A man has been jailed for life for the "motiveless and brutal" murder of a Brighton man in his city centre flat.

Article: Anne McTaggart's Organ Donation (Scotland) Bill has secured cross-party support, and is backed by 22 Labour MSPs, four SNP, two Lib Dems and one each from the Conservatives and Greens.
The Bill proposes to change the current "opt-in" system of organ donation.
It would mean people would have to opt out or their name would be added to the NHS Organ Donation Register.
Ms McTaggart said: "I would encourage those MSPs who have previously indicated that they support a change - including Nicola Sturgeon - to back us and change the lives of those people on organ waiting lists.
"With three people dying every day across the UK, we simply cannot afford to wait any longer on this issue."
She added: "Promoting organ donation is vital but on its own it will not deliver the much-needed increase in organs that we need just now and that's why my Bill is essential.
"It represents a shift to a more positive, proactive approach which will save people's lives."
A Scottish government spokesman said: "This government is committed to continuing to increase donation and transplantation rates in Scotland and continue the success that the Donation and Transplantation Plan for Scotland 2013-2020 is already delivering.
"Thanks to these efforts, the numbers of donors in Scotland have increased significantly and the number of people waiting for a transplant has fallen by 25% in the last seven years.
"Whilst we welcome any debate in relation to the important issues of organ donation and transplant, we do need to examine the evaluation of the impact of opt-out on organ donation on Wales before making a decision on any changes within Scotland.
"This is because there is not, as yet, a consensus amongst experts as to whether opt-out will make a significant difference, and the international evidence is not clear."

Summary: A Labour MSP has called on the first minister to support the introduction of her organ donation bill later.
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Article: David Sole, 33, of no fixed address, had denied murdering Jonathan Ellison but was found guilty at Lewes Crown Court of beating him to death.
Denise Antonia, 33, of Appledore Road, Brighton, was cleared of murder but found guilty of assisting an offender. She was jailed for five years.
Mr Ellison was found dead in his flat in Gloucester Street on 8 April 2011.
Sole and Antonia were arrested in Winchester, Hampshire, on 16 April following an investigation by Sussex Police's major crime branch.
Following the two-week trial, Sole was told he would serve a minimum term of 18 years.
Det Ch Insp Trevor Bowles said: "Jon Ellison was killed by a man who had befriended him and who he trusted.
"His trust led to his death, as the result of a motiveless but brutal drug and drink-fuelled assault, which caused some of the worst injuries any of us have ever seen."
Mr Bowles said Mr Ellison was a "vulnerable man with many health and personal problems" but he was regarded as "a kind and trusted person".
In a statement issued through Sussex Police, Mr Ellison's brothers said: "He did not deserve to be taken in such a brutal way.
"It was completely at odds with his kind and gentle spirit."

Summary:


The coastguard has called off a search for a kayaker after it declared the alarm an "elaborate hoax".

Article: The claim: Rail fares have increased at double the rate of wages since 2010.
Reality Check verdict: Rail fares have risen by double the rate of wages since 2010, but the rate of growth has slowed considerably in the second half of that period.
As a result, we know that fares have risen by about 24% since January 2010.
We also know from the ONS that average weekly wages have risen by about 12% over the same period.
So the TUC is correct when it says that average train fares have risen by double the rate of wages since 2010.
But, there has been a change in government policy since 2010, which means that looking at the average since then does not give a fair picture.
After widespread criticism of rising fares, the coalition government, which took office in 2010, decided to act.
In 2013 it cut the cap on regulated fares from RPI inflation plus one percentage point, to July's RPI inflation rate. A year later it further tightened the rules, removing train companies' ability to increase certain fares within the cap.
The new rules meant regulated train fares - which cover about half of all tickets - could rise no faster than RPI inflation in July of the previous year until the end of the Parliament in 2015. That policy looks set to continue until 2020.
It means that the rise in rail fares has slowed considerably.
In fact, since January 2013, wages have risen by 5.7% while train fares have risen by 5.6%.
In 2015, the low rate of inflation meant that fares rose by less than wages.

Summary: Average rail fares are one of the items in the basket of goods that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses to measure inflation.
###
Article: The search was launched after the coastguard received reports from an individual claiming to be in difficulty off the coast of County Down.
Two RNLI boats and a coastguard helicopter from Scotland were launched to assist in the search.
The kayaker was reported to be near Mew Island, one of the Copeland Islands near Donaghadee.
A coastguard spokesman said it received several calls from a person claiming to be in difficulty.
However, the alarm was declared to be a hoax following a thorough search.

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The government has been given a three-month deadline to hand over state-owned homes and vehicles, from the date of the new president's inauguration.

Outgoing ministers in Ghana could be forcibly evicted from their official residences if they fail to move out in time, under new laws.

Article: Andrew Crook, 48, struck 46-year-old Robert Allaway head-on in the crash on the A65 near Settle in October.
Crook, of Swinnow Grove, Leeds, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Allaway's death by driving without due care and attention.
He was jailed at Bradford Crown Court for four years and eight months and banned from driving for five years.
North Yorkshire Police said Crook had 83mg of alcohol per 100mg of breath when he hit Mr Allaway, from Long Preston, near Skipton - the legal limit is 35mg.
Mr Allaway's wife Lorraine, who lost her sister to cancer on the same day, said: "It is impossible to find the words to describe how we feel about Bob's death.
"He was my soul mate and is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night.
"This is without doubt the hardest and most painful experience of my life."
Mrs Allaway said she planned to campaign for tougher sentencing for drivers convicted of causing death by dangerous or careless driving or while under the influence of drink or drugs.
Traffic constable Dave Seavers, from North Yorkshire Police, said: "Crook gave no consideration to the safety of other road users that day and got behind the wheel with a blatant disregard for the law.
"The bad choice Crook made meant that a man has lost his life through no fault of his own and his family faces a future without a loved one."

Summary: A man who was more than twice the drink-drive limit and driving on the wrong side of the road when he hit and killed a motorcyclist has been jailed.
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Article: Ministers and other government officials are being given a three-month deadline to hand over state-owned homes and vehicles, from the date of the new president's inauguration.
The law targets presidential appointees who try to cling on to the perks of office after a new leader is elected.
Ghana goes to the polls on 7 December.
After previous transfers of power, some officials have had to be forcibly evicted and had their state-owned vehicles seized after failing to hand them back.
The law does not apply to presidents and vice-presidents as we earlier reported.
The bill, which was passed by MPs on Wednesday evening, will now go to the president to sign into law.
Existing legislation requires officials to hand back government property after they leave office, but this is the first time a strict time limit has been applied.
Ghana's current leader John Mahama is standing for re-election and his main opponent is Nana Akufo-Addo. The winner will be inaugurated on 7 January 2017.
Ghana's presidential candidates:

Summary:


Spending on private ambulances in London grew by 1,000% between 2011 and 2013, the Labour party has claimed.

Article: CorporateHealth International ApS is to invest Â£5.7m in establishing a new diagnostics centre at the Inverness Campus.
The centre's staff will analyse images captured by video camera capsules - small devices swallowed by patients.
The capsules offer an alternative to diagnostic endoscopies and colonoscopies.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise is supporting the project with investment of Â£600,000.
CorporateHealth International UK Ltd, a subsidiary of the Danish firm, will run the centre.

Summary: A Danish life science company is to create 30 jobs over the next three years in the Highlands.
###
Article: The NHS spent £8.84m on private ambulances in the capital last year compared to £795,000 in 2011, according to Freedom of Information data.
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) conceded it was losing staff due to "pressure on the organisation".
But LAS denied claims it had employed private staff previously sacked by the NHS.
Heidi Alexander, Labour MP for Lewisham East, claimed London ambulances were taking "on average two minutes longer than three years ago" to respond to the most serious call-outs.
Labour said its research discovered private ambulance usage by ambulance trusts across the country grew by 82% between financial years 2011/12 and 2013/14, from £37m to £67.5m last year.
Private ambulance spending In Yorkshire and the North East more than quadrupled to hit £3.56m and £2.9m respectively, said Labour, although other ambulance services maintained low spending during the two years, while one trust reduced its reliance on private vehicles.
Shadow health minister Jamie Reed raised concerns over the figures and the "increasing use" of private ambulances during health questions in the House of Commons.
But his comments were branded "absolute nonsense" by public health minister Jane Ellison, who said that previous Labour government "occasionally deployed private ambulances too".
Brendan Kemp, regional organiser for the GMB union, questioned the hiring practices of ambulance trusts and their ability to keep staff.
"Who's checking the qualifications of the staff that man these vehicles?" he said on BBC London 94.9.
"Often staff that have been dismissed by London Ambulance Service for something, often they'll reappear working for a private contractor."
But Jason Killens, director of operations for the LAS, said every private contractor "is checked by us before we use them".
"Staff that leave the LAS for reasons of clinical safety would not be redeployed on those private contracts with us," he told BBC London 94.9.
Mr Killens said increasing demand each year "is adding pressure in the organisation" and conceded...

Summary:


The Archbishop of Canterbury is working with other Christian churches to agree on a fixed date for Easter.

Article: Mark Carney, speaking at the annual Jackson Hole convention in the US of central bankers and economists, said: "The prospect of sustained momentum in the UK economy and the gradual firming of underlying inflationary pressures will likely put the decision as to when to start the process of gradual monetary policy normalisation [or interest rate rises] into sharper relief at the turn of this year."
Which is another way of saying that he stands by the economic timetable for possibly raising rates that he set out in Lincoln Cathedral on 16 July.
He was giving his first response to the rout in shares on the Shanghai stock market over the past few days - a rout which for a couple of days infected stock markets all over the world.
Mr Carney said an interest rate rise was by no means inevitable in the opening months of 2016.
But he wanted to dampen speculation that "developments in China" have changed "the process of rate increases from limited and gradual to infinitesimal and inert".
What the Bank of England has to weigh up, he said, was whether domestic demand - spending by British consumers, investing by British investors - was strong enough to offset the potential for further "material slowing of growth in China and more broadly in non-Japan Asia", coupled with the deflationary impact of falling currencies of China and other emerging markets.
Although Wall Street and European stock markets have since recovered from last week's shocks, central bankers and economists are concerned that a pronounced deceleration of growth in China is having a big negative impact on other emerging market economies, and therefore on the prosperity of the world as a whole.
There has therefore been widespread speculation that the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England would delay the first rises in interest rates since the great crash of 2008 in the US and UK.
Mr Carney made clear that the decision on whether to increase the so-called Bank Rate - the interest rate set by the Bank of England - by 0.25% from 0.5% would depend on...

Summary: The decision on when to raise interest rates is still likely be at the top of the Bank of England's agenda at the turn of the year, the governor said this afternoon - even though he acknowledged that China's economic slowdown means the world's second biggest economy is likely to be a drag on growth in the whole world.
###
Article: Justin Welby made the announcement after a meeting of primates from the Anglican Communion in Canterbury.
In the UK, an act of Parliament passed in 1928 allowed for Easter Sunday to be fixed on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April.
However, this has never been activated and Easter has remained variable, determined by the moon's cycle.
Easter is the most important Christian festival, as it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his death by crucifixion on Good Friday.
The archbishop said he was in talks with Pope Francis, Coptic leader Pope Tawadros, and the leader of the Orthodox church Patriarch Bartholomew.
Mr Welby said he hoped the change would happen "in between five and 10 years time".
"I would love to see it before I retired", he said, although he warned the first attempt to make such a change was in the 10th Century.
An Anglican source told the BBC there had been 15 attempts to agree a common date since then.
Easter is on the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon following the spring equinox, meaning it can be celebrated on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April.
But the Orthodox church follows the Julian calendar, hence has later Easter celebrations compared with those of Western Christianity.
In 1990, the Vatican approved a proposal for a fixed date, which was subject to agreement with other Christian churches and governments. It has not yet been reached.

Summary:


Girls are being invited to audition to join Gloucester Cathedral's Choir for the first time in its 477 year history.

Article: The footage revealed that the clever primates habitually make special water-dipping sticks - chewing the end of the stick to turn it into a soft, water-absorbing brush.
Primate researchers examined the "dipping sticks" and concluded they were made specifically for drinking.
The findings are reported in the American Journal of Primatology.
Lead researcher Juan Lapuente, from the Comoe Chimpanzee Conservation Project, in Ivory Coast, explained that using similar brush-tipped sticks to dip into bees' nests for honey was common in chimpanzee populations across Africa.
"But the use of brush-tipped sticks to dip for water is completely new and had never been described before," he told BBC News.
"These chimps use especially long brush tips that they make specifically for water - much longer than those used for honey."
The researchers tested the chimps' drinking sticks in an "absorption experiment", which showed that the particularly long brush-tips provided an advantage.
"The longer the brush, the more water they collect," said Mr Lapuente.
"This technology allows Comoe chimpanzees to obtain water from extremely narrow and deep tree holes that only they  - and no other animal - can exploit, which [gives] them a superb adaptive advantage to survive in this dry and unpredictable environment."
This suggests that this particular population of chimpanzees has what the researchers call a "drinking culture" - a custom shared throughout this group of making these special water-dipping sticks to help them through the dry season.
The population belongs to the Western Chimpanzee sub-species, now critically endangered.
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Summary: Researchers have used camera traps to film tool-use that is unique to chimpanzees in Ivory Coast.
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Article: The choir was established by Henry VIII in 1539 and is currently made up of 20 boys and 12 adults.
The Dean of Gloucester said including girl choristers would be an "exciting new chapter" in the choir's history.
The aim is to find youngsters from local schools and a range of backgrounds who may not have considered singing in a cathedral choir before.
Adrian Partington, director of music at Gloucester Cathedral, said the aim is to "discover" some very talented girls.
New recruits will play a full part in the cathedral's musical worship, beginning with rehearsals in September before singing at evensong each Monday from October as well as at Christmas and Easter services.
The dean, the Very Reverend Stephen Lake, said: "This will ensure that young girls and boys will be lifting their voices in song at Gloucester Cathedral for many years to come."
The cathedral is hosting a "come and sing" open day on 9 April with girls and boys aged between seven and 12 invited to experience singing in the cathedral.
Auditions for girls will be held on 23 April.

Summary:


The bedroom where the Duke of Wellington died at Walmer Castle has been recreated to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Article: Fewer international journalists come here nowadays, she tells me. There is less interest now that the city is no longer murder capital of the world.
Back in 2011, Honduras had a murder rate of 86.5 per 100,000 people, according to the National University's Violence Observatory.
The country's industrial capital, San Pedro Sula, was the worst-hit.
But by 2015, the national murder rate had decreased to 60 per 100,000. Still not low, but quite a drop.
At the same time, neighbouring El Salvador has been climbing the ladder of violence.
Its national murder rate last year was closer to 100 per 100,000 people. El Salvador is currently the most deadly country outside a war zone.
Ms Cruz points out how much has changed in the past couple of years. Security cameras have been installed on street corners across San Pedro Sula.
More than 2,000 in the past few months.
"The Honduran government has real political will to clean up," she tells me.
"To heal the wounds of the violence, the statistics and deaths through drug trafficking and organised crime."
Ms Cruz says funding from the United States has helped too; programmes that have helped bring the violence down.
Latin America makes up just 8% of the world's population but accounts for nearly a third of all murders.
How did Central America in particular get so bad?
A combination of organised crime and weak institutions has played a huge part, as well as regional instability.
"We've practically got two generations who've grown up in an environment of ideological warfare," says Ramon Renaud, a political analyst who explains that even though Honduras - unlike many of its neighbours - escaped civil war, violence has made its mark.
"The violence in Honduras doesn't have its roots in social issues or a class war. It's more about the bridge that drug-trafficking has formed in Honduras and the Northern Triangle of Guatemala and El Salvador.
"Previous governments have not taken the right decisions to tackle this problem head on. So what happens? It's infiltrated and rooted itself in...

Summary: The first person I meet when I land in San Pedro Sula, in north-western Honduras, is local journalist Ingrid Cruz who gives me a tour of her city.
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Article: The military hero who defeated Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815 stayed at the Kent castle regularly from 1829 until 1852.
Copying a watercolour made shortly after his death, English Heritage has recreated the carpet and wallpaper in the room when he died aged  83.
A pair of his original Wellington boots and his death mask are also on show.
The bed and armchair he used are also on display as part of the new exhibition at the castle, which opens on Friday.
Displays in other rooms explore the career of Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley and his "celebrity" status and state funeral, where more than 1.5m people lined the route.
Wellington's body lay in state at Walmer for two months while preparations for his funeral at St Paul's Cathedral were taking place.
"In 1852, the eyes of the world fell upon Walmer Castle as one of the most important figures of that century died within a small and modest room there," said senior curator Rowena Willard-Wright .
Walmer Castle, near Deal, was completed in 1540 as one of a chain of coastal artillery forts.
From 1708 it became the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, a position occupied by Sir Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as well as the Duke of Wellington.
The Lord Warden is now a ceremonial post but the holder was originally in charge of five port towns on England's south east coast.

Summary:


The US government has been accused of using a spy tool to spy on the US elections.
The US government has been accused of using a spy tool to spy on the US elections.
The US government has been accused of using a spy tool to spy on the US elections.
The US government has been accused of

Apple has expanded its use of "two-step verification" checks to protect data stored online by its customers.

Article: Jackson held a 50% stake in Sony ATV Music Publishing as part of a business partnership that began in 1995.
The purchase will give Sony the rights to about three million songs, including works by the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Taylor Swift.
However, the deal does not include Jackson's master recordings.
His estate will maintain its holdings in Mijac Music, which owns all the songs written by Jackson, as well as EMI Music Publishing.
The agreement will reportedly help reduce the Jackson estate's remaining $250m debt and give the late musician's three children more financial flexibility.
The purchase of Jackson's stake also strengthens Sony's US entertainment business, which includes a film studio and music recording company.
"The entertainment businesses have long been a core part of Sony and are a key driver of our future growth," Kazuo Hirai, Sony's president and chief executive, said in a statement.
"These businesses will continue to contribute to our success for years to come."
John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Jackson estate, said the deal "further validates Michael's foresight and genius in investing in music publishing".
"His ATV catalogue, purchased in 1985 for a net acquisition cost of $41.5m, was the cornerstone of the joint venture and, as evidenced by the value of this transaction, is considered one of the smartest investments in music history."

Summary: Sony is paying Michael Jackson's estate $750m (£526m) for the late pop star's share of a joint music publishing venture that it does not already own.
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Article: It follows suggestions third-party software had been used to steal intimate photos of celebrities - posted online last month - from iCloud.
The action should stop the tool from being able to infiltrate Apple's internet storage service if the safety measure is implemented.
However, the security facility remains an opt-in choice.
One expert suggested that Apple should instead make it the default option.
The process works by introducing an extra step after an account holder has typed their username and password into a device they have not used before.
They are also required to enter a four-digit code that is either texted to a trusted mobile phone number or sent via Apple's Find My iPhone app.
If the person does not enter the code, they are refused access to iCloud and are blocked from making an iTunes, iBooks, or App Store purchase.
They can, however, use a 14-character recovery key to regain access to the account in the event their trusted device is lost or stolen. They are told to keep this in a safe place to avoid being locked out.
While Apple had offered the two-step verification system in the past, until now it had not come into play when device owners used the firm's back-up service.
That meant that even if people had switched on the two-step feature to prevent cyber-thieves logging into their accounts with a stolen or guessed password, the attackers could still download a complete back-up of their data by using Elcomsoft's Phone Password Breaker.
Several hackers' forums contain discussions about using of pirated copies of Elcomsoft's "forensic" software, which is marketed as a tool for law enforcement agencies to access iCloud content without needing to be in possession of a suspect's iPhone or iPad.
ElmcomSoft's Moscow-based owner told the BBC earlier this month that he believed his software had been used in the recent hacks, as it was "the only one able to do that".
He has now acknowledged that Apple's changes guard against the technique he had used.
"I think that implementation is secure, and so there...

Summary:


Pope Francis will go to Africa for the first time this week, visiting a refugee camp, a slum and a mosque.

Article: The money, invested over three years, will be used to help health boards and councils provide support packages for people in their own homes.
Figures from last October showed a rise in number of patients waiting longer than four weeks to be discharged.
The health secretary said the funding would "ease pressure" on the system.
Delayed discharge, often referred to as bed-blocking, is when a patient is judged clinically ready to go home but continues to occupy a hospital bed while plans are made for appropriate follow-up care.
Health Secretary Shona Robison has said cutting the number of people stuck in hospital waiting for a care package to be arranged is an "absolute key priority" for the Scottish government.
The plans for the funding were announced on a visit to Cowan Court care home in Penicuik.
It is part of wider efforts to better integrate health and social services.
Meanwhile, Holyrood's presiding officer, Tricia Marwick, has accused Ms Robison of "gross discourtesy" for making a major policy announcement outside the Scottish parliament.
At the start of parliamentary business, Ms Marwick told MSPs she found the decision to reveal the funding at a Midlothian care home "unacceptable".
Ms Robison earlier told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that the funding was a three-year package.
She said: "It gives the integrated partnerships - health and social care coming together - a three-year ability to plan and develop services."
The health secretary said the fact that health and social services were being integrated showed there had been a "realisation that those systems had to be brought together if we were really going to be able to tackle delayed discharge in a sustainable way".
She said that health boards and councils would work together with an aim of discharging patients within 72 hours of clinical readiness.
Ms Robison said: "My plan is to get rid of delayed discharge, for it to become something of the past, and move to a 72-hour standard where people are discharged within 72 hours of being...

Summary: The issue of patients stuck waiting to be discharged from hospital is to be tackled with £100m of funding from the Scottish government.
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Article: He will make 19 speeches during his tour of Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR) and they will probably address these issues:
He is expected to focus on religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence at a time of rising political instability and extremism in much of the region.
Security is expected to be tight throughout the trip, as the faithful flock to see this popular Pope, who has previously said that Christians would be wrong to equate Islam with violence.
His first stop, Kenya, has seen some of the worst Islamist violence: Two years ago, gunmen from the Somali militant group al-Shabab massacred at least 67 people inside Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall.
In Uganda, his second stop, al-Shabab bombed sports bars in Kampala where fans were watching the 2010 football World Cup on TV.
Many think the third stop on his trip, the CAR, is too dangerous for him to visit.
The Pope's visit to the capital, Bangui, where many have died in violence between largely Muslim Seleka rebels and mainly Christian "anti-balaka" militias, is seen as his most dangerous yet - but potentially also one of his most fruitful as a peace-maker.
In short: He will probably urge Christians and Muslims to get along.
2. Poverty
This is a Pope who has been hailed as the champion of a church for the poor.
His emphasis on the developing world, and the example of simplicity he sets in his own life, will be welcomed in countries where corruption in public life is often seen as an issue.
His capacity to look beyond Europe and embrace the concerns of people around the world is also likely to endear him to the faithful, and to those of other faiths, as this Pope from the southern hemisphere offers a message of hope to the dispossessed, and the struggling.
In Kenya, 75% of the wealth is owned by around 1% of the population, so Pope Francis's message may well prove popular among many of the remaining 99%.
He is likely to criticise inequality and corruption and will visit Kenya's multi-ethnic Kangemi slum - home to around 100,000...

Summary:


The finance minister has said she cannot move the budget bill forward because of the inability of the Stormont parties to resolve the deadlock over welfare reform.

Article: The figure is down 1% on the equivalent number for last year which was a record high.
The drop across the UK as a whole is significantly greater.
The Scottish government noted that the number of 18-year-old applicants from deprived areas still went up.
However, the number of applicants from EU countries fell 5%, suggesting uncertainty surrounding Brexit may have deterred some people from applying to study in Scotland.
Universities Scotland noted the number of Scottish applications was down by about 2,000 but said this followed a record high last year and it did not see the fall as a cause for concern.
A spokeswoman said: "The appetite for university remains very high amongst Scots. This year's applications by the January deadline are still 13% up on just four years ago.
"The very modest levelling-off from last year's peak in applications will do little to take the pressure off places given the very high standard of applicants."
The number of applications from EU countries also fell by around 2,000. EU students who start courses this year will be entitled to free tuition on the same terms as Scottish applicants.
This is currently required under EU law and the Scottish government has confirmed it will ensure EU students who begin their courses this year will be entitled to free tuition until they graduate although the expectation is that the UK will have left the EU by then.
The number of applications from other parts of the UK and countries outside the EU - all of whom are charged tuition fees in one form or another - rose.
Scottish and EU students in effect compete against each other for the same free places - the drop in the number of applicants could make it slightly easier for some applicants to get in. Universities can decide for themselves how many paying students from the rest of the UK and countries outside the EU to let in.
Scottish government education minister Shirley-Anne Somerville said: "The initial UCAS applicant figures for 2017 show that, in the face of a general decline in applicants to...

Summary: The number of Scots applying to university has fallen slightly, according to the latest official figures from admissions service UCAS.
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Article: Arlene Foster was speaking after a meeting of the executive on Thursday afternoon.
She told the BBC there were no solutions on the table.
The Stormont parties failed to pass the Welfare Reform Bill on Tuesday.
Mrs Foster said failure to pass the legislation meant that there was a £600m hole in her budget.
She said she cannot move the budget bill required to give Stormont officials the legal authority to carry on spending money after the end of July.
The minister said she is seeking a meeting with the Treasury in London early next week to assess her options.
Sinn Féin's John O'Dowd said Stormont ministers should present a united front and seek a joint meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.
However, both the Alliance Party and Ulster Unionist ministers said they were pessimistic about the chances of a resolution to the executive's difficulties.

Summary:


The film Frozen 2 is set to be released in the US on October 25, 2014.

Disney has announced it will produce a sequel to its runaway hit Frozen, which last year became the highest-grossing animated film of all time.

Article: The government wants parents to agree their child maintenance agreements "amicably" or face a charge.
It said the changes were necessary as the old set-up was costly for taxpayers.
But a charity said the changes could force some parents into "unstable" arrangements.
Child maintenance is financial support that helps towards a child's living costs when its parents have separated.
If parents split, maintenance should be paid to the person who takes care of the child on a day-to-day basis.
Under the old system many single parents used the Child Support Agency (CSA) to sort out maintenance payments, but ministers announced last year the CSA would be abolished.
A government spokesman said the old CSA was using an IT system that was "totally inadequate and notoriously riddled with defects", and as such it was costing £74 million per annum to run in operating costs alone.
Source: Department for Work and Pensions
The spokesman added that the old maintenance system "took responsibility away from parents, encouraging conflict and hostility at huge expense to the taxpayer".
In an effort to improve the situation the new replacement "Child Maintenance Service" has been gradually rolled out, which the government said is designed to act as a backstop for parents having trouble.
This week more than 50,000 letters are being sent out by the Department for Work and Pensions to parents in England, Scotland and Wales who currently pay and receive child maintenance through the old CSA.
Ministers want to encourage people to come to voluntary arrangements but if that is not possible - and the new statutory service is used - then both parties will be charged.
Under the new rules if an amicable arrangement cannot be reached the paying parent - usually the father - will have a 20% fee added to the maintenance payment, while the receiving parent will pay 4% to get the money.
The charges will be introduced later this year, and all single parents will be charged an upfront fee of £20 for registering with the new service.
However, the chief...

Summary: Thousands of letters are to be sent to single parents in Britain informing them of changes to their child maintenance arrangements.
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Article: The Oscar-winning picture made $1.27bn (Â£857m) at box offices worldwide, and led to record sales of related merchandise.
Frozen 2 will reunite the team behind the original feature, including director Chris Buck, writer Jennifer Lee and producer Peter Del Vecho.
The studio did not name a release date.
Shares in parent company Walt Disney were up by almost 4% following the news.
Toy-maker Mattel, which currently owns the license to sell Frozen products, saw its shares rise by almost 5%.
Last month, Disney credited the continuing success of toys based on Frozen for an "incredibly strong quarter".
Net income rose 19% to $2.2bn (Â£1.5bn) in the three-month period, with revenues up 9% to $13.4bn - both figures better than forecast.
In December, Frozen became iTunes' biggest-selling movie of all time, while the soundtrack sold more than any other album in the US in 2014.
Additionally, DVD and Blu-ray sales of the animation broke the three million mark on the first day of their release.

Summary:


The British Army has been involved in the battle for Tikrit for more than a year.
The British Army has been involved in the battle for Tikrit for more than a year.
The British Army has been involved in the battle for Tikrit for more than a year.
The British Army has been involved in

A set of rare photographs showing the impact of the Dambusters' "bouncing bomb" raids have been sold at auction.

Article: State-run al-Iraqiya TV said government forces were "advancing" but progress has been slowed by roadside bombs.
Security sources said they had captured villages and oil fields east of the city, and blocked a key IS supply line to neighbouring Diyala province.
The offensive is being overseen at least in part by an Iranian general.
On Tuesday, the top US general said Iran's role in Tikrit could be positive, as long as it did not fuel sectarian tensions.
Some 30,000 soldiers and militiamen from the Popular Mobilisation (al-Hashd al-Shaabi) force, backed by Iraqi jets and helicopters, have advanced gradually since the offensive began on Monday.
On Wednesday, a source in the Samarra Operations Command told the BBC that government forces had taken control of the village of al-Maibdi, on the road between Tikrit and the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, as well as the nearby Ajil and Alas oilfields. The road was a key supply route for IS between Salahuddin and Diyala provinces, the source said.
Another official told All Iraq News that the villages of Siha and Mazraat al-Rahim, just to the north of Tikrit in al-Alam district, had also been retaken.
However, the soldiers and militiamen have not breached IS defences around Tikrit and al-Dour, a town 19km (12 miles) to the south, which officials say is another stronghold of the jihadist group.
Military officials said on Tuesday that al-Dour had been surrounded and sealed off, but that an assault on the town had not yet been launched.
Can Iraq's army dislodge Islamic State?
How Iran is involved in battle for Tikrit
Tikrit campaign key to rolling back IS advance
A senior army commander said the operation was focused on preventing IS from launching more attacks, and cutting supply lines to stop reinforcements and weapons reaching Tikrit.
The next step would be to "surround the towns completely, suffocate them and then pounce," Lt Gen Abdul Amir al-Zaidi told the AFP news agency.
Gen Zaidi said progress along roads into Tikrit had been slowed by sniper fire and roadside...

Summary: Iraqi army soldiers and Shia militiamen are seeking to encircle Islamic State fighters in Tikrit, on the third day of a major operation to retake the city.
###
Article: The raids by 19 RAF Lancaster bombers destroyed two strategically significant German dams and damaged a third.
Taken by the Nazi authorities before and after the raids - on 16 and 17 May 1943 - the aerial images are stamped "Secret Command Document".
The photographs were sold in Nottingham for Â£2,100 - considerably more than the list price of Â£1,200.
As well as the time and date of the images, they also carry a warning forbidding them to be copied.
The revolutionary bombs skipped across the lakes behind the dams and showed how precision attacks were possible in an age when most missions were lucky to get within miles of their target.
Eight aircraft were lost and 56 of 133 aircrew were killed or captured.  An estimated 1,600 people died on the ground.
International Autograph Auctions, of Nottingham, offered a set of reconnaissance images showing the Mohne and Edersee dams.
Two pairs show the Mohne and Edersee dams before and after the attacks and a fifth image of a reserve dam on the Mohne reservoir shows how part of it had emptied out.
Carl Buck, senior researcher at International Autograph Auctions, said: "The usual pictures we see of the dam raids are from photo-reconnaissance Spitfires despatched after the mission or close ups from Germany."
Dambusters expert Charles Foster said: "The fascination with the Dambusters themselves is because it combined so many different things which contributed to the war effort - a revolutionary new weapon, supreme airmanship skills and raw courage in pressing home an attack under fire.
"The fact that it was then immortalised in what is now regarded as one of the best ever British war films just adds to its mystique."

Summary:


The Badger Trust has launched a new legal challenge to the government's plans to cull badgers in England.

Article: It is part of a planned expansion of the league, with the inclusion of a London-based team likely to follow.
"We are looking forward to having Milton Keynes on board,"  said Elite League chairman Tony Smith.
"We are very pleased that we are expanding the league. Hopefully this isn't the end of the expansion."
MK Lightning were founded in 2002 and are coached by Pete Russell, who is also in charge of the Great Britain senior men's team.
"The way hockey is going right now this is a really good move for a club which is growing," Russell told the Lightning website.
"I think we have a real core of top-end Brits, and if we can keep them here we will have a really good base to build from."
The Elite League currently has 10 teams - four from England, four from Scotland and one each from Northern Ireland and Wales.

Summary: Milton Keynes Lightning are to play in the Elite League, the highest level of professional ice hockey in Britain, from the start of the 2017-18 season.
###
Article: In December, the government announced finalised plans for a cull, initially in pilot areas, as a way to curb the spread of tuberculosis in cattle.
In applying for judicial review, the Badger Trust says culling will not stop TB and may in fact help spread it.
Other campaign groups are considering action under the Bern Convention, which protects European wildlife.
The government's plans are likely to result in farmers funding contractors to shoot badgers in a number of areas of England, with two initial pilots in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset taking place later this year.
"We have identified some serious flaws in the way by which the Secretary of State [Caroline Spelman] reached her decision to cull badgers," said Gwendolen Morgan of Bindmans solicitors, lawyer for the Badger Trust.
"Given that Defra's proposals come at an enormous cost to farmers, and threaten to prompt rather than prevent the spread of disease, we hope that this ill-conceived decision will be struck down by the court."
She pointed to government projections that culling would reduce TB incidence by 12-16% over nine years.
TheProtection of Badgers Actsays licences to kill can be granted for "preventing the spread of disease" - and the trust argues that the slow-down in the rate of increase, or "reduction in new incidence", projected by Defra does not qualify as "prevention".
The government's plan involves having Natural England issue culling licences. The Badger Trust says the guidance given to Natural England is unlawful.
Potentially the most important element of its case concerns the methods used to kill badgers.
In the landmark UK study, the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), badgers were trapped before being shot.
However, the government plans to allow licensed contractors to shoot badgers as they roam - "free shooting" - which is likely to be less efficient and to increase disruption of badger families.
The RBCT showed that when badger's social groups are disrupted, they roam further, carrying the TB bacterium to more...

Summary:


The A9 is to be widened to 20m (65ft) in the new A9 at Berriedale Braes.
The new A9 will be the first of its kind in Scotland.
The new A9 will be the first of its kind in Scotland.
The new A9 will be the

Construction of planned improvements to a challenging hairpin bend on the A9 at Berriedale Braes could begin next year, the Scottish government has said.

Article: Asda has given a commitment to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that it will alter the way it presents promotional deals.
However, the supermarket said there were no specific findings against it.
The regulator was investigating whether supermarkets were misleading customers with confusing price promotions.
The investigation came after a super-complaint by the consumer group Which?.
At the time it issued the super-complaint, in April 2015, Which? cited several examples of what it called misleading pricing by supermarkets:
In July last year, the CMA said it had found evidence that supermarkets were misleading consumers with promotions, and found some examples that "could be in breach of consumer law".
Presenting the CMA's latest findings, executive director Michael Grenfell said: "The CMA's examination of the market, following the super-complaint, found that supermarkets generally take compliance seriously, but there were some promotional practices that could mislead shoppers."
The CMA said it had "had particular engagement with Asda in relation to specific areas of concern".
It added that Asda had made a commitment to change the way it operates "was/now" and multi-buy pricing deals.
Asda has said it will ensure that:
A spokesperson for Asda said, "All supermarkets were asked to review their pricing practices and make any necessary changes.  The CMA has asked for a commitment from Asda on our promotional pricing rules and we were happy to provide this.
"It's important that customers know that the CMA did not make any findings against Asda, and it hasn't questioned our commitment to every day low prices."
The CMA said Asda had been asked to make the changes by August this year - and it would check how those changes were working six months later.
Richard Lloyd, Which? executive director, said: "We are pleased to see the CMA investigation has resulted in Asda taking action to stop misleading special offers.
"Asda has been found breaking the rules and now must immediately clean up their act."

Summary: Asda is to change its price promotions after being singled out by the competition regulator in a probe into supermarket pricing practices.
###
Article: The trunk road drops from 150m (492ft) to 20m (65ft) as it enters a valley at the braes in Caithness.
There have been accusations from business leaders and politicians that the problem with this section of the A9 was being "ignored".
Documents key to progressing the improvements have been published.
The documents, called made orders, are part of the process towards eventually appointing a contractor and then starting work in 2018, Transport Minister Humza Yousaf has said.
He added: "The Scottish government has been working to progress the much-needed improvements to the A9 at Berriedale Braes.
"The hairpin bend and steep hill at Berriedale Braes has presented drivers, in particular HGVs and other long vehicles, with a very challenging road to negotiate.
"Having got the go-ahead last December following the public local inquiry, we are now able to publish the made orders for the scheme as a clear signal of our commitment to deliver this scheme."

Summary:


The Scottish government has been accused of "failing to deliver" for Scotland.
The Herald said: "The SNP's victory is a historic victory for the party and a historic victory for the SNP.
"The SNP's victory is a historic victory for the party and a historic victory for the SNP.
"

As the counts got under way in the Holyrood election the Scottish papers were predicting an SNP victory and there was little change as updated editions were published through the night.

Article: Many environmentalists believe capitalism - and the financial architecture that supports it - is the source of the climate change problem, rather than a potential solution.
That is a mistake.
Because if anything is likely to save us all from the catastrophe that is uncontrolled global warming, it is global capitalism.
Some of you may think that sounds like opinion, but hear me out.
It is my contention - held for some time - that global capitalism is the only engine (if you'll excuse the pun) capable of driving the transformation towards a low-carbon economy.
And the good news is that it is already happening.
There are two key reasons.
The first is the collapse in the price of solar energy.
The cost of generating a kilowatt-hour of electricity from solar in a reasonably sunny country is expected to be the same as that from a coal-fired power station within a year or two.
Indeed, In India - where I currently live - some producers are now selling solar-generated electricity for the knockdown price of just 4.34 rupees (4.5 pence; 7 cents) a kilowatt-hour!
But the other reason is international finance - and here's where it gets interesting.
The economics of renewable energy are very different from those of other sources of power.
Unlike coal, gas or nuclear power stations, renewable sources don't have to pay anything for their fuel. The sun, wind or water comes - pretty much - free.
That transforms the nature of the investment decision.
Just think for a moment about what it means.
With traditional fossil fuel power plants, the investment case will be made as a balance between the costs of building the power station, the future price of electricity and a projection of the future costs of the fuel needed to keep it producing power.
With renewables it is almost all about the initial capital cost - how much it costs to build the thing in the first place - and the electricity price.
That means the cost of solar in the long run is a combination of the cost of the panels, the price of electricity and - crucially - the...

Summary: For some reason green campaigners don't tend to be very interested in international finance.
###
Article: At 05:00 The Scotsman's front page declared a "historic victory for SNP".
The Herald also published a 5am edition. The paper said: "Sturgeon triumphant as Labour humiliated."
"Victory's at hand" was the earlier headline in The National, with a full page picture of Nicola Sturgeon with her husband and SNP chief executive Peter Murrell. The paper said she was "on course to win her mandate".
"Just Like Nat" was the headline on the front page of the Scottish Sun. Earlier, shortly after the polls closed, the newspaper tweeted that the Tories would "comfortably" seal second place.
The Daily Record published its first edition with the caption "01:30 election latest". The headline was "Five more years" and the paper said Nicola Sturgeon was set to be returned as first minister.
The Scottish Daily Express said Nicola Sturgeon had been warned that there would be "no more excuses" for failing to deliver for Scotland as the SNP "swept to an historic third term" in the Holyrood election.
The Daily Star headline was "Five more years". It also predicted the SNP was poised to "hold Holyrood".
The Scottish Daily Mail had published three editions by 03:00. Its most recent said "SNP set for victory, Tory vote surges in push for second and Labour disaster as seats tumble".
The Daily Telegraph said Nicola Sturgeon "could be denied" a new independence referendum.

Summary:


Night-vision goggles are to be used by council staff to catch dog owners who do not clean up after their pets.

Article: Ransomware encrypts data on infected machines and then asks for money before restoring access to information.
The FBI is analysing a strain of ransomware called MSIL/Samas that tries to encrypt data across entire networks rather than single computers.
The plea comes as security firms warn about other novel strains of the fast-growing, data-scrambling cyber-threats.
The FBI sent out the request for help after discovering that the group behind MSIL/Samas had stepped up its efforts to find victims.
In the confidential advisory obtained by Reuters, the FBI said the group used a publicly available security program called Jexboss to scan networks looking for vulnerable versions of the widely used JBoss software.
When a vulnerable system is found, the malware launches an attack that seeks to scramble data on servers. It also finds and deletes the back-up files firms could use to restore data scrambled by ransomware.
Cisco said it had seen a "widespread campaign" using Samas targeting firms involved in healthcare. Early versions of the malware charged a ransom of one bitcoin (£300) for every machine hit but later versions upped this to 1.5 bitcoins.
"It is likely the malware author is trying to see how much people will pay for their files," wrote Cisco security analyst Nick Biasini in an advisory. "They even added an option for bulk decryption of 22 bitcoin (£6,600) to decrypt all infected systems."
The FBI's request for aid comes as security firms warn about recently created ransomware variants that use different methods to lock up systems and force victims to pay.
The Petya malware targets a key Windows system file called the Master Boot Record that helps a PC get started. By overwriting this file, people are prevented from getting at any data on their PC unless they pay up.
Trend Micro said it had seen Petya distributed in email messages crafted to look like they are from someone looking for work. The CV attached to the message is a booby-trapped program that launches Petya, said Trend security engineer Jasen...

Summary: The FBI is seeking help from US firms as it investigates a nasty strain of ransomware, Reuters reports.
###
Article: The £200 "monocular", which has a built-in laser illuminator to improve viewing in the dark, will be used by Stafford Borough Council inspectors.
During winter months it is more difficult to catch irresponsible dog owners, the council said.
Staff members who use the monocular will be uniformed and wear a badge, a spokesman added.
Updates on this story and more from Staffordshire
"The only people who should be worried (about this) are the inconsiderate dog owners who are not clearing up after their dogs," a spokesman said.
Previous council schemes have involved people ringing a phone line to highlight the worst-hit areas.
Staff are already targeting these "hotspots", the council said, but have found it difficult since the clocks went back.
Councillor Frank Finlay, cabinet member for environment and health, said the council had tremendous support from the community to get rid of this "disgusting crime".
"These night-vision goggles will help us overcome this problem and let people know that, even under the cover of darkness, they cannot get away with showing blatant disregard to their fellow citizens," he said.

Summary:


A UK withdrawal from the European Union could make policing in Northern Ireland slower, more complicated and more costly, the head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said.

Article: Joshua Oppenheimer spent years filming accounts of mass killings in the country that took place in the 1960s.
His film won the Bafta award for best documentary on Sunday.
"I would love to be able to go back," Oppenheimer told the BBC in an interview before the ceremony.
"The film is, in a way, my love letter to Indonesia. At the same time one of the saddest things for me about releasing the film is that I can't safely go back now."
The Act of Killing has shocked audiences around the world with its first-hand accounts of the murder and torture of alleged Communists in 1965-66.
The documentary tells the story from the perspective of the unrepentant killers.
But what makes it extraordinary is that they are invited to re-enact their murders in the style of their favourite American movies.
During his Bafta speech on Sunday, Oppenheimer dedicated the award to his anonymous Indonesian crew and his co-director who had "risked his safety knowing that he could not stand with me to accept this award until there is major change in Indonesia".
The Act of Killing is also a front-runner to win an Oscar on 2 March.
Its Academy Award nomination last month prompted an Indonesian government official to say the country had been portrayed as "a cruel and lawless nation".
The Jakarta Globe quoted Teuku Faizasyah, the presidential spokesman for foreign affairs, as saying: "The film portrayed Indonesia as backwards, as in the 1960s. That is not appropriate, not fitting. It must be remembered [that] Indonesia has gone through a reformation. Many things have changed."
At the Baftas, Oppenheimer said the government's response had been "inadequate", but acknowledged it marked a change in the official line on the killings.
"Until that moment the government has maintained the genocide was something heroic and to be celebrated," he said.
The Act of Killing focuses on Anwar Congo, one of a group of former black market gangsters who operated out of cinemas in Medan, Northern Sumatra.
Anwar was the 41st perpetrator that Oppenheimer...

Summary: The director of the hard-hitting documentary The Act of Killing says it isn't safe for him to return to Indonesia after the release of his film.
###
Article: George Hamilton was speaking to MPs on the Northern Ireland affairs committee.
It is investigating how a UK exit from the EU could affect Northern Ireland.
Mr Hamilton said the PSNI would "not take a position on exit or not" and would work with whatever circumstances are in place after the EU referendum.
Voters will go to the polls in June to decide whether the UK should remain a member of the EU.
Asked on whether an exit from the EU would affect policing, Mr Hamilton said: "I think all of this is probably doable with an exit, but it will be slower, complicated and more costly is the view we would take from a practical policing perspective."
But he said the PSNI had a "very good working relationship" with a number of police forces in non-EU countries, "most notably America".
Mr Hamilton, who appeared before the committee with Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr, also said he did not think the PSNI's link with the Irish police would suffer in the case of an exit from the EU.
He said "the relationships are secure".
He added that if a so-called Brexit - a shorthand term for a UK exit from the EU - took place he was "absolutely sure the quality of the relationship and the professionalism of both organisations would not be diminished".
The committee is examining areas like the economy and the border with the Republic of Ireland.
It has already heard evidence from a wide range of politicians and business leaders.

Summary:


The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released more than three million sterile flies twice a week in order to quell the infestation before it spreads further.

A sea captain has been convicted of being drunk in charge of a merchant ship in Belfast Lough.

Article: The surprise outbreak of screwworm has killed off more than 100 Key deer in the Florida Keys, and there are fears it could spread to livestock.
Scientists release the sterile flies so that they mate with the females but produce no offspring – killing off populations.
Screwworm was eradicated from the US in the late 60s, after it caused hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of damage to agriculture.
It is a grisly pest. The "worm" is the larval stage of the blowfly, which burrows its way into live flesh like a corkscrew, effectively eating animals alive. In rare cases, it can also infest humans.
The US had been free of the parasite for decades until late 2016, when cases were confirmed in the endangered Key deer, a sub-species of white-tailed deer that now lives only in the Florida Keys.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) told BBC News that it was releasing more than three million sterile flies twice a week in order to quell the infestation before it spreads further.
Pamela Manns, a public affairs specialist for the USDA said: "We don’t know exactly how long this process will take, but eradication efforts like this can last four to six months. It is not uncommon and we expect that to be the case here."
The solution being used now is the same one developed in the 1950s that eradicated screwworm from the US and other parts of the Americas.
Scientists breed large numbers of blowflies, blast them with radiation to sterilise them and then release them into the wild. The sterile males mate with native females but can produce no viable progeny, causing populations to crash.
After wiping out the fly from US territory in the 60s, America subsequently worked to eliminate the flies from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Since then the US has maintained a buffer zone across the Darien gap in Panama between the screwworm-free north and South America, where the flies still roam.
In the late 1980s, sterile flies were released in Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico after isolated cases were reported. But the...

Summary: Authorities in Florida have been releasing sterile flies in a bid to stamp out a flesh-eating livestock disease that has returned to the US for the first time in 30 years.
###
Article: Eugenijus Tulauskas, from Lithuania, was up to four times over the maritime limit when arrested in September last year.
A pilot had to take control of the container ship to ensure its safe passage into harbour.
The 44-year-old seaman, of no fixed abode was fined Â£1,500 at Belfast Magistrates' Court.
Tulauskas had contested a charge of having excess alcohol while on duty as professional master of a ship.
His lawyers argued that he was not on duty at the time of the offence.
The court was told that an experienced pilot sent out to guide the ship into port thought he smelled alcohol on Tulauskas' breath.
He contacted Belfast Harbour Police who detained the defendant and took a breath sample.
Talauskas confirmed at that stage he had not taken any alcohol in the previous four hours.
The district judge said she was "satisfied on the evidence that the defendant was not just master of the vessel, but was on duty at the time".
Talauskas' lawyer argued that he was aware of the pilot's actions and had congratulated him on his manoeuvres.
"It's not a case that he was totally incoherent," the lawyer said.
The court heard that the captain had since lost his job.
The judge, who could have fined him up to Â£5,000, commented that "if the defendant were in employment I would be looking at the upper region (of a fine)".

Summary:


Three pupils at the High School of Dundee have been expelled following the discovery of cannabis on school property.

Article: The main risk factors for the disease are a lack of exercise, smoking, depression and poor education, it says.
Previous research from 2011 put the estimate at one in two cases, but this new study takes into account overlapping risk factors.
Alzheimer's Research UK said age was still the biggest risk factor.
Writing in The Lancet Neurology, the Cambridge team analysed population-based data to work out the main seven risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.
These are:
They worked out that a third of Alzheimer's cases could be linked to lifestyle factors that could be modified, such as lack of exercise and smoking.
The researchers then looked at how reducing these factors could affect the number of future Alzheimer's cases.
They found that by reducing each risk factor by 10%, nearly nine million cases of the disease could be prevented by 2050.
In the UK, a 10% reduction in risk factors would reduce cases by 8.8%, or 200,000, by 2050, they calculated.
Current estimates suggest that more than 106 million people worldwide will be living with Alzheimer's by 2050 - more than three times the number affected in 2010.
Prof Carol Brayne, from the Institute of Public Health at the University of Cambridge, said: "Although there is no single way to treat dementia, we may be able to take steps to reduce our risk of developing dementia at older ages.
"We know what many of these factors are, and that they are often linked.
"Simply tackling physical inactivity, for example, will reduce levels of obesity, hypertension and diabetes, and prevent some people from developing dementia.
"As well as being healthier in old age in general, it's a win-win situation."
Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at charity Alzheimer's Research UK, said there was still much to discover about the disease.
"While age is the biggest risk factor for most cases of Alzheimer's, there are a number of lifestyle and general health factors that could increase or decrease a person's chances of developing the disease.
"However, we still do not fully understand the...

Summary: One in three cases of Alzheimer's disease worldwide is preventable, according to research from the University of Cambridge.
###
Article: A further thirteen pupils at the fee-paying school have been suspended for using E-cigarettes.
Another pupil has been suspended and given a final warning after the discovery of the class B drug.
In a letter to parents, rector Dr John Halliday said police were conducting an investigation into the incident.
Dr Halliday wrote: "Following the discovery of a small amount of cannabis on school property, three pupils in F3 have now left the school for their involvement in this incident.
"As I intimated last week, the school immediately notified the police, who are conducting their own investigation.
"We obviously cannot comment on their investigation but I can reassure you that no pupil still at school is under investigation by the police."
Dr Halliday said the 13 pupils suspended following E-cigarette use were given "clear warnings" and guidance.
He said that the school had strict anti-drugs and anti-smoking policies.
He wrote: "Breaches of the policy are treated with the utmost seriousness, with the resulting disciplinary decisions reached after full and thorough consideration of the facts and circumstances.
"I and my senior colleagues have been addressing these incidents directly and believe that we have taken appropriate action in support of the school's standpoint that such behaviour cannot be tolerated."

Summary:


A turtle, thought to be from the Gulf of Mexico, that washed up on a Cumbrian beach has died.

Article: In 2015, UK residents took 65.7m foreign holidays or business trips.
That was despite a number of high profile terrorist attacks in Europe.
They included the deaths of 130 people in Paris in November, and the killing of 38 holiday-makers on a beach in Tunisia in June.
The travel industry said the figures showed the "resilience" of UK travellers.
"The 9.4% growth recorded in overseas holidays during the year is the largest annual rise in nearly twenty years, and spending on holidays exceeded pre-crisis levels for the first time since the recession," said a spokesperson for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).
Spain was easily the most popular country for UK residents to visit, with 13m trips there during the year. That accounted for nearly a fifth of all foreign travel by Brits.
At the same time the number of trips by foreign visitors to the UK rose by 5.1%, to a record high of 36.1m.
But while foreigners spent £22.1bn on visits to the UK, Brits spent £39bn abroad.
That spending gap of £16.9bn is the highest since 2008, and accounted for a large slice of the UK's overall balance of payments deficit of £96.2bn in 2015.
The French were the biggest visitors to the UK, with 4m trips.
Behind them were the Germans and the Americans, with 3m visits each. However American visitors spend more, so are more important to the economy.
Outside London, the cities with the highest number of visitors were Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham, each of which had more than a million foreign visits.

Summary: The number of trips by UK residents abroad increased by 9.4% last year, the largest rise since 1998, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
###
Article: The Kemp's ridley turtle was one of two found on beaches near Formby, Merseyside, and Cumbria's Walney Island on 22 December.
The reptile found in Merseyside died soon after, but the other was being looked after at the Lake District Coast Aquarium in Maryport.
Aquarium owner Mark Vollers said it had struggled to feed itself.
The turtles were believed to be from the Gulf of Mexico 5,000 miles (8,000 km) away and were among a small number which washed up on British and European shores last month.
Mr Vollers told BBC Cumbria: "We thought we had a 50/50 chance, which would've improved if it had started feeding.
"It was getting some sustenance in other ways but not really enough to recover.
"We were following a strict agreed protocol arrived at after consultation with vets here and in other countries - people who have experience of this species of turtle."
The turtle, possibly aged about 20, is now with a specialist vet who will determine the cause of death.
Source: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Summary:


The United States has been accused of using its military to help the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon has said it is "deeply concerned" by the use of military force in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon said it was "deeply concerned" by the use of military force in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon said it was

Belfast City Council has backed a group of principals who say they will refuse to make cuts to school budgets.

Article: Ms Suu Kyi's presence is seen as a sign of improving ties with the military since her release from house arrest.
Addressing the gathering, army chief General Min Aung Hlaing told troops the military would maintain a role in national politics.
The event comes ongoing communal violence in central Burma.
Armed Forces Day marks the 68th anniversary of Burma's uprising against Japanese rule.
Over 6,000 troops were in attendance, as military jeeps and tanks took part in the parade in Burma's capital, Nay Pyi Taw.
Aung San Suu Kyi's attendance is a striking symbol of the reconciliation between her and the institution that locked her and so many of her supporters up for many years, the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.
In the past she was a strident critic of the military's grip on Burma. Today she is making conspicuous efforts to build good relations with the armed forces, which still hold an automatic quarter of the seats in parliament, our correspondent adds.
Elections in November 2010 replaced decades of military rule with a military-backed civilian government, which has since initiated a series of reforms.
Ms Suu Kyi was freed from years of house arrest in late 2010. Her NLD party, which boycotted the polls, now has a small presence in parliament after rejoining the political fold and contesting subsequent by-elections, which resulted in a landslide win.
But the military-backed party has a much larger presence in Burma's new chamber.
"While the country is moving toward modern democracy, our military plays a leading role in national politics," General Min Aung Hlaing said at the parade.
"We will keep on marching to strengthen the democratic path wished by the people."
The army chief also addressed the anti-Muslim clashes in central Burma that have led to 40 reported deaths and made an estimated 12,000 Muslims homeless.
"Our independence came from all Burmese people, including every ethnic minority - therefore we have to protect it," he said.
"The conflict that is going on now, the army...

Summary: Burma has marked its Armed Forces Day with a military parade, with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in attendance for the first time.
###
Article: In April, Northern Ireland's secretary of state published a plan for a budget to be imposed if the Stormont parties could not reach a deal.
The indicative figures included a 2.5% cut to education.
At the time, the group of more than 40 principals in schools in the Belfast area called the proposals "totally unacceptable".
They sent a letter to parents, the Department of Education, the Education Authority and the secretary of state saying they could not impose the cuts "without seriously compromising their children's education".
On Tuesday, they went to a meeting of Belfast City Council to ask for support in fighting the cuts.
Lord Mayor Alderman Brian Kingston has now agreed to write to the secretary of state, MLAs and MPs.
Damian O'Neill, principal of the Good Shepherd Primary School in Dunmurry, told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme the principals did not know where else to turn.
"They (Belfast City Council) are the only elected body at the minute who we could reach out to.
"It's very, very important for us as principals that we see the best-possible outcomes for our children.
"But the circumstances at the minute would suggest to me that we won't be able to do that."

Summary:


A prolific burglar has been banned from all of Manchester's back alleyways.

Article: Mr Norman, who built his reputation as boss of Asda, will replace Robert Swannell, who joined M&S in 2010.
The announcement comes days after M&S hired the boss of Halfords, Jill McDonald, to take charge of its clothing, home and beauty business.
Mr Norman, former executive at retailer Kingfisher, stood down as ITV chairman last year.
He joins M&S as chief executive Steve Rowe continues the fight to improve flagging clothing sales, and revamp product ranges and prices, while attempting to create a leaner and more focused business.
Mr Rowe has already announced a big expansion of the M&S food operation.
Mr Norman said: "I am looking forward to taking on the role of the chairmanship of Marks & Spencer as the business under Steve Rowe's leadership faces into the considerable challenges ahead in a rapidly changing retail landscape."
Retail analyst Nick Bubb said: "Some people thought that Archie was too heavyweight for the role, which is non-executive, and it remains to be seen how much of 'a back-seat driver' he is to CEO Steve Rowe.
"When he took over at the struggling Asda in 1991 he famously played down expectations of the turnaround and we see he is up to his old tricks again in today's statement."
Mr Norman has held a number of high ranking positions, including:
He has also served as chairman of Lazard London and Hobbycraft.
In a statement, Mr Swannell said: "I am delighted that Archie, with his deep, relevant experience is to be M&S's next chairman.
"It has been a real privilege to have served as chairman and to have worked with so many exceptional people who are so passionate about this great business.
"With the appointment of Steve Rowe in 2016, I am confident that we have an excellent team, well-equipped to grow and strengthen the business. I wish them all the very best for the future."
Mr Norman has a reputation for turning around businesses. He is most famously credited with transforming Asda, which was ailing at the beginning of the 1990s but was sold for Â£6.5bn to Wal-Mart in 1999.
In interviews he...

Summary: Retail veteran and former Conservative MP Archie Norman has been named Marks and Spencer's new chairman.
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Article: Michael Patterson was handed the order after being convicted of break-ins in the Levenshulme and Longsight areas of the city.
His "consistent method" was to carry out burglaries after entering rear alleyways, magistrates heard.
The 49-year-old, of Field Bank Grove, Gorton admitted three counts of burglary and possession of a Class B drug and was jailed for 16 months.
The ban, known as a criminal behaviour order, will run indefinitely after his release.
It will ban Patterson from entering rear alleyways with the exception of the one behind his own home.
The order also prohibits him from entering an area of Stockport Road, from Stanley Grove in Longsight up to Albert Road in Levenshulme, and the surrounding streets.
Premises targeted in the break-ins included a takeaway, a solicitors' office and a mobile phone shop.
Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council's executive member for neighbourhood services, said: "Michael Patterson has used the same technique repeatedly to commit a number of offences and this order will prevent him continuing the pattern."

Summary:


Facebook "tramples" on European privacy law by tracking people without consent, Belgium's privacy watchdog has said.

Article: Now imagine the same landlord throws in a bowl of chips for free - because you are a regular at the pub three nights a week.
Then the pub closes for a couple of weeks for refurbishment. So, you go to another pub - The Red Lion - a few hundred yards further down the road.
A little surprisingly, the landlord at that pub knows your favourite pint too, even though you have never been in before.
You find out that the Dog and Duck landlord has sold on information about your tastes to the landlord at The Red Lion.
How do you feel? A bit concerned, perhaps.
But worse is to come. You subsequently find out that - knowing what you are going to order - the landlord at The Red Lion has charged you 10p more than he has charged another customer.
You don't even get a free bowl of chips!
This might seem like a very far-fetched example. However, shift this whole buying process online - and it sums up a big issue for internet shoppers.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) wants to know more about personalised pricing. This occurs if a retailer offers different prices depending on information they have collected about that customer.
This is done primarily in two ways. Firstly, retailers can collect details of a customer's previous purchases made on the website. Secondly, they can buy information about the customer's purchases or internet searches from a third party.
The OFT wants to know if consumers are aware that all this data is being collected about their shopping and searching preferences, as well as if this puts consumers off buying on the internet.
The regulator says that there is no evidence, but a lot of concern, that this information allows retailers to charge a higher price to certain customers - just like the hypothetical landlord at The Red Lion.
"It is important we understand what control shoppers have over their profile and whether firms are using shoppers' profiles to charge different prices for goods or services," says Clive Maxwell, chief executive of the OFT.
Concerns have been raised about flights or hotel rates....

Summary: Imagine going into your local pub - the Dog and Duck - and being greeted by the landlord who already knows your favourite tipple and starts to pour it before you even reach the bar.
###
Article: The country's Privacy Protection Commission accused Facebook of dodging questions from European regulators.
Internet users were also urged to install privacy software to stop Facebook tracking them, regardless of whether they had accounts with it.
The social network said it complied with data protection law and questioned the Belgian watchdog's authority.
The commission attacked Facebook after trying to find out more about its practices.
"Facebook tramples on European and Belgian privacy laws," it said after publishing a report analysing changes that the company made to its privacy policies in January.
In a statement, it said that Facebook has refused to recognise Belgian and other EU national jurisdictions, insisting it was subject only to the law in Ireland, the site of its European headquarters.
"Facebook has shown itself particularly miserly in giving precise answers," the watchdog said, adding that the results of its study were "disconcerting".
The body, which was working with its German, Dutch, French and Spanish counterparts, said that Facebook would not explain in detail how it used data it collected.
A Facebook spokeswoman questioned the Belgians' authority but said it would review the study's recommendations with the Irish data protection commissioner.
"We work hard to make sure people have control over what they share and with whom.
"Facebook is already regulated in Europe and complies with European data protection law, so the applicability of the [commission's] efforts is unclear," she said.
This is the second damning report this year on Facebook's use of data from the Belgian Privacy Commission. In February, it said it placed "too much burden" on users to navigate its complex settings.

Summary:


The US President Donald Trump Jr said he met Natalia Veselnitskaya but that "no meaningful information" on Mrs Clinton was shared.
Also at the meeting was the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign head Paul J Manafort.
US officials are investigating alleged Russian meddling in the US

Sir Eric Pickles, the former Conservative Party chairman, has announced he is standing down as Brentwood and Ongar MP after 25 years.

Article: Donald Trump Jr said he met Natalia Veselnitskaya but that "no meaningful information" on Mrs Clinton was shared.
Also at the meeting was the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign head Paul J Manafort.
US officials are investigating alleged Russian meddling in the US election.
The FBI and Congress are both looking at whether Trump campaign officials colluded with the alleged Kremlin plot. The inquiries have yet to show evidence of collusion.
The meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya took place on 9 June 2016 at New York's Trump Tower, just two weeks after Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination.
It is thought to be the first confirmed private meeting between a Russian national and a member of US President Donald Trump's inner circle.
The New York Times first reported the meeting on Saturday. At the time, both Mr Trump Jr and Ms Veselnitskaya confirmed the meeting but said the US presidential campaign was not discussed.
On Sunday, the New York Times said that Mr Trump Jr had agreed to the meeting after being offered information that would potentially prove detrimental to Mrs Clinton, who was Democratic presidential candidate at the time.
The New York Times cited three White House advisers briefed on the meeting, and two others with knowledge for it, as its sources.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr Trump Jr said an acquaintance had asked him to meet "an individual who I was told might have information helpful to the campaign".
"I was not told her name prior to the meeting. I asked Jared [Kushner] and Paul [Manafort] to attend, but told them nothing of the substance."
"After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Mrs Clinton."
"Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered. It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information," he added.
Mr Trump Jr said Ms Veselnitskaya then moved the...

Summary: US President Donald Trump's son agreed to meet a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer last year after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the New York Times reports.
###
Article: The 65-year-old said he was going to "miss it dreadfully" but there always comes a point when things must end.
Sir Eric also served as secretary for communities and local government between 2010 and 2015.
He is one of several high-profile MPs who are standing down, including George Osborne and Alan Johnson.
Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Tuesday she intended to call a snap general election, a move that was backed by MPs the following day. The election will take place on 8 June.
Labour MP for Nottingham North Graham Allen also announced on Saturday that he is to step down as an MP, due to ill health.
Speaking to the BBC, Sir Eric said: "I think it's always better to leave when people are asking why you're going, rather than why you're staying.
"I'd always decided this was going to be my last Parliament having served 25 years and came to the view that it was time Brentwood and Ongar had a new MP."
He said he had told Mrs May of his decision, and wrote on Twitter that he would be continuing in his role as the prime minister's special envoy on post-Holocaust issues.
Which MPs are quitting - and who might stand?
In a letter sent to his local Conservative association, Sir Eric wrote: "It has been an enormous honour to represent the constituency for 25 years; Brentwood and Ongar is a wonderful place to live.
"Throughout that quarter of century, I have enjoyed success and some setbacks, but have always been sustained by the friendship back home in the patch."
He added that he was grateful for the invitation to serve a further five years but that after "much heart searching" he had concluded it was the "right time for Brentwood and Ongar to have a new representative in Westminster".
Sir Eric, who was born in Yorkshire into a Labour-supporting family, joined the Keighley Young Conservatives in 1968, going on to become chairman. He was knighted in 2015.
Formerly a Eurosceptic, in 2016 he joined the group of Conservative MPs supporting the campaign to remain in the European Union subject to David Cameron's...

Summary:


Biologists are calling on the public to report sightings of rabbits and hares as part of a conservation effort.

Article: Europe's Lisa Pathfinder (LPF) probe is engaging in a series of experiments roughly 1.5 million km from Earth.
The project has heightened interest, of course, because of the first sampling of the "cosmic ripples" made by ground-based detectors last September
A successful demo for LPF would pave the way for a fully operational orbiting observatory in the 2030s.
This would likely be known simply as Lisa - the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.
"It's a wonderful time right now," said Paul McNamara, the European Space Agency's (Esa) project scientist on Lisa Pathfinder.
"I've spent my entire career in this endeavour, and for years we were told - even ridiculed in some cases - that gravitational waves don't exist, or that we'd never find them.
"Well, now we have found them, and we're about to take the next big, big step towards building a mission that could detect them in space," he told BBC News.
The Earth-bound laser interferometers sited at the Advanced Ligo facilities in the US are sensitive to the gravitational waves generated in "smaller" cosmic events.
Back in September, they observed the signal produced at the moment two black holes, each about 30 times the mass of our Sun, whirled around one another and merged.
A space-based laser interferometer would chase much more massive targets - the monster black holes, millions of times the mass of our Sun, that coalesce when galaxies collide, for example.
It is possible, however, that an orbiting observatory might also see Ligo's lesser events - just at a different stage of their evolution.
One back-of-the-envelope calculation has suggested a fully operational Lisa mission could have witnessed Ligo's in-spiralling black holes four years ago - had the mission been flying back then. This is when the frequency of the gravitational wave signal emanating from the dancing holes would have crossed the sensitivity range of a space interferometer.
Laser science: Measuring the distance between gold blocks
Lisa Pathfinder contains just the one instrument, which is designed...

Summary: The formal test programme has begun on the technologies required to detect gravitational waves in space.
###
Article: The animals are easier to spot in spring when vegetation is low and the breeding season is under way.
Hares may be declining in parts of the UK, while rabbits have been hit by myxomatosis and other viral diseases, says the Mammal Society.
People are being asked to send in photographs of rabbits and hares to help map the UK population.
Dr Fiona Mathews, senior lecturer in mammalian biology and chair of the Mammal Society, said: "We have very poor information on rabbits and hares - and it's important to know if numbers are going up or down.
"They are part of the ecosystem and lots of other animals depend on them, either through grazing of their habitat or as a food source for foxes or birds of prey."
She said some parts of the UK had very low populations of rabbits and hares, particularly where there had been disease outbreaks. However, in other regions they have become so abundant they have become agricultural pests.
The Mammal society wants people across the country to send in sightings of wild rabbits or hares across the countryside, including parks, fields and mountains.
The data will be used in a national atlas of mammals to support future conservation and research projects.
Derek Crawley, who is co-ordinating the atlas, said rabbits and hares can be distinguished by their gait and appearance.
"Hares are larger, have long limbs and lollop along whereas the rabbit has a bobbing gait," he said.
"The ears are also distinctive: those of hares are longer and have black tips."
Sightings of rabbits and hares, or their signs in the countryside, such as droppings and burrows, with any photographs taken, can be reported via the Mammal Tracker app, The Mammal Society website, or by posting information to The Mammal Society.

Summary:


The US government is considering a new nuclear weapons programme, with the US government saying it is ready to double the output at its underground uranium enrichment facility, the UN nuclear watchdog says.

Falkirk Council's pension fund has invested £30m in a scheme to build social housing in Scotland.

Article: A leaked report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there were 2,784 centrifuges at Fordo, and that Iran could soon double the number operating from 700 to 1,400.
The development is likely to fuel Western suspicions that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
The government in Tehran insists the nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
Talks this year about the uranium enrichment programme between Iran and the so-called P5+1 - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - have made little progress.
Iran's progress at Fordo was disclosed in a leaked report based on the findings of the IAEA's inspectors, who visit the facility regularly.
While the uranium enrichment plant is not yet fully operational - with only about 700 of the 3,000 centrifuges the facility is designed in use - experts say it could be within months.
The IAEA report said four new cascades of 174 centrifuges each "having been subjected to vacuum testing, were ready for feeding" with uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas.
Once the new cascades were in operation, monthly production of 20%-enriched (medium-enriched) uranium would be about 25kg (55lb) per month, compared with 15kg at present, one official said.
The facility at Fordo, which is buried deep under a mountain inside a military base near the holy city of Qom, is designed to contain 16 cascades producing medium-enriched uranium, which experts say could be enriched to about 90%, or weapons-grade, in a relatively short time.
The IAEA also revealed in its report that Iran had produced about 233kg (512lb) of higher-grade enriched uranium since 2010, an increase of 43kg since August.
Earlier this year, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) used 96kg of its supply of 20%-enriched uranium for conversion into fuel for its medical research reactor in Tehran. Experts say it would be difficult to turn the fuel into weapons-grade uranium.
Nuclear fuel had also been removed from the core of the nuclear reactor at Bushehr without a reason being given by Iran, the IAEA...

Summary: Iran is ready to double the output at its underground uranium enrichment facility, the UN nuclear watchdog says.
###
Article: The local authority has awarded the sum to Hearthstone Investments, a London property fund which hopes to build 1,000 new homes across the country.
The Falkirk Local Government Pension Scheme Fund contribution could pay for up to 300 new homes, including 126 in Falkirk and Clackmannanshire.
Social Justice secretary Alex Neil said the fund was "a trailblazer".
Hearthstone aims to raise £150m for its Housing Fund For Scotland, including contributions from the country's 11 local government pension schemes.
It plans to provide funds to local housing associations to invest directly in social housing, as well as buying affordable homes to be let at a mid-market rent.
Edinburgh-based housing association Castle Rock Edinvar will manage the initial building programme for social rent houses.
Mr Neil said: "The £30m Falkirk Local Government Pension Scheme fund investment will, I believe, act as a trailblazer and encourage other Scottish local authority pension fund trustees to take the plunge and invest in housing.
"For an acceptable risk profile, investment will provide pension funds good, long-term returns for their members and a social investment to help build stronger communities."

Summary:


The Wedgwood Museum collection has been bought from administrators after £15.75m was raised to save it.

Article: Colin Pitchfork was given a life sentence in 1988 for the rape and murder of 15-year-old schoolgirls Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth.
Both victims' families oppose his release.
The Parole Board's decision will be issued within 10 working days.
Live updates and more from Leicestershire
Barbara Ashworth, Dawn's mother, said: "I think life should mean life because obviously if they are in prison they aren't put in a situation where they can commit those sort of crimes again.
"If he was released I would feel that it was a matter of time until these feelings came over him again. Once he's out again in the community it would be quite easy for him to think 'Oh, I'll pick up where I left off'."
Rebecca Eastwood, Lynda Mann's sister, started a petition demanding Colin Pitchfork is never released and gave evidence to the panel considering his request.
He was originally given a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years.
However, in 2009 the Court of Appeal reduced the minimum term to 28 years to take into account the "exceptional progress" Pitchfork had made in custody.
The Parole Board said in a statement: "We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board this week considered the parole review for Mr Colin Pitchfork.
"At this time, we have not received the panel's decision; it is expected to be issued within the next 10 working days.
"We are unable to comment further on the details of this case."
Before sanctioning a prisoner's release, the Parole Board has to be sure he or she no longer poses a risk to the public.
Colin Pitchfork left his baby son sleeping in the back of his car and raped Lynda as she made her way to a friend's house in the Leicestershire village of Narborough in November 1983. He then strangled her with her own scarf, drove home and put his son to bed.
Three years later, less than a mile from the spot where Lynda died, he raped and murdered Dawn Ashworth. The pathologist who examined her body described it as a "brutal sexual assault".  She too was then strangled.
The police investigation initially...

Summary: The Parole Board has met to consider the case of a notorious child killer who became the first person in the world to be convicted using DNA evidence.
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Article: About 80,000 works of art, ceramics, manuscripts, letters and photographs faced being auctioned to help pay off the pottery firm's pension debt.
But a public fundraising campaign launched in September hit its target in just a month.
Adminstrators Begbies Traynor said the collection will remain on display at the museum in Barlaston, Staffordshire.
The Art Fund, which led the campaign, will gift the collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum, before it is loaned to the Wedgwood Museum.
Administrator Bob Young said it had been "incredibly satisfying" to sign off on the sale on Monday.
"Today's fantastic outcome wouldn't have been possible without the spirit of goodwill and determination shown during the often complex negotiations," he said.
The Wedgwood Museum inherited Waterford Wedgwood plc's pension bill after the firm collapsed in 2009.
In 2010 the museum also went into administration, and in 2011 a high court judge ruled its collection could be sold to reimburse the Pension Protection Fund.
Alison Wedgwood, whose husband Tom is a direct descendant of company founder Josiah Wedgwood, said the collection was "important" for Staffordshire.
The collection risked being "sold and scattered around the globe" had the money not been raised, she added.
Tristram Hunt MP, who was involved in the campaign, said the sale was "fantastic news".
"The items contained within the Wedgwood collection chart a significant part of Britain's cultural development over centuries and play a crucial part in defining our national identity today," he said.

Summary: