Campaigners for the "Defend the 10" group have been inside Carnegie Library in Loughborough Junction since 31 March, the day it was closed for a year. Lambeth Council said its plans would "guarantee" the library's future. Protesters voluntarily left at about 12:30 BST and marched to Brixton Library to show "the fight goes on". The Carnegie and Minet libraries officially closed for a year on 1 April. The council said they would reopen in 2017 with a gym as "healthy living centres". A council spokesman said: "We are pleased that the occupiers have now left the building. "It means we can now concentrate on spending our scarce resources on services instead of security, including developing the plans which will guarantee Carnegie Library's future. "Carnegie will reopen with a library service that will remain free and open to all." The authority added none of its 10 libraries were closing and the gym will be in the unused basement of the building. The occupiers, including children and pensioners, were given 24 hours to leave from the point the order was served at 17:30 on Friday. Campaigners said more than 2,000 people joined a march which began at Carnegie Library, passing by Minet Library before ending at Brixton Library, where a rally was held. One protester, 11-year-old Denise, said: "Libraries are about more than books, they let people meet one another." Tom Brandon, from Friends of Lambeth Libraries which began the Defend the Ten campaign to save 10 libraries in the borough, was among those who stayed at the Carnegie since 31 March. Earlier he said: "The message to Lambeth Council is the fight goes on and we will not give up on any of the libraries to turn into gyms or give away." The group plans to attend cabinet meetings and demonstrate outside the office of Greenwich Leisure Limited - which has the contract to open gyms in the libraries.

Question: A nine - day occupation of a south London library has ended , only hours before those inside were due to be @placeholder .


He backed the long-standing agreement during a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said. The One China policy states that there is only one Chinese government. Mr Trump broke with diplomatic norms in December, by accepting a call from the president of Taiwan, considered a breakaway province by China. As president-elect, Mr Trump also said he saw no reason why the agreement should continue without key concessions from Beijing. China retaliated to the Taiwan phone call by making an official complaint to the US. Read more on this story: The telephone conversation on Thursday night was the first between the two since Mr Trump took office on 20 January, though the new US president has called several other national leaders. On Friday, Mr Trump said the conversation was "very warm". He added: "We had a very, very good talk last night, and discussed a lot of subjects. It was a long talk." He made the comments during a press conference at the White House with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The White House said a wide range of issues were discussed during the US-China call, which it characterised as "extremely cordial". The two leaders had invited each other to visit, it said. A statement from Beijing said China appreciated Mr Trump's acknowledgement of the One China policy, calling the two nations "co-operative partners" who could "push bilateral relations to a historic new high". Taiwan, meanwhile, said it would continue "close contact" with the US, pointing out that maintaining good ties with Washington and Beijing was key to regional stability. Mr Trump has caused concern in Beijing with his stance on trade and the South China Sea, but it was his decision to accept a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen that triggered most alarm. Though the US is Taiwan's main military ally, no US president or president-elect had spoken directly to a Taiwanese leader for decades. Under the One China policy, the US recognises and has formal ties with China rather than Taiwan. Mr Trump had indicated that policy could change, suggesting the US should not abide by One China unless it secured concessions from Beijing on trade. Comments by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on China's military build-up in the South China Sea further chilled ties. He suggested that the US should block access to artificial islands China is building in disputed waters. Chinese officials have reacted relatively calmly to remarks from the new administration, though they lodged an official protest over the Taiwan phone call. But the Taiwan issue is very sensitive, something state media made clear when it accused Mr Trump of "playing with fire". The telephone call followed a letter sent by Mr Trump to Mr Xi on Thursday - the president's first direct approach to the Chinese leader. In it, Mr Trump said he looked forward to "constructive relations". The New York Times reports that it was hand-delivered to China's ambassador by National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who had also spoken to China's top foreign policy official last week. There were other signs that the White House was seeking to stabilise ties, such as Ivanka Trump attending a Lunar New Year celebration at the Chinese Embassy in Washington. At a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang declined to answer whether Mr Trump's acknowledgement of the One China policy had been a condition of the call. The content of the phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Xi will be celebrated in Beijing as signalling a return to the traditional framework of the US-China relationship. Three weeks into the new American administration, after a score of phone calls between Mr Trump and other world leaders, China's absence from the list was becoming ever more conspicuous. Many Chinese citizens see Taiwan as the last piece in China's territorial jigsaw. Any further move towards independence and international recognition for the island would have represented a dangerous humiliation for Mr Xi. With the presidential phone call, Beijing can draw a line under such fears. Three weeks in, it has won a clear and unequivocal commitment from the Trump administration to honour the One China policy. However, it is not clear what, if anything, the Trump administration has won in return.

Question: US President Donald Trump has @placeholder down on past threats and agreed to honour the so - called " One China " policy .


British Airways flights are cancelled up to and including 14 January and Easyjet services to the Egyptian resort are suspended until at least 6 January. Easyjet said the move was made to provide some certainty to passengers travelling over the Christmas period. BA said the decision was made following discussions with the UK government. Monarch, Thomson and Thomas Cook have cancelled flights until dates in December. Flights were halted after the UK government said the plane crash in the Sinai desert, which killed 224 people on 31 October, may have been caused by a bomb. Easyjet said customers on affected flights could go to another destination, receive a full refund or get a flight voucher for future travel. BA said customers due to travel on affected flights can claim a full refund, rebook to a later date or switch to an alternative destination. The airline said it was keeping flights, which are scheduled to operate from 16 January, "under review". It added: "The safety and security of our customers will continue to be our top priorities in any decisions we may make." Easyjet said on its website: "We are sorry for the inconvenience this will obviously cause, but we hope that being clear with all our customers at this point helps you to manage your plans with more certainty. "The situation is beyond our control and passenger safety will always be our number one priority." Other dates flights have been cancelled until are: George McGregor from London, who had been due to fly to Sharm el-Sheikh told the BBC it was "excellent news" - but Easyjet should have cancelled the flights sooner. "We were due to fly out on 23 December for Christmas and New Year. Total outlay, ?¡ê1,444," he said. "Until today we could not get our money back to fund an alternative holiday, and faced a charge of ?¡ê180 if we wanted to change flights." Ian Harrison, also from London, said he was first told he would only receive an exchange of flights but Easyjet has since offered him a refund. "It was pretty hard to get alternative accommodation that close to Christmas, or alternative flights, so not much of an offer. "I've pretty much cancelled my holiday." The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said decisions over the use of Sharm el-Sheikh airport were made by the UK authorities rather than airlines. It said flights would only resume when the authorities were satisfied security was strong enough. ABTA spokesman Sean Tipton said: "The airlines are setting dates to give people a bit of certainty on where they stand. "The decision is not theirs about when the airport will be available again to use and there will be a degree of inconsistency in their policies because it is a value judgement." The Foreign Office, which advises against all but essential air travel to or from Sharm el-Sheikh, says there are currently no UK airlines operating flights to the resort. Regular flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh were were suspended on 4 November. Special security measures for flights returning to the UK, such as transporting hold baggage on separate planes, were put in place up to 17 November. Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for bringing down the Airbus 321, operated by Russian airline Metrojet.

Question: Two airlines have cancelled all flights between Sharm el - Sheikh and the UK until January following the @placeholder bombing of a Russian passenger jet .


Davies scored five tries in the World Cup, including a crucial touchdown in their dramatic 28-25 Pool A win over England. He also went over in the 23-19 quarter-final defeat by South Africa. "I'd love to stay at the Scarlets another couple of years," the 25-year-old told BBC Wales. "Hopefully I'll sign a contract in the next couple of weeks, months or whatever and I can look forward to my future at the Scarlets." Davies signed a contract extension with Scarlets ahead of the 2014-15 campaign, the duration of which was not specified. Davies says moving away from Wales is something he might consider in future. "But at the moment I'm happy playing my rugby in Parc y Scarlets," said Davies, who has won nine Wales caps. Media playback is not supported on this device "It's a brilliant environment to be in, with a great bunch of boys. "The coaching staff are all good so I'm happy here, so we'll see how it goes." Davies was "gutted" that Wales did not reach the semi-finals. "I just think we've got to be a bit more clinical in some areas of our game, maybe," added Davies. "I think there were a few instances against Australia where we got held up over the line three times. "On another day maybe someone could have done an extra movement and managed to get the ball down and we could have got a try and that could have changed the game. "We're not a million miles away. It's fine margins." However, Davies does not subscribe to the view that the four southern hemisphere teams contesting the semi-finals - New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina - equates to a considerable gap between them and their northern hemisphere counterparts. "People always think that gap is bigger than it actually is," said Davies. "I think it's maybe different for New Zealand because the way they're playing at the moment they seem to be on a different level. "But with Australia and South Africa, I think we've shown... we could have beaten South Africa and we ran Australia close as well. "I think the gap is getting smaller and smaller, but¡ New Zealand seem to be on a different level at the moment." As for the 2016 Six Nations, Davies says Wales cannot consider themselves favourites. "I'm sure England will have something to say about that," he said. "Ireland are a world-class team as well and France - it's a really tough tournament. "And Scotland as well - they came really close [to beating Australia]¡ all the teams are going to be looking forward to the Six Nations." Davies may return to Scarlets duty when they host Munster in the Pro12 on Friday.

Question: Wales scrum - half Gareth Davies hopes to sign a fresh Scarlets contract to keep him at the Welsh @placeholder for the foreseeable future .


Johnson trails fellow American Sam Saunders by two shots for the lead, and can overtake Jason Day with victory if the Australian ties for third or worse. Day is tied for 74th on even par after only 16 holes, as play was suspended because of poor light in California. Johnson, starting on the back nine, shot a five-under-par 66. He was stung by a bee on the first hole but went on to hit four birdies in his first nine holes, before dropping a shot on the fourth - his 13th hole - when he missed "a pretty easy par putt". "It would be great to get number one but I'm focused on this week," he told the PGA Tour website. "I played really solid all day long but I just want to put myself in a position to have a chance to win on Sunday. That's the only thing I'm really thinking about." Saunders, the grandson of seven-time major winner Arnold Palmer, is looking to win his first PGA Tour event.

Question: Dustin Johnson 's bid to become world number one @placeholder as he is in tied second place after the first round of the Genesis Open - despite a bee sting .


At the same time, as the most powerful country in the world, the United States values the status quo and the leadership Great Britain has exercised within the European Union and beyond. The vote is the beginning of a lengthy transition as Britain reconstructs its regional and global role. Notwithstanding admonitions by the Leave campaign that the vote was none of the Yanks' business, America has a significant stake in what happens now, given the important alliance between the two countries. So how will Brexit affect the special relationship? The US and UK are bound by history, culture, trade, democratic values and shared interests. There is every reason to believe Washington and London will work through all bilateral issues that arise, including new trade arrangements. New deal? Wading into the controversy in April, President Barack Obama warned that in the event of a Leave victory, Great Britain would be at the "back of the queue" regarding a new trade agreement. The Obama administration will be devoting its energy to ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Since Prime Minister David Cameron signalled it will be some time before Article 50 is triggered,  a new deal will fall to new governments on both sides. Given the depth of US-UK bilateral investment, a new deal will get done, although the politics on both sides will be tricky. To some extent, the US presidential and Leave campaigns are mirror images. Substantial numbers of voters in both countries believe they have been short-changed. It will take heavy political lifting in Washington and London to convince their sceptical electorates that the end result is a better deal for both. Less clear is what happens to Great Britain and the European Union as they go through this process. For London and Brussels, how do the new UK government and reduced EU alliance interpret the mandate or message from the Brexit vote? And is there a capacity and political will for determined action when the dust settles? Here in the United States, there is an enduring myth that politics should stop at the water's edge. It never has and never will. In this case, the Brexit vote has fundamentally altered British foreign policy and the western international structure, which indirectly affects American foreign policy as well. This is a political earthquake and there could be further aftershocks. England and Wales voted to Leave and Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to Remain. The fissures in British society exposed by the Scottish independence referendum will only deepen in light of the Brexit vote. The US will always value Great Britain, but its composition is once again up for discussion. Great Britain is likely to enter a period of political retrenchment as it negotiates its unprecedented divorce from the EU while it works to preserve its marriage with two units that see value in a European identity. When Europe embarked on its remarkable integration project, Henry Kissinger famously questioned whom Washington should call. While Brussels has become a key hub for American diplomacy, particularly with the renewed relevance of Nato (and greater emphasis on its traditional mission in light of the crisis in Ukraine) and evolution of the European Defence Agency, Washington always had London, Paris and Berlin on speed dial. Brexit doesn't change the importance of American collaboration with key European allies, but gaining a consensus for determined action - always a challenge with the EU at 28  - will become more complex with Europe at 28 minus one. The Brexit vote will surely exacerbate the existing anti-establishment and anti-immigration sentiment in various corners of the continent. The risk is that a Europe preoccupied with redefining its internal and external relationships will be less able to deal coherently with the ongoing migration crisis, its support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Key European allies, to borrow a favourite Obama phrase, will be inclined to devote more resources to "nation-building at home." Nato has encouraged its members to devote 2% of their gross domestic product to defence. Most have fallen short. Brexit will make that an even greater challenge, particularly for Great Britain, which will experience significant near and mid-term costs as it rewires its economy. There are good reasons to believe that both the United Kingdom and European Union will make the new arrangement work. The unanswerable question in Washington is what challenges lurk as they shift from the region that is to the one that will be. At the end of that journey, we know that key relationships will endure. What we don't know is whether they will be more effective. P.J. Crowley is a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, a distinguished fellow at The George Washington University Institute for Public Diplomacy & Global Communication and author of the forthcoming book, Red Line: American Foreign Policy in a Time of Fractured Politics and Failing States.

Question: There is a revolutionary strain in the American DNA - Great Britain knows all about that - so on the other side of the Atlantic there is an understanding of the @placeholder the British people made with the Brexit vote .


President Barack Obama said the US was pursuing "all the appropriate legal channels" in pursuit of him. US Secretary of State John Kerry has said it would be "disappointing" if Russia and China had helped him evade an attempt to extradite him. Mr Snowden, who has applied for asylum in Ecuador, is believed to still be in Russia having flown there on Sunday. White House spokesman Jay Carney said he did not believe Hong Kong's reasons for letting him leave. The US has revoked Mr Snowden's passport, and he is thought to have spent the night in an airside hotel at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. On Monday, a seat was booked in his name on a flight to Cuba, but he was not seen on board when it took off. By Jonathan MarcusBBC diplomatic correspondent Diplomatic fallout over Snowden The 30-year-old IT expert is wanted by the US for revealing to the media details of a secret government surveillance programme, which he obtained while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA). He is charged with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence. Mr Obama briefly mentioned the case at the White House on Monday, telling reporters: "What we know is that we are following all the appropriate legal channels and working with various other countries to make sure that the rule of law is observed." Speaking during a visit to India earlier, Mr Kerry said it would be "deeply troubling" if it became clear that China had "wilfully" allowed him to fly out of Hong Kong. "There would be without any question some effect and impact on the relationship and consequences," he said. He also called on Russia to "live by the standards of the law because that's in the interests of everybody". Later, Mr Carney said: "It is our understanding that he is still in Russia." In strongly worded comments at a news conference, he said Washington was "just not buying" Hong Kong's assertion that the US extradition papers were not in order so they had no reason to detain Mr Snowden. "This was a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship," he said. What could 'they' know about me? Q&A: Prism surveillance Beware the humble contractor He added that senior US officials were briefing President Barack Obama regularly about all the developments, and called on Russia to use all options to expel the former US spy agency contractor. Meanwhile, Russia's Interfax state news agency quoted an informed source as saying Moscow was considering a US extradition request, but that Mr Snowden had not officially crossed the Russian border so could not be detained. Mr Snowden was in hiding in Hong Kong when his leaks were first published. During a visit to Vietnam earlier on Monday, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino read out a letter Mr Snowden had sent to request asylum, in which he said he was "at risk of being persecuted by the US and its agents". Mr Patino confirmed that his country was processing an asylum request from Mr Snowden. Quito was in contact with Moscow who could "make the decision it feels is most convenient in accordance with its laws and politics and in accordance with the international laws and norms that could be applied to this case", he said. When asked whether he knew of Mr Snowden's current location, he declined to answer. "We will consider the position of the US government and we will take a decision in due course," he said, saying Ecuador put the protection of human rights "above any other interest". The US and Ecuador have a joint extradition treaty, but it is not applicable to "crimes or offences of a political character". Mr Snowden is being supported by the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, which said on Sunday that he was heading to Ecuador accompanied by some of its diplomats and legal advisers. Ecuador is already giving political asylum at its London embassy to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is wanted for questioning in Sweden over allegations of sexual assault - which he denies. On Monday, Mr Assange said Mr Snowden was "healthy and safe", and travelling to Ecuador "via a safe path through Russia and other states". Profile: Edward Snowden He said Mr Snowden had left Hong Kong on a refugee document of passage issued by Ecuador, and was not carrying any NSA secrets with him. Mr Snowden's leaks have led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data under an NSA programme known as Prism. He earlier said he had decided to speak out after observing "a continuing litany of lies" from senior officials to Congress. US officials have defended the practice of gathering telephone and internet data from private users around the world. They say Prism cannot be used to intentionally target any Americans or anyone in the US, and that it is supervised by judges.

Question: The US has @placeholder Russia and China after fugitive Edward Snowden left Hong Kong for Moscow .


More than 1.7 million Npower customers could save ¡ê261 a year, simply by moving to another Npower tariff. As many as 6.6 million British Gas customers could save ¡ê129 a year, according to Ofgem. However British Gas says it has changed its prices, so the saving is now ¡ê43. The figures also reveal that SSE has almost all of its customers on the most expensive form of tariff. 91% of SSE customers are on standard variable tariffs, compared to just 9% at First Utility. The number of people stuck on standard tariffs is controversial, as most fixed-rate deals are cheaper. In the UK as a whole, 66% of households are on standard tariffs. However Npower said that customers were unlikely to be able to save ¡ê261, as fixed-price deals were usually limited to a certain number of customers. Once a certain number of people have signed up, the deal is withdrawn. Last month, the business and energy secretary, Greg Clark, met energy suppliers, amid claims that some of them were making large profits from customers who are on standard variable tariffs. The industry denied profiteering, but has nevertheless come under pressure to reduce its prices for standard tariffs. Three of the biggest suppliers have frozen their tariffs through the winter as a result. Nevertheless Ofgem published its comparison table to highlight the difference between the cheapest ands most expensive tariffs. "Millions of people across Britain continue to pay too much for their energy," said Mr Clark. "The measures announced today are a positive step to help more people benefit from increased choice and competition." Citizens Advice said the new table would help customers, but that energy firms could still do more to help. "We'd like to see energy companies do more off their own back to help customers who are on a low income, like moving them to a cheaper deal," said Gillian Guy, the chief executive of Citizens Advice. Meanwhile the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed that is going ahead with plans to help the 10 million households which have been on standard tariffs for more than three years. From next year, suppliers will have to tell Ofgem which of its customers have not switched tariffs. If customers consent, they will be sent details of better deals, prompting them to move.

Question: Millions of energy customers could save hundreds of pounds a year on their energy @placeholder without even switching supplier , according to the regulator Ofgem .


As one of the dance house's associate choreographers, and a local north London resident, Bourne is a familiar face at the leading venue. But at Christmas, he is the star of the show. From Cinderella to Edward Scissorhands, a Bourne ballet has been the highlight of the Sadler's Wells Christmas bill for more than a decade - so much so he's been dubbed "Mr Christmas" by some. This year he is presenting Sleeping Beauty. Despite Bourne's Santa pseudonym, though, there is very little that is Christmassy about his work. He's made the well-known Tchaikovsky classic feel contemporary with his trademark fast-paced choreography - and completely new with the "shock" element of a gothic vampire twist. Here the crowd-pleaser tells us about the importance of the audience, his love of a great story and his future plans. How do you feel about being called "Mr Christmas"? I've never seen myself as a Father Christmas figure, but I understand it sounds good although we're only in London over Christmas. We do 26 to 28 other venues in the rest of the year. There are certain shows you can do at Christmas and others you can't, including at least half my repertoire. But anything with a fairy-tale background tends to work. Do you feel the epithet encourages accusations from purists and the press of "dumbing down" for the sake of ticket sales? I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the audiences that keep coming. Over the years their loyalty around the country has been brilliant. There is a sense the critics want to take me down a peg or two because we are so much more successful than any other dance company in this country, in terms of numbers and the amount of shows. But they have come along with me over the years, so a lot of them accept me more now. How have you experienced the effect of your work? The other night I met a couple who hadn't seen much dance but had seen my Swan Lake and loved it so come back to see Sleeping Beauty. They said they'd been in tears 10 minutes in. It's lovely to hear. There's a level at which the public experience a piece that a critic just can't. Is there also a freedom that comes from your status as a dance "maverick"? Every company wants to please the public, but we can do it on a much wider scale as we are not tied to tradition. I do want the balletomanes and the critics to be happy and to understand how much I love these pieces and that I am telling the story in a different way. Over the years, the standard of dancing in my company has gone up considerably. All our production standards are high, so if there is any criticism it can't be made on that level. A lot of those you've worked with have described you as "generous". I love audiences and in my own world of dance, where I've been now for a long time, I love promoting young dancers and choreographers so that's where I am generous. I don't see the point of making work if you're not thinking about the audience and if they are not reacting to it, I will keep on until they do. I want my dancers to be generous with the audience. Curtain calls are very important. They smile and look genuine and are saying "thank you for coming". I want people to love the company and want to come back. Do you tinker with productions for each new performance? A lot, sometimes every day. We've done this show almost 330 times, but even earlier this month we put new things in. There are always new ideas. Fans of the company, who book for two shows over the weekend - yes, they really do that - know they are going to get something different. What's different about your choreography and your overall production style? My choreography always serves the show, the period I've set it in and the style. It's always about narrative, character and stories and it's acrobatic. Costumes look like they come from film rather than being dance-adapted because we want the audience to relate to the scene. We'll sometimes use normal shoes or even bare feet to make it look appropriate to the period and the choice of dancers is important too. They need to be faces you can relate to. People expect to see something spectacular and that's also what I enjoy; I want people to go "wow". On stage, even simple things people love, like just dropping confetti. It's delightful. Aren't you tempted to do a show that is pared-down and simple? I do think about it from time to time. I love the simplicity of things sometimes. I'd like to do something that is completely dancer-led about space and light. It would have to be an experiment as I don't want to lose the audience. My job is to make pieces work and make them accessible for a modern audience, not just a ballet audience. You love a great story but you always want to change a classic. Why? If the audience didn't know the story, as of course they do with Sleeping Beauty, I'd have to spell it out but this way allows me to be creative within the existing structure. Everyone gets it but then you can surprise them. I set Cinderella within the Blitz of World War Two to make it completely new and exciting, but the basic premise of the bad relations and out-of-reach love is infinitely transferable. With Sleeping Beauty, it just wasn't a very good story - Tchaikovsky's music is the attraction. You've clearly got a vivid imagination so why don't you write your own original stories - or even a book? It comes from years of watching lots of movies and plays; my head is full of imagery. But I feel I do write my own stories already. I write my scenarios like stories because it has to make sense to me and marry well to the music. You have to justify going off on a tangent. Every story ever written is based on previous stories. Do you have a favourite among the work you've produced? You need to love them all and want to do them again. Swan Lake changed my life and I am grateful: it made me well-known around the world, it was a news story rather than just an arts story. It wasn't my intention at all, though, and I was completely taken aback. I believed in the idea - bringing in male swans since they do naturally exist but everyone assumes they should be female. It took a while to get used to, the success, the awards, the long run in the West End. It did huge things for us but put us back at first. How did your upbringing influence you? I grew up in north London and there was nothing in our household that you would call high-brow entertainment. I had to find a way to see a lot of things. I went to see an opera and ballet in my late teens as self-education. My parents and I went to a lot of West End musicals and I loved it, but they didn't know ballet so when I got into it, they did too. So I reciprocated the education. They were incredibly supportive and luckily lived long enough to see great things happen to me, such as going to Broadway and Los Angeles - they met lots of old movie stars and had a great time. Your productions are performed all over the world. How is the reception different from country to country? It varies a lot and that fascinates me, but that also applies from town to town in this country. Outside the UK, there are a lot of differences: humour and some themes can be a problem. In Russia homosexuality is a problem, especially when it comes to keeping backers on side. We have done Swan Lake but they were worried about the gay element in The Car Man. They were okay with Dorian Gray as they said it was literature, which was odd to me. Some audiences are very vocal, some very quiet. In Japan they are very silent but at the end you have to bow a lot - to the point of being embarrassing. What's next? I'm working on a new show for next year, brand new. I'm sworn to secrecy at the moment. But it will be opening in Plymouth and then Manchester. It's a fairly well-known story, I can say that, but I'm running out of titles. Sleeping Beauty is at Sadler's Wells in London until 24 January.

Question: Choreographer Matthew Bourne - known for his modern takes on such ballet classics as Swan Lake - is where we 've come to expect him at this time of year : ensconced within the @placeholder of London 's Sadler 's Wells .


Councillors supported a recommendation to shut Angle, Stackpole and Orielton primary schools at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday. Figures show the cost of running these are between 24% and 65% greater than the county average. A new replacement school is likely to be built at Hundleton. A Welsh medium school is also set for Haverfordwest. At the same meeting, councillors voted unanimously to establish a new school in Haverfordwest for children from 3 to 16. While the exact location has yet to be decided, it will be Pembrokeshire's second Welsh medium secondary school. St Davids councillor David Lloyd called it "a very important day for the Welsh language in Little England beyond Wales" - referring to the traditional nickname for parts of the county.

Question: Three schools are to close on Pembrokeshire 's Angle Peninsula because of @placeholder pupil numbers .


The attack came after a blue Peugeot and a red Audi crashed on Oldham Road in the Newton Heath area of Manchester about 13:30 on Wednesday. The victim, who was in the Peugeot, remains in a stable condition in hospital. Both the Peugeot and Audi were abandoned at the scene. Greater Manchester Police had been called to reports of a fight in Oldham Road but the group had left when they arrived. The member of the public's van, which the victim had got into for his safety, was rammed by a white Volkswagen Golf as it was driving along The Gateway. The Golf's occupants then dragged him from the van before repeatedly stabbing him and driving off. The van driver took the injured man to Central Park Police Station on Northampton Road. From there he was taken to hospital. Det Ch Insp Paul Walker said: "This is an absolutely terrifying sequence of events, which must have been extremely frightening for other motorists and people who were in the area at the time, especially for the member of the public who took the man to the police station." Any reports of gun crime would be taken very seriously, he added. He appealed for witnesses and anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.

Question: A man who was threatened at gunpoint @placeholder to escape in a passing van only to be dragged out of the vehicle and stabbed in the legs , police said .


Michael Horn, president and chief executive officer of Volkswagen (VW) of America since 2014, is leaving "through mutual agreement", the company said. The statement made no mention of the emissions issue, disclosed by US regulators last year. Another US executive, Hinrich Woebcken, takes over on a interim basis. Mr Horn's departure comes as VW continues to negotiate with US environmental regulators, the Department of Justice, and lawyers representing consumers who are suing the company for compensation. VW said Mr Horn's departure was "effective immediately". In VW's statement, Herbert Diess, chief executive of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said: "I want personally to say 'thank you' to Michael Horn for the great work he has done for the brand and with the dealers in the United States." The company has admitted that its Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche diesels, marketed as environmentally friendly, were equipped with devices that lowered emissions results during tests. Almost 600,000 VW cars in the US are affected, but the company says about 11 million vehicles worldwide were fitted with the engine software. VW has acknowledged that the costs for recalls, compensation and fines could run into many billions of euros. Last September, just after US regulators disclosed VW's use of the so-called "defeat devices", Mr Horn, 54, said at a vehicle launch event that the company "totally screwed up". He was the senior VW representative to appear before a Congressional committee investigating the scandal. Mr Horn said the emissions devices were the work of a few individuals, but not VW's top leadership. Mr Woebcken, the North American regional chief and chairman of Volkswagen Group of America, takes over immediately.

Question: Volkswagen 's top executive in the US is stepping down nearly six months after the German carmaker became @placeholder in the diesel emissions scandal .


It follows criticism that many houses with small annexes would be liable for a 3% surcharge on Stamp Duty. Since 1 April, anyone buying a second home has had to pay the higher rate. Now the Treasury has announced a new set of rules, which will mean that fewer homes with annexes will be liable for the surcharge. Any annex that is worth less than one third of the total property value will no longer qualify for the extra charge. The Treasury described it as a change "to iron out technical unfairness". Previously it said that only about 1,000 sales of homes with annexes a year would be affected by higher rate Stamp Duty. Now it says the number will be even smaller than that. To be liable for the higher rate, annexes must also: However, where a home with an annex or cottage does qualify for the Stamp Duty surcharge, the higher rate applies to the value of the whole property, not just the annex. So if someone buys a home worth ¡ê300,000 - with an annex worth ¡ê100,001 - they will face a Stamp Duty bill of ¡ê14,000. Before 1 April they would only have had to pay ¡ê5,000. The government had been lobbied for a change by Sir Eric Pickles, the former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The Treasury said that anyone who had paid too much would now be able to apply for a refund.

Question: The government has announced a surprise change in the tax rules for anyone buying a house that @placeholder a " granny flat " , or annex .


Last month cousins Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar were left with life-changing injuries after a corrosive liquid was thrown at them through a car window. And in April clubbers in east London were caught up in an attack involving acid, which left 20 people injured. Assaults involving corrosive substances have more than doubled in England since 2012, police figures show. The vast majority of cases were in London. It is legal to purchase strong acid but there have been growing calls for regulations to be tightened in the wake of recent incidents. The National Police Chiefs Council lead for corrosive attacks, Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Kearton, told the BBC Asian Network that reported acid attacks had seen a significant rise in percentage terms, but that compared with knife crime the number of incidents were "tiny". Takeaway restaurant owner Imran Khan was attacked while out delivering food in Barking, east London, in November. He was confronted by a group of youths who demanded money and food while hurling racist abuse at him. When he got back into his vehicle they squirted a corrosive liquid in his face. Mr Khan says the pain "overtook everything" and he feared he would be left completely blind. He was saved from long-term damage by a quick thinking shopkeeper who washed his face with clean water at the scene of the attack. He says the attack affected him "big time" leaving him feeling unsafe in public, especially after dark. 208 Violence against the person 38 caused serious injuries, 1 was fatal 118 robberies 10 of which left victims with serious injuries 2 sexual offences, including 1 rape Metropolitan Police figures obtained by the BBC show men are twice as likely to be victims of acid attacks in London than women after being linked to a number of gang crimes. The vast majority of cases never reach trial. Dr Simon Harding, a criminologist and expert on gangs at Middlesex University, says acid is becoming "a weapon of first choice". "Acid throwing is a way of showing dominance, power and control, building enormous fear among gang peer groups," he says. Gang members know there are advantages in using acid to hurt someone rather than a knife because "the charges are more serious if you are caught with a knife and the tariff for prison sentences are much higher". Dr Harding added that "acid is likely to attract a 'GBH  with intent' charge while using a knife is more likely to lead to the attacker being charged with attempted murder" "There's no specific offence of throwing acid. It's a harder offence to prove because there is rarely any DNA evidence and its much easier to dispose of a plastic bottle than it is a knife." Dr Harding says the government needs to attack the problem on three fronts. He says acid is too easily available, sentencing needs to be brought into line with knife crime and a programme of education is required. "Gang members do respond when they realise a victim of an acid attack may never work again or may need 15 or 20 plastic surgery operations." "This is a horrendous crime, it maims, it disfigures," ACC Kearton explains. "What particularly disgusts me about this crime is that it's premeditated, no-one carries acid around on the streets for any other reason than using it for this reason. "The intention behind this is for someone to live with this for the rest of their lives. "That is lasting physical and emotional damage, its sometimes why some people choose this as a form of attack." Asked what can be done to stop it she says: "To have an acid in a different bottle to the one it was purchased in can be an offence, we can also regulate volumes of sale, we can regulate ages at which people can buy it." Jaf Shah, from the London charity Acid Survivors Trust International says the phenomenon isn't new and dates back to the Victorian times in Britain, but says the recent figures are shocking. "The recent spike in attacks means the UK has the highest number of reported acid attacks per capita in the world." He is among those calling for regulations on the sale of acid to be tightened. There are no age restrictions on buying household bleach or drain cleaning products containing acid in the UK. There are rules which limit the sale of certain substances under the explosives precursors and poisons (EPP) rules aimed at businesses who sell or supply such chemicals in bulk. The Met said it was working with retailers to raise awareness that people might be buying corrosive substances to use as weapons. But Jaf Shah wants the government to make it compulsory when purchasing corrosive chemicals to pay by card that is traceable to an individual and to make acid available only under licence. Labour MP for East Ham Stephen Timms has tabled an adjournment debate for Monday in the House of Commons on the rise in the number of acid attacks. About a third of last year's acid attacks in the capital took place in the London borough of Newham, which is in his constituency. Mr Timms says he is "most concerned about sulphuric acid" and that carrying a bottle without justification should be treated as an offence, like carrying a knife.

Question: The latest acid attacks in north - east London on Thursday , which saw five people being @placeholder with a corrosive liquid , add to a growing number of cases being reported in the UK .


The cladding was discovered after checks were carried out on all public buildings across the UK after the fire at the Grenfell Tower flats in London. In a statement, the Department of Health described the cladding as similar to that used at Grenfell Tower. It added that the building continues to meet fire safety requirements. Concerns have been raised about the cladding at Grenfell Tower, where a huge fire left at least 80 people dead, or missing presumed dead. The critical care building in Belfast has been beset by problems and remains mostly closed to the public five years after it was due to open. The ?¡ê150m hospital opened its emergency department on the first two floors, but due to ongoing problems, the other 10 floors lie empty. In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said it is continuing to assess the extent of the cladding. It confirmed that extensive fire safety checks have been carried out across all its buildings "Out of the 19 buildings inspected it has been identified that the critical care block in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust has a limited installation of a cladding system similar to that used on Grenfell Tower Block," it said. "It has been installed to a roof top ventilation plant room and an external entrance canopy." The BBC understands the area includes a canopy used in the Emergency Department entrance and a vast area close to the roof which houses the building's heating system. It is understood Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride called an emergency meeting on Thursday involving senior officials who are involved in building works across the hospital sites. "In light of recent events, the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust is further assessing the extent of the installation, however, it has been confirmed this building has been designed and built in compliance with current building regulations and meets fire safety requirements," the statement added. In March, the BBC revealed that millions of pounds in additional funding was required to bring the building up to standard and fit for purpose. Even before this latest problem was identified, there has been no confirmation from the Belfast Health Trust as to when the multi million pound hospital will be fully opened to the public.

Question: Tests are to be conducted on cladding used on the new critical care building in the @placeholder of Belfast 's Royal Victoria Hospital , the BBC understands .


Self Portrait was painted during the last month of Osmond's life while he received treatment for cancer. It will have a permanent home at a new cancer support centre in the city. A film documentary was also made with Osmond before his death in March. Described as "one of Wales most foremost artists and an ardent Welshman," he was also a lecturer and promoter of Welsh art. His final painting will eventually hang in the new Maggie's support centre for people with cancer, which opens at Velindre hospital in Cardiff in 2017. While the work is entitled Self Portrait, Osmond focuses on the landscapes that have been his home: his birthplace of Wattsville in Caerphilly county, and his home of 30 years at Llansteffan on the Carmarthenshire coast. Osmond died before he could finish the painting, but in the documentary A Brief Eternity: Ar Awyr Le by filmmaker Clare Sturges, Osmond said he "wouldn't be disillusioned" if it remained unfinished. "Abandonment, sometimes, can be the fulfilment of something," he said. "It may not have been the end you have planned, but there will be value in that ending. "It will be there for people to look at and consider, and think 'this man struggled, this man made an effort, this man thought about things quite deeply'." The documentary follows Osmond's progress as he worked on the painting, and as he came to terms with nearing the end of his life. He told the film: "I believe that our lives are our infinities. I don't remember what happened before, and I won't remember or have any knowledge of what happens afterwards. So I don't fear death, in that respect, because it's not going to happen. This is what I call my brief eternity." Osmond describes cancer as "an extraordinary experience," and "enriching", which was difficult for most people to come to terms with. "They think it's like having a boil, that it's just a bloody nuisance. But because of the way it takes over the whole of your existence, the whole of your life, the whole of your family, the whole of your friends and acquaintances, it is more than an illness. It is a way of being."

Question: The last painting by Welsh artist Osi Rhys Osmond is to be displayed in @placeholder for the first time .


As Africa's most-populous country turns 56, many Nigerians may not be in the mood for celebration - preoccupied as they are with the ongoing recession. For Nigerian businesses, 2016 has indeed been a challenging year. The oil-dependent nation is presently in an economic downturn, largely because of the drop in oil prices. As a consequence, the prices of goods and services have gone up and for many businesses profits are thin. But some fresh, young entrepreneurs are bucking the trend. "Whatever direction the economy goes, there are always opportunities," says Obinna Onunkwo, one of the Nigerians who is changing the face of the property scene. He and his business partner Laide Agboola - who are both under 40 - have just completed the development of a $25m (?¡ê19.2m), 7,700-sq-metre retail centre in Lagos. Nigeria's retail sector has seen significant growth over the past five years and savvy investors like Mr Onunkwo tapped in early. They managed to convince investors that the Maryland Mall in Ikeja was a bankable project. After five months of pitching to investors last year, they were able to raise funds. Mr Onunkwo believes the key to their success was that they ensured any loans they took were in the local currency, the naira, and not dollar loans. A good decision as the naira has weakened significantly over the past year. Sulaiman Balogun, co-founder of ToLet.com.ng - a Nigerian online property search portal, will remember 2016 as the year the cash came in. He and his business partners - Fikayo Ogundipe, Dapo Eludire and Seyi Ayeni - have succeeded in raising $1.2m. This is quite a feat as banks and financial institutions in Nigeria are not keen to lend to new businesses because of a lack of credit records and insufficient collateral. Enterprising technology-driven businesses like ToLet have to prove themselves, sometimes with very little capital, in the hope that big time venture capital firms take notice. After meeting at university, Mr Balogun and his partners started their business in June 2012, when they were in their twenties and at a time when online property search websites were not popular in Nigeria. The partners raised $400 from their personal savings and with family support embarked on their business journey. A year after launching their property platform they managed to raise $230,000 in seed capital from online business builder, Spark.ng, and this made a significant contribution to the growth of their business. Didi Akinyelure: "They prove that it is possible to diversify away from oil - and show the enterprising spirit of the country as it celebrates its 56th year" However, their big break came last month, when they caught the eye of Frontier Digital Ventures, a company passionate about online classifieds businesses, and they successfully secured additional funds. Two key things have been the secret to their success. "We anticipated the recession and kept costs low," says Mr Balogun. "And people still need to look for homes to rent in a recession." For Papa Omotayo, a 40-year-old Lagos-based architect, looking to markets outside Nigeria can help entrepreneurs weather an economic slump. "Make sure your reach goes beyond Africa," says Mr Omotayo, the founder of AWCA, a multi-award winning ideas development agency. He has been driven to change the way the African continent is portrayed globally, through art and creativity. Teaming up with  29-year-old Maki Osakwe, creative director of Maki Oh, a fashion brand worn by the likes of Michelle Obama, Lupita Nyong'o and Solange Knowles, the two produced a short fashion film entitled Omi. It just bagged the Best New Director award this week at Milan's fashion film festival. Mr Omotayo says diversity is the secret to his success - ensuring that Nigeria's arts and culture scene reaches beyond Africa. And although he has seen a shift in the spending power of Nigerians this year, his creative business has not slowed down as much as expected, and he is confident that more opportunities will open up for him. These young entrepreneurs are making headlines - in spite of Nigeria's recession. They prove that it is possible to diversify away from oil - and show the enterprising spirit of the country as it celebrates its 56th year.

Question: In our series of letters from African journalists , Didi Akinyelure , the BBC World News Komla Dumor Award Winner , looks at a fresh @placeholder of young , enterprising men and women who have more reason than most to celebrate Nigeria 's 56th year of independence .


Most of all, it's a chance for more women and girls to get involved in physical activity. In fact, a number of sports organisations and clubs are using this week as an opportunity to introduce females to their sport, offering sessions to try out something new. Here's just a small sample of the ways that you can get involved in Women's Sport Week: In honour of Women's Sport Week, BBC Get Inspired and Radio 1Xtra present Body Talk, an intimate and interactive discussion on body image issues for women in and around sport. Radio 1's Adele Roberts will be chatting with a collection of open and honest women from the sport and entertainment worlds. Five-time Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockcroft, So Solid Crew's Lisa Maffia, two-time Olympic cycling champion Joanna Rowsell Shand, Olympic boxer Natasha Jonas, rapper Nadia Rose, TV psychologist Emma Kenny and Liverpool's own Olympic heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson are just some of the people we'll hear from. What you need to know The group will be talking at FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) in Liverpool on Thursday, 6 October at 14:00 BST. If you want a seat in the audience, you can apply for a ticket at the BBC Radio 1Xtra Live website. It's first come first served so be quick! For anyone not lucky enough to be in Liverpool, you can see it live on the BBC Sport and BBC Radio 1Xtra websites. Want to try out a new activity? Or maybe you are looking for a way back into a game you used to play? Lets us inspire you to revisit your childhood memories with some of these activities that you can get involved in where you live. Media playback is not supported on this device Useful links Hockey is physically taxing and mentally stimulating. Plus, once hooked, players tend to make hockey friends for life. In England and Wales, Back To Hockey is a campaign offering women and men of all ages either a complete introduction to the game, or a return to hockey if you've had a break from it. If you are keen to get back into the game in Scotland and Northern Ireland, contact the hockey associations in your area who will be happy to help. Media playback is not supported on this device Gymnastics helps to improve your flexibility, balance and co-ordination as well as boosting concentration. From toddlers learning motor skills to adults looking for a fresh way to workout, everyone can get a kick out of learning gymnastics. Check out our guide for information on all different versions of the sport you can take part in. Like running, swimming or cycling? Fancy doing all three, one after the other? If you answered yes to the previous two questions then triathlon is the sport for you! The Olympic distances are a 1.5km swim, followed by a 40km cycle, rounded off with a 10km run. But don't feel daunted, it really is for everybody British Triathlon will be running tailored women only novice training days find out more here. If you have the basics but are no pro, this programme is for you. Tennis Tuesdays is hitting the courts in more than 80 venues across England, Scotland and Wales. Each week's session focuses on a different area of the game and you will improve your ability with a mixture of skills training from professional coaches and match play with other women at your level. You can have fun and be as competitive as you want, without feeling under pressure. If you are an improver or intermediate standard female player, find your nearest venue and sign up today. Useful links Whether you are new to netball or you have played in the past and would like to ease back into playing, there are schemes across the UK to help you. In Scotland, Bounce Back to Netball offers sessions that provide a gentle introduction or re-introduction to the game A similar programme run in England, Back to Netball, encourages beginners or anyone who is a little rusty to come back to the game. Contact Welsh Netball or Netball NI to find out about introductory schemes in these areas. Join over 24,000 adults a week and play rounders! All you need is basic equipment; bat, ball a decent bit of outdoor space and some willing friends and family. Media playback is not supported on this device In aid of Women's Sports Week, Rounders England are hosting the Golden Bat Relay the idea is that one team will play a game starting on Monday and then pass the bat onto another team who play with the gold bat on Tuesday and so on for five evenings. Matches are taking place in Gloucester, Cornwall, Winchester, Leeds and Burnley. There will be a mix of indoor and outdoor rounders played throughout the week. To find out more information head to the Rounders England website. Not in one of those areas but still want to give it a go? Try our guide to find a team near you! Yoga develops strength, flexibility and physical and mental stamina through a variety of stretches and postures. There is a type of yoga for everybody, and it is perfect for those looking to increase their fitness, flexibility or just trying to relax after work. Find out how you can get involved in yoga with our handy guide. Remember, Yoga isn't competitive, so you don't need to worry about being the new one in the class! The term martial arts covers such a large number of different sports, so there is sure to be one discipline that appeals to you. What all have in common is the benefits you can gain to your fitness and confidence. The scope is vast, so if you're thinking of getting involved but don't know were to start, we've got all the tips you need here. Dancing is good for your soul! What's more, it's a fun (and very social) way to work up a sweat and stay fit. Are you inspired to try dance? Or maybe you are a keen enthusiast already? With many different styles in our dance guide you are sure to find the right fit for you. Media playback is not supported on this device Boxing is a dynamic sport that teaches physical and mental discipline, and the training that comes with it is amongst the most intensive in sport. It provides a thorough full-body workout, and can be a lot of fun too. It's also a fun and effective way of developing communication skills and can help people with self-esteem. Looking to perfect your punch or just wanting to keep fit, find out how with our boxing guide. For some the idea of gym fees and exercise equipment can easily put us off, let alone trying to find time for it in our busy lives! We've done some research to find you some ways to get started that are free and, best of all, that you can do from home or anywhere else that fits your schedule. Find out more here. 1. Gather your female friends and family and have some fun - test yourself with one of our #MakeYourMove challenges you can try Hula Hoop, Tai Chi and even the YMCA! 2. Put your postcode into our Women's Sport Week promotion on the Activity Finder to find a session near you. 3. Use #BBCBodyTalk to join the conversation or put your own question to the panel. You can also email us. Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter. 4. Date for your diary - Sport Scotland have an Active Girls Day on Friday 28th October, where they are encouraging girls to get active within their communities. For more information visit their website here. 5. Fill us in on your week by sending us your Women's Sport Week videos and pictures using #WSW16.

Question: Women 's Sport Week ( 3-9 October 2016 ) is an opportunity for everybody to @placeholder , raise awareness and increase the profile of women 's sport across the UK .


The airline, which owns Germanwings, said last week that Andreas Lubitz had taken a break from flight school training, but refused to say why. It has now shared emails from 2009 which show Lubitz told instructors he had suffered from "severe depression". Meanwhile, all human remains from the crash have reportedly been recovered. French authorities told AFP news agency that the remains of all the victims had been removed from the remote ravine where the plane went down, but mountain troops would return to the scene on Wednesday to search for personal belongings. The search for the second flight recorder will also continue. Also on Tuesday, German newspaper Bild and French news magazine Paris Match said they had obtained a video showing the plane's last moments before the crash. The footage was shot on a mobile phone inside the plane, and recorded the sound of passengers screaming and the sound of a metal object striking the cockpit door, the newspapers said. A recording from the cockpit of the aircraft suggests Lubitz, 27, deliberately caused the disaster last Tuesday, which killed 150 people. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr previously said that the company was not aware of anything that could have driven the co-pilot to crash the Airbus A320. "He was 100% fit to fly without any restrictions or conditions," he told reporters. It has now emerged, as part of the airline's internal research, that Lubitz had sent information about his depressive episode to the Lufthansa flight school in Bremen, when he resumed training after an interruption of several months. He subsequently passed all medical tests and eventually secured his license. He started working with Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings in 2013. German prosecutors said on Monday that Lubitz had received treatment for "suicidal tendencies" before completing his training. But Lufthansa said his medical records were subject to doctor-patient confidentiality and it had no knowledge of their contents. The company has set aside an additional $300m (a??280m; ?¡ê200m) to cover possible costs arising from the crash. The money is separate from the $54,250 available to the relatives of each passenger to cover short-term expenses. Airlines are obliged to compensate relatives for proven damages of up to a limit of about $157,000, regardless of what caused the crash. Higher compensation is possible if an airline is held liable. None of the victims' bodies were found intact after the plane's 700kph (430mph) impact, but different strands of DNA have been identified. French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that all 150 victims would be identified by the end of the week. Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Mr Hollande said "exceptional scientific work" had been carried out by the recovery team. Andreas Lubitz: Germanwings co-pilot Who was Andreas Lubitz?

Question: The Germanwings co-pilot @placeholder of deliberately crashing his plane into the Alps had disclosed an earlier bout of depression , Lufthansa has said .


Staffan de Mistura admitted there had been a lack of progress but said that the negotiations had not failed. The talks opened just two days ago and are due to resume again on 25 February. The move came as the Syrian government claimed a major blow against the opposition by cutting a key supply route to the rebel-held city of Aleppo. Syrian state television reported that government forces had broken the siege of Nubul and Zahraa, two towns north-west of Aleppo. Opposition attendees at the talks in Geneva had already been angered at negotiations beginning amid ongoing offensives by the Syrian government backed by Russia. Basma Kodmani, a member of the umbrella group representing opposition factions, the High Negotiations Committee, said encircling Aleppo sent the message that "there is nothing to negotiate - Just go home". On the talks, Mr de Mistura admitted "there's more work to be done". "It is not the end and it is not the failure of the talks," he said. "Why? They came and they stayed. Both sides insisted on the fact that they are interested in having a political process started." The head of the Syrian delegation accused the opposition of wanting to withdraw from the talks under pressure from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, Reuters reported. Bashar Ja'afari said the UN's announcement was a way of avoiding such a walkout. More than 250,000 people have died in almost five years of war in Syria. Eleven million others have fled their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other, as well as the Islamic State group. A donor's conference opens in London on Thursday aiming to raise billions in new funding for those affected.

Question: The UN has @placeholder peace talks aimed at ending Syria 's five - year civil war , the organisation 's special envoy has said .


The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said there were positive examples but also tensions and confusion over funding and planning. Lack of provision was blamed for stoking hostility to Gypsy Travellers "pulling in" at some locations. In 2014 there were 59 named sites in 18 local authority areas in Scotland. The EHRC has been studying how councils have been developing dedicated sites amid claims of struggles to secure land or planning permission. The report noted funding was a "significant barrier" for councils, and found that many are uncertain over the extent to which they should be developing accommodation. Alastair Pringle, director of EHRC Scotland, said: "Over the last year we have seen, once again, tension in some parts of Scotland concerning the  development of temporary or permanent sites for Gypsy Travellers, either in private or public ownership. "This ongoing lack of provision is forcing many Gypsy Travellers into 'pulling in' at the roadside, often in high profile areas and then risking eviction and local hostility. "The research shows that with planning and care it is perfectly possible to develop new Gypsy Traveller sites in Scotland." Mr Pringle called for a "co-ordinated and coherent approach" to be set out in the government's Gypsy Traveller strategy due to be published later this year. He added: "Without proper provision the community is likely to continue to face hostility and councils are likely to waste more money on avoidable evictions." Phil Brown, professor of social change at the University of Salford, who carried out the research, said: "Taking a strategic rather than ad hoc approach is also recommended as the more transparent the council is the more likely they will have public support." Communities Secretary Alex Neil said: "The Scottish government has already strengthened local strategic planning for accommodation in relation to the needs of Gypsy Travellers, by publishing revised guidance for housing need and demand assessments and local housing strategies. "This is to help make sure that the accommodation needs of Gypsy Travellers are fully taken into account by local authorities as they plan accommodation provision in their area."

Question: Scotland 's travelling community is likely to face continued hostility unless there is @placeholder to provide it with proper sites , it has been warned .


UKIP's David Coburn and Patrick Harvie of the Greens were interviewed on the BBC Sunday Politics Scotland programme. Mr Coburn said winning one Holyrood seat would be a breakthrough for UKIP, while Mr Harvie hoped for one from each of the eight regional lists. Nicola Sturgeon, Kezia Dugdale, Willie Rennie and Ruth Davidson will all appear on the programme in later weeks. Mr Coburn, who tops UKIP's Highlands and Islands list and launched the party manifesto alongside UK party leader Nigel Farage on Thursday, said UKIP had taken a "tactical decision" to focus only on list votes. He said: "I'd like to break through, that's the main thing. From what I can see in the polls we could win seven seats. "That would be nice, I'd be very happy to have them, but if we get any seats I'll be delighted. "We've got so many people coming over from the other parties. Labour is imploding in Scotland, and many of them can never stomach voting for the Conservatives and are voting for us. "As for the Scottish nationalists, a lot of them are very frightened about Europe - they see what happens to smaller countries in Europe if they don't agree with the EU about austerity and suchlike." Mr Coburn said his party's ambition was to have taxes in Scotland "no higher than they are anywhere else in the UK", saying he wanted to create jobs to aid the economy. He also said a UKIP activist who was pictured with his face painted black had been "extremely stupid", but said the issue was one for the party's disciplinary committee. He replied that "it ain't in the UKIP manifesto to sit in your bathtub naked, playing the guitar, dressed as a clown". Mr Coburn added: "UKIP are the most liberal party you can possibly imagine; we're a libertarian party, you can't get more broad-minded than that." Scottish Greens co-convenor Mr Harvie said his party had a "genuinely realistic chance" of winning an MSP in each of the eight regional lists for the first time in May's election. He said: "I think that would be a fantastic step. I certainly think we could get more than one in some regions. "If we're in that ballpark then we're potentially approaching double figures, and for the first time we'd have an MSP representing every voter in Scotland." Pressed on his party's plans for a 60p top rate of tax, Mr Harvie said he didn't believe that high earners would move away to escape higher rates. He said: "I don't buy the argument that the majority of people even in that higher band are the kind of selfish individuals who would uproot their families and disappear, presumably not taking their current job with them, simply because they'd have to pay a bit more tax on the highest element of their income. "There are certainly opportunities for high-income and high-wealth people who are motivated purely by greed - and I don't think that's the majority - to hide their income. "This is a problem for every country. There's a great deal we have to do to stigmatise that kind of behaviour." Mr Harvie said the current status quo was a "race to the bottom", saying only the Greens were offering truly "radical" policies. Each of the party leaders are to be interviewed on the Sunday Politics Scotland programme, with Labour's Kezia Dugdale, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, Conservative Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie of the Lib Dems all due to appear in the coming weeks.

Question: The Scottish Greens and UKIP are both @placeholder " breakthrough " results in May 's Holyrood election .


Libratus, an artificial intelligence program developed at Carnegie Mellon University, was trained to play a variant of the game known as no-limit heads-up Texas hold 'em. In a similar tournament in 2015, the humans won. The victory has been hailed as a significant milestone for AI, by the team responsible for building it. The AI won more than $1.5m (?¡ê1.2m) worth of chips from the humans. The matches - held at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh - were live-streamed over gaming site Twitch. Tuomas Sandholm, professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon, said the event was "historic". "Heads-up no limit Texas hold 'em is in a way the last frontier of all the games," he said. "Othello, Chess, Go, Jeopardy have all been conquered, but this remained elusive: this is a landmark in AI game-play." Prof Sandholm said that the algorithm could be transferred to a range of other uses. "This is not just about poker," he said. "The algorithms can take information and output a strategy in a range of scenarios, including negotiations, finance, medical treatment and cybersecurity." "Now we have proven the ability of AI to do strategy and reasoning, there are many potential applications in future." One of the professional poker players, Jimmy Chou, admitted at the halfway point that the AI was proving a tough opponent. "The bot gets better and better every day. It's like a tougher version of us," he said. "The first couple of days, we had high hopes," Mr Chou said. "But every time we find a weakness, it learns from us and the weakness disappears the next day." He added that the professionals had been sharing notes and tips in an effort to find weaknesses in the AI's game-play. But they were not the only ones doing homework. Each night after the play ended, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Centre added computations to sharpen the AI's strategy. All four human players shared the $200,000 (?¡ê159,000) prize fund, ranked in order of how well they played against the AI. Jason Les, who came fourth, summed up the feelings of all four players when he said the match had been "incredibly challenging". "I was impressed with the quality of poker Libratus played," he said. "We tried everything we could, but it was just too strong. It became very demoralising."

Question: A poker - playing AI has @placeholder four human players in a marathon match lasting 20 days .


When Claire was told she would spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair after a spinal injury, she wanted to get back on her feet as quickly as possible and regain her independence. For the past three months she has been training intensively for the marathon using a robotic walking suit to prove she is just as determined as in her sporting days. When Claire sets out with participants on Sunday she knows that most will aim to finish in hours. For her, it will take about three weeks. A former event-rider who had competed at the highest level, Claire thought that the Burghley Horse trials, a four-star horse-riding event for top-class riders in Stamford, Lincolnshire, would be her greatest test. "I didn't think I'd ever get to that level. But the marathon is a bigger challenge. I was wrong." In the beginning she could only take two steps. Just a few weeks ago, she could only walk 30, making the marathon a near impossible feat. But Claire's sporting background has provided her with the resilience she needs to keep going. Following gruelling training sessions three times a week at a Yorkshire clinic, she can now cover longer distances of up to a mile in one session. It takes at least two-and-a-half hours for her to complete a mile but she hopes to improve her speed as the weeks pass, staying in a hotel at night-time and starting afresh every morning from the point where she left off the night before. In 2006, Claire's horse Rolled Oats clipped his shoulder, flinging her from the saddle into a nearby tree. The fall broke her neck, back and ribs and left her paralysed from the chest down. Claire first saw the "robot legs", or ReWalk bionic walking device, while researching her condition on the internet. She jokingly likens the device to Wallace and Gromit's "wrong trousers", and with the help of her friends and family raised the ¡ê43,000 necessary to get them. But walking in "techno trousers" is not as quite as easy as in the Nick Park animation - while the "wrong trousers" walk on their own, Claire's require patience, perseverance and intense effort. She says: "Not feeling my body makes it so hard. I don't know what my feet are doing." Claire relies on motion sensors to help her move and lift her legs and one of the most difficult things for her has been simply learning to stand on two feet again. "To start with I just had to find my balance without wobbling." The London marathon is not the only race Claire is competing in, as she and her one-year-old daughter, Maisie, are battling it out to see who will be the first to walk unaided. "We've had this competition all along so we'll see. She can do 10 steps on her own now. I'm as wobbly as her." Claire hopes to raise more than ¡ê50,000 for Spinal Research, a charity which funds medical research to develop treatments for paralysis. Former rugby player Matt Hampson, who was paralysed after a rugby accident, will provide moral support for part of her marathon journey, as will retired tennis player Tim Henman and former champion British equestrian Lucinda Green. "There's a lot of people who are worse off than me and haven't got the support I've got, so I want to raise as much as I can." But, when the marathon is over, Claire thinks that for the first time in six years, she will be delighted to return to her wheelchair.

Question: Six years ago , professional horse - rider Claire Lomas was told that she would never walk again but now she is attempting to walk more than 26 miles ( 42 km ) at Sunday 's London Marathon thanks to a pair of " robot legs " , which have @placeholder her life .


Dow and DuPont announced plans for a $130bn merger in December. Dow's chief executive officer, Andrew Liveris, will get $52.8m in cash and stocks - a deal that includes his $40m retirement package. Edward Breen -who became DuPont's chief executive in October - will receive $27.2m. The new DowDupont company will be broken into three businesses focusing on agriculture, material sciences and specialty products over a two year period. The companies have said they hope to save $3bn over this period through cost cutting efforts. These types of leaving bonus have been given the name "golden parachute" to reflect the large payouts executives are given when a company is taken over and the executives are replaced.

Question: The heads of Dow and DuPont will get a @placeholder $ 80 m ( ¡ê 56.5 m ) in " golden parachute " leaving bonuses following the tie up of the two companies .


A major crossing point is the Oresund strait bridge between Malmo in Sweden and the Danish capital Copenhagen, made famous by TV series The Bridge. The checks have irritated commuters who travel daily between the two cities. More than 163,000 asylum seekers arrived in Sweden in 2015 but that number fell to 29,000 last year. The falling number of arrivals means the checks on buses, trains and ferries are no longer necessary, the government says. But while ID checks at border points with Denmark are being scrapped, border controls elsewhere will continue to be tightened, it says. Interior Minister Anders Ygeman also said more surveillance cameras would be used on the Oresund bridge, in addition to vehicle x-rays. Meanwhile, the European Commission recommended that temporary border controls introduced in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway during the migrant crisis be phased out in the next six months. "The time has come to take the last concrete steps to gradually return to a normal functioning of the Schengen Area," EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told journalists, referring to the passport-free zone. In November 2015, Sweden began allowing police to check people entering Sweden from other states in Schengen. "The government's conclusion is that border controls are still needed and need to be strengthened," Mr Ygeman was quoted as saying by The Local news website, hours before the EU Commission's announcement. The real story of 'The Bridge' The measure mandating identity checks on passengers travelling between Denmark and Sweden by bus, train and ferry was last extended in February and expires on 4 May, with the government to let it lapse, Swedish media report. An estimated 20,000 commuters daily cross the Oresund bridge.

Question: Sweden is ending identity checks on border crossings with Denmark that were @placeholder early last year as thousands of migrants arrived seeking asylum .


Vauxhall station has been closed and several buildings were evacuated. The crash happened in a busy part of London at the height of the morning rush hour and was witnessed by many residents, workers and commuters. Here people describe what they saw and heard. Steve Carslake told BBC Five Live he saw the aircraft hit the crane after he got out of a van in Mill Street. He said: "We heard a mighty bang, looked up and saw the helicopter just catch the edge of the crane. "It didn't hit the tower block itself, it hit the crane and then just came down in a fireball. We ran round the corner. There was a great big lot of black smoke everywhere and there was a couple of cars. "We heard someone was actually trapped in the car. We went to run towards the car and there was just a large explosion again. "It was quite devastating to watch, I'm afraid. It was very, very sad to watch." Drew Lovell was in his van on the way to picking up waste bins in St George Wharf when he heard the helicopter hit the crane. "I heard the helicopter and it was absolutely deafening. It sounded like it was above the van so I reversed it up and got out," he said. "I heard a massive big bang. I could hear the rotas going then suddenly nothing. I looked again - it was like slow motion - and there was a massive plume of black smoke, so I jumped out of the van and ran across. "It was carnage, absolute carnage. "There was a guy walking towards me, he'd just made it through bridge and he was smouldering. He must have been thrown off the motorcycle. He was worried about his motorcycle as it was leaking oil on the floor. "I tried to help him, his back was on fire, the back of his coat was melted." Mark Osbourne, from Metropolis Motorcycles, a bike shop near the scene, said he ran to try to help the injured. "There was lots of wreckage and fire," he said. "I saw a woman on a motorcycle that must have missed the carnage by six feet. It felt like a war movie, it was surreal. "The police arrived within minutes so the response was excellent." Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan told BBC News: "I was walking towards Vauxhall tube station from Lambeth Palace area where I have a flat. "There was suddenly an enormous bang - I thought something exploded. It was coming from beyond Vauxhall Tube station. "Then clouds and clouds of black smoke. I presumed what it was I heard was the crane collapsing or the helicopter crashing into it. I heard the bang then saw the clouds of smoke but there was too much in the way to see much at that point." Michael Gavin, who was waiting for a train on a platform at Vauxhall station, said: "I heard the bang - the top of the crane was obscured by the fog so I did not see the impact but I did see the helicopter falling to the ground along with pieces of the crane. "It was really quite shocking - there was a group of us on the platform waiting. We could not see where it hit because it was blocked by a wall at the end of the station. "There was a lot of worried people around. I must have been on one of the last trains to get out. "There was a lot of smoke for about 15 minutes." Market worker Andrew Ross said: "I was going about my business at work and I saw a helicopter. "I heard a loud bang and I saw this helicopter falling out of the sky. "Then I heard a loud bang and an orange glow and lots of smoke coming up. "It was flying below cloud cover - it was still foggy and a little bit dark. "There was just a loud bang then the helicopter just fell out of the sky. "I can see part of the crane on the building hanging down." Angela Henderson was also on a train platform at Vauxhall. She said: "I was walking on the platform looking up at the tower and noticing the top was shrouded in mist. "As I was looking up I heard a massive sound - I thought [it] must be a bomb. "What really struck me was what fell down. I saw a huge cylindrical object - it looked like a Zeppelin. A huge object plummeted to the ground and as it landed it was surrounded by debris. "Then it was just silence and everybody ran to the edge of the platform. "There was a huge bang then we saw a huge plume of smoke just getting bigger and bigger." Electrician Rob Easton said:  "I was working in the arches. I heard an almighty bang. "I saw the reflection in buildings of a lot of smoke then I went down to the side gate and there was a fireball in the road. "People were panicking and they were evacuating buildings nearby."

Question: A helicopter has crashed into a crane on top of a 50 - storey building in Vauxhall , central London , showering the street with burning debris and aviation @placeholder and leaving two people dead and nine others injured .


Foul by Fernando Llorente (Swansea City). James Tomkins (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Nathan Dyer (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace). Foul by Nathan Dyer (Swansea City). Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Goal!  Crystal Palace 1, Swansea City 1. Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Martin Kelly with a cross. Foul by Kyle Naughton (Swansea City). Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Swansea City. Nathan Dyer replaces Wayne Routledge because of an injury. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match Wayne Routledge (Swansea City) because of an injury. Corner,  Swansea City. Conceded by James Tomkins. Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace). Foul by Leroy Fer (Swansea City). Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Corner,  Crystal Palace. Conceded by Angel Rangel. Offside, Crystal Palace. Damien Delaney tries a through ball, but Jason Puncheon is caught offside. Substitution, Swansea City. Angel Rangel replaces Neil Taylor. Substitution, Swansea City. Leroy Fer replaces Jay Fulton because of an injury. Attempt missed. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Damien Delaney with a headed pass. Corner,  Crystal Palace. Conceded by Alfie Mawson. Alfie Mawson (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Fraizer Campbell (Crystal Palace). Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match Jay Fulton (Swansea City) because of an injury. Attempt blocked. Joe Ledley (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Corner,  Crystal Palace. Conceded by Lukasz Fabianski. Attempt saved. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right is saved in the top right corner. Foul by Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City). Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing. Attempt missed. Jack Cork (Swansea City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Fernando Llorente. Foul by Neil Taylor (Swansea City). Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Fernando Llorente (Swansea City). Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Crystal Palace. Bakary Sako replaces Andros Townsend. Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Wilfried Zaha has been given special dispensation to play before going to the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast. Swansea's Wayne Routledge will be checked after he missed the defeat to Bournemouth due to a mouth abscess. Fernando Llorente is also a doubt after picking up a knock, but Jefferson Montero is definitely absent. Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce: "Our players need to get ready for Swansea on Tuesday night - that's the big game they need to win. "Watching Premier League football this year, the top six are so much better than last year so it's always hard to pick up points against them. "Our big game's on Tuesday, there's no doubt about it. We're going to survive by beating teams in the bottom half." Swansea caretaker manager Alan Curtis: "The first goal seems to be crucial at the moment. "Confidence seems to drain from us when we go behind. I suppose the explanation for that is that we are bottom of the table, we are not winning games and we are conceding too many goals. "It's a crisis of confidence when we concede a goal." A lot of journalists have been saying Crystal Palace should avoid relegation now Sam Allardyce is in charge. They should never have been close to relegation in the first place. As for Swansea, this should be Paul Clement's first game and with any new manager you always get a reaction.  I just don't think it will be enough for this fixture. Prediction: 2-0 Lawro's full predictions v comedian Arron Crascall Head-to-head Crystal Palace Swansea SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Salford that is used to predict the outcome of football matches.

Question: Crystal Palace will have Damien Delaney available again after he missed the loss to Arsenal due to @placeholder .


Eleven of those on board were Norwegian, one was British and one Italian. No survivors have been found. A major rescue operation was launched but ended within hours of the crash. Meanwhile, Norway's civil aviation authority has imposed a flight ban on the type of helicopter that crashed - the Eurocopter (EC) 225L Super Puma. Reports say it was "totally destroyed". Its officials told VG newspaper (in Norwegian) that servicing for the helicopter which crashed had been delayed twice in 2015, for a total of 200 flying hours. Later, local media quoted a civil aviation authority spokeswoman as saying the helicopter's two black boxes had been recovered. The British Civilian Aviation Authority later said it was suspending commercial use of the Super Puma, so it would be unable to carry oil and gas workers but could still fly for other purposes. The aircraft was flying from the Gullfaks oil field to Bergen, a centre for the North Sea oil and gas industry. Eleven bodies have been found, and two other people are still missing. Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said news of the crash was "horrible". King Harald and Queen Sonja cancelled a trip to Sweden, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported. 'Peculiar engine sound' Oil company Statoil said all the passengers were on assignment for the company, but worked for different organisations. Statoil has suspended oil production at the Gullfaks B platform "so that we can take care of the staff in the best way possible", company vice-president Arne Sigve Nylund told journalists. The helicopter came down near the small island of Turoey, just west of the village of Solsvik. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the helicopter's rotor blade come loose and shear off. "There was an explosion and a very peculiar engine sound, so I looked out  the window. I saw the helicopter falling quickly into the sea. Then I saw a big explosion," a resident told local newspaper Bergensavisen. Photos from the scene showed thick smoke coming from an area of rocky islets. Local media said the helicopter dropped 640m (2,200ft) in the last 10 seconds before it crashed. Some wreckage was found on the rocks, and parts of the fuselage are in the sea. The tail of the aircraft was raised in a salvage operation, local media said, and  preparations are being made to recover the fuselage. Source: Airbus Helicopters The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch is sending a team to Norway because it has investigated a number of crashes involving helicopters operating to and from offshore oil and gas fields in recent years. In 2012, EC225 Super Puma helicopters crashed in two incidents in Scotland, one off Aberdeen and another off Shetland. Both crashes were blamed on gearbox problems. In both cases, all passengers and crew were rescued, though in 2013 a Eurocopter AS332 also crashed in Shetland with the loss of four lives. EC225s in the UK were grounded following the crashes but given the go-ahead to resume flying in 2013. Helicopter International magazine editor Elfan ap Rees said major modifications seemed to have dealt with the gearbox problem, and it was difficult to know what could have gone wrong in the Norwegian crash. "Overall, the Super Pumas have a good safety record and they have been constantly improved and upgraded," he told the BBC. "They have had quite a lot of use in the offshore industry."

Question: Thirteen people are @placeholder dead after a helicopter crashed west of the Norwegian city of Bergen , rescuers say .


Engineers have been inspecting a defect on the bridge, causing lengthy delays for motorists. The southbound carriageway was closed on Tuesday night as a precaution. The road network company Amey has revealed there are eight parts of the bridge where a similar problem could be encountered in the future. There was significant disruption on the M90 and Kincardine Bridge earlier on Wednesday as a result of the defect, with a contra flow currently operating on the northbound carriageway. One commuter said: "It's been terrible, I came down the Fife route and I was stuck for about two hours." Traffic Scotland reported congestion on the M90 back to junction 3 (Halbeath), while the A90 was very slow northbound from the M90 beyond Dalmeny. The A985 and the Kincardine Bridge were also very busy, with a 25 minute delay on the bridge around 08:30. The problem on the Forth Road Bridge was found during a routine inspection. Before the bridge was opened by the Queen on 4 September 1964, cars could only get across the Forth on a ferry. So the Forth Road Bridge, which at the time was the fourth biggest suspension bridge in the world and the longest outside the United States, was welcomed as an engineering marvel. It transformed the journey between Edinburgh and Fife and from the north of Scotland to the south. Traffic on the crossing grew steadily and it now carries 24 million vehicles across the Forth every year - far more than it was originally designed to handle. But its reputation for engineering excellence has been tarnished over the years by traffic congestion and maintenance problems. Read more on the troubles of the Forth Road Bridge The area involved is hard to reach, so a full inspection could not safely be carried out in darkness. Amey said the footpaths on the Forth Road Bridge will be closed so maintenance vehicles can have access, while abnormal loads are also prevented from crossing the bridge. High-sided vehicles can now access the bridge after they were initially prevented from doing so due to high winds. Mark Arndt, from operating company Amey, said: "A key structural component beneath the southbound carriageway has failed so it is important that we carry out all the necessary calculations before relaxing safety restrictions. "Following the detailed inspection carried out this morning we now have the information required to develop both short and long term solutions. Our team will be working through the night to design and check our plans and we aim to have these confirmed during the day tomorrow. "We apologise for the disruption that these safety restrictions are causing. Our advice remains to avoid Forth Road Bridge for the time being and divert via Kincardine or the A9 and M9, use public transport or travel outwith peak times. "Drivers did take heed of the warnings today and we would ask them to keep checking the latest information from Traffic Scotland before they set off on their journeys." Amey said it would provide further updates when there was new information. A new ?¡ê1.4bn Queensferry Crossing over the Firth of Forth is due to open in December next year. It was ordered by ministers because of corrosion of the main suspension cable on the Forth Road Bridge.

Question: Traffic on the Forth Road Bridge will be restricted to a single lane in each direction until at least the @placeholder of the day on Thursday .