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US storms: Tornadoes wreak havoc in Mississippi - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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Aerial footage shows the extent of devastation caused by tornadoes in Mississippi in the US, which claimed the lives of four people
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Aerial footage shows the extent of devastation caused by tornadoes in Mississippi in the US, which claimed the lives of four people
And a state of emergency has been declared in seven counties in south-central Georgia, where 14 people were killed.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38715832
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The English vet saving Sri Lanka’s street dogs - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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The vet who left behind her home in England to care for Sri Lanka’s street dogs.
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A vet has left behind her home in England to care for Sri Lanka’s street dogs.
Janey Lowes from Barnard Castle, County Durham, has spent the past two years caring for the neglected animals.
There are about three million street dogs on the island – about 60% of puppies born on the street do not survive to adulthood.
The 28-year-old set up charity WECare Worldwide to raise money to buy the equipment needed to treat the animals and to set up her own clinic in Talalla.
You can see more on this story on Inside Out on BBC One at 19:30 GMT on Monday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38691375
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Thomas Friedman, NYT: 'I fear a 'chaos presidency' - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman says he fears there will be a 'chaos presidency'
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"I think they're going to pay a big price" - that's what Donald Trump said about journalists whom he described as "the most dishonest human beings on earth".
Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist and three times Pulitzer-prize winner, tells the Today programme that President Trump was a "chaos candidate" and he now fears a "chaos presidency".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38718266
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Australian Open: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga shares heartfelt letter from ball girl - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga shares a thank you note from a ball girl named Giuliana, whom he helped at the 2016 Australian Open.
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Australia
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It was the gesture at last year's Australian Open tennis tournament that made headlines around the world.
During his second-round match, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga noticed a ball girl was fighting back tears after being struck by a ball.
The Frenchman stopped play to check on the girl before looping his arm through hers and escorting her off the court.
Twelve months on, Tsonga has revealed the girl, Giuliana, sent him a heartfelt message of thanks.
"I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you for helping me out on court during your round 2 match. I'm not sure if you remember me but I was the ball girl you escorted off court.
"I would also like to take the opportunity to apologise for the times when you asked for the ball but I did not service it to you or acknowledge you.
"I had picked up a virus which I was unaware of and it caused me to become dizzy and lightheaded. This also affected my vision and hearing.
"I apologise for not being able to perform my duties as a ball kid to the high standards that are expected.
"Thank you so much for the kindness that you showed me. I really appreciate that you were able to see that I needed some help and were kind enough to escort me off court."
The letter finishes by wishing Tsonga "all the best" for his remaining games, before signing off: "Giuliana, AO Ballkid no. 180."
Tsonga made the letter public in a tweet thanking Giuliana, which has been widely shared.
The world number 12 will play 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals after beating Britain's Dan Evans on Sunday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-38713952
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What executive actions has Trump taken? - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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President Trump signs a flurry of orders as he lays out his presidential agenda.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What exactly is an executive order, and how significant are they to a president's legacy?
One of the first ways a new president is able to exercise political power is through unilateral executive orders.
While legislative efforts take time, a swipe of the pen from the White House can often enact broad changes in government policy and practice.
President Donald Trump has wasted little time in taking advantage of this privilege.
Given his predecessor's reliance on executive orders to circumvent Congress in the later days of his presidency, he has a broad range of areas in which to flex his muscle.
Here's a look at some of what Mr Trump has done so far:
Mr Trump signed the order at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) undoing a key part of the Obama administration's efforts to tackle global warming.
The order reverses the Clean Power Plan, which had required states to regulate power plants, but had been on hold while being challenged in court.
Before signing the order, a White House official told the press that Mr Trump does believe in human-caused climate change, but that the order was necessary to ensure American energy independence and jobs.
Environmental groups warn that undoing those regulations will have serious consequences at home and abroad.
"I think it is a climate destruction plan in place of a climate action plan," the Natural Resources Defense Council's David Doniger told the BBC, adding that they will fight the president in court.
Immediate impact: A coalition of 17 states filed a legal challenge against the Trump administration's decision to roll back climate change regulations. The challenge, led by New York state, argued that the administration has a legal obligation to regulate emissions of the gases believed to cause global climate change. Mars Inc, Staples and The Gap are among US corporations who are also challenging Mr Trump's reversal on climate change policy.
After an angry weekend in Florida in which he accused former-president Barack Obama of wiretapping his phones at Trump Tower, Mr Trump returned to the White House to sign a revised version of his controversial travel ban.
The executive order titled "protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States" was signed out of the view of the White House press corps on 6 March.
The order's new language is intended to skirt the legal pitfalls that caused his first travel ban to be halted by the court system.
Immediate impact: Soon after the order was signed, it was once again blocked by a federal judge, this time in Hawaii.
Surrounded by farmers and Republican lawmakers, Mr Trump signed an order on 28 February directing the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers to reconsider a rule issued by President Obama.
The 2015 regulation - known as the Waters of the United States rule - gave authority to the federal government over small waterways, including wetlands, headwaters and small ponds.
The rule required Clean Water Act permits for any developer that wished to alter or damage these relatively small water resources, which the president described as "puddles" in his signing remarks.
Opponents of Mr Obama's rule, including industry leaders, condemned it as a massive power grab by Washington.
Scott Pruitt, Mr Trump's pick to lead the EPA, will now begin the task of rewriting the rule, and a new draft is not expected for several years.
Immediate impact: The EPA has been ordered to rewrite, or even repeal the rule, but first it must be reviewed. Water protection laws were passed by Congress long before Mr Obama's rule was announced, so it cannot simply be undone with the stroke of a pen. Instead the EPA must re-evaluate how to interpret the 1972 Clean Water Act.
A bill the president signed on 16 February put an end to an Obama-era regulation that aimed at protecting waterways from coal mining waste.
Senator Mitch McConnell had called the rule an "attack on coal miners".
The US Interior Department, which reportedly spent years drawing up the regulation before it was issued in December, had said it would protect 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests.
An attempt to cut down on the burden of small businesses.
Described as a "two-out, one-in" approach, the order asked government departments that request a new regulation to specify two other regulations they will drop.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will manage the regulations and is expected to be led by the Republican Mick Mulvaney.
Some categories of regulation will be exempt from the "two-out, one-in" clause - such as those dealing with the military and national security and "any other category of regulations exempted by the Director".
Immediate impact: Wait and see.
Probably his most controversial action, so far, taken to keep the country safe from terrorists, the president said.
The effect was felt at airports in the US and around the world as people were stopped boarding US-bound flights or held when they landed in the US.
Immediate impact: Enacted pretty much straight away. But there are battles ahead. Federal judges brought a halt to deportations, and legal rulings appear to have put an end to the travel ban - much to the president's displeasure.
A fence is already in place along much of the US-Mexico border
On Mr Trump's first day as a presidential candidate in June 2015, he made securing the border with Mexico a priority.
He pledged repeatedly at rallies to "build the wall" along the southern border, saying it would be "big, beautiful, and powerful".
Now he has signed a pair of executive orders designed to fulfil that campaign promise.
One order declares that the US will create "a contiguous, physical wall or other similarly secure, contiguous, and impassable physical barrier".
The second order pledges to hire 10,000 more immigration officers, and to revoke federal grant money from so-called "sanctuary cities" which refuse to deport undocumented immigrants.
It remains to be seen how Mr Trump will pay for the wall, although he has repeatedly insisted that it will be fully paid for by the Mexican government, despite their leaders saying otherwise.
Immediate impact: The Department of Homeland Security has a "small" amount of money available (about $100m) to use immediately, but that won't get them very far. Construction of the wall will cost billions of dollars - money that Congress will need to approve. Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the Republican-led Congress will need to come up with $12-$15bn more, and the funding fight - and any construction - will come up against issues with harsh terrain, private land owners and opposition from both Democrats and some Republicans.
The department will also need additional funds from Congress to hire more immigration officers, but the order will direct the head of the agency to start changing deportation priorities. Cities targeted by the threat to remove federal grants will likely build legal challenges, but without a court injunction, the money can be removed.
The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, along with Arizona Democrat Raul Graijalva, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
They argue the Department of Homeland Security is required to draft a new environmental review of the impacts of the wall and other border enforcement activities as it could damage public lands.
With the stroke of a pen...
On his second full working day, the president signed two orders to advance construction of two controversial pipelines - the Keystone XL and Dakota Access.
Mr Trump told reporters the terms of both deals would be renegotiated, and using American steel was a requirement.
Keystone, a 1,179-mile (1,897km) pipeline running from Canada to US refineries in the Gulf Coast, was halted by President Barack Obama in 2015 due to concerns over the message it would send about climate change.
The second pipeline was halted last year as the Army looked at other routes, amid huge protests by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe at a North Dakota site.
Immediate impact: Mr Trump has granted a permit to TransCanada, the Keystone XL builder, to move forward with the controversial pipeline. As a result, TransCanada will drop an arbitration claim for $15bn in damages it filed under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mr Trump made no mention of an American steel requirement. Construction will not start until the company obtains a permit from Nebraska's Public Service Commission.
The Dakota Access pipeline has since been filled with oil and the company is in the process of preparing to begin moving oil.
In one of his first actions as president, Mr Trump issued a multi-paragraph directive to the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies involved in managing the nation's healthcare system.
The order states that agencies must "waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay" any portions of the Affordable Care Act that creates financial burden on states, individuals or healthcare providers.
Although the order technically does not authorise any powers the executive agencies do not already have, it's viewed as a clear signal that the Trump administration will be rolling back Obama-era healthcare regulations wherever possible.
Immediate impact: Republicans failed to secure an overhaul of the US healthcare system due to a lack of support for the legislation. That means Mr Trump's executive order is one of the only remaining efforts to undermine Obamacare.
Abortion activists were among the many protesters that came out against Trump's presidency one day after his inauguration
What's called the Mexico City policy, first implemented in 1984 under Republican President Ronald Reagan, prevents foreign non-governmental organisations that receive any US cash from "providing counselling or referrals for abortion or advocating for access to abortion services in their country", even if they do so with other funding.
The ban, derided as a "global gag rule" by its critics, has been the subject of a political tug-of-war ever since its inception, with every Democratic president rescinding the measure, and every Republican bringing it back.
Anti-abortion activists expected Mr Trump to act quickly on this - and he didn't disappoint them.
Immediate impact: The policy will come into force as soon as the Secretaries of State and Heath write an implementation plan and apply to both renewals and new grants. The US State Department has notified the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that US funding for United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) would be withdrawn, arguing that it supports coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation. The agency has denied this, pointing to examples of its life-saving work in more than 150 countries and territories.
This policy will be much broader than the last time the rule was in place - the Guttmacher Institute, Kaiser Family Foundation and Population Action International believe the order, as written, will apply to all global health funding by the US, instead of only reproductive health or family planning.
The TPP pact would have affected 40% of global trade.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, once viewed as the crown jewel of Barack Obama's international trade policy, was a regular punching bag for Mr Trump on the campaign trail (although he at times seemed uncertain about what nations were actually involved).
The deal was never approved by Congress so it had yet to go into effect in the US.
Therefore the formal "withdrawal" is more akin to a decision on the part of the US to end ongoing international negotiations and let the deal wither and die.
Immediate impact: Takes effect immediately. In the meantime, some experts are worried China will seek to replace itself in the deal or add TPP nations to its own free trade negotiations, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), excluding the US.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38695593
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Newmarket organ donor baby, Hope Lee, was UK's youngest - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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The parents of the UK's youngest organ donor want to meet the woman whose life their baby daughter saved.
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The parents of the UK's youngest organ donor want to meet the woman whose life their baby daughter saved.
Her parents Andrew and Emma Lee have received a letter from the 26-year-old woman, who received liver cells from their baby, saying how "thankful" she is.
Mr Lee said they "would love" to meet her.
For more on this, and other stories visit BBC Local Live: Suffolk
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-38716199
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Your pictures: My diet - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Each week, we publish a gallery of readers' pictures on a set theme. This week it is "My diet".
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In Pictures
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And finally Teddy Everett sent in an image titled Fruit ninja. The next theme is "Winter views" and the deadline for your entries is 24 January. If you would like to enter, send your pictures to [email protected]. Further details and terms can be found by following the link to "We set the theme; you take the pictures," at the bottom of the page.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-38676099
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Ten seconds to demolish 19 buildings - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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Five tonnes of explosives are used to demolish a series of tower blocks in Wuhan, China.
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In just ten seconds, 19 buildings were demolished in Wuhan, China, in an operation using five tonnes of explosives.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38714059
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Virtually cycling the length of Britain - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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A digital games programmer from Angus is thought to be the first person to cycle from Land's End to John o'Groats in virtual reality (VR).
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A digital games programmer from Angus is thought to be the first person to cycle from Land's End to John o'Groats in virtual reality (VR).
Aaron Puzey did it without leaving home. He used an exercise bike, publicly available images and a smartphone app he wrote himself.
He rode more than 900 miles, burning 50,000 calories in the process.
Now he's hoping his creation - called CycleVR - will become a commercial proposition.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38688618
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Lagos living: Solving Nigeria's megacity housing crisis - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Nigeria's largest city Lagos is facing a housing crisis. The BBC's Nancy Kacungira looks at how entrepreneurs are trying to solve the crisis.
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Africa
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. New Nigerian homes are being built on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean
Nigeria's largest city Lagos is facing a housing crisis. The BBC's Nancy Kacungira looks at how entrepreneurs are trying to solve the crisis.
Affordable housing is a considerable challenge for urban areas with large populations, and this is particularly prevalent in the Nigeria's city of Lagos.
More than 500,000 people move to the city every year, and across Nigeria, there is already a housing deficit of more than 17 million units.
There are on-going projects of varying scale trying to address the shortage; one is reclaiming land from the Atlantic Ocean to build a new city suburb called Eko Atlantic on the shores of Victoria Island.
Tonnes of sand and heavy rock were poured into the ocean to provide 10 sq km (3.8 sq miles) of land for shops, offices and homes.
Protected by an 8km long sea wall, the city will have its own power and water supply, and even an independent road network.
Developers say Eko Atlantic is aimed at those on a middle income
Eko Atlantic will be able to accommodate more than 500,000 people, but the multibillion dollar project has been perceived as being "only for the rich".
Ronald Chagoury Jr, one of the developers, says it is a perception they have been trying to shake off.
"From the beginning we always thought that this would be a city for the middle income.
"We know that the middle income has grown significantly in the past 15 years and we know that it is going to grow even more."
Still, some residents of Lagos feel that there are already many housing options - they just cannot afford them.
Properties are pricey and landlords typically require annual, not monthly rent payments.
Banking consultant Abimbola Agbalu tells me that he has to live at his grandmother's house, because renting his own place would be too expensive.
Some housing projects remain unoccupied because they are pricey
"If I wanted to rent a house where I would prefer in Lagos I would be spending at least 80% of my pay cheque to move in because I would have to pay two years' rent upfront, agency fees and maintenance fees.
"And from then on I would have to spend another 60-70% of my pay cheque every year on rent, which doesn't make sense.
"The problem is not that there are no houses. If you look around, there are empty houses all over Lagos; some can even go a year without being rented out.
"The problem is that people can't afford them. We need better alternatives."
One Nigerian company is thinking inside the box in order to provide a cheaper housing option - by making homes out of cargo containers.
Dele Ijaiya-Oladipo says he co-founded Tempohousing Nigeria to provide a creative solution in a city that desperately needs low-cost housing.
Shipping containers are modified to make houses but Nigerians are not keen on them
"The only way we can get the housing deficit sorted is by providing good quality houses at affordable rates.
"You can't build a million homes at a price that no-one will ever afford - that doesn't achieve anything."
Mr Ijaiya-Oladipo's container homes are 25% cheaper than traditional housing, and can be built in as little as two weeks.
"But the concept is still foreign to many Nigerians; so most of his clients tend to use the containers to build office spaces, not homes," he says.
"Until a potential client actually sees our past work, they can't really picture how a shipping container can be used as a finished house or office.
"We have to encourage people to visit our office which is made out of containers, so they can see what we are talking about."
From a self-sustaining city to refurbished-shipping containers, private sector real-estate developers are offering both big and small solutions - and Lagos needs them all.
The city is Africa's largest, and its population is expected to double by 2050; putting even more pressure on already limited housing options.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38688796
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'How we built India's biggest robot company' - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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GreyOrange is India's biggest robotics company, making machines which support the country's booming online retail industry.
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Business
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. How GreyOrange is becoming India's home-grown robotics giant
In 2008, engineering student Samay Kohli wanted to build a humanoid robot, but his professor told him it would not be possible.
Along with his fellow student Akash Gupta, not only did they achieve that task, but they have also built GreyOrange, a multi-national robotics company based in India and operating across Asia.
"We've done some stuff that India was not supposed to do," Mr Kohli told the BBC. "People are not supposed to build hardware, robot products, out of India and we've been able to do that."
Acyut was India's first home-grown humanoid robot and the first robot the team behind GreyOrange built
So how did GreyOrange grow from an engineering classroom to an international robotics player?
Mr Kohli and Mr Gupta proved their teacher wrong, building India's first humanoid robot, which they called Acyut. They then entered their creation in kung fu competitions and international robot football championships.
The team also won several robotic competitions around the world.
But it was a different passion that has seen GreyOrange grow - not for sport, but for online shopping.
India's online shopping boom is driving massive international investment in the country's e-commerce sector
The e-commerce sector in India has seen unprecedented growth in the last few years.
Roughly 350 million Indian citizens are online and according to international payment company Worldpay, that will nearly double by 2020, when they will spend $63.7bn (£51.8bn) online.
Despite companies often making a loss as they offer deeper and deeper discounts to attract customers, investors have flooded into the sector. More than $5bn (£4bn) of private investment was ploughed into the sector in 2015, according to global consultancy PwC.
Amazon recently announced it would invest an additional $3bn in India, on top of the $2bn it announced in 2014.
While online retailing is only a part of e-commerce, it is the area that many see as the one with the biggest growth potential.
Those retailers servicing millions of consumers will need to keep their goods in warehouses, and those warehouses need to be efficient. That's where GreyOrange has positioned itself.
In India, GreyOrange says it has 90% of the warehouse automation market and it has worked with leading e-commerce and logistics firms in the country.
They also run eight offices in five countries and employ more than 650 people.
GreyOrange claims AI robot Butler can make a warehouse up to five times more efficient
"Warehouses are everywhere and they are supposed to become more and more intelligent as consumer demand increases.'' says Mr Kohli.
GreyOrange has two different robots to help warehouses become more productive.
Butler, an artificial intelligence-powered robotic system, helps pick products from shelves in the warehouse.
''A single person would pick about 100 to 120 items in one hour. With our Butler robot, he is able to pick 400 to 500 items every hour." Mr Kohli says.
The second robot, Sorter, automates the sorting of outgoing packages in a distribution centre.
They say that the robots they already have installed can potentially sort three million packages every day.
Samay Kohli (left) and Akash Gupta are the founders of GreyOrange
One of the biggest challenges to the company's success has been sourcing parts.
''India does not have a very strong hardware ecosystem." explains Paula Mariwala, who invests in technology based start-ups for SeedFund.
"So to source the right products and to get manufacturing going at a large scale in the early stages is particularly difficult. You would not be able to try out different components to have different versions of the product very easily - your time cycles will be longer. ''
The size of the potential prize is what has helped the founders overcome these problems.
''We were looking at how robots are going to be the next revolution that is coming right, the next decade is going to be all about making humans more efficient by using robots more and that's essentially how we got started.'' Mr Kohli says.
''Robots are needed to work with humans and not to replace them. Humans will always be there in the workplace, but robots make a very important part of the ecosystem they work with.
"Ten years ago, every person did not have a computer, today every person has one computer. We look at robots in that sense: as everyone has one computer, in the future they will have one robot with them to help them do their work better.
"It's a trillion-dollar opportunity, that's the space we're fighting in. ''
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38664034
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UK-EU trade deal: Another WTO issue - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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If the UK and the EU are going to have a trade agreement, it is best to get as many sectors covered as possible to reduce the chances of a WTO challenge.
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Business
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The UK is set for a hard Brexit from the EU
So the UK, it seems, is headed out of the European Union's single market, perhaps also out of the customs union.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants to preserve barrier-free trade between the UK and the EU as far as possible.
One option that has been floated, if the two sides can't agree a comprehensive free trade agreement, is sectoral deals. They might cover cars, for example, or perhaps financial services.
But there is a problem with this approach: World Trade Organization rules.
Perhaps the most fundamental idea behind the WTO's rule book is non-discrimination.
It goes by the rather confusing name of "most favoured nation".
It is Article 1 of the WTO's main legal agreement. It means that you must give the same degree of access to your home market that you give to the most favoured nation to all WTO members. A favour for one should be given to all.
You should not discriminate for or against any WTO member.
There are a few situations where the rules allow countries to depart from this principle - the one that is relevant here is for free-trade areas and customs unions (the two have important similarities, but are not the same).
The World Trade Organization is based in Geneva and came into being in 1995
The WTO's rule book says the member countries "recognise the desirability of increasing freedom of trade by the development, through voluntary agreements, of closer integration between the economies of countries parties to such agreements".
So a trade agreement between the UK and the EU would be allowed under WTO rules, in fact welcomed, even though it is something that is intrinsically discriminatory. It would involve the EU and the UK discriminating in favour of each other against outside countries.
Of course, the EU itself has the same effect, offering EU members better access to each other's markets than is available to either China or the United States, for example.
But there is a catch. The WTO rules say such agreements should cover "substantially all the trade" between the members of the customs union or free-trade area.
What does "substantially all" mean? There is some case law which touched on this. A dispute between Turkey (which has a customs union agreement with the EU) and India went to the WTO's appeals body, which said in its report: "It is clear, though, that 'substantially all the trade' is not the same as all the trade, and also that 'substantially all the trade' is something considerably more than merely some of the trade."
Not as cut and dried as you might hope, but all the trade experts I have spoken to say that a deal covering just a few sectors wouldn't qualify.
That seems to be reinforced by what a WTO dispute panel said in another case. This one, as it happens was about cars, an agreement between the US and Canada in the 1960s known as the Auto Pact.
There is one line in the panel's ruling that is particularly relevant here: "The Auto Pact, nevertheless, is a purely sectoral agreement which does not meet the requirements of Article XXIV:8" - that is the provision that sets out the "substantially all the trade" requirement.
So such a narrow sectoral deal might well be vulnerable to challenge in the WTO.
But would it actually happen?
There seems to be a great deal of reluctance to challenge these agreements. (The India v Turkey and Auto Pact disputes were not fundamentally about the wider trade agreements, but about very specific restrictions that the complaining country thought were against the rules.)
More than 600 of them have been notified to the WTO or its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Many are thought to stretch the credibility of "substantially all trade", by having various sectors uncovered.
But that makes countries reluctant to challenge others, for fear of shining an unwelcome light on their own agreements. As one senior trade official put it to me: "It's a glass houses kind of thing."
So a sectoral agreement between the UK and the EU might be challenged, but it would depend on whether any country wanted to do so.
Think of cars. There is another factor that might make a challenge less likely. Japan and the United States have car industries that have a presence in Europe and might well benefit from a deal between the EU and UK.
So perhaps we might get away with a narrow trade agreement. Even so, the uncertainty would be unwelcome to the industry concerned.
There is also the possibility of simply ignoring any unwelcome WTO ruling. The WTO has no real powers of enforcement. It can allow the other side to retaliate, but it can't arrest the trade minister.
On the other hand, the British government appears to be keen on the rules-based system of international trade and would probably be very uncomfortable about defying a ruling.
All the more reason, if the UK and the EU are going to have a trade agreement, to get as many sectors covered as possible, to reduce the chances of a WTO challenge.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38658025
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Golf must speed up to attract new fans - and a 54-hole cut can help - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Golf needs to reach out to new audiences - and a second cut after 54 holes is one way of speeding up the game, argues Iain Carter.
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Watching Tommy Fleetwood smashing a three-wood to the home green, imploring it to reach its distant target to help him clinch a prestigious title, was outstanding sporting theatre.
Here was a 26-year-old English star confirming his golfing renaissance by seizing the moment in champion style. He held off major winners Dustin Johnson and Martin Kaymer and it was stirring stuff.
Fleetwood's victory in the Abu Dhabi Championship also emphasised his place among the burgeoning talent pool populating the British golfing scene. It came seven days after Graeme Storm had beaten Rory McIlroy to the South African Open title.
But it was a long time in coming and with football, cricket, tennis, snooker and skiing all competing for your sporting attention on Sunday, you could be forgiven for switching away long before this exciting conclusion occurred.
The golfers were not especially slow but grouping them in three-balls, rather than the usual pairings of two, meant the weekend's twists and turns took an age to develop.
Sunday's champion chipped in for eagle on the 10th hole to leap into what should have been an absorbing title battle. However it was more than two full hours, during which the Southport star hit only 28 more shots, before the killer blow was administered.
And even then we had to wait for the final trio, Dustin Johnson, Pablo Larrazabal and Tyrrell Hatton, to complete their rounds - another quarter of an hour or so - before Fleetwood could, at last, be crowned champion.
All week in Abu Dhabi, the talk was of growing the game and attracting more fans. We had music on the range and on the final day more tunes were played to accompany the players' walk to the first tee.
Stewards clapped together their wooden "quiet please" signs (oh, the irony) to try to generate more atmosphere, but with limited success. It wasn't, thankfully, the sort of entrance you would see at the Lakeside darts.
Nevertheless it was a refreshing start and the organisers should be applauded for making the effort to give the pro game a bit of a showbiz feel, make it less stuffy and more welcoming. After all, we have been calling for such thinking for long enough.
Then, however, it all reverted to type. Spectators were put in their place with a warning, announced from the first tee, to put away cameras and phones before the formal introduction of the players.
All these announcements were made in English, which does little for game growing in Abu Dhabi. Let's not kid ourselves, these desert tournaments are purely the preserve of the ex-pat communities in the Middle East.
And for the worldwide television audience, there was then a five-hour wait from the moment the final group teed off until the tournament was decided. That's a sizeable chunk of anyone's weekend.
The decision to play in threes was made because 73 players made the cut and this was the only way to get them all round in the available daylight with a one-tee start.
Logistics determined the timetable, but when so many players make the cut (the leading 65 and ties qualify for the third round) it becomes too unwieldy.
Secondary cuts at the 54-hole stage are employed in some events but they should become standard practice whenever the only alternative is playing three-balls on the marquee final day.
As all of the other modernising initiatives try to demonstrate, pro golf is showbiz. The sport itself, surely, has to reflect the fact by being engaging and watchable.
So there should be a second cut on a Saturday evening. It would inject more interest to the penultimate day and would leave only genuine contenders competing in the closing round.
It is unlikely to happen though. The golfers are likely to object to anything that makes tournaments more cut-throat and, don't forget, the tours are run for the benefit of the players, their members.
But the bigger picture - which is the small one that fills television screens - suggests there should be no room for petty self-interest and that something needs to happen.
After all, what should have been a thrilling weekend was slow and stodgy and not the spectacle it deserved to be.
Only the die-hards, who stuck with it all the way, could genuinely appreciate Fleetwood's brilliant win and that cannot be right when trying to popularise golf is such a priority.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/38713186
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Family of Brighton cancer vlogger Charlotte Eades finds unseen videos - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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The family of a teenager who died from a brain tumour has discovered dozens of previously unseen videos she made.
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The family of a teenager who died from a brain tumour has discovered dozens of previously unseen videos she made.
Charlotte Eades, who died last February at the age of 19, was diagnosed with glioblastoma when she was 16.
On her YouTube channel the teenager from Brighton shared more than 100 inspirational videos about her battle with the disease.
You can see more on this story on Inside Out South East on BBC One at 19:30 GMT on Monday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-38697237
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Jetpack firefighting system showcased in Dubai - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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A firefighting system involving a jet ski and water-powered jetpack has been showcased in Dubai.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38711494
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James Haskell: There were times when I thought I was never going to recover - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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England flanker James Haskell admits there were times he feared his career might be over as he tried to regain fitness after a toe operation.
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England flanker James Haskell admits he doubted whether he would ever return from the foot injury which kept him out of action for six months.
After his long-awaited comeback a fortnight ago was curtailed because of concussion, he played for almost an hour in Wasps' win at Zebre on Sunday.
"It's been the hardest six months of my professional career," he told BBC 5 live's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"There was a time when I thought I was never going to make it back."
Haskell had been nursing a long-standing problem with his toe before it finally gave way completely late on in the second Test in Australia in June 2016.
• None Podcast: Listen to the first Rugby Union Weekly
"There were a lot of sessions where I would take three steps forward and two steps back, but we got there in the end," added Haskell.
"I tried to do the basics well [against Zebre], I've obviously got a bit of discomfort in the foot, but you are always going to have that."
Wasps' victory in Parma secured a place in the last eight of the Champions Cup, and set up a meeting with Leinster in Dublin.
"They have got better from where they were last season, they have keep improving, and they've got such a legacy in European rugby," Haskell added.
"Irish rugby is in a really good place from the national side downwards.
"It's going to be a challenging place to go and play, but it's why we are so desperate to be in the top tier of Europe, to go to places like Leinster and have a big European tear-up."
However, an officiating blunder in the narrow defeat by Connacht - who were incorrectly allowed to kick a penalty to touch after the final whistle and then scored the winning try from the subsequent line-out - means Dai Young's men missed out on a home draw.
"These things happen - there is nothing you can do about it," Haskell said.
"It is what it is, and we now have to go to a tough place to get a win, but if you want to be the best in Europe you have to go away and get these results."
Haskell and his Wasps team-mates will join up with the England squad in Portugal on Monday as they prepare for the upcoming Six Nations.
The 31-year-old was a key part of England's Grand Slam and unbeaten tour of Australia in 2016, but having missed the autumn internationals, he faces a battle to wrestle back the open-side flanker shirt from Tom Wood, who was singled out for praise this week by England boss Eddie Jones.
"There is so much competition there, it's very exciting. To get an opportunity to be involved with Eddie Jones' coaching staff is a very special place to be," Haskell added.
"If I can get through the training week and head towards bigger things then that would be amazing."
The new 5 live Rugby Union Weekly podcast launches on Monday - click here for more information.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38720899
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Australian Open 2017: Johanna Konta 'prepared' for Serena Williams quarter-final - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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British number one Johanna Konta believes she has done everything she can to be ready for her first meeting with Serena Williams.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Williams v Konta coverage: Wednesday, 02:00 GMT: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live; live text commentary on the BBC Sport website. Wednesday, 16:45 GMT: TV highlights on BBC Two.
British number one Johanna Konta believes she has done everything she can to be ready for her first meeting with 22-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
Konta, 25, will face second seed Williams in the quarter-finals at around 02:00 GMT on Wednesday.
"I've played quite a few Grand Slam champions and former world number ones," said world number nine Konta.
"So I've prepared myself as much as possible for a competitor like Serena."
• None Confident Konta 'can improve in every aspect'
Konta beat Russian 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-4 to reach the last eight without dropping a set.
She has a 2-1 winning record over Serena's sister Venus - a seven-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one - including a first-round victory at last year's Australian Open.
It will be Konta's second quarter-final at a Grand Slam, after reaching the semi-final in Melbourne last year, compared to 35-year-old Serena's 47th.
"I've been fortunate enough that I've played her sister a few times and I think she's just as incredible," said Konta.
"I was thinking I'd love the opportunity to be on court with her before she retires. But I doubt she's talking retirement.
"She will be playing until the very last ball she can physically hit. Hopefully it won't be the last time I play her before she retires."
Serena, in pursuit of her seventh Australian Open title, had only played two matches between the end of the US Open in August and her first-round victory in Melbourne.
Konta, meanwhile, remained busy on tour and took her world ranking from 49 at the end of 2015 to a career-high of nine.
"I watch her game a lot. She's been doing really, really well, She has a very attacking game and I look forward to it," said Serena.
"I have absolutely nothing to lose in this tournament. Everything here is a bonus for me. Obviously I am here to win, and hopefully I can play better."
"The game is there for Konta. It's all about the head now.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
"It's a big ask when you've never played Serena Williams to beat her at a Grand Slam quarter-final but you never know. She's got the game to beat anyone.
"She needs to follow her game plan, believe in it and commit on every shot. If you have doubts then Serena eats you alive."
"I think Serena's looked great. There can't be any of these second-gear starts she had a few years ago.
"The match against Konta is another level. It will help Konta that she hasn't played her - there is no scar tissue.
"Serena wins her matches often in the first 15 seconds she strolls on to the court, but that's not going to happen with Jo."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38716313
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Austria teaches asylum seekers how to ski - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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Austria is working to integrate asylum seekers by teaching them how to ski.
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Austria is trying to integrate asylum seekers after over 90,000 arrived in 2015 – around 1% of the country's population.
In Tyrol, a ski school is providing free lessons, as Bethany Bell reports from the resort of Seefeld.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38653076
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Can selfies really be art? London's Saatchi Gallery thinks so - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Ahead of a London gallery opening its first selfie exhibition, can such pictures really be considered art?
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Entertainment & Arts
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"Selfie" was named Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year in 2013
The next time you snap a selfie with your friends on holiday or a night out - you might just be creating the next artistic masterpiece.
London's Saatchi Gallery is planning a new exhibition to explore the importance of selfies as an art form.
It will feature not only self portraits by the likes of Vincent Van Gogh, but also more recent celebrity selfies.
Members of the public will also be invited to submit their own photos for inclusion in the exhibition.
The popularity of the selfie has rocketed since the invention of smartphones and in 2013 Oxford Dictionaries named "selfie" as their word of the year.
Send us your best selfie to:
Kylie and Kendall Jenner and Kim Kardashian are prominent selfie posters
Walking past someone with a phone in their outstretched arm trying to find their best angle is now a common sight - and something that has led to the invention of the selfie stick.
The Saatchi Gallery said the exhibition will showcase a selection of well-known pieces as well as "selfies that have quickly become icons of the digital era".
Self-portraits by artists including Van Gogh and Rembrandt will feature in From Selfie to Self Expression.
More modern examples in the exhibition will include a selfie taken by Kim Kardashian and another of former US President Barack Obama with former Prime Minister David Cameron.
Ellen DeGeneres's Oscars selfie is the most retweeted photo of all time. While she was hosting the ceremony in 2014, the talk show host roped in celebrity friends from the audience for the photo, which was taken by Bradley Cooper (front)
British astronaut Tim Peake won the internet when he posted a selfie from space. He said he will never forget his "exhilarating" first walk in space as he posted a picture of his historic feat from the International Space Station
Former Prime Minister David Cameron, Denmark's former Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt and former US President Barack Obama snapped a selfie together at Nelson Mandela's memorial service
Nigel Hurst, chief executive officer at the Saatchi Gallery, described the smartphone selfie as an example of a shift in society using technology as a means of self-expression.
He said: "In many ways, the selfie represents the epitome of contemporary culture's transition into a highly-digitalised and technologically-advanced age as mobile-phone technology has caught up with the camera.
"The exhibition will present a compelling insight into the history and creative potential of the selfie."
As part of the project, Saatchi plans to commission 10 young British photographers to make their own creative contributions.
Self portraits by Van Gogh and Rembrandt will also feature in the exhibition
The gallery will also include the launch of the #SaatchiSelfie competition, asking people around the world to post their most interesting selfies on social media for a chance to be featured in the exhibition.
Glory Zhang, of Huawei - which is partnering with the Saatchi Gallery for the exhibition - said: "The smartphone has become a tool of artistic expression.
"The selfie generation is becoming the self-expression generation as each of us seeks to explore and share our inner creativity through the one artistic tool to which we all have access: The smartphone."
From Selfie To Self-Expression will open at the Saatchi Gallery on 31 March.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38716722
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The dental nurse who became an alligator catcher - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Texan Christy Kroboth used to have a quiet job in a dentist's surgery. Now she spends her time jumping on animals many times her size - and taping their jaws tightly shut.
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Magazine
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Christy Kroboth gave up her career as a dental nurse to focus on animals with a lot more teeth - alligators. When she started training as an alligator catcher she was the only woman in her class, but - as she describes here - that made her even more determined to show she could jump on an animal many times her size, and tape its jaws tightly shut.
When I first got my licence I was only doing this as a hobby, I'd go to work as a dental assistant and catch my alligators on the side.
But I got well known for taking the alligators alive, and I'm now doing this as my full time job.
I've been a true animal lover all my life. I blame it on my mom. When we were little she was the one that would stop the car, pull over, and help turtles and ducks cross the road. We took in all the strays - cats, dogs, whatever needed a home.
Where I live in the south part of Texas we have a lot of alligators and there are these big master-plan communities that have manmade ponds and these ponds have alligators in them.
The homeowners are so afraid that they're going to eat their kids and that they're going to eat their dogs, but in the past 100 years we've only had one person killed by an alligator, so it's all just superstition.
These alligators have been around since the dinosaurs. They're great for the ecosystem, they keep all the aquatic life in check. They're actually really shy animals and they don't want to hurt anybody.
But people think of these guys as monsters. They have this vision in their head, and when I noticed this I thought, "What can I do to help change people's mindset?"
After reports that golfers were being mean to this giant alligator, Kroboth was called in to safely remove it from a Texan golf course
You can't just go out and catch an alligator because alligators are protected by the state here in Texas. You have to have a special licence and a permit.
I registered to be an alligator hunter with Texas Parks and Wildlife and we had to go through a whole training course.
I was the only girl in the class and also the youngest. We had to go through the rules, laws and regulations, and then the trainer told us: "OK, you've all passed the paperwork, now let's go do this hands-on."
I'd never even touched an alligator before and for a split second I thought, "I can't do this." I called my mom and I said, "Mom, I can't do this!" And, of course, mom is like, "Come home right now, don't do it!"
But something told me: "I have to do this - not only for the alligators, but to prove to these big ol' country boys that I can."
I ran out to the pond, got the alligator, taped him up and ended up passing the test. It was one of the happiest moments of my life and that adrenaline rush lasted the whole day.
The biggest alligator I've ever caught was a 13ft (4m) male weighing more than 900lb (408kg). I'm 120lb (54kg), so he outweighed me by a good amount.
He was blind and lost in a parking lot and could not find his way back to the water.
Usually we catch alligators by grabbing their jaws with both hands. Once you feel comfortable enough you let go with one hand and you reach the other hand into your pocket, grab your electrical [insulating] tape and tape his mouth shut. You've got to move fast.
Well, this alligator was so big that my hands would not fit around his jaws. I was trying to call my buddies to help, but it was six o'clock in the morning and none of my volunteers were answering.
I was able to sucker one of the local cops into trying to help me, but he didn't want to put his hands around the alligator's mouth, which is understandable.
Another way to catch an alligator is to try to outweigh them by jumping on their back, so I talked this poor cop into jumping on to the back of this alligator with me.
The trick is you put all your weight down and sit completely down on the alligator. Well, the officer didn't and he kind of just danced around the alligator which any untrained person probably would.
The alligator didn't like that, so he started wiggling around, trying to get away. I knew instantly this was not going to work, so I stood up to back off and the alligator swatted me with his tail and made me fall on my bottom right there beside his un-taped mouth.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Christy Kroboth and police officer in action in the car park
We were all worn out from trying to catch this alligator for four hours, the parking lot was getting busy and stores were starting to open so I had to make the decision to call in a game warden.
I got very sad because game wardens usually don't come out and catch alligators, game wardens usually come out and kill alligators.
I went to my car and I started crying because I'd been defeated by this animal. I called the game warden and he said, "Christy, stop crying. I am going to come help you. Do not touch that alligator until I get there."
Well, when he said that I just got so much energy, I was so happy. I got out of my car like I could just conquer the world because somebody was coming to help me.
Somehow I was able to go up to the alligator and hold his jaws in my arm and tape his mouth shut with my right hand. We ran to Home Depot and got zip ties to tie the alligator's hands behind his back like he was in handcuffs so he couldn't walk off.
Then the game warden showed up and he said, "I told you not to catch him!"
I said, "I'm sorry, I just had all this confidence and I was able to do it!"
We had to borrow a forklift to pick the alligator up and load him in to my buddy's truck, because he was so big.
Potentially dangerous alligators that cannot be released back into the wild are taken to a farm with tons of acreage and tons of ponds. But if the alligator can be released in the wild we have certain release sites where we can drop them off.
I have an SUV and sometimes the smaller alligators will want to climb over the seats and try to make their way to the front to help me drive, so it's me and the alligator waving at people going down the freeways.
I've found out if you make it freezing cold in your car the alligators are calmer. So although it's the middle of summertime here in Houston - 97F (36C), humidity - I'm on the freeway in a jacket with gloves and a scarf and a blanket wrapped around me because my car is freezing cold.
But the alligator is behaving, so that's all that matters.
Sometimes they go to the bathroom, and alligator poo is not that great, so we'll have to roll down the windows and travel on down the road.
Being the animal lover I am I think it's very important that we educate everybody on the animals that are living in their backyards and help them understand that we can all live together.
I have three educational alligators, their names are Cam, Taylor and Halo. We call them our "edugators" because we take them to schools and we teach people alligator safety and alligator education.
I work with these alligators every single day, they're used to being handled so they don't see us as a threat. They'll even sit on the couch and watch TV with me when they're not in their enclosures.
When I go out on a catch sometimes there's a very afraid person there whose mindset is changed. They may say, "Oh, I understand his importance now, I like him, let's name him." When I see that change in people that's what really drives me to do what I do.
That's why I wake up and why I do my job every single day.
Listen to Christy Kroboth speaking to Outlook on the BBC World Service
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38641709
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10 things we didn't know last week - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Cambridge University has a professor of play, and more news nuggets.
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Magazine
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3. Some drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease have had the side-effect of turning patients into gambling addicts.
4. Vladimir Putin thinks Russian prostitutes are "undoubtedly the best in the world".
5. The expression to "shed crocodile tears" exists in 45 European languages as well as Arabic, Swahili, Persian, Indian languages, Chinese and Mongolian.
6. Legal marijuana businesses have created 123,000 jobs in the United States.
7. BMW exports more vehicles from the United States than any other manufacturer.
8. There are six men still alive who walked on the moon.
9. Native Americans are issued with cards by the federal government, certifying their "degree of Indian blood".
10. Getting trolled by Donald Trump can be good (as well as bad) for your business.
Seen a thing? Tell the Magazine on Twitter using the hashtag #thingididntknowlastweek
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38662601
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The Australian Muslim MP fighting the trolls - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Dr Mehreen Faruqi uses social media to expose those who bombard her with sexist and racist abuse.
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Australia
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The first Muslim woman to be a member of parliament in Australia is fighting back against social media trolls who bombard her with sexist and racist abuse.
Dr Mehreen Faruqi is an Australian Greens Party MP in the New South Wales Upper House, and a former environmental engineer, who fled an "oppressive regime in Pakistan" in 1992 with her husband and infant son.
But she has found herself facing a grotesque cascade of abuse unleashed by internet trolls.
"There is this real vile mix of racism and sexism that is happening within Australia from certain people who don't believe I belong to this country, maybe because of my colour or the religion that I belong to. That is pretty upsetting," Dr Faruqi told the BBC in Sydney.
An MP in Australia's most populous state since June 2013, she is now fighting back against her tormentors.
Dr Faruqi reposts the offensive messages but hides the identity of her critics
"I decided to start a project on Facebook and it is called Love Letters to Mehreen. So every few weeks we pick a particularly hate-filled message and I respond to it in a humorous way, and that has really taken off. I think people do appreciate that we are exposing these issues and, of course, it is quite cathartic for myself and my staff as well," she explained.
Dr Faruqi has been ruthlessly targeted by anonymous assailants online - some have questioned, in the most abusive terms, how a Muslim has "been let into Australian politics".
Love Letters to Mehreen curates some of the "racist and sexist filth" her office receives, which she responds to "with just a touch of sass". But she believes these anti-Muslim views are nothing new.
Eva Cox has campaigned against bigotry in Australia for more than 60 years
For Eva Cox, one of Australia's leading feminist writers, the fight against bigotry and inequality in her adopted homeland has raged for almost seven decades. Soon after arriving in Sydney as a 10-year-old refugee in the late 1940s, she punched another child who had called her a "nasty Jew".
Born in Vienna three weeks before Hitler's invasion, she grew up in England, while her father joined the British army and later went on to work for the United Nations, resettling refugees.
Ms Cox is regularly savaged on Twitter, and believes that online abuse in Australia and beyond is becoming increasingly toxic and menacing.
There is, she says, an "infection in the system" and she sees historical parallels with the disaffection that coursed through Germany in the 1920s and 30s.
"People have lost faith in the democratic process and they are getting angry. We live in a society which seems to be breeding a large number of aggro, discontented people who are prepared to be incredibly nasty.
"What is happening online is a venting of that particular set of prejudices and I think we need to deal with them," she explained to the BBC News website. "It comes from a sense of being overlooked, neglected and unloved.
"We have got to take that to heart because otherwise we'll drive all that discontentment into something and that was where the Nazi Party came from. It came from people who were deeply discontented with what had happened at the end of the First World War where they had really been pushed too hard, and somebody came up and said, 'We'll make Germany great' and look what happened."
The issue of race in modern Australia, where more than a quarter of the population was born overseas, is complex and contentious. Many Indigenous leaders refer to the arrival of European settlers in 1788 as a racist invasion.
There were anti-Chinese riots in 19th Century goldfields. And the White Australia policy restricted non-white immigration in the first half of the 20th Century.
Dr Faruqi (third from left) has campaigned for Australians to show more tolerance to refugees
Disturbances in the Sydney seaside suburb of Cronulla in 2005 saw clashes between mobs of mostly young white men and Middle Eastern Australians. More recently, videos uploaded to social media have shown ghastly examples of open bigotry on public transport.
"Australia is a country with a racist history trying not to have a racist future," said Andrew Jakubowicz, a professor of sociology at the University of Technology Sydney. "There are organised racist groups in Australia who take great delight in going out and harming people as much as they can on the basis of their race."
Prof Jakubowicz believes that Australia's colonial past still has a powerful hold on a nation where the "ruling elite tends to be older, white European or British-origin males".
He adds: "The elites still have difficulty recruiting people into those sorts of powerful positions who don't share their world views and their orientation. Now, I call that ethnocratic rather than racist."
It's hard to gauge if Australia is tainted by bigotry more than other countries, but All Together Now, a non-profit organisation, reports that a fifth of students at school suffer racism every day, while one in three people experiences similar abuse at work.
"Australia has always had systemic racism," says Dr Faruqi. "Let's not forget our First People still suffer the worst sorts of discrimination and racism in Australia. What we need to do is never get complacent about it."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-38676799
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Formula 1 takeover by Liberty Media: Can F1 be liberated from its 'dysfunction'? - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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From races in New York to a fairer share of the earnings for the teams, changes in Formula 1 could soon come. Big changes.
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Formula 1 is about to be under new ownership - and it could lead to profound changes in the sport.
US group Liberty Media is poised to complete its takeover of the commercial side of F1, possibly as early as this week, and has big plans to grow the sport in a number of areas.
At the same time, it has problems to sort out. The man picked by Liberty as F1's chairman - former Rupert Murdoch lieutenant Chase Carey - has been told in meetings with senior figures over the past few months that F1 is "dysfunctional" at present.
So what is around the corner in this brave new world?
If they were not before the deal was made, Liberty are well aware now that the sport they are taking over could be in better condition.
Carey has been publicly quiet since Liberty bought the first tranche of its shareholding in September, but he has spent the time getting to know what the company that employed him has bought.
• None The revenue system is skewed in favour of the already rich and powerful, to the extent that the smallest teams are struggling to survive and money is tight for about half the grid.
• None There is a lack of competition on track.
• None Television audience figures are dropping in many markets - although this is largely because of a switch to pay television, to make more money from TV rights deals.
• None The longest-standing races are struggling to fund themselves and risk dropping off the calendar
• None The decision-making process is not working properly.
• None Some significant business and sporting decisions have been made for solely financial reasons, disregarding other important factors, such as their effects on the sporting side.
• None An acceptance that F1 has lost some of its appeal, particularly a sense of edge and drama and as an extreme driver challenge.
Liberty has decided to change much of that. The question is how.
Many of those concerns can be laid at the door of F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone - it was he who set up the governance structure, brokered all the financial deals and signed another three-year contract with Pirelli as tyre supplier against the wishes of the drivers and a number of senior figures.
Liberty had asked Ecclestone to stay on as chief executive officer under Carey, but for some time now the word inside F1 has been that the 86-year-old would be gone before long and on Monday he said he had been asked to step down from his position and take on a new one as a kind of honorary president.
It should be remembered that he is a fighter and a survivor and he has no desire to give up a business which he sees as his. And he has fought off at least one attempt by previous owners CVC Capital Partners to get rid of him.
But, whether he likes it or not, he will be an employee and therefore subject to the whims and wishes of his bosses - now Carey and Liberty owner John Malone.
Ecclestone has never really operated in such a situation before - by and large the previous owners, CVC, left him to his own devices. He likes to do things his way, and he is not one to enjoy outside interference.
Ecclestone's approach to business is adversarial. His problem is that Liberty have decided that they are going to run the business in a different way from now on - a more collegiate approach. He will either accept that and operate accordingly, or he won't be working there much longer.
It's hard to see how he could adapt to that way of working - or even want to. And senior sources in F1 say they believe that even if he does not go this week, they expect his departure to happen within a month.
Whether he stays or not, changes will be made to the business structure. Liberty will employ two people to head up the different branches of the sport and oversee changes - commercial on the one hand; sporting and technical on the other.
Ex-ESPN marketing chief Sean Bratches has been given the commercial role, and former Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn the other.
The history of F1 over the last decade or so has been the decline of the number of races in Europe, and the struggles of many of those remaining to meet Ecclestone's increasingly high demands for race fees.
Germany does not have a race this year, and its contract ends after next year's grand prix in Hockenheim.
Italy struck a new three-year deal at the 11th hour this winter. Silverstone is reluctantly toying with the idea of ending its contract after 2019 if it cannot renegotiate terms.
Through all this, Ecclestone has acted as if he does not care - if a race in Europe won't pay the fees he wants, he has usually said, he'll find one elsewhere.
There's usually a controversial regime wanting to stump up a wad of cash to host an F1 race.
Liberty want to end this. They see the historic European races - Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, for example - as a key aspect of F1 and one they have to nurture and cherish.
They recognise that Europe is F1's core market, where most of its TV audience is, and they want the races there to be the centrepiece of the 'new F1', one that has a visible link to a heritage it treasures.
Ecclestone's ethos has been to take F1 to any country that wants it and has a large enough chequebook to fund it.
His eye has been on the deal itself - and not on its wider consequences on F1.
This is how F1 has ended up with races in Bahrain and Azerbaijan, countries with controversial records on human rights, and how Ecclestone has found himself for the last three years sitting next to Vladimir Putin at the Russian Grand Prix.
All three countries pay astronomical fees for their races - Russia $50m year; Azerbaijan a reputed $75m, for example.
Liberty wants to take a different approach. For them, deals based solely on the bottom line and nothing else are not necessarily the right deals.
They want to expand F1 - but they want new races to be held in the right places and for the right reasons. And they are prepared to invest to make it happen.
This is a massive shift from Ecclestone's approach.
The idea of spending money now to earn more later has largely been anathema to Ecclestone.
Some argue it has been one of the reasons why he struggled for so long to establish a race in the USA until Austin, Texas, came along.
Liberty are open about wanting races in New York and Los Angeles - or near enough to be easily identified as such - and are prepared to put down their own money to make it happen.
They have also talked about more races in Latin America and Asia.
Carey has been clear that he sees the opportunity to expand the business "in all areas", but the one where there is most room for improvement is in exploiting the internet.
Ecclestone has made no secret of the fact that he does not really get social media, nor see any opportunity to monetise it.
Younger people in F1 have grown frustrated with this, and realise that there are any number of things that could be done.
But, aware that rare has been the person who has crossed Ecclestone without consequence, they have in recent years kept their counsel and waited for a change to happen.
Liberty are clear that this is an area where they see vast potential, and it's quite conceivable that, over time, the entire business model of F1 will change as a result.
Right now, F1 is sold as a whole package to one or sometimes two TV stations in a country. But insiders see the opportunity to sell it piecemeal through the internet, with varying degrees of access for varying amounts of money.
Promotionally, too, there is a lot of room to make gains.
Ecclestone is called the "promoter". But many argue that's a misnomer - in that he doesn't really do any promoting at all.
Arrive in any city or country hosting a grand prix and it is often hard to tell there is an event going on.
Many races are not sold out - but how are people who might have a passing interest in going expected to know when that opportunity exists without them being advertised effectively?
Liberty are talking about having "20 Super Bowls". By which they don't mean an Americanisation of the event - but of making a bigger deal of the event itself wherever it is being held.
Build it up in the week before the race with various promotional activities and so on.
Many F1 insiders recognise that in recent years the sport has lost its way a little.
It remains the arena where the best drivers in the world race in the fastest cars, but its edginess has been dulled.
The risk and challenge are still there - but less apparent.
Liberty are keen to get this back.
This year's new rules - decided upon long before Liberty was involved - are a first step in that direction, with wider, more dramatic-looking cars expected to lap up to five seconds faster and provide a more extreme physical challenge for the drivers.
But the jury is still out as to whether this will work.
No-one doubts the cars will be dramatically faster. The question is whether Pirelli has managed to build the more durable tyres that have been demanded to go with them.
F1 bosses have drawn up a set of requirements for Pirelli that they expect to lead to tyres on which drivers can push flat out most of the time - which has simply not been possible since 2011 because the tyres have been too fragile.
If this has not happened, it will turn out to have been rather pointless to make faster cars because the drivers will not be able to use all their potential.
Liberty - having taken over the contract Ecclestone struck with Pirelli - have been made aware of these issues and will be watching closely.
Another area which may come under scrutiny is driver head protection.
Governing body the FIA has been working hard on the 'halo' device which protects drivers from heavy flying debris. It is planned for introduction in 2018.
But while the vast majority of drivers are in favour of it, the FIA has recently said its introduction depends on a philosophical discussion about aesthetics and the nature of F1.
The halo could yet be abandoned if it is considered contrary to the ethos of open-wheel, open-cockpit racing - although the drivers may fight against this.
Everything is up for discussion - even the format of the race weekend itself. But Liberty wants to take an inclusive approach to any change, rather than the imposition Ecclestone has tended to pursue.
It is easy to see problems with some of Liberty's plans.
For one thing, they - like any other business - are in this to make money. And if they are going to make the European races more affordable for promoters and spend money establishing new ones in America, they are going to affect the bottom line, at least in the short term.
But they seem deadly serious about it.
Equally, there are unlikely to be big changes immediately.
Although Carey has been working hard for months, it will take time for Liberty to fully understand the business, and even longer to make some of the changes needed to its structures.
The immediate concern will be to tie the teams down to new contracts - those of everyone bar Renault end in 2020 - and with them, presumably, a changed prize money structure.
That in itself won't be easy - how will Ferrari react, for example, if they are told they cannot keep all of the $100m payment they currently receive just for being Ferrari?
Change is definitely coming, though. Be in no doubt about that.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38679158
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Cambridge scientists consider fake news 'vaccine' - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Concern at fabricated stories on websites prompts a psychological study to help people spot fake news.
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UK
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The appearance of fake news on websites and social media has inspired scientists to develop a "vaccine" to immunise people against the problem.
Researchers suggest "pre-emptively exposing" readers to a small "dose" of the misinformation can help organisations cancel out bogus claims.
Stories on the US election and Syria are among those to have caused concern.
"Misinformation can be sticky, spreading and replicating like a virus," said the University of Cambridge study's lead author Dr Sander van der Linden.
"The idea is to provide a cognitive repertoire that helps build up resistance to misinformation, so the next time people come across it they are less susceptible."
The study, published in the journal Global Challenges, was conducted as a disguised experiment.
More than 2,000 US residents were presented with two claims about global warming.
The researchers say when presented consecutively, the influence well-established facts had on people were cancelled out by bogus claims made by campaigners.
But when information was combined with misinformation, in the form of a warning, the fake news had less resonance.
Fabricated stories alleging the Pope was backing Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton sold weapons to the so-called Islamic State group were read and shared by millions of Facebook users during the US election campaign.
The world's largest social network later announced new features to help combat fabricated news stories, and there is pressure on Google and Twitter to do more to tackle the issue.
Meanwhile, German officials have reportedly proposed creating a special government unit to combat fake news in the run-up to this year's general election, while a senior Labour MP only last week warned that British politics risks being "infected by the contagion".
The deliberate making up of news stories to fool or entertain is nothing new. But the arrival of social media has meant real and fictional stories are now presented in such a similar way that it can sometimes be difficult to tell the two apart.
There are hundreds of fake news websites out there, from those which deliberately imitate real life newspapers, to government propaganda sites, and even those which tread the line between satire and plain misinformation, sometimes employed to suit political ends.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38714404
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Land Rover thefts 'rise after Defender production ends' - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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Thieves are using tracking devices to steal Land Rovers which are then broken down and exported.
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Thieves are using tracking devices to steal Land Rovers which are then broken down and exported.
The final Land Rover Defender rolled off the production line in January 2016 - the NFU Mutual insurance company says since then there has been a surge in theft claims.
Some Land Rover owners are now fighting back by using social media to track down their vehicles.
You can see more on this story on Inside Out South East on BBC One at 19:30 GMT on Monday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-38697243
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Michelle O'Neill: The Sinn Féin Northern leader's political career - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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As Michelle O'Neill becomes the new Sinn Féin leader north of the border, BBC News NI looks at her career to date.
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As Michelle O'Neill becomes the new Sinn Féin leader north of the border, BBC News NI looks at her career to date.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-38716818
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Dave Ryding records Britain's best alpine World Cup result for 35 years - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Skier Dave Ryding matches Britain's best alpine World Cup result by finishing second in the Kitzbuhel slalom in Austria.
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Skier Dave Ryding matches Britain's best alpine World Cup result by finishing second in the Kitzbuhel slalom in Austria, equalling Konrad Bartelski's placing in the downhill in Italy in 1981.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/38721316
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Trump inauguration: Two Americas in 24 hours - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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In the space of 24 hours, events in Washington showed two Americas, poles apart.
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US & Canada
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In the space of 24 hours, Washington was the scene of two Americas.
President Trump's supporters came feeling they've just taken their country back.
The protesters on the women's march feel they have just lost theirs. It is that stark.
The mood at the march was determinedly cheerful, there were men, children and lots and lots of women. Grandmothers teaching their granddaughters the political ropes.
But the underlying message was clear - liberal America has just been shoved out of power.
These marches were enormous and they came out in cities across the country to repudiate not just Donald Trump, but his whole world view.
They didn't just protest about women's issues, there were also signs addressing his positions on climate change, healthcare and Muslims.
Can they change President Trump's agenda? Probably not.
But approval ratings matter - they are a form of political capital and when this many people really dislike the new president, that makes it harder for him to persuade members of Congress to support him on difficult issues.
The polls show us that Mr Trump is the most unpopular new president in American history. Those are the facts.
These marches put faces to those numbers.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38707721
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How the barcode changed retailing and manufacturing - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How a design originally drawn in the sand led to the growth of giant supermarkets.
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Business
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In 1948, N Joseph Woodland - a graduate student at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia - was pondering a challenge from a local retailer: how to speed up the tedious process of checking out in his stores by automating transactions.
A smart young man, Woodland - known as Joseph - had worked on the Manhattan Project during the War, and had designed a better system for playing elevator music. But he was stumped.
Then, sitting on Miami Beach while visiting his grandparents, his fingertips idly combing through the sand, a thought struck him. Just like Morse code used dots and dashes to convey a message, he could use thin lines and thick lines to encode information.
A zebra-striped bull's-eye could describe a product and its price in a code that a machine could read.
The idea was workable, but with the technology of the time it was costly. But as computers advanced and lasers were invented, it became more realistic.
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy highlights the inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped create the economic world we live in.
The striped-scan system was independently rediscovered and refined several times over the years. In the 1950s, an engineer, David Collins, put thin and thick lines on railway cars so they could be read automatically by a trackside scanner.
In the early 1970s, IBM engineer George Laurer figured out that a rectangle would be more compact than Woodland's bull's-eye.
He developed a system that used lasers and computers that were so quick they could process labelled beanbags hurled over the scanner.
Meanwhile American's grocers were also pondering the benefits of a pan-industry product code.
In September 1969, members of the administrative systems committee of the Grocery Manufacturers of America met their opposite numbers from the National Association of Food Chains. Could the retailers and the producers agree?
Wrigley's chewing gum would be the first product sold via a barcode in 1974
The GMA wanted an 11-digit code, which would encompass various labelling schemes they were already using. The NAFC wanted a shorter, seven-digit code, which could be read by simpler and cheaper checkout systems.
The meeting broke up in frustration. Years of careful diplomacy - and innumerable committees, subcommittees and ad hoc committees were required before, finally, the US grocery industry agreed upon a standard for the universal product code, or UPC.
It all came to fruition in June 1974 at the checkout counter of Marsh's Supermarket in the town of Troy, Ohio, when a 31-year-old checkout assistant named Sharon Buchanan scanned a 10-pack of 50 sticks of Wrigley's juicy fruit chewing gum across a laser scanner, automatically registering the price of $0.67 (£0.55).
The gum was sold. The barcode had been born.
We tend to think of the barcode as a simple piece of cost-cutting technology: it helps supermarkets do their business more efficiently, and so it helps us to enjoy lower prices.
But the barcode does more than that. It changes the balance of power in the grocery industry.
That is why all those committee meetings were necessary, and it is why the food retailing industry was able to reach agreement only when the technical geeks on the committees were replaced by their bosses' bosses, the chief executives.
Part of the difficulty was getting everyone to move forward on a system that did not really work without a critical mass of adopters.
It was expensive to install scanners. It was expensive to redesign packaging with barcodes - bear in mind the Miller Brewing Company was still printing labels for its bottles on a 1908 printing press.
The retailers did not want to install scanners until the manufacturers had put barcodes on their products. The manufacturers did not want to put barcodes on their products until the retailers had installed enough scanners.
But it also became apparent over time that the barcode was changing the tilt of the playing field in favour of a certain kind of retailer. For a small, family-run convenience store, the barcode scanner was an expensive solution to problems they did not really have.
But big supermarkets could spread the cost of the scanners across many more sales. They valued shorter lines at the checkout. They needed to keep track of inventory.
With a manual checkout, a shop assistant might charge a customer for a product, then slip the cash into a pocket without registering the sale. With a barcode and scanner system, such behaviour would become conspicuous.
And in the 1970s, a time of high inflation in America, barcodes let supermarkets change the price of products by sticking a new price tag on the shelf rather than on each item.
It is hardly surprising that as the barcode spread in the 1970s and 1980s, large retailers also expanded. The scanner data underpinned customer databases and loyalty cards.
By tracking and automating inventory, it made just-in-time deliveries more attractive, and lowered the cost of having a wide variety of products. Shops in general - and supermarkets in particular - started to generalise, selling flowers, clothes, and electronic products.
Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton was able to exploit the possibilities barcodes offered
Running a huge, diversified, logistically complex operation was all so much easier in the world of the barcode.
Perhaps the ultimate expression of that fact came in 1988 when the discount department store Wal-Mart decided to start selling food.
It is now the largest grocery chain in America - and by far the largest general retailer on the planet, about as large as its five closest rivals combined. Wal-Mart was an early adopter of the barcode and has continued to invest in cutting-edge computer-driven logistics and inventory management.
The company is now a major gateway between Chinese manufacturers and American consumers. Its embrace of technology helped it grow to a vast scale, meaning it can send buyers to China and commission cheap products in bulk.
From a Chinese manufacturer's perspective, you can justify setting up an entire production line for just one customer - as long as that customer is Wal-Mart.
The cost of adopting barcodes initially put off some manufacturers such as Miller
Geeks rightly celebrate the moment of inspiration as Joseph Woodland languidly pulled his fingers through the sands of Miami Beach - or the perspiration of George Laurer as he perfected the barcode as we know it.
But it is not just a way to do business more efficiently. It also changes what kind of business can be efficient.
The barcode is now such a symbol of the forces of impersonal global capitalism that it has spawned its own ironic protest. Since the 1980s, people have been registering their opposition to "The Man" by getting themselves tattooed with a barcode.
Yes, those distinctive black and white stripes are a neat little piece of engineering. But that neat little piece of engineering has changed how the world economy fits together.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38498700
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The Gambia: 'Concern' over missing state millions - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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More than $11m (£8.8m) is missing from The Gambia's state coffers after its leader's departure.
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More than $11m (£8.8m) is missing from The Gambia's state coffers following the departure of long-time leader Yahya Jammeh.
Mr Jammeh flew into exile on Saturday, ending his 22 years in power.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38715834
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Who will succeed Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness? - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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As Martin McGuinness steps down, who will take over as Sinn Féin's leader in Northern Ireland?
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Northern Ireland
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Sinn Féin's successor as Northern Ireland leader of the party will be announced next week
Former deputy first minister Martin McGuinness has confirmed he will not stand in the Northern Ireland Assembly election.
His successor as Sinn Féin's leader in Northern Ireland will be announced next week.
So who will replace him? Three names are tipped as the most likely contenders - Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, Health Minister Michelle O'Neill and MLA and former MP Conor Murphy.
Conor Murphy is a key member of the Sinn Féin negotiating team who has represented the party at the Hillsborough, Leeds Castle and St Andrew's negotiations as well as playing a key role in the Fresh Start agreement negotiated at Stormont House.
Conor Murphy has represented the party at the Hillsborough, Leeds Castle and St Andrew's negotiations
After his election to the assembly in 1998, he was the party's chief whip.
In 2005, he became the first Sinn Féin member to be elected as MP for Newry and Armagh.
Following Mr Murphy's re-election to the assembly in 2007, he was appointed minister for regional development, a position that he held until 2011.
He was criticised for the NI Water crisis as minister during the winter of 2010/11.
In 2012, ahead of a ban on double-jobbing, he left the assembly to concentrate on his role as an MP.
He returned to the Assembly in 2015 when Mickey Brady was elected MP for the constituency. Since re-entering the assembly he has been a member of both the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee and the Public Accounts Committee.
Health Minister Michelle O'Neill has held various senior positions within Sinn Féin.
She has worked in the Assembly since 1998, initially as political adviser to MP and former MLA Francie Molloy, before being elected to Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council in 2005.
As health minister since May 2016, tackling mounting hospital waiting lists has been a huge task for Mrs O'Neill
Mrs O'Neill was elected to the assembly for the Mid Ulster constituency in 2007, sitting on the education committee and serving as Sinn Féin's health spokesperson.
In 2011, she was appointed as minister for agriculture and rural development.
The following year, she announced that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) would move to a former British army barracks in Ballykelly, County Londonderry.
Following the announcement, it came to light that Strabane had been chosen as a more suitable location by an internal DARD assessment, a decision that Mrs O'Neill then overruled.
In February 2013, it was also revealed that the decision had been questioned by the Finance Minister Sammy Wilson.
As health minister since 2016, tackling mounting hospital waiting lists have been a huge task for Mrs O'Neill.
In October, she launched a 10-year plan to transform health service, saying it would improve a system that was at "breaking point".
Opposition politicians questioned the lack of details in the plan, which was not costed.
But it set out a range of priorities, including a new model of care involving a team of professionals based around GP surgeries.
Máirtín Ó Muilleoir has previously been a writer, journalist and publisher of the Belfast Media Group newspapers and the Irish Echo in New York.
Máirtín Ó Muilleoir became finance minister in May 2016
The former west Belfast councillor served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from June 2013-June 2014 and was broadly praised for reaching out to unionists, despite attacks by loyalist protestors.
Mr Ó Muilleoir subsequently stood unsuccessfully as Sinn Féin's candidate for South Belfast in the 2015 Westminster election, but was returned in the Stormont Assembly election of May 2016.
As finance minister, he was the first Sinn Féin minister to hold a major economic brief in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
His role has included leading the implementation of the devolution of corporation tax, due to happen in 2018.
However, he became embroiled in controversy in 2016 when news emerged about a back channel of communication between a Stormont committee chairman and a witness who was giving evidence on the Nama property loan sale.
Mr Ó Muilleoir denied knowledge of alleged coaching of loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson by finance committee chair Daithí McKay before his appearance.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-38684941
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Stars appear at Trainspotting sequel premiere - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Ewan McGregor leads the cast of the Trainspotting sequel at the film's world premiere in Edinburgh.
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Edinburgh, Fife & East Scotland
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T2 stars Kelly Macdonald and Ewan McGregor at the Edinburgh premiere
The cast of the Trainspotting sequel have gathered in Edinburgh for the film's world premiere.
Original cast members Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller and Ewen Bremner all feature in T2 Trainspotting.
The sequel has been made 21 years after the first film, which followed the lives of a group of heroin addicts.
The original was based on a novel by Irvine Welsh, and the sequel is based on his book Porno.
Ewen Bremner is back as Spud in T2 Trainspotting
The new film sees the central characters in the present day, now middle-aged.
Ewan McGregor and Kelly Macdonald were among the stars at the premiere at Cineworld in Edinburgh's Fountain Park.
McGregor described how his initial reservations about making a sequel were soon dispelled.
He said: "I think we were all a little nervous about making a sequel to Trainspotting and not pulling it off, damaging the reputation or leaving a stale taste in people's mouths about the original film.
"But we only felt like that until we read John Hodge's script.
"We all feel like these are people we know - Renton and Spud and Begbie. It's amazing to step back into their shoes, and to hear their voices again is very special."
The trailer for the sequel was released in November.
It opened with Ewan McGregor's character Renton returning to Edinburgh.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Director Danny Boyle: "It felt like we should make it in Edinburgh ... these stories belong here."
He revives his bitter "choose life" motto which has been updated to: "Choose Facebook, choose Twitter, choose Instagram and hope that someone, somewhere, cares".
It also mentions choosing "reality TV, slut-shaming, revenge porn and zero-hour contracts" before saying: "Choose to smother the pain with an unknown dose of an unknown drug."
Danny Boyle on set with Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner
Much of the filming for the sequel, with director Danny Boyle, took place in Edinburgh and other Scottish locations in 2016.
Boyle was a young aspiring film maker when he made the original Trainspotting. He has since won an Oscar and worked on the Olympic opening ceremony in London.
He said: "For all of us this town, these stories have been fundamental in shaping our careers. If you are seriously trying to do it again, you have to do it really properly at the beginning and at the end.
Robert Carlyle on the orange carpet with author Irvine Welsh in the foreground
"At the beginning it was to come to Edinburgh - the last one was made in Glasgow mostly for financial reasons - we didn't have any money then and now we've got a bit more we thought we should make it in Edinburgh.
"And then we thought we should end it by having the premiere here as well."
T2 Trainspotting will be released in UK cinemas on 27 January.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. T2 Trainspotting: What would you choose?
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-38710168
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Newspaper headlines: May's 'missile crisis' over Trident failure - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Reaction to the reported failure of a Trident missile test is widely reported, while the prime minister's upcoming meeting with Donald Trump stays in the headlines.
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The Papers
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The revelation of a reported malfunction during the test firing of a Trident missile in June is widely covered in Monday's press.
The Daily Mail says it is likely the unarmed missile was made to crash harmlessly into the sea but the "fiasco" caused major panic in Downing Street.
Prime Minister Theresa May, reports the Times, will face intense pressure to answer charges of a cover-up after she refused to say whether she knew about the incident when questioned on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
The Daily Mirror describes it as "May's Missile crisis", saying in a leading article the "official news blackout only fans suspicions this was a serious failure".
The Guardian, which leads with the story, says critics of Trident may now seize on the failure to argue that the debate about renewing the system should be reopened.
Several papers report international trade will be one of the big issues when Theresa May meets Donald Trump on Friday.
The Times thinks it is a historic chance to make the case for genuine free trade, and an advantageous deal with Britain.
The Daily Telegraph says Mrs May and Mr Trump will hold talks over a deal that slashes tariffs and makes it easier for hundreds of thousands of workers to move between the two countries.
Kevin Maguire of the Daily Mirror thinks Mrs May is "a fool" for flitting over to America "to be photographic cover for a divisive, lying, racist, sexual predator".
But Trevor Kavanagh of the Sun says the "world is a reality show... and Britain has woken up as one of the biggest stars".
He sees opportunities, and dangers, and has this advice: "Hold tight... We are in for the ride of our lives."
Elsewhere, Mrs May has penned an article for the i explaining her new industrial strategy.
She refers to seeking a brighter future after Brexit, and making Britain a country that works for everyone. And she invites "the industries of the future" to tell the government what they need in order to grow and prosper.
The lead story in the Sun refers to a Food Standards Agency warning of a link between burned starchy foods and cancer - that pizza, chips and toast "are killers".
The headline on the front of paper is stark: "You've had your chips."
But not everyone is willing to agree.
The Daily Express asks: "Do scientists actually want us to lead miserable lives?" Alcohol, then sugar, fat, and now crispy roast potatoes. "Why can't people be left to lead their own lives without others meddling?"
Few things, says the Daily Telegraph, bring families together on a cold winter's day like a Sunday roast. And the paper cannot be enthusiastic about boiled beef, with steamed vegetables but no Yorkshire pudding or wine.
A cartoon in the Daily Mail shows an insolent boy smoking. His concerned mother says: "And remember, if anyone offers you a crunchy roast potato at the party - you know what to say."
Meanwhile, the Guardian has reassurance for shoppers who have been unable to find lettuce, spinach, or courgettes on their supermarket shelves.
Vast amounts of rain in south-eastern Spain, then heavy snow, wiped out much of their crops. But now, the farmers of Murcia believe the worst is over, and normal production looks set to resume, it reports.
Finally, the Daily Express says advisors to Margaret Thatcher were alarmed 30 years ago when she was asked to test drive a new Rover saloon outside Downing Street.
Papers, made public from her archive, reveal their concern that, as the Daily Telegraph reports, she might crash in front of the cameras.
Those fears proved groundless - she was allowed a practice at Chequers first. But the Sun cannot resist summing up their worries in a headline: "The lady's not for three-point turning".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38714029
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Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Joe Perry to win record seventh Masters title - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Ronnie O'Sullivan fights back to beat Joe Perry 10-7 and secure a record seventh Masters title.
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Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Ronnie O'Sullivan won a record seventh Masters title by coming from behind to beat Joe Perry 10-7 in the final at London's Alexandra Palace.
Perry, in his first Triple Crown final at the age of 42, led 4-1 but missed a straightforward red for a 5-1 lead.
O'Sullivan won seven frames in a row to move 8-4 ahead before Perry, helped by breaks of 117 and 92, fought back.
But O'Sullivan, 41, sealed victory to defend his title and move ahead of Stephen Hendry's six Masters wins.
Victory means O'Sullivan claimed the newly named Paul Hunter trophy - in honour of the three-time champion who died of cancer aged 27 in 2006 - as well as the £200,000 winners' prize money.
It also ensured the world number 13 ended a run of three defeats in finals this season and defended the title he won last year by thrashing Barry Hawkins 10-1.
"Joe played a brilliant tournament, a really good match and he should've beaten me. I got lucky - I stole it," said O'Sullivan.
"Joe will come again and he is a tough competitor. I'm just relieved to have got over the line. The fans have been unbelievable and I really enjoyed this week."
On winning seven Masters titles, O'Sullivan added: "It is great to get some records, I still have the World Championship one to get.
"When I was younger I was just happy to win one, so to win seven, someone up there is looking after me."
'The Rocket' had to deal with a virus in his first-round final-frame victory over Liang Wenbo and needed to repair a broken cue tip in the semi-final against Marco Fu, which he said was the "best match he has ever won".
In the final, O'Sullivan seemed unsettled by noise coming from a backstage table early on, but pulled himself together to level the match 4-4 at the interval.
He claimed a 32-minute ninth frame to move into the lead for the first time, and then knocked in breaks of 85 and 68 to take control.
At 8-6 and with Perry fighting back, O'Sullivan made his first century of the match - a break of 112 - and 859th of his career.
The Englishman then held his nerve to win a 20-minute tactical frame and claim his 17th Triple Crown title.
Along with seven Masters - the first of which he won in 1995 - he has also claimed five World and five UK Championship crowns, and is now just one behind Hendry's record of 18.
'At 4-1 up I got a bit carried away'
Perry has only won one ranking title - the 2015 Players Championship - but seemed to take to the occasion well, with breaks of 72, 74 and 115 giving him a surprise lead.
But rattling the final red in the jaws of the pocket when presented with the opportunity to go 5-1 up seemed to dent his confidence.
Fair play to Ronnie, even when he is not at his best he is still amazing
Although he rallied by clawing back three frames late on, O'Sullivan's substantial advantage was too great to overturn.
"I've proved a lot, that there is still some life left in me and it has given me the belief to go on and win a big one," said Perry.
"At 4-1 up I got a bit carried away and it was not until I was 8-4 down I thought, 'I'm going for it'.
"It's given me the taste to go for more finals, it's a great feeling to be involved and you take snooker up for nights like this.
"Fair play to Ronnie, even when he is not at his best he is still amazing."
Three-time Masters champion Steve Davis: "To win seven Masters, he has made this event his own, and in such an entertaining way as well."
Former world champion John Parrott: "Ronnie's application and attitude has been spot on today. He was not at his best but was able to grind out the result."
Find out how to get into snooker, pool and billiards with our fully inclusive guide.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/38710379
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Nicola Adams: Could two-time Olympic champion headline Las Vegas? - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams has turned professional and will make her debut on 8 April, but how far could she go?
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Two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams has turned professional and will make her debut on 8 April, but how far could she go?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/38721406
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What will happen in Donald Trump's first 100 days? - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A new BBC News series will analyse the all-important first weeks of Donald Trump's presidency
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Can Trump accomplish what he wants?
Donald Trump has promised to take Washington by storm.
There is almost nothing the new American president does not want to change - policy, tone, foreign relations, the press pool. Mr Trump has told his cabinet nominees to be bold and be bold now.
He wants a shake-up of US government and he wants it soon. That is why his first 100 days will be so definitive. He has set the timetable for an ambitious agenda and in the next three months we will find out how much he can really shift.
There is a lot happening in Europe also during this 100 days. Britain is beginning the formal process of Brexit and the Dutch will hold elections which could herald the next step in the transatlantic populist march.
And of course, the French will gear up for their own election in which the National Front will be the focus of much attention. It is an extraordinary time on both sides of the Atlantic.
Former President Obama has sent veiled warnings about the consequences of bold action
This exceptional moment demands examination and analysis. So the BBC is launching 100 Days, a daily programme that gives us the chance to look at these global shifts.
In many ways, the inauguration of Donald Trump marks the beginning of the test of the populist experiment. Now he owns the problems he campaigned against. Can his bold approach work, who will benefit and who won't and how will he engage with the rest of the world?
Every day for the next 100 days, with Christian Fraser in London and me in Washington, we will try to answer those questions.
As he left office, President Obama had a veiled warning for his successor - if you're going to try to change things and bring in bold ideas, make sure you're aware of the consequences. He also suggested that the weight of office would soon settle on Mr Trump's shoulders and cause him to look carefully and humbly at what he has taken on.
Katty Kay and Christian Fraser will present 100 Days from Washington and London
Mr Trump goes into the White House as the least popular incoming president on record. He won't like that. We know from his election campaign that he watches polls closely and however hard he tries to dismiss them as "phony" or "lying," they matter to him.
His low ratings today give him a powerful incentive to do better. That could mean a combination of both working on his tone (something which appears to be unpopular with large sections of the American public) and pushing hard with his agenda (much of which also seems to be popular with many Americans). That too, will make this a fascinating time.
Some of this is under Mr Trump's control, but some of it is not. The Republican Party will have a big impact in making his first 100 days successful - they can boost his legislative agenda or kill it.
The party owes Mr Trump a lot, he has just handed them Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court, that will win him a lot of favours. But many Conservatives do not agree with everything he wants to do and, if his poll numbers stay low, they will have less incentive to help him out.
So we have a busy, fascinating few months ahead of us. This populist trend is global and the test starts now. Mr Trump wants to change the look, feel and smell of Washington. Funny that, so did Mr Obama eight years ago.
100 Days, presented by Katty Kay and Christian Fraser, Monday - Thursday at 19:00 GMT on BBC News Channel and BBC Four and BBC World News at 19:00 GMT.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38720658
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Australian Open: Johanna Konta beats Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Britain's Johanna Konta beats Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-4 to set up an Australian Open quarter-final against Serena Williams.
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Britain's Johanna Konta produces a terrific performance to beat Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-4 and set up an Australian Open quarter-final against Serena Williams.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38725228
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Ryan Mason: Hull City midfielder talking again after fracturing skull - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Hull midfielder Ryan Mason is conscious and has been speaking about the incident in which he fractured his skull during Sunday's game at Chelsea.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason is conscious and has been speaking about the incident in which he fractured his skull during Sunday's game at Chelsea, the club said in a statement.
Mason, 25, clashed heads with Blues defender Gary Cahill 13 minutes into the Premier League match.
He was taken to St Mary's Hospital in London, where he had surgery.
"Ryan and his family have been extremely touched by the overwhelming support," added the statement.
"They would very much like to thank all of those who have posted such positive comments both on social media and in the press over the last 24 hours."
Hull added Mason would continue to be monitored at the hospital "over the coming days".
Tigers captain Michael Dawson, club doctor Mark Waller, head of medical Rob Price and club secretary Matt Wild visited Mason in hospital on Monday.
Cahill, Chelsea captain John Terry and assistant manager Steve Holland had visited on Sunday to check on Mason's well-being, and spent time with his family.
Mason, Hull's record signing, fractured his skull as he attempted to head the ball clear of his own box following a cross from Pedro.
He got to the ball a split second before Cahill, who was already committed to his attempted header, and the pair collided.
Both players spent a lengthy period receiving treatment, though Cahill was able to continue.
Mason joined Hull from Tottenham last August for a club-record undisclosed fee.
He has scored one goal in 16 Premier League appearances for the Tigers.
Prior to his move, he made 53 top-flight appearances for Tottenham, and had loan spells at Yeovil, Doncaster, Millwall, Lorient and Swindon.
Hull lost Sunday's game 2-0 as goals from Diego Costa and Cahill gave Chelsea a victory that took them eight points clear at the top.
Head traumas and the damage they can cause
When head trauma happens, doctors are obviously concerned about how much damage there might be to the brain.
Some skull fractures need little or no treatment and will heal by themselves with time. Others need urgent treatment.
Any bits of bone that have been pressed inwards can be removed and returned to their correct position. If necessary, metal wire or mesh may be used to reconnect the pieces.
Once the bone is back in place, it should heal.
'Lessons appear to have been learned'
Peter McCabe, chief executive of brain injury association Headway, said the reaction of the medical teams was "exemplary".
McCabe, who was at Stamford Bridge, added: "Headway has been critical of the way in which head injuries have been treated in many high-profile football incidents in recent years, but it is positive to see that lessons appear to have been learned."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38718324
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'New town' Milton Keynes celebrates 50th anniversary - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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In January 1967 a new town was born, in what had been a cluster of sleepy Buckinghamshire villages.
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Conceived as a new town to ease the London housing shortage, Milton Keynes is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Love it or loathe it, Milton Keynes has successfully attracted families and businesses and is used as a model for new towns across the world.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38716423
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'Allo 'Allo! star Gorden Kaye dies at 75 - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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Gorden Kaye, best known for playing Rene Artois in the long-running BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!, has died aged 75.
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Gorden Kaye, best known for playing Rene Artois in the long-running BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!, has died aged 75.
The star's former agency confirmed to BBC News he died at a care home on Monday morning.
David Sillito looks back at his career.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38724051
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Bernie Ecclestone removed as Liberty Media completes $8bn takeover - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Bernie Ecclestone is removed from his position running F1 as US giant Liberty Media completes its $8bn (£6.4bn) takeover of the sport.
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Bernie Ecclestone has been removed from his position running Formula 1 as US giant Liberty Media completed its $8bn (£6.4bn) takeover of the sport.
Ecclestone, 86, who has been in charge for nearly 40 years, has been appointed chairman emeritus and will act as an adviser to the board.
Chase Carey has had Ecclestone's former role of chief executive officer added to his existing position of chairman.
Liberty has also brought ex-Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn back to F1.
The former Ferrari technical director, who had been acting as a consultant to Liberty, has been appointed to lead the sporting and technical side of F1.
Ecclestone said earlier on Monday he had been "forced out".
He told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "I was dismissed. This is official. I no longer run the company. My position has been taken by Chase Carey."
• None Why F1's titanic leader was loved and loathed
Ecclestone, who added he did not know what his new job title meant, declined to comment when approached by BBC Sport, who revealed on Sunday he would leave his job this week.
Liberty began its takeover of the sport in September and earlier in January cleared the last two regulatory hurdles.
The deal was completed on Monday and Liberty Media is to be renamed the Formula 1 Group following the takeover.
As well as Brawn's return, former ESPN executive Sean Bratches has been hired to run the commercial side of the sport.
Brawn, 62, masterminded all seven of Michael Schumacher's world titles at Benetton and Ferrari and also won the championship with Jenson Button with his own team in 2009. He then moved to Mercedes, where he laid the foundations for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's title wins.
Both he and Bratches will report to Carey, a former long-time lieutenant of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and chairman of his 21st Century Fox company.
What they said
Bernie Ecclestone: "I'm proud of the business that I built over the past 40 years and all that I have achieved with Formula 1. I would like to thank all of the promoters, teams, sponsors and television companies that I have worked with.
"I'm very pleased that the business has been acquired by Liberty and that it intends to invest in the future of F1. I am sure that Chase will execute his role in a way that will benefit the sport."
Chase Carey: "I am excited to be taking on the additional role of CEO. F1 has huge potential with multiple untapped opportunities. I have enjoyed hearing from the fans, teams, [governing body] FIA, promoters and sponsors on their ideas and hopes for the sport.
"I would like to recognise and thank Bernie for his leadership over the decades. The sport is what it is today because of him and the talented team of executives he has led, and he will always be part of the F1 family.
"Bernie's role as chairman emeritus befits his tremendous contribution to the sport and I am grateful for his continued insight and guidance as we build F1 for long-term success and the enjoyment of all those involved."
Greg Maffei, president and CEO of Liberty Media Corporation: "We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of F1 and that Chase will lead this business as CEO. I'd like to thank Bernie Ecclestone for his tremendous success in building this remarkable global sport."
Zak Brown, executive director, McLaren Technology Group: "Formula 1 wouldn't be the international sporting powerhouse that it is today without the truly enormous contribution made over the past half-century by Bernie Ecclestone. Indeed, I can't think of a single other person who has had anything like as much influence on building a global sport as he has.
"Today is a day on which we should all pay tribute to a remarkable visionary entrepreneur called Bernie Ecclestone, and to say thank you to him too."
Murray Walker, F1 commentator, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live: "Formula 1 owes him an immeasurable debt. He is a very tough businessman but if he shakes your hand you don't need a contract. He's as good as his word.
"The most important thing under Bernie's rule was the safety aspect. Formula 1 has been absolutely transformed. There was a time when four or five people were being killed every year but Bernie, with the help of Professor Sid Watkins, transformed that situation."
What did Ecclestone do for F1?
Ecclestone, the former team boss of Brabham, began in the 1970s as a representative of his colleagues in negotiations with circuits, television and authorities and slowly moved into a position of almost absolute power.
He was central in turning F1 from a relatively minority activity into one of the biggest television sports in the world outside the Olympics and the football World Cup.
After selling Brabham in the late 1980s, he moved full-time into administration.
He took over the ownership of the commercial rights of F1 from the teams in the mid-1990s. He then struck a deal in 2000 with his long-time ally Max Mosley, then president of the FIA, to lease them for 110 years at what critics said was an absurdly low price of $360m (£287m).
That set in motion a series of sales where the rights were passed from one entity to another, a process that led Ecclestone to stand trial for bribery in Germany in 2014. The case was dropped after a payment of $100m (£79m) without presumption of guilt or innocence. Subsequently Liberty took over from previous owner CVC Capital Partners.
Ecclestone built F1 into a sport that could be valued by one of the world's biggest media groups at $8bn.
He did this by building up F1's exposure on television, forcing companies to transmit the whole championship rather than cherry-picking the odd race here and there as had been normal until the early 1980s.
But he has been criticised for his authoritarian grip on the sport and his controversial approach.
In recent years, his demands for ever-higher fees from race tracks led to several European races struggling to make ends meet. His decision-making was also questioned, particularly over issues such as the introduction of double points for the final race of the 2014 season, and the quickly abandoned change of the qualifying format in 2016.
A prize-money structure he created in the early years of this decade is believed by many insiders to be unfairly skewed in favour of the bigger and richer teams, and the governance system he set up at the same time has led to a log-jam when it comes to decision-making.
Equally, his public utterances were sometimes ill-advised, such as praising Adolf Hitler for "being able to get things done" and calling women "domestic appliances".
And some of his choices of locations for new races were also controversial - in countries such as Bahrain, Russia and Azerbaijan which secured huge fees for CVC but were criticised because of the regimes' records on human rights.
What changes does Liberty plan?
Liberty has not publicly revealed what changes it will make to F1 but insiders say it plans to act on many of the areas that were considered a weakness under Ecclestone.
In particular, it wants to exploit digital media, an area with which Ecclestone refused to engage, and it intends to invest in securing the futures of certain races which it considers valuable.
It also wants to grow the sport in the USA, where F1 has long struggled to gain a sure foothold and promote it much more extensively, talking of creating "20 Super Bowls", in terms of making much more of the build-up to each race.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38723001
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Chapecoense: Brazilian team play first game since plane crash - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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Chapecoense football team has played its first match since the plane crash that killed most of its athletes.
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Chapecoense football team has played its first match since the plane crash that killed most of its players.
Before the game’s start, the three players who survived the accident and families of the victims received medals and the Copa Sudamericana trophy.
The team was heading to Colombia to play in the first leg of the championship final when the accident happened.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-38710231
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2,000 guitars in mini scale - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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A musician from Opole in Poland has made 2,000 mini guitars.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38712423
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Sean Spicer: Who is President Trump's spin doctor? - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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New White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has warned that the media will be held "accountable".
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US & Canada
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In a 2014 lecture to students at his former high school, Sean Spicer outlined a set of 17 "rules for life" that they would be wise to follow.
Rule number 16, he told the students at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island: "Follow your mom's advice: It's not what you say, but how you say it. The tone and tenor of your words count."
The now White House press secretary also told students that they should be true to themselves. Rule number eight, was relevant here, he said. "Trust your gut. If it does not feel right, use caution."
With that guidance in mind, Mr Spicer's bellicose press conference with the White House press corps on Saturday suggests that the new presidential spokesman will not sugar-coat his words over the next four years.
While the press secretary-journalist relationship is naturally an adversarial one, Mr Spicer has, in his first few days in the role, already cast himself as being in open conflict with much of the mainstream media, pledging to "hold the press accountable".
This, it appears, is the frontline of a strategy that White House Chief of Staff Reince Preibus described as a will to "fight back tooth and nail every day" at supposed media efforts to "delegitimise" the president.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Sean Spicer, White House press secretary said "no-one had numbers" for the inauguration
Mr Spicer, 45, is not a new hand at managing negative press coverage.
He previously served as spokesman and chief strategist for the Republican National Committee (RNC) and has long criticised coverage of his party and Mr Trump.
He took the post of communications director at the RNC in 2011, a time when it "was deep in debt and had a badly tarnished brand", according to the Republican Party website.
He is said to have helped turn around its fortunes by boosting the social media team, leading rapid response efforts to combat attacks, setting up an in-house video and production team and expanding the use of surrogates - people who can publicly appear on behalf of candidates, defend them and boost their appeal.
Mr Spicer has not shied away from criticising Mr Trump in the past. In July 2015, speaking on behalf of the RNC after Mr Trump questioned Republican Senator John McCain's status as a war hero, he said that there was "no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honourably".
Mr Spicer claimed President Trump's inauguration was the "largest inaugural crowd ever"
He also described Mr Trump's June 2015 comments about Mexican immigrants being rapists and criminals as not being "helpful to the cause".
Before joining the RNC, he worked as Assistant US Trade Representative for Media and Public Affairs in the George W. Bush administration: a role that involved promoting the kind of free trade that his boss now fiercely criticises as being unfair for the American worker.
Still, Mr Spicer was loyal to Mr Trump on the campaign trail even as the path-breaking candidate split the party and many Republican luminaries distanced themselves from him.
The broad-shouldered, compulsively gum-chewing Republican ("Two and a half packs by noon," he told the Washington Post) is a long-time member of the US Navy Reserve.
He received a Masters degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in Newport in 2012 and is known to be fierce, and deeply competitive.
One editor who has been blasted many times by Mr Spicer told the Post that her young child recognises his voice on the phone and bursts into tears.
His wife Rebecca is the chief of communications at the National Beer Wholesalers Association and previously worked in the Bush White House after a career in television news.
As press secretary, Mr Spicer will serve as President Trump's most visible spokesman, and is expected to hold daily televised media briefings, though he has spoken of his desire to shake up the way White House media is managed.
While he has said that Mr Trump will do press conferences, he also wants to utilise technology to "have a conversation with the American people and not just limit it through the filter of the mainstream media".
He has also described White House press briefings as having become "somewhat of a spectacle". Many would use that word to describe the first under the Trump administration.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38711850
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Australian Open 2017: Rafael Nadal, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin in last eight - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Rafael Nadal reaches the Australian Open quarter-finals with a hard-fought four-set victory over Gael Monfils.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January.
Rafael Nadal reached the Australian Open quarter-finals with a hard-fought four-set victory over Gael Monfils.
The 30-year-old Spaniard, who is seeded ninth and won the tournament in 2009, beat the Frenchman 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4.
Nadal will face third seed Milos Raonic - who beat Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut - in the last eight on Wednesday.
Canadian Raonic, the highest seed left in the men's singles, came through 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-4 6-1 against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.
Grigor Dimitrov beat injury-hit Denis Istomin to progress, and will face David Goffin, who overcame eighth seed Dominic Thiem.
Watch highlights of day eight on BBC Two from 16:45 GMT on Monday
Nadal, who has struggled with injuries, is seeking his first major since claiming his 14th Grand Slam at the 2014 French Open.
He had difficulty converting break points - six of 17 - but clinched victory over Monfils with his second match point, on the sixth seed's serve.
The Spaniard had cruised through the first two sets, but lost the third and was a break down in the fourth before sealing victory in two hours and 56 minutes.
"Now I feel a little bit tired. But probably tomorrow [Tuesday] a bit better and hopefully after tomorrow perfect," said Nadal, who is in his 30th major quarter-final, but first since Paris in 2015.
"Against Milos Raonic I just need to play very, very well. He is the third player in the world, he beat me a couple of weeks ago in Brisbane and is a top player with an amazing serve."
I was very fortunate to get through - Raonic
Wimbledon finalist Raonic, 26, has reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the third consecutive year.
Playing with a high fever, he rallied from 5-1 down in the first-set tie-breaker to win the opening set, but was then broken twice in the second.
The 13th seed Bautista Agut then began to falter in the third set, when the roof at Hisense Arena was closed because of rain, and he later had to call for a trainer for a leg problem.
Raonic duly took the third set and needed only 26 minutes to see out the fourth to win the match.
"I was very fortunate to get through," said Raonic, who hit 75 winners but also 55 unforced errors, including nine double faults.
"There were moments where it wasn't looking so good."
Bulgarian 15th seed Dimitrov, 25, came from behind to win 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 6-1 as Novak Djokovic's conqueror Istomin struggled with a leg problem.
Istomin, the bespectacled world number 117 from Uzbekistan, showed the effects of a demanding tournament.
"Denis deserves all the credit for an unbelievable tournament, he has been on fire and he was striking the ball so well early in the match," said Dimitrov.
Goffin had earlier become the first Belgian man to reach the Melbourne last eight by beating Austrian Thiem.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38715060
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Anti-Trump rant woman removed from Alaska Airlines plane - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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A passenger is removed from an Alaska Airlines flight for berating the President Trump supporter seated next to her.
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A woman has been removed from an Alaska Airlines flight after berating the President Trump supporter seated next to her.
Scott Koteskey - the man she confronted - filmed the incident and uploaded it to Facebook.
The airline told the BBC the woman had insulted other passengers before boarding the plane, and that it stood by the employee who decided to remove her.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38723929
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The NHS mental health chief who had a nervous breakdown - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A social media post written by a former NHS director of mental health about her own depression has gone viral
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BBC Trending
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"Perhaps not the most flattering photo of me, but I'm sharing this awful picture and my story to help increase understanding of the impact of mental illness and to celebrate my recovery."
"As I have worked in mental health services for 29 years, one would think I would be immune to mental illness."
In a LinkedIn post that has been shared more than 5,000 times, Mandy Stevens shared a photo of herself, red-eyed with matted hair, in the midst of a depressive episode that resulted in her being hospitalised. She wrote the post on the day she was discharged from a 12 week stay on the inpatient ward at the City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health in London.
One thing that struck many people who read Stevens' post on the online professional network was her unique vantage point - she has been both an employee and patient of the UK's National Health Service mental health programme.
Stevens began her career in the NHS as a mental health nurse. After 15 years she became a hospital manager, and then a director.
Although she has suffered episodes of "mild to moderate" depression, she managed it through counselling and very few of her family and friends knew about it.
"There is a huge amount of stigma around mental illness," Stevens told BBC Trending, "and for the past 29 years I have worked in Mental Health Services and seen the negative effect this stigma has on people who use our services. From personal embarrassment, family embarrassment, not accepting diagnoses or treatment, not wanting to attend mental health community services in case they are recognised. There is also stigma amongst family, friends and colleagues, including whispered rumours and avoidance."
Then in November, things changed, and her depression became serious enough to warrant hospitalisation.
"When I was very, very depressed, anxious and suicidal I was so ill I was almost monosyllabic, I could hardy walk properly, I couldn't shower or dress properly. Eating and all the things that we take for granted were a huge struggle. I spent most of every day in bed, crying and wanting to be dead. I was absolutely terrible. So frightening and awful."
"The absolutely wonderful nurses on Gardner ward at City & Hackney Centre for Mental Health were amazing," Stevens says.
"They would come and see me very regularly throughout the day, spend time with me, encourage and support me, listen to me crying and talking and throwing up a huge amount of emotion. The staff nurses and the healthcare assistants were wonderful, accessible and compassionate 24/7. I am so proud of my profession."
Whilst in hospital and after she was over the worst Stevens says she felt a bit like an "undercover cop" as she observed how the ward was run.
"Without exception the staff treated all of the patients with dignity and respect."
When asked what she thinks of the state of the NHS right now, Stevens says, "Very difficult for me to answer this question now… I can only talk about my particular experience as a patient in an 'Outstanding Trust' - which has been a great experience."
"I am, of course, aware that not everyone is as lucky as me to receive this type of care. Unfortunately, mental health services are always seen as the 'Cinderella services' with lower levels of funding and cuts."
Analysis by the King's Fund think tank says 40% of the 58 mental health trusts in the UK saw budgets cut in 2015-16. It found six of them had seen budgets cut three years in a row. An NHS spokeswoman told the BBC that mental health services were "wider" than trusts, and care was funded in other ways.
Steven adds that help is there.
"There is a huge range of accessible services across the country. Your GP is usually the best place to start as they can signpost you to local services and, if necessary, they can refer you to formal mental health services, but there are also a wide variety of other services around run by volunteers," she says.
"My first message is to reach out to people. Speak to your close family and friends about your mental health, and start opening conversations about it. Don't say 'I'm okay' when you're not okay"
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Eurovision 2017: Which former X Factor contestant will represent the UK? - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Every one of this year's UK Eurovision hopefuls is a former X Factor contestant.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Lucie Jones and Danyl Johnson both competed on X Factor in 2009
This year's UK Eurovision hopefuls have been revealed - and every one of them is a former X Factor contestant.
Among the more recognisable names are Lucie Jones and Danyl Johnson, who both featured in the 2009 series, which was eventually won by Joe McElderry.
Jones's song has the best pedigree: Never Give Up On You is written by 2013 Eurovision winner, Emmelie de Forest.
TV talent has good form at Eurovision, with two previous winners graduating from singing contests like X Factor.
Mel Giedroyc will host Eurovision: You Decide on Friday
Swedish singer Loreen, who won the competition in 2012, was previously a runner-up on Swedish Idol, where she performed under the name Loren Talhaoui.
More recently, Mans Zelmerlow triumphed at the 2015 contest - having earned his stripes on Swedish Idol and Let's Dance, which is his home country's version of Strictly.
This year's UK's entry will be selected on Friday, 27 January, in a live BBC Two show hosted by Mel Giedroyc.
A combination of viewer and jury votes will decide the winning song - with Bruno Tonioli and Sophie Ellis-Bextor forming part of the eight-person jury.
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Former schoolteacher Danyl Johnson was, at one point, the bookies' favourite to win X Factor 2009. He eventually came fourth - losing out to Joe McElderry and runner-up Olly Murs - and earned brief notoriety after being (sort-of) outed by Danni Minogue.
The singer, who currently works as an ambassador for the People's Postcode Lottery, enters Eurovision with a empowering dance track about "shining a light in the darkness" - harking back to Katrina and the Waves' Eurovision-winning song in 1997.
It aims for anthemic but ends up sounding anaemic.
Key lyric: "We couldn't see, yeah, standing in the dark."
Holly Brewer - I Wish I Loved You More
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Holly Brewer - I Wish I Loved You More
Holly has previously sung at the wedding of Mark Wright (The Only Way is Essex) and Michelle Keegan (Coronation Street) - and received four "yeses" from the X Factor judges in 2015.
However, producers axed her from the programme by phone in a pre-bootcamp contestant cull - Cowell and co presumably underestimated the cost of accommodation in Wembley.
Never fear, for now Holly is returning with a power ballad co-written by Courtney Harrell, a former contestant on The Voice US. A decent effort which sounds like it could have been found on Kelly Clarkson's studio floor.
Key lyric: "You're the sunlight the the preacher talks about. Ooh-ooh, Amen."
Lucie Jones - Never Give Up on You
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lucie Jones - Never Give Up On You
Lucie Jones will be remembered by the die-hard X Factor enthusiasts for coming eighth in the 2009 series - finishing behind fellow Eurovision hopeful Danyl Johnson and, er, Jedward.
While she might have crashed out of the live finals fairly early, she should be more confident of winning the UK Eurovision race - as her song is co-written by Emmelie de Forest - the Danish singer-songwriter who won the song contest in 2013.
Her vocals have improved remarkably since 2009, but the song is untroubled by percussion and ends up a slightly dreary piano ballad (not necessarily an obstacle to Eurovision victory).
Key lyric: "Together we'll dance through this storm."
Nate Simpson - What Are We Made Of?
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"You opened your mouth and Jesus came out," said Nicole Scherzinger when Slough-born Nate Simpson auditioned for the X Factor last year.
That didn't stop her kicking him out at the judges's houses round, though. Maybe if he'd kept Jesus in there for a little longer...
The 23-year-old is hoping to go to Eurovision with the piano ballad What Are We Made Of?. It has a key change before the first chorus, which gives you an indication of what you're in for.
Key lyric: "We're breathing underwater and the struggle makes us stronger."
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Canadian singer Laurell Barker has been busy on the songwriting front this year because, as well as penning Holly's song, she has writing credits on Olivia Garcia's.
Olivia is fresh from the most recent series of X Factor. She made it as far as judges houses, but Simon Cowell sadly didn't take her through to the live shows.
She's now joined the Eurovision race with a propulsive ballad that could lend itself to a dramatic staging (we're thinking acrobats and a tug of war). Garcia's vocal acrobatics, meanwhile, do a good job of showing Cowell what he missed.
Key lyric: "Shiny hair and shoes, how about me and you?"
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A distant relative of the Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita; Divorce, Italian Style) Salena has a degree in fashion, but ditched the runway to pursue a career in music.
After working as a wedding singer for four years, she auditioned for X Factor in 2012 but failed to progress beyond the initial stages.
Instantly catchy, her song I Don't Wanna Fight is the most contemporary of this year's Eurovision entries, with a trance-house beat that's proved successful for other countries in recent years.
Although the lyrics appear to carry an anti-war sentiment, Mastroianni says the song is about a relationship.
Key lyric: "Why can't we put our weapons down?"
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or email [email protected].
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38718362
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Arsene Wenger: Arsenal manager is charged with misconduct by FA - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is charged by the Football Association for verbally abusing and pushing a fourth official.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been charged by the Football Association with verbal abusing and pushing fourth official Anthony Taylor during Sunday's Premier League game against Burnley.
Wenger, 67, pushed Taylor after being sent off in the closing stages of the Gunners' 2-1 win at Emirates Stadium.
He had been dismissed for reacting angrily to a 93rd-minute penalty given to Burnley, who trailed 1-0.
Wenger, who later apologised, has until 18:00 GMT on Thursday to respond.
An FA statement read: "It is alleged that in or around the 92nd minute, Wenger used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official.
"It is further alleged that following his dismissal from the technical area, his behaviour in remaining in the tunnel area and making physical contact with the fourth official amounted to improper conduct."
After being sent to the stands by referee Jon Moss, Wenger moved away from the pitch but stood at the tunnel entrance and refused to move as he tried to watch the remaining few minutes of Sunday's match.
As Taylor encouraged him to move away, Wenger was seen to push back against him.
When asked about what had led to his dismissal, Wenger said: "Look, it was nothing bad. I said something that you hear every day in football. Overall, nine times out of 10, you are not sent to the stand for that."
He added: "But if I am, I am, and I should have shut up completely. I was quite calm for the whole game, more than usual."
In 2012, then-Newcastle manager Alan Pardew was fined £20,000 and given a two-match touchline ban for pushing an assistant referee during a game against Tottenham.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38722906
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Thatcher secret test drive revealed in newly released files - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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Newly released personal files shed new light on the ex-PM's time at Number 10.
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UK Politics
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Margaret Thatcher test-drove the new Rover outside 10 Downing Street - but not before a practice session
Officials feared Margaret Thatcher could crash Rover's new car when she test-drove it for a photocall, newly released papers suggest.
A secret rehearsal was arranged at Chequers for the then PM to "familiarise" herself with the vehicle.
Her newly released personal files cover 1986, when Michael Heseltine quit over the so-called Westland affair and the US launched bombing raids in Libya.
They have been published by the Thatcher Foundation.
The documents reveal careful planning behind the scenes to avoid anything going wrong with the Rover 800 photoshoot at Downing Street.
The PM's private secretary Mark Addison wrote to her: "You are test driving the new Rover on Thursday.
"The most straightforward way of arranging this would probably be for you to drive the car from the front door towards the bottom of Downing Street, reversing into the side road, and then driving back up the street to the front door.
"If you would like to handle the test drive in this way, you would need to feel fully confident about manoeuvring the car into the side road and back out again.
"The alternative would be to walk down to the car at the bottom of Downing Street and drive it back to the front door.
"Agree to the first option? Or prefer to keep it simple."
In another memo, Mr Addison told her the car was being towed, under cover, to Chequers for her to rehearse beforehand.
Chris Collins, from the Margaret Thatcher Archive Trust, said he believed Mrs Thatcher had seldom driven since 1975, leading to concern from officials.
"I think I'm reading between the lines but I'm reasonably confident that there was that worry, that there was this dark fear that she would crash into something, that it would all go horribly wrong, and after all she hadn't driven for many many years," he said.
The trust is overseeing the release of Mrs Thatcher's private files through the Churchill Archive Centre in Cambridge.
The files also reveal concerns that a blue, not a red, car should be supplied, but in the end the stunt passed without a hitch.
Things went less smoothly for the prime minister when she tripped over a manhole at the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth.
In a letter to the mayor apologising for pulling out of a civic ball that evening, she said: "As you may have heard I tripped over one of Bournemouth's manholes this afternoon and my ankle didn't like it very much. Neither did the manhole!"
Other papers in the newly released batch include a letter - written but never sent - from Mrs Thatcher to the then defence secretary Michael Heseltine warning him to toe the line or give up office over the Westland affair.
The battle for control of British helicopter manufacturer Westland was one of the most divisive political rows of Mrs Thatcher's second term in office.
Former Defence Secretary Lord Heseltine stormed out of cabinet over the Westland affair
The letter, drafted three weeks before Mr Heseltine resigned over the row, tells him the government's view of the future of British helicopter manufacturer Westland is that it is "a matter for the company to decide", adding: "In this situation no minister should use his position to promote one commercial option in preference to another - so long as he remains in government."
A more minor helicopter-related exchange involved a request for Mrs Thatcher to use one to travel the short distance from Downing Street to the opening of the Broadgate development in the City of London.
In a hand-written note, the PM dismissed the "ridiculous" suggestion, saying it would be an "unwarrantable extravagance and I should be criticised severely".
The documents also cover the fallout from the US air strikes in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, for which Mrs Thatcher allowed the use of British airbases.
One note, before the PM was due to speak on the subject, said an "unusually large number of calls" had been received by Conservative Central Office expressing concern about the raids.
Another revealed a warning from a senior civil servant that Conservative Party chairman Norman Tebbit's "obsession" with attacking the BBC's coverage of the military strikes risked a repeat of the "Westland troubles".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38717028
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Sam Warburton: Wales flanker reflects on losing captaincy - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Sam Warburton says he is "more hungry" after losing the Wales captaincy and backs Alun Wyn Jones as a capable successor.
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Last updated on .From the section Welsh Rugby
Sam Warburton says he remains as hungry as ever to play for Wales despite losing the captaincy to Alun Wyn Jones.
Wales start their Six Nations campaign in Italy on 5 February with Warburton endorsing interim head coach Rob Howley's decision to appoint Jones.
Warburton, 28, has led Wales a record 49 times since being handed the captaincy by Warren Gatland in 2011.
"It's been lovely while I've done it but I can enjoy my rugby without it," said Warburton.
"It allows me to have a little bit more freedom.
"There comes a time in your career you need to focus on yourself. Even though you are in a team sport, you do still need to be selfish."
Speaking for the first time since the decision was announced, Warburton said: "It's something I've known about for a while and spoken about it to Rob.
"There wasn't a definitive moment. This has been happening over the past few months.
"It probably came to our attention during the autumn, when we started talking about it, and through December and January.
"It was a decision we both agreed on and thought was best for myself individually and the team.
"You know it is a big call for a coach to drop his captain."
Was it hard to take?
Warburton insists he is not disappointed and is free to concentrate on securing his position in the Wales back row.
"I found it to be a relatively easy decision because captaincy has never been the motivation for me," said the Cardiff Blues flanker, who said he was unsure whether he would lead Wales again.
"Playing number seven for Wales and the Lions has always been the target.
"It's not something I've been bitterly disappointed about or something I've always desperately wanted to do. It's an honour.
"There also comes a time in your career you need to focus on yourself.
"That's why this is the best thing for me. It will probably make me more hungry not to have the captaincy.
"There are so many good sixes and sevens in the squad, that you have got to bring your A-game just to get in the 23."
What are his captaincy highlights?
Since 2011, when he took the job aged 22, Warburton has led Wales more times than anybody else and captained his country at two World Cups and to a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2012.
"People expect the Grand Slam to be my highlight, but I only played three games," he said.
"My highlight might be the win against South Africa in 2014 because that was a big moment.
"Players are always getting the question about [beating] southern hemisphere sides. To finally get that win was satisfying.
"When I look back to 2011 when I nearly didn't take it, that would have been the biggest mistake of my rugby career.
"Back then I was completely out of my comfort zone and didn't want to do it.
"But it has helped me develop as a person and a player."
Warburton is replaced by Ospreys skipper Jones who has captained Wales five times and led the Lions to match and series victory in the final Test against Australia in 2013.
"Alun Wyn is a vastly experienced player and has more experience than me at international level," said Warburton.
"He's seen pretty much everything in this game. That's what makes him such a great candidate to be captain.
"Alun Wyn is the stand-out candidate. It will be a nice smooth transition and he will be able to cope fine with things."
What about the Lions?
Warburton said he was unsure whether his chances of leading the Lions again in New Zealand this summer after captaining the tourists in Australia in 2013 would be affected.
"I haven't spoken to Warren [Gatland] since he was announced as Lions coach," said Warburton.
"He popped in and observed some training sessions, which I imagine he did across the home nations.
"He was informed about the decision by the WRU and Rob spoke to him.
"One of my concerns was Warren, because he has invested a lot of time in me, especially when I was so young.
"But he knew exactly what was going on which was great."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38724392
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Premature babies benefit from compact MRI scanner - BBC News
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2017-01-23
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Doctors in Sheffield are pioneering the use of a compact neonatal MRI scanner, one of only two in the world.
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Doctors in Sheffield are pioneering the use of a compact neonatal MRI scanner to scan the brains of premature babies.
The machine at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, one of only two in the world, is being used instead of ultrasound.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38724048
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Leicester defeat shows when a diamond does not work - Danny Murphy - BBC Sport
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2017-01-23
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Leicester's latest away defeat came because they got their tactics wrong, says Match of the Day 2 pundit Danny Murphy
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Leicester's defeat at Southampton was a great example of how tactics, rather than players, are hugely important in deciding football matches.
You still need a talented, intelligent team with the ability to carry those tactics out for you, of course, but your system can win or lose a game for you - just the same as an amazing bit of skill will.
That is what happened as St Mary's when Leicester lined up in a diamond shape in midfield. They played it really poorly, because it looked to me as if they had not worked on it very much.
Southampton quickly worked out how to capitalise on their weaknesses and, by the time Leicester changed their shape at half-time, they were 2-0 down and as good as out of the game.
That tactical effect is not always so obvious when I watch Premier League matches.
A lot of the time both teams are playing a similar way, or both are well organised and working hard - and it is a moment of quality that wins the game.
On Sunday, Saints were much better tactically and they won the match because of it.
'A difficult system to master, without the ball'
I never played regularly in a diamond at any of my clubs, but we used it at certain times when I was at Liverpool and it worked quite nicely for us.
In particular, we did it a few times when we played Manchester United at home because we felt their strength was in central areas, trying to play through us.
Using the diamond forced them wide and they put crosses in, which was what we wanted them to do.
It also meant we could press them higher up the pitch because the two strikers would be backed up by the man at the point of the diamond.
It tends to suit teams who have the majority of possession and play a lot of football because you have got four men in the centre of midfield and, although you are lacking in the wide areas, you should have at least one extra man in the middle. That is the theory anyway.
What actually happened with Leicester was they did not try to play out from the back and keep hold of the ball to use that extra man.
And, when they lost the ball, the guys who were in the diamond were crossing positions too much because they were not sure when to look for the ball in middle or when to go and try to win it out wide.
'One of the hardest jobs a player can be asked to do'
It is a difficult system to master, especially when you have not got possession.
I am not against it, because I have played in it when it has worked, but it does not stretch the pitch as much as other formations and you do feel like you are doing extra work.
I played as the wide man in a diamond a few times in my career and it is one of the hardest jobs a player can be asked to do.
It involves a heck of a lot of running, because you are kind of playing in centre midfield, then you are playing right midfield - then right-back and on the right wing.
You have to know when to go and chase the ball and when to sit and, on Sunday, Leicester's Danny Drinkwater, for example, struggled to get that right.
We know Danny is a very good central midfielder - he was one of the best in the Premier League last season.
However, he was on the right of the diamond against Saints and was not used to that position, which let Saints left-back Ryan Bertrand really enjoy himself in the first half.
Sometimes Drinkwater was reacting to Saints attacks down his wing too late because he was too narrow and he could not get out to Bertrand in time, or he went out wide too early and left a gap inside.
He was not the only Leicester player to be caught between two places where they were meant to be and Saints utilised all this space really well because they kept switching play.
That left the two Leicester full-backs isolated a lot of the time and Southampton were getting a lot of crosses into their box - they scored their first goal from one of them.
Leicester need to find a settled formation again
I saw a lot of the Leicester players question each other during that first half and get angry about who was marking who and where they were supposed to be.
So Ranieri was right to come out afterwards and acknowledge the way they started the game was his fault because he had tried something new.
The players will always take some of the responsibility because they are out on the pitch, but asking them to work on a system for a few days then go away to a good side like Southampton is a bit too much to ask.
Compare that performance to the way Leicester were playing last season when all their players looked so comfortable playing 4-4-1-1 because they all knew their jobs. They had little partnerships all over the pitch, and it was perfect in so many ways.
Things are different now. They have brought in some new players and are trying to adapt a little bit and they also have to deal with teams raising their game against them because they are the champions.
The expectancy level has gone up and, maybe because they have had a bad run, they have changed things too much instead of sticking to what they know.
That is not a criticism of Leicester, because every club wants to evolve and improve their squad with better players . When you do that, you want to keep the ball a bit more and play in different ways.
But it did not work out for them last week when they switched to play with three at the back in their defeat by Chelsea either.
The sooner they get back to a settled formation, the sooner their results will pick up. I don't think we will see that diamond again any time soon, though.
What next for the Foxes?
Sometimes it is not the fact you lose a game that hurts you, it is the way you lose it.
Leicester's players will watch a recording of that Southampton game at some point this week and there are not many positives for them to take from it, even in the second half.
The league table does not look too good for the Foxes either - and their away form has been terrible all season.
They need to pick themselves up quickly, but I still look at the attacking quality they have in their squad compared to the other teams down at the bottom and think they can go on a run and climb the table.
Will they go down? You can never say never, but I would be shocked if they got sucked into the bottom three.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38713714
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Supreme Court judgement on Brexit - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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The Supreme Court rules on whether Parliament or ministers have the power to begin the Brexit process.
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The Supreme Court rules on whether Parliament or ministers have the power to begin the Brexit process.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38729017
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France's Benoit Hamon rouses Socialists with basic income plan - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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What does the rise of left-wing presidential hopeful Benoit Hamon say about France's Socialists?
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Europe
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Benoit Hamon has been short on detail with his plan for basic income in France
He's been called the "French Bernie Sanders". After his decisive win in the first round of France's Socialist party primary, left-wing rebel, Benoit Hamon is suddenly the centre of attention.
But what do his rapid rise and eye-catching policies say about the future of the French left?
With his designer stubble and cheeky grin, the 49-year-old Socialist party rebel has been grabbing more than his share of the limelight over the past few weeks.
The most left-leaning of the seven initial candidates in the Socialist race, his programme has been built around the radical proposal of a universal monthly payment for all French citizens, regardless of income. He also wants to legalise cannabis, to tax the wealth created by robots and to ditch the labour law passed last year that made it easier to hire and fire.
The income plan he has outlined would be put into effect in three stages.
Critics have pilloried the plan as unworkable, estimating its cost at between €300-€400bn.
It's true that Mr Hamon has been short on detail when it comes to how his vision for France would be funded. But that doesn't seem to have affected his popularity among left-wing voters.
By finishing several points ahead of former Prime Minister Manuel Valls during the first round of voting on Sunday, Mr Hamon has drawn attention to some important questions for France's ruling left-wing party: most obviously, the deep split between the Socialist party's left-wing supporters and the more liberal, centrist line taken by the current Socialist government.
Manuel Valls was the prime minister who pushed through some of that government's most unpopular labour reforms and security measures. That left a rift with the party that may force him out of the presidential race in the run-off on Sunday.
Benoit Hamon is going into round two in a strong position, having secured the support of fellow left-winger Arnaud Montebourg, who came third in the first round.
Benoit Hamon (L) resigned as a minister with Arnaud Montebourg in 2014 after they called for an end to austerity
If Mr Hamon wins, it will reorient the Socialist party away from the centre of French politics, and back to its traditional left-wing positions.
That may not help him much during the presidential race. Whoever wins the Socialist nomination is tipped to come fifth, according to the opinion polls.
But it could have two important consequences for France.
A nomination for Mr Hamon is likely to funnel centrist votes towards liberal former banker Emmanuel Macron, whose growing popularity is starting to worry the far-right National Front (FN), which is now banking on a place in the second round of the presidential poll.
Francois Fillon, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron are leading the field in the presidential race
And, even as the populist campaigns gather speed in France, the appearance of Benoit Hamon at the head of the Socialist campaign could also signal a return to the politics of a previous era.
For years France's established parties have drifted to the centre ground and voter apathy has grown.
But now voters already have the prospect of an old-school Catholic conservative heading the main right-wing Republican party. And if Benoit Hamon wins the Socialist nomination on Sunday, the main left-wing party will once again embrace its traditional positions on workers' rights, redistribution, civil liberties and the environment.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38723219
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Australian Open 2017: Roger Federer 'surprised' by semi-final run - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Roger Federer says he did not expect to reach the Australian Open semi-finals after a six-month injury lay-off.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Williams v Konta coverage: Wednesday, 02:00 GMT: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text commentary on the BBC Sport website. Wednesday, 16:45 GMT: TV highlights on BBC Two.
Seventeen-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer says he did not expect to reach the Australian Open semi-finals after a six-month injury lay-off.
The four-time champion in Melbourne is making his competitive return after last playing at Wimbledon in July.
Federer beat Mischa Zverev 6-1 7-5 6-2 to set up Thursday's last-four match against fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka.
"Feeling as good as I am, playing as good as I am, that's a huge surprise to me," said the 35-year-old.
• None Confident Konta 'can improve in every aspect'
"If someone would have told me I'd play in the semis against Stan, never would I have called that one.
"For Stan, yes, but not for me. I honestly didn't even know a few days ago that he was in my section of the draw or I'm in his section."
Federer, who has not won a Grand Slam title since triumphing at Wimbledon in 2012, had been sidelined by a knee injury throughout the second half of last year and has slipped from third in the world to 17th.
He played in the non-ranking Hopman Cup in Perth earlier in January, but has come through 18 sets in Melbourne.
"I think winning back-to-back matches in best-of-five sets against quality, great players has surprised me most," he said.
"Really that's been for me the big question mark, if I could do that so early in my comeback.
"I felt I was always going to be dangerous on any given day in a match situation. But obviously as the tournament would progress, maybe I would fade away with energy, you know, that kind of stuff."
'Roger's the best of all time'
Federer holds an 18-3 winning record against Wawrinka, but the 31-year-old will go into the semi-final as the world number four and looking for a second consecutive Grand Slam title after last year's US Open success.
Federer has won their past two meetings, at the ATP World Tour Finals and in the US Open in 2015, but Wawrinka holds a Grand Slam win against his Davis Cup team-mate, coming in the quarter-finals of the French Open in the same year.
"Against Roger, it's always special because he's so good. He's the best player of all time," said the three-time Grand Slam winner.
"He has an answer for everything. But I managed to beat him in a Grand Slam, so we'll see.
"It's great to see him back at that level. Hopefully I can manage to play a great match."
Stan, you don't call any more
All of Wawrinka's three Grand Slam titles have come since Federer won his last five years ago.
And Wawrinka's rise to becoming a consistent top-10 player did not come until he was aged 28, and after plenty of help from his fellow Swiss.
"I remember giving Stan a lot of advice on how he should play certain guys," said Federer.
"Then the day came where he didn't call me so much any more. He called me less and less.
"I also felt like I didn't tell him any more, because he created his knowledge, his base, had his team. Only from time to time would I give him advice if he asked me.
"Otherwise I was happy that he was able to let go and go on his own path."
It's a great match because Wawrinka wants to stay back and bludgeon the ball with huge swings and power.
Federer's job, in the lively conditions, is to take time away from Wawrinka and not allow him to get into that rhythm. Federer has to come forward and test Wawrinka's passing shots a lot.
That's important because I don't think Stan's the best passer in the world. Roger will be able to come in a lot because Wawrinka does chip and block a lot of first-serve returns.
The way Federer is playing, even though he has missed six months of tennis, I think he's maybe the slight favourite from what I've seen.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38732740
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Cable warns of 'appalling' record on skills - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Britain has done appallingly badly at vocational education for many years, says Sir Vince Cable.
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Education & Family
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Vince Cable says the low status of vocational qualifications has deep roots
"Britain has done appallingly badly at vocational education for many years," says Sir Vince Cable, former business secretary, as Theresa May's industrial strategy promises to regenerate technical training and tackle the skills shortage.
But why has this always been such a struggle? You could build a paper mountain out of all the plans to give vocational education the same status as university degrees, A-levels and GCSEs.
"It's a deeply cultural thing," says Sir Vince, who held office during the Coalition government.
"It got built into the British mindset... if you're clever, you go to university, and if you're not so clever you go off and do a trade of some sort," he says.
"It's still the case that if you're academically inclined and you don't know what to do, you go to university.
"The others are told, 'Why not do an apprenticeship?' without being given much of a steer as to how to do it.
"And that's completely wrong, for many people it would be better if they went down that route from day one."
Sir Vince, who once taught Open University economics courses, is now getting back to his own educational roots.
He is leading an online course on economics and politics, with the University of Nottingham, which will be available free on the Futurelearn online university network set up by the Open University.
Vince Cable says the Chinese are now the free trade defenders, while the US puts up walls
There will be no shortage of contemporary upheavals for these online students to talk about.
Sir Vince talks of a "bizarre Alice in Wonderland world" in which the Chinese Communists are now the advocates of free trade while the United States, under President Donald Trump, is raising the banner of protectionism.
"You've got a hard-line Communist out there defending the liberal international economic order," he says.
He describes himself as a "big fan of the Chinese", adding: "like George Osborne".
Sir Vince had a close-up view of economic decision-making by politicians.
He ranks Gordon Brown above David Cameron or Tony Blair on their grasp of economics - and says that all politicians can be guilty of looking for economic theories that confirm their political inclinations.
George Osborne's approach to cutting the deficit, in the wake of the financial crash of 2008, was shaped by the rules set by US economist Kenneth Rogoff, says Sir Vince.
And he says that the current rise of nationalism, populism and the push for protectionism are the direct fallout from the economic hangover from the recession.
"The real energy behind this new populism does come from 2008," he says.
"Real wages have declined, particularly in deprived parts of the country, public spending has been cut because of the deficit."
He says this has delivered a shock to a political system built on a post-War assumption of rising living standards.
Sir Vince's new teaching project forms part of the wave of so-called Moocs - massive open online courses.
Moocs are also characterised by being free - and his period in office as business secretary saw him taking the controversial decision to raise university tuition fees in England to £9,000 per year.
Tuition fees have hung like a dark cloud over the Liberal Democrats ever since - but he remains a stout defender of the fee increase.
Vince Cable, who put up tuition fees, says the alternative was to cut further education
"It was the right thing to do, but very, very politically painful," he says.
The alternative was to cut the further education budget. "I wasn't willing to go along with that."
The fees are in effect a graduate tax, rather than a fee, he says, and the Liberal Democrats' big mistake was signing a pledge not to increase fees.
He says he was "vehemently opposed" to this promise before the 2010 election.
"I could see that if ever we got into government, it would be a disaster.
"But there was a very strong head of steam and the leader felt he had to go along with it, and once we were in government we were inevitably exposed."
The Politics of Economics and The Economics of Politicians will be available on Futurelearn from 20 March.
• None New York to scrap tuition fees for middle class
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-38723070
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Is Saatchi Gallery selfie exhibition just self-promotion? - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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What happens when an art gallery gets together with a PR company and a smartphone manufacturer?
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Entertainment & Arts
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Taj Mahal Self-Portrait, a 1966 photograph by George Harrison that features in the exhibition
I have never taken a selfie. I'm far too ugly.
That said, I have ruined other people's, on those occasions when asked by a friend or arts fan to join them in a smartphone photo.
I'm happy to say yes - it's not as if I'm ever going to have to look back at the image.
I'd be horrified if I did, and mortified if it appeared in some public context like an art exhibition. I don't like causing offence.
Fortunately for us, such an occurrence is highly unlikely but it is possible, and increasingly so.
Selfie-themed exhibitions are to museums and galleries what dancefloors are to dads: a tempting opportunity to show how young and trendy they are while in reality communicating the exact opposite.
They all seem to be at it, from the venerable Mauritshuis in The Hague to the yoof-loving Tate Modern. The Saatchi Gallery is the latest to jump aboard the selfie bandwagon with a show it says "will be the world's first exhibition exploring the history of the selfie from old masters to the present day, and will celebrate the truly creative potential of a form of expression often derided for its inanity".
I'm not sure if the "world's first" claim is valid, but I'm absolutely certain that the long history of the self-portrait has not been "derided for its inanity".
Some of the greatest works of art ever produced are self-portraits. We know that. It has long been a respected genre used by artists to demonstrate their virtuosity, while having the added advantage of the sitter/model being free.
Anyway, to compare a painstakingly painted Rembrandt self-portrait with an opportunist snap taken by Helle Thorning-Schmidt flanked by David Cameron and Barak Obama at Nelson Mandela's funeral is silly.
It's like equating the diary entry of a lovelorn teenager with a novel by Alice Munro - they don't stand comparison. Both have their place, both can be art, but they are quite different.
When I first heard about the show, it sounded like the sort of idea the gallery's communications department might come up with to attract "new audiences". And then I read the press release and discovered it WAS the communications department that came up with the concept.
It had help from a PR company called H+K Strategies, part of the globe-spanning WPP Group, which counts Huawei, a Chinese smartphone brand, among its clients. This is not an unconnected fact. Huawei are the sponsors of the Saatchi Gallery show.
In fact, according to the press release, they are its co-authors: "Saatchi Gallery and Huawei, the world's number three smartphone brand, announce they have teamed up to present From Selfie to Self-Expression."
One of the team from H+K Strategies to whom I spoke talked of brainstorming sessions between the parties.
She made no mention of breakout groups and brightly coloured pens - but I'd hazard a guess they were present. Selfie to Self-Expression feels like a show that started life writ large in pink letters (with yellow asterisk to the side) on front of a flip-chart.
Huawei's involvement explains the comment in the press release about the self-portrait genre being "derided for its inanity". I don't think it meant self-portraiture, but selfie-portraiture.
This is a show designed to elevate the status of the selfie from what they say can be viewed as an inane activity to an artform. Hence the stated aim to "celebrate the creative potential of a form of expression…".
Add to this its commitment to "highlight the emerging role of the smartphone as an artistic medium for self-expression", and I think we know the corporate tail is wagging the art gallery dog.
I'm not saying this to criticise - needs must and all that. It might be a great show, and even if it isn't there is something marvellously Warholian about an art gallery founded by an ad man conceiving an exhibition with the world's largest ad agency network. As Warhol once said: "Good business is the best art."
No, the reason I mention the corporate sponsor is because I think its collaboration with the Saatchi Gallery is potentially more interesting than the show itself. The whole project would appear to be rooted in the notion of a new "purposeful age" in public relations as spelt out by H+K Strategies.
They say: "In the Purposeful Age companies and institutions have the opportunity to join a meaningful conversation around things that matter, take their place in culture and demonstrate their responsibility to society.
"At H+K our purpose in this new age is to inspire creative and curious conversations that help brands and the public communicate to build better outcomes for everyone."
Okay, it's a tad hyperbolic, but you've got to hand it to them - the Saatchi show is a good example of them practising what they preach.
It also helps makes sense of the whole enterprise, unifying the subject matter and the sponsor, which can be captured by simply adding three words to the current exhibition title: Selfie to Self-Expression - to Self-Promotion.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38724303
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Carl Frampton ready to conquer Leo Santa Cruz for the second time in Las Vegas - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Carl Frampton plans to emphasise his growing status in boxing by beating Leo Santa Cruz for a second time this weekend says BBC Sport NI's Thomas Kane.
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Last updated on .From the section Boxing
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live, plus live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app
Recently Carl Frampton joked that when he had Julius Caesar's words tattooed on his chest at 18-years-old, he hadn't achieved much. How times have changed.
As he approaches his 30th birthday, the Belfast man is already a history maker, a role model, and one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world.
He won almost every individual award in the sport for his performances in 2016. Ring Magazine, ESPN and USA Today were just some of the bodies that named him fighter of the year.
Frampton upsets the odds in New York
Frampton and his manager Barry McGuigan have always said: "To make it in boxing, you need to make it in America."
Before his July showdown with Leo Santa Cruz, nearly every US boxing pundit backed the Mexican to continue his undefeated career.
However, it was the Belfast fighter who left with the WBA world featherweight title having almost certainly booked his spot in the sport's Hall of Fame following a stunning victory.
Two rounds in, after Frampton had almost knocked down Santa Cruz with a clubbing blow, a group of the American reporters turned round to me ringside, and screamed: "Who the hell is this kid? He is the real deal."
They were marvelling at his performance against a three-weight world champion, who is a big star Stateside.
The USA had fallen in love with Carl Frampton. It is easy to see why.
In politics and public office, analysts refer to the "likeability factor". Some have it, some don't. Frampton simply oozes it.
It hasn't been sculpted, or manufactured. He is one of the most genuine, decent, honest and grounded sportsmen I have ever met.
He is a proud Belfast boy who has fanatical supporters willing to travel anywhere to watch him fight.
The day after his victory over Santa Cruz, he booked out a Manhattan bar and invited all his fans, by way of saying thank you.
It was an incredibly classy move from the 29-year-old, as he was intending to hold the event regardless of how he fared the previous night.
He didn't have to do it, but wanted to give fans an opportunity to chat with him, get something signed, or take a selfie.
It wasn't a PR stunt, it was Carl being Carl, pint in hand, having the craic and taking time to chat to each and every person.
The supporters appreciated it - a free drink is always nice - but after many of them had shelled out a lot of money to head to the Big Apple, getting an opportunity to chat with the main man was the icing on the cake following an unforgettable weekend.
Fast forward a few months, and Santa Cruz wants revenge. He says that he may even consider quitting boxing should he lose the rematch on Saturday at the MGM Grand.
Make no mistake, this is a career-defining fight for the Californian-based Mexican. But the same can be said about Frampton.
He is entering the last three or four years of his career and wants to make the most of them.
Frampton doesn't want to ride off into the sunset. He wants to go out swinging.
His legacy, that's what it is all about now. He wants every fight to be a big fight. No messing about.
He isn't a man to look too far ahead, but he feels like a new man at featherweight - stronger, more powerful, capable of anything - something that his sparring partners would back up.
He has history in his sights. Becoming Ireland's first three-weight world champion is achievable.
Beating Santa Cruz could set up a summer showdown at Windsor Park against Welshman Lee Selby and the chance to unify two divisions in under two years.
Frampton joins champions who have fought in Vegas
Santa Cruz will want to quash that dream, or at least stall it.
The two fighters are family men, fathers and husbands first, boxers second. Their perspective on life is refreshing in high-end sport, as is their respect for each others' abilities.
There is no need to trash talk, or disrespect one another; this fight sells itself.
The MGM in Vegas has hosted some of the biggest bouts in the sports history, and this has all the makings of a classic. All great sportsmen need a rival and, as Frampton says, maybe Santa Cruz will be his "dance partner".
People of a certain generation know where they were when McGuigan defeated Eusebio Pedroza in 1985. It was an iconic moment watched by 20 million people, while half of Ireland claims to have been at Loftus Road.
In years to come, will 28 January 2017 become just as memorable?
If so, the Belfast fighter really will have conquered the boxing world and lived up to that teenage tattoo.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/38735706
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Western Sahara: Forty years in a refugee camp - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Thousands of Sahrawis, natives of Western Sahara, have been living in refugee camps in Algeria for some 40 years. As the political deadlock continues, they face a cut in aid.
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Thousands of Sahrawis, natives of Western Sahara, have been living in refugee camps in Algeria for more than 40 years.
As the political deadlock continues, they face a cut in aid and some fear renewed conflict.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38717078
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Voter fraud claims: White House defends Trump's stance - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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White House press secretary Sean Spicer spars with reporters over unproven voter fraud claims.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38735858
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Trainspotting: Using Born Slippy 'serendipitous' - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Underworld talks about how life has changed since Trainspotting
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Born Slippy by Underworld, from the original Trainspotting, was released in 1996. It was co-written by Rick Smith who went on to work with Trainspotting's director Danny Boyle on the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
Rick Smith tells the Today programme life for the band completely changed after Born Slippy was used in the film.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38729414
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Oscar nominations 2017: How diverse is this year's line-up? - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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After the #OscarsSoWhite controversies of the last two years, 2017 promises to be a more diverse affair.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Dev Patel is nominated for Lion and Viola Davis is nominated for Fences
After the #OscarsSoWhite controversies of the last two years, 2017 promises to be a more diverse affair.
In the acting categories there are a total of seven nominees from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Denzel Washington is nominated as best actor for Fences and Ruth Negga as best actress for Loving.
Moonlight's Mahershala Ali and Lion's Dev Patel are up for best supporting actor.
The supporting actress category includes Viola Davis for Fences, Naomie Harris for Moonlight and Octavia Spencer for Hidden Figures.
Three of the nine films up for best picture - Fences, Hidden Figures and Moonlight - feature predominantly black casts.
In the directing category, Moonlight's Barry Jenkins is only the fourth black best director nominee in Oscar history.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This year, non-white actors have received seven Oscar nominations
The first was John Singleton, nominated in 1992 for Boyz n the Hood. He was followed by Lee Daniels, for Precious in 2010, and 12 Years a Slave's Steve McQueen in 2014. McQueen's film won best picture but he lost the best director prize to Gravity's Alfonso Cuaron.
In the documentary feature category, Ava DuVernay's 13th is up against I Am Not Your Negro from Raoul Peck and Ezra Edelman's OJ: Made In America. (With a running time of seven hours and 47 minutes, OJ is the longest film ever nominated for an Academy Award.)
The two-year diversity drought in the acting categories inspired the #OscarsSoWhite backlash on social media.
Of course, most of this year's nominated films were already in production well before that furore erupted.
Moonlight's Jenkins has told the BBC his film was not a response to the #OscarsSoWhite criticism, having conceived the project "at least three-and-a-half years ago".
But the outcry did lead the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, to take steps to make its membership more diverse.
Has that made a difference this year? Hollywood Reporter's Oscars guru Scott Feinberg thinks not.
"The Academy may claim that this is the result of it flooding its organization with an unprecedented number of diverse new members this year, but I maintain that these nominees, up against the same competition, would have been nominated in either of the last two years," he writes in his Oscars analysis.
In June 2016, the Academy invited almost 700 new members to join, with a focus on women and ethnic minorities.
One of those new members is British film director Amma Asante, whose film about an interracial marriage A United Kingdom opened the London Film Festival.
She told me last year that the organisers of the Oscars needed to keep up the momentum on its actions to improve diversity.
"I don't know the change happens overnight," she said.
"I'm interested to see what will happen in two Oscars' time."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38730038
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Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester United making progress under Jose Mourinho - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Manchester United are making progress under Jose Mourinho and are "unlucky" not to be challenging league leaders Chelsea, says Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Manchester United are making progress under Jose Mourinho and are "unlucky" not to be challenging Chelsea, says their former boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson, 75, stepped down in 2013 but retains close ties to Old Trafford and attends most games.
"I think he has done a great job," said the Scot in an exclusive interview with BBC Sport.
Ferguson also explained why he thinks Wayne Rooney's United goalscoring record will never be broken.
'Without those draws, they'd be challenging Chelsea'
Jose Mourinho became Manchester United's third manager since Ferguson retired when he replaced Louis van Gaal in May.
Although he won his opening three games in charge, Mourinho's team collected just six points from their next seven Premier League matches.
There was a period earlier in the season when he wasn't getting the decisions and his emotions boiled over. You see him now - he is calm and in control
They have been sixth after every round of matches since the end of October and stayed in that position after the 1-1 draw at Stoke on 21 January, when Rooney scored an injury-time equaliser to become United's record goalscorer, with 250.
Nevertheless, Ferguson can see signs of progress under the Portuguese. And though Chelsea are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League - and 14 points ahead of the Old Trafford club - he believes his former side are "unlucky" not to be up there with them.
"You can see he has got to grips with the club," he said.
"The team is playing really well and he has been very unlucky. He has had six 1-1 draws and in every game he has battered the opposition.
"If they hadn't had all these draws, they would be there challenging Chelsea. That is the unfortunate part but he is going to have to live with that."
'The team is mirroring its manager'
Mourinho has been sent to the stands twice this season, against Burnley and West Ham, as his side struggled to overcome supposedly inferior opposition at Old Trafford.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager seems far more relaxed now though.
United go to Hull on Thursday for the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final unbeaten in 17 games. That run encompassed nine successive wins, including a 2-0 triumph in the first leg at Old Trafford, their longest-winning sequence since Ferguson called time on his illustrious career.
Ferguson said: "I was a little bit different from Jose in the respect that I wanted to build the football club and wanted young players to be part of that.
"Nonetheless, the first team weren't doing great and you have to find solutions to correct that. I think Jose is finding solutions now. There was a period earlier in the season when he wasn't getting the decisions and his emotions boiled over. You see him now - he is calm and in control.
"That is the obvious observation I am making of the team now. The team is mirroring its manager.
"On Saturday at Stoke, they played to the last kick of the ball. They never gave in and got their rewards to take something from the game with that great Rooney goal.
"And did you see what he did? Ran to the halfway line. No celebration. Pointed to the ball as if to say 'get it, we are going to win this'. That is exactly the spirit Jose has created."
Sir Bobby Charlton's club record of 249 Manchester United goals had stood for 44 years until Rooney went past it at the Britannia Stadium.
Charlton amassed his tally in 758 appearances for the club. Rooney, 31, has gone one better in 546 games since moving from Everton for £27m as an 18-year-old in 2004.
With the chance to score even more this season and a contract that runs to 2018 if the Liverpool-born player remains at Old Trafford until its conclusion, Rooney has set a record that is unlikely ever to be beaten, according to Ferguson.
"In the present-day game, it is difficult to see any club having players who can stay with them for 10 years.
"Jose has mentioned Marcus Rashford and there is an opportunity for that young lad, if he stays at United, and develops his potential the way that Wayne has. But it is a very big target to hit.
"Bobby Charlton's record was quite substantial. I couldn't think anybody would beat that. It is an achievement par excellence."
It is nearly four years now since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager of Manchester United, yet the ease with which he skipped from room to room to conduct interviews at a Cheshire hotel on Tuesday suggests that, at 75, he remains as enthusiastic for life as ever.
There is no longer the same hint of menace about him if the questions are not to his satisfaction, although I suspect if I had strayed off topic, I might have got a mild blast of the famous hair dryer.
But Ferguson remains engaging company. Far different to the combustible figure who dominated the touchline and harangued anyone who got in his - and United's - way.
These days a funny story usually close at hand. Today, it concerned the mother of Everton chairman Bill Kenwright, who, Ferguson recalled, pleaded with him over the phone not to take away "my boy" as negotiations over Rooney's £27m move from Everton drew to a close in 2004.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38735437
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Oscars winners 2017: The full list - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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All the winners at this year's Academy Awards.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The full list of winners at the 89th Academy Awards.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38716725
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In pictures: The Pole who works in a UK hospital - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Photographer Ed Gold spends a day in the life of a Pole working in a UK hospital.
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In Pictures
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Anna Maria Bak, 27, is Polish and works in A&E at Colchester General Hospital. Here, photographer Ed Gold takes a snapshot of her life in Britain.
"I came to the UK for the first time in 2010. I had studied English philology at university in the Polish town of Krosno. Philology is the study of language in historical literature and I learnt a lot about Great Britain. I wanted a new challenge in my life and decided to try my luck abroad.
"My friend and I rented a room for two weeks in Stratford in London. We were supposed to earn money but we lost it instead by paying for too many travel tickets.
"I moved back to Poland for another year but I'm tough. My surname Bak means bumblebee in Polish. We are fighters because we've been through hard times.
"I was lucky when I returned to England as I got a job at the Italian restaurant Carluccio's. I had a friend working there as a waiter. I learnt a lot about customer service. People are more polite in the UK than in Poland.
"I left that job as it was only part-time and I couldn't afford my Oyster card and rent. I was in debt. I then found a Polish woman on the internet who was finding jobs for people in nursing homes, but she ripped me off and took £70 from me for certificates I never needed.
"Still we have a saying in Poland, 'If you have enough oil in your head' - it means if you have enough intelligence, you will make it work.
"I found myself a job at a nursing home. I did that for two years in north London. I remember a patient asking me 'Where they could spend a penny?' and I asked them what did they want to buy?
"I wanted a more challenging job so I moved to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, working as an admin assistant in the radiology department. Now I'm working in the A&E at Colchester General Hospital. I'm really happy to work in health as I make a difference. I go the extra mile.
"The Polish NHS is not too bad but I think the quality of care provided in the English hospitals is much higher. The staff are always friendly and helpful and patients get treated with respect and dignity. Unfortunately I can't say the same about Polish hospitals. I've been a patient in Poland and found communication between staff and patient to be very poor.
"Renting is much cheaper outside London and my quality of life is higher in Colchester. I am careful with my money and saving up so that I can buy a house one day.
"Everything costs less in the UK, even the food. I really like The Body Shop - it is mission impossible to get those cosmetics in Poland. Plus in Poland you earn a third of what you can here.
"I also love the full English breakfast - it's the best breakfast ever. Usually for Polish breakfast you'd have cottage cheese, fresh bread and butter but you wouldn't get that protein boost in the morning - a full English keeps you going for hours. I do miss the Polish food though and the snow we get in winter.
"It's hard though being miles away from my mum. I send her parcels full of goodies like food and cosmetics twice a year. Recently I've been sending hats to her because she is ill. I know how to deal with stress at work but I cry at home when I hear bad news about mum.
"I live with my flat mate Zelda, who is from Latvia. I have friends from all over the world - it's one thing I really like about living in the UK. I met Zelda at work. We like to watch movies and eat Chinese takeaways. We don't have much time to go out but we're planning to. We'd normally go out to a local pub and then find somewhere to dance. I like my flat and feel very comfortable here.
"I haven't seen things change because of Brexit and I've never suffered racism.
"No-one has the right to say to me 'You're out of the UK', because I pay my taxes, I'm not here just to make money. It really bugs me if people come here from abroad who claim benefits after three months and have access to the free health service. I think to be here from abroad you should pay taxes.
"I get on better with English people now than Polish people and I think in English. Although I was born in Poland and have a Polish passport, I've found it easier to live here than other Poles as I've adapted to British society so well.
"I will apply for citizenship in Britain but only when I get enough money. It's expensive and costs about £2,000."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-38637627
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2018 Paralympics: Russia could miss Games, says IPC president Sir Philip Craven - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Russian athletes could be banned from next year's Winter Paralympics, says the president of the International Paralympic Committee.
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Last updated on .From the section Disability Sport
Russian athletes may still be banned at next year's Winter Paralympics, says the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Sir Philip Craven also said the achievements of athletes at the Sochi Games in 2014 have been "tarnished" by the Russian doping scandal.
Asked if Russia will have a team in Pyeongchang, Craven said: "I don't know and I don't think many people do.
"I'm not looking for someone to say sorry, but let's get it fixed."
Russian athletes were banned from all Paralympic competition - starting with the Rio Games - following the publication of the initial McLaren report in July.
The second report found more than 1,000 Russians may have benefited from a state-sponsored doping programme over a four-year period, including London 2012 and Sochi 2014.
Craven, speaking before this week's IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, which will not feature a Russian team, insisted the ban was the "right thing to do".
However, he said he wants Russia to return in time for athletes to be eligible for the final qualification phase for next year's Paralympics in South Korea.
"Russia is a great sporting nation and without them being here they are missed in a sporting sense," he told BBC Sport.
"But we can't have nations competing when their performances have been tarnished by what's gone on before."
In December, the IPC set up an independent taskforce which has set the Russian Paralympic authorities a number of conditions which must be met before their athletes can return to competitive disability sport events run by IPC.
Of the six Winter Paralympic sports, only wheelchair curlers are able to compete internationally in Paralympic qualification events as their sport is run by the World Curling Federation.
The other five - alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, snowboard and ice sledge hockey - are all governed by IPC.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/38728407
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Freezing fog covers London landmarks - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Freezing fog has covered most of southern England, cancelling flights at London airports and raising pollution levels.
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Freezing fog has covered most of southern England, cancelling flights at London airports and raising pollution levels.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38723923
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Why Bill Clinton helped a 33-year-old build a $1bn firm - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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How Andy Kuper built investment firm Leapfrog, which aims to help pull people out of poverty in the developing world by investing in insurance and healthcare firms.
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Business
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It took Andy Kuper a year and a half before he secured any investment for his company
If you are going to get someone famous to launch your global business officially, it is hard to do better than President Bill Clinton.
Yet as Andy Kuper will attest, it can be a nerve-racking experience.
Back in September 2008, President Clinton was so impressed with Andy's new company, Leapfrog Investments, that he decided he would unveil it during his keynote speech at the annual meeting of his Clinton Global Initiative foundation.
It meant that President Clinton would invite the then 33-year-old Andy on to the stage to speak to the few hundred attendees at the event in New York.
Andy says: "I had done a lot of public speaking before, but this was a rock 'n' roll thing. I was worried about stumbling on the stairs and falling on the president."
Thankfully for Andy, he managed to stay on his feet and give a speech that wasn't too overshadowed by President Clinton's well-known oratorical talents.
Andy says: "President Clinton was amazing, he is an incredible public speaker, I owe him a great deal."
But why was President Clinton so impressed with a South African businessman he had only recently met?
Andy had ambitious plans to help transform the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the developing world, to help pull them out of poverty.
Instead of giving them aid, his plan was to invest in, help run and expand indigenous companies, mostly insurance and healthcare funds, so that populations would not be blighted by ill-health.
And instead of being a charity or non-profit organisation, Leapfrog planned to be very much profit-making and offer its investors a decent rate of return. The idea was to make globalisation and capitalism work for the world's poorest people.
After a very slow start, the business today has more than $1bn (£800m) of funds on its books. It currently invests in 16 companies across 22 countries in Africa and Asia that have a combined 100,000 employees and serve 91 million people.
The son of anti-apartheid campaigners and brought up on a farm outside of Johannesburg, Andy doesn't seem qualified to run a global investment firm on first glance at his CV.
He has no business qualifications and instead studied philosophy at university, before going on to lecture in the subject.
Leapfrog typically invests in insurance and healthcare firms across Africa and Asia
Yet he started investing in the stock market aged 10, using money he made from selling the family's crops on the side of the road. By aged 13, he was making money for clients.
After attending the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Andy went to Cambridge University. It was while at Cambridge that Andy spent a summer working for a non-government organisation in India, which he said was "one of his most formative experiences" and is the genesis of his future idea for Leapfrog.
"We were trying to get Indian farmers to adopt drip irrigation, which could triple their production and lift them out of poverty," says Andy, now 41.
"But they just wouldn't do it. At the time, I thought they were being so irrational, but they weren't - they weren't prepared to take the risk of doing something new and seeing their crops fail as a result. Why? Because this would have meant that their children starved.
"So I thought, why don't we give these people a safety net to enable them to take a chance on bettering themselves, such as insurance cover."
After spending his 20s lecturing and heading up an organisation that supports social entrepreneurs, Andy started work on Leapfrog. Initially, he got nowhere fast, because, he says, the idea was so new.
Most Leapfrog firms, such as insurer Bima, utilise mobile technology
He says: "It seemed close to impossible to begin with, but I just believed so fundamentally in the idea, which I call profit with purpose, of investing in companies that serve the other half of humanity - the four billion people that conventionally have not been served."
With no money coming in, Andy had to live off his and his wife's savings until Leapfrog got its first small investment after a year and a half.
The Clinton connection then followed, thanks to Andy knowing someone who worked for the organisation.
However, the president's September 2008 speech failed to immediately open the investment floodgates, because it was quickly overshadowed by global events.
A week later, investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed and the world was plunged into the global financial crisis.
Yet despite this backdrop, Leapfrog was able to secure $135m of investment by late 2009. Today its institutional investors include Goldman Sachs, Axa, JP Morgan, AIG, Swiss Re and the European Investment Bank.
Companies that Leapfrog invests in and helps run include All Life, a South African insurance firm that gives low cost cover to people with HIV, Kenyan pharmacy chain Goodlife, and India's Mahindra Insurance Brokers. Andy says that Leapfrog helps the firms see revenues grow by an average 43% per year.
Robert van Zwieten, president of Emerging Market Private Equity Association, the trade group for firms that invest in the developing world, says that Andy and Leapfrog have been "trailblazers" in helping to create a new industry known as "impact investing". These are firms that invest both to make money and to achieve a positive social impact.
He adds: "The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) event at Davos has for several years been struggling to work out how to make globalisation and capitalism work for the many and not just the few, but Andy and his team at Leapfrog are already doing just that."
Now based in Sydney, Australia, after previously being in New York, Andy says: "You can do more good if you are profitable, and make more profit because you are good [doing virtuous things]."
Follow The Boss series editor Will Smale on Twitter @WillSmale1
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38650096
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Milton Keynes: The middle-aged new town - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Milton Keynes is perhaps the best known of the 20th Century's "new towns", but how has it changed over the past 50 years?
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Beds, Herts & Bucks
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The rhythm of the tree planting and its relationship to the columns of the buildings they stand near are "not accidental", says Mr Shostak
Most towns grow and evolve over hundreds if not thousands of years. Not so Milton Keynes, which is 50 years old. Perhaps the best known of the 20th Century "new towns", it has its detractors but is also much loved by its residents.
The town was born with an Act of Parliament in 1967 which approved the building of a new community of 250,000 people covering 8,850 hectares (21,869 acres) of Buckinghamshire farmland and villages.
Built to ease the housing shortages in overcrowded London, its founding principles were for an "attractive" town that enshrined "opportunity and freedom of choice".
App users should tap here to fully explore the interactive images, showing archive and current photographs
The media has not always been kind to Milton Keynes: it has mocked its concrete cows (now housed in a museum), accused it of blandness and told of the "new city blues" suffered by early residents.
Those who have grown up there tell of a very different Milton Keynes.
Simon Clawson arrived in MK aged four. He now lives there with his two children and wife Hannah.
"It was fantastic," he says of his childhood. "I remember summer days were always outside.
"Somebody once told me that with all the lakes we have here, we have more waterline than Brighton."
His youth in the town was marked by a series of exciting arrivals - the first cinema called The Point, the football stadium and the Snowdome building.
"We had to wait for a lot of things here but when they came they tend to be more modern and spectacular than anywhere else.
"We are adaptable here because everything is always changing."
Former Team GB Olympic badminton player Gail Emms has also made Milton Keynes her home, having first moved there to train.
"Milton Keynes is one of the best places for families - I am spoilt for choice here," she says.
"So many of my friends take the Mickey about where I live.
"But then I tell them we have a great school a short walk away and about the facilities we have.
"It is so family-centred now. My kids are going to grow up in Milton Keynes, so it is now about what they need and want."
Not everybody feels that way.
Theo Chalmers, of the campaign group Urban Eden, claims recent development in the town has "betrayed" its founding principles.
"The principles of the original master plan were brilliant," he says.
"But those who have been in charge have bit by bit, like a death by a thousand cuts, destroyed the very things that made Milton Keynes extremely special and a user-friendly community."
He cites the narrowing of boulevards around The Hub leisure quarter and the filling in of underpasses as examples.
The Snowdome building created a great deal of excitement in Milton Keynes when it was built
Some claim the closing of some of the town's network of underpasses goes against its founding principles
So how will Milton Keynes look in 100 years' time?
It will be bigger, with greater architectural diversity and more homes, says Lee Shostak, one of the town's early planners.
He arrived in 1971 as a PhD student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) intent on studying the new development.
"Very little had actually been built," he says, "and trying to understand what was going on from outside the (Milton Keynes) Development Corporation was going to be impossible."
So, in 1972, the American research student joined the development corporation as a planner.
"People came to Milton Keynes to be part of something new where everyone could shape their place called home," says the council leader Peter Marland
The colourful weather boarded homes of Far Holme in Milton Keynes Village are one of the town's newer developments
Mr Shostak, who made Milton Keynes his home from 1972 until 1995, said the town had been an "outstanding success".
As the years pass the "city's parks and trees will be even bigger and more luxurious".
"The achievements of making the landscape in Milton Keynes rivals that of Capability Brown," he added.
"In garden city terms Milton Keynes is a grown up. But by real city standards, Milton Keynes is at best an adolescent."
"By real city standards, it is at best an adolescent," says former planner Lee Shostak
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38594140
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Newspaper headlines: Trident 'cover-up' and food cancer risk - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Fall-out from the reported malfunction of a Trident missile test continues to lead a number of papers, while the cancer risk of certain foods is among the other stories to appear.
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The Papers
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The papers look at whether Prime Minister Theresa May will have to give MPs a vote before triggering Article 50
The Trident missile row is the lead for the Times, the Guardian and the Mirror.
According to the Times, the Obama administration asked Britain to keep details of the botched test secret.
It quotes a British military source as saying the British submarine successfully carried and launched the missile, but the bit that went wrong was the US proprietary technology.
Prime Minister Theresa May and the Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, come in for heavy criticism in some quarters for their refusal to answer questions about the alleged failure of the Trident missile test.
The Mirror accuses them of treating the public like children - and urges them to be open and straight with the British people.
The Guardian says the test raises critical questions about the safety and effectiveness of Britain's nuclear weapons system - and should not be concealed from MPs.
For the Times, the merits of Trident should be shouted from the rooftops - but that is no reason to hide failings.
They should be examined seriously and openly, with a view to putting them right, it adds.
The papers look ahead to Tuesday morning's Supreme Court ruling on whether the prime minister will have to give MPs a vote before triggering Article 50.
The Times says most experts think it is unlikely the judges will overrule the decision of the lower High Court - and the government is preparing for defeat.
According to the Guardian, government lawyers have warned Theresa May that drawing up a very short piece of legislation in response to the ruling may not be adequate.
It says the legal advice is that failure to provide enough detail could open the government to further legal appeals in the future.
The Express says the Supreme Court is expected to agree with the High Court judgement that a vote in Parliament on triggering Article 50 will be necessary.
If that is so - the Sun says - then campaigners will have made their point, parliamentary sovereignty will have been upheld and the government must immediately bring forward a Brexit Bill.
Parliament must then do its duty and enact the will of the biggest mandate in our history, the paper adds.
It warns that MPs and peers will be "playing with fire" if they draft amendments pushing for what it calls some phoney compromise.
The Mail, too, urges Parliament not to "sabotage" a Brexit Bill with any wrecking amendments.
It says any MP or peer who backed them would be treating the electorate with contempt, and the referendum result with disdain - and defying the will of the people.
The Mail reports that ambulance trusts across England are so desperate to recruit paramedics that they are offering generous packages to fill gaping vacancy lists, including sign-on bonuses of up to £10,000 and relocation expenses.
Figures obtained by the paper show that regional ambulance services are short of 745 paramedics.
It says morale is so low that more paramedics are leaving than the number signing up.
The government has increased training places, but that is unlikely to have an effect for many years, the paper adds.
The Sun reports that staff at the Baftas are concerned the Duchess of Cambridge could outshine A-list actresses
The Sun leads with a report that the Baftas are involved in an awkward behind-the-scenes stand-off with their president, Prince William, over whether he will attend the awards with his wife.
It says the prince had intended to go to the ceremony next month, after missing it for the last two years.
Two separate Bafta sources have told the paper that senior staff at the organisation fear that the Duchess of Cambridge could steal the spotlight from A-list actresses if she comes too - and have suggested it would be preferable for him to turn up alone.
An official Bafta statement published by the paper says the organisation would be delighted to welcome both of them any year they are able to attend.
Finally, a British company has developed a smartphone app that helps commuters overcome an awkward social situation: you want to offer your seat on a crowded bus or train to a woman you think is pregnant - but are not sure and do not want to give offence.
The Times reports that it alerts passengers within 15ft if a pregnant woman would like a seat - effectively a "smart" version of a "baby on board" badge.
The app comes in two parts: mothers-to-be download a "request seat" app to send the alerts, while anyone else can download the second app to receive the alerts.
According to the paper, once a passenger has received a notification - causing their phone to ping or vibrate - both parties must rely on eye contact to spot each other and the seat can then be offered.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38726376
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Mel Giedroyc: Why I turned down Strictly Come Dancing - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Ex-Bake Off host Mel Giedroyc says she is too young to be Strictly Come Dancing's "comedy old bag".
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Entertainment & Arts
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Mel Giedroyc can currently be seen on a different Saturday night show - Let It Shine
Former Great British Bake Off host Mel Giedroyc has revealed she was once offered the chance to appear as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing - but turned it down.
"I love watching it so much I almost didn't want to spoil the pleasure by being on it," she told Radio Times.
The 48-year-old said it was tricky for a woman her age to be on the show.
"You're not the comedy old bag yet, which would be the joy of going on Strictly," she said.
"If I did it, I'd want to be Ann Widdecombe. I'd want to be out there getting the laughs, being dragged around."
The presenter may not have strutted her stuff in a ball gown, but she can still be seen on a prime time Saturday night show - fronting BBC One's talent search Let It Shine.
Mel and Sue announced their departure from The Great British Bake Off in September
The gig comes after Giedroyc stepped down as co-host of the Great British Bake Off, along with Sue Perkins, when it was announced the hit show was moving to Channel 4.
Giedroyc said the furore surrounding the move was "a pretty weird time".
"The press were camped out on my doorstep. My eldest daughter actually saw a few of them off, which I was very, very proud of," she said.
"I'm not the kind of person who would court that sort of attention. I have a very private existence and I had to slightly clench my buttocks during that."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
• None Mel and Sue to quit as Bake Off hosts
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38718281
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What executive actions has Trump taken? - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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President Trump signs a flurry of orders as he lays out his presidential agenda.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What exactly is an executive order, and how significant are they to a president's legacy?
One of the first ways a new president is able to exercise political power is through unilateral executive orders.
While legislative efforts take time, a swipe of the pen from the White House can often enact broad changes in government policy and practice.
President Donald Trump has wasted little time in taking advantage of this privilege.
Given his predecessor's reliance on executive orders to circumvent Congress in the later days of his presidency, he has a broad range of areas in which to flex his muscle.
Here's a look at some of what Mr Trump has done so far:
Mr Trump signed the order at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) undoing a key part of the Obama administration's efforts to tackle global warming.
The order reverses the Clean Power Plan, which had required states to regulate power plants, but had been on hold while being challenged in court.
Before signing the order, a White House official told the press that Mr Trump does believe in human-caused climate change, but that the order was necessary to ensure American energy independence and jobs.
Environmental groups warn that undoing those regulations will have serious consequences at home and abroad.
"I think it is a climate destruction plan in place of a climate action plan," the Natural Resources Defense Council's David Doniger told the BBC, adding that they will fight the president in court.
Immediate impact: A coalition of 17 states filed a legal challenge against the Trump administration's decision to roll back climate change regulations. The challenge, led by New York state, argued that the administration has a legal obligation to regulate emissions of the gases believed to cause global climate change. Mars Inc, Staples and The Gap are among US corporations who are also challenging Mr Trump's reversal on climate change policy.
After an angry weekend in Florida in which he accused former-president Barack Obama of wiretapping his phones at Trump Tower, Mr Trump returned to the White House to sign a revised version of his controversial travel ban.
The executive order titled "protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States" was signed out of the view of the White House press corps on 6 March.
The order's new language is intended to skirt the legal pitfalls that caused his first travel ban to be halted by the court system.
Immediate impact: Soon after the order was signed, it was once again blocked by a federal judge, this time in Hawaii.
Surrounded by farmers and Republican lawmakers, Mr Trump signed an order on 28 February directing the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers to reconsider a rule issued by President Obama.
The 2015 regulation - known as the Waters of the United States rule - gave authority to the federal government over small waterways, including wetlands, headwaters and small ponds.
The rule required Clean Water Act permits for any developer that wished to alter or damage these relatively small water resources, which the president described as "puddles" in his signing remarks.
Opponents of Mr Obama's rule, including industry leaders, condemned it as a massive power grab by Washington.
Scott Pruitt, Mr Trump's pick to lead the EPA, will now begin the task of rewriting the rule, and a new draft is not expected for several years.
Immediate impact: The EPA has been ordered to rewrite, or even repeal the rule, but first it must be reviewed. Water protection laws were passed by Congress long before Mr Obama's rule was announced, so it cannot simply be undone with the stroke of a pen. Instead the EPA must re-evaluate how to interpret the 1972 Clean Water Act.
A bill the president signed on 16 February put an end to an Obama-era regulation that aimed at protecting waterways from coal mining waste.
Senator Mitch McConnell had called the rule an "attack on coal miners".
The US Interior Department, which reportedly spent years drawing up the regulation before it was issued in December, had said it would protect 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests.
An attempt to cut down on the burden of small businesses.
Described as a "two-out, one-in" approach, the order asked government departments that request a new regulation to specify two other regulations they will drop.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will manage the regulations and is expected to be led by the Republican Mick Mulvaney.
Some categories of regulation will be exempt from the "two-out, one-in" clause - such as those dealing with the military and national security and "any other category of regulations exempted by the Director".
Immediate impact: Wait and see.
Probably his most controversial action, so far, taken to keep the country safe from terrorists, the president said.
The effect was felt at airports in the US and around the world as people were stopped boarding US-bound flights or held when they landed in the US.
Immediate impact: Enacted pretty much straight away. But there are battles ahead. Federal judges brought a halt to deportations, and legal rulings appear to have put an end to the travel ban - much to the president's displeasure.
A fence is already in place along much of the US-Mexico border
On Mr Trump's first day as a presidential candidate in June 2015, he made securing the border with Mexico a priority.
He pledged repeatedly at rallies to "build the wall" along the southern border, saying it would be "big, beautiful, and powerful".
Now he has signed a pair of executive orders designed to fulfil that campaign promise.
One order declares that the US will create "a contiguous, physical wall or other similarly secure, contiguous, and impassable physical barrier".
The second order pledges to hire 10,000 more immigration officers, and to revoke federal grant money from so-called "sanctuary cities" which refuse to deport undocumented immigrants.
It remains to be seen how Mr Trump will pay for the wall, although he has repeatedly insisted that it will be fully paid for by the Mexican government, despite their leaders saying otherwise.
Immediate impact: The Department of Homeland Security has a "small" amount of money available (about $100m) to use immediately, but that won't get them very far. Construction of the wall will cost billions of dollars - money that Congress will need to approve. Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the Republican-led Congress will need to come up with $12-$15bn more, and the funding fight - and any construction - will come up against issues with harsh terrain, private land owners and opposition from both Democrats and some Republicans.
The department will also need additional funds from Congress to hire more immigration officers, but the order will direct the head of the agency to start changing deportation priorities. Cities targeted by the threat to remove federal grants will likely build legal challenges, but without a court injunction, the money can be removed.
The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, along with Arizona Democrat Raul Graijalva, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
They argue the Department of Homeland Security is required to draft a new environmental review of the impacts of the wall and other border enforcement activities as it could damage public lands.
With the stroke of a pen...
On his second full working day, the president signed two orders to advance construction of two controversial pipelines - the Keystone XL and Dakota Access.
Mr Trump told reporters the terms of both deals would be renegotiated, and using American steel was a requirement.
Keystone, a 1,179-mile (1,897km) pipeline running from Canada to US refineries in the Gulf Coast, was halted by President Barack Obama in 2015 due to concerns over the message it would send about climate change.
The second pipeline was halted last year as the Army looked at other routes, amid huge protests by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe at a North Dakota site.
Immediate impact: Mr Trump has granted a permit to TransCanada, the Keystone XL builder, to move forward with the controversial pipeline. As a result, TransCanada will drop an arbitration claim for $15bn in damages it filed under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mr Trump made no mention of an American steel requirement. Construction will not start until the company obtains a permit from Nebraska's Public Service Commission.
The Dakota Access pipeline has since been filled with oil and the company is in the process of preparing to begin moving oil.
In one of his first actions as president, Mr Trump issued a multi-paragraph directive to the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies involved in managing the nation's healthcare system.
The order states that agencies must "waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay" any portions of the Affordable Care Act that creates financial burden on states, individuals or healthcare providers.
Although the order technically does not authorise any powers the executive agencies do not already have, it's viewed as a clear signal that the Trump administration will be rolling back Obama-era healthcare regulations wherever possible.
Immediate impact: Republicans failed to secure an overhaul of the US healthcare system due to a lack of support for the legislation. That means Mr Trump's executive order is one of the only remaining efforts to undermine Obamacare.
Abortion activists were among the many protesters that came out against Trump's presidency one day after his inauguration
What's called the Mexico City policy, first implemented in 1984 under Republican President Ronald Reagan, prevents foreign non-governmental organisations that receive any US cash from "providing counselling or referrals for abortion or advocating for access to abortion services in their country", even if they do so with other funding.
The ban, derided as a "global gag rule" by its critics, has been the subject of a political tug-of-war ever since its inception, with every Democratic president rescinding the measure, and every Republican bringing it back.
Anti-abortion activists expected Mr Trump to act quickly on this - and he didn't disappoint them.
Immediate impact: The policy will come into force as soon as the Secretaries of State and Heath write an implementation plan and apply to both renewals and new grants. The US State Department has notified the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that US funding for United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) would be withdrawn, arguing that it supports coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation. The agency has denied this, pointing to examples of its life-saving work in more than 150 countries and territories.
This policy will be much broader than the last time the rule was in place - the Guttmacher Institute, Kaiser Family Foundation and Population Action International believe the order, as written, will apply to all global health funding by the US, instead of only reproductive health or family planning.
The TPP pact would have affected 40% of global trade.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, once viewed as the crown jewel of Barack Obama's international trade policy, was a regular punching bag for Mr Trump on the campaign trail (although he at times seemed uncertain about what nations were actually involved).
The deal was never approved by Congress so it had yet to go into effect in the US.
Therefore the formal "withdrawal" is more akin to a decision on the part of the US to end ongoing international negotiations and let the deal wither and die.
Immediate impact: Takes effect immediately. In the meantime, some experts are worried China will seek to replace itself in the deal or add TPP nations to its own free trade negotiations, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), excluding the US.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38695593
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Trump and truth - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Why the struggle over who defines the facts will be a central feature of the Trump administration
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US & Canada
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This is a critical moment for journalism, particularly in the United States.
More than 40 years ago, the unmasking of the Watergate break-in inspired journalists around the world.
Reporters appeared as tireless investigators holding the most powerful to account.
Now, a new president declares the fourth estate "dishonest human beings".
A global survey published last week found only 43% of people trusted the traditional media.
Journalists find themselves on the defensive having to demonstrate their integrity to a sceptical public.
Donald Trump believes he is in a "running war" with parts of the media.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Where do Donald Trump supporters get their news from?
This struggle over who defines the facts will be a central feature of his administration.
Social media enables leaders to bypass traditional media and to talk to the public directly.
Donald Trump, with his 34,000 tweets, understands the reach and the power this gives him.
He can sit in the White House and, with a single tweet, define the news agenda of the day or distract attention away from uncomfortable news.
Some of the traditional media now accept they were instrumental in the rise of Donald Trump.
He was the "candidate that kept on giving", as you would regularly hear in Washington.
Controversy surrounded the size of the crowd at Donald Trump's inauguration
But President Trump's rise to power was partly built on attacking the media.
At rally after rally, I watched Donald Trump point at the press pen and denounce journalists as "terrible" people, the "worst".
He wanted to define much of the media as part of the establishment elite who had ignored the plight of ordinary Americans.
He sowed the seed that journalists and their stories about him could not be trusted.
Painting journalists as untrustworthy gave him cover when he was accused of lying and exaggeration.
And so we inhabit the "post-truth world".
Democracy can't function without facts that are widely accepted.
It doesn't mean that facts shouldn't be disputed or their meaning argued over, but societies need a bedrock of information to inform their decisions.
If conspiracies and exaggerations are accepted as alternative realities, then it is much more difficult for a leader to be judged in the court of public opinion.
When, a few days ago, the senior White House aide Kellyanne Conway was asked why the president's press secretary had lied about the crowd size at the inauguration, she defended him by saying he was offering "alternative facts".
Kellyanne Conway used the term "alternative facts" to defend the White House press secretary
Her interviewer, Chuck Todd, of NBC, retorted that "alternative facts aren't facts, they're falsehoods".
It was an early round in the battle for the truth.
I recall an exchange I had at a Trump event where it was explained to me that the fact that a lot of people believed something gave it an element of truth.
Most Americans still get their news from TV, but more than 30% get it from the internet and particularly from Facebook.
There is now a lot of research on the role of social media in spreading false information.
In Europe, too, the reputation of the media is under fire.
Journalists have been damaged by hacking, by intrusion and the suspicion that they don't tell the whole story.
In Germany, parts of the mainstream media were accused of covering up reports of assaults on women in Cologne on New Year's Day 2016 because many of the allegations related to men believed to be migrants.
In the Edelman Trust barometer - published last week - trust in the media had fallen to an all-time low in 17 of the 28 countries polled.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer says the administration will "hold the press accountable"
In the United States, news organisations are grappling with difficult questions.
One TV executive said the biggest challenge was to avoid being seen as part of the "running war" that President Trump describes.
Some organisations in the US, the UK and Germany - including the BBC - are embracing "reality checks" as part of their coverage, but they are time consuming and difficult.
Governments, too, are looking into how to boost trust in statistics and official information.
It might mean the creation of more agencies that are truly independent of government and politicians.
The new White House press secretary has said: "We are going to hold the press accountable."
It signals a battle over who defines the truth and who defines the facts.
American journalism will face one of its severest tests.
• None The hotel developer who became president
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38731191
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Chase Carey says Bernie Ecclestone exit means Formula 1 can be run differently - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Bernie Ecclestone has been removed as boss of F1 because the sport "needs a fresh start", new chairman Chase Carey tells BBC Sport.
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Bernie Ecclestone has been removed as Formula 1's boss because the sport "needs a fresh start", says new chairman Chase Carey.
Carey has been put in charge by Liberty Media, the US group which completed its $8bn (£6.4bn) takeover of the sport.
The American told BBC Sport he had "tremendous respect" for Ecclestone, but F1 "needs to be run differently than for the last four or five years".
"Bernie is a one-man team. It was not right in today's world," he said.
"The decision-making is not as effective as it needs to be. Clearly it has to be improved."
Ecclestone has been removed as chief executive but offered a new advisory role as chairman emeritus.
Carey said Liberty had major plans to grow F1 around the world. He said:
• None F1 is a "unique, iconic, global event that is a spectacle second to none"
• None The sport has not grown in recent years as much as it needed to and Liberty could exploit new technologies to do that
• None Liberty would protect historic races and sees Europe as the "foundation" of the sport
• None It would expand, particularly with a view to new events in the US
• None Liberty wanted to make much more of the promotion of F1 itself, its participants and individual events
• None despite speculation Silverstone could be dropped by 2019
Carey was installed in September and said he had decided over the past four months that Ecclestone, 86, was no longer the right person to run F1.
"We needed a sport that while respecting what made it great has a sense of energy and innovation," Carey said.
"In many ways, in a simplistic sense, the sport said 'no' too much and we have to start saying 'yes' - not gimmick it up but find ways to do new and exciting things to have the sport continue to grow and interest and excite people."
He said Ecclestone had not been happy about the change but had accepted his new role.
"I would expect this is difficult for Bernie," Carey said. "He has run this sport for his entire adult life and I respect completely that this is a difficult change.
"We have tried to deal with him with the respect he's due, which is why we offered him the chairman emeritus title.
"I have been sincere in saying I value his help and advice as we go forward.
"He calls himself a dictator. He has run it as a one-man dictator for a long time. I think the sport needs a fresh perspective. But he has a lot to continue to offer and he will always be part of the F1 family."
Liberty has brought in former Mercedes F1 team boss Ross Brawn and ex-ESPN sales executive Sean Bratches to run the sporting and commercial sides of F1 under him.
• None We will have a British Grand Prix - Carey
'One of the benefits is a fresh start'
Carey added the governance of F1 needed an overhaul.
"I don't know whether the decision-making is not what it should be because there is too much history amongst the players," he said.
"One of the benefits we bring is a fresh start. We don't have an agenda other than to make the sport great for its fans and that gives us an opportunity to look at how do we create more of a partnership - everybody has a shared vision of where do we want to go and we can align that vision and have everybody trying to move in the same direction."
'We must make the story everything it can be'
Carey said he felt F1 was not making the most of its appeal to fans around the world.
"Bernie deserves enormous credit for the sport he built," Carey said. "It just got sold for $8bn so the proof is in the numbers.
"But the reality is to be competitive in today's world you need to continue to find ways to connect and excite fans and we need to use all the digital platforms available, have a marketing capability to tell the stories of the rivalries of the stars.
"They are larger-than-life personalities and you have to take advantage of all the rules to make that story everything it can be, have to make events larger than ever, music and entertainment with sport at the centre of it.
"I have talked about 21 Super Bowls and that is really what we should have. And then work with our partners - teams, sponsors, promoters, regulator - to ensure the race itself is everything it can be."
Will the teams buy shares in F1?
Liberty is to give F1 teams the opportunity to buy equity in the sport. They have rejected an initial offer but talks are ongoing.
"We would like to be more aligned with the teams and those discussions are ongoing," Carey said.
"We initially made a proposal that had too short a timeframe and we have found a way to have discussion that can have an appropriate level of exchange.
"Out of discussions of equity will be discussions of where do we want the sport to be. There is a great deal of interest in the equity but first and foremost it is about trying to create more of an alignment with the teams about the future of the business."
He added Liberty would look at the prize-money structure, which many inside the sport believe is too skewed in favour of the leading teams.
"We'd like owning a team to be good business, running a track to be good business and F1 is a good business, and together we are all figuring out how to share in making the whole business stronger," Carey said. "But dealing with revenue is complicated."
'We want races to be more successful'
Many European races are struggling to cope with the high race fees Ecclestone demanded, but Carey said he hoped to find a way to make them more successful financially.
"I don't think we will make them more affordable," he said. "We will make them more successful. We want to be more of a partner. To be in the US we are not going to own tracks but we will be more of a partner in trying to figure it out.
"We think these events should be bigger and more profitable than they are and we think, properly run, these events should continue to grow and be even more successful."
'What drivers do is unique'
Carey said the leading drivers were "great personalities" and he wanted to "provide enough opportunities for fans to connect with those personalities".
And he added safety was "critical".
"Go and watch one of these cars drive down a track," he said. "Anyone who tells me that is not dangerous by definition and awe-inspiring hasn't been to one of these races.
"What they do is truly unique. We have a responsibility to make it as safe as we can without undermining the sport."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38731760
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Why Brexit ruling is a relief for the government - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The government lost its Supreme Court appeal, but ministers will still be relieved at the ruling.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg sets out three key points from the ruling
Certainly, the prime minister did not want to find herself in the position of having to ask MPs for permission to start our divorce from the European Union.
Today's verdict from the justices doesn't take away from the reality that having to go to Parliament before triggering Article 50 is a political inconvenience Theresa May very much wanted to avoid.
Nor does it change the sentiment among opposition MPs, some of whom are determined to try to amend whatever legislation the government puts forward to include guarantees of this or that, to try to force a vote on staying in the single market, or to push for final binding votes on the process when negotiations are complete.
However, the sighs of relief are real in Whitehall this morning for two reasons.
Nicola Sturgeon wanted the Scottish government to be consulted before Article 50 was triggered
The justices held back from insisting that the devolved administrations would have a vote or a say on the process. That was, as described by a member of Team May, the "nightmare scenario".
The Scottish National Party has said it would not try to veto Brexit, but there is no question that having a vote on Article 50 in the Holyrood Parliament could have been politically troublesome for the government. After the judgement it seems like an unexploded bomb.
And second, the Supreme Court also held back from telling the government explicitly what it has to do next. The judgement is clear that it was not for the courts but for politicians to decide how to proceed next.
That means, possibly as early as tomorrow, ministers will put forward what is expected to be an extremely short piece of legislation in the hope of getting MPs to approve it, perhaps within a fortnight.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Attorney General Jeremy Wright: "The government will comply with the judgement of the court"
Nightmare number two for the government would have been explicit instructions from the court about the kind of legislation they had to introduce.
That wouldn't just have made ministers' lives very difficult when they want, above all else, to produce something that gives their opponents minimal room for manoeuvre.
But it would have raised spiky questions about the power of the courts versus our politicians and parliaments - a fight few had the appetite to have.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38730907
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Lagos living: Solving Nigeria's megacity housing crisis - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Nigeria's largest city Lagos is facing a housing crisis. The BBC's Nancy Kacungira looks at how entrepreneurs are trying to solve the crisis.
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Africa
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. New Nigerian homes are being built on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean
Nigeria's largest city Lagos is facing a housing crisis. The BBC's Nancy Kacungira looks at how entrepreneurs are trying to solve the crisis.
Affordable housing is a considerable challenge for urban areas with large populations, and this is particularly prevalent in the Nigeria's city of Lagos.
More than 500,000 people move to the city every year, and across Nigeria, there is already a housing deficit of more than 17 million units.
There are on-going projects of varying scale trying to address the shortage; one is reclaiming land from the Atlantic Ocean to build a new city suburb called Eko Atlantic on the shores of Victoria Island.
Tonnes of sand and heavy rock were poured into the ocean to provide 10 sq km (3.8 sq miles) of land for shops, offices and homes.
Protected by an 8km long sea wall, the city will have its own power and water supply, and even an independent road network.
Developers say Eko Atlantic is aimed at those on a middle income
Eko Atlantic will be able to accommodate more than 500,000 people, but the multibillion dollar project has been perceived as being "only for the rich".
Ronald Chagoury Jr, one of the developers, says it is a perception they have been trying to shake off.
"From the beginning we always thought that this would be a city for the middle income.
"We know that the middle income has grown significantly in the past 15 years and we know that it is going to grow even more."
Still, some residents of Lagos feel that there are already many housing options - they just cannot afford them.
Properties are pricey and landlords typically require annual, not monthly rent payments.
Banking consultant Abimbola Agbalu tells me that he has to live at his grandmother's house, because renting his own place would be too expensive.
Some housing projects remain unoccupied because they are pricey
"If I wanted to rent a house where I would prefer in Lagos I would be spending at least 80% of my pay cheque to move in because I would have to pay two years' rent upfront, agency fees and maintenance fees.
"And from then on I would have to spend another 60-70% of my pay cheque every year on rent, which doesn't make sense.
"The problem is not that there are no houses. If you look around, there are empty houses all over Lagos; some can even go a year without being rented out.
"The problem is that people can't afford them. We need better alternatives."
One Nigerian company is thinking inside the box in order to provide a cheaper housing option - by making homes out of cargo containers.
Dele Ijaiya-Oladipo says he co-founded Tempohousing Nigeria to provide a creative solution in a city that desperately needs low-cost housing.
Shipping containers are modified to make houses but Nigerians are not keen on them
"The only way we can get the housing deficit sorted is by providing good quality houses at affordable rates.
"You can't build a million homes at a price that no-one will ever afford - that doesn't achieve anything."
Mr Ijaiya-Oladipo's container homes are 25% cheaper than traditional housing, and can be built in as little as two weeks.
"But the concept is still foreign to many Nigerians; so most of his clients tend to use the containers to build office spaces, not homes," he says.
"Until a potential client actually sees our past work, they can't really picture how a shipping container can be used as a finished house or office.
"We have to encourage people to visit our office which is made out of containers, so they can see what we are talking about."
From a self-sustaining city to refurbished-shipping containers, private sector real-estate developers are offering both big and small solutions - and Lagos needs them all.
The city is Africa's largest, and its population is expected to double by 2050; putting even more pressure on already limited housing options.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38688796
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British Grand Prix staying on the calendar, says new F1 boss Chase Carey - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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New Formula 1 boss Chase Carey says there will be a race in Britain despite speculation Silverstone could be dropped by 2019.
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Last updated on .From the section Formula 1
New Formula 1 boss Chase Carey says there will be a British Grand Prix despite speculation Silverstone could be dropped by 2019.
The circuit's presence on the calendar had been under threat because of the "potentially ruinous risk" of staging the loss-making race.
However, Carey - who has been put in charge of F1 by new owners Liberty Media - says its future is safe.
"We will have a British Grand Prix," he told BBC Sport.
"The foundation of the sport is western Europe. We want to grow it. There's a negotiating dynamic that exists, but we want a healthy relationship with our promoters.
"We are going to look at ways of making events bigger and better."
• None Ecclestone: why F1's titanic leader was loved and loathed
• None Can F1 be liberated from its 'dysfunction'?
Carey has taken over as F1's chief executive from Bernie Ecclestone following US giant Liberty Media's $8bn (£6.4bn) takeover.
Ross Brawn has been appointed managing director as part of a restructuring of F1's management.
And the former Mercedes boss said Silverstone is "very important" to the tradition of the sport.
"A lot of the new circuits are very exciting and they bring their own element to F1," he said.
"They are in it because they want to be part of that show that includes Monaco, Silverstone, Monza, Hockenheimring and the Nurburgring.
"You have still got to maintain those traditions to have the values in F1."
Silverstone first hosted the British Grand Prix in 1950 and has been the event's permanent home since 1987.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38730606
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'How we built India's biggest robot company' - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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GreyOrange is India's biggest robotics company, making machines which support the country's booming online retail industry.
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Business
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. How GreyOrange is becoming India's home-grown robotics giant
In 2008, engineering student Samay Kohli wanted to build a humanoid robot, but his professor told him it would not be possible.
Along with his fellow student Akash Gupta, not only did they achieve that task, but they have also built GreyOrange, a multi-national robotics company based in India and operating across Asia.
"We've done some stuff that India was not supposed to do," Mr Kohli told the BBC. "People are not supposed to build hardware, robot products, out of India and we've been able to do that."
Acyut was India's first home-grown humanoid robot and the first robot the team behind GreyOrange built
So how did GreyOrange grow from an engineering classroom to an international robotics player?
Mr Kohli and Mr Gupta proved their teacher wrong, building India's first humanoid robot, which they called Acyut. They then entered their creation in kung fu competitions and international robot football championships.
The team also won several robotic competitions around the world.
But it was a different passion that has seen GreyOrange grow - not for sport, but for online shopping.
India's online shopping boom is driving massive international investment in the country's e-commerce sector
The e-commerce sector in India has seen unprecedented growth in the last few years.
Roughly 350 million Indian citizens are online and according to international payment company Worldpay, that will nearly double by 2020, when they will spend $63.7bn (£51.8bn) online.
Despite companies often making a loss as they offer deeper and deeper discounts to attract customers, investors have flooded into the sector. More than $5bn (£4bn) of private investment was ploughed into the sector in 2015, according to global consultancy PwC.
Amazon recently announced it would invest an additional $3bn in India, on top of the $2bn it announced in 2014.
While online retailing is only a part of e-commerce, it is the area that many see as the one with the biggest growth potential.
Those retailers servicing millions of consumers will need to keep their goods in warehouses, and those warehouses need to be efficient. That's where GreyOrange has positioned itself.
In India, GreyOrange says it has 90% of the warehouse automation market and it has worked with leading e-commerce and logistics firms in the country.
They also run eight offices in five countries and employ more than 650 people.
GreyOrange claims AI robot Butler can make a warehouse up to five times more efficient
"Warehouses are everywhere and they are supposed to become more and more intelligent as consumer demand increases.'' says Mr Kohli.
GreyOrange has two different robots to help warehouses become more productive.
Butler, an artificial intelligence-powered robotic system, helps pick products from shelves in the warehouse.
''A single person would pick about 100 to 120 items in one hour. With our Butler robot, he is able to pick 400 to 500 items every hour." Mr Kohli says.
The second robot, Sorter, automates the sorting of outgoing packages in a distribution centre.
They say that the robots they already have installed can potentially sort three million packages every day.
Samay Kohli (left) and Akash Gupta are the founders of GreyOrange
One of the biggest challenges to the company's success has been sourcing parts.
''India does not have a very strong hardware ecosystem." explains Paula Mariwala, who invests in technology based start-ups for SeedFund.
"So to source the right products and to get manufacturing going at a large scale in the early stages is particularly difficult. You would not be able to try out different components to have different versions of the product very easily - your time cycles will be longer. ''
The size of the potential prize is what has helped the founders overcome these problems.
''We were looking at how robots are going to be the next revolution that is coming right, the next decade is going to be all about making humans more efficient by using robots more and that's essentially how we got started.'' Mr Kohli says.
''Robots are needed to work with humans and not to replace them. Humans will always be there in the workplace, but robots make a very important part of the ecosystem they work with.
"Ten years ago, every person did not have a computer, today every person has one computer. We look at robots in that sense: as everyone has one computer, in the future they will have one robot with them to help them do their work better.
"It's a trillion-dollar opportunity, that's the space we're fighting in. ''
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38664034
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'Help me find my birth family' - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How a 19-year-old Swiss man's appeal for information on his birth family led to a huge response.
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Europe
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Marco has this image of his mother, who has been missing since 2000
For one young Swiss man looking for his birth family, official channels had turned up nothing. So Marco Hauenstein, 19, turned to Facebook to try to find out more - not anticipating how widely his post would be shared.
Marco did not have an easy start in life, as the very few facts he knows about his birth mother indicate.
Gina Barbara Hauenstein was a drug addict, and during the 1990s spent time, Marco believes, in Zurich's then notorious Platzspitz open drugs scene, where addicts bought heroin in a city centre park, and injected it openly.
When Marco was born in 1997, he was already addicted too, and had to spend the first months of his life in hospital withdrawing and recovering.
Although his mother visited him from time to time, he never lived with her. About his father, he knows nothing: on his birth certificate, the space for the father's name has been left blank.
In 2000, Gina Hauenstein disappeared. Despite a police search both within Switzerland and across Europe, no trace of her has ever been found, and she remains listed as a missing person.
Marco meanwhile lived with a foster family. He describes his childhood as happy, but he admits questions about his birth family were "always on my mind".
When he turned 16, Marco left his foster family. There had been disagreements, not unusual between parents and teenagers, but Marco says his relationship with his foster family is good, and has improved since he began to live independently.
At the same time, he started to look for his birth family, and in particular for his mother. "I really wanted to know, for myself, who was my family, who I belonged to," he explained.
"So, when I was 16, I started to call town record offices, and I contacted the police. But without success."
Marco Hauenstein's search has drawn in many social media users, including journalists
Talking to Marco, it is not entirely clear why this more traditional search for family members was unsuccessful. Switzerland is a small country, Marco was never adopted, he knew his birth name, his mother's name and, it seems, the town she came from, where her parents (his grandparents) still apparently lived.
Perhaps the idea of a Facebook appeal seemed the most logical, or the fastest, way to reach out. And posting messages on social media might understandably be easier for a teenager than cold-calling official figures in local government or the police.
But the simple message which appeared on Facebook just three weeks ago has had consequences Marco - who uses the name Marco Julius Schelling on Facebook - did not expect. His message was shared and re-shared across Switzerland and Germany many thousands of times, and soon the media took an interest in his story too.
My name is Marco Hauenstein, and I was born on 17.06.1997 in the Aargau/Zurich region. After going through drug withdrawal as a newborn for 3-6 months I grew up with the Jung family, and later with the Schelling family.
After searching for many years without success, I'm turning to you. I'm looking for my birth parents / grandparents!
When I meet him in Zurich, he seems rather overwhelmed by the attention. He is accompanied by a camera crew from a local television station, and during our conversation he fields calls from a German channel, and a Swiss newspaper. At the same time new responses to his Facebook appeal are appearing on his phone every couple of minutes.
"I've had thousands and thousands of messages," he says. "I really didn't expect this."
Marco Hauenstein as a baby, with his birth mother
But his Facebook search has had some initial success. An aunt, a half-sister of his mother, has reached out to him, he says, and he has talked to her by phone.
"It was very emotional, we didn't talk much, it was just, 'Hello, so good to talk to you after all these years'." The plan is "that we will meet tomorrow… I think we will meet tomorrow".
Marco has also received information relating to his grandmother, an uncle, and even, he says, some hints about the identity of his father. But he seems reluctant to share too much detail. When our interview finishes, he is met by yet another television crew.
Messages for Marco keep pouring in
The next day, I get a message from Marco. The planned meeting with his aunt has not taken place, he says, because "I could not reach her".
It is clear the social media attention, and then the interest shown by the mainstream media, have caused problems.
Adopted or foster children hoping to meet their birth families, or birth parents looking for their children, are generally advised to proceed using an intermediary, to communicate in confidence, and to arrange a face-to-face meeting only when all sides are really ready for it.
The advent of sites like Facebook has changed that. Social services report growing numbers of cases in which adopted or fostered children, or parents who have given their children up or had them taken into care, have been tracked down and contacted out of the blue. The brutal reality is that these contacts are not always welcome: not everyone wants a reunion.
Tracing relatives is difficult for Marco despite the power of social media
But for Marco, the hopes for a happy ending seem at least partially fulfilled. One day after the failed meeting with his aunt, another short post appears on his Facebook page: "On Friday I was able to meet my grandmother and my uncle," he writes. "It was a very moving moment, at last I have got a part of my family back!"
His aunt, he continues, "needs more time" before agreeing to meet him.
Time will tell if the reunion brings Marco the sense of completeness he feels he needs. His mother remains the key person he wants to find. But there has been no trace of her for 17 years. No one, not the police, the local authorities, nor Marco's new-found relatives, has any clue where she might be.
Marco is not deterred. His search, via Facebook, continues.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38717880
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A trip through an underwater museum - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Exhibits about climate change and migration are just two of 12 installations in Museo Atlantico, an underwater museum off the coast of Lanzarote.
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Exhibits about climate change and migration are just two of 12 installations in Museo Atlantico, an underwater museum off the coast of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
Jason deCaires Taylor describes the museum and how the installations have changed just one year after being placed underwater.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38733683
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Ross Brawn eyes Formula 1 changes to make sport 'purer & simpler' - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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The new racing boss of F1, Ross Brawn, says he wants to make changes that will make the sport "purer & simpler".
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Formula 1's new racing boss Ross Brawn says he wants to develop a purer, simpler sport in which more teams and drivers can win.
The ex-Mercedes team boss, who has been appointed managing director of racing by F1's new owner, was critical of some rule changes of recent years.
Brawn said he wanted to "narrow the gap between the top and bottom" of the field and give F1 a broader appeal.
"I have ideas we should study and perhaps use in 2018 or 19," he said.
Brawn pointed to the example of football's Premier League, where Leicester City were able to transform themselves from relegation candidates to champions in the space of 12 months and on a limited budget.
The 62-year-old said: "We all know the analogy of Leicester City - that would be the ideal in F1, when a good team on a great year with a great driver could really mount a challenge. But at the moment that's not really possible."
Brawn is a member of a new senior management team appointed following the removal of Bernie Ecclestone from his position as chief executive.
American media executive Chase Carey, who was appointed president when new owner Liberty Media began its takeover in September, has now also taken on Ecclestone's former title.
Brawn is heading up the sporting and technical side of Liberty's business and former ESPN sales and marketing chief Sean Bratches is to run the commercial side.
What needs to change?
Carey has outlined plans to better promote the sport, by making more of grands prix as events in their host country and with a much wider use of digital media.
Brawn's job is to hone the on-track show to make it more appealing after criticism it has become predictable and has lost some of its edge in recent years.
He was critical of decisions made by Ecclestone, such as the adoption of a double-points finale in 2014 and a short-lived attempt to change the format of qualifying at the start of last season.
He told BBC Sport: "These have been short-term, knee-jerk reactions and that is exactly what we mustn't do.
"We need to stabilise the small teams and get them on a better financial footing.
"We need to reduce the scope of the technology because there is too big a gap between the bigger and smaller teams."
He also hinted he wanted to remove the controversial drag reduction system, an overtaking aid that drivers can use at the press of a button to give them a boost in straight-line speed.
"We need to make sure there is no artificial solutions," Brawn said. "The drag reduction system; everyone knows it's artificial. We need to find purer solutions.
"We need to think through the solutions. I have ideas - I can't share them all with you because I want to share them with the teams first - but I have ideas of things we should start to study and perhaps use in '18 or '19."
Will the technology have to change?
Brawn said the high-technology aspect of F1 was a crucial part of its appeal but added: "You must balance the technology with the sporting side."
He indicated he would be open to trying to change the turbo hybrid engines introduced in 2014, which have seen revolutionary steps forward in terms of fuel efficiency but which have been criticised for being too expensive and sounding dull.
"That is something we need to discuss with the teams," Brawn said. "They have made a huge investment in these engines so you can't just discard them and say: 'We are going to change the engines.'
"But how do we get from where we are today to where we want to be in two or three years' time with a great racing engine that everyone admires and enjoys?"
Could a driver at a smaller team win the F1 title?
Part of the reason for the lack of competitiveness is the huge spread of budgets between the front and back of the grid.
Brawn said: "The level of resource the top teams are using has made an enormous gap. My nirvana would be you get slightly odd circumstances and suddenly a team from the back wins. But at the moment you have two or three teams who can win and we need to spread that."
He said a budget cap was a "delicate" issue, but added: "It has never really been tried, it was never fully adopted by Formula 1, and I think we should at least discuss it again and see if there's potential."
But he said there were other ways of closing up the field.
"We have to see if we can develop the rules to reward innovation less," Brawn said. "Because as it is now innovation is heavily rewarded and if you can afford it, the slope is still quite steep - more money, faster cars. If we can flatten that off with the regulations that would go in the right direction."
He also said he would like to try to establish a 'draft' system for promoting drivers from junior categories so the drivers who make it into F1 were there "purely on merit".
Historically, some drivers at the back of the grid have paid for their seats in F1.
"What I'd love to see is a proper progression of talent into F1 where you could even introduce a draft system where the guys who win the GP2 or Formula 2 are available for the lower teams to use in their first year or two in Formula 1."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38734708
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Rubbish including a bathtub and toilet strewn in Houghton Conquest road - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Fly-tippers have left a Bedfordshire road littered with rubbish, including a toilet, a bathtub and a fridge.
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A road was left blocked with fly-tipped rubbish including a toilet, bathtub and pool table.
Police say the person responsible for the fly-tip along London Lane in Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire, may have struck locally before.
Cyclist Martin Galpin, who came across the debris, described it as "obscene".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-38735164
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London pollution: 'Very high' air pollution warning alert - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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A "very high" air pollution warning has been issued for London for the first time under a new alert system.
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Pollution alert warnings are being issued to the public at bus stops, tube stations and on roadside signs, under the new system set up by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Many Londoners, however, are going about their daily business undeterred.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38737820
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Australian Open 2017: Johanna Konta 'prepared' for Serena Williams quarter-final - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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British number one Johanna Konta believes she has done everything she can to be ready for her first meeting with Serena Williams.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Williams v Konta coverage: Wednesday, 02:00 GMT: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live; live text commentary on the BBC Sport website. Wednesday, 16:45 GMT: TV highlights on BBC Two.
British number one Johanna Konta believes she has done everything she can to be ready for her first meeting with 22-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
Konta, 25, will face second seed Williams in the quarter-finals at around 02:00 GMT on Wednesday.
"I've played quite a few Grand Slam champions and former world number ones," said world number nine Konta.
"So I've prepared myself as much as possible for a competitor like Serena."
• None Confident Konta 'can improve in every aspect'
Konta beat Russian 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-4 to reach the last eight without dropping a set.
She has a 2-1 winning record over Serena's sister Venus - a seven-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one - including a first-round victory at last year's Australian Open.
It will be Konta's second quarter-final at a Grand Slam, after reaching the semi-final in Melbourne last year, compared to 35-year-old Serena's 47th.
"I've been fortunate enough that I've played her sister a few times and I think she's just as incredible," said Konta.
"I was thinking I'd love the opportunity to be on court with her before she retires. But I doubt she's talking retirement.
"She will be playing until the very last ball she can physically hit. Hopefully it won't be the last time I play her before she retires."
Serena, in pursuit of her seventh Australian Open title, had only played two matches between the end of the US Open in August and her first-round victory in Melbourne.
Konta, meanwhile, remained busy on tour and took her world ranking from 49 at the end of 2015 to a career-high of nine.
"I watch her game a lot. She's been doing really, really well, She has a very attacking game and I look forward to it," said Serena.
"I have absolutely nothing to lose in this tournament. Everything here is a bonus for me. Obviously I am here to win, and hopefully I can play better."
"The game is there for Konta. It's all about the head now.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
"It's a big ask when you've never played Serena Williams to beat her at a Grand Slam quarter-final but you never know. She's got the game to beat anyone.
"She needs to follow her game plan, believe in it and commit on every shot. If you have doubts then Serena eats you alive."
"I think Serena's looked great. There can't be any of these second-gear starts she had a few years ago.
"The match against Konta is another level. It will help Konta that she hasn't played her - there is no scar tissue.
"Serena wins her matches often in the first 15 seconds she strolls on to the court, but that's not going to happen with Jo."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38716313
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Bernie Ecclestone: Why F1's titanic leader was loved and loathed - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Bye, bye, Bernie. F1's revolutionary, roguish leader has finally vacated the throne he created - so how will he be remembered?
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Bernie Ecclestone stands a little under 5ft 3in tall but for 40 years has wielded a giant influence in Formula 1 with canniness, wit and not a little menace.
At times, Ecclestone has had close to absolute power. So the end of his reign following the takeover of the sport by US giant Liberty Media represents a seismic change.
Ecclestone, now 86, is a tactician of remarkable skill, and a deal-maker extraordinaire who used chutzpah and brinksmanship to turn F1 into one of the world's biggest sports, form relationships with world leaders such as Russian president Vladimir Putin and make himself and many of F1's participants multi-millionaires.
In a remarkable four decades, Ecclestone revolutionised the sport:
• None He bought the Brabham team and won two world titles, including a historic first with a turbo engine in 1983.
• None Turned F1 into the biggest annual sporting event in the world, outstripped only by the Olympics and the World Cup.
• None Controversially took the commercial rights away from the teams and made himself a billionaire.
• None Fought off a criminal prosecution for blackmail that arose from a complicated series of sales of those rights.
• None Carved a notorious reputation for making controversial statements, including saying Adolf Hitler was "able to get things done" and likening women to "domestic appliances".
But what made him mind-bendingly - some would say obscenely - rich is what brought him down in the end.
Selling on the commercial rights to F1 is the source of Ecclestone's vast wealth. But it was never about the money, per se - it was about the deal. And now the deal has done him in.
Restructuring the finances of the sport in the first years of this decade, Ecclestone also reorganised its decision-making process.
He did it to increase his power, but the structure he set up inadvertently neutered him and gave the big teams - particularly Mercedes and Ferrari - power to block him. This has led to log-jam.
The latest company to buy the sport - USA's Liberty Media - has looked at this, at a skewed prize-money structure, at a policy that is threatening to price out much-loved historic races in favour of characterless new ones in countries with questionable regimes, at a refusal to engage with digital media, and several other issues, and decided to ease him out.
Ecclestone is held in genuinely high regard within F1 for everything he has achieved but, outside a handful of acolytes, few will be genuinely sorry to see him go.
There has been a feeling for some years that he is a man out of time, that the sport needed to move on. In truth, this has contributed to the stalemate in F1 - people were simply waiting him out.
Many believe his departure will be good for the sport. However, it will certainly make F1 less colourful, and it is hard to imagine seeing the like of him again.
Where did he come from?
Ecclestone's involvement in F1 started in the late 1950s. After a brief driving career in lower categories, he emerged as a manager for the British F1 driver Stuart Lewis-Evans but then disappeared from racing when Lewis-Evans was killed in a fiery crash at the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix.
He appeared again in the late 1960s, again as a manager, this time to the Austrian Jochen Rindt. He was already very rich.
What had the fortune come from? "Property," Ecclestone says. All manner of rumours have abounded, including that he was involved in organising the Great Train Robbery, when £2.6m was stolen from a Royal Mail train in Buckinghamshire in 1963.
"Nah," Ecclestone once said. "There wasn't enough money on that train. I could have done something better than that."
Rindt became F1's first and so far only posthumous world champion after he was killed at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix. But this time Ecclestone did not retreat.
Within a couple of years, he bought Brabham from its founder, the three-time world champion Sir Jack Brabham, and began establishing his power base.
How did he become omnipotent?
Back then, circuit deals and television rights were operated on a somewhat haphazard, piecemeal basis. Ecclestone offered to look after them on the teams' behalf and wasted little time in building his influence.
He persuaded television companies to buy F1 as a package, rather than pay for individual races. That guaranteed vastly increased exposure, and the sport's popularity grew increasingly quickly.
The vast growth of F1 from what it was then to what it is today arguably started in earnest after the 1976 season, when a championship battle between the playboy Englishman James Hunt and the ascetic Austrian Niki Lauda caught the public's imagination.
By the 1980s, F1 was becoming a global sport, more and more races were being shown live, and a generation of charismatic stars enhanced its appeal - Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and, most of all, Ayrton Senna.
Ironically, Senna's death in 1994 only increased its reach and shortly after that the sport started on the route that has led to Ecclestone's departure.
The beginning of the end
Controversially, in the mid-1990s, Ecclestone struck a deal with his long-time friend and ally Max Mosley, who was then the president of governing body the FIA. It saw his own company become the rights holder of F1, taking over from the teams' collective body that Ecclestone previously ran.
This led to a furious row with some of the teams - particularly McLaren, Williams and Tyrrell - who claimed what Ecclestone was doing was illegal and that he was effectively robbing them.
But the complainants were eventually bought off. Ecclestone then set about monetising his new asset.
In 2000, Mosley granted Ecclestone the commercial rights to F1 until the end of 2110 for a one-off fee of $360m. Even then, many were shocked by the relatively paltry amount of money that changed hands to secure such a lucrative and lengthy deal.
This led to a dizzying series of sales as the rights transferred through various institutions. A German cable TV company bought them, and then collapsed, which led to its creditors - banks - taking its assets. In 2006, the German bank BayernLB sold its 47.2% stake in F1 to an investment company called CVC Capital Partners.
CVC ran the sport for 10 years, employing Ecclestone as chief executive and empowering him to carry on as before, before selling to Liberty last September, in the deal completed on Monday.
But the sale from BayernLB to CVC is what ultimately led to the court cases on bribery charges that Ecclestone fought and survived a couple of years ago - and which he ended by paying the German courts $100m to end the case, without a presumption of guilt or innocence.
It did not escape notice that a man charged with bribery had paid - perfectly legally under German law - to end a criminal trial.
What is he like?
Despite his diminutive stature, Ecclestone is a forbidding character. Stories abound in F1 of real and threatened menace.
A conversation with him is akin to juggling sand - he ducks and dodges and avoids questions with obfuscation, distraction and quick wit, a dizzying mix of truths, half-truths and fallacies.
He is approachable but apart, engaging but unknowable. After a verbal sparring match, he will sometimes reach up and chillingly pat you on the cheek, not unlike a mafia don in the movies.
For years, the more unsavoury aspects of Ecclestone's stewardship were glossed over or laughed off - largely because he was making those he was working for so much money.
But in recent years, the tone in F1 has changed as more and more people began to feel he was past his sell-by date.
He was a reluctant embracer of the internet age, and rejected entreaties to try to use it to extend F1's reach.
His argument was that he saw no way to make money out of it; others argued that his modus operandi of pursuing only the deal, the bottom line, and disregarding its potential longer-term effects was doing more harm than good.
His simple model - sell television rights and races to the highest bidder no matter who it was; squeeze the highest price possible out of continuing partners - created an annual global revenue in the region of $1.5bn (£1.2bn).
Yet he became increasingly haphazard and intransigent in his decision-making, coming up with unpopular ideas such as a double-points finale in 2014 or the fiasco over the change to the qualifying format at the start of 2016 - to try to spice up the sport.
He was responding to declining audiences, but seemed to ignore the fact they were dropping largely because of his switch away from free-to-air towards pay television in key markets, and the questionable effect on the racing of gimmicks such as the DRS overtaking aid and tyres on which drivers could not push flat out.
The declining audiences have led to a crisis of confidence within the sport, the response to which is a new set of rules for 2017 that mean faster, more dramatic-looking cars. But already there are concerns that these may not have the desired effect.
But while the problems are real, the fact remains that F1 has just changed hands in a deal that values it at $8bn (£6.4bn).
And that is almost entirely down to Ecclestone and what he has built with his remarkable personality, vision and drive.
Controversial he certainly was; past his best he may have been. But for all his faults, Bernie Ecclestone is a unique and titanic figure who turned what was essentially a niche activity into a glittering global enterprise that to many represents an intoxicating mix of glamour, danger and raw, unmatched drama.
Gone from power he may be, but he will never be forgotten.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38721123
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The dental nurse who became an alligator catcher - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Texan Christy Kroboth used to have a quiet job in a dentist's surgery. Now she spends her time jumping on animals many times her size - and taping their jaws tightly shut.
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Magazine
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Christy Kroboth gave up her career as a dental nurse to focus on animals with a lot more teeth - alligators. When she started training as an alligator catcher she was the only woman in her class, but - as she describes here - that made her even more determined to show she could jump on an animal many times her size, and tape its jaws tightly shut.
When I first got my licence I was only doing this as a hobby, I'd go to work as a dental assistant and catch my alligators on the side.
But I got well known for taking the alligators alive, and I'm now doing this as my full time job.
I've been a true animal lover all my life. I blame it on my mom. When we were little she was the one that would stop the car, pull over, and help turtles and ducks cross the road. We took in all the strays - cats, dogs, whatever needed a home.
Where I live in the south part of Texas we have a lot of alligators and there are these big master-plan communities that have manmade ponds and these ponds have alligators in them.
The homeowners are so afraid that they're going to eat their kids and that they're going to eat their dogs, but in the past 100 years we've only had one person killed by an alligator, so it's all just superstition.
These alligators have been around since the dinosaurs. They're great for the ecosystem, they keep all the aquatic life in check. They're actually really shy animals and they don't want to hurt anybody.
But people think of these guys as monsters. They have this vision in their head, and when I noticed this I thought, "What can I do to help change people's mindset?"
After reports that golfers were being mean to this giant alligator, Kroboth was called in to safely remove it from a Texan golf course
You can't just go out and catch an alligator because alligators are protected by the state here in Texas. You have to have a special licence and a permit.
I registered to be an alligator hunter with Texas Parks and Wildlife and we had to go through a whole training course.
I was the only girl in the class and also the youngest. We had to go through the rules, laws and regulations, and then the trainer told us: "OK, you've all passed the paperwork, now let's go do this hands-on."
I'd never even touched an alligator before and for a split second I thought, "I can't do this." I called my mom and I said, "Mom, I can't do this!" And, of course, mom is like, "Come home right now, don't do it!"
But something told me: "I have to do this - not only for the alligators, but to prove to these big ol' country boys that I can."
I ran out to the pond, got the alligator, taped him up and ended up passing the test. It was one of the happiest moments of my life and that adrenaline rush lasted the whole day.
The biggest alligator I've ever caught was a 13ft (4m) male weighing more than 900lb (408kg). I'm 120lb (54kg), so he outweighed me by a good amount.
He was blind and lost in a parking lot and could not find his way back to the water.
Usually we catch alligators by grabbing their jaws with both hands. Once you feel comfortable enough you let go with one hand and you reach the other hand into your pocket, grab your electrical [insulating] tape and tape his mouth shut. You've got to move fast.
Well, this alligator was so big that my hands would not fit around his jaws. I was trying to call my buddies to help, but it was six o'clock in the morning and none of my volunteers were answering.
I was able to sucker one of the local cops into trying to help me, but he didn't want to put his hands around the alligator's mouth, which is understandable.
Another way to catch an alligator is to try to outweigh them by jumping on their back, so I talked this poor cop into jumping on to the back of this alligator with me.
The trick is you put all your weight down and sit completely down on the alligator. Well, the officer didn't and he kind of just danced around the alligator which any untrained person probably would.
The alligator didn't like that, so he started wiggling around, trying to get away. I knew instantly this was not going to work, so I stood up to back off and the alligator swatted me with his tail and made me fall on my bottom right there beside his un-taped mouth.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Christy Kroboth and police officer in action in the car park
We were all worn out from trying to catch this alligator for four hours, the parking lot was getting busy and stores were starting to open so I had to make the decision to call in a game warden.
I got very sad because game wardens usually don't come out and catch alligators, game wardens usually come out and kill alligators.
I went to my car and I started crying because I'd been defeated by this animal. I called the game warden and he said, "Christy, stop crying. I am going to come help you. Do not touch that alligator until I get there."
Well, when he said that I just got so much energy, I was so happy. I got out of my car like I could just conquer the world because somebody was coming to help me.
Somehow I was able to go up to the alligator and hold his jaws in my arm and tape his mouth shut with my right hand. We ran to Home Depot and got zip ties to tie the alligator's hands behind his back like he was in handcuffs so he couldn't walk off.
Then the game warden showed up and he said, "I told you not to catch him!"
I said, "I'm sorry, I just had all this confidence and I was able to do it!"
We had to borrow a forklift to pick the alligator up and load him in to my buddy's truck, because he was so big.
Potentially dangerous alligators that cannot be released back into the wild are taken to a farm with tons of acreage and tons of ponds. But if the alligator can be released in the wild we have certain release sites where we can drop them off.
I have an SUV and sometimes the smaller alligators will want to climb over the seats and try to make their way to the front to help me drive, so it's me and the alligator waving at people going down the freeways.
I've found out if you make it freezing cold in your car the alligators are calmer. So although it's the middle of summertime here in Houston - 97F (36C), humidity - I'm on the freeway in a jacket with gloves and a scarf and a blanket wrapped around me because my car is freezing cold.
But the alligator is behaving, so that's all that matters.
Sometimes they go to the bathroom, and alligator poo is not that great, so we'll have to roll down the windows and travel on down the road.
Being the animal lover I am I think it's very important that we educate everybody on the animals that are living in their backyards and help them understand that we can all live together.
I have three educational alligators, their names are Cam, Taylor and Halo. We call them our "edugators" because we take them to schools and we teach people alligator safety and alligator education.
I work with these alligators every single day, they're used to being handled so they don't see us as a threat. They'll even sit on the couch and watch TV with me when they're not in their enclosures.
When I go out on a catch sometimes there's a very afraid person there whose mindset is changed. They may say, "Oh, I understand his importance now, I like him, let's name him." When I see that change in people that's what really drives me to do what I do.
That's why I wake up and why I do my job every single day.
Listen to Christy Kroboth speaking to Outlook on the BBC World Service
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38641709
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Nicole Cooke 'sceptical' of Team Sky and Sir Bradley Wiggins - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Ex-Olympic champion Nicole Cooke says she is "sceptical" of Team Sky's drug-free credentials and Sir Bradley Wiggins' therapeutic use exemptions.
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Last updated on .From the section Cycling
Ex-Olympic champion Nicole Cooke says she is "sceptical" of Team Sky's drug-free credentials and Sir Bradley Wiggins' therapeutic use exemptions.
Wiggins was granted three TUEs to take anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone before the 2011 and 2012 Tour de France and the 2013 Giro d'Italia.
"Taking TUEs just before major events raises questions for me," Cooke said.
Cooke also told MPs British Cycling is run "by men for men" and its attempts to stop doping are "ineffective".
Wiggins' TUEs were approved by British authorities and cycling's world governing body the UCI, and there is no suggestion either the 36-year-old or his former employers Team Sky have broken any rules.
Cooke, 33, made the claims in evidence submitted to a Culture, Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday.
The committee is examining doping in sport and Tuesday's session was held to discuss issues raised at a previous hearing involving British Cycling and Team Sky in December.
In a wide-ranging testimony, Cooke provided examples of sexism she had encountered in her 13-year career, stating British Cycling shows "discrimination and favouritism" because it is "answerable to itself".
The Welsh former world and Commonwealth cycling champion added that the fight against doping is "the wrong people fighting the wrong war, in the wrong way, with the wrong tools".
"While there is still a way to go, British Cycling is absolutely committed to resolving the historic gender imbalance in our sport," said the governing body in a statement.
British Cycling is the subject of an investigation by UK Anti-Doping into allegations of wrongdoing in the sport and is also awaiting the findings of an independent review into an alleged bullying culture.
Five-time Olympic champion Wiggins was granted a TUE to treat asthma and allergies, which was revealed when hacking group Fancy Bears released athletes' medical files stolen from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
Cooke compared her use of the steroid triamcinolone with that of Wiggins, stating she was granted a TUE for injections of the drug to treat a career-threatening knee injury as an alternative to surgery.
She said she did not race again until "long after the performance-enhancing effects had worn off", and she added that Wiggins appeared to use the "same steroid before his main goals of the season".
Cooke added she found the chronology of Wiggins' TUEs "disturbing" and that it made her "sceptical" of what Team Sky have done.
The team was launched in 2010 with a zero-tolerance approach towards doping in cycling.
Cooke on the package delivered to Wiggins
An inquiry by Ukad was launched following a Daily Mail allegation that a medical package was delivered to Wiggins on the final day of the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine.
Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford told MPs in December that the package contained legal decongestant Fluimucil, but MP Damian Collins, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, says British Cycling have been unable to provide paperwork to prove the contents of the medical package.
"I find the stance of being the cleanest team, yet Dave Brailsford not being able to say what a rider took, definitely makes it hard to back up that claim," Cooke added.
She also raised concerns as to why Simon Cope, who was British Cycling women's coach at the time, was chosen to courier the package to Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman in France.
"I do find it very surprising that Simon Cope transported something internationally without knowing what was in it," Cooke told MPs.
She also alleged that Cope, a former team-mate of Wiggins at the Linda McCartney professional team, "spent some weeks riding a moped in front of Wiggins as part of a training regimen" as an example of how resources were "stripped out of the women's program to augment the men's program".
'They did nothing for women'
When asked by MPs if sexism was culturally embedded in British Cycling, Cooke said: "Yes I do".
She claimed that during her career, the governing body showed only "transient" support for female road riders.
As part of her written evidence and appearance via video-link from Paris, Cooke cited numerous examples of "discrimination and favouritism" shown by British Cycling.
She said the prize for the women's 2006 British Championships was a "tiny fraction" of the men's race, despite Cooke having just won the Grande Boucle Feminine Internationale - the women's equivalent of the Tour de France.
The 2008 road race world champion added she had to take her own skin suit to the event in Italy after British Cycling had forgotten to organise one, having to then sew a Team Sky logo onto it at the behest of Brailsford.
"The facts are they did nothing for the women," said Cooke.
An independent review into the culture of British Cycling began after its former technical director Shane Sutton was accused of using offensive and discriminatory language towards cyclist Jess Varnish.
Despite being cleared of eight of the nine charges against him, the Australian was found guilty of using sexist language in October but denies any wrongdoing and said he would appeal the ruling.
What has the response been?
In her written evidence, Cooke said she had "no faith in the actions in support of investigations conducted by Ukad or the testing they conduct, both completed at significant expense to the public purse".
In response, Ukad said: "There should be no doubt about the determination of this organisation to protect clean sport; our staff passionately believe in protecting everyone's right to clean, fair and honest competition.
Regarding Cooke's accusations of sexism, British Cycling said in a statement: "There is always more that can be done and we strive to make continual improvements to ensure that cycling is reaching out to women and girls of all ages and abilities."
Meanwhile, UK Sport has launched an independent review to investigate some of the issues raised by Cooke.
"UK Sport takes its responsibilities as an investor of public funds and a champion of equality in sport very seriously," said a spokesman.
"On matters raised relating to the governance of the national governing body, UK Sport and Sport England have recently published a new code for sports governance which raises the bar for the requirements around governance that all sports bodies who receive public funding will need to address and comply to."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/38728410
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Is hotel art a waste of time? - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Chinese hotels are using art to try and stand out from their competitors, but does it make business sense?
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Business
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Does using art to sell hotels make good business sense?
If you visit the Emperor Qianmen hotel, near the Forbidden City in Beijing, be sure to bring an umbrella - otherwise you may get drenched. That's because it sometimes rains inside the lobby.
This is not due to a leaking roof. The "rain" comes from an installation by the Canadian artist Dan Euser, whose other pieces at the Emperor include an astonishingly realistic "waterfall" in the hotel's spa.
The Emperor is a "water hotel", explains the Chinese artist Bingyi, another member of the team behind the establishment's design. It is built on the site of an old bath house, and it was this, Bingyi adds, that gave the hotel's architect, Adam Sokol, the idea for an aquatic theme for the project.
At the Emperor Hotel in Beijing an art installation creates rain inside the lobby
Art can be found almost everywhere at the Emperor. Bingyi's work on display includes Cave in Heaven, a vast ink and paper mural covering 400 square metres, over the entire walls of a large space.
Bingyi believes that China today is a fruitful place for collaborations between artists and hotels, like the one at the Emperor.
"Cultural significance is very important to Chinese.
"We take the greatest pride in our cultural heritage… we write calligraphy, we write poetry, we have this kind of particular passion to turn every little craft into this magnificent habit of living, and we're just obsessed with it," she says.
The lobby of luxury hotel Nuo displays huge vases made from Chinese porcelain
The Emperor is far from the only hotel in Beijing to place an emphasis on the role of art.
Enter the lobby of the Nuo, a new luxury hotel, and you could be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into a museum. Throughout the vast space a series of giant vases are arrayed, each one more than two metres tall. They were made in Jingdezhen, home of fine Chinese porcelain for thousands of years.
The blue and white vases echo the Ming Dynasty theme that pervades much of the hotel's design.
But they are only the beginning, says Adrian Rudin, the hotel's general manager:
"Wherever you go, from the lobby lounge to the bar, there are different art pieces, some sculptures, some paintings, from different young and upcoming artists." He estimates the value of artworks at the hotel at around $50m [£40m; 46m euros]."
Beijing hotel managers say that art is one way for luxury lodgings to set themselves apart from rivals
Why so much - or indeed, any - art?
"It is a selling point in terms of consumers who are interested in fine art and culture," says Mr Rudin. But, he adds, there are other reasons too.
The hotel is the starting point of a new venture with the aim of creating an "international luxury Chinese brand" Mr Rudin explains.
In this context, he believes that art has a key role to play in helping the new enterprise to find a distinctive voice.
Other luxury groups also see merit in this kind of approach.
The Rosewood Hotel says its aim is to create a space that feels like a "luxury private home"
One of the troubles of the modern international hotel scene, says Marc Brugger, is that it is an "ocean of sameness". Mr Brugger is managing director of the Rosewood hotel, another recently-launched luxury property in Beijing.
He believes that art can play a valuable role for luxury lodgings seeking to find new ways to set themselves apart. However, for this to be successful, time and careful thought are required.
When the hotel was being conceived, Mr Brugger recalls, the idea of creating somewhere that felt like a "luxury private home" emerged. In such an establishment, art would have its natural place.
This meant departing from the usual hotel design process.
Chinese artist Bingyi's work for the Emperor Hotel includes Cave in Heaven, a vast ink and paper mural covering 400 square metres
According to Mr Brugger, what often happens is that plans will be drawn up and some blank spaces will be left for "art" to be added later.
"That method is much faster" he says, than the "holistic" approach taken in designing the Rosewood, where most of the art was specially commissioned and integrated into the design.
The design team searched for up-and-coming artists who could create work that would fit well into the scheme, rather than existing pieces from established names which might overpower or destabilise the overall look.
It took a long time to find the right artists, says Mr Brugger, but he feels that the results were well worth it.
Do collaborations between artists and hotels like these make good commercial and creative sense? Up to a point, say experts.
"There is a rationale for doing this, in a crowded hotel market" says Peter York, who has been an adviser to many large luxury enterprises. Companies need to find ways "to stand out from the ordinariness of luxury now, because luxury has become very ordinary".
But he says there can be risks, both for the hotels, and more particularly for the artists: "It's a sensitive balance between what you do to make a lot of money, and to pump your brand, and the verdict of history - and you don't want the verdict of history to come in too fast", he warns.
Still, Chinese hotel operators, and the artists they work with, remain optimistic about the future and the benefits that can flow from working together.
"We're really re-imagining what is luxury" says Bingyi. "We just all need to be reminded every single day how beautiful things can be."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38719405
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Driving standing up conviction for tall Newcastle man - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A 6ft 7in (2m) Newcastle man admits driving standing up but later claims he was "just tall".
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Tyne & Wear
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Adam Elliott had photographs taken to show his height in relation to the size of his car
A tall man has been convicted of driving while standing up after admitting dangerous driving.
Adam Elliott was accused of showing off to other motorists with his head poking out of the roof of a convertible Ford Ka.
The 26-year-old from Newcastle, who is 6ft 7in (2m) tall, pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court but later blamed his height.
Speaking after the hearing, he said: "I was not stood up, I am just tall."
Judge Robert Adams said it was "pretty obvious" Elliott had been "showing off, demonstrating your height to people in an open top small car".
"It was a dangerous thing to do," he said.
Adam Elliott pleaded guilty to dangerous driving but later insisted he was just tall and not standing up in the car
Mr Elliott, a car dealer, was seen in Gateshead and on the Tyne Bridge driving the car with the top down in January last year.
He had been delivering the vehicle to a customer, he said.
"I pleaded guilty to this because I was advised to, but I still insist I was not standing up," he said.
"It's just because of my height.
"I'm an excellent driver but I was advised to plead guilty to get it over with."
The court heard Elliott had 12 previous convictions for driving while disqualified.
He was given an interim driving ban of 12 months and will be sentenced next month.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-38730051
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Oscars 2017: Best actress nominees - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A look at the best actress nominees for the 89th Academy Awards on 26 February 2017.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Find out more about the nominees for the 89th Academy Awards, which will take place on 26 February 2017.
The character: Michele Leblanc, the head of a video game company, who is raped in her home.
The critics said: "Huppert gives a performance of imperious fury, holding the audience at bay, almost goading us to disown her. Audaciously, Elle presents her not so much as a victim but as the casualty of a world she is very much a part of; maybe (still more troublingly) an accessory to." [The Guardian]
The character: Mildred Loving, whose interracial marriage to Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton), led to the couple's arrest and banishment from the US state of Virginia in the 1950s.
The critics said: "When her expressive eyes, usually downcast, rise up to confront a world that needs changing, it's impossible not to be moved. The stabbing simplicity of Negga's acting is breathtaking." [Rolling Stone]
The character: Jackie Kennedy, whose husband President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
Oscar record: Portman won best actress for Black Swan in 2011 and was nominated for best supporting actress for Closer in 2005.
The critics said: "Portman's intricate performance... may just trump her Oscar-winning turn in Black Swan as the most high-wire feat she's ever pulled off." [Variety]
The character: Mia Dolan, an aspiring actress working in a Los Angeles coffee shop.
Oscar record: Nominated for best supporting actress for Birdman in 2015.
The critics said: "This is a career-best moment for Stone, who is grounded and spunky as the scrappy aspiring actress, then graceful and poised as Mia continues her journey." [Cinema Blend]
The character: Streep plays Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having an awful singing voice.
Oscar record: Streep has 19 previous Oscar nominations and has won three times - twice as best actress, for The Iron Lady (2012) and Sophie's Choice (1983), and once as best supporting actress, in Kramer vs Kramer (1980).
The critics said: "Ms Streep is a delight, hilarious when she's singing and convincingly on edge at all times." New York Times
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38536718
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Davis Cup: Andy Murray set to miss Britain's World Group tie in Canada - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Andy Murray is set to miss Britain's Davis Cup tie in Canada as he recuperates following his shock Australian Open loss.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
World number one Andy Murray has not been included in Britain's Davis Cup team for next month's tie in Canada as he recuperates following his shock exit from the Australian Open.
The team, captained by Leon Smith, includes Kyle Edmund, Dan Evans, Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot.
But Smith said Andy Murray could still feature in Ottawa, from 3-5 February.
"We'll just keep some dialogue going with Andy and see how he feels in the coming days," he told BBC Sport.
Murray, who lost to Mischa Zverev in the fourth round in Melbourne, played a packed schedule in the second half of 2016 to reach the top of the world rankings.
Smith added: "Andy has been unbelievable for our team. He gets on great with all the players and the staff and loves playing for Great Britain.
"But he has to look after himself and has played an awful lot of tennis, particularly in the last six months of the year.
"At some point you need to take a break."
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
"We know the challenge the Canadian team poses," added Smith.
Murray won 11 of a possible 12 points when he led Britain to their first Davis Cup victory for 79 years in 2015, and the Scot played in two of three ties last year as they reached the semi-finals.
"There's no let-up, and especially when it's in Ottawa - where the logistics of it make it challenging," said Smith.
"There's a lot of people, whether it's Tomas Berdych, Kei Nishikori, Roger Federer or Stan Wawrinka, having to look at the schedule and figure out what is best for them to be able to go through the whole year."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38728268
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Oscar nominations 2017: Seven non-white actors recognised - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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Diversity in the 2017 Oscar nominations and how it compares to last year's crop.
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The last two Oscars suffered a backlash due to the lack of non-white nominations.
This year's nominations in the acting categories are more diverse.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38737641
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How the barcode changed retailing and manufacturing - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How a design originally drawn in the sand led to the growth of giant supermarkets.
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Business
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In 1948, N Joseph Woodland - a graduate student at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia - was pondering a challenge from a local retailer: how to speed up the tedious process of checking out in his stores by automating transactions.
A smart young man, Woodland - known as Joseph - had worked on the Manhattan Project during the War, and had designed a better system for playing elevator music. But he was stumped.
Then, sitting on Miami Beach while visiting his grandparents, his fingertips idly combing through the sand, a thought struck him. Just like Morse code used dots and dashes to convey a message, he could use thin lines and thick lines to encode information.
A zebra-striped bull's-eye could describe a product and its price in a code that a machine could read.
The idea was workable, but with the technology of the time it was costly. But as computers advanced and lasers were invented, it became more realistic.
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy highlights the inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped create the economic world we live in.
The striped-scan system was independently rediscovered and refined several times over the years. In the 1950s, an engineer, David Collins, put thin and thick lines on railway cars so they could be read automatically by a trackside scanner.
In the early 1970s, IBM engineer George Laurer figured out that a rectangle would be more compact than Woodland's bull's-eye.
He developed a system that used lasers and computers that were so quick they could process labelled beanbags hurled over the scanner.
Meanwhile American's grocers were also pondering the benefits of a pan-industry product code.
In September 1969, members of the administrative systems committee of the Grocery Manufacturers of America met their opposite numbers from the National Association of Food Chains. Could the retailers and the producers agree?
Wrigley's chewing gum would be the first product sold via a barcode in 1974
The GMA wanted an 11-digit code, which would encompass various labelling schemes they were already using. The NAFC wanted a shorter, seven-digit code, which could be read by simpler and cheaper checkout systems.
The meeting broke up in frustration. Years of careful diplomacy - and innumerable committees, subcommittees and ad hoc committees were required before, finally, the US grocery industry agreed upon a standard for the universal product code, or UPC.
It all came to fruition in June 1974 at the checkout counter of Marsh's Supermarket in the town of Troy, Ohio, when a 31-year-old checkout assistant named Sharon Buchanan scanned a 10-pack of 50 sticks of Wrigley's juicy fruit chewing gum across a laser scanner, automatically registering the price of $0.67 (£0.55).
The gum was sold. The barcode had been born.
We tend to think of the barcode as a simple piece of cost-cutting technology: it helps supermarkets do their business more efficiently, and so it helps us to enjoy lower prices.
But the barcode does more than that. It changes the balance of power in the grocery industry.
That is why all those committee meetings were necessary, and it is why the food retailing industry was able to reach agreement only when the technical geeks on the committees were replaced by their bosses' bosses, the chief executives.
Part of the difficulty was getting everyone to move forward on a system that did not really work without a critical mass of adopters.
It was expensive to install scanners. It was expensive to redesign packaging with barcodes - bear in mind the Miller Brewing Company was still printing labels for its bottles on a 1908 printing press.
The retailers did not want to install scanners until the manufacturers had put barcodes on their products. The manufacturers did not want to put barcodes on their products until the retailers had installed enough scanners.
But it also became apparent over time that the barcode was changing the tilt of the playing field in favour of a certain kind of retailer. For a small, family-run convenience store, the barcode scanner was an expensive solution to problems they did not really have.
But big supermarkets could spread the cost of the scanners across many more sales. They valued shorter lines at the checkout. They needed to keep track of inventory.
With a manual checkout, a shop assistant might charge a customer for a product, then slip the cash into a pocket without registering the sale. With a barcode and scanner system, such behaviour would become conspicuous.
And in the 1970s, a time of high inflation in America, barcodes let supermarkets change the price of products by sticking a new price tag on the shelf rather than on each item.
It is hardly surprising that as the barcode spread in the 1970s and 1980s, large retailers also expanded. The scanner data underpinned customer databases and loyalty cards.
By tracking and automating inventory, it made just-in-time deliveries more attractive, and lowered the cost of having a wide variety of products. Shops in general - and supermarkets in particular - started to generalise, selling flowers, clothes, and electronic products.
Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton was able to exploit the possibilities barcodes offered
Running a huge, diversified, logistically complex operation was all so much easier in the world of the barcode.
Perhaps the ultimate expression of that fact came in 1988 when the discount department store Wal-Mart decided to start selling food.
It is now the largest grocery chain in America - and by far the largest general retailer on the planet, about as large as its five closest rivals combined. Wal-Mart was an early adopter of the barcode and has continued to invest in cutting-edge computer-driven logistics and inventory management.
The company is now a major gateway between Chinese manufacturers and American consumers. Its embrace of technology helped it grow to a vast scale, meaning it can send buyers to China and commission cheap products in bulk.
From a Chinese manufacturer's perspective, you can justify setting up an entire production line for just one customer - as long as that customer is Wal-Mart.
The cost of adopting barcodes initially put off some manufacturers such as Miller
Geeks rightly celebrate the moment of inspiration as Joseph Woodland languidly pulled his fingers through the sands of Miami Beach - or the perspiration of George Laurer as he perfected the barcode as we know it.
But it is not just a way to do business more efficiently. It also changes what kind of business can be efficient.
The barcode is now such a symbol of the forces of impersonal global capitalism that it has spawned its own ironic protest. Since the 1980s, people have been registering their opposition to "The Man" by getting themselves tattooed with a barcode.
Yes, those distinctive black and white stripes are a neat little piece of engineering. But that neat little piece of engineering has changed how the world economy fits together.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38498700
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US man hails wife's pregnancy with blue smoke explosion - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Jon Sterkel faces charges after arranging smoke from the blast to be blue, in celebration of a boy.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Explosives set off by US tree surgeon Jon Sterkel to celebrate his wife's pregnancy.
A US man who celebrated news that his wife was expecting a baby boy by setting off an explosion in Nebraska is facing police action which could result in a year in jail and a fine.
Tree surgeon Jon Sterkel told the BBC he used an explosive rifle target which sent blue smoke billowing into the air.
The blast was reportedly so loud that it was heard nearly 5km (3 miles) away.
Mr Sterkel has apologised after causing a police alert. He said that he was not aware his actions were illegal.
"The explosives I bought are readily available in most department stores, and even most law enforcers I have spoken to are not aware that they are illegal," he told the BBC.
He said that he had detonated exploding targets before on his remote farmland west of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, without upsetting anyone.
He said that Saturday's explosion contained blue smoke - caused by chalk powder - to tell the outside world that his wife Ashley is expecting a baby boy.
Mr Sterkel and his wife Ashley are expecting a baby boy
Mr Sterkel, 26, can be heard proclaiming "it's a boy!" on the video of the explosion which has been widely featured on numerous US websites.
But the blast was so loud that police in nearby Scottsbluff were alerted, with some residents concerned that a major disaster had taken place.
Mr Sterkel said that he immediately called the local sheriff to explain what had happened in addition to apologising for his actions.
"I would like to say sorry for all of the confusion," he said. "I am a man of character and will willingly go to court if the district attorney chooses to prosecute me.
"This was just our way of announcing what gender our baby was."
Mr Sterkel faces charges for detonating the explosive without a valid permit. There was no damage or injury but he could be punished with a prison sentence and a fine of $1,000 (£800).
Police told the Omaha World Herald that although exploding targets, which are detonated when shot with a high powered rifle, have recently become popular, people who use them need to follow the correct procedures.
Mr Sterkel told the BBC that he does not plan any more spectacular blasts once the baby, his first child, is born around 16 June.
And the baby's name? "Possibly Wesson, in honour of the rifle maker Smith and Wesson," he said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38730611
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Reality Check: Is North of England getting a big boost? - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Is the government announcing a fresh cash boost for the North of England?
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Business
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The claim: The government is announcing a cash boost for the North of England.
Reality Check verdict: The money has already been announced twice.
Prime Minister Theresa May is to continue former chancellor George Osborne's plans to create a Northern Powerhouse.
On Monday, she held a cabinet meeting in Daresbury in Cheshire, where she unveiled her new, more interventionist industrial strategy.
Details on where exactly the Northern Powerhouse cash will be spent are new, but the £556m total is not.
Last March, George Osborne said a total of £1.8bn would be awarded in a round of "growth deal" funding to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across England.
LEPs combine businesses, councils and other bodies to decide regional spending priorities, on things like city centre regeneration projects and innovation funds for businesses.
It is part of a wider scheme aimed at boosting the post-Brexit UK economy and creating jobs, with a particular focus on investment in science, research and innovation.
Mr Osborne's replacement, Philip Hammond, announced in November that £556m of this pot would go to the North of England. It was announced again in the Autumn Statement later that month.
As well as the North's share, Mr Hammond allocated £492m to London and the South East, £392m to the Midlands, and smaller amounts to other regions.
Northern leaders say their cities are stuck with weak economies because of underinvestment, while the South East takes the lion's share of public cash.
The government says the Northern Powerhouse will go some way to rectifying the imbalance. In this case the North of England is getting 13% more than London and the South East.
But other areas of government spending favour London over the North.
The capital will receive six times more money on transport spending per person over the next five years, according to research by the Institute for Public Policy Research.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38723772
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Newspaper headlines: MPs' 'new plot to thwart Brexit' - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Supreme Court's ruling that Parliament must vote on whether the government can start the Brexit process dominates Wednesday's front pages.
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The Papers
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Most of the papers lead on the fall-out from the government's Brexit court defeat
The Brexit Supreme Court ruling makes the lead for nearly all the papers, but one of the most eye-catching headlines can be found in the inside pages of the Daily Mail.
"Champions of the People", it proclaims, praising the three justices who found themselves in the minority as they sided with the government in the case.
The Mail attracted controversy in November when it branded three High Court judges "enemies of the people" for ruling Parliament had to be consulted over Brexit.
The Mail thinks it is not good for democracy that this decision has been now backed by the Supreme Court, arguing this, in effect, turns the EU referendum into a "mere opinion poll".
The Guardian is pleased with the Supreme Court judgement, saying it upheld a major constitutional principle in the face of what it describes as "shameful attacks" by the Brexit press.
It think the government should now publish a formal White Paper on its goals for Brexit.
But the Financial Times warns MPs against trying to micro-manage the negotiations.
The Daily Telegraph says Parliament has a duty to act responsibly and not seek a re-run of the referendum campaign.
"What's not to like when British judges in Britain's Supreme Court rule that British law makes the British Parliament sovereign," is the Daily Mirror take on Tuesday's Brexit ruling.
But it is not an opinion that is shared by all the leader writers.
The Times warns the Lords against trying to frustrate Brexit.
It would do so at its peril, says the paper, adding: "Showdowns between the two houses rarely end well for the Lords and the country does not need yet another constitutional headache."
The Daily Telegraph says that ministers are privately warning the government is prepared to flood the Lords with hundreds of Conservative peers if it obstructs the process of leaving the EU.
The Daily Mail believes new recruits are being discouraged from joining the Army because of historical inquiries into soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It says the Army remains 4% below its required strength, the nearly 7,000 cadets who signed up in the past year being about 3,000 short of the target.
A group campaigning to end the investigations tells the Mail that the figures are no surprise, asking why anyone would want to join the forces when they could be hounded for years.
The Financial Times thinks the world ought to start taking seriously US President Donald Trump's threat to impose trade tariffs in order to protect American goods.
In an editorial it argues that many still assume he is bluffing in order to win better deals.
But, it says, the first few days of his presidency have shown that he is not posturing and he thinks protectionism will make America richer.
The FT wonders how far he will get before he and his country both discover just how wrong he is.
The reported Trident missile failure may have made the headlines in recent days, but the Times reminds us that problems involving nuclear submarines are not new.
It reports on a CIA document which has revealed that a Soviet submarine and an American one, which was carrying a 160 nuclear warheads, crashed into each other in 1974 near Holy Loch, about 30 miles from Glasgow.
One expert says the crash was so serious there was a danger that the crews could have tried to defend themselves - believing they were under attack - leading to the possibility of war.
The growing number of homes with wood-burning stoves is partly being blamed for worsening air pollution levels in London, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Air quality readings in some parts of the capital were worse this week than in Beijing.
The weather and traffic pollution have led to the alert but, according to experts at King's College, wood fires were also responsible with more than a million homes now having the stoves.
David Cameron explains in the Times why he is becoming the president of Alzheimer's Research UK
On its front page, the Daily Mirror again has photos of drivers clutching their mobiles while out on the road.
Four months after the paper began its campaign to change public attitudes, it asks, "When will we ever learn?"
A traffic officer tells the paper he has heard every excuse in the book from the drivers he has pulled over.
He says one builder tried to throw his phone out the window when he was caught, while another woman insisted she did not own one, until it went off under the seat where she had hidden it.
The Mirror says cars and vans are deadly weapons in the hands of what it calls "mobile phone morons" and calls for more of them to be banned.
In the Times, David Cameron explains why he is becoming the president of Alzheimer's Research UK.
He says there needs to be a deeper understanding of the disease so that dementia is not accepted as inevitable in later life.
The paper says the article represents his "first important political intervention since leaving Downing Street".
It thinks Mr Cameron is concerned that Theresa May could downgrade funding for dementia research which for him was a "personal priority."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38739900
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Nicola Adams: Could two-time Olympic champion headline Las Vegas? - BBC Sport
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2017-01-24
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Two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams has turned professional and will make her debut on 8 April, but how far could she go?
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Two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams has turned professional and will make her debut on 8 April, but how far could she go?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/38721406
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Dundee boy's balloon flies 370 miles to Banbury - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A boy's balloon released in Dundee has been found 370 miles (595km) away.
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Oxford
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A boy's balloon released in Dundee as part of a telescope experiment has been found 370 miles (595km) away.
Lucas Muir, aged four, had signed the McDonald's-branded balloon with his name, age and hometown.
A week later it was found in Banbury, north Oxfordshire. It is now being sent back to Lucas.
Bryan Tomlin, who found the balloon on Sunday morning, put a picture of it on Facebook which was shared 6,000 times.
Mr Tomlin said: "I noticed the writing on there with the little kid's name on it and thought I'll put it on Facebook as it would be nice to see if we could reunite him with it.
"I did that and it absolutely snowballed from there, it went absolutely mad".
Lucas Muir released the McDonald's balloon to see if he could see it with his telescope
Lucas released the balloon to see if he could see it with his telescope
His father Andy Muir said: "I saw the picture on Facebook and there was Lucas' name, his age and his hometown.
"He's only four years old so he doesn't realise what an impact it has had."
The balloon travelled 370 miles from Dundee in Scotland, to Banbury near Oxford
He added that he was amazed the McDonald's balloon had travelled so far.
He said: "It's quite a thing for their balloon to be a world traveller."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-38722432
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What will happen in Donald Trump's first 100 days? - BBC News
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2017-01-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A new BBC News series will analyse the all-important first weeks of Donald Trump's presidency
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Can Trump accomplish what he wants?
Donald Trump has promised to take Washington by storm.
There is almost nothing the new American president does not want to change - policy, tone, foreign relations, the press pool. Mr Trump has told his cabinet nominees to be bold and be bold now.
He wants a shake-up of US government and he wants it soon. That is why his first 100 days will be so definitive. He has set the timetable for an ambitious agenda and in the next three months we will find out how much he can really shift.
There is a lot happening in Europe also during this 100 days. Britain is beginning the formal process of Brexit and the Dutch will hold elections which could herald the next step in the transatlantic populist march.
And of course, the French will gear up for their own election in which the National Front will be the focus of much attention. It is an extraordinary time on both sides of the Atlantic.
Former President Obama has sent veiled warnings about the consequences of bold action
This exceptional moment demands examination and analysis. So the BBC is launching 100 Days, a daily programme that gives us the chance to look at these global shifts.
In many ways, the inauguration of Donald Trump marks the beginning of the test of the populist experiment. Now he owns the problems he campaigned against. Can his bold approach work, who will benefit and who won't and how will he engage with the rest of the world?
Every day for the next 100 days, with Christian Fraser in London and me in Washington, we will try to answer those questions.
As he left office, President Obama had a veiled warning for his successor - if you're going to try to change things and bring in bold ideas, make sure you're aware of the consequences. He also suggested that the weight of office would soon settle on Mr Trump's shoulders and cause him to look carefully and humbly at what he has taken on.
Katty Kay and Christian Fraser will present 100 Days from Washington and London
Mr Trump goes into the White House as the least popular incoming president on record. He won't like that. We know from his election campaign that he watches polls closely and however hard he tries to dismiss them as "phony" or "lying," they matter to him.
His low ratings today give him a powerful incentive to do better. That could mean a combination of both working on his tone (something which appears to be unpopular with large sections of the American public) and pushing hard with his agenda (much of which also seems to be popular with many Americans). That too, will make this a fascinating time.
Some of this is under Mr Trump's control, but some of it is not. The Republican Party will have a big impact in making his first 100 days successful - they can boost his legislative agenda or kill it.
The party owes Mr Trump a lot, he has just handed them Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court, that will win him a lot of favours. But many Conservatives do not agree with everything he wants to do and, if his poll numbers stay low, they will have less incentive to help him out.
So we have a busy, fascinating few months ahead of us. This populist trend is global and the test starts now. Mr Trump wants to change the look, feel and smell of Washington. Funny that, so did Mr Obama eight years ago.
100 Days, presented by Katty Kay and Christian Fraser, Monday - Thursday at 19:00 GMT on BBC News Channel and BBC Four and BBC World News at 19:00 GMT.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38720658
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