And those EU students who are already attending UK universities will continue to receive financial support. The Student Loans Company has sought to reassure students and applicants following the EU referendum. And Mr Johnson has tweeted: "UK welcomes EU students." "Current students and this autumn's applicants will continue to receive student finance for duration of their course," said the Twitter message from the minister. Universities have been seeking clarity about the implications of Brexit for their EU students, international exchanges and for funding from EU research projects. A statement from the Student Loans Company says that those EU students who are already studying in the UK will not face any changes to financial support, such as loans to cover tuition fees. The current arrangements will also remain in place for those who have applied and are expecting to begin university courses in the autumn. But the arrangements for EU students beginning courses in the following year - autumn 2017 - have still to be clarified. There are about 125,000 EU students in higher education in the UK, with Germany and France the biggest senders. But among those non-UK students starting university in the UK last year, there were more students from China than from all the EU countries put together. Following the vote to leave the EU, Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group of universities, said that the Brexit  decision "creates significant uncertainty" for higher education. She said that the Russell Group universities would seek assurances from the government that "staff and students currently working and studying at our universities can continue to do so after the UK negotiates leaving the EU". Universities have been particularly concerned about the future of EU research funding, with analysis by the Royal Society showing that the UK is one of the largest recipients. It suggests that between 2007 and 2013, the UK received 8.8bn euros (?¡ê7.3bn) in direct EU research funding and had contributed 5.4bn euros (?¡ê4.5bn). But there are examples, such as Norway and Switzerland, that are outside the EU but are able to contribute funds and have "associate country" status for EU research projects. These associate member countries do not have a say in how such research funding is directed.

Question: Students from the European Union starting university courses in the UK this autumn will have their student loans funding @placeholder , University Minister Jo Johnson has said .


Stonewall, a fictional account of rioting by the gay community in New York's Greenwich Village in 1969, premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, with Emmerich saying he was "deeply relieved" that the whole film had been shown to audiences. When the trailer for Stonewall was released in June, many in the LGBT community called it a "whitewash" of history, as Emmerich's main character, Danny, played by War Horse's Jeremy Irvine, is a blond blue-eyed boy from Indiana. An online petition collected nearly 25,000 signatures calling for its boycott, stating that the riots were a "multicultural movement" with transgender woman Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Storm DeLarverie, an African-American lesbian, and Sylvia Rivera, a Puerto-Rican drag queen acknowledged as some of its central protagonists. "It's a good thing the film is out there now, but I never quite understood the fuss," Emmerich says. "It was a trailer, and people always complain that trailers show everything. We didn't want to make that mistake. "But it clearly was a big mistake for some people out there. The film is racially and sexually far more diverse than some people appear to think." "It's just a trailer," Irvine adds, "but it's perhaps misleading because there's a second in there where my character throws a stone and it might look like he starts the Stonewall riots, but nothing could be further than the truth. "Many of the real-life activists of the time are characters in the film. It's been taken out of context." The police raid at the Stonewall Inn on 28 June 1969, started three days of rioting from the gay community who frequented the bar, and led directly to the instigation of the gay Pride marches the following year. German-born Emmerich, who is openly gay, believes its significance as part of the civil rights movement is often overlooked. "Over the years I realised how little people knew about the riots, and this is actually the event that started everything - and it was a group of homeless kids at the centre of it. "I work with the gay and lesbian centre in Los Angeles and I realised this little known fact - that around 40% of homeless youths in the United States are LGBT. "The problem on the streets hasn't changed since 1969. We may have gay marriage now, but most of these homeless kids come from the small towns where growing up gay is still terribly difficult, and I wanted this story at the heart of the film. "Above all, I wanted to make a movie that felt personal - the ones I normally do, not that I hate to do them, but they are not very personal. They have to appeal to nearly everyone and this is a different approach. "It was the first time on a film set that I was able to tell a straight actor like Jeremy how he should feel as a gay man. I put a lot of emotion into making this movie." The 59-year-old director also put a lot of his own personal finance into the film, which had a budget of around $15m (?¡ê9.8m) - a far cry from the $200m (?¡ê131m) that he commanded for 2012. Emmerich says "not one studio in Hollywood wanted to make the movie, we had to do it totally independently and that was much harder work. "I had forgotten how hard it was, it's much easier to have a studio behind you, and I guess I've had it easy because of my past success." When Ang Lee's Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain was made a decade ago, it was considered a potentially risky project for its stars, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. If Emmerich says he still struggled with the studios,  Irvine believes the situation has changed drastically for actors. He says lesbian actress Ellen Page was right to say in a recent interview that she was "bored" of straight actors being called "brave" for taking on a homosexual role. "Stonewall was a no brainer for me," says Irvine. "Good scripts are few and far between, and when I read it, I jumped on a plane and went to Roland with a stack of notes and ideas. "Am I worried about doing a 'straight' movie with an actress I am not attracted to? No. It's exactly the same thing. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is in this film as my love interest, and I could have done a lot worse." Will 2015 be the year gay cinema becomes mainstream? As well as Stonewall, Julianne Moore and Ellen Page star as a lesbian couple in Freeheld. Todd Haynes's Carol, starring Cate Blanchett, examines a forbidden lesbian relationship in the 1940s. Eddie Redmayne plays a transgender woman in The Danish Girl - which is being released by Universal studios. Emmerich says it's "the year of the transgender person - it started with Caitlyn Jenner on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine". His next movie, Independence Day: Resurgence, the long-awaited sequel to the 1996 original, will feature gay characters, Emmerich adds. "But we're not even close to the day when a gay person in a movie is not an issue," he concludes. "The time when we don't discuss it is a long time in the future. We may have marriage now, but in  terms of the gay civil rights movement, we have just got started, I really believe that." Stonewall is yet to receive a UK release date.

Question: Known as cinema 's " master of disaster " , director Roland Emmerich has moved away from his apocalyptical blockbusters such as 2012 and Independence Day to a project he describes as " deeply personal " - a self - @placeholder movie about the start of the gay rights movement .


But in recent years, fundraising has stepped up a gear with volunteers keen to push themselves to their limits. Around Wales, mountain treks, marathons, cycle rides and triathlons, are becoming big business for charities - and it seems that trend is set to continue. This weekend about 600 walkers will congregate in the Brecon Beacons for the fourth annual Trekfest challenge where they will do either 100km (60 miles), 75km (46 miles), 50km (31 miles) or 25km (15 miles) to raise money for their chosen causes. The organisation which runs it said the event had become "hugely popular" - so far, some 2,500 walkers have scaled the peaks of the beacons in the name of fundraising and the numbers taking part are rising each year. It is not alone. Macmillan Cancer Support said its fundraising walks are attracting thousands of people and it has added two new walks this year. In 2015, its flagship Gower MacMarathon - which is celebrating its 19th year - broke through the ?¡ê1m barrier of money raised for charity. So what is behind the surge in challenges? And are good causes the only ones to benefit? "The way that we see it, people want to feel they're doing something - they want to focus on an end goal," said Amy White, Macmillan's fundraising manager for walks in Wales. "Taking on something like a walk, they have something to work towards. They are raising money but also working towards personal goals and it's brilliant exercise. "Our Rhondda walk is now in its eighth year. It started with 30 to 40 people and now has 1,000 walkers each year." Adrian Barsby, chairman of the Wales Tourism Alliance, which represents 7,000 businesses, said the industry was feeling the impact. "These events can only be positive for tourism in Wales," he said. "These people stay overnight, they spend their money when they are here and they see things that might make them want to return. "Tourism contributes 10-11% of Wales' GDP so the more people who come here the better." Organising a Trekfest event in the Brecon Beacons But while charity events can showcase Wales' natural wonders, there is a fear too many visitors might spoil the tranquillity and scenery which are part of the country's appeal. Adventurer Tori James - the first Welsh woman to climb to the summit of Mount Everest - said places like Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons and Snowdon had become hotspots for charity trekkers every weekend during the summer. "It's a good thing in terms of getting people outdoors, it attracts people who wouldn't normally enter into the mountains - it makes the mountains a bit more accessible," she said. "But at the same time, it does bring pressure to some of the most popular areas, like with car parks. And also erosion, litter and congestion. "I think it's about educating people how there are different routes on the mountains and you can support charities that actually look after the mountain and help with erosion issues and maintenance." It is an issue that is also of concern to Tegryn Jones, chief executive of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. "Where we have seen the problem is when we have things like triathlons when the weather is a bit wetter and lots of people are running along the coastal path and that can damage it," he said. "Some charities are very well organised and work very closely with us - but others, we hardly know what's happening. So it's about acting responsibly." But, ultimately, an increase in people being outdoors is a good thing, Ms James said. "I'm taking part in the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge myself this weekend and I can see the appeal in these events," she said. "In a world where we're stuck indoors more behind a computer screen, they are giving people the confidence to get outdoors and see spectacular scenery. "I have been to some amazing places around the world but in the beacons, the views still take my breath away - and then you have the beauty of the coastal paths. Wales has so much to offer." But, of course, there is a downside to holding so many outdoor events in Wales - the weather. "It can really make or break a walk," added Ms White. "You can have x amount of people signed up to take part but on the day people don't turn up because of downpours. "But that's out of our hands. We just have to keep building on the momentum and make sure these events continue to have impact."

Question: There was a time when raising money for charity involved little more exertion than simply opening your purse and dropping coins into a @placeholder box .


Clive Howard, 56, has been described as a dangerous sexual predator after attacks on six women in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. Howard, from Stowmarket, Suffolk, is due to be sentenced later at Norwich Crown Court. He admitted seven counts of rape, three of kidnap and one of attempted rape. Fifteen further women have since come forward, and Det Sgt Chris Burgess, from Norfolk Police, confirmed at least one was attacked by Howard. He said: "He is a very dangerous man - he was a sexual predator. There is concern that there are further victims." Howard was caught after attacking a woman in her 20s in the St Helens Wharf car park in Norwich on 30 May last year. He had offered her a lift as she walked home but took her to the car park and raped her. A partial image of the number plate of his Volvo, deciphered from CCTV, led to him. His DNA found on the national database linked him to an unsolved case in which a woman was kidnapped in Cambridgeshire in 2013. A woman in her 20s managed to fight him off and his DNA from a scratch was trapped under her fingernail. This case opened the door to other attacks with "striking similarities", Mr Burgess said. Father-of-six Howard, a mechanic, was described as a "loner" whose marriage broke down 15 years ago. At the time of his arrest, he had an 82-year-old girlfriend. "He was a quiet man who lived with his parents, frequented dating sites and searched for street workers," Det Sgt Burgess said.

Question: Fifteen women have contacted police fearing they were targeted by a @placeholder - stalker rapist who admitted 11 offences when he appeared in court .


Footage from Channel 9's 60 Minutes programme in Australia shows the moment Rebekah Aversano sees - and touches - the face of her dead brother. The recipient, Richard Norris, from Virginia, US, was severely injured in a shotgun accident 15 years ago. Until the operation he had rarely gone outside and lived as a recluse. Transplant recipients do not normally meet the families of their donors. But Ms Aversano, from Maryland, came face to face with the man who received some of her brother's facial tissues and structures. She touched his face and said: "This is the face I grew up with." Her brother, Joshua Aversano, had been killed in a road traffic accident, at the age of 21. The decision to donate his face had been difficult, but would have been what he wanted, said his mother Gwen Aversano in a separate interview with CTV News. She said: "Knowing our son he would have wanted someone else to go on with their lives if he wasn't able to. "After meeting Mr Norris, seeing him and speaking to him we can definitely see our son in him. "We were just so pleased we were able to help Mr Norris even though we had such a tragic loss," she added. The extensive transplant surgery took place at the University of Maryland three years ago. It lasted more than 36 hours. Mr Norris had lost his lips and nose in a shotgun accident and had limited movement of his mouth. James Partridge, founder of the charity Changing Faces which supports people with facial disfigurements, told the BBC he did not know of another case where the family of the donor had met the person who had received the face. And Mr Barry Jones, former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said there were many issues to consider. "It must be rather difficult for any relative to meet a recipient but it must be particularly difficult for faces," he told the BBC. "On this occasion it seems to have been a happy outcome. But that might not always be the case." Mr Jones said a family would have to ponder how they would feel about the personality of the person with the new face. "I am not against recipients meeting donor families if both parties want too, but I hope they have been counselled properly before their meeting," he said.

Question: A woman , whose brother was killed in a traffic accident , has met the man who was given his face in a @placeholder transplant operation .


But Clive Palmer, who retired from politics last year, is seizing attention again - this time with poetry. His verses, which he posts on social media, have been prolific in recent weeks. They are brief and at times bewildering, just as some described his parliamentary stint. So how does Mr Palmer explain it? "Poetry doesn't really have a meaning," he told Fairfax Media. The famously large man attributed his creativity in part to a recent diet. "When you're on diet you think about food a lot, and poetry sort of comes from within you." His compositions have amused - and confused - his more than 70,000 followers. One newspaper columnist wrote: "No, we don't know what it means, and neither does Clive." Another speculated: "Maybe he's gunning for a new career as Australia's edgiest poet." The poems have been read by YouTube comedian Lewis Spears, who joked Mr Palmer was "a modern Shakespeare". They will also be recorded by an electronic music duo, Peking Duk. Mr Palmer is not the first Australian mining magnate to gain attention for poetry. Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, once wrote a critically derided poem titled "Our Future", which was later fixed to an iron ore boulder. "Wordsworth talked about poetry being the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, and I think in Clive's case the origin of poetry comes from a spontaneous overflow of hunger," said Associate Prof Bronwyn Lea, who teaches poetry at the University of Queensland. "But I think it has its own kind of joie de vivre." Although the poems "don't display a good deal of skill or attention", Prof Lea suggested frequent mentions of "Moondog" and "Mockingbird" could be references to two famous Americans - poet Louis Thomas Hardin and novelist Harper Lee. "It's a little bit in the tradition of Yoko Ono and her 'action-poems' which were popular in the 1960s, smashed up with a recipe," she told the BBC. "But that would be reading a lot into it." In 2015, Mr Palmer was invited to the Queensland Poetry Festival to read from a self-published book of love poetry he wrote in the 1980s. He has also revealed his favourite writers include Robert Frost, TS Elliot and William Shakespeare. "I'd encourage him to continue reading those poets as well as to read broadly among contemporary Australian poets," Prof Lea said.

Question: He is the Australian mining tycoon who opened a dinosaur theme park , @placeholder to build a replica Titanic , and spent three years as a maverick MP.


Highways England said Balfour Beatty has been chosen to undertake the ¡ê130m project in Kent. Last summer, part of the M20 was used 32 times so lorries could queue during cross-Channel disruption, during a process known as Operation Stack. The government has not yet decided where the lorry park will be built. The plans were announced by the Chancellor George Osborne in November and a total of ¡ê250m was allocated to the project. Two potential locations, both north of the M20 at junction 11 are being considered. The Port of Dover has estimated the UK economy loses up to ¡ê250m per day when Stack is implemented. It is anticipated the park will be partially open by summer 2017.

Question: A contract has been awarded to build a giant lorry park for 3,600 vehicles to help prevent @placeholder chaos for trucks crossing the English Channel .


It worked. He managed to walk pass the Azeri police that guard the embassy and was admitted onto foreign soil. For over six months, the whereabouts of Emin Huseynov, a prominent human rights campaigner, were unknown, until the Swiss broadcaster SRF broke the news last week that the country's embassy in Baku had been sheltering him since August 2014. The Swiss foreign ministry has confirmed that an Azeri national has been allowed to stay at the embassy on humanitarian grounds and in a statement said that Switzerland was negotiating with the Azeri authorities to resolve the issue "in the interest of the individual". Mr Huseynov, the founder of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), a non-governmental organisation monitoring rights violations against journalists, is accused by the Azeri government of tax evasion and abuse of power. Similar charges have been brought against a number of other civil society activists - charges that rights groups describe as "bogus". Like most pro-democracy NGOs, Mr Huseynov's IRFS was under surveillance by the Azeri security services. Activists like Mr Huseynov and others currently in detention - such as Rasul Jafarov, human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, Leyla and Arif Yunus, and Anar Mammadli - have for years openly criticised their government, raising awareness of human rights abuses in the oil and gas-rich country. They have earned recognition for their work from the international community. But Azeri officials, such as President Ilham Aliyev's chief adviser Ramiz Mehdiyev, have branded them "traitors". The most recent victim of the government's campaign to silence its critics is the investigative reporter Khadija Ismaylova, known for her corruption investigations into the financial schemes of Azerbaijan's president and his family. In December 2014, she was charged with inciting a man to commit suicide. Last week, she was additionally charged with embezzlement, tax evasion and abuse of power. Her colleagues, whom I met in December in Baku, described her detention as an attempt to silence her. "By arresting Khadija, the government is sending a message to journalists and to the public in general that those who fight for truth and free speech, those who fight for their rights, will be arrested." said Kamran Mahmudov, who briefly stood in for Ms Ismaylova on her popular radio talk-show on US-funded Radio Liberty. A few weeks after this interview, the authorities raided the offices of Radio Liberty and took the station off air. Still in his pyjamas, Kamran Mahmudov was dragged out of his home by the police and taken for questioning. The closure of one of the few remaining independent voices in Azeri media was criticised by the US State Department, the EU and several human rights organisations. According to the New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists, Azerbaijan is the leading jailer of journalists in Europe and Central Asia. However, the government insists that all the charges against journalists and civil society activists are legitimate. "No one is prosecuted in Azerbaijan based on his or her professional activities or political beliefs," said Hikmat Hajiyev, a spokesman for Azerbaijan's foreign affairs ministry. "Khadija Ismaylova has been engaged in journalistic activities for more than 10 years and could write different stories. Now there is a real criminal case based on the criminal code of Azerbaijan," he added. "It is so unfortunate that the human rights issue is being politicised, and certain groups and circles under the pretext of human rights are trying to interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan." President Aliyev pardoned 87 prisoners shortly before the new year, among them two journalists and two members of a pro-democracy youth movement. But most of the activists, journalists and lawyers detained remain behind bars. They face long prison terms if found guilty of their charges. Human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, who has taken several hundred cases - ranging from violating rights to freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial - to the European Court of Human Rights, is now on trial himself, with his hearing set to resume on February 17. The Kurdakhany detention facility on the outskirts of Baku, where he is being held, has been dubbed "the university" because most of the bright minds deemed a threat to the state are being held there. Shortly after visiting him in December, his son, Necmin, wanted to deliver a message from his father to the outside world. "In today's Azerbaijan defending human rights is a crime," he said. "He and his friends are paying the price for doing just that."

Question: He appeared at the Swiss embassy in Azerbaijan 's capital , Baku , in full disguise : his dark hair @placeholder blond to look more European .


The eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Chile in April was shown in the first episode of Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise last month. But a dramatic lightning storm seen above the volcano was actually shot at a different location in 2011. The BBC said viewers should have been told a "composite image" was used. The programme showed a violent "dirty thunderstorm", in which lightning strikes are seen within the ash clouds from an erupting volcano. In a blog post, the show's producer Tuppence Stone said such events could be difficult to capture on film and so "it requires special techniques to reveal and portray their true extraordinary nature". The programme combined time-lapse footage from Calbuco's eruption earlier this year with long-exposure footage of lightning at the Cordon Caulle volcano in 2011. "These elements had to be combined to create a series of composite images, showing both the size and scale of a Patagonian volcanic eruption, its ash cloud and the repeated strikes of lightning that can occur within it, over many hours," Stone wrote. "By combining local knowledge, expert advice, and state of the art camera and post production techniques we have been able to reveal to audiences the wondrous scale of an epic natural phenomenon." However the BBC said viewers should have been alerted to the fact that footage from two different eruptions had been combined. A statement said: "In order to show viewers the extraordinary spectacle of a dirty thunderstorm with lightning flashes that would be impossible to capture in a single camera, a composite image was put together from footage from two Patagonian volcanoes. "However, we recognise that this should have been made clear and so have published a blog post to explain the techniques used."

Question: A volcano eruption shown on a BBC Two programme actually used footage from two different volcanoes @placeholder four years apart , the corporation has said .


Currently, women are requested to attend for a smear test every three years when they reach 20, but this will change to 25. The tests currently stop at age 60 but will now continue to 64. The Scottish government said the changes followed recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee. The committee has said testing under-25s is not effective at preventing cervical cancer, but the over-60s remain at risk of developing the condition. Women over 50 years old will be invited for screening every five years. Chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood said the changes brought Scotland into line with the rest of the UK. She said: "The previous age range was 20 to 60 years, however we now know that cervical screening in young women is more likely to pick up normal cell changes which may result in unnecessary treatment while not changing the number of cases of cancer. "Meanwhile, older women remain at risk of cervical cancer beyond the age of 60 when screening previously stopped." Ms Calderwood added that cervical screening saved about 5,000 lives in the UK every year. The UK government raised the screening age from 20 to 25 in 2004. Robert Music, chief executive of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, said: "Screening saves lives, yet the number of women attending this test in Scotland is falling year on year and in 2014/15 only 70.4% of eligible women took up their invitation. "This downward trend is extremely concerning as cervical cancer is one of the only cancers that can be prevented. "We urge all women aged 25-64 to join the cervical screening programme when invited. It is a five minute test that could quite simply save a life."

Question: The age at which women in Scotland are asked to attend their first screening test for the @placeholder of cervical cancer is to increase from Monday .


Rower Ms Glover won the women's pair in Rio with partner Heather Stanning, defending the title won at London 2012. Mr Backshall, who lives with Ms Glover in Buckinghamshire, took the medal to Bourne End Jewellers. Richard Bull, the firm's head gold and silversmith, said he helped get Mr Backshall out of "a sticky situation". LIVE: For more on this and other Buckinghamshire stories The couple, who met in 2014, are due to get married later this month. Ms Glover, originally from Cornwall, revealed how Mr Backshall had damaged her medal during an interview with BBC Breakfast and later tweeted an apology for "dobbing" on him. Mr Bull, who repaired her medal said: "It was brought in to me and I could see it had been dropped obviously and I said to Helen's fianc?? (Steve Backshall) who brought it in that it looked like it had been dropped on concrete and that's pretty much what had happened. "He admitted to having dropped it himself. "It was damaged on two edges - on one edge quite badly and the other less badly. But it was quite a mission to restore it. "They are pretty heavy and bigger than you think. They are about 4in in diameter and must weigh half a kilo and they are solid silver in actual fact and gold-plated on the top so they are a very special piece of jewellery really. "I feel very honoured to have been trusted with restoring such a priceless object. "I am very pleased with the way it came out and I think Helen Glover is very pleased as well." Ms Glover, who is due to have a victory parade through her home town of Penzance on Sunday, has won three world championships as well as two Olympic golds and is unbeaten in 39 races over five years alongside Ms Stanning. Mr Backshall has presented CBBC show Deadly 60, the Really Wild Show and Steve Backshall's Extreme Mountain Challenge on BBC Two and was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014.

Question: TV @placeholder presenter Steve Backshall has had to take fiancee Helen Glover 's Olympic gold medal to be repaired after he dropped it on a concrete floor .


Dear Donor family, In 1990, when I was just 23, I developed renal failure and started peritoneal dialysis. I was a nurse in a busy Glasgow hospital, which I loved. Then I started dialysis. I would dialyse four times a day. I was so tired and was sick a few times a day, not eating and my weight dropped to six stones. My blood count was six instead of 12. I was unable to go out with friends as I couldn't stand for more than 20 minutes without needing to sit down. I continued to work and then just go home and rest. My social life was non-existent and at one point I couldn't see this getting any better. However, three years later, I was just about to start my shift at work when the sister came running up to me and told me not to get changed. There had been a phone call, I had a transplant match. My lovely colleague Michelle took me to the hospital. I had surgery about four hours later and was walking about within 48 hours. I Six days later I was home, feeling hungry and full of energy. This has changed my life enormously, I am so grateful for the decision made by you. You were able to make a decision to donate your child's organs while going through such a traumatic time yourself. I will always remember you and have often been in awe of your decision. I am 49, married, a mum to a lively 9-year-old and I'm still a nurse. None of this would have been possible without your amazing gift of life. My transplant birthday is 31 August which we celebrate every year - 23 this year! Pauline Dear Type 1 Diabetes, You arrived completely out of nowhere. A horrible monster that has taken up residence with my son. You're aggressive and harmful and you won't go away. You follow my son everywhere. You're there when he eats, you're there when he plays, when he goes to school, and even while he sleeps. I can't control you monster, I can only adapt everything in my life to cater for you and "manage" your existence. Why couldn't you have chosen me instead of my sweet innocent child? I wish I could take you from my son but I can't. Instead, I watch your every move. I anticipate your next attack, and prepare to manage your fury. We feed you insulin several times a day. Sometimes that's enough but sometimes there's no telling what you will do next. There are no rules. You keep quiet for a while and just as I think I have got some kind of control you will strike! We got a machine that makes the balance between life and monster less painful but it's still there, forever waiting. I pray that you will leave and never come back. The new machine allows me days where I can almost forget that you're here, and then other days where I catch myself looking at my beautiful boy carrying this heavy monster on his back and it makes me weep. I almost mourn the past. The freedom and innocence that have gone will never return. I check my son regularly to see what damage has been caused by the monster who chose to live with us. Daily we prepare for battle. Daily we pray for an antidote that will kill the monster and free my son of its burden. For now, my son is strong and wise but I fear the day he leaves our home to live on his own with the monster. A parent wants to protect their child, but I have to watch as my son battles 24-hours-a-day. This is his life. I can only stand on the sidelines and offer my support and my love. I wish I could offer a cure and rid my baby of this horrible monster. I wish it had chosen me. Angie Dear Father, This letter is a small way to say "thank you" for changing my identity forever. When you travelled as a young man from Bangladesh to the UK in the 1960s, leaving your family behind to make a better life for yourself, little did you know the effect it would have on me. When you arrived with a single suitcase, a five pound note and a London address scribbled on a piece of paper, you were taking a big risk. You got a teaching job and integrated as much as possible, notwithstanding the racism of 60s London. You went back to Bangladesh, only to marry my mother, and returned to the UK where my brother and I were born. You wanted us to be British and give us opportunities you never had. You made sure we went to British Universities and have a solid British identity. Although I have a Bengali heritage, which I am very proud of, it is hard for me to claim that I am (with any true meaning) a Bengali. Whilst you took me to Bangladesh several times growing up, it was only for the summer holidays; we never lived there and (in the nicest way) I was treated like a foreigner by my family there. I cannot claim that being Bengali is a major part of my identity, maybe around 10%. The other 90%, I feel British. Give me the "cricket test" any day, I'd always choose England. Even though our identities may clash sometimes, your move changed who I am today. So thank you. Your forever grateful younger son. Riad Dear Accident, It was a sunny morning in Cambridge when you changed me.  Crushed but still whole, injured but not dead, damaged but not broken. You challenged me to push my body and mind to their absolute limits as I learnt to walk again three times, when I had to escape the depths of post traumatic stress and when I had to learn to live in the world again. But out of all the pain and adversity, you taught me strength and perseverance. I took the negative and made it positive. I saw how much love was around me that I should never take for granted. You propelled me to push my limits, take risks and never say no. I explored the world, made friends for life and spread my wings like never before. Accident, as much as you hurt me and those closest to me, I have to say thank you. You have made me the strong, independent person I am today. So yes, you changed me, but I am a better person for it. Yours sincerely Sheena Dear Salsa, You changed me. I arrived in London almost six years ago, a young shy Italian woman, with some confidence in her brains and not much confidence in her social or physical skills. Before I met you I didn't really like it here. I found it difficult to meet people and make friends, the city seemed cold and indifferent. I felt, once more, like the odd one out, and wasn't too positive about my future. But then you came along, and amazingly enough you brought with you many smart, funny, sociable and caring people! While dancing I found out it was so easy to start a conversation, make a joke, share a smile. Through your happy, strong beat you showed me how to let go of all my daily worries and stress and just follow the music, follow my lead, follow my body, for hours and hours, five days a week. You opened up doors to me that I didn't even know existed. Now we don't see each other anymore, but that doesn't mean I forgot about you and what you did for me. You will always be my first English (Cuban) love. Marta Dear Epilepsy, When you first arrived I was twelve years old. From a social butterfly to a bedbound haze in a flash. The rules changed and strange new ones became habit: Never bathe alone, walk on the inside of the street, carry limited cash, don't lock the bathroom door and don't go anywhere by yourself. I was told that I wouldn't be able to work or drive. No dignity, no answers, no certainties. A boyfriend? A family? We will see. Children? Maybe. You may overwhelm me frequently but you will not overwhelm my life. I follow the rules you impose in order to be safe. You turned my world upside down but part of me remained. I'm not a teacher as I wished but I have a job and a husband. Soon I hope to have a family. I must be realistic - some dreams aren't meant to be but we'll see. My dreams and aspirations are those which "normal" people just have. They aren't wild or imaginative but you've made sure I appreciate the normality I was told I'd never have. You've shaped and enhanced me. Now I'm a fighter - wiser, sympathetic and stronger. I don't despise you as I once did, the hatred has been channelled into a will to defeat you. I now spend my days defeating you rather than being defeated by you. I'll see you again soon. Or maybe not. Yours unwillingly, Jennifer As people become increasingly connected and more mobile, the BBC is exploring how identities are changing. Learn more about the BBC's Identity season or join the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag #BBCIdentity.

Question: The donor family , the discovery of diabetes , the salsa @placeholder and the dad ... just some of the people , places and conditions you wrote to as part of the BBC 's Identity season .


In 1958, newspapers rather than the internet listed football scores; coal was king in Wales, and a red phone box would be where you would make a call, with mobiles still decades away. Chris Coleman's side have earned their place in France by winning five of their nine Group B matches and drawing three. Wales' route to the 1958 World Cup in Sweden was far less glorious. In fact, John Charles and his team-mates failed to qualify. They finished second to Czechoslovakia in their qualification group, but were thrown a lifeline in the unlikely form of global political unrest. Israel had won their section by default as no African or Asian country would play them following the Suez crisis of 1956. However, Fifa were reluctant to allow a team into the World Cup finals without playing a match. Wales were picked to face the Israelis in a two-legged showdown and secured their place at the World Cup with a 2-0 win at Ninian Park on 5 February, 1958. The world was left in shock the day after Wales booked their place at the 1958 World Cup when 23 people, including eight Manchester United players, were killed in the Munich air disaster. The British European Airways (BEA) plane crashed during take-off after it had stopped to refuel in Munich as the team returned from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade. Of the people to die, 21 did so instantly, while Duncan Edwards - described by former United temporary manager Jimmy Murphy as the "greatest of them all" - passed away 15 days after the crash. Wales drew each of their group games, a run that included a clean sheet against hosts and eventual runners-up Sweden. They then came from behind to beat 1954 runners-up Hungary 2-1 in a play-off and set up a quarter-final against eventual winners Brazil. A then unknown 17-year-old called Edson Arantes do Nascimento - Pele - scored his first World Cup goal, the only one of the match, and Wales were out. Away from football, jukeboxes played rock'n'roll, the space race had begun and Sir Edmund Hillary reached the South Pole. In 2015, Cardiff is hosting Rugby World Cup matches, and in 1958, the Welsh capital was also temporary home to prominent sportspeople during the Empire Games - the precursor to the Commonwealth Games.

Question: Not since 1958 have Welsh fans been able to @placeholder on their own team at a major international tournament , but they can now make travel plans for France after Wales ' qualification for Euro 2016 .


The bodies of backpackers Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, were found on a beach on Koh Tao in September 2014. In 2015 Burmese bar workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, also known as Win Zaw Tun, were found guilty of the killings. Their lawyers have until 23 May to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. A Thai appeal court upheld the death sentences given to the two men in March. Lawyers had been given 30 days to appeal to the Supreme Court, Thailand's final court of appeal. The men claim DNA evidence used to secure their conviction was unsound and a forensic investigator previously testified that evidence had been improperly collected. Lawyers for the convicted men have said they can still challenge the verdict, but because the defence team claims it is working on such limited resources they need more time to prepare a large amount of technical documents. Miss Witheridge, a University of Essex student from Hemsby near Great Yarmouth, and Mr Miller, a civil and structural engineering graduate from the University of Leeds, were found on a beach bludgeoned to death. A post-mortem examination showed Miss Witheridge had been raped.

Question: Two men who face the death penalty in Thailand for murdering two British tourists have had their appeal @placeholder extended .


Scottish Power said 300 customers have had power cuts, with the worst affected areas around Newtown and Welshpool, Powys. An additional 259 Western Power Distribution customers were without electricity in the Pontyberem area of Carmarthenshire Flood warnings were also issued. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said flooding would affect the Conwy, Dyfi and Lower Dee valleys. The Met Office yellow "be ready" warning for north Wales, Ceredigion and Powys, was in place until 04:00 GMT Monday. The Met Office said: "Be aware that, given already saturated conditions, flooding is possible either from standing water or from rivers which have remained high after the large rainfall totals over the last few days." NRW said its staff would be out working all weekend on flood defences and putting measures in place to reduce the impact on people and their property. Check if this is affecting your journey

Question: Hundreds of homes were left without power while roads and trains were affected by flooding after storms @placeholder Wales .


South West Trains (SWT) says the increased capacity between Waterloo and Reading, Ascot, Windsor & Eton Riverside, Hounslow and Richmond equates to nearly 10,000 seats a week. The company has also added carriages to a peak-time service from Weybridge. The first new services, to Hounslow, are being served by replacement buses. Extra Sunday afternoon and evening trains will double the current service on the Hounslow Loop from Waterloo, but engineering works mean trains will only run as far as Brentford. From Monday, there will be three new weekday services - from Reading to Waterloo at 06:23, Hounslow to Waterloo at 08:27 and Waterloo to Reading at 19:35 - and longer trains on the Hounslow Loop on Saturdays. The 08:03 Weybridge to Waterloo service will also be increased from four carriages to 10 - the maximum possible on that line. Managing director Tim Shoveller said: "The improvements to the timetable, combined with the major investments we are delivering across the network, will deliver a real boost for passengers. "However, we are far from complacent and we know we can do much more." A spokesman for independent user watchdog Transport Focus said: "Passengers will be pleased to see South West Trains introducing extra seats, new services and longer trains. "Getting a seat, or even sometimes getting on a train, can be a struggle for some. Just 61% of South West Trains passengers tell us that they are satisfied with the availability of seats or space to stand." South West Trains said, since 1996, the number of passengers using its trains had increased from 108 million a year to 230 million. It has pledged 258 extra carriages by 2018, a 30% increase. The company says it has now added 57,000 seats a week on its network, which stretches to Bristol, Portsmouth and Weymouth. A separate ?¡ê65m scheme to rollout 108 refurbished carriages across the network is expected to be completed in early 2016.

Question: A new timetable for trains @placeholder London to Reading , Windsor and Hounslow has been launched , with extra services and more carriages .


Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members walked out at 13:00 BST in a row over pay and pensions cuts. Members of staff working on weddings were not expected to join the strike. A NMW spokesman said it was "very disappointed" with the strike and apologised to affected customers. Staff at St Fagans National History Museum walked out at 13:15 BST and were handing out leaflets to visitors. Strike action will take place every Saturday and Sunday afternoon throughout August. Neil Harrison, PCS branch chairman at NMW, said: "Management's proposals would see staff who work weekends lose up to ?¡ê1,000 and nearly 10% off their final pension entitlement. "Museum staff have already lost 15% in real terms in their wages over the past four years and now they are expected to lose more." NMW said National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans National History Museum and the National Waterfront Museum will remain open from 10:00 - 17:00 BST on Saturday and Sunday but may have reduced services; the National Slate Museum, National Wool Museum and Big Pit will close from 13:00 - 17:00 BST. Newport's National Roman Legion Museum is not affected. The NMW spokesman added: "Like many other public sector organisations, we have to make difficult decisions during these challenging economic times. "Yet we remain committed to mitigating the impact on staff through increasing the basic pay for the lowest paid by at least 2%, introducing the 'living wage' and are considering ways to protect the payment of pensions."

Question: Staff at six National Museum Wales ( NMW ) sites have walked out in the first of a series of strikes @placeholder throughout the summer holidays .


Moscow and the IMF agree that the Russian economy will shrink by 3% this year. For some, though, the crisis brings new opportunities. In Bryansk, 400km (249 miles) south-west of Moscow, young cows are being herded by ranchers on horseback. The 7,000 cattle represent just a fraction of a huge new cattle-breeding venture, involving tens of thousands of animals sprawled across farmland the size of England. Alexander Linnik and his brother Viktor were already the country's biggest pork producers when their firm, Miratorg, started breeding prime Aberdeen Angus beef cattle (imported from Australia and the US) in 2010. It is now the biggest such plant in Russia and Europe. The world is getting wealthier - but with rising inequality, the BBC is investigating the winners and losers of this richer world in 2015. Find out about Russia's 'losers' - and the 'winners' on BBC World Service. A Richer World 2015 Listen to the reports and documentaries Last year, the complex was processing 100 head of cattle per day.  Next year, the company says it will process up to 1,000. But such rapid growth would have been impossible without Western sanctions - Moscow's counter-sanctions shut off Russia's domestic market to foreign food exporters, eliminating much of the competition. Then the rouble crashed, making meat very cheap to export. "We need the rouble to stay cheap for our exports - so the sanctions have been useful," says Linnik. But Linnik is keen to avoid the impression that his company relies on luck. "We've invested a lot in these past eight years, and had government backing," he says. Linnik admits that a tough economic climate may dampen the domestic appetite for prime beef, but with the rouble so cheap he hopes the government can help them tap into European markets. "The sanctions were possibly even more useful for the government, to understand we need to export food," he says. "We have the technology and quality which makes our products a match for, or even better than, anything similar from Europe." What's been bad news for Russia has been good news for the Linnik brothers, but others are feeling the pain. Tatyana Volkova is adjusting to a harder life. The single mother lives with her son and daughter, both under 10, in a wooden bungalow provided by the state in Berezniki, a small village outside Yaroslavl. The local authorities stopped free school dinners last year as part of cuts to social spending and now she, like many other parents, is struggling to find the money to feed them. "For me it is a nightmare - wage cuts, job cuts," she says. "The government is happy to send aid to the people of Ukraine. But when we ordinary Russians are at our most desperate, we are disowned. It's offensive." "We survive thanks to our garden. We have potatoes and some other vegetables left. Sometimes I go fishing. I give the best I can to my kids, and I hope they won't notice this economic crisis," Volkova says. "But there is no spare money at all. I can't even buy any toys for my kids. Before any visit to a shop I have to calculate the possible expenses in order to stay within our family budget. I have just lost my job and now I am struggling to find a new one. Life is not easy for us at all." Meanwhile, walking around the centre of Yaroslavl itself, a provincial middle-class city in the heart of Russia, you can hardly tell there is an economic crisis. Shops and market stalls are open, lights are on. People are busy, rushing up and down the streets. When you scratch below the surface, however, local residents tell a different story. People are already feeling the consequences of the falling rouble. The prices of some goods are up 150%, and there are warnings the inflation rate may rise to 20% by spring. "Every rouble matters when you need to save money," says 79-year-old Valentina Golenkina. Every day she goes out to hunt for the cheapest produce and medicine. "I walk 40-50 minutes on foot to get to this trade centre, because there is a particularly cheap pharmacy here," she says. "I haven't bought any fruit this year, and I buy meat only on big holidays." Two-thirds of her pension goes on household bills and medicine, so she has less than $2 (?¡ê1.3) a day left for food. She has no husband or children to help, either. Golenkina says she misses the old days. "I want the Communist Party to return to power. There was more justice then. Those who worked properly always lived well in the USSR, and this rule does not work now," she says. "I worked all of my life at the factory, and I hoped to live normally as a pensioner, but now I have to struggle." For Russia's rich, while there is still plenty of money to go around, there are a few subtle changes being noticed by estate agents. Elena Yurgeneva, sales director at Knight Frank, says luxury property deals are taking longer to complete. "A significant number of buyers at the high end segment of the market are oil businessmen, and they are not in the mood for shopping," she says. She is standing in the spacious dining hall of a mansion in the prestigious western suburbs of Moscow that has been on the market for years. The property owner has dropped his asking price from $35m (?¡ê23m) to $19m (?¡ê13m). She says people aren't nervous about the economy, though. "It's just not the right time to buy." The 'losers' story  and the 'winners' story on the BBC World Service. For more on the BBC's A Richer World, go to www.bbc.com/richerworld - or join the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag #BBCRicherWorld

Question: The Russian economy is in turmoil - Western sanctions over Ukraine , the fall in oil and gas prices and a tumbling currency have all contributed to a dire outlook . But what impact are people on the @placeholder feeling ?


The window of a chemist's shop in central Venice features a digital counter showing the number of people living in the city's historic core. At the moment it should read 55,120 (that's up a bit, actually). But the point is that this is a countdown, raising the alarm that hundreds of people leave each year. In the past the population used to drop suddenly because of the plague. Now Venetians complain about another plague, tourism. The French novelist Victor Hugo said there are two things about a historic building: its use and its beauty. Its use is a matter for the owner, but the beauty belongs to everyone. Some Venetians make big money out of tourism: they always have done. Other businesses leave and their places are taken by more hotels, vast cruise ships visit and homes become holiday lets. Venetians are leaving the place they call La Serenissima - "the most serene" - a city currently visited by 20 million tourists a year. The big question is: will Venice end up killed by its own beauty, loved to death? "For working people, it's becoming unworkable," says Sarah Quill, who has photographed the city for four decades and whose archive illustrates the stark contrast between a city once populated by Venetians and now in the grip of an increasing tourist overload. "It's impossible to avoid the centre if you have appointments and those peaceful early mornings are now a distant memory." Part of Venice's problem is what it represents. It is a city of comfort and consolation in an era of furious urbanisation. If you live in a Chinese megalopolis of 30 million souls which was not there not long ago, Venice will seem an ideal polar opposite. Unable to expand over the water that surrounds it - it is built on islands in a lagoon - it is the gold standard for the city of human scale, the world's sentimental ideal city. So what can be done to save sentimentality from economics? Venetians complain about the Chinese buying bars and houses today. Before them it was the Russians, the Americans and, 200 years ago, probably the Austrians. The greatest writer on Venice, John Ruskin, suggested a tongue-in-cheek extra charge to visit, as do some of today's Venetians. A surcharge would raise money but surely not reduce numbers, which is what is needed. Today's protesters say if you put a gate on it you make it a theme park, not a living city. Why not call it a reservation, for preservation? As its a cultural Mecca, why not do what Mecca does and limit the annual number of pilgrims? Visiting Venice is, maybe, not a human right. In his novel England England, Julian Barnes imagined a tourist's version of England built on the Isle of Wight - all the best bits recreated in one convenient place. England England is such a success it becomes an independent state and joins the EU while actual England goes into decline. Could we imagine a Venice 2.0/Venice Venice? Sadly the Japanese version, an Italian shopping experience called Italmura, with canals and gondolas, went bust. But there are commercially successful replicas in Dubai, Qatar, Istanbul and, of course, Las Vegas, where the Venetian Hotel has opened a replica of its replica in Macau - even though China already has a copy of its own, Venice Water Town, a suburb of Hangzhou. And even Venice itself is not entirely genuine. Those horses on St Mark's basilica are copies: do you mind? The medieval bell tower opposite fell down in 1902 and was rebuilt brick-for-brick. Can you tell the difference? Could we not embrace the fake to help the real? Venice is like the panda: charismatic, unsuited to life today but too symbolic to be allowed to disappear. If our beloved wild animals end up existing only in zoos or reservations why not cherished cities? Let's have a new Venice island experience - all the highlights recreated from scratch in one place and better organised for better pictures. Reliable tides, none of the smells and with better food and plumbing. And you and I, obviously we can go to the old Venice and play spot the difference. The World This Week is on BBC World Service Radio and available as a podcast.

Question: Venice recently witnessed protests against landlords in the city letting their apartments to tourists instead of Venetians . But what can be done to preserve one of the world 's greatest cities as a living @placeholder ?


A black police chief who had worked diligently to improve community relations, and reduce the use of force, now had to confront a racially motivated attack by a young black man against his officers. "We're hurting. Our profession is hurting. Dallas officers are hurting. We are heartbroken," he said. He spoke on behalf of the Dallas Police Department, but his words echoed a personal statement he made six years earlier, in the wake of another Dallas police death. In June 2010, just weeks after he was sworn in as police chief, a young Dallas officer and father was shot dead on father's day. The killer was Mr Brown's 27-year-old son. "My family has not only lost a son, but a fellow police officer and a private citizen lost their lives at the hands of our son," he said. "That hurts so deeply I cannot adequately express the sadness I feel inside my heart." Mr Brown's son, David O'Neal Brown Jr, first shot dead a private citizen, Jeremy McMillan, as McMillan drove his family to his sister's house. He then shot police officer Craig Shaw, who was responding to the first shooting, more than a dozen times. Mr Brown took a leave of absence, according to local news reports from the time, and there was speculation that he would resign. It was not the first time he had suffered loss - in 1988, his former partner Walter Williams was killed in the line of duty. Three years later, his younger brother was shot dead by a drug dealer. But Mr Brown returned to work, determined to improve the Dallas Police Department's relations with the community. The department began to focus on de-escalation rather than force. Mr Brown placed emphasis on community policing and increasing transparency, even at the cost of clashing with department figures. He made enemies of the police unions by publicly sacking crooked officers, the Dallas Observer reported. He was told community policing was a waste of time. But by 2014, five years after his appointment, excessive force complaints against Dallas officers had fallen by 64%. "In my opinion, how can you argue with aggressive community policing if it has yielded the safest the city has been over 86 years?" he said in an interview with the Observer in February. Mr Brown's approach was visible on Thursday, in the hours before the gunman opened fire, as the police department's Twitter account posted pictures of officers posing with protesters and smiling. "Men, women, boys and girls gathered at Belo Garden Park for the demonstration re: recent police involved shootings," said one tweet. "Dallas police officers maintain traffic control to ensure the safety of the demonstrators," said another. In the aftermath of the attack, several reporters who cover the Dallas Police Department pointed out the irony that the gunman targeted a force which had made strides to break the cycle of violence between its officers and community. Speaking to the Observer in February, Mr Brown paid tribute to his officers and acknowledged the risks they took. "Over the last 12 years we've lost five cops in the line of duty," he said. "I mean, it's not just numbers on a page. It's sacrifice, and it's sacrifice at the highest level." Dallas Police Department equalled that 12-year sacrifice in a few short hours on Thursday. On Friday, Mr Brown reiterated his plea for mutual respect. "There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city," he said. "All I know is that this: This must stop, this divisiveness between our police and our citizens."

Question: When five Dallas police officers were shot dead by a sniper on Thursday , it fell to David Brown , the city 's police chief , to @placeholder up the shock and grief of the force and the community .


Bronte paid several visits to North Lees Hall in Derbyshire which provided the inspiration for Thornfield Hall. Thornfield Hall was the home of the 1847 novel's hero Edward Rochester. North Lees is now owned by the Peak District National Park Authority, which is holding open events on Saturday and Sunday. At the time of Bronte's visits to the Hathersage area, the Eyre family were living at North Lees. They lived there from 1750 until 1882, as well as occupying the hall for two generations during the 15th Century. In Jane Eyre, the world-renowned author describes the North Lees's battlements, the view from the roof and the apostles' cabinet - a piece of furniture that belonged to the Eyre family. Bronte later bought the cabinet and moved it to her family home in Haworth, Yorkshire, where it can still be seen. The hall closed in July after the Vivat Trust, which had managed the building since 1988, stopped trading. Bronte, born on 21 April 1816, was the eldest of the literary Brontes. She wrote three other novels - Shirley, Villette and The Professor. The open days run from 11:00 to 15:00 BST on both Saturday and Sunday. "Leaning over the battlements and looking far down, I surveyed the grounds laid out like a map: the bright and velvet lawn closely girdling the grey base of the mansion; the field, wide as a park, dotted with its ancient timber; the wood, dun and sere, divided by a path visibly overgrown, greener with moss than the trees were with foliage."

Question: A Grade II - listed hall that @placeholder Charlotte Bronte 's Jane Eyre is opening its doors to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the author 's birth .


"Have you been spat at this morning?" asks a cheery man as we queued up in the pouring rain. He tells me he is all for the right to demonstrate but he doesn't like "intimidation". His friend says she has felt frightened this week - one protester came right up to her face shouting "Tory scum". She feels safe once she is inside the heavily fortified conference zone, but "this is meant to be a democracy", she says, "people should be allowed to debate without being intimidated". This is her first Conservative conference and is surprised to learn it is not normally like this. There are always some demonstration outside conferences - 60,000 people took part in a largely peaceful march and rally against austerity and the government's Trade Union Bill on Sunday, in a repeat of a similar demo last year. But what is new this year is the presence of anarchists in significant numbers and the sustained level of verbal abuse directed at everyone wearing a conference pass. Left-wing commentator Owen Jones said that even he had been on the receiving end of verbal abuse, tweeting: "Just had `Tory scumbag' yelled at me as I walked into Tory conference. Novel!" The demonstrators themselves are reluctant to talk, especially to the BBC, who, one tells me, are "getting as bad" as the rest of the media. "The migrant crisis? Why can't we just say refugees?" She breaks off to carry on barracking conference goers:  "Shame on you! How many weak and vulnerable people have you killed today?" Some delegates bow their heads, others gaze impassively into the distance, a few blow kisses at the mob. The demonstrators are angry about cuts to benefits and what they see as an assault on the NHS and the welfare state. Iain Duncan Smith is a particular hate figure, along with the prime minister. There has been something approaching a carnival atmosphere outside the secure zone at times - teenagers were line dancing in the street on Monday, as police officers looked on. At other times the mood has been tense. As delegates were queuing up this morning, they watched a police officer with a sub machine gun vault a fence and wrestle a young man with a bulky backpack to the ground, while a police surveillance officer took pictures of the incident with a long lens camera. Some have blamed the police for not doing enough to protect delegates. "Tory women being subjected to sexist abuse outside conference and police refuse to intervene - disgraceful," tweeted business minister Anna Soubry. Home Secretary Theresa May insists Greater Manchester Police are "operationally independent". London Mayor Boris Johnson - a veteran of 1980s student politics when anti-Tory anger on the streets reached its heights - took delight in mocking "our crusty friends" who threw things at him as he arrived at the conference centre. "I drew only one conclusion - that we need to do more to encourage sport in schools, because they managed to miss me with every projectile," he said in his conference speech on Tuesday. At a fringe meeting on whether the Tories should protect the NHS, on Tuesday, Telegraph columnist Janet Daley told panellists struggling to make themselves heard above the sound of chanting protesters to ignore the "din" from protesters who were helping to secure the Conservatives "millions of votes". When the sound of drums and chanting was replaced by the drumming of heavy rain on the canvas roof the tent breathed a collective sigh of relief. "What the police could not be bothered to do God has done for us," said a woman in the audience.

Question: Anti-austerity demonstrations have reached a new pitch outside this year 's Conservative conference in Manchester , with party members and MPs running a daily gauntlet of abuse from @placeholder anarchists and other protesters as they queue to get in .


Now the officer has revealed that the young man got the job, and will begin work next week. "He is starting Monday," Mr Jeyanesan told Canada's CP24 by email. "He told me he actually wore the shirt and the tie - I'm just so happy!" Speaking last week, the officer said Walmart staff had apprehended the would-be thief for attempting to steal a dress shirt, tie and socks. "This young person has been facing his own difficulties in life and he was looking to straighten out all that by providing for his family and trying to get a job," Mr Jeyanesan said. "This individual didn't have any resources. "He wanted to go get that job. That was in his mind. I think he truly made a mistake." The teenager had told the officer that his father was sick, and that the family had suffered difficult times as a result. Constable Jeyanesan said that thanks to "some friends who were willing to help out", the elder man is now employed as well. Speaking to the BBC on 7 August, Mr Jeyanesan's staff sergeant Paul Bois praised his actions. "Arresting him [the 18-year-old] wouldn't have been in the best interests of anyone," he said. "I reacted very positively to the news; all issues were resolved by the action the officer took. "It reiterates our goal of being positive role models in the community."

Question: Last Monday , a shoplifter in Toronto was caught stealing an outfit for a job interview . But when Constable Niran Jeyanesan @placeholder to arrest him , he was moved by the 18 - year - old 's story and decided to buy him the clothes instead .


Everyone is looking around at everyone else. They're wondering what to make of the intimidating, bedraggled man standing in front of us. We've just been ushered into his space, a stale-smelling shipping container strewn with empty water bottles that he frantically gathers up as we enter, the occasional sounds of crushing and rebounding plastic echoing back. Now still and silent, his eyes flit nervously to and fro inside his mask, which depicts some hellish version of a human face, bent and tortured in its bizarre features. The audience is here voluntarily, although you might not know it from the stolen glances darted around the room. Fear, uncertainty and excitement are the main emotions you feel as you move from container to container, shepherded here and there through hidden entrances by a surreal cast of actors, all wearing their disturbing masks. They never quite connect with the audience, forcing you to question what you should be doing, whether you should be interacting more or less with the performance. Such is the mysterious appeal of The Boy Who Crawled Out of His Face - one of a string of "immersive theatre" productions that have proved popular in recent months. Over the river, just next to the Olympic Park, audiences in search of a similar experience could find themselves on a set of Secret Cinema recreating the town square in the 1980s hit film Back to the Future, inviting punters to re-experience one of their favourite films in real life. While very different in scale and feel, both productions offered an involving surprise fantasy in the realms of so-called "immersive theatre" - a kind of extreme escapism that seems to have taken root in London, with new shows popping up every few weeks. But is this an isolated trend - the latest outlet for experimental theatre directors working in the capital? Or does it reveal a bigger appetite for escapism encompassing computer games, social media and even playing pretend as zombies? The diverse strands of immersive theatre "appeal to hedonistic desire", says Dr Adam Alston, lecturer in theatre and performance studies at the University of Surrey. "It offers something of the fun, entertaining, cool and exhilarating qualities of festivals and clubs," he adds. Immersive theatre has been around quite a while now - you could argue all the way back to Shakespeare's day and the thrust stage. The latest fashion is a reaction to the digital age and people's desire for a live, shared experience. Hence the rise in popularity of theatre, festivals and performance art. The "experiential" scene is over a decade old now - think of all those people lying on their backs in Tate Modern when Olafur Eliasson's Sun was installed in the Turbine Hall. I'd say London has been something of a centre, with Punchdrunk et al, but I wouldn't discount the contribution that New York, Berlin and Manchester (with its International Festival) have contributed. Read more from Will For a  recent production of Macbeth in east London, the audience stayed 12 hours overnight in a decaying 27-storey tower block, as the play was acted out over three floors. Punters were then invited to sleep in one of the flats before watching the sun rise together on the roof the next morning. It may not match Michael Sheen's 72-hour performance of The Passion at Port Talbot, but David Shearing, a lecturer in theatre and audience immersion at Leeds University, says the immersive Macbeth gave "a real sense of being part of something". "You feel like you're on a journey," he said. "We buy into the experience and not just the performance." He said the parallels between immersive theatre and computer games were clear. The Drowned Man, a recent London production, Punchdrunk, left audience members unguided, wandering through extravagantly decorated rooms - letting them decide whether to stay put or follow characters as they explored the space. "The rules and the structures are the same," Dr Shearing says. "You have to go through levels, especially in Punchdrunk, where you have to hunt out clues and explore the world." Destiny, an internet computer game, is just the latest example. Costing $500m (¡ê312.3m) to develop and promote and drawing in 4.5m people worldwide to help test its pre-release versions, it hopes to have 10m players plugging in on day one. In today's world, generating an experience is everything, says Dr Alston. Immersive theatre producers "put audience members centre stage" in an apparently tailored experience, including audiences in the action "to make their 'escapist' experience all the more unique and personal to them". The trend even reaches into the horror genre, giving people the chance to become one of the undead in a 'zombie bootcamp', or inviting them to be chased around British city streets by zombies on a pre-designated course in 2.8 Hours Later. Immersive theatre productions can now be seen in New York, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro and other global cities, says Dr Alsoton. But what role does London play in all this? According to Mr Shearing, the trend began in the mid-2000s with shows at Battersea Arts Centre and Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. Ben Power, associate director at the National Theatre, said the capital had been a "really important" incubator for immersive theatre on the world scene. "Things have grown up in London and Europe that find their way to the US in a mutated form," he says. This is partly due to the expense of putting up shows in unusual spaces in other global cities. Adam Feldman, theatre critic for Time Out New York, said some innovative productions "require such a huge space that it's hard to find somewhere in New York to hold it". Back on the jetty reaching out over the River Thames, the production company Shunt claims it measures the success of its bizarre production by how far the medium has been pushed - and not the numbers that pop up in its bank account. Co-founder Gemma Brockis says: "I think we judge our success by our audience and also our own perception of what we find interesting and how we feel we've challenged ourselves - or surprised people, or surprised ourselves." The show's first night had to be cancelled because of lightning - perhaps the price of risk-taking on such a scale. But far from being a Londont trend, immersive theatre seems to have plenty of life left in it, whether you want a new brand of escapism or just a good night out.

Question: Audiences in London are flocking to new productions of " immersive theatre " - secret , tailored shows in often wacky @placeholder which take audience participation to a new extent . But what is behind this trend and did it originate in the capital ?


Andrew Puzder lost the support of several Republican senators after he admitted employing an illegal immigrant as a former housekeeper. The fast-food billionaire had been criticised for his remarks on women and employees at his restaurants. He was the first Trump cabinet pick to fail to secure a nomination. The fallout from Mr Puzder's rancorous 1980s divorce had also returned to dog him. It recently emerged that his ex-wife, Lisa Fierstein, appeared in disguise as a victim of domestic violence in a 1990 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, titled High Class Battered Women. They split in 1987, but she later dropped the abuse claims in a child custody agreement. In an 18 January letter to the Senate committee that had been due to hold Mr Puzder's confirmation hearing, Ms Fierstein said: "Andy is not and was not abusive or violent." But Susan Collins, one of several Republican senators who withheld support for Mr Puzder, said she was taking the talk show tape into consideration. The Maine politician told reporters on Monday: "I have gone to view the Oprah Winfrey show for an hour on which his former wife appeared and I am reviewing the other information that has come to light." The clip was presented last month to members of the Senate panel. The CKE Restaurants chief executive's opposition to raising the minimum wage, overtime laws and break-time for workers had also drawn the ire of union groups. Some of his staff at burger chains such as Carl's Jr and Hardee's claimed they were victims of wage theft or sexual harassment in the workplace. Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said he had voiced reluctance to the Republican leadership to back Mr Puzder. "As revelations regarding paying employees in cash, illegal immigration, and comments regarding some of the American workforce came to light, I developed serious concerns regarding his nomination," he said. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO union, argued Mr Puzder would not have protected employees against his own industry. "How can he possibly go out and defend workers?" he said. Mr Puzder was also criticised for racy commercials that featured bikini models gorging on fast food. Defending the strategy, he argued in a 2011 press release: "We believe in putting hot models in our commercials, because ugly ones don't sell burgers." But perhaps most damagingly, he had admitted failing to pay taxes on an undocumented housekeeper who worked for him for up to five years. He later repaid back-taxes after being nominated by Mr Trump. "I fully support the president and his highly qualified team," said Mr Puzder in a statement on Wednesday as he confirmed his withdrawal.

Question: US President Donald Trump 's choice for labour secretary has withdrawn from consideration on the eve of a long - @placeholder confirmation hearing .


The animal, called Xenoturbella, is so bizarre that for 60 years researchers could not work out what it was - or where it fitted into the family tree. But the discovery of four new species in the Pacific has enabled scientists to conclude that this animal belongs to one of the earliest branches of life. The study is published in the journal Nature. Lead researcher Prof Greg Rouse, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the US, said: "Our nickname for them was purple socks. "So if you think of a sock that you have taken off and thrown on the floor - they literally look like that. "Or a deflated balloon." Xenoturbella was first described in 1949. The ocean oddity has no eyes, no brain and no gut. Just a small gaping mouth from which food goes in -  and then waste comes out. Only one species was known, and it left scientists scratching their heads. Early genetic tests mistakenly placed the marine "sock" as a mollusc. "But it turned out they had sequenced the DNA of what it eats," explained Prof Rouse. Other researchers thought that it was a once-sophisticated creature that had got rid of all of its complex features as it evolved. But the discovery of four new species from the depths of Pacific Ocean has allowed scientists to study this animal more closely. With Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), they have been able to film these creatures for the first time. They include a new large specimen, which is more than 20cm-long, which has been called Xenoturbella monstrosa. And also Xenoturbella churro: named after the sweet, fried Spanish pastry, which it resembles - in an admittedly less appetising way. The new additions to the family have enabled scientists to carry out more extensive genetic tests. "We corroborate the fact that they should be thought of as a fairly primitive group," said Prof Rouse. They sit near the base of the family tree, he added. "A major branch on the evolutionary tree of life has now got another four new species instead of just one." But if you think it is cased closed for Xenoturbella, think again. "We've never seen it feeding," said Prof Rouse. "We find it where these molluscs are, and when we sequence it, we find these molluscs, their DNA, is inside. But when we open them up, we find their gut is empty. "And they just have a tiny little mouth opening.  They don't have teeth, they don't have any sucking proboscis structure that could tear off a piece of some bivalve. "It is a great unsolved mystery as to how Xenoturbella eats." The team hopes future ocean expeditions will shed more light on this bizarre beast of the deep. Follow Rebecca on Twitter

Question: The mystery of a deep - sea creature that resembles a @placeholder purple sock has been solved , scientists report .


Spieth, winner of two majors in 2015, will collect a first prize of ¡ê922,266 and a bonus of ¡ê6.6m if he wins the final competition in the FedEx Cup. The American, 22, is on eight under and has a one-stroke lead over Stenson. The Swede, who held a three-shot lead overnight, shot a two-over par 72. Stenson would also win the overall FedEx Cup with victory on the East Lake course, but will have to improve on a Saturday display that saw him post four bogeys. Spieth, in contrast, ended his round on a high with a brilliant 20-foot birdie at the final hole. "I thought we were tied," he said of his battle with Stenson. "I didn't realise I was leading until about 20 minutes after I finished and someone mentioned it." His compatriot Rickie Fowler, another who would pick up the bonus with victory in Atlanta, is four shots behind along with England's Paul Casey. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who has a very slim chance of taking the ¡ê6.6m, is on three under after a level-par 70. Also on three under par, and another with a chance of the ¡ê6.6m, is American Zach Johnson, who must win while Australian world number one Jason Day finishes tied second or worse. Day, who has won three of the previous four tournaments he has competed in, is level par for the tournament.

Question: Jordan Spieth fired a third round two - under-par 68 as he mastered the wet conditions in Atlanta and @placeholder Henrik Stenson at the top of the Tour Championship leaderboard .


Englishman Simon Andrews was taken by helicopter to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast after the accident in the Superstock race. Andrews, 29, is from Evesham in Worcestershire and rides for the Penz13.com BMW team. His family are at his bedside in the Belfast hospital. Last year, he suffered serious injuries in the Le Mans 24-Hour race. Saturday's accident happened at the Metropole section of the 8.9-mile North West circuit. It was the second serious crash at this year's NW200 meeting. On Tuesday, Franck Petricola crashed during a practice session. The 31-year-old Frenchman is being treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital and his condition was described as critical.

Question: A high - profile rider @placeholder in a critical condition after a crash at Saturday 's North West 200 motorcycling road races in Northern Ireland .


Postgraduate student Joseph Hone found a manuscript which revealed the scientist had designed the medal for Queen Anne's coronation in 1702. It explained the design as symbolising the dual threats of France and rival Stuart claimants to the throne. It was described as a "really exciting discovery" by the project leader. Researching in the National Archives in Kew, Mr Hone found Newton's handwritten account of designing the commemorative medal. The 50-page document had been overlooked for years, he said, as the clasp holding the pages had rusted over. The design had previously been thought to have been the work of a court painter, but the manuscript shows that Newton, who was Master of the Royal Mint at the time, was responsible. Newton's notes reveal that the depiction of the queen as a Greek goddess striking down a monster was not a random picture of a national defender, but a specific reference to contemporary political threats to her rule. In the iconography of this 18th Century propaganda, the creature with two heads represents the joint threat of the French king, Louis XIV, and the so-called "Old Pretender", James Stuart. Queen Anne was the daughter of the deposed Catholic monarch, James II, and the old king's son, James Stuart, was living in exile and claiming that he had a more legitimate right to the throne. The medal shows Queen Anne facing this threat of a Catholic alliance between France and the exiled Stuarts, headed by her half-brother James. Gold versions of the medal were to be given out to "persons of quality", according to the notes, with cheaper silver versions to be thrown to the crowds. The medal also divided opinion along contemporary political lines, says Mr Hone, with the Tories "really disliking" it as an attempt to present the new queen in a way that would be more sympathetic to the rival Whigs. Mr Hone, an English PhD student on a Oxford and Exeter university project, says the discovery casts more light on Newton's professional career and how his work moved between science, maths and humanities. "The modern obsession with separating science and the humanities falls down when you go back a few centuries," he said. "It's not that he didn't see them as separate, but more that he saw them as inseparable." He says the notes show Newton switching ideas from science to maths, classical history, politics and literature. "It tells us that Newton didn't conceive of himself as a scientist, but a master of lots of trades. The understanding of him as a great scientist is a later imposition, he would have seen himself more as a public servant." The project is examining the transitions between different Stuart reigns and looking at public responses during these times of "regime change". It was a moment when people wanted to advance their own cause by putting themselves on the right side of the incoming ruler. The co-director of the project, Paulina Kewes, from Oxford's English department, described the findings as a "really exciting discovery". "The notes and sketches for this medal give us an insight into the politics surrounding Anne's succession and Isaac Newton's surprising role in them."

Question: A student at Oxford University has discovered that a coronation medal was personally designed by Isaac Newton and includes a hidden political @placeholder .


The white cat was apprehended crossing the main prison gate. The incident took place at a jail in Arapiraca city, 250km (155 miles) south-west of Recife in Alagoas state. The confiscated items included drill bits, files, a mobile phone and charger, plus earphones The cat was taken to a local animal centre. The jail holds some 263 prisoners. A prison spokesperson was quoted by local paper Estado de S. Paulo as saying: "It's tough to find out who's responsible for the action as the cat doesn't speak." Officials said the items could be used to effect a means of escape or for communicating with criminals on the outside. The incident took place at New Year, but the photo has only recently been released.

Question: A cat has been detained in the @placeholder of a jail in Brazil with contraband goods for prisoners strapped to its body with tape .


"Lord Thomson of Fleet," it says. "He gave new direction to the British newspaper industry." And then the sentence that gives pause: "A strange and adventurous man from nowhere, ennobled by the great virtues of courage, and integrity, and faithfulness." Roy Thomson died in 1976 at the age of 82, and his was indeed a remarkable business story. The plaque made me remember it again. He was born to a pretty poor family in Toronto in 1894, and was hindered by poor eyesight. Or maybe helped, increasing his doggedness. He dabbled in small businesses from his teens onwards, with little success. He tried farming, and failed. He went back to Toronto and had several undistinguished jobs. Then he started selling radios in small towns deep in northern Ontario, the only territory left. And there began a remarkable media story. Rural radio users in the 1930s had little to listen to. So Roy Thomson bought someone else's neglected radio licence, and his station CFCH began broadcasting in the town of North Bay in March 1931; the inaugural programme had music by the Battery Boys and a speech by the mayor. Roy Thomson, odd job man, was on his way. In 1934 he bought a small local paper, the Timmins Daily Press, beginning what soon became a diverse media empire. By the end of the 1940s, Thomson owned 19 newspapers and was president of the Canadian daily paper publishers' association. But the old country beckoned. In 1952, seeking his Scottish roots, Roy Thomson moved to Edinburgh. The next year he bought the Scotsman, giving him some status but a lot of criticism as he applied commercial instincts to a venerable paper. Then came television. The government introduced what was called, in typical British look-down-the-nose way, "commercial" television. Roy Thomson with his Scotsman credentials led the consortium which won the franchise for Scottish TV, launched in 1957. In a much-quoted (but maybe inaccurately quoted) phrase, he described television as a licence to print money. It was. But print was at the heart of his increasing empire. As he put it: "I buy newspapers to make money, to buy more newspapers to make more money." Like Beaverbrook before him and Conrad Black and Rupert Murdoch after him, Roy Thomson was a wild colonial boy who cut a swathe through traditional owned British newspapers. He used the profits from STV to buy a raft of Kemsley newspapers from the Kemsley family in 1957, including the Sunday Times. When the family owners of what used to be termed The Times of London panicked over tiny losses in 1966, Thomson was there to snap it up. His newspaper empire grew to embrace more than 200 papers in Britain, Canada and the USA, and a host of other publishing interests. Every time he met another newspaperman, he would ask if their paper was for sale. It was brash, vulgar, persistent. Not just publishing, either. With its Scottish perspective connection, the International Thomson Organisation (as it was by then called) joined a consortium that successfully struck oil in North Sea fields. Much of the group's flair was due to a canny chief executive, Gordon Brunton, now Sir Gordon. He had been at the London School of Economics with Vladimir Raitz, the man who revolutionised post war British travel. In 1950 Mr Raitz had organised what was effectively the first modern package holiday, flying fellow Russians to Corsica for a holiday in the sun for ?¡ê32 all round, at a time when harsh official limits on taking sterling abroad severely restricted foreign travel from the UK. Mr Raitz founded the pioneering Horizon Holidays and later helped Sir Gordon launch what became Thomson Holidays, one of the main travel companies of its time. I saw Roy Thomson once, coming in through the revolving doors at the Sunday Times in London, where he moved around by public transport. His pebble thick spectacle lenses glinted in the sun, and he was on his way upstairs to his office, probably to get out his ruler and measure the amount of advertising in his own newspapers and that of his rivals. This overt preoccupation with the commerce of newspapers was scorned by superior journalistic types, but it was he, not they, who got a barony named after Fleet Street, where his newspapers never had offices. But for all Roy Thomson's commercial instincts, he failed to transform the impossibly tangled way that newspapers were produced. A year-long strike of production workers at the Times and the Sunday Times in 1979 changed little, and not long afterwards his son Kenneth (Lord Thomson in Britain, Ken in Canada) sold those two papers to Rupert Murdoch, who then took on the print unions in a decisive encounter that transformed Fleet Street. Many other papers followed that sale. But though print has little or no part in it, Roy Thomson had created a continuing huge business empire. At one time his late son Ken (also Lord Thomson, but only in Britain) was named by the magazine Forbes as the ninth richest man in the world. Roy Thomson's grandson David inherited the leadership of the company in 2006 and continued the evolution of the business by buying the venerable news agency Reuters two years later. He's now chairman of the company named Thomson Reuters, the biggest business information provider in the world. It is a remarkable family story, based on the man who was still a failing jack of all trades at the age of 36, still known only in Canada at the age of 54, who became a national known figure in Britain only in his 60s. Roy Thomson's autobiography is called "After I was 60". That's what the plaque means by calling him a strange and adventurous man from nowhere. It is striking to see him so memorialised in St Paul's.

Question: Down in the crypt underneath the vast bulk of St Paul 's Cathedral , down there where London started , there is a handsome memorial stone with a haunting @placeholder .


The sheer number of sites refreshing key credentials may trigger delays, reported the Washington Post. The updates could force browsers to keep downloading and checking long lists of safe sites which would slow attempts to reach those destinations. The updates will help stop attackers posing as well-known sites using stolen security credentials. About 500,000 websites were thought to be vulnerable to the Heartbleed bug which, if exploited, would let attackers slowly steal data from web servers. Many sites, including Google, Facebook, DropBox and OKCupid, have now patched the version of the security software they ran, called OpenSSL, that was vulnerable to Heartbleed. However, said Paul Mutton, a security analyst at Netcraft, sites also had to take action to change a separate security measure if they wanted to be sure that visitors' data did not go astray. This separate measure is known as a security certificate and is a guarantee of a site's identity. Heartbleed raised questions about the worth of the guarantee security certificates offered, said Mr Mutton. Using the Heartbleed bug attackers could seize secret keys used in conjunction with security certificates as an identity check. "It would be safest to assume that all of the 500,000 certificates have been compromised," he told the BBC. "Most Certificate Authorities are offering to reissue and revoke for free, so there is no excuse not to take action." However, he said, the revoking and reissuing of hundreds of thousands of certificates could have a knock-on effect on web browsing speeds. When a user visits a site, their browsing program typically checks to see if the security certificate for that site has been revoked, said Mr Mutton. Under normal circumstances, this rarely causes a delay as relatively few certificates are revoked every day. Now, said Mr Mutton, the numbers of revocations were growing, thanks to Heartbleed, with thousands more every day being revoked and reissued. Robin Alden, chief technology officer at certificate authority Comodo, told PC World that its renewal rates had gone up by a factor between 15 and 30 since news about Heartbleed broke. It said it was providing tools to customers to help them check if sites were vulnerable to the Heartbleed bug. "Certificate revocation has always been a bottleneck since SSL was invented," said Dr Mark Manulis, a senior lecturer at the University of Surrey's computing department who specialises in cryptography. If Heartbleed led to large scale revocations that could cause problems, said Dr Manulis, as not all browsers downloaded lists and there were potentially hundreds of certification authorities to contact, "Each browser would have to contact each of those authorities and download the lists because those lists are not shared," he said. Mr Mutton from Netcraft said an added complication was being introduced by firms that issued new certificates but had not revoked the older potentially vulnerable ones. "This is dangerous," he said. "If the old certificates had been compromised, they could still be spoofed and used for man-in-the-middle attacks even if the affected sites are now using new certificates." Dr Dan Page, a lecturer in cryptography from the University of Bristol, said updating certificates and issuing new ones can take time. "It takes time for the revocations to filter through the system," he said. "Previously there have been breaches but not across everyone," added Dr Page. "That's definitely different here and is much more worrying." Also struggling to cope with its workload is the organisation behind the OpenSSL software in which the Heartbleed was found. In an open letter Steve Marquess, president of the OpenSSL Software Foundation, issued a plea for more donations and funding to recruit more people to help maintain the widely used software. "While OpenSSL does 'belong to the people' it is neither realistic nor appropriate to expect that a few hundred, or even a few thousand, individuals provide all the financial support," he wrote in a blogpost. "The ones who should be contributing real resources are the commercial companies and governments who use OpenSSL extensively and take it for granted," he added. Annual donations typically amounted to about $2,000 (?¡ê1,195), he said, though this had briefly spiked following publicity about Heartbleed. More money would help the Foundation hire enough staff to cope with all the requests it gets for help and to maintain the core code. "There should be at least a half dozen full time OpenSSL team members, not just one, able to concentrate on the care and feeding of OpenSSL without having to hustle commercial work," he said. "If you're a corporate or government decision-maker in a position to do something about it, give it some thought," he said.

Question: The struggle to fix problems caused by the Heartbleed bug may slow browsing speeds , warns @placeholder firm Netcraft .