The NHS has commissioned a study into the impact of the NHS on the health of people with chronic kidney disease.

The overall student loan debt for Welsh students has reached £3.7bn, new figures show.

Article: The study commissioned by NHS Kidney Care says it causes up to 45,000 premature deaths each year, more than lung and breast cancer combined.
An improved approach could help many people to lead better lives and save the NHS money, it adds.
The report says 1.8m people in England have been diagnosed, but suggests there are one million undetected cases.
The disease, also known as CKD, is where the kidneys become less effective at filtering waste products from blood.
The study has been published in the journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation and its findings are drawn from NHS data and economic modelling based on clinical studies.
The paper, "Chronic Kidney Disease in England: The Human and Financial Cost", concludes that CKD costs the NHS in England more than Â£1.4bn a year.
The author, Marion Kerr, said better diagnosis and early treatment - particularly from GPs - could make a big difference.
"Chronic kidney disease has a much greater impact on people's lives, and on NHS costs, than is generally recognised," she said.
Her paper says nearly half the spending goes on dialysis or transplantation, yet this accounted for only 2% of all patients diagnosed with CKD.
Ms Kerr said failure to detect the disease meant many people did not get the lifestyle advice and treatment they needed.
"Most of the spending on CKD is for people with advanced disease. We hope this report will focus attention on the need for early detection and intervention, to reduce the human and financial cost of advanced kidney disease."
Dr Charlie Tonson, chairman of the Royal College of Physicians renal medicine committee, said chronic kidney disease was an important public health problem.
"Patients with early kidney disease are particularly likely to benefit from lifestyle changes and drug treatments aimed at the risk factors for heart disease and strokes, as these will help reduce the risk of progressive kidney disease," he said.
Dr Donal O'Donoghue, national clinical director for Kidney Care, described the report as a "wake-up call" for...

Summary: An NHS report has called for better detection and earlier treatment to help tackle chronic kidney disease.
###
Article: Data shows that the total tuition fee and maintenance loan balance is up 12% on the previous year's figures.
Graduates start repaying their debt once their income reaches £21,000 but after 30 years outstanding debt is written off.
For those repaying loans in 2017 the average sum owed at the start of repayment was £19,280.
That compares with £32,220 for English students, £20,990 for Northern Irish students and £11,740 for Scottish students who do not pay fees if they study in Scotland.
The figures come from the Student Loans Company and cover 2016/17.
Welsh domiciled students have been able to claim a grant towards their tuition fees since 2012-13 - a sum of £4,954 in 2017-18.
But the grants are due to be scrapped from 2018-19 with help for maintenance costs introduced instead, under plans unveiled last year.
At the end of 2016-17 there were 304,900 borrowers of higher education student loans in Wales, with 191,100 liable for repayment.
As of the end of April 2017 there are 41,430 borrowers who had fully repaid, amounting to 16.4% of the overall total.
The data covers Welsh domiciled students studying in higher education in the UK and EU students studying in Wales.

Summary:


Moody's, one of the big three credit ratings agencies, has cut its outlook for the UK economy from "stable" to "negative".

Article: A staff member at the Oregon Humane Society (OHS), in Portland, where she is being cared for, knitted the sweater to help one-year-old Silky stay warm.
The hamster was born hairless due to a genetic mutation, except for short curly whiskers on her snout.
"She does need to be kept in a heated environment," especially in winter, said Diana Gabaldon from the OHS.
"While she isn't fluffy like a normal hamster, she is just as cuddly and playful as any other hamster," Ms Gabaldon added.
Silky's owners had left her with the Humane Society when they were moving house and realised they could no longer care for her.
The Oregon Human Society said on its website that Silky spends majority of her time in a "warm, clean habitat, with fresh bedding, food and water, and a wheel to run on."
She wears the sweater for special occasions, the society said.
Silky is also being treated for an eye infection. She will be available for adoption soon.

Summary: A tiny hairless hamster in the US state of Oregon will keep warm this winter after getting a custom-made sweater.
###
Article: Credit rating agencies, in essence, rate a country on the strength of its economy.
More specifically, they score governments (or large companies) on how likely they are to pay back their debt.
A rating affects how much it costs governments to borrow money in the international financial markets. In theory, a high credit rating means a lower interest rate (and vice versa).
This is because of concerns at the impact that leaving the European Union may have on the UK economy. Moody's warned that the referendum result may have "negative implications for the country's medium-term growth outlook".
In addition to Moody's, the other two main credit rating agencies are Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.
All three are private companies, not government agencies. Moody's and Standard & Poor's both have their headquarters in New York, while Fitch has two official HQs, one in New York and the other in London.
Each agency gives countries around the world a specific credit rating score. These range from a top mark of "AAA", which stands for "prime", down to the lowest reading of "D", which stands for "in default".
In between there are scores such as "BBB" or "CC". Moody's has at total of 21 ratings.
The agencies also give outlook-assessments. These are either "positive", "stable", or "negative". They indicate whether the agency in question thinks it may soon raise its rating (positive), downgrade it (negative), or leave it the same (stable) for the country in question.
In the case of Moody's and the UK, the agency currently scores the UK at "Aa1", the second highest rating on its scale, which stands for "high grade".
Yet, while Moody's previously saw no change to that Aa1 rating, it has now warned that it may lower it.
A country's credit rating can affect how much it costs a governments to borrow money on the global markets.
More specifically, the worse a nation's credit rating, the more likely it is that the country in question has to offer a higher rate of return on its bonds in other to persuade people and financial...

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The Princeton Review survey also placed Abertay ninth in the world for its postgraduate gaming courses.
The university was the first in the world in 1997 to offer degree level qualifications in computer games development.
The university was the first in the world in 1997 to offer degree level qualifications in computer games development.
The

Abertay University's computer gaming courses have been ranked the best in Europe for the third consecutive year in an annual college admissions survey.

Article: Around 19.3 million people - 33% - were in poverty at least once, compared with 25% of people across the EU, the Office for National Statistics found.
But only 7.8% were defined as being in "persistent income poverty" in 2013 - less than half the 15.9% EU average.
Pensioners and single parent families were found to struggle the most.
The ONS records someone as being in poverty if they live in a household with disposable income below 60% of the national average, before housing costs.
Persistent poverty is defined as being in poverty in the current year and at least two of the three preceding years.
Summing up the findings, the ONS said: "Studies reveal that although some people are stuck in poverty, the majority of 'the poor' consist of a constantly changing group of different individuals."
The report added that although "poverty persists only for a relatively small minority, evidence suggests that those who have already been in poverty are more likely to experience poverty again in the future than those who have never been in poverty".
19.3m
people experienced poverty for at least one year between 2010-13
4.6m
were in persistent poverty - for three of the past four years
60% of single parent households experienced poverty between 2010-13
40% of those aged 65+ experienced poverty between 2010-13
13th  highest poverty rate in EU
The UK ranked 13th out of the 28 EU member states for "overall poverty" - the proportion of people falling below the poverty line at some point during the four-year period. The ranking was topped by Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Spain.
The country with lowest overall poverty levels was the Czech Republic, followed by the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark.
But since comparable figures were first made available in 2008, the UK has consistently had a persistent poverty rate lower than the EU average.
The UK ranked 20th, with only the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Slovakia and Slovenia recording better results.
Jonathan Cribb, research economist at the...

Summary: Almost a third of the UK population fell below the official poverty line at some point between 2010 and 2013, figures show.
###
Article: The Princeton Review survey also placed Abertay ninth in the world for its postgraduate gaming courses.
The university was the first in the world in 1997 to offer degree level qualifications in computer games development.
The Princeton Review surveyed 150 institutions offering game design.
The University of Malta was the only other European institution to make either list, coming in at 23rd for postgraduate courses.
Prof Gregor White, head of Abertay's school of arts, media and computer games, said:  "To be featured so highly in this prestigious ranking for a third consecutive year is testament to the hard work, dedication and excellence of my colleagues in the school and across the university.
"To make advances in both lists is an incredible achievement and is particularly pleasing in this anniversary year."
The survey included questions about academic offerings and faculty credentials to their graduates' starting salaries and employment experience.
Princeton Review editor in chief Robert Franek said: "Game design is an exciting field and programmes are springing up in colleges all over the world.
"As we continue to help students find the best programme for their needs and interests, we strongly recommend Abertay and each of the other schools that made our 2017 ranking lists."

Summary:


The US government has been accused of using the "black market" to buy American goods.

President Donald Trump's argument that the removal of Confederate statues is a slippery slope to changing history has recharged the perennial debate about America's tormented racial legacy.

Article: The operator is the first in the UK to make compensation payments automatically by cheque. This will apply to delayed passengers on the east and west coast.
Since July, all rail passengers have been entitled to request money back.
Virgin's move has been welcomed by consumer groups.
"Passengers are rightly frustrated by the significant barriers that exist when claiming compensation for train delays and cancellations, so it is good to see Virgin Trains setting the pace by offering cash as the default option for compensation," said Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?.
"We would urge all train operating companies to act quickly to implement this, and further changes, to improve the process for their customers."
Anthony Smith, chief executive at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: "Passengers will be pleased to see Virgin Trains offering cash compensation as the first option. This is a positive step forward and we want to see more operators follow suit."
A system was launched in October whereby west coast travellers who buy Advance tickets through Virgin Train's website receive money directly on to their payment cards if they are entitled to compensation.
The latest move extends the compensation system to ensure all other delayed passengers are paid by cheque.
Compensation is based on the "Delay Repay" system, which is offered by around half of all train operators. Individual train companies offer different levels of compensation, but the best deals - including Virgin's - involve:
Graham Leech, group commercial director at Virgin Trains, said: "We always want to be on the side of passengers. That is why we wholly support the move to offer cash compensation as a first option to customers and why we were the first operator to introduce automatic delay repay.
"We're committed to making claiming compensation simpler and clearer for customers. We never want passengers to suffer delays or disruption but when things do go wrong we want to put it right."
The announcement comes the day after rail...

Summary: Delayed passengers on Virgin Trains are to receive compensation in the form of money back, rather than travel vouchers.
###
Article: This article contains language that some readers may find offensive.
"So this week it's Robert E Lee," he said on Tuesday of the rebel general's monument that was a flashpoint for last Saturday's violent rally in Virginia.
"I wonder, is it George Washington next week?" he asked journalists at Trump Tower. "And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?"
Let's put aside for a moment the irony that Lee may well have supported Charlottesville's plans to remove his bronze likeness, given that he urged the country to "obliterate the marks of civil strife" and refrain from erecting such monuments.
As President Trump pointed out, George Washington was a slaveholder.
So might the stone obelisk dedicated to the father of the nation, looming over the heart of his eponymous capital city, be the next battleground in the US culture wars?
Or even Mount Rushmore?
Washington conceded the system of human bondage that underpinned the economy of 18th Century Virginia was a "wicked, cruel and unnatural trade".
He was the only founding father and commander-in-chief to liberate his slaves - he owned more than 300 - when he died.
But as Ron Chernow's magisterial biography Washington: A Life makes clear, while he lived, the nation's first president extracted his pound of flesh from those whom he preferred to call his "servants", or "family".
Washington saw himself as a benevolent master, but he did not tolerate suspected shirkers on his farm, even when they were pregnant, elderly or crippled.
He once scolded a slave who pleaded that he could not work because his arm was in a sling.
As Chernow writes, Washington picked up a rake and demonstrated how to use it with one arm.
"If you use your hand to eat," he said, "why can't you use it to work?"
He was not averse to shipping refractory slaves to the West Indies, such as one man named Waggoner Jack, where the tropical climate and relentless toil in sugarcane brakes tended to abbreviate life expectancy.
"There are few Negroes who will work unless there be a constant eye on them," Washington...

Summary:


A former police officer who found the body of a soldier at Deepcut barracks has denied his account of events was inaccurate.

Boojum, the Belfast-based chain of burrito restaurants, has been sold.

Article: Pte Cheryl James was found dead from a bullet wound to her head at the Surrey barracks in 1995.
Neil Vousden was questioned about whether there were inconsistencies between his account and other evidence at an inquest in Woking.
He said he found the body with colleague Tyron Bancroft.
Mr Vousden said he made the discovery after being sent by his Provo sergeant to see why Pte James had left her guard duty at the barracks gate.
"We saw a waterproof camouflage jacket behind a bushed area," he said.
"Tyron Bancroft approached the location, I was behind him. Obviously we saw that it was a body.
"Bancroft leaned down behind the head and took the pulse. There was no life, no sign of life."
Pte James, 18, from Llangollen in Denbighshire, was one of four recruits to die at the base in seven years.
Mr Vousden said he had selected Pte James to man the gate because she was "a very responsible young lady".
He insisted he was not aware of orders in force at the time that female soldiers should not do lone guard duty.
Mr Vousden said he had driven Pte James to the gate, to start her duty at 06:55.  He then returned to the gate at about 08:20 a few minutes after it was reported unattended.
But Alison Foster QC, representing the James family, accused him of giving an untrue account to make himself look more efficient.
She said other witnesses reported Pte James had walked to her post and questioned him about why the log of her final duty "CJ stag" was missing.
"There's nothing about 'CJ stag' in these papers, it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that it was destroyed. Did you have anything to do with that?" Ms Foster asked.
Mr Vousden said: "No."
Ms Foster said his account "recorded what you ought to have done and what ought to have happened".
"It wasn't an account of what actually happened on the day of Cheryl's death was it?" she said.
Mr Vousden repeatedly denied the accusation and insisted he was trying to look more efficient but was telling the truth.
Who were the Deepcut four? Background to the deaths and timeline of...

Summary: An ex-military police officer who found the body of a soldier at Deepcut barracks has denied his account of events was inaccurate.
###
Article: The business was owned by John and Karen Blisard and began operating in 2007.
It now has five branches: two in Belfast, two in Dublin and one in Galway.
The firm's last set of abbreviated accounts suggest it made a profit of around Â£300,000 in 2014. It has been taken over by Belfast brothers David and Andrew Maxwell.
They are backed by the Dublin-based investment firm Renatus Capital Partners
Andrew Maxwell is a former professional rugby player with Ulster.
David has previously run restaurants in Arizona where he said he "fell in love with Mexican food and culture".
He said they planned to expand the chain.
"The management and crew at Boojum provide exceptional service which has been pivotal to the success of the business," they said.
"Our aim, in partnership with Renatus, is to preserve that success and build on it.
"We expect to create many new jobs as we bring the Boojum experience to new communities."
The deal was initiated by the Belfast-based corporate advisors HNH Group.
Matt McCullough from HNH played rugby at Ulster with Andrew Maxwell.
He said: "Knowing the Maxwells, who are high quality operators with a passion for Mexican food, we felt they would be capable of maintaining everything that is good about the Boojum brand, whilst moving the business forward.
"These aspects were key to making this deal happen."
The sale does not include the Blisard's barbecue restaurant, Bubbacue.

Summary:


The UK's most popular music has been voted for by listeners of the alternative music station.
The list is a countdown of the year's most popular songs voted for by listeners of the alternative music station.
The top three are:
1. The Beatles' "I'm Not Afraid Of You"
2

Triple J have confirmed Taylor Swift was disqualified from this year's Hottest 100.

Article: Public Health England (PHE) said 5.3 per cent of all deaths in over-25s were linked to air pollution, although the figures varied considerably by region.
Authors of the study said people whose death was hastened by pollution lost an average of 10.6 years of their lives.
Environmental campaigners said the problem was "outrageous".
The figures are estimates for long-term exposure to pollutants.
They do not include short-term exposure, such as that seen in many areas last week.
Source: Public Health England
The highest percentage of deaths was in London. In the Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster boroughs, 8.3% of deaths were linked to pollution. In Tower Hamlets, the figure was 8.1%.
The fewest pollution-related deaths were in rural Scotland and Northern Ireland (2.5%) and the Western Isles (2.4%).
There has been little change in the death estimates over recent years, BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said.
Public health campaigners have argued that the government is to blame for failing to implement an EU directive on clean air.
PHE insisted that air quality has improved "considerably" as a result of cleaner-air technology and tighter environmental legislation.
But Dr Paul Cosford, PHE's director of health protection and medical director, said local authorities should consider further measures.
Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner Jenny Bates said the figures were a "national disgrace".
She added: "It's outrageous that tens of thousands of people die prematurely in England every year because of polluted air."
Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said action was needed "urgently".
A Department for the Environment spokesperson said: "This report will help local authorities prioritise air pollution amongst other public health issues. It is well recognised that air quality can affect people's health, which is why we are investing heavily in measures to improve it.
"We have committed billions to increase uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, sustainable travel and green...

Summary: Long-term exposure to air pollution contributed to more than 28,000 deaths across the UK in 2010, government figures show.
###
Article: The list is a countdown of the year's most popular songs voted for by listeners of the alternative music station.
Triple J said there were "a whole range of reasons" behind the decision.
The main one is a social media campaign, originally instigated by Buzzfeed Australia's Mark Di Stefano, to get Shake It Off on the list.
Readers were encouraged to tweet #Tay4Hottest100 to get the song to appear on the countdown, which was thought to be too much of an influence.
Some thought Swift's track was too commercial for the alternative music station, while others said banning the song would be seen as elitism.
The list was topped by Chet Faker's Talk Is Cheap, with Peking Duk's High and Cosby Sweater by Hilltop Hoods completing the top three.
Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk finished sixth on the poll, while alt-J have three songs in the top 30.
Triple J pointed out that Taylor Swift wasn't played at all on the station in 2014 but would have finished ahead of all alt-J's tracks if it wasn't disqualified.
Vance Joy's Riptide won the 2013 poll, which saw a more commercial top three include Lorde's Royals and Get Lucky by Daft Punk.
Triple J presenter Lewis McKirdy, who made the announcement that Taylor Swift's track wouldn't be allowed in the list, directed listeners to a Buzzfeed parody titled 8 Hilarious But Totally True Reasons You Didn't Hear Shake It Off In The Hottest 100, for more information about the decision.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary:


The story of a young woman who is forced to marry a man who is a criminal, and who is forced to marry a man who is a criminal, is a novel that will appeal to readers of all ages.

The winner of the Man Booker Prize is announced shortly with Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life the bookies' favourite to take the £50,000 prize.

Article: In its most comprehensive report into the Oromo protests, HRW lists the names of more than 300 it says were killed.
The government has acknowledged that protesters have died but said HRW was "very generous with numbers".
Protests were sparked by fears that a plan to expand the capital into Oromia region would displace Oromo farmers.
They began in November last year, but the government dropped the proposal to enlarge Addis Ababa's administrative boundaries in January.
Africa Live: BBC news updates
The Oromo protests and Ethiopian unity
Why Ethiopia made â€˜master planâ€™ U-turn
Oromia is Ethiopia's largest region, completely surrounding the city.
The change of policy has not stopped the demonstrations, but they have reduced in their intensity.
At the last census in 2007, the Oromo made up Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, at about 25 million people out of a population at the time of nearly 74 million.
An investigation, released last week, by the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission, appointed by parliament, found that 173 people had died during the unrest.
It said the dead included 28 security officers and local government officials.
Information Minister Getachew Reda said that in the main the security forces conducted themselves "in a very professional and responsible manner".
He put the killings down to "a few bad apples".
The government has said that it will investigate and deal with those responsible.
In March, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn apologised for the death and destruction of property caused by protests in Oromia region.
While his statement was bold, and came as a surprise, some protesters said it was a case of too little, too late.
The acknowledgment by the country's information minister that deaths had occurred is not different.
There will also be questions about the sincerity of investigating police officers who used unnecessary force.
Can it really do that while dozens of protesters are still being detained and are yet to be charged?
While the protests have died down recently, they remain...

Summary: Ethiopian security forces killed more than 400 people in the recent wave of anti-government demonstrations, US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.
###
Article: Yanagihara's novel, the story of four college friends seeking fame and fortune in New York, is tipped to win by bookmakers William Hill and Coral.
It is the second year the prize is open to all authors writing in English, regardless of nationality.
The winner will be announced at London's Guildhall at around 21:45 BST.
This year's shortlist features two authors from the UK, two from the US and one each from Jamaica and Nigeria.
The shortlist of authors and titles is as follows:
Victory for either Yanagihara or Tyler would see the Man Booker have its first American winner.
Marlon James is the first Jamaican-born author to be shortlisted for the prize. William Hill said his novel, which explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s, had moved up from fifth favourite to second favourite.
This year's judges are Michael Wood (chair),  Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, John Burnside, Sam Leith and Frances Osborne.  They considered 156 books for this year's prize.
McCarthy is the only shortlisted author to have been nominated before, having been shortlisted for C in 2010.
At 28 years old, Obioma is the youngest nominee, the same age as 2013 winner Eleanor Catton.
The shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book. The winner will receive a further cheque for £50,000.
Australian author Richard Flanagan won last year's prize for his wartime novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
Coverage from this year's ceremony, where the prize will be presented by the Duchess of Cornwall, will be on the BBC News Channel from 21:30 BST.

Summary:


The deaths of a man and woman whose bodies were found at a property in Paisley are being treated as "unexplained", police have said.

Article: The firm said it received requests for information linked to between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices between December and the end of May.
It said the demands included "national security matters" among other information. Microsoft and Facebook published similar numbers last week.
But Google and Twitter have said that such disclosures are not helpful.
"We have always believed that it's important to differentiate between different types of government requests," said a statement by Google published on Saturday.
"Lumping the two categories together would be a step back for users."
A tweet from Twitter's legal director, Benjamin Lee, added: "We agree... it's important to be able to publish numbers of national security requests - including Fisa [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] disclosures - separately."
Tech firms have been under pressure to disclose information about data passed to the National Security Agency since The Guardian and Washington Post revealed the existence of Prism - a programme giving the NSA access to user data held on the servers of tech firms including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, and Apple.
The NSA later confirmed the existence of the surveillance scheme as well as a separate phone records programme which it said had helped it thwart terrorist plots in the US and more than 20 other countries.
US spy chief James Clapper has also stated that the NSA's communications-collection efforts were designed to help acquire information about "non-US persons located outside the United States" and the agency could not "intentionally target any US citizen, any other US person, or anyone located within the United States".
However, privacy activists and some politicians have raised concerns that the agency's actions still went beyond what was intended under powers granted by the Patriot Act following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks.
Following the revelations, several of the tech firms involved said they had asked the US government to allow them to disclose information which...

Summary: Apple is the latest tech firm to publish details of data requests from the US authorities.
###
Article: Officers were called to the address in the Renfrewshire town's Gordon Street at about 20:55 on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said that a 40-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man were found dead inside.
She said post mortem examinations had been carried out and both deaths were still being treated as unexplained.

Summary:


The Scottish Government has announced that it will be introducing a new tax on the sale of alcohol.

The late start to Scotland's latest snowsports season had a "significant impact" and reduced the number of days available for skiing and snowboarding.

Article: The oil giant said its profits had fallen by 51% to $5.9bn (Â£4.1bn), compared with $12.1bn in 2014 following a dramatic slide in oil prices.
BP was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, falling 35.9p to 331p after announcing its biggest loss for more than two decades.
Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday, with Brent crude down 5.3% to $32.42.
BP's underlying fourth-quarter profits sank to $196m, compared with $2.2bn for the same period in 2014 and far worse than analysts had expected.
A further 3,000 job cuts were also announced by BP on Tuesday.
Last year, it said 4,000 jobs would go in its upstream division as part of a $2.5bn restructuring programme.
BP said its upstream business, which covers exploration and production, slumped to a $728m loss in the final quarter.
The latest reduction of up to 3,000 jobs by the end of 2017 affects staff and contractors in its downstream segment.
This refers to its refined oil products, such as fuel, lubricants and petrochemicals, that are used to make products such as paint and plastic bottles.
Bob Dudley, BP chief executive, said the company was making good progress in managing and lowering costs and capital spending.
"We are continuing to move rapidly to adapt and rebalance BP for the changing environment," he added.
Oil prices have been hit by the slowing global economy, the strong US dollar and oversupply.
BP's dividend will remain unchanged at 10 cents a share for the quarter.
Sanjiv Shah, chief investment officer at Sun Global Investments, said: "The short term looks difficult but shareholders should be encouraged by the fact that a pick-up in prices is expected soon and that BP management are committed to continue paying out current dividend levels."
Analysis: Kamal Ahmed, economics editor
In the final three months of 2014, the cost of a barrel of Brent crude was $77. In the final three months of 2015, it was $44.
Today it is $34. That is the background to today's results from BP.
Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, told me two weeks ago that he expected the oil price...

Summary: Shares in BP have ended the day almost 9% lower after it reported that annual profits had more than halved.
###
Article: Ski-Scotland, the organisation that promotes Scottish snowsports, said it had involved 207,770 skier days.
It also estimated that the industry generated almost Â£21m for the economy during the season.
Previous seasons have involved bigger numbers - 2012-13 had 290,996 skier days and raised more than Â£29m.
The more recent 2014-15 season involved 230,634 skier days, raising Â£23.2m.
It was also the first in years that all five of Scotland's outdoor ski centres - Nevis Range, Lecht, CairnGorm Mountain, Glencoe Mountain and Glenshee - opened for snowsports before Christmas.
For the latest season, the sites had to wait until January for sufficient snow cover, though Nevis Range near Fort William and the Lecht in Aberdeenshire were able to open for a short time at the end of December.
Ski-Scotland said the late start had a "significant impact", but added that it was still pleased with the contribution the industry made to the economy.
Chairwoman Heather Negus said of the figures: "Although they are lower than last season, they are much better than anticipated, given the late start to the season.
"This year, the season did not start until mid-January, as opposed to last winter, when our first ski areas were open by mid-December."
A skier day means one person who skis or snowboards on one day. Many of the same people return to the slopes several times during the season.

Summary:


The FBI has arrested a man who allegedly shot and killed a woman in a New York City apartment complex.
The woman, who was not identified, was shot and killed by a man who was not identified.
The woman was shot and killed by a man who was not identified.
The man was arrested on suspicion

Two pro-gun US senators have called for changes to firearm laws, as the first victims of the 26 victims of Newtown school shootings were buried.

Article: The Scottish Design Relay begins in Dundee in August before travelling to Orkney, Caithness, Shetland, Govan, and Aberdeen.
Groups of young people will work with local designers and be introduced to an object with a link to their community.
The new designs and prototypes will be displayed in the V&A Dundee museum.
The local objects include a model of the Dounreay Fast Reactor, a 100-year-old hooded Orkney chair, and a Fair Isle jumper once worn by the commander in chief of the British Home Forces.
The Govan leg of the relay includes a "Clutha" vase designed by Christopher Dresser and made with trademark bubbles and streaks by Glasgow glass-makers James Couper & Sons.
The Aberdeen group will study an enamelled plaque by James Cromar Watt, an architect and jeweller of the Scottish arts and crafts movement.
Philip Long, Director of V&A Dundee, said: "The Scottish Design Relay highlights just how special and varied this collection will be and, even more excitingly, has the potential to inspire a new generation of designers.
"The new prototypes produced by the young people will be displayed in the museum, providing a great opportunity for everyone who visits V&A Dundee to see the vibrancy of Scotland's design future."
Mhairi Maxwell, the museum's project coordinator, said: "V&A Dundee will celebrate Scotland's design achievements and this project is a great opportunity to help inspire the young designers of the future.
"At each stage of the Scottish Design Relay those taking part will define a problem and come up with a solution after being guided through the design process.
"This is a real opportunity to connect young people to their design heritage and create something that could have a positive impact on their community."

Summary: V&A Dundee has launched a national project inspired by a selection of objects that will be displayed in the new museum when it opens in 2018.
###
Article: Democrats Mark Warner and Joe Manchin, who have "A" ratings from the National Rifle Association (NRA), now say action is needed after the massacre.
President Obama has held a meeting with three of his cabinet to discuss how the law might change.
Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, both aged six, were buried on Monday.
They were among 20 children and six adults killed at Sandy Hook school in Connecticut.
Other victims' funerals will be held throughout the week, and the town has already begun removing Christmas decorations in mourning.
Two adults who were injured in the attack survived are recovering in hospital and would be crucial witnesses as police continue their investigation, it was confirmed on Monday.
Lt Paul Vance said they were recovering and would be interviewed at an appropriate time.
Children who witnessed the attack would also be interviewed - in the presence of parents and professionals - Lt Vance added.
The Sandy Hook gunman was named as Adam Lanza, who took his own life at the end of a killing spree that began with him shooting dead his own mother.
Despite a long history of pro-gun views, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin told US network MSNBC on Monday that it was time to "move beyond rhetoric" on gun control.
Mr Manchin, a gun owner and frequent hunter, said: "I don't know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle."
"It's common sense. It's time to move beyond rhetoric. We need to sit down and have a common sense discussion and move in a reasonable way."
Virginia Senator Mark Warner, another Democrat who has backed gun owner's rights, told reporters outside the Virginia capitol that the "status quo isn't acceptable". He later called for "rational gun control" in an interview with a local news broadcaster.
Mr Warner said he had been approached repeatedly over the weekend as people began to seek answers and solutions.
On Sunday President Barack Obama told residents at a vigil in Newtown the US must do more to protect its children.
Rate per 100,000 people
Source: FBI...

Summary:


The Hidden Abbey Project is a project of the Hidden Abbey Project, a charity run by the Hidden Abbey Trust.
The project is funded by the Hidden Abbey Trust and the Hidden Abbey Trust Trust Trust.
The project is led by the Hidden Abbey Trust Trust and the Hidden Abbey Trust Trust Trust Trust.
The project is

Survey work to find the tomb of King Henry I, who is believed to be buried at Reading Abbey, has started.

Article: The MPs also called on the government to bring in rules to slow down the speed at which the machines operate.
Bookmakers should employ more staff to help reduce crime linked to the terminals, they added.
But industry body the Association of British Bookmakers said the group of MPs was "a kangaroo court".
Shares in William Hill fell more than 7% and Ladbrokes Coral shares fell more than 6% after the MPs' announcement.
Fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) are gambling machines, normally located on bookmakers' premises, where players can stake large amounts of money on games such as roulette.
Given the potential for big losses due to the maximum £100 stakes and the speed of spin on the terminals, the government should take immediate action, said Labour MP Carolyn Harris.
"The government has a duty to protect the most vulnerable in our society and to act in the public interest.
"We therefore strongly urge them to properly regulate FOBTs and to do so with immediate effect," she said.
The all-party parliamentary group on fixed-odds betting terminals, which Ms Harris chairs, said it had received reports of increased crime due to the presence of the machines in bookmakers.
The government should consider not just "problem gambling" but also "wider gambling-related harm caused by FOBTs and the cumulative impact on families and communities that these machines can have".
However, the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) described the group of MPs as "a kangaroo court".
"It is a small group of anti-bookmaking MPs, funded by casinos and arcades that will benefit from undermining bookmakers," an ABB spokesman said.
"When a properly balanced and independent Select Committee of MPs investigated FOBTs, they came out strongly in favour of them.
"As opposed to that Select Committee report, this is a biased and highly misleading piece of work, with no material evidence to support their claims."
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in the process of reviewing fixed-odds gambling machines.

Summary: A cross-party group of MPs has said maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals should be cut from £100 to £2 to reduce "societal harm".
###
Article: Investigations using ground-penetrating radar equipment have begun on land around St James Church next to the remaining ruins of Reading Abbey.
The Hidden Abbey Project hopes to uncover the high altar where the king and Queen Adeliza are buried.
The survey is the first comprehensive archaeological investigation at Reading Abbey for more than 150 years.
Further survey are due to be carried out on the abbey church, Forbury Gardens and Reading Gaol car park.
John Mullaney of the Hidden Abbey Project said: "What we shall discover we do not know - maybe much, maybe little.
"I hope all our work will tell us more about one of England's greatest buildings and about the King who was buried in Reading."
The investigations are being carried out alongside conservation work on the 900-year-old abbey which closed to the public in the summer of 2009 after a survey showed its walls were in too poor condition.
After a successful bid for Â£1.77m of lottery funding they are due re-open to the public in 2018.
Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, founded Reading Abbey in 1121.
After his death in Normandy in December 1135, his body was brought to Reading sewn into a bull's hide. He was laid to rest in January 1136.
The abbey was partly destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII but there is no definite record of what happened to Henry I's remains.

Summary:


In a recent article in the Nigerian newspaper, the Nigerian government has announced that it will ban the sale of rats to rats.
The government has also announced that it will ban the sale of rats to rats.
The government has also announced that it will ban the sale of rats to rats.
The government has also

A South African lion called Sylvester who twice fled a national park will be rehoused rather than put down, and encouraged to become an alpha male.

Article: A recent headline in a local newspaper captured the reaction of many Nigerians to the latest disease outbreak in our country: "From Bats To Rats As Lassa Fever Takes Off Where Ebola Stopped".
Rats are the newest terrorists in town.
Since August 2015, the Lassa haemorrhagic fever outbreak, which is usually transmitted via infected rats, has spread to 17 states in Nigeria, resulting in about 76 fatalities, including at least one doctor who had treated infected patients.
However, Nigeria seems bent on ensuring that rats do not do as much damage as the bats, who were the primary carriers of Ebola, which left more than 11,000 dead after it began in Guinea in 2014 and spread to 10 other countries, including Nigeria.
We may not have a Pied Piper to lure the pests into the River Benue with his shrill notes, but the federal government has appointed a National Lassa Fever Action Committee to plan how to halt the outbreak.
Rat poison seller:
"The Boko Haram Rat Disposal was an instant hit, becoming very popular with customers"
"With the resources available to us, we will collectively eliminate the disease in Nigeria soon," assured the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, at a meeting during which the committee was inaugurated.
Meanwhile, a ban has been placed on eating rats - a delicacy in certain parts of the country - which my friend's father tells me tastes like grasscutter or squirrel meat.
"You remove the entrails and roast it without boiling it first," he said.
"When you add some pepper and salt, it becomes quite tasty."
As a young man in the late 1960s, he had fought on the Biafran side during the civil war, when many ethnic Igbos were forced to eat rodents in order to ward off starvation.
In addition, public service announcements continue to warn against consuming foods that may have been exposed to rats, especially when not prepared with heat.
Particular caution has been drawn to the drinking of garri, a powder produced from cassava that is sometimes left open in storerooms accessible to rats.
Garri soaked in...

Summary: In our series of letters from African journalists, novelist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani looks at Nigeria's current war on rats.
###
Article: Karoo national park authorities had originally considered putting Sylvester down but will now rehouse the animal away from male competition.
The lion's plight was highlighted in a Twitter campaign in South Africa.
Sylvester will now join two young female lions in Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape province.
Sylvester escaped at the end of March by crawling under an electric fence after heavy rain dislodged earth, a park spokesperson said at the time.
It is thought three-year-old Sylvester was running away from threatening older males.
The move will establish him as the dominant male, said Fundisile Mketeni, CEO of South Africa National Parks.
"There is always a risk that this lion may break out again but this will be mitigated to a large extent by reducing any potential conflict with other males," Mr Mketeni added.
Last June, Sylvester went on a three-week sheep-killing spree, wandering 300km (180 miles) before he was found taking a nap by rangers and airlifted from the Nuweveld Mountains.
When he was found he was fitted with a tracking collar.
The second time he escaped, rescuers followed the signal from his collar to find him high up in the mountains in Western Cape again.
He was tranquilised and airlifted by helicopter, an operation the park authorities captured on video.
He had been away for four days.

Summary:


A second multifuel power station has been approved for Ferrybridge.

Article: Science fiction and biographies were the next most popular genres, according to the poll to mark the start of Book Week Scotland.
The Ipsos mori poll of 1,000 adults found one in four readers preferred crime fiction.
One in 10 opted for science fiction and biography, while historic fiction was the preferred choice of 9% of readers.
The survey also found that almost 80% of Scots read or listen to books for enjoyment - with nearly half of them doing so every day.
Of those who don't read for enjoyment, three quarters said they had read a newspaper in the past few months.
Hundreds of events organised by Scottish Book Trust will take place across the country as part of Book Week Scotland.
There will be author appearances from writers including Alexander McCall Smith, Chris Brookmyre and Liz Lochhead.
Marc Lambert, chief executive of Scottish Book Trust, said: "It is hardly surprising that the country which gave us Ian Rankin, Denise Mina, Iain Banks, Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre and many others has bred a generation of crime enthusiasts.
"It's also very heartening to see that almost half of Scottish people read a book for pleasure most days or every day. Reading has many proven health benefits, not least stress reduction and memory improvement, but above all it is a really enjoyable pastime."
Culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "Our national Book Week has gone from strength to strength since it was established in 2012.
"Scottish Book Trust is doing some outstanding work to make reading more accessible to those who find it challenging and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy reading and our literary heritage."

Summary: Crime is the favourite form of fiction for the majority of Scottish book readers, a survey has suggested.
###
Article: The site at Knottingley, West Yorkshire is to burn fuel from refuse, industrial and commercial waste including wood, said operator Multifuel Energy Ltd.
The Â£300m plant is to create hundreds of jobs over a three-year build and should produce electricity for about 160,000 homes, it said.
The adjoining coal-fired Ferrybridge 'C' plant is to close in March 2016, it was announced in May.
The Secretary of State has granted development consent for the new plant.
Construction is expected to begin in 2016 with about 35 permanent jobs once it is operational.
The power station is expected to produce up to 90MWe of electricity annually by burning 675,000 tonnes of waste that could have ended up in landfill, said Multifuel Energy
It is to be built next to the newly-constructed Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 that stated operations earlier this year.
Multifuel Energy is a joint venture between power company SSE and and waste management company Wheelabrator Technologies.

Summary:


The Welsh government has been criticised for failing to take action to tackle the problem of food safety.

Virgin East Coast rail workers have voted to go out on strike in a dispute over job cuts, working conditions and safety, the RMT union has said.

Article: When undercover X-Ray researchers visited zero-rated food premises in the Vale of Glamorgan all but one failed to disclose their score.
Wales is the only part of the UK where customers have a legal right to know the food hygiene rating of their local cafÃ© or takeaway.
Scores range from a "very good" five to zero, meaning "in need of urgent improvement".
Stickers featuring the score must be prominently displayed and staff must tell customers their score if they ask. There is a Â£200 fixed penalty notice for failing to do this.
Whilst food premises which have a high score display their scores prominently - in some cases on giant banner adverts - X-Ray has found that some of the least hygienic break the law and lie about their ratings.
The programme targeted the Vale of Glamorgan which had the highest proportion of zero-rated food outlets in Wales, according to the Food Standards Agency's website.
An X-Ray researcher visited all of those in the county which should have been displaying a zero rating.
No hygiene scores were seen at any of the premises - and when undercover researchers asked, only one restaurant - the Sully Inn, near Barry - was honest about the score.
In Barry, Pizza Knight and Mariano's Pizzeria claimed not to have a score, the Far East takeaway falsely claimed theirs was under review and Romeo Pizza said they had a "good" rating of four.
Rob Wilkins from the Food Standards Agency, which oversees the food hygiene rating scheme, was concerned by the findings.
"It's clearly not what the legislation was introduced for. Customers can expect to see stickers in windows and they can expect an honest answer from food business operators," he said.
"For those businesses that are not prepared to partake in it there are sanctions and they should be applied."
At least 45 businesses in Wales have already received Â£200 fixed penalty notices for failing to display their hygiene ratings and there have been several prosecutions for repeated breaches of the law.
When asked why they failed to display their zero...

Summary: Some of Wales' least hygienic takeaways and pubs are flouting the law by failing to display their poor food hygiene ratings, an investigation by BBC Wales' X-Ray programme has revealed.
###
Article: Five out of six (84%) of those who voted in the ballot backed walkouts and the union said its leaders will now consider their next move.
Destinations on the line include London, Aberdeen, Inverness and Hull.
Virgin Trains responded to the result by saying it would run a full timetable during any RMT strike action.
The two sides are in dispute over staffing changes, which the company says would have no impact on safety and no compulsory job losses.
The union's general secretary Mick Cash said: "RMT will not sit back while nearly 200 members' jobs are under threat and also conditions and safety are put at risk."
David Horne, managing director for Virgin Trains on the east coast, said: "With our guarantees that there will be no compulsory redundancies, no impact on safety and a full timetable in place during any action, we urge the RMT not to call a strike which will cost its members pay for no reason, and to rejoin us around the negotiating table."

Summary:


The government has announced plans to introduce a new pension age for people who have been working for more than five years.

Ill-health or disability is forcing one in eight people to stop working before they reach the state pension age, the TUC says.

Article: Bath and North East Somerset Council had shortlisted two sites close to the A4, but a "huge public outcry" followed that decision.
It said it would now look at a raft of "joined up transport improvements".
Council leader Tim Warren said the eastern park-and-ride had been "challenging" but said ultimately it must put the safety of road user first.
He said some of the other transport measures the authority would look at included:
Two preferred sites for a park-and-ride to the east of Bath were chosen from a shortlist of eight.
A greenbelt site on the west side of Mill Lane at Bathampton Meadows was eventually chosen over neighbouring council-owned land because the 800-car site would be less visible and have potential for a future rail link.
Mr Warren added improving transport and tackling Bath's traffic problems "remain one of our highest priorities".
"In light of the issues with site access, and taking into consideration all the various factors with these two sites, it is therefore recommended that the council should not proceed with either of these sites and we should instead commit all our efforts to pursuing the other traffic and transport measures we have set out."
The proposed eastern park-and-ride would have joined the city's other three at Newbridge, Lansdown and Odd Down.

Summary: Plans for a controversial park-and-ride to the east of Bath have been shelved "primarily on road safety grounds".
###
Article: It found almost half a million people have had to leave work for medical reasons within five years before they were due to retire.
In March the government announced an independent review into the state pension age.
Research by the TUC research points to a significant north/south divide.
In the south west of England, just one in 13 people blamed sickness or disability for leaving work. However, that figure rises to one in seven in the north of England, Scotland and Wales and one in four in Northern Ireland.
Those in the lowest-paid jobs or in manual work are also twice as likely to stop working for health reasons than managers or professionals.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "These figures show that we must hold off on any further rises in the pension age until we have worked out how to support the one in eight workers who are too ill to work before they even get to state pension age.
"People should be able to retire in dignity with a decent pension when the time is right. Older workers have a crucial role to play in the labour market but we can't expect the sick to wait longer to get a pension when they may need financial support more than ever."
A government review of the state pension age is being led by ex-CBI chief John Cridland. Its findings are due to be published in May.
The state pension age is set to rise to 65 for both men and women by November 2018 and 67 by 2028.
Tom McPhail, head of retirement policy at financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said earlier this year: "Those joining the workforce today are likely to find themselves waiting until their mid-seventies to get a pay-out from the state system."

Summary:


The Co-op has been ordered to provide clearer insurance quotations, after it failed to tell motorists about separate charges for no claims bonuses.

Article: In a report to the UN, it underlined the need for stop-and-search to take place within the legal framework set out by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
It initially raised the issue with the UN Human Rights Committee a year ago.
The body has previously called for an end to non-statutory stop-and-search.
The latest move follows public concern about the widespread use of stop-and-search measures in Scotland.
Police have considered scrapping consensual searches, having already committed to ceasing the practice with under-12s.
Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) chairman Prof Alan Miller said: "Stop-and-search has its place as a means of ensuring public safety.
"However, it should only be carried out where there is a clear legal basis for interfering with someone's basic right to privacy.
"We should all be free to go about our daily business unless the police have reasonable suspicion that we are doing something illegal.
"Police Scotland has repeatedly failed to take appropriate steps to address the concerns that the commission and others have raised.
"A review announced in February promised progress but, in reality, has not led to any tangible change."
He added: "Unlawful stop and search continues to take place on Scotland's streets. This must stop."
SHRC said it looked forward to a forthcoming report by the Stop and Search Advisory Group, established by the Scottish government, and would respond accordingly.
In a statement, Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson said: "Police Scotland recognises it is important to strike a balance between protecting the public and the rights of the individual and we are committed to complying with requirements of the Human Rights Act and our Code of Ethics and Police Values, where stop and search must be carried out with integrity, fairness and respect."
ACC Mawson said "some areas for improvement" had been identified following an extensive review of stop-and-search by Police Scotland and independent reviews by bodies such as the...

Summary: The Scottish Human Rights Commission has taken its concerns about controversial police stop-and-search practices to the United Nations.
###
Article: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had ordered all insurance companies to split out the extra charges for the additional protection.
But the Co-op was the only firm which missed a deadline to do so, in August last year.
As a result around 120,000 customers received quotations that were unclear.
From 1 February, the Co-op will provide two separate quotations - one with no claims bonus protection, and one without.
"It is very disappointing that a major company such as Co-op Insurance has taken so long to provide this vital information to its customers," said Adam Land, senior director of remedies, business and financial analysis at the CMA.
"Before the order came into force, the price and benefits of NCB [no claims bonus] protection were often unclear to drivers.
"We expect the Co-op to fully comply with the terms of our directions immediately, so that motorists can search more easily for the best deal for them, and decide whether or not they want this optional cover."
The Co-op said most of its quotations do now provide separate details of no claims bonus charges.
"For 90% of our new business customers we are already fully compliant with this order," a spokesperson said.
"We are part way through a major transformation programme, which when complete will allow us to be fully compliant and enable us to provide best in class service to our members."

Summary:


A red kite was found by a member of the public at Daintry Wood near Toddington.
The RSPB said: "This was clearly no accident and it is especially sad considering the lengths that have been taken to reintroduce these splendid birds to England."
RSPB inspector Jenny Shelton said

A protected bird of prey has been found dead in Bedfordshire and had likely been shot "at close range".

Article: Media playback is unsupported on your device
15 October 2014 Last updated at 13:18 BST
The steppe eagle flew 45 times over the Brecon Beacons wearing a miniature rucksack packed with scientific instruments.
The experiment showed that by collapsing his wings in heavy wind, Cossack can fly in conditions that would have grounded an aircraft.
Scientists say birds such as vultures and kites may use the same technique.
During each "wing tuck" Cossack's wings are, for a split-second, folded beneath his body so that he is effectively falling. This occurs up to three times a minute in some conditions.
Study leader Professor Graham Taylor, from Oxford University's Department of Zoology, said: "Soaring flight may appear effortless but it isn't a free ride...it also puts an enormous strain on its flight muscles."
He compared the technique to suspension on a car stopping a disturbing ride.
The 75g (3 oz) "black box", which does not interfere with flying, tracks his position and records acceleration, rotation rate and airspeed.
Prof Taylor believes the lessons learned from Cossack could be useful to human aviation.
"This kind of technique could potentially be used to keep micro air vehicles aloft even in very windy conditions," he said.

Summary: An eagle called Cossack has been fitted with a "black box" to reveal his secret weapon against turbulence.
###
Article: The red kite was discovered by a member of the public at Daintry Wood near Toddington.
An X-ray image showed it had 10 pieces of lead shot lodged in its body.
The RSPB said: "This was clearly no accident and it is especially sad considering the lengths that have been taken to reintroduce these splendid birds to England."
RSPB inspector Jenny Shelton said: "The bird will most likely have been shot at close range to incur this level of damage.
"Red kites feed mainly on carrion, so there is no logical reason for these birds to be targeted".
Bedfordshire Police has appealed for information about the shooting.
Insp Mark Farrant said: "This is a particularly worrying incident against a bird that is fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
"I would ask anyone with information relating to this or similar incidents to call Bedfordshire Police."
According to the RSPB, the shooting of birds of prey is a widespread problem in the UK.
The organisation's latest Bird Crime report said there were 196 reports of shooting, trapping and destruction of birds of prey in 2015, including red kites.
The species is protected under schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the punishment for killing one is up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to Â£5,000.
Red kites became extinct in England in 1871, with only a handful of pairs left in remote parts of central Wales.
The RSPB helped reintroduce them in 1989 and there are now about 1,000 red kites in England.

Summary:


The Australian government has said it will not allow schools to use the "no-clapping" policy to restrict students from speaking in the classroom.
The policy was introduced in the Australian parliament in March, but it has been criticised by the Australian media.
The policy was introduced in the Australian parliament in March, but

A school in Sydney has banned clapping in favour of "silent cheering", "excited faces" and "punching the air".

Article: Russell Hobby was responding to warnings that more young people from the UK could travel to the conflict in Syria during the school holidays.
He said schools would alert parents and "appropriate authorities" if they found evidence of extremism.
"We cannot reasonably expect schools to perform police functions," he said.
Mr Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said that schools would respond to any information they received, but would need the support of other agencies, if young people vulnerable to extremism were to be identified and intercepted.
He was responding to warnings from a senior prosecutor, Nazir Afzal, that some schools feared the Easter holidays would be used as a time for radicalised pupils to try to join the conflict in Syria.
Mr Afzal, who stepped down this week as chief prosecutor for north-west England, said two London head teachers had raised such concerns with him:
"They are worried that some of their children and some of the people they have care over will not be there when they return from the Easter break - and that must worry us all."
In February, three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy in east London disappeared from their homes and flew to Turkey. They are believed to have crossed into Syria.
Head teachers' leader Mr Hobby said that where there was evidence of extremism or plans to travel to Syria heads would act, but there were limits to what could be expected of schools.
"Schools' duty of protection involves educating people well and sharing what information they do have with other agencies.
"Beyond that, they need clear guidance and somewhere to turn to for help. We cannot reasonably expect schools to perform police functions."

Summary: Head teachers cannot be expected to be "counter-terrorism experts" or "conduct surveillance" on young people, said a head teachers' leader.
###
Article: The school says the rule was introduced to respect students who are "sensitive to noise" but says the practice also "reduces fidgeting".
It is the latest in the series of school regulations to have faced criticism in the Australian media.
Hugs and Australia Day celebrations have faced bans at different schools around the country.
Earlier this week, an all-girls school rejected a newspaper report that said its teachers were asked to stop addressing students as girls, ladies and women in favour of gender-neutral language.
Elanora Heights Public School, on Sydney's northern beaches, announced the no-clapping policy in its latest newsletter.
"If you've been to a school assembly recently, you may have noticed our students doing silent cheers," it said.
"Instead of clapping, the students are free to punch the air, pull excited faces and wriggle about on the spot.
"The practice has been adopted to respect members of our school community who are sensitive to noise.
It said teachers would "prompt the audience to conduct a silent cheer if it is needed" and that they had found it to be "a great way to expend children's energy and reduce fidgeting".

Summary:


The government has not yet taken a decision as to whether an inquiry will be held.

Any inquiry into police actions during the Battle of Orgreave would not take place until Hillsborough investigations conclude, the Home Office said.

Article: The ONS said businesses used 1.5 million zero-hours contracts to employ staff in January this year, compared with 1.4 million a year earlier.
The data, collected in January, is the first that can be directly compared to a previous point in time, the ONS said.
But it added the rise in contracts was "not statistically significant".
Zero-hours contracts do not guarantee a minimum number of hours of employment and many argue they offer greater flexibility in working patterns.
But the contracts have proved controversial with the Labour party promising to ban them earlier this year if it won the general election.
The ONS said there had also been a rise in the number of people employed on zero-hours contracts.
It estimated that 744,000 people, or 2.4%, of those in employment between April and June 2015, were employed on zero-hours contracts up from 624,000, or 2%, for the same period a year earlier.
That represented a 19% rise year-on-year but the ONS again warned that it was impossible to say how much of the increase was due to greater recognition of the term "zero-hours contracts" rather than a rise in new contracts.
People on zero-hours contracts were more likely to be women, in full-time education or in young or older age groups compared with other people in employment, the ONS said.
Of those working on zero-hours contracts, 54% were women, while 34% were aged 16 to 24 and 6% aged 65 and over.
A further 20% of people on zero-hours contracts were in full-time education.
On average, someone on a zero-hours contract usually works 25 hours a week, with around 40% of them wanting more hours, most from their current job, rather than in a different or additional one, the ONS added.
The survey asked a sample of 5,000 businesses how many people were employed on contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours. More than 2,700 responses to the survey were received - a response rate of 55%.
Companies with more than 250 employees were more likely to employ some of their workforce using zero-hours contracts, the...

Summary: There has been a 6% rise in the use of zero-hours contracts by UK businesses in the last year, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows.
###
Article: The House of Lords heard the government had not yet taken a decision as to whether an inquiry will be held.
Launching one now could prejudice the on-going investigations into the Hillsborough disaster, it heard.
About 10,000 strikers and 5,000 police officers clashed at the coking plant near Rotherham in June 1984.
More than 120 officers and pickets were injured and 93 people arrested.
On Tuesday, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) ruled a full report into allegations of police misconduct will not be made public.
Live updates on this story and others in South Yorkshire
What was the 'Battle of Orgreave'?
What happened at Hillsborough?
Lord Richard Keen, Lords spokesperson for the Home Office, said a barrister had been commissioned to go through 10,000 police documents "in the context of the investigation at Orgreave".
In response to a question from Lord Richard Balfe, he said: "The IPCC has told the Home Office officials that if it announces any action to set up an inquiry or other investigation relating to Orgreave it would have an impact on the Hillsborough investigation.
"For that reason, the decision will only be taken after that part has been concluded."
He added work was still on-going to "assess whether material related to the policing of Orgreave is relevant to the Hillsborough criminal investigations".
Barbara Jackson, from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, said: "We respect all that the Hillsborough campaigners have had to go through, but we would like our issue dealt with as quickly as possible, as soon as their verdict is in the public domain."

Summary:


Some stories reported by Newsround can make you feel sad - but you are not the only one and it's OK to have those feelings.

Article: Barristers have withdrawn from all new criminal cases requiring legal aid, in protest against the reduced payments.
Bar Council chairman, Gerry McAlinden, said the cuts meant barristers will not get "any money" for aspects of cases.
But the justice minister said Northern Ireland could not continue to fund the UK's highest level of legal aid pay.
David Ford, who is facing cuts to his departmental budget along with other Northern Ireland Executive ministers, has introduced new rules this month that reduce the legal aid payments available to lawyers who undertake criminal case work.
Last week, it emerged that the Bar Council of Northern Ireland and the Law Society have joined forces in a legal action against the minister, in an attempt to get the High Court to overturn the new payment rules.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Mr McAlinden said: "What these rules simply mean is that, for a lot of the work that is required to properly do a case - a criminal case or a civil case - the lawyers will not get any money.
"Basically, what in essence is happening under the 2015 rules in relation to criminal cases is that, for the work that is required - such as looking at documents that are disclosed by the Crown, looking at expert reports, looking at the documentation that is necessary to determine whether those expert reports are accurate in their conclusions - that type of work will not be paid under these rules."
The Bar Council chairman added: "It means that there is the potential for corners to be cut, in terms of the proper investigation when looking at criminal cases, and that cannot be allowed. Criminal practitioners must be properly remunerated for the work that is required to protect the defendants' interest. It's a simple matter of justice."
Mr McAlinden said the mood among his colleagues was "one of utter determination to ensure that this action holds for as long as is necessary, so that the message gets across to the minister that enough is enough".
Speaking on the same programme, the justice minister said he had...

Summary: Barristers are determined to continue a strike over cuts to legal aid payments for "as long as is necessary", the Bar Council of Northern Ireland has said.
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Article: Upsetting events often make the news because they don't happen very often.
This section gives you some tips about what to do if you are feeling sad about what you've seen, heard or read.
You can rely on Newsround to tell you the important facts about a story - but some things you hear might be a bit scary or make you feel worried.
Remember that worrying stories are often in the news because they are rare - they don't happen very often.
It is incredibly unlikely that what you're reading about or watching might happen near you.
Discuss the stories with your parents or friends. You'll feel better that you're not the only one worried.
You could also talk to your teacher about it - maybe you could have a class discussion which would help you understand the issue better.
If you're having nightmares or trouble sleeping because of something you've heard in the news:

Summary:


The world's largest volcano is erupting in the UK, with the UK's largest eruption in the UK being the largest in the world.

Banksy has denied accusations he is "trolling" members of the public - after thousands have struggled to buy tickets for his new show.

Article: It was created by the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, with additional data from NASA and the US Geological Survey.
The centrepiece is an a click-and-play animation showing every eruption and earthquake for the last 50 years.
It is part of a project to create a record of every volcanic eruption on Earth for the last 10,000 years.
As well as monitoring active volcanoes, a global collaboration of researchers is gathering evidence of ancient eruptions in the geological record.
Elizabeth Cottrell, head of the Smithsonian Institution's program in Washington, DC, told the BBC that the animation was a view of "the living, breathing planet".
"You're watching the Earth respire - you're watching the pulse of the planet," she said.
"And you can see those patterns of where the tectonic plate boundaries are - the Earth's breath and pulse defines those plate boundaries."
The Global Volcanism Program has been running since 1968, with a mission to "document, understand and disseminate information about global volcanic activity".
This global network of scientists is building a database of all known and confirmed eruptions for the last 10,000 years.
Some of these remain as signals of ancient ash or lava left in rocks. But the program also uses scientific literature, eyewitness accounts and even old ship's logs, some of which contain detailed accounts of eruptions.
"Captain Cook provided a lot of information about volcanoes erupting that he saw," remarked Dr Cottrell.
But the last 50 years is a crucial period, because the scientists say they are confident that they have a complete record of every eruption and earthquake over that time.
Making it available to download and in an app, Dr Cottrell said, could be of value to scientists who are looking for patterns that help to improve volcanic eruption forecasting.
Individual volcanic eruptions on a human timescale can seem rare, but volcanic arcs - chains of volcanoes along the same plate boundary - have what Dr Cottrell described as "a sort of pulse".
"When we're looking for...

Summary: Half a century of the planet's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have been visualised in an animated app.
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Article: Online bookings for his "Dismaland" exhibition were suspended last week after the attraction's website crashed.
Many users reported issues when sales resumed earlier - prompting claims the problems were deliberate.
But a spokeswoman for Banksy insisted the rumours were untrue. Tickets have now become available on the website.
She said the attraction's website was "100% real" and had crashed under "huge demand".
Dismaland, housed in a derelict lido on Weston-super-Mare's seafront, is a dark take on theme parks with a nod to Disneyland, featuring work by more than 50 artists including Bristolian Banksy.
Among those tweeting their disappointment was Mark Ã–sten, who wrote: "On Friday, I believed 'technical difficulties'. Now, I'm reluctantly believing #Banksy is trolling those after tickets for #dismaland."
Caroline Harley tweeted: "It's easier to buy tickets to see the Beatles than tickets to go to  #Dismaland"
There were suggestions the site may be fake last week.
But the artist's spokeswoman told the BBC: "It's not true. It's 100% a real website. It crashed under the number of hits it received."
North Somerset Council, which worked with Bansky on the exhibition, has insisted the website is not a hoax.
Seafront manager Darren Fairchild said the website had crashed due to an "unprecented" number of hits, despite "huge amounts of work".
Dismaland has boosted visits to the seaside resort - one tour guide told the BBC he had not seen such crowds since the 1970s.
Among the exhibits are a distorted mermaid, a dilapidated fairy castle and a boat pond where all the boats are filled with models of migrants, as well as paintings and a beach ball hovering above upturned knives.

Summary:


The UK's government has announced a £1.5bn investment in the UK's first child care centre, the Children's Trust, which will be built in the heart of the city.
The £1.5bn investment will be aimed at improving the care of children in the city, and will be funded by

Caterpillars are being killed by a bug which turns them into "exploding zombies", a wildlife expert has said.

Article: A quarter of councils are set to see falls in government funding when the free 30 hours scheme starts in 2017, the Pre-School Learning Alliance says.
It adds that the new rates will then be frozen until 2020, even though the cost of providing places is set to rise.
Ministers say funding was being allocated "more fairly" across England.
All three and four year olds are currently entitled to 15 hours of free childcare a week, but from September 2017, working parents will be entitled to an extra 15 hours a week, in school term-time, for each child.
The DfE has raised the hourly rates it pays to local authorities, who then pass that on to childcare settings, as an average across the country, but not all areas are getting a raise.
Chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance Neil Leitch said: "The government has tried to sell next year's funding changes as a solution to all the concerns about the 30 hours offer, but this simply isn't true.
"With a quarter of all local councils seeing a fall in funding next year, childcare costs in those areas are likely to sky-rocket as childcare providers face a choice between either raising fees or going out of business."
The alliance was quoting figures published by the DfE in its consultation on funding, which states 38 out of 150 local authorities face a fall in rates.
Mr Leitch said: "Of course, even in areas where funding rates are increasing, providers are still facing a fight for survival, as often funding simply doesn't meet the rising cost of delivering places."
Details obtained from a Freedom of Information request revealed that nearly 75% of councils had been given funding levels over the past five years that had failed to keep pace with inflation.
This added to future cost pressures would make it very difficult for the nursery sector.
Mr Leitch said: "Take staff costs, for example, which account for 70-80% of overall costs for providers.
"By 2020, the national living wage will have increased from Â£7.20 to Â£9 an hour, and yet childcare providers are somehow...

Summary: Childcare costs could "sky-rocket" in parts of England as nurseries grapple with less funding for a free government childcare scheme, a charity says.
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Article: Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust said the skins of insects have been found on Winmarleigh Moss, near Garstang.
The baculovirus drives caterpillars on a "death march" to the top of plants, then when it dies the bug bursts out to seek other victims.
The trust's Dr Chris Miller said it was "gruesome - like a zombie horror film".
Dr Miller was carrying out a butterfly survey on Winmarleigh Moss when he noticed a caterpillar hanging from the end of a branch of a small bush.
He then saw another one hanging from a tall blade of grass.
"Both were dead but otherwise intact," he said.
Dr Miller also noticed "small scraps of caterpillar skin" on other branches he checked.
He said research is showing that the baculovirus affects the way the "zombie" insects respond to light, "making them climb to higher and more dangerous places and when they get there they die".
"It is really unusual seeing caterpillars high up as they can be eaten by birds.
"This is a caterpillar of the oak eggar moth which eats heather and bilberry so it is normally hidden in the undergrowth, not at the top of plants."
Source: Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust

Summary:


The World Cup is set to be played in the United States on Saturday, with the winner of the tournament being announced on Saturday.
The World Cup is set to be played in the United States on Saturday, with the winner of the tournament being announced on Saturday.
The World Cup is set to be played in the

Fifa will get a new president on Friday when 207 delegates from around the world gather in Zurich, Switzerland to vote for a successor to Sepp Blatter.

Article: Standard Bank, FNB, Nedbank and ABSA, which is owned by Barclays, were all downgraded on Tuesday and Moody's warned of more possible ratings cuts.
The move comes a week after South Africa's central bank bailed out the smaller lender African Bank.
The South African Reserve Bank insisted the country's banking sector remained "healthy and robust."
Analysts said the downgrade was in response to what Moody's views as the risks of unsecured lending, or loans not based on collateral.
Chris Hart of Investment Solutions said: "The downgrade is in response to the deteriorating credit quality that we are seeing in unsecured lending space, the collapse of the African Bank is indicative of that."
Moody's reduced its ratings on the four big banks by one notch to Baa1.
Last week the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced a rescue plan for African Bank, a smaller lender that specialised in unsecured loans. The SARB bought up around $700m of bad loans from African Bank, but some investors still lost out.
On Monday, another lender, Capitec, saw its shares plunge after seeing its rating downgraded.
The central bank rejected Moody's decision on the big four banks.
"While the SARB respects the independent opinion of rating agencies, we do not agree with the rationale given in taking this step, nor do we agree with the assessment it is based on," it said in a statement.
The South African government has been encouraging banks to lend to low-earning people who lack collateral, in an effort to boost business start-ups and property ownership.
Nonetheless, analyst Chris Hart said that despite the relatively high level of unsecured lending, South Africa's banking system was sound.
"There are no fundamental problems with South African banks in terms of overall management, and overall asset and liquidity."

Summary: Shares in South Africa's largest banks fell on Wednesday, following downgrades from the ratings agency Moody's.
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Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
In charge of world football's governing body since 1998, Blatter, 79, said last year he was standing down amid a growing corruption crisis.
Five candidates want to replace him.
They are Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, Gianni Infantino, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne.
The election process is expected to begin at 12:00 GMT, but several rounds of voting may be required before a winner is known.
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Each candidate has 15 minutes to address the congress before voting starts at approximately 12:00 GMT.
There are 209 Fifa nations but Kuwait and Indonesia are currently barred from taking part, so that makes 207 eligible voters.
To become president after the first round of voting, a candidate needs to secure two-thirds of the available votes. If no candidate achieves that mark, then a simple majority is required in the second round.
If there is still no winner, then a third round will take place, minus the candidate with the fewest votes in round two.
Fifa says a winner must be declared on Friday because an ice hockey rink is due to be installed at the Hallenstadion venue at midnight.
So determined is Fifa to get this election done that it has spent £500,000 converting its headquarters into a back-up venue.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Given everything that has happened to Fifa, this is seen as a pivotal moment for an organisation which has been heavily criticised for its lack of transparency and for failing to clamp down on corruption within it.
A new leader, together with a raft of reform measures, is seen as a chance to start afresh.
Acting president Issa Hayatou said Friday can "signal a new dawn", adding: "This is our opportunity to show we are united in building a stronger Fifa."
Media playback is not supported on this device
There have been widespread allegations of corruption, the arrest of leading officials, the banning of its president and the sight of big-name...

Summary:


The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional.
The justices have ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is unconstitutional for a state to use lethal injection drugs to execute a person.
The justices have also ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is unconstitutional for a state to

A group of Italian scientists convicted of manslaughter for failing to predict a deadly earthquake have had the verdict quashed.

Article: Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed the measure into law on Monday.
The move makes Utah the only US state to use firing squads as a method of execution.
Some US states are considering alternative execution methods as they struggle to obtain lethal injection drugs amid a nationwide shortage.
Drug inventories dwindled after European manufacturers opposed to capital punishment refused to sell the lethal concoctions.
Civil rights groups have said use of firing squads makes Utah "look backward and backwoods".
Governor Herbert finds the firing squad "a little bit gruesome,'' but said the state needs a back-up execution method.
"We prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued," the governor's spokesman Marty Carpenter told the Associated Press.
"However, when a jury makes the decision and a judge signs a death warrant, enforcing that lawful decision is the obligation of the executive branch."
It will probably be years before Utah's next execution. The head of Utah's prison system has said the state does not have any reserves of lethal injection drugs.
The new Utah law reinstates the use of firing squads more than a decade after the state abandoned the practice.
Because of the intense media attention, Utah lawmakers stopped offering inmates the choice of a death by firing squad several years ago.
But a handful of inmates sentenced to death before 2004 still have the option of going before a firing squad.
Ronnie Lee Gardner, a convicted murderer who shot and killed a lawyer in attempt to escape from prison, was the last inmate executed by a firing squad in 2010.

Summary: Utah will resume the use of firing squads to carry out the death penalty when lethal injections drugs are not available.
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Article: The seven men had been given six-year jail sentences after an earthquake devastated the medieval town of L'Aquila in 2009, killing 309 people.
The verdict triggered alarm, with some saying that science itself had been put on trial.
On Monday an appeals court cleared the group of the manslaughter charges.
Judge Fabrizia Ida Francabandera ruled that there was no case to answer.
"The credibility of Italy's entire scientific community has been restored," said Stefano Gresta, the president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
The seven men - all leading scientists or disaster experts - had been members of a committee convened in L'Aquila in March 2009 following a series of tremors in the region.
Days after they met, a 6.3 magnitude quake struck the town in the middle of the night.
Many of L'Aquila's medieval buildings were destroyed, and some locals blamed the disaster committee for not providing adequate advice.
Prosecutors in the subsequent trial said the experts had offered falsely reassuring information to residents.
According to Reuters, they noted that one committee member had said there was "no danger" from the tremors.
Following the guilty verdicts, more than 5,000 scientists signed an open letter to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in support of the experts.
Many argued that the convictions represented a fundamental misunderstanding of earthquake science.
Monday's decision to overturn the verdicts came after a month-long appeal process.
The prosecution can still seek to have the original verdicts reinstated via a higher court.

Summary:


The government has announced it will not renew the controversial £1.5bn contract to build a new airport in the South East.
The government has said it will not renew the contract unless the government agrees to a new contract.
The government has said it will not renew the contract unless the government agrees to a new

The chairman of the Airports Commission has rejected Gatwick's criticism of its report recommending expansion at Heathrow.

Article: Lin Zulian will head the new Communist Party Committee in Wukan and organise elections for a new village committee.
His predecessor is under investigation for alleged corruption.
Anger in Wukan over land seizures by officials resulted in an open revolt against local party leaders in December.
The villagers' key demands - including removing two local officials from their posts - were granted by officials amid considerable public backing for the villagers.
The move was seen as a rare compromise by the Chinese government.
Mr Lin on Sunday replaced the incumbent Wukan chief, a businessman who had headed the village for decades but who local people accused of land grabs.
"This is a decision that everyone in Wukan supports and it is an important move that will help resolve the land and village finance disputes," a villager with the surname of Zhang was quoted by news agency Agence France Presse as saying.
Protests began to simmer in Wukan, in Guangdong province, in September and escalated into deadlock after the death of a village negotiator in police custody.
Villagers said officials sold off their land to developers and failed to compensate them properly.
They also called for an investigation into the death of Xue Jinbo, who died on 11 December while in the hands of local police. Police say he died of a "sudden illness", but his family say he was beaten to death.
In December deputy provincial Communist Party secretary Zhu Mingguo met village representatives and reached an agreement to end the stand-off.
There are thousands of protests over land grabs in China each year, with the Wukan protest becoming a symbol of public outrage at perceived injustices.

Summary: The leader of protests against land grabs in a southern Chinese village has been appointed its new chief.
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Article: Gatwick claims Sir Howard Davies's decision not to back a second runway at the airport in West Sussex was flawed.
Sir Howard has written to the government insisting issues raised by Gatwick were carefully considered before the report was written.
The government is due to decide which airport should expand by Christmas.
The Airports Commission spent three years hearing submissions, including those from Gatwick and Heathrow, about how best to expand airport capacity in the South East.
Its report, on 1 July, said there should be a third runway at Heathrow.
Gatwick had argued strongly that it should be allowed to expand instead.
It has said the economic argument for expanding Heathrow is flawed and Sir Howard was using passenger numbers that were "10 years out".
Sir Howard forecasts Gatwick at 40 million passengers by 2024 but the airport says it will hit that number this year.
In a letter to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, Sir Howard says the Airports Commission believes strongly its work is robust.
"The majority of the points made by Gatwick Airport Ltd were also made to the commission in the course of its work and we considered them carefully before we reached our conclusions," he said.
Crispin Blunt MP for Reigate, who chairs a group of local MPs who oppose expansion at Gatwick hit out at the airport for continuing to campaign for expansion.
"Sir Howard Davies has demolished Gatwick's arguments, which amount to a feeble public relations effort to undermine the credibility of the Airports Commission's work and recommendations," he said.
Gatwick said it stood by its view that Sir Howard's report was flawed.
"If backed by government it will inevitably lead to 'Heathrow Groundhog Day' with nothing happening once again," said chief executive Stewart Wingate.

Summary:


The Scottish government has been criticised for its policy of ending right to buy for new tenants.
The Scottish government has been criticised for its policy of ending right to buy for new tenants.
The Scottish government has been criticised for its policy of ending right to buy for new tenants.
The Scottish government has been criticised for

A majority of Scottish councils want the right to buy for council and social housing tenants scrapped, a government report has said.

Article: Critics had claimed that well-documented problems over some of their candidates would continue to plague them.
It's early stages but so far in Wales at least it has followed that script.
Rows over the selection of candidates have continued to bubble away and the entire local branch committee in Brecon and Radnorshire was suspended by UKIP Wales.
And now the national organiser has stepped down just as we head into the campaign. The significance of the timing will be lost on no-one.
UKIP Wales leader Nathan Gill told me there's never a good time for this to happen and in politics you have to cope with the hand that you're dealt. He says that overall the party is light years ahead of where it was five years ago.
John Atkinson had been in the role during last year's successful campaign in the European elections, in which it failed by just 4,000 votes to beat Labour and come top in Wales.
Despite the problems, the party still has plenty to build on.
UKIP has opened shops in Holyhead, Penarth, Shotton, Merthyr and Llanelli. It says it has 22 constituency branches and is fielding candidates in every Welsh constituency.
However, it operates in a radically different way to the other more established parties.
Plaid Cymru, for example, has already launched its campaign and manifesto, while UKIP don't have a date for its manifesto launch which will be the party's one set-piece event in Wales.
And yet UKIP have been higher in the polls than Plaid.
In fact the lack of organisation has been a factor which has worked in its favour as its members portray themselves as the outsiders and natural home of the protest voter.
The question is whether that is going to work in the full glare of a general election campaign.

Summary: Many people have been wondering what kind of election campaign UKIP would be running.
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Article: Many tenants and social landlords also want to see an end to the policy, according to a consultation.
The Scottish government has already ended right to buy for new tenants, amid concern over a shortage of rented affordable homes.
Right to buy has also been suspended by a number of local authorities.
Ministers are currently considering proposals to protect and increase the supply of affordable housing.
The government's consultation on the issue got 169 responses in total from registered social landlords, tenant and resident groups, councils, charities and others.
Of the 161 respondents which answered the question on ending right to buy altogether, 83% said the policy - introduced in the early 80s - should go.
In all, 92% of social landlords, 81% of councils and 80% of tenant and resident groups which responses said right to buy should be scrapped.
The policy was introduced by the Thatcher government to make owning a home more affordable and, since its introduction, more than 500,000 homes have been sold in Scotland.
But in recent years councils have been forced to suspend the policy, as their stock of social housing to rent has dwindled.
The Scottish government's 2010 Housing Act brought in several changes, including ending right to buy for new council and social housing tenants, alongside a three-year £1.5bn house-building plan.
Ministers said stopping all new tenants from buying their homes could see up to 18,000 properties retained over 10 years.
The Scottish government said it would respond to the consultation in due course.

Summary: