At precisely the moment Mr Trump was giving his victory speech, Chinese TV channels were running extensive coverage of a space mission and President Xi even chose US results day to talk to China's astronauts by satellite link. It was hard to escape the sense that this was his version of the John F Kennedy "we choose to go to the Moon" moment, a message to remind his public that whatever is going on elsewhere in the world, the narrative of rising Chinese might is on course. In private, President Xi is probably celebrating a win in the US too. As I and many others have noted before, the American election race has been a gift to the Chinese Communist Party. In a giant one-party state which enjoys no public discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of its own system, the United States has often been the unspoken benchmark of all that is most materially, culturally and politically advanced. It's no accident that President Xi's China dream slogan echoes the American dream. For a rising superpower, the United States is the nation to beat. Over recent years, Chinese commentators have often said that American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq damaged Chinese faith that the US could be trusted to lead on the world's geopolitics, and that the 2008 financial crisis damaged Chinese faith that the US could be trusted to lead on the global economy. Now a bitter and scandal-ridden presidential race has damaged Chinese confidence that Americans can be trusted to run themselves. Although the Chinese government has been careful to avoid direct comment on the candidates or the campaign, its tightly-controlled media have given full play to the rancour and division of the race. The president-elect has repeatedly echoed Beijing's argument that the American system is rigged in favour of moneyed elites. And Chinese media have discussed at length the experience and meritocratic advance of public servants in their own one-party pyramid as a comment on shallow demagogues in electoral democracies. For a nation which within living memory has suffered civil war and the terrors of the fanatical Cultural Revolution, the bitterness of the US campaign has tarnished any fairytale that American democracy once represented. But on the president-elect himself, the public view is mixed. Many Chinese admire Mr Trump as a businessman, a straight talker and an outsider. If in four years from now, he has "made America great again", then the political system which produced him will regain some credibility. But if the team behind "the China Dream" are making the Chinese public rich, sending rockets to Mars and dominating Asia, then 9 November 2016 may mark the moment when China left the American Dream behind forever. And in the meantime, the Chinese government has to come to terms with a US president who has no track record, no known team and no concrete China policy. We'll get along great with China, said Mr Trump on the campaign trail. But he also said: "They come in, they take our jobs, they make a fortune. We are living through the greatest jobs theft in the history of the world." And occasionally he also seemed to find a middle way. "I have done great deals in China. China is wonderful. I'm not angry at China. I'm angry at our people for allowing them to get away with this... China is wonderful, but they are getting away with murder." As part of Mr Trump's promise to "Make America Great Again" he's often said the US must "win" in its economic relations with China. But over the past four decades, the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party  have learned to take US campaign promises with a pinch of salt. They've watched many American presidents come and go, making fierce threats against China on the campaign trail, and then quietly returning to a policy of engagement after their first few months in office. At a time when China's economic growth is faltering, access to US markets remains vital and protectionism from an incoming Trump administration would alarm Beijing. But its trade negotiators have had many months to game every possible Trump move on tariffs, market access or exchange rates. And Beijing will have logged that many of the long-time Asia experts in the Republican Party have already ruled out working for a Trump presidency. When it comes to fighting Mr Trump's economic game, Beijing will be ready for him. It may also calculate that trade is a game in which it can afford to give Mr Trump some wins in exchange for its own coveted wins in the great game of geopolitics in Asia. This is where Mr Trump represents opportunity for China. On the campaign trail, the president-elect sounded much cooler on US commitments in Asia than his rival. He was fiercely hostile to the economic dimension of the Obama administration's effort to pivot to Asia. And even in the military dimension, Mr Trump has said that longstanding US allies like Japan and South Korea should pay more to maintain a US military presence. Critics in the region warn that any increase in US isolationism or protectionism, or any grand bargain with Beijing, will make Taiwan and the South China Sea vulnerable, and diminish American leadership in Asia at a time when states like the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand are all calculating where their strategic interests lie. China's geostrategists will now hope that a Trump presidency plays into their ambitious plans to diminish American power and remake the map of Asia. They may well be right.

Question: He may have won at @placeholder , but on the level where great nations contend , President - elect Trump 's campaign slogan " Make America Great Again " now goes head to head with China 's favourite catchphrases , the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the China dream .


Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness met David Cameron on Friday. There is no confirmation on the content of the talks, but it is understood they are likely to have covered financial matters related to the talks process. NI Secretary Theresa Villiers says she believes a deal is possible next week. Sinn F¨¦in leader Gerry Adams has predicted that the talks at Stormont will conclude soon. The round-table talks between Northern Ireland's political parties are aimed at finding a resolution to the crisis at Stormont. The political row was triggered by a police assessment that IRA members were involved in the murder of former IRA man Kevin McGuigan Sr last month. Police said the IRA still existed, but added that it was not engaged in terrorism. Sinn F¨¦in said the IRA has "left the stage". The talks are also focussing on the issue of welfare reform. The Northern Ireland parties had agreed on a welfare reform deal in December but Sinn F¨¦in withdrew its support in March.

Question: The first and deputy first ministers have held a private meeting with the prime minister in London , Downing Street @placeholder have confirmed .


Maureen Watt made the pledge as MSPs unanimously backed the general principles of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill on Thursday. The bill was brought forward in response to the scandal at the Mortonhall crematorium in Edinburgh. Staff at the crematorium had secretly buried the ashes of babies for decades. The parents of the infants had been told there were no ashes left when young babies were cremated. Concerns were later raised about other crematoriums across Scotland. The new legislation follows on from the recommendations of Lord Bonomy's Infant Cremation Commission. Ms Watt set out plans to bring forward a series of amendments in response to calls from Holyrood's Health and Sport Committee to strengthen its provisions. Committee convener Duncan McNeil said MSPs had heard moving evidence of the "long-lasting and devastating" impact of the ashes scandal. He said: "The bereaved parents who shared their views with the committee sent a very clear message - this bill must ensure that the poor practice of the past should never happen again." Ms Watt said the bill would make "valuable and much needed" improvements to burial and cremation laws which were more than 100-years-old. She said there were a number of problems with the current system, including an overly-complicated process that can be "difficult to understand at the best of times, let alone when dealing with the loss of a loved one." Ms Watt added: "There can also be a lack of clear information given to the person who is making the funeral arrangements. "Lord Bonomy's Infant Cremation Commission identified all too clearly the potential impact of these problems. "The steps taken in this bill will help ensure that such failings can never occur again." The minister confirmed amendments to ensure that women experiencing a pregnancy loss were put at the centre of decision-making over any remains, to improve the process following a post 24-week termination and to strengthen what crematoriums and funeral director could do with ashes. Labour MSP Jenny Marra said: "What happened with infant ashes in Scotland should never be allowed to happen again and we must ensure that women are at the centre of decisions at a very, very difficult time." Conservative MSP Nanette Milne added: "The bill goes some way towards ensuring that past bad practice will not recur although I think it will need to be refined as it goes through the next stages of the parliamentary process." Holyrood's Local Government and Regeneration Committee, which looked at aspects of the bill relating to burials, complained that it "lacks ambition" and called for the introduction of licensing for funeral directors. Ms Watt said: "At the moment there is not enough evidence about the industry as a whole to say with certainty that licensing is required or what form a licensing scheme would take." She said the inspectors appointed under the bill would review the industry and make recommendations about the need for licensing.

Question: New legislation on cremations will ensure that Scotland 's baby ashes scandal will never be @placeholder , the public health minister has said .


Two officers attended the spat between Dennis Johnson and Richard Williams, 49, at Wells Farm in Cradley, Herefordshire, before summoning backup. The pair had disagreed about where the flock should graze. Details of the saga emerged in a civil court ruling over a boundary dispute. Judge David Grant heard how Mr Williams, now 52, claimed that Mr Johnson, now 91, had wrongly released sheep onto his land, on the Malvern Hills, early one morning. The pair began a quarrel, and Mr Williams' wife Swarni called the police. Both the men were arrested, although neither were charged. Mr Johnson had denied harassing either Mr Williams or his wife and had told Judge Grant: "I am 90 years old, and Mr Williams is probably half my age and about twice my size." Judge Grant, who analysed the dispute, said "none of the three persons present behaved in a violent or aggressive manner". The judge agreed with Mr Johnson that he had not been harassing the Williamses, but said there had been instances where Mr Johnson had been a "nuisance", and fined him ?¡ê500.

Question: Four fast - response @placeholder and 10 police officers were called to a squabble about sheep between an 88 - year - old farmer and his neighbour , a judge has heard .


There are no members of the government or the Taliban on either negotiating team, just their representatives - and this makes some analysts sceptical. The government team is made up of  veteran journalists Rahimullah Yusufzai and Irfan Siddiqui, former ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand and a retired major from the ISI intelligence service, Mohammad Amir. The Taliban team comprises the chief of an influential madrassa Maulana Sami ul-Haq, the chief cleric of Islamabad's Red Mosque, Maulana Abdul Aziz and religious party Jamaat-e-Islami leader Prof Ibrahim Khan. These teams had been tasked with simply charting a "roadmap" for talks but many believe the teams do not have the full trust of their respective backers - the government and the Taliban. It's very unclear what they are actually going to talk about: a "roadmap" for talks may simply be a timetable for setting out desirable goals such as a ceasefire. Media outlets have deployed a series of tortuous phrases to try to summarise what is at stake in these meetings. But the first task is for the two teams to learn to trust each other. The government excusing itself from talks on the very first day does not bode well. That may reflect the fact that the Taliban committee was drawn up at the last minute. Indeed a prominent Islamic leader withdrew from the team the day before talks were to start. Others point out that simply meeting would be an achievement in itself. Some analysts believe the government is simply buying time and that they are actually waiting for July 2014 when US forces withdraw from Afghanistan, creating a scenario whereby Pakistani militants could spill over the border to fight in Afghanistan. The government has always denied seeking to influence the balance of power and militancy in Afghanistan. But it has nevertheless been under intense pressure after a spate of bloody Taliban attacks within Pakistan, particularly after Nawaz Sharif last year campaigned on a platform of talking to the militants. Some say this feels like an attempt to soothe public opinion in the wake of that bloodshed. For the Taliban side, sources in the tribal areas say that these talks are also a way of buying time and postponing any possible military intervention in their region. After the death of  former leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike last autumn, the Taliban feel under pressure to consolidate support in the Mohmand tribal agency - an area he had influence over. With his death it risks slipping out of the Taliban sphere. Talks would not have got this far without the Taliban shura (organising committee) agreeing to the process. But that masks profound divisions within the movement. Even before the death of Hakimullah Mehsud there was unease within the ranks of this loose collective of militants about the possibility of talks. The Mehsud clan, which has traditionally been at the helm of the Pakistani Taliban,  has two factions.  Hakimullah Mehsud, despite protestations that he was ready to receive a government delegation, is widely believed to have been against talks and simply wanted to continue fighting. The other group - represented by Sajna Mehsud -  is thought to be open to talks. The Pakistani Taliban's new leader Mullah Fazlullah  is currently believed to be in Afghanistan and he has adhered to what the Taliban shura agreed to, but many believe he is personally opposed to talks. Then there are the other groups linked to the Taliban who also feel they have a stake in the matter. The militants in the Mohmand tribal area - led by Omar Khalid Khorasani who is currently in Afghanistan - are also resolutely against the talks. However, the Taliban based in Punjab province are all for talking to the government. So the group representing the Taliban in Islamabad could be forgiven for not knowing which bit of the Taliban they speak for. Even if this preliminary team manages to set a timetable for preliminary talks, many believe little can be achieved because of incompatible goals. The government's first condition will be a ceasefire. However, with such a divided Taliban it is not clear who would agree to this in such a disparate movement. Taliban negotiators have previously demanded the release of Taliban detainees. It is likely they will also demand the withdrawal of the Pakistani army and paramilitaries from the tribal areas, including the Swat valley. Both of these will be difficult for the government to accept. But far more difficult - indeed impossible - is the Taliban demand to impose Sharia (Islamic law) throughout Pakistan. Previous peace deals with the Pakistani Taliban have all failed. There have been three major sets of peace talks over the last decade. In 2004 militant leader Nek Mohammed reached the Shakai agreement. It came after an ineffective military operation in Waziristan. Almost immediately after the agreement was signed, he reneged on his commitments. The Sarorogha peace deal in 2005 with Nek Mohammed's successor Baitullah Mehsud was aimed at reducing conflict between the army and the Taliban.  In fact confrontations increased in the following months. The 2008 Swat agreement between the provincial government and militants was aimed at ending  violence in the region. Within days violence increased and the Taliban effectively took control of the Swat valley before they were finally driven out in a military operation the following year.

Question: Preliminary talks between Taliban and Pakistani government representatives had not even begun , when the government delegation excused itself . Many believe the talks process is unlikely to lead to any lasting peace or even serious negotiations . The BBC @placeholder why .


Samia Shahid, 28, from Bradford, died in Pakistan in July. Chaudhry Muhammad Shakeel is accused of her murder while her father Chaudhry Muhammad Shahid is being held as an accessory to murder. A judge has adjourned the case until 29 October after Ms Shahid's second husband requested the case be moved. Read more about this story and others from across Leeds and West Yorkshire Syed Mukhtar Kazim has lodged a petition with the High Court in Lahore asking for the case to be moved to the city from Jhelum. He claims in his petition that his life has been threatened if he visits Jhelum. Lawyers for Mr Shakeel and Mr Shahid have previously claimed there is no evidence to support charges against their clients. Ms Shahid, a beautician, married Mr Kazim in Leeds in 2014 and the couple then moved to Dubai. Mr Kazim has claimed his wife, who died whilst visiting relatives in Pakistan, was killed because her family disapproved of their marriage. Initially, it was claimed she had died of a heart attack but a post-mortem examination confirmed she had been strangled.

Question: A decision on charging the father and first husband of a woman believed to have been a victim of a so - called " honour killing " has been @placeholder .


Its associations with DJ sets and a young, festival-going crowd are rather less well established. But a new enclosure at this year's Royal Ascot will seek to attract a new generation of racegoers by offering a "party atmosphere" and a "more vibrant feel". The Village Enclosure will provide a range of attractions, including eateries, bars, social areas and DJs. The "popular formality of dress code" of the Queen Anne enclosure - the suits, the fascinators - will remain, but with a festival touch, say organisers. "Best racing, best party, is the aspiration," said Nick Smith, Ascot's director of racing and communications. "But very much within the parameters of what makes Royal Ascot special and genuinely unique." Organisers expect there to be a "natural synergy" towards the younger demographic, although they want "repeat visitors and happy visitors" rather than large numbers. "We specifically want to encourage people with racing interest alongside those to whom the party atmosphere will appeal - hopefully one and the same in many cases," added Smith. This year's Royal Ascot runs from Tuesday, 20 June to Saturday, 24 June.

Question: It 's one of the highlights of the British racing and social calendar , renowned for its royal @placeholder and formal attire .


Kenyans are enthralled by the new central bank governor. And it is not because they are wondering what he is going to do about the Kenyan shilling weakening against other currencies. Patrick Njoroge seems to be from a different planet altogether. His "refusal to take his turn to eat is surprising" says business columnist Otieno Otieno in the Daily Nation. While Victor Nyakachunga writes in the Standard "many were challenged" by him opting for the simple life. Kenyans are used to senior government officials leading lavish lifestyles. It is an issue which has provoked protest, not least when parliamentarians awarded themselves a pay rise of 319,000 shillings ($3,200; ?¡ê2,100) a month, less than two months after being sworn in in 2013. Mr Njoroge's predecessors in the central bank lived in the luxurious Muthaiga Estate in Nairobi. They drove Range Rovers or Mercedes Benz accompanied by security cars. The house is famous for its beautiful gardens which are used to host parties. It is near the residences of the US and UK foreign envoys and Kenya's former President Mwai Kibaki. Mr Njoroge has dismissed these perks, preferring to live in a communal house in Nairobi's Loresho estate. He went to live with his fellow members of an organisation of the Roman Catholic church called Opus Dei. The organisation, which means "work of God" in Latin, teaches that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. It is widely credited with developing his humble stance. The Opus Dei website says members aim at "humility, justice, integrity, and solidarity" and to work "hard and well, honestly and fairly". "In God's eyes, what matters is the love people put into their work, not its success in terms of money or fame," it adds. When he was being vetted by MPs for the governor position, he surprised the committee by revealing he didn't own any property in Kenya. That is despite commanding a presumably large salary in his previous job as an advisor to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Deputy Managing Director. "I don't have a single asset here in Kenya," he said. "It doesn't mean that this how it will be forever. I subscribe to being very deliberate about that. This is my economic model and maybe years after retirement, I would want to invest in other things," he said. But it is not the only element of the banker's private life which has caused a stir. He is also single. MPs were so intrigued by Mr Njoroge's marital status that he was asked about it during the vetting process - a move BBC Trending reports was mocked online. The MPs gave him a rare offer. When they found out he was single they requested to get him a wife. "I am single by choice - it's not because there's a problem or shortage," he replied. His character has attracted offers of marriage and admiration on Twitter. "And then, that new #CBKGovernor just made me re evaluate my life goals..man is so humble and content." tweeted an inspired Anthony Mbugua. His colleagues are equally taken by him. "Totally devoid of ego and instinctively averse to self-advertisement," is how a senior treasury official and long-serving central banker described him. Kenyans hope his austere nature means he will keep their luxury-loving politicians in check and safeguard their economic future.

Question: Kenya 's new central bank governor rejected the grand house that comes with his prestigious job . The BBC 's Abdinoor Maalim writes this is a rare move which has created a lot of interest in the single 54 - year - old , who is a member of the Catholic @placeholder Opus Dei.


Henderson, outstanding in recent games, is replaced by Devin Toner at lock while Keith Earls stays at centre as Payne recovers from a bruised foot. Rob Kearney returns at full-back in place of Simon Zebo with Cian Healy preferred to Jack McGrath at prop. France make two changes with Louis Picamoles and Noa Nakaitaci recalled. Number eight Picamoles replaces Bernard le Roux in the back row for the Pool D decider in one of two changes from the 41-18 win over Canada. Coach Philippe Saint-Andre's other change sees Fijian-born wing Nakaitaci taking over from Remy Grosso. Both France and Ireland have won their opening three games in Pool D and the losers of Sunday's match are likely to face New Zealand in the quarter-finals. Henderson's demotion to the replacements is a big call by Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, with the New Zealander believing that six foot 11 inch Toner is needed to disrupt the effectiveness of the France line-out. Yet Henderson's energetic work around the field has probably been the most impressive feature of Ireland's World Cup so far. The Ulsterman was man of the match in last weekend's narrow win over Italy and is certain to come on during the Millennium Stadium contest. Schmidt said the decision to recall Toner had been "a really tight call". "Dev has been a big-match player for us and gives us a little bit more line-out capability," added the Ireland coach. "We (also) do believe that at the back end of the game, Iain will add value." Payne trained fully on Wednesday after missing the Italy game but swelling on his injured foot following that session sealed his fate. With Earls remaining at centre, Tommy Bowe and Dave Kearney retain the wing spots as fit-again Rob Kearney returns at full-back in place of Simon Zebo. Healy is named at loosehead prop after his Leinster team-mate McGrath started in the front row role against Italy. Lions forward Healy started Ireland's second World Cup match against Romania after making his return to action following neck surgery as a replacement in the opening win over Canada. In the France selection, Picamoles' return sees Damien Chouly switching to flanker with experienced skipper Thierry Dusautoir completing a strong back row. France have talked this week of targeting Ireland pivot Johnny Sexton and skipper Dusautoir and number eight Picamoles will be central to that aim. Toulon's powerful centre Mathieu Bastareaud is also likely to be part of France's tactics to disrupt fly-half Sexton. Ireland: Rob Kearney; Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls, Robbie Henshaw, Dave Kearney; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rory Best, Mike Ross; Devin Toner, Paul O'Connell; Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heasip. Replacements: Richardt Strauss, Jack McGrath, Nathan White, Iain Henderson, Chris Henry, Eoin Reddan, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald. France: Scott Spedding; Noa Nakaitaci, Mathieu Bastareaud, Wesley Fofana, Brice Dulin; Frederic Michalak, Sebastien Tillous-Borde; Eddy Ben Arous, Guilhem Guirado, Rabah Slimani; Pascal Pape, Yoann Maestri; Thierry Dusautior (capt), Damien Chouly, Louis Picamoles. Replacements: Benjamin Kayser, Vincent Debaty, Nicolas Mas, Alexandre Flanquart, Bernard Le Roux, Morgan Parra, Remi Tales, Alexandre Dumoulin

Question: Iain Henderson is a shock absentee from the Ireland starting XV for Sunday 's World Cup game against France while Jared Payne is not @placeholder after injury .


1MDB is at the centre of a global corruption investigation. The local units of Standard Chartered and UBS, Southeast Asia's biggest lender DBS and Falcon Bank were all found to have "lapses and weaknesses in anti-money laundering controls". Standard Chartered, DBS and UBS said they were cooperating with authorities. Falcon Bank was not immediately available for comment. Malaysia 'to co-operate' with 1MDB probe The US v The Wolf of Wall Street The case that's riveted Malaysia Singapore prosecutors have also seized $177m (?¡ê134m) in assets linked to 1MDB, half of which belong to a Malaysian financier facing many of the fraud allegations. The US government said on Wednesday that $3.5bn was "misappropriated" from 1MDB and that "the Malaysian people were defrauded on an enormous scale". US prosecutors are now looking to seize $1bn in assets linked to 1MDB, which includes plush properties in New York and Los Angeles and a private jet. Mr Najib and 1MDB have consistently denied any wrongdoing. Singapore is one of several global authorities investigating alleged fraud at 1MDB, which was set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009. The country's financial regulator said in a statement on Thursday investigations into 1MDB began in March 2015. "They revealed extensive layering of transactions and subterfuge aimed at disguising the nature of certain activities and fund flows," the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said. "In some instances, shell or unauthorised companies domiciled in various jurisdictions were used to conceal the true beneficiaries of the funds." "Standard Chartered takes financial crime compliance very seriously," a spokesperson told the BBC. "We have strengthened our anti-money laundering controls and processes and will continue to play an active role in the fight against financial crime." "Egregious financial crime is highly sophisticated and intentionally designed to evade systems and controls," a DBS spokesperson said. "We take our anti-money laundering obligations seriously". UBS also said it was constantly enhancing its anti-money laundering processes. "In this case, UBS self-reported the suspicious transactions and is working closely with regulators to address this matter," a spokesperson for the bank told the BBC. Singapore is trying to maintain its reputation as a corruption-free international finance and banking hub and is taking a stern stance towards any illicit fund flows. Swiss bank BSI was kicked out of the city in May for "serious breaches" of Singapore's anti-money laundering rules in its business dealings with 1MDB. Switzerland has since launched a criminal investigation into the private bank. Certain financial institutions were "used as conduits" for a "complex international web of transactions," MAS said on Thursday. A local money changer and remittance agent that had "weak management oversight" is also facing potential penalties. Out of the four banks identified, MAS said Falcon Private Bank had "substantial breaches" of its anti-money laundering laws, including a failure to report suspicious transactions. However, MAS said the oversight and management of certain key client relationships were done out of the bank's head office in Switzerland.

Question: Singapore plans to take " firm regulatory actions " against four major banks over their dealings with scandal - ridden Malaysian @placeholder fund 1 MDB .


With both a referendum on EU membership and a broad set of elections UK-wide, 2016 is a huge year for democracy. As such, it is more important than ever that young people step up to be involved in discussions about what direction we should take. BBC Generation 2016 is focused on elections in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly, and the Scottish Parliament. All three institutions go back to legislation passed in 1998: the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, the Government of Wales Act, and the Scotland Act. Many 18-year-olds voting for the first time in an election in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland were born in that year, and have lived almost entirely under devolved government. BBC Referendum Generation running concurrently, is a broad ranging group of young people, from the whole of the UK and across Europe, who we have brought together to discuss the UK's place in the European Union. We have voices drawn from a range of diverse backgrounds and communities. They'll appear across a range of BBC output, discussing the issues above, or talking more broadly about life as a young person today. The BBC Generations team is delighted to be able to bring these young voices to the heart of UK debate. Join the conversation with @bbcgen2016 and find out more at bbc.co.uk/generation2016.

Question: The BBC 's Generation projects are designed to ensure the voices of younger people are heard in BBC programmes and content around elections and political @placeholder .


Konika Dhar said she was "clinging" to the hope her brother Siddhartha was not the masked man in the footage, in which five people were shown being killed. But, speaking to MPs at Westminster, she said her family did not know who to turn to when he left for Syria in 2014. They fear he was brainwashed, Ms Dhar told the home affairs committee. Her appearance before the committee came as the government launched a new website for schools and parents as part of a renewed drive against extremism. Mr Dhar, who is in his early 30s and from Walthamstow, east London, is also known as Abu Rumaysah. He left the UK while on bail following his arrest for encouraging terrorism. In the video footage posted online earlier this month, a masked man holding a gun mocks Prime Minister David Cameron. She said she had not had official verification that the figure in the video was her brother. "I am still holding to the firm belief what I am seeing is not him," she said. She said she would not "give up" on her brother and still wanted him to come home. "I want him home because I'm determined for him to return to the person I remember," she added. Ms Dhar described the brother she grew up with as "fun-loving, laid-back, easy-going, very friendly". Conservative MP Nus Ghani said that if Ms Dhar's brother was involved with the Islamic State group he was "probably engaged in slaving, beheading and raping". The MP for Wealden struggled to control her emotions as she described an interview in the media with a victim of Islamic State militants. "One of the women states 'one of the saddest things I remember is this little girl, 12 years old, and they raped her without mercy'," she said. "These are the activities your brother has engaged in - do you still think he's a good man?" Ms Dhar replied: "I think this is quite a sort of sensitive topic to talk about. My opinion will always be biased because he's my brother. "I don't want to believe he is who he is today." Asked by the committee chairman, Keith Vaz, whether she felt support or counselling should be made available to families of relatives who had travelled to Syria to fight with Islamic State militants, Ms Dhar said it would be of help. And she said it would have "absolutely" been a good idea if there had been organisations to speak to at the time her brother was turning to extremism. "I think this is one thing that needs to be addressed, because for me personally it was very difficult to know who to turn to," she said. "It's important for other families to know what are the appropriate steps one needs to take in order to get their loved one back, who is the right person to contact." Ms Dhar told MPs her family were "in the dark" over how her brother became radicalised. Her brother, who was raised in a Hindu family, converted to Islam as a teenager but there was, Ms Dhar added, a "long transition period" before he adopted his extreme views. She said there were "signs that someone ought to have picked up on" but no-one could have predicted her brother, who grew up playing basketball and supporting Arsenal football club, would have joined IS. She described him as "keeping his private life private" and said she did not attend his wedding. Ms Dhar said she had made many attempts to contact her brother but only had "two responses" since he has been in Syria.

Question: The sister of the Briton @placeholder of fronting a recent Islamic State group video says more support is needed for relatives worried about radicalisation .


Meadow Walker, 16, tweeted that she wanted to start the Paul Walker Foundation to "share a piece of my father with the world". The foundation's mission statement is "Do Good", reflecting his passions for the ocean, for helping people and animals and "spontaneous goodwill". Walker died in a car crash in 2013. The US actor and star of the hugely successful Fast and Furious action films franchise was killed by impact and a fire in the crash in California. Walker, who was 40 when he died, was a passenger in the Porsche that a friend was driving when it hit a pole and burst into flames. The foundation is aimed at "empowering future generations by providing grants, scholarship opportunities and spontaneous acts of goodwill". Meadow Walker wrote on Instagram: "I can't think of a better way to celebrate my father." Walker was also known for making documentaries about sharks with the National Geographic Channel, having studied marine biology before becoming an actor. His death prompted a huge outpouring of tributes from fans and people who had worked with him, including his Fast and Furious co-star Vin Diesel, who went on to name his daughter Pauline in honour of his friend. The posthumous release of his film Furious 7 took $384 million (?¡ê257 million) at the global box office in its opening weekend.

Question: The daughter of the late Fast and Furious films actor Paul Walker has @placeholder a foundation in his memory to mark his birthday .


The 47-year-old Australian spent three years as coach of the NRL side before leaving in 2015. He replaces compatriot Rohan Smith, who left the club on Tuesday by mutual consent. The old Bradford Bulls were liquidated at the start of the month and the new club will start the Championship season with a 12-point deduction. Joint-owner Graham Lowe said: "He won't be bringing loads of people from Australia. He wants to work with people here and the community. "I am so pleased we have reached terms with him. He is a football man and is a players' coach. "He will make young players thrive. He is uncompromising and has always had the leadership skills required." The new team, captained by Leon Pryce, will play their first game in a friendly against Huddersfield Giants on Sunday. And despite a number of departures, they have 26 players signed up for the forthcoming season. They start their league campaign against Hull KR on Sunday, 5 February. BBC rugby league correspondent Dave Woods Toovey won 18 Australia caps, a tally artificially boosted by the fact he played for the ARL-loyal Manly at the time of the Super League war, but he was a class act. As a player and coach he's been a one club man so far. His appointment appears to be out of the blue as he has no working knowledge of the English game, especially at Championship level. But the link is Bulls' new co-owner Graham Lowe, another former Manly coach and legend. And he could prove to be just the man for the job after all the financial chaos that the previous Bradford club went through... he's a qualified chartered accountant.

Question: Former Manly Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey has been appointed as the new coach of the @placeholder Bradford Bulls .


Umpires Nick Cook and Neil Bainton inspected the ground several times before finally calling the game off early in the afternoon at 14:15 BST. Leicestershire, who have now lost two matches in a row to the weather, are still looking for their first win. Worcestershire move up to second in the North Group after taking one point. "It's desperately frustrating," Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes told BBC Hereford & Worcester. "At one stage, we thought we might some sort of game, maybe a 20-over match but that last huge downpour sadly put paid to that." "We've had two wash-outs in a row," said Leicestershire's elite performance director Andrew McDonald: "It is one of those uncontrollable thing. We are playing an outdoor sport and when it rains, you can't play."

Question: Worcestershire 's One - Day Cup group game against Leicestershire at New Road was abandoned without a ball @placeholder after heavy rain left the outfield saturated .


In the absence of a local premiere, a group of extras from Dracula Untold have organised their own red carpet charity screening and gala night. The black tie event, with a fundraising auction, is sold out and proceeds will go to cancer and arthritis charities. Bobby Marno, who played a soldier, said he and other extras decided they would get together when the film reached cinemas. "The idea just grew and grew and now it is a gala event, raising money for worthy charities," he said. Vlad (Dracula) is played by Welsh actor Luke Evans, who has appeared in the Hobbit. His main enemy, Mehmed, is played by Dominic Cooper. The production had its main base in an east Belfast factory. Other filming locations around Northern Ireland included the Giant's Causeway, Mount Stewart, Divis and Black Mountains, Roe Valley country park in County Londonderry, and Killynether Woods and Scrabo in County Down. An investment of ?¡ê1.6m from Northern Ireland Screen is expected to bring a return of ?¡ê13.5m to the local economy. NI Screen chief executive Richard Williams said he was excited to see the end result as Dracula Untold arrived in cinemas. "It is a wonderful showcase for Northern Ireland and it was a real coup for us to have the movie made here," he said. The first-time feature film director is Gary Shore from Dublin, who began his career making commercials.

Question: A @placeholder film made in Northern Ireland goes on general release on Friday .


Once-capped Fijian  Nacewa's two first-half scores helped the hosts to a 20-10 half-time lead. Scrum-half Sarel Pretorius went over for Dragons and Jason Tovey kicked the rest of their points. Leinster scored last quarter tries by Gary Ringrose and Cathal Marsh while Nacewa and Fergus McFadden kicked 17 points between them. The Irish province earned their second win in three starts in the process, leaving the visitors with one win from the first three rounds. Dragons' offered stubborn resistance throughout, typified by wing Ashton Hewitt's 40-metre pursuit of Ringrose that ended with a try-saving tackle at the corner. But Leinster proved too strong despite missing a glut of stars on Irish World Cup duty. Lyn Jones' Dragons have been less affected by World Cup calls with only number eight Taulupe Faletau, centre Tyler Morgan and now-injured wing Hallam Amos absent. Fly-half Cathal Marsh ably directed the home side's efforts behind a pack that exercised greater control as the game wore on. McFadden and Tovey exchanged early penalties, the former sending over a second before Dragons scrum-half Pretorius went over for the first try. Tovey converted but Dragons were soon trailing as Nacewa went over twice in nine minutes with McFadden converting the first and Nacewa the second. McFadden and Tovey added penalties before Ringrose raced clear. Marsh added his name to the try-scorers to secure the bonus point with McFadden converting both second-half tries. Leinster: Isa Nacewa (capt); Garry Ringrose, Ben Te'o, Noel Reid, Fergus McFadden; Cathal Marsh, Isaac Boss; Michael Bent, Aaron Dundon, Marty Moore; Ross Molony, Mike McCarthy; Dominic Ryan, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan. Replacements: James Tracy, Peter Dooley, Jamie Hagan, Rhys Ruddock, Dan Leavy, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Cian Kelleher. Newport Gwent Dragons: Carl Meyer; Ashton Hewitt, Ross Wardle, Adam Warren, Tom Prydie; Jason Tovey, Sarel Pretorius; Boris Stankovich, Hugh Gustafson, Brok Harris; Nick Crosswell, Rynard Landman; James Thomas, James Benjamin, Ed Jackson. Replacements: Elliot Dee, Phil Price, Shaun Knight, Matthew Screech, Nic Cudd, Luc Jones, Angus O'Brien, Aled Brew. Referee: Ian Davies (WRU) Assistant Referees: Eddie Hogan-O'Connell, Shane Kierana (both IRFU) Citing Commissioner: John Cole (IRFU) TMO: Jude Quinn (IRFU)

Question: Isa Nacewa @placeholder twice as Leinster battled to a bonus - point Pro12 win over Newport Gwent Dragons in Dublin .


The Thai police have ruled out any links to international terrorism. They also dismissed the likelihood that it was the separatist insurgent groups which have been fighting the Thai armed forces in the three Malay-Muslim provinces on the Thai-Malaysian border for the past 12 years. Government spokesmen have instead described these attacks as "domestic sabotage", and hinted that the most likely perpetrators are those who lost out in the referendum last Sunday. That vote approved a new constitution which entrenches long-term military influence in Thai politics, and was opposed by the party of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, and her so-called "red-shirt" supporters. The clear hint from the military is that this is where they will direct their investigation. But while there were small armed groups on the fringe of the red-shirt movement which carried out sporadic attacks in the turmoil leading up to the 2014 coup, they have done nothing since then, and the military has kept a close watch on them. Such co-ordinated attacks in a region where the red shirts have almost no presence would appear to be beyond them. But they cannot be ruled out. By contrast the style of the attacks - twin bombings, catching those who gather to look at the first blast - are very typical of the insurgents, loosely led by the separatist Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) movement in the three southernmost provinces. So are the arson attacks we are also now hearing about, last night. Even the Thai police chief, Gen Chakthip Chaijinda, has now acknowledged a possible link to the deep south. If this turns out to be the case, it would mark a significant escalation of the BRN's operations. The southern insurgency has continued for 12 years and killed more than 6,000 people, but has rarely spread outside the three Malay-Muslim provinces, and almost never targeted Thailand's many tourist hotspots. Targeting a royal town, Hua Hin, the favoured retreat of the royal family, and on a day when many Thais are celebrating Queen Sirikit's 84th birthday, is also significant. Whoever carried out these attacks, they surely intended to send a message, shaking public confidence in the military's ability to maintain peace and order.

Question: Eleven small bombs , detonated at popular tourist spots , in @placeholder spread across southern Thailand . Who would carry out such an attack , and why ?


The family-owned firm, formally known as AP Moller-Maersk, will focus on its transport and logistics business. The energy division is to shrink its global reach and focus more on the North Sea, where it has expertise. That division has around 800 employees based in Aberdeen, working both on and offshore. The company employs 88,000 people and operates across 130 countries, with turnover of more than $40bn (?¡ê31bn). Work will continue on existing energy projects, including some of the biggest projects in the UK offshore sector. But the company signalled that new investment commitments may be low, particularly in tankers and drilling. Maersk Oil has been operating in the UK central North Sea sector for 11 years, and is a partner in some of the biggest developments during that time, including the Golden Eagle. From a small country perspective, Maersk looks like a giant. So it is uncomfortable for Denmark that the giant has been weakened in both legs. Shipping has been hit by sharp reductions in rates for containers - a notoriously volatile market. That is partly due to a downturn in trade, and also to the extra tonnage added to the world container fleet. Hanjin Shipping, the seventh-biggest in container transport and based in South Korea, recently filed for bankruptcy. It is struggling to find the finance to offload cargo from its ships, worth several billion pounds. Maersk's energy business faces problems which are at least as deep as shipping, due to the fall in the price of oil. The company's strategic review speaks of finding "solutions" including joint ventures, mergers or spinning off companies for separate listing. The vagueness of the plan makes it look like an intention to exit as much of that sector as possible, and shipping is clearly the priority. The North Sea presence may be one part of the energy division that is retained, as the technology involved is an area of expertise. That's unless a buyer can be found. Breaking up the 112-year-old conglomerate is a reversal of the strategy under which Maersk Line grew to have a fleet of 590 ships, plus 500 smaller service ships. It was guided by its chairman Maersk McKinney Moller, who remained active in the company until his death four years ago, aged 98. It is operator of the Culzean gas field development, which is one of the biggest in UK waters for 25 years. It is expected to meet 5% of Britain's gas demand after it comes on-stream, scheduled for 2019. Its other production is from Denmark, Qatar, Kazakhstan, the US Gulf of Mexico and Algeria. Exploration and development activities are also under way in Angola, Kenya, Ethiopia, Greenland, Brazil, Kurdistan, and the huge Johan Sverdrup field being developed in the Norwegian North Sea. Michael Pram Rasmussen, the chairman, said in a statement: "Separating our transport and logistics businesses and our oil and oil related businesses...will enable both to focus on their respective markets. Both face very different underlying fundamentals and competitive environments." The oil, drilling, offshore services and tanker divisions face moves towards joint ventures, sales and stock market floats over the next two years. Profits in that division have recently come in well below expectations. The company's strategy states: "Maersk Oil will adjust its current strategy to focus its portfolio in fewer geographies to gain scale in basins, particularly in the North Sea, where it can leverage its strong capabilities within subsurface modelling, well technology and efficient operations. Maersk Oil will aim to strengthen its portfolio through acquisitions or mergers. "Further, Maersk Oil will mature existing key development projects, while keeping exploration activities and expenses at a low level. While the strategic focus will be reflected in a disciplined capital allocation, investments in strategic projects already sanctioned or under development will continue as planned. "Maersk Drilling, Maersk Supply Services, and Maersk Tankers will continue to optimise their market position and operation with the existing fleet and order book. Additional investments in the group's offshore service businesses and Maersk Tankers will be limited." Denmark's Sydbank estimated the value of the logistics business at, very roughly, ?¡ê23bn. Its central estimate for the energy division was close to ?¡ê13bn.

Question: Maersk , the Copenhagen - based shipping giant , is to be split up with its energy @placeholder directed more towards the North Sea .


Maternity services were previously led by consultant obstetricians. However, the hospital has no facilities for on-site specialist neonatal paediatric support or adult intensive care. NHS Highland has said that the majority of births at the hospital can be handled by midwives only. Pregnancies involving complications are handled at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. Internal and external reviews of services at Wick support the need for the planned changes, the health board has said. Five newborn babies have died at the hospital since 2010. An external review and report suggested that at least two were "potentially avoidable". CMUs provide care to pregnant women in other parts of NHS Highland's area. Campaign group Caithness Health Action Team (Chat) has raised concerns about women having to travel 100 miles (160.9km) from Caithness to Inverness to have their babies.

Question: A new midwife - led community maternity unit ( CMU ) has been @placeholder at Caithness General in Wick .


The comments were made by a retired director of the former Western Health and Social Services Trust. The inquiry is examining claims of abuse at 13 homes and training centres in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 1995. The witness said he visited Termonbacca Catholic Boys Home in Londonderry as a social worker in the 1970s. Two months into the inquiry, two homes are still being examined, St Joseph's, Termonbacca and Nazareth House, both in Derry. Since the inquiry opened, most of the evidence has been from former residents, with stories of sexual, mental and physical abuse. The retired health board official, who is giving evidence under an anonymity agreement, said Termonbacca was a very large home with up to 60 children. Commenting on his observations of the home during visits as a social worker in the 1970s, he said: "I found the atmosphere to be caring and welcoming."

Question: A boys ' home being examined for claims of abuse @placeholder a " warm and caring " environment , the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry has heard .


Dozens more towns and villages are due to be connected by 2016, as many firms say they are still missing out. The Welsh government says it is on target to see fast internet available for 96% of premises under its ¡ê425m Superfast Cymru venture with BT. In June 2014 superfast broadband was available in 58% of premises in Wales, compared to 78% across the UK. Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology Julie James said: "By the time the Superfast Cymru programme is completed in spring 2016, Wales will be one of the most highly connected countries in Europe." Ann Beynon, BT Director for Wales, said: "This is big news for Wales as people will now know when work will start for every single telephone exchange in Wales. "It's probably the biggest engineering programme Wales has seen in the last ten years with the potential to improve the lives of individuals, families and businesses across Wales." Broadband makes a major difference for businesses particularly those in rural areas. It can mean more sales for some and helps farmers provide the information they need to file with government departments. But many businesses say they are not benefiting from faster speeds. Critics argue that converting telephone exchanges does not mean every firm will get faster broadband, as cabling from the exchanges to the premises will not necessarily support it. Just under half of the spend - ¡ê205m - is coming from the Welsh and UK governments and European funds, with BT providing the rest. Superfast Cymru is listing exactly where and when exchange work will take place. However, homes and businesses will still need to sign up with an internet service provider once the optical fibre network has reached their neighbourhood. Communications regulator Ofcom reported in August that while Wales was catching up in the rollout of superfast broadband, the number of people signing up for it still lagged behind the rest of the UK. Meanwhile, the Wales Audit Office is reviewing whether the project is delivering effective value for money.

Question: Work @placeholder every telephone exchange in Wales for superfast broadband will begin by September 2015 .


The fire at Siteserv on the Vale Business Park in Llandow has been contained but continues to burn. It is the second fire in less than a month after another Siteserv building nearby was accidentally destroyed. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the demolition was needed to access and douse burning waste. A statement said the operation was "challenging and complex" and had been prolonged by the nature and volume of the burning material in the building, by the strength of the building structure, challenging site conditions and the need to protect the environment. It added: "Steady progress is being made and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Natural Resources Wales and the recycling company which owns the site, Siteserv, are working closely together to ensure that the fire is extinguished as rapidly as the constraints allow." Health authorities say the risk to public health associated with the fire is low. At one point nearly 90 firefighters were at the scene when the fire broke out on 26 November. Investigations into the cause of the blaze are continuing.

Question: Fire crews who have been @placeholder a huge blaze at a Vale of Glamorgan industrial estate which has burned for 10 days have demolished the building .


But, imagine a classroom being shaken by a sound louder than a rock concert; a sound as loud as a thunderclap or a chainsaw. Welcome to the classroom of Annalisa Flanagan - the owner of the world's loudest shout. The Belfast primary school teacher bellowed her way into the world record books in 1994 with a thunderous bellow of the word (what else?) 'quiet!'. The shout clocked up an earth-shattering 121.7 decibels, setting a world record and potentially damaging the hearing of anyone within earshot. Despite her record standing for 22 years, no-one has yet been able to out-shout her -  a fact that recently re-emerged when her Richter-scale rippling exploits featured on the hit BBC TV programme QI. Corey Taylor, lead singer of renowned heavy metal outfit Slipknot was on the show - and even he was blown away. "Our shows top out at 109 (decibels) and those are quite loud," he said. "So 121 is stupid." Fortunately, even though Annalisa has this sonic secret weapon to unleash on her pupils at Finaghy Primary School, she insists it is one she never uses. "I'm really not a shouter," she laughed. "I'd much rather bribe the kids with sweets than shout. I want them to love me! "Also, after the first couple of weeks of teaching you can't be shouting all year. I'm hoarse all the time as it is." Her pupils back her up too, and appear to be sincere when they say Ms Flanagan mostly keeps her hidden talent for hollering outside the classroom. In fact, her skill is completely unrelated to teaching and purely a coincidence. Indeed, the gift is one that probably would have stayed hidden, if it were not for a streak of competitiveness. "In 1992, I was at a church summer camp. There were about 500 people attending and they held a record breaking day," she recalled. "Now, normally I'm quite a competitive person. They had this shouting competition, but to be honest, I thought it was a bit embarrassing so I stayed out of it. "But, then one of the kids told me my twin sister was winning. So I thought, if she is good then I'll be good too." The competition was taking place in world record conditions, meaning whatever was recorded was eligible to smash the old record of 119 decibels. "My sister got 119.1 and I got 119.4 - so she held the record for a little while, and then it was me." Two years later, Annalisa was invited to defend her title at an event in Belfast. "I got 121.7 decibels - and it has stood ever since." Annalisa said she was amazed that her almost-accidental record has endured for 22 years. Even though she admitted that she would be considered on the loud side, the teacher said she had no particular technique. "I just open my mouth and let rip," she said. "I was on a TV programme and they took me to the Harley Street Clinic, where a lot of singers would go to get their vocals checked. "In the end, the expert's conclusion was that I was so competitive when I set the record, so determined to beat my sister, that it spurred me on." However, it is an ability that has diminished slightly over the years particularly after her tonsils were removed. "I don't like being measured as much any more, because I'm nervous I won't really get to be as loud," she said. "I can get to around 115 but I haven't come near 120 in a while. It's difficult to match the record. I'm not sure if I'm holding back a little bit. Also it hurts my head when I'm on full power." Meanwhile, the children she teaches remain suitably impressed by their record-breaking teacher. "It's quite sweet actually," Annalisa said. "Sometimes I see past pupils who are in their 20s walking past the school gates. They would go: 'Alright Miss, still the world record holder?' "It's just mad that it (the record) has stuck this long."

Question: Silence is golden is a classroom mantra @placeholder the world over .


Scans of 21 people showed the brain was more attracted to food if breakfast was missed so people had more food at lunch. Scientists said it made losing weight challenging as missing meals made calorific food even more appealing. Nutrition experts say breakfast is known to take the edge off appetite. However, researchers were curious about what happened inside the brain to alter the food people choose to eat. Twenty one people, who were all normal weight, were shown pictures of calorie packed foods while they were positioned in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at Imperial College London. On one day they were given no breakfast before the scans and on a different day they were fed a large, 730 calorie, breakfast an hour and a half before. The researchers said skipping breakfast created a "bias" in the brain in favour of high calorie foods. The results, presented at the Neuroscience 2012 conference, showed the brain changed how it responded to pictures of high calorie foods, but not low calorie foods, when breakfast was skipped. They showed part of the brain thought to be involved in "food appeal", the orbitofrontal cortex, became more active on an empty stomach. When the researchers offered the participants lunch at the end of the study, people ate a fifth more calories if breakfast was missed. Dr Tony Goldstone, from Imperial College London, said: "Through both the participants' MRI results and observations of how much they ate at lunch, we found ample evidence that fasting made people hungrier, and increased the appeal of high calorie foods and the amount people ate. "One reason it is so difficult to lose weight is because the appeal of high calorie food goes up." Dr Catherine Hankey, a senior lecturer in nutrition at the University of Glasgow, said research had shown that breakfast "takes the edge off appetite" and that the latest study was an "interesting" insight. She said breakfast was linked to stable blood sugar levels, which "keeps you on the straight and narrow". Future studies will investigate how obesity affects the same system in the brain.

Question: Brain scans show that skipping breakfast makes fatty , high calorie foods @placeholder far more attractive later in the day , according to researchers .


OxfordDictionaries.com issues quarterly updates on current definitions of English words. Other new entries include Grexit, Brexit, hangry, beer and wine o'clock and NBD - meaning "no big deal". Oxford Dictionaries said the addition of multiple slang words showed "creative" use of language. New words and phrases are added to the website once editors have enough independent evidence to be confident of their widespread currency in English. However, they do not gain an entry into the Oxford English Dictionary unless there is a demonstration of continued historical use. According to Oxford Dictionary's language monitoring service, hangry has seen its usage increase since 2012, with a spike in April 2014 connected to an American study about low glucose levels making people cross. Manspreading - when a man sits with his legs wide apart on public transport encroaching on other seats Bants - short for banter NBD - abbreviation of no big deal Hangry - adjective used to show feelings of anger or irritability as a result of hunger Grexit and Brexit - the potential departure of the UK and Greece from the EU Awesomesauce - to describe something as excellent Weak sauce - anything of a poor or disappointing standard Bruh - describing a male friend Pocket dial - to accidentally call someone while your phone is in a pocket Mkay - the informal pronunciation of OK Fiona McPherson, senior editor of Oxford Dictionaries, said the addition of multiple slang words did not represent a dumbing down of English. She said: "There's always been new slang words. I just think we are more aware of them because of the ways in which we consume and live our lives now. "We are bombarded with more and more avenues where those sort of words are used and we just think that there are more of them. I don't necessarily think that's the case."

Question: The @placeholder of " manspreading " , or sitting with legs wide apart on public transport , is among 1,000 new words to enter the online Oxford dictionary .


Think soccer. Think last year's European Championship. Then tiny little Iceland were the heroes of the competition - and not just because of their wonderful fans. This team of part-timers played way above their ranking, there was solidarity, singleness of purpose, real determination. And think of England. Absurdly well paid and pampered players, whose showcase is the Premier League, the wealthiest in the world - and they were just a bunch of inked and primped individuals who seemed to have no team spirit. Dire. Just dire. And so to the G20. It is not lousy like the England team were - I mean nothing could be as bad as that. But it is less than the sum of its parts. What of the joint communiqu?? (that will have been toiled over by bureaucratic draftsmen for days to find a bland enough form of words that all the leaders can sign up to) will be remembered in six months' time? What ringing declaration will change lives? What plan of action will we look back on and think "turning point"? No, I suspect this G20 will be remembered for two things. The first, the appalling violence on the streets of Hamburg from a sizeable group of protestors who seemed hellbent on burning and looting (there was something surreal on Friday night, drinking a beer in the 20th floor bar of our hotel and watching the fires and the police on the street below - as if it was a rioting son et lumi?¡§re spectacle put on for our entertainment). And second - the first meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. I suspect if you asked Mr Trump what was most memorable for him, he too would say the Putin meeting - but also his day in Warsaw, when thousands of Poles chanted his name and "U-S-A". Remember the crowd does for him what a battery station does for a Tesla car. His speech on the challenges facing the West was well crafted with an argument to make. And he just sounded - well - more committed to the idea of the "West" than he did when he was last in Europe at the Nato summit and the G7. His definition of what constitutes Western values may not have been to everyone's tastes - but he also committed the US to Article 5 of Nato, with its pledge that an attack on one is an attack against all. And for those countries who are part of the Alliance and abut Russia, they'll have been reassured by that. Which brings us to the meeting with the Russian leader. I've read analysis since suggesting that it was a big victory for Trump; and some arguing that Mr Putin came out of top. But that is to view the encounter as a zero sum game. Maybe both men emerged feeling they had won. Putin was treated seriously, wasn't lectured on human rights and democracy (his regular complaint about what it was like dealing with Barack Obama), and the meeting went on for nearly two hours more than its allotted time. Why does that matter? Because the Russian leader will feel he was treated as an equal to the US president with major things to discuss. Mr Trump will feel he has put the "Russia controversy" behind him. He raised it with Mr Putin, right, let's move on. But that might be wishful thinking. Particularly after the Russians disclosed that the American president accepted the assurances of Mr Putin that Moscow hadn't interfered in last November's election. The White House has not challenged that. And that leaves a very simple and astonishing point. Given the choice between accepting what his intelligence agencies have told him, and what Vladimir Putin has told him to be true, he's gone with the Russian. And that might not play well in Washington, where there are myriad inquiries going on into the Trump campaign's links to Russia - and a Republican Party, who by and large given the same choice over who to believe, will go for the nation's intelligence professionals. Donald J Trump might want a reset in the relationship with Russia, but there are political constraints on him in Washington. And then there are the decisions of the G20 itself. On two of the big ticket items - trade and climate change - it was really the G19 plus America. Mr Trump was intransigent in the face of appeals by other nations to recommit to the Paris climate change agreement. And there are real fears among European leaders that the president could unleash a trade war, over his insistence that America is being ripped off. So if you're marking Mr Trump's card on how he got on, it really depends on where you stand on those issues. And as for the G20, it's hard to be more than the sum of its parts, when the biggest and most economically powerful member of the orchestra is humming a different tune.

Question: We 'll get to the G20 in a moment . But let 's start with organisational psychology . There are some groups or teams that are greater than the sum of their parts , and there are others - that for all the talent and @placeholder they may have individually - are less .


The Orfordness lighthouse, in Suffolk, is 10m (32ft) from the sea after the gap halved over the past four years. Nicholas Gold, of the Orfordness Lighthouse Trust, said a ?¡ê10,000 appeal had been set up for urgent repairs. Storms forecast for this week pose a "real risk" of causing "significant damage" to the lighthouse, he said. The trust said strong winds and high tides had eroded the shore around the Grade II-listed building, built in 1792. "If the work is not carried out in the next few weeks, the lighthouse will, in all likelihood, not be standing in a year's time," said Mr Gold. "It's perilously close to falling in the sea." The appeal hopes to raise cash to shore up the beach with bags of shingle. The lighthouse was purchased by Mr Gold in 2013 from Trinity House, the country's general lighthouse authority. The trust has spent ?¡ê20,000 bolstering the sea defences over the past two years. But it said a long-term solution was necessary involving building a steel wall around the around the front of the lighthouse and its outbuildings - at a cost of about ?¡ê190,000. The beach around the lighthouse is owned by the trust and is on a nature reserve owned by the National Trust.

Question: A lighthouse is " perilously close " to falling into the sea after being @placeholder by coastal erosion , a charity trust has warned .


When the year began, it looked as though we would soon have just three giant players slugging it out in the mobile market. BT's merger with EE, and Three's takeover of O2 would leave them battling Vodafone for supremacy. But while the first merger went ahead, the second was blocked by the European Commission. That ruling came with the full backing of Ofcom, which had warned that a reduction from four to three operators would be harmful to consumers. Three - owned by Hong Kong's Hutchison - had spent 18 months planning for a future in which it would be the biggest noise in the UK market. On Tuesday morning, still seething about the ruling, it has warned that the result has been to create exactly the conditions that Ofcom feared. Its chief executive, Dave Dyson, told me that prices are now going up and competition is on the wane. He said it was because two players now had the lion's share when it came to spectrum, the electromagnetic waves Mr Dyson described as the "lifeblood" of any mobile operator. He points to figures indicating that: "If you've got one or two players in the market that dominate spectrum," he said, "then there is always a fear that innovation is slower because you don't have people pushing each other." Despite the fact that Three has just published some pretty healthy earnings for the first half of the year, he said it could not challenge BT unless it got hold of more spectrum. And that is where he wanted action from Ofcom. In a much-delayed auction, the regulator is preparing to sell off a healthy chunk of spectrum that has been freed up by the Ministry of Defence. It will provide plenty of capacity for the high-speed data services that are now at the centre of every mobile operator's offering. But Three's chief executive wanted Ofcom to set the rules to level the playing field in the UK mobile market. Mr Dyson called for a cap on the total amount of spectrum that any one company could hold - and wanted that set at 30%. Unless BT/EE sold some of its existing spectrum, that would mean it would not even be able to bid in the forthcoming auction - and Vodafone would be limited in what it could buy. Mr Dyson said both the big players had plenty of unused spectrum and did not really need any more but were likely to indulge in what strategic bidding. "If they were to bid on this spectrum, it would most likely be a mechanism to stop ourselves and O2 strengthening our position, which would effectively be anti-competitive," he said. Now, this piece of sabre-rattling is obviously designed to put pressure on Ofcom, which is expected to launch a consultation on the rules for the auction in the coming weeks. Sources at BT point out that Three could have bought more spectrum in the last auction but chose not to. Furthermore, the competition authorities had assessed BT and EE's spectrum holdings before letting that merger through and found nothing to worry them. But for Ofcom, there are now some tricky decisions to be made. To impose the kind of curbs that Mr Dyson is demanding would be tantamount to saying the regulator got it wrong when it backed the merger between BT and EE but lobbied Brussels to block Three's takeover of O2. But equally, having come under fire for not requiring BT to sell off the Openreach broadband division, Ofcom will not want to be accused of allowing a new monopoly to grow unchecked. You might have thought the battle over the shape of the UK's mobile market was over - but it looks like it has just moved on to a new phase. Good news  for corporate lawyers and lobbyists, who will get plenty of work as the rules of the complex game that is a spectrum auction are decided.

Question: BT is already in the firing line over its dominant position in the broadband market , with pressure on the regulator , Ofcom , to be tougher in policing it . Now , there is a call for the telecoms giant 's wings to be @placeholder in its new role - as the UK 's most powerful mobile operator .


The visit will determine whether twice bailed-out Greece will get its latest instalment of cash. Representatives from the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank will take stock of how effective tough austerity measures have been. Fresh strikes are planned by public sector workers in response. Sunday's talks will decide on the continued conditions for Greece's financial aid, and a 1bn euro (?¡ê844m) instalment which Greece expected to get in October. The EU is calling for the liquidation of Greece's defence industry, a further reduction in civil servant posts, and the health of the key privatisation programme. The main public sector union Adedy said that it would carry out a two day strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, while other unions are following suit. "We will continue our struggle against the destructive policies of the government and the troika," Adedy said in a statement. This latest round of protests against austerity comes days after the Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said his country's economy is heading "slowly towards recovery" after it saw growth in the second quarter of the year. Mr Stournaras said available evidence suggested Greece will see quarter-on-quarter growth for the first time since its economic crisis began. Greece also reported slightly improved jobless figures for the summer period, as tourism saw a modest boost compared to the year before.

Question: The so - called troika of lenders has @placeholder to Athens for its latest audit of the Greek economy .


These are the words of Norman Shanks, who used to run security at Britain's biggest airports. He was in charge at Heathrow during the Lockerbie bombing. At the time, he says they moved security checks to outside the terminal, thinking it would be safer. But, he says, they soon realised that they were just moving the problem outside. "If anything it was less safe, because we had large groups of passengers bunched together on pavements, which made them vulnerable". Essentially, anywhere you get people gathering in large numbers is a target no matter how many police you have around. So how to stop attacks on airports? Mr Shanks says the best ways are intelligence, in other words, knowing about it in advance, face recognition systems that can use CCTV to pick out suspects, and teaching staff how to identify odd behaviour. For example, he says the main thing he noticed about the Brussels airport attackers was that they weren't carrying hand luggage. "No one travels like that these days, quite the opposite." For him, that would have raised alarm bells. Airport security has become much tighter in recent years. We've all noticed the shoe checks and liquid limits, both of which came about after planned attacks that were foiled, one involving a bomb in a shoe and the other, liquid explosives. Scanners are better too. But Norman Shanks says that security checks on workers should still be tighter at some airports around the world. "I'm still concerned about the insider threat," he says, "weaknesses with staff smuggling things on board," although workers across Europe are security-checked. Even our airplane food is sealed before it reaches the airport. If the seals are broken, it's not allowed in. I ask Mr Shanks if he feels that attackers are moving away from the actual aircraft, hijackings, bombings and towards the airports instead. "I don't think so, it's just another opportunity." he says. "We still had the Metrojet bombing." It's widely believed a Metrojet airliner travelling from Egypt to Russia last year was brought down by an improvised bomb. But in some ways, he thinks that the Turkey attack was nothing to do with flying. "I don't actually see this as an attack on aviation. They have just picked a place where people gather together, a soft target. It could be a shopping mall next time, or a railway station".

Question: " What has changed in recent years is the suicide @placeholder . That 's difficult to counter , if people are willing to blow themselves up " .


Axa, Calpers, Scor and AMP Capital have already sold or are selling their tobacco investments. The companies launched their appeal on the annual World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). Along with 50 other firms with investments totalling $3.8tn, they have pledged "to openly support the tobacco control measures being taken by governments around the world". The statement reads: "We in the investment community are becoming increasingly aware of the important role we can play in helping to address the health and societal impacts of tobacco. "We strive within our own scope of action to support the ambition of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in line with our commitment to the positive role finance can play in sustainable development more broadly." Last year, when Axa announced it was selling its tobacco investments, its chief executive Thomas Buberl told the BBC: "The business case is positive. It makes no sense for us to continue our investments within the tobacco industry. The human cost of tobacco is tragic - its economic cost is huge." WNTD is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO. Its Tobacco Fact Sheet explains: "Tobacco kills more than seven million people each year. More than six million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 890,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. "Nearly 80% of the world's more than one billion smokers live in low and middle-income countries." In the developing world, tobacco markets are still growing, largely through ignorance of the dangers.  A 2009 survey in China revealed that only 38% of smokers knew that smoking caused coronary heart disease and only 27% knew that it caused strokes. WNTD is the only one of the WHO's health campaigns that pits itself against a specific industry. The tobacco business remains a formidable adversary.  It has been one of the best investments of the last decade, indeed possibly of the post-Second World War era. The shares in companies listed in the Bloomberg tobacco producers index have risen 351% since 2009, compared with just over 101% for the MSCI global index. Despite the growing aversion of the big investors, many believe there is more growth to come. Dan Caplinger, of the financial services company The Motley Fool, wrote in January: "As a new year begins, there are reasons to believe that 2017 could be a great year to invest in tobacco stocks." He goes on to explain that mergers and a move into non-traditional tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and "heat-not-burn" tobacco products, could boost share prices further. The success of the industry is all the more remarkable, bearing in mind the forces ranged against Big Tobacco. These include multinational agencies, lobby groups, governments and the global medical establishment, as well as the stark fact, as formulated by the WHO, that "tobacco kills up to half of its users". The regulations are getting tighter, specifically in the way companies can advertise tobacco products. Even so, only 29 countries, representing just 12% of the world's population, have completely banned all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. For instance, the European Union's Tobacco Products Directive forced tobacco companies to cover 65% of their packets with health warnings and clamped down on e-cigarette advertising. Companies such as Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco have fought back, complaining that they are being unlawfully deprived of the right to display their brands. But last month, they lost a High Court challenge in the UK against new plain packaging rules. These mean all cigarette packets must now look the same, with the same green colour, font, size, case and alignment of text on boxes. The move by investors against tobacco is part of a wider trend in so-called ethical investing, which seems to be gathering pace. The US-based Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment estimates that there has been 33% growth in what it calls sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) over the past two years, and a 14-fold increase since 1995. Its 2016 report says: "SRI investing continues to expand - now accounting for more than one out of every $5 under professional management in the United States." The report is only talking about US-domiciled assets, but that's still $8.72tn. Of that, $1.97tn is invested with specific instructions to avoid tobacco and alcohol.

Question: Four international investment groups have called on investors to @placeholder the tobacco industry .


It now expects the economy to expand by 5.3% this year, down from its earlier projection of 6.4% growth. The new growth outlook is in line with the projections of the central bank and many other economists. The council also warned that keeping the fiscal deficit within the budget target of 4.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) "could be a challenge". In its latest economic outlook, the council said that the fiscal deficit during the first four months of the current financial year had already reached 62.8% of the budgetary provision for the full year. India's growth has been hurt by a range of factors in recent months. including a slowdown in key sectors such as mining and manufacturing. At the same time, a lack of crucial reforms has seen foreign investors become sceptical of entering the country. The situation has become worse in recent months as many investors have pulled out from the country. A slowdown in India's growth, coupled with a recovery in developed markets such as the US - which has made India a less attractive investment option - has prompted them to look for other options. The prospect of the US withdrawing a key stimulus programme sooner than expected and a possible rise in interest rates in the US have also played a role in the pull-out. This has hurt India's currency, which has dipped as much 20% against the US dollar since May this year. That has made imports more expensive, hurting India's economy even more, not least because of its already high current account deficit. A current account deficit happens when the country's import bill is bigger than its earnings from exports. A widening deficit puts strain on the nation's foreign exchange reserves. In its report, the council said the sharp decline in the currency had not only hurt efforts to bring the deficit under control, but was a hurdle in kick-starting growth. "The currency problems have momentarily interrupted the process of revival of growth," it said. It added that the currency situation needed to be "stabilised as soon as possible".

Question: The Indian prime minister 's economic advisory council has @placeholder the growth outlook for the current financial year .


Southend Hospital in Essex said the fire service had been called after the leak on the third floor of its Cardigan Wing just before midday. The hospital has been closed to patients and visitors as it "is currently not safe", the hospital said. Patients have been moved to other areas of the site while the leak is assessed by fire crews, the statement continued. More updates on this story and others in Essex Essex Fire and Rescue Service said two crews and a hazardous material team had been sent to the hospital. Work is ongoing to stop the leak and crews are monitoring carbon dioxide levels on all floors, the service said. Ambulances are being diverted to other hospitals in the region while the leak is dealt with.

Question: A hospital has been closed and patients @placeholder following a " large " leak of diesel in its maternity unit .


Those assertions were outlined in a report from the Tech City UK quango and innovation charity Nesta a little while back, which highlighted how many of the innovation-focused enterprises had benefited from clustering together. To mark the BBC's Tech Talent week, we've revisited the study and focused on the areas where there are at least 7,000 digital tech jobs. What's striking is that at first glance, the numbers seem to confirm that London's cluster is well ahead of any other - and indeed the capital hosts several of tech's better-known names. But once you combine the data with official population statistics, another picture emerges. Based on a calculation of how many tech jobs there are per head of the local population, Cambridge, Reading and Bracknell, and Oxford and Abingdon take the lead. It's no coincidence that all three have universities with strong reputations for science, engineering and computing. Southampton and Manchester also do well. And Ipswich is another standout, thanks to the fact that many firms there have congregated around the headquarters of BT Research - the telecoms firm's R&D division. The figures should still be treated with caution: Tech City UK may have been generous in the way it defined some of the jobs as being tech-related. And it's also notable how few of the firms in the list below are the kind of household names you would associate with Silicon Valley. Digital tech jobs: 328,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: four Specialisms: Financial tech, social networks, digital media Foreign-owned firms: Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft Locally headquartered: Shazam, Transferwise, Deliveroo, Citymapper Digital tech jobs: 52,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: 10 Specialisms: App development, digital marketing, digital entertainment Foreign-owned firms: Google, Priceline Locally headquartered: Apadmi, The Lad Bible, PushDoctor, UKFast Digital tech jobs: 40,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: 14 Specialisms: Cybersecurity, business software, data analytics Foreign-owned firms: Nvidia, Microsoft, Symantec, Wipro Locally headquartered: Altitude Angel, Cloud Direct, Fantoo Digital tech jobs: 37,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: six Specialisms: Education tech, semiconductors, video games Foreign-owned firms: Amazon, HP, Oracle, Unity Locally headquartered: Opposable Games, Tribal Group, Xmos Digital tech jobs: 36,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: three Specialisms: Business software, Online gambling Foreign-owned firms: N/A Locally headquartered: Majestic, Yumzee, Intouch Games Digital tech jobs: 26,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: four Specialisms: Cloud computing, e-commerce, financial tech Foreign-owned firms: Cloudwick Technology, FanDuel Locally headquartered: Iomart, M Squared Lasers, SwarmOnline Digital tech jobs: 25,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: 13 Specialisms: Cybersecurity, cloud computing, video games, health tech Foreign-owned firms: Proofpoint, Tripadvisor, Zynga Locally headquartered: Rebellion, Sophos, Oxford Instruments Digital tech jobs: 25,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: 10 Specialisms: Hardware, e-commerce, data analytics Foreign-owned firms: Artificial Solutions, Pivotal Software Locally headquartered: Symetrica, nquiringminds, SPI Lasers Digital tech jobs: 24,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: three Specialisms: App development, e-commerce, video games Foreign-owned firms: Rockstar Games Locally headquartered: Double Eleven, Sky Bet, Instantcart Digital tech jobs: 22,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: three Specialisms: Financial tech, analytics, video games Foreign-owned firms: Ubisoft, Epic Games, CCP Games Locally headquartered: Sage, Orchard Systems, ZeroLight Digital tech jobs: 21,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: four Specialisms: Financial tech, health tech, e-commerce Foreign-owned firms: Amazon, Rockstar, FanDuel, Toshiba Locally headquartered: Axios Systems, Craneware, Skyscanner Digital tech jobs: 21,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: six Specialisms: Business software, app development, financial tech Foreign-owned firms: IBM, West Corp Locally headquartered: Signature Digital, Jadu, Boop.js Digital tech jobs: 20,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: four Specialisms: App development, video games Foreign-owned firms: ConcertCare Locally headquartered: Lucid Games, Firesprite, LivingLens Digital tech jobs: 19,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: three Specialisms: Financial tech, business software development, medical tech Foreign-owned firms: Alert Logic Locally headquartered: Confused.com, Energist Medical Group, Dezrez Digital tech jobs: 19,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: 15 Specialisms: Artificial intelligence, internet-of-things, data analytics Foreign-owned firms: ARM, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Spotify, Thales Locally headquartered: Darktrace, Frontier Developments, Featurespace Digital tech jobs: 16,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: six Specialisms: Video games, app development, data analytics Foreign-owned firms: American Express Locally headquartered: BossAlien, Brandwatch, West Pier Studio Digital tech jobs: 14,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: two Specialisms: Hardware, business software development, e-commerce Foreign-owned firms: Wandisco, Ultimate Drone, NXP Locally headquartered: Desq, Sumo Digital, Xactium Digital tech jobs: 14,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: four Specialisms: App development, telecommunications, video games Foreign-owned firms: Wanda Group Locally headquartered: Amuzo, Oak Innovation, Redweb Digital tech jobs: 11,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: seven Specialisms: E-commerce, education tech Foreign-owned companies: N/A Locally headquartered: Crowdcube, Dashboard, Sparx Digital tech jobs: 10,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: seven Specialisms: E-commerce, digital advertising, app development Foreign-owned firms: Intel, Huawei, Ericsson Locally headquartered: BT Research, Coderus, Kcom Digital tech jobs: 8,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: two Specialisms: Business software development, cybersecurity Foreign-owned firms: Oracle, Philips, SpotX Locally headquartered: Neueda, Kainos, RepKnight Digital tech jobs: 7,000 Tech jobs per 100 residents: four Specialisms: Cybersecurity, app development Foreign-owned firms: Blackberry, Lockheed Martin, Yamazaki Mazak Locally headquartered: Deep-Secure, D-Risq, Titania

Question: There are more than 1.5 million " digital tech " jobs in the UK , and the sector is said to be growing faster in terms of turnover and productivity than the wider @placeholder .


Kevin Ewing, 31, hid more than 5,000 items of mail between 2009 and 2014. He told Perth Sheriff Court he was finding it difficult to cope. Ewing, from Perth, was caught after Royal Mail set up surveillance to monitor him. Sheriff Lindsay Foulis sentenced Ewing to carry out 300 hours' unpaid work. He said: "It might be fair to say a significant number of these items might have ended up in the recycling anyway. It all falls within the category of what the public might call junk mail. "You pled guilty at the first opportunity, you have co-operated and - to a lesser degree - taking into account the actual character of the items you failed to deliver I am persuaded to deal with it by the direct alternative to custody." Among the items Ewing failed to deliver were 2,915 packages destined for one street. He also admitted delaying 1,150 unaddressed door-to-door postal packets in 2013, which were recovered from a delivery frame and a car. Ewing told the court he was struggling to deal with the pressure of work and his personal life. He said: "I was finding it difficult to concentrate or cope with the demands of work and general daily life. I can genuinely say that when I did not deliver mail I had every intention of delivering it next day. "Before I realised, things had become too bad to resolve and I felt unable to confide in anyone about what had happened. I took it upon myself to try and dispose of the mail I had not delivered. "I realise how serious these charges are and I feel deeply ashamed of my actions. I feel sorry for the stress and anxieties I have caused for members of the public who have not received items of their post."

Question: A postman who @placeholder thousands of letters over a four year period has avoided prison after a sheriff said the material was junk mail .


However, only a fraction of those affected may receive compensation. Legal filings indicated that 250,000 people had lost some ?¡ê130m in benefits. The Court of Appeal suggested the Department for Work and Pensions would owe a mere 1% of that amount, ?¡ê1.3m, to just 2,500 people. The complex judgment on Friday was originally prompted by a challenge from Cait Reilly, a geology graduate from Birmingham. She had argued that requiring her to work at Poundland for no pay constituted a breach of her human rights. The government - to counter such claims - had retrospectively altered the law to validate the docking of benefits. Today, the Court of Appeal ruled that even under that new revised law, the docking of benefits could be incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights. The Court's ruling represented a defeat for the government. Padraig Hughes, of Public Interest Lawyers, the group that brought Ms Reilly's case, said: "It is yet a further example of the reckless approach this Government continues to take towards the constitution and the rule of law." The Court of Appeal judges did nevertheless acknowledge that government ministers can change laws to affect cases retrospectively. And the judges decided that the only rights infringed upon where those of people that had already claimed the benefits docking was unfair. This narrowing of the claimants explains why only a tiny fraction of people will be eligible for a payout. "We are considering the judgment", a DWP spokesman said. "It is only right that jobseekers do all they can to find work while claiming benefits." It is not clear yet whether either side will make a further appeal.

Question: The government has lost the latest round of an extended legal battle involving the docking of benefits for jobseekers who @placeholder to participate in unpaid back - to - work schemes .


He revealed a video of one of the company's dog-like robots, SpotMini, delivering parcels to employees' homes. Its Atlas robot was also shown lifting and carrying packages. And SpotMini later put on a show of cuteness to win over the Ted audience. It demonstrated its ability to negotiate obstacles, walk forwards, backwards and sideways and hop on two legs, and, at the end of its demonstration, rolled over as if to have its stomach tickled. Boston Dynamics has become synonymous with developing dexterous but terrifying robots, the skills of which are shown off via a series of YouTube videos. Some have suggested the company's image is at odds with that of parent company Alphabet - which owns Google - and there have been persistent rumours about it wanting to distance itself from its robotic wing. Noel Sharkey, a robotics expert from Sheffield University, believes it needs a change of direction. "They were mainly funded by the military in the past, but Google does not want that," he said. "Also, their Big Dog robot was too noisy for the military because of its petrol engine, and so they made an electric version that was not very good and the military cancelled their contract." But he remains a fan of the technology. "Their Atlas robot is now quite incredible - it can open doors, which is impressive, believe it or not, and maintain a fixed goal even when interrupted," he said. "But their new robot, Handle, is just not like anything before it - stunning." At a previous conference, Prof Raibert described Handle as "nightmare-inducing". And it was later dubbed "Terminator on a hoverboard". This time, Prof Raibert appeared to want to show a more empathetic side to his robots. Showing a video of Handle jumping on to a table, he told the Ted audience: "It likes to put on a show." And during SpotMini's demonstration, he said: "It is a little bit of a show-off". Later, as SpotMini wandered among the Ted crowd, Prof Raibert was clearly pleased it was going down well. "People like to pet it," he said. The YouTube videos received many "likes" as well as criticisms, Prof Raibert said, and Boston Dynamics was determined to find new ways to appeal to the public - showing robots slipping on banana peel, for instance. He said the company's experiments with robots delivering parcels were "70% there", but added it was harder for the robots to negotiate the small spaces in homes than the rough outside terrain they were more associated with. Boston Dynamics has a long history of viral videos showing off its robots. Some of its best known include:

Question: Boston Dynamics founder Prof Marc Raibert came to the Ted ( Technology , Entertainment and Design ) conference with a new @placeholder about his military - funded robots - they could find ways in to homes and on to the streets .