A woman who added Skywalker as a middle name has had her passport cancelled after being told her application was "frivolous".

Article: Estate agents Your Move found the average house price rose 1.7% to a new record high of £169,742.
Prices rose 6% over the year - the strongest increase since August 2010.
Your Move said the rise was driven by high-end buyers trying to complete purchases under stamp duty rates.
Stamp duty was replaced by the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) in April.
The Your Move/Acadata house price index for February found the Shetland Islands had the highest yearly rise in Scotland, with a 26.9% increase.
Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh City, Aberdeen City, East Lothian and Angus also experienced peak prices in February.
Edinburgh topped the table with an average house price of £248,791, the report found.
Fifteen properties priced at £1m or more were sold in Scotland in February, compared to six the previous month.
They included one on the outskirts of Edinburgh which sold for just under £3.7m, the most expensive house to be purchased in Scotland since July 2011.
Your Move regional managing director Christine Campbell said: "Tactical tax considerations have helped foster price growth in the Scottish housing market and are likely to play a significant role in the months to come too.
"Now that the LBTT has come into force, we expect to see a temporary drop-off in the number of properties sold above £750,000, now liable for the top rate of tax - similar to the impact we're currently seeing in London among £2m properties - in light of December's stamp duty changes.
"Typically in the housing market cycle, we would expect home sales to ease back in February, in the aftermath of the costly Christmas period."

Summary: Scottish property prices in February rose at their fastest rate since the 2007 housing boom as high-end buyers completed purchases to avoid new tax rates, according to a report.
###
Article: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) shut its operations control room in Inverness last month.
Emergency calls for the Highlands and Islands are now handled by staff based in Dundee.
Highland Council, which opposed the closure of the Inverness site, said local knowledge has been lost.
The Scottish government said fire service operations drew on the professional experience of control staff supported by sophisticated systems and technology and the knowledge of locally-based crews.
According to Alec Kidd, a former fire service area commander, there have been instances of fire crews being called out to emergencies closer to other stations following the closure of control rooms in Inverness and Aberdeen.
These have included a crew from Lairg in Sutherland being initially called out to attend an incident about 100 miles away on the Isle of Skye.
Also, on Shetland, an emergency team on the island of Bressay was asked to deal with an incident on the isle of Yell - despite five different teams being nearer.
A spokesman for the fire service said they were convinced the correct resources had been sent to the incidents involved but were rectifying some procedural issues.
Matthew Reiss, a Highland councillor for Landward Caithness and a former area police commander, said place names in the Highlands and Islands could cause problems for "well-intentioned" but centrally-based control room staff.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: "It is simply not possible for them to distinguish between, for example, Tain in Caithness and Tain in Easter Ross, unless you have a knowledge of these places.
"You can have all the technology in the world, but nothing substitutes for local knowledge."

Summary: Highland Council's ruling administration has renewed its call for the region to have a dedicated fire control room service.
###
Article: Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said Better Together agents had been "taking tallies" of postal votes at sample openings held in the weeks before the count.
Election rules state the results of these openings must be kept secret.
Police Scotland said it was assessing whether a crime had been committed.
It is understood a number of complaints were made to the Electoral Commission.
The commission does not have the power to investigate criminal allegations, and has made police aware of the concerns.
The allegations surround comments made to BBC Scotland by Ms Davidson about 45 minutes after polls closed in last Thursday's Scottish independence referendum.
Ms Davidson told the Scotland Decides programme: "We have had people at every sample opening around the country over the last few weeks... and we have been incredibly encouraged by the results from that.
"Going into today, going by the postal votes that were cast, our side would have had a lead and I think that we have a confidence, I hope a quiet confidence, that the quiet majority of Scots have spoken today."
She said postal votes were not counted until after the polls closed, but added: "Different local authorities have had openings around the country. It is illegal to discuss that while any ballot is ongoing, so until ten o'clock tonight no one could talk about it.
"But there is people in the room that have been sampling those ballot boxes as they have been opened and they have been taking tallies and the reports have been very positive for us."
The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 states that those attending the sample openings must not "attempt to ascertain at the proceedings in connection with the receipt of the ballot papers the outcome for which any vote is given in any particular ballot paper or communicate any information with respect thereto obtained at those proceedings".
Anyone convicted of breaching the law can be jailed for up to a year, and/or receive a fine of up to Â£5,000.
The sample postal vote openings, which were attended by...

Summary: Police have been asked to examine claims that pro-UK campaigners breached electoral law by counting some postal votes ahead of referendum polling day.
###
Article: Researchers found patients with lower levels of the protein troponin were less likely to die after an operation.
The test is normally used to diagnose a heart attack, during which the protein is released into the bloodstream.
Dr Matthew Jackson from Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital said the test could identify patients who needed extra medication, tests and monitoring.
"Now we need to find out why troponin levels are raised in some patients before surgery, and why these patients are more likely to die, in order to identify treatments that could reduce the risk of death following non-cardiac surgery," he said.
The study, which looked at patients who had not had a heart attack, has been presented to the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester.
Blood samples from 993 patients were tested for troponin levels before they had non-cardiac surgery.
A quarter with levels above 50 nanograms per litre (ng/l) died within six months and 37% within a year, the researchers found.
Of those with lower than 17ng/l, just 2.5% died within six months of surgery and 3.7% within a year.
The link is not yet clear but patients with high troponin levels could have underlying inflammation, researchers said.
British Heart Foundation associate medical director Prof Metin Avkiran said if the "underlying causes" could be understood, treatment could be "tailored to improve outcome".

Summary: A routine blood test could predict whether a patient is likely to survive after surgery, a new study suggests.
###
Article: Reece Burton, 25, was attending the North London Clinic in Edmonton, Enfield on permitted ground leave when he absconded on 20 November.
He had earlier been convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent and the Met Police issued warnings he was dangerous.
Burton was found in the Chelmsford area on Friday, Met Police said.
"Burton has now been returned to custody where he will no longer pose a threat to the public or himself," Det Supt Simon Warwick of the Met Police said.

Summary: A "dangerous" psychiatric patient who absconded from a London clinic has been found after a police manhunt.
###
Article: Laura Matthews, 29, was told her signature - "L. Skywalker" - infringed a trademark in July this year.
She was issued with the document several weeks later, after threatening to take legal action.
But she has now been told the passport was issued in error and has been cancelled.
Ms Matthews told the BBC the decision has left her feeling "upset, frustrated and disappointed".
A Home Office spokesman said: "Protecting the integrity of the UK passport is vital and we do not accept a change of name for frivolous reasons."
In a letter to Ms Matthews, the Passport Office said its "published guidance provides that we will refuse to recognise a change of name... if it is made for a bet or frivolous purpose.
"Additionally, in your case, the signature used in the passport is different to your surname and by your own admission was done for 'a laugh'".
"Regrettably, an error was made in issuing your passport," the letter said.
"I am sorry that the error was made but I have to inform you that your passport will be cancelled."
Ms Matthews, from Southend in Essex, added the middle name using a deed poll in 2008 "for a bit of fun".
She had not renewed her passport since adding the moniker, and experienced several weeks of delays when she tried to do so in April.
She was told the delays were because her signature "infringed a trademark".
Her passport was issued at the end of August after she contacted a law firm specialising in intellectual property law and said she would take legal action unless her application was approved.
Ms Matthews said this was the fourth time the Passport Office had changed its mind about her case.
"Now I'm not sure if it's my signature they have a problem with, or my middle name," she said.
"All I know it's extremely disappointing that I've been let down again by an organisation which doesn't seem to know if it's coming or going.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to fight it. I don't know what else I can do."
The Home Office spokesman added: "We have apologised to the applicant and agreed to meet...

Summary:


People have been warned not to eat shellfish in parts of Argyll and Bute after raised levels of toxins were found.

Article: Leonard Riggio, the company's founder and largest shareholder, said he sold 3.7 million shares on Thursday at $17.30 each.
Investors followed suit and the company's shares fell by 12.5% to close at $16.26 per share on the US markets.
Mr Riggio said he does not plan to sell more shares this year. In December 2013, he sold 2 million shares.
Even with the latest offload, Leonard Riggio remains the largest shareholder at Barnes & Noble.
In a statement, he said the latest sale "is part of his long-term financial and estate planning."
Barnes & Noble operates about 700 stores across 50 states in the US.
As with other brick-and-mortar booksellers, the company has been struggling with competition from online rivals and e-book sellers such as Amazon.
The Borders Group was at one time the second-largest bookstore chain in the US. It too struggled with competition from customers who switched to placing orders for print books online, instead of browsing at the stores.
Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011, burdened by too much debt.

Summary: Barnes & Noble's chairman has trimmed his stake in the bookstore to 20%, by selling shares worth $64m (Â£38m).
###
Article: Reading Buses' "Bus Hound" was recorded doing a lap speed of 76.785mph (123.57km/h) at Bedford's Millbrook Proving Ground.
It runs on biomethane compressed natural gas and is painted black and white like a Friesian cow. It normally carries passengers around Reading.
The UK Timing Association confirmed the new record.
Trevor Duckworth, the association's chief timekeeper, said this was the first time a bus had been on Millbrook Proving Ground and described it as "quite a sight".
The bus is normally speed limited to 56mph (90km/h).
Martijn Gilbert, chief executive of Reading Buses, said it would not be recognised as a Guinness World Record unless it reached speeds above 150mph (241km/h).
Chief engineer John Bickerton said the company wanted the "world's first service bus speed record" to bring to light the viability, power and credibility of buses fuelled by cow poo.
"We've laid down a challenge for other bus operators to best our record and we had to make it a bit hard for them.
"Most importantly we wanted to get the image of bus transport away from being dirty, smelly, and slow. We're modern, fast, and at the cutting edge of innovation.
"It was an impressive sight as it swept by on the track. It sounded like a Vulcan bomber - the aerodynamics aren't designed for going 80mph."
Its fuel is made from animal waste which is broken down in a process called anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, which is then liquefied, Mr Gilbert said.
It is stored in seven tanks fixed inside the roof of the bus.
The vehicle's name was inspired by the British Bloodhound super-sonic car which aims to go beyond 1,000mph in 2016.

Summary: A bus powered by cow manure has set a land speed record for a regular bus by driving at 77mph.
###
Article: The ERS said the first-past-the-post system to elect MPs takes no account of how big their majorities are or how many voted for losing candidates.
The society said this meant they were "wasted" votes and the system was "fundamentally broken".
The UK government said it had no plans to change the voting system.
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) estimated 1,063,610 votes out of the total of 1,575,814 cast in Wales at the 2017 general election on 8 June were "wasted".
Campaigners said the votes were made up of 746,269 votes for losing candidates and 317,341 votes in excess of the number needed to elect the winning candidates.
It noted that Labour won 70% of seats with under half the vote, while the Tories gained vote share but lost seats.
With big Labour majorities at Aberavon, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Cynon Valley and Cardiff Central, campaigners claimed more than 80% of votes in those seats had no impact.
The society also claimed nearly a quarter of Welsh voters had been forced to vote tactically on the grounds their preferred party or candidate had no chance of winning the local seat.
ERS Cymru director Jess Blair called for a new electoral system which more closely reflected the proportion of votes cast for each party.
"This report reveals a picture of a voting system which is fundamentally broken," she said.
"There are a wide range of systems where votes are not thrown on the electoral scrapheap.
"We need to move towards a means of electing our MPs where people's voices are properly heard and where people don't feel forced to hold their nose at the ballot box."
A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office, who set electoral rules, said: "First Past The Post is a voting system that offers a robust method of electing MPs.
"A referendum on changing the voting system for General Elections was held in 2011 and the public voted overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the First Past the Post system."

Summary: More than a million votes - two-thirds of the total - had "no impact" on the general election result in Wales, the Electoral Reform Society has claimed.
###
Article: The Warriors pulled off a huge result to beat French champions Racing 92 in Paris last weekend and host the return game at Scotstoun on Friday.
Fagerson says the focus has to be on one game at a time but admits the Warriors have big ambitions.
"That's every team's aim in the Champions Cup - to win it. If I told you otherwise, I'd be lying," he said.
"But I'm not thinking about that at all - just focused on the task ahead this weekend."
Warriors are second in Pool One, one point behind Munster, who have a game in hand along with Racing, although the French side sit bottom without a point.
Fagerson has four caps for Scotland but is still surprised to be starting in a side so close to qualifying for the quarter-finals of Europe's top club competition.
"We've been close before and had some tough pools a few times and this is definitely the goal," said the 20-year-old.
"It is amazing to be part of and I have to pinch myself at times. I didn't expect any of this at all."
Fagerson broke into the Warriors side as they won the 2014-15 Pro12 title and agrees that the win over Racing was their best achievement since then.
However, the forward stressed that "the job is only half done" and coach Gregor Townsend pointed out that, with only three pool games played, it is too early to think beyond qualifying for the last eight.
"We will have to win two out of our next three games and we have Racing, Munster and Leicester still to go, so these are very tough matches," said Townsend.
"Munster have been on fire for the last six or seven weeks. They beat Leicester easily at home.
"We are going to have to play very well just to get out of our pool and, if we did so, it would be historic."
Townsend was coy about Warriors' chances of winning the trophy.
"No Glasgow team has made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup and, once you are into the last eight, anything can happen," he said.
"If you look at history, we have never got out of our pool, so let's just deal with the difficulty that is qualifying for the quarter-final...

Summary: Scotland prop Zander Fagerson says his Glasgow Warriors team have targeted winning the European Champions Cup.
###
Article: BBC Wales meteorologist Derek Brockway is employed by the Met Office but the BBC confirmed on Monday that no changes are planned to its weather coverage.
The Met Office has provided the data used by the BBC since 1922.
The BBC said it was required to secure the best value for money and will tender the contract to competition.
The Met Office said it was disappointed by the decision.
A replacement is expected to take over next year.
Steve Noyes, Met Office operations and customer services director, said: "Nobody knows Britain's weather better and, during our long relationship with the BBC, we've revolutionised weather communication to make it an integral part of British daily life.
"This is disappointing news but we will be working to make sure that vital Met Office advice continues to be a part of BBC output."
A BBC spokesman said: "Our viewers get the highest standard of weather service and that won't change.
"We are legally required to go through an open tender process and take forward the strongest bids to make sure we secure both the best possible service and value for money for the licence fee payer.
"Our graphics are already supplied by another provider and our long-standing relationship with the Met Office will continue as we intend to still broadcast their severe weather warnings."

Summary: There are no plans to change the line-up of weather presenters at BBC Wales despite the Met Office losing its contract with the corporation.
###
Article: Routine monitoring by Argyll and Bute Council discovered raised levels of algal toxins in Loch Melfort and Seil Sound.
The naturally-occurring toxins were above the "legally-permitted levels for harvest".
Members of the public have been asked not to gather them.
The toxins accumulate in molluscs such as mussels, oysters, cockles and razor clams, and when levels breach statutory limits, harvesting of affected species is prohibited.
Elsewhere, raised levels of Escheria coli (E.coli) bacteria have been identified in Oitir Mhor Bay.
It follows the discovery of raised levels at Kerrera West, Loch Craignish, Kilfinichen Bay and Castle Stalker.
They were discovered by the council's environmental health team as part of their work to maintain the quality of shellfish.
Potential raised levels of E.coli were also found at Dunstaffnage, Kerrera East, Loch na Cille and Loch Riddon.
A council spokesman said: "Eating shellfish such as cockles, mussels, oysters and razor fish from affected areas can pose a risk to human health.
"Notices to warn the public and casual gatherers have been posted along the shore. Commercial shellfish harvesters in these areas have been contacted by the council and steps taken to postpone harvesting until bacterial levels subside.
"People are advised to avoid eating shellfish from these areas until further notice as a precaution. When levels subside, the warning notices will be removed."

Summary:

Article: {{document}}

Summary: ||| {{target}}


A jury has heard how a "vulnerable" man died after a "sustained attack" with knives and scissors in his own home.

Article: Visitors will now be able to travel on a Pole-to-Pole journey that features flightless birds of Australasia as well as the scenery of the Arctic.
Work on the gallery began in 2015, with the first phase completed in April this year.
It was closed again at the beginning of October and reopened on Saturday.
Situated in the museum's West Court, the Life Gallery is home to Sir Roger the Asian elephant and the ever-popular Spitfire.
The work was completed after a public consultation found that visitors wanted to know where in the world the animals on display had come from and how they had lived.
The new displays will group animals, plants and some geological and world culture objects from the same areas of the world into distinct eco-zones.
Archie Graham, chairman of Glasgow Life and depute leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "The completion of phase two of the redisplay of the Life gallery at Kelvingrove Art Gallery will allow visitors to fully experience this new vision for the West Court of the building and these items from Glasgow's collection.
"The process, which started with the lowering and re-installation of the spitfire, is a reminder of how much flexibility the refurbishment of Kelvingrove allows.
"The gallery tells new stories and includes objects our research told us people wanted to see on display and which you can enjoy over the festive period and for years to come."
Situated on Argyle Street in Glasgow, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is among Scotland's most popular attractions, with more than 1.2 million visitors in 2015.

Summary: The popular Life Gallery at Kelvingrove Museum has reopened to the public after a two-year project to redesign and update it.
###
Article: David Clarke, who had learning difficulties, was beaten to death in his flat at Forthriver Road in the north of the city on 6 June 2001.
At the time, police said it was one of the most savage and brutal killings they had ever dealt with.
The arrested man, who is 34, was bailed pending further inquiries.
He had been detained in north Belfast on Monday morning.
The day before, police announced that they had re-opened the murder investigation after detectives received new information.
They also revealed that the victim had been bullied in the weeks leading up to his murder.
Mr Clarke's body was found in his flat by friends who were concerned for him.
Former Assistant Chief Constable Allan McQuillan was involved in the original 2001 inquiry.
He said Mr Clarke's killing was not Troubles-related and was "quite simply that he had some issue with someone and they murdered him".
Mr McQuillan described the 26-year-old's death as a "mystery" and was "one of the cases you really wanted to solve and we weren't able to do it".
Det Ch Insp Alan Dickson described Mr Clarke as an "inoffensive and vulnerable" man who died after an "increasingly frenzied" assault.

Summary: A man who was arrested by detectives investigating the murder of a 26-year-old man in Belfast 14 years ago has been released on bail.
###
Article: The toys were stolen from the 1st Sensory Legion Charity, which was storing them in a Peterborough garage.
They were to be used to raise funds for its Feel the Force Day event, an annual sensory sci-fi convention for people with disabilities.
The items were worth about Â£1,000.
The Feel the Force Day event started in Peterborough in 2013 with 20 deafblind adults who wanted to learn about Star Wars.
More news from Cambridgeshire
The charity which runs it now holds three events each year, attracting 32,000 people from across the UK.
However, plans have hit a setback after the break-in at the garage in Westwood between 7 and 11 August, where the toys were being temporarily stored.
"Thieves not only made off with all the items we had planned on using for fundraising to help cover the costs of the next event, but also took various items we were looking to add to our sensory touch tables," co-founder Simon Howard said.
The six inflatable radio-controlled Darth Vaders were worth about Â£50 each, and other items taken include "beanie" toys, Doctor Who and Hot Wheels toys, an interactive DeLorean Back to the Future car and a "pair of googley eyes in a white and green box".
But they did leave a 5ft-tall Dalek behind.
"The stolen items may not have a high financial value, but they are of enormous value to this organisation in supporting people," Mr Howard added.
Feel the Force Day uses toys and props, tactile costumes and smell jars to help include those with disabilities, additional needs and sensory impairments in film and TV culture.
Cambridgeshire Police has confirmed it is investigating the theft.

Summary: Six inflatable Darth Vaders, a Star Trek Klingon gun and Doctor Who sonic screwdrivers are among items stolen from a charity ahead of a special event for people with disabilities.
###
Article: The Class 385 train, which was built by Hitachi, is the first of 70 that will operate on Scotland's busiest route from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk.
They will also be used between Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane, as well as some routes south of Glasgow.
Night testing of the train will start this week, ScotRail said.
All Edinburgh - Falkirk High - Glasgow services will be using the new trains from December 2017 and the whole fleet will be delivered by 2019.
ScotRail said the trains were inspired by the Japanese Shinkansen bullet train and would offer rail travellers in Scotland a "21st Century passenger experience".
The electric aluminium trains are much lighter than the current diesel stock which means they can accelerate faster and offer potentially shorter journey times.
They will also provide thousands of extra seats, according to ScotRail.
The four-car train was unveiled in Glasgow.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: "The arrival of the first new class 385 train for testing in Scotland is a great milestone in this government's commitment to our railway and a tangible sign to passengers of the very real efforts we are making to improve capacity and comfort.
"Since 2007, we have introduced an extra 140 carriages with 200 more to follow by 2019, increasing the ScotRail fleet by 50%.
"This forms part of the Scottish government's Â£5bn investment in transforming Scotland's railways and I will continue to push for improvements of this kind."
There has been much recent criticism from the public over the punctuality and reliability of ScotRail services since Dutch firm Abellio took over the franchise in 2015.
Opposition parties have also repeatedly questioned the Scottish government over the level of service.
In November, Mr Yousaf called for "immediate improvement" in rail services as the government published its improvement plan for ScotRail.
Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said the delivery of the first Class 385 train was a "landmark day".
"We now have a visible symbol of our...

Summary: ScotRail has unveiled the first in a fleet of electric trains the company is billing as "faster, longer and greener".
###
Article: Michael Rogers, 31, suffered "life changing injuries" and was left hospitalised by Logan Usher, 21.
Usher was jailed following a trial at Oxford Crown Court in May after he denied grievous bodily harm.
The police and Crown Prosecution Service are now deciding whether he should face more serious charges.
The assault took place at The Red Lion in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, in June 2010.
A Thames Valley Police statement said: "Mr Rogers suffered life-changing injuries as a result of the assault and has been hospitalised ever since.
"As a result of recent complications, Mr Rogers' condition deteriorated and he was sadly pronounced dead after life support systems were switched off."
According to police, Mr Rogers died in Nottingham at his mother's house.

Summary: An Oxfordshire man jailed for two and a half years could have his sentence increased after his victim died.
###
Article: The partially-dismembered body of David Miller, 56, was found at his flat in Patterdale Walk in Boothville, Northampton, on 14 June 2016.
He had been stabbed multiple times and "crude attempts" were made to destroy his body, a court heard.
Ian Cuthbertson, 49, Michael Hallett, 37, Joseph Catlin, 30, and Zena Kane, 35, of no fixed address, deny murder.
At the start of their trial, Northampton Crown Court heard police officers had forced entry into the flat and found Mr Miller's remains in the bedroom.
Several items were found at the property including knives, scissors and a rolling pin which had been used as weapons during the attack on 10 June, and an angle grinder which had been borrowed to try and destroy the body.
A post-mortem examination found he had substantial facial injuries and had been stabbed fifteen times in the back and in the chest.
Peter Joyce QC, prosecuting, said that Mr Catlin had been living with Mr Miller in the two months before his death and that the pair had known each other for years.
The court heard that Mr Miller was "well known and well liked" in the area but had long-standing issues with drink.
Mr Joyce said the four defendants were part of the "Northampton street drinking fraternity".
"They lived chaotic lives with long periods of homelessness and regularly used Mr Miller's flat as a place to drink, " he said.
"These four defendants all took part in the murder of a vulnerable man in his own home and then spent days trying to cover up what they had done," he added.
The trial, expected to last for four weeks, continues.

Summary:


A sex attack on woman near a university campus could be linked to two other attempted assaults, investigators have said.

Article: Sara Rowbotham, who was played by Maxine Peak in the BBC drama Three Girls, collected evidence that helped convict nine abusers in Rochdale.
She was made redundant in 2014, two years after the men were jailed.
The online petition says Ms Rowbotham and her team should be "applauded" for their services to the town.
Three Girls tells to story of how girls as young as 13 were being abused by a group of Asian men, but police initially failed to pursue prosecutions.
Greater Manchester Police later apologised and admitted there had been a "complete lack of understanding" of child exploitation in Rochdale and a failure to recognise the "scale of abuse".
Ms Rowbotham, who now works as a councillor on Rochdale Borough Council, said it had been a "frustrating" and "incredibly difficult" time.
"I spent a lot of time thinking it didn't really make very much sense," she said.
A statement on the petition said: "Sara and her team should be applauded by not only Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, but the government and Crown for her services for young people.
"Sara and her team should be the highest advocates for future national guidance surrounding the grooming of children."

Summary: More than 100,000 people have signed a petition demanding a sexual health worker who exposed a child grooming ring is recognised for her actions.
###
Article: The All England Lawn Tennis Club has warned the sticks - which help with taking self-portrait photos - will not be allowed into this year's event.
The ticketholders' guide said: "In common with many other major sports and entertainment events and cultural attractions, the championships will not allow selfie sticks into the grounds."
The devices have already been banned at some museums and sports grounds.
A spokesman for the club told the Sunday Times the move was brought in partly because of the "nuisance value" but "primarily so it doesn't interfere with spectators' enjoyment".
A selfie stick allows its user a longer reach when using a smartphone or camera to take a "selfie" - a self-portrait photo.
Last month the National Gallery, in Trafalgar Square, placed the devices in the same category as tripods, which were already prohibited.
The Palace of Versailles in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome and US museum group, The Smithsonian, have also banned selfie sticks.
And after a complaint from a fan, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club prohibited the sticks from their White Hart Lane ground.

Summary: Selfie sticks have been banned from the Wimbledon tennis championship.
###
Article: However, Chibok campaigners say that while the girl in question was a pupil at the school, she was actually kidnapped from her home elsewhere.
This comes days after the first of the Chibok girls was freed.
The Islamist militant group has seized thousands of women and girls in northern Nigeria, rights groups say.
But it was the abduction of the girls from Chibok that gained international attention through the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which was supported by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai.
The army has made several mistakes in its statements about the Chibok girls - in its initial statement after the first girl was found on Wednesday, it used the wrong name.
It has claimed to have freed more than 100 of them before later backtracking.
In all, 218 girls remain missing since they were seized from Chibok secondary school in Borno state, north-eastern Nigeria, in April 2014.
The girl rescued earlier this week told a Chibok community leader that six of the kidnapped girls had died but the rest were still in the Sambisa forest where she was found.
It would have been ideal for the Nigerian army to rescue two of the Chibok girls in three days - only it did not happen, despite the speed and enthusiasm with which the press statements were sent out.
The military has been trying to win over the public following heavy criticism it has received for its inability to bring back the schoolgirls. Such has been its focus that it has not capitalised on the work of its troops in rescuing thousands of Boko Haram captives.
In fact, army records show it freed 11,595 people between February and April this year. That has barely been publicised - although the abductions of those people also did not make headlines, unlike the schoolgirls whose disappearance raised concern around the world.
As important as the Chibok girls are, it appears their fate is being used as a measure of success in the fight against Boko Haram.
In a statement, army spokesman Col Sani Usman said the 97 women and girls had...

Summary: The Nigerian army says it has freed 97 women and girls from Boko Haram, including one of the more than 200 girls abducted from Chibok school.
###
Article: Almost 10,000 climate simulations were run on volunteers' home computers.
The projections,published in Nature Geoscience, are somewhat higher than those from other models.
The researchers aimed to explore a wider range of possible futures, which they say helps "get a handle" on the uncertainties of the climate system.
People planning for the impacts of climate change need to consider the possibility of warming of up to 3C by 2050, even on a mid-range emission scenario, the researchers say.
The study - run throughclimateprediction.netwith the BBC Climate Change Experiment - ran simulations using a complex atmosphere-ocean climate model.
The representations of physical parameters were varied between runs of the model, reflecting uncertainties about precisely how the climate system works.
And the forecast range was derived from models that accurately reproduced observed temperature changes over the last 50 years.
The low end of their range is similar to that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 2007 report, but the high end is somewhat above the range their analysis produced.
Myles Allen of the School of Geography and Environment and Department of Physics, Oxford University, principal investigator of climateprediction.net, said other climate modelling groups' data did not "set out to explore the full range of uncertainty, which is why studies like ours are needed."
The research was described as "an important step toward estimating uncertainty more comprehensively," by Gabi Hegerl, professor of climate system science at the University of Edinburgh.
The results were also described as "very promising" by Prof Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia.
"Better constrained climate projections are needed to help plan a wide range of adaptation measures, from sea defences to water storage capacity and biodiversity conservation areas," she added.
However, the research was questioned by Julian Hunt, emeritus professor of climate...

Summary: Global temperatures could rise by 1.4-3.0C (2.5-5.4F) above levels for late last century by 2050, a computer simulation has suggested.
###
Article: Around the country it is estimated there are about 34,000 private homes categorised as long-term empty.
This is almost the same number of households which made homelessness applications in 2015.
The Scottish government said it is committed to introduce legislation to reduce the number of empty homes, as well as vacant and derelict land.
The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP), which is funded by the Scottish government, said in 2015 empty properties worth more than Â£110m were brought back into use.
Kristen Hubert, the organisation's national manager, said: "The SEHP would like to see all of Scotland's local authorities responding pro-actively to the problem of empty homes.
"We think more powers to tackle the blight of empty homes such as a Compulsory Sale Order would give them the ability to force a long-term empty property or piece of land onto the open market if it hasn't been used in three years and shows no prospect of reuse."
The Scottish government's Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: "Empty homes are a wasted resource and can be a blight on local communities.
"That's why the Scottish government supports the work of SEHP to deliver real results on the ground. Since 2010 the partnership has brought almost 1,700 homes back into use and helped 17 local authorities to appoint dedicated empty homes officers.
"To add to the range of tools available to tackle empty homes, we are committed to bringing forward provisions for Compulsory Sales Orders as part of on-going land reform measures."
SEHP published a survey which suggested three in every four adults in Scotland thought empty homes directly caused anti-social behaviour.
Anti-social behaviour such as graffiti, vandalism, fly-tipping and break-ins are all associated with properties lying empty for long periods, the survey, carried out by YouGov suggested.
It also suggested a majority (54%) of Scottish adults felt those living nearby the empty homes had a decreased sense of security and 60% thought empty homes contributed directly to a reduction in the...

Summary: Scotland's local authorities have been urged to do more to tackle the problem of empty homes.
###
Article: A woman in her 20s was pushed to the ground and assaulted by a man on a bike on Boundary Road near Bournemouth University's Talbot campus on Thursday.
Dorset Police said they believe it could be linked to two attempted sexual assaults on women in September.
Thursday's attacker is described as white and in his late 20s or early 30s.
Officers said he was approximately 5ft 7in (1.7m), of slight to medium build with short dark hair and wearing a black thigh-length coat and dark trousers.
The victim was walking down a footpath at about 21:40 GMT when the cyclist approached and then assaulted her.
The attacker was riding a dark-coloured mountain bike with silver handle bars and rode off towards Columbia Road after the assault.
Det Ch Insp Sarah Derbyshire said it could be linked to the attempted assaults of women on 13 and 14 September at Boundary Road and Slades Farm.
She is appealing for witnesses.

Summary:


Solar storms are a natural occurrence caused by high-energy particles hitting the Earth.

Article: It is the showpiece of the oil- and gas-rich nation's efforts to turn its financial largesse into outsized global influence and visibility, a two-decades long effort that includes its successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
But there are growing fears that the current diplomatic crisis in Qatar could place the high-profile network's future in jeopardy.
Al Jazeera's broadcasting has caused controversy and drawn anger in various Arab states, not least in Egypt after the fall of Hosni Mubarak during the Arab Spring and the subsequent ousting of the elected president, Mohammed Morsi - a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It has already been caught up in the current crisis, with its website blocked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain in late May.
Those nations all severed ties with Qatar on 5 June, accusing the country of supporting extremism. Saudi Arabia has closed Al Jazeera's offices and withdrawn its broadcast licence, saying it promotes terrorist "plots", supports Houthi militias that Saudi Arabia is fighting in Yemen, and has attempted to "break the Saudi internal ranks".
Al Jazeera has long defended its editorial independence and says it is objective.
Qatar crisis: What's it about?
Qatar travel: What does it mean for me?
Qatar now finds itself isolated and vulnerable. It denies backing terrorist groups but will be pressed for concessions in order to resolve the tense situation, which left its international airport, a key hub, virtually deserted, and residents stocking up on food supplies.
BBC Arabic's Feras Kilani, in Doha, says sources tell him that media reforms will be a key condition placed on Qatar. Al Jazeera might not be closed but its editorial policies will have to change, he says, while the newer Qatari Al-Araby TV network, based in London, could be shuttered.
"For many years Al Jazeera has been a bone of contention for the Gulf states and Egypt, even before its heyday of rolling news coverage during the Arab Spring," writes the Emirati commentator Sultan Sooud...

Summary: Qatar's Al Jazeera media network has undoubtedly put the tiny Gulf state on the international map.
###
Article: The charity said it issued more than 130,000 supplies of nutritionally-balanced food in 2015/16, up from 117,689 in the previous year.
Its new statistics suggest that food bank growth has slowed, however.
Last year the charity reported that food bank use had increased by two thirds on the previous 12 months.
The Trussell Trust said each of its emergency parcels contained enough food for 10 meals.
Everyone who received a food parcel was referred to the food bank by professionals such as a welfare rights adviser, a social worker or a health visitor.
Of the 113,726 handed out across Scotland last year, 43,952 went to children.
The charity said that it had evidence to suggest that, on average, people needed two food bank referrals in one year.
Its network of food banks increased to 51 last year with the controversial opening of a new facility in Dumfries by Scotland's only Conservative MP David Mundell.
Ewan Gurr, Scotland network manager for The Trussell Trust, said the figures highlighted an "alarming" number of people who were unable to buy food.
The charity's data showed that the number of referrals due to a low income increased by 2,845 on 2014/15.
However it said benefits delays were the main reason people turned to food banks - they made up a total of 26% of all referrals in Scotland.
Mr Gurr added: "In Scotland, we have heard from people using food banks due to the heart-breaking reality of losing a job in the oil and steel industries, others feeling a sense of despair after delays to a Universal Credit payment and some who have experienced sanctions that have impacted on their physical and mental wellbeing."

Summary: The number of three-day emergency food parcels handed out by The Trussell Trust in Scotland increased by more than 13% in the last year.
###
Article: The move will reduce the workforce by around a quarter, taking civil servant numbers to around 890.
Sources say the reductions will be mainly by early retirement, voluntary redundancy and departmenal transfers.
The assembly government said the restructuring would support the economic renewal programme outlined by the Deputy First Minister recently.
The announcement is not directly linked to the UK government's spending cuts but unions say they are concerned about the size of the reductions.
It follows a review published earlier in the month, the economic renewal programme, which outlined a major change in the approach to how the assembly government's economic development budget should be spent.
That included getting rid of grants to business and focusing support on six key sectors.
The reduction in jobs could increase to 300 depending on the outcome of a review into the technium programme, which provides support to new science and technology businesses.
Further reductions in staffing are being anticipated across all assembly government departments in the future once the Treasury decides on its spending levels.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents many rank and file civil servants, expressed concern about the assembly government's plans.
A PCS spokesperson said: "We are concerned about the sheer scale of the cuts and the likely effects on workload and work-life balance for staff.
"We will be meeting with [assembly government] management shortly to improve opportunities for displaced staff across all of Wales, especially in areas where there is little alternative work at this moment, particularly at the more senior levels."
The spokesperson added that the union acknowledged that the assembly government's redeployment efforts since the mergers of quangos in 2006 had been successful.
An assembly government spokesperson said the current restructuring was to support the economic renewal programme set out by Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones two weeks ago.
The spokesperson said: "This...

Summary: At least 250 jobs are to be axed in a shake-up of the assembly government's department for the economy.
###
Article: Supplements containing omega-3 offered no greater protection than dummy pills despite suggestions otherwise, the Cochrane Review team found.
The three large studies in the review involved over 3,500 people.
But experts say longer-term studies need to be carried out for more conclusive results.
The current work tracked the health of individuals over a period of three-and-a-half years, so it is still unclear whether there might be some brain protection that kicks in if supplements are taken for much longer than this.
The work looked at randomised controlled trials - the "gold standard" test scientists use to check whether a treatment works.
And it considered different ways of taking omega-3 - in capsules or margarine spread.
Eating plenty of oily fish, such as mackerel, salmon and sardines, will also provide this important fatty acid, which has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
Experts already advise that a healthy diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish.
However, scientific backing for omega-3's use to prevent dementia has been less forthcoming.
This latest review, published by the Cochrane Library, found that participants taking omega-3 scored no better in standard tests of memory and mental performance than those given a placebo.
Co-author Dr Alan Dangour, a nutritionist from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "From these studies, there doesn't appear to be any benefit for cognitive health for older people of taking omega-3 supplements.
"So the evidence at the moment is very disappointing. But there's still an open question - if we conducted a longer study, what would that show?"
He added: "Fish is an important part of a healthy diet and we would still support the recommendation to eat two portions a week, including one portion of oily fish."
Dr Marie Janson of Alzheimer's Research UK said: "Cochrane reviews are an excellent way of pulling together high quality scientific evidence.
"While taking omega-3 supplements may not be the...

Summary: Taking fish-oil supplements to ward off dementia could be a waste of time, say researchers who have reviewed the best available evidence.
###
Article: The study of nearly 50,000 people found those with a black ethnic background were least likely to recognise a persistent cough as a possible symptom.
And South Asians reported more than others that embarrassment could stop them seeking medical help.
The research was presented at England's largest cancer conference.
People across England were asked a series of face-to-face or telephone questions about the signs and symptoms of cancer and how likely they were to speak to doctors if they had concerns.
Questions included:
A team of researchers from eight English universities found black, South Asian and people who identified themselves as 'other ethnic group' were less likely to recognise all cancer symptoms included in the questionnaire than white respondents.
While 93% of white participants said a change in the appearance of a mole could indicate the presence of cancer, just 72% of black people and 70% of South Asians recognised this as a potential sign.
And black and South Asian groups were four times less likely to recognise an unexpected lump or swelling as a possible warning of cancer.
In terms of barriers to seeking help, a  quarter of white people said they would be worried about wasting a doctor's time, compared to 19% of South Asians and 16% in the black ethnic group.
Sara Hiom at Cancer Research UK said: "Thousands of people beat cancer every year and treatment is more likely to be successful when cancer is diagnosed in the earliest stages.
"Getting to know your body and what's normal for you will help you spot anything unusual or persistent."
Lead researcher, Maja Niksic, said: "Evidence suggests people of minority ethnic backgrounds have poorer survival rates for certain cancers and they are more likely to present when the tumour is advanced.
"We need to find ways to present the right health messages to target different needs and different gaps in awareness to give people the same chance of beating cancer regardless of ethnic background."
The authors say previous studies suggested poverty and...

Summary: Black and South Asian people in England are less aware of the warning signs of cancer than white people, according to research led by King's College London.
###
Article: These clouds of particles are released in explosive outbursts from the Sun.
With the Sun in an active part of its cycle, there are concerns that some storms could disrupt technology on Earth including satellite navigation signals and aircraft communications.
The Sun may seem to change little from our viewing position on Earth. With the right equipment, it is possible to see dark regions called sunspots. But up close, our Sun is a dynamic, violent beast.
Bright loops of matter arch and twist like fiery fountains above the surface of this gigantic natural nuclear reactor. And every so often an intense burst of radiation called a solar flare appears when magnetic energy - stored in our star's atmosphere - is suddenly released.
Solar flares are sometimes associated with the release of high energy particles into space - eruptions that are known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), though these can also occur on their own.
A large CME can contain billions of tonnes of gas and other matter that pours into space at several million km per hour. The charged particles in this cloud stream towards any planet or spacecraft in its path.
When these particles collide with the Earth, they can cause a geomagnetic storm - a disturbance in the magnetic sheath (or magnetosphere) that surrounds our planet, protecting its denizens from the worst effects of cosmic rays.
Many of the effects of charged particles hitting the Earth's magnetosphere are benign, such as polar lights - the Aurora borealis and australis.
Geomagnetic storms - often referred to as solar storms - cause these northern or southern lights to become visible at lower latitudes.
However, they also disrupt technology on Earth, such as communications systems - including those used by aircraft, satellite navigation signals and electrical power grids.
As such, they could wreak long-lasting havoc with communications and power infrastructure across the globe.
A 2008 report by the US National Academy of Sciences concluded that an extreme storm could cause up to $2 trillion in...

Summary:


Almost nobody now believes the Cypriot bailout deal negotiated in the early hours of Saturday morning was smart.

Article: The 29-year-old Wimbledon champion replaced Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings at the end of 2016.
Murray returns to Grand Slam action at the Australian Open in Melbourne next week, where he has been runner-up on five occasions.
"The reality is, in sport, that things obviously keep moving on, the game will get better," the Scot said.
"I'll obviously get older, the young guys will continue to improve, and also Novak, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafa Nadal and all the guys at the top are still going to be wanting to get there.
"I need to continue to improve. I for sure need to keep working hard.''
Murray's first-round match against unseeded Ukrainain Illya Marchenko is scheduled third on Monday on Rod Laver Arena, following Simona Halep v Shelby Rogers and Kateryna Kozlova v Venus Williams.
Play begins at 00:00 GMT.
Murray's successful 2016 - in which he also became Wimbledon champion for the second time and defended his Olympic title - ended with him being awarded a knighthood in the Queen's New Year Honours list.
But he says he has not been treated any differently by his fellow competitors.
"It kind of happened for me right at the end of the year, so I haven't been on the Tour much as the number one player," said Murray.
"So I haven't noticed it yet. I don't know if that will come over time, if I'm able to stay there or not."
Murray was also asked about Michael Downey's resignation as chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association after only three years in the role.
He said it was "disappointing" and another example of short-term thinking at the top of British tennis.
"I think for a system that - maybe everyone would say - has not really worked for quite a long time, for change to happen you need someone, or a team, in there that's going to be in it for the long haul and not just a few years," he added.
Despite winning 17 Grand Slam titles, including four in Australia, Roger Federer said he was "clearly an underdog" in Melbourne.
"Yeah, why not for a change? I mean, I prefer to be the favourite....

Summary: Britain's Andy Murray says he needs to continue to improve if he is to remain world number one.
###
Article: The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has announced how it will allocate £132m of public money.
Research and part-time undergraduate provision has been prioritised.
But it warned the increasing cost of the student tuition fee grant could also impact higher education funding.
HEFCW received a reduced budget from the Welsh Government this year, though the cut of £11m was less than originally feared.
Scrapping support for part-time postgraduate study - which received £6.5m last year - was one of the outcomes of a lower budget settlement, it said.
As well as funding from HEFCW, universities receive student tuition fees of up to £9,000 per student, which include more than £5,000 per year through the tuition fee grant for Welsh students.
HEFCW's budget from the Welsh Government has dropped as the tuition fee grant payments have increased.
It is estimated tuition fee grants will cost the Welsh government £237 million in 2016-17.
But it has told HEFCW that it might withhold another £21m of its budget if the cost exceeds this sum.
For the next academic year HEFCW allocated:
Dr David Blaney, chief executive of HEFCW, said: "Using HEFCW funding, universities and other higher education providers can continue to ensure part-time courses are as accessible as possible by keeping the cost down.
"These courses must continue to be an attractive option for students whose circumstances are not suited to a full-time course.
"Research funding accounts for over 60% of our total allocation and, as the largest public investor in research in Wales, we are pleased that we can continue to provide universities with this critical research funding.
"The increasing cost of the tuition fee grant may impact further on these funding allocations.
"The findings of Professor Sir Ian Diamond's independent review of higher education funding and student finance arrangements will be critical to informing a future policy that provides a sustainable balance of investment between Welsh students and Welsh higher education providers."

Summary: Support for part-time postgraduate study has been scrapped due to a reduced budget this year, the body in charge of funding Welsh universities has said.
###
Article: The image, which was daubed onto a London shop 15 years ago, was chosen above the likes of Constable's Hay Wain and Jack Vettriano's Singing Butler.
Some 2,000 people chose their favourite artwork from a shortlist of 20 works drawn up by arts editors and writers.
The Fighting Temeraire, by JMW Turner, and Antony Gormley's The Angel Of The North sculpture completed the top five.
Banksy, an anonymous street artist from Bristol, painted the Balloon Girl onto the wall of a printing shop in Shoreditch in 2002.
A decade later a version of the image, painted onto cardboard, sold at auction for Â£73,250.
Then in 2014 the original stencil mural was removed from the wall of the shop to be exhibited and then sold.
The poll, carried out by Samsung, results in full:

Summary: Banksy's mural of a girl letting go of a heart-shaped balloon has been voted the nation's favourite artwork.
###
Article: "I believe I was born a fa'afafine. Though originally I was born male, my feminine side is much stronger", says Velda Collins.
"A woman trapped in a man's body", is how she describes herself. "We are unique from the lesbian and gay community around the world, we have our own identity."
Despite the fa'afafine being an accepted part of Samoan culture for generations, she says life was hard growing up, as her parents never quite accepted her. They were afraid her identity would close doors for her in life.
So taking part in Miss Fa'afafine 2007 was one of the "most liberating experiences" of her life.
She went on to win that pageant, and is now one of the contest organisers.
This year, Miss Fa'afafine celebrates its 10th anniversary, and will see nine contestants from various countries and across all ages gather in front of a thousand-strong crowd on Friday.
The Samoa Fa'afafine Association (SFA), which organises the pageant, uses it to generate funds for their community work, but also to raise awareness of various human rights issues, especially their push for Samoan laws banning homosexuality to be repealed.
Ymania Brown, 53 and an SFA founder, says she has identified as a girl "since about the age of three", and remembers "having a crush on this particular boy in kindergarten".
But she says being fa'afafine is not the same as being gay.
"When you try to fit cultural idioms into Western boxes, what you end up doing is trying to find the nearest fit," she says.
"It's a very painful life to lead because of all the stigma and negative connotations," she said.
Her mother was accepting of her identity, though her father resisted.
"No parent would wish it upon their child, but once they see it's a losing battle they usually embrace it."
There is added weight to the contest this year, as the community feels their identity, traditionally accepted or tolerated in society, is coming under increasing pressure from religious conservatism in strongly Christian Samoa.
In June, a national newspaper caused outrage by...

Summary: Bright lights, glittering dresses and dazzling smiles are a feature of every beauty pageant, but Samoa's Miss Fa'afafine is a pageant with a difference - an annual celebration of the island nation's third gender tradition.
###
Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
The 40-year-old believes snooker needs to embrace a more corporate image, similar to sports such as golf, tennis and Formula 1.
O'Sullivan cruised into the UK Championship fourth round with a 6-1 win over Michael Georgiou on Monday.
"Snooker has become a nothing-type sport, but it's still great," he said.
"They're just putting so much of it out there, it's just cheap TV and a filler for other programmes - snooker has lost respect amongst other sports.
"You watch Formula 1 and you see beautiful-looking people. You look at snooker and you think, 'God.'
"It costs £5 to get in at some of the qualifying events and see a top-class player - it's like a car boot sale whereas their sports are like shopping at Harrods."
Media playback is not supported on this device
The total prize money available on the tour this season has reached £10m for the first time as part of World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn's revamp of the sport.
That includes the addition of new ranking tournaments, as well as increased prize money at existing events.
This year's UK Championship winner will take home £170,000, while the next world champion will win £375,000.
O'Sullivan said: "It's all about media, money and business, and snooker is nothing compared to Formula 1, tennis and the Olympics. They've got corporate people involved who have a massive say in who is big and who is not big.
"Snooker is unable to attract those kind of sponsors or compete in that league.
"If it went to China and found some billionaires that want to take this sport on and put up £1m first prizes, then you could maybe start looking at snooker as a core sport again."
O'Sullivan was also asked about the continued absence of snooker players from the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist.
Steve Davis, in 1988, is the only snooker player to win the award, while Stephen Hendry was the last to make the top three - coming second in 1990.
"They give snooker like 10 seconds on BBC Sport Personality of the Year, it's a complete...

Summary: Snooker is a "car boot sale" while other sports are like shopping at luxury department stores, says five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.
###
Article: As the economist Paul Krugman put it, it was as if Europeans were holding up a sign which read "time to stage a run on your bank".  In Europe's corridors of power there is the sound and sight of officials pointing fingers and rowing back from previous positions held.
Here's the reality: Cyprus's banks will remain closed at least until Thursday while they try and unravel this. The Cypriot parliament may delay again today voting on a bailout deal that has brought protesters onto the streets. Bank shares in Europe have been under pressure. The markets are unnerved. Fear has returned to the eurozone. The EU's reputation has been damaged.
Not a good day's work.
So what's happening? After a conference call on Monday, Europe's finance ministers said that small savers, who were going to be taxed at 6.5%, should be protected.
A new proposal from the finance ministry has surfaced today. The aim is to better protect the small savers. Under the plan those with savings less than 20,000 euros would pay nothing. Those with deposits between 20,000 and 100,000 would pay a one-off levy of 6.75%. Savings above 100,000 would face a 9.9% tax.
The proposal leaves in doubt whether it could raise the nearly 6bn euros that was a central part of the bailout deal.
And in a further indication of just how complicated this could become, the Cypriot Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades said he expected that 10% of deposits would be withdrawn when banks finally open.
The Cypriot government appears to have decided against raising the levy on those with deposits of more than 100,000 euros to over 15%.
Here's the rub: The government fears this would effectively destroy its financial sector. Those wealthy Russians, who are the largest foreign investors, are likely to pull their funds out of the island if the one-off tax is too high. The Russians are angry and the Cypriot finance minister is heading to Moscow to explain.
The Cypriots argue that the bailout would end up undermining a key sector of the economy. The suspicion in Nicosia is...

Summary:


A full DNA profile has been developed of a man whose near-complete skeleton was found close to a motorway.

Article: The measures would bar people who travelled to Iraq and Syria after March 2011 from the visa waiver programme.
People who have visited Iran and Sudan - which the US accuses of supporting terrorism - would also need a visa.
The White House-backed bill was proposed because the Paris attackers could have travelled to the US without a visa.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for far greater restrictions, proposing that all Muslims be barred from entering the US until further notice.
But his comments - made after a deadly mass shooting in California by Islamist sympathisers - have been condemned by politicians from across the political spectrum.
The House voted 407 to 19 in support of the proposed change to visa-free travel.
"In an abundance of caution, we will now require those individuals to apply for a visa and go through the formal visa screening process," said House Republican Candice Miller, the bill's main sponsor.
There are 38 nations currently included in the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
US officials say about 5,000 Europeans, including many from VWP nations, have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with extremist groups such as the so-called Islamic State and pose a risk to the US.
If the bill passes through the Senate and is signed into law, it would also require all travellers arriving in the US under the VWP to have electronic passports containing biometric data from next April.
The bill also calls for countries participating in the VWP to share more information about suspected terrorists and criminals.

Summary: The House of Representatives has voted to tighten visa-free travel to the US following the Paris attacks.
###
Article: Council members discussed the current state of Scotland's economy following the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
The group will continue to monitor the country's economic performance as the impact of Brexit becomes clearer.
Nicola Sturgeon said the council plays a critical role in growing the economy.
She said: "We have acted to take further measures to stimulate the economy and support jobs by adding an additional Â£100m to our capital infrastructure programme this year.
"While Scotland's economy has a range of fundamental strengths, in the face of the continuing uncertainty following the Brexit vote Council members will consider the current economic outlook, prospects for growth and advise on our economic approach as our potential future relationship with the EU becomes clearer."
Chairman of the council Crawford Beveridge said: "This is a challenging time for Scotland's economy given the uncertainties that lie ahead.
"In our role as an independent advisory group, our members bring expertise from across a range of areas, both nationally and internationally, and benefit from direct links to the Standing Council on Europe.
"We act as a 'critical friend' and sounding board to advise the first minister on key areas impacting on Scotland's performance, including on the economic implications of the EU referendum outcome, innovation and inclusive growth."

Summary: The first minister's council of economic advisers has met for the first time since the EU referendum result.
###
Article: "What election madness!" tabloid Bild exclaims in a banner headline, while the a report in Sueddeutsche Zeitung predicts: "These elections will change Germany."
Several papers believe Ms Merkel and her Christian Democrats are "paying the price" for her liberal policy on immigration.
"The refugee crisis has re-shaped the party landscape," an editorial in Die Welt says, adding that not everyone in her party will forgive her for putting its interests behind those of "Europe and her country too".
A commentary in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung agrees, saying Ms Merkel was "punished" for her course.
"Merkel stood in none of the federal states where people went to the polls on Sunday," it says, "but everywhere was a vote on her policy".
But - reaching for Biblical allusions - it adds that it is more likely "for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" than for Ms Merkel to change her mind.
A commentary in Bild, however, rejects the idea that the result is a rejection of Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy, despite her Christian Democrat party's "crushing defeat".
It points out that the pro-immigration Social Democrat and Green premiers of two states - Rhineland Palatinate and Baden Wuerttemberg - gained votes.
The Tageszeitung agrees. Under the front-page headline "85% stay cool", it points out that the "overwhelming majority" have voted for parties that support Ms Merkel's course.
"The winners of these elections are fear, exclusion and authoritarianism," a commentary in the paper concedes.
But it adds that the rise of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany is largely the result of the mainstream parties' "confusion and loss of trust" in their own programme, in their own supporters and even in Germany.
A commentary in business paper Handelsblatt says the results are a "wake-up call" for Germany's mainstream parties - the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats.
It adds that the crisis goes beyond the refugee issue, and that neither of the two seems able to provide answers to people's...

Summary: Germany's press is reeling from the dramatic - and partly contradictory - results of Sunday's elections in three federal states.
###
Article: The Federal Reserve increased rates on Wednesday by 0.25% to a range of 0.5% to 0.75%, citing a stronger US economy.
When the Fed changes policy on rates, it ripples across the globe. So, how does it affect people in the UK?
The short answer is not a lot.
There might have been a time when a rate rise in the US could have added to pressure here to raise rates.
But the Bank of England is in a very different place now.
It cut interest rates in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union - and it is expecting growth to slow next year.
Policy makers are unlikely to be swayed by anything the Federal Reserve does at this meeting.
UK interest rates are not expected to rise in 2017, and indeed are more likely to be cut further from the current historic low of 0.25%, according to Anna Stupnytska, global economist at Fidelity Investment Management.
But in the US, the Fed now thinks that there could be three rises next year, up from the two that were predicted in September. That's because of the expansionary policies expected to be introduced by President-elect Donald Trump.
So, in the UK you might not be immediately affected, but for those of you looking at longer term mortgages - such as a 10-year fixed rate - these are influenced not just by the UK's base rate, but also by the global bond market, which is already seeing yields rise.
And if US rates continue to increase, that may continue to push bond yields higher, in turn pushing up some mortgage rates.
It might.
Traditionally a rate rise means that an investor can get a better return on their investment and that usually benefits the currency, so the dollar might rise in response.
However, this rate rise has been so well signalled that investors have effectively "priced it in", in other words they are already acting on the assumption that it will happen.
The pound has already fallen significantly against the dollar since the referendum (about 14%) and it's likely that EU exit negotiations will have a major influence.
But Ms Stupnytska points out that if Mr Trump...

Summary: America's central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate for only the second time in 10 years.
###
Article: Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway (C&PRR) said it has been given 10 working days to move seven carriages and wagons from a section of track on land owned by cement firm Cemex.
Prof Karol Sikora, a volunteer on the railway, said the track was "vital" to running the Christmas trains.
Cemex said it wants the carriages moved so it can use the land in the future.
A spokeswoman said various uses were being considered for the land and she hoped a resolution could be achieved.
Chairman of C&PRR, Danny Woodward, said the volunteer-run railway had been using the track for more than 25 years.
He added the timescale given by Cemex solicitors "has the potential to jeopardise the running of some, or possibly all, of our Santa Special trains".
Prof Sikora, a cancer specialist, said: "People come from far and wide and it gives me such pleasure to see the children laughing and enjoying themselves."
Cemex said the seven wagons were on "a relatively small piece of land" and it wished to see them removed.
Santa's Steam Specials are train journeys that run during December for children aged up to 15.

Summary: Annual Santa-themed train services could be in jeopardy after a volunteer railway was served an eviction notice.
###
Article: Remains of a man aged between 30 and 49, were found close to the M54 motorway in Shropshire, in August.
West Mercia Police said two metal bracelets - including one thought to be a Kara, a Sikh symbol - were found inside a jacket that was also uncovered.
There have been no matches with DNA profiles of missing people in England.
The force said it was still unable to ascertain the cause of death, but it was keeping an open mind as to how the remains came to be at junction four of the M54 at Shifnal.
It is understood the remains lay undiscovered for up to three years.
2 - 3
Years the bones of a nearly complete skeleton belonging to a man had lain at the site, next to junction four of the M54
5 7 - 5 11 Height of the man
30 to 49  Years old at the time of death
Detectives said they could not rule out that "he may have been subjected to a crime".
The man, who was between 5ft 7ins and 5ft 11ins tall, was discovered by a highway worker at the bottom of an embankment.
He was wearing a black "dare2be" soft-shell outdoor jacket in a large size, a navy blue V-neck T-shirt from George at Asda and a pair of dark coloured, medium-size Nike tracksuit bottoms.
Police said that specific type of T-shirt was first manufactured in November 2007 and first sold in March 2008.

Summary:


The UK's dominant services sector weakened in February, registering its slowest rate of growth for nearly three years, a survey has indicated.

Article: The Scud flew about 450km (280 miles) before landing in Japanese waters, prompting Japan to lodge a protest.
Pyongyang has repeatedly defied a UN resolution banning all nuclear and missile activity, and has ramped up the pace of its tests in recent months.
Seoul and Tokyo condemned the launch. US President Donald Trump said the North had disrespected its ally China.
"North Korea has shown great disrespect for their neighbor, China, by shooting off yet another ballistic missile...but China is trying hard!" he tweeted.
Japan's leader said Pyongyang's provocations would not be tolerated.
"As we agreed at the recent G7, the issue of North Korea is a top priority for the international community," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. "Working with the United States, we will take specific action to deter North Korea."
In South Korea, President Moon Jae-in, who took office earlier this month, summoned the national security council to discuss the launch.
The US Pacific Command said the missile was launched from Wonsan in North Korea and flew for about six minutes before landing.
Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the missile landed in an area between Japan's Sado and Oki islands, in the country's exclusive economic zone.
A spokesman for South Korea's military said the missile reached an altitude of 120km. "An analysis is under way on the specific number" of missiles fired, the spokesman said, indicating that more than one could have been launched.
North Korea has a large stockpile of short-range Scud missiles developed by the Soviet Union. Modified versions of the Scud missiles can have a range of 1,000km.
The other two recent launches were of medium to long-range missiles, both of which the North claimed as "successful" tests.
The first of those launches was hailed by Pyongyang as a new type of rocket capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. It said it was a demonstration of the North's longest-range nuclear-capable weapon yet.
Pyongyang has been testing its missiles at an unprecedented...

Summary: North Korea has fired a short-range ballistic missile, its third missile test in as many weeks.
###
Article: His nomination to head Nato commander in Europe had been put on hold amid reports the emails were inappropriate.
Gen Allen is due to relinquish command of his Afghanistan post in February.
Harassment complaints by Mrs Kelley led the FBI to unmask an affair between CIA chief David Petraeus and his biographer. He later resigned.
A spokesman for Gen Allen said the general was "obviously pleased" to be cleared of the charges he had violated the prohibition against conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
"From the outset, the general placed his faith in - and fully supported - the investigative process," Maj David Nevers said.
Defence officials told the Associated Press that the White House had not decided whether to go forward with Gen Allen's nomination to Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the defence department "was pleased to learn that allegations of professional misconduct were not substantiated", adding that Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had "complete confidence in the continued leadership" of Gen Allen.
The emails first came to light as part of a wider investigation into email harassment against Mrs Kelley, who knew both Gen Allen and Mr Petraeus, a former general, through social contacts on the Florida military base where US Central Command is headquartered.
When the FBI investigated, it traced the emails to Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell, bringing to light her affair with the CIA chief.
Earlier reports suggested Gen Allen had exchanged thousands of emails, some described as inappropriate and flirtatious, with Mrs Kelley.
The Afghanistan commander had also written a letter to a judge in support of Mrs Kelley's twin sister in a messy child custody dispute.
After being contacted by the FBI, Mr Panetta announced the inquiry into Gen Allen and put the commander's nomination on hold.
Defence officials told the Washington Post that the full investigation had shown that there were in fact only several hundred emails exchanged between Gen Allen and Mrs Kelley,...

Summary: The top US general in Afghanistan, General John Allen, has been cleared of misconduct by the Pentagon for emails sent to Florida socialite Jill Kelley.
###
Article: An average 1.9m viewers watched Sunday night's episode of the motoring show - 8.6% of the available audience.
ITV attracted the biggest audience of the night, as an average 6.6 million viewers tuned in to see France's 5-2 win over Iceland in Euro 2016.
BBC One's Antiques Roadshow, which also overlapped with Top Gear, was watched by an average of 3.9 million.
The overnight figures measure how many viewers tuned in to the live broadcast - and do not take into account those who have watched the show on catch-up services such as iPlayer.
Audience data suggests viewers tend to watch live events such as sports matches as they are being broadcast, whereas entertainment programmes can often pick up extra viewers via on-demand services.
Top Gear: Do overnight TV ratings matter?
Sunday evening's Top Gear was about 800,000 down on last week's average of 2.7m - and just over half the number that watched the series launch.
The episode received lukewarm reviews, but some critics said the show had improved over the course of the series.
Digital Spy said: "Instead of an episode which was about 10% enjoyable like the premiere, they're now up to about 60%."
"When the right people - Matt LeBlanc, Rory Reid, Chris Harris and Sabine Schmitz - are front and centre, there are moments where Top Gear feels like it has found its feet."
The new series was the first since the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
The trio exited the programme after Jeremy Clarkson punched a producer. Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc were later signed up to front the show.
Writing in The Telegraph, Amy Blumson said: "The presenting team need time to bond, and those new to the studio were just warming up as the series came to a close."
"The new Top Gear series has shown glimmers of promise, but like the nippy Porsche 911 R in the final episode, they often disappeared over the horizon as soon as Chris Evans starts shouting."
The Guardian's Stuart Heritage said: "Despite the personnel changes, Top Gear remains a beautiful television...

Summary: Top Gear has concluded with the lowest audience of its current series, as viewers flocked to watch Euro 2016.
###
Article: Stephen Starkey, 61, died five days after Wayne Muirhead broke into his home in Reney Crescent, in Sheffield.
South Yorkshire Police said he died from "paracetamol toxicity" after taking painkillers following the attack. The force said his liver was already damaged by alcohol dependency.
Muirhead, 41, of Batemoor Road, Sheffield, will be sentenced next year.
Sheffield Crown Court heard Muirhead forced his way into Mr Starkey's home on 25 December last year and stole Â£1,500 in cash, a mobile phone and a PlayStation.
He was arrested after the phone was recovered and a number of calls and text messages were linked to Muirhead.
A jury found him guilty of manslaughter and robbery. He was also convicted of a second robbery at Mr Starkey's home, when he stole Â£280.
Det Insp Richard Partridge said: "Mr Starkey was alcohol dependent and his liver was damaged, which when combined with painkillers for his injuries, resulted in paracetamol toxicity that tragically caused his death.
"Had Muirhead not viciously attacked Mr Starkey in his own home, there is no doubt in my mind he would still be alive now and celebrating Christmas with his family."

Summary: A robber who "viciously" assaulted a man in his home on Christmas Day has been found guilty of manslaughter.
###
Article: The IDs were reportedly sourced from a breach four years ago, which had previously been thought to have included a fraction of that number.
At the time, the business-focused social network said it had reset the accounts of those it thought had been compromised.
LinkedIn now plans to repeat the measure on a much larger scale.
One expert said the service should have reset all its accounts the first time round.
LinkedIn is often used to send work-related messages and to find career opportunities - activities its members would want to stay private.
Criminals could make use of this information or see if its subscribers had used the same passwords elsewhere.
"We are taking immediate steps to invalidate the passwords of the accounts impacted, and we will contact those members to reset their passwords," a spokeswoman for the California-based firm told the BBC.
"We have no indication that this is a result of a new security breach.
"We encourage our members to visit our safety centre to ensure they have two-step verification authentication and to use strong passwords in order to keep their accounts as safe as possible."
Details of the sale were first reported by the news site Motherboard.
It said the details were being advertised on at least two hacking-related sites.
A total of 117 million passwords are said to be included.
The passcodes are encoded, but in a form that appears to have been relatively easy to reverse-engineer.
LinkedIn had about 165 million accounts at the time of the breach, but the discrepancy in the figures might be explained by the fact that some of its users logged in via Facebook.
After the breach first occurred, a file containing 6.5 million encrypted passwords was posted to an online forum in Russia.
LinkedIn reacted by saying it had invalidated all the accounts it believed had been compromised and emailed affected members saying they needed to register new passwords.
But Motherboard has tracked down one user, whose details are in the batch currently on sale, and found that the password listed...

Summary: A hacker is advertising what he says is more than one hundred million LinkedIn logins for sale.
###
Article: The latest Markit/CIPS services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 52.7 last month, down from January's reading of 55.6.
Any figure above 50 means expansion, but the rise in service sector activity was the weakest since March 2013.
The service sector accounts for more than three-quarters of the UK economy.
Surveys from Markit/CIPS earlier in the week put the manufacturing sector's PMI at 50.8 and construction at 54.2.
"The weaker increase in services activity mainly reflected a slower expansion in the volume of incoming new business," the survey said.
Markit chief economist Chris Williamson added: "Survey responses reveal that firms are worried about signs of faltering demand, but boardrooms have also become unsettled by concerns regarding the increased risk of 'Brexit', financial market volatility and weak economic growth at home and abroad."
He added that the extent of the slowdown would come as a "shock" to policymakers and would put an end to talk of a possible interest rate rise.
Mr Williamson described February's three PMI readings as "a triple whammy of disappointing survey news".
Last week, official figures confirmed that the UK economy grew 0.5% in the final three months of 2015, with the services sector highlighted as the key factor driving growth.
The Office for National Statistics said the "buoyancy" of services had offset the "relative sluggishness" of the rest of the UK economy.
Signs of weakening growth in the UK economy have pushed back estimates of when the Bank of England might begin to raise interest rates.
Commenting on the latest PMI survey, Jeremy Cook, chief economist at World First, said: "The May Bank of England meeting had previously been seen as a possible time for a rate hike. The volatility of global markets and the self-inflicted wound of the EU referendum put paid to that months ago.
"We still believe, however, that some measures that foresee the Bank of England holding rates at 0.5% until 2020 are little short of absurd."
Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the EY...

Summary:


Police are investigating a complaint about a mural at an Edinburgh primary school which features a golliwog.

Article: It sounds like a Christmas cracker joke, or the start of a Hollywood film pitch.
But the man who knows the answer is Les Carlisle, project manager of the conservation group Rhinos Without Borders.
Under his guidance, 12 white rhinos have just left their native South Africa for a new life in a nearby country, as part of an anti-poaching project.
The beasts spent 15 hours in a truck, plane, and helicopter to get from a game park in KwaZulu Natal, on South Africa's east coast, to their new location [which the BBC won't name for their protection].
"We send them an email with a boarding pass and a seat number, and then we run like hell," Mr Carlisle chuckles.
But in some ways, the truth is stranger still.
"A massive translocation like this involves having the right equipment and the right people in place to be able to manage these very big animals," the project manager says.
"The animals are caught and put into a steel crate that's specially designed to contain them, and designed to fit in the aircraft."
Mr Carlisle says it's not a matter of simply knocking them out.
"You have to immobilise them - make them go to sleep completely, and then blindfold them. And then you put earplugs in their ears.
"And then, you slowly give them a little bit of [sedative] reversal. Enough so they can stand up. They're uncoordinated at that stage - so then you put a rope round their heads and you pull them slowly into the crate.
"They have to walk on their own feet because they're very heavy. You can't move a tonne of sleeping meat!"
The rhinos need to be awake throughout the flight so they can move their legs and regulate their own breathing.
"The problem with a flight that long and an animal this big, is that if it lies for too long that restricts circulation to the leg. And they get pins and needles - and then occasionally the animal could lose the use of that leg," the conservationist says.
Then comes the heavy lifting. With the rhinos safely in their transport crates, a crane lifts them onto the back of a truck bound for the...

Summary: How do you get a 1.5-tonne rhino on an aeroplane?
###
Article: Taffy Mark Evans, 56, formerly of Old Shoreham Road, Lancing, carried out the attacks in Surrey, Sussex and south Wales during the 1980s and 1990s.
Following a trial at Lewes Crown Court, he was found guilty of 19 historic sex offences, and seven counts of making indecent photographs of children.
Evans was a scout leader in Reigate, Surrey, during the 1990s.
He also worked as a train guard on the Redhill to Littlehampton route.
The offences were committed in Charlwood and Redhill in Surrey, Brighton, Burgess Hill and Crawley in Sussex, and Swansea, in south Wales.
After the hearing, Sussex Police said Evans, now of The Crescent, Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire, had systematically groomed and sexually assaulted the boys.
Det Con Heidi McCall said: "He first gained their confidence as a helpful family friend who took them out on trips, including train journeys, swimming and fishing, bought them presents and treats, but then gradually began to abuse each of them."
She said the case showed all reports would be taken seriously no matter how long ago the events occurred.

Summary: A former scout leader has been jailed for 26 years for historical sex offences against boys under 14.
###
Article: Wada announced in September that it was adding the heart disease medicine to its banned list from 1 January.
Since the start of the year, there have been more than 120 positive tests.
But numerous athletes have claimed they stopped taking the drug last year, prompting many to question how long the drug can stay in an athlete's system.
"There is currently a lack of clear scientific information on excretion times," the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said in new guidance distributed on Monday.
"For this reason, a hearing panel might justifiably find (unless there is specific evidence to the contrary) that an athlete who has established on the balance of probabilities that he or she ingested meldonium before 1 January could not reasonably have known or suspected that the meldonium would still be present in his or her body on or after 1 January.
"In these circumstances, Wada considers that there may be grounds for no fault or negligence on the part of the athlete."
This apparent climbdown has already been celebrated by media outlets in Russia, which has borne the brunt of the scandal so far.
Tennis player Maria Sharapova was the first high-profile athlete to test positive for the Latvian-made drug - in a test taken at the end of January - but since then leading Russian athletes from boxing, skating, swimming and winter sports have all failed tests for meldonium.
In a statement, issued via the official news agency Tass, the Russian Sports Ministry said it "supports and welcomes the decision made by Wada because it has showed a willingness to understand the situation, rather than stick to the rulebook."
This follows recent comments from sports minister Vitaly Mutko that the meldonium crisis would soon be "settled".
Last week, the International Biathlon Union said it would not be ruling on any cases until more was known about excretion rates for meldonium.
Wada's new guidance acknowledges that trace elements of meldonium can remain in the body "for a few months" if somebody has been taking the drug for a sustained...

Summary: Athletes caught using meldonium could avoid a ban after anti-doping chiefs said it was not clear how long it takes the drug to leave the body.
###
Article: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided - significantly by a 8-1 majority rather than unanimously - that a little bit of patience is necessary to see how the economy performs over the next few weeks.
The markets' judgement that Mark Carney had clearly signalled a July rate cut two weeks ago when he said "some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer" has proved erroneous.
Some might mutter about the governor showing flashes of the "unreliable boyfriend" he has been accused of before when he has guided the market.
However, the governor's words do not contradict today's decision. "Over the summer" is not one month.
And monetary easing can mean more than just a cut in interest rates.
The MPC is dealing with two competing forces.
First, a slowdown in economic growth following the referendum vote which many economists believe could tip the economy into recession.
Second, a possible increase in inflation sparked by the fall in the value of sterling.
At the moment the data on the former is limited.
The MPC did point to some "preliminary signs" that household and business confidence has been affected by the referendum result.
It said there have been some "sharp falls" in sentiment measures.
"Taken together, these indicators suggest economic activity is likely to weaken in the near term," the minutes say.
But, against that, the financial markets have continued to function which has "dampened rather than amplified" the effects of the 23 June vote.
And economic activity is described as "solid" in the run-up to the referendum.
The Bank also made it clear that "most" members of the MPC "expect monetary policy to be loosened in August" when the Inflation Report is published.
That does not necessarily mean an interest rate cut at that point.
It could mean more stimulus via the purchasing of government bonds, or quantitative easing.
Or more action to boost lending via direct support to banks.
On inflation, any upward pressure is still slight.
Inflation is at 0.3%, well below the 2% target.
The...

Summary: So, the interest rate cut is off, for now.
###
Article: The convention will see 10,000 people get together in Docklands to celebrate all aspects of the hugely popular block-building game.
It will feature talks by the game's developers, a costume competition and sessions on modifying the basic game.
Well-known YouTube stars including Stampy, The Diamond Minecart and Captain Sparklez are also attending.
The convention comes as Microsoft announces an initiative to make more use of Minecraft in schools.
The core coding team for Minecraft is set to appear at the show to talk about future features on which they are working. Also present will be Telltale Games which is working on Minecraft: Story Mode - an episodic adventure set in the game's universe.
Prominent at the show will be the coders who modify the game who will share hints about the best way to customise the way it is played. A large panel of well-known YouTubers is also scheduled to appear to give tips about growing and serving the audience for Minecraft "lets play" videos.
The convention will also feature a "speedrun" competition to see which players can traverse a Minecraft game map the fastest. About 70 million copies of the game have been sold since it was launched in 2011.
Microsoft is giving away "golden tickets" to some attendees so they can try out the version of Minecraft being made for its Hololens augmented reality headset.
Earlier this week Microsoft also announced the creation of a Minecraft in Education initiative that will see the game become a route through which children are taught subjects including maths, history and religion.
It is also introducing tools that help schools co-ordinate what is done through the game to make collaboration easier.
This year's convention is the first since Microsoft bought Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5bn (Â£1.6bn) in September 2014.
Despite now being the parent company for Mojang, Microsoft had no plans to change the way the game is made and run, said Matt Booty, general manager for the Minecraft team at Microsoft.
"This is definitely Mojang's show and it's...

Summary: Minecon, the global gathering for fans of the video game Minecraft, takes place in London this weekend.
###
Article: The scene from Alice in Wonderland in Wardie Primary's assembly hall dates back to 1936 and was recently restored with a Heritage Lottery Fund.
A mother has lodged a complaint about the image describing it as racist.
Edinburgh City Council said it understands the offensiveness of the image but said it does not reflect the attitudes of the school.
An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: "The Alice in Wonderland mural at Wardie Primary School was painted in 1936 and is of both historical and artistic importance as evidenced by the fact it recently received full Heritage Lottery Funding support to restore the work.
"While we understand the offensiveness of the image, it is in no way indicative of the attitudes of either the school or the council.
"Our equalities policies and approaches are robustly multi-cultural and anti-racist, promoting diversity and good relationships among pupils."
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Police in Edinburgh have received a complaint in relation to a mural at a primary school in the Trinity area.
"Officers are now liaising with Edinburgh City Council education department with regards to this matter.
"Police Scotland treats all reports relating to hate incidents extremely seriously and will thoroughly investigate whenever a report of this nature is made."

Summary: