The Foreign Office announcement comes one year after the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran. "This is an important moment in the relationship between the UK and Iran," Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said. Nicholas Hopton, a former British ambassador to Qatar and Yemen, will take up the role of ambassador. The British embassy in Tehran was closed after it was stormed and ransacked by protesters in November 2011. The embassy was reopened in August 2015 by then-British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and the two countries resumed ties on Charge d'Affaires level. "The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases about which I am deeply concerned," Boris Johnson said in a statement. "I hope this will mark the start of more productive co-operation between our countries, enabling us to discuss more directly issues such as human rights and Iran's role in the region." Mr Hopton joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 1989 and was the British ambassador to Qatar from 2013 to 2015. He also served as the British ambassador to Yemen and at the British Embassies in Paris, Rome and Rabat. By Caroline Hawley, BBC diplomatic correspondent Ever since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the relationship between Iran and Britain has been rocky, to say the least. It hit a low five years ago, when protesters tore down the flag at the British embassy and ripped up pictures of the Queen after Iran's parliament voted to expel the British ambassador. Today's upgrading of ties - which amounts to the full restoration of diplomatic relations - is symbolically important. It is the culmination of months of steady improvement following last year's nuclear deal. The lifting of sanctions has created new business opportunities for Britain, but politically there will, no doubt, be bumps in the road ahead. London and Tehran don't see eye to eye on Iran's role in the wider Middle East or on human rights, and the continuing detention of dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe - arrested by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in April - remains a source of great concern to Britain. The development follows the arrest of at least six people with dual nationality who are being held in Iran for alleged security offences. One of them, British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, was arrested in Tehran in April while she was trying to return to the UK after a holiday with her two-year-old daughter Gabriella. Iran does not recognise dual nationality, and does not allow consular access to those who are being held. Prime Minister Theresa May spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the cases over the telephone last month. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has not yet been informed of any charges brought against her, her husband said.

Summary: The UK has appointed an ambassador to Iran for the first time since 2011, as part of its aims for "more productive co-operation".


Media playback is not supported on this device The 25-year-old Englishwoman finished nine seconds ahead of Australia's Ashleigh Gentle, with Wales' Helen Jenkins seven seconds adrift in third. Stimpson and Jenkins, 31, will vie for Britain's third Olympic place at next month's World Series event on Australia's Gold Coast. Non Stanford and Vicky Holland have already secured their places in Rio. Both missed the race in Abu Dhabi, as did world champion Gwen Jorgensen. Stimpson said: "I am extremely motivated to make one of the Olympic spots and my winter couldn't have gone any better. "Me and Helen are great rivals. She is a fantastic athlete and I've got a lot of respect for her. We couldn't have made it harder for the selectors." Stimpson, who won the first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, clawed her way back after a modest 1500m swim to join two-time world champion Jenkins in the leading group for the 40km bike section. The two Britons led from the front as the challengers were gradually whittled down, before Stimpson used her greater power to pull away in the final kilometre of the 10km run. Jenkins, who has had a catalogue of injuries in the past two years, said: "Everything is moving in the right direction for our selection race at the Gold Coast. "It is just a pity Britain could not get four Olympic spots. We will just have to fight it out and do our best." Britain's selectors have chosen the Gold Coast race as the decider because it most resembles the Olympic course in Rio. In the men's race, Mario Mola made it back-to-back World Series victories after winning last year's final race in Chicago in September. Adam Bowden, in 11th, was the highest-placed Briton. Brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee have already qualified for this summer's Olympics and will not compete until later this season. Britain's selectors will decide who will get the third spot by the Yokohama race on 14 May - the fourth event of the year. The second of the nine World Series events takes place at the Gold Coast on 9-10 April.

Summary: Commonwealth champion Jodie Stimpson won the opening race of the 2016 World Triathlon Series in Abu Dhabi.


Christian Calderwood was forced to stop by other drivers who surrounded him with their vehicles and took his keys. Stirling Sheriff Court was told that Calderwood, 42, was barely able to stand by the time police arrived. Calderwood, of Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, will be sentenced in April. The court heard that Calderwood was spotted driving erratically on the M80, west of Stirling, at about 17:00 on 23 May last year. Motorists saw him speeding up and slowing down, and veering from lane to lane. Lindsey Brooks, prosecuting, said that other motorists were so concerned about the way he was driving that they began to follow him, and saw that he then joined the M9. A truck driver saw Calderwood's car come up behind him, almost hit him, then overtake and just miss the rear of the lorry before drifting onto the hard shoulder and back again onto the motorway. After seeing further erratic driving, the truck driver slowed to a halt near the Park of Keir roundabout forcing Calderwood to stop behind him. Mrs Brooks said other motorists stopped alongside Calderwood, "effectively blocking him in". One witness took the keys out of his car's ignition. Mrs Brooks said: "The witnesses spoke to the accused, who seemed to be confused and foaming from the mouth. "The police noted he was unsteady on his feet, unaware of his surroundings, where he was, or what he was doing. "There appeared to be white powder round his mouth and the officers said they were having difficulty keeping him awake." He was told to take a roadside breath test, but did not appear to understand what he was being asked to do. A blood test later showed high levels of Etizolam, a benzodiazepine which is prescribed for anxiety and insomnia in India and Japan. Calderwood admitted driving while unfit through drugs. Sheriff Richard McFarlane deferred sentence for four weeks for reports and disqualified Calderwood from driving in the interim. He said: "From the description I have, you were hardly fit to stand, let alone drive a vehicle."

Summary: A man who drove for 20 miles on a motorway after taking drugs was "foaming from the mouth" when he was stopped by police, a court has heard.


The 29-year-old England international has not made a final decision, but is understood to favour extending his time at the King Power Stadium. Arsenal made a reported bid of £20m for Vardy, activating a release clause in his contract and offering him a deal reported to be worth £120,000 a week. Leicester responded with an offer said to be worth £100,000. Arsenal do not plan to improve their offer and are thought to be pursuing alternative options. Vardy, who joined Leicester from non-league Fleetwood Town for £1m in 2012, signed a three-year deal in February, and the Foxes' new offer would extend that into a fourth year. Arsenal's offer was a three-year contract with the option of a fourth. Vardy, whose tally of 24 league goals last season was bettered only by Tottenham's Harry Kane, is currently with the England squad at Euro 2016. The Gunners asked Vardy to give them an answer before he flew to France, but he wanted to focus on the competition.

Summary: Leicester striker Jamie Vardy is set to reject an offer to join Arsenal and stay with the Premier League champions.


The coach, which was carrying a cheerleading team from Kent, collided with an Audi car near Flitwick at 06:45 GMT. Two men from Buckinghamshire and a third from the London area, all of whom were in the car, died. A fourth man, who was also in the car, has been taken to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital. No-one on the coach was injured. Bedfordshire Police said the double-decker coach collided with the Audi while it was stationary on the hard shoulder. "The coach driver was arrested in connection with the incident and taken to Luton Police Station where he is being interviewed," a police spokesman said. It is understood the cheerleading team are from a university in Kent and were on their way to a sporting event in Birmingham when the crash happened. Tim Lambkin, director of Sheerness-based Travelmasters, said the cheerleaders were transferred to another vehicle and continued on their way after the collision. Mr Lambkin said: "It is too soon to comment on the causes of what happened - we have to let the police experts do their work. "Our hearts and thoughts go out to the families of those who died and the man hurt. "In the 31 years I've been involved in the company I've never known anything like this." Police have urged any witnesses to the accident to come forward.

Summary: A coach driver involved in a crash which left three people dead on the M1 in Bedfordshire has been arrested.


However, Thursday's incident in which more than 700 people died, took place near to the bridge as crowds thronged to carry out one of the chief rituals of the pilgrimage. The annual Hajj sees about two million pilgrims moving around a small area of land, making several visits to the Grand Mosque at Mecca and to nearby Mina. On the first day of Hajj, travellers head for Mina and spend a night there before leaving at sunrise on the 8 mile (13km) journey to Mount Arafat. At sunset, pilgrims travel to Muzdalifah where they gather stones and pray until sunrise before journeying back to Mina. In Mina, they throw seven stones at the largest of the three Jamarat pillars, which stand at the place where Satan is believed to have tempted the Prophet Abraham. After this they travel to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, then return to Mina cast more stones and make their way back to Mecca. The Jamarat pillars have been the scene of several previous fatal crushes when crowds flocked onto the bridge where they are situated. The tragedies have led to the site being completely redesigned. A decade ago, the pillars were exactly that - obelisks sitting in circular surrounds. But after 251 people were killed in a stampede in February 2004, the pillars were remodelled as walls, making them easier for the crowd to flow around. The new wall-shaped pillars and their oval-shaped basins allowed people to get on and off the bridge more swiftly. However this did not prevent a further disaster in 2006 when an accident at one entry ramp to the bridge caused a crush in which 345 people died. In the following years, the Saudi authorities spent $1.1bn completely overhauling the site, turning it into a multi-level complex with 11 entrances and 12 exits, pedestrian tunnels, escalators and emergency escape routes. The bridge was widened to 80 metres and it is designed to handle 300,000 pilgrims an hour along its 950-metre length. The upper layer has a canopy to protect visitors from the strong sunlight and the building's air conditioning is backed by water sprinklers that can reduce the temperature to about 29C. Pilgrims are given schedules to visit the Jamarat bridge, but with two million crowded into Mina's tent city, crush and panic are constant dangers. Thursday's fatal incident took place on streets which lead to the bridge, as two massive lines of pilgrims converged on each other at right angles. Criticism is growing of Saudi Arabia's handling of the situation, with Iran accusing the Saudi government of "incompetence" and urging it to "take responsibility" for the deaths. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who chairs the Hajj committee, has begun an immediate inquiry into the tragedy, and has promised fast results.

Summary: The Hajj has a history of deadly crushes but had been largely problem-free since Saudi Arabia overhauled the key Jamarat bridge site almost a decade ago.


20 November 2016 Last updated at 11:57 GMT Dorothea Weber hid Hedwig Bercu for 18 months during the occupation of the Channel Islands in World War Two. Hitler's forces continued to search for Ms Bercu and the pair survived on Mrs Weber's rations and by fishing at night. For her act of "extraordinary courage" Mrs Weber was posthumously awarded the "Righteous Among the Nations" by the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre.

Summary: A woman who risked her life to save her Jewish friend from the Nazis has been honoured by the state of Israel at a ceremony in Jersey.


Juan Jasso was told to "get back to Africa" after tackling the trio for using foul language on the Metrolink tram. Beer was also flicked at him. Aaron Cauchi, 19, Robert Molloy, 20, and a boy, 16, had been "looking for trouble" when they abused Mr Jasso and two other people on 28 June. Their abuse of Mr Jasso was filmed by a passenger and was widely viewed. Joseph O'Connor, prosecuting at Manchester Magistrates' Court, said the racist attack came just five days after the EU referendum. He said that this resulted in a 41% increase in hate crime, according to government statistics. Trouble first began about 07:45 BST when a passenger heard "disgusting, vile abuse" on the tram packed with mothers with babies, schoolchildren and commuters, the court heard. After the trio got off the tram following the confrontation with Mr Jasso, they surrounded Alistair Lambert, "with their chests stuck out and shoulders back, striking him with a cigarette lighter to intimidate him, said Mr O'Connor. Shortly after, Andrew Guest was cycling to work when he passed the trio and one or more spat in his face and down his body, the court heard. Cauchi, of no fixed address, was charged with two public order offences and assault over what happened on the tram, and two assaults later in Trafford. Molloy, of no fixed address, was charged with racially aggravated assault, common assault and using threatening words or behaviour. The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named, was charged with using threatening words or behaviour and common assault. They are due to be sentenced on Tuesday.

Summary: Three young males who racially abused a US army veteran on a Manchester tram have admitted going on a "rampage".


Media playback is not supported on this device Jonathan Franks' injury-time winner for the Staggies condemns Accies to a relegation play-off at best, and offers bottom side Inverness CT slight hope. "It sums up the way things have been going," Canning told BBC Scotland. "I can't believe we lost. The amount of bad luck we have got tonight is scary. I couldn't ask more of the players." Second-bottom Hamilton can now no longer catch Motherwell, 3-1 victors over Kilmarnock on Tuesday, or Dundee. Instead, Accies are faced with a Premiership play-off final over two legs against Dundee United or Falkirk, or automatic relegation if Inverness win their two remaining matches against Dundee and Motherwell and they themselves fail to beat Dundee on Saturday. Lamented Canning: "We have hit the post twice, we've had one roll along the line, we've had numerous other opportunities and their second goal has come off the post, hit our keeper and gone in. "That is when you know your luck is out. Media playback is not supported on this device "I asked them to be brave and express themselves and I thought it was probably one of our best performances of the season. "Ross County had very little in the game; they had one or two breakaways in the second half when Remi (Matthews) has made a couple of decent saves. "How we have managed to lose that game, I don't know. We haven't had the breaks tonight and hopefully things start to turn for us." While Canning, 35, hopes for some good fortune soon, he acknowledged that their league position is of their own making. "You can't be unlucky after 37 games," he said. "We have drawn far too many games (14). We've probably chucked away 10 or 12 points from good positions, games we were doing well in. We find ourselves where we are because of that. "It's going to be a tense few days in terms of waiting to see what's happening (with the Inverness game at Dundee) and if it is the play-offs, seeing who gets through. "We need to win on Saturday, depending what happens tomorrow, and then come through a difficult play-off against a team that has done well in the league."

Summary: Hamilton manager Martin Canning was left bewildered after his team's 3-2 defeat away to Ross County, describing his team's misfortune as "scary".


She told her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Berlin she expected her toughest campaign yet and would "fight for our values and our way of life". An election is due to be held next year after four years of coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD). Mrs Merkel's poll ratings have slipped since the height of her popularity but she retains wide support. The chancellor, who has been in office since 2005, is also being challenged by the populist right-wing AfD party. She announced she would stand again after meeting party leaders at CDU headquarters. She told reporters that the decision to run for a fourth term had been "anything but trivial after 11 years in office". She added that she expected challenges from both the right and the left of the political spectrum. Is Merkel really on the ropes? Profile: Angela Merkel In September, Mrs Merkel accepted responsibility for election defeats for the CDU in several states and conceded that her open-door policy towards migrants was a factor. Germany expected up to 300,000 migrants to arrive in the country this year, the head of the country's federal office for migration and refugees said earlier this year. In 2015, Germany received more than a million applications for asylum. She's kept Germany guessing for weeks, but it looks as though Angela Merkel has finally answered the so called K-frage (chancellor question). A poll for one Sunday newspaper (in German) found that 55% of Germans would vote for her. Mrs Merkel's approval ratings have gone up and down in recent months as a result of her refugee policy but they remain the envy of other world leaders. Even so, she will be battling the tide of populism that swept Donald Trump to victory in the States and which is also washing across Europe. The anti-Muslim party Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) is likely to win seats in the national parliament next year. It's highly unlikely to take Mrs Merkel down but it is leaching votes from Germany's established political parties. Those parties are - by and large - likely to be relieved by Mrs Merkel's decision. In the past few years the job of German chancellor has become one of the most powerful political positions in the world. The next incumbent must not only lead the country but deal with a fragmenting EU, in a world which may be much changed by the new US administration. It's widely (sometimes grudgingly ) accepted here that there simply isn't another realistic candidate for the job. As one broadcaster put it: "Angela Merkel - the indispensable". Read more: Germany jolted by AfD success A pastor's daughter who grew up in communist East Germany, Mrs Merkel has run the united country since 2005. If she wins next year's general election, due to take place between August and October, she will equal the post-war record set by Helmut Kohl, who was chancellor from 1982 to 1998. Germany - Europe's economic powerhouse - does not have term limits on the country's top job.

Summary: Germany's centre-right Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that she will run for a fourth term in office.


The Argentina and Barcelona forward was punished for directing "insulting words" at an assistant referee in Thursday's 1-0 win over Chile. Messi, who scored the only goal in the qualifier, was angered when he was flagged for a foul, waving and shouting at the assistant in response. The 29-year-old was also fined £8,100. He will miss his country's next four competitive fixtures. Argentina are third in South American qualifying, with the top four teams advancing to next summer's finals in Russia. There are five matches still to play.

Summary: Lionel Messi has been banned for four international matches - just five and a half hours before Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Bolivia kicks off.


The firearms were found packed in individual boxes aboard a Dutch-registered truck that arrived on a ferry in the port city. Although customs rules were not broken, the Turkish driver did not have licences for the weapons, police said. Controls at Italian ports have been stepped up in the wake of the 13 November Paris terror attacks. EU interior ministers meeting in Brussels last week agreed to tighten security and share more information about the gun trade to prevent trafficking of illegal weapons. It came after attackers with automatic rifles and suicide belts killed 130 people at a number of sites in Paris. Some of the attackers had lived in Belgium. The 781 weapons seized in Trieste on Tuesday were pump-action Winchester SXP shotguns, according to a police statement (in Italian). Prosecutors are investigating possible charges. The Turkish manufacturer of the weapons was cited for breaching national security regulations, Ansa news agency reported. Belgium has historically been a European hot spot for the arms trade - legal and illegal - due to its relatively liberal domestic gun legislation. Even though Belgian legislation is now stricter and more solid, the country has retained this reputation.

Summary: Italian police in the northern city of Trieste have seized nearly 800 shotguns en route from Turkey to Belgium.


It would also diminish President Trump's ability to dismiss sanctions against Russia. After Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, in 2014, the Obama administration in tandem with the European Union introduced an array of economic sanctions on Russian individuals and businesses. Many of the individuals targeted were linked to Russia's actions in Ukraine or were part of President Vladimir Putin's elite entourage. Assets were frozen and restrictions imposed on Russia's oil industry, as well as its state finance, technology and arms sectors. In December 2016, Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats and closed two Russian compounds in response to what the US intelligence community concluded was a Russian government-backed cyber-attack directed to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Moscow denies the allegation. Members of the US Congress want to turn existing sanctions, and some new ones, into law. Both houses have Republican majorities, the same party as the president. Senators overwhelmingly backed the bill earlier in June, with only two opposing votes, and it now requires a successful vote in the House of Representatives. It will then go back to the Senate for approval before going to the White House. The new bill also targets Iran and is expected to include North Korea. President Trump will either sign it into law or reject it with use of a veto. With enough votes, Congress could use its own veto to counter the president. The bill tightens existing sanctions around the ongoing situation in Ukraine and imposes new measures including some in response to alleged hacking during the 2016 election and others that target key Russian industries such as the railways, shipping, metals and mining. It would also bring in restrictions on companies doing business with the Russian oil industry. It means getting rid of sanctions will become much harder, and the power to reverse the sanctions effectively moves from the hands of the president to Congress. Previously, the sanctions were introduced as executive orders, which any president has the power to remove instantly. Under the proposed law, Congress must approve any request from the president to ease the financial penalties detailed in the bill. In order to waive individual sanctions, a president would need to submit a report to Congress outlining why it is in the national interest to take that action. The White House says it supports the sanctions legislation. A presidential veto would provoke "a major outcry" among politicians in Washington, wrote Steven Pifer for Brookings, a foreign policy think tank. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, signalled the White House's support for tough sanctions on Russia until the situation in Ukraine was "fully resolved". Without a clear end in sight, that could mean a long time. James Nixey, head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, a foreign policy think tank, says Russia has so far given the president the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Mr Trump's promise to forge better relations between Washington and Moscow. However, these new sanctions may "test their faith" because they are in

Summary: The US Congress is considering a significant piece of legislation to punish Moscow for alleged interference in last year's election.


The reality of the Dark Hedges did not live up to the fantasy for those visiting the tunnel of trees, made famous by Game of Thrones. There was no chance of an unspoilt picture with cars and coaches blocking the road and honking their horns. There are plans to close the road to traffic permanently. Four objections have been raised to the plans and they are currently being considered, the Department of Infrastructure said. Jonathan Hobbs, who works for voluntary campaign group NI Greenways, caught the chaos on camera when visiting the County Antrim attraction with his family on Easter Monday. "You were jostling for space with cars and coaches and I could not let the kids out of my sight," he said. "Tourists travel thousands of miles to come to see this great Game of Thrones location. "It was a horrible environment and not selling the right image of Northern Ireland." He also expressed concern about the damage being caused to the trees' roots by the volume of traffic. A hotel on the Dark Hedges estate, which is just a few minutes' walk from the tourist site, posted on its Facebook page that it has plenty of free car parking. McComb's Coaches said it had discussed using the car park at a nearby golf club but access to the Dark Hedges would involve crossing a road "where cars go at such terrific speed, it would be an accident waiting to happen". Caroline McComb, one of the company's directors, said unlike most other coach firms, hers would be in favour of closing the road as long as the infrastructure was put in place and the Dark Hedges remained free of charge. "People absolutely love the Dark Hedges," she told BBC news NI. "They just want a picture there and it is becoming more and more difficult to get one. "There's lots of blame being put on the buses and coaches with regards to damage, but it is just not being maintained. "Someone needs to take ownership or it will get more run down." Jamie Laverty, 27, who works near the Dark Hedges and is originally from the nearby village of Stranocum, believes the majority of locals would be in favour of closing the road as the tourist attraction brings in revenue, but there would be some local landowners who would have objections. "I pass the Dark Hedges on my way to work and even early in the morning, there are cars there," he said. "It is a beautiful natural phenomenon and we need the tourist infrastructure if it is still going to be here in 30 years." A Department for Infrastructure spokeswoman said the proposed traffic order would ban most vehicles from the Bregagh Road, encompassing The Dark Hedges, between its junctions with Ballinlea Road and Ballykenver Road. A package of measures, she added, would aim to "provide an improved experience for local people and visitors alike while helping to reduce the environmental impact on the tree tunnel". Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council said it was "working with the landowners and

Summary: It was a case of not being able to see the wood for the cars at one of Northern Ireland's top tourist attractions over the Easter weekend.


The will was filed at Manhattan Surrogate court in New York earlier this week leaving instructions from the pioneering rapper, also known as MCA. It read: "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes." Yauch died of cancer in May aged 47. His will leaves his $6.4m (Â£4.1m) estate to his widow, Dechen Yauch, and their 13-year old daughter, and gives Dechen the right to sell and manage his artistic property as the executor of the estate. The phrase "or any music or any artistic property created by me" was added in handwriting, according to Rolling Stone magazine which has seen a copy of the document. Yauch founded the Beastie Boys with rappers Ad-Rock and Mike D in the 1980s, going on to have a string of hits including Fight for Your Right (to Party) and Sabotage. He was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland in 2009 and underwent surgery and radiation therapy, which delayed the release of their latest album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Corporations have regularly used the images of deceased musicians, celebrities and historical figures in their advertisements, such as Apple's 1997 Think Different campaign featuring John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi. This week the remaining members of the Beastie Boys took legal action against US energy drink company Monster over allegations of copyright infringement. They lodged papers in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, claiming executives have been using their tracks in a promotional video and downloadable audio file without their permission.

Summary: Late Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch has used his will to stop people from using his music or image in advertising.


Fridays Ltd, which produces thousands of free range eggs in Cranbrook, wants to expand its operation in Horsmonden. Residents fear the extra traffic and noise from the 32-hectare site will have a detrimental impact on the area. The company said it was responding to a 5% year-on-year increase in demand for free range eggs. The family-run business is one of the three biggest egg producers and packers in the country. If agreed, its new chicken farm would be located at Pullens Farm, in Lamberhurst Road, which is on the outskirts of the village of Horsmonden. Resident Sarah Overton said: "The sheer scale of this development is extraordinary. "We're talking the equivalent of 80 football pitches, 64,000 birds at any one time producing 360,000 eggs a week, using mechanical processes and only needing one full-time person to look after them, and three part-time egg collectors. "It equates to industrialisation in the countryside, which is bad enough, but this is industrialisation of an area of outstanding natural beauty with protected species that we all need to be careful to preserve," she said. Fridays Ltd has lodged its application with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, with a provisional decision expected in August. Horsmonden Parish Council is discussing the plans on Monday.

Summary: Plans by a company that wants to put 64,000 chickens on an area of outstanding natural beauty in Kent have been met with anger by local residents.


Labour had the most councillors on the city council after last week's elections. BBC Scotland revealed that as well as the Conservatives the coalition will rely on the support of three Independents. Labour's Barney Crockett will be the new council leader. The SNP and Lib Dems will form the opposition on the council. A new Independent-Conservative administration will run Moray Council. The Independent councillor for Keith, Stewart Cree, has been chosen as council convener. Meanwhile, the leader of the SNP group on Aberdeenshire Council has fought off a challenge to her leadership. At the group's AGM on Tuesday, Joanna Strathdee was ousted as leader by Rob Merson. BBC Scotland understands that Mr Merson was in post for about an hour before resigning, to be replaced by the former leader. The SNP is the biggest party in Aberdeenshire and is continuing negotiations to form a coalition.

Summary: Labour and the Conservatives have joined forces to form an administration in Aberdeen.


The Argentine, 44, was appointed in May 2014 on a five-year deal and guided Spurs to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League and a League Cup final in his first season in charge. With one game to go, Spurs are guaranteed a top-three Premier League finish this season. "We believe this is just the beginning," said Pochettino. Spurs were challenging for the Premier League title until a bad-tempered 2-2 draw at Chelsea last week ensured Leicester City were crowned champions of England. Pochettino has created a fast and powerful side with a backbone of young English players such as striker Harry Kane, defender Eric Dier and midfielder Dele Alli, who have all received their first international caps during the Argentine's tenure. He was photographed having lunch with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson this week, prompting rumours he could be a target for the Old Trafford team this summer. However, the former Paris St-Germain player believes he can bring trophies to Spurs. Media playback is not supported on this device "We have a long-term project and huge belief that we can achieve something big here for the future," added Pochettino. "This club has all the ingredients to continue to challenge at the very top in both the Premier League and in Europe. "We want to be here to be a part of what I believe will be a special period in the club's history." Assistant head coach Jesus Perez, first team coach Miguel D'Agostino and first team goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez have also agreed extensions to their contracts.

Summary: Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has signed a contract extension which commits him to the club until 2021.


Heidi Gannon was born in Wales and her sister Jo Baines was born in England about two hours afterwards. Their mum didn't know she was having twins. A set of twins were born in England and Scotland in 2012 and were thought to be the first to be born in different countries but Heidi and Jo were born much earlier, in 1976. The family has been in touch with Guinness World Records which has confirmed they will update their records. A spokesperson said: "We were made aware of Ms Baines and Ms Gannon's claim for this record last week and after some research involving our twins consultant we have been able to verify that they are indeed the first twins born in different countries."

Summary: Twins claim world record title as the first pair to be born in different countries - nearly 40 years later.


The hardware was exactly the same as that used last November, "demonstrating reuse", the Amazon.com founder wrote on his blog. The flight took place on Friday from Mr Bezos' Texas test and launch facility. As has become his practice, he gave no general public notice of the event and released only limited details afterwards, along with a glossy video. November's outing marked the first time a rocket had launched a space mission vertically from the ground and then brought all elements - booster and capsule - softly and safely back to Earth. Although all the flights so far undertaken by Mr Bezos have been unmanned, he does eventually plan to fly passengers. "The very same New Shepard booster that flew above the Karman line and then landed vertically at its launch site last November has now flown and landed again, demonstrating reuse," the businessman said. "This time, New Shepard reached an apogee of 333,582ft (101.7km) before both capsule and booster gently returned to Earth for recovery and reuse." One hundred kilometres is regarded as the official boundary of space. New Shepard does not achieve the velocities that would allow the system to make orbit and stay up, but Mr Bezos says his Blue Origin space company is working on a family of rockets that would make this possible. He promises to reveal further information on that programme later in the year. Commentators had realised early in the week that another mission was imminent when the Federal Aviation Authority published a temporary flight restriction for a region of the sky north of Van Horn in Texas - the location of the Blue Origin test site. From social media postings, it was evident that a launch had taken place early on Friday local time, but it was many hours before Mr Bezos and Blue Origin were prepared to comment. Rocketry is now entering a new era, with designers trying to make reusable the systems that have traditionally been regarded only as disposable. In December, another entrepreneur, Elon Musk, managed to land the booster stage of his Falcon rocket after launching a batch of satellites. Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter.

Summary: US entrepreneur Jeff Bezos has reflown his New Shepard rocket, launching once again a capsule briefly into space.


The 36-year-old, who rejected a new contract with Partick Thistle, has signed a two-year deal. He takes over coaching duties from Neil Alexander, who has joined Aberdeen. Head coach Robbie Neilson said: "He'll primarily be a coach, but he'll be registered as a player too and I know he'll be ready if called upon." Alexander, two years older than Gallacher, had been Hearts' first choice last season but was released this summer. Jack Hamilton was given his chance at the end of the season, but Neilson is likely to look for another goalkeeper to challenge the 22-year-old. Gallacher, who joined Thistle from Ross County in 2013 but only made one appearance for Hearts' Scottish Premiership rivals last season, will also challenge for a place. "He's a vastly experienced goalkeeper and is a good goalkeeper coach too, having spent time in that role at Partick Thistle," said Neilson of the former Norwich City, Dunfermline Athletic and St Mirren man on Hearts' website. "I'm sure Jack and the other goalkeepers at the club will benefit greatly from Paul's knowledge." Meanwhile, defender Faycal Rherras has admitted that he has joined Hearts in the hope it is a stepping stone to English football. The Belgian-born Moroccan 23-year-old signed a three-year contract this week after leaving Sint-Truiden. "My dream is to play in England and I know that in Scotland the league is similar in physicality and the style of football that is played in England," he said. "This move is a chance for me to do well and adapt to those characteristics."

Summary: Goalkeeper Paul Gallacher has joined Hearts as a player-coach, but the Tynecastle club are continuing their search for another shot-stopper.


Gareth Clubb called for Neil McEvoy's Adjudication Panel for Wales hearing on 2 and 3 March to be delayed. Plaid's spring conference is being held in Newport on 3 and 4 March. The Adjudication Panel for Wales has been asked to comment. Mr Clubb said the clash "could lead to an erosion in public trust" in the work of the panel. Mr McEvoy, a Plaid AM for South Wales Central and the party's group leader on Cardiff council, is facing a tribunal over allegations he brought the authority into disrepute in his role as a local councillor. BBC Wales reported in January that the case, referred to the tribunal by the Ombudsman, apparently relates to whether a comment was made to a council officer in a threatening way. In a letter to the panel, Mr Clubb said the Fairwater councillor "will be speaking at the conference and we would not wish his speech to be disturbed either by his appearance at a panel or by his having to prepare for an imminent hearing". He said the case "could have been heard at almost any point in November through February on a date that would not have conflicted with a critical date in the political calendar". Mr Clubb, who has served as Plaid's chief executive since last September, said timetabling the hearing for the day of the conference gave the "appearance of political interference, even if the date clash is entirely coincidental. "I fear that scheduling Mr McEvoy's case to coincide with our spring conference fails this test and could lead to an erosion in public trust in the work of the panel." In the letter Mr Clubb suggests it could be seen "that the panel is trying to unfairly prevent [Mr McEvoy's] appearance at conference". He said an "impartial decision" would rightly determine that the "proposed date is manifestly unfair to Mr McEvoy". Mr Clubb, who said the dates of the conference had been public knowledge since November, called for the hearing date to be changed so it avoided the conference and the "formal local election period". Council elections take place on 4 May.

Summary: The scheduling of a tribunal into the behaviour of a Plaid Cymru AM at the same time as his party's conference gives the appearance of political interference, the party's chief executive has said.


The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) has decided not to proceed in 57 cases, the MoD said. A further case was stopped by the military's prosecuting authority. The news follows a call by PM David Cameron to "stamp out" what he called "spurious" legal claims against British troops returning from action overseas. Ministers had been asked to draw up plans to curb claims, including by restricting "no win, no fee" arrangements, Mr Cameron said. Lawyers say no-one is above the law, and many abuse cases have been proven. Ihat was set up to review and investigate allegations of abuse made by Iraqi civilians against UK armed forces personnel in Iraq during the period of 2003 to July 2009. It currently lists more than 1,300 allegations under investigation, ranging from murder to low-level violence. Conservative MP Richard Benyon, a member of the Commons Defence select committee, said innocent veterans were being unfairly targeted. He told The Sun: "It's an intolerable burden for people who have served their country well to face this knowing they're innocent."

Summary: Investigations into nearly 60 allegations of unlawful killing against UK soldiers in Iraq have been dropped, the Ministry of Defence says.


The Football Association's independent regulatory commission partially upheld an appeal lodged by Chelsea on Tuesday. Matic, 26, was sent off in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Burnley after reacting to a high tackle from Ashley Barnes. In a statement, Chelsea said they were "extremely disappointed and frustrated" that Matic must still serve a ban. Matic will miss the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and next week's league match at West Ham United, on Wednesday 4 March. A statement on Chelsea's website, published under the headline 'Chelsea FC appalled with the FA's decision on Matic', said the board was unhappy that the commission decided against reducing the ban by the "maximum extent permitted under FA rules". The commission could have reduced the ban to one game, but could not overturn the red card. The Chelsea statement added: "There has been universal condemnation of the reckless challenge made by Ashley Barnes on Matic and it is the club's view that he has been unjustly punished with a two-match ban for his reaction to a career-threatening tackle." The Serbia midfielder pushed Barnes to the ground after the Clarets forward caught him on the shin. Blues boss Jose Mourinho defended Matic's reaction and described the tackle from Barnes as "criminal", while Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer said the challenge was "horrific" and "dangerous". However, Burnley manager Sean Dyche said that while slow-motion replays made the incident look "ugly", the challenge was merely a "coming together at an unusual angle". Roger Burden, chairman of the FA's regulatory commission, said the panel had "rejected the mitigation advanced by Nemanja Matic in respect of the provocation and tackle he received which led to his act of violent conduct". He added: "The violent response of Mr Matic to the nature of the tackle cannot be condoned and does not vindicate his subsequent actions. "The members of the commission did, however, accept the mitigation in respect of the level of force used by Mr Matic and the nature of the contact he made with Mr Barnes." Chelsea's statement added that they would await the FA's written reasons before commenting further, and said "referees and the football authorities must do more to protect players at all levels of the game from dangerous challenges".

Summary: Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic's violent conduct ban has been reduced from three games to two, but he will still miss Sunday's League Cup final.


The firm said Christmas order numbers for this year had fallen and the Lincs Turkeys processing plant was no longer economically viable. A consultation has begun with the workforce at the Grainthorpe factory. The Lincs Turkeys farming operation, which in 2013 featured a company farmer in a Christmas advert for supermarket chain Waitrose, is unaffected. A spokesperson for Bernard Matthews said: "The consultation is expected to result in a reduction of approximately 80 employees out of a [total company] workforce of 2,130." The spokesperson said the decision "was not taken lightly", adding that "processing requirements will be integrated into the Norfolk and Suffolk sites". Craig Leyland, of East Lindsey District Council, said the authority was standing by with advice. "It is very difficult. We have tried to intervene in the past in situations where we have had these decisions being made. Effectively they are commercial decisions and it's very hard to intervene in that case," he said. Bernard Matthews acquired Lincs Turkeys in 2010.

Summary: Bernard Matthews is to close a processing plant in Lincolnshire with the loss of up to 80 jobs.


It is fair to say Cameron McGeehan was not your average 10-year-old footballer. Dreams did not turn into glory at Stamford Bridge, but a decade later, and playing first-team football every week in League Two with Luton Town, the Football League's Young Player of the Month award for February proves McGeehan is making strides back towards the top of the game. Looking back, the midfielder, still only 20, takes a mature view of why he, like many other youngsters, failed to make the grade at Chelsea. "At 13 or 14 you become more aware of your surroundings," he told BBC Sport. "You start to think about it more, you get a bit of an ego and that's what naturally happens. "There are a lot of players at Chelsea like that, with egos, and I don't think it's the best thing for young players. "It can be damaging, you forget why you're there, why you're trying to work hard every day." In an era when young players can move for multi-million pound transfer fees and earn tens of thousands of pounds per week, it is almost impossible for teenage footballers not to get carried away with the potential riches on offer and the fame that will inevitably come with being a Premier League star. "When you're playing for a top team and you're going to school, all your mates keep saying 'oh you're play for Chelsea, that's cool'," said McGeehan. "Social media amplifies things even more, to the point where it's very damaging for young players. "The money is now getting a bit ridiculous for youngsters who haven't even stepped foot on a first-team pitch." The pivotal moment in McGeehan's youth career came with a move to Norwich City. An honest chat with academy manager Neil Bath highlighted former Chelsea youngster Andy King - now on the verge of a Premier League title with Leicester City - as an individual who had been in a similar position and chose to continue his career elsewhere. "Neil said I might be better off going somewhere else and finding my way rather than staying," McGeehan said. "He said I might get a contract [at Chelsea] but I might get lost." McGeehan's decision to continue his football education with the Canaries paid off, as he helped them lift the FA Youth Cup in 2013 - scoring in both legs of the final against his former side. "I wanted to go to Norwich, play and learn the game that way and get away from London to find myself," he explained. "It was a bit like when an 18-year-old goes to university to find themselves. The university of football for me was at 16. It was a big decision but I'm very glad I did it." Despite his success at youth level with Norwich, McGeehan once against tasted disappointment as he failed to break into their first team. After loan spells at Luton and Cambridge, a permanent move to Kenilworth Road gave him a chance of the regular senior football he craved to showcase his abilities. McGeehan scored three

Summary: Signed for £80,000, and joining a club in the process of winning back-to-back Premier League titles, with Jose Mourinho, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard to provide inspiration.


Barrow Council was considering David Gill's fitness to hold a licence after his conviction in November for allowing potentially invasive sacred ibis to fly out of South Lakes Wild Animal Park. It concluded that the offences were inadequate to justify closing the zoo. However, councillors could refer back to the warning if they have to consider his suitability on another occasion. Mr Gill, who has not commented, was convicted of three offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and fined Â£2,000 in November. The birds, which are native to Africa, are on a list of species the authorities do not want settled in the UK as they can cause significant damage to other species. Barrow Council's licensing regulatory committee said that Mr Gill had given assurances that procedures were now in place to prevent any future escape occurring. The council has still has to decide whether to bring any health and safety prosecution over the death of keeper Sarah McClay, who was mauled by a tiger at the same venue in May 2013. She suffered puncture wounds to her head and neck when the animal got through an open door to a corridor she was working in.

Summary: The owner of an animal park in Cumbria has been served with a warning over the escape of a "threatening" bird.


Speaking in Washington, Ciaran Martin was giving his first public comments as the chief executive of the NCSC. The centre, which launches next month, will absorb existing roles such as protecting government and critical infrastructure. It will also look at new ways of engaging with business and the public. Among its plans are developing automated defences to offer protection from high-volume but relatively unsophisticated cyber-attacks. The NCSC will take a lead on protecting government networks and those of national level importance, but Mr Martin also outlined ways in which it would be more ambitious in improving the UK's overall cybersecurity. One-eighth of the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) comes from the digital economy, the highest in the G20 group of industrialised economies, and Mr Martin said retaining public confidence in online transactions and ensuring economic growth was a priority in the same way as protecting national security. Last year, twice as many "national-security-level cyber-incidents" were detected compared with a year before, amounting to about 200 per month. The attacks are not always highly sophisticated. The breach at the telecoms company TalkTalk used a basic technique dating from the end of the 20th Century rather than anything new. "Far too many of these basic attacks are getting through," Mr Martin said. "And they are doing a lot of damage." The new strategy will include using technology to automate defences against unsophisticated but high-volume cyber-attacks. Mr Martin described this as "active cyber-defence", distinguishing it from the US use of the term, which relates to pursuing hackers into their networks. Two to three years ago, there had been an expectation in government that a market of supply and demand would help deal with the low- to medium-end cyber-threats, leaving government to concentre on high-end threats. But officials acknowledge this has not taken place and that information sharing has often reached limits leading to a shift towards a more "activist and automated approach". The NCSC has already been working on using automated measures on government networks. This includes ensuring UK government email is trusted and not spoofed to fool members of the public. "We trialled it, and whoever was sending 58,000 malicious emails per day from taxrefund@gov.uk... isn't doing it anymore," Mr Martin said. The centre has also been piloting ways of tackling commodity attacks - off the shelf, easy-to-use malware. This has involved sending automated takedown requests to web hosts, registrars and others. The focus has been on government networks but the ambition is to take these ideas beyond government on a voluntary basis - for instance working with service providers to stop the abuse of certain protocols to reroute traffic. This would make it harder for UK machines to be hijacked for use in denial of service attacks. The centre is also exploring scaling up DNS filtering - a method of screening web addresses for malware and other malicious content - to help providers protect their customers (with the public able to choose if they wanted to take part). Another aspect of the overall strategy is working on "core national defensive cyber-capabilities" to tackle

Summary: Britain is moving towards more active defence in cyberspace, the head of the UK's new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has said.


The Fringe act Dolls, who work with the Cirk La Putyka, carried out the stunt above traffic on Friday. Josa Koelbel and Bellina Sorensson, from the Czech Republic, dangled from the bridge in a bid to promote their show at the Underbelly Lafayette tent. Edinburgh City Council said the performers had failed to apply for a licence. An Edinburgh city council spokeswoman said: "The council was not made aware of this performance which was not permitted or authorised." A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Any artistic performance, event or demonstration where public safety considerations are required must obtain an appropriate licence from the City of Edinburgh Council. "Failure to obtain the necessary licence may result in a joint inquiry by the police and council licensing board into the matter." The circus was not available for comment.

Summary: A police investigation has been launched into a Fringe trapeze stunt from an Edinburgh city centre bridge.


GRA president Dermot O'Brien told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that the force's unarmed status was envied but he added that society was becoming more dangerous. Ahead of the GRA annual conference on Monday, Mr O'Brien said officers needed an "intermediate form of force" such as a stun gun. He also said they were angry about pay. The GRA president said his members had taken a 25% pay cut since 2009 and he called for their salaries to be restored by the next government. The GRA is the largest professional body to represent members of An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) and campaigns for better pay and working conditions. Its membership currently stands at about 10,500 officers.

Summary: Irish police officers should be issued with stun guns, according to the Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents rank and file officers.


However, with today's decision to recommend a third runway at Heathrow, this government has arrived at a point that its predecessors failed to. From beating ourselves up for not building anything, we are suddenly building everything. Heathrow was chosen because of the extra boost it gives to the UK economy, but it is not the only mammoth project out there. After a last minute wobble, the Â£18bn Hinkley Point nuclear power station has been given the green light, while the biggest of them all is coming down the track fast. Construction on the Â£42bn HS2 high-speed rail line from London to the North is scheduled to begin next year. And that is probably not all. The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has hinted he may reveal some moderate government borrowing to fund targeted infrastructure spending in his Autumn Statement next month. It is enough to make the Victorians sit up and take notice. If projections for a fairly sharp post-Brexit slowdown in the economy next year are correct, we may need this spending boost. Yet if these projects proceed on time, there is something else we will need: people to build it all. With unemployment close to historic lows, it is not clear we have enough. As the Victorians did, it seems very likely we will need to look abroad to find the workers for what some say promises to be a golden age of infrastructure. And that, post-Brexit, will present a political rather than an engineering challenge.

Summary: We have a long way to go before the we see the proverbial shovels in the ground - there will be legal and planning challenges aplenty to come.


Hooker Dylan Hartley and locks Christian Day and James Craig all come in to the Saints starting line-up. Billy Vunipola makes his first appearance of the season for Saracens after recovering from a knee injury he suffered at the World Cup with England. Brad Barritt, Richard Wigglesworth and Chris Wyles come into the back line. Media playback is not supported on this device Hooker Schalk Brits makes his 150th appearance for Sarries while Mako Vunipola and Jacques Burger also come into the pack. Argentine World Cup pair Juan Figallo and Marcelo Bosch are named as replacements. Northampton: Foden; Elliott, G Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, Fotuali'i; Waller, Hartley, Brookes, Craig, Day, Gibson, Wood (capt), Dickinson. Replacements: Haywood, Waller, Hill, Patterson, Harrison, Dickson, Hanrahan, Tuala. Saracens: Goode; Ashton, Taylor, Barritt, Wyles; Farrell, Wigglesworth; M. Vunipola, Brits, Du Plessis, Kruis, Hargreaves (capt), Itoje, Burger, B. Vunipola. Replacements: George, Barrington, Figallo, Rhodes, Brown, Spencer, Hodgson, Bosch. For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

Summary: Northampton wing George North will make his first Saints appearance of the season following his time at the World Cup with Wales.


Beyond the fascinating coincidence in the date - there will surely be further speculation on this - the decision by Hess's heirs was surprising. They wanted to commit his mortal remains to the waves and organise a funeral at sea for a man whose mystique and influence on the far-right was strongly linked to the existence of his grave in the Bavarian village of Wunsiedel. He was already one the most interesting figures in post-war Germany, being the only high-ranking Nazi serving a life sentence imposed by the Nuremberg war-crimes court - Albert Speer, for instance, was released in 1966. Hess owes his ambiguous fame to the circumstances of his death. He was found hanged in a summer house in Berlin's Spandau Prison, where he had spent the previous 20 years. The official version - contested by right-wingers of all stripes - was that he committed suicide to end his long imprisonment. For the German and international far-right movement, this was clear evidence that the powers that be had tried to suppress the truth about an "anti-German" plot dating back to the war years. According to this version of events, the Allied forces - notably the British secret service - ignored the true purpose of Hess's flight to Britain in 1941. He was taking a peace plan to Churchill, he told his interrogators. This idea made Hess the perfect figure to portray the Nazis as victims, rather than aggressors. Britain had started World War II to destroy Germany, and Hess was captured in Scotland to crush the peaceful intentions of Nazi Germany. Even the fact that Hitler declared him insane did not dent this legend. Moreover the resurgent Nazi scene in recent years has gradually recognised the potential of this myth to attract young people susceptible to tales of injustice. What started as a tiny demonstration of a handful of Nazi activists in the 1990s had turned into thousands regularly filling the streets of Wunsiedel by early 2000s. Everybody who looked at such scenes - including myself and my academic colleagues - felt uncomfortable. Most of the demonstrators were young and dressed like average heavy-metal kids - until you looked at their T-shirts and tattoos. The Hess myth, modernised to satisfy a desire for victimhood, made the Wundsiedel commemorations alluring to young people. But it also led the Constitutional Court to ban the event in 2005, as the potential for the recruitment of new blood into the Neo-Nazi movement got increasingly obvious. However the court order had limited effect on such gatherings, which continued less frequently and at a smaller scale elsewhere. But then Hess had become a kind of right-wing Che Guevara, with his portrait on shirts, buttons and posters. In the end the family agreed to terminate the lease on the grave. Thus an event that many would have thought highly improbably until now became reality on Wednesday evening. What might be the consequences of this startling decision? Firstly, it is no coincidence that the relatives and officials chose to eliminate every physical trace of a figure with a vast

Summary: On Wednesday 20 July 2011 - the anniversary of the attempt on Hitler's life in 1944 - the public was informed that the grave of Rudolf Hess, the "Fuehrer's deputy", had been razed before daybreak.


Replacement schemes would be discussed with colleagues after last month's vote to leave the European Union, he said. Mr Eustice previously said that Welsh farmers would get "as much support" as currently if the UK left. Under the EU Common Agricultural Policy Wales receives Â£250m a year in direct payments to farmers. That is in addition to more than Â£500m between 2014-2020 to run a rural development programme. Mr Eustice was speaking to BBC Wales at the Royal Welsh Show, in Llanelwedd, Powys. "What I can guarantee is that...once we leave the EU, we won't be spending that budget on EU membership, and the things that currently we delegate to the EU we will be funding ourselves," he said. "The point I'm making is that now we have a new government in place, before we can guarantee exactly the same amount of money, that is a discussion we've obviously got to have with government colleagues. "I can't do it at the moment, but it doesn't mean it won't happen." He added: "Clearly we need to have the time to have these discussions and to work out what we're going to do and how we're going to do this negotiation, what the time frame is, and then how we're going to fund policies going forward." Mr Eustice, who campaigned for Leave, said he was clear through the referendum campaign "that when you take back control for a policy and take back control of it on things like agriculture...with that comes a responsibility to get it right and to fund it properly. "That is the case that I will be making, and I'm confident that will be the position that the government adopts." Earlier, the Welsh Government's Environment Secretary Lesley Griffiths has said that Brexit was an opportunity "forge a new, distinct path for Wales' farming food and environmental sectors". But Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies warned ministers in Wales lack the capacity to make Wales-only agriculture policies after Brexit. Mr Eustice said: "What we've got to work out is a UK wide framework for an agriculture policy. "There will be issues such as international trade that will obviously be done by the UK... "What I'm keen to do is have as much discretion as possible for individual devolved administrations to pursue what they think is right for their own agriculture. "I see a situation where the Welsh administration will have far more power than it has now, but will still need to have some kind of UK wide framework to prevent anti-competitive policies getting in place." He said he wouldn't want to have "distorting subsidies in place that affected one area more than another". He said "broadly" Westminster would be in charge of agriculture cash, with the Welsh Government given its share, but with more "discretion" for Wales to spend the money in the way it likes.

Summary: UK farming minister George Eustice has said he cannot guarantee that future agricultural support programmes will be as generous as current EU subsidies.


Boulden, 23, struck six birdies to card a six-under-par 68 after Australian Sarah Jane Smith took the lead with 67. In a close contest, with the top 19 separated by just four shots, England's Jodi Ewar-Shadoff hit 71 and is four strokes back. Scotland's Gemma Dryburgh and Michele Thomson are one shot behind Ewar-Shadoff after rounds of 69 and 74.

Summary: Wales' Amy Boulden is three shots off the lead after the second round of the Women's Australian Open in Adelaide.


Iain Stuart, 41, from Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, was among those killed in the crash off Norway in April. An investigation into the cause is continuing. An internal Statoil investigation into the company's approach to helicopter safety has said a clearer strategy needs to be developed. The Airbus Super Puma helicopter was flying to Bergen from the Statoil-operated Gullfaks field. Air accident investigators found a fatigue crack was the "most likely" cause of gearbox failure. The Statoil report suggested the organisation of helicopter safety efforts within the company appeared to be complicated and said more staff should be recruited to its flight safety department. It also recommended Statoil should consider ways of better information sharing between the helicopter operators and manufacturers. Mr Stuart worked for the oil field services company Halliburton.

Summary: An oil company's report into an offshore helicopter crash which killed 13 people has warned industry cost-cutting must not compromise safety.


Six cases caused by a bacteria similar to Mycobacterium lepromatosis have been confirmed in the squirrels since 2006. It is the first time the disease has been found in the species and little is known about the spread of the potentially fatal disease. Conservationists, however, say there are other more significant threats to red squirrels such as squirrelpox. Scientists are urging the public to report sightings of squirrels which may be suffering from leprosy. They said the information would help them build up a more detailed understanding of the disease. There is no suggestion of any risk to human health. Infected animals have been found from Dumfries and Galloway to the Moray Firth. Symptoms include hair loss and severe swelling to the snout, eyelids, ears and feet. Prof Anna Meredith of the Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies at Edinburgh University is leading the research. She told BBC Scotland: "We suspect this disease is more widespread than the six cases we have confirmed. "Red squirrels are in decline. They are threatened by the grey squirrel and already face the major threat of the squirrelpox virus. "This is the last thing that they need - another disease which could potentially threaten the population." However conservationists from Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels said the leprosy infection appeared to be extremely rare and would not be a major threat to the wider population. Project manager for Mel Tonkin, said : "Much more of a threat is the squirrelpox virus which is virtually always fatal to red squirrels, but finds a reservoir in grey squirrels. "Research indicates that squirrelpox disease is responsible for accelerating the rate with which grey squirrels have replaced red squirrels throughout most of England and Wales. "However, the conservation community has shown that red squirrel populations can be protected in the midst of grey squirrels carrying the virus by keeping the grey squirrel population density at a very low level." Researchers in Edinburgh investigating the leprosy infection said dead red squirrels could be sent to them by post provided they were appropriately packaged. But they advised members of the public to follow basic hygiene rules before and after handling dead squirrels. Details can be found on this webpage under the "post-mortem guidance note section".

Summary: Scotland's red squirrels are facing a new threat from a form of leprosy, according to scientists in Edinburgh.


Labour's Barry Sheerman said the change "shrinks childhood" by making people adults at 16. He spoke as MPs debated extending the franchise during the EU referendum, a move they then rejected in a vote. Shadow Europe minister Pat McFadden said he respected Mr Sheerman but could see no link between extending voting rights and sexual abuse. Huddersfield MP Mr Sheerman said: "Up and down this country we've had vulnerability to sexual predators and ghastly things happening right through to 18 and this move to have adults at 16 will make a lot of young men and women more vulnerable to sexual predation than that happens at the moment." After Mr McFadden rejected this argument, Mr Sheerman added "what those of us - the small minority of us on these benches I have to say - worry about is" that if people are treated as an adult at 16 "that shrinks childhood". Labour and the SNP support allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in UK elections, but the government is against the policy. Setting out his party's position, Mr McFadden said that aside from the wider debate about the voting age, there was a "very strong reason" to lower it for the EU referendum because young people's future was "directly at stake". If the UK votes to leave the EU, their ability to live and study in Europe would be affected, he said. But Conservative Cabinet Office Minister John Penrose said this was not the time to consider such a change, saying the issue should be "soberly and properly debated" on another occasion. The change was rejected in a Commons vote by 310 to 265. The bill, which will put into law the in/out referendum promised by 2017, is currently making its way through Parliament. Also during the committee stage debate, an SNP motion to allow EU nationals resident in the UK to vote in the referendum was rejected by 514 votes to 71.

Summary: Allowing 16-year-olds to vote will make them more vulnerable to sexual abuse, an MP has said.


Chris Parker, 33, of no fixed address, was charged with two counts of theft on Tuesday. He was remanded into custody following the hearing at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court. Mr Parker was previously reported to have comforted a seriously injured girl and a woman who died in his arms. He was charged with stealing a purse and contents from Pauline Healey, whose 14-year-old granddaughter Sorrell Leczkowski, from Leeds, died in the explosion. Mr Parker is also said to have taken a mobile phone from a different teenage girl. He will next appear at Manchester Crown Court on 13 September. Twenty-two people died in the attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on the evening of 22 May.

Summary: A man who was hailed a hero after the Manchester Arena attack has denied stealing a bank card and mobile phone at the venue on the night of the blast.


The 6-1 priced John Gosden-trained filly saw off favourite Rhododendron to win in the driving rain. Rhododendron finished second while her trainer Aidan O'Brien also saddled Alluringly in third. "In the back of my mind I thought we had a chance," said Dettori. "The rain spoiled it a bit as I was concentrating on my game plan so I didn't have much time to celebrate crossing the line." Thunder and lightning closed in before the race, with Daddys Lil Darling withdrawn after hurtling towards the starting stalls rider Olivier Peslier deciding to jump out of the saddle. BBC Sport horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght A tremendous horse race in which the two main protagonists asserted inside the final half-mile before the winner came out on top in great style, and in a fast time. And it was a performance of extra quality because of conditions. Dettori seemed to only semi-joke when saying that the thunder and lightning scared him let alone the horses. Although both trainer and jockey said they wanted to concentrate on celebrating today's achievement now, this clearly puts them in a fabulous place for tomorrow when they have Cracksman in the Derby. After this, Cracksman is practically sure to be favourite.

Summary: Jockey Frankie Dettori rode Enable to victory in the Oaks at Epsom on Friday.


The company said that Kensington and Chelsea had seen prices plummet by 16% since a peak in September 2014. In Westminster it claimed there had been a fall of 22% between a peak in November and the end of May. It blamed the fall on the new stamp duty regime, introduced in December, which penalises expensive properties. Based on average prices, anyone buying a property in Kensington and Chelsea can now expect to pay more than Â£118,000 in stamp duty alone. "This fall-off in the top tiers of the market has cooled activity levels too," said Adrian Gill, director of Reed Rains and Your Move estate agents, part of the LSL group. He said the number of homes being sold in London as a whole had dropped by 16% in the year to April. A wider survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported that the stock of houses per surveyor has fallen to its lowest level for at least 37 years. However, prices in the London suburbs - and other parts of England and Wales - continued to hit new highs, said LSL. According to its calculations, prices rose by 4.5% in the year to May, making the average cost of a home Â£277,178. That is similar to estimates by the Office for National Statistics, but much higher than figures from Halifax and Nationwide. Buyers of properties worth less than Â£937,000 now pay less in stamp duty than they used to. Prices in England's smallest county - Rutland - rose by 23.8% over the year, while those in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire went up by 16.4%. Thirteen outer London boroughs saw prices hit new highs. Previous figures from the Land Registry have suggested that prices in the suburbs across England and Wales have been taking off, including in parts of Manchester. The separate RICS survey suggests prices in England and Wales could rise by as much as 25% over the next five years, due to the shortage of housing stock. It said that, away from the South East, the strongest growth was expected in north-west England, as a result of the government's northern powerhouse initiative. LSL's house price index is based on statistics released by the Land Registry, so includes cash sales.

Summary: House prices in the smartest parts of London have fallen by up to 22% since last Autumn, according to the property services group LSL.


Healthwatch Oxfordshire went live on 1 April to represent consumers' views in health and social care after taking over from Oxfordshire LINk. The body appointed to run it, Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, said it had only three weeks to launch. The county clinical commissioning group said the situation was "only a small concern". Healthwatch Oxfordshire is part of Healthwatch Network, a network of 152 community-focused local watchdogs. The county council did not appoint any of the bidders who applied to run it, and awarded a temporary one-year contract three weeks ago to Oxfordshire Rural Community Council. Its chief executive, Linda Watson, said they were trying to recruit staff as quickly as possible. She said because of this short amount of time the body was still working out "how it is we're going to run the service and what we're going to operate". Dr Stephen Richards, chief executive of Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said the situation was "only a small concern" but that the "sooner Healthwatch can be fully staffed and up and running the better for all of us".

Summary: A newly launched independent health watchdog has no staff or dedicated phone line yet, the BBC has learned.


Earlier this month a WTO dispute panel found the US had dealt with all but one of the instances of illegal subsidies to the aerospace giant. But Airbus maintains the US continues to offer unfair support. The fight is part of a 13-year dispute between the EU and the US over support offered to Boeing and Europe's Airbus. In 2012, the WTO found that state and federal programmes provided Boeing with billions of dollars in illegal subsidies. On 9 June the WTO's dispute panel found most of those issues had been addressed. However, generous tax benefits offered by the state of Washington, where Boeing has a large presence and which are worth an estimated $800m to date, continue. Both sides claimed the panel's June findings as a victory. The WTO has also found that Europe provided billions in illegal subsidies to Airbus.

Summary: The European Union (EU) has appealed against a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling in favour of the US over its state aid for Boeing.


Khalid Alahmadi, 23, took advantage of the 19-year-old's "vulnerability and intoxication" on 24 September 2015, a jury heard. She said she recalled becoming conscious while slumped against a tree as Mr Alahmadi was pressed against her. He denies sexual assault and the trial at Newport Crown Court continues. On Tuesday, the jury was told the alleged attack took place in Gorsedd Gardens in front of the national museum in Cardiff. The student told the court she spent the night with friends at the Tiger Tiger nightclub. She said she recalled meeting people and dancing, but because of the amount she had drunk, she had a limited recollection of what happened at the end of the night. Prosecution barrister Matthew Cobbe told the jury Mr Alahmadi became aware of the woman's "vulnerability and intoxication and took advantage of that". He said Mr Alahmadi intentionally touched the woman in a sexual way without consent and without believing she consented. When interviewed by police, the woman said she had been "very drunk" and "unable to hold myself up". She said when she came to, she ran away and the man made no attempt to follow her. When she arrived at a friend's house, she said what had happened and her friend contacted the police.

Summary: A student has described coming to as a man was attacking her in a Cardiff park after a night out during freshers' week.


Media playback is not supported on this device City, unbeaten in the WSL in 2016, beat Chelsea 2-0 on Sunday to win the title with one game to play. Houghton, 28, joined City with England team-mates Jill Scott, Karen Bardsley and Toni Duggan before the 2014 season. "Coming here, it was a massive risk for me. In the first year, it was a bit of an unknown," she told BBC Sport. "We took that risk and we've seen this club grow." Defender Houghton joined City from Arsenal as they were controversially introduced to the WSL for the 2014 season. They were placed in the top division as the competition was expanded to two tiers following a bidding process, in a move which saw Doncaster Rovers Belles demoted to WSL 2. City won the Continental Cup in their first year, were second in the league in 2015 and, on Sunday, secured their first national title in front of a club-record crowd of 4,096 at the Academy Stadium. "That's what I joined the club for - I knew it was going to be about winning trophies and being ambitious," Houghton added on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra. "We deserve this. We've been brilliant all season and every player and staff member has been fantastic." City have kept 16 clean sheets in their 21 matches in all competitions so far in 2016 and will attempt to win another trophy when they face Birmingham City in the Continental Cup final on 2 October. Their starting line-up against Chelsea was made up entirely of British players - nine English and two Scottish. City's victory took them 10 points clear of second-placed Chelsea, who won the league and FA Cup double in 2015. "I'm really pleased that we've won the title - it's what we set out to do," said City manager Nick Cushing. "But I'm more pleased with the performance today. In the second half especially, we were dominant defensively and offensively." BBC television commentator Jonathan Pearce on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra: "Because of the investment they've put into the team - they've really backed women's football at Manchester City - it was inevitable they were going to win the title, whether it was this season or next. "Right from the word go, they've been very, very strong. They've got a real core contingent of players with England as well and that helps, as they stay together with club and country. "It comes down to money, investment and belief. I think Chelsea will come back fighting and they'll have players with points to prove who will come back very, very strongly. "But, unless the other clubs do something remarkable, it will be the big three - and I'm not including Liverpool in that. Unless Liverpool really work hard in terms of investment, then their days of winning WSL have gone, I think, for a while."

Summary: England captain Steph Houghton believes her "risky" move to Manchester City has been justified by their first Women's Super League title.


A window of a property on Aubrey Street was smashed when a group of people threw a bin at it at about 1:45 GMT on Sunday. The five adults inside the house were not injured. Police have asked for anyone with information on the attack to contact them on the non-emergency number 101.

Summary: An attack on a house in Londonderry is being treated as a sectarian hate crime, police have said.


With the game in extra time and Yeovil leading 1-0, midfielder Dolan launched his huge effort over goalkeeper Neil Etheridge to help the Glovers through. Earlier, Saddlers forward Amadou Bakayoko scored an own goal trying to stop Kevin Dawson's header. Bakayoko hit the crossbar later on as Walsall pressed for a goal. Match ends, Walsall 0, Yeovil Town 2. Second Half Extra Time ends, Walsall 0, Yeovil Town 2. Attempt missed. Kieron Morris (Walsall) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Joe Edwards (Walsall) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Tahvon Campbell (Yeovil Town). Attempt missed. Simeon Jackson (Walsall) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Substitution, Yeovil Town. Omar Sowunmi replaces Tom Eaves. Tom Eaves (Yeovil Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Rico Henry (Walsall) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Tom Eaves (Yeovil Town). Attempt saved. Tahvon Campbell (Yeovil Town) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt missed. Kieron Morris (Walsall) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Matthew Dolan (Yeovil Town) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration. Goal! Walsall 0, Yeovil Town 2. Matthew Dolan (Yeovil Town) left footed shot from more than 35 yards to the top left corner. Joe Edwards (Walsall) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Tahvon Campbell (Yeovil Town). Jason McCarthy (Walsall) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Tom Eaves (Yeovil Town). Joe Edwards (Walsall) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Joe Edwards (Walsall). Tahvon Campbell (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Second Half Extra Time begins Walsall 0, Yeovil Town 1. First Half Extra Time ends, Walsall 0, Yeovil Town 1. Amadou Bakayoko (Walsall) hits the bar with a left footed shot from the centre of the box. Goal! Walsall 0, Yeovil Town 1. Tahvon Campbell (Yeovil Town) header from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Ryan Hedges with a cross following a set piece situation. Joe Lea (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Matt Preston (Walsall). Substitution, Yeovil Town. Tahvon Campbell replaces Otis Khan. Attempt blocked. Amadou Bakayoko (Walsall) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Joe Edwards (Walsall) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Tom Eaves (Yeovil Town). Attempt missed. Rico Henry (Walsall) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Foul by Liam Kinsella (Walsall). Ryan Hedges (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt blocked. Otis Khan (Yeovil Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Foul by Liam Kinsella (Walsall). Kevin Dawson (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half. First Half Extra Time begins Walsall 0, Yeovil Town 0. Second Half ends, Walsall 0, Yeovil Town 0. Corner, Yeovil Town. Conceded by Neil Etheridge.

Summary: Yeovil Town's Matthew Dolan scored a goal from inside his own half as the League Two side reached the EFL Cup second round with a win a Walsall.


The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train operators, says the 16 million fares currently on offer are "baffling" for passengers. It wants to ensure passengers are offered the cheapest possible fares. The trial, starting from May, will initially benefit people travelling between Scotland and south-west England. A traveller buying an off-peak return from Wick, in northern Scotland, to Par, in Cornwall, can currently pay up to £342.50, although in practice few people pay that amount. However, by buying six separate fares for each leg of the journey, passengers can pay as little as £80 for the same trip. That would involve buying tickets from Wick to Inverness, Inverness to Edinburgh and Edinburgh to Par. The RDG says the potential saving of £262 will soon be offered to customers automatically. CrossCountry Trains, the main operator taking part in the trials, may eventually offer savings on other routes as well. Passengers travelling between London and Glasgow, or London and Edinburgh on Virgin Trains, will also benefit from clearer pricing. Operators currently have to offer a return fare between these cities, which is regulated by the government. But the RDG says it would be more transparent - and possibly cheaper - for commuters if single fares were regulated instead. It wants more booking of single fares - at ticket offices and ticket machines, as well as on the internet. Ticket machines on stations will also be updated, to make sure they show the cheapest fares available. "We're determined to overhaul the system to cut out red-tape, jargon and complication to make it easier for customers to buy fares they can trust, including from ticket machines," said Jacqueline Starr, RDG director of customer experience. The trial will also see the removal of some historic fares which do not make sense. Ben Morris, business reporter In the British Rail era, rail fares were a relatively simple affair, with ticket prices worked out on a cost-per mile basis. But in the 1990s, in an effort to make the network more efficient, the operation of rail services was handed to private train operating companies (Tocs). The Tocs were given some freedom to set ticket prices, with advanced ticket bookings particularly important to them, as it helps them to keep their trains full. To protect passengers, other fares were regulated, including season tickets and off-peak fares. The result is a patchwork of fares, that becomes even more complicated when a passenger wants to cross several train regions. Savvy travellers have been taking advantage of this by splitting their journey into several tickets, rather than one through-ticket. Today's scheme aims to make those savings available to everyone. At the moment passengers travelling between London St Pancras and Sheffield pay extra to travel via Grantham, for example, even though it takes longer. Such fares date back to the pre-privatisation era of British Rail. News of the trial was welcomed by passenger groups. "What's clear from our research is that passengers find the ticketing system far too complex," said Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus. "The presence of cheaper fares that

Summary: Passengers using cross-country train routes could save up to £260 a journey, under a trial scheme to simplify fares.


When Shatner asked if Cmdr Hadfield was tweeting from space, the astronaut replied: "Yes, Standard Orbit, Captain. And we're detecting signs of life on the surface". The message presumably refers to earth. Cmdr Hadfield arrived at the International Space Station on 21 December for a five-month mission. The exchange, which astronaut Buzz Aldrin also participated in, delighted Star Trek fans. Space and science blogger Jason Major tweeted: "Looks like @WilliamShatner has opened a hailing frequency to the #ISS and @Cmdr-Hadfield answered! #cool", in reaction to the Twitter exchange. Cmdr Hadfield has been tweeting images of earth, including photographs of snow-covered rice fields in Japan and the coast of Italy. The Canadian Space Agency has offered to arrange a live tweeting session between the actor and the astronaut.

Summary: Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has exchanged tweets from space with William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek.


The line-up includes Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter and is best viewed from southern parts of the northern hemisphere. In Northern Ireland, astronomers say all five planets should come into view simultaneously by about 24 January. The Irish Astronomical Association said it will be a "sight not to be missed". However, successful planet spotting will depend on local weather conditions and the amount of cloud in the sky. Terry Moseley, a former president of the Irish Astronomical Association, said Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter are the only five planets that are ever visible from Earth with the naked eye, but it is rare to see all of them at once. He said that in the UK, the alignment would be visible in southern parts of England first and should come into view in Northern Ireland a few days later, as it lies further north. Mr Moseley added that four of the planets can be seen from Northern Ireland at the moment on clear nights, but added that "elusive little Mercury" is always the hardest to see because it is closest to the horizon. "Mercury will be easiest to see from about 28 January to 2 February, but you should start looking from about 24 January in case the skies are cloudy later," Mr Moseley advised skywatchers. "You should start looking from about 45 minutes before sunrise, and you'll need a good clear horizon to the south east," he added. "Venus will be by far the brightest, a brilliant beacon above the south east horizon. Look about a hand-span to the left of Venus, and slightly below it, to try to spot Mercury, which will be much fainter, and not easy to find in the twilight glow." The director of Armagh Observatory, Mark Bailey, said the last time such a view was visible was January 2005. He will be talking to schoolchildren in Tandragee library, County Armagh, on Thursday, explaining what to look out for. Skywatchers will have to distinguish the row of planets from some very bright stars. Mr Bailey said that one of the brightest stars in the sky - Arcturus - will also form part of the alignment view, along with another star, Spica, more or less vertically below it. Observatory staff have produced images showing the alignment on the morning of Friday 22, January, shortly before Mercury is expected to come into view. Mr Moseley added: "The group will be joined by the waning crescent moon from 1 February onwards, making an even more glorious sight." The pre-dawn sky show is best viewed from high ground, in places were there is little light pollution. "You need a good, dark view towards the southern horizon," Mr Bailey said. He suggested locations such as Divis mountain in Belfast; the Sperrins in counties Londonderry and Tyrone and Slieve Beagh near the border with County Monaghan. The alignment will be visible from some areas until 20 February, but both local astronomers advised that the window will be much shorter in Northern Ireland as Mercury will disappear from view several days earlier.

Summary: Skywatchers are about to get a rare chance to see five planets align in the night sky in a celestial show that has not been seen for more than a decade.


James Isbister caught the 6ft-long ling while fishing off Muckle Flugga on Saturday. Mr Isbister is awaiting confirmation from the relevant authorities of its possible record-breaking status. The fish is currently being kept in his mother's freezer. "It was a very big fight," he said. He said he would keep trying to catch an even larger fish. He told BBC Scotland: "Muckle Flugga is renowned for big fish. "It took about 20 or 30 minutes. "I knew it was a big fish but I didn't realise it was that size - I am 6ft 5in and it's as big as me." Mr Isbister added: "It's in my mum's freezer. We had to make room for it, it fills the whole freezer. "I am a local celebrity at the moment."

Summary: A Shetland fisherman is celebrating after reeling in a giant fish weighing more than 67lbs (30kg).


The 28-year-old English midfielder looked to be on his way to Pittodrie in January 2016, but the deal fell through as the clubs fell out over a fee. But he signed a pre-contract in March to join the Dons on a three-year deal. "I always wanted to come here and I'm just delighted it has eventually been done," he told the Dons website. "What's happened in the past has happened in the past, but it's been a long wait." Tansey had returned to the Caledonian Stadium for a second spell at the club after leaving Stevenage in 2014. He scored nine goals in 44 appearances this season but was unable to prevent Caley Thistle being relegated. Tansey becomes the latest Caley Thistle player to have ended up at the other end of the A96. Dons striker Adam Rooney and midfielders Jonny Hayes and Graeme Shinnie all moved to the Granite City having previously played for Inverness. "I always had it in my mind to come here because of the set-up and from what the lads I know have said about the place," added Tansey. "It spoke volumes about the place. "It was pretty much a no-brainer to come here. "I've spoken to a few of the boys here - Graeme Shinnie, Jonny Hayes, Miles Storey, Adam Rooney and I've played against them over the years. "They're all great lads and top players and it is exciting to play with players like that. "That's what you want to do. It brings you on as a player and puts pressure on you to deliver for them as well as yourself."

Summary: Greg Tansey is relieved to have ended his long wait to sign for Aberdeen after leaving relegated Inverness Caledonian Thistle.


Media playback is not supported on this device The Ospreys scrum-half, 26, went down in agony after his leg was caught in a ruck against Italy and he was taken off the pitch on a stretcher. Webb has had surgery on his damaged foot but the injury was so serious he will also miss the 2016 Six Nations. "It hit me straight away, I was an emotional wreck as soon as it happened to a couple of days after," Webb said. "I still think to myself now: 'How am I here and the boys are playing?' But I'm back driving, back in the gym now. "The amount of pain I was in I knew straight away that my World Cup was over. "I'd worked so hard over the last two years, with my goal getting that number nine shirt and obviously another one was playing in the World Cup in this country. "Seeing that go out the window by one freak accident, I was pretty heart-broken." Wales' opening wins over Uruguay and England have put them in a strong position to reach the quarter-finals - and Webb says he has been cheered by those victories. Last season's Pro12 player of the year has now set himself the target of selection for the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. "I've picked myself up slowly seeing the boys win like they have done and playing well - it's just looking forward now. "My long-term goal is British Lions - that's everybody's dream - but I need to set some shorter goals so I'll do them in a couple of weeks maybe." Webb was back among his Wales team-mates on Wednesday as he and fellow injury absentee Leigh Halfpenny - the full-back ruled out of the World Cup and Six Nations with a knee injury suffered in the same game - presented the match jerseys for Thursday's game against Fiji. "It was obviously a special occasion," Webb added. "I gave a bit of a speech, which was nerve-wracking, but it was very good, I enjoyed it - I was more nervous presenting the shirts than playing. "Dan Lydiate and Toby [Taulupe Faletau] are winning their 50th caps so it was a pleasure to present them with their jerseys as well."

Summary: Rhys Webb says he knew his World Cup was over the moment he was injured in Wales' final warm-up match.