is a daunting task for most sides, so it would be understandable if Swansea City, deep in relegation strife, travelled there on Sunday with some trepidation.


The message claimed the boy instead had cancer and that the social network would donate money for surgery if users "liked" it or wrote comments. Several hours after the BBC reported the matter, Facebook removed the post but left its creator's account active. More than a million people had engaged with the message since 1 February. One security expert warned these users might now be targeted by scammers. Sarah Allen, from St Neots, Cambridgeshire, gave media interviews in August 2016, after her then two-year-old son Jasper was covered head-to-feet in sores after contracting the virus. She believes that images posted within articles about his illness were then stolen to create the fake post. "We were warned people might take his pictures... because if you Google chickenpox his pictures are there," Mrs Allen told the BBC. "So, we were well aware that might happen, but not in this respect, to say he had cancer." Mrs Allen said she repeatedly messaged Facebook to complain about copyright infringement and was told on 10 February that the account in question had been removed for breaching the site's rules. However, she said, it was back online within 24 hours, without explanation. The profile continues to feature posts with identical text that show images of other children, and in one case a bearded youth - despite the words referring to a "little baby [that] has cancer". Other posts from the account - which claims to belong to Pooran Singh - show images of children in hospital claiming the viewer will experience years of bad luck if they scroll down without liking and sharing. "What's so disgusting [is] it's not just Jasper's pictures but [about] 100 of other people's families as well," Mrs Allen explained. "Facebook needs to take action." The owner of the account did not respond to a request to explain his or her actions. But one security blogger said this appeared to be a case of "like farming", in which scammers seek to make people interact with a Facebook post so they can either direct further messages to them or sell on the profile and all its contacts. "There are a lot of scams that use these kind of emotional images - oftentimes it's done to make money," Graham Cluley explained. "They may later post something that claims you've won a prize and try and get you to enter your mobile phone number and then sign you up for a premium rate service, or ask for other personal information. "The problem is that people just believe things that are posted online, and they need to be a lot more careful about what they like and share." Facebook says it is still reviewing the case with its complaints team and declined to comment further until this process had been completed.

Summary: Facebook says it is investigating a mother's complaints about a post that misused photos showing her child with a severe case of chickenpox.