A social media feed of rail works at Reading is due to the "embarrassing fallout" of engineering delays at Christmas, it has been claimed.

Article: More than 5,000 trains were delayed by 30 minutes to two hours between July and September, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) data showed.
Govia Thameslink Railway had on average nine severely delayed trains per day while Great Western Railway had seven.
Operators said a busier network meant incidents had a greater knock-on effect on other services.
But the Campaign for Better Transport said the companies should make more effort to ensure passengers received compensation for significantly delayed trains.
According to analysis by the Press Association, the Caledonian Sleeper - which runs overnight trains between London and Scotland - was the operator with the highest percentage of its services suffering severe disruption with 3.7% or one in 27 trains.
Passengers using Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) - which is responsible for Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express services - suffered from the largest year-on-year rise in the number of significantly late trains up 73% to 816 over the three-month period.
*The figures do not include trains that were at least two hours late.
Rail delays: How to get your money back
James MacColl of the Campaign for Better Transport said: "Late-running trains can be very frustrating, but far too few passengers understand when they're due compensation or how they should go about claiming it."
Since July, passengers have also been able to claim compensation in cash, rather than receiving vouchers against future travel.
But campaign groups wants customers to be told - for example, by a public announcement on the train - that they are entitled to get some money back and compensation forms to be handed out.
Just over half the country's train operators offer compensation after a 30-minute delay, under what is known as the Delay Repay scheme.
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, described timetables as a "promise to passengers" and insisted "we never want people to suffer delays or disruption".
He added: "Train operators and Network...

Summary: About 57 trains are significantly late every day on the British railway network, according to industry figures.
###
Article: Steve Hastings joined the city's UKIP group in 2013, ahead of European elections, and became its deputy leader.
In 2011, he stood as a Tory candidate in the Chichester district council elections.
He said: "The best hope for a European referendum now lies with the [Tories]."
Mr Hastings said a referendum was a "locked-in" promise from Prime Minister David Cameron.
"He knows it has to happen and the sooner he puts a date to that the better," he said.
"I don't want to be governed and controlled by Brussels.
"If the public vote yes, then I can go with it and support it, but until we've had the referendum I can't run with that, I cant accept it."
Mr Hastings said his defection was "by no means a reflection" on his UKIP colleagues or group, and was not as a result of a "falling out".
In a letter to Portsmouth City Council, on his resignation from the UKIP group, Mr Hastings added: "I feel strongly about protecting Britain's borders and ensuring we have tighter border controls and lower managed levels of immigration."
Colin Galloway, Portsmouth's UKIP group leader, described Mr Hastings defection as "a surprise and a disappointment".
Last May, UKIP saw six councillors elected in Portsmouth. However, Paul Godier quit the group in January to become an independent, and following Mr Hasting's departure there are four remaining.
Asked whether he expected any further defections, Mr Galloway said: "That'll be up to councillors and their conscience."
Portsmouth City Council remains under no overall control following Thursday's elections. The Conservatives are five seats short of a majority.

Summary: A Portsmouth UKIP councillor has defected to the Conservatives, having previously been a Tory member for more than 30 years.
###
Article: How and when water got trapped in volcanic lunar rocks is a huge and open question for planetary scientists.
This international team has compared the chemistry of Apollo mission samples with various types of space rock.
They say that icy, early asteroids were the likely source of most of the water.
After such impacts the Moon's developing crust could have trapped the water in the cooling magma.
Much later, volcanic activity spewed some of that magma back onto the surface and, much later again, a precious few of those volcanic rocks were bagged by Apollo astronauts.
Tightly bound up in the rocks is a trace of water: somewhere between 10 and 300 parts per million (0.001-0.03%).
"It's not pools of water, it's not lakes of water, it's not frozen ice. When we're talking about interior - or magmatic - water, we're talking about water that is locked up in minerals," said Dr Jessica Barnes from the Open University in the UK, first author of the new paper in Nature Communications.
The source of that water is a topic of ongoing debate.
Previous research revealed that some of these watery deposits have a similar molecular signature to water-rich "carbonaceous chondrite" meteorites that occasionally reach the Earth from the asteroid belt.
So was water brought to the Moon by chunks of asteroid? Perhaps via the very early Earth, which was similarly bombarded before the brutal collision that created our satellite?
Or, as other researchers have suggested, did lunar water arrive in comets - the Solar System's more distant, icy travellers?
Working with colleagues in the US and France, Dr Barnes modelled various scenarios to explore what could have produced the chemistry of the Moon's water as we know it. To run these tests, they surveyed all the published results about the make-up of lunar rock samples and various possible contributors - from Earth rock to comets.
"We've taken an approach that's the most quantitative so far, in terms of deciphering which types of objects would have been impacting the Moon," she told BBC...

Summary: A smattering of water is buried deep inside the Moon and it arrived during the satellite's very early history, a new study concludes, when asteroids plunged into churning oceans of magma.
###
Article: Network Rail said it would provide Twitter updates of engineers installing new freight lines over Easter weekend.
But Railway Magazine said the firm's PR team had gone into overdrive after work overran during the festive period leading to heavy criticism.
The rail firm said they would "definitely have a story to tell".
Major work, including extensive signalling improvements, is being carried out on the route from Good Friday to Easter Monday.
Patrick Hallgate, from Network Rail, said: "We are acutely aware that some of our work could inconvenience those who want to travel over the Easter period.
"Which is why we want to be open and provide the public with live information about how we are using this time to make improvements to this part of the network."
Railway Magazine assistant editor Nick Brodrick said this live feed is a result of "the embarrassing fallout caused by the delayed engineering works on the East Coast Main Line after Christmas".
He said: "It is therefore not surprising to see its PR team go into overdrive to reassure passengers that it can deliver on its promises."
He added that following the minutiae of rail engineering works would not be a popular pastime this Easter.
"Most people won't be particularly interested in the nuts and bolts of the work involved; what they expect is a better train service as a result."
The improvement work can be followed on Twitter from Friday morning via @networkrailgwrm and the hashtag #greaterwest.

Summary:


The UK's biggest sports fan group has just announced that it has appointed EasyJet's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, to support its strategic review.

The FTSE 100 closed 25 points, or 0.35%, higher at 7,404, after ITV announced its new chief executive.

Article: The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 469,696 new cars were registered in the month, a rise of 1.6% from 462,517 last year.
It is the highest sales total for September on record, but the figures also showed sales to private motorists fell for the sixth month in a row.
The best-selling new car in September was the Ford Fiesta.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: "September is always one of the biggest months for Britain's new car market.
"The new 66-plate, combined with a diverse range of exciting new models featuring the latest technology, has certainly helped draw buyers into showrooms."
The total number of cars registered so far this year has now reached 2.15 million, according to the SMMT. Fleet sales continued to drive growth, climbing 7.3% year on year in September.
But registrations to private motorists slipped by 1.7%, the sixth consecutive month of decline.
This followed "record levels of growth in 2015", the SMMT cautioned. But Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, warned consumers were "recoiling" from making big-ticket purchases due to uncertainty about the economy.
"Car manufacturers also are beginning to raise prices in response to sterling's depreciation," he added.
"In addition, much of the pent-up demand from households that put off car purchases during the recession also has now been satiated.
"As such, with growth in households' real incomes set to slow sharply, as inflation revives and firms pause on hiring, and loan rates now at a floor, we expect [private] car sales to continue to fall over the next year."
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
Mr Hawes also said the car industry continued to face uncertainty.
"Business and consumers place September orders many months in advance," he said.
"So the ability of the market to maintain this record level of demand will depend on the ability of government to overcome political uncertainty and safeguard the conditions that underpin consumer appetite."
In September, Mr Hawes warned...

Summary: UK new car sales rose in September, helped by strong purchases from fleet buyers and the new 66 number plate.
###
Article: His Twitter handle is @POTUS (President Of The United States) and within few hours he had attracted over a million followers.
"Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account" is his first tweet.
The president's official feed, run by Organizing for Action staff, has 59.3m followers.
The account @BarackObama was launched in 2007, and the president initials tweets he writes himself with the letters BO.
"The @POTUS Twitter account will serve as a new way for President Obama to engage directly with the American people, with tweets coming exclusively from him," reads an entry on the White House website blog.
"President Obama is committed to making his Administration the most open and participatory in history, and @POTUS will give Americans a new venue to engage on the issues that matter most to them."
President Obama is currently following 65 people, including Bill Clinton, George Bush and @FLOTUS, the First Lady's account - but not Hillary Clinton or UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
Former Pope Benedict XVI attracted nearly 280,000 followers to his English Twitter account on its first day when he launched it in December 2012.
The account is now run by Pope Francis and has 6.1m followers. It follows eight other accounts, which all belong to the Pope and tweet in different languages.

Summary: US President Barack Obama has just launched his own Twitter feed, the White House has confirmed.
###
Article: From the climax of the European football season and a summer of top-class cricket and tennis events to the Rolling Stones and Who concerts, there never seem to be enough tickets to go round for die-hard followers.
At one time that might have meant hanging around outside a venue hoping to buy off a tout, or someone else with "a spare" to sell.
However, over the past decade a new phenomenon has arrived on the UK's shores - the "secondary ticketing" exchanges that allow individuals, sports clubs, and other organisations to legally sell spare tickets - often, but not necessarily, at more than face value.
Among the biggest names on the internet are Viagogo, Get Me In, Seatwave, and Stubhub, all of whom are keen to highlight that dealing with them is financially secure.
But on the other hand, one sports fan group say we are seeing "legalised touting", and that these firms are able to act in a way that the ordinary fan cannot.
Navin Kekane, is business operations director of Stubhub,  a major American ticket exchange, and part of the Ebay group of firms. It employs more than 1,000 people in the US, and provides services for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theatre and other live entertainment events.
It launched in the UK in March 2012, and employs about 35 people in the UK and Republic of Ireland, with a physical office in central London and a customer service team based in Dublin.
Stubhub provides a service connecting those with spare tickets to those who want to buy them.  Ticket adverts state that "prices are set by sellers and may be higher than face value", with the face value price clearly displayed.
For Everton's game against West Ham at the weekend, there were tickets for sale at both above and below face value.
"What we do is all about supply and demand, and you can find tickets at below face value," says Mr Kekane, adding that "ticket prices often start to fall as an event approaches".
Sellers are charged a 12% fee including VAT and with PayPal fees waived,  For buyers booking fees,...

Summary: It is an exciting time of year to be a UK sports or music fan, with big cup finals and major name concerts coming thick and fast.
###
Article: Shares in ITV rose 1.3% after the broadcaster said it had appointed EasyJet's boss Carolyn McCall.
ITV's previous chief executive, Adam Crozier, left in June, but Ms McCall will not take up her new post until January next year.
Carillion shares leapt 19% on the news it was part of a consortium granted HS2 contracts by the government.
Carillion, in the wider FTSE 250, announced on Monday that it had appointed the accountants EY to support its strategic review, which has been launched after it issued a profit warning last week and announced the departure of its chief executive.
Carillion's shares were trading at about 67p, although this was still well below the 191p level they stood at prior to last week's profit warning.
Staying in the FTSE 250, shares in Weir Group rose 8% after the company, which makes pipes and valves for the energy and mining sectors, said revenue and operating profit for the full-year were set to beat expectations.
Weir said it been helped by a faster than expected recovery in the North American oil and gas markets.
The FTSE 250 index closed 112 points, or 0.6%, higher at 19,520.
The pound weakened slightly against both the dollar and the euro.
The pound fell 0.3% versus the US dollar to $1.31; sterling was also 0.3% down against the euro at 1.14 euros.

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The second inquest into the death of Cumbrian toddler Poppi Worthington has again been adjourned, a coroner has confirmed.

Article: He is putting the finishing touches to a portrait of Pope Francis.
"This is a homage to him," he says. "Coming to Mexico, meeting us and praying for our virgin is very important - that's why I'm painting this."
There is a great deal of affection towards the Argentine Pope here and a lot of excitement ahead of the pontiff's first visit to Mexico, which has the second biggest Catholic population in the world
The Pew Research Centre estimates 81% of Mexicans identify as Catholic, and Mexicans feel that as a fellow Latin American, Pope Francis understands the Mexican people.
One of the highlights of his trip will be the Pope's visit to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Millions of pilgrims visit the site in honour of Mexico's patron saint every year, and they see it as a source of pride that Pope Francis will do so too.
"The impact will be huge, it's great for people because of all the violence here - we have faith that this could change things," said Fernando Medina, who was visiting the Virgin with his daughter Sofia.
The Pope will also meet President Enrique Pena Nieto in what will be a highly symbolic encounter.
In 1917, the Mexican constitution limited the role of the Catholic Church in public life, and Pope Francis is the first pontiff to be invited to the National Palace.
"The state is very conscious of Francis' popularity and his huge standing particularly in Latin America," says Austen Ivereigh, author of a biography of Pope Francis.
"I think they want to be identified with it - they want a bit of the stardust that attaches to Francis."
President Pena Nieto's approval rating has been hit by the country's continuing struggles with drug violence, human rights abuses and corruption scandals.
Pope Francis condemned the situation ahead of his visit, saying Mexico was living its "little piece of war".
"The Mexico of violence, the Mexico of corruption, the Mexico of drug trafficking, the Mexico of cartels, is not the Mexico our mother wants," he said.
And it is a war the Catholic Church in...

Summary: Jorge Santamaria sits at his easel outside Mexico City's cathedral, palette in hand.
###
Article: The comments came after the attorney general of Massachusetts proposed new rules which would ban people under the age of 21 from playing paid fantasy sports games.
The regulations would also require protection of players' deposits and "robust" data and security measures.
They also seek to ensure "more truthful advertising" and more transparency.
FanDuel said the approach towards regulating fantasy sports made "a tremendous amount of sense".
Officials in several states have been taking a strict approach to the industry, arguing that paid daily games amount to gambling.
Last week, the fast-growing Scottish-American tech firm was served with a cease and desist notice by regulators in New York, effectively telling it to stop taking money in the state.
The top prosecutor argued that fantasy sports firms were running illegal gambling operations.
FanDuel - a leading player in the US fantasy sports business - suspended entry to paid contests for people located in New York pending the outcome of a court hearing next week.
It also launched a petition urging opposition to "any measure that would ban online fantasy sports".
In the latest development, the attorney general's office in Massachusetts said a review it had conducted had "uncovered a number of concerns" about the sector's business practices and "the ability of consumers to have a fair shot while playing these games".
Attorney General Maura Healey said: "These regulations are a first of their kind for the daily fantasy sports industry, and they focus on protecting minors, ensuring truthful advertising, bringing more transparency to the industry, and levelling the playing field for all consumers."
"This is a first step, but an important step, as we continue to evaluate this new industry and make sure our laws keep up with these evolving technologies."
Responding to the announcement, FanDuel said: "Attorney General Healey's approach towards regulating fantasy sports makes a tremendous amount of sense - it provides strong protections for consumers and allows sports...

Summary: Fantasy sports gaming firm FanDuel has said it welcomes moves by US officials to tighten industry regulations.
###
Article: Campaigners want the statue torn down, arguing that Rhodes, a 19th Century businessman and politician in southern Africa, represented white supremacy.
They have described Oriel College's decision as "outrageous, dishonest and cynical" and have vowed to fight it.
The college began a consultation last month and said the "overwhelming" response was that Rhodes should stay.
It said the statue was a reminder of the complexity of history and of the legacies of colonialism.
In a statement, campaign group Rhodes Must Fall said: "This recent move is outrageous, dishonest, and cynical.
"This is not over. We will be redoubling our efforts and meeting over the weekend to discuss our next actions."
The decision by the college comes after the Oxford Union debating society voted by 245 to 212 earlier this month for the statue to be removed.
The Rhodes Must Fall campaign began in South Africa, where a Rhodes statue was removed, and was adopted in Oxford by campaigners who argued his views were incompatible with an "inclusive culture" at the university.
In a statement, Oriel College said it had received an "enormous amount of input" from students, academics and other individuals and groups during its consultation.
The college said after "careful consideration" it had decided the statue should remain but it would add "a clear historical context to explain why it is there".
The statement continued: "The college believes the recent debate has underlined that the continuing presence of these historical artefacts is an important reminder of the complexity of history and of the legacies of colonialism still felt today.
"By adding context, we can help draw attention to this history, do justice to the complexity of the debate, and be true to our educational mission."
Why is Cecil Rhodes such a controversial figure?
The Daily Telegraph reported the decision to keep the statue had been made after donors threatened to withdraw gifts and bequests worth more than Â£100m if it was taken down.
The paper said it had seen a leaked copy of a...

Summary: A college at Oxford University says it has decided not to remove a statue of the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes.
###
Article: The 13-month-old was found with serious injuries at her home in Barrow in December 2012.
A second inquest was ordered after a seven-minute hearing in 2014 determined Poppi's death was "unascertained".
It was due to be held in Kendal from 15 May and will be rescheduled for October while her father seeks legal aid.
Poppi Worthington death: Key dates
David Roberts, senior coroner for Cumbria, said the adjournment followed a request by Poppi's father, Paul Worthington, who had been unable to secure legal aid in sufficient time.
Mr Roberts said it was "of real importance for Mr Worthington to take part in the process and it will be difficult for him to do so in the absence of legal representation".
He added: "It is self-evident my findings and conclusion at the inquest may (depending upon what they are) have significant ramifications for Mr Worthington."
A family judge previously ruled the toddler had been sexually assaulted by her father, who has always denied any wrongdoing.
No-one has been charged in connection with Poppi's death. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had no "realistic prospect" of securing a conviction.
The second inquest was initially suspended in September after the CPS carried out a review of the case, concluding it was right not to bring any charges against Mr Worthington.

Summary:


A new judge for north Wales has been appointed.

Mebyon Kernow, which campaigns for a National Assembly for Cornwall, has announced it will not be putting forward any candidates for the 2017 general election.

Article: Rhys Rowlands has been made the region's resident judge, taking over from Judge Merfyn Hughes QC, who recently retired.
Born in Bangor, he is married with two daughters, lives in the Vale of Clwyd and will work across north Wales.
Educated at University College London and Cardiff University, he is a former prosecuting solicitor for North Wales Police.
He was called to the bar in 1986, practising from Chester chambers.
Judge Rowlands was appointed a recorder in 2000, and became a circuit judge in 2010, based at Cardiff Crown Court.
He has also conducted trials in north Wales, sitting at Mold and Caernarfon Crown Courts.

Summary: A new senior judge for north Wales has been appointed.
###
Article: Two separate lanes for cyclists are planned on the Tower Hill to Ladbroke Grove route.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA) argued the lanes would take up space, causing disruption.
Transport for London (TfL) said they were "works of improvement" and did not need planning permission.
The LTDA asked a judge to declare that the continued construction of the segregated cycle route without planning permission "constitutes a breach of planning control".
But Mrs Justice Patterson rejected the application.
More on this story and other news from London
She ruled the TfL did not err in law "and was not irrational in reaching its conclusion that there was no significant adverse environmental effect from the proposals as a whole".
The judge also declared planning permission may be required for other cycle superhighways or for parts of them in the future.
She said: "Each scheme will need to be judged on its own facts."
Steve McNamara, LTDA's general secretary, accused Mayor Boris Johnson of rushing through the scheme as an ill-judged "last hurrah" before he leaves office.
The mayor's cycling commissioner, Andrew Gilligan, said: "Once again, the courts have in the clearest terms upheld our right to improve London for cycling."
He said the ruling meant "we can now be confident of finishing the Embankment - Upper Thames Street superhighway on schedule in April, finishing the whole superhighway in summer, and ending the temporary delays that have occurred as a result of the construction works".
The whole east-west route runs from Tower Hill to Lancaster Gate, but cab drivers had objected to the first phase of construction along the Victoria Embankment.
Howard Carter, general counsel at TfL, said: "The east-west cycle superhighway will make London's roads safer for all, particularly cyclists."
There are five existing cycle superhighways, and plans for three further routes:

Summary: London taxi drivers have lost a High Court challenge which could have disrupted completion of a £47m east-west cycle superhighway.
###
Article: Dominic Doyle, 21, from Denton, Greater Manchester, died from stab wounds in hospital on 7 June after police were called to a report of a fight.
A 15-year-old boy is also being held on suspicion of murder, while another man, 21, has been released without charge.
Mr Doyle's parents said he was "fun, caring, loving and a cheeky chappie".
They said: "He had a heart of gold and would help anyone.
"His last comment on Facebook was, 'Love my life, wouldn't change a thing. I have the best mum and dad and the best group of mates'.'"
Det Ch Insp Ian Crewe, of Greater Manchester Police (GMP), appealed for witnesses to contact the police.
He said they wanted "anyone who was either at or in the vicinity of Hughes' pub on Manchester Road in Denton in the early hours of Sunday morning to please get in touch".

Summary: An 18-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man's death following a fight involving up to eight men.
###
Article: A party spokesperson said the timing made it "impractical" to put together and finance "a meaningful campaign".
At the recent Cornwall Council elections four Mebyon Kernow councillors were re-elected.
It lost deposits in all six seats at both the last general elections.
More on Mebyon Kernow not fielding candidates, and other news
On 18 April the prime minister called a snap general election for 8 June - three years earlier than scheduled.

Summary:


The BBC has been criticised for its coverage of the UK's sex scandals.

Tube drivers on the London Underground (LU) are to be balloted for strikes in a row over pay for new all-night services, the Aslef union has said.

Article: The F-Rating was introduced by Bath Film Festival director Holly Tarquini in 2014 and has been taken up by more than 40 UK cinemas and festivals.
IMDb boss Col Needham said: "The F-Rating is a great way to highlight women on screen and behind the camera."
Ms Tarquini said 21,800 films had been tagged with the F-Rating on IMDb.
Film information site IMDb gets more than 250 million visitors per month.
Ms Tarquini said: "The F-Rating is intended to make people talk about the representation of women on and off screen.
"It's exciting when new organisations decide to join us in shining a light both on the brilliant work women are doing in film and on how far the film industry lags behind most other industries, when it comes to providing equal opportunities to women.
"But our real goal is to reach the stage when the F-Rating is redundant because 50% of the stories we see on screen are told by and about film's unfairly under-represented half of the population - women."
The F-Rating is a classification for any film which:
Newest adopter to the campaign is the Barbican Cinema in London.
Curator Gali Gold said the rating was "a simple and effective way to signpost films where the stories are told by and about women and to highlight the issue of gender imbalance within the film industry".
Anna Navas, from Plymouth Arts Centre, said she added the F-Rating "as soon as I heard about it".
"The F-Rating is such a clear, fun, accessible way of highlighting women on screen it felt like a no-brainer," she said.
The F-Rating was inspired by US cartoonist Alison Bechdel, whose 1985 comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For featured two women discussing "movies".
The cartoon became known as the "Bechdel Test" with the characters deciding a film should include at least two women who talk to each other about something besides a man.
Some films meet all three criteria with significant women on screen in their own right and are written and directed by women.  Those with the triple rating include:
Other films with the rating include those...

Summary: A feminist film classification created to highlight the lack of women working in the movie industry is now being used on the IMDb film information site.
###
Article: The UK's communications regulator Ofcom says there are challenges in improving coverage.
Average download speeds are almost twice as high in urban than rural areas.
Ofcom estimates the Wi-Fi connection may "not be working as well as it could" in more than 160,000 homes here.
Ofcom's report says broadband speeds are highest in the Belfast City Council area and lowest in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area.
The Mid-Ulster District Council area is next poorest, followed by the area covered by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
Ofcom says people in rural areas "see a greater deterioration in speeds due to longer line lengths".
More than one in three Northern Ireland broadband connections (37%) are superfast - a connection of 30Mbit/s or more.
But about 6% of premises receive speeds of less than 2Mbit/s.
Overall average download speeds in Northern Ireland improved by 19% over the course of 2015.
The report also says 3G coverage has increased by 10%.
Coverage in Northern Ireland is now said to be 73%, compared with 88% in the UK.
It says the mobile provider EE currently has the widest geographic coverage for voice and data services.
Northern Ireland has fewer 'voice not spots' - areas where there is no mobile coverage - than the UK as a whole.
Ofcom has released its Wi-Fi Checker mobile app that allows users to find out the quality of their wireless internet signal.

Summary: A new report has highlighted big differences in broadband speeds across Northern Ireland, with areas worst served located in the west.
###
Article: Not keen on browsing 500+ pages of education test results? Reluctant to look at more tables than an Ikea factory....
Here's the short-attention span version.
Teenagers around the world take these tests, but it's education ministers who feel the heat.
Because these two-hour tests in maths, reading and science, taken by 500,000 15-year-old pupils, are used to create international league tables, comparing standards in different countries. Individual pupils don't get results, it's education systems.
The latest rankings run from Shanghai at the top to Peru at the bottom. The gap in scores between top and bottom is equivalent to six years of learning.
If you think you can do better you can try the test yourself.
The tests are run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. The "Pisa" name stands for the Programme for International Student Assessment, a name chosen so that the acronym spells the same in English as in French. Unlike the OECD.
It's not just countries taking part. It also includes regional administrations, like Shanghai, which is bigger than most European countries. Although for the next tests in 2015 there will be a wider entry from more Chinese provinces.
As more attention is paid to these tests, there's a mini-backlash of doubters questioning their validity.
There are claims against the methodology of the testing and more widely there are warnings against too much being read into the results.
Among the concerns are that political pressure to boost international rankings will force education systems to become more narrowly focused on these measures.

Summary: What are these Pisa tests?
###
Article: The Night Tube will provide services on several lines from September.
Aslef said it had been told that unless drivers agreed to rosters they would automatically be imposed and no pay offer would be made this year.
The union said LU had "closed down" negotiations, however LU said these claims were "completely untrue".
The new rosters would include covering all-night services on Friday and Saturday nights when they begin.
Finn Brennan, Aslef's district organiser, said: "London Underground has closed down the negotiations.
"Our members are entitled to a family life and to some sort of work/life balance.
"We aren't opposed to all-night services but we want them introduced in a fair and sensible way which rewards staff for their hard work."
About 80% of all London Underground drivers are members of Aslef.
Mr Brennan said drivers would have to work an unlimited number of weekend and night shifts for no extra pay.
The Night Tube services will initially run on the Piccadilly, Victoria, Central, Jubilee and Northern lines.
They will be extended to the Metropolitan, Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City lines by 2021, the London Overground in 2017 and the Docklands Light Railway by 2021.
The plans are part of a six-point long term economic plan that Chancellor George Osborne and London Mayor Boris Johnson said would add £6.4bn to the London economy by 2030 and create 500,000 new jobs.
Labour's London Assembly transport spokeswoman Val Shawcross said the Night Tube would be a great thing for London but "it's important it's done properly".
She said: "That means recognising the impact it will have on staff who will make the night Tube possible and listening to their concerns.
"Instead, last year the mayor announced a start date for the night Tube without any proper consultation with the staff and unions."
Nick Brown, chief operating officer for LU, said: "To suggest that we've closed down negotiations is completely untrue and it is extremely disappointing the co-ordinated response by the unions has been to announce...

Summary:


Carmarthen's Guildhall has a "self sufficient" future say council leaders, as the county takes ownership of the historic building.

Article: Two Technics SL-1200 models were unveiled - one of which is limited to a run of 1,200 units - marking the first update in years to the brand.
Panasonic has said the launch was inspired by a resurgence in vinyl record sales.
The production of Technics turntables had ceased in 2010.
At the time, some audiophiles and DJs had expressed disappointment over the well known brand's discontinuation.
But in September last year, Panasonic said that Technics would return.
The decision to halt the production of Technics turntables five years ago was a "strange" one, according to Andy Clough, editor of What Hi-Fi magazine.
"They had a fantastic brand with a huge heritage," he said. "From our point of view [the re-launch is] really exciting, it's a sort of update if you like on an iconic turntable - something of a legend amongst DJs and hi-fi people."
Mr Clough commented that while there was a resurgence in vinyl sales, the boom should be viewed in context.
"It's still very much a niche thing - albeit a growing niche," he said.
The refreshed models boast a number of mechanical improvements.
Panasonic has included a new motor in the updated turntable, which is designed to be quieter and less prone to vibrations than previous models. The result is, the firm claims, better sound quality.
Both editions will be released later in 2016 with the 50th Anniversary model, the Grand Class SL-1200GAE, being made available this summer in a limited edition run.
Retro audio formats aren't the only nostalgic tech featuring at CES this year.
Kodak has also announced an initiative to revive the Super 8 film format and is presenting a prototype of a new Kodak Super 8 camera.
It features digital functionality - including an LCD screen allowing users to frame and view recorded scenes live.
The company's initiative has already garnered support from top Hollywood directors including Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and Steve McQueen - all of whom have praised the qualities of Super 8 film.
There are no details on when Kodak's new camera might...

Summary: Panasonic has revealed the capabilities of its revived Technics turntables at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.
###
Article: The law was passed after a referendum in May, when the Irish state became the first in the world to legalise same-sex civil marriage by popular vote.
It is not yet known when and where the first same-sex wedding will be held.
But the first people to be affected are same-sex couples who have already wed legally abroad. Their marriages are now automatically recognised by the state.
They include Orla Howard and her wife Dr Grainne Courtney, who were married in the United States in May 2013.
The couple have been in a relationship for the last 13 years and live in Dublin with their two grown-up daughters.
"It's a terrific moment, because our marriage will be the same as any straight couple's marriage from Monday morning," Ms Howard told BBC Northern Ireland.
"It will bring all of the rights and protections that marriage brings, from the constitutional point of view, to our family and that's one of the key things for us."
Same-sex couples who are seeking to wed for the first time will be able to do so from Monday onwards, but it is not yet known who is in line to make legal history by marrying a person of the same sex in a Republic of Ireland ceremony.
The first newlyweds are likely to be couples who had already applied to register a civil partnership over the coming hours or days, but who now have the option to convert this into a marriage application for the same date.
Registrars have been contacting couples who fall into this category to find out their preferences.
People who are already in a civil partnership in the Republic of Ireland can now also choose get married, but they must give at least five day's notice of their intentions to a civil registration office.
Civil partners who do not wish to get married will remain as civil partners, their legal status will not be affected by the new law.
However, new applications for civil partnerships are no longer being accepted.
The Marriage Act 2015 only applies to civil marriage, and no Irish church or religious organisation that objects to the new law will be...

Summary: Same-sex marriage has now become legal in the Republic of Ireland, after new legislation came into effect on Monday.
###
Article: The firm revealed on its website that it will also stop shipping the Micro MV cassette, used in video cameras.
It has not produced a compatible camera for the Micro MV since 2005.
Sony launched the format in 1975, a year before JVC's rival the VHS cassette - which eventually became the market leader after a long battle between the two brands and their fans.
Although many felt Betamax was the superior format, some cite the longer recording length of VHS tapes and the cheaper manufacturing costs for VHS machines among factors as to why VHS eventually won out.
But there were also other issues at play.
"The reason VHS won out in the UK was that most people chose to rent their video machines in the early days and most of the rental chains were owned by Thorn EMI which made VHS machines under various names," commented Tony Miles, who used to work in a Sony store.
"Some independent chains rented both, but many people went for 'the same type as my friends' - so VHS triumphed."
The BBC still has Betacam tapes in some of its archives - a format that Sony created building on Betamax's foundations - but most broadcasters have stopped using even them.
"It's sad when the consumables of a format dies because then you can never go back to it," said BBC video editor Pete Doherty.
"I remember watching Michael Jackson's Thriller on Betamax. It represents the time when we were just beginning to watch things on demand.
"If you missed a programme on TV before that, you just had to wait for the repeat.
"Having said that, I don't think many people will miss Betamax. I can't imagine there are many machines left to play them on."

Summary: Sony has announced that it will stop selling Betamax video cassettes in March 2016.
###
Article: It bought the Grade II listed building for £225,000 in the summer.
The Guildhall had been facing uncertainty after the Ministry of Justice announced it was one of 10 law courts to close in Wales.
The council said it was still investigating how to make best use of the venue.
Carmarthenshire council's deputy leader and executive board member for resources, David Jenkins said one of the main reasons for buying it was to "ensure a secure future."
He said it was a "focal point" not just for Carmarthen, but for the whole county.
"It has a tremendous history. Murderers have been tried and condemned to death here."
They include Ronnie Harries, who was one of the last men to be hanged in Wales. He was sentenced to death in 1953 after murdering his relatives Phoebe and John Harries at their home in Llangynin, Carmarthenshire.
The Guildhall was also the setting for Gwynfor Evans' landmark victory as first Plaid Cymru MP in 1966.
Mr Jenkins admitted when the Ministry of Justice announced the building was to be sold, they were hoping "to pick it up for a £1," but ended up paying the district valuer's price tag.
The council is now speaking to potential partners, including Carmarthen Town Council and Dyfed-Powys Police, about the building's future.
"We've got ideas of bringing some of our own services in here," said Cllr Jenkins.
"It'll also be good as a museum. We could bring people inside just to see how beautiful it is.
"The intention is to make the building self sufficient."

Summary:


The BBC's new series The X Factor has been a hit with viewers across the UK.
More than 1.5m people tuned in to watch the show on Saturday night.
More than 9.4m people saw Kirsty Gallacher perform her last routine - a Halloween-themed one - on BBC One's

The man overseeing Fifa's presidential polls should step aside due to conflict of interest, says the Liberian FA.

Article: ITV talent show X Factor averaged an audience of 5.6m for the first live show of the series on Saturday night.
More than 9.4m people saw Kirsty Gallacher perform her last routine - a Halloween-themed one - on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing.
The two shows overlapped for 15 minutes at 2000 GMT.
A spokesperson for ITV said audience figures for The X Factor would rise when recorded viewing was factored in, including people watching on ITVPlayer.
Audience figures for Sunday's results show were up, with an average of 6.7m viewers tuning in to watch Bupsi and girlband Alien Uncovered leave X Factor. Sunday's instalment of Strictly, which did not overlap with X Factor, got 9.6m viewers.
Bupsi, who was mentored by Simon Cowell in the Overs category, had the lowest public vote, meaning she was the first to exit the series.
Alien Uncovered failed to impress the judges in the sing-off, who opted to save 18-year-old Kiera Weathers following her rendition of REM's Everybody Hurts.
After the result, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, who is mentoring the groups, said: "I think I'm in shock. I'm devastated."
On Strictly, Gallacher's Halloween-themed Charlston failed to wow the judges as she and partner Brendan Cole were voted off the show.
She became the fifth celebrity to leave after singer Jamelia triumphed in the dance-off.

Summary: Strictly Come Dancing attracted nearly 4m more viewers than X Factor on Saturday, with ITV's show losing 1m viewers since last week.
###
Article: It comes as Polish-speaking pupils have overtaken the number of Bengali-speakers in schools in Wales.
One independent analyst fears a "significant loss of specialist expertise and support".
Ministers said despite tough times they were "proud" of increased funding going to schools.
The latest statistics for numbers of pupils in schools whose first language is not English or Welsh shows a 27% rise since 2011.
There are 3,421 Polish-speaking pupils, 575 more than Bengali-speakers.
But as the landscape in the types of languages spoken has shifted, so has the way specialist help for pupils is funded.
Since 2014, there has been a reduction in funding to support pupils learning English and Welsh as additional languages (EAL/WAL).
Then in April 2015, the Minority Ethnic Achievement Grant was merged with a number of other Welsh government grants into the more general Education Improvement Grant which is now managed by four consortia of local authorities.
The old funding arrangements, in place for nearly 50 years, have involved most local authorities employing a specialist central pool team of staff at councils to work in schools and assist pupils with language development and curriculum learning.
There are worries with money no longer ring-fenced by councils, that support could be cut back and the flexibility lost to respond to changes in pupil numbers and needs.
One independent analyst wants ministers to ensure that funding is protected and prioritised.
Dr Jonathan Brentnall says that almost 90% of schools in Wales now have at least one pupil of minority ethnic background on their rolls and many of these are additional language learners.
He says some schools have little or no past experience in meeting EAL/WAL pupils' needs and with less specialist expertise available they may struggle to do so.
While, particularly some urban schools are well established in teaching children with different language backgrounds, there is a danger that if more funding is delegated to school budgets, those with smaller numbers will not...

Summary: There are worries that changes to funding could hit specialist support for 23,500 pupils who do not speak English or Welsh as a first language.
###
Article: Operation Julie involved more than 800 officers from 10 forces, and smashed two LSD production and distribution networks thought to have been supplying up to 90% of the UK's market in the drug.
In a mission which, at times, took on a comic element, specially trained officers spent most of 1976 undercover in the Welsh countryside, disguised as hippies.
In order to divert suspicion they staged fights with local police, who were largely unaware of the "hippies'" true identity.
On one occasion they were left listening to Radio Cymru for an entire day, when sheep gnawed through the bugging devices they had planted in the Tregaron home of ringleader Richard Kemp.
Down the road in Llanddewi Brefi, another group of male officers garnered unwelcome attention when they were suspected of being a "gay cult".
This necessitated the introduction of female officers, including Sgt Julie Taylor, after whom the operation would eventually take its name, and who was immortalised in The Clash's song Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad.
But despite these more light-hearted elements, when police finally swooped in March 1977, they  seized 6.5 million LSD "tabs", along with share certificates and Swiss bank accounts valued in the millions.
Lyn Ebenezer, author of Operation Julie: The World's Greatest LSD Bust, was working as a freelance journalist in the area at the time.
He believes it is this juxtaposition between comic and gravity which has caused Operation Julie to live on in the memory through numerous books, films and TV and radio dramas.
"Cardiganshire was at the time the counter-culture capital," he said.
"The likes of the Rolling Stones, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix had all made pilgrimages to the area, so perhaps it's no surprise that it became the centre of LSD production.
"But we didn't have a clue what was going on with these strange groups who'd moved in.
"To be honest, if anyone seemed more likely to be drug dealers then it was the police acting as hippies, as the actual dealers were all educated professional...

Summary: Forty years ago this month police descended on Ceredigion and Powys, as part of what remains one of the world's biggest ever counter-drug operations.
###
Article: Domenico Scala, who heads up Fifa's Ad-Hoc Electoral Committee, is Swiss-Italian - as is Gianni Infantino, one of the five presidential candidates.
Scala excused himself from the 2015 elections as he shared nationality with a candidate, Swiss Sepp Blatter.
LFA boss Musa Bility says he will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if Scala does not withdraw by Thursday.
The battle to replace long-standing president Blatter takes place in 18 days' time.
"Article 7.4 of the Electoral Regulations is clear that any member of the Ad-Hoc Electoral Committee who has a conflict of interest … is thereby barred from sitting as a member of the Committee and must be replaced," Bility wrote in a letter to Scala on Monday.
Ahead of elections in May 2015 between Blatter and Prince Ali of Jordan - both Scala and Claudio Sulser, who was also on the Ad-Hoc Electoral Committee, stepped aside for this reason.
"Prior to the final review process, Domenico Scala (as a dual Swiss/Italian national) and Claudio Sulser (as a Swiss national) withdrew from their positions to avoid any appearance of a potential conflict of interest based on nationality," Fifa wrote at the time.
However Andreas Bantel, a spokesman for Scala, says "the fact that a member of the ad-hoc electoral committee has the same nationality as a candidate does not result in a conflict of interest.
"There is no such provision whatsoever in the relevant regulations of Fifa," he told BBC Sport.
"For the last election period Mr Scala withdrew because the Swiss candidate was the incumbent President. Scala did so in order to avoid even any appearance of a potential conflicted of interest situation and simply as a precautionary measure on a voluntary base.
"For this election there are five candidates with no incumbent President. Hence, there is no potential conflict of interest at all."
It remains to be seen whether Bility will go ahead with his threat to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In his letter to Scala, he wants to know why the same process has not...

Summary:


A collection of manuscripts and notebooks which belonged to poet and novelist Edward Thomas are to be conserved thanks to a grant.

Article: Figures show that for those aged 65, men can expect to live for another 19 years and women a further 21 years.
But there is concern that too many elderly people are living in poor health.
And the figures vary across the country, with the North East and North West having lower life expectancies for 65-year-olds than other regions.
Life expectancy among older age groups in England rose to its highest level in 2014 - with male life expectancy increasing by 0.3 years at age 65 and 0.2 years at ages 75, 85 and 95 since 2013.
Female life expectancy increased by the same amounts at the same ages.
This comes after a fall in life expectancy in some older age groups between 2011 and 2012.
The only region where male and female life expectancy did not increase in 2014 was in the North East, where male life expectancy was higher in 2013.
Among local authorities in England, the majority showed an increase or no change in life expectancy at age 65 - but one quarter showed a decrease.
In the past, statistics have tended to focus on life expectancy at birth but now that most deaths in England occur in people over the age of 80, patterns of mortality in older age groups are becoming more important.
Prof John Newton, chief knowledge officer at Public Health England, said the report presented a positive national picture that made achieving "a good quality of life in later years even more important".
"This report is an opportunity to remind people that, even during mid-life, it is not too late to improve your health," he said.
"Most of us could make changes today, like stopping smoking, being more active or eating better, that would allow us to look forward to healthier later years."
He said it was not clear what had caused the variation in trends between local areas.
Danny Dorling, professor of human geography at the University of Oxford, said there was an urgent need to find out why improvements had stalled in many parts of England in recent years.
"Beneath the headline figures of this report, there is evidence of worsening...

Summary: Older people in England are living longer than ever before, a report from Public Health England says.
###
Article: Theophilus Horsoo, 41, of Milton Keynes, registered as a supply teacher with Simply Education Limited in 2014.
A National College for Teaching conduct panel heard he was convicted in 2013 of "ill-treating or wilfully neglecting" a person without capacity.
Mr Horsoo admitted he was "dishonest" in not disclosing the offence.
The panel heard the conviction related to an incident in 2012 in which a vulnerable adult "service user" was locked in a bedroom by Mr Horsoo who used a belt to secure the door shut.
The panel was told the Mr Horsoo "took no account of the risk to the service user".
In banning him from teaching, the panel said: "Mr Horsoo stated how sorry he was for the actions he took to lock the service user in his room. This was a serious error of judgment on his part.
"He also apologised for not disclosing this conviction when applying for jobs in 2014 which he realised, with the benefit of hindsight, he was clearly obligated to so."

Summary: A man has been banned indefinitely from teaching after he failed to disclose a conviction for locking a vulnerable adult in his bedroom using a belt.
###
Article: What is school performance data?
School performance data is statistical information showing how well pupils in England have done in public examinations taken at key points in their educational journey.
Data is published for children's attainment in national curriculum tests, often known as Sats, which are sat at the end of primary school at age 10 or 11.
At secondary school level, data is published detailing pupils' performance in GCSEs (and equivalent exams) at age 16 and A-levels (and equivalents) at age 18.
Secondary schools are considered to be "underperforming" if fewer than 40% of their pupils get five GCSEs at grade A*-C, including English and maths, and if the school has a below average score for pupils making the expected progress between Key Stage 2 (end of Year 6) and Key Stage 4 (end of Year 11) in English and maths.
Yes. From this year, only a pupil's first attempt at a qualification is included for league tables, aiming to end the practice of schools repeatedly entering pupils for exams in order to could boost their ranking.
The list of qualifications included has also been restricted to those which the government says are of the highest, academic quality and the number of non-GCSEs counting has been capped at two.
This is part of government reforms designed to make the exams and accountability system more rigorous.
The recognition of some popular unaccredited International GCSE qualifications have been phased out and no longer count for league table purposes.
Overall GCSEs have been toughened with exams taken at the end of the course and detailed changes to core subjects.
This year, primary schools are considered to be "underperforming" if fewer than 65% (up from 60% last year) of pupils get a Level 4 in maths, reading and writing, and pupils are not making the expected progress in these three subjects between the end of infants (age six or seven) and age 10 or 11, when they prepare to leave primary school.
Results of English grammar, punctuation and spelling tests are not taken into account in...

Summary: The BBC News website looks at key questions about the publication of school performance data in England.
###
Article: Cardiff University is currently exhibiting some of its collection as part of a three-day event to mark the centenary of Thomas' untimely death.
But Alan Hughes, head of special collections and archive, said some other items were in poor condition.
The National Manuscripts Conservation Trust has awarded them almost Â£3,000.
The university holds the largest archive of Thomas' letters, diaries, notebooks, poems, photographs and personal belongings.
Mr Hughes said the grant had allowed us it to "collaborate with Glamorgan Archives to undertake essential conservation work on many of Edward Thomas' notebooks".
He said nine were in particularly poor condition due to acidification, fragile bindings and general deterioration over time.
"Many are unable to be handled without a high risk of further damage and are therefore inaccessible to scrutiny, celebration, digitisation and study," he said.
Thomas, known for his poems written as World War One raged across Europe, was killed in the Battle of Arras at Easter 1917, at the age of 39.
While he was born in England, Prof Katie Gramich who organised this week's event, said his parents were Welsh and he loved Wales.
She said his work was influenced by the time he spent walking in Wales and he felt "cheated of a Welsh identity".
The exhibition, which runs until the autumn, features previously unheard archive recordings of family and friends, interviewed by the university's Prof R George Thomas in 1967.

Summary:


The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the spread of Ebola could be a threat to the health of millions of people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the spread of Ebola could be a threat to the health of millions of people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that

Local and international banks have been accused of rigging the price of South Africa's currency, the rand, by the country's competition watchdog.

Article: Kite Power Systems (KPS) has gained backing for its project at West Freugh near Stranraer from E.ON, Schlumberger and Shell Technology Ventures (STV).
Paul Jones of the company said it was an "endorsement" of its research and development work on the technology.
A demonstration system will be put in place next year with further systems planned in years to come.
The technology uses two kites tethered to spool drums and as they fly they turn the drums to produce electricity.
A full-sized kite could generate two to three megawatts of electricity, which KPS said was comparable to a 100m conventional wind turbine.
The company has said it could eventually employ up to 500 people by 2025.
Mr Jones said: "The backing of these companies will accelerate KPS's commercial development plans towards deploying lower cost, deep-water offshore wind energy on a global scale."
KPS was established in 2011 and to date has invested more than £3m in technology development.
Geert van de Wouw, managing director of STV, said he had been convinced over time of the value of the KPS technology.
"It is an interesting contribution to renewable energy generation and a good fit to explore through Shell's New Energies business," he said.
E.ON senior vice president Frank Meyer said: "The approach of KPS has the potential to become a game changer for the wind energy market.
"It supports one of our overall targets to drive down the costs for renewable energy.
"In addition to this, we catch the opportunity to be a first mover in producing renewable energy at locations where it is, for economic and technical reasons, not possible today."
Oil and gas services company Schlumberger made its investment as it believes the technology could be used on offshore oil platforms, remote onshore drilling operations and decommissioned offshore wind turbine towers.
Commenting on the news, WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: "We hope the investment enables this emerging renewable technology to achieve its aim of developing a commercial-scale project.
"Kite...

Summary: Plans for one of the world's first kite power stations in south west Scotland have secured £5m of new investment.
###
Article: The warning comes after a survivor was found to have traces of Ebola in his semen almost six months after recovery.
This is some 90 days later than previously documented.
It is unclear whether Ebola can still be spread at this point. But officials have launched further investigations to evaluate the risks.
There have been no proven cases of Ebola being transmitted through sexual contact with survivors during this or previous outbreaks.
But according to Dr Nathalie Broutet, a medical officer at the World Health Organization, the recent case prompted experts to strengthen their advice.
Dr Broutet told the BBC: "The patient is the first we have seen where there is a trace of virus present in semen beyond three months.
"This made us change our recommendations to go beyond three months."
The new advice says: "For greater security and prevention of other sexually transmitted infections, Ebola survivors should consider correct and consistent use of condoms for all sexual acts beyond three months until more information is available."
It builds on previous guidance suggesting abstinence or safe sex up to 90 days after symptoms first develop.
But Dr Broutet cautioned further analysis must be done.
"Even though the sample was positive for fragments of the virus this does not prove it was passed on sexually.
"We need to be very careful and need more clarity about this," she said.
Scientists are planning to send the sample to the Centres for Disease Control in the United States to see if the traces of Ebola they found are active and capable of being spread.
And Dr Broutet is helping to set up studies in Sierra Leone and Guinea to offer male survivors further checks.
According to the WHO, there is no current evidence to suggest that active Ebola virus is present in vaginal fluids once someone has recovered.
Ebola is known to spread through close contact with the bodily fluids of a person who has the active virus and shows symptoms of the disease - such as a high fever.
Experts emphasise that people who have recovered from...

Summary: The WHO has urged Ebola survivors to be even more cautious during sexual contact to ensure the virus is not passed on to their partners.
###
Article: Cancer Research UK highlighted the statistics as it issued advice on safety in the sun this summer.
In Scotland, 900 people aged 55 and over are now diagnosed with malignant melanoma - the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
The total number diagnosed across all age groups is about 1,300.
The charity said rates of malignant melanoma have risen from almost 25 per 100,000 people in those aged 55 and over in 1993/95 to 53 in 100,000 people in the age group in 2012/14.
The number of people dying from the disease is also increasing.
For the first time, about 150 people aged 55 and over die from malignant melanoma each year in Scotland, based on the 2012/14 figures.
The charity has linked the increase to the cheap package holiday boom dating from the 1960s.
Rates of malignant melanoma in Scotland for under 55s have also risen by 27% in the past 20 years.
Despite the increase in diagnosis and deaths, the number of people surviving their disease is also increasing, the charity said, with nine in 10 people diagnosed with malignant melanoma in Scotland today surviving their disease for at least five years compared to eight in 10 in the early 90s.
Linda Summerhayes, spokeswoman for the charity in Scotland, said: "Getting sunburnt doesn't mean that you'll definitely develop melanoma but it does increase your chances of developing the disease.
"It's worrying to see that malignant melanoma rates are continuing to rise and it's very important that people take care of their skin in strong sun, even if they've been sunburnt in the past.
"We all need some sun for vitamin D but enjoying the sun safely and avoiding sunburn can reduce your risk of malignant melanoma."
As well as sunscreen, she said: "The best way to protect skin when the sun is strong is to spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm and to cover up with a T-shirt, hat and sunglasses."

Summary: Skin cancer rates in Scotland have more than doubled among those aged 55 and over in the past 20 years, a leading charity has reported.
###
Article: Global giants Barclays, JP Morgan and HSBC are among 17 banks named as part of the two-year investigation.
Banks colluded, using online chat rooms to co-ordinate fictitious bids and offers in order to sway the market, the competition commission says.
It has called for the banks to be fined 10% of in-country annual turnover.
The banks are now likely to face prosecution at the country's Competition Tribunal over the alleged currency manipulation, which investigators say goes back as far as 2007.
Several banks have already said they will cooperate with the authorities.
Speaking in parliament earlier, South African President Jacob Zuma welcomed the competition commission's investigation, saying that the government was prepared to act against the distortion of the financial markets "to protect our country's economy".
He also reiterated the government's commitment to establish a state bank, adding that new players must be allowed to enter to diversify the financial sector.
Analysis: Matthew Davies, Africa Business Report editor, Johannesburg:
Foreign exchange scandals have rocked the international markets over the past ten years and now it's South Africa's turn to host one.
The governing ANC party says the latest developments expose an "ethical crisis in the South African banking sector".
The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters is calling for the banks to have their operating licences immediately revoked.
However, another opposition party, the Democratic Alliance says the timing of the case is suspicious, given that in his State of the Nation address last week, President Jacob Zuma referred to the competition authorities as one of the tools that would be used to drive radical economic transformation forward.
Even if, as expected, the 17 banks come to some sort of settlement with the South African authorities, the whole saga will still be another blow to the sector's reputation.
It has also given certain politicians more ammunition to bash the banks yet again - President Zuma recently accused the country's four...

Summary:


London's FTSE 100 index has recorded its biggest weekly loss this year after poor manufacturing figures in China exacerbated global economic fears.

Article: Overall the assessments were improving but were "not timely enough" in about 25% of cases, the watchdog found.
Inspectors visited 10 local authorities and examined 123 cases in a survey commissioned by Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw.
Progress was "encouraging" but there was still more to do said Sir Michael.
Earlier Ofsted reports, among them the 2012-13 annual report into children's social care, identified poor quality assessments by social workers, particularly in the weaker local authorities.
Ofsted says good assessments are crucial to building an accurate picture and ensuring "decisive, effective action to protect children".
The 2012-13 report found only four in 10 local authorities were "good" or better for safeguarding.
Poor assessment was a key theme.  In particular, the report said, the views of children and families were rarely considered.
In the latest survey inspectors noted steady progress in the quality, efficacy and timeliness of assessments.
"A greater proportion of assessments resulted in children and families receiving the right help and support at the right time," they found.
But the report says delays in assessment sometimes still leave children "at potential risk of harm".
"The improvement in the quality of care assessments is encouraging," said Sir Michael.
"However there is still more to do before we can be assured that all children and families are receiving the high standards of care required."
David Simmonds, deputy chairman of the Local Government Association, said the progress was "testament to the hard work of local authorities" but agreed they could do more.
"Councils acknowledge the need for improvement in children's mental health services, provided by the NHS, which has for a long time been a 'Cinderella service' without the capacity to meet need.
"With councils taking the reins of public health work we are beginning to see progress in partnership with local GPs â€Žas inadequate national services are redesigned locally."
He said care assessments for vulnerable children were...

Summary: Vulnerable children in England could be at risk because of delays in social workers' assessments of the care they need, Ofsted has said in a report.
###
Article: Government Senator Fiona Nash revealed she is a UK citizen by descent because of her Scottish-born father.
Australian politicians are not allowed to hold dual citizenship.
The saga has gripped Australian politics for five weeks, forcing dozens of MPs to make statements about their citizenship status.
Ms Nash is deputy leader of the National Party, the junior partner in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's governing coalition.
Like Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who is a New Zealand dual citizen, Ms Nash said she would continue in her position until the High Court clarifies a section of Australia's constitution.
She said she had legal advice that she had not breached rules.
Four other politicians will also have their eligibility tested in court as early as next week:
Mr Joyce sits in the lower House of Representatives, where Mr Turnbull's government has only a one-seat majority.
If any government MPs in the lower house were to be ruled ineligible, it would trigger a complex process that could threaten Mr Turnbull's hold on power.
On Thursday, Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan was forced to deny he was a British citizen, but his case will not go before court.

Summary: A sixth Australian MP will have their eligibility for office decided by the nation's High Court over the issue of dual citizenship.
###
Article: Danny Healy-Rae told the Irish Times that issues with the N22 were caused by "numerous fairy forts in the area".
The road had previously been repaired but problems had reappeared.
Mr Healy-Rae said he shared local belief that "there was something in these places you shouldn't touch".
He added that the road passed through an area that was rich in fairy folklore and magic.
The N22 is the main road between Killarney in County Kerry and Cork.
In Irish folklore, it is believed that disturbing areas, said to have strong connections to fairies, could bring bad luck or a curse.
These areas include fairy forts, also known as raths or lios, which are the remains of hillforts or ancient circular dwellings, and fairy trees or thorn bushes.
Some people believe that destroying or tampering with these forts, trees or bushes, could lead to them dying young or becoming seriously ill.
Mr Healy-Rae, an independent TD (Irish member of parliament) for County Kerry, said: "I have a machine standing in the yard right now. And if someone told me to go out and knock a fairy fort or touch it, I would starve first."
The issue was raised at Kerry County Council, where Mr Healy-Rae's daughter, Maura, is a councillor, last week.
She told a council meeting that her father was convinced fairies were in the area of the road problems.
Mr Healy-Rae also raised the issue at Kerry County Council in 2007 when he was a councillor, asking if a dip in the N22 near Curraglass was caused by "fairies at work".
The Irish Times reports that the council's road department replied that it was due to a "deeper underlying subsoil/geotechnical problem".
Mr Healy-Rae, whose brother Michael is also a TD, has previously hit the headlines for comments in which he denied any human impact on climate change and said that "God above" controlled the weather.

Summary: Bad luck caused by disturbed fairy forts is causing dips in a major road between County Kerry and County Cork, an Irish member of parliament has said.
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Article: The FTSE has fallen 5.2%, or 363 points, since Monday.
On Friday the index closed 2.8% lower, while markets in Paris and Frankfurt saw falls of about 3%.
Shares also plunged on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes all down more than 3% by the close.
Only one company on the FTSE 100 saw gains on Friday - Royal Mail, which rose by 1.6%.
The FTSE 100 has fallen for nine sessions in a row, its longest losing streak since 2011. It is almost 13% below an all-time high hit in April.
In the US, the S&P 500 suffered its biggest daily percentage drop in nearly four years on Friday, losing 64.8 points, or 3.19%, to 1,970.89.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.12%, and the Nasdaq dropped 3.52%.
As well as global stock markets, US oil prices also dived on Friday, with New York crude dipping below $40 a barrel for the first time since the financial crisis and marking its longest weekly losing streak since 1986.
Earlier, data from China indicated factory output in August shrank at its fastest pace in more than six years.
The private Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped to 47.1 from 47.8 in July. A figure below 50 indicates contraction.
The data triggered another sell-off in Chinese shares, which ended the day down more than 4%.
The decline comes on the heels of weaker-than-expected economic data in July, plus this month's yuan devaluation and a stock market plunge.
Investors are growing increasingly concerned, as the Shanghai Composite index is now down 12% this week.
Friday's factory output reading for China was the lowest since March 2009, during the depths of the global financial crisis, and the sixth consecutive below the 50-point level.
The Caixin flash PMI is the earliest economic measure of the Chinese economy to be released each month and is closely watched for clues on how growth is faring.
Earlier in August, China's official economic growth data showed a further slowdown in the past quarter, expanding 7% compared with a year earlier, its slowest pace...

Summary:


Wildlife sanctuaries across southern Australia have been helping injured animals - by asking the public to sew mittens and pouches!

Article: The scale drawings of the Mackintosh were made by Queensland University of Technology professor George Cairns in the 1990s as part of a Phd at GSA.
He has now donated them to the art school in the hope they can aid efforts to restore the iconic building.
GSA is still engaged in a bid to raise Â£20m to restore the Mackintosh.
Prof Cairns said: "I am delighted to be able to return to Glasgow today after so many years and to be able to donate this set of drawings which I made as part of my doctoral thesis to the GSA.
"I hope very much that they will prove of interest and use to the teams working on the restoration of the Mack and to generations of students who have the privilege to study Mackintosh's masterpiece."
GSA said it would add the drawings to its "significant archive of material relating to Mackintosh's masterpiece".
They will be digitised and accessible for academic and public research through the GSA's online archives in the coming months.
Liz Davidson, senior project manager for the Mackintosh Building restoration project, said: "We are keen to continue to access as much information as possible about the building in planning our approach to the restoration.
"Professor Cairns has already been generous in his time in liaising with the design team and these particularly detailed drawings are going to be an invaluable source of information."

Summary: The project to restore Glasgow School of Art's (GSA) fire-damaged Mackintosh building has been boosted by a donation of detailed architectural drawings.
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Article: Mr Farage had to be escorted from the Canons' Gait pub in a police van after angry confrontations on Thursday.
He told BBC Scotland the incident was deeply racist and displayed a total hatred of the English.
Mr Farage called on Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond to condemn the behaviour. The SNP said the UKIP leader had "lost the plot".
Mr Farage hung up during a telephone interview with the Good Morning Scotland programme on BBC Radio Scotland after being pressed about his lack of knowledge of Scottish politics and the low level of support for his party north of the border.
He later described the interview as "insulting".
First Minister Alex Salmond said that Mr Farage's accusation of a "hate campaign" from the BBC during the radio interview showed it would be a "great mistake" to take "somebody of that mentality with any degree of seriousness".
Mr Salmond added: "We can frankly do without UKIP, who dislike everybody and know absolutely nothing about Scotland."
When asked if he condemned the demonstration against Mr Farage, the first minister said: "If there's been any law-breaking - and that's yet to be established - then obviously we condemn that, as we always do in Scotland, but you've got to get things into context.
"A student demonstration isn't the Dreyfus trial."
Mr Farage was in Edinburgh to launch his party's Scottish campaign following recent electoral gains in England.
Police said two men had been arrested following the protest.
Speaking to the Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Farage said: "If this is the face of Scottish nationalism, it's a pretty ugly picture."
He added: "The anger, the hatred, the shouting, the snarling, the swearing was all linked in to a desire for the Union Jack to be burnt."
The UKIP leader said the demonstrators did not represent Scotland and dismissed suggestions his party was an irrelevance north of the border.
"The fact that 50 yobbo fascist scum turn up and aren't prepared to listen to the debate, I absolutely refuse to believe is representative of Scottish...

Summary: UKIP leader Nigel Farage has described protesters who besieged him in an Edinburgh pub as "fascist scum".
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Article: A survey of 1,211 IoD members indicated they believe that the deficit reduction should be achieved mainly through spending cuts rather than tax rises.
Infrastructure and education were other major policy areas the business body's members would like to see addressed.
IoD director Simon Walker said it was time for "decisive action".
More than half of those who took part in the survey, which was conducted immediately after the general election, also strongly opposed increases in national insurance, income tax, VAT and business rates.
The research also found support for improving the UK's broadband capability, investing in energy generation, and spending on railways.
In addition, there was also overwhelming support for a crackdown on tax avoidance.
Mr Walker said: "The election result was more decisive than most expected, and now is the time for the new government to take decisive action.
"Returning the budget to surplus must be the overriding goal in this Parliament, but businesses want the emphasis to be on finding further reductions in spending, not significantly raising taxes."

Summary: The new Conservative government should make bringing down the deficit a priority, members of the Institute of Directors (IoD) have said.
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Article: Media playback is unsupported on your device
13 January 2015 Last updated at 16:34 GMT
Adelaide and Victoria in southern Australia have seen some of the worst bushfires for 30 years.
Injured possums, koalas, kangaroos and wallabies have been arriving at animal rescue centres almost every day.
A charity called IFAW appealed for the public to sew tiny mittens, to help protect koalas that had burned paws.
So many people sent in mittens, they received enough to last them for a year.
Now the charity has asked people to sew comfy pouches help the injured baby kangaroos, called joeys, recover.
The pouches help keep the babies warm but have to be changed after every feed, so up to six pouches are needed for each animal every day.
The animals are being looked after by keepers at Adelaide Zoo.
Once they're better they will be released back to the wild.

Summary:


The Chinese government has been accused of using the internet to promote its own agenda.

Thistlecrack ended the three-year reign of Reve De Sivola to cruise to an impressive victory in the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.

Article: UK scientists found that putting patients in a virtual reality (VR) environment while being treated can reduce anxiety levels.
The researchers said this "bottled nature" approach could help many people get past their fears - but not all.
Those who experienced a more urban VR environment in the study did not receive the same benefits.
The findings have been published in the Environment and Behaviour journal.
"Our idea was that if we bring nature into a stressful situation, such as the one in a dentist's surgery, then that should have a similar benefit as when people are able to go out into nature," explained co-author Sabine Pahl from the University of Plymouth, UK.
"We know about the benefits of the natural environment in psychological and physiological terms - people can feel relaxed and restore their cognitive resources.
"We also know in dentistry, there is a high percentage of people with dentist anxiety and their teeth tend to be in a worse state and they tend to miss appointments because they are worried about going to the dentist; and that, of course, has an effect on their teeth.
"We are trying to intervene in that dental anxiety process," Dr Pahl told BBC News.
Because it was not possible to walk on the beach or in the woods while receiving treatment in a dentist's chair, the researchers decided to "bottle nature" and allow patients to experience it via virtual reality technology.
The team's study involved 70 patients, divided into three groups: one receiving standard care, without the use of VR technology; another being treated while experiencing an urban environment via VR; and a group experiencing a VR beach (nature) environment.
"What we found was that the experience of pain was much lower among the people in the nature VR group," Dr Pahl observed.
"This finding is important to us because people could say that it was just the distraction provided by VR, but the difference was stronger in the nature VR than in the urban VR.
"In fact the response among patients in the standard care and urban VR...

Summary: Could sitting in the dentist's chair really be as enjoyable as a walk on the beach?
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Article: The number of nose jobs, face lifts and breast implant operations all soared by more than 10% last year.
The biggest boom was in the popularity of liposuction - up by 41%.
Baaps said it was "the most impressive rise in demand" since the start of the recession in 2008.
There were 50,122 cosmetic procedures in 2013 - a rise of 17% on the previous year. Baaps said the increase had been "across the board".
The top 10 procedures were:
Breast enhancements were the most popular operation in women, while nose jobs were the cosmetic surgery of choice in men.
Rajiv Grover, a consultant plastic surgeon and president of Baaps, said: "Both the UK economy and the British public seem to be well on the way to regaining their shape with the most impressive rise in demand for cosmetic surgery we have seen since the onset of the recession in 2008.
"The continued double-digit rise of cosmetic surgery underlines the fact that whether it is breast augmentation or anti-ageing procedures like face-lifting, the public are choosing tried-and-tested surgical methods rather than the magical-sounding quick fixes that fail to deliver promised results."
The reputation of the cosmetic surgery industry was brought into question during a scandal involving faulty breast implants.
A lack of record-keeping meant some surgeries were unable to tell their patients if they were affected by the recent scare over sub-standard PIP implants.
Health ministers described it as a "cowboy industry" steeped in "murky practices".
In January a new register was set up to record the details of every breast implant operation in England.
Fresh efforts are also being made to regulate adverts for surgery, to end the era of "win a boob job" competitions.
The industry was worth Â£750m in the UK in 2005, Â£2.3bn in 2010 and is forecast to reach Â£3.6bn by 2015.

Summary: There has been a dramatic increase in the popularity of plastic surgery in the UK, according to figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps).
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Article: Mr Li, who serves as vice chairman of China's parliament, reportedly engineered the promotion of his nephew to a plum government position.
In October, Mr Li was promoted to join China's elite 25-member Politburo. Now, the Hong Kong media reports he has checked into a Beijing military hospital, suffering from stress.
If Chinese investigators are pursuing a case against Li Jinguo, he has good reason to be worried. China's new Party leader, Xi Jinping, vowed to crack down on corruption in his first speech to the public in October and so far, he appears to be keeping his word.
Just last week, Mr Xi promised he would battle both "tigers" and "flies", indicating that officials at all ranks were under scrutiny.
Li Xinde, an influential citizen journalist, was the first person to interview the whistleblower exposing Li Jianguo's high-flying nephew. The fact that this case has been picked up by the authorities, he says, shows that things are changing in China.
"When Xi came into power, people were accustomed to ineffective anti-corruption campaigns," Li Xinde explains.
"They're usually characterised by lots of words and few actions, or 'big thunder, small rain', but this time, Xi's speeches have produced real results."
Li is a common surname in China and the two Lis are unrelated.
The blogger, Li Xinde, also points to a second case, the downfall of China's "Housing Sister", to underline the fact that this time, the Party is serious about tackling corruption. Gong Ai-ai is believed to have illegally purchased more than 20 units of China's so-called affordable housing, building up a portfolio worth $159m (Â£100m).
"These cases were successful not only because Chinese internet users exposed them, but also because the Party acted so swiftly to deal with it," Mr Li says.
All evidence, he says, that individual citizens are no longer working alone to expose corruption on a case-by-case basis. Instead, there is new hope that the system as a whole is becoming more transparent.
More transparent, maybe. But the Chinese...

Summary: Even among China's jaded internet users, this was big news: Li Jianguo, a Communist official operating at the very top of the party, was under investigation for corruption.
###
Article: Trained by Colin Tizzard, the 2-1 favourite took control at the penultimate hurdle and pulled away to win by eight lengths.
Jockey Tom Scuadmore said: "He gave me a lot of pleasure. It's a special day."
Reve De Sivola held on for second and Deputy Dan trailed in third, another 12 lengths further back.

Summary:


A new study has found that the number of people who have died from coronavirus has risen by more than 50% in the past year.
The study, published in the journal Nature, found that the number of people who have died from coronavirus has risen by more than 50% in the past year.

Competition for nesting sites could explain why some birds and bumblebees are declining faster than others.

Article: The team were studying the birth of stars when they discovered a supermassive black hole and saw clouds speeding towards it at 800,000 mph.
The observation supports a theory black holes feed on clouds of cold gas.
Dr Timothy Davis from the school of physics and astronomy said it was a "magical" experience.
He added: "At that very moment, nature gave us a clear view of this complicated process, allowing us to understand supermassive black holes in a way that has never been possible before.
"It's possible that the black hole has an ever bigger appetite and is devouring even more of these cold clouds of gas surrounding it."
Researchers said previous models suggested the gradual growth of supermassive black holes happened when surrounding hot gas accumulates smoothly onto them.
But these observations - a first - suggest in addition to this, these black holes may occasionally "gobble up" faster-moving cold gas as it comes nearby.
The astronomers are part of an international team studying the Abell 2597 galaxy, one of the brightest in the universe.
The results were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
Prof Michael Macdonald, co-author of the paper, from MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, admits they got "very lucky."
"We could probably look at 100 galaxies like this and not see what we saw just by chance," he said.

Summary: Astronomers at Cardiff University have observed a supermassive black hole preparing to "feast" in a galaxy one billion light years from Earth.
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Article: Ashley Keast, 26, was jailed for 32 months in March after he admitted breaking in to a property in Rotherham.
On Wednesday, he was jailed for a further four years after being found guilty of making threats to kill.
Keast, of Norfolk Court, Rotherham, was convicted after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
The court heard Keast had arranged for a threatening letter to be sent to the victim of the burglary after he was jailed.
He was also found guilty by a jury of witness intimidation and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Keast was arrested in connection with the burglary after he took a selfie on a stolen SIM card and sent it to his victim's colleagues.
PC Adam Broughton said: "Following the original conviction for burglary, the victim in this case felt that justice had been done. Unfortunately, this was not the end of the ordeal.
"The safety and wellbeing of any victim of crime is our main priority and this sentence reflects the seriousness of threats, intimidation and attempts by anyone to pervert the course of justice."

Summary: A thief jailed after taking a picture of himself burgling a house has been sentenced to a further four years for threatening to kill his victim.
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Article: His short-lived presidential campaign, unambiguously calling for a tighter application of Sharia, or Islamic law, quickly gained appeal among ordinary Egyptians.
It also produced some of the most surprising drama of the political race.
Well-known for his anti-American rhetoric, Mr Abu Ismail, a lawyer and television preacher, was told he was disqualified after it emerged that his dead mother had a US passport.
This made him ineligible under election laws that specify that the parents and spouse of a presidential candidate must only ever have held Egyptian citizenship.
For Egypt's leftists and liberals, the development inspired a tide of irreverent jokes at his expense on social media.
However, there could be a much more serious side to the end of Hazem Abu Ismail's presidential bid.
His angry supporters spent the night outside the presidential election headquarters building in northern Cairo after it rejected his appeal against the decision. There have been clashes with security forces.
"If Sheikh Hazem doesn't succeed, there will be another revolution in this country," said one Salafist, Mohamed Said. "This man's reputation has been torn apart. It is a conspiracy by the United States and Egypt."
The "sheikh" has consistently shown an ability to bring out large crowds. At his rallies, he has sometimes looked like he is in danger of being crushed by the sheer numbers of enthusiastic fans.
Hardline Islamism mixed with charisma has been the secret to his popularity. It helped him turn from a fringe candidate into a mainstream contender.
"We love him because he is a Muslim and will enforce Sharia law. This is in the interests of all Egypt," said Abdullah Mohammed at a support rally. He wore a mask of Mr Abu Ismail's face over his own long beard and held up an Egyptian flag.
"President Mubarak made us eat bread with salt but Sheikh Hazem will let us eat bread with butter," he added.  "He has many good ideas."
Mr Abu Ismail, who is 51, has expounded his political beliefs in weekly lectures at the Asad Ibn al-Farat...

Summary: With his signature smile and long, whitish beard, Hazem Abu Ismail, can still be seen on posters all across Cairo - on cars, roadsides and even on the walls of some schools and government buildings.
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Article: Research suggest animals that build their nests in early spring may win the fight for available habitat at the expense of late breeders.
Conservation efforts should focus on ensuring rare species have enough places to nest, say scientists.
For example, areas could be left to grow wild between spring and summer to help bumblebees establish nests.
Habitats such as hedgerows and hay meadows are being lost in many countries, meaning that fewer nesting sites are available.
Competition among animals for a suitable place to nest could explain why some species are struggling to survive.
"Ecologists understand why some groups of species are declining more, such as why farmland species are declining more than woodland species," said Dr Andrew Higginson of the University of Exeter.
"But an enduring mystery is the big variation in the declines of closely related species. Fighting over nest sites may be part of the reason - when nest sites are hard to come by, the species that will suffer most are those that nest later in the year."
The University of Exeter study analysed population changes in more than 200 bird species and 40 bumblebee species around the world.
The population data was combined with a mathematical model that used game theory to predict the likely behaviour of bees and birds when faced with competition for nesting sites.
It calculated the implications of fighting for nesting sites, based on the size of each species, the time of nesting and the quality of the nesting site.
The study found larger species that nest early generally do better, while smaller bees and birds that nest later in the year lose out in the struggle for habitat.
For example, the chaffinch is doing well in the UK, while the goldfinch is on the decline.
"We need to have a more holistic approach to providing good habitat for animals," Dr Higginson told BBC News. "We need to worry about the whole life cycle not just what they eat."
He said conservation efforts for animals such as birds and bees tend to focus on providing food.
Restoration...

Summary: