The government has turned down plans to build more than 500 homes near an East Yorkshire village.

Article: Devon County Council reversed traffic flow through Totnes in 2013 to make the area safer.
But some traders began legal action claiming their businesses had suffered.
The council wanted to contest a decision that the scheme should be dropped but a judge at Exeter County Court said it could not appeal.
The authority could take the case to the Supreme Court, but will still have to reinstate the original traffic flow in the meantime.
In March, the decision to reverse traffic flow through Totnes town centre was quashed in the High Court.
BBC presenter Jonathan Dimbleby was among campaigners who marched with protesters against the traffic changes which meant vehicles could no longer be driven up the High Street from the bottom of the town.
The changes reversed the previous system, in which traffic was allowed up the High Street and brought in alternative routes.
Devon County Council said: "We are disappointed by today's decision and will now consider our options."

Summary: Traffic flow through a Devon town centre is set to change after a judge decided a council cannot appeal against a ruling to scrap the scheme.
###
Article: The quality assurance analyst from Newtownards is obsessed with the Ulster fry mainstay and has so far visited 50 towns and 66 outlets to taste and rate the potato bread sold in bakeries and restaurants.
A record of Kirsty's travels and the results of her tests can be found on Facebook, where she has set up a page dedicated to her passion.
On Potato Bread Girl NI, potato bread of all kinds is rated based on five factors - tastiness, texture, toastiness, service and value - and an overall scale of between one and five.
"I go 'potato breading' every Saturday," said 27-year-old Kirsty.
"When I finish work on a Friday evening I do my research and plan where I'll head off to the next day.
"On the Saturday morning, I make a 'before' video updating everyone on where I plan to go and then an 'after' video when I arrive at my destination.
"Then I visit every bakery and restaurant in the area that sells potato bread and bring samples home to toast and rate them.
"I also have a potato bread gang to help me - plastic toys Ducky, Tutti and Sundae (who I always mention in my videos).
"I really look forward to every weekend and never get sick of it. I love potato bread and eat at least two bits every day.
"My goal is to find the best potato bread in Northern Ireland and to create awareness of how unique potato bread is to Northern Ireland and celebrate it as part of our cultural heritage."
Kirsty came up with the idea in 2014 when she was facing redundancy from a previous job and her mum was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
"Instead of dwelling on all the negativity, I decided to focus on something I love - potato bread - and do something with it," she told Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.
"It gave me something to look forward to."
Since she began her search, Kirsty has tried various versions of the food including recipes with spelt and black pudding.
While most of us enjoy it as part of a fry-up, she has hers simply toasted without butter.
"I don't think it needs fried," she said.
"And to ensure a fair taste...

Summary: County Down woman Kirsty Meredith spends each weekend searching for Northern Ireland's best potato bread.
###
Article: The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning in their latest attempt to highlight the difficulties facing doctors.
About 65% of practices across Northern Ireland took part in the survey.
Dr Tom Black, the chair of the Northern Ireland General Practitioners' Committee (NIGPC), said it showed some practices were struggling to survive.
"We knew the situation was bad, but the research showed clearly that primary care here is on the edge of a full-blown crisis," he said.
"The situation was particularly bad for smaller, single-handed and rural practices that have fewer GPs working in them and who are struggling to fill vacancies."
The survey concludes that the majority of practices in rural areas are at risk of closure.
This risk, it says, is greatest in County Fermanagh, where three out of four practices are in danger of closure due to workforce and workload issues.
According to Dr Black, his colleagues have been warning the government that general practice "is in trouble".
"Unless action is taken and funding is made available, there is a real risk of practices closing, GPs retiring and thousands of patients here facing the very real prospect of not having a GP to call on when they need help," he added.
The NIGPC, which represents doctors, has called for fair and sustainable funding, with a minimum of 10% of the health budget.
It also wants a taskforce to support practices at risk.
The survey sheds a worrying light on the medical profession, but it is not the first time that the BMA has raised the issue.
The association has repeatedly warned the role of the GP is expanding rapidly.
An ageing population with serious long term health conditions means GPs are often required to do a lot more with often a lot less staff and resources, according to the BMA.
Dr Black said: "We must find ways of securing general practice in the short term and evolve to a modern, sustainable model of general practice for the future to allow us to provide a service that meets the needs of patients."

Summary: General practice in Northern Ireland is "on the edge of a full-blown crisis", a survey has suggested.
###
Article: One side relied on the conventional wisdom, coined by Bill Clinton's campaign brain, James Carville, "It's the economy, stupid."
But as one of Vote Leave's brains has revealed at length this week, they had something else - a new and powerful way of using technology to find and mobilise their support that helped them overturn the traditional political rules.
In 2016, maybe it's the data, stupid.
In the early days of the campaign, members of the Vote Leave team told me they hoped to find a way of mashing the mountain of data that we generate in daily life online with more normal ways of measuring political support.
Their dream was of a system that could put information from Twitter, canvassing, polls, websites, apps, into one giant IT programme that would then churn out extremely sophisticated models that would reveal the areas most likely to vote Leave, down to the street.
And to create models that could test the messages they were going to use, again and again and again, in a more detailed, more effective way than had ever been done before.
Of course there were already sophisticated ways of using technology to monitor political mood and moves, and to target voters. But Vote Leave's hope was for something quite different, and much more bold.
Essentially, from day one, as Dominic Cummings, Vote Leave's director, has written: "One of our central ideas was that the campaign had to do things in the field of data that have never been done before."
In the last few years, the amount of information that's publicly available about what voters are feeling and thinking at any moment has multiplied beyond all expectations.
If knowledge is power, developing ways of grabbing and using that information was a huge prize.
The software didn't exist, so Vote Leave decided to build it themselves. They hired physicists, data experts and digital specialists and they succeeded.
Knowing the potential of the programme, they kept it under wraps. The project was even clandestine enough to be hidden from some of the MPs involved in the...

Summary: The referendum campaigns were lots of things - noisy, passionate, dispiriting, vicious, inspiring, predictable, and totally unpredictable.
###
Article: Reports of pinched pooches in the South Wales Police force area rose from 16 in 2012 to 68 in 2014.
Gwent Police and Dyfed-Powys Police also reported an increase while North Wales Police saw cases halve in the same time.
Animal welfare charity Blue Cross wants to see tougher sentences for pet thieves.
Cases reported to Gwent Police rose from 10 in 2012 to 13 in 2014; by the end of November, there were 13 reports for 2015.
South Wales Police have had 57 thefts reported so far this year.
Dyfed-Powys Police's dog thefts rose from nine to 11 and there have been 17 in 2015.
North Wales Police saw thefts drop from 31 to 16, with 15 reported so far in 2015.
Pam Burne-Jones from Blue Cross said across the UK there had been a 40% increase in pet thefts.
She added: "I love to go up to people and talk to them about their dogs, but sadly you do have to be aware that it could be someone who's trying to target your pet."
Julie Evans from Briton Ferry, Neath Port Talbot, lost her beagle-cross Hansum while walking him last year.
She said: "Everyone searched for him, but when I found he'd last been seen in the estate I knew someone had taken him - he'd been stolen.
"My biggest fear is that Hansum is in a cage somewhere being used for breeding."

Summary: Dog thefts in south Wales have quadrupled in two years, new figures show.
###
Article: The East Riding of Yorkshire Council refused planning permission for the scheme at North Ferriby, near Hull, in May 2013.
The developer St Modwen appealed to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Greg Clark, who has rejected the plan.
The company said it was disappointed and is considering its options.
The Melton Fields project would have consisted of 510 houses and a care home. The company also applied for permission for an alternative smaller scheme of 390 homes.
Villagers mounted a campaign against the development, with more than 1,200 people writing letters objecting to the plans.
East Riding council rejected both proposals claiming the land had been earmarked for employment rather than residential use.
The developer appealed against the council's decision to the government's Planning Inspectorate, which held a public inquiry last year.
Councillor John Mabbett, vice chairman of North Ferriby Parish Council, described the secretary of state's refusal as "a victory for common sense".
"Had this ill-conceived development been approved our community would have been overwhelmed by its size and the fabric and character of the village would have been harmed for ever," he said.
A spokesperson for St Modwen said: "We firmly believe that our proposals for a residential development represent the most viable option for the site, and for the region.
"Our proposals would not only deliver much needed family homes, but also bring important investment and jobs to the local area."

Summary:


Boeing has successfully shot a drone out of the sky using a high-powered laser during a test, the company says.

Article: Claire Sugden said the review would look at the "legislative framework" for certain categories of crime and other issues, such as unduly lenient sentences.
The minister said sentencing did not just affect the offender, but victims, families and the wider community.
Ms Sugden said recommendations would be put out to consultation.
She said sentencing played a "major part" in how the criminal justice system as a whole was perceived and "impacts on public confidence in the delivery of justice".
"I am aware of concerns that have been expressed from time to time about sentencing in some individual cases," she said.
"While such cases represent a very small part of the everyday work of the courts, they can have a significant impact on public perception and confidence in the justice system and the sentencing process.
"That is why I have decided that a comprehensive review of sentencing policy is needed."
The review will consider the following areas:
The minister stressed it was not a review of sentencing decisions, as in each individual case it was a matter for the judiciary and the courts.
"It is essential that their independence is maintained," she added.
"However, it is my responsibility to ensure the effectiveness of the legislative framework within which individual sentencing decisions are made, and, along with the Lord Chief Justice's programme of action, to seek to ensure that there is confidence in how those decisions are reached."

Summary: The justice minister has announced a major review of sentencing in Northern Ireland.
###
Article: In February, the hours were cut by nearly half - to 40 hours a week - in an attempt to save money.
Now 26 hours are to be added, meaning the building will be accessible between 09:00 and 21:00, but a limited service will operate in those extra hours.
The Friends of the Library of Birmingham welcomed the extension but said space seemed to be "disappearing".
The core service will remain at 40 hours a week. The library will remain closed on Sundays, and will continue with its 11:00 - 17:00 opening hours on Saturdays.
There will be access to study space, book borrowing will be "self-service from a limited stock" and there will be "limited advisory support".
The extended hours are due to Birmingham's Brasshouse Language Service's move into the library, the city council said, which will cut operational costs.
The aim is to start the self-service in early 2016, with the Brasshouse opening the following autumn.
Anne Gallagher, from the friends group, said it was "pleased" about the weekday hours extension which was "better news for students who've been queuing at 11 o'clock".
But she said: "If you look at the size of the Brasshouse centre now and you look at the size of the library, quite a lot of space will be lost to the public as well as the space that's being given over to Google [operating at the library].
"We're very concerned that any money that is generated hopefully from both of these ventures should be put into making sure that the library is open and staffed and stocked for the general public."
Penny Holbrook, council cabinet member for skills, learning and culture, said the authority had listened to feedback from residents and library campaigners and said it would "look at all options available".
She said: "People don't just want to use the library for borrowing books and reference purposes but want to use it as a study space, to work and research, to access the internet, to visit as tourists and to simply hang out and relax.
"Under the new name of Brasshouse at Library of Birmingham, the language service...

Summary: The opening hours of Birmingham's £189m library are to be extended from next year, the city council has confirmed.
###
Article: He said he did not want to provide "cover" for widespread government corruption.
President Petro Poroshenko brought Mr Abromavicius from Lithuania to help spearhead Ukraine's reform campaign.
But two years after their pro-Western revolution, many Ukrainians say there has been little change and their country remains mired in corruption.
Mr Abromavicius, a 40-year-old ex-banker from Lithuania, was one of several non-Ukrainian experts brought in to help tackle abuses after pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in February 2014 and Mr Poroshenko was elected president.
His predecessor as economy minister, Pavlo Sheremeta, also resigned in frustration.
Ukraine privatisation drive in bid to tackle corruption
Ukraine wrestles with power of oligarchs
Mr Abromavicius complained that officials had actively placed obstacles in his way, even alleging that members of President Poroshenko's administration were blocking him.
He spoke of systematic and concrete actions aimed at paralysing reforms, "ranging from a sudden removal of my security detail to the pressure to appoint questionable individuals to my team or to key positions in state-owned enterprises".
He even named an MP from the president's party, Igor Kononenko, accusing him of trying to obstruct his team's efforts and of seeking to influence key appointments in state companies.
Mr Kononenko reacted by suggesting that some ministers appeared to be trying to "switch personal responsibility away from their own guilt and that of their teams, and on to MPs".
Mr Abromavicius's decision is a stinging condemnation of Ukraine's government, says the BBC's David Stern in Kiev. If his resignation is confirmed by parliament, it would be a heavy blow to a country still mired in corruption, he adds.
After submitting his resignation, the minister met President Poroshenko who urged him to stay.
"He has now left to deliberate," Mr Poroshenko wrote on Facebook, adding that Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau would investigate his complaint. Mr Kononenko had also agreed to...

Summary: Ukraine's economy minister Aivarus Abromavicius has resigned in protest at the slow pace of reform in the country.
###
Article: L/Cpl Craig Roberts, from Conwy county, died during the Brecon Beacons march in July 2013.
L/Cpl Edward Maher and Cpl James Dunsby also collapsed and later died.
The senior official, known as AA, told the inquest on Monday aspects of the planning for the 16-mile (26 km) march had "failed".
The inquest has previously heard reservists had not been "conditioned" or "acclimatised" to the conditions that day, which may have contributed to their deaths.
"The way we should have saved them from that lack of conditioning was through our dynamic risk assessment, which on the day was not good enough," AA told the inquest in Solihill, West Midlands, on Monday.
He said SAS training was carried out at unit level and he would "supervise the department when things go wrong".
AA said special forces "would prefer" its people to have a "better understanding" of Ministry of Defence (MoD) guidance on heat exhaustion.
However, he said, he did not believe the "full provisions" of the guidelines "can be applied in all circumstances".
AA accepted those in charge of the exercise "did not have a good understanding" of this.
When asked how it could have happened, AA replied: "We, organisationally, have failed to give them either the knowledge or the understanding that was required."
He added: "One of the things we have managed to do in the wake of this incident â€¦ is training more specifically in respect of heat illness."
AA said, two years on from the deaths, the SAS was still relying on a tracking system, which has been identified as needing a number of upgrades.
"We haven't resolved that problem," he added, despite saying some functions had been improved.
He also said the "fact that medics were not provided with radios" on the day was "a weakness and an omission and something we've already done something about".
L/Cpl Roberts, 24, from Penrhyn Bay, Conwy, L/Cpl Maher, 31, from Winchester, in Hampshire, and Cpl Dunsby, 31, from Bath, in Wiltshire, were all taking part in the exercise alongside some SAS regulars.
A serving regular...

Summary: The risk assessment for a fatal SAS reservist training exercise was "not good enough", a special forces assistant chief of staff has said.
###
Article: But Trump never openly insulted Clinton, never called her "Crooked Hillary", nor did he cross the stage at any point, as a former senate opponent famously did with Clinton in 2000 - a move that was seen as physically intimidating towards a female candidate.
Despite that, gender and sexism did feature prominently during several exchanges in the debate, and in the initial feedback on the candidates' performance on social media.
Follow our live updates here
Reality Check: Clinton v Trump debate
US debate: Five Twitter takeaways
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Key issues - where candidates stand
1. Interruptions
Trump was the first to interrupt Clinton early in the debate, and he did so almost once per minute in the first 25 minutes according to a tally by Vox.
"Wrong, wrong, wrong," he interjected during one of her responses, and at one point just blurted "not."
In total, Vox says Clinton interrupted Trump 17 times, while he spoke over her 51 times.
"A male candidate can't look like he's bullying a woman," says Jennifer Lawless, a professor at the School of Public Affairs at American University. "Whether it be hand waving or sighing or rolling his eyes, that can be perceived as far more condescending because she's a woman."
For her part, Clinton seemed resolute about not allowing Trump to cut her off.
"It's almost as if women are used to men constantly talking over them!" one observer tweeted.
2. Name power play
Trump stopped himself the first time he addressed Clinton by her name.
"In all fairness to Secretary Clinton - is that OK? I want you to be very happy," he said.
Clinton, however, consistently referred to her opponent as "Donald", a move described by Slate as a "power move".
"Hillary Clinton referred to @realDonaldTrump by first name 22 times. Trying to get under skin?" the political blog Presidential Gender Watch tweeted, attributing it to PBS Newshour host Gwen Ifill.
3. 'Stamina'
At one point, moderator Lester Holt directly asked Trump about his previous comments that Clinton didn't have a...

Summary: Ahead of time, many wondered if Donald Trump - who in past debates with his mostly male Republican rivals used insults and personal attacks - would use the same tactics with Hillary Clinton.
###
Article: 28 August 2015 Last updated at 14:08 BST
The device was able to track and damage a free-flying drone during the trial in California.
Boeing is one of many companies working to develop high powered lasers that can be used in military or defence scenarios.
The company says its new device is the most portable yet, and can be collapsed into four parts light enough to carry.

Summary:

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Significant job opportunities will be lost unless a reduced Corporation Tax is introduced into Northern Ireland, a business group has said.

Article: Known as Juice, the mission is due to leave Earth in 2022 and arrive at the giant planet 7.5 years later.
The 350m-euro deal struck between industry and Esa will see the assembly of the 5.5-tonne probe being led from Toulouse in France.
Components and instruments will be sourced from across Europe, however.
There will also be American participation as well, through the US space agency (Nasa), and from Japan via its space agency (Jaxa).
When all these contributions are summed - including launch and operations - the full price for the JUpiter ICy moon Explorer is expected to exceed one billion euros.
Tuesday's contract was signed in the presence of Alvaro Gimenez, director of science and robotic exploration at Esa, and Eric BÃ©ranger, head of space systems programmes at Airbus Defence and Space.
As prime contractor, Airbus must now pull together a consortium of companies across Europe to build, assemble and test the satellite, making it ready for its launch on an Ariane 5 rocket in six years' time.
Juice will carry a sophisticated scientific payload - including cameras, spectrometers, a laser altimeter and an ice-penetrating radar. The mission will also feature a magnetometer, plasma and particle detectors, as well as radio science hardware.
To power all those instruments at Jupiter - a distance of 780 million km from the Sun - Juice will need the biggest solar array system ever flown on a planetary mission. This generator will have a collecting area of almost 100 sq metres.
To put that in some context: the Rosetta mission to Comet 67P has a collecting area of 64 sq metres; Nasa's Juno mission, scheduled to arrive at Jupiter next year, has an array surface measuring 72 sq metres.
After launch, Juice will use a series of gravitational flybys of Earth, Venus and Mars to hurl itself out to the Jovian system.
On arrival, the probe will swing around the planet to initiate a series of close passes of its moons Callisto and Europa. Juice will then put itself in a settled orbit around Ganymede.
The research emphasis...

Summary: Airbus and the European Space Agency have signed the contract that will lead to the construction of a satellite to go to study Jupiter and its icy moons.
###
Article: On one occasion, Nigel Graham, 56, illegally parked in a disabled space outside a court while he was inside admitting misuse of blue badges.
The BBC filmed the offence in 2015.
The General Osteopathic Council said the "degree and persistence of Mr Graham's dishonesty was fundamentally incompatible with practice as an osteopath".
The council removed him from its register and said he was now unable to practise in the profession.
Graham, of Southbourne, was appearing before Southampton magistrates in June 2015 when his illegally-parked car was given a ticket outside.
The car was driven away with the ticket still attached to the windscreen.
Inside the court, he had pleaded guilty to five counts of false representation to avoid parking fines in Southampton, Bournemouth and Christchurch, and one count of illegally using a disabled person's blue badge.
The badge was in the name of his deceased mother and had been applied for after her death.
Graham was given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to do 120 hours' community service.
The General Osteopathic Council said it noted the strong language used by the magistrate, who said these were "despicable dishonest offences committed... over a long period of time with no regard to bona fide blue badge holders".
The council said when Graham appeared before them in May, he "continued to obfuscate" and showed "no insight into the seriousness of his criminality".

Summary: A Dorset osteopath has been struck off following convictions for blue badge fraud and avoiding parking fines.
###
Article: Haroon Ahmed, 26, from Derby, was arrested at an address in the Nottingham area on Monday morning.
Ahmed is serving a sentence at HMP Dovegate prison, in Staffordshire, for a robbery committed in 2008.
Burton-upon-Trent Magistrates's Court remanded Ahmed in custody to appear at Stafford Crown Court on 29 June.
His brother, Majeed Ahmed, 25, of Clarence Road in Derby, has been charged with assisting a prisoner in escaping from prison.

Summary: A prisoner has been charged with escaping from lawful custody, police said.
###
Article: Mr Mugabe, who is 92, has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980.
At the party's conference, the Zanu-PF youth wing even proposed that Mr Mugabe should be declared president for life.
However, there have been unprecedented protests this year against Zimbabwe's economic turmoil and Mr Mugabe's leadership.
The Zanu-PF has also suffered serious infighting as factions battle it out to succeed Mr Mugabe once he eventually leaves.
His supporters broke into thunderous applause and chanted "tongai, tongai baba" [rule, rule father] as the Zanu-PF annual conference in the south-eastern town of Masvingo nominated Mr Mugabe on Saturday.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Mugabe called for an end to party infighting.
"We agreed that conflicts should end. Infighting should end. The party ideology should be followed," he said.
"Let us be one. We are one family, the family of Zanu-PF bound together by the fact of understanding between its members."
Mr Mugabe has blamed the country's economic problems on sabotage by Western critics of his policies.
Amid violent protests earlier this year he warned there would be no Zimbabwean uprising similar to the "Arab Spring".

Summary: Zimbabwe's governing Zanu-PF party has confirmed President Robert Mugabe as its candidate for the 2018 elections.
###
Article: But friends of introverts, especially if they are extroverts, can find it difficult to understand the need for this "me time" which is often spent alone or at home.
So designer Rebecca Evie Lynch has come up with a new range of emojis to help introverts communicate their feelings.
Called "introjis", the images include actions such as reading and gaming.
They also describe some social activities or situations, such as a person feeling anxious in a group or feeling out of sync with other people.
Rebecca has told Co Create that she first came up with the idea after a relationship ended.
"My boyfriend of three years broke up with me, citing the need for more time alone," she said.
"I was surprised, as I've always considered myself an introvert, too, but I realized that my enthusiasm about being in a relationship sometimes overshadows my ability to read others' signals."
Some of the emojis are also designed to be used by extroverts who want to talk with an introverted person.
"Introverts tend to find the company of others draining," explained Rebecca.
The system is designed so that the "activity" emojis - which are green and blue in colour - can be combined with a "no company" one - coloured red and yellow.
Rebecca says this will hopefully make it a bit easier to answer the question "Can I come and be social with you now?"
Some people can mistake introversion for signs of mental health problems, such as depression.
"While introversion and depression are entirely different thingsâ€”introversion is decidedly not a disorderâ€”the need to be alone can often be mistaken for depression by others. Having these complex, distinctive emotional states represented in the toolkit can hopefully help clarify the difference," Lynch said.
The designer is hoping to make her emojis into a free app and is currently working through prototypes on her Facebook page, where she is also asking for people to submit ideas.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary: It's important for introverts to have time to themselves to unwind and recharge.
###
Article: Grow NI said companies were deferring decisions to invest due to the uncertainty over the future of the tax.
Corporation Tax is the tax that companies pay on their profits. The current UK rate is 21% whereas in the Republic of Ireland firms pay 12.5%.
The devolution of the tax was dependant on welfare reform being implemented.
However, the controversial Welfare Reform Bill failed to pass at Stormont on Tuesday night.
Eamonn Donaghy of Grow NI, a forum representing major business organisations, said:  "The power to create tens of thousands of jobs is now within our grasp, but unless our politicians seize this opportunity it will jeopardise significant employment growth opportunities and will increase inequality in Northern Ireland."
He added:  "Continued uncertainly around a start date and an agreed rate of corporation tax means that the private sector cannot compete on a level playing field with businesses in the Republic of Ireland.
"Only by having the same rate of corporation tax across the island will we see any significant increase in employment in Northern Ireland.
"Such a change would see increased investment from companies at home and abroad, creating jobs which are much needed in communities everywhere."
New legislation to devolve corporation tax to Northern Ireland was passed by the House of Lords in March.
Invest NI has said that a US business delegation has postponed a potential investment trip to Northern Ireland.
The jobs creation agency said it was because the Stormont executive had not yet set the rate of Corporation Tax to be introduced in Northern Ireland, or the date it will take effect.
It had previously been suggested Northern Ireland will cut its rate to 12.5%, to match Ireland, from April 2017.
Mr Donaghy said: "The evidence that companies abroad are deferring - sometimes permanently - decisions to invest in Northern Ireland is gravely concerning.
"All of us now understand that the election of a Tory government means that the only growth in employment in the future will come from the...

Summary:


A chemistry student has created "the most environmentally-friendly" fake snow, as part of her research.

Article: The covers were picked up by a courier from quilter Joe Bennison in Winnersh on Tuesday 3 November but failed to arrive at the widow's house in Kent.
Ms Bennison said MyHermes had told her the quilts had been among a number of parcels stolen from a van in Reading.
"I fear that they will be dumped somewhere and nobody will think to hand them in," she said.
"The quilts were for his family to remember him by. They can not be replaced and are of no real use to anyone else.
"They are made from his favourite shirts and are therefore irreplaceable."
MyHermes said it was looking in to the matter.
Joe Bennison, 46, was temporarily holding the quilts to add decorative stitching for the widow's friend, Janet Bevan, before sending them back to her.
Mrs Bevan had been making the items to help her friend and her sons deal with the sudden loss of her husband.
Thames Valley Police confirmed the theft of two quilts from a delivery van in Reading was reported to them on 12 November.
Officers said they were believed to have been taken from an unknown location between 3 and 10 November.

Summary: Quilts being sent to a widow made from her husband's shirts are feared stolen after going missing from a courier.
###
Article: Vote Leave says its list of the 50 "most dangerous" EU citizens includes 45 who "went on to commit serious offences in the UK, including murder and rape".
In campaigners said the dossier was "scaremongering of the worst kind".
The Home Office said the UK was "safer" by being inside the European Union.
The two sides in the EU referendum debate have been trading blows over security issues, with debate intensifying following last week's Brussels attacks.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said the leave campaign was trying to make security its big issue.
"In a way it is their own 'Project Fear'," he said, referencing the criticism levelled at the Remain campaign.
"They are trying to raise concerns about our personal safety and they view it as the counterweight to the Remain side's use of the economic arguments."
The in-out vote on the UK's EU membership takes place on 23 June.
Releasing the document on Tuesday, Vote Leave - one of the groups vying for an EU exit - said instead of refusing criminals entry into the UK, Britain had allowed EU judges to "hang out a welcome sign"
The list includes Latvian Arnis Zalkalns who is suspected of killing London schoolgirl Alice Gross in 2014. The builder, who had been convicted of murdering his wife in Latvia in 1998, later killed himself.
Under current rules, countries are entitled to consult previous police records but criminal convictions alone are not grounds for restricting the right to free movement.
Vote Leave said EU law did not require other EU countries to inform the UK of the criminal records of their citizens.
Chief executive Matthew Elliott said EU membership meant Britain had "lost control of our borders".
"Free movement of people has created free movement of criminals making the UK less safe and less secure. We've allowed EU judges to hang out a welcome sign to individuals the public would rightly expect never to be allowed into the UK," he said.
But Lucy Thomas, from pro-EU campaign group Britain Stronger In Europe, said: "This is scaremongering of...

Summary: EU exit campaigners have released a list of 50 foreign criminals they say have been allowed into the UK because of freedom of movement rules.
###
Article: Under David Ford's plans, legal aid payments to lawyers would be subject to a new levy of up to 15%.
Gerry McAlinden claimed that under the proposals some lawyers in family courts could earn less than the minimum wage.
He said legal challenges would be mounted against Mr Ford's plans.
"Obviously no-one wants to see people who require access to the courts being denied that at this stage," he said.
"I am adamant as chair of the Bar Council that every other avenue will be explored before such action is taken.
"We intend to launch legal challenges in relation to the proposed cuts, we will be doing so jointly with the law society.
"But, and I have to stress this, the mood of the membership both of the criminal bar and of the family practitioners is such that if these proposals are implemented and if these proposals are not struck down, there will be a withdrawal of services."
Mr Ford said the legal aid system in Northern Ireland was the "most generous in Europe" and that the proposals were against the backdrop of "difficult problems" in managing the Department of Justice budget.
"The reality is the legal aid system in Northern Ireland is the most generous in Europe.
"It is simply unsustainable at a time when cuts are being imposed on every front-line service in the Department of Justice.
"Everyone is facing cuts, because it was a 15% cut imposed on my department for the budget next year."

Summary: The chair of the Bar Council in Northern Ireland has said local lawyers are prepared to withdraw their services if the justice minister's proposed cuts to legal aid are implemented.
###
Article: Ayatollah Khamenei described Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as a "martyr" who acted peacefully.
Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police.
Several hundred people gathered outside the building again on Sunday afternoon.
The authorities have changed the name of the street on which the Saudi embassy stands, naming it after the executed Sheikh Nimr, one of 47 people executed for terrorism offences on Saturday.
But Ayatollah Khamenei said the cleric had been executed for his opposition to Saudi Arabia's Sunni rulers.
"This oppressed scholar had neither invited people to armed movement, nor was involved in covert plots," the ayatollah tweeted.
"The only act of #SheikhNimr was outspoken criticism," he added, saying the "unfairly-spilled blood of oppressed martyr #SheikhNimr will affect rapidly & Divine revenge will seize Saudi politicians".
Sheikh Nimr had been a figurehead in the anti-government protests that erupted in the wake of the Arab Spring up to his arrest in 2012.
Newspapers in Iran have reacted with anger to the killing of the Shia cleric, warning it could bring down the Saudi ruling family but Saudi papers insist the authorities have the right to mete out punishment to those who do not obey the rules.
The killing "has brought the weak foundations of the bloodthirsty government of Saudi Arabia closer to collapse", says Iran's hard-line Vatan-e Emruz.
The authorities in Riyadh must now accept that the supporters of the cleric in the region "will take revenge", warns conservative Hemayat.
But reformist Sharq fears the "irresponsible" act could exacerbate sectarian tensions in the region and warns Tehran not to get drawn into Riyadh's "dangerous game".
In Saudi Arabia, Al-Riyadh is adamant that "the homeland's security, unity and prestige are non-negotiable" and no "incitement of harm or sedition" should be tolerated irrespective of the culprit's affiliations.
Finally, Al-Jazirah, says the "firm, strong verdict" has made the country...

Summary: Saudi Arabia will face "divine revenge" for its execution of a prominent Shia cleric, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned.
###
Article: With 103 years between them, one had witnessed first hand the years of fierce struggle that laid the ground for a black president, the other had never lived under a white one.
The cameras captured Virginia McLaurin, aged 106, dancing with President Obama and, separately, Clark Reynolds, aged three, gazing up as the president touched his cheek.
Later, at a reception for the guests, someone called out "Hey Michelle" to the First Lady. The president quipped: "We know it's Black History Month when you hear somebody say, 'Heyyy, Michelle! Girl, you look so good!'"
The three moments were all huge social media hits - the video of Mrs McLaurin's dance has been viewed nearly 35 million times; the image of Clark Reynolds shared nearly 30,000 times on Instagram; and the response to the video of the president's "Hey Girl" moment emphatic.
But at a time when the focus is shifting from Mr Obama's presidency to his legacy, these bite-sized moments raise bigger questions about the part race plays in the mark he leaves on the nation.
Many believe that just the presence of a black family in the White House will have a profound and lasting impact on the aspirations of the country's African Americans. Others have accused Mr Obama of dealing in symbolism over policy.
For Jonathan Capehart, a member of the Washington Post's editorial board who covers race and politics, it is impossible to overstate the impact of seeing a black family in the White House.
"It is indescribable for most African Americans to see that man and that family in that house," he says. "It's difficult even to answer the question because it is such a powerful thing."
Seeing Mrs McLaurin dancing with the president reminded Mr Capehart him of taking his own mother - a 70-year-old black woman born and raised in North Carolina - to the White House to meet the Obamas.
"She grew up in the segregated South, picked cotton in the cotton fields... and there we were, queuing up to meet a black president and his black wife. The look on her face, it was as if she was seeing...

Summary: Of all the visitors to the White House for this year's Black History Month, the last of Barack Obama's presidency, two stood out.
###
Article: Lizzie Mould, from Bristol University, was challenged by Gloucestershire firm Snow Business to come up with a "green" realistic snow for film and television.
It took her two years and a "few hundred attempts" but now her new snow liquids are being sold to the industry.
Ms Mould, said: "To say that seeing the products on the market is rewarding would be an understatement."
The Stroud-based company which specialises in fake snow and ice effects, has previously worked on James Bond film Spectre, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens.
But in a bid to create a "really good snow effect" which was "robust in different climates", environmentally friendly and would not damage people's skin or leave a residue - they approached the university.
"I must have made hundreds of formulations. before we got to where we are today," said Ms Mould, who has now been offered a full-time job with the firm.
"The original plan was just to make one fluid but by the end of my project we had two which both worked really well."
Recently launched to the industry, Paul Denney, from the company, said as far as they know the new liquids are "the most environmentally friendly falling snow products in the world".
"We had looked at developing the product ourselves but the chemistry involved was beyond our capabilities, which is why we approached the University of Bristol," he said.
"We weren't totally sure what Lizzie would be able to do, especially as we had a long wish list of characteristics but she's really come up trumps and surpassed all our expectations."

Summary:


A police force is being investigated after a prisoner had three fingers severed while in custody.

Article: Orcas that spend winter off Iceland have been pictured from the north Caithness coast.
The animals arrive in Scottish waters to hunt and raise young.
Wildlife photographer Karen Munro got her images of the orcas while on a trip on Sunday to spot whales and dolphins.
She spotted the orcas at a distance from Strathy Point in Sutherland and later along the coast, and closer to the shore, from Forss and Dunnet Head in Caithness.
The orcas can be identified by distinguishing features, such as the markings on their bodies and notches in their fins.
Ms Munro said she spotted an orca known to conservationists as Mousa, her five-year-old calf Summer and one-and-a-half-year-old calf Tide.
There were two other orcas, including a large bull.
The wildlife enthusiast was able to follow the animals along the coast, even being able to see them from near her home in Scrabster, near Thurso.
She said: "They continued on their journey and went into Dunnet Bay.
"Just before 21:00 they came in directly below Dunnet Head, much to the delight of a small crowd waiting for them.
"After nine hours of following their journey along the north coast, I left them heading east into the Pentland Firth."
She said another six orcas were also seen on Sunday close to Duncansby Head in Caithness, including animals known as The Hulk and Nott.
Ms Munro said: "The Hulk and Nott are also animals who travel to Iceland every winter and are often in the company of Mousa's pod which I saw.
"After a year of trying to find a good enough photo to confirm it, this weekend was the first time Marie Mrusczok of Orca Guardians, West Iceland, was able to confirm Nott being in Scotland after seeing photos taken by one of my fellow watchers Peter Hazelhurst."
She added: "It was a truly wonderful day.
"No matter how often I see these magnificent creatures, they never fail me to amaze me."

Summary: All images are copyrighted.
###
Article: There had been calls for Greens to stand aside in SNP seats which are being targeted by the Conservatives.
A full list of where the party is standing is expected on Wednesday, but sources confirmed they were not looking to contest more than ten seats.
The decision means the party will not qualify for party election broadcasts.
But it is expected that co-convenor Patrick Harvie will still take his place in a Scottish leaders' debate hosted by BBC Scotland, political correspondent Nick Eardley said.
The Scottish Greens fielded 32 candidates at the general election in 2015 but failed to win any seats. They currently have six MSPs at Holyrood, and won 19 seats in last week's council election.
Asked by the Press Association whether the Scottish Greens plan to stand fewer than 10 candidates in next month's general election, a party spokesman said: "That's the way it's looking."
He said the party had written to a broadcaster saying it will not be supplying a party election broadcast.
To qualify for a party election broadcast for the election, the Scottish Greens must stand in at least 10 constituencies.
The spokesman added: "By targeting resources in key constituencies, such as Glasgow North where Patrick Harvie will be our candidate, we can build on our strong support to win Scotland's first Green MP, offering a bold alternative to the other parties."
Tommy Sheppard, the SNP incumbent candidate for Edinburgh East, had previously called on the Greens to avoid splitting the pro-independence vote in key constituencies.
He said: "They will want to stand some candidates as they are a national party and will want to put their case to their base, but in deciding which seats to contest and not to contest I think they should be mindful of not splitting the pro-Yes vote and certainly not splitting the anti-Tory vote."
Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser accused the Greens of "propping up" the SNP.
He said: "This is the Green Party reaffirming themselves as a pointless presence in Scottish politics.
"The propping up of the...

Summary: The Scottish Greens expect to stand fewer than ten election candidates - but deny it is to encourage tactical pro-independence voting.
###
Article: Greek MPs passed a law to give back jobs to some 4,000 workers who were laid off under severe austerity cuts.
It comes as Athens seeks a deal on more financial aid ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Monday.
Greece is running out of money as it has to pay â‚¬750m ($845m; Â£555m) to the International Monetary Fund on 12 May.
International creditors have demanded cuts in spending, including plans to trim the civil service and privatisation of state assets, in order for Greece to continue receiving loans.
On Thursday, the Greek parliament adopted a bill to rehire school guards, cleaning ladies and civil servants who lost their jobs or were earmarked for dismissal under the austerity programme.
Last year, 32 cleaning ladies sacked by the Greek finance ministry came to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in France to plead their case.
The insistence of the cleaners - who were replaced by cheaper workers - made them famous all over Greece.
Thursday's bill in the Greek parliament does not violate the terms of a massive bailout by the EU and IMF, which allows Athens to hire one public employee for every five who leave.
But the move - combined with the reopening of the public broadcaster ERT - is likely to face criticism from the eurozone negotiators.
Euclid Tsakalotos, the Greek minister leading the talks with creditors, told the BBC it was time for the EU and IMF to show they supported Athens in its desire to do things a little differently.
"We have said from the beginning that we have red lines and we need to have the flexibility that our partners said would be available to us."
"There must be things that we support, that we bring to the table with a different logic. Because if there was nothing with a different logic, why wouldn't we have just supported the old regime in the first place?"
The talks with the IMF and EU are expected to continue over the weekend.
EU officials say a deal is unlikely before Greece has to make the IMF payment on Tuesday, the BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris...

Summary: Greece is rehiring thousands of public sector workers, including cleaning ladies, despite sustained pressure from its international creditors.
###
Article: Lord Howard told the BBC the UK should secure "access" to it instead.
He also said Brexit negotiations should be concluded "as soon as we can" to avoid prolonged uncertainty about the UK's future relationship with the EU.
The government has not said when it will start the formal exit process, other than it will not begin this year.
There is also uncertainty over the nature of the UK's relationship with the bloc post-Brexit, especially whether it intends to remain a member of the single market, which offers free movement of goods, finance and people around the EU without any tariffs, quotas or taxes.
European leaders have repeatedly stressed that the UK cannot stay in the single market without accepting the free movement of EU citizens.
The UK voted to end its EU membership by 51.9% to 48.1% in a referendum on 23 June.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord Howard - who backed the Leave campaign - said the British people voted for control of their own laws, immigration and borders and for the UK to have the right to make free trade agreements with other countries.
"I don't think you can have those things without leaving the single market. I don't think we should be or need to be members of the single market.
"Of course we want access to the single market which is an entirely different thing".
The peer, who led the party 2003 to 2005, said "every country in the world" had access to the single market to sell their goods and the "important question" was "what are the terms on which you have access".
"Every European country which is not a member of the EU, with the exception of Belarus, has a free-trade agreement on goods with the European Union. That means no tariffs, no tariff barriers, free trade on goods.
"I have no doubt that's what we're going to get," he said, saying that it was in the EU's own interest.
Rejecting the argument that Britain may not be able to get the deal it wanted, he insisted: "We are not a supplicant. We will get a good deal."
Lord Howard said it would be a good idea "to bring...

Summary: Britain should not remain a member of the single market once it leaves the European Union, former Conservative leader Michael Howard has said.
###
Article: The report by former aide to Tony Blair, Matthew Taylor, pays particular attention to the gig economy.
It recommends that workers for firms such as Uber and Deliveroo should be classified as dependent contractors, with extra benefits.
The Prime Minister said the government would take the report's recommendations seriously.
Mr Taylor said there was a perception that the gig economy put too much power into the hand of employers: "Of all the issues that were raised with us as we went around the country, the one that came through most strongly was what the report calls one-sided flexibility.
"One-sided flexibility is where employers seek to transfer all risk onto the shoulder of workers in ways that make people more insecure and makes their lives harder to manage.  It's the people told to be ready for work or travelling to work, only to be told none is available."
• People who work for platform-based companies, such as Deliveroo and Uber, be classed as dependent contractors
• Strategies must be put in place to make sure that workers do not get stuck on the National Living Wage
• The review suggests a national strategy to provide good work for all "for which government needs to be held accountable"
• The government should avoid further increasing the the non-wage costs of employing a person, such as the apprenticeship levy
1.1 million
People working in Britain's gig economy, estimate 2017
28% of accountancy, legal advice and other consultancy work
18% of plumbing, building and other skilled manual work
17% of cleaning  and other household services
9% of delivery or courier services
A spokesperson for the meal delivery service Deliveroo, one of the companies at the heart of the gig-economy debate, said: "We would welcome the opportunity to work with the government so we can end this trade off between flexibility and security."
Mr Taylor's report did not attack the gig economy. It said that flexibility in the workplace was important and had contributed to record high employment.
He pointed to the official Labour...

Summary: All work in the UK's economy should be "fair and decent", a government review of employment practices has said.
###
Article: The 33-year-old was injured at Colchester police station in Essex during a struggle when he grabbed hold of a toilet bowl in his cell.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has started an investigation into the incident.
It is believed seven Essex Police officers will be questioned.  The force has not commented.
It is thought the IPCC will investigate claims the man was handcuffed after his fingers were severed, and allegations of a significant time delay in taking him to hospital.
The prisoner, who lost part of three fingers on his left hand, was taken to hospital following the incident on 1 May.
He had been taken into custody in connection with a public order incident.
A spokesman for the IPCC said: "The Independent Police Complaints Commission is to independently investigate an incident at Colchester Police Station on May 1, 2015 where a man suffered serious hand injuries while in custody.
"Further information is likely to be published in due course."

Summary:


Durham County Council is seeking a judicial review after a planning inspector refused to re-examine his criticism of proposals for the county.

Article: The rate of unemployment in Wales for January to March fell to 4.8%.
The UK average was unchanged at 5.1%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Figures show the number of people working in Wales is also 74,000 higher than for the same period a year ago.
The number of people not working and not able to work is 26,000 lower.
Wales has seen the biggest proportional increase in employment of all the regions and nations of the UK in the last year.
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns called it a "hat-trick of good news" for the Welsh jobs market with employment up, unemployment falling and a drop in the claimant count.
"Across the country, the investment we have put into rebalancing the economy and welfare reform is now paying dividends with record numbers coming off benefits and into work," he said.
"Yet again, we are seeing an unemployment rate below the national average as Wales shows an increasingly confident and entrepreneurial face to the world."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "It is pleasing to see the labour market in Wales outperform all other regions of the UK and continue to go from strength to strength.
"Over the past year Wales has also seen the largest fall in unemployment of any other part of the UK and now has a rate substantially below that in Scotland and the UK as whole."
Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb called it "fantastic news".
"This month's figures show a record 1.45m people in work in Wales and the country's employment rate is at a record high of 72.5%.
"More people in work means that more families across the UK are benefiting from the security of a regular wage and the fulfilment that employment brings."

Summary: Unemployment has continued to fall in Wales and is once again lower than the UK average, according to the latest figures.
###
Article: It has dropped long and short-term sovereign credit ratings to CCC+/C from B-/B and says its outlook is negative.
Markets use sovereign ratings to work out the interest rate at which investors should lend to a country.
Official figures on Wednesday also showed Greece's deficit last year was higher than government forecasts.
The budget deficit - the difference between its revenue and spending - was 3.5% of GDP, compared with the prediction of 0.8%. The worsening finances of the government could see Greece's creditors pushing for further austerity, experts said.
Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned that an agreement between Athens and its creditors was unlikely to happen any time soon.
"Until now, we don't have a solution, and I don't expect to get a solution in the next week," he said. Greece is meeting with its creditors in the Latvian capital, Riga, on 24 April.
The Syriza government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its eurozone partners in an attempt to lessen the burden of its debt repayments. A â‚¬750m ($800m; Â£540m) payment is due on 12 May, but the government will struggle to make it.
Athens faces a "choice between paying the IMF or paying the wages and pensions of its employees", Raoul Ruparel, head of economic research at Open Europe, told the BBC.
"For a radical left-wing government such as Syriza, that is a very poisonous choice."
S&P said the Greek economy had shrunk by 1% in six months, despite the twin benefits of a lower oil price and a weak euro.
"Greece's solvency hinges increasingly on favourable business, financial, and economic conditions... In our view, these conditions have worsened.
"Without deep economic reform or further relief, we expect Greece's debt and other financial commitments will be unsustainable."
It added that government finances, which appeared to be improving slightly last year, had now been dented by weaker economic activity and rising arrears on taxes.
Since the end of November 2014, Greek banks have lost about 14% of...

Summary: Ratings agency S&P has downgraded Greece's credit rating again, saying it expects its debt and other financial commitments will be "unsustainable".
###
Article: He informed US President Barack Obama of his decision hours after leading his Liberal Party to victory in the polls.
As part of his election campaign, Mr Trudeau pledged to bring home the CF-18 fighter jets that were deployed to the region until March 2016.
He has not yet given a timescale.
Justin Trudeau's Liberals swept to power in Monday's election, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule under Stephen Harper.
Mr Trudeau, an ex-high-school teacher, is the eldest son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
In his first telephone conversation with the US president as Canada's prime minister-designate, Mr Trudeau informed Barack Obama that he would make good on his election promise to withdraw the fighter jets.
"I committed that we would continue to engage in a responsible way that understands how important Canada has a role to play in the fight against ISIL (Islamic State), but he (Barack Obama) understands the commitments I've made around ending the combat mission," he told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday.
However, he said he would keep Canadian military trainers in northern Iraq, the AFP news agency reports.
Mr Trudeau has also vowed to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year - a move previously rejected by his predecessor Stephen Harper, who took a much harder line on the issue.
He also quipped that President Obama had "teased me about my lack of grey hair, but said I'd probably get some quite soon".
Justin Trudeau looks set to improve relations with the US in other areas, especially on environmental issues.
During the 11-week election campaign, the Liberal Party said it would:
Meet Justin Trudeau
Seven key Trudeau policies
"Canada's days of being a less-than-enthusiastic actor on the climate-change file are behind us," he said on Tuesday, in reference to Stephen Harper's decision to pull Canada out of the Kyoto climate change protocol in 2011 - the first country to do so.
The White House said in a statement on Tuesday that President Obama looked forward to working on climate policy with...

Summary: Canadian Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau has confirmed he will withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the air strikes against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria.
###
Article: "I thought it would last 10 years," he told Doctor Who magazine. "It's going to do a minimum of 15."
Last month the sci-fi drama celebrated the 10th anniversary of its relaunch, having been brought back by the BBC in March 2005.
"Ten years on, our ratings are pretty much the same," Moffat went on. "It's extraordinary".
He said the show's international ratings had gone up, adding: "You're meant to go down!"
First broadcast in 1963, Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary in November 2013.
"As long as the people looking after it are passionate about it... there's absolutely no reason why it can't do another 50 years," said Ben Stephenson, the BBC's outgoing head of drama commissioning.
The next series is due to be shown in the autumn, with Peter Capaldi returning as the time-travelling Time Lord.
Moffat took over from original Doctor Who "showrunner" Russell T Davies in 2009 and is also the executive producer of BBC One's Sherlock series.

Summary: Doctor Who will remain on TV for at least another five years, according to its executive producer Steven Moffat.
###
Article: It uses an "emotional engine" and a cloud-based artificial intelligence system that allows it to analyse gestures, expressions and voice tones.
The firm said people could communicate with it "just like they would with friends and family" and it could perform various tasks.
It will go on sale to the public next year for 198,000 yen ($1,930; Â£1,150).
"People describe others as being robots because they have no emotions, no heart," Masayoshi Son, chief executive of Softbank, said at a press conference.
"For the first time in human history, we're giving a robot a heart, emotions."
The firm will deploy prototypes of the robot at two of its stores from Friday, allowing customers to interact with them.
Softbank said it planned to subsequently station Pepper at more of its stores nationwide.
Japan is one of the world's biggest robot markets.
According to some estimates, its overall robotics market was worth about 860bn ($8.4bn; Â£5bn) yen in 2012.
And with a rapidly ageing population, coupled with a falling birth rate, the demand for robots is expected to increase further.
The growth is expected to come not only from businesses looking to offset labour shortages and rising wage costs, but also from households seeking an alternative to paying for care workers for elderly relatives.
Japanese carmaker Honda has also been developing a household robot, Asimo. US President Barack Obama played football with it during his recent visit to Japan.
ActiveLink, a robotics research subsidiary of electronics firm Panasonic has also developed technology to help people carry out manual tasks.
Analysts said that development of household robots was likely to pick up, especially in countries like Japan that have an ageing population.
"Even if one can pre-programme such robots to carry out specific tasks based on certain commands or gestures, it could go long way in helping improve elderly care," said Rhenu Bhuller, senior vice president healthcare at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
"And with the technology improving fast - you could...

Summary: Japanese firm Softbank has unveiled a robot called Pepper, which it says can read human emotions.
###
Article: Inspector Harold Stephens said the County Plan, which will be the blueprint for development in County Durham for the next 20 years, was "unrealistic and flawed".
The council had wanted him to reassess his findings but he has refused.
The authority has now said it will take that decision to court.
Ian Thompson, the council's corporate director of regeneration and economic development, said: "It came as a disappointment that the planning inspector has declined to reopen the examination.
"We maintain the plan offers the best prospect for economic growth and have explored every option and opportunity in our efforts to demonstrate this, which has included employing independent planning experts to review our business-backed predictions for growth.
"We now have no choice but to pursue this matter through the courts by way of a Judicial Review."
In the plan, the county council said it wants to build 31,400 homes and create thousands of jobs over the next 20 years, in a bid to attract more businesses and people to the area.
But Mr Stephens said the plan was "unsound" and assumptions about job growth were "very ambitious".

Summary:


A man accused of plotting a terror knife attack has appeared in court alongside his sister.

Article: Eleanor Wilson, 28, who worked in Bristol, kissed the pupil and drank alcohol with him while on the flight.
A National College for Teaching & Leadership (NCTL) panel found she engaged in sexual activity with a male pupil in August 2015.
The panel's report found her guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and banned her from teaching indefinitely.
The NCTL found an "inappropriate relationship" took place with the pupil in 2015/16 when she met him in her office, shared her mobile number with him, took him on outings, drank alcohol with him and kissed him on more than one occasion.
Miss Wilson also encouraged the pupil, who has not been identified, to hide their relationship and lied about it when an investigation into the allegations was undertaken by the school, the panel said.
The panel ruled she "fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession".
The teacher, who had denied the allegations, was sacked by the school last year and was not present at the NCTL hearing.

Summary: A teacher who had sex with a student in a plane toilet on a school trip has been banned from the profession.
###
Article: Civil Service World reported that seven out of ten Downing Street special advisers got pay rises of as much as £14,976 after last year's election.
It follows controversy over the size of severance packages to the ex-PM's aides after his resignation in July.
Labour said it was "uber-cronyism".
But the Cabinet Office said the pay increases reflected changes in responsibility and roles among Mr Cameron's staff after last year's Conservative election victory.
The ex-prime minister has already been criticised for giving 17 former advisers larger pay-offs than they were contractually entitled to upon his exit from Downing Street and giving many of them recognition in his resignation honours list.
The decision to give his advisers redundancy pay equivalent to six months salary each amounted to individual packages of £70,000 in certain cases.
The move was challenged at the time by the head of the civil service John Manzoni, who took the unusual step of asking Mr Cameron to give him a written ministerial direction to authorise the payments.
Civil Service World said its own research suggested most of the special advisers involved had already received inflation-busting pay increases less than a year before.
Those who received double-digit increases after the May 2015 victory, it said, included former director of strategy Ameet Gill, former head of operations Liz Sugg and Daniel Korski - deputy director of the Downing Street Policy Unit.
Although the total amount spent on special advisers last year has yet to be published, the magazine said it was estimated to be £8.4m - a substantial increase on the last year of the Labour government in 2009-2010 when it totalled £6.8m.
In opposition, Mr Cameron criticised the amount spent on special advisers - known around Westminster as spads - and said this should be reduced as part of a general drive to cut the cost of politics.
But Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said it was clear now that this was "empty rhetoric".
"This is a triple whammy - honours to cronies and a whacking great pay...

Summary: Theresa May is being urged to "claw back" money paid to some of David Cameron's former advisers after it was reported that they were given pay rises of up to 24% last year.
###
Article: The Welwalk WW-1000 system is designed for people with severe mobility loss in one leg, such as stroke patients.
The motorised brace fits around the knee and lower leg, helping the wearer to bend and straighten the joint.
Experts say that being able to rent the equipment should make it more affordable for medical facilities than buying it outright.
The system will cost one million yen ($9,130; Â£7,298) up front, with a monthly fee of 350,000 yen ($3,195; Â£2,554).
Toyota has not released details of how much it would cost if it were available to buy rather than rent.
It was developed in conjunction with Fujita Health University Hospital.
Patients first learn to use the device by walking on a special treadmill that monitors their gait, with their weight supported from above by a harness.
One of Toyota's chief research officers, Toshiyuki Isobe, said this approach helped "to reduce the burden on the patient and allows them to engage in training for longer."
As users continue their rehabilitation, sensors in the brace monitor how they are walking, adjusting the amount of support it provides.
Dr Eiichi Saito, executive vice president of Fujita Health University, said the aim was to provide "just enough assistance", gradually reducing it so that patients learned to walk better on their own.
But as Dr Farshid Amirabdollahian, an expert in rehabilitation robotics and assistive technology at the University of Hertfordshire, explained, such technology is not new.
"A system called Lokomat, which works on both legs, has been adopted by the NHS," he said.
"There are similar systems in use in the Netherlands and the United States."
These walking assist systems provide support for both legs, as this can help train the user to balance their weight and movement.
"What is interesting here is the service model," he continued.
"Previously users of this technology were limited by how much they could afford: rehabilitation technology is quite expensive and many [hospitals] cannot afford it."
He said that Toyota's decision to allow...

Summary: Toyota will be renting out robotic leg braces to 100 Japanese medical centres from autumn this year.
###
Article: The NUT said it expected a "lack of clarity" around some responsibilities to increase the number of parents appealing to tribunals for the support.
The union said a big increase could raise the stress, conflict and workload for schools, harming provision.
Ministers said the changes would mean a "simpler and less adversarial" system.
The NUT expressed its concerns in evidence to the Children, Young People and Education Committee on the Additional Learning Needs and Educational Tribunal (ALNET) Bill, last Wednesday.
The bill, due to come into force in 2019, will introduce a single system called an individual development plan to replace "statements", which currently address the needs of an individual up to the age of 25.
In its evidence, the NUT said it would be "better for resources to be focused on support for ALN pupils rather than spent facilitating costly and prolonged tribunal proceedings".
The union said: "Should these changes increase dramatically the number of tribunal cases schools and governing bodies are dealing with there is the prospect of increased stress, conflict and additional work for schools and governing bodies which will harm the provision they can offer.
"In addition there are concerns about the prolonged nature of these tribunals delaying the support a pupil should receive.
"With the lack of clarity around some of the responsibilities, in particular between school governing bodies and local authorities, it is reasonable to anticipate that the number of tribunals will increase creating a further backlog in delivery."
Another teaching union, the NASUWT, warned there would not be enough staff in schools to implement the bill's provisions.
It said "years of under-investment in schools" should be addressed to "enable the employment of sufficient staff to ensure that children and young people benefit from the new arrangements and to protect the wellbeing of the workforce".
Nearly a quarter of learners in Wales experience a form of additional learning need during their early years or education,...

Summary: A new law to help children with additional learning needs could result in less support for those needing it, a leading teaching union has warned.
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Article: Ms Suu Kyi's presence is seen as a sign of improving ties with the military since her release from house arrest.
Addressing the gathering, army chief General Min Aung Hlaing told troops the military would maintain a role in national politics.
The event comes ongoing communal violence in central Burma.
Armed Forces Day marks the 68th anniversary of Burma's uprising against Japanese rule.
Over 6,000 troops were in attendance, as military jeeps and tanks took part in the parade in Burma's capital, Nay Pyi Taw.
Aung San Suu Kyi's attendance is a striking symbol of the reconciliation between her and the institution that locked her and so many of her supporters up for many years, the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.
In the past she was a strident critic of the military's grip on Burma. Today she is making conspicuous efforts to build good relations with the armed forces, which still hold an automatic quarter of the seats in parliament, our correspondent adds.
Elections in November 2010 replaced decades of military rule with a military-backed civilian government, which has since initiated a series of reforms.
Ms Suu Kyi was freed from years of house arrest in late 2010. Her NLD party, which boycotted the polls, now has a small presence in parliament after rejoining the political fold and contesting subsequent by-elections, which resulted in a landslide win.
But the military-backed party has a much larger presence in Burma's new chamber.
"While the country is moving toward modern democracy, our military plays a leading role in national politics," General Min Aung Hlaing said at the parade.
"We will keep on marching to strengthen the democratic path wished by the people."
The army chief also addressed the anti-Muslim clashes in central Burma that have led to 40 reported deaths and made an estimated 12,000 Muslims homeless.
"Our independence came from all Burmese people, including every ethnic minority - therefore we have to protect it," he said.
"The conflict that is going on now, the army...

Summary: Burma has marked its Armed Forces Day with a military parade, with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in attendance for the first time.
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Article: Ummariyat Mirza, 21, of St Agathas Road, Birmingham, is charged with preparing for a terrorist attack in the UK by buying a knife and other items.
His sister, Zainub Mirza, 23, from Eastfield Road, Bordesley Green, is charged with sending Islamic State propaganda videos to others.
They were remanded in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Read more news for Birmingham and the Black Country
The siblings were ordered to appear on 28 April at the Old Bailey for a preliminary hearing.
It is alleged Ms Mirza sent the extremist material, including a picture of a man holding two severed heads, to encourage terror attacks.
Mr Mirza was arrested by counter-terror police in Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, as part of a series of raids on homes on 29 March.
He is also charged with possessing the bomb-making guide the Anarchist Cookbook and an extremist document called the Mujahideen Poisons handbook.

Summary:


Skiing on Scotland's snow slopes looks set to continue into the summer month of June as new figures reveal the best season in 14 years.

Article: The presenter said it was "one of the best jobs on television" but felt "it was time to move on".
He will be replaced by Sandi Toksvig, who described it as her "dream job".
Show creator John Lloyd said Toksvig would be "the first female host of a mainstream comedy panel show on British television - an appointment that is well overdue".
Fry's departure would be the "end of an era", Lloyd added.
He said: "Though we are all very sad he's decided to move on, I am confident that we have found the perfect person to occupy his gigantic shoes."
Toksvig hosts Channel 4's Fifteen To One and stood down as chair of BBC Radio Four's The News Quiz earlier this year after a 10-year run.
QI was first broadcast in 2003. Fry was originally hired to be a team captain opposite Alan Davies, but he agreed to host the show as a last-minute replacement for Michael Palin "just for the pilot [episode]".
Fry said: "For 13 years I had one of the best jobs on television. Behind the camera squadrons of quite extraordinarily brilliant researchers, programme makers and uniquely curious (in both senses of the word) people making that job so much easier.
"In front of the camera generations of lively minds and above all of course the wonder of nature that is Alan Davies."
Davies will remain as resident panellist.
The show covers topics under one letter per series, and Fry said "after passing the alphabetical halfway mark I thought it time to move on, but I will never cease to be grateful to John Lloyd for devising QI and for everyone else for making it such fun".
The upcoming M series will be Fry's last.
Toksvig said QI was her "favourite television programme both to watch and to be on, so this is absolutely my dream job".
She said: "Stephen has been utterly brilliant with the first half of the alphabet. Now I look forward to picking up the baton, mixing my metaphors and sailing towards the Land of Nod (i.e. Z).
"Who knows what lies ahead?  It should all be quite interesting."
Last year, Toksvig spoke out after the BBC announced a policy of...

Summary: Stephen Fry is to step down as the host of BBC Two comedy quiz show QI after 13 years.
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Article: Havering's councillors recently voted by 30 to 15 that the UK would be better off out of the EU.
The 10 most Eurosceptic areas are all in England, with Peterborough and Bracknell Forest second and third.
Ceredigion, Aberdeen and Stirling are the most enthusiastic about the EU, followed by two inner London boroughs, Lambeth and Camden.
Havering has seven Ukip councillors, the highest number of any London borough.
Bromley councillors also voted in favour of leaving the EU last week.
The referendum on EU membership will be held on 23 June.
Matthew Goodwin, co-author of a book about Ukip and a professor of politics at the University of Kent, said coastal towns and eastern England - which Havering borders - were more Eurosceptic than average.
"You tend to have high numbers of working class residents," he said.
"Of all indicators of Euroscepticism, education is the strongest predictor, so if you leave school at 16 you tend to be far more Eurosceptic than people who went to university."
"Euroscepticism also has strongholds in the more wealthy, Tory shires," said YouGov.
"Apart from in Scotland (all Europhile and one mixed), parts of Wales and London many of the Europhile areas are university towns with lower median ages - Liverpool, Manchester, York and Bristol."

Summary: The London borough of Havering is the most Eurosceptic in Britain, according to a YouGov survey.
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Article: Kathleen Griffin, 57, died at her flat in Clacton, Essex, in December after being stabbed 14 times in her neck, chest, abdomen and back.
Scott Hilling, 26, who admitted her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Judge Charles Gratwicke described it as a "horrific, savage killing".
He told Hilling: "You tied her up and tortured her. She must have been petrified in those minutes or so before her death."
"This was a sickening and brutal killing of a defenceless woman, described as being kind-hearted and generous."
The judge made an order under the Mental Health Act which detains Hilling, of no fixed address, in a secure hospital to receive treatment "before or if" he is transferred to a prison to complete the remainder of his sentence.
The Parole Board would then consider whether he is no longer a risk to the public and could be released.
Hilling said voices forced him to kill, the court was told.
Hilling, who had been taken in by his kind-hearted victim at her flat in Old Road, Clacton, because he was homeless, said he watched television in between stabbing her.
The court heard that Hilling claimed he was sexually abused as a child by his father.
Senior investigating officer Det Insp Al Pitcher said: "His attack on her was savage. At no point has he ever shown any shred of remorse for his actions."

Summary: A killer who tortured and then stabbed a grandmother to death in her own home has been jailed for 16 years.
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Article: Michael Anthony Bailey, 54, from Dale Terrace in Oldbury, Black Country, attacked his dog Lucky last June, magistrates in Birmingham heard.
When police came to his home he said the dog had run off but she was found hidden behind the washing machine.
Lucky made a full recovery but was later put down after it was found she was a banned breed.
More on this and other stories from Birmingham and the Black Country
Bailey was found guilty of one count of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, and one count of failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the needs of the dog were met.
As well as his jail sentence he was also banned for life from owning animals and ordered to pay a Â£115 victim surcharge.
Steven Morrall, an investigator for the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), praised police for saving Lucky from further injuries, but criticised the decision to put down the dog.
"This was a particularly brutal attack on the poor dog that was stabbed on her face and repeatedly punched, which left the her eyes so swollen that they were almost closed," he said.
"This is a very sad ending as Lucky had made a full recovery and we were hoping to see her into a new home.
"The RSPCA do not make these decisions. We do not agree with Breed Specific Legislation and have been campaigning for changes for some time."

Summary: A man who stabbed and punched his dog after the pet urinated on a bag of marijuana has been jailed for 12 weeks.
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Article: The 15-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of inciting terrorism by encouraging the murder of police officers during the event in Melbourne in April. No attack ever took place.
The boy appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from Manchester Crown Court, speaking only to enter his plea.
He cannot be named for legal reasons.
The Old Bailey heard the boy, who was 14 at the time, sent thousands of instant messages to 18-year-old Sevdet Besim in Australia over a 10-day period in March.
They both supported the Islamic State militant group, also known as IS or Isis, the court was told.
The boy sent a message to the older teenager suggesting he got his "first taste of beheading," prosecutor Paul Greaney QC said, to which Besim replied that this seemed "risky".
Anzac Day, held on 25 April each year, commemorates the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps' World War One battle in Gallipoli, with this year marking its centenary.
The boy was initially arrested on 2 April in connection with an alleged plan to stage an attack in Melbourne and was detained again after officers examined electronic devices and discovered his communications with a man in Australia.
Outlining the case, Mr Greaney said: "Those messages reveal the intentions of the plotters and their targets, along with their motivation which may be summarised as support for Isis and their enthusiasm for the attack.
"The messages also set out the plotters' preparations for the attack. On 18 March 2015, as part of those preparations, the defendant sent Sevdet Besim a message that read, 'suggest you break into someone's house and get your first taste of beheading'.
"Sevdet Besim responded to say that this seemed 'a little risky' and that aspect of the preparations appears then to have drifted away."
That exchange was the subject of a second charge, of inciting terrorism overseas in relation to beheading a person in Australia, which has now been dropped by the prosecution.
Mr Greaney said the charge was deleted as the prosecution was dealing with it as "part and...

Summary: A teenager from Blackburn has admitted involvement in a terror plot targeting police at an Anzac Day remembrance parade in Australia.
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Article: Since late November, Scotland's five mountain resorts have attracted 373,782 customers.
The ski season is estimated to have attracted £37.5m into the local economy.
With fresh snow on the slopes, CairnGorm Mountain expects skiing during the first weekend of June.
Recent figures from Ski Scotland showed that this season's figures were better than the last bumper season of 2000-2001.
Chair of Ski Scotland Heather Negus said: "All winter, we realised we were heading for a great season.
"We had hoped to match the figure for 2001, but didn't realise we had beaten it until recently, when everything was added up - and of course, CairnGorm Mountain is still operating, so we're still counting."
It is estimated that for every pound spent on the slopes another £3 is spent in the local economy with more than £28m being spent this winter in local accommodation, cafés, bars, restaurants, shops and filling stations.
Ms Negus added: "All the ski areas have been delighted to see other local businesses thriving this winter.
"Everything really came together for us - we had lots and lots of superb snow, which kept on coming, some truly amazing overhead weather giving 'bluebird' conditions, and, because there was also snow elsewhere in the UK, people realised that the Scottish Highlands did have skiing and snow boarding to rival the best and they came here to enjoy it."

Summary:


A new species of shrimp has been named after Pink Floyd thanks to a pact between prog rock-loving scientists.

Article: This position activates the right hemisphere of the brain, which is involved in functions that help in communication and bonding, they say.
The "positional bias" is not unique to humans, with their advanced brains, but is also found in animals, according to researchers in Russia.
Similar behaviour has been seen in baby mammals following their mothers.
They include kangaroos and horses on land and walruses and orcas in the sea.
Dr Yegor Malashichev of Saint Petersburg State University, said the position helped in survival and social bonding.
"If there is no eye contact, or it is wrong, there is no activation of the right hemisphere of the infant... the right hemisphere is responsible for social interactions," he told BBC News.
"All the [11] species we studied demonstrated the lateral bias.
"We suggest that this bias is even more widespread and may be a characteristic of all mammals, with few exceptions. "
It has long been known that humans and great apes tend to cradle their babies on the left, particularly during the first weeks of an infant's life.
Various explanations have been proposed, including physical contact - so an infant can hear their mother's heart beat - or practical benefits to the mother, who can keep a hand free for other tasks (if right-handed).
Alternatively, some have proposed it could be related to eye contact and its effect on the brain.
When a mother cradles her baby to the left and face-to-face, the left eyes of the mother and infant are directed towards each other, say the researchers.
Thus, the visual information goes mostly to their right hemisphere of the brain, the side involved in functions such as attention, memory, reasoning, and problem solving (all of which contribute to effective communication).
The researchers looked at humans and 10 wild animals:
The scientists found the young animals kept close to the right side of their mother.
This meant they watched her mainly with their left eye, activating the right hemisphere of the brain.
While doing this, they were less likely to...

Summary: Scientists say they have solved the mystery of why mothers tend to cradle newborn babies on the left.
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Article: William Grant and Sons said the whisky industry currently enjoyed "substantial support" from the UK government and its worldwide embassy network.
It is understood to have given in the region of £100,000 to Better Together.
The Scottish government has argued that independence would benefit the whisky industry.
William Grant, which produces brands including Glenfiddich malt whisky, had a turnover of more than £1bn last year.  It is one of the few Scotch whisky producers to remain in family ownership.
The company is said to have also donated smaller sums of money to other groups who are campaigning for a "No" vote ahead of the independence referendum, which will be held on 18 September.
Industry trade body the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has not formally backed either side in the independence debate.
Its chief executive, David Frost, said in April he was seeking reassurances about what he described as the potential "risks" of independence for the industry.
However, Mr Frost also said the industry would succeed regardless of the result.
And Diageo, which owns several Scotch whisky brands, has previously said the firm was "there [in Scotland] to stay" whatever the outcome of the referendum.
In a statement, William Grant and Sons Holdings Limited said: "We can confirm that the company has made these donations.
"We support the stance of the SWA over independence and would refer you to their recent statement that the Scotch whisky industry enjoys substantial support from the UK government and its worldwide embassy network and from lack of trade barriers within the EU."
A spokesman for Better Together said: "We are delighted to have received this support. More and more companies, individuals and families are saying no thanks to separation."
Scotch whisky was responsible for more than £4bn of exports last year, which the SWA said accounted for about 85% of Scottish food and drink exports and nearly a quarter of the British total.
In its White Paper on independence, the Scottish government argued that the biggest...

Summary: A major whisky distiller has donated what has been described as a "substantial sum" of money to the campaign against Scottish independence.
###
Article: He described the education secretary as more "open-minded" than David Cameron.
Senior Tory MP Michael Fabricant has suggested UKIP might not field candidates in return for a promise of an in/out referendum on EU membership.
Mr Farage has previously said any Tory pledge must be "written in blood".
But Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps "categorically" ruled out a deal with UKIP.
In an internal report to the prime minister, Mr Fabricant, who oversees campaigns on the ground, says UKIP, which wants the UK to withdraw from the European Union, poses a threat to the Conservatives in crucial marginal constituencies.
He proposes a pact, in which the Conservatives would promise a referendum after 2015 and in return UKIP would not stand against Tory candidates.
He believes it could help the Conservatives win an extra 20 to 40 seats at the next general election.
But Mr Cameron angered UKIP in 2006 by describing the party's members as "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly".
Asked about Mr Fabricant's idea, Mr Farage told BBC Two's Daily Politics: "If Cameron went and somebody pragmatic, grown-up and sensible like Michael Gove was leader, we might think then that we could sit round a table and have a proper discussion.
"Open-minded, doesn't throw abuse around and thinks issues through - he would be the right kind of person."
Mr Fabricant told the same programme: "What did Nigel Farage say? 'It will have to be signed in blood.'
"If we feel in 24 months' time that we want a deal with UKIP - and it may not be necessary or advantageous - I will donate the blood."
Asked whether Mr Farage could be offered a cabinet seat as part of a deal, Mr Fabricant said: "I think Nigel Farage has got a lot of talent and I know we bring in people from other parties to do things in government, but that would be a judgment for David Cameron and George Osborne."
Asked whether some UKIP members were "closet racists", he added: "The truth is some UKIP members are. I'm going to be very controversial and say some Conservative members...

Summary: UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has said he would consider an electoral pact with the Conservatives only if someone "grown up and sensible like Michael Gove" was in charge.
###
Article: With the support of the Scottish Greens, the SNP will win the vote calling for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
They will then claim that the UK government must not stand in the way of the democratically expressed will of the Scottish Parliament.
But the opposition parties - the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats - all believe that the will of the parliament does not match the will of the people.
Scottish voters don't want another referendum, they argue, and they are convinced public opinion is on their side.
It used to be received wisdom in Scottish politics that if Westminster tried to deny a Scottish referendum that could easily backfire and stir up support for independence.
But the Unionist parties are confident there is no great public demand for another vote - other than among people who are already committed nationalists.
Opinion polls suggest people are split fairly evenly, about 50/50, on whether they want another vote.
And it tends to be yes supporters who say yes to another referendum. No voters who say no, not now.
The great divide in Scottish politics over the question of independence may only be solidified by this current debate over whether to re-run the 2014 referendum.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will argue that this is now a constitutional struggle in which the Scottish Parliament is battling with Westminster.
Tories say she is just playing a well rehearsed political game - one in which she puts forward a proposal she knows will be rejected by Westminster and then responds with righteous indignation.
And we are about to see that happen once again.
Ms Sturgeon will soon send a letter to 10 Downing Street demanding another referendum.
The Prime Minster Theresa May will reply to say they are not prepared to talk about it at this time, pressing the point that it is more important to pull together and get the best Brexit deal for the whole of the UK.
The big question, the big calculation for both sides, is how many Scottish voters will then share the SNP's inevitable...

Summary: The result of the vote in the Scottish parliament this evening is not in any doubt.
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Article: A new waste permit introduced on 1 July only allows those living in Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell to use waste centres in Reading and Bracknell.
Up to 10,847 visits were recorded in Reading during the first week of change - with 900 vehicles turned away.
In Bracknell, 272 vehicles were refused entry out of 12,343 visits.
Changes to visitor access were made after West Berkshire Council withdrew Â£97,000 from its funding for waste disposal in the towns in March.
The authority decided the costs to cover the 75,000 visits to the tip each year, made by people crossing the border into Reading, were "too high".
This led to the establishment of Re3 - the recycling company which provides waste services to Bracknell, Wokingham and Reading councils - to bar West Berkshire residents from using the tips from July.
Reading Borough Council's lead councillor for neighbourhoods, Liz Terry said: "We have been encouraged by the numbers of residents using the permits when visiting the Bracknell and Reading recycling centres.
"We understand the frustration sometimes experienced by those we have had to turn away, but we will always allow access to re3 area residents on receipt of a permit or valid ID, and visitors from other local authority areas can still use their own council's facilities to dispose of their household waste."

Summary: More than 1,100 cars were turned away from Berkshire's recycling centres during the first week of changes to visitor access.
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Article: The synalpheus pinkfloydi uses its large pink claw to create a noise so loud it can kill small fish.
The team behind the discovery vowed years ago if it ever found a new pink shrimp it would "honour" the rockers.
Sammy De Grave, head of research at Oxford University Museum of National History, said he has been a fan of the band since he was a teenager.
And it is not the first crustacean he's named after a rock legend, having already named a species of shrimp after Rolling Stones front man, Mick Jagger - elephantis jaggerai.
He said: "I have been listening to Floyd since The Wall was released in 1979, when I was 14 years old.
"The description of this new species of pistol shrimp was the perfect opportunity to finally give a nod to my favourite band.
"We are all Pink Floyd fans, and we always said if we would find a pink one, a new species of pink shrimp, we would name it after Pink Floyd."
The pistol, or snapping shrimp, has an ability to generate sonic energy by closing their enlarged claw at rapid speed.
It can reach 210 decibels - louder than your average rock concert - and results in one of the loudest sounds in the ocean.
The description of the species, found off the Pacific coast of Panama, has been published in the Zootaxa journal and was co-authored with the Universidade Federal de GoiÃ¡s in Brazil, and Seattle University in the US.

Summary: