The BfV said the man was recently hired to observe the Islamist situation in Germany.

An employee of the German intelligence agency (BfV) has been arrested after making Islamist statements and sharing agency material, German media report.

Article: Margie Carranza and her mother Emma Hernandez were delivering newspapers early on 7 February when officers fired about 100 bullets into their car.
Ms Hernandez was shot in the back and Ms Carranza sustained minor injuries.
Christopher Dorner is believed to have killed three people in California before dying in a shootout with police.
The ex-Navy reservist died in a gunfight at a mountain cabin near the Big Bear Lake ski resort, after a massive manhunt across southern California.
Los Angeles police were looking for Dorner when they misidentified the vehicle the women were driving and opened fire.
A lawyer representing Los Angeles said a "fair and swift" settlement had been reached, which was a "win-win" for both parties.
"In reaching the settlement we hope that Margie and Emma will be able to move on with their lives," lawyer Carmen Trutanich said, adding, "The city will be spared literally millions of dollars in litigation fees."
The two women will split the settlement, taking $2.1m each.
Glen Jonas, the lawyer representing the women, said his clients would accept the payment after the end of the current fiscal year on 30 June, to help ease the city's financial troubles.
He added the police and other city leaders were consulted throughout the negotiation process.
"The LAPD, the chief, were consulted at every step of the way," Mr Jonas said. "We weren't going to have an agreement unless the city leaders - all of them - thought that it was a fair agreement for everyone involved."
Dorner's killing spree began on 3 February when he shot dead the daughter of a former police captain who represented him at a police disciplinary board, and her fiance.
Police say he then shot and killed a Riverside policeman in an ambush on 7 February.
In an online manifesto, Dorner, who was black, suggested that racism was still rife in the LAPD.
It was an unwelcome allegation for a department that overhauled itself after the notorious police beating in 1991 of a black man, Rodney King.
During the manhunt police guarded about 50...

Summary: The city of Los Angeles will pay $4.2m (£2.8m) to two women shot by police as they searched for an ex-policeman on a murder spree.
###
Article: A BfV spokesman did not confirm a report in Die Welt newspaper that the man was suspected of planning a bomb attack on the BfV's Cologne office, Reuters news agency said.
"There is no evidence to date that there is a concrete danger," he added.
The man is reported to be of Spanish origin and a convert to Islam.
The BfV said the suspect, who now has German citizenship, had previously "behaved inconspicuously".
"The man is accused of making Islamist statements on the Internet using a false name and of revealing internal agency material in Internet chatrooms," the spokesman added.
Die Welt also reported that the man was caught by an agency informant, with the pair having online conversations about a possible attack.
BfV did not confirm which part of the intelligence agency the accused worked in, though German news magazine Der Spiegel said the man was recently hired to observe the Islamist situation in Germany.
It also reported that the man's family had no knowledge of his conversion, which the publication said took place in 2014.
The BfV - the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution - is Germany's domestic intelligence agency. Its counterpart, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), deals with foreign intelligence.
There are an estimated 40,000 Islamists in Germany, including 9,200 ultra-conservative Islamists known as Salafists, the head of the BfV told Reuters news agency earlier in November.

Summary:


The inquest into the death of 11-year-old Francis Rowntree in 1972 will be "severely hampered" if he cannot attend, a barrister for the Ministry of Defence has said.

A coroner has said he will reflect carefully on whether a soldier who fired a rubber bullet that killed a boy is too ill to give evidence.

Article: Foxconn said it had received new information from Sharp which needed to be clarified.
The news came hours after the announcement that the $4.3bn (£3.08bn) deal had been agreed.
Foxconn assembles most of the world's iPhones. Sharp is one of Japan's oldest technology firms.
Foxconn Technology Group said that Sharp had couriered over "new material information" to the management.
The Taiwanese company said in a statement: ``We will have to postpone any signing of a definitive agreement until we have arrived at a satisfactory understanding and resolution of the situation,''
If the deal goes ahead, it would be the first foreign takeover of a major Japanese electronics firm in a historically insular technology sector.
Japanese officials had been reluctant to let Sharp fall under foreign ownership because of the distinctive technology behind its display panels.
Before the announcement of a deal with Foxconn, Sharp had been discussing a rival offer from a Japanese government-backed consortium of Japanese investors.
Founded in 1912, innovations by Sharp include a mechanical pencil in 1915 and pioneering developments in television engineering.
Although recent years have seen a downturn in its fortunes with heavy debts, the firm continued to be a leader in liquid display technology, a key asset for Foxconn.
The takeover plan involves Sharp, which employs more than 50,000 globally, issuing new shares to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, which trades under the Foxconn name.
Sharp's shares were halted from trading ahead the announcement. They later reopened and closed down by nearly 15%.
Technology specialists said the two companies were a logical fit.
"Sharp is strong in research and development, while Hon Hai knows how to market products to customers such as Apple, and it also has expertise in production. Together they can go global,"   Yukihiko Nakata, a technology professor and former Sharp engineer told AFP news agency.
What's behind the takeover? - Karishma Vaswani, Asia Business Correspondent
Trying to save one of...

Summary: A deal to take over Japanese electronics giant Sharp by Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn, has been thrown into question by a last minute delay.
###
Article: Coroner Jim Kitson said the inquest into the death of 11-year-old Francis Rowntree in 1972 would be "severely hampered" if he could not attend.
He said the man's heart condition had to be a factor when deciding whether to compel him to give evidence.
The coroner told the preliminary hearing it was a "fine balancing act".
Francis was playing with friends at the Divis Flats complex off the Falls Road in west Belfast in April 1972 when he was struck on the head by the rubber bullet. He died in hospital several days later.
Controversy surrounds the shooting, with disputed claims about whether the young boy was struck directly or hit by a ricochet, and if the bullet had been doctored to make it potentially cause more injury.
The former Royal Anglian Regiment member who fired the rubber bullet is known to the court as soldier B.
A barrister for the Ministry of Defence told the hearing that soldier B's consultant cardiologist had expressed "significant reservations" about his fitness to attend, in a report produced for the coroner's court.
"It appears on the face of it to be quite a severe condition involving multiple medical interventions over the years," the lawyer said.
He added: "The likelihood of a heart attack or death would be small but not zero.
"There is a significant risk to the health of this man to compel him to give evidence."
A barrister representing the Rowntree family said a number of steps could be taken to make the witness feel at ease.
She suggested the former soldier could give evidence via video-link; there could be regular breaks in the hearing; medical assistance could be on standby and the court could be partially cleared.
She told the coroner: "You know the gravity of the case and you know he's essentially the key witness and very important to the case."
Mr Kitson said: "This is a key witness and clearly the inquest would be severely hampered if this witness is not in attendance, but I'm acutely aware of the impact on this man's health.
"It's a fine balancing act between the two prerogatives...

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A charity has donated £500,000 to help Glasgow School of Art (GSA) expand its Garnethill campus and repair the fire-damaged Mackintosh building.

Article: A House of Lords committee said the interventions have led to an opaque, complicated and uncompetitive market.
The peers blame "poorly designed government interventions in pursuit of decarbonisation" that they say have put pressure on energy supply and bills.
The government said its priority was ensuring secure, affordable energy.
In recent years policy has been focused on the so-called "energy trilema" of delivering security of supply at an affordable cost to consumers while meeting our climate change goals.
However, the report states energy security should be the priority and that low-carbon policies have contributed to higher bills for households and businesses, leading some energy-intensive firms to relocate abroad.
"It's a very high price that is being paid," says Lord Hollick, who chairs the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee.
He points out that green levies, which account for around 10% of energy bills, are set to soar: "Those renewable costs are estimated to go up to nearly 25% by the mid 2020s."
The committee says decarbonisation should be achieved at the lowest cost to consumers with targets managed flexibly.
"The government should vary the pace of emissions reductions rather than adhere to a linear approach", the report says.
It suggests that this may mean waiting for the development of technology that can reduce emissions.
"We are not in any way saying we should take the foot off renewables," says Lord Hollick.
"In fact we're saying we should put more effort into the R&D for renewables and deploy more renewables and make the UK at the leading edge of innovation for renewables and other means of managing demand like storage."
The report is particularly scathing of the recent agreement between the government and EDF for a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
That guaranteed EDF will be paid Â£92.50 per megawatt hour, inflation linked for 35 years, for the energy the plant will provide.
"We thought that it was extraordinarily expensive," says Lord Hollick. "Where is this technology...

Summary: Interventions in the energy market by successive governments have pushed up prices, but not secured supplies, peers found.
###
Article: The Garfield Weston Foundation made the award to the Mackintosh Campus Appeal, which aims to raise £32m.
The Mackintosh building was badly damaged by fire on 23 May 2014.
Contractors who are restoring the iconic Grade A-listed art nouveau building hope to have completed their work by the end of February 2019.
Philippa Charles, director of the Garfield Weston Foundation, said: "The Garfield Weston Foundation supports organisations and activities that share a commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of the communities in which they work, and that are driven by a desire to achieve excellence.
"The Glasgow School of Art sits at the heart of the Garnethill community and the people of Glasgow hold the Mackintosh building dear.
"We are delighted to be able to support the Mackintosh Campus Appeal which will enable the GSA to bring this iconic building back as part an extended campus and enable the internationally-renowned Glasgow School of Art to recover fully from the impact of the fire."
The art school announced earlier this year plans to purchase the former Stow College building in nearby West Campbell Street for its expanded Garnethill campus.
The aim is to provide additional space to accommodate a 25% increase in student numbers by 2018.
News of the £500,000 donation emerged as the Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, prepared to host an event for the Mackintosh Campus Project at Dover House in London.
Mr Mundell said: "It is a real pleasure to host tonight's fundraising event for the Mackintosh Campus, and to support the rebuilding of an iconic British institution which has produced so many leading architects, designers and artists."
Professor Tom Inns, director of GSA, added: "It is an important opportunity for us to share our ambitious plans for the campus redevelopment, including bringing together all pathways of the School of Fine Art for the first time in many years in a refurbished Stow Building, and to give an update on the restoration of the Mackintosh Building."
After the...

Summary:


A million older people in England struggling with everyday tasks, such as washing and dressing, are being left to fend for themselves, campaigners say.

Article: With the help of popular local memes, the BBC explains why the PAP keeps winning - and why results may not remain predictable for much longer.
Like a blockbuster film, Singapore's elections are often a colourful spectacle with an all too predictable ending - much like the Chinese war film Red Cliff, parodied in this movie poster by designer PixelGod.
The PAP has long enjoyed widespread support and political legitimacy, especially among older Singaporeans who have seen the country swiftly develop into a first-world economy.
Pragmatic voters have been willing to trade in some freedoms in exchange for prosperity and stability. The country's massive jubilee celebration last month reminded Singaporeans how far the country has come - and may have helped to shore up voter goodwill for the PAP.
But younger Singaporeans have also been calling for greater government accountability, particularly with recent stumbles over immigration and infrastructure.
The PAP has tried to address these problems, but that has not quelled the demand for more opposition representation.
The PAP is synonymous with its charismatic and deeply respected leader Lee Kuan Yew, whose presence looms large over this election, the first to be held since his death in March.
He led the country as prime minister from independence in 1965 to 1990 and his personal popularity helped to ensure the party's non-stop electoral success.
His death in March triggered an outpouring of grief and tributes, which may contribute to greater PAP support this election.
Lee was also known for his merciless attitude towards opponents with defamation suits, which critics say created a culture of fear and stifled dissent.
This election is the first to see all constituencies contested, as more opposition candidates step forward into the political spotlight.
These include Chee Soon Juan, who was bankrupted by Lee's suits and is staging a comeback this election.
Singapore has a democratic system largely seen as clean and fraud-free. But there are aspects of the political...

Summary: Singaporeans head to the polls on Friday, and with the same party in power for 50 years, it's all but certain that the People's Action Party (PAP) will once again form the government.
###
Article: The Age UK review identified more than three million people aged over 65 with a care need, but found just two-thirds of them were actually getting help.
The charity warned that the lack of support for the ageing population was risking their health.
But ministers said steps were being taken to provide more help.
The review used official data and existing research to identify how many people were struggling with everyday tasks and how many were getting help.
There are 10 million people over the age of 65 in England, the review said, and more than 3 million struggle with tasks such as washing, dressing, eating and going to the toilet.
Just over one million pay for care or rely on family and friends with another 850,000 supported by their local councils.
But that leaves another one million who have to fend for themselves.
The report also warned that community NHS services and GPs were struggling to meet demand from the ageing population.
And Age UK warned there were signs this was affecting the health of older people.
It cited an 88% rise in hospital admissions for urinary tract infections among the over-75s between 2005-06 and 2013-14 to 4,173 per 100,000.
Meanwhile, admissions for pneumonia among the over-60s have more than doubled over the same period to 2,621 per 100,000.
Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams said it was a "destructive vicious circle" where the lack of support was worsening the health of the most vulnerable older people in society.
"If an older person asked us today how confident we were that their health and care needs will be met well in the future we would be whistling in the dark if we gave a wholly reassuring answer."
But a Department of Health spokeswoman said "significant action" was being taken to improve the support given to older people.
She pointed out that all over-75s should now have a named GP to co-ordinate their care, while a Â£5.3bn pot of money - mainly from NHS funds - has been set aside this year for joint projects between councils and health services.
Follow Nick on Twitter.

Summary:


The Bank of England kept interest rates on hold at 0.5% - as expected - following its latest meeting.

(Close): Fashion house Burberry led the market higher following speculation that it could be a bid target.

Article: One work of art, from the University of Oxford, cost £7.9m.
Unison criticised the spend, saying universities were choosing "style over substance".
Universities said the works of art often went on public display and were used for teaching and research.
A Freedom of Information request by the BBC collated the information for 2010-2015.
Anna Somers Cocks, chief executive of The Art Newspaper said: "It's a question of proportion, you have to distinguish what is for decorating and what is for public consumption.
"When a work of art is for a museum, the money comes from a different funding purse as the museum has a separate budget."
For the full results of the Freedom of Information request, click here
A Unison spokeswoman said: "Unison is appalled that universities can think about investing £20m in works of art when a significant number of institutions still pay their employees significantly less than the living wage.
"Universities must be more accountable on how they spend their money. The huge amount going on works of art suggests that during these austere times, universities are choosing style over substance.
"As nice as they might be to look at, paintings, statues and sculptures don't enhance teaching, and leave the lowest paid staff on campus unable to have a decent standard of living."
The most expensive item purchased by the University of Oxford was the Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus by the French impressionist Edouard Manet, which cost £7.9m, of which £5.9m was from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £850,000 from the Art Fund.
The piece was purchased for the university's Ashmolean Museum, which is open to the public free of charge.
A spokeswoman for the University of Oxford said: "The Ashmolean's mission is to be the world's greatest university museum of art and archaeology.
"The museum seeks to acquire objects and works of art, either through bequest, gift or purchase, which relate to and enhance the permanent collections.
"Newly acquired objects are made available to the widest possible audience for...

Summary: Universities across England have spent some £20m on art to furnish their buildings or museums over the past five years, a BBC investigation has found.
###
Article: Burberry rose 2.81% on speculation that the company could be takeover target for a US private equity firm.
Mining shares were hit by a number of broker downgrades following recent falls in commodity prices.
At close of trade in London the FTSE 100  index of leading blue chip stocks was ahead by 77.95 points, or 1.12%, at 7015.36.
Anglo American shares fell 0.24% after Credit Suisse cut its rating on the company to "neutral" from "outperform".
Downgrades also hit BHP Billiton, which fell 1.09%. Credit Suisse cut its rating for BHP to "underperform" from "neutral", while Investec downgraded to "sell" from "hold".
On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.83% against the dollar to $1.4743 but was up 0.17% against the euro to ???1.3813.
Sterling was weakened by the latest UK trade figures, which showed the trade deficit widening by more than expected in February.
The Bank of England kept UK interest rates on hold at 0.5% - as expected - following its latest meeting.

Summary:


The Conjuring 2 has topped the North American box office chart in its first week of release, breaking a recent slump in success for movie sequels.

Article: Bristol's mayor announced last week that he wants to set up another 20 resident parking zones in the city.
Robert Westlake, Downs Ranger, said: "My concern is that we will get the backwash of the commuter parking as these new schemes come in."
The city council said initial talks had been held about preventing the issue.
Residents' parking zones have already been set up in the Cotham, Redcliffe and Kingsdown areas of the city and a consultation is running for Easton and St Phillips.
A subgroup set up by the Downs Committee is due to report back its concerns with recommendations on 22 April.
The subgroup heard concerns from the Friends of the Downs that the roads crossing the green space will increasingly be used by commuters parking on the unrestricted and free roads.
Mr Westlake said he fears the Downs' roads would "be turned into car parks for commuters".
"We're already seeing an impact. We observe cars that are parked all day now, or people that park and then take out their bicycle and ride off across the Downs," he added.
"The biggest concern, and this was highlighted by the Friends group, is that it restricts access for other people that are coming to visit the Downs.
"We can only see this getting worse, not better."
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: "We will be consulting with the Downs Committee about our proposals in due course.
"Initial discussions about the scope for introducing measures to prevent commuters from parking on The Downs have already taken place."
Mayor George Ferguson previously said the subject of parking had become an urgent problem for some residents.
If approved, the additional areas will be introduced from September 2014.

Summary: The Downs in Bristol could become a "commuter car park" if plans to widen the residents' parking scheme go ahead, it has been claimed.
###
Article: The horror starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as paranormal investigators made $40.4m (£28.5m).
Video game adaptation Warcraft came in second with $24.4m (£17.2m) and crime caper Now You See Me 2 was at three, taking $23m (£16.2m).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dropped to four with $14.8m (£10.4m).
Following a spate of poor performing sequels such as The Huntsman: Winter's War, Alice Through the Looking Glass and Ride Along 2, The Conjuring 2 opened nearly on par with its 2013 original.
"There's seemingly been a spell cast over the second instalments and The Conjuring, I think, broke that spell," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.
"Just the overall quality won over the audience in a genre that's generally looked down upon from a critical perspective.''
Big budget CGI extravaganza Warcraft, taken from the hit video game franchise, reportedly cost $160m (£112.8m) to make, so effectively bombed in the US financially as well as critically.
However, it was a phenomenal success overseas, particularly in China where it made $156m (£110m) in its first five days, surpassing 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron to set a new record for the biggest debut for a foreign release.
The game is particularly popular there, even spawning a theme park.
The magician crime caper Now You See Me 2, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo and Woody Harrelson, followed the disappointing trajectory of most recent sequels, dropping from its 2013 original opening debut of $29.4m (£20.8) to $23m (£16.2m).
The fifth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Out of the Shadows, fell to number four in only its second weekend.
The last movie in the franchise grossed nearly double in its opening weekend box office.
Rounding off the top five was X-Men: Apocalypse, taking $10m (£7m) in a troubling third weekend.
Next week sees the release of Pixar's Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory.

Summary:


The BBC's The One Show has announced the winners of its Unsung Hero award.
The award is a nationwide celebration of music, aiming to bring people together across generations and communities.
The day will be reflected across BBC television and radio programmes with numerous events and concerts taking place in towns and cities in England, Northern

A County Londonderry woman who uses music to "transform the lives of people with disabilities" has been honoured with a BBC Unsung Hero award.

Article: Detlev Guenzel, 56, strangled and dismembered the 59-year-old at a small bed-and-breakfast run by Mr Guenzel in eastern Germany in 2013.
Guenzel was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail.
Prosecutors could not confirm that he had actually eaten the victim, but some body parts were never found.
Lawyers representing the family of the murdered man - 59-year-old Polish-born Wojciech Stempniewicz - sought a 15-year sentence for Guenzel, the father of three adult children described by neighbours as affable, warm hearted and courteous.
Guenzel went on trial in August for killing Stempniewicz at his home, a bed-and-breakfast inn in the town of Hartmannsdorf-Reichenau in the Erz mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.
He was accused of cutting the body into small pieces and burying them in his garden, making a macabre home video in the process.
The pair met in October 2013 on a website for slaughter and cannibalism fantasies which described itself as the "#1 site for exotic meat" with more than 3,000 registered members, correspondents say.
Guenzel, who had served in the police for 30 years, retracted a confession he initially made to detectives soon after Stempniewicz's killing in which he said that he had cut his throat.
The defence argued that Stempniewicz had a death wish and had already hanged himself in Guenzel's cellar "S&M studio" before he took a knife, then an electric saw, to the gagged-and-bound man.
Investigators have been unable to determine the cause of death definitively because of the poor condition of the corpse.
They have, however, been able to ascertain that the pair had extensive contact online and by telephone before finally arranging their date on 4 November 2013.
The video Guenzel made was played during the trial, at one point showing him covered in blood while mutilating the corpse. "I never thought I would sink so low," he can be heard murmuring.
The defendant is reported to have broken down when the footage was shown, telling presiding judge Birgit Wiegand that he had made a...

Summary: A former German policeman has been convicted of murdering a businessman he met on a website for cannibalism fetishists.
###
Article: The announcement was made on Friday by Alex Jones and Chris Evans on BBC One's The One Show.
Denise White from Eglinton village is the founder of Something Special, a musical and creative arts group that educates almost 100 students with learning disabilities.
In a tribute video, her students described her as an "inspiration".
"Denise has helped my confidence, she's got us out singing," said Sorcha Friel.
"There are some students in here that have nothing else, coming in here makes their week, without Something Special they would have nothing to do."
Ms White is one five recipients of BBC Music Day's Unsung Hero award.
"I could see that music worked some kind of magic with young people and that it could really change things for them," she said.
The Unsung Hero award was launched as part of this year's BBC Music Day on Friday 5 June.
It is a nationwide celebration of music, aiming to bring people together across generations and communities.
The day will be reflected across BBC television and radio programmes with numerous events and concerts taking place in towns and cities in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
BBC Music Day events in Northern Ireland include performances from Sir James Galway, Andrea Begley, Villagers, The Priests, The Ulster Orchestra and the Belfast Community Gospel Choir.

Summary:


Western Sahara is a sparsely-populated area of mostly desert situated on the northwest coast of Africa.

Article: Police say Darius McCollum, 50, stole the coach from the nation's busiest bus terminal, New York Port Authority, on Wednesday.
He was found with the vehicle two hours after it was scheduled to leave.
Among his previous crimes was the theft of a bus full of passengers at Penn Station, driving it to Kennedy airport.
He grew up in Queens and spent a lot of time at the terminus of the F train, where his fascination with the trains brought him to the attention of workers there who took him under their wing.
By the age of eight, he could reportedly recall the names of every station on the New York subway system.
His train and bus troubles began in 1981, when the then-teenager took control of an underground train and drove it for six stops.
Over the years, he has also been arrested for trespassing at a subway control tower, attempting to commandeer a suburban train and stealing a coach bus, according to local media.
In 2008, Mr McCollum told the Associated Press news agency he planned to get in touch with a charity to help him find a therapist.
Five years later, he said: "It was a rough process but I finally made it.
"I can't afford to get arrested again, I can't deal with the jail thing - it's too much, the gang mentality."

Summary: A man who has been arrested nearly 30 times for bus or train theft has been stopped again for allegedly trying to steal a Greyhound bus.
###
Article: A former Spanish colony, it was annexed by Morocco in 1975. Since then it has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people, led by the Polisario Front.
A 16-year-long insurgency ended with a UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the promise of a referendum on independence which has yet to take place.
Although under the de facto administrative control of Morocco, the status and sovereignty of Western Sahara remain unresolved and numerous direct talks have failed to break the political deadlock.
The Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario Front in 1976, is now recognised by many governments and is a full member of the African Union.
Home to phosphate reserves and rich fishing grounds off its coast, Western Sahara is also believed to have as yet untapped offshore oil deposits.
Population 567,000
Main town  Laayoune
Area 252,120 sq km (97,344 sq miles)
Main language Arabic
Main religion Islam
Life expectancy 66 years (men), 70 years (women)
President of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic: Brahim Ghali
The Polisario Front proclaimed the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976, with a government in exile in Algeria.
Brahim Ghali was elected leader of the Polisario Front and president of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in July 2016 following the death of long-term president Mohamed Abdelaziz Ezzedine.
A seasoned military leader, described both as a "hard-line supporter" and "historic figure", he was one of Polisario's founding members in 1973 and led the first raids against the occupying Spanish forces that sparked the armed struggle for Western Saharan independence.
In 2008 he left his post as ambassador to Spain with unresolved charges against him alleging inhumane treatment and the torture of Saharan prisoners, and became the ambassador to Algeria.
Morocco's state broadcaster RTM operates radio and TV services from Laayoune.
On the other side of the political divide, a Polisario-backed mediumwave (AM) radio...

Summary:


The Welsh Government has announced a £1.5m investment in the Welsh Police Service.
The funding will be used to support the Welsh Police Service's work to tackle crime, including the prevention of crime, the investigation of crime and the prosecution of offenders.
The Welsh Government has announced a £1.5m

Two of Wales' four police forces have been told they must improve how they keep people safe and reduce crime.

Article: Mr De Klerk said South Africa's white Afrikaner population had many reasons to dislike Rhodes but "never thought of removing his name from our history".
Campaigners say the statue venerates the 19th Century colonialist and the values he stood for.
Former Australian PM Tony Abbott has also said the statue should stay.
Mr Abbott, a Rhodes Scholar, said removing the statue would "substitute moral vanity for fair-minded enquiry".
Read more: When is it right to remove a statue?
Upon his death, Cecil Rhodes, who attended Oriel College, left a legacy which has funded the university's prestigious Rhodes Scholarships - postgraduate awards for non-British students.
Mr De Klerk, in a letter to the Times newspaper, said that "for better or worse", Rhodes had made an impact on history, which included the positive contribution of his scholarship scheme.
"If the political correctness of today were applied consistently, very few of Oxford's great figures would pass scrutiny," he said.
He pointed out that Rhodes had been "the architect of the Anglo-Boer War that had a disastrous impact on our people, yet the National Party government never thought of removing his name from our history".
Mr De Klerk also criticised Oriel College's decision to consult on the future of the statue, and remove a plaque honouring Rhodes.
The college, he said, should be "a little more gracious in its treatment of its most generous benefactor" and suggested if his legacy was so "reprehensible" then it should consider returning Rhodes' bequest to the victims of British imperialism in South Africa, the Times reports.
The #RhodesMustFall movement began in South Africa, where students succeeded in having a statue of Rhodes removed from the University of Cape Town.
Students involved in the movement argue that Rhodes' involvement in land seizures in 19th Century Africa make him unworthy of commemoration.
More than 2,300 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of the statue from Oriel College.
The movement includes amongst its members several...

Summary: Former South African President FW De Klerk has criticised a campaign to remove a statue of Cecil Rhodes at Oxford University's Oriel College.
###
Article: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said the Dyfed-Powys and north Wales forces "required improvement".
South Wales and Gwent police forces were ranked "good".
The reviews are part of HMIC's annual inspection of England and Wales' 43 forces.
Police and crime commissioner Christopher Salmon said: "We have more officers investigating the most serious crimes and my Help Hub has increased support for victims.
"There is always more to do but I am confident that Dyfed-Powys is effective and keeping people safe and reducing crime."
Police and crime commissioner Winston Roddick said: "Over five years North Wales saw a 17.4% cut in crime which is better than the England and Wales average reduction of 12.6%.
"The chief constable accepts, as I do, there is always room for improvement and together we must make sure that the improvements recommended by HMIC are carried out as soon as possible."
Police and crime commissioner Ian Johnston said: "It is pleasing to hear that all of that hard work has been recognised by HMIC and that the force has been found to be effective at protecting from harm those who are most vulnerable.
"This report is very good news and the challenge now is to build further still on the findings of the inspectors."
Alun Michael, police and crime commissioner, said: "This report recognises that the priorities set by the chief constable and myself reflect a strong commitment to prevent crime, to support victims and to work in partnership.
"This is set out in our latest Police and Crime Reduction Plan, published last month, which had a strong focus on early intervention and prompt, positive action as well as effective partnership working."

Summary:


The BBC's John Humphrys was a presenter of the BBC's flagship current affairs programme, Newsnight, from 1988 to 2004.
He died on Monday at the age of 61.
He was best known for his work on the Newsnight programme, which he hosted from 1988 to 2004.
He was also a

Tributes have been paid to a forensic archaeologist who led the searches for the Disappeared - people murdered and secretly buried by republicans during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Article: It was as recently as September 2007 that Rick Rubin, then co-head of Columbia Records, put forward the idea as a way of combating online music piracy and file-sharing.
"You'd pay, say, $19.95 a month, and the music will come from anywhere you'd like," he told the New York Times.
"In this new world, there will be a virtual library that will be accessible from your car, from your cell phone, from your computer, from your television."
As it turned out, he was essentially describing Spotify, which launched just over a year later.
He even got the price right. In those heady days, when the pound was a lot stronger, $19.95 was equivalent to Â£10, which, give or take a penny, is the monthly cost of Spotify Premium in the UK today.
But Spotify is yet to make a profit, while plans to float the firm on the stock market have reportedly been delayed, raising a big question mark over its business model.
Of course, Spotify isn't the only streaming platform out there. Others have joined it over the past decade, including Apple Music, Amazon Prime Music and Deezer, as well as high-resolution music services Tidal and Qobuz.
But Spotify is seen as the leader, with more than 100 million users, 40 million of them paid-up subscribers to its Premium tier.
The Swedish firm is now a major player in 60 countries, including the world's biggest music market, the US, where streaming accounted for 51% of music consumption last year.
Reflecting the huge impact that Spotify has had, its chief executive, Daniel Ek, has just topped US music industry magazine Billboard's latest Power 100 list of the biggest movers and shakers in the business.
"For the first time since [former file-sharing service] Napster decimated music sales, the recorded music industry is showing signs of growth, and that reversal of fortune is largely due to one man," Billboard said in its citation.
The magazine also hailed Spotify as "the place fans discover music as well as consume it", pointing to its promoted playlists, including its Discover Weekly service.
However,...

Summary: It's amazing to think that just 10 years ago, flat-rate digital music streaming services were a mere gleam in the eye of industry executives.
###
Article: John McIlwaine, grew up in Portadown, County Armagh, but worked at the University of Bradford.
He died at the age of 49 on Tuesday night.
He was in charge of the team that recovered the remains of Danny McIlhone in 2008 and Charlie Armstrong in 2010.
Mr Armstrong's daughter Anna McShane recognised his dedication.
"I remember him as an awfully nice man who was so good to our family. He worked tirelessly in the most dreadful conditions to find my father," she said.
"May he rest in peace."
Mr McIlwaine had previously described it as a "privilege" to lead searches for the Disappeared and said their success had far outstripped predictions at the start of the process.
Geoff Knupfer, the chief forensic scientist and investigator with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR), said: "John began work with the ICLVR in 2006 and with his great knowledge and experience made a huge contribution to our work.
"Searching for the Disappeared in bleak and inhospitable places requires a special kind of dedication and commitment as well as great skill and that is what John had in abundance."
Seventeen people - 16 men and a woman - were abducted and murdered by republicans between 1972 and 2003.
The ICLVR was established in 1999 to obtain information in strictest confidence that may lead to the location of the remains of the Disappeared.
The bodies of 10 people have been recovered.
Sandra Peake, from the Wave Trauma Centre, which has supported the families of the Disappeared since 1995, said: "John had a way of humanising the science which helped families understand more clearly what was being done to find their loved ones.
"There was a bond between John and the families and that is reflected today in the number of them who have contacted Wave to express their shock and sorrow."
A spokesman for the University of Bradford said staff and students had been left shocked by the tragedy.
"John was an incredibly motivated, loyal and reliable individual," he said.
"He inspired and supported hundreds of...

Summary:


A new study has found that the number of people living in poverty in the UK has risen by more than a third in the past decade.
The study, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, found that the number of people living in poverty in the UK has risen by more than a third in the past decade

An established number of people are choosing to sleep rough as a "lifestyle choice", a council report has claimed.

Article: The authors warned a loss of diversity meant more people were dependent on key crops, leaving them more exposed to harvest failures.
Higher consumption of energy-dense crops could also contribute to a global rise in heart disease and diabetes, they added.
The study appears in the journal PNAS.
"Over the past 50 years, we are seeing that diets around the world are changing and they are becoming more similar - what we call the 'globalised diet'," co-author Colin Khoury, a scientist from the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture, said.
"This diet is composed of big, major crops such as wheat, rice, potatoes and sugar.
"It also includes crops that were not important 50 years ago but have become very important now, particularly oil crops like soybean," he told BBC News.
While wheat has long been a staple crop, it is now a key food in more than 97% of countries listed in UN data, the study showed.
And from relative obscurity, soybean had become "significant" in the diets of almost three-quarters of nations.
He added that while these food crops played a major role in tackling global hunger, the decline in crop diversity in the globalised diet limited the ability to supplement the energy-dense part of the diet with nutrient-rich foods.
Amid the crops recording a decline in recent decades were millets, rye, yams, sweet potatoes and cassava.
The study by an international team of scientists also found that the homogenisation of the global diet could be helping accelerate the rise in non-communicable diseases - such as diabetes and heart disease - which are becoming an increasing problem worldwide.
Crop failure fears
Co-author Luigi Guarino, of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, added: "Another danger of a more homogeneous global food basket is that it makes agriculture more vulnerable to major threats like drought, insect pests and diseases, which are likely to become worse in many parts of the world as a result of climate change.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is designed to protect the genetic...

Summary: Fewer crop species are feeding the world than 50 years ago - raising concerns about the resilience of the global food system, a study has shown.
###
Article: An investigation by Northampton Borough Council discovered 21 homeless people in the town, including "a significant proportion of European migrants".
The people were "resolutely refusing to leave the streets", the report said.
Council officials held talks with 30 organisations to develop a plan to eliminate rough sleeping by June 2017.
Lithuanian Kristians Olsteins has been rough sleeping in Northampton for about four months after losing his job and passport.
He said it was not a lifestyle choice for him and he would like nothing more than to have a home.
Mike Hallet, who has been homeless for two years, also denied it was a choice.
He said: "Of course, I would like to be off the streets - it is horrible and I would rather be anywhere else."
But Darren Jordan, who lived on the streets for two months before finding space in a homeless shelter, believes "some people get stuck in a rut and then it does become a lifestyle choice".
Northampton Hope Centre runs a day centre supporting people who are homeless or in poverty and was one of the organisations consulted by council officials.
General manager Robin Burgess said: "It's clear there are people who have become accustomed to life on the street over many years - or even decades.
"Some are European and some are addicted to drink and alcohol - but I don't believe anyone actively chooses to sleep on the streets."
He said the way to address homelessness is to supply individual support for as long as is needed.
Under a three-year plan set to be discussed on Wednesday, it is proposed that Northampton Borough Council will provide a temporary night shelter which would require some initial set-up costs "likely to be under Â£50,000".
The financial implications of setting up and running the shelter for up to 18 months will be fully-costed and any plan will require approval.
"Comprehensive support plans" for "rough sleepers with complex needs" would also be introduced.
Crisis, a charity for single homeless people, said rough sleeping was "incredibly dangerous" and a...

Summary:


A new report has found that the number of people killed in road crashes in the UK has fallen by a third in the past decade.
The report, by the Road Safety Foundation, said the number of people killed in road crashes in the UK has fallen by a third in the past decade.
The report, which

A speed camera in Cardiff is the busiest in Britain - catching almost three times as many drivers each day as one on a busy Manchester motorway.

Article: A 53-page report has highlighted efforts to boost freight and passenger numbers as key drivers of success.
The business review document also places importance on Prestwick's bid to become the UK's first spaceport.
The Scottish government bought the struggling airport for £1 last year and later announced £10m in loan funding.
The cash was committed towards operating costs, a repairs backlog and to make improvements to the terminal building.
The long-term strategy has been based upon reports and recommendations from a senior advisor appointed by TS Prestwick Holdco Ltd, the holding company that was created by the Scottish government to buy shares in the airport and oversee its corporate governance.
The strategic vision said the Ayrshire terminal's association with Glasgow, some 35 miles away, was its "best asset".
A local campaign to change its name to Robert Burns International Airport, in recognition of the Alloway-born bard, would "damage the airport's business prospects, notably with inbound passengers", it said.
The vision also confirms Prestwick's bid to be the site of the UK's first spaceport, which it said will be "the catalyst for transformational change".
In the meantime, Prestwick faces some challenges including aged infrastructure, a maintenance backlog, a railway station in need of a £4.75m refurbishment, the need for a new primary radar within the next five years and Ryanair's expansion into Glasgow Airport.
The vision also said Scottish airports were "disproportionally affected" by air passenger duty (APD) due to their geographic location and Prestwick is calling for changes to UK aviation policy leading to a reduction in or removal of APD.
Prestwick chief executive Iain Cochrane said: "Our long-term vision for Glasgow Prestwick, which is shared by the Scottish government, is of a high-quality, exceptional value and vibrant aviation, aerospace and visitor hub.
"We aim to ensure that it becomes the busy and prosperous strategic anchor for economic growth and delivery in Ayrshire and Scotland that...

Summary: A long-term vision has been set out for Prestwick Airport - a year after it was taken into public ownership amid fears it could close.
###
Article: The camera on a 30mph limit junction of Newport Road  is catching an average of 71 speeding drivers every day.
A survey last year found a camera on the M60 in Greater Manchester caught about 26 speeding drivers per day.
The GoSafe partnership, which runs the Cardiff camera, said 99.5% of drivers at the site met the speed limit.
It said: "Motorists should comply with the relevant speed limit, which is there for a reason."
The body also insisted that placing cameras at a location was always "a last resort".
"The revenue from speeding fines is returned back to the government and not the partnership," said Chris Hume from GoSafe.
"There is a simple message - cameras are in place to save lives not to make money."
The camera was installed in 2012, but only went into fully commissioned operation earlier this year.
It has now notched up a staggering 13,624 penalty notices for speeding - and a further 146 drivers were caught for red-light offences.

Summary:


A man has been arrested after he was found with a knife in his hand in a car park in the town of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
The man, who is in his 20s, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
He was taken to hospital where he was treated for a stab wound.

Friends and family of a boxer with a "gentle smile", who died after being knocked out in his first fight, have attended a memorial mass.

Article: He accused Conservatives on both sides of the campaign of peddling the "politics of despair" and said voters wanted facts and "real vision".
In an appeal to Labour voters to back Remain, he warned that leaving the EU would expose UK workers to more "Tory cuts".
The in-out vote takes place on 23 June.
Voters will be asked whether they want the UK to stay in the European Union or leave it.
In a speech to union leaders at the TUC, Mr McDonnell attacked the Conservatives, saying the referendum had only come about because of "splits" in the party and "their fear of UKIP".
"As a result I think the debate has degenerated into the worst form of negativity and brought out the worst in Westminster politics. The negativity has been overwhelming at times," he said.
Mr McDonnell said voters had told him on the doorstep that they wanted "facts and real vision from politicians", and Labour needed to "rescue" the debate from the "Project Fear coming from all sides of the Tory party".
He added: "It's time to turn this debate around, drive out politics of despair and offer a vision for Britain in Europe."
Setting out what he described as a "positive" case for the EU, Mr McDonnell said it helped to protect workers' rights, tackle tax avoidance and climate change and to support British industries.
"This is a vision of Europe based upon hope and solidarity," he told the audience.
The Remain campaign sees Labour voters as crucial to winning the referendum, and it is trying to mobilise the party's supporters to turn out and vote on 23 June.
Pitching the referendum as a contest between left and right, Mr McDonnell said Labour voters considering backing Leave needed to know "what could be on the cards" if Britain quit the EU.
"In plain English, if we have a Tory Brexit then we have the likelihood of more Tory cuts to come," he said.
The shadow chancellor also defended the levels of immigration into the UK and accused EU exit campaigners of pedalling "anti migrant rubbish".
He said migrants were not to blame for the pressure on public...

Summary: The EU referendum has been "extremely negative" and brought out the worst in Westminster politics, Labour's shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has said.
###
Article: Kuba Moczyk, 22, died in hospital after he was knocked out in an unlicensed fight at the Tower Complex, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on 19 November.
A memorial mass has been held at St Mary's Church in the town.
Father Philip Shryane told the congregation Mr Moczyk' was a "good man" whose "life was boxing".
More on this story and others from Norfolk
He said Mr Moczyk was "a young man with a good heart, with so much to give and so much to look forward to... but always a gentle smile".
His uncle, Marcin Smigaj gave a tribute, in Polish, on behalf of the family. Mr Moczyk was due to be cremated.
Mr Moczyk, originally from Poland, worked at a chicken factory and lived in the town.
His trainer Scott Osinski said earlier that Mr Moczyk was winning the fight when he took the fatal blow.
His opponent is believed to be aged 17.

Summary:


A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a man from Enfield, Essex, who was stabbed to death in a house in Rochford Road, St Osyth, in the early hours of Monday.

The man, who is believed to be in his early 20s, was arrested on

A man has been charged with murdering a man who was stabbed to death.

Article: It is the 15th consecutive monthly fall and the number now stands at 56,100.
The jobless figure has fallen by almost 9,000 over that 15 month period.
However, the percentage of the working age population claiming the benefit remains the highest in the UK. It is currently 6.2%.
The other measurement of unemployment, the Labour Force Survey, shows a quarterly rate of 7.2%, down by 0.1% on the previous quarter.
That remains above the UK average rate of 6.8% but is well below the Republic of Ireland rate of 11.9%.
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) questions a number of people every month on their employment status, and is the most widely used by labour market economists as it allows international comparisons.
The figures for April also point to a fall in long-term unemployment, down 13% over the year, and youth unemployment, down 2.5% over the year.
The economic inactivity rate, that is mainly people, who for a variety of reasons, are not looking for a job, stands at 26.8%.
It is unchanged over the quarter and down marginally over the year, remaining well above the UK average rate of 21.9%.
Last year, the Stormont Executive launched a strategy aimed at tackling the problem of economic inactivity.
It aims to get 30,000 more people into work over the next 10 years.
Part of the plan includes setting up a task force and incentive schemes for employers.

Summary: The number of people on unemployment benefit in Northern Ireland is continuing to fall with the number of claims down by 800 in April.
###
Article: Kevin Paddick, 34, of Rosemary Road, Clacton, Essex, is accused of killing Danny Myers, 23, from Enfield.
Mr Myers died in hospital after he was stabbed at an address in Rochford Road, St Osyth, in the early hours of Monday.
The accused is expected to appear before magistrates later. A 29-year-old woman from Clacton, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, has been released without charge.

Summary:


Polling cards were wrongly sent to at least 3,462 EU citizens who are not allowed to vote in the EU referendum, the Electoral Commission has announced.

Article: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said nine inquiries were complete with 53 more ongoing.
It is currently investigating 211 allegations made against more than 90 South Yorkshire Police officers.
The complaints include alleged corruption and failure to act.
Rachel Cerfontyne, deputy chair of the IPCC, said: "We've certainly found things that have gone wrong and we've certainly found significant failings but in terms of the individuals, whilst we've got concerns around some performance, we've not found is any indication of misconduct."
She added that as a result of the inquiry at least one officer had been interviewed under caution but no charges had been brought.
An IPCC spokesperson said it had made "learning recommendations" to the force concerning the recording of information and the retention of archived materials."
Details of the nature of the allegations at the centre of the nine investigations have not been revealed.
However, Ms Cerfontyne said they related to "leadership, crime reporting and intelligence, as well as attitudes towards survivors and suspected offenders, and the ineffectiveness of police engagement with other agencies".
Inquiries began in November 2014 after South Yorkshire Police referred 13 officers to the IPCC and has now grown into the "the second largest operation" the IPCC has undertaken after the Hillsborough inquiry.
South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings, said the length of time the investigation is taking was "intolerable and unfair" on victims and officers and described it as a "denial of natural justice".
Ms Cerfontyne said Dr Billings concerns were "entirely understandable" but the IPCC's priority was to ensure all claims were carried out "rigorously and thoroughly".
She added the inquiry had been slowed down by a number of factors including the fact new allegations continue to be received, the most recent of which were lodged on Monday.
South Yorkshire Police has not responded to the IPCC's announcement.

Summary: The first inquiries into alleged misconduct by officers handling child sex abuse complaints in Rotherham have concluded there is "no case to answer", the police watchdog said.
###
Article: A software "issue" meant polling cards and some postal votes were sent out to some "non eligible" voters.
They are still awaiting responses from six councils so the number could rise.
Leave campaigners Iain Duncan Smith and Bernard Jenkin have expressed "serious concerns" about the "conduct of the EU referendum and its franchise".
They have written to the prime minister complaining of "many and varied" examples of EU nationals being sent polling cards.
On Friday, the Electoral Commission confirmed the numbers affected so far, and said the software provider had since "resolved the issue".
Any postal votes wrongly issued would be cancelled and none of those affected would appear as an eligible voter on the electoral registers used at polling stations, it said.
EU citizens from non-UK countries are not entitled to vote, unless they are citizens of the Irish Republic, Cyprus or Malta.
But Mr Duncan Smith has said a Nottingham City Council officer had emailed a Vote Leave supporter to say the council was unable to check whether people put their correct nationality on an application, and had to assume the information submitted was correct.
Kingston-upon-Thames council in south-west London said a Polish citizen in the area - whose case had been highlighted by the Guido Fawkes website - was sent a polling card because he had put "British" as his nationality on the electoral register.
British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens resident in the UK and many British citizens living abroad are entitled to vote in the referendum.
You can check with your local authority's electoral services team if you are worried that you are not on the register.
If you are not on the register you have until midnight on Tuesday, 7 June to submit an application for a vote. The deadlines for applying for a postal vote at the referendum are:
In England, Scotland or Wales, you can register to vote online anytime at gov.uk/register-to-vote. If you are a British citizen living abroad, you can register to vote online in the same way.
In Northern...

Summary:


The government said it would introduce a new law to allow dual nationals who have been convicted of terrorism-related offences to lose their Australian citizenship.

Australia says it will reveal new laws stripping citizenship from dual nationals engaged in terrorism.

Article: The UUP left the executive last year due to issues surrounding IRA activity and paramilitarism.
Mr Nesbitt said his party had increased focus on the issue and "achieved what we want to achieve".
He also said he would meet with the three-strong panel set up as a result of the Fresh Start deal.
Mr Nesbitt was speaking at the launch of a document setting out his party's vision ahead of May's Assembly election.
It calls for a new era of belief - in Stormont, its politicians and their motivation.
The party intends to publish eight more documents before polling day on areas including health,  economy, education and animal welfare.

Summary: The UUP will decide to join the next executive based on whether it has a progressive programme for government and a collective will to deliver it.
###
Article: The government said it wanted to ensure that militants with dual nationality who were fighting overseas could not return to Australia.
The laws would also strip citizenship from dual nationals who engaged in terrorism inside Australia.
The government said changes to the Australian Citizenship Act would be introduced to parliament on Wednesday.
The new laws could be applied to up to half of the 120 Australians fighting in the Middle East with Islamic State (IS), said Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
"The legislation will update the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 to ensure dual nationals who serve or fight for terrorist groups, or engage in terrorism-related conduct inspired by terrorists groups, automatically lose their Australian citizenship," Mr Abbott said in a statement released on Tuesday.
"The Act will also be amended to ensure dual nationals who are convicted of specified terrorism-related offences automatically lose their Australian citizenship," he said.
Last month, the government said it would give the immigration minister the power to revoke citizenship in regards to terrorism activities but that option was attacked as unconstitutional by many legal experts.
Mr Abbott said on Monday the new laws would not leave anyone stateless and did not exclude the role of the courts.
"This will enable a person who has lost his or her citizenship to seek legal redress," Mr Abbott said.
"If you are convicted of a terrorist offence, again, there will be an assumption that your Australian citizenship is forfeited, should you be a dual national."
Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security will examine whether the law should be allowed to operate retrospectively.
"Given that we have a number of dual citizens currently in jail after terrorist convictions, the committee should consider whether it should have retrospective operation at least in those cases," said Mr Abbott.
He said another review would consider what to do with people engaged in terrorism who were solely Australian nationals.

Summary:


The government has rejected a Freedom of Information request to obtain the tenancy agreement of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC).
The government has said the deal raised issues over the apparent use of public money to "subsidise a commercial football business".
A coalition of 14 supporters' trusts from around the country called on

The managers of the Olympic Stadium have been told to make public the details of a rental deal with West Ham.

Article: Prof Stefan Katzenbeisser made the claim at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin.
The professor said that the systems which switch trains from one line to another could be shut down if encryption keys went astray.
He stressed that trains would not be in danger, but there could be delays.
Train-switching systems have historically been controlled by proprietary analogue systems.
At the end of the last century, more than 35 incompatible systems were used for railway communications across Europe.
A group of manufacturers met to address this and decided to switch to a single digital standard to ensure they could source replacement parts and make different companies' systems interoperable.
They developed GSM-Railway (GSM-R), a more secure version of the 2G wireless standard used by mobile phones.
It allows traffic controllers and train drivers to talk to each other, and for data to be transmitted recording the vehicle's speed and location.
When used with the European Train Control System, signallers can utilise the data to give the train permission to enter the next part of the track, theoretically making trackside signals unnecessary.
The technology is already being used in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia. Network Rail is rolling it out in the UK and aims to cover all Britain's rail lines by the end of 2014.
Prof Katzenbeisser believes the system is relatively secure from hackers under normal circumstances. However, the computer science expert from Technische Universitat Darmstadt warns that encryption keys, used to protect the communications, could pose risks.
"The main problem I see is a process of changing... keys. This will be a big issue in the future, how to manages these keys safely," he told Reuters news agency at the conference.
The news agency said the keys are downloaded to physical media such as USB sticks before being distributed for installation.
It said the risk would occur if one of them fell into the wrong hands. This could allow hackers to mount a denial of service attack by overwhelming...

Summary: A shift to a mobile communications technology could expose rail networks to hackers, according to a security expert.
###
Article: Football supporters submitted a Freedom of Information request to obtain the tenancy agreement amid claims the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) would subsidise the rent.
An Information Commissioner has said LLDC, which denied the claims, must now comply with the FOI request.
LLDC had refused to reveal its rent on grounds of commercial sensitivity.
The decision comes ahead of West Ham moving into the stadium for the start of the 2016-2017 football season.
In reaching a decision dated 3 September, the commissioner said neither West Ham nor LLDC had been able to show how revealing the details of the tenancy agreement would place them at a commercial disadvantage or how this information could be exploited by a competitor.
The stadium was built using tax payers' money and is currently in public ownership.
LLDC manages the stadium and is believed to be considering whether to appeal against the independent commissioner's decision.
A coalition of 14 supporters' trusts from around the country called on LLDC head, London Mayor Boris Johnson, to waive its right to appeal.
They said an appeal would further delay the publication of the tenancy agreement, which they argue is in the public interest.
In a statement, the trusts said the deal raised issues over the apparent use of public money to "subsidise a commercial football business".
"It seems the taxpayer will be paying the cost of a series of overheads which every other club, rightly, has to pay for themselves," they said.
"It is important that the taxpayer is allowed to know exactly what has gone on here, and to judge whether it is a responsible and fair use of public money."
The supporters' trusts had argued the Olympic Stadium deal could give the Hammers a competitive advantage and asked the government to investigate in August, but the government said the deal had been "scrutinised" and rejected their request.
Previously a spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "West Ham United has a concession at the stadium and their...

Summary:


Sales and profits slipped at Boeing last year, driven largely by lower deliveries of its military aircraft.

Article: Shop Direct, which bought the Woolworths brand out of administration, said it had secured a legal settlement with the store in Dorchester, Dorset.
Wellworths will rebrand itself as Wellchester after failing to agree terms that would have let it keep the name but restrict its expansion.
Shop Direct said protecting its brand was of "paramount importance".
Wellworths, launched by former Woolworths manager Claire Robertson in March 2009, has been given two years to change its branding.
First-year profit
The branch was one of 815 that closed after Woolworths went bust in November 2008 with debts of Â£385m.
But Ms Robertson reopened the store, gave about 20 colleagues their jobs back and saw the business make a profit in its first year.
Wellworths said Shop Direct "initially supported the opening of the former Woolworths store in Dorchester as Wellworths, but then sought an agreement which would place limits on the growth of the business under the Wellworths name".
"Regretfully, rather than accept those limits, Wellworths have decided to replace the Wellworths name with Wellchester over the course of the next two years."
Ms Robertson said she was aiming to expand the brand across south and south-west England, in towns similar to Dorchester.
She announced her intentions in March, although other sites have yet to be found.
"We're really happy with the way things are going and have been extremely well supported by our customers in the first year-and-a-half," she added.
Mark Newton-Jones, chief executive of home shopping firm Shop Direct, said: "Protecting your brand is of paramount importance to every business and no less so to us with our Woolworths brand."

Summary: A former Woolworths store which reopened as Wellworths has been forced to change its name.
###
Article: The world's number one aeroplane manufacturer made sales of $94.6bn, down 2%, and net earnings of $4.9bn, 5% lower.
It said revenues were likely to slip further in 2017, to between $90.5bn and $92.5bn.
But the US company also expects to deliver more commercial aircraft and to improve its earnings per share.
"Looking forward, our team is intent on accelerating productivity and programme execution," said chairman and chief executive Dennis Muilenburg.
In the period, Boeing made 748 commercial aircraft deliveries, down from 762 in 2015, claiming to have led the market for "the fifth consecutive year".
It also delivered fewer military planes - in particular, its new CH-47 Chinook helicopter and its F/A-18 fighter jet - while sales in the division slipped 7%.
Revenue also fell in the firm's space and services divisions because of weaker demand for satellites and aircraft modernisation.
However, overall group earnings surged 59% in the fourth quarter of the year as demand for the company's commercial planes ticked up.
Boeing also projected higher commercial deliveries this year of between 760 and 765 aircraft.
The company's shares were up by more than 2% in early trading in New York.

Summary:


The UK is set to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019, but the impact of the vote on the economy is still being felt.

The price of everyday essentials such as food, drink and clothing would rise if the UK votes to leave the EU, former retail bosses have warned.

Article: The legislation also bans the use of agents, or any promotion of women willing to carry babies for others.
Last year the case of a little boy born with Down's syndrome put Thailand's surrogacy industry in the spotlight.
His Thai surrogate mother said his Australian parents abandoned the boy but took his healthy twin sister home.
Under the new law, only married Thai couples or couples with one Thai partner who have been married at least three years can seek surrogacy, and commercial surrogacy is banned.
Anyone caught hiring a surrogate mother faces a maximum jail sentence of 10 years.
Agents touting surrogate mothers would also face imprisonment if caught.
The case of the Australian boy - named "baby Gammy" - made headlines around the world after his Australian parents took his healthy twin sister home and left him in Thailand.
He remained with surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua, 21, and was later granted Australian citizenship so he can have access to medical care.
Concern about the industry worsened when a Japanese man was found to have fathered more than a dozen babies by different Thai surrogates, a case later dubbed "the baby factory".
It has been nearly five years since Thailand began drafting a law on commercial surrogacy. The bill had been stalled by successive political crises, but the plight of Baby Gammy, and then the shocking revelation of Mitsutoki Shigeta's 16 or more surrogate babies, spurred the Thai government into action. They were shamed by the moniker 'Womb of Asia' that Thailand had earned from its booming surrogate business.
The yearning of childless couples for babies will now probably move on to less regulated countries. But will surrogacy end in Thailand? The money to be made is so tempting for poor families that the business may still survive as an underground, illegal one, with all the dangers to the women of exploitation and poor health facilities.
Law enforcement in Thailand is famously lax. And there is still a debate over whether legitimate surrogates should be paid something...

Summary: Thailand has passed a law banning foreigners from paying Thai women to be surrogates, after two high-profile cases sparked debate last year.
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Article: The ex-chief executives, who previously ran Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, M&S and B&Q, said a drop in the pound coupled with supply chain disruption would cause prices to spike.
The average household could be £580 a year worse off as a result, retail union USDAW has predicted.
Vote Leave rejected the claims.
"Independent experts are clear, EU membership and the meddling court that comes with it have put up prices and hurt our economic growth," said Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott.
"The EU is costly, bureaucratic and blind to the impact it has had on people's wages and soaring energy bills."
But the retail bosses, which include former Marks and Spencer boss Marc Bolland and former Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King, insisted that a UK exit from the European Union would be "catastrophic for millions of ordinary families".
USDAW said it had calculated its £580 figure based on an expected fall in sterling in the event of the UK's exit from the EU, together with expected new tariffs imposed on imported EU goods including food, drink and clothing.
The former bosses of Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury's and B&Q already warned last month that prices would rise amid a so-called Brexit, but their ranks have swelled with the addition of the ex-chief executives of Asda and Morrisons.
Richard Lloyd, former executive director of consumer group Which?, said he was now "convinced that leaving the EU will give ordinary British families a worse deal for years to come".
"My advice to consumers is clear - this could be an expensive mistake, don't risk it," he said.
Tough competition from discount rivals together with low inflation means that overall the prices of groceries has steadily fallen.
According to consumer research firm Kantar Worldpanel the price of groceries has fallen every month since September 2014, with the average household now spending £78.10 a week in the supermarket.

Summary:


The UK's National Health Service is facing a major crisis in the number of people with mental health problems.
The number of people with mental health problems is rising, but the number of people receiving treatment is falling.
The number of people with mental health problems is rising, but the number of people receiving treatment is falling

Smoking could play a direct role in the development of schizophrenia and needs to be investigated, researchers say.

Article: Such a public  display of state brutality is unprecedented, but the ultra-secretive nature of the state means that observers can never really claim to know exactly what happened and when.
This is how the news came out.
When Kim Jong-il died in 2011 it was Chang Song-thaek, the man who married his sister, who stood right behind the young new leader Kim Jong-un flanking the hearse as it processed through Pyongyang.
He is thought to have mentored his nephew during that crucial transition. Analysts believed he was a powerful force, advising his nephew as he took the helm.
The extraordinary news coming from North Korea was promptly leaked to the media by an opposition lawmaker. South Korean spies told a parliamentary committee that he had been removed from key posts and that two of his close confidantes had been publicly executed in mid-November.
Within hours South Korean intelligence told media that they had indeed heard that Chang Song-Thaek had been removed as vice-chairman of the North's top military body, the National Defence Commission  and as a department head of the ruling Workers' Party.
Still without official confirmation from the north, it became clear that he had at least fallen out of favour when state TV edited him out of a documentary that had reportedly been broadcast nine times already.
When The Great Comrade aired the weekend after news filtered out of Chang's dismissal, it was without pictures of the leader's uncle.  He had been comprehensively cut out the film.
Finally, on 9 December, North Korea provided confirmation in an unprecedented manner by releasing images of Chang Song-thaek being removed from a public meeting.  Pictures released by the KCNA state news agency show uniformed guards approaching Chang Song-thaek.
The guards then appear to remove Mr Chang from his seat in full view of his former colleagues - some stare impassively at the proceedings  while others keep their eyes downturned.
The series of images played out on KCNA that day focused heavily on Kim Jong-un.
Some analysts...

Summary: News of the fall from grace and execution of the once powerful uncle of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un emerged in the space of 10 days.
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Article: The team at King's College London say smokers are more likely to develop the disorder and at a younger age.
Published in the Lancet Psychiatry, their analysis of 61 separate studies suggests nicotine in cigarette smoke may be altering the brain.
Experts said it was a "pretty strong case" but needed more research.
Smoking has long been associated with psychosis, but it has often been believed that schizophrenia patients are more likely to smoke because they use cigarettes as a form of self-medication to ease the distress of hearing voices or having hallucinations.
The team at King's looked at data involving 14,555 smokers and 273,162 non-smokers.
It indicated:
The argument is that if there is a higher rate of smoking before schizophrenia is diagnosed, then smoking is not simply a case of self-medication.
Dr James MacCabe, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's, said: "It's very difficult to establish causation [with this style of study], what we're hoping that this does is really open our eyes to the possibility that tobacco could be a causative agent in psychosis, and we hope this will then lead to other research and clinical trials that would help to provide firmer evidence."
Clearly most smokers do not develop schizophrenia, but the researchers believe it is increasing the risk.
The overall incidence of the condition is one in every 100 people normally, which may be increased to two per 100 by smoking.
The researchers said nicotine altered levels of the brain chemical dopamine, which has already been implicated in the psychosis.
Prof Michael Owen, the director of the Institute of Psychological Medicine at Cardiff University, said the researchers had made a "pretty strong case" that smoking may increase the risk of schizophrenia.
"The fact is that it is very hard to prove causation without a randomised trial, but there are plenty of good reasons already for targeting public health measures very energetically at the mentally ill."
The charity Rethink Mental Illness said: "We...

Summary:


The US is to allow schools to stop serving so-called "pink slime" beef to their pupils at mealtimes.

The Royal Mail has painted a postbox gold in the Oxfordshire town of Henley-on-Thames - in recognition of its medal winning rowing club.

Article: In a statement,the US Department of Agriculture saidschools buying beef from a central government scheme could now choose from a range of options.
The term has become used to describe a type of beef trimming commonly found in school and restaurant beef in the US.
Reports it was widely used in schools prompted a popular outcry, although the beef is certified as safe to eat.
Social media campaigns and an online petition sprung up to oppose the use of the product. The beef's producerled a campaignto explain it was nutritional and safe.
Last year, British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver publicly criticised the product on his now-defunct US TV show, and McDonald's recently said it would phase out the use of "pink slime" in its burgers.
The US agriculture department said on Thursday it would now offer alternatives to the beef - officially called lean finely textured beef - for schools buying meat through its programmes.
The department (USDA) said the change was "due to customer demand".
"USDA continues to affirm the safety of Lean Finely Textured Beef product for all consumers and urges customers to consult science based information on the safety and quality of this product," it added.
School administrators reacted positively to the change.
"Our district has long advocated for purity and disclosure in food products. And we will definitely be moving to the pure ground beef when that becomes available," John Schuster, spokesman for Florida's Miami-Dade school system, told the Associated Press.
"Pink slime" - a term reportedly coined by a microbiologist working for the US government - is a form of lean beef formed by reclaiming the small parts of meat from leftover cuts with a high fat content.
The beef is spun in a centrifuge to separate the meat from the fat, before the final product is treated with a puff of ammonium hydroxide gas to kill any bacteria.
Produced in bulk by a firm in South Dakota, the pejorative nature of the term "pink slime" has coloured the debate, some experts say.
It is "unappetising", Sarah Klein,...

Summary: Schools across the US are to be allowed to stop serving so-called "pink slime" beef to their pupils at mealtimes.
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Article: The town is home to the prestigious Leander Club, which has trained more than 100 Olympic medal-winning rowers.
Prime Minister David Cameron previously said the plan was a "very good idea".
Royal Mail spokesman Simon Fellman said: "We're delighted to do it and we're pleased so many people are delighted about it."
The Royal Mail has painted more than 50 postboxes gold following Team GB's gold medal haul at London 2012.
Originally it said it was only painting them in "winners' home towns, or towns with which they are closely associated".
Town mayor Elizabeth Hodgkin said: "We are the home of rowing... I feel very excited about it.
"I think it's wonderful news, it's a great thing for the town."
Mr Fellman said: "It's almost like the torch has come again. It's a piece of the Olympics coming back to people's doorsteps.
"The support for the boxes, it's kind of like the new tourist attraction. It's fantastic and I think people have really taken it to their hearts."
The Henley-on-Thames postbox was painted on Friday.
The town is holding a victory bus parade for more than 24 Olympians on 25 August, along with a civic reception.

Summary:


The Isle of Man has won gold in table tennis for the first time in its history.
The island's table tennis team won gold in the men's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
The team also won gold in the men's trap, men's 100 yards prone rifle and men's trap.

Guernsey have retained their Island Games team table tennis title after beating Gotland 4-2 in Jersey.

Article: A number of options are being considered to improve care in the north of the county, including removing consultant-led services from Whitehaven's West Cumberland Hospital.
The boss of North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust said it does not look like Whitehaven has the "infrastructure" to maintain services.
Midwives have raised safety concerns.
They have warned mothers and babies "may die" if consultant-led maternity services are removed from Whitehaven and concentrated at Carlisle Cumberland Infirmary.
Trust chief executive Stephen Eames told BBC Cumbria: "The options we are looking at are likely to mean there will be changes in maternity services and they're likely to mean we'll need to concentrate our expertise in our consultant staff in one place.
"Everybody involved would prefer a consultant-led service in both, but I think the reality is it isn't just about maternity, it's about the other clinical services that support it.
"So while we've made some improvements in children's services recruitment it doesn't look like we can recruit the infrastructure to support two independent consultant-led services."
Midwives at Whitehaven are concerned mothers facing unexpected problems would need a potentially risky 40-mile (64km) transfer across the county.
Earlier this month, Bernadette Bowness said: "We're going to become a third world area because of our inaccessibility to a consultant-led unit.
"If ladies have to be transferred, mothers may die, babies may die.
"If babies have foetal distress, what with the transfer time they may end up brain damaged."
A public consultation exercise will be launched next month to gauge opinion on the future direction of services provided by the trust.
The organisation has been in special measures since 2014 after Care Quality Commission inspectors judged it to be failing to provide a sufficiently high level of care in a number of areas.

Summary: Further doubt has been cast over the future of specialist-led maternity care at a Cumbrian hospital.
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Article: Guernsey won gold in 2011, the last time table tennis was included in the sports programme for the Island Games.
Alice Loveridge won her women's singles match and teamed up with Dawn Morgan and Garry Dodd for doubles wins.
Dodd beat Bjorn Axelsson 3-1 in the singles, but lost to Nisse Lundberg, who also beat Alex Robinson 3-0 in the opening men's singles match.
Gotland and Guernsey have shared the table tennis gold medals between them for the past decade.
Gotland took gold in 2009, when Guernsey were third, and beat the Sarnians in the 2007 final.
That victory was revenge for the 2005 final, when Guernsey beat the Swedish island.Island hotshots increase medal tally
Jonathan De La Haye won Jersey's seventh shooting gold medal at the 2015 Island Games.
De La Haye took top spot in the men's individual sport trap, beating Dan Bishop of the Isle of Wight by a single point with Guernsey's Andrew Ashplant getting the bronze.
Sarah Campion and Susan De Gruchy won silver in the women's 100 yards prone rifle team event, finishing 15 points behind eventual winners Isle of Man.
Fellow Jersey shooter Caroline De La Haye won bronze in the women's individual sport trap.
Guernsey's Jacek Hanca has won silver in the 50m free pistol, finishing 13 points off Matthew Reed from the Isle of Wight.
Sark celebrated a second shooting medal as Nick Dewe returned to the podium. Dewe, who won team automatic ball trap bronze on Monday, took silver in the individual event.

Summary:


The NI Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) has produced a report on the impact of population changes on the UK.
It uses assumptions about births, deaths and migration to project population changes.
It predicts that the working-age population will rise by less than 1% but the population aged 65 and over is

The population of Northern Ireland is projected to rise by 5.3% to 1,938,700 by 2024.

Article: Property prices rose by 7.1% on average in the year to the end of January, with the typical home costing Â£191,812, the Land Registry said.
The fastest increase was a 13.9% rise in London, compared with the slowest of 0.2% in the North East of England.
Official figures showed the average cost of renting rose at a slower pace.
Private rental prices paid by tenants in Britain rose by 2.6% in the 12 months to the end of January, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Rents rose by 2.7% in England, 0.3% in Wales and 0.8% in Scotland, it concluded.
These figures include new instructions and people already in a rental arrangement. Agents say that the cost of new rental agreements is going up much faster than that.
The Land Registry said that the North East and North West of England recorded falls in property prices in January compared with December.
All other regions saw a month-on-month rise in prices ranging from a 3.7% increase in Wales to a 0.6% rise in Yorkshire and the Humber.
These monthly figures can be relatively volatile and the way these changes are calculated varies between house price surveys.
The Land Registry said that, in the year to the end of January, the cost of flats and maisonettes rose faster than any other type of property, up by 8.2%.
Many commentators are predicting further house price increases in many areas of the UK, owing to the number of homes on the market failing to match demand.

Summary: House prices rose in every region of England and Wales in the past year - but the pace of increase was vastly different, figures show.
###
Article: The figures come from a report produced by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).
It uses assumptions about births, deaths and migration to project population changes.
It predicts that the working-age population will rise by less than 1% but the population aged 65 and over is projected to increase by almost 26%.
The report also assumes that the level of migration to Northern Ireland will continue to be very low.
It breaks down population changes by local government district and predicts the largest rise of 10.4%, or 21,400 people, in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.
The smallest increase is predicted for Derry City and Strabane, up by 1.5% or 2,200 people.
Derry City and Strabane is one of seven out of 11 areas projected to see a decline in their work-age populations.
Over the longer term, the population of Northern Ireland is projected to reach two million by mid-2034.
By mid-2038, annual population growth is projected to fall below 0.2% for the first time since mid-1999, due to a falling number of births and rising number of deaths as a result of an ageing population.
The population aged 65 and over is projected to increase by 74.4%, or 498,500 people, from mid-2014 to mid-2039, with the result that one in four people (24.7%) will be in this age category.
The report does not attempt to predict the impact that future government policies or changing economic circumstances might have on demographic behaviour.

Summary:


A swing of 3.9% to Labour would be needed to oust the Conservative candidate in the west London constituency.

Ealing Central and Acton is one of about 20 seats that could shape the outcome of the election.

Article: The business lobby group said the UK's dependence on consumer spending and mortgages meant it was "particularly sensitive" to interest rates.
The warning came as the BCC trimmed its growth forecast for 2014 to 3% from 3.2% and for 2015 to 2.6% from 2.8%.
It said the lowered forecast was an "ominous warning sign".
The group blamed lower-than-expected growth in services, household consumption and exports for the cut in its growth forecast.
"Downgrades to our growth forecast are a warning sign that we still face a number of hurdles to securing a balanced and sustainable recovery," said BCC director general John Longworth.
He warned that factors such as the weak eurozone economy, slowing growth in emerging markets and political uncertainty in Ukraine and the Middle East were hitting both business and consumer confidence.
The BCC's chief economist David Kern said the impact of these "unavoidable factors" meant low interest rates were important to "minimise the risk of the recovery stalling".
Interest rates have been at their historic low of 0.5% for more than five years, with just two out of the Bank of England's nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee voting to increase rates in recent months.
The BCC expects a first interest rise to 0.75% in the third quarter of next year, with rates reaching 1.75% by the end of 2016.
Its prediction for growth this year is in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)'s recent Autumn Statement forecast.
The government's independent forecaster expects 3% growth this year and 2.4% next year.
Despite the downgrade, if the predictions are correct, 2014 will mark the UK's fastest rate of growth for seven years.

Summary: A premature interest rate rise could present a "huge risk" to the British economy, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned.
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Article: Media playback is unsupported on your device
7 April 2015 Last updated at 08:39 BST
Labour needs a swing of 3.9% to oust the Conservative candidate in the west London constituency.
Some residents are concerned that local services cannot support the extra residents that house building will attract.
BBC London's Victoria Hollins reports.
The known candidates for the 2015 General Election for Ealing Central and Acton are:
Angie Bray Conservative Party, Jon Ball Liberal Democrats, Peter Florence UK Independence Party, Rupa Huq Labour Party, Tom Sharman Green Party

Summary:


A man who attacked a man who was trying to break up a fight has been jailed.

Scores of local authorities in England plan to increase council tax by up to 5% in 2017-8, according to research.

Article: The 17-year-old attacked Gordon Friel, 40, in Paisley last September, leaving him with a string of injuries including bleeding on the brain.
He had earlier pled guilty to assaulting Mr Friel to his severe injury and to danger of his life.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for three years and four months.
He was initially charged with attempted murder for what the judge described as a "savage assault".
Two girls - aged 17 and 16 - have also admitted a charge of assaulting the tannery worker.
The 17-year-old girl was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and the 16-year-old 100 hours. Neither of the girls can be identified.
The High Court in Glasgow heard the victim was set upon after he tried to act as a peacemaker when two teenagers began arguing.
Mr Friel had been standing in Paisley's High Street eating a takeaway when the row broke out.
He approached the pair and told the bigger of the two the smaller one did not want a fight.
Prosecutor David Taylor said: "At this point the 17-year-old girl became involved, dragging Gordon to the ground and punching and kicking him on the body.
"She was joined by the 16-year-old girl who shouted 'get him' and began punching him."
Mr Friel managed to get away before the 17-year-old boy arrived, the court was told.
The boy - who wrongly believed Mr Friel had attacked the older girl - and others then chased him to Forbes Place.
The group went on to stamp on the victim's head, leaving a "footwear mark" on his head.
He suffered bleeding in the brain, a liver injury and rib fractures, and needed three operations.
Mr Taylor said: "Before the incident Mr Friel weighed around 11 stone. On his discharge from hospital his weight was five-and-a-half stone.
"He was so weak he had to use a Zimmer frame to aid walking."
The court was told Mr Friel is now back at work and is expected to make a full recovery, although he has no memory of his ordeal.
The 17-year-old boy's lawyer, Billy Lavelle, said his client was now "ashamed of his actions".

Summary: A teenager who stamped on a man who was trying to break up a fight has been jailed.
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Article: The Local Government Information Unit said 94% of the 131 councils it spoke to were intending to put up bills, with their finances at "breaking point".
A third of these, 34% in total, intend to hike bills by more than 2% in April.
Councils, many of whom have frozen bills in recent years, say it will not be enough to plug the funding "gap" exacerbated by the cost of social care.
But the government says council tax is expected to be lower in real terms at the end of this Parliament than it was in 2010.
Although councils in Wales were included in the survey, the Welsh government has said it will not allow councils to raise bills to pay for social care.
Ministers say they are bringing forward money to help councils pay for social care by increasing the "precept" - a supplement that councils are able to charge on bills - from 2% to 5% over the next two years.
Years of cuts to central government funding since 2011 have put pressure on the budgets of the 375 councils in England and Wales, with many paring back core services. Financial pressures on county councils and unitary authorities that provide adult social care have become particularly acute in the past year.
Surrey County Council abandoned controversial plans this week to hold a referendum on a 15% rise in council tax which it said was needed to pay for social care. It will now increase bills by 4.99% - the maximum it can do without holding a public vote.
Labour have accused the government of doing a sweetheart deal with the Tory-controlled council to call off the referendum - claims it denies.
Publishing its research, the Local Government Information Unit said five district councils which do not provide social care had wanted to hold local referendums to sanction council tax rises above 2% but had "thought better" of it in recent weeks.
Inflation, as measured by the CPI index, currently stands at 1.6% but is projected to rise to 2.7% next year.
The LGIU said there was growing concern in town halls that the current system of funding local authorities -...

Summary: