The US president has said he will not stand for re-election to the US Senate.

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: Dyfed Edwards, leader of the council's Plaid Cymru group, has said he will not stand for re-election to the council after 13 years.
Mr Edwards was elected to the council in 2004 and became leader in 2008 -  he will be the council's longest serving leader when he steps aside in 2017.
He said: "I had no intention of being a councillor for life."
He will also step down from his seat on the council as representative for the Penygroes ward.
Mr Edwards, who has been outspoken about council cuts in his role as deputy presiding officer for the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), said despite financial challenges, he believed local authorities could still make a difference.
"Success is achieved by reaching out and acting positively rather than retreating to an island of negativity," he said.
"I am optimistic about the future and am hopeful that Gwynedd will remain at the heart of building the new Wales."

Summary: The longest serving leader of Gwynedd Council has announced he will step down at the local elections in May.
###
Article: Randy Zuick was put on the sex offenders list in April after pleading guilty to molesting a child.
The terms of his probation specify that he avoid contact with children.
Zuick was spotted by a probation officer based at the courthouse in Greenfield, who alerted police. He will face a judge later today.
"The probation officers who knew him were the ones who saw him doing that and so it seems that it was a little bit surprising that he would be so bold to violate his probation terms on a courthouse lawn," Hancock county prosecutor Brent Eaton told WTHR news.
Media in Greenfield have reported that the Pokestop on the lawn outside the Hancock County courthouse had become a popular spot for Pokemon players.
If it is decided the incident violates the terms of his probation, the judge could revoke the arrangements and send Zuick to prison for up to three years.
Zuick was arrested on the day that the UK's NSPCC urged the game's creators to update it to limit the ways that adults could use it to target children.
The NSPCC said it was "deeply troubling"  that the app's creators had ignored warnings and child safety concerns.
Game maker Niantic and the Pokemon Company said they took player safety seriously and "encouraged" people to be "safe and alert" at all times.
Computer security firms have also issued warnings to people about the growing interest in the game from cyber thieves.
RiskIQ said it had now seen more than 215 separate Pokemon Go-themed apps pop up on app stores. So far, it said, only one of the programs was actively malicious but others could do harm in other ways.
"Approximately half of these unofficial apps are requesting broad permissions from users, risking data exposure via mobile devices," said Ben Harknett from RiskIQ.
One fake version found by Eset seems to disappear after being installed but instead lurks in the background on a phone, generating clicks on pornography sites to help an ad-fraud campaign.
Security firm Symantec said many cyber thieves were creating "trojanised" versions of the...

Summary: A registered child sex offender has been arrested after being caught playing Pokemon Go with a minor near a courthouse in the US state of Indiana.
###
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 Editors Guild said it "condemns any attempt to muzzle the media".
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the offices of NDTV and the homes of its promoters on Monday in connection with an alleged case of financial misconduct.
NDTV denied any wrongdoing and accused the government of "a witch hunt".
The channel, which has often criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies, said in a statement  that "the ruling party's politicians cannot stomach" its independence and fearlessness.
"The raid is merely another attempt at silencing the media," it said.
The CBI said it was investigating claims that the channel's promoters had "caused a loss of 480m rupees [Â£5.8m; $7.5m] to a bank".
The agency said NDTV founder Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika took a loan of about 3.5bn rupees from ICICI bank in 2008 after pledging their entire shareholding (about 61%) in the company as collateral.
The CBI said a private complainant had accused NDTV's promoters of violating banking laws, which do not permit more than 30% of the share capital to be pledged as collateral.
It further added that the bank also gave the Roys a waiver of about 10% in interest payment, leading to the loss of $7.5m.
"Consequent undue advantage was accrued [to the Roys].  It was also alleged that the bank did not insist on recovery of the entire loan amount when the promoters had adequate source of funding," the agency said.
In a later statement the CBI denied it had raided the newsroom of NDTV.
The channel said in a statement that the entire loan amount was paid in full seven years ago.
"Even though millions of rupees of dues have not been paid by several industrialists and no criminal case has yet been registered against any of them by the CBI," it said.
"NDTV and its promoters have never defaulted on any loan to ICICI or any other bank."
Several journalists have defended the network, saying the government was trying to silence the media through CBI raids.
This is not the first time the government and NDTV have been at loggerheads.
Last...

Summary: A group of influential Indian editors has expressed concern over a federal investigative agency's decision to raid the offices of a leading TV channel.
###
Article: Lord Elis-Thomas told the Western Mail newspaper the campaign did not appear to focus on Wales' future.
He also said that arguing people should vote Plaid "because we're more Welsh" was "arrogant" and a "bit sectarian".
Lord Elis-Thomas insisted that all parties contesting assembly elections were "part of the politics of Wales".
During the election campaign, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said that only her party could ensure Wales received equal treatment with Scotland in terms of funding and powers.
A key Plaid demand was that Wales should receive an extra Â£1.2bn a year from UK ministers, to achieve financial parity with Scotland.
On polling day in May, the party held its three seats, but failed to gain targets such as Ynys Mon and Ceredigion.
Lord Elis-Thomas, a former assembly presiding officer, told the newspaper: "Clearly the campaign did not seem to be focused on an argument about where Wales needs to be going in terms of powers and its future development, and it tended to concentrate mainly on drawing comparisons with Scotland.
"Scotland is another country, in all senses. It's politically different. The people of Wales understand that."
And he said he did not think it was "helpful" to insist Wales be treated like a nation that was "over resourced in comparative terms in the UK".
Lord Elis-Thomas said he was not sure his party had "learned the lessons of what it means to be operating in a government and a national assembly of its own".
He said it was "not about saying that our party has to be voted for because we're more Welsh than the others".
"All the parties that contest elections in the national assembly are obviously Welsh parties. They are part of the politics of Wales."
To argue otherwise was "arrogant and it's a bit sectarian", Lord Elis-Thomas added.

Summary: A former Plaid Cymru leader has criticised his party's main general election demand that Wales should be treated in the same way as Scotland.
###
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:

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The UK government has announced a £1.5bn investment in the UK's energy sector.

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: Alex Makwana's labour of love has seen him create 11 designs on Jo's stomach, including Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear and a mocked-up ultrasound scan.
Mr Makwana, 29, of Salisbury, said his wife of 12 days sat and watched Call The Midwife and One Born Every Minute during the four-hour painting sessions.
The baby will be the family's seventh child.
Mr Makwana said the other children "love" the paintings.
It is the second time Mr Makwana has created art on his 35-year-old wife's stomach, having done the same for their sixth child, Ava.
"Loads of people loved it last time so we've embraced it this time," he said.
He was lent the face-painting kit by Sarah Cookson, Ava's godmother.
The 11 designs include images the pair kissing at sunset - a replica of a photograph of the married couple taken at a recent wedding.
Mrs Makwana, whose baby is due in three weeks, described the process as a "bonding experience".
"It's a really lovely way to have memories of being pregnant with this baby," she said.
"It will be lovely when they are older to be able to show them the pictures and tell them the excitement which was centred around their bumps."

Summary: A portrait artist has been working on an unusual canvas - his pregnant wife's bump.
###
Article: The parties are holding talks on flags, parades, the past and welfare reform.
The British and Irish prime ministers left talks in Belfast on Friday after the parties failed to reach agreement.
Theresa Villiers has now said it would be very difficult to devolve corporation tax before the General Election without a deal this week.
Speaking on BBC Northern Ireland's Sunday Politics programme, she said that if the legislation on corporation tax powers was not brought forward this week, it would be hard to get it through parliament before the election in May.
"What happens at the end of a parliament is, essentially, there is a wash-up stage where government and opposition discuss what can be speeded through so that it's done before dissolution takes place," Ms Villiers said.
"So it's not completely impossible that corporation tax could still be achieved in this parliament, with a later introduction after this week, but it becomes increasingly difficult."
Northern Ireland's Finance Minister Simon Hamilton said that this week's political talks were "crucial".
"Getting something agreed before the Christmas break is absolutely critical," he told BBC Radio Ulster's The Sunday News programme.
The Democratic Unionist Party MLA added that this week's discussions needed to focus on welfare reform.
Education Minister John O'Dowd, from Sinn FÃªin, said the prime minister needed to return to negotiations this week "with a sensible offer" in terms of finance.
"Money makes the world go round and sometimes it is a dirty word, but for us as elected representatives and executive ministers to deliver public services, stabilise our society and deal with the past, present and future, we need money to make that happen," he said.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt said the opportunity for Stormont to get corporation tax powers was slipping away.
"Corporation tax will fall I think if we don't agree it probably within 72 hours," he said.
SDLP assembly member Alex Attwood said the deadline should be the "end of the year" with...

Summary: Northern Ireland's secretary of state has said a decision on tax devolution is likely to be delayed unless there is deal this week in cross-party talks.
###
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 government has announced that it will not be issuing a new passport for South Korea.

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.
###
Article: The undercover operatives were recruited by the Army, MI5 and Special Branch and many were involved in criminality and murder.
Ex-Met Police commissioner Lord Stevens said the agents caused huge problems in Northern Ireland.
The government says collusion with paramilitaries should never happen.
Lord Stevens led three government investigations into the security forces in Northern Ireland and has revealed the scale of the counter-intelligence operation for the first time.
Lord Stevens also told BBC Panorama that thousands of agents and informants were recruited during the Troubles, and that just one of the agents - Brian Nelson - may be linked to "dozens and dozens" of murders.
Nelson, who was a paid army agent, provided assassination targets for the three main Loyalist paramilitary groups - the Ulster Freedom Fighters, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando.
During his investigations in Northern Ireland, Lord Stevens and his team arrested 210 paramilitary suspects. He says that 207 of them were agents or informants for the state.
Baroness Nuala O'Loan, who was Northern Ireland's first police ombudsman, also found evidence that state agents were involved in murder.
She tells Panorama that the security forces failed to control their undercover operatives.
"They were running informants and their argument was that they were saving lives, but hundreds and hundreds of people died because these people were not brought to justice," she said.
"There was impunity really for these people to go on committing their crimes. Many of them were killers, some were serial killers."
One Special Branch agent in north Belfast has been linked to 20 murders.
Mark Haddock, who ran one of the Ulster Volunteer Force's most notorious terror gangs, was paid at least Â£79,000 for his work as a police agent.
The police ombudsman of Northern Ireland is currently investigating 60 murder cases where the state has been accused of involvement.
These investigations were delayed because the police refused to hand over crucial...

Summary: British security forces had thousands of agents and informants working inside Northern Ireland paramilitary groups, the BBC's Panorama has learned.
###
Article: The plan requires ISPs to restrict email to official computer gateways by blocking another common route that messages travel over.
It is hoped this will thwart spammers who hijack home PCs and use them to send junk mail.
Critics say the block could do more harm than good to businesses and hit home workers.
South Korea's Internet and Security Agency has been trying for months to persuade its net service providers to sign up to a plan known as "Block 25".
It has this name because of the way computers work out what to do with data they send and receive.
Data is labelled with a "port" number which tells a computer what to do with that information. Port 25 is typically reserved for email, so blocking it could be a way to stop hijacked PCs sending messages via this route.
About 80% of the billions of junk mail messages sent every day are believed to travel through hijacked PCs.
According to statistics drawn up by security firm Sophos, South Korea is the second biggest source of spam in the world.
Instead of using port 25, Korea wants all email to travel via official mail servers to block spam and help spot infected PCs.
A spokesman for the Korean government told the BBC that it was continuing to lobby ISPs to adopt its plan which it wants to be up and working in December.
Jasper Kim, a law professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said the block could have unforeseen consequences.
"No one likes spam mail," he said. "But the anti-spam measures can be viewed as a form of cyber-censorship that could have a disproportionately negative effect on small players - the very type of players needed to create a Seoul-style Silicon Valley."
A national block could also hit businesses that make legitimate use of port 25, said James Blessing, a council member of the UK's Internet Service Providers' Association.
"Many corporate mail servers run authenticated access through port 25," he said. "If you want to connect to that you won't be able to if you block port 25. You'll stop people working from home."
Far better, said Mr...

Summary: South Korea is lobbying its internet service providers to sign up to a national plan to tackle spam.
###
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:


The DUP has been accused of being a "bully" for the Stormont crisis.
The DUP has been accused of being a "bully" for the Stormont crisis.
The DUP has been accused of being a "bully" for the Stormont crisis.
The DUP has been accused of being

When the spike in applications for the ill-fated Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) took place the minister responsible was mostly away from his desk.

Article: How do I find out what sports are being covered?
Our must not miss sport on the BBC page gives details of sport on BBC TV over the next seven days. From that page you can also find more specific details for sports including football, cricket and rugby union - including details of all our local radio commentaries.
I missed something - how can i watch / listen to it?
To view all our TV and Red Button sports programming available on iPlayer, please visit this page.
To listen to all our radio sports programming available on iPlayer, please visit this page.
To access all our sports podcasts, please visit this page.
We also make short, edited clips of much of the best audio and video - these can be found on the relevant sport indexes.
Do I need a TV licence to watch video online?
If you use any device to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown (live) on TV, then you need to be covered by a TV Licence.
To buy a TV licence or obtain further information about licensing requirements visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk.
Why aren't you covering a certain sport/world championships?
We only have limited resources and have to spread those resources across a great number of sports, including many minority sports which other commercial channels do not cover.
Why don't you advertise which interactive channel will be showing the available content?
Unfortunately we are prevented from publicising which streams we are broadcasting our outputs for two reasons. Firstly, because the streams are not officially considered 'channels'. They are interactive video streams that are used to deliver interactive and enhanced content in line with the schedule.
Secondly, because of the complexities of delivering interactive services across all genres and the desire to achieve optimum efficiency from the streams, the scheduling of content can be quite unpredictable and change at short notice. They are not managed in the same way as a channel.
Can you send me a copy of a programme?
Unfortunately we are unable to make copies for...

Summary: If you have a question about BBC Sport across TV and Radio please read these Frequently Asked Questions
###
Article: A European court upheld a 2013 ruling that said the MacCoffee trademark of a Singaporean company, Future Enterprises, was invalid.
It said that MacCoffee unfairly benefited from the branding of the US burger giant.
The move could make it tricky for any other company to use the "Mac" or "Mc" prefix for food or beverages.
The court agreed with McDonald's that MacCoffee's branding would be wrongly linked to that of the US burger giant.
It said the use of the "Mac" by Future Enterprises in its products would "associate that trademark with the McDonald's "Mc" family of trade marks and mentally establish a link between the trade marks at issue".
"It is highly probable that MacCoffee rides on the coat-tails of McDonald's in order to benefit from its power of attraction, its reputation and its prestige, and exploits, without paying any financial compensation," the judgement said.
The judgement said that members of the public could establish a link between the trademarks of the two businesses "and could transfer the image of the McDonald's trademarks to the goods covered by MacCoffee".
The ruling was regarded as positive for McDonald's.
"The court's judgement is very favourable to McDonald's as it's saying that the Singapore company is gaining from its reflected glory," said Chris McLeod, director at the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys.
The MacCoffee trademark was registered in 2010 by the European Union Intellectual Property Office, but McDonald's applied to have the trademark named invalid on the basis of the similarity to its main EU trademark and 12 other trademarks that McDonald's uses in the jurisdiction.
MacCoffee still sells its products in some EU cities, and the judgement does not prevent it from doing so, but the US burger giant may take steps to prevent it doing so, McLeod said.
"They've [successfully] applied to knock it off the register and that opens the door for a claim or request to cease the use of the prefixes."

Summary: McDonald's has won a case that could stop another company using the "Mc" or "Mac" prefix on its food and drink.
###
Article: Researchers believe that the bird's underwater prowess may have cost it its ability to fly.
By looking at seabirds closely related to the penguin, scientists confirmed that a wing that is good for flying cannot also be good for diving and swimming.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Professor John Speakman, from the University of Aberdeen and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "Like many people, I've always been interested in penguins, and seeing them do these phenomenal marches across the ice, I've often thought: 'Why don't they just fly?'
"And it's really great to be involved in the group of people that have solved it."
Stubby wings
There are several long-standing theories about why birds cannot fly.
One idea is that some species became flightless because of a lack of predators on the ground.
"The other idea is a 'biomechanical hypothesis'," explained Prof Speakman.
"When the bird is flying and diving it has to use its wings to do two different things. The biomechanical hypothesis is that you cannot build a wing that is good at doing both."
To investigate, the researchers looked at a close relative of the penguin: the guillemot.
This black-and-white seabird not only looks a lot like a penguin, it can swim nearly as well. But unlike the penguin it can fly.
The researchers analysed the amount of energy that the bird was using.
They found that it could dive with relative ease, while flying was much more tiring for the guillemot.
Prof Speakman said: "The energy costs are very very high.  These birds have these very short wings and they have to beat them at an incredible speed to stay in the air. It is exhausting for them."
The researchers believe that the guillemot is using so much energy, it is only just able to keep itself aloft.
They said that the bird represented a tipping point between seabirds that are able to both fly and swim, and those that are flightless.
In the past, they suggest, the penguin would have faced an evolutionary trade off between staying...

Summary: The puzzle of why the penguin is unable to fly may have finally been solved.
###
Article: Jonathan Bell had been removed from office by the DUP as part of the rolling resignation scheme in response to a Stormont crisis.
The crisis was sparked in September 2015.
It centred around allegations that IRA members had murdered Kevin McGuigan.
The DUP responded by saying it could not be business as usual at Stormont.
Two days earlier a reduced tariff system for the Executive's RHI scheme was announced.
But the ten week period before it could be introduced saw a now infamous spike in applications - when DUP ministers were away from their desks for all but a few hours a week.
The rolling resignation plan designed by Peter Robinson ended on October 20.
By which time applications for the scheme had rocketed.
In September there were 99, in October 429 and in November 452.
Almost as many applications were received as during the previous 34 months since the scheme began.
The in/out ministers plan avoided an Assembly election having to be called.
But was it at least partly at the expense of the public purse?

Summary:


Two police forces in Yorkshire are to merge their dog units to reduce costs.

Article: Video emerged on Saturday apparently showing rebels breaking into the sprawling Khan al-Assal compound.
Almost 200 fighters had been killed on both sides over eight days, UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
The group's reports could not be independently confirmed.
Their account said more than 34 government soldiers and police died on Sunday alone - an apparent setback for government forces a day after the army announced it had regained control of villages on a major route linking the central city of Hama to Aleppo, with security "restored" to the northern city's airport.
A police source in Aleppo later confirmed that much of the academy had fallen into rebel hands, the AFP news agency reports.
In other developments:
The rebels took control of much of the police academy site at dawn on Sunday, the activist group said.  They had been targeting the Khan al-Assal complex outside Aleppo for some time.
Almost 200 fighters and soldiers had been killed in the eight-day battle for the site, including 120 troops and police, Rami Abdel Rahman of SOHR told the AFP.
Footage had earlier shown dozens of fighters sheltering beside an outer wall as explosions could be seen apparently inside the academy's grounds.
The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be verified.
It also reported on Sunday that rebels had seized a prison in northern Raqqa province.
In his Sunday Times interview, President Assad said the UK government was "naive, confused, unrealistic" in its approach to the conflict, accusing Prime Minister David Cameron's government of being determined to militarise the situation.
Although the UK says it supports the Syrian opposition without providing arms to the rebels, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday that "I don't rule anything out in the future".
Dismissing the Syrian leader's interview as "delusional", Mr...

Summary: Rebels have captured large parts of a Syrian police academy near Aleppo, after a fierce battle resulting in heavy loss of life, activists say.
###
Article: That is the conclusion of a much-awaited Bank of England study.
It found the UK economy was more open and go-ahead because of its EU membership.
However, the Bank also found that that greater openness had made the UK more vulnerable to problems such as the recent euro crisis.
The Bank said it was "supportive" of further integration within the eurozone area.
But, it said that for those economies not in the single currency, there would be a need for "clear principles to safeguard the interests of non euro member states" when further integration went ahead.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney told an audience at St Peter's college, Oxford: "Broadly speaking, the evidence suggests the UK has successfully harnessed the benefits of openness afforded by its EU membership while avoiding some of the drawbacks of reduced flexibility from which some continental European economies suffer."
He added: "Put simply, economies with sustainable dynamism can grow more quickly before running into excessive price pressures. The UK's greater openness as a result of EU membership provides potential for both greater growth and greater shocks."
Although the Bank does not use these precise words, EU membership has made the UK richer and more successful.
That will be seized on by supporters of the UK staying in.
Even so, there is ammunition for eurosceptics - namely that our financial openness made the UK more vulnerable to the eurozone's crisis, and that not all EU regulation suits the size and complexity of the City of London.
The bank identified trade and foreign direct investment as key ways the UK has benefited since joining the EU.
The senior official who ran the study, Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe, said the UK's trade had increased by more than it would have "on standard models" and that trade costs had come down.
The Bank also pointed out that the UK had the biggest share of foreign investment in the EU.
But Mr Cunliffe declined to say whether a Brexit scenario, where the UK left the EU single market, would reverse some of...

Summary: Membership of the EU has made the UK economy more dynamic and able to grow without generating inflation or a financial crisis.
###
Article: The most immediate change she'll notice is a minor black hole in her finances.
The cost of a simple cut and blow dry for a woman is typically around £50 in London, though admittedly cheaper elsewhere. But it's almost always significantly less expensive if you're a man. Why?
The price of going to a hairdresser has traditionally been higher if you're a woman wanting an elaborate hairstyle, but as men become more choosy about their coiffure, that distinction no longer always holds true.
One barber shop in north London is joining a growing trend of charging for the style, not the gender of the head being coiffured.
Klara Vanova, originally from the Czech Republic, runs Barberette, in Hackney, which she describes as a "hairdressing hub, not a salon" and is a gender neutral barber shop.
She set up her business in 2012 "because of my experience having short hair myself".
"I have found it absolutely terrifying to go to the hairdressers and ask them for the haircut I want. They will persuade me that the haircut will look too masculine on me, or it will not suit me or it will be too short.
"We offer barber haircuts, which are sharp, clippered haircuts, as well as long hair or texturising haircuts and we don't put the gender on them. We put our foot down saying, well, why would you be charged more?
"So we offer the haircut the client wants, or if a woman wants very short hair, she knows she can come to us and we give her exactly that, as short as she wants or as long as she wants or as long as he wants."
Klara also says it is "unbelievable" that hairdressing remains a "very genderised profession" in an age when identity is broken down not only into men and women but into lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.
"We have a strong following from the LGBTQ community because they mostly find issues, or they find challenges at a hairdresser, again because it's so genderised. They didn't know where to go.
"Traditionally in hairdressing, women are charged much more than men, and if they challenge it then they say, oh,...

Summary: Coco Chanel once said a woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.
###
Article: South Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police and are to cut the number of dogs and handlers to a combined total of 25.
The South Yorkshire force will halve the size of its current dog unit, with 12 officers and dogs being lost as part of the restructuring.
The new operation will have two bases in Sheffield and one in Melton, East Yorkshire.
Humberside Police said it currently had 12 dogs and handlers.
South Yorkshire Police said that the move was "required to meet budgetary cuts imposed on the Force's Operational Support Services".
In August, the force said it needed to make savings of Â£59m by 2020, with the potential loss of 1,500 staff.
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: "Police dogs and their handlers provide a range of important roles in helping to keep the public safe.
"Whilst we are reducing the size of the unit in South Yorkshire, by merging with Humberside, it allows us to maintain the same number of officers and dogs and continue to perform a valuable role for the public, yet at the same time we can still meet the savings required due to the unprecedented cuts."
The merger of the dog units is one of a number of cost cutting measures introduced by police across Yorkshire in the last few years.
Two years ago , Humberside Police disbanded its mounted unit, with horses now hired in from other forces when needed.
All four Yorkshire forces now share an underwater search unit.

Summary:


A man has been arrested after he was found guilty of assaulting a woman in a car park.
The woman, who was in her 20s, was found guilty of assault and battery.
The man, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of assault and battery.
The woman was taken to hospital and

Vulnerable children are being placed in care outside their home county of Kent due to the influx of child asylum seekers, according to council chiefs.

Article: The car was being driven in stop-start traffic on the A27 in West Sussex said Nichola Carr, who took the picture while sitting on a coach.
Ms Carr said she was certain the driver was playing the guitar: "I was very shocked and surprised. I've never seen anything like it in my life."
No formal complaint has been made, a spokesman for Sussex Police said.
"Unfortunately, there is no vehicle registration number, nor is it clear if the person with the guitar is actually the driver," Insp Stewart Goodwin said.
Ms Carr was on a coach, returning from a trip to Portsmouth with her daughter's school, when she took the photograph.
"The traffic was stop-start, and I was looking out of the window, and I noticed this car below and the man playing a guitar," she said.
"I told my daughter and all her friends had a look too.
"As the traffic kept moving backwards and forwards, every time the car came near us the kids would shout out 'Here comes the guitar man'."
Ms Carr said she did not report the incident to the police as she had not taken the car's registration number.
Insp Stewart Goodwin said: "Motorists should never do anything that distracts them from driving while on the move or in traffic."

Summary: A motorist has been photographed apparently playing the guitar while at the wheel of a car.
###
Article: "One of these drinks has 20 teaspoons of sugar hiding in the can," says Ms Kellett, who goes on to tell the group why sugar-laden soft drinks are particularly bad for the teeth.
Apparently, it is to do with the way we sip them, which means they stay "high in the palate" and have a greater chance of causing tooth decay.
They have already heard about the dangers of diabetes and obesity, all part of a pitch to harden their resolve to complete the 21-day Gulp (Give Up Loving Pop)Challenge.
But for some of the 12- and 13-year-olds, the days ahead threaten to be quite tough, because these are young people who really enjoy their fizzy drinks.
"I love fizzy pop," says one pupil. "I drink near enough one can per day."
"I have a bottle of pop with my tea," says her friend.
"I usually have one at lunch as well, so I usually have more than I'm supposed to."
That is certainly true, as for most people over the age of 11, the recommended daily amount of sugar is 30g (1oz).
Some of the most popular soft drinks contain at least that amount per can, if not more.
In Blackpool, there is a particular issue, because more than a third of 10- and 11-year-olds in the town are overweight or obese - some of the highest rates in England.
And young people are also the biggest consumers of fizzy drinks.
It's a worry for Blackpool's director of public health, Dr Arif Rajpura.
"There is simply too much sugar in our diet, and this is contributing significantly to our obesity epidemic," Dr Rajpura says.
"So what we are trying to do is reduce the amount of sugar in our diet.
"Sugar in fizzy drinks is empty calories, it just adds calories, unnecessary calories, to our diet and what we're trying to do is cut that out."
Research suggests it takes 21 days to kick a habit or wean yourself off an addiction, which is how many of the group see sugar and fizzy drinks.
"It's like I've drunk it since I was young," says Shae, who drinks two cans a day.
"I don't know if it's going to leave me alone when I'm doing this challenge.
"It's going to be hard, but...

Summary: At Blackpool's St George's School, 15 pupils from Year 8 are sitting in a semi-circle as dental nurse Helen Kellett shows them some popular brands of fizzy drink.
###
Article: The Perseid meteor shower appears in our skies every August, but is expected to peak overnight.
For the first time since 2007, the shower will coincide with a new moon - making viewing conditions particularly favourable, weather permitting.
The peak time is expected to be between 23:00 BST and 04:00 BST.
The best places to see the meteors in Northern Ireland are expected to be counties Down, Armagh and Fermanagh, as well as south Antrim.
Andy McCrea, of the Irish Astronomical Association, explained what people could hope to see.
"They can expect to see what are called shooting stars. Shooting stars are not really stars at all, in fact they're little grains of dust that hit the atmosphere at very high speeds, so they vaporise and they leave a trail.
"Those meteors are called the Perseid meteors, so you should expect to see a meteor roughly every 10 minutes if you live in a built-up area.
"If you can get away to a nice dark site, you should see one every minute."
The Perseids are pieces of Comet Swift-Tuttle; each August, the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet's debris.
"Last year conditions were similar to this year and I was able to see five or six," Mr McCrea said.
"The benefit this year is we don't have a full moon or anything like that, so the moon's out of the way and that allows the sky to be darker and we stand a better chance of seeing meteors.
"They're best seen in the wee small hours, so if it's dark, if it's clear, put it off until as late as you possibly can and you stand a better chance of seeing the meteors."
BBC Northern Ireland weather presenter Cecilia Daly said that cloudy skies over Northern Ireland on Tuesday night stopped most people from seeing the meteors.
"This coming night, skies will be clearer across the island and this coincides with peak shower activity," she said.
"It is difficult to say when the best of the clear skies will be, but southern and eastern counties stand the best chance of catching sight of the dazzling show. Prime viewing is after 11pm, so keep scanning the...

Summary: If you've ever wanted to catch a glimpse of a shooting star or two, Wednesday night could be your perfect chance.
###
Article: Kent County Council said the continuing flow of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) from across the English Channel had left it with no choice.
The authority currently has 924 such children in its care, compared with nearly 630 at the start of last August.
Councillor Peter Oakford said it was "not a position we want to be in".
The cabinet member for specialist children's services said Kent County Council had seen a 30% rise in looked-after children in the past seven months.
Other authorities elsewhere in the UK have accepted full responsibility for 56 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Mr Oakford told the children's social care and health cabinet committee: "This has affected our ability to place citizen children within Kent ourselves.
"We have had to place Kent children outside of Kent due to the influx of UASC, which is not a good position to be in and is not a position we want to be in.
"It's actually costing us more financially because we have had to place, I think, six children into residential care either short-term or longer term, which is far more expensive than normal foster care."
The council's services have been stretched since the start of the migrant crisis last summer as Kent is the closest British county to Calais and Dunkirk.
The number of child asylum seekers coming into its care has slowed to about 15 a week during the winter, but Mr Oakford said if that increased with the arrival of the warmer months the authority would be "in significant difficulties".

Summary:


The world's largest mammal, the giraffe, is a world-class predator.

The public is being asked to provide information on the locations of nine fugitives suspected of serious environmental crimes.

Article: Bridge operators Amey said the problem was found during a routine inspection.
A contraflow is in place on the northbound carriageway to allow a single lane of traffic to flow in each direction.
Engineers were due on site at first light on Wednesday morning to do a more detailed assessment of the damage.
Motorists were warned to expect "very long delays" and avoid using the bridge if possible.
Mark Arndt, operating company representative, said: "We've taken the decision to close the southbound carriageway as a safety precaution after one of our engineers spotted a new defect to a piece of steelwork.
"Unfortunately this defect is located in a particularly hard to access area so the full detailed inspection cannot safely be carried out in darkness or during high winds. Our inspectors will however be monitoring the situation overnight and we will be ready to move in as soon as conditions allow.
"We apologise for the short notice to these essential traffic restrictions and are aware that they will result in very long delays, so our advice is to avoid Forth Road Bridge and divert via Kincardine or the A9 and M9, use public transport or travel outwith peak times."
Amey said it would provide further updates when there was new information.
The company said it sympathised with drivers who would be affected by the closure, but that "safety must come first".
A new Â£1.4bn Queensferry Crossing over the Firth of Forth is due to open in December next year.
It was ordered by ministers because of corrosion of the main suspension cable on the Forth Road Bridge.

Summary: The southbound carriageway of the Forth Road Bridge has been closed as a safety precaution after a defect was discovered in the steelwork.
###
Article: The glyptodonts roamed South America for millions of years until the last Ice Age, and some grew as big as cars.
Their physical attributes - notably an impenetrable shell - already placed them as likely cousins of armadillos.
Now, researchers say they are not even a sister group, but a subfamily.
"Glyptodonts should probably be considered a subfamily of gigantic armadillos," said Frederic Delsuc, from the National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) and Montpellier University in France.
Dr Delsuc and his colleagues used computer predictions to reconstruct some likely DNA sequences of armadillo ancestors, based on the genes of living species.
They then made RNA "bait" based on these sequences and used it to fish for glyptodont DNA in a tiny, mashed-up sample of shell from a fossil in a Buenos Aires museum.
This technique allows scientists to confidently identify real DNA sequences from the ancient target species, without worrying about contaminating genetic material.
Sure enough, the team eventually managed to reconstruct the entire mitochondrial genome - because the computer simulations and bait sequences were mitochondrial DNA - of a glyptodont.
And it was not just any glyptodont; the sample came from Doedicurus, one of the most monstrous members of the family. It stretched up to 4m in length and weighed about 1.5 tonnes.
These fearsome but vegetarian beasts, the researchers say, got progressively bigger over time until their extinction at the end of the Ice Age 10,000 years ago. That places them in good company, as Pleistocene-epoch South America was also home to elephant-sized ground sloths and giant, sabre-toothed cats.
Most importantly, Dr Delsuc and his colleagues are confident they have resolved the position of the glyptodonts in the tree of life - and they are nestled deep in the "cingulata" order, among myriad branches of armadillos.
"Glyptodonts in fact represent an extinct lineage that likely originated 35 million years ago within the armadillo radiation," said co-author Hendrik Poinar from...

Summary: An extinct group of giant, armoured animals with spiky, club-shaped tails belongs firmly within the family tree of modern armadillos, according to a study of 12,000-year-old DNA.
###
Article: The ocean giants feed entirely on krill - tiny crustaceans that live in all the world's oceans.
Researchers attached special sound and tagging equipment to track the whales' movement.
The results revealed that despite their relatively small tail, the whales were making impressive spins below the waves in order to catch their prey.
Blue whales can gulp down a massive 100 tonnes of krill-filled water in just 10 seconds.
"As the blue whale approaches the krill patch, the whale uses its flippers and flukes to spin 180 degrees so that the body and jaws are just beneath the krill patch," explained Dr Goldbogen - one of the scientists involved in the study.
"At about 180 degrees, the mouth just begins to open so that the blue whale can engulf the krill patch from below."
Despite their microscopic size, krill are surprisingly quick to escape the mouths of the world's largest mammal.
It's believed the whales have come up with this tactic to make their hunt more effective.
Scientists suggest this extra effort of twisting and turning rewards the massive mammals with enormous meals.

Summary: Scientists in America have discovered that blue whales perform underwater acrobatics to hunt.
###
Article: The appeal, from Interpol, is part of an effort to track down individuals involved in illegal fishing, logging and wildlife trafficking.
The trade in wildlife crime is said to be worth around $213bn per annum, according to the UN.
This is the first time that individuals have been targeted.
Investigators from 21 countries gathered at Interpol's headquarters in France in October to share information on suspects involved in a range of crimes involving the environment.
Called Operation Infra Terra, the agency is now asking for assistance from the public in tracking down nine key suspects.
"Even the smallest detail, which you might think is insignificant, has the potential to break a case wide open when combined with other evidence the police already have," said Ioannis Kokkinis, from Interpol.
"Sometimes all it takes is a fresh pair of eyes to bring new momentum to an investigation and provide the missing clue which will help locate these wanted individuals, some of whom have been evading justice for years," he added.
One of those named is Feisal Mohammed Ali, alleged to be the leader of an ivory smuggling ring in Kenya.
He is being sought in connection with the seizure of 314 ivory pieces, weighing well over two tonnes in Mombasa in June.
Others on the list include Ahmed Kamran who was charged with an attempt to smuggle over 100 live animals, including giraffes and impalas, to Qatar on a military plane.
Ariel Bustamante Sanchez is alleged to have been involved in illegal tuna fishing in protected waters off Costa Rica.
The move has been welcomed by Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). They are concerned not just with the impact of environmental crime on species but also with the effect on political stability.
"Countries are increasingly treating wildlife crime as a serious offence, and we will leave no stone unturned to locate and arrest these criminals to ensure that they are brought to justice," said Ben Janse van Rensburg from Cites.
"The public can play a crucial role in this...

Summary:


A man has been remanded after appearing in court in Lapland accused of murdering his Scottish girlfriend.

Article: It revealed index-linked bonds may be launched in the near future "subject to market conditions".
The council has already become the first in Scotland to be given a credit rating, with Moody's Investors Service confirming an Aa2 issuer credit rating.
Aberdeen said the funding would support a £1bn capital programme.
Council leader Jennifer Laing said: "The prospect of a bond issue has the potential to be one of the most significant events in the history of our city.
"Following on from the assignment of the credit rating, it would be another first for a Scottish local authority and we are proud to be leading the way with innovation in public sector finance.
She added: "By being proactive in our approach to capital funding, we are clearly being mindful of our duty to protect the revenue budget which is the bedrock of our service delivery."
The plan has the backing of the Scottish government. It believes other local authorities could go down a similar route.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: "We welcome Aberdeen City Council's innovation in using the capital markets as a route to finance.
"Investment in infrastructure throughout the country is vital to Scotland's future and this bond issue has the potential to support a number of key projects in Aberdeen in the years ahead. It is a funding mechanism which has great potential for wider use in Scotland.
"These key projects planned for Aberdeen in the years ahead will be good for the city, for the North-East and for Scotland as a whole."

Summary: Aberdeen City Council has said it hopes to become the first local authority in Scotland to raise funds through the capital markets.
###
Article: Immunotherapy lets the body's own defences fight cancer and has been a source of huge excitement in the field.
And now scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have published a study suggesting aspirin may prevent tumours from hiding from the immune system.
Cancer Research UK said it could be a simple way of improving treatment.
The team showed that skin, breast and bowel cancer cells were producing high levels of a chemical, called prostaglandin E2, that could dampen down the immune response - effectively letting a tumour hide.
However, drugs like aspirin are able to change the chemical pathways inside the cancer cells that lead to prostaglandin E2 being produced.
Experiments in mice, published in the journal Cell, suggest such drugs can boost immunotherapy treatment.
But Prof Caetano Reis e Sousa, one of the researchers, told the BBC News website: "We are very far off patients, all this is preclinical research in mouse models, what we would like to do now is set up a clinical trial to formally demonstrate this could happen in humans."
Immunotherapy is one of the most promising fields in cancer research, with some trials showing terminal cancers can be shrunk and even disappear completely in rare cases.
Prof Reis e Sousa added: "The findings are exciting in the context of renewed interest in immunotherapy, really everyone in oncology and immunology has become extremely excited.
"But what we're finding is not a revolution, it's an evolution [that could help us] try to achieve an even greater rate of remission."
There have been previous suggestions that aspirin can prevent cancers forming in the first place.
And Prof Reis e Sousa said it was possible that aspirin was also preventing cancers forming by acting on the immune system, but that was still untested.
Prof Peter Johnson, from Cancer Research UK, said: "This research was carried out in mice, so there is still some way to go.
"But it's an exciting finding that could offer a simple way to dramatically improve the response to treatment in a range of cancers."

Summary: Aspirin may be able to boost the effectiveness of cutting-edge cancer medicines that bolster the immune system, scientists say.
###
Article: In a piece for the Sunday Times at the start of Conservative party conference, Mr Davies accused Labour and Plaid Cymru of a "left-ward lurch".
He claimed Plaid Cymru was a "nationalist comfort blanket" for First Minister Carwyn Jones.
Plaid called the attack "bluster", while Labour said it was "tired".
Mr Jones has "struggled to put forward a clear vision for Wales", the Welsh Conservative leader wrote, accusing him of having "flip-flopped" on freedom of movement and becoming "increasingly reliant" on Plaid Cymru.
"It's abundantly clear that Nicola Sturgeon is no longer alone in posing a danger to the future of the union," he said.
Alleging there was a disconnect between Mr Jones and Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood's "post-Brexit vision for Wales versus the will of the electorate", he accused the two parties of a "violent leftward lurch".
He said this was "compounded this week by the first minister's endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership and by Plaid's repeated calls for independence".
Mr Davies said it had "left a vacancy in the centre ground of Welsh politics which Welsh Conservatives are ideally placed to fill".
His comments are understood to refer to an exchange between Mr Davies and Mr Jones in the Senedd last Tuesday, when the Welsh Tory leader asked the first minister if the best interests of the UK would be served by having Jeremy Corbyn as the next prime minister. Mr Jones said: "Yes".
A spokesman for Carwyn Jones said: "Under the leadership of Andrew RT Davies the Tories in Wales have moved steadily but assuredly towards total irrelevance. Now the third party in Wales, the Tories have no policies to showcase, no victories to celebrate - just tired old attack lines which are utterly meaningless outside the Cardiff Bay bubble.
"The Welsh Tories' decision to ditch their own grammar school policy just days before [Prime Minister] Theresa May's first conference shows they are a party in deep confusion and in search of genuine leadership."
Steffan Lewis, Plaid Cymru's external affairs spokesman,...

Summary: The Welsh Conservatives are "ideally placed" to fill the centre ground of Welsh politics, assembly party leader Andrew RT Davies has said.
###
Article: The 36-year-old Czech national was arrested on Saturday after the body of Rebecca Johnson, 26, was found in the Finnish village of Kuttanen.
Ms Johnson was a member of the Santa Safari team which works with tour operator Transun Travel to organise Christmas-themed excursions to Lapland.
The couple lived in Scotland before moving to the Arctic for seasonal work.
Ms Johnson was from Burntisland in Fife.
A Finnish police statement said: "Lapland District Court has today imprisoned the suspect of the homicide, according to the claim of the Lapland Police Department.
"A 36-year-old Czech citizen is suspected of killing his 26-year-old long-term partner. The victim is a female citizen of Scotland. The crime is investigated as a murder."
It is understood members of Ms Johnson's family have since travelled to Lapland.
The police statement said: "The suspect has been co-operative but hasn't been able to clarify a specific motive for his suspected act.
"Police will continue the investigations by hearing the witnesses and the suspect, and by conducting technical investigations."
The suspect was arrested on Saturday after fleeing into the Lapland wilderness on a dog sled.
The police operation involved a helicopter and officers on snow scooters in temperatures of -30C.
The man was said to have been suffering from hypothermia when he was found.

Summary:


Barratt Homes has confirmed it is pressing ahead with plans to build 400 new homes in the east of Scotland.

Article: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 8-1 to leave rates unchanged, but minutes of the meeting showed most members expect the Bank will take some action next month.
Sterling rose as high as $1.3480 following the decision before falling back to $1.3312.
Financial markets had priced in an 80% chance of the Bank cutting rates.
The Bank said: "Most members of the committee expect monetary policy to be loosened in August.
"The precise size and nature of any stimulatory measures will be determined during the August forecast and Inflation Report round."
The only member of the MPC to vote for a rate cut this month was Jan Vlieghe. He was a senior economist at Brevan Howard Asset Management before joining the committee last September.
Interest rates have remained on hold since the Bank cut its key rate to the record low of 0.5% in March 2009.
The MPC is dealing with two competing forces. First, a slowdown in economic growth following the referendum vote, which many economists believe could tip the economy into recession.
Second, a possible increase in inflation sparked by the fall in the value of sterling. At the moment, the data on the former is limited.
Read more from Kamal here.
The Bank said that some businesses were starting to delay investment projects and postpone recruitment decisions, while a "significant weakening" in activity in the housing market was expected.
Figures released earlier on Thursday showed interest among UK homebuyers fell to its lowest level since mid-2008.
"Taken together, these indicators suggest economic activity is likely to weaken in the near term," the Bank said.
It also said it expected "sizeable falls" in commercial real estate prices in the short term.
However, the MPC raised its expectation for economic growth in the three months to June to 0.5% from a previous forecast of 0.3%.
Aberdeen Asset Management economist Paul Diggle said the Bank had decided that patience was a virtue.
"The next meeting is only three weeks away, and by then Carney and his colleagues will have a few...

Summary: The Bank of England has held the UK's main interest rate at 0.5% despite speculation that it would cut rates.
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Article: The five-Test series will begin in Brisbane on 26 November, with the day-night match taking place in Adelaide from 2 December.
The third Test will be in Perth - either at the Waca or the new Perth Stadium.
Melbourne and Sydney will host the traditional Boxing Day and New Year Tests respectively.
A five-match one-day international series will follow, starting on 14 January 2018.
A Twenty20 tri-series featuring the two sides and New Zealand begins in February, with three matches in Australia and four in New Zealand, including the final.
"We know how much Adelaide fans love this style of Test cricket," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said of the day-night match.
"We're expecting a full house next year in what is sure to be a great contest."
A statement from Cricket Australia explained it is working with the Western Australian Cricket Association and the Western Australia Government "on the possibility of hosting matches at Perth Stadium in 2017-18".
The Perth Stadium is a new 60,000-seater venue which has been planned as a multi-sport arena, also hosting rugby union and league, football and Australian Rules football (AFL). Its official website states that it will be open "for the start of the 2018 AFL season", which is likely to be March 2018.
23-27 Nov 1st Test, Brisbane
2-6 Dec 2nd Test, Adelaide (d/n)
14-18 Dec 3rd Test, Perth (venue TBC)
26-30 Dec 4th Test, Melbourne
4-8 Jan 5th Test, Sydney

Summary: England and Australia will meet in a day-night Test for the first time during the 2017-18 Ashes series.
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Article: The 30-year-old South African is set to make his first appearance of the season following a knee injury against Surrey in the T20 Blast at the Oval.
Ingram has been a spectator as Glamorgan have failed to win any of their six County Championship matches.
"It's been a really tough start to the season," Ingram said.
"It might be really good for us to change the format up completely and change the momentum of the season and keep building on that with a really good run in the next couple of months coming."
Ingram will need an operation to "clean-up" his knee which he injured during the warm-up to Glamorgan's first game of the season.
But he has chosen to return to the team because he wants to "get as much cricket as I can out of the season."
Ingram added: "I've torn a cartilage in my knee and at some stage I'm going to need an operation to clean that up.
"If I go for that operation now it could 10 or 12 weeks out again."
However, Ingram insists it is not a risk to play and is looking forward to his return to the Oval where he scored 91 off 47 balls in Glamorgan's most impressive win last season.
"We showed last season we could beat anyone on any day. A few wickets up front wouldn't go awry either," he added.
"It's been pretty frustrating and it's just been great the last couple of days just joining up with the squad again and I'm just ready to go."

Summary: Glamorgan can use the start of their T20 campaign to change the momentum of a difficult season, according to batsman Colin Ingram.
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Article: The builder said it would construct 139 homes at Duddingston Park South, Duddingston, and 165 at Newcraighall Village.
Barratt Homes will also build a total of 102 affordable homes between the two developments.
Newcraighall Village and Duddingston Park South are both set to launch later this year.
Anne Ross, sales director at Barratt Homes for the East of Scotland, said: "2014 has been buoyant year for new homes sales and we are pleased to be launching these two new developments in the Edinburgh area, to allow us to keep up with demand.
"With a wide selection of modern homes on offer and in sought-after locations, we hope these developments will be extremely popular."

Summary:


The SNP's attempt to be made the official opposition at Westminster has been rejected by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Article: Keane Wallis-Bennett died in April 2014 when a modesty wall in the PE changing room at Liberton High School fell on top of her.
A police investigation found no-one would face criminal charges.
However, it was decided an inquiry would be held to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
In her opening remarks, Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen said the two-week inquiry would focus on why the wall collapsed, why it collapsed when it did and the property maintenance regime at the school.
She said the hearing came at a time of particular poignancy as many of Keane's classmates had recently been taking exams and were preparing to make their way in life.
Sheriff Principal Stephen added: "The whole community was totally shocked by Keane's death. A young woman who attended school on 1 April, 2014, and did not return to her family.
"School should be a safe place for people."
The inquiry heard that pupils had leaned on the wall while changing their shoes when it it collapsed on top of Keane.
In evidence read out to the court, one described fellow pupils' efforts to lift the wall but said it was too heavy.
Another witness, a Det Ch Insp Keith Hardie, was asked if on 1 April - the day of the incident - he could answer why the wall fell.
He replied: "No."
In a statement, one girl told how PE teacher Nicole Christie must have heard the bang as the wall fell and told them to leave.
The teacher then went over to Keane and told her: "It's alright. The ambulance is coming."
Other girls told of pupils pushing or shoving against the wall and one girl said the wall moved forwards or backwards before returning to its original position.
Another told of a "scraping or grinding noise" and how she looked down and saw "a bit of a gap" about a centimetre wide at the bottom.
Another pupil said a girl would put her back against the shower wall and her feet on the modesty wall and try to walk up it, while another tried to climb up the wall two or three times. But she stopped when she saw the wall move as she had "got a...

Summary: A fatal accident inquiry into the death of a 12-year-old girl who died when a school wall collapsed has begun in Edinburgh.
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Article: The inaugural worldwide day of celebration will be held on 11 July.
Culture, Tourism and Foreign Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop joined Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society chief executive Shona McCarthy to announced the plans.
The first Edinburgh fringe was in 1947 when groups arrived at the Edinburgh International Festival uninvited.
The performers were undeterred by not being on the official programme and staged their shows on the fringe of the main festival, leading to the movement's name.
Since then, the founding principle of open access has remained key and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has inspired the creation of fringe events worldwide.
Ms McCarthy said: "We are thrilled to reveal the plans for the first-ever World Fringe Day.
"We can't wait to join with our sister fringes across the world to celebrate the wonder and joy of fringe festivals in this auspicious year.
"This is an incredible opportunity for fringe organisers, venues, participants and audiences to take part in a truly international celebration of creativity that will transcend national boundaries, demonstrating the power of arts and culture to bring people together.
"We hope as many people as possible will join us for a very special day of worldwide fringe fun as we celebrate 70 years of fringe and pay homage to Scotland as the birthplace of the fringe movement."
The Scottish government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo70 fund will give Â£100,000 to support World Fringe Day through Creative Scotland.
Ms Hyslop said: "World Fringe Day is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the global connections that Scotland has made through the arts.
"Edinburgh's festivals are world-renowned and it is remarkable to think that the fringe movement, that began here in 1947 with the founding of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, has developed into a worldwide network with fringes now taking place on every continent except Antarctica.
"The Scottish government is proud to support World Fringe Day through our Edinburgh Festivals Expo70 fund, acknowledging Scotland as the...

Summary: More than 200 fringe events across the globe will mark the first-ever World Fringe Day to celebrate 70 years of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
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Article: The latest decklift means the remaining gap is about 50m - the equivalent of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
The next stage of work involves using ballast and adjusting cables to ensure the height is aligned and ready for the final closure of the two sections.
Work on the final stage is set for January with the bridge connecting Edinburgh and Fife due to open in May.
Economy Secretary Keith Brown said: "Connecting all three of the Queensferry Crossing towers, from Fife right over to the south deck fan is another example of the good progress being made on the project.
"Despite the huge size and weight of the units being lifted, lifting them into place is a very precise operation.
"This is truly world class engineering taking place to bridge the Firth of Forth for the third time in consecutive centuries.
"Successfully building the new bridge and the road network requires careful planning and delivery of over 10,000 operations.
"The workforce continue to do an excellent job in often very tough conditions."
Michael Martin, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) project director, said: "In total, we will have four principal deck closures on the Queensferry Crossing.
"Earlier this year, we closed the gap between the North Tower deck span and the northern approach viaduct.
"Then, in October, we achieved closure between the Centre and South Tower deck spans.
"We have now lifted the Centre Tower/North Tower closure section into place and work is on-going to fix it permanently into position.
"We are continuing to make considerable progress on the project as a whole. In fact, for the first time we can say that the three towers and their decks are now connected directly to Fife.
"The focus now is on achieving the technically challenging final closure between the South Tower and the southern approach viaduct which is planned for early in the new year."

Summary: The Queensferry Crossing is a step closer to completion after engineers connected all three of its towers.
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Article: The Scottish National Party had argued that its Commons leader enjoyed the support of more MPs than Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
There are currently 54 SNP MPs but only 40 of Labour's 229 MPs expressed support for Mr Corbyn on Tuesday.
Speaker John Bercow said he had sought expert advice.
He said Labour "currently constitutes" the official opposition and its leader is recognised by the Speaker "for statutory and parliamentary purposes" as the leader of the opposition.
Mr Bercow was replying to a point of order raised by SNP MP Pete Wishart, who told the Speaker that Labour had lost two-thirds of its shadow cabinet and its leader no longer commanded the majority of his backbench MPs.
The SNP MP said: "It can now longer provide shadows for large departments of State. It is in clearly in no shape to assume power and meet these key responsibilities and obligations as outlined in Erskine May (the parliamentary rulebook)."
The SNP said it would be able to fill all of the relevant shadow posts to the government.
Mr Corbyn has still not appointed a shadow Scottish secretary.
The previous incumbent, Ian Murray, has not been replaced after becoming one of more than 20 members of Labour's shadow cabinet to quit earlier this week in an effort to force Mr Corbyn to resign.
Mr Corbyn subsequently lost a vote of no confidence by 172 votes to 40 but said the ballot had "no constitutional legitimacy" and that he would not "betray" the members who voted for him by resigning.
His allies have challenged Mr Corbyn's critics to trigger a formal leadership contest if they want to replace him.
Earlier, Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell - who has remained loyal to Mr Corbyn - said the SNP would "always play a few stunts and you can't blame them for that".
The SNP won 56 seats at last May's election, but Michelle Thomson and Natalie McGarry have since withdrawn from the party whip amid police investigations.

Summary:


Parliament might have to scrutinise up to 15 new bills to deliver Brexit, leaving little time for other legislation, the Institute for Government has warned.

Article: Smaller developers will be able to buy sites in England with planning permission in place - with 40% of the new-builds to be so-called "starter homes" aimed at first-time buyers.
PM David Cameron said it was a "huge shift in government policy".
But Labour said he was using "rhetoric to hide his failure on new homes".
Shadow housing minister John Healey said the announcement did not promise new investment or affordable homes beyond those already announced.
Direct commissioning allows the government to assume responsibility for developing land, instead of large building firms.
Communities Secretary Greg Clark told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government was "pulling out all the stops to get the country building".
"We know that consistently 90% of people aspire to own their own home, and for many years now home ownership has been in decline," he said.
He added that the eight biggest building firms accounted for 50% of the house-building market, and there was a need to involve smaller and medium-sized companies.
Downing Street said the move marked a "radical new policy shift", with up to 13,000 homes set to be built on five publicly-owned sites in 2016 - with up to 40% being affordable "starter" homes.
In December 2014 former Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander announced a pilot plan for the government to "directly commission, build and even sell homes" at a former RAF base in Northstowe, Cambridgeshire.
BBC home editor Mark Easton said the extent of government involvement marked something of an ideological shift for a Conservative administration, adding that starting 13,000 homes represented a "tiny proportion" of the million the government wants built by 2020.
The government wants to build 200,000 starter homes - to be offered to first-time buyers under 40 at a minimum 20% discount price - by 2020.
The discounts apply to properties worth up to £250,000 outside London, or £450,000 in the capital.
A pilot for the scheme will start on five sites:
Where can I afford to live?
Why 'starter...

Summary: The government is "pulling out all the stops" by directly commissioning the building of up to 13,000 homes on public land, ministers say.
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Article: Mohamed Nasheed obtained 45% but needed more than 50% to avoid a run-off against his rival, Abdulla Yameen, who got 25% of the vote.
After decades of autocratic rule, the Maldives held its first free election in 2008, which was won by Mr Nasheed.
But he was ousted as president 18 months ago in an alleged coup.
Officials said the run-off was due to be held on 28 September.
Mr Nasheed's rival, Abdulla Yameen, is the half-brother of the Maldives' former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who led the country for 30 years.
Mr Nasheed resigned in February 2012 when army and police personnel joined opposition-led protests over the arrest of a senior judge.
The judge, Abdulla Mohamed, was detained in January 2012 after ordering the release of an opposition politician.
Mr Nasheed said he was stepping down to prevent "bloodshed", but later said he was forced to resign at gunpoint by police and army officers.
He was replaced by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, who had also been running in Saturday's election but polled only 5% of the vote.
Mr Waheed has consistently rejected claims of a coup by Nasheed supporters.
The leadership change sparked political unrest, leading to fears that the protests would have an impact on the islands' tourism industry.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said last week that he hoped the elections would be "credible and peaceful".
Key issues for voters included religion, nationalism, education and the economy.
Thoriq Hamid, a representative of poll monitoring group Transparency Maldives, said that the campaigning had been conducted "smoothly and peacefully".
However, there was still "some apprehension and confidence issues about the security forces", he said.

Summary: The presidential elections in the Maldives will go to a second round after frontrunner Mohamed Nasheed failed to win an outright majority.
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Article: The beetle has killed about 38 million ash trees, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA approved the release of four species of wasps, which lay eggs inside the ash borer larvae and prevent them from developing into adult beetles.
The treatment and removal of the affected trees costs up to $25bn.
The wasp program is not likely to save any current trees, but is aimed at preventing the ash borer from decimating future tree populations, according to entomologist Ben Slager.
"It's really a long-term management thing," said Mr Slager, an entomologist at the Michigan laboratory producing the wasps for the federal program.
The emerald ash borer, which feeds on a tree's tissue and prevents nutrients from moving to branches, is believed to have been accidentally introduced in North America during the 1990s through wood-shipping crates from Russia, China, Japan or Korea.
The wasps have been released in 24 of the 26 states where the insect has been found. The two remaining states, Texas and Georgia, are also expected to introduce the wasp program.

Summary: Millions of tiny, parasitic wasps have been deployed across 24 US states in an effort to stop the spread of the tree-killing emerald ash borer.
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Article: The IFG says legislation will be needed to establish new policies on areas such as customs and immigration.
The extra measures will place "a huge burden" on Parliament and government departments, the think tank says.
The attitude of the SNP may also affect the passage of Brexit laws, it adds.
In its report, Legislating Brexit, the IFG says that with the average Queen's Speech announcing only 20 new bills, the introduction of 15 Brexit bills before the UK even exits the EU "will leave very little space for non-Brexit related legislation".
The report comes as Theresa May travels to Swansea with Brexit Secretary David Davis, where she will talk about the "precious union" of the UK.
The prime minister will meet First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones, as well as local businesses, as she tries to show she is including all areas of Britain in negotiations with the EU.
Mrs May will say: "I want every part of the United Kingdom to be able to make the most of the opportunities ahead."
The IFG report anticipates the new bills will be in addition to the Great Repeal Bill, which will scrap the 1972 European Communities Act that paved the way for the UK to enter the then-EEC, ending the legal authority of EU law.
The IFG - an independent charity that aims to increase government effectiveness - says departments will need "ruthlessly to prioritise" other legislation and find non-legislative routes to get the laws through, particularly given the government's narrow Commons majority.
It warns that this will mean ministers having to achieve a fine balance between giving too little parliamentary scrutiny and too prolonged, in-depth examination of Brexit-related legislation.
The IFG also argued that "a lack of clarity" about the role the devolved legislatures will play in legislating for Brexit could pose a problem.
"The attitude that the Scottish National Party (SNP) takes to the passage of Brexit-related legislation in Westminster could affect the smoothness with which that legislation passes through Parliament if they join...

Summary: