Anthony Joshua's world title bout with Wladimir Klitschko comes at the "perfect time", says former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

Article: A so-called "Brexit" would disrupt established trading relationships and cause "major challenges" for both the UK and the rest of Europe, it said.
The IMF said the referendum had already created uncertainty for investors and a vote to exit would only heighten this.
Vote Leave said the IMF had been "consistently wrong" in past forecasts.
The IMF, one of the main pillars of the global economic order with a mandate to oversee the international monetary and financial system, also cut its UK growth forecast.
It now expects 1.9% growth in the UK this year, compared with its January estimate of 2.2%. For next year, it expects 2.2% growth, unchanged from its earlier forecast.
If the 23 June referendum in the UK were to produce a vote in favour of leaving the EU, the IMF would expect negotiations on post-exit arrangements to be protracted, which it warned "could weigh heavily on confidence and investment, all the while increasing financial market volatility".
It also believes a UK exit from the EU would "disrupt and reduce mutual trade and financial flows" and restrict benefits from economic co-operation and integration, such as those resulting from economies of scale.
However, the Fund said that domestic demand, boosted by lower energy prices and a buoyant property market, would help to offset the impact on UK growth ahead of the EU referendum.
Chancellor George Osborne said the IMF's comments reinforced the case for staying. "The IMF has given us the clearest independent warning of the taste of bad things to come if we leave the EU," he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "The IMF is right - leaving the EU would pose major risks for the UK economy. We are stronger, safer and better off in the European Union."
Maurice Obstfeld, economic counsellor to the International Monetary Fund and the organisation's chief economist, says there could be "severe regional and global damage" if Britain were to vote to leave the European Union.
An exit would present "major challenges" and a prolonged period of...

Summary: The UK's exit from the European Union could cause "severe regional and global damage", the International Monetary Fund has warned in its latest outlook.
###
Article: In the last three years, the volume of residential sales within five miles of the new stops has risen.
However, the increase is less than that in the wider local authority areas of Midlothian and the Scottish Borders.
House prices have also risen along the route since 2006 but again the council-wide figure has been higher.
What's happening in Scotland today? Keep in touch through our live page.
Since 2012, the volume of residential sales within five miles of the new stops has risen by 50.2% in Midlothian, and 26.3% in the Borders.
Figures for the whole council areas rose by 60.6% and 30.1% respectively and by 28.2% in Scotland as a whole.
RoS also found house prices had been "largely unaffected".
Since 2006 when the bill was approved to reopen the railway, average prices in the Midlothian catchment area have grown 6.1% to £166,639, while houses within five miles of the new Borders stations have seen average prices increase of 4.5% to £143,283.
Council-wide area figures for the same period are 13.4% in Midlothian and 9.5% in the Borders with the Scottish increase at 16.1%
RoS' head of data, Rhona Mackay, said: "We have seen an increase in the volume of sales around the new Borders railway stations, but this is slightly lower than the volumes seen in the local authority areas as a whole.
"Prices are also up, but again this is lower in the five mile catchment areas than the wider local authority areas where the increase is more substantial.
"It is widely expected that the new line will stimulate interest in the property market in the areas close to the stations, and there have already been a number of new-build developments within the railway catchment areas in recent years, so it will be interesting to revisit these statistics again once the new link is up and running."
The Borders Railway opens to the public on Sunday between Tweedbank and Edinburgh.
It has seven new stops along its length including Newtongrange and Gorebridge in Midlothian, and Stow and Galashiels in the Borders.
Get live news updates...

Summary: The Borders Railway has yet to have an impact on the housing market along its route, according to new figures from Registers of Scotland (RoS).
###
Article: Some 22 million Americans would lose health insurance over the next decade under the plan, said the non-partisan Congressional Budgetary Office (CBO).
Susan Collins of Maine is the latest Republican senator to come out against the proposal.
Republicans can afford to lose just two votes in their 52-seat Senate majority.
The Better Care Reconciliation Act would slash taxes on the wealthy, while cutting healthcare for the poor and nursing home residents.
Not currently. Senator Collins, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin signalled on Monday that they would vote against even debating the bill.
Senator Collins, a moderate Republican, tweeted that the measure would "hurt most vulnerable Americans" in rural Maine, where "hospitals are already struggling".
Nevada Senator Dean Heller, another moderate Republican, who faces re-election next year, said on Friday he would vote no.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who wrote the bill, wanted it passed before the 4 July holiday, but that timetable is looking increasingly optimistic.
Two other conservative Republican senators - Ted Cruz and Mike Lee - said last week they were not ready to vote for the bill, but were open to negotiation.
With not a single Democrat supporting a bill they have derisively labelled "Trumpcare", the margin of error is diminishing for Mr McConnell.
But the arm-twisting will continue - Vice-President Mike Pence is hosting several Republican senators for dinner on Tuesday.
It is worth remembering that political last rites were prematurely pronounced on the House of Representatives' version of the Obamacare repeal plan after it was withdrawn on 24 March.
But six weeks later Republicans in the lower chamber reintroduced a slightly revised bill, which was narrowly passed.
The 49-page CBO analysis said 15 million more people would be uninsured by next year alone under the Senate bill, largely because the unpopular Obamacare penalty for not having insurance would be eliminated.
Another seven million would lose coverage over the...

Summary: Republicans are scrambling to shore up their Obamacare repeal legislation as congressional misgivings mount after a damning forecast on the bill's impact.
###
Article: Nearly 25,000 signatures - 10% of Cardiff voters - are needed to trigger a Yes/No referendum on the issue.
Cardiff North Tory MP Craig Williams and former Labour council cabinet member Ashley Govier are among those backing the plan.
There are 18 elected mayors in England with more to come, but none in Wales.
Mr Williams said: "If Cardiff doesn't keep up with the other big urban centres across the UK and the world then we won't be in a position of strength either economically or politically, and that worries me."
But Cardiff council's Liberal Democrat group leader Judith Woodman told BBC Wales there were questions over the cost of having a mayor, and how they would be held accountable.
"It's promoting one person who has too much power," she said.
If enough signatures are gathered, a referendum could be held in autumn 2016.
Depending on the result, a mayoral election could take place in 2017.
Ceredigion is the only Welsh local authority to have had a referendum on the matter.
Voters there rejected the idea in 2004 by a margin of nearly three to one.

Summary: A directly elected mayor for Cardiff could help the city compete on the global stage, campaigners claim, as they launch a petition on the idea.
###
Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
The two heavyweights will fight for the IBF title and vacant WBA belt in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley on Saturday.
Joshua, 27, is undefeated in 18 fights since turning professional, while 41-year-old Klitschko had his first defeat in 11 years against Tyson Fury in 2015.
"Klitschko doesn't have the legs, the power that he used to," said Lewis.
"He has a chink in his armour after getting beat by Tyson Fury. Anthony Joshua is now taking that challenge, going after the man."
Joshua himself asked the question in the build-up to Saturday's fight of whether "Father Time has caught up with the former champ?".
But Lewis, who like Joshua won a super-heavyweight Olympic gold medal, says the Ukrainian's age is not the only reason he fancies the British fighter's chances.
"Now is the perfect time for him," the 51-year-old told BBC Radio 5 live.
"I believe Joshua is more focused, more aimed. Does he want to be undisputed champion? Absolutely."
Media playback is not supported on this device

Summary:


The penguins are a family of penguins that are found in Antarctica, and are found in the Antarctic.
The penguins are found in the Antarctic, and are found in the Antarctic.

Summary: The penguins are a family of penguins that are found in Antarctica, and are found in the Antarctic

Egg-cellent news the first gentoo penguins chicks have arrived at Edinburgh zoo this year.

Article: The hole represented a "profound security flaw" that could allow access to bank details and other personal data, experts said.
Dell has issued guidance on removing the software that produced it.
The news comes after Lenovo was also criticised for pre-installing adware that potentially compromised security.
One user, posting on Reddit, reported finding that their Dell machine came pre-installed with a self-signed root certificate authority, called "eDellRoot", and the private key associated with it.
In a statement released on Monday, Dell acknowledged the vulnerability and linked to a guide on permanently removing the software that caused it.
"We became aware that a certificate (eDellRoot), installed by our Dell Foundation Services application on our PCs, unintentionally introduced a security vulnerability. The certificate was implemented as part of a support tool and intended to make it faster and easier for our customers to service their system. Customer security and privacy is a top concern and priority for Dell; we deeply regret that this has happened and are taking steps to address it."
It stressed that the certificate was not itself "malware or adware", nor was it "being used to collect personal customer information".
It said: "We will also push a software update starting on November 24 that will check for the certificate, and if detected remove it. Commercial customers who reimaged their systems without Dell Foundation Services are not affected by this issue. Additionally, the certificate will be removed from all Dell systems moving forward."
The firm thanked users who brought it to their attention and invited others to flag up any further security issues.
Certificates are used by computer operating systems and internet browsers to identify websites as safe. However, security experts said the software installed by Dell had two flaws: firstly, the software would allow traffic to be intercepted, potentially exposing sensitive information; secondly, the key could be used to make a user's computer...

Summary: A security hole that could allow attackers to access users' personal data was inadvertently placed on Dell computers, the company has admitted.
###
Article: In fact, in some cultures, this is considered an informal training, equipping girls with essential housekeeping skills parents think they may need in future.
But the UN children's agency, Unicef, says the millions of hours girls spend on chores in many countries around the world are denying them their childhood joy.
As a result, they miss out on important opportunities to learn and grow, the agency says.
Girls spend 40% more time on chores than boys, UN report finds
BBC News explores the kinds of domestic chores girls in Africa are engaged in, and whether they would rather spend the time doing something else.
Sandra spends her days selling sachets of water in Ghana's capital instead of going to school.
"I wake up at 1am to do my chores and leave home around 6am for work," she says.
"When I get up, I wash my bowls, sweep the compound, after that, I take my bath and to go work."
On Sundays, she says she washes her younger siblings' clothes before cleaning the home.
"I started helping around the house when I was eight years old," says Treza.
"There are some chores, which I am specifically tasked to do. Others, I just feel like I have to do them as part of my responsibility in the house.
"I mop the house, do the dishes and cook food for the family. I sweep around the yard and occasionally, I have to do laundry for my siblings.
"Sometimes, I arrive late for classes and get sent back home."
Treza has two sisters and a brother who she says hardly helps with chores.
"Most of the time he doesn't. He says because he is a boy he cannot do household chores.
"They [parents] support it. They say there is no way my brother can be cleaning dishes when the girls are around.
"I wish boys and girls could do the chores together. There is no work that was designed specifically for girls or boys, we can all sweep, mop, work in the fields."
"When I wake up in the morning, I sweep the compound and fetch water," says Rachael.
"We sell food so I clean the pots used for the cooking before I go to school.
"I wake up at 4am to do the...

Summary: Young girls helping with cooking, cleaning and babysitting at home may seem normal to some parents.
###
Article: It was announced in January that the building society's brand is to be abolished, some branches closed, and current accounts shut down.
The plan was for customers to move or close accounts by the end of August.
But its owner, the Yorkshire Building Society, now says there is no deadline.
The Yorkshire - the UK's second biggest mutual - said that about 35% of the 100,000 customers affected had already closed their current account, switched to another bank, or was in the process of doing so.
It was staggering the flow of letters to affected customers to avoid a rush of inquiries, and has now written to 70% of those affected.
The remaining letters will be sent by the end of July.
The Yorkshire will close 28 N&P branches this year. The remaining branches will be rebranded as Yorkshire Building Society branches.
A spokeswoman for the Yorkshire said: "We are continuing to work closely with other financial providers in assisting customers to switch or close their account. We're writing to customers with details of what they need to do next, and asking that customers complete the closure or switch of their account within six months of receiving their letter. We have not set a final date for closure.
"If a customer has not taken steps to close or switch their account within six months of receiving of their letter, we will work closely with the customer on a case-by-case basis to facilitate a switch or closure."
In the meantime, no customers would be blocked from depositing money or conducting any normal banking transactions via their current account, she said.
The N&P is not part of the Current Account Switching Service so the process will be slower than could have been the case, taking about 12 days.
It was feared that some cash incentives to switch offered by rivals would not have applied, but many providers are now offering the perks to customers moving from the N&P.
Mike Regnier, chief executive of the Yorkshire Building Society, told BBC Radio 4's Money Box earlier this year that it was a "real shame" that the...

Summary: A deadline for the closure of current accounts with the Norwich and Peterborough (N&P) has been cancelled, with 30% of customers still to receive letters explaining the move.
###
Article: Prince William and Catherine spoke to them about the stigma associated with mental illness at an event held by the charity Mind at Harrow College, London.
They also joined students for a workshop which educates young people about emotional health and resilience.
It is the couple's first joint engagement on mental health issues.
The duke and duchess discussed the challenges young people face, and learned how they use their experiences to help others in schools, colleges and youth groups.
Among those they spoke to were young women who now volunteer with Time to Change, which campaigns against the discrimination of those with mental health problems.
Mind's chief executive Paul Farmer said: "By putting a spotlight on mental health, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are helping us to send an important and urgent message to the world that it is time to change our attitudes about mental health problems."
The duke recently took part in an anti-bullying workshop run by the Diana Awards charity, and the duchess visited the Anna Freud Centre in London to continue her work on the mental health of children.
World Health Mental Health Day, which was first marked in 1992, highlights mental health awareness and education.

Summary: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have marked World Mental Health Day by meeting young people with experiences of mental health problems.
###
Article: 9 May 2015 Last updated at 09:34 BST
Gentoo penguins tend to live in ice-free areas near Antarctica, and make special circular nest made out of stones, moss and feathers.
Their steam-lined bodies mean they can swim up to 22 miles and hour underwater, faster than any other diving bird.
Senior penguin keeper at the zoo Dawn Nicoll said: "We are really happy that the first of the gentoo penguin eggs have hatched".

Summary:

Article: {{document}}

Summary: ||| {{target}}


.
The government has been trying to get the government to pay for the flood relief.
The government has been trying to get the government to pay for the flood relief.
The government has been trying to get the government to pay for the

York residents are being put off applying for flood protection grants as the process is "incredibly complicated", a local MP has claimed.

Article: A freight train came off the tracks last October four miles from Gloucester station on the line to Newport.
A report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) found there were dips in the track known as "cyclic top", but repairs had been ineffective.
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is investigating whether health and safety laws have been breached.
The report said a speed restriction should have been put on the stretch of line, on which daily commuter services between Gloucester and Cardiff run.
It showed the train had been travelling at 69 mph (111 km/h) when the rear wagon derailed on 15 October 2013. An empty container fell off a wagon.
The investigation found that Network Rail had identified a problem with the track and carried out repairs, but water flowing beneath the track caused the problem of cyclic top to re-occur.
The RAIB report found: "The severity of the dips required immediate action by Network Rail, including the imposition of a speed restriction for the trains passing over it, but no such restriction had been put in place."
By the time the train stopped at Gloucester station, the rear wagon was severely damaged, the empty container it was carrying had fallen off, and there was damage to four miles of track, signalling cables, four level crossings and two bridges.
The line remained closed for four days while repairs were carried out. Repairs included replacement of 1,300 yds (1.2 km) of track, two sets of points, 300 sleepers, two miles of cable and a level crossing.
The report showed the type of wagon that derailed was susceptible to becoming derailed on track with dips in it, especially when loaded with the type of empty container it was carrying.
The investigation also found there were not enough staff working for Network's Rail's maintenance team.
The ORR said an Improvement Notice was served on Network Rail in June, after it found the Health and Safety at Work Act could have been contravened.
The inspector said an investigation indicated "that you are not conducting your...

Summary: A train derailment in Gloucester happened because a track had been badly repaired, an investigation has found.
###
Article: The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) ruled Dr Waney Squier misled courts and gave irresponsible evidence in cases where parents were accused of killing their children.
Dr Squier, 67, based at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital, disputed the existence of "shaken baby syndrome".
Next week it will decide whether she can continue to practice.
Updates on this story and more from Oxfordshire
The MPTS considered her work as an expert witness in six cases, including the deaths of four babies and a 19-month-old child.
In each case, Dr Squier, a paediatric neuropathologist, gave evidence that the injuries were not consistent with non-accidental injury, or were more likely to have been caused by other means.
In its ruling the MPTS said she had provided "deliberately misleading and dishonest evidence" and so her integrity "cannot be relied upon".
It added: "The tribunal has determined that your fitness to practise is currently impaired by reason of your misconduct."

Summary: A doctor who gave evidence in "shaken baby" cases has had her fitness to practice impaired, a panel has found.
###
Article: The 200 books, mainly published in the 19th and early 20th Century, include one work that was issued by order of Emperor Nicholas I in 1849.
Auctioneers said the collection, which will be sold on 14 June, is "remarkable and seemingly unique".
Birmingham City University, which owns the books, said it was sad to see them leave but it would reinvest the funds.
The collection was built up from the mid-19th Century to support art and design education in the university's previous life as the Birmingham College of Art.
Chris Albury, auctioneer and senior valuer for Dominic Winter, which is handling the sale, said: "It's a very interesting and varied collection which includes a number of rarities, the undoubted highlight being the sumptuously illustrated Antiquities of the Russian Empire.
"This monumental, rare and influential work contains over 500 plates of Russian artefacts including icons, crowns, costume, weapons and jewellery."
The Antiquities of the Russian Empire books were one of only 600 sets issued on the order of Emperor Nicholas I.
Mr Albury said the Birmingham copy was "remarkable and seemingly unique" because it contained English descriptions of the artefacts.
"We expect huge transatlantic international interest for this English language set," he said, estimating it could fetch more than £30,000 at the sale in South Cerney, Gloucestershire.
The university said the books are now being sold because they no longer have relevance to current teaching or research.
Steve Rose, deputy director of library and learning resources, said it was a "stunning collection".
"I will be sad to see the books leave, but it means we can place a greater emphasis on our [books] that have direct relevance to the university's research," he said.

Summary: A collection of rare Russian books owned by a university could fetch £50,000 when they are sold at auction.
###
Article: Killers Jeremy Bamber, Peter Moore and Douglas Vinter had asked the court to rule on whole life sentences.
The murderers said condemning them to die in prison amounts to "inhuman or degrading treatment". They argued all sentences should be regularly reviewed.
The Ministry of Justice said the government welcomed this decision.
Bamber was jailed for shooting five members of his family dead in Essex in 1986.
He has always protested his innocence, claiming his schizophrenic sister shot the victims before turning the gun on herself at their farmhouse at Tolleshunt D'Arcy.
Peter Moore, from Kinmel Bay in Conwy county, was convicted of murdering four men for his sexual gratification and Douglas Vinter, of Normanby, Teesside, killed both his wife and a work colleague.
The trio's legal team had argued that any sentence under which the offender's rehabilitation cannot lead to a review of release breaches articles three, five and seven of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The men lost their appeal to the court that whole life tariffs condemning prisoners to die in jail amounted to "inhuman or degrading treatment".
The judges ruled that the whole life tariff is not "grossly disproportionate" and in each case London's High Court had "decided that an all-life tariff was required, relatively recently and following a fair and detailed consideration".
Lawyers representing Vinter plan to appeal against the ruling on his case.
In a statement released by his supporters, Bamber said: "If the state wishes to have a death penalty, then they should be honest and re-introduce hanging.
"Instead, this political decision that I must die in jail is the death penalty using old age or infirmity as the method.
"It is a method whereby I'm locked in a cell until I'm dead - no matter if it should take 70 or 80 years to happen. I shall be dead the next time I leave jail."
'Quite extraordinary'
Bamber said both the trial judge and the Lord Chief Justice set his minimum tariff as 25 years.
"Quite why the home secretary felt that I should...

Summary: Britain's most dangerous criminals can be kept behind bars for the rest of their lives, judges at the European Court of Human Rights have ruled.
###
Article: Homeowners hit by the flooding in December can apply for up to Â£5,000 from the government's Future Flood Prevention Funding scheme.
Figures seen by the BBC show that only 13 people have applied for the money.
Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, said she had received complaints about accessing the fund.
"The form filling is incredibly complicated and that's where people have been struggling," she said.
"It's putting off a lot on people."
Hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded in the city after the Rivers Foss and Ouse burst their banks.
The scheme is administered by City of York Council and requires a survey to be carried out on the flooded property before funding can be applied for.
The council said that 360 private homes were eligible for the grant.
The authority added: "We very much welcome grant applications but know that this can take time while people wait for quotes and loss adjustor reports.
"We're appointing a case worker to help residents and businesses through the application process."

Summary:


Ikea is recalling a beach chair sold in the UK after reports that it can collapse and cause injury.

Article: The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) backed moves to reject a new wave of grammars in the absence of proof that it aids social mobility.
Its conference heard how Conservative plans to expand selection would add to pressures on schools.
Prime Minister Theresa May argues grammars boost opportunities for bright but disadvantaged children.
But Labour and the Liberal Democrats disagree.
The NAHT argued that investment in early-years education is a more effective way of ensuring that poor children get as good an education as their richer peers.
It said that by the time children leave primary school, the advantages of coming from a wealthy background are entrenched.
Proposing the motion at the NAHT conference in Telford, Robert Campbell said: "The government is fixated with delivering a policy for the few at the expense of the many."
However, it is not clear exactly how head teachers would actually oppose the planned expansion of selective schools.
The union is using its conference to highlight what it describes as a "perfect storm" of difficulties for secondary schools this summer which could have "dire consequences for pupils and standards".
Issues range from a new secondary exam system, struggles with recruitment or retention, and the Â£3bn real term cuts to schools budgets by 2020.
On funding, General Secretary Russell Hobby said there was a sense that the pleas of head teachers, teachers and parents over school funding were still not being heard by ministers.
He said: "All that's left is for us to make it a general election issue.
"We need to make sure that all our parliamentary constituencies are asking questions on school funding."
NAHT heads said schools were increasingly being required to fill the gaps left by under-funded public services, as finances become progressively stretched at local level.
Past president Kim Johnson said schools in his area, Medway, were being asked to part-fund police officers working in schools but they simply did not have the funds to do so.
He said out of the Â£6m...

Summary: Head teachers have agreed to "vigorously" oppose the expansion of grammar schools in England.
###
Article: Bedfordshire chief constable Colette Paul said collaboration brought budget savings but force mergers could happen.
The number of forces could reduce if local links could be maintained and forces collaborated on providing expensive specialist units, she said.
Ms Paul said she had decided to step down for family reasons after two years heading the county's police force.
Her family had supported her during her career and she was now going to give them more time, she said.
She told the BBC Bedfordshire Police did not have enough resources and she had supported Police and Crime Commissioner Olly Martins' decision to hold a referendum asking for a budget increase.
This was refused in the vote and Ms Paul said she accepted that and the force now had to bear its share of government cuts.
"Bedfordshire crime levels are more like a London borough and that means we are underfunded," she said.
"My personal view is that there should be a significantly smaller number of police forces and I would always support more collaboration."
Ms Paul said she was proud her force had taken the regional lead on the fight against terrorism, which she saw as a significant risk in Bedfordshire, and it had brought a great deal of collaboration with neighbouring constabularies.
"This helped us to get the right intelligence and to use it to cut the risk," she said.
The force had been criticised over being remote and Ms Paul recruited more officers and based them in local communities "to build confidence" and hold the frontline, she said.
"This local presence is very important. Even forces closer than others to merger retain this important local element."

Summary: A police chief taking early retirement believes the number of forces in England should be cut significantly.
###
Article: The People's Pier project, which is also looking at Hastings Pier in East Sussex, is a joint scheme between the universities of Bristol and Brighton.
The £48,000 Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded study started this month and will run for 10 months.
Clevedon Pier in North Somerset is the only operational Grade I-listed pier in the country.
Dr Olu Jenzen, senior lecturer at Brighton's College of Arts and Humanities, and lead researcher, said it was important to "gain an updated understanding" of 21st Century pier culture.
"Piers are more than just metal and wood, more than treasured architectural landmarks," she said.
"They are lived experiences shaped by the mood of the time and the socio-cultural make-up of their location."
Dr Jenzen said she hoped the study would highlight "innovative ways" of using piers as urban community spaces, and to empower local communities.
Dr Nick Nourse of Bristol's department of history, who is also involved in the project, said it was important to preserve Clevedon Pier's "unique and varied" history.
"The people of Clevedon are right to be proud of their pier; it is a beautiful reminder of Victorian engineering and the then new concept of leisure," he said.
"And although the pier itself remains largely as it was when it opened in 1869, leisure, and how the pier has accommodated leisure activities, has changed many times since."
The Clevedon Pier and Heritage Trust raised the funds to help rebuild and repair the 1869 pier between 1984 and 1998 after its partial collapse in 1970.
Hastings Pier, which opened in 1872, was badly damaged in a fire in 2010. It is due to reopen in 2016 following a £14m redevelopment.

Summary: Clevedon Pier is the subject of a study looking into Victorian seaside piers and how they fit with today's society.
###
Article: Politicians attended a ceremony in Parliament Buildings to mark Armistice Day on Wednesday morning.
The national anthem was not on the event's order of service, but the Traditional Unionist Voice's (TUV) press officer began the singing.
Unionists denied the singing at the end of the event was politically-motivated.
Sinn Féin's Carál Ní Chuilín attended the service along with her party colleague Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister.
She said a "small group of unionists" started singing "in an attempt to embarrass those in attendance".
The service had been "respectful and inclusive", she said, but some unionists "chose to disrespect the spirit of the event" with the unannounced singing of the national anthem.
"The event itself, led by assembly speaker Mitchel McLaughlin, received wide support from right across the political spectrum," Ms Ní Chuilín said.
"I welcome the fact that other unionist representatives came to me to express their anger and disappointment at how the civic remembrance event had been disrespected."
Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt approached Mr McGuinness after the event and said he was sorry for what he told the deputy first minister was a "stunt".
Later, he said it was "highly regrettable" that some nationalists felt "ambushed" by the singing of the anthem.
"The national anthem should be part of the ceremony, but everybody should know and it should be part of the running order.
"Today it was clear that the close of the ceremony left some people feeling very uncomfortable.
"I don't think it's good that people feel embarrassed - I wouldn't want that to happen to me."
The TUV's Sammy Morrison was the person who began the singing.
He said Sinn Féin should reconsider attending remembrance events if they had an issue with the singing of the National Anthem.
"I've been attending the act of remembrance every year since my boss, Jim Allister, was elected to Stormont in 2011.
"This is the first year it didn't appear on the order of service. I didn't see why it was left off.
"It was...

Summary: A rendition of the national anthem at an act of remembrance service at Stormont was a "childish stunt", a Sinn Féin MLA has said.
###
Article: The Swedish giant asked customers who bought any model of the Mysingso chair to return it for a full refund.
The global recall comes after Ikea received reports from Finland, Germany, the US, Denmark and Australia that users had received injuries to their fingers that needed medical treatment.
Ikea's statement said the chair had a "risk of falling or finger entrapment".
It said: "After washing the fabric seat it is possible to re-assemble the chair incorrectly leading to risks of falls or finger entrapments.
"Ikea has received five incident reports in which a Mysingso beach chair collapsed during use due to incorrect re-assembly. All five reports included injuries to fingers and required medical attention.
It added that a full investigation had led to an improved design "to further mitigate the risks of incorrect re-assembly and injuries" and the updated chair would be available from next month.
Ikea has more than 300 stores in 27 countries.

Summary:


PC gamers will have to wait a little bit longer if they want to play Grand Theft Auto V.

Article: The plans come as the government is to due publish its White Paper on the future of the BBC on Thursday.
The organisation has faced criticism for under investment in the city, once home to the fabled Pebble Mill studios.
The BBC said the plans meant a Â£10m boost for "fresh talent and innovative digital content for young audiences".
The new investment is on top of an existing Â£125m already tied to the second city base in The Mailbox, it said.
Under the plans, the commissioning, publishing and some production of BBC Three's short-form content, along with the social media team that supports it, would relocate to Birmingham by 2018.
The channel, which targets 16 to 34-year-olds with a mix of comedy, documentaries and current affairs, went online only in February, to save Â£30m. It will also still be based in London.
A new youth team will also be set up at The Mailbox site, which will be the main suppliers of news content for the channel's Daily Drop, BBC Three's new, mobile-first platform.
The local newspaper partnerships - outlined in September by director general Tony Hall as a pool of local reporters who will share work with local papers - are expected to be based in Birmingham alongside the English Regions HQ.
"These teams, together with Birmingham's young and diverse demographic, will be harnessed to act as part of the hub for the identification, development and commissioning of new diverse talent and programmes as announced in the BBC's Diversity and Inclusion strategy last month," a spokesman said.
"To support this, the BBC Academy will launch a new scheme, the Birmingham Production Apprenticeship, for new off-air talent from diverse backgrounds."
Lord Hall said Birmingham had benefited from recent extra investment, but there was more to do.
"Now we're putting Birmingham at the heart of our innovation with BBC Three and making it home to a new youth team for BBC News.
"The city's incredible diversity also means it's the perfect place to lead our work to ensure we reflect the changing face of...

Summary: A new base for BBC Three is to be created in Birmingham, alongside a hub for the corporation's proposed partnerships with local newspapers.
###
Article: Julie Harris died in hospital after a brief illness from a chest infection, a close friend confirmed.
Harris designed clothes worn by the Beatles in the films A Hard Day's Night and Help! and by Sir Roger in the James Bond film Live and Let Die.
She won an Oscar in 1966 for the Julie Christie film Darling.
Her Bafta came the following year for her work on The Wrong Box.
Harris's many other credits included the James Bond spoof Casino Royale, Carry On Cleo and 1981's The Great Muppet Caper.
In 1965, after working with the Beatles, she said: "I must be one of the few people who can claim they have seen John, Paul, George and Ringo naked."
"Julie worked with some of the greatest international stars in the history of the cinema, and for some of its most legendary directors and producers," said friend Jo Botting.
It was Botting, a senior curator at the British Film Institute National Archive, who confirmed Harris's death at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in central London on Saturday.
"Her outstanding work was constantly nominated for awards," Botting continued, remembering her friend as "an amazing woman".
Harris's other Bafta nominations came for her work on the horror film Psyche 59, Help!, Casino Royale and The Slipper and the Rose.
Speaking in 2010, Harris recalled working with such Hollywood legends as Jayne Mansfield - a buxom actress, she said, who had been blessed with "quite a figure".
"She came to a fitting one day in her mink coat with only her underclothes underneath," she told an audience at the Cinema Museum in London. "I couldn't believe it."

Summary: An Oscar and Bafta-winning costume designer who designed clothes for the Beatles and Sir Roger Moore's James Bond has died in London, aged 94.
###
Article: A leaked report from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) revealed patient data was stored unencrypted by Birmingham company Diagnostic Health.
The company, which carries out ultrasound scans for the NHS, said it had voluntarily suspended services.
Diagnostic Health added it had now completed an action plan that had been agreed with the ICO.
Jonathan Leonard, chief executive of Diagnostic Health Systems Ltd, based on Birmingham Research Park, said the company was planning to resume services for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).
The data protection breaches date back to June 2013.
The Care Quality Commission watchdog was alerted to the breaches last year by a whistle-blower and passed them on to the Stafford and Surrounds CCG, which commissioned services from the firm.
The CCG's Chief Executive Andy Donald said: "We conducted our own investigation. There were concerns of a serious nature so we informed the information commissioner."
Diagnostic Health first won a contract from the now defunct South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust.
It was soon providing scans from GP surgeries to clients in Staffordshire, The Wirral, Kent and Medway, Berkshire and West Yorkshire. In March 2014 it was approved to supply services to Wandsworth.
While the ICO refused to show the BBC its report, a leaked copy showed Diagnostic Health was aware it was breaching data protection guidelines by 26 June 2013, but continued adding to the database until 22 July.
The ICO audit, prepared in the summer, revealed a company laptop stolen from a member of staff's home had not been originally reported to the information commissioner.
It also showed staff at the company shared the same password to access files on a web-based storage account.
GP referrals, meanwhile, were being emailed directly to staff inboxes, while there was no audit trail of who accessed the system and when.
At the time of the ICO report, Diagnostic Health was also unable to delete personal data from an ex consultant's laptop and had no control as to how it was being...

Summary: As many as 10,000 NHS patients may have been affected by a series of data protection breaches by a private firm.
###
Article: Tens of thousands of broken street lights may not be repaired over the winter months due to budget cuts.
The department said it will be unable to provide the service the public would expect in normal circumstances.
Last month, the department published its draft budget for next year, containing savings of Â£65m.
There are about 280,000 street lights in Northern Ireland.
Over the summer, the Department for Regional Development (DRD) warned it was suspending the use of external contractors to fix broken lights, unless they pose an "electrical hazard" to the public.
There have been 24,000 outages reported to the DRD and almost 7,500 of them have been cleared.
"It is not the case that no street lighting repairs will be carried out, the department will continue to prioritise all reported faults," a spokesperson said.
"Until further notice, our in-house contractor will endeavour to deal with as many street lighting defects as possible.
"However, they will not be able to provide the service the public would expect in normal circumstances.  Priority will be given to electrical and structural safety defects, followed by large groups of lights out.
"Smaller groups or individual street lights that fail will be lower priority and, unfortunately, many tens of thousands of street lighting defects may not be repaired over the winter months."

Summary: The Department for Regional Development has confirmed that almost 17,000 street lights in Northern Ireland do not work.
###
Article: Rockstar have announced the game's release has been delayed until 24 March.
The latest version of the open world adventure was due to go on sale on 27 January.
A statement from Rockstar said: "The game requires a few extra weeks of testing and polish to make it as good as can be."
"Moving a release date is never a decision we take lightly and is a choice we make only when we know it is in the best interests of the game and our fans.
"Thanks everyone for your understanding and we assure you these few extra weeks will be worth it when the game does arrive in March."
It's not all bad news though. The company announced that eagerly-awaited online heists are coming to consoles before the PC release date.
Screenshots from the PC version of GTA V have been released, with Rockstar promising "even greater levels of detail".
Los Santos and Blaine County will be visible in 1080p at 60fps, with up to 4K resolution and support for up to triple monitor configurations.
While you're waiting for the game to be released you can make sure your PC is up to scratch.
Minimum specifications required to run GTA V have also been published.
Grand Theft Auto V became the fastest-selling entertainment product ever when it was released on 17 September 2013, taking just three days to generate $1bn (Â£620m) in revenue.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary:


Reaching its centenary amidst a general chorus of vilification around the region, the legacy of the secret Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 has never looked more under assault.

Article: The Salvation Army said it had helped 151 suspected victims in the 12 months before summer 2015, compared with 37 in 2012.
One woman it helped said she had her passport confiscated and was fed scraps from her "employer's" dinner table.
It is not clear whether the rise is due to greater awareness of existing cases or there are more victims.
Anne Read, the charity's director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery, said victims were tricked into following their dream and then trapped.
"It doesn't always involve keys and chains and locks," she said.
"People are held by the threats of the traffickers. They're told this will happen to you, maybe you'll be thrown in prison, or 'something dreadful will happen to your family if you try to escape'."
Maria, who did not want to give her real name, left the Philippines to work as a maid because she needed to buy medicine for her dying mother. But her salary was not paid.
Instead, her Saudi employers brought her to London and confiscated her passport and told her she was expected to look after the children round-the-clock.
Maria was then told to sleep on the floor and was fed on leftovers from her employer's dinner table.
On one occasion, the family took Maria, who had not had a meal, to the park.
"They bought a special bread," she said.
"I thought it's a yummy lunch for me. But I was shocked when they called the ducks and then they gave the bread to the ducks.
"They treated me like a slave."
Another victim was forced to sleep in a "duck pen" on a housing estate in Nottingham, by Gavin Pascoe and Vicki Jepson, who forced her to cook and clean for them and look after their children.
Pascoe and Jepson, who were both jailed last December, used beatings and threats to control the 24-year-old, who had learning disabilities.
Det Con Chris Berryman of Nottinghamshire Police said he was very shocked by what he saw.
"She looked quite malnourished, quite underweight," he said.
"They threatened to cause injury to her child if she escaped."
Tackling all forms of modern slavery has...

Summary: A charity helping victims of domestic slavery says it has seen a four-fold increase in referrals since 2012.
###
Article: The region includes Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot.
It has been set up to develop tourism and inward investment and is about growth and not words, says the boss.
It comes after a report commissioned by the Welsh government showed economic growth increasingly happens in regions centred on a city, attracting higher skilled jobs and pay.
There are also plans for a Cardiff city region to include Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare, Pontypool, Newport, Bridgend and Barry.
The idea is to remove boundaries that exist between council areas and organisations to allow for more joined-up thinking as experts found city areas create a big part of the UK's economic output.
Dr Elizabeth Haywood, who chaired a panel looking at new city regions in Wales last year, told BBC Radio Wales that Welsh cities have not been "punching at their weight" until now.
Following that report, business leaders and local authorities have joined forces with the Welsh government to create the Swansea Bay city region, pledging to work together to create jobs and promote economic regeneration.
Economy Minister Edwina Hart said a collective approach with a region coming together could deliver.
"I am sure we can boost economic growth and create a sustainable future where the economy can grow and where opportunity can be created for the people of the region, and Wales," she said.
The minister will be at Thursday's strategy launch at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli along with Swansea council leader David Phillips who will chair the Swansea Bay city region board.
"This is an important day for the 700,000 people who live in this first Welsh city region," he said.
"This will not be about words. It will be about jobs, investment and transformational projects which benefit the people and businesses of south west Wales."
Steve Penny, who chairs Swansea's economic regeneration partnership, said: "It demonstrates that as communities, businesses and government we can and will collaborate to promote our joint aspirations for jobs and economic regeneration."

Summary: Swansea Bay has been launched as Wales' first "city region" in an effort to boost investment and job opportunities.
###
Article: Sir Nicholas Soames said he would not sign a motion of no confidence in Mr Bercow, following his opposition to President Trump speaking in Parliament during a future state visit.
The MP said Mr Bercow was too outspoken but had been "very good" in many ways.
Mr Bercow has face criticism from other Conservatives, although only one MP has signed the motion so far.
Former Foreign Office minister James Duddridge tabled the early day motion ten days ago, arguing that Mr Bercow had overstepped the mark in voicing his opposition to the US President speaking in Parliament.
He said the Speaker's intervention had compromised his neutrality and independence.
Although Mr Duddridge is the only signatory so far, focus on the issue is expected to increase when MPs return from their week-long recess on Monday.
MPs will debate the merits of President Trump's proposed state visit on Monday when they consider rival public petitions opposing and supporting the event - which is likely to take place later this year.
Mr Bercow, who was a Conservative MP before being elected in 2009, will not chair the proceedings as they will be taking place in Westminster Hall, the Commons secondary debating chamber.
Sir Nicholas, one of the longest-serving Tories in the Commons, told ITV's Peston on Sunday he was not sure about the strength of feeling on the Tory benches against Mr Bercow, but he would not take part in any no confidence vote, should there be one.
"I have had an e-mail from both sides of the argument and I replied no to both of them," he said.
"John Bercow has in many ways been a very good Speaker. He does tend to shout off on occasions when it would be better if he didn't."
He added: "I will not be taking part in any campaign, one way or another.
"I think it is a really undignified and unattractive. The Speaker's office is one of the most important in the country."
Several Tories have voiced concerns about Mr Bercow's stance on Mr Trump's visit - which he announced without consulting his counterpart in the House of Lords Lord...

Summary: A campaign to unseat John Bercow as Commons Speaker is "undignified and unattractive", a senior Tory has said.
###
Article: Ashers Baking Company faces a discrimination case, brought with the support of the Equality Commission.
Gareth Lee said he was treated with courtesy when he placed the order, but the bakery later said it could not fulfil it as it was a Christian firm.
He said the woman who telephoned him about this was apologetic.
However, he said he felt he was not worthy of service because he was gay.
Mr Lee said: "I expressed disbelief. I couldn't believe it was happening. This is Northern Ireland. This shouldn't happen."
He told a barrister for the firm he later realised he had been dealing with the firm's owner, Karen McArthur.
Mr Lee told the County Court in Belfast: "I wasn't asking anyone to support my views on anything.
"It was just an everyday transaction."
Mr Lee wanted the cake to include a slogan that said "support gay marriage" along with a picture of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street, and the logo of the Queerspace organisation.
Earlier on Thursday, the court was told by Mr Lee's barrister that the company had broken the law by turning down his order.
He said Mr Lee was a regular customer who had ordered the cake after seeing an advertising leaflet in the shop for its custom-made baking service.
The leaflet made no reference to any restrictions on the type of cakes available, he said.
The barrister said it later emerged it was one of the controlling directors who had taken the order but had not advised Mr Lee that there was a problem.
He said while some had portrayed Ashers as 'David' to the Equality Commission's 'Goliath', it was a firm with more than 60 staff that supplies convenience stores and delivers cakes in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
"This is a case about a single man who had a contract for a cake which was accepted by a substantial, international million pound business of many employees," he said.
"You might say that Mr Lee is the David and Ashers the Goliath."
He said Ashers was a large business which "cannot be allowed to break a contract with a single individual over small sums of money" in a...

Summary: A man has told a court in Belfast that a bakery's refusal to make a cake with a slogan in support of gay marriage made him "feel like a lesser person".
###
Article: As Iraq lurches deeper into turmoil and disintegration, Kurdish leaders in the already autonomous north are threatening to break away and declare outright independence.
And the militants of the self-styled Islamic State (IS), bulldozing the border between Iraq and Syria in June 2014, declared their intention to eradicate all the region's frontiers and lay Sykes-Picot to rest forever.
Whatever the fate of IS, the future as unitary states of both Syria and Iraq - central to the Sykes-Picot project - is up in the air.
In fact, virtually none of the Middle East's present-day frontiers were actually delineated in the document concluded on 16 May 1916 by British and French diplomats Mark Sykes and Francois Georges-Picot.
The Iraq-Syria border post histrionically erased by IS was probably several hundred kilometres from the famous "line in the sand" drawn by Sykes and Picot, which ran almost directly from the Persian border in the north-east, down between Mosul and Kirkuk and across the desert towards the Mediterranean, veering northwards to loop around the top end of Palestine.
The region's current borders emerged from a long and complex process of treaties, conferences, deals and conflicts that followed the break-up of the Ottoman Empire and the end of World War One.
But the spirit of Sykes-Picot, dominated by the interests and ruthless ambitions of the two main competing colonial powers, prevailed during that process and through the coming decades, to the Suez crisis of 1956 and even beyond.
Because it inaugurated that era, and epitomised the concept of clandestine colonial carve-ups, Sykes-Picot has become the label for the whole era in which outside powers imposed their will, drew borders and installed client local leaderships, playing divide-and-rule with the "natives", and beggar-my-neighbour with their colonial rivals.
The resulting order inherited by the Middle East of the day sees a variety of states whose borders were generally drawn with little regard for ethnic, tribal, religious or linguistic...

Summary:


Ofcom is to delay the start of its auction for another chunk of 4G spectrum, after threats of legal action from Telefonica and Hutchison, parent companies of O2 and Three.

Article: AB InBev, the owner of Budweiser, agreed last year to buy SAB Miller, the FTSE 100 beermaker that counts Peroni and Grolsch among a stable of brands that spans the world. It agreed to pay investors with shares of the new combined company - and gave them a less valuable alternative of taking cash and shares.
The cash element was in sterling. Since the Brexit vote, the pound has fallen about 10% against other big currencies, leaving shareholders demanding more. On Tuesday AB InBev delivered, increasing its offer by £1 a share to £45 a share - an increase that will in aggregate cost it about £2bn more. It said that its offer was final, preventing it from making another increase.
That was still not enough for some. Aberdeen Asset Management, a top-10 shareholder in SABMiller, said the offer "remained unacceptable".
SAB directors now face a turbulent few days as they decide whether to recommend the final AB InBev offer. Later this week the final, and arguably most important, remaining regulatory clearance is expected when China's competition authority, Mofcom, rules on the takeover.
If the Chinese give the go-ahead, the SAB board is expected to meet this weekend. If they reject the offer, they face the unenviable task of placating all those shareholders who have already agreed to back it, including the two big investors - Altria, the American tobacco giant that owns Marlboro cigarettes, and Colombia's Santo Domingo family. Together the two own nearly 40% of SAB.
There is also the unenviable task of withdrawing from giant disposals that have been agreed to get the deal past other competition regulators. In Europe, for example, Asahi of Japan has agreed to buy Peroni and Grolsch.
If the SAB board accepts, they risk alienating institutional investors such as Aberdeen Asset Management ahead of possible shareholder votes to approve or reject the deal.
On top of that, there is still a risk that a British court could upset their plans.
SAB told the stock market last year that because there were two different offers -...

Summary: The £50bn takeover of one of the world biggest brewers is expected to receive a vital green light from China this week - but remains under threat from the double threat of the Brexit vote and a UK court ruling.
###
Article: The particle accelerator is best known for identifying a particle believed to be the Higgs boson in late 2012.
But following technical faults shortly after it first switched on, the machine has never been run at the full energies for which it was designed.
A programme of repairs and upgrades to the accelerator and its infrastructure should allow that in late 2014.
The LHC's beams were "dumped" early on Thursday morning, but it will take until Saturday morning for the machine's 1,734 magnets to warm up to room temperature.
Then an unprecedented period of upgrade and repair - dubbed "Long Shutdown 1" - will begin.
The machine ran at particle energies of 8 trillion electron-volts (teraelectronvolts; TeV) in 2012, up from the prior high point of 7TeV in 2011.
But when the shutdown concludes, slated for the end of November 2014, it should be set to run at 14TeV - far and away the highest-energy collisions ever attempted by scientists.
"We have been running successfully, but only at half the maximum energy, because we can only safely  run the magnets at half the design current," said Tony Weidberg, a University of Oxford physicist who works on the LHC's Atlas detector.
How does the LHC recreate the first moments after the Big Bang?
The problem has been the connections between the giant magnets that help steer charged particles around the LHC's 27km-long ring.
A fault in 2008, just nine days after particle beams first circulated at the LHC, caused what is known as a "quench" in a number of the magnets, in turn resulting in a leak of liquid helium and sparking a repair operation that took more than a year.
"After the incident, the long-term plan was to get some running at intermediate energy and then have a long shut-down when we improve the connections between the magnets," Prof Weidberg told BBC News.
"That's a major operation, because you have to warm up all these superconducting magnets and go in and do repairs."
But the shut-down schedule also includes upgrades to all four of the LHC's detectors, the shielding...

Summary: The Large Hadron Collider has turned off its particle beams ahead of a shut-down period that will last two years.
###
Article: Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust also revealed the permanent loss of 12 beds for dementia patients.
The trust said the plans, which go before the clinical commissioners on Thursday, followed a "long and difficult process".
Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk expressed concern at the loss of the beds.
A spokesman for the group said the new beds would be welcomed but questioned why it appeared the reopening of the Carlton Court ward, in Lowestoft, was only a temporary measure.
Carlton Court had been earmarked for closure as the trust struggled to save Â£20m. It was a move opposed by campaigners and the Unison union.
The trust said Carlton Court could become a centre for excellence for both older people and younger people with mental health issues, but have not committed to extra beds.
It said the 10-bed Laurel Ward would be re-opened for older people with conditions such as bi-polar, depression and schizophrenia until services were in place to support the patients in the community.
The proposals also include permanently closing 12 dementia beds on Larkspur Ward in Carlton Court, while adding 10 more assessment beds in Hellesdon Hospital, near Norwich.
The trust said inpatient services would be consolidated at Northgate Hospital in Great Yarmouth, reducing the number of adult mental health beds from 28 to 20.
Michael Scott, chief executive of the trust, said: "This has been a long and difficult process.
"However, the seriousness of the decision and the impact of changes being considered to how we deliver our services, made it important for us to engage fully with service users, carers and our staff."

Summary: Plans for 10 new mental health beds and a ward's temporary reopening have been announced by a mental health trust.
###
Article: An Inverness-based economic consultant has been told the Scottish government is considering such a move, according to Labour MSP David Stewart.
Mr Stewart said he would oppose any move to wind up HIE.
The Scottish government announced in May that it would carry out a review of enterprise and skills support.
The review, carried out over the summer, included an "end-to-end review of the roles, responsibilities and relationships" of Scottish Enterprise, HIE, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council.
Its findings have yet to be released.
Ahead of the move, ministers said they wanted to ensure that the Scottish government and public agencies were "delivering the joined-up support that our young people, universities, colleges and businesses need to increase sustainable economic growth".
Kate Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said HIE has been "investing in and promoting the Highlands as a place to do business" for many years, but added that there was "always room for improvement".
Highlands and Islands MSP Mr Stewart has sought a meeting with Economy Secretary Keith Brown to confirm if a merger is being considered.
Mr Stewart said: "Obviously it is something that we have feared over many years as we've seen the agency shrink in size and lose its campaigning voice for the Highlands and Islands.
"With the departure of chief executive Alex Paterson and an interim chief executive appointed, there have been rumours that this could be the end for the agency in the region."
Ms Forbes said: "I hope the review examines how we can share resources and best practice across the regions, so that the Highlands benefits from ideas, solutions and resources in other rural areas, like the Borders, as well as urban areas.
"Whatever the review concludes, I hope it recognises the unique pressures facing the Highlands."
A Scottish government spokesman said: "The focus of the Enterprise and Skills review has been on improving the outcomes of those who engage with our enterprise and skills agencies, and...

Summary: Development agencies Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Scottish Enterprise could be merged, it has been suggested.
###
Article: They want Ofcom to wait until a decision is made about their plan to merge the two mobile companies.
BT and EE are also planning to merge.
The spectrum, formerly used by the Ministry of Defence, would provide 4G services for mobile companies.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally approved the proposed merger between BT and EE.
But the European Commission has announced its decision to launch an in-depth investigation into the proposed merger between O2 and Three.
And Ofcom has previously cast doubt on this merger winning regulatory approval.
In a statement on Thursday, Ofcom said it had received letters from Telefonica and Hutchison stating their intention to bring legal action against the regulator over its decision to begin the auction before the outcome of the European Commission's findings.
"After careful consideration, given these specific circumstances, we have decided for reasons of good public administration to delay commencing the auction process," it said.
Legal action also held up the previous 4G auction - as mobile companies disagreed about how spectrum should be distributed.
Ofcom had been due to start accepting applications for the spectrum this month, with plans for the auction to take place in February or March.
Now, it looks unlikely to begin before the summer - with the European Commission's judgement on the O2-Three merge expected in May.
The spectrum on offer could add capacity to 4G networks, but it is considerably smaller than the previous chunk of 4G spectrum.
It has a reserve price of Â£70m, compared with Â£1.3bn for the previous portion of the airwaves.
Matthew Howett, an analyst with research company Ovum, said: While Ofcom doesn't have spectacular form when it comes to awarding spectrum on time, in this instance it probably makes sense to delay things.
"Should the merger between Three and O2 be approved, then remedies around spectrum holdings will almost certainly take time to work out and any future spectrum award would need to be reconsidered...

Summary:


Spotify has announced it is adding more non-music content to its app.

Article: Between 2008 and 2016 investors quintupled the amount of money they put into such platforms, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.
Companies such as Hargreaves Lansdown, Nutmeg and Interactive Investor now manage £592bn of savers' money.
The FCA will examine whether such firms help investors make good decisions.
It follows a previous inquiry into those who manage the funds that are sold on investment platforms, which found high levels of profitability.
The study found typical profit margins in the industry of 36% - and concluded that investors should be quoted a single fee, rather than a complex mix of charges.
Savers putting money into investment platforms pay a fee to each fund manager, as well as to the platform itself.
"With the increasing use of platforms, and the issues raised by our previous work, we want to assess whether competition between platforms is working in the interest of consumers," said Christopher Woolard, the FCA's executive director of strategy and competition.
"Platforms have the potential to generate significant benefits for consumers, and we want to ensure consumers are receiving these benefits in practice."
The FCA will look at:
One of the UK's biggest investment platforms, Hargreaves Lansdown, saw its share price hit in May when US firm Vanguard announced a cut-price service for UK investors.
Vanguard plans to charge investors a maximum fee of 0.15% on its tracker funds, capped at £375 a year.
Hargreaves Lansdown charges 0.45% to hold investments in its Vantage service.
The FCA will also look at investment platforms' "model portfolios" where they suggest recommended funds to their clients.

Summary: The City regulator is to examine whether savers get value for money from so-called investment "platforms" - otherwise known as fund supermarkets.
###
Article: In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.95% at 5,226.40.
Analysts said iron ore prices were continuing to move towards the decade low reached earlier this year.
The commodity is Australia's biggest export and was trading at $44.20 a tonne in China on Monday.
Independent economist and commodities specialist Andy Xie has predicted that iron ore prices will fall below $40 a tonne before the end of the year.
He said prices could even sink as low as $30 for much of next year as demand from China continues to decline.
Three of the biggest iron ore producers recorded falls in their Sydney-listed shares. BHP Billiton closed down 1.8%, Rio Tinto fell 1.5%, while Fortescue Metals was the biggest loser, sinking 3.2%.
Japan's Nikkei index spent much of the day flat but made gains late in the day to close up 0.23% at 19,924.89 points.
Shares in the country's troubled electronics maker Sharp surged more than 35% at one point on reports its lenders may waive some of its debts.
Without citing sources, Kyodo News said a state-backed fund may invest in Sharp if Japanese lenders agreed to write off an unspecified amount of its debt.
Investors seem to shrug off fresh numbers released earlier on Tuesday that showed Japan's manufacturing activity expanded in November as new orders and output increased.
The Markit/Nikkei Japan Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose from 52.4 in October to 52.8 in November. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
The PMI figure was the highest it had been since March last year - ahead of the introduction of the country's sales tax.
Marcel Thieliant from Capital Economics said the reading suggested Japan's economy had returned to growth this quarter.
"Today's survey confirms that economic activity is on the mend. But with large amounts of spare capacity dampening price pressures, we still think that the Bank of Japan may have to step up the pace of easing in coming months," he added.
In China, the Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.2% at 3,616.11, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng...

Summary: Asian markets experienced mixed fortunes on Tuesday following declines in the US and as slumping iron ore prices continued to hurt mining companies.
###
Article: A report for the Department of Environment and Climate Change (Decc) estimates that greenhouse gas emissions would be similar to home-grown gas but lower than imported gas or coal.
Shale gas could benefit the UK, through energy security and jobs, Secretary of State Ed Davey told the Royal Society.
Greenpeace said low carbon renewables were a better way to meet energy needs.
The new report, by Decc chief scientific advisor Prof David MacKay and Dr Timothy Stone, senior advisor to the Secretary of State, looked at the potential greenhouse gas emissions from the production of shale gas in the UK.
It concluded that the net effect would be "relatively small".
Prof MacKay told BBC News: "The emissions from shale gas in the UK will be similar to those of liquefied natural gas.
"And secondly, as with any fossil fuel reserve if you put extra fossil fuel into play, if you don't also have global climate policies then we think it's credible that global cumulative emissions could increase.
"So we think it's essential that shale gas use should be accompanied by continued global climate policy action."
In a speech to the Royal Society, Ed Davey responded to the findings.
He said: "Gas, as the cleanest fossil fuel, is part of the answer to climate change, as a bridge in our transition to a green future, especially in our move away from coal.
"We have to face it: North Sea gas production is falling and we are become increasingly reliant on gas imports. So UK shale gas could increase our energy security by cutting those imports.
"Home-grown gas, just like home-grown renewables and new nuclear, also provides jobs for our people and tax revenues for our society."
He added that regulation to protect the local environment must be followed "to the letter".
However, Leila Deen, energy campaigner at Greenpeace, said Mr Davey was "endorsing the use of a fuel that remains highly polluting, damages our countryside and scientists say must be largely left underground".
"The solution to our energy problems is still a roll-out of high-tech...

Summary: UK shale gas exploration would have a "similar" carbon footprint to other fossil fuels, according to a new study.
###
Article: A drop in coach parties and fewer stallholders have been blamed for the event making just £4,000.
The figures follow a £100,000 loss in 2012, but the City of Lincoln Council maintains the event's future is secure.
It is however, proposing a 12% rise in pitch fees, which a business leader said could drive stallholders away.
Linda Wardale, chairman of the Bailgate Traders' Group, said traders may not be able to afford the increase.
"There will not be the variety of stalls there and it could be a potential flop," she said.
The 2012 event was heavily criticised for a one-way system, introduced to tackle overcrowding.
While coach numbers have declined in recent years, a council report said there was "a significant decrease" in 2013. The council said there were 438 in 2012, compared to 314 last Christmas.
There was also a fall in the number of stalls - from 243 to 199 - and parts of the castle were unavailable.
The report admits "it is increasingly clear that a fundamental review of the business plan is required" and recommends a 12% increase in pitch fees - to a maximum of £1,411.
Council leader Ric Metcalfe, said that some stall holders were making a "significant amount of money" at the Christmas market and should contribute to the running costs.
"Given there are very significant overhead costs falling on the council primarily but other public authorities as well, it's only fair that those businesses should share the infrastructure costs of maintaining the event," he said.

Summary: Lincoln Christmas market risks becoming a "flop" after it was revealed the 2013 event made nearly £80,000 less than predicted.
###
Article: The new offerings include news bulletins from National Public Radio, the BBC and others as well as longer video and audio podcasts and clips.
Spotify has more than 60 million regular users across 58 countries. It says about 20% pay for its premium ad-free subscription services.
Chief executive Daniel Ek said that represents more than half of the global market in "streaming dollars".
The company said it had also taken steps to match the music tracks it suggests to the various activities users engage in throughout their day.
This includes a new running mode, which matches music to the pace of the subscriber based on feedback from their smartphone's built-in sensors.
The firm said it had also created a new type of audio format that allows a song's tempo to be altered to match a runner's footsteps while keeping it in tune.
And it has commissioned new track from composers and DJs including Tiesto, who made a brief appearance at the firm's New York press conference.
"If it works, the ability of Spotify to adapt what it plays you as the day progresses is interesting," commented Andy Malt, editor of the music business news service Complete Music Update.
"Being faced with a choice of tens of millions of tracks is daunting for a lot of users when they open the app, and while that catalogue is a big sell for the engaged music fans who were streaming's early adopters, it's less appealing to mainstream users.
"The less users have to interact the more music the app can serve up to them. Adding non-music content, including podcasts and video, also has the potential to keep users within the Spotify app for longer."
One of the new pieces of audio content is BBC Minute - an "alternative" round-the-clock news service, aimed at a youth audience, already offered to other digital platforms.
Launched in April, it is a 60 second conversation of shareable news, updated every half hour.
In addition, for a year-long period, overseas Spotify users will be able to listen to around 50 speech-only podcasts from BBC stations.
"These...

Summary:


Not for the first time over the five years of Greece's euro crisis - or the eurozone's Greece crisis - I am confused.

Article: We know that stars slow down over time, but until recently there was little data to support exact calculations.
For the first time, a US team has now measured the spin speed of stars that are more than one billion years old - and it matches what they predicted.
The finding resolves a long-standing challenge, allowing astronomers to estimate a star's age to within 10%.
The work was presented in Seattle at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society and also appears in the journal Nature.
Establishing the age of stars is a central question in astronomy - much like dating fossils is crucial to studying evolution.
This method applies to "cool stars" - suns about the size of our own, or smaller. These are the most common stars in our galaxy and they also last for a long time.
"They act as lamp posts, lighting up even the oldest parts of our galaxy," said senior author Dr Soren Meibom from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Cool stars also host the vast majority of earth-like planets that we have spotted in the distance.
Most properties of a star like ours - like its size, mass, brightness and temperature - stay about the same throughout most of its life.
This makes figuring out a star's age decidedly tricky.
The solution of measuring spin was first proposed in the 1970s and was dubbed "gyrochronology" in 2003.
"A cool star spins very fast when it's young, but just like a top on a table it gets slower and slower as the star grows older," Dr Meibom said.
But it is difficult to see a star spinning. Astronomers use sun spots, travelling across the surface, and these only dim its brightness by much less than 1%.
Old stars are particularly problematic, because they have fewer and smaller spots.
Dr Meibom's team used images from the very sensitive Kepler space telescope, which has been trailing Earth around the Sun since 2009.
They managed to measure spin speeds for 30 stars in a specific cluster known to be 2.5 billion years old.
This cluster, known as NGC 6819, plugs what Dr Meibom called a...

Summary: Astronomers have proved that they can accurately tell the age of a star from how fast it is spinning.
###
Article: BBC Wales revealed five Welsh Tory MPs have urged George Osborne to reverse the announcement, made in November.
They said the policy change was "disrespectful" and breached the Conservatives' 2015 election manifesto.
But Cardiff North MP Craig Williams said there was no "big row" and AMs needed "some fiscal responsibility".
Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb has said devolving income tax powers would mean "better government for Wales".
Some of the MPs opposed to the move hope to raise the issue at a meeting with Mr Osborne on Wednesday.
The five - Byron Davies, Chris Davies, David Davies, James Davies and David Jones - have written to him on the issue
"This is a line in the sand for many of us," one MP said.
Another said it would be "very embarrassing" for the Conservative UK government if almost half of the party's 11 Welsh MPs were to vote against the measure.
The letter said that during the general election campaign Tory candidates "were able to reassure people that the assembly would not get tax raising powers without the consent of the people of Wales".
"To drop the commitment to a referendum would put us in breach of a clear manifesto commitment," it continued.
The Welsh Conservative manifesto for the 2015 general election made reference to an "expectation that the Welsh government will hold a referendum on income tax powers".
The five MPs said people in Wales should not be "treated differently in this respect from the people of Scotland, who did have a separate vote on the issue of tax varying powers" in the 1997 referendum on devolution.
"We frankly feel that to impose such powers without a referendum would be disrespectful to the Welsh people," they added.
Mr Williams responded: "You're going to have cases with business rates being devolved to areas like Manchester, where Manchester City Council might have more fiscal responsibility than the entire Welsh nation," Mr Williams said.
"It's about time they [the assembly] had some responsibility for income of money as well as spending it on their pet...

Summary: A Tory MP backing plans to devolve some income tax powers to Wales without a referendum has said he does not expect the chancellor to reverse his decision.
###
Article: George, a male swan, was shot with a crossbow in Pittville Park, Cheltenham, last week, leaving him seriously injured.
The creature has now been released back into the wild after he was treated at Vale Wildlife Hospital near Tewkesbury.
A Gloucestershire Police spokeswoman said a 48-year-old man was arrested under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. He has been released on bail.
The swan, along with his breeding partner Zelda, has been a fixture on Pittville lakes for a number of years.
A fundraising campaign to pay for George's treatment and a reward to catch the person responsible has raised over £6,000.

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of shooting a swan.
###
Article: The Liberal Democrat AM voted with Plaid Cymru against Article 50 despite the Labour group opposing the motion.
Mr Davies suggested some Labour AMs were "sore" over the Senedd vote.
Mr Jones's spokesman said it was recognised the Lib Dems were in a different position on the matter.
Article 50 of the European Union Lisbon treaty is the trigger that would allow UK ministers to start the process to leave the EU.
The UK government wants to set Article 50 in motion by the end of March.
Mr Davies himself campaigned for Vote Leave at the referendum last year - his group joined Labour and UKIP in voting against the Plaid Cymru proposal in the Senedd on Tuesday.
Only 10 AMs supported the motion to oppose Article 50 being triggered without assurances over the single market, versus 46 against.
The vote if passed would have been advisory and would not have affected the process.
Mr Davies questioned whether collective responsibility - the principle that ministers should always support the government - had been lifted in the Labour-led Welsh Government for the Lib Dem minister.
He told BBC Wales he had no issue with how Ms Williams voted, but questioned how he "could have her continuing in his cabinet".
"I want to know from the first minister, is he going to allow that to stand, or is he going to sack Kirsty Williams?"
"I think the question needs to be asked, was collective responsibility the order of the day yesterday, or had he lifted that," he said.
"In which case, if he lifted it for Kirsty Williams, I know of several Labour backbenchers who would have voted differently if they didn't have the whip imposed on them.
"It seems one rule for Labour backbenchers, another rule for Kirsty Williams".
Mr Davies, who said he spoke to three Labour backbenchers, said they had "expressed soreness to me because obviously they had an emergency group meeting last Wednesday where this was discussed".
"They were led to believe it was the government position and lo and behold after the vote they found that a member of that government, a...

Summary: Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies has questioned how First Minister Carwyn Jones can keep Kirsty Williams as education secretary after she voted against triggering Brexit.
###
Article: My confusion stems from the proposals for tax, benefit and economic reform submitted by the Greek government to secure, at the very last minute of the last hour, a deal from their creditors to avoid tumbling out of the euro.
Having obtained a copy of this paper, headed "Greece: Prior Actions - Policy Commitments and Actions to be taken in consultation with the EC/ECB/IMF staff", it feels very familiar.
That familiarity stems from its great similarity to the bailout proposals put to Greece by the creditors - the eurozone governments, the European Central Bank and the IMF - last month.
Pretty much everything wanted by the creditors is there - with the odd tweak or softening, but nothing which looks as though it ought to be noxious to them.
So there is a pledge for budget surpluses rising in steps to 3.5% of GDP or national income by 2018; VAT would be raised to three rates of 23% (the standard rate), 13% (for food, energy, hotels and water) and 6% (for medicine and books) - increases that would raise revenue equivalent to 1% of GDP; and Athens is eating the dust of comprehensive reforms of pensions to make them more affordable; and so on.
So here's why I am a bit baffled.
Only a few days ago the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras won an overwhelming mandate from the Greek people, in a referendum, to reject more-or-less these bailout terms.
And today, on the back of that popular vote, he is signing up to the supposedly hated bailout.
This is big politics that would make Lewis Carroll proud.
Does that mean the eurozone can go back to life as normal, of inadequate economic performance but Greek Armageddon deferred (again)? Is a rescue done and dusted?
Not yet.
Tsipras has to get these proposals through the Greek parliament today - though his pax of earlier this week with the main opposition parties will surely deliver that (at the price of the splintering away of some of his own supporters).
Then there is the small question of whether eurozone ministers will stump up the 35bn euros requested by Greece from the...

Summary:


The patch is a "new" tool for treating heart infarction, but it is not a new tool for treating heart failure.
The patch is a "new" tool for treating heart failure.
The patch is a "new" tool for treating heart failure.
The patch is a "new" tool

A prototype patch could help the repair the damage caused by a heart attack, scientists say.

Article: Fighting between pro-Russia separatists and government troops in the area has prevented access to the site, they add.
Earlier, Malaysia said it had struck a deal with the rebels to allow international police at the site.
MH17 crashed on 17 July, killing all 298 people on board. The rebels have been accused of shooting it down.
Russia has suggested the plane could have been shot down by the Ukrainian military - an allegation Ukraine denies.
The investigators, who are currently in Donetsk, have struggled to gain access to the rebel-controlled crash site.
"There is fighting going on. We can't take the risk," said Alexander Hug, of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
"The security situation on the way to the site and on the site itself is unacceptable for our unarmed observer mission," he added.
The eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have been gripped by heavy fighting as government forces try to retake rebel strongholds.
In the latest fighting in Donetsk, at least 13 civilians were reported to have been killed in Horlivka, north of the regional capital, as troops try to seize the town.
Shelling was also reported close to the MH17 crash site, near the town of Grabove, on Sunday.
Rebels have prevented journalists going to the site and Ukrainian government forces are said to be nearby, says the BBC's Tom Burridge, in eastern Ukraine.
A total of 227 coffins containing the remains of the victims have been sent for identification to the Netherlands, which is leading the crash investigation.
The first MH17 victim has been identified, though officials did not reveal any details.
Officials say the exact number of bodies already collected will be determined only after forensic experts have completed their examination.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Sunday that he had reached an agreement with Ukrainian separatist leader Aleksander Borodai to allow international police access to the site in order to "provide protection for international crash investigators".
Australian Prime...

Summary: Dutch experts have cancelled plans to head to the site of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, international officials say.
###
Article: Andrew Burgess had more than 1,000 illegal images and videos on his laptop, Carlisle Crown Court was told.
One of the videos featured a woman and a dog, while almost 200 of the images were in the most serious category.
The 57-year-old of Ridley Road in the city told the court he was "deeply sorry" for what he had done.
Burgess, who admitted six offences, including three counts of making indecent photographs of children, was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for a year.
The court was told that police visited his home in April 2014 and recovered material from his laptop and a memory stick.
The supermarket shelf stacker, was not represented by a lawyer in court, told Judge Barbara Forrester: "I am deeply sorry and ashamed for what I have done."
Burgess was also given a rehabilitation requirement and made subject to the terms of a sexual harm prevention order for five years.
He must sign the sex offenders register for the same period.

Summary: A man caught with indecent images of children and pornography including a still featuring a woman and an octopus has been given a suspended jail term.
###
Article: South Yorkshire Police officers filled up with the incorrect fuel on nine occasions and Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust staff 19 times.
The ambulance service said devices to prevent mistakes had been fitted in 2013, cutting errors by 66%.
The police force is looking at ways to cut the "unnecessary expense".
Details of the repair bills were uncovered by the Sheffield Star under the Freedom of Information Act.
Ambulance bosses spent £3,605 repairing 19 vehicles from its 900-strong fleet between April 2010 and March 2014.
A spokeswoman said "fuel angels" had been fitted to vehicles to stop the wrong nozzle being inserted.
"As a result, the number of instances of an incorrect fuel type being used reduced by 66%, to only two occurrences in the 2013/14 financial year," she said.
South Yorkshire Police, which has a fleet of more than 750 vehicles, spent £4,506 during the same period.
Sarah Gilding, head of fleet management, said that while nine vehicles being affected was a "very small number in proportion to the size of our fleet", the force was looking at ways to "prevent incorrect fuelling of police vehicles".
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had no record of any vehicles being damaged by being wrongly fuelled.
Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Damage caused by refuelling mistakes is a waste of taxpayers' cash and it also means fewer patrol cars are available when they are being fixed.
"Simple measures, such as reminders on fuel caps, should ensure officers do not make this simple but expensive error.
"Perhaps making repeat offenders responsible for the costs would see more care being taken."

Summary: Police officers and ambulance staff have run up an £8,111 repair bill by filling emergency vehicles with the wrong fuel in the past four years.
###
Article: The CPS Inspectorate found that CPS barristers in England and Wales were in danger of "losing" the jury because of how they presented cases.
Standards of CPS advocacy had taken a "step backwards" over the past three years, the report said.
The CPS said it disputed this and said conviction rates had been maintained.
Chief inspector Michael Fuller said the review took place against "a significant background of change" for the CPS with budget cuts and a reduction in the number of CPS advocates.
But he said a reliance on outside barristers to present cases posed a "real threat to in-house prosecutors' courtroom skills".
"This is compounded by the lack of exposure to Crown Court advocacy and scant opportunity to progress to crown advocacy," he said.
"This means with things as they are, there will be an inevitable drop in prosecution standards in the courts.
"The CPS needs to evaluate its advocacy provision."
A CPS spokesperson said: "We dispute criticism of the quality of CPS advocates and are disappointed that this finding has been made when the Inspectorate undertook no observations of advocates in action.
"The report's findings are based on our own assessment of advocates, which is specifically targeted at those that we believe need it most.
"It is, therefore, an inaccurate picture of the overall quality of our advocates."

Summary: Too many Crown Prosecution Service barristers lack "presence, self-confidence and flair" in Crown Court trials, a report has said.
###
Article: The early work, carried out on mice and pigs, reveals the protein-infused patch encourages the growth of healthy cells and leads to less scarring.
Scarring can be common after a heart attack, making the heart pump less effectively and sometimes fail.
Writing in the journal Nature, researchers say the patch may one day revolutionise treatment.
During an attack, muscle cells in the heart die because of a lack of blood flow and scientists believe repairing or replacing some of these cells may help reduce long-term damage.
In this trial an international team of researchers soaked a collagen patch in a protein known as Fstl1 and stitched it on to the hearts of animals who had experienced heart attacks.
Though the protein occurs naturally in healthy hearts, it becomes depleted in a key layer of the heart after an attack.
Two weeks later the hearts began to grow fresh muscle cells and new blood vessels, while showing signs of pumping more effectively.
Prof Pilar Ruiz-Lozano at Stanford University (which has patented the patch), said: "Many were so sick prior to getting the patch that they would have been candidates for heart transplantation.
"The hope is that a similar procedure could eventually be used in human heart attack patients who suffer severe heart damage."
Commenting on the study in Nature, Prof Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic at Columbia University, said the work "could lead to entirely new modalities for treating heart infarction".
But she cautioned that further studies needed to be done to understand whether this type of approach would work on larger animals and ultimately humans.

Summary: