Joseph Romano was one of 23 Americans tried and sentenced by Italian courts for kidnap over the CIA-led operation to abduct a cleric known as Abu Omar. The Egyptian said he was flown to his home country and tortured there. Mr Napolitano's office cited what it said were changes to US security policy undertaken by President Barack Obama. It said Mr Obama had "immediately after his election, put an end to an approach to the challenges to national security... considered by Italy and the European Union not compatible with fundamental principles of rule of law". It added that the Italian president "hoped to provide a solution to an affair considered by the United States to be without precedent because of the conviction of a US military officer of Nato for deeds committed on Italian soil". The statement said the decision to pardon Col Romano was inspired by the same principle that Italy hoped to see used in the case of two Italian marines facing murder charges in India over the shooting of two fishermen. Abu Omar was subject to the process known as extraordinary rendition, through which the CIA transferred terrorism suspects to countries that practised torture. The policy was increasingly used in the wake of the 11 September, 2001 attacks in the US. Italian courts convicted 22 CIA personnel over the Abu Omar case. All are believed to be living in the US and are unlikely to serve their sentences. Col Romano was the only American convicted who was not a CIA employee. At the time of the rendition, he was in charge of the northern Italian military air base at Aviano, where Abu Omar was flown before continuing to Egypt via Germany. The Italian trials, which began in 2007, were the first to convict Americans over extraordinary rendition. Last month, a court in Milan sentenced Italy's former intelligence chief Nicolo Pollari to 10 years in prison, and his former deputy, Marco Mancini, to nine years, over the Abu Omar case. Both are expected to appeal.

Summary: Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has pardoned a US Air Force colonel convicted in absentia over the rendition of an Egyptian imam in 2003.


From mid-June councils will have powers to issue penalty charge notices to the registered owner of a car, regardless of who littered. CCTV images will be used to record number plates and trace owners, said London Councils. The AA said the majority of its members wanted tougher penalties for people who drop litter from cars. Littering is already a criminal offence which incurs a fine, under the Environmental Protection Act. To prosecute someone for littering from a car required proving beyond reasonable doubt which passenger disposed of the rubbish, which is very difficult, said a spokesman for London Councils. But the organisation which represents London's 33 councils put a private bill through Parliament to amend the London Local Authorities Act so that the owner of a vehicle or pedicab will be liable to pay littering fines. Council officers and Police Community Support Officers will be among those who can issue penalties, said London Councils. The exact level of fine will be decided on 14 June and the new law should come into effect on 18 June. An AA spokesman said the organisation's research suggests the majority of drivers in London and Britain would like greater penalties for littering from cars. In a survey of 1,628 AA members in London in 2009, 58% said they loathed motoring "litter louts" enough to support tough penalties, such as points on their driving licence, large fines and community sentences. Ninety-three percent agreed that roadside litter gave a bad impression of Britain and spoilt local communities. Seven per cent admitted littering. He said: "A cigarette thrown from a car will spark and make a driver jump. Similarly a container coming at your windscreen will make you duck." But he pointed out that enforcement will be an issue and there will be cases where items are dropped accidentally. He said: "In amongst rubbish you will always find a baby's dummy and know that it's unlikely that its mother wanted that littered. "What happens if a six-year-old opens the back door, drops something and walks off? That could be littering."

Summary: Car owners in London will face fines of up to £100 if someone drops litter from their vehicles, under a law change.


The route between Harwich, Essex and Esbjerg in Denmark, run by DFDS Seaways, has been in operation for nearly 140 years. The company said the route "has been struggling for a long time" and would not be able to take on costs associated with a new environmental law. The final ferry is to sail on Sunday. Chief executive of DFDS Seaways, Niel Smedegaard, said: "The route is of particular historical significance to DFDS so it's a very sad day for us all. "Our regrets go to our many passengers who must now see the last passenger ferry route between the UK and Scandinavia close." How popular are ferries? •Last year, 20.5 million people used ferries to travel abroad from the UK - the first year on year increase since 2010 •One of the most popular routes, between Dover and Calais, has had car ferries running since the 1930s •The number of passengers travelling from ports on the East Coast fell last year for the third consecutive year, to 2.2 million •A number of passenger routes linking Norway and Newcastle ceased running in 2008 •Ferries between Harwich and Hamburg in Germany were stopped in 2002 •Stena Line runs a ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. The line has seen an increase in passenger numbers in recent years From 1 January 2015, a European Union directive aimed at reducing sulphur dioxide emissions from ships will come into force. DFDS said this would have resulted in a £2m a year increase in the cost of the Harwich to Esbjerg ferry route. Mr Smedegaard said the company had not been able to reduce costs enough to enable the route to bear the extra charges. In June last year, the Sirena Seaways vessel running the Harwich-Esbjerg route hit the quay while docking and started to let in water. There were 489 passengers on board, but no-one was trapped or injured. The crash caused severe damage to the quay and holed the ferry in several places, some below the waterline. An investigation found one of the ship's back-up systems was keeping an engine running at 63% power when it was approaching the dock. This prevented tugs from moving the vessel so passengers could disembark safely. At the time, DFDS said changes were made to stop such an accident happening again.

Summary: The UK's only ferry link to Scandinavia is to close for good, marking the "the end of an era", its operator says.


Ahmad Zeidan, of Reading, was sentenced to nine years in 2014 but claims he was tortured into admitting drugs charges. Zeidan's father said his son was "still rotting in prison" despite the Foreign Office pledging to help last year. The Foreign Office said it "continued to assist" Zeidan and regularly raises the case with UAE authorities. UAE authorities previously denied any claims Zeidan has been tortured. But, Monal Zeidan said his 23-year-old son was a "shattered boy" and was "suffering seizures", three years into his jail term in the emirate of Sharjah, near Dubai. In 2013 Zeidan, a student at the Emirates Aviation College in Dubai, was part of a group who had accepted a ride in a friend's car when police stopped them and found 0.04 grams of cocaine in the vehicle. He was accused of possessing and trading in narcotics, but has said the drugs were not his. He claims he was hooded and kept in solitary confinement for two days, stripped naked, threatened with rape and brutally beaten. The other young men were given pardons or were acquitted but Zeidan, the only British citizen, was jailed. Monal Zeidan told the BBC: "He was a young student of 19 when he was detained in the UAE three years ago and singled out for the harshest prison sentence of nine years. "He was a victim of circumstance and simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. His incarceration is a painful tragedy that his family live with every day." A bilateral meeting took place in March 2016 after Zeidan's case was raised in parliament by Reading West MP Alok Sharma. But in an email seen by the BBC, a Foreign Office caseworker told his father that during the meeting "it was decided that Ahmad's case did not reach the threshold for Her Majesty's Government to support a clemency request". This suggests the Foreign Office has made no formal request for a pardon. On its website it states it would only consider pleas for clemency in "exceptional" circumstances, such as "where a prisoner or close family member is chronically ill or dying" or in cases where it has "evidence that seems to point to a miscarriage of justice". Human rights charity Reprieve, which had supported the case in the past but now only deals with death row cases, previously said Zeidan's "brutal torture" and the use of "a bogus confession" were "more than enough reason for the British government to request his release". A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We continue to assist a British man who was arrested in the UAE in December 2013. "Then minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood raised the case with his opposite number in 2016 and we continue to regularly raise this case with the UAE government. "We cannot interfere in another country's judicial system just as we would not allow another country to interfere in ours." Mr Zeidan said the help has so far amounted to a monthly visit to his son from a British embassy representative.

Summary: The family of a British student jailed in the United Arab Emirates over a cocaine find worth about £3 says he has been "forgotten" by the Foreign Office.


Clare Shillington and Laura Delany both made 37 as Ireland were bowled out for 144 after 47.1 overs of their innings. Bangladesh replied with 145-3 off 39.1 overs to win with 65 balls to spare, Sharmin Akhter top-scoring with 52. Ireland must win their remaining two matches against Pakistan and South Africa to maintain qualification hopes. Ireland retained their one-day international status by making the Super Six, from which the top four qualify for the World Cup this summer. After being put in to bat by Bangladesh at the Colombo Cricket Club, the Irish women were dealt an early blow as Cecilia Joyce (3) and Kim Garth (0) both went cheaply. Meg Kendal returned from her hamstring injury to make 16, sharing in a third wicket stand of 45 with Shillington, who struck four boundaries and cleared the ropes twice in an entertaining 37 from 36 balls. Both fell in quick succession and it was left to skipper Delany and Isobel Joyce (24) to rebuild the innings with a stand of 44. Having reached 106-4 with 19 overs remaining, Ireland looked set for a total approaching 200, however the innings faltered in the final third, as they slumped to 144 all out. Jahanara Alam (3-21), Panna Ghosh (2-16) and Khadija Tul Kubra (2-26) were best with the ball for Bangladesh. Ireland needed quick wickets in the Bangladesh chase, but their attack was blunted by a steady opening stand of 40 between Sharmin Sultana (22) and Sharmin Akhter. Gaby Lewis (1-31) dismissed Sultana, and when Isobel Joyce ran out Islam for 2, Ireland were back in the contest at 52-2. However Akhter hit a fine half century from 86 balls, adding 53 with Morgana Hoque, to ensure Bangladesh quickly regained control. Although Akhter was dismissed by Ciara Metcalfe (1-33), by that stage just 39 were needed, and Hoque (34 not out) in conjunction with Rumana Ahmed (24 not out) steered their side safely home. Ireland are next in action when they face Pakistan on Friday, before taking on South Africa on Sunday.

Summary: Ireland's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup appear remote after suffering a seven-wicket defeat by Bangladesh in their opening Super Six match.


Real manager Zinedine Zidane has said he cannot guarantee Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema will stay at the Bernabeu this summer. That has prompted reports Manchester United could rekindle their long-standing interest in the 28-year-old. "It's a ridiculous, stupid story," agent Jonathan Barnett told BBC Sport. Bale was hampered by injury last season and lost his place to Isco, but previously flourished under Zidane and was rewarded with a place on the 30-man shortlist for the 2016 Ballon d'Or. However, with Real linked with a 180m euros (£160m) move for 18-year-old Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe, there have been reports that they will look to move on one of Bale, Ronaldo or Benzema. Asked about the trio on Thursday, Zidane said: "I want everyone who is here now to stay but anything can happen right up until 31 August." United first tried to sign Bale before he joined Tottenham from Southampton in 2007 and reignited their interest before his move to Spain four years ago. Instead, though, the Welshman joined Real from Tottenham for a then world record fee of £85m. He extended his contract in October 2016, committing him to the Bernabeu club until 2022 and on improved terms reportedly worth £600,000 per week, £350,000 after tax. Despite helping Real win three Champions League titles in four years - scoring in the 2014 final win over rivals Atletico Madrid - Bale's time in Spain has been mixed. During his second season, he struggled with calf injuries, was jeered by some Real supporters and faced criticism from sections of the Spanish media as Carlo Ancelotti's side failed to win a trophy.

Summary: Speculation linking Gareth Bale with a move away from Real Madrid is "ridiculous" and "stupid", according to the Wales forward's agent.


That is how Mohammad Mallak, editor-in-chief of Syrian magazine Saiedet Souria, describes his colleague Naji Jerf. "He was a smiling man, energetic. He was laughing all the timeâ€¦" Last month, Jerf, a 38-year-old Syrian anti-Islamic State (IS) activist and journalist, was shot in broad daylight with a silenced pistol in the middle of a busy Turkish street. He was murdered in Gaziantep, a city near the Syrian border, now home to nearly 300,000 Syrians. He was about to leave Turkey with his family for France, where he had been granted asylum. Soon after his death, Reporters Without Borders released the visa application letter Jerf wrote to the French ambassador in Turkey. "I now live in the Turkish city of Gaziantep and my safety is more and more difficult after an increase in the threats to me and my family - above all because I am a secularist and belong to the Ismaili minority, which is targeted by the jihadis." Jerf's journalism and activism made him a target in Syria, the reason he fled across the border to Turkey in November 2012. "Naji was one of the first people who was trying to document what is happening in Syria," says Mohammad Mallak. "The regime wanted him." "At 2012 we began to see that our friends were being taken and got killed by the regime," he adds. "We knew that if they took a friend that they would call the family in two days to deliver his dead body." Once in Turkey, Jerf made two anti-IS films. One of them, about IS in Aleppo, was broadcast on the Saudi-run al-Arabiya channel in September 2012, to an audience of at least 12m, according to the channel. Mr Mallak says that after the release of this documentary, the threats against Jerf, who had two young daughters, increased. "He was afraid. He knew that they were planning to do that. But he didn't believe they could do it. Still, he was saying that he knew that they would shoot him. One day he said, 'But I am afraid of the sound of shooting.'" From Turkey, Jerf also worked with the prominent anti-IS group, Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), reporting on the IS abuses in the northern Syrian city. He had just finished a film about Raqqa shortly before his death. The film has not yet been released. Jerf also used his base in Gaziantep to train citizen journalists in Syria, as he had done with RBSS before leaving Syria, according to Mr Mallak. "Naji trained more than a thousand citizen journalists," he says. "We trained face to face, we trained via Skype and created tens of journalists' committees to cover the war. We taught them how to make a TV report, radio report, how to write for the newsâ€¦" Turkey, which shares a 900km (560 miles) border with Syria, quickly became a haven for hundreds of Syrian media outlets from 2012, with the majority of journalists based, like Jerf, in border towns like Gaziantep. But the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said recently that Syrian journalists

Summary: "He was reliable, generous and a great friendâ€¦"


The Sky Blues had warned the academy would be under threat if the rugby club got council permission for the facility at the Alan Higgs Centre. The football club said it was "not against" Wasps having a facility in the city, but was "bitterly disappointed". Wasps has said the football club could share the proposed centre. Coventry City, which leases the land from Coventry Sports Foundation (CSF), has said any reduction in hours its youth players could use facilities may diminish the status of its development programme in the eyes of the Football Association. Football club chairman Tim Fisher said: "Nobody can tell us what will happen with regard to the scheduling or the facilities that accommodate the academy today. "We've got nine players in and around the first-team group who all came through the academy." The planning application was approved with conditions, including over parking and roofing materials. Wasps Group CEO David Armstrong said it understood "sensitivities regarding the location". He said the football academy had been offered "use of the indoor kicking barn facility on a commercial basis during set periods" and was keen to hold discussions with the club "about how this may work". Mr Armstrong said it was open to further talks "with CSF and CCFC about any other ways we might be able to assist" with the academy's future. A council spokesperson said: "In this case the application seeks to use existing sport and leisure facilities for sport and leisure purposes - planning committee can't make its decision on whether this should be rugby or football. "If the owners of the site that is currently used by the academy wanted to change that use it would be a private matter between the two parties and is not a planning consideration." CSF has said it repeatedly invited the football club to meet about the academy's future and that the football club chose not to attend a meeting set up with Wasps last month. "The offer to sit down and discuss the matter is still very much on the table," a spokesman said.

Summary: Plans for rugby club Wasps to build a training centre on the site of Coventry City FC's youth academy have been approved.


The UN children's fund, Unicef, says in a new report that the hopes of a generation across the Middle East and North Africa are being shattered. It says that in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, almost 9,000 schools are not able to be used for education. Unicef also documented scores of attacks on schools and teachers across the region. Peter Salama, regional director for Unicef in the Middle East and North Africa, said: "The destructive impact of conflict is being felt by children right across the region. "It's not just the physical damage being done to schools, but the despair felt by a generation of schoolchildren who see their hopes and futures shattered." The 13.7 million who are out of education represents about 40% of the school-age children in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Sudan and the UN fears that figure could top 50% in the coming months. Unicef says that, in 2014, there were 214 attacks on schools in Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Palestinian territories, Sudan and Yemen. One in four schools in Syria have shut since March 2011, affecting more than two million children, it says. Unicef's Education Under Fire report added that "the killing, abduction and arbitrary arrest of students, teachers and education personnel have become commonplace" in the region. Thousands of teachers have abandoned their posts in fear and children are often forced to work illegally to help their families. The children can also become combatants at a young age. Mr Salama said Unicef needed an additional $300m this year to try to improve access to education in the region.

Summary: The UN has said that conflicts in the Middle East are depriving more than 13 million children of an education.


Bartosz Gloskowski, 23, of West Granton Road, Edinburgh, admitted growing 1,991 plants at the Queens Head Inn in Selkirk between March and October 2014. A court heard how a woman phoned police to report the smell from the property. Sentence was deferred at the High Court in Glasgow until 10 May and Gloskowski was remanded in custody. The court heard how on 8 March 2014 he was stopped by customs as he drove through the Channel Tunnel with two pallets full of scales, lights, vents, fans, chemicals and trays. The items are typically used in the cultivation of cannabis. Customs seized £4,800 worth of Polish Zloty under the Proceeds of Crime Act and allowed Gloskowski and his cargo into the UK. Advocate depute David Taylor, prosecuting, said that he had rented a flat above the disused pub in the Borders town. Police were sent to check out the area after a woman phoned to say she had noticed the smell of cannabis coming from there for a couple of weeks and the smell was growing stronger. She told police she believed that someone was growing cannabis plants. Mr Taylor said: "When police arrived they could smell cannabis in the street. "They then saw the accused open the front door of his flat and noticed an overpowering smell of cannabis from within the property." A search of the property revealed that, by using the attic space, the flat next door could be accessed. In the second flat there was a wooden panel screwed into the floor which gave access to the disused pub. That flat also contained 50 bags full of stripped plant stalks. When police officers entered through the hatch in the Queens Head Inn they found a large cultivation of cannabis plants. It was clear that the electricity supply had been bypassed. Mr Taylor added: "It would appear that virtually all of the available floor space within the Queens Head Inn had been given over to an industrial-scale production of cannabis. "In total 1,991 cannabis plants recovered." Gloskowski told police he rented the property for £500, but refused to answer any other questions. His fingerprints and DNA were found on the inside of four pairs of disposable gloves and bottles of beer and water. Police drug experts said the maximum street value of the cannabis obtained from the plants would be £1.66m.

Summary: A man caught red-handed at a £1.66m cannabis farm was caught after a passer-by recognised the pungent smell coming from a disused Borders pub.


The attack took place in the compound of the Helmand MP, Mir Wali. He is believed to have survived but two of his grandchildren are reported to have been killed. Security forces at the scene say the gunmen are now holding hostages. Security in Kabul has deteriorated significantly throughout 2016. The three gunmen began their assault early on Wednesday evening, with at least one of the attackers reported by Tolo News to have detonated explosives inside. It reported that also among the dead were the 25-year-old son of Kandahar MP Obaidullah Barikzai and two security force members. A number of people are reported to have been wounded including a former police chief. Gunfire and explosions were recently reported to have been heard at the premises in the west of the city. Afghanistan Kabul mosque suicide attack kills dozens Twin Kabul explosions 'kill 24 people' Kabul families struggle to smile amid rising violence Taliban attack on Afghanistan police cadets near Kabul kills dozens Relatives and friends of Mr Wali - who is reported to have escaped the attackers through the house of a neighbour - are believed to be among the hostages. The Taliban in a statement said suicide bombers attacked the house because it was hosting an "important gathering of security officials". The attack again exposes continuing instability in Afghanistan, with regular strikes by suicide bombers and gunmen in recent months in Helmand and in Kabul. The city has been targeted repeatedly by the militants throughout this year. Police special forces have now been deployed at the scene, officials say, and their priority is to evacuate people from the house and surrounding areas. The Taliban have made sweeping gains in Helmand - a major opium-producing region - since international coalition forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2014.

Summary: Taliban militants in Afghanistan say they are responsible for attacking the house of a member of parliament in Kabul, killing at least five people.


Scottish actor Capaldi is appearing in his final series as the Doctor. He has said whoever replaces him - whether a man or woman - will be "wonderful". Inverness-born Gillan, who played Amy Pond alongside Matt Smith's Doctor, said she would respect whatever decision was made on the role. A man has been chosen as Capaldi's successor, according to newspaper reports. Speaking at the Los Angeles premiere of her latest film, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, Gillan said: "It's OK, maybe next time. "I trust the BBC and their choices and they haven't failed us yet with the Doctor. "But it would be cool to see a woman in the role one day because a woman could absolutely play that role." The BBC said no casting decisions have been made. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Gillan plays blue-skinned space pirate Nebula.

Summary: Former Doctor Who companion Karen Gillan has said an actress succeeding Peter Capaldi in the lead role of the long-running TV series "would be cool".


The world number seven will feature alongside seven other players, including Maria Sharapova. All matches in the event, which begins with a round-robin stage, comprise a single tie-break to 10 points. "Tie-breaks provide so many pressure-filled moments and it will be fascinating to see who handles it best," said Konta, 25. The winner of the inaugural women's tournament will receive $200,000 (£161,000), with an additional $100,000 (£80,547) donated to a charity working to combat domestic violence. The men's tournament, which features US Open champion Stan Wawrinka and world number seven Kei Nishikori, runs alongside the women's event. Britain's Andy Murray has reached the final of the past two events, losing to compatriot Kyle Edmund in London, and Austria's Dominic Thiem in Vienna.

Summary: British number one Johanna Konta will play in the first women's Tie Break Tens event, in Madrid on 4 May.


Writer Sudhiti Naskar ensconced herself in this community to find out more about the daily lives of women and she discovered that many women did not report rape or acts of sexual violence. Here she explains why, even though West Bengal has the third highest rate of crimes against women in India, these women chose to remain silent. I heard a story in the village, about a teenage girl who was raped here four years ago. She was attacked when she went to defecate in the open, a way of life for most of these villagers. Her parents did not press any charges even though they knew who did it. In fact many villagers told me he had been accused of another rape in the village. "The girl needs to be married off in a few years," one of her relatives said. Finding a suitable groom would be hard if her rape was made public, virginity being an essential criteria for marriage in such rural societies. The girl and her parents - who don't want to be identified - have found solace in anonymity and the sympathy they get from their relations and friends. Even with all that support, they have not been able to confront the rapist. Apparently, bringing the culprit to justice would mean going public. It isn't worth the pain for them. The girl who now studies in a college wants to move on and heal while keeping quiet. Bandana Bagdi, a landless farmer's wife, says she was accosted in the same village. "I could have been raped, but I ran away," she says, in her ramshackle hut by a pond. When, along with her husband and brothers, she went to confront the culprit she was turned away by the villagers. "They said I was a bad woman after a good man," she says. Traditional rural societies, such as here, are swift to put the blame on the victim. In remote Kelai village, Golechera Bewa, 60, feels helpless. Her youngest daughter Ajida Khatun, 19, was coming home at dusk past a deserted stretch when a man tried to drag her in a corner. Ajida ran to save herself. Going to the police would be "too much [of a] trouble" for an "illiterate, poor old woman", she said. The village council was an option, but going there would give the girl a "bad name". Ms Bewa says: "Honour is the only thing that we have. Without that we can't live in these villages." Some of her hesitation comes from the fact that the perpetrator is well-off, making her feel powerless. With men going to the Middle East for manual labour, there has been an influx of money and that has changed power dynamics in the area. The "new money" has caused arrogance, says Rajib Lochan Roy, a lawyer in the area who has represented several rape victims. "There's a tendency to justify the bad behaviour through money and power," he says. He says it is like the old times, when "the feudal lords would assert their will on the women

Summary: Murshidabad in rural West Bengal is in many ways a typical rural Indian district: a dusty, remote place dotted with villages that have little access to healthcare or infrastructure.


The fire swept through the secondary school dorm in Aladag in Adana province and authorities said it may have been caused by an electrical fault. However, there were fears that the girls may have been unable to escape. The mayor said it was likely that a fire door had been locked. The girls who died were aged 11 to 14. The dormitory housed girls from impoverished families in nearby villages, reports said. One of the girls who died was Zeliha Avci, 13. Her father was waiting on Wednesday for the authorities to allow him to collect her body for burial in her village. "No-one has called me," Mustafa Avci complained. "We learned about the fire from the news and ran to the scene. Our children have been burnt to death and no-one gives us any information." Mr Avci last saw his daughter at the weekend. "She was very keen to go to school and get educated, but her days are over now," he said. Her old dorm, he explained, was torn down in 2015 and he was unhappy about the new one. "This was the only dorm in town. We didn't want to send her there, but we had no other option." TV footage showed flames leaping from the roof of the building as firefighters battled to put it out. Adana governor Mahmut Demirtas said some students had been injured when they jumped from windows to escape the fire. He said 34 students had been staying in the dorm and 22 were taken to hospital. A government minister who visited the scene said claims that the fire exit had been locked would be investigated. Turkish authorities imposed a media blackout on local coverage of the disaster. Anadolu news agency said the six people in custody included the head of the dormitory, three teachers and two other staff. They were being investigated on suspicion of causing death by negligence.

Summary: A dormitory manager and five others have been detained in southern Turkey after a fire claimed the lives of 11 schoolgirls and a teacher, reports say.


The Qinghai Tibet plateau is the heart and lungs of Asia. Here, the continent's weather is made and its great rivers are born. The altitude and the cold make it one of the most extreme climates on earth. When I visited, icy winds gusting at 50mph (80km/h) were whipping a sandstorm into Qie Qun Jia's face as he herded his flock of sheep home to safety. The 28-year-old Tibetan nomad has only ever known this life. But climate change is turning the grasslands that once supported his yak herd to desert, and now Qie Qun Jia has only a flock of sheep. "When I was little the grass grew tall and the mountains were covered with flowers," he says. "Summers were warmer and winters were much colder. But in recent years there've been so many sandstorms, the flowers are disappearing and the grazing gets worse year by year. So our flocks of sheep are shrinking. We can't afford to buy grass to feed them." China is both a victim and a perpetrator of climate change. After three-and-a-half decades of headlong industrial growth powered by coal, China is the world's largest polluter, and now it is counting the cost in climate change and environmental damage. In the north and west, it faces desertification. In the south and east, it battles flooding. Its population endures some of the world's most polluted air, soil and water. Since the last global UN climate conference in 2009 when Beijing was unwilling to commit to hard targets on reducing carbon emissions, it has realised that its dependence on fossil fuels has to stop. It has become a climate convert. This about-face is driven not just by the ever more alarming threats from devastating climate change and pollution, but also by opportunity. China believes the world is on the brink of an energy revolution and it sees a chance to dominate, and profit from, the new technologies of a greener century. After putting industrial growth above the environment for so long, the Chinese government now believes sustainable growth can only come from rescuing the environment. Tackling climate change is in the national interest. The Huanghe solar farm on the Qinghai plateau claims to be the biggest of its kind in the world. Nearly four million solar panels tilt up towards a vast blue dome of sky. As I walked between the rows with senior engineer Shen Youguo, tumble weed and sand blew into us and the wind was bitter, but he's excited. It's a big moment to be in solar energy in China. "What we're doing right now is for the sky to be bluer and the water to be clearer. We want a better future for everybody. So we're committed to being a part of that push," he says. The International Energy Agency predicts that solar power will be the world's leading source of electricity by the middle of this century. China wants to dominate renewable technologies like this, and competition between its manufacturers is driving down costs not just in China but globally, as Mr Shen explains.

Summary: With a hard pledge on peaking carbon emissions and with ever more ambitious targets on installing renewables, China has become one of the countries to watch at this week's Paris conference.


23 October 2015 Last updated at 02:35 BST It was given to the city as a sign of his gratitude for funding his forces at the Battle of Agincourt. Commentary from art historian Dr Michael Hall.

Summary: King Henry V's rarely seen Crystal Sceptre is going on public display at the Guildhall in London.


At present the practice is used only in adults, but researchers say it should be applied to children too. Their paper is based on a trial of nearly 1,500 children at 14 intensive care units in England. The researchers said cutting infections would also save the NHS money. When patients are admitted to intensive care in hospital a tube, called a line or central venous catheter, is inserted into large veins in the body to deliver drugs, food or fluids. But bacteria are often attracted to these plastic tubes, making them one of the main reasons for infections in the patient's bloodstream. These infections can lead to damage to the brain and other organs, and cases of septic shock. They can also occur when blood clots form in and around the tube. In studies on adult patients, coating the catheters both inside and out with low levels of antibiotics or the blood-thinning drug heparin was found to reduce infections by 70-80%. This study, from the UCL Institute of Child Health, and Great Ormond Street Hospital, is the first to be carried out in children. It found that only 1% of patients using an antibiotic-coated catheter developed infections in their bloodstream, compared with 4% of patients using a standard tube. The study called this "a significant decrease" on normal levels of infection in paediatric intensive care units. Quen Mok, consultant in intensive care at Great Ormond Street Hospital and one of the study authors, said the tubes should now be used on children. "Bloodstream infections can be dangerous for children who are already very sick. "They can make conditions worse and even cause death, so ways to reduce the infection risk to our patients in intensive care would be very welcome." Although the antibiotic-coated catheter was found to reduce infection numbers in children under 16 years old, a catheter coated in a blood-thinning drug showed no signs of cutting infection rates. And death rates in intensive care were not reduced by the use of antibiotic-coated tubes. Tubes coated with antibiotic are more expensive than standard tubes but the researchers said adopting them would still prove cost effective because they would result in shorter hospital stays and reduce the costs of treating infections in intensive care.

Summary: Fewer children would develop infections in intensive care if the plastic tubes used to deliver drugs straight into their veins were coated in antibiotics, a study in The Lancet suggests.


Alun Davies, who has responsibility for broadcasting, warned Wales had a "weakening" media and a lack of accountability was partly responsible. But he stopped short of calling for devolved powers over the sector, during a media conference speech in Cardiff. "I worry, and I am concerned, that Wales has a weak, indigenous media that is weakening," he said. "And I am concerned that we don't always have the structures to enable us to have a conversation, apart from informally. "The formal structures of accountability, formal structures of regulation and the formal structures to actually deliver policy. "I think that is something which we do need to recognise, and is something that we need to debate and discuss. "Not simply within government, or within the National Assembly, but within and throughout our society." Mr Davies called for the assembly to have a greater role in holding media companies to account. "I make no case for the devolution of responsibility for broadcasting to Wales or to the Welsh Government," he added. "However, I do make the case for the accountability for broadcasting to be shared across the institutions of the United Kingdom." Media bosses do give occasional evidence to assembly committees examining the media in Wales, but there is no formal arrangement that requires them to appear or submit evidence. Since the renewal of the BBC's charter, the Welsh Government has been given a stronger role in appointing the Wales representative to the BBC board. It used its veto to oppose the appointment of the UK government's choice for the position, Dr Carol Bell, earlier this year. Dr Ruth McElroy, a media lecturer at the University of South Wales, said Wales' traditional media had weakened as the industry adapted to changing audience habits. She told BBC Wales: "We have seen a great deal of closures of local newspapers. That's been a long-standing theme, and it's been greater in Wales than in the rest of the UK. "I think what we have to do is be realistic that we are now in a digital age, and that modes of news delivery might be different in the future." She added ministers should be more prepared to intervene to support media in Wales. "There definitely is a place for government intervention. I think that sometimes, in the UK, we have been hostile to that, almost ideologically. "In other parts of the world they are not, and they are reaping the benefits as a result."

Summary: Media companies should be more accountable to the National Assembly, a Welsh Government minister has said.


Police launched a murder investigation after attending reports of fighting between two men in Bow, east London, at about 20:45 BST on Monday. Officers believe the fight began on a 488 bus and continued on Parnell Road. A man in his late 60s was found unconscious at the scene and later died in hospital. A 73-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and remains in police custody at an east London police station, where he is being questioned.

Summary: A 73-year-old man has been arrested after a fight that started on a bus led to another man's death.


Media playback is not supported on this device Heneghan's early near-post header from Peter Winn's free-kick made it 1-0. Southend equalised when Barry Corr's penalty found the bottom corner after John Rooney had fouled John White. But winger Mahon won it on 51 minutes when he cut in off the right flank to fire home from the edge of the area. Mahon's stunning left-foot shot earned Steve Burr's Chester a place in Monday night's televised second round draw for the first time in eight years. It is a level of the competition the reformed club have not reached since a team including Everton boss Roberto Martinez and Stoke City striker Jonathan Walters reached the third round in January 2007. But Chester, 14th in the Conference, were good value for their victory against the Shrimpers, who stand seventh in League Two. Burr's men, in fact, could have won by more, but Southend keeper Daniel Bentley made a good first-half save to deny Craig Hobson's low 18-yard shot and Rooney, younger brother of Manchester United and England captain Wayne, had an effort cleared off the line by Gary Deegan.

Summary: Ben Heneghan and Craig Mahon got the goals at Roots Hall as Conference side Chester produced the FA Cup first-round shock of the day by beating Phil Brown's Southend United.


Media playback is not supported on this device The 24-year-old from Newport beat Charly Suarez of the Philippines on a split decision in his opening bout on day one of competition. Cordina will face Hurshid Tojibaev of Uzbekistan in the round of 16 on Tuesday (15:30 BST). "They had it as a split decision but I thought I won every round," he said. "The first one is normally my shaky one and it was against a tough opponent in Charlie Suarez." The 2015 European champion expects another tough contest against the 26-year-old Tojibaev who has fought as a professional and qualified for the Olympics through AIBA Pro Boxing ranking. The Uzbek scored a unanimous points win over Hakan Erseker of Qatar in his first bout. "As soon as the draw came out I said I have one of the hardest routes of anyone in the 60kg," added Cordina. "But you have to beat them all to win the gold and that's what I'm planning on doing. "I know a bit about Tojibaev and I've seen a couple of his bouts and I'm more than capable of beating him. "He's going to be very wary of me because I'm a European champion. It is what it is and the best man will win on the day. "Being the European champion everyone is going to be looking at me as well as the likes of the Cubans and the Russians - it's good."

Summary: Welsh boxer Joe Cordina believes he has got his "shaky" first fight out of his system and has set his sights on lightweight gold in Rio.


Deborah O'Hara underwent an operation to remove a 8.7in (22cm) tumour at Coventry's University Hospital in 2015. A clip was inadvertently placed on one of her arteries which led to a lack of blood to vital organs. She died two days later. Deputy coroner Emma Witting recorded a verdict of death by misadventure and said it was a "tragic loss". At the inquest in Coventry, surgeon Anthony Blacker told the hearing it was a complicated operation over six hours and when the tumour was removed Mrs O'Hara lost five litres of blood. In a bid to save her life, four clamps were placed on her arteries, but the move cut off the blood supply to her bowel and she died. Bosses apologised after her family learnt about the mistake from the BBC. Widower Andy O'Hara said there was a degree of justice in getting the cause of death recognised saying it was "another bit of closure, but there's still a lot of unanswered questions". "I'm gutted for my family because we've lost a lovely wife, brilliant mum," he said. University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust previously apologised to Mrs O'Hara's family after failing to tell them about the error. An internal investigation has been carried out. It is understood the hospital will pay compensation.

Summary: An inquest into the death of a mother-of-three after an error during surgery has recorded a verdict of misadventure.


The health watchdog said it had taken "urgent action" after an unannounced inspection at Pro Medicus in Harpenden. It has declined to say why it took the action, stating its reasons will be revealed in a report being published at a later date. Pro Medicus director Stephen Burton said it had taken "robust action". The CQC said it carried out an unannounced inspection on 3 and 4 August and chose to take "urgent action to temporarily suspend the registration of this provider". It said that the suspension was due to last until 18 September "whilst they take action to address the concerns we have". The CQC said the provider could not undertake any of its regulated work while it was under suspension. Pro Medicus has more than 30 years' experience providing independent ambulances, medical supervision and first aid training courses throughout the UK. Its website claims its clients include NHS trusts, Stevenage Football Club, Cambridge United Football Club and Saracens Rugby Club. The watchdog gave the company a clean bill of health in its last inspection in November 2013. Mr Burton declined to say what the issues were about, adding: "We've taken advice from the CQC. A number of things were highlighted - we're not denying what they've said need addressing. "We've taken robust action and we've got staff in at the moment going through everything and we're updating lots of things. "As far as we're concerned we've always had a good name. We're going to bring it up to scratch and hopefully in the next few weeks everything will be in place."

Summary: A private ambulance firm based in Hertfordshire has had its registration temporarily suspended due to "concerns" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).


Michael Whinfrey, 42, from Wickersley in Rotherham, died after the explosion at the Sterecycle waste plant on Sheffield Road on Tuesday. The father-of-three was airlifted to Leeds General Hospital but later died. Peter Lindon Davis, 51, from Barnsley, remains in hospital with "potentially life-changing injuries". South Yorkshire Police said Mr Davis received injuries to his head and body and was in a serious but stable condition in the Northern General Hospital. An investigation into the explosion was under way. Sterecycle chief executive officer Tom Shields said: "We will urgently investigate the causes of the incident and ensure that all necessary actions are taken." Operations at the plant have been suspended. Police said the explosion caused damage to parked cars on Sheffield Road, which was closed for nearly three hours.

Summary: Two men involved in an explosion at a waste recycling plant in Rotherham in which one of them died were "best friends", police have revealed.


MoneyGram has about 350,000 outlets in nearly 200 countries. Ant Financial has more than 630 million users. The takeover by the Chinese group will need regulatory approval from the US Committee on Foreign Investment. The inter-agency committee reviews foreign acquisitions of domestic American assets on grounds of national security. Eric Jing, chief executive at Ant Financial, said in a statement that the marriage of the two companies will "provide greater access, security and simplicity for people around the world to remit funds, especially in major economies such as the United States, China, India, Mexico and the Philippines". Ant Financial has a big market share in the online payments industry in China. The acquisition could help the company extend the lead as well as expand overseas, as competition is growing in China with rival Tencent's WeChat payment system. US-listed Moneygram's shares rose by nearly 9% on the news. The takeover has been approved by MoneyGram's board of directors. Ant Financial's shopping spree in the US comes against a backdrop of rising tensions between China and the world's biggest economy. Before he took office, then president-elect Donald Trump was questioning whether the US should continue its "One China" policy, sparking fury from Chinese state media. And during his presidential campaign, Mr Trump threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports. But Jack Ma, the founder and chairman of Alibaba, held a meeting with Mr Trump in December last year. While President Trump has been critical of China, he said he had a "great meeting" with Mr Ma, who chose to float Alibaba on the New York Stock Exchange. The share sale in September 2014 was a record-breaker, as Alibaba raised $25bn in its initial public offering. If the MoneyGram deal goes through, it will be Alibaba's second acquisition in the US. Last year the e-commerce giant purchased EyeVerify in a $70m deal. EyeVerify is a start-up based in Missouri, which uses biometric authentication technology for securing user's online data and transactions.

Summary: Ant Financial, the digital payments arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is buying US-based MoneyGram for $880m (£700m).


The pair from Haverhill have won the UK's second biggest ever lottery prize after being the only winners in Friday's lottery draw. Camelot said the pair would reveal their plans for the future on Tuesday at Down Hall Country House Hotel in Hertfordshire. The lottery organisers said the total prize money won by the couple was £148,656,000. Camelot said the lucky ticket holders would be revealed at the hotel in Hatfield Heath, near Bishop's Stortford, at 11:30 BST. A National Lottery spokeswoman said: "We are looking forward to welcoming the ticket-holder into our millionaires club, joining the 2,900 millionaires created by the National Lottery to date". The ticket is the second biggest National Lottery win behind Colin and Chris Weir from Ayrshire, who scooped £161m in July 2011. It is also the second winning ticket by a couple from East Anglia in less than a year after Dave and Angela Dawes, of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, won £101m in October. The winning numbers were 11, 17, 21, 48 and 50. The lucky stars were 9 and 10. It is the seventh Euromillions jackpot to be won in the UK so far in 2012. In Friday's draw another UK millionaire was created in the Millionaire Raffle Selection game, with the winning code JDW 016965. Camelot said to date Euromillions players have raised £28bn for National Lottery Good Causes. Watch live coverage of the winning couple's TV interview on the BBC News website at 1130

Summary: A couple from Suffolk have won £148m on the Euromillions lottery.


Police are urging Prof Wyndham Lathem, 42, and Andrew Warren, 56, to "do the right thing and turn yourself in". Arrests warrants were issued after Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, 25, was found dead in Prof Lathem's flat in Chicago on 27 July. "The victim had several lacerations to the body," the police said. Wyndham Lathem is a microbiology professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, who specialises in the bacteria that caused the bubonic plague. Andrew Warren is a senior treasury assistant at Oxford's Somerville College. The police warned that the suspects were believed to be "armed and dangerous", and were possibly driving a Hyundai sedan. Chicago Police chief communications officer Anthony Guglielmi said on Twitter the search for the two men "will only intensify". End of Twitter post by @AJGuglielmi Mr Cornell-Duranleau, originally from Michigan, worked as a cosmetologist in Chicago. Oxford University issued a statement saying it had been in contact with the police in the UK about Mr Warren and was "ready to help the US investigating authorities in any way they need". It added: "Andrew Warren's colleagues at Somerville College have now all been informed and are shocked to learn of the case. "Whatever the circumstances, we would urge him to contact the US authorities as soon as possible, in the best interests of everyone concerned." A Thames Valley Police spokesman said Mr Warren was reported missing on 25 July after having left the UK the day before.

Summary: A US-wide hunt has intensified for an American professor and an Oxford University employee suspected of stabbing a man to death in Chicago.


In his closing speech, prosecutor Philip Evans told Woolwich Crown Court the men had given "lies" and "half truths" as evidence during the trial. Carl Wood, William Lincoln, Jon Harbinson and Hugh Doyle all deny being part in the Â£14m theft. Four other men have already pleaded guilty to taking part in the raid. Summing up the case against the accused men, Mr Evans said the robbery had involved a "staggering sum of money" and had been a carefully planned operation by men who knew what they were doing. He asked the jury to consider whether the "ringleaders" - who had already pleaded guilty - would have trusted those on trial to look after their jewel-laden bags and not take a "peek" inside. "The men who have pleaded guilty were a group who thrived on acquisitive crime - taking people's money and possessions, greed in reality. "What they needed were people who wouldn't question that," he said. Referring to Mr Lincoln's claim that he did not know what was in the bags he helped move, he asked the jury whether they could "believe that for one second?" "They were never going to let that significant commodity go into the hands of someone they did not trust," he said. Mr Evans insisted the four men had not told the truth to the court. "On each of the four occasions that you have heard the defendants give evidence, each of them have told you lies," Mr Evans said. He added that it did not matter what size role each of the men had played because "if you take part knowingly, you're guilty". The case continues. Daniel Jones, 60, of Park Avenue, Enfield; John Collins, 75, of Bletsoe Walk, Islington; Terry Perkins, 67, of Heene Road, Enfield, and Brian Reader, 76, of Dartford Road, Dartford, have all previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.

Summary: Four men accused of being part of the Hatton Garden raid were trusted to be involved because of their "connections to the ringleaders", a court has heard.


Kervezee, who had just two first-class scalps previously, removed captain Ed Joyce (82), Matt Machan (55) and Luke Wright (21) either side of lunch as the hosts collapsed from 129-1 to 194-5. Spinner Sachithra Senanayake then took 4-50 as Sussex were bowled out for 290. Requiring 247 for victory, the visitors reached 47-0 at stumps with first-innings centurion Richard Oliver on 23. Worcestershire's batsman will be hoping there is no repeat of their second-innings collapse in the defeat against Yorkshire, when they were skittled for just 100, as they search for a first win since their return to Division One of the County Championship. After Charlie Morris had Luke Wells caught at slip by Alex Gidman in just the second over of the day, Joyce and Machan shared a second-wicket stand of 119 as Sussex looked to be taking control. The turning point came just before lunch when off-spinner Kervezee trapped Scotland batsman Machan lbw and then had Wright caught at short leg and Joyce snaffled in the slips as he continued his spell after the interval. Ben Brown (44) and Ashar Zaidi fell either side of the tea break and Sri Lankan Senanayake bamboozled the tail as Sussex lost their last five wickets for just 57 runs. Worcestershire openers Oliver and captain Daryl Mitchell (16 not out) then batted confidently for 14 overs to leave their side needing 200 more for victory on the final day. Worcestershire's Alexei Kervezee: "I must admit it was a surprise when Daryl (Mitchell) asked me to bowl and I was delighted with how it went. "I have tried to bowl a bit quicker and there was some rough to aim for and I'm pretty chuffed to have got Joyce and Wright out - they are not a bad couple of scalps for my first Championship wickets. "All the bowlers contributed then our openers did well to get through that spell before the close so we are in a good place." Sussex all-rounder Luke Wright: "We would have liked to set a few more but we've seen that the odd ball does something out of the ordinary and we've seen throughout the game that wickets do fall in clusters. "We've still got a great chance because the bowlers always feel they are in the game. "I got a ball that popped up off a length which I wasn't expecting and it won't get any easier to bat on the final day."

Summary: Part-time bowler Alexei Kervezee took three wickets for Worcestershire to set up a tense final day against Sussex.


Zac Mitchell, 20, was injured in April while working on a remote farming property in Western Australia. "A bull kicked my hand into the fence," Mr Mitchell said of the incident. He underwent two unsuccessful operations to reattach his thumb before doctors opted to relocate his big toe in surgery lasting eight hours. Mr Mitchell said fellow workers had attempted to preserve his thumb immediately after the accident. "They put it in the esky [cooler] with some ice," he told the BBC. Mr Mitchell was flown to hospital in the state capital of Perth, but efforts to save his thumb ultimately failed. Despite initial reluctance, the cattle worker agreed to the transplant operation at the Sydney Eye Hospital two weeks ago. Lead plastic surgeon Dr Sean Nicklin said he was not surprised it took time to accept. "It is a bit of a crazy idea - they [patients] do not want to be injured in another part of their body," he said. "[However] even if you have got four good fingers, if you do not have something to pinch against them, your hand has lost a huge amount of its function." Mr Mitchell will need more than 12 months of rehabilitation, but he plans to return to farm work. The Sydney Eye Hospital said it was rare to transplant a complete toe, like in Mr Mitchell's case, although partial toe relocations were more common. "A lot of people think their balance and walking is going to be significantly affected which it generally isn't," Dr Nicklin said. Mr Mitchell's mum, Karen, said he was making a good recovery. "Two weeks since the operation his walking is almost back to normal." Doctors say Mr Mitchell should eventually be able to return to his hobby of bull riding. Reporting by the BBC's Greg Dunlop

Summary: An Australian cattle worker whose thumb was severed by a bull has had his toe surgically transplanted in its position.


The US sprayed 12 million gallons of the defoliant over jungles between 1961 and 1971 during the Vietnam war. Vietnamese experts say more than three million people have suffered the effects of the herbicide, of which some 400,000 died. The development is being hailed as one of the most significant in relations between Washington and Hanoi. A ceremony to launch the programme was held at the Danang airport where the defoliant was stored before being sprayed over forests hiding fighters from the Viet Cong, guerrillas backed by the Communist government of North Vietnam. US-Vietnam ties have blossomed since diplomatic relations were established 16 years ago and steps to resolve issues left over from the war have formed a cornerstone of progress, say correspondents. "I think it's fair to say that dioxin contamination and Agent Orange was one of the single most neuralgic issues in the US-Vietnam relationship," said US charge d'affaires Virginia Palmer. For years, Hanoi and Washington argued about questions of compensation for victims of the defoliant. But now the US recognises that dioxin, found in Agent Orange, is a highly toxic substance. "Studies suggest that this chemical may be related to a number of cancers and other health effects in humans", says the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Five years ago the embassy began to shift the focus to cleaning up dioxin hot spots, clearing the path for swift progress on what had become the biggest remaining war-era issue. The US Congress appropriated an initial $3m (Â£1.8m) in 2007 for the effort and the figure has since risen to $32m.

Summary: Vietnam and the United States have taken the first step towards cleaning up Agent Orange contamination.


Media playback is not supported on this device A report suggests Bournemouth, Chelsea and Watford may not fulfil a pledge to meet standards by August 2017. It stressed clubs have been "working hard on delivery" since a 2014 BBC report found that 17 of 20 clubs did not provide enough wheelchair spaces. But campaigners have criticised the failure to meet the standards set out. "The time for excuses is over," said David Isaac, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. "The Premier League promised that disabled access would be improved by the start of next season, so it is disappointing that a number of clubs will fail to meet that deadline. "Clubs need to urgently demonstrate to us what they are doing to ensure they are compliant with the law and how they are making it easier for disabled fans to attend matches. If they don't they will face legal action." The Premier League's report comes after MPs argued last month that top-flight clubs were prioritising finance over improving access and meeting the Accessible Stadia Guidelines. The Culture, Media and Sport select committee report said clubs should face legal action if they fail to meet the basic needs of disabled fans. The Premier League board can impose fines of up to £25,000, while cases of serious breaches would be referred to an independent panel - which could impose heavier fines or even deduct points. Bournemouth have 195 disabled fan spaces but not to the required standard. However, they do not own their Vitality Stadium home and the club says that the stadium's small size makes meeting guidelines difficult. It is planning to move to a bigger ground in the coming years. Chelsea have 128 spaces for disabled fans, against a recommended 214. The club is aiming to move to a new 60,000-seat stadium and says in the meantime it will consult with disabled fans. Watford have spaces for 61 disabled fans, but should provide 153. It will have more wheelchair spaces by August but says it faces architectural challenges and is aiming to make other improvements to boost the matchday experience of disabled fans. Burnley, Middlesbrough and Hull were given extensions to 2018 to meet the guideline standards as they were only promoted last summer. "Premier League clubs have embarked on a substantial programme of work and rapid progress has been made. The improvements undertaken are unprecedented in scope, scale and timing by any group of sports grounds or other entertainment venues in the UK. "Given the differing ages and nature of stadia, some clubs have, and continue to face, significant challenges. For those clubs, cost is not a determining factor. "They are working through issues relating to planning, how to deal with new stadium development plans, how to best manage fan disruption or, in cases where clubs don't own their own grounds, dealing with third parties. "Clubs deserve credit for committing to and delivering the extensive work detailed in this interim report. What is also clear is that even more progress will be achieved in creating the appropriate levels of

Summary: At least three clubs are at risk of missing a self-imposed deadline to improve access for disabled fans, the Premier League has said.


Lord Healey was Labour's defence secretary from 1964 to 1970 and chancellor of the exchequer from 1974 to 1979 before becoming deputy party leader in opposition in 1980. The former Leeds MP's family said he died peacefully at his Sussex home on Saturday, after a short illness. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was "a Labour giant". The PM said he was a "huge figure of post-war politics". BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said Lord Healey's death marked the end of an era in Labour's history. Obituary: Lord Healey Denis Healey: A life in pictures 'A great man': Tributes paid Mr Corbyn tweeted: "Denis Healey was a Labour giant whose record of service to party and country stands as his testament. All our thoughts are with his family." Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he was "absolutely loyal to the Labour Party" and a "towering intellect". Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Facebook: "We've lost a huge figure of post-war politics. A hero in World War Two as Beach Master at Anzio and a brave politician, Denis Healey told his party hard truths about Britain having to live within her means." Lord Healey served as an MP for Leeds for 40 years from 1952 before joining the House of Lords in 1992. A defining moment in his career came in 1976 when, as chancellor, he applied for an emergency loan from the the International Monetary Fund in an effort to save the pound from collapse. He came close to winning the Labour leadership in 1980, finishing just 10 votes behind winner Michael Foot. A graduate of Oxford university, he also served in the Army, joining operations in North Africa, Sicily and Italy during World War Two. His wife, Edna, died in 2010. Obituary Denis Healey, an intellectual heavyweight who had a range of interests that stretched far beyond the narrow world of Westminster politics, was known for his tough, no-holds-barred style of debate. His relish for the cut-and-thrust of politics served him well during long periods in government in the 1960s and 1970s, and in the internal struggles that re-shaped Labour during its years in opposition in the 1980s. His trademark bushy eyebrows, colourful turn of phrase and expertise on a range of musical instruments, including the piano and double bass, made him a regular fixture on television and a favourite target of impressionists. But he had a sharp mind and could fell opponents with a devastating one-liner, once likening debating with Conservative Chancellor Geoffrey Howe to being "savaged by a dead sheep" and accusing Margaret Thatcher of "glorying in slaughter" during the Falklands conflict. Read more: Obituary of Lord Healey Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said Britain "has lost a dedicated and faithful public servant". Mr Blair said: "He steered the Labour government and the country through some of the most difficult economic times; and in winning the deputy leadership of the Labour Party in 1981, he probably saved the Labour Party as an instrument of government and social change. "All of us in the Labour Party owe him a huge debt.

Summary: Former chancellor Denis Healey has died at the age of 98, his family has said.


After previously calling off the final four dates of their US leg, their two Canadian dates scheduled for Friday and Saturday will also not go ahead. The band said doctors had told Rhodes he needed to continue to rest for at least another 72 hours. They added that they were "devastated" their two-year tour had ended this way. Doctors had previously told Rhodes the illness could be the result of a viral infection. A statement on the band's website said: "Nick held out all week, hoping that he would be well enough to perform again for these final few shows, but unfortunately the medical advice he has been given today requires him to continue to rest. "The band are devastated that what has been a triumphant tour for them, with many highlights, has ended this way - and know that the fans will be as disappointed as they are." Earlier in the week, Rhodes said he felt "completely helpless over the situation and all I can do is apologise to our fans". "We would never let them down unless it was totally unavoidable," he said. The band had hoped to reschedule the dates, but it has not been possible because of the availability of the venues affected. They said ticket holders for the cancelled gigs should apply for refunds at the point of purchase. Duran Duran's All You Need Is Now tour has been under way since spring 2011. They were forced to postpone a string of dates on the UK leg last summer after singer Simon Le Bon was treated for ongoing throat problems.

Summary: Duran Duran have been forced to cancel the remaining two dates of their world tour because keyboard player Nick Rhodes is still too ill to perform.


The bones most commonly broken in human punch-ups also gained the most strength in early "hominin" evolution. They are also the bones that show most divergence between males and females. The paper, in the journal Biological Reviews, argues that the reinforcements evolved amid fighting over females and resources, suggesting that violence drove key evolutionary changes. Fossil records show that the australopiths, immediate predecessors of the human genus Homo, had strikingly robust facial structures. For many years, this extra strength was seen as an adaptation to a tough diet including nuts, seeds and grasses. But more recent findings, examining the wear pattern and carbon isotopes in australopith teeth, have cast some doubt on this "feeding hypothesis". "In fact, [the australopith] boisei, the 'nutcracker man', was probably eating fruit," said Prof David Carrier, the new theory's lead author and an evolutionary biologist at the University of Utah. Instead of diet, Prof Carrier and his co-author, physician Dr Michael Morgan, propose that violent competition demanded the development of these facial fortifications: what they call the "protective buttressing hypothesis". In support of their proposal, Carrier and Morgan offer data from modern humans fighting. Several studies from hospital emergency wards, including one from the Bristol Royal Infirmary, show that faces are particularly vulnerable to violent injuries. "Jaws are one of the most frequent bones to break - and it's not the end of the world now, because we have surgeons, we have modern medicine," Prof Carrier explained. "But four million years ago, if you broke your jaw, it was probably a fatal injury. You wouldn't be able to chew food... You'd just starve to death." The jaw, cheek, eye and nose structures that most commonly come to grief in modern fist fights were also the most protected by evolutionary changes seen in the australopiths. Furthermore, these are the bones that show the most differences between men and women, as well as between our male and female forebears. That is how you would expect defensive armour to evolve, Prof Carrier points out. "In humans and in great apes in general... it's males that are most likely to get into fights, and it's also males that are most likely to get injured," he told BBC News. Interestingly, the evolutionary descendents of the australopiths - including humans - have displayed less and less facial buttressing. This is consistent, according to Prof Carrier, with a decreasing need for protection: "Our arms and upper body are not nearly as strong as they were in the australopiths," he explained. "There's a temporal correlation." The facial buttressing idea builds on a previous observation by Prof Carrier and Dr Morgan that the early hominins were the first primates to evolve a hand shape compatible with making a fist - and thus, throwing a punch. That earlier paper attracted criticism from some other researchers, and Prof Carrier expects this new contribution may also prove controversial. He says that debate about the role of violence in human evolution is not new. "[Our paper] does address this debate of whether our past was violent or peaceful," he told

Summary: A new theory suggests that our male ancestors evolved beefy facial features as a defence against fist fights.


Efforts to create a Palestinian state on the West Bank of the River Jordan and Gaza on the Mediterranean coast have been frustrated by the continuing conflict with Israel and disputes over the status of diaspora Palestinians. The war that followed Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 saw the former British mandate of Palestine partitioned between Israel, Trans-Jordan and Egypt. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out of their native land during the war, in what they call the "Nakba" or "Catastrophe". The demand of these refugees and their descendants to return to their former homes remains one of the most fiercely debated aspects of the dispute with Israel. The Palestinian national movement gradually regrouped in the West Bank and Gaza, run respectively by Jordan and Egypt, and in refugee camps in neighbouring Arab states. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) emerged as its leading umbrella group shortly before the Six-Day War of 1967, during which Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and conducted a protracted campaign of violence against Israel. Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring The PLO under Yasser Arafat gradually won international recognition as the representative of the Palestinian people, culminating in the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993. These accords established a Palestinian National Authority (PNA - also referred to as the Palestinian Authority, or PA) as an interim body to run parts of Gaza and the West Bank (but not East Jerusalem) pending an agreed solution to the conflict. The PNA functions as an agency of the PLO, which represents Palestinians at international bodies. It is led by a directly-elected president, who appoints a prime minister and government which must have the support of the elected Legislative Council. Its civilian and security writ runs in urban areas (Area A) under the Oslo Accords, with civilian but not security control over rural areas (Area B). The Israeli occupation of the West Bank, with its continuing settlement building and military checkpoints, and Palestinian attacks, have slowed progress towards a final agreement and led many on both sides to dispute the worth of the Accords. Israel retains full control over bypass roads, settlements and the Jordan Valley, and makes incursions into urban areas against armed groups. In 2005, Israel completed the withdrawal of all its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip but it retains control of the airspace, seafront and access - including deliveries of food and other goods - apart from the crossing with Egypt. The Islamist Hamas movement, which runs Gaza, explicitly rejects Oslo and its charter calls for Israel's "nullification". The Fatah faction of the PLO ran the PNA until 2006, when Hamas won a majority in Legislative Council elections. Uneasy co-existence between PNA President Mahmoud Abbas and a Hamas-led government led to violence between armed wings of Fatah and Hamas, culminating in Hamas seizing power in Gaza in June 2007 and President Abbas dismissing the government. The two PNA areas have since been run by the separate factions - the West Bank by Fatah, and Gaza by Hamas. Egyptian-mediated efforts

Summary: The Palestinian population of around ten or eleven million people is divided between historic Palestine and a diaspora, mainly in neighbouring Arab countries.


Harry John Neville Vane, the 11th Baron Barnard, died at Raby Castle near Staindrop on Sunday. He was 92. In a short statement, his family said he died peacefully surrounded by loved ones. Lord Barnard, who succeeded his father in 1964, held numerous titles in County Durham. He is survived by five children. The Raby estate covers large parts of Teesdale including numerous farms and houses which can be recognised by their whitewashed walls. Raby Castle staff tweeted: "So much thanks for the messages of condolence we've received. Lord Barnard will be sadly missed." The Vane family have held the Barnard title since 1698. Click here for more on this story and other news from across the North East

Summary: Lord Barnard has died at his County Durham castle, his family has confirmed.


29 April 2015 Last updated at 16:35 BST BBC News explains their significance - in 60 seconds. Video produced by Mohamed Madi

Summary: Saudi Arabia's new leader, King Salman, has announced a raft of changes to the royal line of succession.


Children were given a probiotic, with a peanut protein, daily for 18 months. When tested one month later, 80% could tolerate peanuts without any allergic symptoms and after four years, 70% of them were still able to eat peanuts without suffering any side-effects. Food allergies have risen dramatically in recent decades, with peanut allergy one of the most deadly. Lead researcher Prof Mimi Tang, of Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne, said half the children were consuming peanuts regularly while others were only eating them infrequently. "The importance of this finding is that these children were able to eat peanuts like children who don't have peanut allergy and still maintain their tolerant state, protected against reactions to peanuts," she said. Prof Tang said it was the first time a treatment for peanut allergy had been shown to be effective for this long. The probiotic used is called Lactobacillus rhamnosus, which has been associated with preventing certain allergic symptoms. The Australian research team now wants to assess whether the treatment has improved the children's quality of life, as some 250 million people worldwide are affected by food allergy - a number which has more than trebled in the last 20 years. Peanut allergy, which is one of the most common causes of death from food allergy, has increased at the greatest rate. Prof Tang said the findings, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, suggest "the exciting possibility that tolerance is a realistic target for treating food allergy". She added: "This is a major step forward in identifying an effective treatment to address the food allergy problem in Western societies."

Summary: An oral treatment for peanut allergy is still effective four years after it was administered, a study has found.


A rule change has reduced the number of foreigners allowed in a move which could slow down the wave of big-money signings from Europe. Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been linked with a move to China that would be worth £30m a year. A statement said the new measures will address "irrational investments". Media playback is not supported on this device Previously the rule was "4+1" - four foreigners of any nationality plus one Asian player in a matchday squad. Teams will now also be required to name two Chinese players aged under 23 in their matchday squads, with at least one in the starting XI, with the Chinese Football Association also looking into "signature fees and other illegal activities" in recent transfers. Chelsea midfielders Oscar and John Mikel Obi have already moved to China this month, while former Manchester United and Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez reportedly became the world's highest-paid player when he joined Shanghai Shenhua last month. Shenhua would be one club hit by the new rules as they have six non-Chinese players in their squad, including Tevez, former Chelsea forward Demba Ba and ex-Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins. Costa has been linked with a move to Tianjin Quanjian, who signed Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel for a salary of more than £15m a year this month. BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonell Chinese teams have been paying reportedly exorbitant sums to lure international stars like Carlos Tevez and Axel Witsel. Now, the new rules will especially affect players from the Asian region - like Australians and Koreans - who were able to be chosen on top of the previous international count of four. It is hoped the changes will foster more local talent at the expense of overseas players.

Summary: Chinese Super League clubs will only be allowed to play three non-Chinese players per game in their next season - which begins in March.


Police said the Bolton man was riding a BMW motorbike when it collided with a Citroen car driven by a local man on Hailwood's Rise on the (A18) Mountain Road at 06:45 BST. The rider was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead on arrival at Noble's Hospital. Both vehicles were travelling in the direction of Douglas. Insp Dave Dobbie said it was a "very sad outcome". Police closed the road for four hours following the crash and are appealing for witnesses.

Summary: A 55-year-old motorcyclist from Greater Manchester has been killed in a crash involving a car on the Isle of Man.


A Freedom of Information request revealed there were 634 reports in the 2015-16 financial year, compared with 316 the year before. Police said the rise could have been caused by changes over which incidents schools can deal with internally. An education expert called the figures "worrying" and said police needed to identify the reason for the increases. John Howson, who is also a former teacher, said: "I'm extremely worried about these figures - the doubling of the violence against a person, whatever source it is or however minor." Thames Valley Police said more incidents were now included in their figures after the Home Office clarified a policy about what must be investigated. It added: "Recorded violent crime went up in the Thames Valley overall last year by 30% so we would anticipate an increase in violence in schools as well. "All schools in Thames Valley have contact with police through either dedicated schools officers or neighbourhood policing teams. "Their approach is one of preventing young people from entering the criminal justice system rather than criminalising them." In January a survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers showed that, nationally, 43% of teachers four out of 10 teachers had to deal with physical violence in the past year.

Summary: The number of violent incidents in schools reported to Thames Valley Police more than doubled last year.


Thomas Gallagher, 16, was discovered by a member of the public in Old Kays Park in Tottington, Bury, in July 2015. An inquest concluded the schoolboy took his own life and police shortcomings did not contribute to his death. But an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report found Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) conduct was "below the standard expected." The teenager's parents criticised police, saying there had been serious failings in the handling of the case, the Manchester Evening News reports. In a statement they said: "We explained his vulnerabilities concerning his recent mental health history. Subsequently two members of the public found Tom five hours later. GMP failed to respond at all." The IPCC found police delayed looking for the schoolboy because of staffing shortages in the Bury division, which were "foreseeable". "No officers were deployed...until the discovery of Thomas' body some five hours later," the investigator found. The report said the response of four officers and a radio operator was "unsatisfactory". It said the conduct of an inspector, a police sergeant, an acting police sergeant, a police constable and a civilian radio operator, "whilst not amounting to misconduct, did fall below the standard expected." IPCC Associate Commissioner, Guido Liguori, recommended GMP "should address" the "under-resourcing" of the police division in Bury as well as "ensuring police officers and staff are properly supported" for "the benefit of the local community." Ch Supt Chris Sykes from GMP's Bury division said: "Thomas Gallagher's death was a tragedy and our deepest condolences remain with his family. "Unfortunately, it was not possible for GMP to resource the original missing report, due to staff abstractions and a higher than usual number of incidents on the night." Changes have already been implemented in Bury, including new shift patterns, to ensure the force could respond to unanticipated spikes in demand in future, he added. He said: "Whilst the jury concluded that none of the shortcomings in GMP's response caused or contributed in any way to Tom's death, we fully acknowledge the comments made by the jury in delivering their conclusion at today's inquest. We will also await the coroner's report on any recommendations."

Summary: No officers were deployed to search for a vulnerable teenager who was later found dead, the police watchdog said.


Tens of thousands of Wales supporters travelled to France in the summer to see their side progress to the tournament's semi finals. They were branded "the red wall" by the Wales players. Uefa's executive committee has also recognised supporters from Iceland, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The announcement coincides with Wales rising to 10th in the Fifa world rankings.

Summary: Wales football fans have been given an "outstanding contribution" award from Uefa for their part at Euro 2016.


The 33-year-old ended a six-year stay at Bundesliga side Schalke, where he scored 126 goals in 240 games. Huntelaar netted 102 times between 2006 and 2009 in his first spell at Ajax, who lost in the Europa League final against Manchester United this season. "It is no secret that Ajax are my club. I am very happy to be back here," said Huntelaar, who has 76 Netherlands caps. The former Real Madrid and AC Milan front man added: "I won cups with Ajax but not the league title. The goal is to have that trophy at the end of the season, along with the rest of the team. "I feel very fit and I'm already looking forward to the end of June when the preparation starts." Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. Media playback is not supported on this device

Summary: Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has rejoined Eredivisie side Ajax after signing a one-year deal.


Arcan Cetin, 20, who had been awaiting trial for the mass shooting in 2016, was found dead in the Snohomish County Jail on Sunday night. He had been charged with five counts of aggravated murder, and could have faced the death penalty if found guilty. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of death. According to investigators, Cetin shot five shoppers at a Macy's department store after first trying to enter through the backdoor of a nearby cinema. The shooting spree at the Cascade shopping mall occurred less than three hours after he had sat down for dinner with his stepfather. Surveillance footage from inside the mall shows the suspect opening fire on four woman and one man as they browsed the store. Police say Cetin was inside the mall for less than one minute before he fled the store, leaving the .22 calibre rifle, which police say had been stolen from Cetin's stepfather, on a counter in the cosmetics department. He was arrested about 30 hours later as he walked near to his apartment in Oak Harbor, Washington, according to local media. Prosecutors said he confessed to the shootings, but that he did not reveal a motive. The victims - Sarai Lara, Shayla Martin, Belinda Galde, Beatrice Dotson, and Wilton Eagan - ranged in ages from 16 to 95 years old. Court records show that one year before the shooting Cetin was ordered by a judge to receive mental health treatment after a violent altercation with family members. After attempting suicide, he was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital. He had been identified by doctors at the time of having a serious risk of self-harm, and had been receiving court-mandated mental health counselling in the months before the shooting. Cetin was born in Turkey, but had lived in the US since the age of six.

Summary: A man accused of killing five people at a shopping mall in Washington state has been found hanging inside his prison cell, say officials.


Thanet Council began work two weeks ago at All Saints Church in Birchington but some stones have been left broken. One resident, Janice Taylor, said it looked as if "hooligans and demolished the place". Thanet Council admitted the work could be "upsetting" but said it was in line with national guidelines. These are determined by the Ministry of Justice and its Burial and Cemeteries Advisory Group. The work also has the approval of the vicar of Birchington, the Rev Done Witts, the authority said. Ms Taylor said she was appalled by how the work had been left. "It looks like an act of vandalism has occurred. "It doesn't look as if the council has come in here to do work, it looks as if hooligans have come in and demolished the place." Mr Witts said: "It's just that it looks untidy in the meantime until the council sorts it out." The council said there were more than 100,000 memorials across cemeteries in Thanet, many of which were more than 100 years old. It said the testing was being done to ensure the gravestones did not pose a danger to the public. "The council appreciates the sensitivity of this work with every effort made to advise those affected," it said in a statement. "It has produced a question and answer leaflet to guide plot owners through what could be a potentially upsetting time." It also said a team at Thanet Crematorium were available to advise on "all aspects of the Memorial Stability Programme".

Summary: A Kent council has been accused of leaving gravestones and memorials looking as if they have been vandalised after carrying out safety checks.


The suspect used to work at the home, near Montpellier, a source close to the investigation told AFP news agency. Prosecutor Christophe Barret said the motive was not clear but it was not linked to "Islamist terrorism". France remains in a formal state of emergency since a wave of terrorist attacks last year. The suspect, 47, was arrested near his home, about 10 miles (15km) from Montferrier-sur-Lez, the town where the attack was carried out. He worked at the home several years ago, and is now unemployed, the source said. Witnesses said the assailant was armed with a shotgun and a knife when he entered the home on Thursday night. A nurse raised the alarm after escaping from the home but when police arrived they found the body of the dead woman gagged and tied up outside the building. The 54-year-old woman, who worked in the home, has not been named. The home caters for former missionaries with past service in Africa, as well as several nuns. Residents "are very elderly with an average age of 75 although some are over 90", a local councillor said, adding that many need assistance to walk.

Summary: A former soldier, suspected of stabbing a woman to death in a retirement home for former missionaries, has been arrested in France.


There was an eight-fold increase in the time it took West Yorkshire Police to answer calls in 2015 compared to 2013, figures obtained by the BBC show. In South Yorkshire the time tripled and more than doubled in North Yorkshire. Police crime commissioner for West Yorkshire said extra staff had been recruited to bring response times down. Figures, released under a Freedom of Information request, showed between April 2013 and April 2014 it took West Yorkshire Police on average 14 seconds to answer 101 calls. That increased to one minute 46 seconds from April 2014 to April 2015, despite a drop in the number of people using the service. Caller waiting times continued to increase in the eight months between April and November 2015. Figures also showed the number of people hanging up before calls were answered had more than doubled from 5% in 2013 to 11% in 2015. John Summerscale, a former special constable from Bradford, said he had experienced many delays. "I was told by the police it should take four rings before someone answers but I've been waiting up to 20 minutes and still no answer." Mark Burns Williamson, West Yorkshire police crime commissioner, blamed the delays on budget cuts but said extra staff had since been recruited to address the problem. He said: "Such delays are unacceptable and I was being contacted by members of the public who weren't happy. "We've got waiting times down now to between 18 and 60 seconds and there is a higher level of customer satisfaction with the service." Elsewhere, it took South Yorkshire Police an average of 30 seconds to answer calls in 2013/14, rising to just under a minute and a half in 2014/2015. In North Yorkshire, the length of time went up from 23 seconds in 2013/14 to just under a minute in 2014/2015. Crime commissioners for both forces said improvements were being made including new technology and better online reporting of crimes.

Summary: Callers to the 101 non-emergency service at three Yorkshire police forces are having to wait longer to get through compared to two years ago.


After the show, a cast member thanked Mr Pence for attending and read a letter to him on stage. "We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us," Brandon Dixon said. The incident has angered President-elect Donald Trump, who has accused the cast of "harassing" his running mate. The President-elect has gone as far as to demand an apology to a "very good man", apparently misunderstanding that the cast implored the audience to stop booing Mr Pence. "Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!" Mr Trump tweeted. "The theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!" His tweet did not go unnoticed by Mr Dixon, who immediately stepped in to defend his castmates. "@realDonaldTrump conversation is not harassment sir," he wrote. "And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen." Mr Pence was loudly booed as he entered the theatre. Audience members said the performance was repeatedly stopped because of jeers. However, the message, which was reportedly penned by the show's writers when they learned that Mr Pence planned to attend, was greeted with cheers from the audience at the Richard Rogers Theatre in New York. An audience member tweeted to say there was a three-minute standing ovation when one character performed a song directly to Mr Pence which included the lyrics: "A small query for you / What comes next? / You've been freed / Do you know how hard it is to lead?" When Mr Dixon addressed theatregoers at the end, he urged them not to boo and asked Mr Pence, who was leaving, to stay and listen. "You know, we had a guest in the audience this evening, and Vice-President-elect Pence, I see you are walking out but I hope you will hear us. "There's nothing to boo here, ladies and gentlemen... We have a message for you, sir, and we hope you will hear us out." Mr Dixon continued: "We truly hope that his show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us. "We truly thank you for sharing this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men and women of different colours, creeds, and orientations." A staunch conservative, Mr Pence sparked an outcry earlier this year after signing a law critics said discriminated against the LGBT community by allowing businesses to refuse service over religious beliefs. He later amended the bill. He is not the first high-profile politician to attend the critically-acclaimed and hugely popular Hamilton, which tells the story of US founding father Alexander Hamilton. President Barack Obama saw the musical last year and joined the cast backstage after the performance. Hillary Clinton, who lost to Mr Trump in last week's election, also saw the show. She was supported by its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, during her campaign. Read more: Trump's vice-president-elect: Who

Summary: US Vice-President-elect Mike Pence was booed on Friday at a performance of the hit musical Hamilton.


The painting, which had been on loan at The National Gallery for 30 years, was at risk of being sold abroad. "It's one of the quintessential images of 19th century British art and it's worth every penny," Tate Britain's Director Nicholas Serota told the BBC. The work will be shown at Tate Britain until the end of the year before travelling around the UK. "This is the one of Constable's most important paintings," Sir Nicholas told the BBC's Will Gompertz. "He regarded it as one of his masterpieces and always wanted it to be in the national collection." Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows was acquired for £23.1m, but could have sold for as much as £40m at auction. By Will GompertzArts editor £23.1m might be a record for a Constable but it's worth every penny: a bargain compared to what's being paid for some second rate modern art. It is arguably the most accomplished work by one of the finest, most exciting painters of the Romantic period. Painted shortly after his wife's death, the "iconic" image was secured through major grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Art Fund, The Manton Foundation and Tate Members. Sold by the children of the late Lord Ashton of Hyde, the work was at risk of going abroad had the Tate not been able to put the money together. "I know there was a major American museum that asked for first refusal," said Sir Nicholas. The acquisition was part of a partnership between five national and regional galleries: Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales; the National Galleries of Scotland; Colchester and Ipswich Museums; Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum; and Tate Britain. The partnership will enable the work to go on "almost constant" view across the UK. Jenny Abramsky, from the Heritage Lottery Fund, said they were "proud" to be a major funder of the masterpiece with a £15m investment. "It is unimaginable that this particular painting might have ended up anywhere other than in a UK public collection," she said. Constable's The Lock became one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold when it fetched £22.4m at auction in July 2012. Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows is one of a series of monumental six-foot canvases painted by the artist, a scale he reserved for his finest compositions.

Summary: John Constable's 1831 masterpiece Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows has been bought by the Tate for £23.1m.