The Home Office has said it will send any new criminal evidence to the police.

A retired police officer has reported Derbyshire police to the Home Office over claims they withheld evidence in a 1973 murder case.

Article: Thistle say that, if not, the two clubs and Hamilton would be due compensation for having fewer guaranteed games with Celtic and Rangers next season.
"That means an expected loss in revenues for the club of £120,000," Thistle suggested in a statement.
The Scottish Professional Football League has yet to comment.
Since the top flight was expanded to 12 clubs in 2013, the league has split into two sections of six teams for the final five fixtures.
"In previous seasons, where both Rangers and Celtic were in the Premiership, pre-split fixtures have been organised to ensure that every club plays three home games against the Old Firm," said Thistle.
"Without any notification from the SPFL to the contrary, we had expected that this practice would continue this season and that is the basis on which we and other clubs have budgeted.
"Having had no communication from the SPFL explaining these changes prior to this morning's announcement, Partick Thistle intends to seek compensation from the SPFL for all clubs concerned, or that they reconsider the fixture list to ensure a level playing field for all."
Thistle point out that Dundee, Hearts and Inverness Caledonian Thistle will have four home games each against the Old Firm before the split.
Expressing "anger and frustration", the Glasgow club say this will hand each of those clubs "an unexpected bonus" of around £120,000 each for the coming season.
Thistle, who had been looking forward to extra city derbies following Rangers' return to the top flight after a gap of four years, argue that this will also hamper them, Accies and Well in their quest for league points.
"Financial implications aside, we believe there is a significant sporting disadvantage created by the fixture list as it stands," they state.
"Pre-split, we will make four trips away to the two biggest clubs in the country while some clubs will only make two."
Thistle's statement was followed by Motherwell's board expressing its "extreme anger", saying it was a situation that had never occurred under the...

Summary: Motherwell and Partick Thistle have expressed their anger at new Scottish Premiership fixtures and are demanding an amended schedule.
###
Article: Bakewell man Stephen Downing was convicted in 1974 for killing Wendy Sewell but that was overturned in 2002.
Chris Clark said he has uncovered a crucial pathology report showing she was strangled, which was never told to the jury.
The Home Office said it would send any new criminal evidence to the police.
Evidence of police misconduct would be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the Home Office added.
Derbyshire police said the case was closed after a reinvestigation in 2002.
Mr Clark, a retired Norfolk police officer, said he has sent his findings to the Home Office after obtaining the original pathology report last month.
He said he believed the report showed Mrs Sewell had clear signs of being strangled.
She was found battered in a Bakewell cemetery in 1973 and died in hospital two days later.
Mr Downing admitted beating her with a pickaxe handle but later retracted that statement, only to be found guilty by a jury.
"I'm reporting the facts as I see them. The pathologist had evidence in his report that could have exonerated Stephen Downing," Mr Clark said.
He said the pathologist's report showed bruising on her neck consistent with a "knotted ligature" used to garrotte her and a rash in her lungs and airways, possibly caused by strangulation.
Mr Clark said none of this was used in Mr Downing's trial. He added the evidence may mean her death was linked to the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe.
Mr Downing was 17 at the time of Mrs Sewell's murder but was assessed as having a mental age of 11.
His father Ray Downing and Matlock Mercury editor Don Hale campaigned for his release and in 2002 the Court of Appeal found his conviction unsafe because of "procedural reasons".
Mr Hale said the pathology report directly conflicted with the evidence the police presented at the time and called for an independent investigation into the murder.
"This information was available within two or three days of Mr Downing being arrested and it completely contradicts this so-called confession," he said.
But...

Summary:


UK retail sales rose by more than expected in November, as shops offered promotions at the end of the month in the run up to Black Friday.

Article: Letter combinations such as HJ or NS - denoting Hitler Youth and National Socialism - have long been prohibited on personalised plates in Austria.
Now transport officials have published a list of more than 30 more cryptic codes that have been banned.
They include number combinations such as 88, which represents "Heil Hitler".
New legislation, which came into force on Thursday, also outlaws the use of IS or ISIS on personalised number plates in a bid to stop people showing their support for the Islamic State group.
"It has been forbidden to have obvious Nazi number plates since personalised plates went on sale in 1989," a spokeswoman for Austria's transport ministry told the BBC.
"But then we learned that the far-right scene is moving away from the more obvious codes to more hidden ones.
"So we had to change the law. Civil servants deciding if someone can choose a certain number plate now know which codes are being used by the far-right scene."
Combinations no longer allowed include:
Only new number plates will be affected by the change in the law.
Abbreviations now outlawed include FG, which stands for "Fuehrer's Geburtstag", meaning "leader's birthday", and WP for "white power".
Number combinations have not previously been included, but now codes such as 18 - meaning 'Adolf Hitler' because of where A and H come in the alphabet - are also now prohibited.
The new list was compiled in co-operation with the Mauthausen Committee, an organisation representing former concentration camp prisoners. Officials say it is not exhaustive.
Austrian Transport Minister Alois Stoeger, who pushed for the law change, has said: "National Socialist ideology has no place in our society."
More than half a million Austrians have currently personalised licence plates, according to Austria's public broadcaster, ORF.
The move in Austria follows similar efforts in Germany to crack down on neo-Nazi symbols.
In Germany, the law says that number plates must not offend public morals. Each state has its own list of banned combinations, and...

Summary: Austria is cracking down on personalised number plates used by neo-Nazis, by banning lesser-known codes with hidden far-right symbolism.
###
Article: Sales volumes increased by 1.7% in November from the month before, the Office for National Statistics said.
Compared with the same month last year, sales were up by 5%.
However, Keith Richardson from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking said it was "too early" to say whether Black Friday was really a success for retailers.
"Retailers were better prepared this year and adapted the US-style Black Friday to better reflect British culture. Some chose not to take part while many others spread the discounts over several days to better protect margins and ease the burden on their websites and IT platforms."
The ONS said the amount spent by shoppers was up 1.4% in November compared with the month before, and was also up 1.4% from the same point a year earlier.
The value of online sales increased by 4.9% in November from October, and were 12.7% higher compared with last year.
"Retailers may see some pay-back after the Black Friday promotions led shoppers to pull-forward spending that would otherwise have taken place in December, but the underlying sales trend looks set to remain strong as we head into 2016," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.
He added that spending was not just being driven by discounts. "Households are benefitting from improved job security, low inflation and falling energy prices, the latter helping free-up more income to boost retail sales."

Summary:

Article: {{document}}

Summary: ||| {{target}}


The owners of Dunsfold Park have appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

The owners of Dunsfold Park aerodrome, which is home to the BBC's Top Gear, have lost their latest fight for unrestricted flying.

Article: The show at the Cartwright Hall gallery will focus on his early life and work.
Hockney was born in Bradford in 1937. As a teenager, he would use a pram loaded with paints and brushes as a mobile art studio on the city streets.
He went on to find fame at the Royal College of Art in London in the 1960s.
A major show of Hockney's landscapes at the Royal Academy earlier this year, titled A Bigger Picture, attracted more than 600,000 people.
Cartwright Hall is asking Bradford residents to take items including paintings, drawings, photographs and Christmas cards to a drop-in day on Wednesday 26 September between 11:00 and 15:00 BST, or to contact curators directly.
The gallery said it hoped the exhibition, which will run from December until next April, would be "a truly, uniquely Bradford exhibition".
Hockney studied at Bradford College of Art in the mid-1950s.
Cartwright Hall's collection includes Hockney's Bolton Junction, Eccleshill, which was painted while he was at art college and which was featured in the Royal Academy show.
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council's executive member for culture, said: "David Hockney is one of Bradford's most famous sons.
"It's therefore fitting that this exhibition will have a local perspective with valuable contributions from the district's residents."

Summary: A gallery in David Hockney's home town of Bradford is asking people who met him at the start of his career to dig out works of art or pieces of memorabilia for a new exhibition.
###
Article: The aerodrome's owners had claimed that "permanent unrestricted planning permission" was granted in 1951.
However, this was rejected by Waverley Borough Council in July 2011 and the planning inspector in April 2012.
A judge at the High Court said the 1951 permission did not grant permission for unrestricted flying.
Lord Justice Sullivan said the permission for "flight testing" did not amount to consent for unrestricted flying of aircraft.
He said the certificate sought by the owners was pursued on the alleged basis that there was no material difference, in land use terms, between unrestricted numbers of passenger or cargo flights, and flight testing.
He said: "The use of land as a bus station is not the same thing as use of land for the testing of buses."
He added: "There can be no doubt that, properly construed, the 1951 planning permission does not permit the airfield to be used for unrestricted aviation activities."
Dunsfold Park was constructed during World War Two by the Canadian Army. It is now used by about 100 commercial operators and most famously as the venue for the filming of Top Gear.
The owners have the right to appeal the latest decision to the Supreme Court.

Summary:


Lord Dunlop said the government was committed to continuing to work to build a consensus on legacy issues.

The former leader of the Alliance party Lord Alderdice has criticised plans contained in the "Fresh Start" deal.

Article: The court had said in 2013 that whole-life sentences breached human rights because it was not clear if there was the chance of a review of such cases.
Judges have now said this is not the case with murderer Arthur Hutchinson, who challenged his whole-life sentence.
The UK was considered to be in line with human rights laws, they added.
The European court had previously said there had to be the possibility of a review at some stage and that current laws allowing for release in exceptional circumstances were unclear.
The Court of Appeal in the UK then said in 2014 that the law in England and Wales "is clear as to 'possible exceptional release of whole-life prisoners'".
It said the justice secretary had the power to release a prisoner on licence if they were satisfied exceptional circumstances existed that justified it on compassionate grounds.
The Strasbourg-based court ruled that in Hutchinson's case there had been no violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which relates to inhuman and degrading treatment.
The judges said in a written ruling: "In the circumstances of this case where, following the Grand Chamber's judgment in which it expressed doubts about the clarity of domestic law, the national court has specifically addressed those doubts and set out an unequivocal statement of the legal position, the court must accept the national court's interpretation of domestic law."
The ruling is perhaps more significant politically than it is legally.
In 2013, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that whole-life sentences passed on the most heinous murderers were incompatible with human rights and amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. The reason was the lack of a proper review and so the lack of hope, however remote, of eventual release.
That caused political ructions. It was cited by the Conservatives in proposals published last year to scrap the Human Rights Act in favour of a British Bill of Rights and to ensure that Parliament was not bound by Strasbourg...

Summary: British courts do have the right to impose whole-life tariffs on prisoners who are jailed for life, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled.
###
Article: Lord Alderdice said proposals for a new international body to monitor paramilitary activity would have "much less power" than the panel he sat on.
He was a member of the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) which operated from 2004 to 2011.
The Liberal Democrat peer said the new body would only be able to produce a few proposals for the Executive.
"Which will then fall into disagreement about how they should be implemented," he said.
Lord Alderdice spoke on Tuesday's debate on the Northern Ireland Welfare Reform Bill in the House of Lords.
The former Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Robin Eames also used the debate to express his disappointment that the "Fresh Start" deal did not include any agreement on the legacy of the troubles.
Lord Eames, who was co-chair of a consultative group on the past, told peers he was well aware of the "desperate plight" of troubles' victims.
He urged the government to publish the legacy papers prepared during the inter-party negotiations, arguing that the victims "deserve nothing less".
Lord Eames expressed the hope that legacy issues might yet be tackled, adding that "perhaps the situation is not as bleak as it seems".
The government spokesman, Lord Dunlop, said the establishment of a new monitoring body to assess the impact of paramilitary activity on local communities is "a crucial part" of the "Fresh Start" deal.
Lord Dunlop said the government regretted the fact that an agreement on legacy issues could not be reached, and remained committed to continuing to work to build a consensus.

Summary:


The UN is to hold a conference on the Bay of Bengal in New York next month.

New rules are urgently needed to protect the open seas, scientists have warned.

Article: They will include Aberfeldy-based furniture maker Angus Ross, Edinburgh designer Jennifer Gray and Fife-based creative studio Tom Pigeon.
Others taking part will be Linlithgow's Method Studio, Glasgow's Scotland Re:Designed and Scottish silversmiths.
National body, Craft Scotland, has arranged a showcase event for Ross and Gray.
Ross' products included the Unstable Stool, which is made from a single length of wood which is steamed and then bent into shape. The design was shortlisted for The Wood Awards in 2009.
Gray's jewellery has included a bracelet made to mark 20 years since the creation of Dolly the Sheep, a cloned sheep created at the Roslin Institute just outside Edinburgh.

Summary: Scottish makers are to exhibit their work at London Craft Week, which opens on Wednesday.
###
Article: A report to a UN ocean conference in New York points out that more than 60% of the ocean has no rules because it’s outside national jurisdiction.
It says the open ocean is at risk from climate change, over-fishing, deep sea mining, farm pollution and plastics.
The authors say one area – the Bay of Bengal - is at a tipping point which could impact on global fish stocks.
The report was commissioned to inform delegates preparing a UN resolution on governance of the open ocean.
Representatives in New York are preparing a text that could cover everything from establishing marine protected areas to distributing the benefits of valuable biotech products generated from the seas.
One of the report’s authors, Prof Alex Rogers from Oxford University, told BBC News: “This is very, very important. A lot of states are looking towards developing industrial activities in the ocean – fishing, deep-sea mining, renewable energy… even aquaculture offshore.
“It’s really vital that we come to some international agreement on how to protect or manage biodiversity on high seas in the face of all these pressures.”
The UN is focusing discussion on three areas:
Together they are categorised under a new UN acronym – BBNJ. That’s Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction.
Prof Rogers’ report is a review of new science over the past five years. He says he realises how little is known about some essential ocean processes, and mentions the Bay of Bengal issue as a source of great concern.
The issue there is nitrogen, which performs an positive role in fertilising algae at the bottom of the food chain, but can also have negative effects if there’s too much of it in the water.
At the moment, nitrogen fertilisers in the Bay of Bengal are running off farmland and over-fertilising algae. This in turn encourages bacteria, which capture oxygen. Slowly marine life in the area disappears.
But the Bay of Bengal is now on the verge of going one destructive stage more.
The report says if oxygen levels decrease further as a result of run-off or...

Summary:


A man has been jailed for life for the murder of his 86-year-old wife.

A man charged with murdering his wife at a care home has died before his court case could be heard.

Article: He was found guilty of bribery, abuse of power and "intentionally disclosing national secrets", China's official Xinhua news agency reports.
Until his retirement in 2012, Zhou was one of China's most powerful men.
He was put under investigation one year later as part of President Xi Jinping's major anti-corruption campaign.
State TV showed a clip of Zhou, 72, pleading guilty at a closed-door trial in the northern city of Tianjin. When responding to the judge, he said he would not launch an appeal.
"I've realised the harm I've caused to the party and the people. I plead guilty and I regret my crimes," he said.
BBC China editor Carrie Gracie: Power politics exposed by fall of security boss
How China is reacting
The verdict caught many people off guard.
It was expected that Zhou Yongkang's trial would be played out for the Chinese public; his failings strung out for every citizen to see.
In similar high-profile cases, like that of Zhou's protege, Bo Xilai, the foreign and Chinese media were given 48 hours' notice that Bo's trial would begin. Reporters camped outside the courthouse for days, breathlessly waiting for updates.
In March, the head of China's Supreme People's Court had promised that Zhou Yongkang's trial would be "open in accordance with the law". The trial was set to take place in the eastern port city of Tianjin. It seemed Zhou was set to follow Bo's pattern. Like other senior officials convicted of serious crimes, it was expected he would receive a suspended death sentence.
Months passed without any word. Some guessed that Zhou Yongkang was not co-operating with prosecutors. Others believed that his crimes were too much of an embarrassment for the government.
After all, Zhou Yongkang had held a seat at the very top of the Chinese government pyramid. If he was thoroughly corrupt, some in China might ask whether others at the top were rotten too.
In the end, the decision to keep Zhou Yongkang's trial secret matches the case surrounding him, and Zhou's own public persona: inaccessible and...

Summary: China's ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang has been jailed for life - the most senior politician to face corruption charges under Communist rule.
###
Article: Brendon Constant, 87, was accused of smothering his 86-year-old wife Jean with a plastic bag at Poppyfields care home in Eynesbury, near St Neots.
He died in hospital after suffering "catastrophic" head injuries in a fall at home, Cambridge Crown Court heard.
Mr Constant, of Richmond Road, Wisbech, did not enter a plea to the murder charge before his death.
Cambridge Crown Court heard he had attempted to kill himself at the same time as his wife was killed last August but survived and faced court proceedings.
His barrister, Sally Hobson, said he suffered a fall at home on April 27 after celebrating his grandson's birthday and that there was "no suggestion he took his own life".
She said: "When he retired to bed, he spoke briefly to his great-granddaughter, then went upstairs and fell and suffered catastrophic head injuries."
Mr Constant was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and his family agreed to switch off his life support machine the following day.
"He had hoped to end his life together with his wife in August last year in circumstances they hoped would cause the least distress and discomfort," Mrs Hobson said.
Judge David Farrell voiced concerns over the fact Mr Constant had been granted bail and fell at home.
He said: "Everyone thought he was in a safe environment so I'm concerned all proper care was given to him."
A post-mortem examination concluded that Mrs Constant died of asphyxia in association with heart disease.
Her body was discovered by police who were called to Poppyfields care home in Chapman Way, Eynesbury, near St Neots, on August 22.

Summary:


Hereford United have been expelled from the Football Conference following the club's failure to pay their bills.

Article: The royal couple were among the guests invited to attend the global financial firm ICAP's 23rd annual charity day.
Traders in London taught them how to close deals at the Central European interest rates desk.
ICAP gives away one day's revenue and commissions every year, which enables them to fund philanthropic projects and research around the world.
The event raises millions each year for charities that the duke and duchess are patrons of such as SkillForce, Place2Be and Sports Aid.
Since ICAP's fundraising day was started in 1993, nearly Â£120m has been raised for charity.
The duchess danced in celebration after the couple closed deals worth millions of euros over the phone.
The duke later joked about the "dodgy" outfits worn by some of the staff, which ranged from gangsters and molls to belly dancers and comic book characters such as Batman and Iron Man.
He was guided through the trade by broker Dan Lebeau, who was wearing three-inch heels.
Mr Lebeau said: "He was saying to me, basically 'where did you get them from?'
"It was very difficult to find size 10 high heels in a normal shop."
Also at the event were the prime minister's wife, Samantha Cameron, actor Jeremy Irons and broadcaster Jeremy Paxman.

Summary: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have joined City brokers in fancy dress on the trading floor at a charity event.
###
Article: The Bulls' fate has been in the balance since the full extent of their financial worries emerged in the weeks since their dramatic final-day escape sent Chester down instead.
Chester have been reinstated as a Conference Premier club and Hayes & Yeading will stay in Conference South.
"Hereford United can have no complaints. The Conference bent over backwards to help them.
"I described the news of the board's offer of an extension on Friday evening as not so much 'last chance saloon', but rather 'last orders in last chance saloon' and United have seemingly chosen not to offer the league the assurances they were seeking.
"It is a desperately sad day for all Hereford supporters, but the Bulls have nobody to blame but themselves.
"You have to feel very sorry for those players who gave their all at Aldershot on the last day of the season to keep Hereford in the Conference Premier. Sadly, those efforts now count for nothing."
The Conference had originally offered a payment deadline of Thursday, 5 June.
The club's debt to their football creditors, including former boss Martin Foyle, members of the current squad, other club staff and clubs from whom the Bulls loaned players during the 2013-14 season, added up to £148,000.
That deadline was extended three times, to Friday, 6 June, then again to Saturday, 7 June and for a third time until Thursday, 12 June.
But it became clear on Tuesday that the Bulls, taken over last week by London businessman Tommy Agombar, would not make that deadline - and the Conference has now acted.
The last team to be expelled from the Conference was Chester City in February 2010.
They reformed as Chester FC two months later - and it is now they who have taken the Bulls' place, following a dramatic final day of the season when, almost simultaneously, a late Hereford winning goal at Aldershot and a Salisbury equaliser at Chester kept the Bulls up.
By way of an added twist, Chester announced on Tuesday that Kingsley James, who was in Hereford's team that day, has moved to Bumpers Lane.
26 April -...

Summary:


Europe has begun to roll out a data superhighway in orbit above the Earth.

Article: In a speech read on his behalf at the ceremony in Sweden, he said he thought his odds of winning were as likely as him "standing on the moon".
The songwriter told those at the event in Sweden he was there "in spirit" and thanked the Academy for seeing his songs as works of literature.
Patti Smith performed his song A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall at the ceremony.
But the singer, who is a friend of Dylan's, had to apologise during her rendition after nerves got the better of her and she forgot the lyrics.
"Sorry, can we stop that section," she said as the audience began to applaud her. "I apologise, I'm so nervous."
In the speech, read out by the US ambassador in Sweden, Azita Raji, Dylan said he had joined the "rare company" of Nobel-winning writers.
He said from an early age he had read and absorbed the works of past winners and giants of literature such as Kipling, Shaw, Thomas Mann, Pearl Buck, and Ernest Hemingway.
But he said it was "truly beyond words" that he was joining those names on the winners list.
"If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel prize, I would have to think that I'd have about the same odds as standing on the moon," he wrote.
He said his win was surprising because he was a songwriter, rather than a writer of books and poems "taught in the schoolroom, housed in libraries across the world."
"Not once have I ever had the time to ask myself, 'Are my songs literature?'" he told attendees at the dinner, before thanking the prize-givers for "providing such a wonderful answer".
The folk singer explained that Shakespeare, the "great literary figure", probably thought of himself a dramatist.
"The thought that he was writing literature couldn't have entered his head," he said. "His words were written for the stage. Meant to be spoken not read."
Few predicted that Dylan would be awarded the prize when the announcement was made in October.
The 75-year-old singer waited two weeks to acknowledge the win and later said he would not travel to Sweden due to...

Summary: Bob Dylan said it was "truly beyond words" to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
###
Article: The first node in the network is a telecommunications satellite that was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
It will use a laser to gather pictures of the planet taken by other spacecraft and then relay them to the ground.
One benefit will be to put information on natural disasters, such as flooding and earthquakes, into the hands of emergency responders far faster than has previously been possible.
Currently, it can take hours to get the pictures taken by Earth observation satellites down on the ground.
Part of the reason is that spacecraft can only transmit their images when they pass over a receiving dish, and they will have visibility of this antenna for just 10 minutes in most cases during every 90-minute tour around the globe.
The European Space Agency's (Esa) answer is to fire the pictures upwards instead, via laser, to another satellite much higher in the sky that has a constant view of the ground station.
The agency recently put up two Earth observers that are equipped with optical transmission equipment. These will now be able to offload their data through the new relay satellite, which is to be positioned 36,000km above the equator at 9 degrees East.
Testing by Esa's industrial partner, Airbus Defence and Space, shows it should be possible for the system to put pictures on the desks of the people who need them within 20 minutes of those images being acquired.
For some applications - such as the monitoring of pollution incidents, or illegal fishing or ocean piracy - the time saved could be critical to achieving an effective response.
"Some important shipping routes go through the North Pole region, where thick ice flows can cause damage to vessels and even threaten human life," explained Magali Vaissiere, Esa's director of telecoms.
"It's also an environment in constant motion which means that data that is two days old is not only unhelpful - it could even be unsafe.
"We have already demonstrated quasi real-time performance of below 20 minutes for bringing monitoring information from the coast of...

Summary:


The ruling is likely to encourage thousands of passengers with similar claims in the UK.
The European Court of Justice ruled that airlines must pay compensation for delayed flights, but a number of airlines have yet to pay out.
Four airlines in the UK have made applications to delay payments: Jet2, Thomas Cook, Ryanair

A county court judge has ruled that airline Jet2.com cannot delay the payment of compensation due to passengers for delayed flights.

Article: Yorkshire Water said it was targeting seven locations across the city where there were build-ups of fat deposits.
The firm is deploying organically grown bacillus bacteria, which is commonly found in the human gut, to eat the fat, oils and grease.
The blockages are caused by waste cooking oils from homes being poured down plug holes.
As the fat cools it hardens and deposits gradually build up.
According to Yorkshire Water, in the past six months maintenance crews have attended 1,700 jobs in Hull to remove blockages in local sewers, with 350 jobs carried out in February 2012 alone.
Last year, across its entire 33,500 mile (54,000km) sewer network the firm said it had removed 2,000 tonnes of grease.
Patrick Killgallon, pollution manager at Yorkshire Water, said: "We continue to encourage customers to think before they pour things like fat down their sink, we're also looking at new and innovative approaches to tackling this age old problem to support current practices such as jetting sewers with a high pressure hose.
"The deployment of fat-busting bugs in our sewer network is an example of this, with these 'good' bacteria literally feasting on solidified fat in our sewer.
"And because these bacteria constantly multiply in the right environment, we can leave them to get on with their job in our sewers, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, without the need for regular dosing."

Summary: Fat-eating bacteria are being put into Hull's sewers to try to get rid of fat blockages.
###
Article: The ruling is likely to encourage thousands of passengers with similar claims in the UK.
Jet2 argued the compensation payments should be delayed pending the outcome of a similar case in the Netherlands.
But the judge at Liverpool County Court ruled that "a line should now be drawn. Justice delayed is justice denied".
The EU has ruled that airlines must pay compensation for delayed flights, but a number of airlines have yet to pay out.
Four airlines in the UK have made applications to delay payments: Jet2, Thomas Cook, Ryanair and WizzAir.
The Jet2 case heard in Liverpool involved Kim Allen, who claimed â‚¬400 (Â£292) compensation after an almost seven-hour delay when flying from Manchester to Malaga in 2012.
"We've all been kept waiting for so long, but I'm really happy with today's decision," she said after the judge's ruling.
"Hopefully now it's time for the airlines to pay us what the law says they should."
Her solicitor, Kevin Clarke from Bott & Co, said he hoped "the airlines will now finally face up to their obligations to passengers and to settle the hundreds of thousands of legitimate claims outstanding.
"Sadly, the history of their conduct over the last decade would tell us to expect yet another legal challenge."
The issue stems from the 2004 European regulations that oblige airlines, in some cases, to pay compensation to passengers for cancellations and delays, if they are not due to extraordinary circumstances.
A further ruling by the European Court of Justice in 2009 confirmed that delayed passengers should be treated as if their flights had been cancelled, if the delay was longer than three hours, entitling them to cash compensation.
Despite the ruling, a number of airlines in the UK are still arguing that some technical problems should be classified as extraordinary circumstances, and as such, no compensation should be due.
They have also argued that paying compensation for delays of three hours or more is disproportionate and too great a burden.

Summary:


The Scottish government has said it will not introduce a named person system for children and young people.
The Scottish government has said it will not introduce a named person system for children and young people.
The Scottish government has said it will not introduce a named person system for children and young people.
The Scottish government has

The deputy first minister is due to make a statement on the Scottish government's Named Person scheme later.

Article: Educational psychologist Prof Sir Godfrey Thomson tested the intelligence of almost every Scottish 11 year old in 1932, and again in 1947.
The research was recorded in 69 ledgers that were almost destroyed when the Thomson's family home in Edinburgh was demolished in 2008.
They will be displayed by Edinburgh University from 29 July to 29 October.
Despite his pioneering work, Prof Thomson - who advocated comprehensive education and firmly believed a child's chances should not be linked to status - faded from public view.
The results of the IQ tests in 1932 and 1947 were recorded in the Scottish Mental Survey ledgers, which hold the world's only record of IQ-type scores from full national year-of-birth cohorts.
Prof Thomson's findings have gone on to form the basis for much of the research into brain aging at the University of Edinburgh since the late 1990s, led by Prof Ian Deary.
His team now studies those who took part in the original surveys.
Prof Deary said: "Godfrey Thomson saw mental ability tests as an imperfect but useful means to give poor children a chance in life.
"He was determined to look past pupils' social status, and try to see their underlying ability.
"By all accounts he was modest, not motivated by money, and happy to share academic wins, which in part led him to fade from the history books."
The ledgers will go on show to the public from 29 July to 29 October at the University's Main Library Exhibition Gallery.

Summary: Rare ledgers by the man who pioneered the world's only nationwide IQ tests in the 1930s are to go on public display.
###
Article: John Swinney will address MSPs over a legal challenge to information sharing proposals within the Act.
The system would appoint a named person - usually a teacher or health visitor - to ensure the wellbeing of every child.
But judges at the UK's highest court ruled against the scheme in July 2016, citing concerns over information sharing.
The Supreme Court judges said some proposals breached rights to privacy and a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.
However, the court said the aim of the Act, which is intended to promote and safeguard the rights and wellbeing of children and young people, was legitimate.
Speaking ahead of his statement to the Scottish Parliament, Mr Swinney said the Scottish government remained "absolutely committed" to the Named Person service as a way to support children and their families.
"Last year the Supreme Court ruled definitively that the intention of providing a Named Person for every child to promote and safeguard their wellbeing was 'unquestionably legitimate and benign'," he said.
"Their judgement did, however, require us to change the provisions relating to information sharing.
"Since the judgement, we have undertaken an intensive period of engagement with children, young people, parents, carers, practitioners and professionals.
"I will now update parliament on the next steps in this vital means of supporting, safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of our children and young people."
The judges said in July that specific proposals about information-sharing were "not within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament".
And they said the legislation made it "perfectly possible" that confidential information about a young person could be disclosed to a "wide range of public authorities without either the child or young person or her parents being aware".
The appeal was brought by the No to Named Persons (NO2NP) coalition, which includes the Christian Institute, Care (Christian Action Research and Education), Tyme Trust and the Family Education...

Summary:


The closure of the Kellingley colliery in North Yorkshire will have a devastating impact on the local community, the Yorkshire Post has learned.

The last lump of coal mined in South Yorkshire has been presented to Doncaster's mayor at a ceremony marking the end of mining in the region.

Article: The National Association of Head Teachers said reducing the per-place funding for such units from £10,000 to £6,000 a year would be "disastrous".
It also said the plans would not address the wide disparity in funding for children with similar needs.
The government says it has boosted high needs funding by £90m this year.
In its report, Getting it right: Funding pupils with complex needs, the NAHT looks at the impact of the proposed changes to the funding for children with high special educational needs.
The changes include basing the way funds are allocated to local authorities on the number of two- to 18-year-olds in the area.
This will then be modified by three factors - the number of children in bad health or on a disability benefit, low attainment and deprivation levels in the area.
But the NAHT says the proposals do not address the so-called "top up" funding for children with very complex needs, where there are big differences in funding.
The variability in funding levels means children with very similar needs could attract £2,000 of education funding in one local authority but £20,000 in another.
"This is clearly unacceptable and the DfE needs to develop parameters and controls to ensure that funding is fairly distributed within local authorities," the NAHT said.
Kim Johnson, president of NAHT and principal of Bradfields Specialist SEN Academy, says: "Those of us who are passionate about the education of children with high and complex needs have been pressing for this review of high needs funding for a long time.
"We desperately need a new approach that creates greater consistency and transparency.
"But we also need to be mindful that local authorities have taken very different approaches and that the transition to such an approach could result in some significant changes."
The NAHT also opposes plans to cut funding for special units within mainstream schools from £10,000 to £6,000 per pupil.
"Such a move would be disastrous for such units, leading to potential closures," the heads' union said.
Heads...

Summary: Plans to shake up special educational needs funding could see special units in mainstream schools close, a teaching union says.
###
Article: Hatfield Colliery closed in June with the loss of 430 jobs after almost a century of production.
The short ceremony took place at the mine, near Doncaster.
John Grogan, chairman of the Hatfield Employee Benefit Trust, which has run the mine since 2013, said it was "the end of an era".
He said: "On Monday the company will be wound up in the High Court and that will represent the end of coal mining in South Yorkshire after many generations.
"In 1980 there were 50,000 miners in South Yorkshire. On Monday morning when we're in the High Court there will be none.
"We're presenting this piece of coal as a symbol of our respect for all the miners who have gone before us in South Yorkshire and helped build the economy of our country and keep the lights on for many decades."
Accepting the gift the Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said: "On behalf of Doncaster and South Yorkshire I'm humbled to accept this."
The only remaining deep coal mine in England, Kellingley colliery in North Yorkshire, is due to close later this year.

Summary:


A man has been jailed for life for murdering his wife and her lover.

The man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend whispered to a friend "she'll pay for what she's done" five days before she was killed, a court heard.

Article: Up in the hills of central Laos, it shimmers to the horizon, punctuated by treetops breaking the surface and long-tail fishing boats buzzing past.
"I think they could turn this place into a tourist attraction," says 75 year old Kam Kong, as he untangles his nets on the edge of the water.
This postcard-perfect scene is actually the reservoir for the Nam Theun 2 dam - one of the biggest hydroelectric projects in Southeast Asia.
Its opening may mark a turning point for Laos as it hopes to move from being the sleepy, under-developed backwater of Indochina to, as its government has put it, the "battery" for this increasingly power-hungry region.
As the water is released from the reservoir, it rushes downhill and into a rather utilitarian white-and-green power station, where turbines hum as they produce more than a thousand megawatts of electricity.
Pylons march across the hill into neighbouring Thailand, which is taking almost all the power produced by Nam Theun 2.
In theory, the figures should add up nicely for Laos. Revenue from the project may bring the government some $2bn over the next 25 years, a serious amount for one of the world's least-developed countries.
According to one of the project's backers, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Nam Theun 2 could provide almost a tenth of the national budget in a good year.
But the spectre of the so-called "resource curse" hangs over any developing country that suddenly gains a windfall from energy, with funds siphoned off by a greedy few instead of being used for the greater good.
Laos insists that is not going to happen this time, despite its low ranking on Transparency International's "perceptions of corruption" index.
"Nam Theun 2 is business, but we need the revenue for the development of the country," says Sivixay Soukkharath, a government worker in charge of resettling villagers affected by the dam.
"The government will give people education, healthcare and infrastructure, and it will allow us to protect the environment throughout the country."
The financial...

Summary: At first glance, the vast body of water stretching across the Nakai plateau does not seem to have much in common with a set of Duracells.
###
Article: Shana Grice ended her relationship with "obsessed" Michael Lane who stalked her when she started up a new relationship, Lewes Crown Court has heard.
The 19-year-old's body was discovered with her throat slit in her bedroom, which had been set alight, in August.
Mr Lane denies murder.
Giving evidence, his friend Natalie Fines said she bumped into him during an evening out with her parents on Saturday, 20 August.
Ms Fines told the court: "He told me she'd dumped him and gone back to her ex. He wasn't very happy about it, he told me he was depressed.
"As we were all leaving and hugging goodbye, he whispered in my ear 'she'll pay for what she's done'."
During cross-examination by Simon Russell Flint QC, defending, she added: "I didn't think that much of it. He'd often say things like that.
"For example, that he'd kill himself, and do it that night, but he didn't act on it."
The trial has previously heard Mr Lane, of Thornhill Rise, Portslade, East Sussex, put a tracker device on Miss Grice's car after hearing about her rekindling of the relationship with Ashley Cooke.
He was also cautioned by police after he stole a key to her back door before letting himself into her bedroom in Chrisdory Road, Portslade, to watch her sleep.
The trial continues.

Summary:


The Scottish National Party (SNP) has won the majority of the seats in the Scottish Parliament.

The number of marriages in Gretna topped 3,500 last year - a slight rise compared with the previous 12 months.

Article: The gains came at the expense of all the other parties though it lost one seat - Tadcaster - to an independent.
UKIP failed to hold its two seats on the authority whilst the Liberal Party lost its two county councillors.
The Conservatives now have 55 of the 72 seats. There are 10 councillors who are independent and have no party affiliation.
Labour lost three of the seven seats it was defending and the Liberal Democrats lost two of the five seats they held previously.
Election 2017: Full results from across England
Conservative leader of the council, Carl Les, said: "It is a vindication of the way the party has been leading the council now for almost a quarter of a century.
"I do not believe we have a monopoly on wisdom and we will listen to other parties and other members if they come forward with practical and reasonable suggestions for us to consider.
"We have not finished with austerity, we will still have to find savings and we will do that."

Summary: The Conservatives have strengthened their hold of North Yorkshire County Council gaining 10 seats.
###
Article: A National Records of Scotland report said the Dumfries and Galloway village remained a "popular venue".
There were 3,511 marriages registered in 2015 compared with 3,499 in 2014.
However, last year's total is more than a third down on the record total for Gretna which dates back to 2004 when there were 5,555 weddings.
Nonetheless, it can still claim to be the "marriage capital" of Scotland and accounts for 12% of all weddings.
It is particularly popular for "tourism marriages" and some 84% of the weddings held in Gretna last year did not involve a resident in Scotland.

Summary:


The UK's economy is in a recession, and the government is trying to cut spending.

A huge naan bread made by firefighters has been confirmed to be the biggest the world has ever seen.

Article: The claim: The cost of borrowing for the UK government is at record low levels. The government should take advantage of this to improve the UK's economic performance.
Reality Check verdict: The yield on UK government bonds has been falling to record lows, making borrowing cheaper, despite the recent cut in the UK's credit ratings. Borrowing to invest has the potential to reduce the need for future borrowing, but that's not guaranteed and it could further damage the UK's credit.
He's right about the cost of borrowing. The yields on 10-year UK government bonds have indeed been at record lows in trading over the past week, and that's a good indicator of the sort of amount the government would have to pay to borrow money.
You can only tell what will actually happen when there is a bond sale, as there was on Tuesday morning.
The government sold £2.5bn of bonds maturing in five years, at a record low yield.
The low bond yield is in some ways a bit surprising, as the downgrades from the ratings agencies S&P and Fitch mean they reckon that lending money to the UK government has become less safe.
But, in fact, what has happened is that the yield on government bonds has fallen because in uncertain times people look for relatively safe investments, such as government bonds.
It's not just the yields on UK government bonds that have been falling. The Swiss 50-year government bond has a negative yield for the first time, meaning that investors are prepared to pay to be able to lend money to the Swiss government. German government bonds also have negative yields, while US 10- and 30-year Treasury bonds are also at record low yields.
The rate of interest the government pays on its debt is important because the UK is currently in debt to the tune of £1.6 trillion (excluding holdings in public sector banks), so a small rise in interest rates would be very expensive for the public finances. The amount the country borrows each year (the deficit) has been falling, but the total debt has kept rising.
The Office for Budget...

Summary: Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb told BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday that the price of borrowing was at "record lows", and that if he became prime minister he would take advantage of this to invest in infrastructure.
###
Article: Led by fire officer Dave Curry, the team created a giant Indian bread, weighing 26kg (57lb 5oz) and measuring 3.79m (12ft 5in) by 1.4m (4ft 7in).
The cooking feat, carried out at the Eastleigh Mela in Hampshire on 6 July, was confirmed as successful on Tuesday by the Guinness World Records.
This beats the 2008 record naan, which weighed 9.5kg (20lb 15oz).
That creation was cooked by Loblaw Companies Limited in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and measured 2.89m (9ft 6in) by 1m (3ft 4in).
Mr Curry said they were "absolutely thrilled" to have the record confirmed.
"We were also able to raise several hundred pounds for charity through selling the naan at the Eastleigh Mela," he said.
"As well as being a record-breaker, it tasted good too as it quickly sold out."
The Hampshire firefighters' enormous naan bread, which was sold for Â£3 per portion with a curry, raised money for The Fire Fighters Charity, Water Wells Project and Hampshire Hurricanes.
It was created with the help of Badi Mirchi and Sanjha restaurants.

Summary:


The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that he wants head teachers of English secondary schools to scrap traditional "home time" and decide for themselves what time the school day will end.

Almost 1,000 people in the South Eastern Health Trust are waiting for an urgent appointment to see a cardiologist, according to a report.

Article: 17 March 2016 Last updated at 07:14 GMT
George Osbourne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for setting out how the government plans to spend its money each year in his budget.
In his budget speech he announced that he wants head teachers of English secondary schools to scrap traditional "home time" and decide for themselves what time the school day will end.
He's offering these schools a pot of money to help pay for additional classes or extra-curricular activities like art and sport.
Schools in other parts of the UK won't be affected.
The Chancellor says his plans mean "every child gets the best start in life".
But some teachers say it's more complicated, and that they're already offering after school activities.
Malcolm Trobe, who is in charge of the Association of School and College Leaders, an organisation that represents head teachers across the UK, said that the money on offer wouldn't be enough to help all schools in England, and that "potentially youngsters in some schools would be in an advantageous position over others."
Ricky's been finding out what you think...
Read our full guide to the Budget here.

Summary: Head teachers in England will be allowed to extend secondary school hours, it's been announced.
###
Article: That compares with just 300 people in the largest trust area, Belfast.
It is thought that the problem in the South Eastern Trust is down to staffing issues in that area.
The trust - which covers Newtownards, County Down and Lisburn, said it has been unable to fill two consultant cardiologist posts.
There is also the added problem of staff sickness and increase in the number of referrals.
The South Eastern Trust serves a population of approximately 345,000 people with a budget of almost Â£500m.
The figures also show that 364 people are waiting up to a year for their first urgent consultant-led appointment at the Ulster Hospital, while in every other trust the waiting list for this type of appointment is zero.
In a statement, South Eastern Trust said:  "We have recently lost two consultant cardiologists who both required to relocate.
"Despite strenuous efforts, we have, so far, been unable to fill these vital posts and, combined with the constant increase in the number of cardiology referrals, this has led to an unfortunate increase in waiting times for appointments.
"We are taking every possible measure to address this."

Summary:


The team has shown that the liver can regenerate itself, even if half of the organ is removed.

Transplanting cells into livers has the potential to completely regenerate them, say scientists.

Article: Women and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) contacted the BBC after being told home births would not be possible.
In response the Health and Social Services Department said there had been no change to its policy on home births.
Anita Davies, from NCT, said the number of women giving birth at home was small, but uncertainty was leaving people distressed and anxious.
A spokesman for the Health and Social Services Department said there had been occasions in the past when the department had not been able to support home birth requests to "ensure appropriate resources are available to provide safe clinical care".
They said home births were given careful consideration but it is by no means a routine approach.
He said: "If assurance of safe care cannot be achieved at the same time as scheduling for two midwives to attend a planned home birth, this is when alternative arrangements have to be made.
"This has meant that on some occasions, requests for planned home births have to be managed in discussion and with agreement of mothers-to-be."
The news follows major changes at the Loveridge Ward, the island's only maternity ward, after the release of a critical report into the supervision of midwifery services.
Among the expectant mothers to comment on the BBC Radio Guernsey Facebook page was Louise Gallienne who is 17 weeks pregnant and wrote "just been told I am not allowed a home birth due to the lack of staffing".
"I was very disappointed. I am hoping they will be able to get the staff so in the future it will be a service they can offer again," she added.
Joey De Mouilpied, due in May, told a similar story saying she had been told last week her home birth would not be possible due to "staffing issues".
However, Amber Furby, who is due on Thursday, said there had been no suggestion her home birth would not go ahead, but suggested maybe no new bookings were being approved.
Ms Davies said normally fewer than 10 women in Guernsey gave birth at home each year, but the core of the issue was a woman's right to choose.
She...

Summary: Home births are not available due to a lack of staffing, according to some pregnant women in Guernsey.
###
Article: The Medical Research Council team showed severely damaged organs in mice could be restored to near-normal function.
They say the findings, published in Nature Cell Biology, could eventually help people stuck on a waiting list for a transplant.
Further tests are now taking place with human tissue.
The liver does have a remarkable ability to heal itself. Even if half of the organ is removed, it can grow back.
The team, based at the University of Edinburgh, has been investigating the regenerative potential of the liver.
Normally, the main type of cell in the liver - hepatocytes - is able to restore the organ.
But one of the researchers, Prof Stuart Forbes, said: "The hepatocytes normally divide beautifully, but eventually they give up that ability to keep dividing, they become senescent, and that is something we see in all forms of severe liver injury."
So the Edinburgh team turned to a closely related group of stem cells from the biliary duct.
Injecting these cells into damaged mouse livers led to near compete regeneration.
Prof Forbes added: "The big aim would be to develop a clinically applicable cell therapy for patients with severe liver failure where transplantation is not an option."
The team say tissue from livers unsuitable for transplant could be a source of these cells.
However, Prof Forbes said liver transplants would remain the main option for patients and encouraged people to join the donor register.
Further studies will now focus on repeating the results with human tissue.
Dr Rob Buckle, the director of science programmes at the Medical Research Council, said: "This research has the potential to revolutionise patient care by finding ways of co-opting the body's own resources to repair or replace damaged or diseased tissue."

Summary:


The government has announced a new £1.5bn fund to help the UK's poorest families.

A petrochemical company is threatening legal action over the National Trust's refusal to allow testing for shale gas on its land.

Article: He said businesses will have to pay higher wages but will pay lower taxes in return - while  workers will get higher pay but fewer benefits.
This created a "new centre" in British politics and was a "fair deal" for all, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Labour has attacked the Budget for being too hard on the poor and called the National Living Wage a "con".
Budget Calculator: How will the Budget affect you?
The Institute for Fiscal Studies, in its Budget analysis, said Mr Osborne was "plain wrong" to argue that the National Living Wage he announced on Wednesday would compensate for benefit cuts and said it will cost three million families an average of £1,000 a year.
IFS director Paul Johnson told BBC News: "The cuts will be bigger for people in work than they will be for people out of work and in the new universal credit system it will reduce the incentive for people to move in to work."
He also questioned whether another of Mr Osborne's announcements, a four year freeze on public sector pay, was sustainable as it will leave public sector pay at its lowest level compared to private sector pay since records began.
"The tax and welfare changes between them mean that poorer households have lost quite significantly and as a result of yesterday's Budget, much more significantly than anything that has happened to richer households," added Mr Johnson.
Downing Street said the combination of the living wage, higher personal tax allowance and welfare changes meant the typical family with a full time worker on the minimum wage would be better off in 2020.
Mr Osborne unveiled the National Living Wage in a surprise announcement at the end of his Budget speech on Wednesday. Paid to over-25s, it will start at £7.20 and rise to £9 an hour by 2020.
But a £4.5bn cut to tax credits, part of a £12bn package of welfare cuts announced on Wednesday, will kick in next April, leading Labour to accuse Mr Osborne of "pulling the rug from under" many poor families.
Shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie said: "Don't underestimate how...

Summary: Chancellor George Osborne has rejected criticism of his Budget insisting it offers the country a "new contract".
###
Article: Ineos wants to conduct seismic surveys at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire to see if there is potential for fracking.
The firm said the charity had blocked any contact for almost a year and it was considering seeking a court order.
The National Trust said it opposed any activities leading to the extraction of fossil fuels, so rejected requests.
Moves to look for shale gas in the Sherwood Forest area have proved controversial due to environmental concerns over extraction - known as fracking - and expansion of fossil fuel use.
Ineos said it already had permission from nearby landowners for the the non-invasive survey and its ability to extract gas would be "significantly limited" if it could not get on to Clumber Park.
"If the National Trust refuses to change its position, Ineos will have no choice but to write to the Oil and Gas Authority, asking for permission to seek a court order enforcing its rights to carry out these surveys on National Trust land," it said in a statement.
The company said government licences gave it a legal obligation to investigate shale gas deposits around the country and criticised the charity's position as "overtly political" as shale gas had lower carbon emissions than either oil and gas.
A National Trust spokesman said: "The National Trust is opposed to fracking on its land and will reject any fracking requests or inquiries.
"Consistent with this, we say no to surveying on our land for fracking purposes."

Summary:


The RNLI said it was "extremely concerned" about the incident.

A bride-to-be who wanted a "no-fuss and low-key" hen party had to be rescued by the RNLI after their hire boat ran aground in a river.

Article: The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee said it was concerned ministers, not the watchdog, set the appointments code.
MPs said they were not assured that candidates would not be deliberately excluded from high profile public appointments on an arbitrary basis.
The government has said that changes have strengthened the process.
Public appointments are ministerial appointments to the board of a public body, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or UK Sport, or advisory committees.
Last year, officials said changes stemming from a review by the businessman Sir Gerry Grimstone would strengthen current procedures and that transparency and accountability would remain "key elements".
It came amid reports of increasing intervention by ministers over appointments to key positions, including on behalf of those with links to the Conservative Party.
The committee said it had expressed "serious concerns" about the content of the Grimstone proposals.
Its inquiry into the review said that "without extensive amendment, the Grimstone proposals will not and cannot sustain public confidence".
The inquiry said the proposals "significantly weaken" the powers of the public appointments commissioner - who is in charge of ensuring major public jobs are handed out on merit - as previous powers such as appointing independent assessors were taken away.
Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin said: "We remain concerned that there seems to be an effort by government to weaken the robustness and transparency of public appointments according to the principles established by the very first Committee on Standards on Public Life, under Lord Nolan."
He added: "We hope that the new commissioner for public appointments will do all he can to defend the Nolan principles on public appointments."
The committee also said it was "a matter of great concern" that the government, rather than the public appointments commissioner, set the Public Appointments Code.
The government said it had implemented the Grimstone...

Summary: The process for filling senior jobs at public bodies is not transparent despite changes, MPs have said.
###
Article: Four women were celebrating on the River Dart, Devon, on Saturday when the vessel became stuck in mud as the tide went out.
An RNLI spokesperson said the party were were travelling to Dartmouth when they got into difficulty.
The spokesman said the group were "cold but otherwise unhurt".
Posting on the Dart RNLI Lifeboat Facebook page the crew said: "They came back to the lifeboat station for a warm drink and to meet and thank the lifeboat crew.
"The girls were on a hen party and the irony is that the bride to be had requested a 'no-fuss and low-key day'.
"The hens who had arranged the day thought an afternoon afloat on the beautiful River Dart would set the mood for dinner in Dartmouth in the evening.
"Best laid plans and all of that. I don't think they will ever forget the hen party."

Summary:


The HRW report says the Thai government has used the military to suppress dissent and has used the courts to silence critics.

Thailand's military-run government has forced Human Rights Watch (HRW) to cancel an event in Bangkok to launch a report into alleged abuses in Vietnam.

Article: Stormont Environment Minister Mark H Durkan said it was the first major shake-up in the law since the alcohol limit was introduced in 1968.
Under the plans, the permitted blood alcohol limit would be reduced to 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood - down from the current UK limit of 80mg.
It is thought the bill could become law by early next year.
The legislation also proposes changes for driver training and testing:
Mr Durkan said Northern Ireland's drink-drive laws would be brought into line with Europe, including the Republic of Ireland.
"Radical measures are necessary if we are to pursue an ambition of zero road deaths," he said.
"This new legislation will tackle drivers who shamelessly continue to drink and drive.
"It will provide powers to radically overhaul how we train, test and protect our vulnerable new drivers.
"It will also reduce the risk to riders of quads on public roads by requiring them to wear helmets."
The chairman of the Driving Instructors Association in Northern Ireland said the lowering of the minimum age for learner drivers "has been sprung on us".
"It wasn't in the consultation paper that we responded to, and we are told it was a ministerial decision," said Tom Burns.
"We are going to be completely out of kilter with the mainland, who are talking about raising the age to 18 - it doesn't seem to have been thought out.
"Also, the one-year minimum period for learning is too long for many people, and it doesn't suit people like pregnant women for example, who have to get their test as soon as possible."
The legislation proposes a number of other measures on drink-driving:

Summary: The drink-drive limit in Northern Ireland would be reduced by almost 40% under a proposed new law.
###
Article: Thai officials said the event, which was halted minutes before it was due to start, could have affected relations between the two countries.
The HRW report focuses on the treatment of a Christian group in Vietnam.
The group said the Thai response showed how freedom of speech had been eroded since the army seized power last year.
Thai police said the event at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand could "have an impact on the country's security or could affect the friendship and cooperation between Thailand and Vietnam".
It is the third human rights event at the venue that has been halted by authorities in the past month.
The HRW report describes what it says is the persecution of Montagnard Christians in Vietnam's central highlands. Their religious practices have been described by the Vietnamese government as "evil".
Sunai Phasuk, Human Rights Watch's senior researcher in Asia, said the decision to cancel the report's launch was "very disappointing".
"Thailand is now going to be known as the defender of human rights violators in [Southeast Asia], which adds more damage to Thailand's already tarnished international reputation under the military rule," he added.
Thai authorities have launched a crackdown on critics since the military seized power from a civilian government in May 2014.

Summary:


A 20-year-old student from Axminster in Devon has lost her hand after a night out in Plymouth.

A student has pleaded for the return of her prosthetic hand after losing it on a night out.

Article: Shane Logan made the comments during a meeting of the Northern Ireland Assembly's social development committee.
It is taking evidence as part of its review of the Licensing Bill.
The bill would allow outdoor stadiums to apply for licences to sell alcohol.
Currently, stadium operators have to apply for temporary licences.
Mr Logan said, as it stands, there are up to 19 professional games played a year at Ulster Rugby's Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.
Each time, Ulster Rugby has to apply to a court for an occasional licence, and it has "no certainty" of a licence in advance, as these are only granted on the day of the match, he said.
He said that while Ulster Rugby had never been refused an occasional licence, it had "bid for events with certainty of licensing".
"This precludes us from bidding for major events," Mr Logan said.
"We would not be able to fulfil the criteria for access to alcohol bars and family access to entertainment that is required to allow us to bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup."
"[With] the law as it stands, we would have to withdraw from that."
The Licensing Bill is a private member's bill proposed by Judith Cochrane, the Alliance Party MLA.

Summary: A bid for Ireland to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup would have to be withdrawn unless Northern Ireland's licensing law is changed, the chief executive of Ulster Rugby has said.
###
Article: Amelia Welch, 20, from Axminster in Devon, was partying with friends in Plymouth on Friday when she lost her hand, which cost about Â£3,000.
The Plymouth University marine biology student said she only realised the cosmetic prosthetic was missing the following morning.
She thinks she could have left it in a nightclub and forgot to pick it up.
Click here for live updates on this story
Amelia, who was born with a congenital malformation in her right hand, said she had gone to Oceana nightclub after a university ball.
Her hand is "more functionable" without the prosthetic which has very little movement, she said.
"I do take it off to go to the toilet, but most of the time when I go out I put it on because it gives me confidence," she said.
"I must have been drunk when I took it off and forgot about it.
"I went back to halls with friends and went to bed and the next day I realised that I did not have it."
It is the first prosthetic she has had and fits on her hand "like a glove" she said.
Another one could cost as much as Â£5,000 and mean many hours of visits to orthopaedic specialists.
"Someone might have picked it up and not realised what it was," she said.
"It's worth everything to me, but nothing to anyone else."

Summary:


The first of a series of letters from African journalists, this one from Nigerian writer and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani looks at the clamour for assistance that accompanies a politician's rise to office.

An exhibition of photographs has gone on show to mark 50 years since the demise of "one of the most beautiful stations there has ever been".

Article: The political party primaries in Nigeria have drawn to a close and voters now have a clearer picture of whose turn it might be to divide up the national cake after the elections in February 2015.
But the winning candidates won't be the only ones taking their share of the country's riches.
In Nigeria, news of a person's success in an election often travels at the speed of lightning, over rivers and mountains and past fields and forests, to his kindred in all corners of the globe.
Those with no jobs believe their days of unemployment are coming to an end; those with no education think it will soon pose no barrier to climbing the corporate ladder; those in faraway lands begin plans to return home.
Soon, these kith and kin launch their pilgrimage towards the successful candidate.
They ring his phone; they send text messages; they knock at his gate.
They offer to help his campaign in any way they can; they organise prayer sessions for his victory, usually late at night in his living room.
A friend of mine who lives in Lagos told me last week that he was travelling to Benin city.
His friend had just "picked up" a spot in the House of Assembly there. Another person he knew was set for another top position.
"He's a good friend of my elder brother in Florida," he said. "I've already told my brother: 'You'd better come down and rub minds with him and introduce us to him.'"
Another friend whose husband is a close associate of a winning candidate in one of Nigeria's choicest states told me her phone did not stop ringing after his victory was announced.
People had been calling to offer congratulations. Indeed, even I had called for that very reason.
In Nigeria, the culture has always been that anyone who gets into power, who suddenly finds himself holding a knife with which to cut the national cake, must invite his clan to both slice and eat it with him.
The most unforgivable sin a politician can commit is to forget "his people" after he assumes office.
He must "remember" his sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews,...

Summary: In our series of letters from African journalists, Nigerian writer and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani looks at the clamour for assistance that accompanies a politician's rise to office.
###
Article: Trains from Nottingham Victoria Station used to take passengers to destinations around England, including London, York, Bristol and Oxford.
It was demolished in 1967, a year after the final service to London left the station.
The site is now home to a shopping centre.
Following the station's closure, all rail traffic was sent to Nottingham Midland, now the city's central station.
Exhibition organiser Janine Tanner said: "It was one of the most beautiful stations there has ever been.
"People used to refer to it as a cathedral.
"I think the majority of people were horrified when it closed.
"Obviously there were people who thought it should stay but the general consensus was that it shouldn't have closed."
The station opened in 1900 and was named after Queen Victoria but its owners cited falling passenger numbers and increased car travel in the 1960s as the reason for its closure.
All that remains now as a reminder of the site's railway past is the clock tower, a tunnel entrance and a retaining wall.
Pictures highlighting its past are on show at the Nottingham Industrial Museum for the next three weekends.
The images then go on display at the Great Central Railway at Ruddington and the Victoria Shopping Centre.

Summary:


Monarch has said passengers have been booking their trips later since the terror attacks in Paris and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Article: While e-cigarette adverts have been on television for some time, showing the device itself was banned until a change in advertising rules which came into force on Monday.
The Committee of Advertising Practice has ruled that adverts must not show tobacco "in a positive light".
Critics warn showing e-cigarette use could normalise the imagery of smoking.
The British government banned cigarette advertising on television in 1965.
1. On some e-cigarettes, inhalation activates the battery-powered atomiser. Other types are manually switched on.
2. A heating coil inside the atomiser heats liquid nicotine contained in a cartridge.
3. Liquid nicotine becomes vapour and is inhaled. The "smoke" produced is largely water vapour. Many e-cigarettes have an LED light as a cosmetic feature to simulate traditional cigarette glow.
The new rules, put in place by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) state that adverts must not:
One advert, featuring a group "vaping" while having a meal, was shown in the morning on Channel 5.
Sandy Chadha, the chief executive of e-cigarette producers KiK, said: "The new advertising rules are a positive step to show people how vaping can help them move away from tobacco products and we are delighted to make history.
"Vaping is a new way of life for past smokers and the advert highlights friends talking about the impact making the change has had for them. We hope it is well received and gives smokers some food for thought."
Another advert, showing a woman exhaling vapour from an e-cigarette, will be shown in the evening.
Dave Levin of VIP, the Bury-based company behind the advert, says: "E-cigarettes have attracted a lot of controversy recently, which has largely been due to concerns over safety, so it will be interesting to see how people respond to our advert's debut."
Prof Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, opposed the change to advertising rules.
He told the BBC: "This is a very daft idea, as many of us said during the consultation.
"A lot of questions...

Summary: The first UK TV adverts featuring the use of an electronic cigarette - vaping - are being shown.
###
Article: The airline's chief executive Andrew Swaffield said bookings had dropped off in the immediate aftermath but were now recovering.
Monarch's flights to Sharm el-Sheikh are still suspended and it does not expect them to resume before next year.
The comments came as Monarch returned to profit for the year to 31 October.
Mr Swaffield told BBC Radio 5 Live that customers were "booking closer to departure" in the wake of the attacks.
He said: "They're booking in pretty big numbers and there's no lack of interest, but they're not booking quite so far out because they're waiting to see what the world has in store.
"That will probably last a little while and then things will get back to normal again."
Luton-based Monarch expects annual profits to exceed £40m after cost cuts helped to achieve a turnaround.
Mr Swaffield said: "The key for us has been the £200m of costs we took out of the business during what was a pretty thorough restructuring during 2014."
Monarch streamlined its network and fleet, modernised its working practices and benefited from lower fuel prices.
The company made a loss of £94m in the previous year.

Summary:


The #BringBackOurGirls campaign has been criticised for failing to secure the release of the girls.

Nigeria's president has accused activists of "playing politics" after his meeting with parents of the abducted schoolgirls was called off.

Article: Uber presented the offer as an attempt to improve its relationship with London's cabbies.
But a cab drivers' association said it would be "amazed if any drivers decide to take up Uber's offer".
And rival Hailo described the offer as "posturing", saying it doubted the move would calm matters.
There has been friction between Uber and some cabbies, who have said the app is "unfair competition".
Uber said that from Tuesday, it would waive its 5% commission for black taxis for a year.
Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber in the UK, said: "London's cabs are famous the world over because they are an iconic part of our city's transport infrastructure.
"It's why the impact of apps like Uber on traditional taxis has generated such a heated debate in the capital.
"We believe that black cabs and Uber can coexist."
Ms Bertram said in a blog post that the Knowledge, which requires four years of study by aspiring black cab drivers to memorise London streets and landmarks, was "an onerous test" which could be completed more quickly in "the age of GPS and live traffic apps".
But Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA), said: "With over 15,000 cabbies registered with specific taxi-hailing apps like Gett and Hailo, we would be amazed if any drivers decide to take up Uber's offer."
He said the Uber offer was "just another PR stunt from a company that spends Â£250,000 every month on lobbying and PR".
"The response is 'Thanks, but no thanks'," he added.
The offer has been launched on the eve of a planned protest by cabbies affiliated with a separate drivers' association, the United Cabbies Group.
Mr McNamara said the protest had not be organised by LTDA, but that "cabbies have a right to make their voices heard".
Len Martin, chairman of the United Cabbies Group, said: "The taxi trade neither want nor welcome any such offer from an outfit that will tarnish our reputation by association."
A number of protests against Uber have been held by taxi drivers around the world, including...

Summary: Cabbies have rejected an offer from Uber which would allow them to use the taxi-hailing app for nothing for a year.
###
Article: The #BringBackOurGirls group should be ashamed of manipulating "the victims of terrorism", he said.
Mr Jonathan had been due to hold his first meeting with some of the girls' parents on Tuesday.
Islamist group Boko Haram captured more than 200 girls during a raid on their boarding school in Chibok in April.
Mr Jonathan had been widely criticised for failing to meet distraught parents and not doing enough to rescue the girls.
#BringBackOurGirls was a global campaign launched on social media to secure the release of the girls.
Mr Jonathan agreed to the meeting on Monday following an appeal by Pakistani rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai.
Mr Jonathan had planned to meet 12 parents and five girls who escaped shortly after being captured but the parents withdrew at the last minute without giving any reason.
"Unfortunately, political forces within the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls have decided to take this opportunity to play politics with the situation and the grief of the parents and the girls. They should be ashamed of their actions," he said in a statement.
"Those who would manipulate the victims of terrorism for their own benefit are engaging in a similar kind of evil: Psychological terrorism," he added.
Mr Jonathan's spokesman Doyin Okupe said the president was "extremely distraught".
"He cannot understand this. He cannot fathom this - that Nigeria's mothers will do this type of thing for children," Mr Okupe said.
Nigeria is due to hold presidential elections next year.
Mr Jonathan has not yet declared his candidature, but speculation is rife that he intends to run for another term.
Last year, he declared a state of emergency in the north-eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, which are worst affected by the insurgency.
All three are under opposition control.
New York-based Human Rights Watch says more than 2,000 civilians have been killed in Nigeria this year by Boko Haram.
The deaths occurred in around 95 separate attacks in more than 70 towns and villages in the north-east, where Boko Haram...

Summary:


The move may make some important new medicines more affordable in the developing world, by leaving the way clear for generic companies to make cheap copies of GSK's drugs.

UK drugs manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline has said it will not file patents for its products in the world's poorest nations.

Article: It follows approval by Liverpool City Council of a Â£5.5bn plan for redevelopment of the waterfront in March.
Unesco decided the scheme, involving skyscrapers, could "irreversibly damage" historic docklands.
Liverpool City Council described Unesco's move as "premature".
The plans have yet to go to the secretary of state for final approval, and could be subject to a public inquiry.
Unesco inspectors visiting the site in November 2011 expressed concerns about the height of buildings planned for the development, which would include the tallest UK building outside London.
The organisation's World Heritage Committee ruled earlier, at its 36th annual meeting in St Petersburg, that the site should be put on the "in danger" list.
The committee warned that if the project goes ahead Liverpool may entirely lose the "outstanding universal value" for which it was given World Heritage status.
They said it would significantly alter the skyline and fragment the dock areas.
A Liverpool City Council spokesman said they believed safeguards could be put in place to protect the site's heritage.
He added: "We believe that this decision is premature as the government has not yet determined whether the Liverpool Waters application can go ahead.
"The city council is continuing to discuss the plans with the developers and other interested parties and have always firmly believed that Liverpool can retain its World Heritage status while sensitively developing the derelict docklands.
"It is important to note that although this decision has been made it does not mean that Liverpool is in imminent danger of having its status removed.
"This is a long term development which will take several decades to complete and as it progresses we will continue to work to ensure that we can reach a situation which satisfies all parties."
The Liverpool Waters development would include a cruise liner terminal and thousands of apartments.
Bidder Peel Developments said the scheme could create up to 20,000 jobs.
Liverpool was awarded World Heritage status in...

Summary: Liverpool's historic docklands have been added to Unesco's "in danger" list for possible removal of its World Heritage Status.
###
Article: The step may make some important new medicines more affordable in the developing world, by leaving the way clear for generic companies to make cheap copies of GSK's drugs.
GSK said it would adopt a graduated approach linked to a country's wealth.
It said it would still seek full patent protection in richer nations.
The company says the changes it is making should help people who currently cannot afford life saving medicine.
In the world's poorest countries, it will allow other companies to make generics or cheaper copies of its medicine.
In what it calls lower middle income countries it will continue to file patents but will grant licences to generic manufacturers in exchange for a royalty.
Pharmaceutical firms are often criticised for not making their medicines affordable to people in developing countries, but the firms have argued that patenting their products is the only way to ensure research for new treatments can be funded.
One exception is HIV/AIDS, where the price of drugs for people in many poor nations who are living with the condition have been drastically reduced.
Sufferers of other serious illnesses though, for example, cancer, often cannot afford the drugs to treat them.
GSK says changes to the way it patents drugs will make its next generation of cancer drugs more affordable.
Recent figures showed GSK's sales rose 2% to £6.29bn in the quarter.
However, the company fell to a pre-tax loss of £416m compared with a profit of £531m for the same period in 2014.
New treatments for HIV, respiratory conditions and meningitis vaccines had sales of £682m in the quarter.

Summary:


The UK's vote to leave the EU has been a major political event, but the impact on the housing market is still unclear.

Theresa May has said the UK will emerge from Brexit as a "great, global trading nation", becoming "safer, more secure and more prosperous".

Article: UK property prices increased by 10.4% annually in October, down from 12.1% the previous month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The average home in the UK was valued at Â£271,000, the ONS said.
This comes on the day that the ONS reported the rate of inflation stood at just 1% in November.
This was the lowest level for the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation for 12 years.
Annual house price rises were fastest in England at 10.8%, followed by 5.7% in Wales, 4.9% in Scotland and 4.9% in Northern Ireland.
Regionally, increases were driven by London, which saw prices rise year-on-year by 17.2%. They increased by 11.9% in the South East of England and by 9.6% in the East of England.
"There is still momentum in the market although it is definitely slowing," said Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients.
This has been echoed by figures in various other surveys. Mortgage lenders Nationwide and Halifax have both reported a slowdown in the UK housing market in recent months.
The ONS said that the slowest annual increase was a 3.9% rise in the North East of England.
It also said that first-time buyers were seeing sharper house price rises compared with owners moving home.
Prices paid by first-time buyers were 12% higher on average in October compared with a year earlier. Existing owners saw prices increase by 9.7%, on average, over the same period.
"This is yet another blow to the millions of young people and families desperate to build a stable future in a home of their own," said Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter.
"With the average house in England now costing more than ten times the average wage, millions of people are finding themselves stuck in the rent trap with little hope of ever saving for a deposit."
He called for a greater number of affordable homes to be built.

Summary: The annual rise in UK house prices slowed in October, official figures show, but prices still went up much faster than the general cost of living.
###
Article: But in April - before the EU referendum - the then home secretary gave a speech warning of the implications of a vote to leave the EU. Here's how some of the key quotes compare:
April 2016: "So, if we do vote to leave the European Union, we risk bringing the development of the single market to a halt, we risk a loss of investors and businesses to remaining EU member states driven by discriminatory EU policies, and we risk going backwards when it comes to international trade.
"But the big question is whether, in the event of Brexit, we would be able to negotiate a new free trade agreement with the EU and on what terms."
January 2017: "I respect the position taken by European leaders who have been clear about their position, just as I am clear about mine. So an important part of the new strategic partnership we seek with the EU will be the pursuit of the greatest possible access to the single market, on a fully reciprocal basis, through a comprehensive free trade agreement."
April 2016: "The reality is that we do not know on what terms we would win access to the single market. We do know that in a negotiation we would need to make concessions in order to access it, and those concessions could well be about accepting EU regulations, over which we would have no say, making financial contributions, just as we do now, accepting free movement rules, just as we do now, or quite possibly all three combined.
"It is not clear why other EU member states would give Britain a better deal than they themselves enjoy."
January 2017: "If we were excluded from accessing the single market, we would be free to change the basis of Britain's economic model.
"But for the EU, it would mean new barriers to trade with one of the biggest economies in the world. It would jeopardise investments in Britain by EU companies worth more than half a trillion pounds... and I do not believe that the EU's leaders will seriously tell German exporters, French farmers, Spanish fishermen, the young unemployed of the eurozone, and millions of others,...

Summary:


A man has been charged with murder after a woman was found dead in a car park in Windermere.

A man has denied the manslaughter of another man who was found lying in a street in Windermere close to where he lived.

Article: Jane Christie's daughter Sarah Ewart had to decide whether to travel to Great Britain for a legal termination.
Justice Minister David Ford has recommended a change in the law.
However, First Minister Peter Robinson said draft guidelines to be published soon provided a better way forward.
At present abortion is only permitted under law in Northern Ireland to save a woman's life, or if there is a risk of permanent and serious damage to her mental or physical health.
The issue of fatal foetal abnormality came to public attention when Sarah Ewart contacted the Nolan Show to highlight the choice she faced - of either carrying her baby until it died in her womb or travelling to Great Britain where she could access a legal termination.
Mrs Christie told the Nolan Show on Friday that she and her daughter had met Mr Robinson and other DUP members on a number of occasions.
She said she had believed that they were in favour of changing the law in these "exceptional circumstances".
"He said he had a difficult job with some of his party members, but that he understood and he was prepared to help," she said.
"We were being led to believe we were going to get the help, by a number [of people] in the party."
Amnesty International described Mr Robinson's latest comments as "disingenuous".
"Peter Robinson knows full well that any new guidance from the Department of Health on the existing law cannot address a glaring gap in that law," said spokeswoman Grainne Teggart.
The issue of fatal foetal abnormality has been examined by health and justice officials over the past 18 months, following the publicity surrounding Sarah Ewart's case.
Mr Ford had put forward his plan for legislation in such cases following consultation on reforming Northern Ireland's abortion law.
Draft guidelines on abortion law, released by the Department of Health in 2013, stated: "Foetal abnormality is not recognised as grounds for termination of pregnancy in Northern Ireland."
Mrs Christie said she also attended a meeting with Mr Robinson that was attended...

Summary: The mother of a woman who faced carrying her baby until it died in her womb has said she is devastated by the DUP leader's comments that attempts to change the abortion law are doomed.
###
Article: Gordon Smith, 44, was found dead on Lake Road about 400m (0.2 miles) from his home on Church Street on 1 July.
Mark Russell, 27, previously of Holly Terrace, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter at Carlisle Crown Court.
He was was given conditional bail ahead of trial on 14 March. It is expected to last up to five days.
Judge Paul Batty QC said one of the conditions is that he does not enter Windermere or Bowness-on-Windermere.
A 31-year-old man from Millom, a woman aged 48 and a 15-year-old girl, both from Kent, previously arrested on suspicion of murder, have been released with no further action, Cumbria Police said.

Summary:


The Care Inspectorate has warned that Acorn Park Care Home in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, must make a "significant improvement".
If not, it could face having its registration cancelled.
The privately-run home was served with a formal improvement notice by the Care Inspectorate and given until next

A care home has been ordered to raise its standards after the industry watchdog criticised areas including infection control.

Article: It says last year's council initiative to entice more shoppers, increased traffic congestion and disrupted bus services.
Instead, Translink and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) are offering alternative ideas, including reducing bus and train fares.
Their proposals for Christmas 2016 are to be considered by a Belfast City Council committee on Wednesday.
In 2015, the council, for the first time in several years, offered free parking for 1,500 vehicles in the evenings and at weekends.
However, Translink considered the move "counterproductive" - it says it increased congestion as people queued or circled the city centre looking for no cost parking.
It said the knock-on impact reduced the punctuality and reliability of its bus services.
As an alternative this year, it says it is prepared to run fare reduction offers on buses and trains during the month of December.
It said it will also extend the opening hours at park and ride facilities.
In a statement, Translink said: "Planning for Christmas parking and traffic are part of the discussions we have each year with Belfast City Council and other partners to help keep Belfast moving during this extremely busy period."

Summary: Translink is asking for an end to free Christmas parking in Belfast.
###
Article: Acorn Park Care Home in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, was warned it must make a "significant improvement".
If not, it could face having its registration cancelled.
The privately-run home was served with a formal improvement notice by the Care Inspectorate and given until next month to make changes.
Seven areas of concern were listed after an inspection, with nutrition and hydration, personal plans for service users, environmental safety, staffing and administration of drugs all being criticised.
A spokesman for the Care Inspectorate said: "Everyone in Scotland has the right to safe, compassionate care which meets their needs and respects their rights.
"Where we have concerns, we do not hesitate to take action.
"Our first priority is always the safety and well-being of residents and this improvement notice sets out what we expect the service to do to ensure that the care provided to residents improves.
"We will be inspecting this service again soon to ensure that progress is being made."
An Acorn Park spokesman said: "We are working hard with the Care Inspectorate to meet their requirements within the timescales set."

Summary: