Kevin Nunes, 20, a drug dealer, was seized at gunpoint and shot dead in Staffordshire in September 2002. The Crown Prosecution Service said it did "not seek to uphold the convictions" of the men nor press for a retrial. The court heard that concerns about the credibility of the key prosecution witness were not disclosed to the defence. Four senior police officers - including Northamptonshire's chief constable and deputy chief constable - are being investigated over misconduct claims relating to Staffordshire Police's investigation into the murder. Judges were told on Thursday of an affair between two police officers involved in the case, which may have had a bearing on the evidence given by the witness. The key witness, Simeon Taylor, said at the trial he had witnessed what happened, but has since retracted his evidence. Mr Nunes, an amateur footballer on the books of Tottenham Hotspur, was shot five times in an execution-style killing in a country lane after cutting in on a gang's lucrative trade moving crack cocaine from Wolverhampton to Aberdeen. Levi Walker, from Birmingham, Adam Joof, from Willenhall, West Midlands, Antonio Christie, from Great Bridge, West Midlands, Michael Osbourne and Owen Crooks, both from Wolverhampton, were found guilty of his murder at Leicester Crown Court in 2008. They were given minimum tariffs of between 25 and 28 years. Four men will be released soon. However, Walker will remain in jail as he is serving a prison term for another murder. All of them apart from Mr Crooks watched the court proceedings via video-link from prison. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) confirmed in December that it was looking into allegations of misconduct relating to the force's investigation. It followed the men lodging their appeal. Northamptonshire Chief Constable Adrian Lee and Deputy Chief Constable Suzette Davenport are being investigated, along with West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale. They were with the Staffordshire force at the time of the murder inquiry. Staffordshire's Assistant Chief Constable Jane Sawyers is also being investigated. Mr Lee joined Northamptonshire Police in 2009. He is also the head of the Association of Chief Police Officers' ethics portfolio. In a statement, Staffordshire Police said it noted the appeal court decision but would not comment further due to the on-going IPCC investigation. "The force will now consider today's judgement - and the rationale for the Crown Prosecution Service decision - before determining the way forward," a spokesman said. "We have assigned family liaison officers to offer support to Mr Nunes' family and keep them informed." Speaking outside the court, Owen Crooks's mother, Jean, said the convictions being quashed was "fantastic news". "It shows that justice has been done."

Summary: Five men jailed for a gangland murder have been cleared on appeal.


Scowen, 24, who made his first-team debut at the age of 17 with Wycombe, joins on a free transfer having turned down a new contract with the Tykes. Enfield-born Scowen played 44 games to help Barnsley to a 14th-placed finish in England's second tier last season. He moved to the Oakwell club for an undisclosed fee in January 2015. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

Summary: Queens Park Rangers have signed midfielder Josh Scowen on a three-year deal following his exit from Championship rivals Barnsley.


Daniel Jones, 59, from Enfield, is currently serving a prison sentence for his role in the infamous £25m jewellery heist of 2015. He has now admitted being involved in an attempt to break into a safe in Chatila jewellers in Old Bond Street, Mayfair, in August 2010. Two other men have pleaded not guilty. Terry Perkins, 68, of Enfield, has denied making off with goods worth more than a million US dollars from a jewellers between 27 and 31 August 2010. Charles Matthews, 54, from Virginia Water, Surrey, denies one count of handling stolen goods. They are both due to stand trial on 27 February at Southwark Crown Court.

Summary: One of the ringleaders behind the Hatton Garden raid has admitted trying to steal £1m of gems from a London jewellers five years earlier.


The incident happened on the A923 Dundee to Coupar Angus road near Tullybaccart at about 02:30. The 18-year-old was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee but did not survive. Four other people in the car sustained minor injuries. The road was closed for investigation work and officers are urging anyone who saw the car prior to the crash to contact them. Diversions were in place and people travelling to the Rewind Festival in Perth were urged to allow extra time for their journey.

Summary: A teenager has died after a one-car crash on a road north of Dundee.


Police Scotland said it was informed about the find at 15:40 on Sunday. The beach esplanade was expected to be closed "for some time" as a public safety precaution. The road has been shut from the roundabout with the Beach Ballroom, the junction with Park Road and the junction with King Street.

Summary: Roads have been closed around Aberdeen beach following the discovery of an ordnance device.


The victim was found with serious injuries at a house in Unsworth Way in Oldham, Greater Manchester, at about 19:50 GMT on Thursday. He was taken to hospital and died a short time later. Details of his injuries have not yet been revealed. The house was cordoned off while police carried out an investigation. A 58-year-old woman has been taken into custody for questioning.

Summary: A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 56-year-old man.


The boy stabbed Vincent Uzomah, 50, in a classroom at Dixons Kings Academy, Bradford, on 11 June. There was "clear evidence" he attacked Mr Uzomah because he was black, the city's crown court heard. He was handed an 11-year extended sentence, which includes six years' detention and five years on licence. The boy, who admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent but denied attempted murder, was told he could serve half of the six years in custody. He racially abused Mr Uzomah before stabbing him in the stomach with a kitchen knife he had brought to school, the court heard. Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said the boy had discussed the attack with a friend beforehand, and later made "sick" boasts about his actions on Facebook. About 20 minutes after the attack, the boy, who was not arrested until six hours later, posted a status update containing the line "I stick a blade straight in his tummy". The post received 69 "likes", something the judge described as "an appalling reflection of a small microcosm of our society". Mr Sharp told the court the boy had taken a dislike to Mr Uzomah in the seven weeks he had worked at the school. "The defendant disliked him, claiming he couldn't teach, and freely referred to him by the epithet beginning with the letter n, including saying it in anger just before he attacked him," he said. He said the boy attacked Mr Uzomah after a row over his mobile phone. The teenager was described by witnesses as "getting angry, red in the face", Mr Sharp said. "He approached Mr Uzomah and reached into his pocket, but at that point he took out the knife and stabbed Mr Uzomah in the stomach. "Mr Uzomah thought he was going to die." Sentencing the boy, who cannot be named because of his age, Judge Durham Hall QC described him as "out of control" and a bully who "could not tolerate being told off". Speaking outside court, Mr Uzomah said: "As a Christian, I have forgiven this boy who has inflicted this trauma and pain on to me and my family. "It was, however, important for the law to run its course and for a strong message to be sent out, especially to kids of similar tendencies, that violence is never acceptable. "Our prayer for him is that he will make use of the opportunities and support that will be provided to him, to become a changed person who will make a positive contribution to society." Det Supt Simon Atkinson, from West Yorkshire Police, said: "This was a shocking and very serious attack on a man doing a job he loved, and he was lucky that the consequences were not more serious. "His attacker showed no concern by fleeing the scene...he worryingly showed a further lack of remorse towards his victim by boasting about it on social media." Outside court, Mr Sharp said it was "truly remarkable" that Mr Uzomah had forgiven his attacker. He said: "The victim has suffered serious physical and psychological injuries, has had to put his

Summary: A 14-year-old boy who stabbed a supply teacher before bragging about the racially-motivated attack on Facebook has been handed an 11-year sentence.


The roof of the building on Main Road in Otterbourne, near Eastleigh, collapsed during the blaze, which broke out at about 03:30 GMT. No injuries were reported at the site, which also contains workshops and offices. An investigation is under way. The neighbouring convenience store, which was saved, is due to reopen later. Ty Whitlock, commanding officer at the scene, said: "When we pulled up we were faced with flames coming out of the roof, coming out of the glass doors and windows and obviously huge amounts of smoke coming from the eaves."

Summary: Up to 40 firefighters have been tackling a large fire which destroyed a garage in Hampshire.


The drug Perjeta can reduce the need for mastectomies among breast cancer patients. But the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) recommended it was not routinely used by the NHS amid concerns about long-term survival benefits. Campaigners branded the move "the ultimate postcode lottery". The drug, which is also known as pertuzumab, can treat an aggressive type of breast cancer known as HER2-positive. Around 15% of people diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer have HER2-positive tumours. Perjeta was approved for use in England and Wales in September 2015, where it is used to shrink and control tumours before surgery. After announcing its decision, the SMC said it would meet the pharmaceutical company behind the drug, Roche, to discuss "next steps". Nicolas White, of Breast Cancer Care, told BBC Radio Scotland that the drug could have benefited around 400 people in Scotland. Speaking on the Good Morning Scotland programme, he said the regulator's decision was "disappointing and confusing". "If you're diagnosed with this particular type of breast cancer and you live in Gretna, you wouldn't benefit from this treatment," he added. "Yet only a few miles down the road in Carlisle, if you were given the same diagnosis, you would benefit from this treatment. "It's the ultimate postcode lottery, really, a cross-border postcode lottery." It follows a similar controversial decision in September 2014, when the SMC decided not to approve Kadcyla, another breast cancer drug. More than 3,400 women in England have used Perjeta and Kadclya via the Cancer Drugs Fund, according to Roche. The drug company's general manager Richard Ewin said: "Today's decision is a devastating blow to women in Scotland with this very aggressive form of breast cancer. "This means that these women will be denied this early-stage treatment which allows for reduction of large tumours to a size that is operable, potentially enabling breast conservation surgery instead of mastectomies." Perjeta was one of four drugs the SMC rejected for routine use on the NHS, although it did back a new treatment Jevtana - also known as cabazitaxel - for patients with advance prostate cancer. SMC chairman Professor Jonathan Fox said he knew some decisions would be "hard for patient groups and clinicians". "However, when we considered all the evidence in front of us, it was not strong enough for us to be able to accept these medicines for routine use," he added. Jevtana was initially rejected by the SMC in 2011 and again earlier this year. The move was welcomed by Prostate Cancer UK, which has campaigned to give men in Scotland access to the drug. Heather Blake, the charity's director of support and influencing, said: "Today's approval of cabazitaxel chemotherapy is welcome news, and represents an important milestone for men with prostate cancer in Scotland. "This is the last in a string of drugs which we have had to fight to be made available throughout the UK to those who would benefit. "It means men in Scotland will now be routinely offered the same suite of treatments as those in other parts of the UK, ending variation in access which has been

Summary: Breast cancer sufferers in Scotland have been denied routine access to a treatment which is available to patients south of the border.


Mr Obama issued the executive order weeks after meeting Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar's access to trade benefits for poorer nations was suspended in 1989 over human rights abuses. But the White House said substantial advances to promote democracy meant that it was no longer a threat to America's national security. Correspondents say the move is designed to coax the rapidly transforming South East Asian country from decades of economic isolation as Ms Suu Kyi's government manages the difficult transition to democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma. "While Burma faces significant challenges, including the consolidation of its democracy, the United States can, and intends to, use other means to support the government and people of Burma in their efforts to address these challenges," Mr Obama wrote in a letter to the US House and Senate speakers. However, while many companies will now enjoy lower tariffs, there are some sanctions which remain in place. A "blacklist" of at least 100 companies and individuals with links to the former military junta has been scrapped, although a few individuals will remain sanctioned. Myanmar was run by an oppressive military junta from 1962 to 2011. Ms Suu Kyi, who as opposition leader was kept under house arrest for 15 years, led her National League for Democracy party to victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election for decades in November 2015.

Summary: President Barack Obama has formally eased long-standing sanctions on Myanmar.


Every year about 76 people aged between 14-25 are diagnosed with cancer. Figures from the NI Cancer Registry reveal there is a higher diagnosis rate among young people in Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the UK. Five charities have come together to provide a new service that includes five new nursing posts, one in each health trust. There are also social workers and community workers to guide young people at home, school and work. The service aims to ensure young people have equal clinical and psychological support for their medical and social needs no matter where they live. Figures also reveal that the amount of miles that local families, seeking support, clock up is the second highest compared to their counterparts elsewhere. Up until now, the service has been confined to the Belfast Cancer Centre and The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Bridging that gap means the service will now be available in four hospitals including Belfast, Craigavon, Altnagelvin, Ulster and Antrim Area. That means fewer families will have to make the average 100 mile round trip to get treatment in Belfast. Leona McManus, 22, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year. "Travelling while undergoing treatment is hard. You are tired, sick, often in pain. I had to travel from Limavady to Belfast. "This new service means I can go to Altnagelvin - young people will also have a nurse, even a community worker. Every little helps when living with cancer." James Doggart was 18 when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The cancer spread to other organs, but 18 months in remission he is now looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday on Friday. "When first diagnosed I was told I would probably die. It was a lonely time. I was being treated alongside older men," he said. "There wasn't the support for a teenager. I had to leave university, my friends were all moving on - I just wanted to speak to someone at my own level. This service will now provide that. It's good." Darren McKinley is the Teenage and Young Adults Project Manager with the Northern Ireland Cancer Network. "This means teenagers and young adults with cancer can now access the best possible outcomes and have access to age-appropriate services targeting their needs, their language, their lives," he said. Dr Anthony McCarthy, a consultant paediatric oncologist at the Royal Belfast Hospital said the new regional service would provide the specialism that young people require when living with cancer. "When cancer comes it's like a bolt out of the blue. Young people aren't expecting a cancer diagnosis. Their treatment does need to be different. "It is a distinct specialism in the treatment of cancer. The aim of the regional service is to reduce mortality rates and to provide support for patients and their families." Dr McCarthy said as more people are surviving, the service will need to grow, and that means they will need the financial support from the Department of Health.

Summary: A new service for teenagers and young adults living with cancer is being rolled out across Northern Ireland.


The group, branded the "Budgie Nine", were charged with public nuisance, which carries a fine but no jail time. The men were detained after posing in swimwear decorated with the Malaysian flag to celebrate Australian Daniel Ricciardo's win in Sunday's race. In a letter read out in court, they apologised and expressed their "deepest regret". They said the incident was "purely an error of judgement" on their behalf. Budgie is the abbreviated name of the budgerigar, a small Australian parrot, and budgie-smuggler is a slang term for tight swimming trunks worn by men. Among the men was Jack Walker, an aide to Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne. His father John Walker addressed the media outside the court after the hearing, saying that his son and the other eight were "good boys". One of the men, Thomas Whitworth, fainted during the proceedings and had to be given water. Many Australians took to social media to express anger and embarrassment at the men's antics, while others saw their actions as nothing more than foolish hijinks. Earlier, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told the Nine Network that what may be seen as a foolish prank in Australia could be viewed very differently in other countries. "I don't know that it will be seen as a lapse of judgment," she said. "It was clearly premeditated. They were wearing the budgie smugglers and had bought them in Australia." Malaysia has strict rules on any display of public indecency and foreign offenders are typically issued a fine before being deported. Last year four foreign tourists were jailed for taking naked photographs at the peak of Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia. The maximum fine for public nuisance is RM400 (Â£76; $96). It was not immediately clear what the men will have to pay. Their lawyer, Shafie Abdullah, had argued that his clients were part-time lifeguards, so stripping down came quite naturally to them. A spokesperson from Budgy Smuggler, the swimwear company behind the swimwear, said it would not produce the Malaysian flag design again. "We've produced for about 50 countries around the world and this is the first time it's caused an international incident," Jarrod Allen, head of research and development, told the BBC. "We'd never set out to intentionally disrespect."

Summary: Nine Australians arrested for stripping off at the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix have walked free from a court.


The Doha-based operation is owned by the Qatar government. Its main Arabic network is the leading pan-Arab TV news station. Al-Jazeera Arabic can be outspoken on subjects deemed as sensitive in the region, but avoids criticism of Qatar and its Gulf allies, specifically Saudi Arabia. It has faced curbs in several Arab countries where it has ruffled feathers. Al-Jazeera English launched in 2006. Other offshoots include Al-Jazeera Balkans, based in Bosnia, and US-based Al-Jazeera America. Al-Jazeera Network has more than 70 bureaux worldwide and employs around 3,000 staff. Domestic audiences are catered for by state-run TV and radio. The large expatriate population has access to media from their various home countries. Qatar has daily newspapers in Arabic and English. The main titles have links to the ruling family and there is little or no critical reporting of domestic or foreign policy affairs. BBC World Service radio in Arabic, Radio France Internationale, France's Arabic-language radio service Monte Carlo Doualiya, UAE-based MBC and Radio Sawa from the US are available on FM in Doha. Qatar has advanced internet infrastructure and is widely connected to the web. There were 2.2 million internet users by 2014 (Internetlivestats.com). Authorities filter political criticism, material deemed offensive to Islam, pornographic content and online privacy resources. The top social networks used in Qatar are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Summary: Influential pan-Arab and international TV broadcaster Al-Jazeera has raised Qatar's media profile.


Following an inspection, the officials decided that areas of the playing surface were unsafe. No new date has yet been set for the game to be played.

Summary: Saturday's National League game between Dagenham & Redbridge and Bromley has been postponed because of a frozen pitch.


It said it would raise about £150m. It added that the share sale would support its plans for growth and further improve its ability to recruit and retain top staff. Once the company is listed, it will pay £50m to the Treasury to settle what it still owes after buying Northern Rock plc in late 2011. Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia said each employee would receive £1,000 worth of shares in the business when the flotation was completed later this month. Ms Gadhia told the BBC's business editor, Kamal Ahmed, that she believed taxpayers had gained all their money back from the bailout of Northern Rock. "In 2007, it looked like the taxpayer was going to make a big loss," she said. "Now this is the first bank properly out of the financial crisis. "Debts to the taxpayer have in every sense been fully repaid. The taxpayer has got their money back." Sir Richard said: "This is a huge day for Virgin Money. We started this company 20 years ago with Jayne-Anne Gadhia when we set out to challenge the financial services industry. "Our wonderful team have come a long way since then and have built a strong and valuable business offering great value products and services and a real challenge to the established players." Analysis: Kamal Ahmed, business editor, BBC News Virgin Money's announcement of its intention to sell a stake on the London Stock Exchange brings to an end another chapter in the sorry story of Northern Rock. The functioning bits of the bank, which spectacularly collapsed in 2007 and was bailed out in February 2008 with £1.4bn of taxpayers' money, were bought by Sir Richard Branson and US investor WL Ross for £747m in 2011. With subsequent payments, that figure has risen to £1bn. Further value is left in the "bad bit" of the bank, which was hived off under the UK Asset Resolution scheme, which is now returning profits to the Treasury. So has the government got its money back? Probably, although it is very difficult to quantify the actual costs of the multiple bailouts, of which Northern Rock was only one. Virgin Money has 75 branches throughout the UK and has 2.8 million customers. It employs 2,800 people, of whom 1,800 work at its centre of operations in Gosforth. In November 2011, Virgin Money bought the banking and mortgage lending arm of the old Northern Rock bank, which was bailed out by the Bank of England in the autumn of 2007 at the start of the international banking crisis. Northern Rock was nationalised in early 2008 and then in 2010 it was split in two - Northern Rock plc and Northern Rock (Asset Management), into which was placed its bad debt. Virgin Money's final £50m payment will take the amount it has paid the Treasury for Northern Rock to £1.02bn. Last week, another UK challenger bank, Aldermore, announced its own plans to float this month, saying it hoped to raise £75m. While Virgin Money is a retail-only bank, Aldermore, founded in May 2009, is a specialist

Summary: Virgin Money, the UK challenger bank part-owned by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, has announced plans to float shares on the London Stock Exchange.


He was admitted to hospital near Delhi last Friday in a critical condition after complaining of breathlessness. A leading figure in the drive to build a temple at a disputed religious site in Ayodhya, he was known for his anti-Muslim remarks. Ayodhya has sparked deadly riots and remains a flashpoint. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described his death as "a deep personal loss". Mr Singhal was the international president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) - an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - for more than 20 years. The VHP is a close ally of Mr Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. "He passed away at 2.30pm today. He had multi-organ dysfunction, ARDS [acute respiratory distress syndrome] and sepsis and was being treated by a team of specialists," The Times of India quoted Dr AK Dubey of Medanta hospital in Gurgaon as saying. The 16th Century Babri Masjid (mosque) was torn down in 1992, allegedly by activists of VHP and other hardline Hindu groups who claim the site is the birthplace of their deity, Ram. Tributes have been pouring in for the controversial leader on Twitter. In a series of tweets, Mr Modi described him as "an institution": Soon after the news of his death became public, Ashok Singhal began trending in India and was also the number two trend worldwide. Many tweets praised his role in "resurrecting" Hinduism in India, but not everyone shared that opinion.

Summary: Ashok Singhal, a senior leader of India's Hindu nationalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad movement, has died aged 89.


The Huntsman spider was spotted by staff at a manufacturing firm in Dumbarton on Friday. They called in the Scottish SPCA amid concerns that it could be poisonous. The animal charity contacted an arachnid specialist who helped identify the spider, which can give a painful bite. The Huntsman is being cared for while a suitable home is sought. Scottish SPCA Animal Rescue Officer Emma Bonner, who dealt with the incident, said: "We were called to a manufacturing business on Stirling Road, Dumbarton, on Friday morning after we received reports of a large spider. "When I arrived one of the employees had managed to get the spider inside a clear bag within a container. We didn't know if it was venomous." The spider was passed to Scottish SPCA Ch Insp Fiona Henderson who contacted a specialist. Ch Insp Henderson said: "An arachnid expert identified it as a Huntsman spider. We believe that due to a yellow stripe on its abdomen that the spider is female. "It would be hard to say where it is from exactly due to the fact it arrived here in a shipping container. "It must be a tough little spider as it has done well to survive living in a cold container for so long before arriving in Scotland." Ch Insp Henderson added: "Because it's a Huntsman it's not native to this country so we can't release the spider anywhere in Scotland. "If there are any bacteria or bugs that the spider is carrying that we are not aware of then it could introduce those to other species. "The spider appears in good condition and is already an adult so we are going to try to find a specialist home for it."

Summary: A giant spider common in Australia, Africa and Asia, has been found inside a shipping container in Scotland.


Team Pacific Rowers were taking part in a race between California and Hawaii when their vessel began taking in water about 100 miles from shore. Rower Sam Collins, 25, from Cornwall, said: "It's really frustrating because we are a great team and it is only the equipment which let us down." The rowers were airlifted to safety by US coastguards on Saturday. Mr Collins, Fraser Hart 34, from Tunbridge Wells, James White, 36, from London and Colin Parker, 36, from New Zealand, were taking part in the Great Pacific Race. The Pacific Rowers team set off on Wednesday to row 2,400 miles (3,862km) from Monterey in California to Honolulu. Former BBC Guernsey journalist Mr Collins said: "The first couple of days were great. Team spirits were good. We were getting used to life on the boat. "But the sea conditions were quite rough and worsening. "Then late in the second day, out at sea, we started realising that water was permeating into the cabin. "It just got worse and worse." The crew used an electric bilge pump to keep the problem at bay but the water kept coming in. Water eventually got into all the internal lockers and the boat was so low in the water that waves were crashing over it continuously, Mr Collins said. "The boat had been through severe testing but in some places it was permeating through the side of the boat because of the force of the waves," he added. The team called for assistance and a support boat reached them 10 hours later. But with waves of 20ft (6m) and gale-force winds, it was decided that the safest rescue was by coastguard helicopter. In darkness, a helicopter winched the crew to safety. "I cannot talk highly enough about the coastguards," he said. The team is now considering entering the 2016 event. "We are very disappointed, a lot of effort went into this," said Mr Collins.

Summary: One of four rowers rescued from the Pacific said extreme weather conditions had exposed weaknesses in their boat.


The Met Office said the warm air brought a risk of lightning, hail, storms and flash flooding later on Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. A Yellow "be aware" warning is in place from 17:00 until 18:00 on Wednesday. The extent of the thunderstorms is uncertain, but some places could see over 30mm of rain in an hour. Prestwick in Ayrshire had the day's highest recorded temperature at 29C, followed by nearby Auchnicruvie at 28C. Shetland was one of the only places in Scotland not to enjoy the sunshine - with the weather largely cloudy with patchy rain and drizzle. Aberdeen - which was sitting at around 19C at lunchtime - was hotter than Nairobi, Kenya. Heavy, thundery showers are forecast for Tuesday night. The adverse weather could cause disruption on Wednesday morning. Frequent lightning is expected to continue along with high temperatures of 22 or 23C in the afternoon. What's the weather like where you are? Send us your pictures to newsonlinescotland@bbc.co.uk Please ensure when filming or photographing an incident that you make your safety and the safety of others a priority. If you submit an image, you do so in accordance with the BBC's Terms and Conditions

Summary: Temperatures topped 29C on Scotland's hottest day of the year so far - sparking a warning of overnight downpours and thunderstorms.


However, Better Together leader Alistair Darling said "there is no way back" from independence and his campaign would target undecided voters. The latest opinion polls have suggested the vote is too close to call. Both men were speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr show. Mr Salmond said: "We're not aiming to win by one vote. We're aiming to achieve a substantial majority if we can." He added: "We tend to take the attitude that there isn't so much as a 'No' voter in Scotland, there are only deferred 'Yeses', and that's been one of the successes of our campaign." Asked if he would seek another referendum if there was a "No" vote on Thursday, the SNP leader said: "If you remember that previous constitutional referendum in Scotland - there was one in 1979 and then the next one was 1997. "That's what I mean by a political generation. "In my opinion, and it is just my opinion, this is a once in a generation opportunity for Scotland." Mr Darling commented: "I said a year ago that this race would narrow as we got towards the wire and that is precisely what has happened. "It's not surprising. It's the biggest single decision we will ever take. "If we vote to leave the UK on Thursday then there's no going back. It's not like an election where you can change your mind if things don't work out. "If things go wrong this time, we've already voted - we're leaving. "There is no way back, which is why in the next five days we will be targeting the 500,000 or so voters who have still got to make their minds up, because the decision is that critical." He argued there was uncertainty over whether firms would move their headquarters out of Scotland and over how the NHS and pensions would be funded if the country became independent. And he argued that "about a million jobs here in Scotland depend on us being part of the UK". Mr Salmond told the Andrew Marr programme that if "Yes" won there would "cease to be a 'Yes' campaign and a 'No' campaign - there will be a Team Scotland". He said he wanted "as many voices as possible" and welcomed an indication from Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael last month that he would join such a negotiating team. Mr Salmond said his negotiating team had "recruited specialism in a variety of fields". The first minister renewed his claim that the Bank of England would be "a shared central bank" after independence. "There will be a sustainability agreement between the governments in terms of borrowing levels and debt levels," he said. "We set that out in our proposals." The UK government has said it would not agree to a currency union with an independent Scotland, but Mr Salmond argued American economist Joseph Stiglitz had said "a shared currency is a very, very viable and common sense thing to do". Meanwhile, Mr Darling again said the pro-Union parties would deliver more powers for the Scottish Parliament if there

Summary: Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said the independence referendum was "a once in a generation opportunity" and he was aiming for "a substantial majority".


Amanda Watts, 43, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, pleaded guilty in September to misconduct in public office. She revealed details of Michael's time in Highpoint South Prison, which led to five stories in the Sun. An Old Bailey judge said her job had demanded "loyalty and discretion", but she had set a "bad example". Watts was arrested under Operation Elveden, a Metropolitan Police investigation into alleged inappropriate payments by journalists to police and other public officials. Michael was jailed for eight weeks in September 2010 for crashing his Range Rover while under the influence of cannabis. He spent the last part of his sentence at HMP Highpoint South, the category C prison in Suffolk where Watts worked. Judge John Bevan QC said her offence had been aggravated because she had handed over information about a private prison visit by a friend of the singer, who was "famous for being a flawed idol". She also provided the Sun with a sketch of the singer's room, indicating a large tree outside the perimeter of the jail where a photographer was subsequently found to be lurking. Det Ch Supt Gordon Briggs, the officer in charge of Operation Elveden, said: "Watts sold confidential information, which she had gained through the course of her job, to a newspaper. "When public officials behave in this way and breach the trust and confidence placed in them, they undermine the trust placed in public servants to act with honesty and integrity." Earlier, in mitigation, Watts's lawyer Stephen Dyble argued she should receive a suspended sentence as she was in a "fragile state" and suffered from chronic autoimmune disease, lupus. He said she had left the prison service in 2012 suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after being hit in the face by a urine and faeces "bomb" thrown by an inmate. Mr Dyble said the money from the Sun was not spent on "the high life", but instead helped her husband pay legal fees as he attempted to get access to his children. Watts accepted she had breached Michael's confidentiality and that despite his "fall from grace", he was still entitled to privacy, her lawyer added. She was also ordered to pay Â£800 in costs and comply with a confiscation order of Â£2,999.

Summary: A former prison officer has been jailed for 12 months after admitting selling stories about singer George Michael to the Sun newspaper for Â£2,150.


The 16-year-old was reported missing on 19 February. Body parts were found at a house in the Barton Hill area of Bristol on 2 March. Organisers said although the walk "won't bring Becky back" it will help "give this beautiful young girl the send-off she deserves". Becky's stepbrother Nathan Matthews, 28, has been charged with her murder. Friends have sold wristbands, T-shirts and balloons to help support her family. The walk started at 11:00 GMT on The Centre and is making its way to Castle Park where balloons are due to be released in her memory. Earlier this week, Mr Matthews, from Warmley, Bristol, appeared by video link at Bristol Crown Court. He has yet to enter a plea to the charge and was told a provisional trial date had been set for October. His girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, 21, who is charged with perverting the course of justice, also appeared by video link. Four other defendants have been charged with assisting an offender.

Summary: Hundreds of people are taking part in a fundraising walk in Bristol to remember Becky Watts who was killed last month.


The Breakthrough Listen project, backed by Prof Stephen Hawking, will train a US radio telescope on a target called Tabby's Star. Tabby's Star has been a subject of attention and controversy over its irregular dimming pattern. Some scientists have been puzzled by large dips in the star's brightness. Hawking backs new search for aliens One of the most favoured explanations for this behaviour is that a swarm of comet fragments is periodically blocking light from the star, which also known by its official designation - KIC 8462852. One very remote and speculative idea - yet one that has attracted much attention in the media - is that the pattern is caused by some kind of artificial structure, or a collection of structures, around the star. The co-director of the Breakthrough Listen programme, Dr Andrew Siemion, said he was sceptical of explanations that involved intelligent life. He added: "The Breakthrough Listen programme has the most powerful SETI equipment on the planet, and access to the largest telescopes on the planet. "We can look at it with greater sensitivity and for a wider range of signal types than any other experiment in the world." The team plans to use the 100m Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, US, to observe the star, which is named after the leader of the team that discovered it - Tabetha Boyajian, assistant professor at Louisiana State University. Previous searches, using the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory, have failed to find any unusual signals around the star. But Dr Siemion explained: "The Green Bank Telescope is the largest fully steerable radio telescope on the planet, and it's the largest, most sensitive telescope that's capable of looking at Tabby's star given its position in the sky." The unusual behaviour around Tabby's star was first reported in September 2015 by Dr Boyajian, who was then a postdoctoral student at Yale University. The findings were published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The team was actually looking for evidence of planets orbiting stars other than our own. While most such dimming by transiting planets is brief, regular and blocks just 1 or 2% of the light of the star, Tabby's star dims for days at a time, by as much as 22%, and at irregular intervals. Speculation that the phenomenon could be caused by a "megastructure" built by an intelligent civilisation, has been dismissed by most scientists. But it has propelled the stellar object to prominence in the popular media. "I don't think it's very likely - a one in a billion chance or something like that - but nevertheless, we're going to check it out," said Dan Werthimer, chief scientist at Berkeley SETI, based at the University of California, Berkeley. Yet Tabby's Star remains a fascinating conundrum for astronomers. Some observations show that the dips in brightness are more irregular than a comet swarm would produce. And another study suggested that it had been dimming at a steady rate for the past century. The Breakthrough Listen initiative was launched in 2015 at an event in London.

Summary: A $100m initiative to listen for signals from alien life is targeting a star with an unusual dimming pattern.


Jake Cannon of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire said he had no sexual interest in the images himself, he just wanted to sell them to make money. The 22-year-old admitted possessing and distributing indecent images of children. Swansea Crown Court heard the expert who examined the images described them as the worst he had ever seen. Cannon told police he had been swapping indecent images since he was 13-years-old. Recorder Peter Rouch, said Cannon had been, in effect, continuing the abuse of children by both seeking out such material and then passing it on to others. Welcoming the sentence, a NSPCC Cymru spokesman said: "The shocking scale of Cannon's offending and the particularly horrific nature of these images is deeply disturbing. "Every single image represents a crime scene and behind each is a young victim of abuse who will need support to recover from what has happened to them. "Those who distribute this appalling material are responsible for increasing its proliferation and - inevitably - leading to more children being abused."

Summary: A man who claimed to be a professional distributor of child abuse images has been jailed for 15 months.


The financially successful 2015 Rugby World Cup in England was followed this year by the Sevens version of the game being contested at the Olympic Games for the first time, attracting attention in previously untapped parts of the world. That has left World Rugby juggling a number of positive challenges - continuing the global growth of the game, taking the sport into new markets, enhancing fan engagement, growing the women's game, and engaging with sponsors and broadcasters. According to Bill Beaumont, former England captain and World Rugby chairman, the game now "faces growing pains" experienced by most sports when they are "on a mission to become truly global". "World Rugby's strategic mission... is to grow the global rugby family, and I am pleased to say the sport is experiencing a golden period of exceptional growth," he adds. It comes as the body has updated its strategic plan for now until 2020, covering everything from player welfare to finances, but with the core aim being to continue its "transition from purely a game regulator to that of an inclusive game-inspirer". On the financial side, thanks to the commercial success of last year's World Cup in England (and Cardiff), World Rugby says its total investment in the game in the coming years is anticipated to be £245.8m. That is some 22% more than was invested in the previous 2013 to 2016 cycle, as the governing body seeks to "maximise commercial values and increase the financial sustainability of international rugby". Looking ahead, among other updated monetary goals, it also hopes its commercial programme around the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan will deliver an envisaged £210m for the sport. Meanwhile, according to new figures from Nielsen Sports researchers, commercial income into rugby union from sponsors has been on an upwards trajectory in recent years. It says that globally, spending in rugby union by commercial partners increased by 21% from £231m in 2012 to £362m last year. "The value of global commercial and broadcast deals continues to increase through strong partnerships that do not just see record investment injected into the game, but... encourage, promote and support rugby participation," says Mr Beaumont. And, as revenues are growing off the pitch, it says more players are taking up the game. Mr Beaumont says the sport is now played in 121 national member unions, with a further 60 nations recognised through the sport's six regional associations. Speaking at the World Rugby ConfEx event in London, he said there had been an increase of 8% in playing participation this year, taking the total number of players globally to eight million. "[This is] a number that has doubled since rugby was voted onto the Olympic programme seven years ago," he said, adding that a further 1.5 million children have been introduced to the sport in 2016 thorough the Get into Rugby participation programme. "Pleasingly women now represent nearly 30% of that [playing] total, and in many nations women's rugby is the fastest growing team sport," he adds. "We must continue to prioritise investment and competitions to ensure that rugby is

Summary: As the autumn rugby union internationals put the sport firmly back in the spotlight, the game's governing body says it is perfectly poised to build on the huge boost it has been given over the past 12 months.


Rail union RMT said it was speaking to its 523 members over plans to hire security contractors on the company's trains. London Midland told the union it stopped using contractors last month. RMT said the decision was "a major victory", while London Midland said it was pleased passengers would not be affected by "unnecessary" strikes. More updates on this and other stories from Birmingham and the Black Country. The union said its national executive committee decided to cancel the strike ballot and end the dispute after receiving "written assurances" from London Midland the use of contractors would stop after 30 January. General secretary Mick Cash said train security and passenger safety was only possible with "professionally trained and equipped" employers and "an adequate number of conductors. "RMT remains eternally vigilant in the ongoing fight to stop the casualisation of rail workers' jobs and any moves that undermine permanent staffing arrangements," he said. A spokesman for London Midland said it "decided to review our current arrangements" after speaking to staff. "We all share the same objectives of improving safety and reducing ticketless travel," they said. "Our focus now is to work together on how best to achieve this."

Summary: Train conductors have called off balloting for strike action on London Midland's service.


One of the most extraordinary documents on show is Memo 173-42. It is dated 13 July 1942 and marked "secret". "The occupying authorities," it reads, "have decided upon the arrest and grouping together of a certain number of foreign Jews." Over nine pages, the head of the Paris police details his orders for the enactment of the Holocaust on French soil. Three days later, a few hours before dawn on 16 July, French police operating in groups of two (one in uniform, one in plain clothes and accompanied by a German soldier), arrested more than 13,000 Parisian Jews. "Many, many documents of this period were destroyed at the end of the war," says Olivier Accarie-Pierson, curator of an exhibition that has just opened at the town hall of Paris's third arrondissement, or district. "It's very rare. This is unique." Mysteriously, in this district and in no other, the documents testifying to the daily life of Paris during the occupation escaped destruction. Whether it was an act of civil disobedience or an administrative oversight, nobody knows why the records survived, Mr Accarie-Pierson says. But one day - about 20 years ago - they were discovered in a cupboard. They are a treasure trove for historians. Although this is the first time they have been put on public view, historians have been studying them since they were put into the central Paris police archive, a mine of information about the minutiae of Parisian life stretching back to before the French Revolution. Other documents on display are the lists of names - hundreds and hundreds of them - written in a ledger by meticulous French policemen during the census of Jews ordered by the Germans as soon as they occupied Paris in 1940. That census was updated in 1943 when Jews were forbidden from listening to the radio and ordered to hand in their wireless sets. The names and addresses of those who complied were taken down and used for future round-ups. Poring over the documents in this exhibition, it is difficult not to be shocked by the clipped, official language employed. "And yet we were talking about thousands of people!" says Mr Accarie-Pierson. Men, women and children who would soon perish in Nazi death camps. The Jews were sent to two camps - the Winter cycling track (Velodrome d'hiver or Vel d'hiv) in the west of Paris and an internment camp set up just outside the capital at Drancy. Although no photographic evidence has survived of their interiors, conditions must have been hellish. "Where were the beds?" I ask in front of a post-war photo taken of the inside of the cycling stadium. " Around the edge there?" "There weren't any beds," says Mr Accarie-Pierson. In Paris, the Jews were already being treated like animals. Police chief Rene Bousquet collaborated directly with the Gestapo to facilitate the round-ups and the bureaucratic language sometimes lets through a glimmer of disdain for the Jews from other police chiefs. After a few weeks all the Jews rounded up on 16 July had been deported by train, mostly

Summary: The only surviving police archives of the biggest World War II deportation of French Jews are being opened up to public view for the first time.


Poundland wants to buy its closest rival in an agreed deal worth Â£47.5m in cash and Â£7.5m in shares. Initial investigations by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said this could cause issues, including store closures, in 80 areas. Now Poundland has rejected the CMA's suggestion to re-think the deal. In its initial findings, the CMA said the deal could worsen the position for shoppers in local areas owing to a cut in quality, fewer promotions and store closures. It said there was "a realistic prospect of substantial lessening of competition" in these areas where the two companies overlapped. The authority suggested the concerns could be addressed in a "clear-cut manner" by the companies to prevent a full investigation. Now Poundland has said there would be no changes to its plan, and has invited the CMA to move to a full review. The company said it "remained confident that the combination of the two businesses will provide better choice, value and service for 99p Stores' customers". It also claimed that the deal was "great" for anyone who held a stake in either business.

Summary: Discount store Poundland has invited the competition authorities to move to a full review of its proposed tie-up with rival 99p Stores.


Ice Arena Wales will hold 3,088 for Devils home games, a big increase up from the 2,300 capacity at their current Cardiff Bay Ice Arena base. The Big Blue Tent has been a temporary home since 2006 following the demolition of the Wales National Ice Rink. "The facility is stunning," Devils managing director Todd Kelman said. "We are very pleased with it and I know our fans are going to love it. "There are a few things that still need to be completed, but it is nearly there." Devils are currently top of the Elite League and host Blaze in the league and Belfast Giants in the Challenge Cup in back-to-back home games this weekend.

Summary: Cardiff Devils will play the first game at their new home against Coventry Blaze on 27 February.


The country goes to the polls on Thursday to elect a new cohort of MSPs after six weeks of electioneering. Nicola Sturgeon led an SNP rally in Glasgow, while Kezia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson followed suit in Edinburgh. The Lib Dems, Greens and UKIP also hit the streets in a final drive for support across Scotland. Polling stations will be open from 07:00 until 22:00 on Thursday, with results expected in the early hours of Friday. In total, 73 constituency MSPs and 56 regional list MSPs will be elected. Ms Sturgeon led a public rally in Glasgow city centre as the campaign entered its final hours. The SNP leader said: "Tomorrow, people in Scotland have the opportunity to ensure the re-election of an SNP government with an ambitious plan to keep Scotland moving forward - including a £500m above-inflation boost to NHS spending, additional investment in closing the attainment gap in our schools and to grow our economy, creating more and better-paid jobs. "But the only way to guarantee that we are able to implement our vision for Scotland is to cast both votes for the SNP when you go to the polls on Thursday." Campaigning in Edinburgh, Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said she believed a Labour government at Holyrood could be "transformational" for Scotland. She said: "I have three priorities for the next five years - use the new powers of our parliament to tax the richest 1% so we can invest in schools, and stop the cuts to public services. "Every Labour MSP we send to Holyrood will stand for those priorities. Tomorrow, we can vote to stop the cuts." Ms Davidson also rallied her supporters in Edinburgh, and said she would lead the Scottish Conservatives to finish ahead of Labour in Thursday's poll. Ms Davidson urged the new Scottish government to deliver for the "devolution generation" voting for the first time on Thursday. She said: "They may have been born in the devolution era, but can we really say that devolution has transformed their lives to the extent it might have? "I do not believe we can. The devolution generation deserves better." Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie gathered his activists at the party's headquarters in Edinburgh before a final day of campaigning. Mr Rennie said: "This is not a time to be timid. Liberal Democrats are ambitious for Scotland but better does not just happen. "If people want to see a step change in the way we treat mental ill health, urgent investment to ensure we meet our green targets and a transformational investment in education, they need to vote for it on Thursday and back the Scottish Liberal Democrats." The Scottish Greens are criss-crossing the country in a final bid to drum up support. Co-convenor Patrick Harvie joined fellow candidates in Edinburgh before travelling to Glasgow to help serve lunch to older people. He will also be taking part in a live question and answer session on the party's Facebook page. Fellow co-convenor Maggie Chapman is to canvas voters at Aberdeen University and the city's bus and railway

Summary: Scotland's political leaders have set out on a final bid to win over voters on the last day of the Holyrood election campaign.


It happened in the car park at Morrisons supermarket in King Street in the city at about 13:10 on Sunday. Dale Davidson, 30, of Peterhead, was charged with assault to injury and robbery at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. He made no plea and was remanded in custody.

Summary: A man has appeared in court after a 72-year-old woman was robbed in Aberdeen.


Having failed to score in their last six home matches, Saints took the lead after only 10 minutes when Manolo Gabbiadini side-footed past Joe Hart. West Ham's problems then spiralled, as Marko Arnautovic was sent off for elbowing Jack Stephens, before Dusan Tadic made it 2-0 from the penalty spot after Jose Fonte brought down Steven Davis. Summer signing Javier Hernandez thought he had snatched an unlikely comeback for the visitors with two goals from close range either side of half time. But the Hammers conceded a second penalty when Pablo Zabaleta bundled into Maya Yoshida and substitute Austin coolly slotted past Hart. Referee Lee Mason had some important decisions to make throughout the dramatic match at St Mary's - and he got most of them right. Mason was left with little choice but show a straight red to Arnautovic on 33 minutes, after the Hammers' record signing needlessly raised his elbow into Stephens' neck. The Austria international later apologised to the fans for his dismissal. The first penalty was also an easy one to give, as former Saints defender Fonte pulled down Davis, but the second spot-kick in the 91st minute was a more contentious matter. Zabaleta caught a rising Yoshida in the back, as he went to head the ball from close range, and Mason decided the Hammers defender had impeded his Southampton counter-part. West Ham had earlier had a handball appeal against Stephens waved away, while the referee did not punish Mark Noble for his rash challenge on Saints midfielder Mario Lemina, who was making his debut following his £18.1m move from Juventus. Before facing the Hammers, Southampton had not scored on home soil since 5 April - 576 minutes of football. They had 29 shots against Swansea last week, landing only two on target in their goalless draw, so there was a collective sigh of relief around St Mary's when Gabbidani slotted home after Nathan Redmond's through ball. Saints were only able to score from open play once during the match, but Gabbiadini and Redmond both went close with long-range efforts. Substitute Shane Long had the ball in the net in the second-half but referee Mason had already blown for a foul on goalkeeper Hart in the build-up. Media playback is not supported on this device With their home ground out of use until next month following the athletics World Championships, it was always going to be a testing start to the season for West Ham. They started their run of four consecutive away matches with an embarrassing 4-0 defeat against Manchester United last weekend, but put in a much-improved display at St Mary's - even after going down to 10 men. Hernandez, who arrived for £16m from Bayer Leverkusan, lived up to his reputation as a potent poacher with his first two goals for his new club. The Mexico international tapped in West Ham's opener after Fraser Forster parried Michail Antonio's shot into his path, and did the same again for his second goal - this time after Diafra Sakho's header came off the woodwork. Boss Slaven

Summary: Ten-man West Ham twice came from behind but Charlie Austin's injury time penalty gave Southampton their first victory under Mauricio Pellegrino.


India lost no time in sending aircraft to Kathmandu carrying disaster response forces, medical teams, food, medicines and rescue equipment. China promptly flew in rescue teams, sniffer dogs, medical equipment, tents, blankets and generators. Leaders of both the countries - Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping - were also quick to convey their condolences. "For many people of our country, Nepalis are our own people," said Mr Modi in his monthly radio show on Sunday. The competition for influence in Nepal between the Asian giants is not new, but it appears to have escalated in recent years. Nepal's ties with India run deep and are often, according to many, schizophrenic. Many in Nepal - including the Maoists - have criticised its "semi-colonial" relationship with India, spoken about Indian "expansionism" and pointed to how their impoverished country had become India's "bonded market". Indian traders have controlled much of the lucrative parts of Nepal's economy. Asymmetrical water sharing treaties, many argue, have allowed downstream irrigation benefits for India. Nepalese opposition parties, playing the nationalist card, have sometimes thrived on anti-India rhetoric; and Maoists have derided other mainstream parties as India's brokers. On the other hand, Delhi is geographically, linguistically and culturally much closer to Nepal than China. The anti-India rhetoric softens when political parties come to power. "India has been a political player in Nepal as much as any Nepali political party," says Michael Hutt, professor of Nepali and Himalayan studies at the University of London. Nepalese citizens continue to serve in the Gurkha regiment in Indian army; and Nepalese soldiers are trained in India. India also remains a main supplier of weapons to the Himalayan state. The fact that the two countries share an open border means that India's core interest in Nepal is security, writes Prashant Jha, in Battles of the New Republic: A Contemporary History of Nepal, an incisive account of its chequered recent history. "Delhi needs a friendly regime in Kathmandu to prevent China from gaining space at its expense." So it is no surprise that India has rushed relief to its quake-ravaged neighbour. "Nepal is central to India. Nepal has a special place in Indian thinking. It cannot be compared to China. India's response to the earthquake would have been strong and one of a kind, anyway," says Harsh V Pant, professor of international relations at London's Kings College. Yet, things may not be as simple. China's influence in the region appears to be growing rapidly. Last year China overtook India as Nepal's biggest foreign investor, investing heavily, among other things, in roads, power plants, transport and infrastructure. Trade between the two countries is on an upswing. Beijing has not minced words in telling Kathmandu that it needs to tamp down on pro-Tibet activists on its soil. A 2013 Human Rights Watch report said Nepal "forcibly" returns to China many Tibetans arrested at the border in contravention of rules. One report said Taiwan had been asked not to participate in the quake relief effort, although it is not clear whether China had anything to do with it. "Nepal has also

Summary: The alacrity with which India and China have reacted to the massive earthquake in Nepal again demonstrates how the two Asian giants continue to vie for influence in the tiny, landlocked Himalayan country.


A spokesman said the Western Isles Presbytery was taking the allegations against the late Reverend Dr Iain D Campbell "very seriously". The allegations are understood to relate to Dr Campbell's personal life. The minister of Point Free Church on Lewis died at the end of January, aged 53.

Summary: The Free Church of Scotland is investigating allegations made in connection with a minister on the Isle of Lewis who died earlier this year.


Ahead of the next European elections in 2019, MEPs are getting down to the traditional process of working out each member country's future share of the European Parliament's 751 seats. But this time there is added tension over Brexit and what to do with the UK's 73 seats. The man tasked with co-ordinating a response, Pedro Silva Pereira, told a hearing of the Constitutional Affairs Committee on Wednesday that a portion of the seats should be reallocated as soon as the UK leaves. Seats are supposed to be allocated in a way that preserves "degressive proportionality". That means that smaller countries should not receive relatively fewer seats than larger countries, and the number should reflect population changes. And yet no country wants to lose any MEPs. German MEP Jo Leinen suggested that the number of seats be reduced to 700 to show that the EU understood that it had shrunk. Others talk of finally achieving a long-held ambition: the creation of a portion of seats that are voted for transnationally across Europe. That idea was criticised by Max Andersson of the Swedish Greens, who feared it would give more power to the bigger political parties. He also complained that Germany was already overrepresented and would probably be overrepresented again. The most eye-catching proposal came from parliament's Brexit co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt. He suggested that Ireland be given extra seats so that Northern Irish citizens with Irish passports could still take part in European election, even though they were no longer strictly part of the EU. The committee will try to reach a consensus after the summer holidays, with a vote in parliament later this year. Then national governments will get involved. The clock is ticking because the European Council needs to schedule the 2019 elections officially - and the member states need time to pass domestic legislation to enable the votes to happen. UK offer to EU citizens 'falls short' Reality Check: Will the UK pay a €60bn 'divorce bill'? Brexit: All you need to know And what if Brexit is delayed? The UK's departure is pencilled in for the end of March 2019 and the elections will probably be a few months later. The European Parliament's top politicians have said they could not allow a situation where UK voters choose representatives who only serve for a short period, with no purpose. Then they would be talking about MEPs not as turkeys… but zombies.

Summary: It is less turkeys voting for Christmas, more turkeys debating how many of them there should be on the farm.


Developer Burcote Wind has voiced disappointment at the recommendation for its 10-turbine Longburn project. It said it had worked closely with communities over five years to make it suitable for the site near Carsphairn. However, Dumfries and Galloway Council is being advised to reject the scheme due to cumulative landscape impact. Last year the MCS raised its concerns about the project's impact on Cairnsmore of Carsphairn. The organisation said the project would "close the circle" around the peak. Now the scheme is to be discussed by the planning committee of the local authority in Dumfries and Galloway. It is being advised to turn it down. Planning officers said it would have "significant adverse cumulative impacts" on the landscape and visual amenity of the site surroundings and wider area. They also found it would have an effect on "cultural heritage assets" in the site. Burcote Energy said it was disappointed by the recommendation for the scheme which could put about Â£2.5m into a community benefit fund over its operational lifetime. Operations director Fraser Campbell said: "While the recommendation is based on landscape and visual and cultural heritage impacts, we have had no objections from either SNH or Historic Environment Scotland. "We have been working on the site for over five years now and worked closely with the communities over the years to ensure that our application is well designed and suited to the site." He said they respected the planners' position but did not agree with it. The company also cited support from Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of Commerce and local logistics firm Currie European.

Summary: Planning officials have advised refusal for a wind farm the Mountaineering Council of Scotland said would form a "ring of steel" around a Galloway hill.


Denbighshire council bought a terrace of properties on Queen Street to make way for new apartments and retail units. However, structural engineers raised concerns about the condition of some and part of the road was closed to traffic earlier this year. It will be closed again from Monday as demolition work takes place. The buildings being demolished are numbers 43 to 47, which was an adult shop, and 49 to 55, which were already derelict and had been knocked through inside a number of years ago. While the road will remain open to pedestrians and for businesses, the council hopes to reopen it for through-traffic in July.

Summary: A main road in Rhyl will be closed to through-traffic from Monday while buildings are demolished.


Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it has analysed images of the Rohingya village of Wa Peik in Rakhine state. According to HRW the images show that during the period when Wa Peik was being burned, there were military trucks active at a nearby army post. This proves that soldiers were in the area, the group says. "It's difficult to believe that militants burned down over 300 buildings in Wa Peik over a one-month period while Burmese security forces stood there and watched," said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "Burmese government officials have been caught out by this satellite imagery, and it's time they recognise their continued denials lack credibility." Asked about the allegations, the main government spokesman, Zaw Htay, said he would not be commenting as an investigation into events in northern Rakhine state was under way. A government appointed team has spent the past few days visiting affected villages and is expected to release its findings at the end of January. This is the third Human Rights Watch report on the current crisis and the burning of Rohingya villages. On previous occasions the government denied that soldiers were to blame, saying the Rohingya have been setting fire to their own homes to attract international sympathy. The rights campaigners go on to say that their analysis of when and where the villages burned shows a methodical approach, making it more likely to have been carried out by the military. Independent journalists have not been allowed into northern Rakhine since armed militants attacked border posts on 9 October, killing nine policemen. The area has been closed since then amid allegations of army atrocities against the Rohingya. The latest figures from the United Nations show that since then 27,000 Rohingya have fled across the border into Bangladesh.

Summary: New satellite images establish a link between the Burmese army and the burning of Rohingya Muslim villages, human rights campaigners say.


Media playback is not supported on this device Farrell, 25, is set to move past 500 international points this weekend against Fiji, and is second in the England all-time list behind Wilkinson. Asked whether Farrell could one day beat his record of 1,179 points, Wilkinson said: "I have no doubt. "I would be very surprised if Owen Farrell didn't go on to score way, way more," he told BBC Sport. "500 points for a guy who is 25 years old, you don't have to do the maths but if he plays until he is 35, he will be in a good place." Wilkinson has been involved in the England camp this year as a kicking and skills consultant, and says he can identify with the way Saracens fly-half Farrell approaches the game. "Sometimes when we are discussing things, you hear something that you definitely correspond with," said Wilkinson, who on Thursday became one of 12 new inductees into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. "[Working with England] is a really exciting opportunity," Wilkinson, who scored the winning drop goal in the 2003 World Cup final, continued. "But there is no telling or teaching, it's kind of a sharing, and therefore there has to be room in all of us to keep growing. I am also there to learn." Wilkinson has also compared the current midfield combination of Farrell, who has scored 497 points for England, and fly-half George Ford to his partnership with inside centres Will Greenwood or Mike Catt. "Both those guys were phenomenally important to me in my career, in the way they supported me, got the best out of me, and helped me to uncover more about myself," Wilkinson explained. "With Owen and George, they are both very, very open individuals, both very humble - but not because they have been taught what to say, but genuinely it's who they are. "There is not a script being followed here. They are following enthusiasm, passion and serious devotion. "It's very similar when you mention names like Mike Catt and Will Greenwood, it all makes perfect sense. It's just about having good people in there." You can hear more from Jonny Wilkinson on the Matt Dawson Rugby Show on BBC Radio 5 live from 19:30 GMT on Thursday, 17 November.

Summary: World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson has backed Owen Farrell to overtake his England points record.


Deborah Leonard did not feel she could stand up to other members of the Word of Life church in New York state, said her lawyer, Devin Garramone. Her son Lucas, 19, died from the attack and his brother is in hospital. Police say they were beaten by Mrs Leonard, her husband and five others in order for them to confess their sins. All six people arrested, including the boy's father and sister, have denied the charges. "It looks like she went along with it, and it spun out of control," said Mr Garramone, who described the incident as an "intervention". "This woman is so meek and timid, she didn't have the temerity to stand up to them and say, 'You're not punishing my kid. You're not doing this.'" Some of the others arrested may have caused the fatal injuries, he said. The boys were repeatedly kicked and punched on Sunday but it's not clear why. Police have described the beating as a "spiritual counselling session to urge [the boys] to confess sins and seek forgiveness". Ms Leonard's husband Bruce, who founded the secretive church in New Hartford, New York, said it was a family meeting that had nothing to do with the church. Lucas died on Monday morning in hospital, where his parents took him the morning after the attack. His 17-year-old brother Christopher remains there in a serious condition. The parents have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and the other four have pleaded not guilty to assault. The Word of Life church is nearly 30 years old and its membership has fallen in recent years from about 40 to 20, said a local police chief. Some live at the church. The church refused help from firefighters when the building caught fire a few years ago, he said.

Summary: A woman charged with beating her son to death in a church has said she "felt helpless" to prevent the violence committed by other church members.


It follows the death of a beached whale in Hunstanton, Norfolk, on Friday and the discovery of three carcasses near Skegness over the weekend. The sperm whales are believed to be from a pod spotted off the Norfolk coast. The fifth whale was found at Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, on Monday afternoon, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency reported. It was found on the site of a former bombing range, and warnings have been issued for people to stay away. The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust tweeted: "There is no public access to the area and it is extremely dangerous with tidal creeks and the potential for unexploded ordinance. Many of the lanes to the marshes are private and not accessible." Why do sperm whales wash up on beaches? Marine biologists were using a probe to examine one of the Skegness whales earlier on Monday when there was a "huge blast of air", said BBC reporter David Sykes. The letters CND had also been spray-painted by someone on the whale's tail. CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) said the action was not carried out by the organisation at a national level. The word "fukushima" - presumably a reference to the stricken Japanese nuclear power station - was also written on the side of the whale's body. One of the Skegness whales is at the end of Lagoon Walk, with the other two towards Gibraltar Point. They have been cordoned off to prevent crowds of people touching the carcasses. People are also being prevented from going too close to the Hunstanton whale.

Summary: A fifth sperm whale has washed up on the east coast of England.


The Twilight star is one of 12 female creatives making films for women-focused media company Refinery29. Fellow actresses Gabourey Sidibe and Chloe Sevigny will join Stewart under the umbrella of Refinery29's ShatterBox Anthology. Oscar nominee Sidibe will direct her own short film titled A Tale of Four Women, according to Variety. Meanwhile, Sevigny's Kitty, the first film of the anthology, will premiere at Cannes Film Festival later this month. Speaking during Refinery29's presentation at the Digital Content NewFronts event in New York, Sidibe said it was important to tell a story through her own voice. She said: "[In my acting career] everything I do, my image and who I am and what I feel represents me is in the hands of a man, usually a white man... I realised very recently that I want to be the one that decides what image I show the public." It was also announced that Ugly Betty star America Ferrera will produce a multimedia project titled Behind the Headlines, and a documentary series titled Only Girl.

Summary: Kristen Stewart is to make her directorial debut with a short film about the power of women.


Horne won her first national title in the team pursuit at the National Track Championships in Manchester last week. The 26-year-old says she is leaving her road cycling team in order to turn her attention to the 2016 Rio Games. "This is the right thing for me to do now and put my eggs into one basket and try and make the Games," Horne said. Warwickshire-born Horne, who represented Wales at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, won the national team pursuit title with Joanna Rowsell Shand, Dame Sarah Storey and Katie Archibald. Horne has spent four years working alongside Storey, who has announced her team Podium Ambition will turn professional for the start of the Women's World Tour in 2016. But with just four competitions left to gain selection, Horne insists her main concern is being part of the team pursuit in Rio. "For me moving forward, the main focus between now and Rio, will be team pursuit," Horne told BBC Radio Wales Sport. "Everything is about going quicker over that 4km distance with the girls. "The smartest thing to do is to focus solely on that and leave the road."

Summary: Welsh cyclist Ciara Horne is giving up the chance to ride professionally on the Women's World Tour next year in a bid to win an Olympic title.


The Asian Hornet has spread across Europe since being accidentally introduced to France in 2004 in a shipment of pottery from China. The UK's National Bee Unit confirmed one of the hornets had been photographed in Jersey. Beekeeper Bob Hogge said he expected more to arrive on the island. Mr Hogge, from the Jersey Beekeepers' Association, said: "I think I could put a very safe bet that we will have them here within the next few years. "They surround us now, they're on the Brittany coast, they're on the Normandy coast - we will get them", he said. A nest of Asian Hornets found in Alderney in July was destroyed as a precaution against them spreading, the Alderney government said. In Jersey, an amateur insect expert who photographed it at Mount Bingham, Jersey's environment department said. The department said the area had been searched and no further hornet activity detected. People who suspect they have found a hornet should send a photograph to the department if it is safe to do so, a spokesman said. Mr Hogge said the Asian Hornet dismembered honey bees to take back to feed their young and could wipe out entire hives. "They've got a particularly unpleasant sting, and they are aggressive. If one attacks you and leaves a sting it will leave a scent and others will come and attack you too," he added. However, the department stressed the Asian hornet was no more harmful to humans than the European hornet. Identifying an Asian hornet Source: National Bee Unit

Summary: A hornet which can kill up to 50 bees a day has been spotted in Jersey for the first time, a month after a nest was discovered on a neighbouring island.


Bridgewater Community Healthcare (BCH) said it had "made a lot of progress" since an inspection last summer. But Labour MP Rosie Cooper said it was "staggering" that BCH was due to take over most of Liverpool's community health services from July. The Department of Health is yet to respond. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted its first full inspection at BCH - which is used by about 1.5m people in north-west England annually - in May and June 2016. It said it measured 40 domains across the services with one rated as outstanding, 27 as good and 12 as requiring improvement. Overall, the trust received a rating of "requires improvement". Ms Cooper, MP for West Lancashire, said she called on the CQC in July to publish its inspection report ahead of any decision on "awarding the multimillion-pound contract for Liverpool community health services". She said: "What this report tells us is Bridgewater Community Healthcare needs to improve the services they have currently got." Last November, BCH was chosen to run most of the city's community health services by NHS England and Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Ms Cooper said that the inspection rating "raises some very serious questions about the entire transaction process in Liverpool". "I have called on the Secretary of State to review this sorry state of affairs and intervene to uphold NHS rules," she added. Colin Scales, chief executive at BCH, said: "All the essential actions the CQC has asked us look at have already been addressed since the inspectors were on site, so we've made a lot of progress and are in a stronger position now as we move forward." Katherine Sheerin, chief officer for NHS Liverpool CCG, said: "Bridgewater NHS Foundation Trust was identified as the preferred provider of community services in Liverpool because we believe it is the best organisation to help accelerate our Healthy Liverpool plans for making more care available in the community so that people do not end up in hospital." She added the CCG was "confident the Trust is already taking action to address the issues which have been identified".

Summary: An MP has called on the government to review a decision allowing an NHS trust that "requires improvement" to run community health services in Liverpool.


Average household income rose by 1.4% in 2015-16 after adjusting for inflation, new data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shows. Working-age household incomes have been stagnant since 2007-08 compared with a 10% rise for pensioners. Yet, 14% of pensioners households are still on low incomes. The DWP figures also show that in 2015-16, rises in pensioner incomes stalled. A number of reports and previous data have shown that income growth has been faster among pensioners than working-age people since the financial crisis. This has led to widespread debate over the future of the triple-lock - a promise made to pensioners that the state pension will rise in line with prices, wages or 2.5%, whichever is highest. This latest set of figures shows that recently retired pensioners in the UK have seen their incomes rise compared with a decade ago. Average incomes among this group have risen from £314 in 2005-06 to £357 in the last financial year. The DWP figures show a regional split, with older people in the South East of England having much higher incomes than those living in Wales and the West Midlands. Steve Webb, a former pensions minister and now director of policy at Royal London, said: "While there are clearly some pensioners who enjoy good company pensions and have benefited from house price inflation, there are clearly also many who are not in such a fortunate position. "Any change to policy on state pensions need to take full account of the diversity of experience of pensioners in Britain today, and not simply assume that pensioner living standards will keep on rising." For all UK households, the median average income rose by £8 in a year to £481 a week before housing costs in 2015-16. This stood at £413 a week after taking housing costs into account, the DWP figures show. Agnes Norris Keiller, a research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said: "Growth in household incomes in 2015-16 was modest but widespread, continuing the pattern seen in recent years. "The period since the recession has been defined not by sharp rises in inequality or poverty, but historically slow growth in average incomes - in 2015-16 average income for working-age adults was no higher than eight years previously." Official figures published on Wednesday showed that wage growth had slowed to 2.3% (excluding bonuses) in the three months to the end of January, from 2.6% in the previous three-month period.

Summary: A generational divide in UK households' income growth has been confirmed in the latest government figures - but incomes are little changed in the last year.


The duchess was offered a posy from 22-month-old Elizabeth Colquhoun, who then decided she wanted to keep the bouquet and refused to hand it over. Camilla was visiting Perth's state library on the final day of the royal tour of Australia and New Zealand. Elizabeth's mother Chantelle Colquhoun said her daughter was "strong willed". Originally from the Cornish town of Camborne, Mrs Colquhoun, 39, was in a fit of giggles at her daughter's antics and said she was "just the same way at home". The Duchess of Cornwall eventually managed to take the bouquet from Elizabeth and playfully held it just out of the grasp of the youngster until she grabbed it. The duchess was at a book reading session at the time. Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales was given a tour of a conservation centre. He met students at the Western Australia Seed Technology Centre in Perth after attending a service at St George's Cathedral in the city with the duchess. The royal couple have spent 12 days touring Australia and New Zealand. Prince Charles celebrated his 67th birthday on Saturday with an Australian beach barbecue at Cottlesloe beach in Perth where he was joined by 500 guests.

Summary: The Duchess of Cornwall found herself in a playful tug of war with a little girl determined to hang onto her bunch of flowers.


Jimmy Geddes was waiting outside the Manchester Arena when the suicide bomber struck on Monday night. His daughter Annalyse, 14, was inside with a friend, listening to Ariana Grande. Twenty-two people died in the attack, including Eilidh MacLeod, from Barra. Fourteen-year-old Eilidh's friend Laura MacIntyre, 15, was seriously injured. Mr Geddes told the BBC how he had heard the explosion as he waited in his car and rushed inside to try to find his daughter and her friend. "I was just texting a friend then the bomb went off," he said. "I then rang him and said 'a bomb's gone off'. I need to go and get my kids. "As I entered the foyer area it was just carnage. There were just bodies lying everywhere. It was just horrific. And I'd told the kids to come out that way. "I was mainly looking at the footwear on the bodies as it would be easy to recognise my daughter by her footwear as she had these big pink, glittery boots on." Mr Geddes believes he saw the suicide bomber Salman Abedi among the bodies. He said: "At first I was describing him as being an animal but animals wouldn't do things like that to themselves - only some sort of evil type form this person is. I wouldn't even call him a person." Mr Geddes managed to make his way to the section of the arena where his daughter's seat was. "People started flooding out, all smiles, they'd just taken in a really great concert," he said. "Everyone was laughing and joking and I was stopping them from going down towards the main entrance. "All of the people coming out hadn't really clicked. They didn't know what had happened. So there wasn't that much screaming," he said. "I think they all knew something was wrong but not the extent of what had happened." "I saw my girl and her wee pal coming out of the door. I gave them the biggest hug ever. " I didn't see any security or stewards. I was worried about a second device." Mr Geddes got the girls out of the venue through a different exit. "Even as we got into the car I was thinking something could still happen," he said. "Everybody was just desperate to get out of the car park. "I told the kids what had happened. I didn't phone my wife until I had the kids safely in my arms." Mr Geddes said he thought it was "a miracle" that he found his daughter and her friend 10 minutes after the bomb went off. He got back to Wishaw at about 02:30. "My wife and mother in law were so relieved to see us," he said. "If I had been at the arena by myself I would have done more to help but I was just making sure my own kids were all right." Meanwhile, the parish priest on Barra is urging the island community to come together and pray this weekend, following "a devastating week". Ahead of Mass on Sunday, he said: "A

Summary: A father from Wishaw has told BBC Scotland of his shock at witnessing the immediate aftermath of the Manchester bomb attack - as he desperately tried to find his daughter.


But the 24-year-old, whose spinal cord and vertebrae are closer together than is normal, set his sights on becoming the best Twenty20 player possible. The Sussex fast bowler, who regularly bowls in excess of 90 miles per hour, is in the squad for England's T20 game against Pakistan on Wednesday after making his debut against Sri Lanka in July. Mills' condition means that he is unable to play in longer formats of the game, as lots of bowling can aggravate his spinal cord. He has not bowled with a red ball for 18 months and it is unlikely that he will return to multi-day cricket. "If this is going to be all I am doing now for the rest of my career, I want to do it right. I want to play in the big games and play to the highest level that I can," Mills told BBC Sport. "I miss having a short leg, three slips and a gully sometimes, but on the flip side of that I can't say I miss doing 96 overs in a day. "I am at peace with it, it's been 18 months since the reoccurrence of my back injury. I'm over it and I am grateful I can still play and I can still play to a good level." The Yorkshire-born paceman played in 12 of Sussex's 14 T20 Blast group matches this season, taking 15 wickets at an average of 19.73. "You want to be renowned as one of the top players. As soon as a tournament comes up or a team is being selected, you want to be one of the guys immediately spoken about," he added. "I'm still a few years off that, I've only just turned 24. I'm not naive thinking I'm there yet but if I am only going to do this for the next few years then that's what I want to work towards being. "I am quite lucky that when I got injured again I was a better Twenty20 bowler than I was a four-day bowler," Mills said. "If it was the other way round, then I probably would've had to think a lot harder about retiring. "It's given me a chance to accelerate my development. Everything I do now in terms of cricket is to be the best Twenty20 cricketer I can be. "It is hard for the other guys who have to flip between playing County Championship, 50-over and Twenty20 cricket - they've got to practice three different skills whereas I just practice one thing." Although the condition does not affect the bowler on a day-to-day basis, he has to manage it to prolong his career. Therefore, Mills has had to hone his training and approach in the build-up to games to ensure that he does not miss time. "I haven't changed anything with my bowling, just away from it, making sure all the other stuff I do gives me the best chance of doing much as possible and to the best of my ability," he added. "It was a lot of trial and error, I

Summary: You could have forgiven Tymal Mills for retiring and moving on from cricket when he was diagnosed with a congenital back condition in 2015.


No firms in Northern Ireland have so far been affected by the ransomware attack, which wreaked havoc on organisations including the National Health Service in England and Scotland. The virus could have spread even further had a cyber security researcher not accidently discovered a "kill switch" in the malicious program. He was assisted by a researcher from security firm Proofpoint, which has an office in Belfast. There is no shortage of cyber security experts in Northern Ireland - the industry now employs about 1,200 people. And there is such a demand for their expertise, they can earn twice the average salary in Northern Ireland. Invest NI - the region's business development agency - says Northern Ireland is the number one location in the world for cyber security inward investment and the number one global destination for US cyber security companies with an eye for international expansion. Invest NI said companies had been enticed by the "hard-to-find" skillsets being nurtured at Queen's and Ulster University. "Companies such as Black Duck, Rapid 7, Proofpoint, Alert Logic and Whitehat are recent investors here," said a spokeswoman. "And with Symantec, a security software vendor, predicting the number of job openings to rise to 6m globally by 2019, there are real opportunities for our talented workforce." Emily McDaid writes about all things tech and edits the Techwatch blog for Catalyst Inc Connect, a not-for-profit network that runs a number of programmes to help innovation companies get off the ground or grow. Northern Ireland has a booming tech sector, she said, particularly in the fields of cyber security, data analytics, fintech (software for the financial sector) and blockchain - the technology underpinning the digital currency Bitcoin. "London is no longer the go-to place," she said. "Northern Ireland is a cheaper place to live and do business. And if the corporation tax was to be lowered, that would be massive for the sector." Cyber security has become big business for corporate firms and start-ups in Northern Ireland, she said, and they are in the unique position of working in both the Irish and UK markets. She has written about a start-up in Belfast, one of only two companies in the world, which uses a person's heartbeat as a way of identification, as opposed to fingerprints or retinal scan. Then there are the two female cryptography experts looking at how to keep data safe when quantum computing becomes a reality - quantum computers will be so clever they will be able to break security algorithms easily, and hack data in seconds. In addition to working with at least 500 entrepreneurs each year, Mrs McDaid's organisation inspires young people to pursue careers in tech and innovation. "Cyber security is so big at the moment, it has an 0% unemployment rate," added Mrs McDaid. "The more NI becomes a recognised centre of innovation, the more you will get the talent coming up through the generations." Last week, two international conferences were held in Belfast on the issue of cyber security - it is a burgeoning industry because with every technological advance comes

Summary: Cyber security has hit the headlines after an unprecedented cyber-attack brought down computer systems around the world on Friday.


The world champion went into Saturday's racing as the overall leader and managed a victory and a third place. With the lowest score winning, Scott is on 22 points - 16 clear of Slovenia's Vasilij Zbogar with three races left. Scott, 29, is a four-time world champion bidding to follow in the footsteps of compatriot and four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie. "It's looking good going into the next two races but there's still a lot to play for," said Scott. "Obviously having that points margin is a big confidence booster but I think the thing for me to be focusing on is that it isn't over. "You can't get complacent. You have to attack days like I've done today so nothing really changes. But clearly having that margin is a good place for me." Nick Thompson's medal hopes in the Laser category took a blow, as he finished 22nd in the 10th race, dropping to sixth. Thompson, 30, was second after six races, but is 10 points outside the top three going into the medal race, which is worth double points. Alison Young kept alive her hopes in the Laser Radial, winning the penultimate race to be eighth going into the medal race. Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves dropped to third in the Nacra 17 mixed category, after they finished outside the top 10 in three of their four races on Saturday. Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth are sixth in the women's 49er class while in the men's equivalent Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign are 12th. Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign have risen from 14th to 12th in the 49er fleet, but face a tough ask to finish in the medal hunt.

Summary: Britain's Giles Scott enjoyed another dominant day in sailing's Finn class to close in on Olympic gold.


The figures have been released by the States after a question from Reform Jersey chairman, Deputy Sam Mezec. It came after it was revealed two civil servants spent £13,000 on flights to a mining conference in South Africa. The latest figures show Mike King and Wayne Gallichan have been to the conference every year since 2013, spending about £40,000 on flights. A spokesman for the Chief Minister's Department said: "States-wide reviews of travel policy and expenditure are underway. "The scope of these reviews encompass the travel spend of the whole of the public sector, including all government departments and the individuals within those departments." Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Deputy Andrew Lewis, said the procurement system did not seem to be working properly. "It is designed to save money, time and give a good audit trail. We've looked into it and it seems it does not do any of those three things," he said. "We need to find out how it is supposed to work and if it is not working how they are going to fix it." Both men have apologised and are facing an internal investigation. Other flights booked through the States procurement system have cost more than the £6,442 Mr Gallichan and Mr King spent travelling to South Africa. Colin Powell, the States Advisor on International Affairs flew to Hong Kong for a ministerial visit in 2011 for £6,852. The figures show the Chief Minister's Department spent £177,000 on flights costing more than a thousand pounds, with Economic Development spending £141,000 over five years. Among the pages of flight costs, one was for the Principle Legal Advisor to an anti-corruption conference in 2013 to Panama City. It cost £3,682.

Summary: Civil servants splashed out nearly £400,000 on 120 flights over the past five years.