title
stringlengths 13
112
| published_date
stringlengths 10
10
| authors
stringclasses 3
values | description
stringlengths 0
382
⌀ | section
stringlengths 2
31
⌀ | content
stringlengths 0
81.9k
| link
stringlengths 21
189
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Now you can get an 'adult toy' with your burger meal - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Burger King in Israel unveils a new "adult meal", which comes which a free "adult toy".
|
Newsbeat
|
Burger King has unveiled a new "adult" meal, which comes with a free adult toy.
A promotion for the offer, which can only be redeemed on Valentine's Day, has appeared on YouTube.
The adult toys on offer include a pink frilly blindfold, a black feather tickler and a head massager.
Before you and your partner rush out for a saucy Whopper, though, the promotion is only available in Israel.
It's a campaign that seems to be aimed at people who forgot to book a candelit dinner for two.
"Kids meal? That's for kids," the advert's narrator says.
"Burger King presents the adult meal, with an adult's toy inside."
The deal features two burgers, two fries, two beers and, of course, the toy.
It's over-18s only, though, so couples will have to remember their ID.
The promotion has also been advertised on Facebook
The campaign has been produced by advertising agency Leo Burnett.
Burger King isn't the only fast food company trying to do something different this Valentine's Day.
Branches of Hooters in the US are offering 10 free chicken wings to people who've been scorned by a former lover.
They've even opened the offer to takeaway customers who don't want to eat in their "world famous breastaurant".
The only catch? You have to bring in a photo of your ex so they can shred it.
Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/38968280
|
Gabriel Jesus: Manchester City hopeful on forward's injury - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
Manchester City are hopeful forward Gabriel Jesus did not suffer a serious foot injury in the Premier League win at Bournemouth.
| null |
Manchester City are hopeful forward Gabriel Jesus did not suffer a serious foot injury in the 2-0 Premier League victory against Bournemouth.
Jesus, 19, scored on his first two league starts for City but lasted just 14 minutes at Vitality Stadium after appearing to turn his ankle.
City will find out the extent of the problem on Tuesday.
"Hopefully it won't be for a long time," City boss Pep Guardiola told the BBC. "We will have to wait."
Jesus, who arrived from Palmeiras in January, scored in wins over West Ham and Swansea and was looking to become only the third City player - after Emmanuel Adebayor and Kevin de Bruyne - to find the net on each of his first three Premier League starts for the club.
However, the injury meant the Brazil international was replaced by Sergio Aguero - the third straight game in which the Argentina striker had been left on the bench by Guardiola.
The Spaniard said: "Sergio played good. He fought and scored a goal for his confidence and I am so happy for him. He was important before the game and is still important."
Aguero's 'goal' was officially recorded as a Tyrone Mings own goal after the forward's effort was deflected in by the Bournemouth defender.
• None Match report: Man City beat Bournemouth to go second
Raheem Sterling's first-half opener and Mings' own goal after the break meant City extended their unbeaten run to five games in all competitions and moved up to second in the table, eight points behind Chelsea.
Asked if they can win the title, Guardiola said: "It's so difficult. Chelsea have to lose three games and we have to win all the games. You know how difficult it is to win games in the Premier League.
"We will take it game by game. Now we are second but the gap to third, fourth, fifth and sixth is nothing. The gap to Chelsea is still massive. Game by game, we have to improve."
"I don't think City can catch Chelsea. It's too big a gap with Chelsea performing as they have done, but it was a comfortable performance - they are brilliant going forward.
"Since being thrashed 4-0 by Everton in January they have responded superbly. Things are coming together for City at the right time."
Bournemouth had injury concerns of their own as midfielder Jack Wilshere and defender Simon Francis both limped off in the first half.
Earlier this month, the Cherries, who have now won just one of their past nine league games, lost striker Callum Wilson to a season-ending knee injury.
"Jack was just feeling his ankle," said boss Eddie Howe. "I don't think there's a major injury there but he couldn't move freely and there was pain in his ankle, so we took him off.
"We will wait and see on Simon - he is feeling his hamstring again. He went to make a pass and felt it, as he had last time [at Everton]."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38963390
|
Champions League: Barcelona's trip to PSG headlines last-16 fixtures - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
Barcelona's trip to Paris St-Germain is the stand-out tie as the Champions League returns on Tuesday with the knockout stage.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
The Champions League returns on Tuesday with the last-16 stage, with Barcelona's trip to Paris St-Germain the evening's stand-out match.
For PSG and manager Unai Emery, the tie is a daunting test of their place in Europe's elite, made more vital by the £600m spent on transfers since 2011.
Emery has won once in 23 games against Barca, whose striker Luis Suarez faces Uruguay team-mate Edinson Cavani.
And in Tuesday's other 19:45 GMT kick-off, Borussia Dortmund visit Benfica.
On Wednesday, Arsenal resume their rivalry with Bayern Munich, hoping for a different outcome this time, and defending champions Real Madrid host Napoli.
The four remaining last-16 first legs - including Leicester's trip to Sevilla and Manchester City's match with Monaco - take place next week.
Emery will be all too aware of the importance of performing in Europe after last year's sacking of Laurent Blanc.
Frenchman Blanc won 11 of the 12 domestic trophies available during his three campaigns in Paris, but was fired after falling at the Champions League quarter-finals for a third consecutive year.
PSG's Qatari owners hired Emery on the back of the three consecutive Europa League titles he won with Sevilla, but the Spaniard does not have a good record against Barcelona, with 16 defeats in 23 games.
"Knowing Unai, I know he will try to make our life complicated," said Barca boss Luis Enrique.
"He knows us perfectly, he knows exactly what we have to offer. Our goal will be to keep the ball and create space because they will be taking risks.
"They are now more thorough than they used to be and they are more structured, and they also have great forwards."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38968108
|
Can your smartphone make you a safer driver? - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Drivers using mobile phones on the road are four times more likely to have an accident - but can apps also make us safer?
|
Business
|
Our phones can be distracting when driving, but can some apps make us safer?
Tudor Cobalas nearly crashed his car while driving and texting on his phone.
It was this near-death experience that inspired him to turn the smartphone from a weapon of mass distraction into a tool for safer driving.
Mr Cobalas, 30, from Romania, developed SafeDrive, an app that rewards drivers for ignoring their phones while driving.
Once a driver exceeds 6mph (10kmh), the app launches a "Release" button on the screen, effectively locking the phone. Driving without checking the phone generates points that can be converted into shopping discounts in the SafeDrive Marketplace.
Pressing the Release button while driving wipes out the points earned during that journey.
It's a simple idea that has attracted nearly 100,000 users globally and 30 commercial partners, from insurance companies to retailers.
Mr Cobalas has also developed an app, Milez, aimed at teenage drivers.
Distracted drivers are far more likely to have a fatal accident
"It was a response to questions from parents in the US who wanted to educate their children, young drivers," he says.
Again, the idea is simple - teenage drivers are financially rewarded by relatives and friends through the Milez app if they drive safely.
Mr Cobalas's native Romania has a particularly poor record when it comes to road fatalities.
In the European Union as a whole, the average number of road deaths per million inhabitants is 51.5. In Romania, it is nearly double that figure at 95.
Worldwide, about 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic accidents, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Smartphone distraction" is blamed for an increasing number of accidents. Drivers using a mobile phone are four times more likely to be involved in a crash, the WHO says.
DriveWell founders Hari Balakrishnan (left) and Sam Madden want to make us better drivers
That is why a growing number of technology entrepreneurs are trying to tackle the problem.
"Although smartphones are rightly blamed for an increase in distracted driving, we wanted to show that smartphones could be used to make drivers better," says Hari Balakrishnan, chief technology officer of Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a US company that has developed an app called DriveWell.
The app measures all aspects of driving such as hard braking, abrupt acceleration, sharp cornering and speeding.
But it also monitors how often drivers are distracted by their phones and generates a "safety score" at the end of each trip.
The company emerged from a project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology run by Mr Balakrishnan and co-founder Sam Madden.
The free app features competition leader boards that enable drivers to compete with their friends, family and colleagues, as well as personalised safer driving tips.
About 1.25 million people are killed on the world's roads every year
Good safety scores can earn drivers discounts on their car insurance with some insurers, Mr Balakrishnan says.
Last year the company launched a competition to find Boston's safest driver. Nearly 5,000 people have signed up, and 98 have been awarded more than $3,400 in prizes.
Data from 40,000 DriveWell app users around the world demonstrate its effectiveness, says Mr Madden.
"By day 30, we see a 35% reduction in phone use and a 20% reduction in the number of hard braking events," he says.
Nick Lloyd, road safety manager at the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa), agrees that apps designed to reduce driver distraction show promise.
But he points out that as use of these apps is voluntary, "we do not know what kinds of drivers are likely to choose to use these apps".
In other words, dangerous drivers are precisely the ones who do not think they drive dangerously and thus don't think they need any help.
Are hands-free apps that read out messages just as distracting?
The problem with smartphones is that they constantly buzz and ping with notifications - they are designed to distract us.
So Rob Joseph, 27, an app developer based in London, developed ReadItToMe, an Android-only app that turns written messages into the spoken word, and vice versa.
"The idea initially came up when I was receiving text messages while on the London Overground but was too squished in among people to be able to pull out my phone to check them," he says.
The app can read any text notifications your phone receives, including emails and those from social messaging apps such as WhatsApp.
At present it can read in any language but reply in only a few.
"I feel that receiving messages you can't check because you're driving is just as much a distraction as texting while driving," says Mr Joseph. "You're constantly thinking: 'who could it be?' and you don't want to wait until you next pull over."
"While some newer cars offer the option to read SMS messages, they don't offer the option to reply, so something like ReadItToMe bridges that gap," he says.
The app, which has 22,000 active users, is free to use for reading SMS messages, or £1.49 if you want to use voice reply or other apps.
But does hands-free really make you accident-free?
"There are some safety concerns about safe driving applications, such as those which read text messages out loud to the driver, as this could be distracting," says Rospa's Nick Lloyd.
And the National Safety Council suggests that the use of hands-free devices still requires you to multi-task mentally, affecting a driver's ability to respond quickly to hazards.
Perhaps the answer is switching off phone notifications altogether before every journey.
Follow Technology of Business editor Matthew Wall on Twitter and Facebook
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38954975
|
Reunited after 65 years, and more remarkable love letters - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Tales of heartbreak, elation, rejection and redemption - to mark Valentine's Day, here are four love letters, each telling a unique story.
|
Magazine
|
Tales of heartbreak, elation, rejection and redemption - to mark Valentine's Day, here are four love letters, each telling a unique story.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Here we are in each other's arms at long last, settling into our home, we can't stop talking about our lives and especially those three very precious years we spent together over 65 years ago in the 1950s. We cuddled together when my three-wheeler spluttered to a stop on our way home from Chesterfield College of Art and I would ring my Dad to tow us home. What a good excuse that made to have a lingering kiss, although at times it could be a cold wait!
We got engaged and planned to get married when you were 19 but your parents objected to me, forbidding you to ever see me again. I don't think we knew then how our love would live on. Three years passed before we met again by chance. For your 21st birthday your grandfather bought you a new car and we made a date to meet for a drive the following day. But you never turned up. I was heartbroken but later found out you had discovered I was engaged to someone else, which had broken your heart.
As I seemed unavailable, you had no option but to look elsewhere. A dashing corporal in the Canadian Air Force swept you off your feet and you married him.
A long period of 35 years with the wrong partners ensued but fate still wasn't on our side because at almost the same time, our spouses died and we both married again.
Decades later, quite by chance, you came across a man with my second name, who turned out to be my son. With the help of your daughter you were able to make contact with me, after a wait of 65 years!
My second wife Margaret had recently suffered a fatal stroke and my grief was understood by you when we met some months later. Gradually we both realised we felt the same love we had retained in our hearts for all those years and went ahead with plans to have a quiet wedding last November.
Our home is full of photographs featuring our separate lives and I can't help feeling pangs of envy when I see you as a beautiful lady, happy in another's arms. But you are finally all mine now and you make me very happy. You are still the elegant lady I have always loved. There's a lot of work needed on our small bungalow and quite soon when finished, it will become the love nest of our dreams. We will spend our limited future together very much in love and although we will always regret the circumstances that kept us apart in 1956, we are happy together for ever.
It's been nearly eight years since I wrote. I still have your response, telling me my marriage was offensive. Daily I forgive you for the hurt when you rejected my Mark, the day you found out he was black. No-one but Mark and my best friend fully understand how painful it was and still is.
I choose not to see you to protect myself and my family.
But I recently lost someone. A reminder that time is short and there are things I have to say.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Sarah hasn’t spoken to her granddad since her marriage to Mark, who is black
Mark says the thing he loves most about me is that I always see the good in people. I always seek the other perspective. What's made you so angry Granddad? What's made you so hateful of black, Asian or anyone who doesn't conform to your standards that you were prepared to sacrifice me? Did I not matter more than your racism?
I like to think you were brought up in a time when men weren't allowed to show their emotions. That the hard and angry exterior hides a deeply sensitive soul. I glimpsed yours the day you told me about meeting Grandma. This beautiful woman with sparkling blue eyes walking down the street. You fell in love.
I don't believe, as others do, in a Hollywood ending. I don't believe that if I turned up at your door with my darling family you'd welcome us as if nothing had happened.
Let me tell you about my tan-skinned children you were so afraid of.
These stories are taken from BBC Radio 5 Live's Love Season, which runs from 14-28 February
There are many times I've watched my beautiful, sensitive Daniel playing with his trains, fascinated by engines or taking comfort in the rolling of a toy car and thought of you. My extraordinary boy who could have shared your passion for model trains and methodical construction.
And little Anna who is all emotion and love and - apparently - so like me.
I tell my son people come into our lives for a reason. Sometimes briefly but always for a reason. I think of the times you were my Granddad. The smell of your bungalow when we visited. How you were always waiting at the door as we arrived. You loved birds (and therefore hated cats) and those rescue dogs no-one else loved.
I love you for those memories.
I can't be angry with you because you are in those memories.
There are days I find it hard to believe it's not my fault. I simply fell in love with this amazing man - just as you fell in love with Grandma.
I believe your anger hides a hurting soul. So I'll take your anger and send you love.
I'm sitting here with my Mum talking about wedding stuff like a fairy tale story and looking at the photo album.
In this one, it makes me feel a bit scared, my eyes, my face and my hands... I really was scared. Excited and scared to begin with. Oh my goodness Dad, I'm going to get married!
Joe, you were already there in the marquee waiting for me. When I was waiting to come down the red carpet, I felt a bit tearful listening to my favourite song... When You Wish Upon a Star.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Polly Gibson retells the story of her wedding day to husband Joe Minogue
I walked down the aisle with my Dad, he brought me to you Joe. I never felt this way before our wedding day. Everyone stood up and clapped, it made me happy. Joe, you came up to me from the unicorn throne, you gave me a little kiss on the cheek and put your hands around my waist, it felt really ticklish. You looked like a dream husband looking all grown up in your lovely blue suit. I loved touching the pink rose on your jacket because I love the colour pink.
The unicorn throne was like a fairytale fantasy film. It was fun to sit on it especially when we did our legs kicks to I do, I do, I do.
Now we're looking at the photo of us dancing to Come What May. Joe, did you like my lovely dress? Colourful, big giant pattern like a leaf and a spinny swishy shape. Oh my gosh, my garter slipped down and I kicked if off away and Dad picked it up and put it in his top pocket... It made me laugh!
When Vivienne said: "You're husband and wife, you may kiss now," we both threw our arms around each other and we kissed on the lips. It felt like love's dream. The best thing in the whole wide world.
Once we were married, we're wife and husband with our rings on, everyone's throwing confetti - I'm surrounded in confetti and it's down my top... too much confetti! We look too happy. Holding my bouquet with everyone smiling and cheering.
I like the photos just of us that Leela took in the garden. I like the way you held my hand. I like the way you've put your arms all round my back. You feel like a really strong person and I want to spend my life being with you. All times. I just love the kissing photo.
Joe, it was so much fun at the party. I love the way I spun round with the singing waiters. I liked the pink and blue balloons and the bunting. Our friends and family found it really good fun.
We are going to be happy ever after.
Lots and lots of love from your Polly
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Hina overcame her views on arranged marriage after meeting her (now) husband Kam (Picture: Khawer Riaz)
Before I met you, love hadn't been all it was cracked up to be. Life had knocked me down, then just as I picked myself up, it tripped me at a bend. It was a phone call that revealed all. I discovered my ex was involved with someone else. So that perfect wedding hadn't turned into the marriage I'd expected to have.
And I became lonely. So lonely that loneliness became a thing. It sat with me at work and followed me home at the end of each day. I'd speak to the birds when no one could see, and stare at the bark of twisted old trees. And all the friends in the world couldn't fill the void it formed in me.
Each day I'd walk about, waiting for that lightning strike. An electric shock. Love at first sight. Hoping it would happen to me, perhaps even while shopping at the local Sainsbury's.
But nothing. I realised then that stars aren't obliged to align to make our dreams come true.
And so, on holiday with mum to see my gran in Pakistan, I caved. Mustering all my courage, I challenged my views on arranged marriage and agreed to marry you. This man I hardly knew. It wasn't love at first sight, but your kind eyes and that smile really drew me in. I ditched my search for lightning bolts and now I can see it was the best decision I would ever make.
One year in we were told we couldn't have a baby. Had we considered a pet instead, asked that grey-faced doctor in London? You took me in your arms and, with heartbroken eyes, said it would be ok. That it didn't matter if it wasn't meant to be.
When I was hurt by those closest to me, it was you that made me see straight. You showed me that I already had all the love I could ever need.
We've had joy-filled times when we've danced the jive right in the middle of our living room: the news I was pregnant, the birth of our sons and an amazing book deal with my publishers.
Then last year, I faced the toughest test of all. My dear mum passed with me at her side after weeks in the intensive care unit. Each day and night, you held me tight, tears from your eyes mingling with mine.
So what I'm trying to say to you, is that it may not be a flash of lightning, a six-pack or stubble that makes for perfect chemistry. Love can grow another way. Stars are not obliged to align to make our dreams come true. Except sometimes they do.
And if anyone tells me I'm wrong, I'll tell them they really ought to meet my Kam.
Hina Belitz is the author of Set Me Free
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38908121
|
Bournemouth 0-2 Manchester City - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
Manchester City move up to second in the Premier League with a hard-fought victory over Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester City moved up to second in the Premier League with a hard-fought victory over Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium.
Having started on the bench again, City striker Sergio Aguero appeared after just 14 minutes following an injury to Gabriel Jesus.
But it was Raheem Sterling who grabbed the opener from close range on the half-hour mark, having been denied by a brilliant Artur Boruc save two minutes before.
The hosts thought they had replied immediately, but Joshua King's strike was ruled out after he was adjudged to have pulled John Stones' shirt in the build-up.
Harry Arter's curling shot stretched City goalkeeper Willy Caballero into a fine save, before Tyrone Mings put City's second into his own net under pressure from Aguero.
Leroy Sane rattled the bar late on, as City extended their unbeaten run to five games in all competitions.
Pep Guardiola's side jumped three places in the table to emerge as Chelsea's closest challengers, eight points behind the leaders, who dropped points at Burnley on Sunday.
City face at Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 5 April. They will take inspiration from their title-winning team of 2011-12 when they clawed back the same deficit on rivals Manchester United - on that occasion with just six games remaining.
This time they have 13 games in which to do it as former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola looks to win a top-flight domestic title for the seventh time in the past eight seasons.
The Spaniard's pacy wingers were the difference on this occasion, as Sane's fleet-footedness set up Sterling for his sixth league goal of the season, before the England forward showed superb trickery to beat a defender and force Mings into a costly mistake, after pressure from Aguero.
The Argentine, who failed to start for the third consecutive game, was sent on after Jesus turned his ankle in the opening minutes.
Analysis - 'The gap is too big'
"I don't think City can catch Chelsea. It's too big a gap with Chelsea performing as they have done, but it was a comfortable performance - they are brilliant going forward.
"I thought John Stones was outstanding and David Silva majestic. Since being thrashed 4-0 by Everton in January they have responded superbly. Things are coming together for City at the right time."
Eddie Howe's men have big problems. They have not won a game in 2017, extending their winless run in all competitions to seven games.
Their main worry is in defence, having conceded at least two goals in each of their last 10 games, yet at the other end they tested Caballero just once in this game.
To make matters worse, the Cherries have picked up just one win from their last nine games and had midfielder Jack Wilshere and defender Simon Francis go off injured in the first half.
In their second ever season in the top-flight, Bournemouth are 14th in the table, six points above the relegation zone. With Swansea and Hull showing improvement, the south coast side could get dragged into a fight for survival should their poor form continue.
'The right result with a thousand million passes'
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe: "City were very good. For an away team that was a very controlled performance. Our lads gave absolutely everything, I can't ask any more of them.
"We need to get our bounce back - that's only going to come from a win, but I think today was a positive step."
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, speaking to BBC Sport: "We made a real performance. I am so pleased with how we did and especially the last 10-15 minutes, we did the right way to make the result with a thousand million passes. It is important to score goals, we are in deficit but it is OK."
Manchester City travel to Huddersfield in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 GMT), while Bournemouth do not play again until 25 February when they go to West Brom (kick-off 15:00 GMT).
• None Raheem Sterling has scored five Premier League goals against Bournemouth, the most he has against a single opponent.
• None Sterling has equalled his Premier League goal tally from last season for City (six in 23 this season compared to six in 31 last season).
• None Sterling has won 24 of 25 Premier League games in which he has scored, only losing against West Ham in September 2014.
• None Pep Guardiola has won all six league games he has managed on a Monday, with an aggregate score of 20-1.
• None By contrast, Bournemouth have lost all four of their Premier League games contested on a Monday, without scoring a single goal.
• None Bournemouth have lost all four of their Premier League games against City, scoring once and conceding 15 goals.
• None The Cherries took until the 67th minute to register their first shot on target in the game.
• None Only Leicester (one) have collected fewer Premier League points in 2017 than Bournemouth (two).
• None Attempt missed. Leroy Sané (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne with a through ball.
• None Offside, Manchester City. Nolito tries a through ball, but David Silva is caught offside.
• None Offside, Manchester City. Aleksandar Kolarov tries a through ball, but David Silva is caught offside.
• None Attempt saved. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Fernandinho.
• None Leroy Sané (Manchester City) hits the bar with a left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left.
• None Attempt missed. Fernandinho (Manchester City) header from the right side of the six yard box is too high. Assisted by David Silva with a cross following a set piece situation. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38876924
|
George Ford: Leicester Tigers re-sign England fly-half, Freddie Burns joins Bath - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
Leicester Tigers re-sign Bath's England fly-half George Ford for the start of next season, with Freddie Burns moving the other way.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Leicester Tigers have re-signed Bath's England fly-half George Ford for the start of next season, with Freddie Burns moving in the opposite direction.
Ford, 23, was contracted to Bath until the end of next season, but Tigers have paid a record fee between two English clubs to buy him out of his deal.
Ford emerged through Leicester's academy but left to join Bath in 2013.
Fellow fly-half Burns, 26, joined the Tigers from Gloucester in 2014 after starting his career with Bath.
• None Get Six Nations alerts direct to your phone
Ford made his Leicester debut as a 16-year-old in November 2009, winning the Premiership and the Anglo-Welsh Cup before his switch to Bath, where he played in the European Challenge Cup final in 2014 and the Premiership final in 2015.
He won his 32nd England cap in the Six Nations win over Wales last weekend.
"This hasn't been an easy decision for me to make, but I feel it is the best one for me at this time," said Ford, who initially moved to the Rec when his father Mike - now head coach of Top 14 side Toulon - was on the coaching staff.
"I've really enjoyed my time at Bath and have worked with some incredible players and coaches."
Tigers head coach Aaron Mauger told his club's website: "George has become one of the leading players in his position in Europe and is still a young man with a lot of rugby ahead him.
"While delighted to be able to bring in George, we are disappointed to lose Freddie who has been an outstanding player for us in the last three years."
Burns first emerged as an England international during his five years at Gloucester, making his debut at Twickenham against New Zealand in 2012.
He won the last of his five England caps against the All Blacks in June 2014, and said he was delighted to return to Bath.
"The opportunity for me to represent my hometown club is one I have dreamt of from the day I started playing rugby," he told Bath's website.
Bath's director of rugby Todd Blackadder said: "We are really excited to be working with Freddie next season.
"He is a fantastic player, who has really developed into an all-encompassing fly-half in the last couple of years and I'm looking forward to seeing that fit into our game here.
"We are naturally disappointed that George has decided to leave. He is a great player and I have enjoyed working with him."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38923684
|
'Conned trying to get my children back' - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A mother paid thousands of pounds to a man who said he could win her child custody battle.
|
UK
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Two parents fighting legal battles for custody of their children paid thousands of pounds to a company providing "McKenzie friends" - people with no legal training who assist in court. But they were badly let down.
Rupinder Randhawa had been feeling "very low" after her solicitor told her it was hopeless to pursue a court battle for custody of her children.
The mother-of-four had wanted to fight the adoption of her youngest two children, instigated by social services.
"I was not in a great space," she told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, "but I was still willing to fight for my children."
Then, she came across David Bright, who ran The Parent's Voice London, a service that provided McKenzie friends.
Bright told Ms Randhawa he had "never lost a case" and charged her £480 a month, plus additional one-off charges, to work on her case as a McKenzie friend.
She subsequently lost her case and is no longer fighting the adoption of her children.
After this, Bright asked Ms Randhawa for an additional £6,000 to pay for a book to be published about her case, which he said would help her win her children back.
She paid him, but no book was ever published.
"I felt like I'd been conned," she said. "I felt my whole world came crashing around me, because there was no hope in getting my children back."
Bright was a director of The Parents' Voice, and both he and fellow director Claire Mann were jailed last year for perverting the course of justice in a case separate to Ms Randhawa's.
Bright denies any wrongdoing, and says he and The Parents' Voice "helped hundreds of families".
Claire Mann and David Bright acted as directors for The Parents' Voice
When families break up and there is a dispute over the custody of children it can end up in the family court.
But since changes to legal aid in 2013, it is more difficult for parents to get funding to help with their costs in these cases - which is why some are turning to McKenzie friends as a cheaper alternative.
There is presently no regulation of these services.
Stephen - not his real name - came across the The Parents' Voice after his marriage broke down and his ex-wife took custody of their children.
He said Bright initially "just sang to my ears".
"He told me exactly what I wanted to hear," Stephen said.
"He asked me if I wanted custody. He asked me how much I wanted to see the kids."
But, he said, Bright took more than £12,000 from him, by charging him twice and for work he did not do.
Richard Miller is concerned that some McKenzie friends advertise themselves as lawyers
Both Stephen and Ms Randhawa won county court judgements against David Bright and The Parents' Voice, for more than £10,000 each for work that was not carried out.
There have also been several other successful claims against the company.
Jenny Lewington worked for The Parents' Voice as a McKenzie friend before stopping in a dispute over payment.
She was also disturbed by some of David Bright's working practices.
"I'd gone to the hearing with a mother who was trying to appeal an adoption and [David Bright] had submitted the wrong form to apply for the appeal," she said.
Mrs Lewington said he had then told her he "did it to try and delay matters".
Ultimately the mother lost her case, and Mrs Lewington felt The Parents' Voice had given her false hope that she could win.
Senior judges have been considering making changes to the way paid-for McKenzie friends operate.
Among proposals in a consultation last year was the introduction of a code of practice.
The Law Society, which represents solicitors, has called for a ban on McKenzie friends being able to recover costs in court cases, to underline the fact that they are different to solicitors or barristers.
Richard Miller, from the Law Society, said: "One of our concerns about the rise in paid-for McKenzie friends is that a lot of these people are effectively acting as lawyers and advertising themselves as lawyers.
"But they do not have legal training and legal qualifications, and they do not have the duties to the court that a qualified lawyer does."
The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38912378
|
French Vogue gets first transgender cover star - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Model Valentina Sampaio is going to be French Vogue's first transgender cover star.
|
Newsbeat
|
Vogue Paris is going to feature a transgender model on its cover for the first time next month.
Brazilian Valentina Sampaio has more than 32,000 followers on Instagram.
Editor Emmanuelle Alt says she has "beauty striking enough to stun on the cover of Vogue".
The French fashion magazine has been running since 1920, with previous cover stars including Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Kate Moss.
In her editorial column for next month's issue, Emmanuelle Alt goes on to say the transgender model is the "absolute equal" of other iconic women in fashion.
"Apart from one small detail, Valentina, the femme fatale, was born a boy," she adds.
"It's a detail one would prefer not to have to mention... but Valentina is on the cover of Vogue this month, not just for her looks or her sparkling personality, but because despite herself she embodies an age-old arduous struggle to be recognized and not to be perceived as something Other."
Although this is a first for French Vogue, other magazines have had trans cover stars before.
Valentina Sampaio was on the front Elle in her home country of Brazil last October, while fellow trans model Hari Nef has featured in the UK edition of Elle.
But Emmanuelle Alt says it's something her magazine is now proud to be part of.
"Trans people, the ultimate symbol of a rejection of conformity, are icons that Vogue supports and chooses to celebrate," she says.
"But only when a transgendered person poses on the front cover of a fashion magazine and it is no longer necessary to write an editorial on the subject will we know that the battle is won."
Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/38965846
|
Iranian Oscar contender to screen in Trafalgar Square before ceremony - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An Iranian Oscar hopeful impacted by President Trump's travel ban is to have an open-air premiere.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti play a couple at odds in The Salesman
An Iranian Oscar contender affected by President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban is to have an open-air London premiere just hours before the ceremony.
The Salesman, up for the best foreign language film award, will be screened in Trafalgar Square on 26 February.
Its director has said he will not go to the Oscars due to President Trump's attempts to bar people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.
It is not yet known if Asghar Farhadi will attend the event in London.
The director - whose earlier work A Separation won the foreign film Oscar in 2012 - said the free screening had "a great symbolic value".
Farhadi won a prize for his screenplay at last year's Cannes Film Festival
"The gathering of the audience around The Salesman in this famous London square is a symbol of unity against the division and separation of people," he said.
The afternoon event will include a programme of readings and speeches from actors and directors, including Mike Leigh.
The Salesman, which opens in the UK on 17 March, tells of a couple whose relationship suffers as they rehearse an amateur production Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.
Last month the organisers of the Oscars said they found it "extremely troubling" that Farhadi could be barred from entering the US.
In a statement, the director said he would not attend the Academy Awards even if he were offered dispensation by the US government.
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.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38968873
|
The boy who watched IS beheading videos - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The nine-year-old put through the Prevent scheme after viewing violent websites .
|
UK
|
Haaruun says he would visit the violent websites at the weekend when everyone was outside playing
What leads a young child to stand up in front of his class and tell his school friends that he agrees with the aims and objectives of the so-called Islamic State?
Matthew Price met one of the youngsters identified through the government's controversial Prevent programme as being at risk from radicalisation.
The boy is now 10 years old. He is small, with a round face and engaged eyes. You can tell he is intelligent because he asks questions - lots of them. It is that curiosity that got him into trouble in the first place.
These days he will not repeat the exact words he used just over a year ago in his primary school classroom in west London.
What we are told, however, is that he stood up in front of his class and declared his support for the so-called Islamic State.
It was a declaration that set in motion a series of interventions from his teachers, children's services and the government's Prevent team which has been set up to de-radicalise at-risk individuals.
Haaruun started researching IS after the Paris attacks
For obvious reasons we are not revealing the identity of this boy, but let's call him Haaruun. He lives in London, with his mother and several brothers and sisters, and was nine years old when his journey began.
"I saw on the news the Paris attacks," he says. "As soon as that happened I was on the computer.
"I searched up ISIS on Google and it came up to BBC News. I saw that. Then I went down and it went to Channel 4 'Children of the Caliphate' and I was shocked. Then I watched other sites."
It was those other sites that really exposed Haaruun to the brutality of IS and left him - his case worker believes - vulnerable to radicalisation.
"It led me to this one that had brutal executions and them burning people. It just showed them lighting them on fire. The people chained up, lighting them on fire and then they burned them."
There is no emotion as Haaruun describes another video.
"The men were walking with their hands behind their back," he recalls. "Then they were hit and told to sit down."
He doesn't pause as he delivers the next sentence: "Then they cut their heads off."
There is no typical case that lands on the desks of Prevent teams across the country.
They work with children - some as young as Haaruun, others are teenagers - and they work with adults.
Since 2012, Prevent has dealt with more than 1,000 cases. Many involve Islamist radicalisation and in the last year, around a quarter of referrals were because of concerns about far-right extremism.
It was a far-right website seeking to denigrate Islam which Haaruun had come across and where he was looking at the brutal IS videos.
"It would be on a weekend, like 'cos everyone was going outside and playing. So when they were all gone and the house was empty, I would go and sit freely in the living room and search up."
Siddhartha Dhar, also known as Abu Rumaysah, was suspected of being the man behind some of the IS videos of which Haaruun became aware
He was not the only one at school who was interested.
"They'll be kids fighting - like some kids are saying 'Ah, Hezbollah are stronger than ISIS'."
Haaruun says a lot of children in his school know about IS because so many have family backgrounds in the Middle East.
"There was a group of eight children which were always speaking about it. They were searching it up - even in the classroom.
"When we were doing some research, a boy searched up ISIS and he went on the video. I said 'close the tab' and the teacher came and he heard something and he said 'What was that' - and they all said 'Nothing'.
"I knew what I was looking at was bad, but then it wasn't only me that was doing it. It was unfair. Other people got away with it."
Behind the scenes, unknown to the school, and discovered only by the woman from Prevent who ended up working his case, Haaruun was being bullied.
He does not talk about it much now. Yet some of the children, he says - both Muslim and non-Muslim - labelled him a "terrorist".
The bullying seems to have played a significant factor in isolating Haaruun and in fuelling his interest in IS. Gradually he became an expert in the group and could name its leadership structure.
It was all information that led to that day when he stood up in class and declared his sympathy for IS. And that led a woman called Mariam to his home.
"My mum just said to me one day, 'There's someone coming to the house'. I heard Mariam come in. I was scared and Mariam said the reason she was here and I thought I was going to go to prison."
Mariam - she prefers we do not use her surname because of her continuing work for Prevent's Kensington and Chelsea team - says it took time to gain Haaruun's trust.
"It took quite a few meetings before he was opening up and talking about all the things he watched," she says.
There followed almost a year of work between the two. Haaruun would take Mariam to the websites he accessed and they would discuss the videos.
Mariam warns that vulnerable people could become radicalised through chatrooms
She used a social work tool in which Haaruun was asked to list things that made him happy, others that he was interested in and things that were scary.
Under happy he put "peace" and "family" and "Islam" and under interesting went "war".
"ISIS" went under scary. So too did "school" - and that is what alerted Mariam to the bullying.
Haaruun's mother had tried to deal with the problem, but he had found a way of seeing the material he wanted to see. "She couldn't keep up with the questions," Mariam says.
Today, she does not have to. Prevent have ended their work with Haaruun and if he has learned one thing, he says, it's "not to go on bad things - bad sites".
"Mariam told me the repercussions of it and the impact of how it's not good. Like if you keep on watching it you'll be brainwashed and then you or someone will join ISIS and they will be in trouble and you'll go to prison," he says, still matter-of-fact.
But could that genuinely have happened to Haaruun?
"We're not suggesting he would become a terrorist," says Mariam. "What we are saying is he was vulnerable.
"(He could have gone) on to a chatroom and spoken to someone who's there to radicalise him. Could he have said something out on the street and then someone's walking by who's got an interest and attempts to radicalise him?
"He is a vulnerable young man who's seeing things, forming opinions. How that would have developed without Prevent, we can't predict that.
"We're not saying he's going to take a bomb and blow anyone up. But it's about minimising those risks."
Haaruun is still the engaged, interested little boy he always was.
Mariam and the team have given him access to what they call "safe spaces" in which to learn. People from his community, the school and other activities all help him explore the wider world, but now in a safe way.
He says he wants to be a lawyer or an accountant. There is a pause and he adds, with a shy smile, "or a journalist".
Hear Matthew Price's report on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday morning or on iPlayer afterwards.
• None What is Prevent- - Lets Talk About It The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38959615
|
Birmingham man makes videos to sign pop lyrics for deaf people - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
| null |
Online videos feature man signing pop music lyrics for those who have never heard them.
| null |
A man is using sign language to share pop music with deaf people.
Wayne Barrow, from Birmingham, whose parents are profoundly deaf, makes online videos in which he signs lyrics.
He said he learned to sign before he learned English and has called for signing to be taught in schools.
The videos, which are posted to Facebook and YouTube, have, according to Mr Barrow, helped his mother understand music.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-38971644
|
Welsh Open 2017: Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby make second round - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and world number one Mark Selby progress to the second round of the Welsh Open.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Coverage: Live television coverage on BBC Two Wales, BBC Red Button and online
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and world number one Mark Selby both progressed to the second round of the Welsh Open on Tuesday.
O'Sullivan, 41, chasing a fifth Welsh Open title, recovered from going a frame down to beat Tom Ford 4-1 and set up a meeting with Mark Davis.
Fellow Englishman Selby, 33, did not drop a frame as he beat Liam Highfield.
• None View the scores and schedule of play from the 2017 Welsh Open.
There was another surprise exit as China's world number five Ding Junhui was knocked out in the first round in a 4-2 loss to Finland's Robin Hull.
World number four Judd Trump eased through 4-1 against Andrew Higginson, while Scottish Open champion Marco Fu beat Martin Gould 4-2.
Fifteen-year-old Welsh schoolboy Jackson Page is back in action on Wednesday, when he faces John Astley in the second round.
The teenage wildcard entry eliminated world number 123 Jason Weston in the first round of his debut professional tournament on Monday.
Find out how to get into snooker, pool and billiards with our fully inclusive guide.
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/38973253
|
Fed Cup: Great Britain to face Romania on clay in Constanta - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
Great Britain will take on Romania in April's Fed Cup World Group II play-offs, looking to reach the second tier for the first time since 1993.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Great Britain will travel to the Black Sea city of Constanta for their Fed Cup World Group II play-off against Romania.
The home city of Romanian number one Simona Halep will host the tie on outdoor clay on 22-23 April.
Britain are looking to return to the elite level of the competition for the first time since 1993, but will go into the tie as heavy underdogs.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
Halep, the world number four, has already said she will play in the tie.
Romania have four other players in the top 100.
GB captain Anne Keothavong's team kept their promotion hopes alive last month with a 2-1 win over Croatia. and while she will hope to call on Johanna Konta, the world number 11 is not at her best on clay.
British number two Heather Watson is currently ranked 108 but has a strong Fed Cup record with 25 wins and only seven losses.
It is the third time Britain have reached the World Group II play-offs in the past six years, with the team then captained by Judy Murray losing to Sweden and Argentina in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38966581
|
Lance Armstrong: Banned cyclist fails to block £79m US government lawsuit - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
Banned cyclist Lance Armstrong loses his bid to block a $100m (£79m) lawsuit by the US government in relation to doping.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Cycling
Banned cyclist Lance Armstrong has lost his bid to block a $100m (£79m) lawsuit by the US government.
The suit alleges that Armstrong defrauded the government by cheating while riding for the publicly funded US Postal Service team.
It was filed by Armstrong's former team-mate Floyd Landis before being joined by the government in 2013.
A federal judge refused to block the lawsuit on Monday, which clears the way for the case to go to trial.
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life in August 2012.
The 45-year-old won the seven titles between 1999 and 2005. The US Postal Service sponsored the team between 1996 and 2004.
Armstrong admitted to using drugs in all seven of his Tour wins in January 2013 while Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for failing a doping test.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/38964396
|
The Netherlands' populist moment? - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Assessing the national mood as the Netherlands prepares to go to the polls
|
Europe
|
I ask the Dutch ruling party's Europe spokesman what the election next month is about. "Identity," he replies without hesitation.
I try to ask his leader, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, about their strategy.
Near the Dutch Parliament in The Hague, a small crowd gathers in the snow and begins a countdown for Mr Rutte. "Tien, negen, acht" - ten, nine, eight - they chant before he unveils the statue of Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, a 19th-Century statesman, hero to Rutte's Liberal party, the VVD.
The rather delightful mixture of old-fashioned marble for the statesman himself and burnished steel, portraying his modern equivalent, complete with a woman in a short skirt perched on his desk, is the work of Tom Pucke, an English sculptor who's lived here for 20 years.
He tells me his Thorbecke gazes into the future with worry. "You see in his face a sort of concern, in his expression, maybe he's concerned about the way things are going."
The prime minister may well feel the same. Another countdown is well under way, to the election on 15 March, and Mr Rutte is becoming decidedly less liberal in reaction to the man leading the opinion polls.
Long before there was Donald Trump, another populist politician with an exotic hairstyle was already making waves. Platinum blonde Geert Wilders was once banned from Britain.
Now he's on course, according to most polls, to head the largest group of MPs in the Dutch Parliament. He wants to ban the Koran and close the country's Mosques.
So one slogan you won't find Mr Rutte using is "It's the economy, stupid."
Dutch PM Mark Rutte says immigrants who "refuse to adapt" should "behave normally or leave"
He has devised a plan to ensure he isn't the first continental leader to drown in the new populist tide, joining Hillary Clinton and David Cameron bobbing in the waves. He has issued a very hard-line open letter.
It begins "there is something wrong with our country." He continues to appeal to "the silent majority," saying Dutch freedoms have been abused, women in short skirts and gay people have been abused. He tells those immigrants who he says "refuse to adapt" to "behave normally or leave."
When I try to talk to him at the unveiling his spokeswoman butts in: "This is not the moment."
So I asked his party's Europe spokesman MP, Anne Mulder, what the election is about.
"Identity," he replies. "What makes the Netherlands the Netherlands. I think it is globalisation, people travelling all around the world, people losing their jobs, so that's why people need some security.
"People are looking for identity, our shared feelings, acting normal. It is not only Islam, but if people leave their wife at home, if there's not equality between men and women...."
I say some people might think this was dancing to Geert Wilders' tune. "Some people might say so," he answers, expressionless.
So has his party been pushed to the right ? He hesitates. "We have been having discussions in the party. Ten years ago I start in this city council - telling people, "Act normal."
Wilders will launch his campaign next week in Spijkenisse, a suburb on the end of the Rotterdam tube line.
So I go to the community centre there. A group of women are executing a rather slow line dance to gently exercise the limbs. Keeping moving is on their minds, not the election. But when I mention politics, just one name is on all their lips.
"I am going to vote for Wilders. He's direct. Straight. We shouldn't take in so many people with the Islamic religion."
As they dance to a tune about a beautiful lady from South Texas, some of the views are very similar to those I've heard in the States recently. "I think we have to close the borders and have less foreigners. People here are getting poorer, kids going without breakfast, no clothes."
There's a paradox too - Wilders is valued for speaking out - but not all supporters want him to lead their country. "He dares to say things as they are, about the foreigners. They are not good to women, there's the crime, all the murders, they rob shops with guns.
"Even though I'm voting for him, he can't be prime minister. But we need him to show the truth about Holland."
Marianne Vorthoren from Spior, Rotterdam's Islamic umbrella organisation, says the atmosphere has changed.
"Many Muslims feel 'are we still part of this society?' It's not just that some people say these things, [like calling for a ban on the Koran] but that about 20% of the voters support this. That is shocking. We don't feel safe any more."
I ask her about the prime minister's comments that people should leave if they can't "act normal." Fair enough, surely ?
"Who do you define with 'we' and 'us' and 'our values'? There are lots of groups - some in Parliament, Christian orthodox groups - who don't agree with equal rights for homosexuals. Now we don't say to them 'get out!'"
Despite these concerns, Wilders' party seems likely to do very well in the election.
The diffidence I found in the community centre could play either way. People seem to say that they want Wilders around to speak his mind, but not to become their country's leader.
Both Germany and France will hold major elections in 2017
That might put people off voting for his party or, my guess, suggest that he's a safe protest vote. Unintentionally the political mainstream cements this appeal, by firmly rejecting him as a possible coalition partner.
Wilders has zero chance of becoming prime minister - according to the current prime minister - because the other parties simply won't do a deal with him.
I asked political editor of the right-wing Daily Standard blog Tim Engelbart how that would go down.
"A government would have to be formed with four or five parties. It would be an extremely unstable, unpopular government, featuring all kinds of parties from left to right with very little in common beyond the desire to keep Wilders out.
"It would anger Wilders voters, who are worried about security, their country, and who will be told: 'We're going to ignore you, regardless of the results.' Their faith in the Dutch political system won't improve."
It could be a script from the populist playbook - the people's will rejected, the people's choice excluded by a colluding elite. It would suggest betrayal wasn't a myth but a reality.
A lot hangs on several European elections this year. The vote next month in the Netherlands will be followed by even more critical elections in France and Germany.
But the Netherlands suggests some choices have already been made.
The 'politics of identity' mean many centrist politicians aren't hesitating at the crossroads, contemplatively chewing their fingers. Many who were once happy to occupy the centre lane have forked to the right and are zooming down the autobahn in emulation of their more popular opponents. The question is not the direction of travel - but how far it goes.
In the Netherlands, the revolution of the far-right has been brewing for a long time. We'll find out if they are near to taking power on 16 March. But you needn't wait until then to find out how Wilders has done. In one sense he has already won.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38956740
|
Six Nations 2017: Jeremy Guscott on England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
England will lose at some point, but their win over Wales fed their player's belief in their own invincibility, says Jeremy Guscott.
| null |
Two Test matches of ferocious intensity and one well short of that.
After England and Wales served up a thriller that justified the build-up in Cardiff - capped off with a dramatic late match-winning score from the visitors' Elliot Daly - France out-muscled a spirited Scotland in Paris on Sunday.
Saturday's first fixture - Ireland's 63-10 steam-rollering of Italy - was the sort of confidence-booster that Joe Schmidt's side needed after an opening-weekend defeat by Scotland, but far sterner tests will follow.
With a fortnight's break before the next round, there is plenty to ponder. And it is still all up for grabs.
• None Watch the latest highlights and videos from the Six Nations
• None England have no more get-out-of-jail-free cards - Jones
England are very powerful and confident
England's win over Wales was a very tight game of fine margins, and it was the visitors' perfect execution of the chance they were given to win the match that proved to be the difference.
When Jonathan Davies kicked into the backfield in the last four minutes at the Principality Stadium, England were able to impose themselves enough to create an opportunity and were then clear-headed enough to take it.
This is a very powerful, confident, internally competitive 23-man England squad.
Individually Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes were mammoth in the second row, expending huge amounts of energy. Nathan Hughes racked up some huge numbers, with the most metres gained (75), carries (22) and defenders beaten (three) of any England player.
Elliot Daly showed himself to be a complete footballer. He showed the gas of a winger to round Alex Cuthbert for the crucial score, but he also has the vision of a very good full-back, the touch of a very good fly-half and added to which he can also kick penalties from his own half.
It is powerful thing to be part of a team that has got that winning habit. You are familiar with your team-mates, but training becomes very high level. There is no sympathy for mistakes that slow up the progress of the project and you go onto the field believing that you will find a way to win.
England are going to lose at some point and head coach Eddie Jones is right to say there are only so many times that they are going to come through these tight scrapes - but for the moment that confidence the players have is getting them over the line.
Jones may decide to use the Italy game to try some new starting combinations to see if the replacements can be as influential from the beginning of matches. Dylan Hartley was off the pace to my eye , but in modern rugby so much will depend on the condition of the players.
Compared with the game at Twickenham last year, where Wales made a host of errors and gave England a 16-point lead at half-time, this was a markedly better performance.
Wales could have easily won this year's match and when they play with that amount of energy they are a real threat to the top four in world rugby.
Some people questioned coach Rob Howley's decision to withdraw number eight Ross Moriarty after 52 minutes. The Gloucester man had had a blast up until then, a real physical presence with some immense hits in defence.
But it may have been that that impact was a result of him emptying the tanks in the time he was on the pitch, knowing he was going to be taken off soon after half-time. It is not a given that had he stayed on he would have been able to maintain that pace.
The balance of the Wales back row was good with Moriarty everywhere, blind-side flanker Sam Warburton doing the heavy-duty carrying and tackling and open-side Justin Tipuric fetching, disrupting and supporting in space.
They were more mobile than their England counterparts and were a big part of Wales securing seven turnovers to England's three.
There were a few mistakes and a few opportunities that went begging, but England's pressure and instinctive quality in those split-seconds perhaps forced that. The influence of an opposition as good as England cannot be discounted.
Scotland were not inventive enough
Considering they were outgunned in terms of bulk by an enormous France side, the challenge for Scotland was to manoeuvre their opponents around the pitch enough that they tired them out.
With eight pairs of fresh legs on the bench at French coach Guy Noves' disposal, that was always going to be difficult.
Scotland were capable of doing so, the problem was they could not muster the intensity for long enough periods.
It was not physical intensity they lacked. Instead, they had to be dynamic and inventive, and constantly remould their attacking shape to keep France guessing.
France knew that was going to be Vern Cotter's gameplan and the hosts were motivated enough to deny them space and momentum.
Stuart Hogg and Tim Swinson's tries were well worked, but there were not enough moments where they got around the outside or in behind France.
At times it seemed like Scotland had only 14 players on the field. Apart from their two tries, they rarely wobbled this French side.
France are brittle mentally in pressure situations, but Scotland did not cause them enough anxiety to see if they would crack again.
Scotland could have won the game - but they will not take much solace from that. That has been the story for too many seasons in recent times and they are supposed to have moved on from that.
The losing bonus point was something to take from a very tricky away trip though, especially considering how tight the standings are.
CJ Stander became the first Irishman to score a Six Nations hat-trick in 15 years, but the way he exploited the space and Italy's weak tackling did not reveal anything new.
We already knew from his performances in the autumn that he is a very impressive player who will batter his way through a brick wall with ball in hand.
For me, he is untouchable as the best number six in world rugby.
Ireland's intensity dropped for a 22-minute spell early in the second half between Stander scoring their fifth try and replacement Craig Gilroy crossing for their sixth, but Joe Schmidt's side kicked back with a strong finish.
You have to put this performance in perspective, though.
It was against a side who have spluttered badly over the past three halves of rugby that they have played.
Coach Conor O'Shea and his assistants Mike Catt and Brendan Venter - who were all together at London Irish in the mid 2000s - are trying to change Italy's culture alongside their style of play.
That is a major upheaval and, at the moment, they looked just off the pace.
This is my second-round selection of a Lions XV based on the form shown over the weekend.
• None Get all the latest Six Nations news by adding
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38950156
|
New York Fashion Week: Breast cancer survivors hit the catwalk - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An alternative lingerie show at New York Fashion Week raises funds for charity.
|
US & Canada
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Women who survived breast cancer took over the catwalk at New York Fashion Week in an alternative lingerie show to raise funds for charity.
The AnaOno Intimates show was devised by US designer, and breast cancer survivor, Dana Donofree, and introduced by Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino.
Models with different shapes and stories proudly bared signs of surgery.
Nearly half of the models had metastatic, or advanced, breast cancer, according to Ms Donofree.
All proceeds went to Cancerland, an outreach and advocacy charity in the US.
Warning: This article contains images of partial nudity
"I felt sexy, I felt beautiful, and I was proud," Paige Moore, 24, said after taking part in the show.
Five weeks ago, she had preventative double mastectomy after genetic testing.
"I was like these scars are sexy and awesome, and I am here, I am alive and I feel good. That is all that matters," she said.
In the US and the UK, cancer researchers say one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
Almost half the models in the New York fashion show had battled advanced breast cancer
"It is a very important moment for them [the models] to get out there and experience something like this because breast cancer has taken over their bodies," Ms Donofree told Reuters.
Ms Donofree also had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with the disease, aged 27.
She started designing underwear for others who have undergone breast surgery after realising that traditional garments no longer fitted.
The show took place in lower Manhattan, New York City
Ms Donofree wrote about her story and the inspiration for the show on her website.
"As I slowly rebuilt my own self-esteem and confidence, first by getting a mastectomy tattoo, then by talking to other women about life after acute treatment, and finally trying on my first bra prototype, I wondered why none of this was part of some greater 'What to Expect When You're Expecting a Mastectomy' pamphlet they handed out at your surgeon's office."
"Whether I have nipples or breasts or not, I am a woman," said model Chiaro D'Agostino, a New Jersey teacher and blogger.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38966115
|
Ben Stokes: England need to make people 'fall in love' with Test cricket again - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
England need to make people "fall in love" with Test cricket again, says new vice-captain Ben Stokes.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
England must make people "fall in love" with Test cricket again, says newly appointed vice-captain Ben Stokes.
Yorkshire batsman Joe Root has been named as new Test captain after Alastair Cook resigned after more than four years in charge.
"We need to win but we want to perform in a manner that makes people want to come and watch us," Stokes said.
Root's first Test match as England skipper is against South Africa at Lord's beginning on 7 July.
The 26-year-old has stepped up from vice-captain, with Durham all-rounder Stokes, 25, filling the role as his deputy.
"Test cricket is the pinnacle and we need people to fall in love with it again," added Stokes.
Discussing his elevation to vice-captain, he added: "Everything I do is to win and being vice-captain won't change me as a person or as a player.
"I want to be involved in all aspects of the game, whether it's hitting the winning runs or taking the final wicket. I have always wanted to be in the middle of it.
"Being vice-captain I will have to bring a mental and supportive side too. If I am not involved in the game then I will have to add my tactical input.
"I have been more vocal over the last year but I only speak when I think something needs to be said. I'm not one for cliches.
"Just being vice-captain doesn't give me the right to say whatever I want."
England have lost six of their past eight Tests, the most recent by an innings and 75 runs against India in December as they slipped to a 4-0 series defeat.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38975999
|
West Indies v England: Steven Finn replaces David Willey for one-day series - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-14
| null |
David Willey is ruled out of England's tour of the West Indies through injury and will be replaced by Steven Finn.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, Radio 4 LW, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website.
David Willey has been ruled out of England's tour of the West Indies and will be replaced by Steven Finn.
Yorkshire all-rounder Willey, 26, will be out until April after having surgery on a partially torn shoulder tendon, an injury suffered in India last month.
England will play two one-day matches in Antigua in March, with a third in Barbados, before the teams face each other again in England in the summer.
The West Indies are ninth in the ODI standings, four places below England.
Middlesex seamer Finn, 27, is currently playing for Islamabad United in the T20 Pakistan Super League in the United Arab Emirates.
Willey managed just two overs in England's one-day international win over India on 22 January before a problem with his left shoulder forced him off. The injury also ruled him out of the subsequent Twenty20 series.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38966380
|
Trudeau 'won't lecture Trump on refugees' - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
| null |
US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are quizzed on their opposing views on immigration.
| null |
The Canadian prime minister has said he will not "lecture" the US president over his controversial immigration ban.
Journalists quizzed the two leaders over their opposing stances on refugees, after bilateral talks at the White House.
Asked if he believed President Trump's ban had merit on national security grounds, Justin Trudeau replied: "The last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they choose to govern themselves."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38961633
|
Meet Austria's Vegetable Orchestra - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
| null |
The musicians out to prove it's okay to play with your food.
| null |
Austria's Vegetable Orchestra travels the world making music with carrots, cabbages and red peppers.
Bethany Bell caught up with the musicians at their Vienna workshop to see how they make their musical vegetables.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38963633
|
Reality Check: Is the UK spending 2% of GDP on defence? - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A research body claims the UK spent less than 2% of national income on defence.
|
UK Politics
|
The claim: The UK's spending on defence fell below 2% of GDP in 2016.
Reality Check verdict: Nato has confirmed that its figures for 2016 show the UK is still meeting the 2% target, but won't release the full details until next month. The amount that the IISS claims that defence spending is below 2% of GDP is tiny by the standards of government spending, and may easily be erased by using different exchange rates or definitions of defence spending.
Defence think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) claimed on Tuesday that the UK had dropped below its pledge to spend 2% of GDP on defence, made in the Strategic Defence Review in 2015.
GDP is what you get when you add up all the goods and services produced in an economy. In the UK in 2016 it was about £1.87 trillion.
The IISS said that as a result of UK GDP being higher than expected, the UK had actually only spent 1.98% of GDP on defence in 2016.
The Ministry of Defence says that the IISS figures are wrong. It pointed to Nato figures saying that the UK spent 2.21% of GDP on defence last year.
That figure is based on analysis from Nato, which was published last July, meaning they were based on forecasts for both GDP and spending.
But Nato later said that it had looked at the final numbers for 2016 and could confirm that the UK was still meeting the 2% target, but it would not be releasing the full figures until next month.
The alliance said that the UK, US, Poland, Greece and Estonia met the target last year.
As this is a Nato target, it is Nato's methodology that is important. Before making the calculation, Nato converts both defence spending and GDP into US dollars at 2010 exchange rates and prices.
There are disagreements about what should and what should not count as military spending - whether pensions paid to soldiers' widows count, for example.
IISS has calculated the figure slightly differently. It gets to a figure of £38.3bn for UK defence spending in 2016 .
If you divide that by the ONS figure for GDP you get 2.05%, but that's not what the IISS has done. Because it is trying to make comparisons between different countries, it has converted all the figures into US dollars, using International Monetary Fund exchange rates and also used IMF GDP figures.
When you do that, you get to 1.98%.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38971624
|
Co-op Bank running out of options - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Determining the right price for Co-op Bank will be hard, as the amount of capital any buyer needs to sink in is far from clear.
|
Business
|
After a near death experience in 2013 when Co-op Bank nearly went bust, it has been limping along ever since.
It was kept alive back then when lenders wrote off their debts in return for a stake in the bank, in a so-called debt for equity swap, but it has been unable to earn itself back to health.
It had been operating without the recommended shock absorbing capital for some time, the Bank of England told the BBC last week. This morning, the Bank welcomed Co-op bank's announcement.
When a bank has too little capital it only has three realistic options.
The first is to earn your way out of trouble. Retain any earnings you make to bolster the rainy-day kitty. In this super-low interest rate environment we have seen since 2008, all banks have found it very difficult to make a margin between what they pay their borrowers and charge their lenders.
In fact, this year the Co-op is expected to make a loss - after any earnings have been more than offset by the costs of sorting out old problems.
The second is to get your owners to put in extra money. Those owners include the Co-op Group who own 20%, a group of former lenders, plus a few hedge funds.
Although Co-op Group has not ruled out putting in extra money, it's a questionable use of funds for all of them, given that the bank is finding it hard to make a return for that investment for the reasons mentioned in option one.
The third is to find someone else well placed to add four million customers to an existing business - one which is not so bedevilled by legacy issues and might be able to find some economies of scale.
This list is not a long one but one name does suggest itself. The TSB, which was carved out of Lloyds to satisfy competition concerns over the scale of the Lloyds/HBOS merger.
With 600 branches, it lacks the scale to compete against the Big Five and it has a very strong capital position with no legacy issues.
Whether the bank would want to take on the problems of Co-op is questionable but it terms of brand (both have a local and ethical flavour to them) it might work.
The TSB is currently focused on completing a complicated IT separation from Lloyds, but the BBC understands that at the right price it might consider it,
Determining the right price will be hard as the amount of capital any buyer needs to sink into the Co-op is very far from clear.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38954097
|
Council apology over trees planted on football pitch - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A council apologises after trees are planted on a football pitch, sparking social media reaction.
|
NE Scotland, Orkney & Shetland
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The trees were planted on the pitch at Logie Durno
A council has apologised after trees were planted on a football pitch.
The trees appeared at the pitch at Logie Durno in Aberdeenshire, sparking social media reaction.
Aberdeenshire Council was contacted, and the local authority said the intention was to turn over part of the area for "biodiversity" - but talks would now be held with the community.
A spokeswoman said: "It would seem that we were barking up the wrong tree with plans for this site."
The spokeswoman said of the site: "Anecdotally it was rarely used. However it is clear now that the community were not engaged with this plan.
"As such, we are going back to first principles with them so they can help us decide what this area should be used for.
"There are full pitches immediately next to this area for community leisure use and the trees will remain on this site until we can come to an agreement with residents.
"We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused."
On social media, people had been quick to poke fun at the situation.
One person wrote: "Are they playing tree a side?"
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-38955586
|
Cybersecurity: Queen opens centre to protect against attacks - BBC News
|
2017-02-14
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The Queen is shown how hackers could target power supplies as she opens a centre to see off cyber attacks.
|
UK
|
The Queen was shown how hackers could target the UK's electricity supply as she opened a centre to protect the nation from cyber attacks.
The National Cyber Security Centre - part of intelligence agency GCHQ - started work in October as part of a £1.9bn five-year strategy.
Staff in Victoria, central London, will be joined by experts from the private sector to help identify threats.
NCSC chief Ciaran Martin said: "We want to make the UK the hardest target".
The secondments to the centre by 100 private sector employees will be funded by their own companies.
Announcing the initiative, Chancellor Philip Hammond said the "best and the brightest in industry" will help "test and to challenge the government's thinking" in cyber security.
He added: "Government cannot protect business and the general public from the risks of cyber-attack on its own. It has to be a team effort. It is only in this way that we can stay one step ahead of the scale and pace of the threat that we face."
There were 188 cyber attacks classed by the NCSC as Category Two or Three during the last three months.
And even though the UK has not experienced a Category One attack - the highest level, an example of which would have been the theft of confidential details of millions of Americans from the Office of Personnel Management - there is no air of complacency at the NCSC's new headquarters.
Ciaran Martin, the centre's chief executive, told the BBC: "We have had significant losses of personal data, significant intrusions by hostile state actors, significant reconnaissance against critical national infrastructure - and our job is to make sure we deal with it in the most effective way possible."
As well as protecting against and responding to high-end attacks on government and business, the NCSC also aims to protect the economy and wider society.
The UK is one of the most digitally dependent economies, with the digital sector estimated to be worth over £118bn per year - which means the country has much to lose.
It is not just a crippling cyber-attack on infrastructure that could turn out the lights which worries officials, but also a loss of confidence in the digital economy from consumers and businesses, as a result of criminals exploiting online vulnerabilities.
A sustained effort was required by government and private sector working together to make the UK the hardest possible target, officials say.
Russia has been the focus of recent concern, following claims it used cyber-attacks to interfere with the recent US presidential election.
"I think there has been a significant change in the Russian approach to cyber-attacks and the willingness to carry it out, and clearly that's something we need to be prepared to deal with," Mr Martin said.
French and German officials have warned of the possibility of interference in their upcoming elections, but the NCSC's head said there was no evidence that a significant attack or compromise had yet taken place against the UK democratic process.
"There has been an identifiable trend in Russian attacks in the West, in terms of focusing on critical national industries and political and democratic processes," Mr Martin added.
"And so it follows from that that we will look to be sure we are protecting those sectors in the UK as well as we possibly can."
MPs are being advised by the new centre as to how to keep their data safe
The centre will be working on a voluntary basis with political parties and giving advice to high-profile individuals - including MPs - on how to protect their sensitive data.
The UK is already targeting computers in other countries being used for cyber-attack, particularly if there is no possibility of prosecution or for co-operation with authorities where the hackers are based.
"In the most serious cases, we have lawful powers where we can go after the infrastructure of adversaries - the infrastructure that people use to attack us - and we would do that in some of the most serious cases several dozen times a year," Mr Martin said.
In the past, UK cyber protection was largely situated within GCHQ in Cheltenham, which was criticised by businesses and others as overly secretive.
The NCSC aims to be more public facing and accessible. It will also protect a far wider range of sectors, rather than just government and national security-related industries, like defence.
GCHQ will still be the parent body for the NCSC, meaning it can draw on the intelligence agency's skills and capabilities.
Sometimes, the intelligence arm of GCHQ spots compromised networks as it watches adversaries move across the internet.
GCHQ can detect the work of hackers around the globe
It was through this type of work that GCHQ spotted the compromise of the US Democratic Party's information by Russian hackers, which it then informed US authorities about.
The NCSC is working on trial services to pro-actively discover vulnerabilities in public sector websites, help government departments better manage spoofing of their email, and take down tens of thousands of phishing sites affecting the UK.
"We're actively working to reduce the harm caused by cyber-attacks against the UK and will use the government as a guinea pig for all the measures we want to see done by industry at national scale," says the NCSC technical director, Dr Ian Levy.
He says results would be published openly to enhance collaboration. The centre will be publishing some of its code as open source, so that others can use the techniques.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38964996
|
Love Actually cast to reunite for Comic Relief film - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The original cast of 2003 comedy is filming a short sequel for Comic Relief.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
Keira Knightley and Hugh Grant will reprise their original roles
Romantics rejoice - the cast of Love Actually is reuniting for a short sequel to raise money for Comic Relief.
Red Nose Day Actually will be written by Richard Curtis and star Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley and Colin Firth.
Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy and Rowan Atkinson will also appear in the film, which sets out to discover what the original characters are doing in 2017.
The 10-minute sequel will be shown on 24 March on BBC One as part of the Red Nose Day appeal.
It comes 14 years after Love Actually was released.
Love Actually scriptwriter Emma Freud, Curtis's partner, has asked for ideas for the plot, saying the follow-up is still being written.
Many have suggested a tribute to the late Alan Rickman, who starred in the original.
Another suggestion tweeted to Freud involved Atkinson's character, who was seen in the original as a shop assistant.
And one fan wanted a happy ending for Emma Thompson's character, after the hard time she had in the first film.
Curtis said: "I would never have dreamt of writing a sequel to Love Actually, but I thought it might be fun to do 10 minutes to see what everyone is now up to.
"We hope to make something that'll be fun - very much in the spirit of the original film and of Red Nose Day."
The writer said he was "delighted" that so many of the original cast could take part, adding: "It'll certainly be a nostalgic moment getting back together."
Martine McCutcheon, Andrew Lincoln, Lucia Moniz, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Olivia Olson will also reprise their original roles.
The original film, set at Christmas time, followed an extensive cast of characters, whose lives intertwined in various ways.
Among them was Hugh Grant's character, David - the prime minister at the time - who was seen getting together with Natalie, played by McCutcheon, at the end of the original film.
Sam (played by Game of Thrones star Brodie-Sangster, who was 13 at the time), was seen chasing Joanna, played by Olivia Olson, through the airport at the end of the last film to declare his love.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38985435
|
The pull of Putin - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
What attracts some Western politicians to the President of Russia?
|
Europe
|
Donald Trump's willingness to build better relations with Russia is threatening to turn US foreign policy on its head. His openness towards Vladimir Putin has dismayed most of the foreign policy establishment in Washington. But it's now shared by some European politicians, not all of them far-right extremists, in France, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic and elsewhere. They can't all be Kremlin agents - so what's the new pull of Putin for some in the West?
The two politicians, one American, one Russian, put down their drinks and clasped hands across the pub table. Then they both pushed. But there was no real contest.
The arm-wrestling match was over in a second and the winner was the deputy mayor of St Petersburg, a man who'd built up his strength through years of judo training. Few outside Russia had ever heard of him. But five years later he would become its president.
US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher still laughs when he recalls his brief duel with Vladimir Putin in 1995, when the Russian came over in an official delegation. He hasn't met Mr Putin since. But for many years he's been the most consistent voice for détente on Capitol Hill, often effectively in a minority of one.
"I don't see Putin as a good guy, I see him as a bad guy. But every bad guy in the world isn't our enemy that we have to find ways of thwarting and beating up," Congressman Rohrabacher says.
"There are a lot of areas where this would be a better world if we were working together, rather than this constant barrage of hostility aimed at anything the Russians are trying to do."
Mr Rohrabacher doesn't condone Russian hacking during the US election campaign or the Kremlin's military incursions into Ukraine. But he believes Russia is the victim of Western double standards.
US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher believes the West should co-operate more with Russia
And that view is shared by some Western experts on Russia, though the vast majority stress how aggressive the country has become under President Putin.
Richard Sakwa, Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, in the UK, is in the minority camp. "We are living in a huge echo chamber which only listens to itself," he says. "The key meme is 'Russian aggression' and it's repeated ad nauseam instead of thinking.
"When we have national interests, that's good. But when Russia tries to defend its interests, it's illegitimate, it's aggressive, and it's dangerous for the rest of the world."
Russia's 2014 takeover of Crimea and military support of separatists in eastern Ukraine is widely taken as evidence that Mr Putin seeks to extend his country's borders.
But Prof Sakwa sees the Ukrainian crisis as a symptom of the failure after the Cold War to establish a new international security system that would have included Russia.
Meanwhile Stephen Cohen, Professor Emeritus of Russian Studies at New York University, argues that the "vilification" of President Putin in the West stems originally from disappointment that the Russian leader turned his back on some of the Western-inspired reforms of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin: reforms that many Russians blame for the lawlessness and falling living standards of that period.
"Putin is a European man trying to rule a country that is only partially European," Cohen says. "But we demand that the whole world be on our historical clock."
Did President Putin turn his back on Boris Yeltsin's reforms?
Prof Cohen is a rare liberal voice for detente. Most Americans who want better relations with Russia are on the political right.
Some are neo-isolationists who dislike what they see as their country's attempts to "export democracy", whether to Iraq, Syria or Russia. In that, they're at one with the Kremlin, which opposes any outside interference in the affairs of sovereign states.
Others are "strategic realists" who argue that great powers, including Russia, will always have "spheres of influence" beyond their borders.
America's Monroe Doctrine sought to prevent outside military and political involvement in the New World.
The opposite argument is that independent states have the right to belong to whatever alliances they like. Most former Soviet-bloc countries in Eastern Europe joined NATO and the EU after the Cold War.
And some present and former leaders of those states have warned Trump that any attempt to strike a grand bargain with Mr Putin would endanger the region's security.
But one central European government - Hungary's - takes a different view. "We don't see Russia as a threat to Hungary," its foreign minister Peter Szijjarto says. "If Russia and the US cannot work together on global issues, then that undermines security in Eastern Europe."
Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto says his country doesn't regard Russia as a threat
Hungary also wants to end the Western sanctions imposed on Russia following its annexation of Crimea. It says they've been counter-productive, leading to Russian counter-sanctions which have damaged European export industries.
Peter Toth, head of the Hungarian association of breeders of mangalica pigs - whose fat is much prized in Russia - says his members are among those now suffering.
But the Hungarian government, which has been widely criticised for curtailing some democratic checks and balance, also shares other interests with Russia. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said Europe must keep its "Christian values" in the face of immigration from Muslim countries.
The Kremlin has also made much of the need to preserve national identity and Christian values in its rhetoric, leading nationalists in the West to see Moscow as an ally.
Many, particularly on the right, believe the threat from mass immigration, and terrorism, is now greater than that from Russia.
Congressman Rohrabacher says: "To say Russia is the enemy, when they too are threatened by radical Islamic terrorism, is exactly the wrong way to go."
Arguments like that, reinforced by President Trump, seem to be swaying some Americans. By the end of last year, more than a third of Republican voters viewed President Putin favourably, according to a YouGov poll, compared to only a tenth in 2014.
It found however that Democrats dislike Mr Putin more than ever. Prof Stephen Cohen believes Donald Trump will have great difficulty selling a new policy on Russia.
"If Trump says we need a detente with Putin for the sake of our national security," he explains, "it's going to be very hard to get people in the centre and the left to support it, because they'll be called apologists for Putin and Trump. It's a double whammy."
Tim Whewell's BBC Radio 4 programme, The Pull of Putin, is available to listen to via BBC iPlayer.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38969166
|
Donald Trump vs Justin Trudeau: The political handshake - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Watch how Canadian PM Justin Trudeau handles President Trump's dominant handshake.
| null |
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has met President Donald Trump for the first time and discussed issues including trade and refugees.
President Trump has become known for his rather dominant handshake - but it seems Mr Trudeau found a way of dealing with it, as this video demonstrates.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38971859
|
Crossing the border: US migrants seek refugee status in Canada - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An increasing number of people are crossing into Canada seeking refugee status.
|
US & Canada
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Asylum seekers are illegally crossing from the US into Canada in growing numbers hoping to receive refugee status. One small prairie town in southern Manitoba has become the nexus point for migrants who have lost hope in the US.
It was a cold Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal could barely comprehend.
On Christmas Eve, they found themselves struggling through a waist-deep field of snow in a rash night-time bid to sneak across the Canada-US border.
The two men had met just few hours before at a Minneapolis bus station and both faced deportation back to Ghana after being denied refugee status in the US.
They had heard through a network of other refugees and African expats that if they could get into Canada, they had a second shot at asylum in the north.
The view towards the US from Emerson, Manitoba
The path was straightforward: find a ride to the border from Minneapolis, MN or Grand Forks, ND, avoid patrols until you reach Canadian soil, and then turn yourself into Canadian authorities as an asylum seeker.
Iyal and Mohammed decided to make the trek together, and paid US$200 each to a cab driver who dropped them near the international boundary.
They kept to the road until they neared the border.
"That's where we saw the big farm with the snow. Snow everywhere. We were seeing the light of the border far from us, but we are seeing the light," Iyal recalls.
Soon they had lost their gloves in the snow. The wind stole Mohammed's baseball cap.
"There is wind and cold," he says "And the wind is blowing the snow into our face. So I can't see nothing."
By the time they reached Highway 75 in Manitoba, their hands had frozen into claws. They could not reach the phones in their pockets to dial 9-1-1 as planned. Mohammed's eyes had frozen shut.
The only vehicles on the road before dawn on Christmas were transport trucks ferrying cargo between the US and Canada. Many passed, flashing their high beams at the two before blowing by, until one stopped to give them assistance.
They have been receiving treatment at a specialised burn unit in a Winnipeg hospital since that 10-hour journey. Both had most of their fingers amputated due to the severe frostbite.
Iyal says nurses had to chip away at the snow and ice between Mohammed's fingers.
Their story has brought attention to a phenomenon that is not new but has been growing steadily in recent years. And it has not deterred others from making the cross-border trip. Record numbers of people have crossed near Emerson in the past few weeks.
It is not just Manitoba. Quebec and British Columbia are also seeing more and more people illegally crossing the border to make refugee claims.
In the prairie province, the influx is centred on Emerson, a municipality of about 700 people that borders Minnesota.
The rural town, surrounded by farm fields, is about 625km (390 miles) up the Interstate from Minneapolis, which has the largest Somali population in North America. Word about the Emerson crossing has spread within the expat community, as far as down to Brazil.
Janzen and other officials held an emergency meeting
"We've always had people jumping the borders, for, I don't know, 30, 40, 50 years. Back then, it was people running away from something - usually the law," says town official Greg Janzen.
But in recent years it has been mostly asylum seekers, hailing mainly from Somalia but also Ghana, Djibouti, and Ethiopia, who are finding their way across. Community workers say most have been denied refugee status in the US.
Many have been met with generosity.
Yahya Samatar, a former human rights worker in Somalia, fled threats from Islamist al-Shabab militants and sought refugee status in the US, where he spent seven months in an immigration detention centre.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The US denied his status but said it was too dangerous to deport him back to war-torn Somalia, and released him with a warning that he could be sent back anytime.
Like Iyal and Mohammed, he heard about the backdoor into Canada, and found himself in August 2015 on the banks of the Red River, which runs through Manitoba and between North Dakota and Minnesota.
He stripped to his underwear and swam across. Shivering and covered in mud, he then walked into Emerson, where a resident gave him a sweater and called border services.
"I was given clothes, I was given food, everything" by border agents, says Samatar, who has since received refugee status and lives in Winnipeg.
But now in Emerson, a wariness is emerging.
The municipality that has opened its doors to those seeking refuge is wondering how far town resources will be stretched and what happens if someone who comes across poses a danger.
There are also concerns that someone will die trying to make the trek across frozen fields in temperatures that can easily fall to -20C (-4F). Many also expect the number of attempts to cross will increase with warmer weather.
For now, they do not see what other option there is except to do what they can to help.
"If we don't they'll freeze and starve, and it would be on our conscience wouldn't it?" says resident Walter Kihn, who lives on the eastern edge of Emerson.
Mr Janzen says "most people in town are more concerned than scared" about the strangers wandering into town.
In the last three weeks, almost 60 people made the trek, including 21 who crossed in the hours before dawn on Saturday morning.
A group of 16 people, including women and children, rang doorbells in town seeking help.
"They went to the neighbours and got everybody riled up there," said resident Ernie Neufeld. One house took in the women and children, while "the RCMP tried to decide what to do with" the men.
The Manitoba-US border runs 500km (310 miles) along Minnesota and North Dakota.
Authorities from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which oversees the official border points, and the Mounties, which polices the rest, say they are confident in the border's integrity.
And they say those coming are quickly spotted or turn themselves so they can submit refugee claims.
Once apprehended, they are identified, searched and screened. If they are eligible to make an asylum claim, they are allowed entry and referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
Refugee claimants arrive at the Welcome Place in Winnipeg
A refugee claimant arrives at Welcome Place settlement agency in Winnipeg
Settlement workers assisting with the newest claims are pointing to the political rhetoric south of the border for the recent spike.
Rita Chahal, executive director of the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, has opened over 300 files since April 2016 for refugee claimants crossing near Emerson.
"Anecdotally, many people do express that they are concerned about what they saw at the airports, what they are seeing in the US," she says.
In fact, in a November speech in Minnesota, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump singled out the state's Somali community.
"Here in Minnesota, you've seen first hand the problems caused with faulty refugee-vetting, with very large numbers of Somali refugees coming into your state without your knowledge, your support or approval," he said.
Mohammed says he once viewed the US as a beacon for human rights and a place that welcomed newcomers but "when we came, we didn't see that".
He and Iyal have hearings in March to determine whether they can stay in Canada.
Their lawyer has told them not to divulge too many details about the specifics of their refugee claims but Iyal says he left Ghana for personal and political reasons.
Mohammed left because of his sexuality - being gay is illegal in the African country.
They say in the meantime they will continue to heal from their injuries and learn how to live with their disability.
"We just wait, impatiently, for what is coming next," Iyal says.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken about how important it is for Canada to welcome refugees
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38960035
|
Russia looms large behind Flynn affair - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Mike Flynn's resignation won't put to rest wider questions about the Trump administration's connection with Russia.
|
US & Canada
|
As with any resignation there are a thousand small, but nevertheless important questions. Most are of the who-knew-what-and-when variety. But with this astonishing fall from grace there is one big overarching question. I'll save that best bit for last.
The small questions concern whether Donald Trump knew about the calls Mike Flynn was making to the Russian ambassador, and what the substance of their conversations were.
What happened to the advice given by the acting attorney general to the White House counsel cautioning that Gen Flynn had not been entirely honest. Was the president aware of this? Were there different factions operating within the White House yesterday with different agendas on the embattled national security adviser's future?
Then we can go a sub-section of those questions which revolve around management at the White House. The seemingly dull-sounding process questions: What are the lines of communication? Who reports to whom?
Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer had very different public reactions to stories about Flynn on Monday
If that all sounds rather trivial, ask this - how was it possible that within a single hour yesterday afternoon Kellyanne Conway, counsel to the president, said Mr Flynn enjoyed the full support of Mr Trump, and then shortly afterwards, Communications Director Sean Spicer said the president was evaluating Mr Flynn's position?
Those just aren't reconcilable statements. Who was speaking on whose authority? This is not good communications strategy; this is what shambles looks like.
And let's deal with one bit of smoke that has been thrown up since the resignation. Kellyanne Conway was across the US networks this morning with a simple and tempting argument - what sealed Flynn's fate was his misleading of the vice president over the nature of his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
That resulted in Mike Pence going on TV in the middle of January and saying: "It was strictly coincidental that they had a conversation. They did not discuss anything having to do with the United States' decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia."
Of course, you can't lie/mislead/deceive/inadvertently misreport to (delete as appropriate) the vice president. But, if you draw yourself a little timeline of what happened then, what is striking is this - it is not the lie/misleading/deception/inadvertent misreporting that cost General Flynn his job, it is the lie/misleading/deception/inadvertent misreporting being made public by the Washington Post that cost him his job.
We now know the acting attorney general went to the White House weeks before to say voice intercepts of Gen Flynn's call proved that lifting of sanctions was discussed. But no action was taken then.
Only when it blew up did this become an issue. This conforms to the little discussed 11th Commandment that Moses handed down on his tablets of stone: Thou Shall Not Get Found Out.
But let us move on to the really big question. What does this say about President Trump's relationship with Russia? For a man who at the drop of a hat will freely spray insults on Twitter to anyone and anything, the one person he stubbornly refuses to say a bad word about is Vladimir Putin. Not ever.
White House staff in the Oval Office as Donald Trump speaks by phone to Vladimir Putin in late January
In one recent interview he seemed to suggest that America as a state had no greater moral authority than Russia. It was the doctrine of American Unexceptionalism, if you like.
Michael Flynn had sat with the Russian president not that long ago at a dinner honouring the pro-Moscow TV network Russia Today. Extraordinary that a former three star US general would be there. A dossier drawn up by a former MI6 officer - that was flatly denied - alleged all manner of Russian involvement in President Trump's businesses and presidential campaign.
Make no mistake, the Trump base love what they've heard about the migrant ban, the eviction of illegal immigrants, the jobs pledges and a lot more besides.
But what causes a lot of people to scratch their heads is why the love-in with Putin? What is driving this? Even if the most lurid things in the dossier were untrue, are there other things that are? Does Putin have some kind of leverage over the new American president?
The smaller questions, like they often do, will fade away with the next news cycle. These huge ones won't.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38974215
|
The most 'swiped-right' man on dating app Tinder - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Stefan-Pierre Tomlin, the most "swiped-right" man in the UK on Tinder, shares his tips.
|
UK
|
Stefan spends up to half an hour a day on Tinder
It's Valentine's Day - and for many single people it may be difficult to find a date. But not for Stefan - the most coveted man on dating app Tinder. He receives more "swipe-rights" than any other man on the app, as he explains to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.
Job: Fashion model. Previously worked as a toy demonstrator in Hamleys and Harrods.
Claim to fame: The most swiped-right man on Tinder.
Popularity: I get around 40 matches a day. The number's doubled in the last month alone - I've had to turn my notifications off.
Relationship status: I've been single for around seven months now. I was seeing someone, but it didn't really work out.
Do you enjoy being single? When I find the right girl, I'm more than happy to settle down - I want someone who will be my best friend as well as a partner. But as I get older, there is a bit more added pressure to find someone. My mum drops little hints here and there that she wants to be a grandma.
Stefan has a piloting licence, having been in the RAF Air Cadets
Time spent on Tinder: Quite often half an hour a day, sometimes just 10 minutes.
Tips for success: Have a bit of character on your bio, definitely. There's no point in just being good looking in photos if you're bland to talk to. I always look for personality - someone who can have a laugh. One of my own previous bios was simply "Model. Too stupid to write a bio," playing on the idea that models aren't supposed to be clever.
And when it comes to starting the conversation: I'm looking for someone who has a good opening line, something funny or that makes them stand out. One match recently started with "so what gives you the privilege of me swiping right?". That's been one of the best.
What are your interests? I'm really into aviation. I used to be in the RAF air cadets, so I have a pilot's licence to fly the Cessna 152, a fixed-wing plane.
How often do you date? I don't get a lot of time because of my job. I've probably only been on five or six while on Tinder, but I have also met people at events with my work - so it's not just dating apps.
What are you like on a date? I'd say I'm shy to start off with, and then I warm up and become more confident. I like to think I'm good at getting the conversation flowing, but I think everyone finds first dates can become a bit like an interview with all the questions!
What's your worst Valentine's Day date? There was one time when I made lots of effort, with my girlfriend at that point. I bought lots of little gifts for her, and we went to a really nice restaurant - but I just got nothing back in return. Not even a card.
Do you have a Valentine's date this year? Yes, I'm going on a second date with a girl I met on Tinder - to a nice restaurant in Knightsbridge in London.
Are you paying? Of course! It would be rude not to.
The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38967725
|
Paris St-Germain 4-0 Barcelona - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Angel di Maria scores twice as PSG stun Barcelona to leave the Spanish side on the brink of Champions League elimination.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Angel di Maria scored twice as Paris St-Germain stunned Barcelona to leave the Spanish side in danger of failing to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in a decade.
PSG dominated this last-16 first-leg tie throughout and took the lead through Di Maria's curled free-kick.
Julian Draxler added a second with an angled drive before Di Maria curled an effort into the top corner.
A lacklustre Barcelona - with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar largely anonymous - did not produce an effort of note until seven minutes before the end when Samuel Umtiti headed on to the post.
The defeat leaves Luis Enrique's side with an almighty task to stay in the competition when they host PSG in the return leg on 8 March.
No side has managed to overturn a four-goal first-leg deficit in the Champions League.
• None Listen: 'Barcelona have been vulnerable all season'
A brutal beating for Barca as Messi goes missing
Barcelona breezed into the knockout stage by topping Group C, winning five of the six games they played.
Their one defeat was also the only time they conceded three goals in a group-stage game, when they lost 3-1 at Manchester City.
At least in that match they managed to score - Messi putting them ahead at Etihad Stadium - but at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday they barely troubled Kevin Trapp in the PSG goal.
The visitors regularly squandered possession and looked lethargic throughout. When they have not been at their best in the past, their star players have stepped up. But on this occasion they offered nothing.
Messi, so often capable of creating something from nothing, made uncharacteristic mistakes and was at fault for PSG's second when he lost the ball to Draxler, who then played a one-two with Marco Verratti to slice through a static defence and put the French side in control.
It was one of the worst Barcelona performances in recent memory but PSG were also at their absolute best and, in truth, could have won by an even bigger margin.
They finished the game with 16 shots on goal, 10 of those on target.
PSG have long been the dominant force in French football, winning their domestic league title every season since 2013, but they are yet to transfer that form into Europe.
They have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals but dominant wins home and away against Chelsea at this stage of the competition last year suggested they had finally joined the continent's elite, only for them to then lose against Manchester City.
Unai Emery, PSG's Spanish manager, had faced Barcelona 23 times before in his coaching career and won just once.
But Emery has form in Europe. He led Sevilla to three successive Europa League titles from 2014, getting the best of the players at his disposal and that is proving to be the case at PSG.
Cavani now has 34 goals in 32 matches while Di Maria is producing consistently what he only managed in flashes at Manchester United. Draxler, who underperformed at Wolfsburg, has excelled since his January move to the French capital.
All three were key to Barcelona's downfall and this could prove to be a watershed moment for both PSG and Emery.
"I think this makes PSG a threat in the competition," former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport.
"Mentally they will go on again and they will believe now they are capable of winning this tournament by beating one of the best teams."
Barcelona were one of the favourites to win the Champions League at the start of the season but will now need to produce one of the greatest comebacks in football to stay in the competition.
They are more than capable of scoring goals for fun at the Nou Camp, having hit three or more in six of their previous seven games.
Borussia Monchengladbach were the last side to visit Barcelona in the Champions League and they lost 4-0 in December.
But PSG possess much more quality, with Di Maria and Cavani more than capable of scoring an away goal that would surely put the tie beyond Barcelona.
It is sure to be one of the toughest tests of Enrique's Barcelona career to date.
• None Paris St-Germain became the sixth team to score four goals in a Champions League game vs Barcelona (after Milan, Dynamo Kiev, Valencia, Chelsea and Bayern Munich).
• None Indeed, this was Barcelona's joint-heaviest defeat in the competition (0-4 vs Milan in 1994, Dynamo Kiev in 1997 and Bayern Munich in 2013).
• None Angel di Maria has scored four goals in the Champions League this season - his best return in a single campaign.
• None Only Lionel Messi (10) has scored more goals in the Champions League this season than Edinson Cavani (seven).
• None No side has ever turned round a 4+ goal deficit to progress in a Champions League knockout tie.
• None Barca faced 10 shots on target vs PSG - their joint-highest in a Champions League match since 2003-04 (also vs Bayer Leverkusen in December 2015).
• None Attempt missed. Neymar (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
• None Lucas Moura (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt missed. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) header from the left side of the box is high and wide to the left.
• None Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona) hits the left post with a header from very close range. Assisted by Gerard Piqué with a headed pass following a corner. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38962318
|
Carli Lloyd: Manchester City Women sign Fifa World Player on short-term deal - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
World Cup winner and Fifa World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd signs for Manchester City Women on a short-term deal.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Women's Football
English league champions Manchester City Women have signed World Cup-winner and Fifa World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd on a short-term deal.
The United States midfielder, 34, has scored 96 goals in 232 international appearances, including a 13-minute hat-trick in the 2015 World Cup final.
She joins the Women's Super League One club for the 2017 Spring Series, which begins in April and ends on 3 June.
Her deal also includes City's Women's Champions League and FA Cup campaigns.
Nick Cushing's side face Danish champions Fortuna Hjorring in March's Champions League quarter-final, after entering the FA Cup at the fifth-round stage on 19 March.
US captain Lloyd becomes the third American player to move to an English club this winter, after winger Crystal Dunn's move to Chelsea Ladies and midfielder Heather O'Reilly's switch to Arsenal.
"This facility [at Manchester City] is unbelievable. I don't think anything compares to it," Lloyd told BBC Sport. "I am always looking to improve my game.
"It is another challenge for me, to be able to come over here, train with some of the world's best players, be at the world's best facility, playing in the Champions League and hopefully win an FA Cup and the Spring Series.
"I've had a lot of different offers from various clubs and none of them really panned out, but this one was going in the right direction."
On joining the WSL, Lloyd - who most recently played for American side Houston Dash after a spell with Western New York Flash - added: "It is definitely the next up-and-coming league.
"It is going to be fun to be able to play a few months with some of these players and get a better understanding of how this league operates. I can help promote the [American] NWSL and help see how they run things here and make our league back home a bit better as well."
Lloyd also stated her ambition to help City win the Women's Champions League this season, a competition that no English side has won since it was rebranded from the Uefa Cup in 2009.
"Not too many people get to say they have taken part in the Champions League," she continued. "It is huge.
"I have experienced a lot; World Cups, Olympics and being at the Fifa World Player of the Year Awards. A Champions League win would totally top that off.
"That's what I'm going after. That's the next challenge set in front of me. I'm just looking to get after it and do anything I can to help."
The final of this season's Women's Champions League takes in place in Cardiff on Thursday, 1 June.
City would face either defending champions Lyon or last year's runners-up Wolfsburg in April's semi-finals if they overcome Fortuna Hjorring in the last eight.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38885969
|
Which countries love and hate Valentine's Day? - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
From condom raids to emoji bans: Valentine's Day gets political
|
World
|
Valentine's Day is sweet for some, but not everyone sees it through rose-tinted spectacles
For the cynics among us, Valentine's Day is an annual nightmare: everything turns pink and heart-shaped, restaurants slap a premium price on a sub-par "special menu", and Hallmark shareholders are laughing all the way to the bank.
But beyond the cuddly toys and red roses, the tradition draws mixed reactions around the world.
From the hardline to the downright bizarre, here are just some of the ways Valentine's Day is embraced - or spurned like an unwanted lover...
Authorities in some parts of Indonesia have banned students from celebrating Valentine's Day, saying it encourages casual sex. In the city of Makassar, police raided shops and dismantled condom displays.
The mayor told the BBC that condoms were removed from sight after customers complained, but would still be sold discreetly.
Valentine's Day has its roots in a Roman fertility celebration, but later evolved into a Christian feast day - a fact that worries conservatives in some Muslim-majority countries.
In Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, pupils were told to reject the festival as it runs against cultural norms.
Next door to Indonesia, Malaysia has also seen a Valentine's backlash.
A group called the National Muslim Youth Association has urged women and girls to avoid using emoticons or overdoing the perfume, in a pre-Valentine's Day message.
The group's guidance included advice on how to combat the celebration of romance by making anti-Valentine posters and shunning Valentine-themed outfits.
The group made its anti-Cupid views clear through its Facebook picture
Robben Island will forever be associated with the infamous prison that held Nelson Mandela - but since 2000, it has hosted a mass celebration of love on 14 February.
The tradition was started by South Africa's Department of Home Affairs and the Robben Island Museum, and now attracts couples from across the globe.
This year, 20 pairs are planning to say "I do" in the island's little white chapel.
The service is offered for a small fee, and includes a tour of the island.
Organisers say 2017's couples were "chosen by the department based on their diversity and interesting romantic stories".
A bride and groom laugh during their Robben Island ceremony
Thailand's civil servants are handing out free pre-natal pills on the streets of Bangkok on Valentine's Day, hoping to boost the country's falling birth rate.
Around 1 million baht ($28,600; £22,900) has been spent on the pills, for prospective mothers aged 20 to 34.
The "very magical vitamins" (to use the government's words) contain folic acid and iron.
In 1970, Thai couples had an average of six children, but the figure now stands at 1.6.
The High Court in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, has banned public celebrations of Valentine's Day, saying it is not part of Muslim culture.
The festival has gained a foothold in recent years, but local critics say it is a decadent Western invention.
The court order bans the media from covering Valentine's events, and bans festivities in public places and government offices.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A court in Pakistan has banned public celebrations of Valentine's Day in Islamabad
Saudi Arabia's religious police are on alert at this time of year for love-themed merchandise, including flowers, cards and suspicious "red items".
Florists have been known to deliver bouquets in the middle of the night to avoid detection, as determined lovers flout the countrywide ban.
A black market in roses and wrapping paper helps some broadcast their feelings.
But for others, it's the perfect time of year for a romantic break - to nearby Bahrain or the UAE, where celebrations are more tolerated.
Holidays to Dubai are one way for Saudi couples to dodge the crackdown
As Japan geared up for the 14th, a group of Marxist protesters unfurled a giant "Smash Valentine's Day" banner in Tokyo.
The "Kakuhido", or Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women find Unattractive, want an end to public displays of love that "hurt their feelings".
Members have been known to chant slogans including "public smooching is terrorism".
"Our aim is to crush this love capitalism," said Takayuki Akimoto, the group's PR chief.
"People like us who don't seek value in love are being oppressed by society," he added.
"It's a conspiracy by people who think unattractive guys are inferior, or losers - like cuddling in public, it makes us feel bad. It's unforgivable!"
The protests came as Japan's family planning association revealed that "sexless marriages" in the country are at a record high.
Nearly 50% of married Japanese couples had not had sex for more than a month and did not expect that to change in the near future, it said.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-38966636
|
Why eating a lot of fat is worse for men than women - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A recent study found that men and woman respond differently to eating large amounts of unhealthy fats. Dr Zoe Williams goes on a high fat diet to test the research.
|
Health
|
It's generally agreed that eating too much fat is bad for you, but exactly how much damage it can do depends on whether you are a man or a woman, writes Dr Zoe Williams.
Eating too much fat can make you put on weight and lead to heart disease - especially if you eat too much of the wrong kind of fat, such as the omega-6 fats found in many processed foods. But now it seems sausages, pastries and cakes are even worse for men than they are for women.
A recent study measured how the two sexes responded when they spent a week eating large amounts of these foods and how it affected their ability to control blood sugar levels. I wanted to test this diet myself, and in order to compare my response to that of a man I persuaded the person behind the research, Dr Matt Cocks of Liverpool John Moores University, to join me.
Before we started, our body fat was measured and our blood sugar levels recorded. We were given glucose monitors to wear to keep track of our blood sugar throughout the week.
The food which Zoe had to eat during the week
In order to have an impact in just one week, our diet contained about 50% more calories than we would normally eat. A typical evening meal included a couple of sausages, some hash browns, a few slices of bacon, and a lump of cheese.
Twice during the week, Matt and I also drank a sugary drink to introduce sugar into our blood stream. This mimics what happens when we eat carbohydrates which our bodies break down into sugars. The glucose monitors would be able to show us whether the diet was affecting our ability to clear this sugar from our blood.
When we looked at the results we saw that, like the women in Matt's study, my ability to control my blood sugar levels didn't get any worse on the diet. Matt, however, got 50% worse at clearing glucose from his blood.
The same trend was apparent in Matt's research, where on average men got 14% worse at controlling their sugar levels.
"One of the first steps towards type 2 diabetes is poorer control of glucose," says Matt. "So what we're seeing here, is that I've really lowered my control of sugar, and if I continued with that for a long time, that would probably progress me to type 2 diabetes."
Trust Me, I'm A Doctor is on BBC Two at 20:00 GMT, Wednesday 15 February - catch up on BBC iPlayer
The diet Matt and I undertook was extreme but in the real world the same processes will be happening to a lesser extent in people who regularly over consume unhealthy fats.
So what can men do about it?
The best advice is to eat a balanced diet but exercise can also help.
"If you have a meal and then you exercise, then you're going to start to burn that meal," says Matt. "So say you eat a very high fat meal or a sugary meal, you can start to remove the negative effects by going for a walk afterwards."
Join the conversation on our Facebook page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38963874
|
Aberdeen 7-2 Motherwell - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Adam Rooney hits a hat-trick as Aberdeen cruise three points clear of third-placed Rangers by mauling a woeful Motherwell side.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Adam Rooney hit a hat-trick as Aberdeen cruised three points clear of third-placed Rangers following a mauling of a woeful Motherwell side.
The Dons cashed in on terrible defending as Jonny Hayes, Andy Considine and Rooney made it 3-0.
Ryan Christie curled in a sublime fourth before the break and Rooney added a penalty and a tap-in.
Ryan Bowman and Stephen Pearson hit back for Well and Aberdeen substitute Peter Pawlett rounded off the scoring.
As well as moving three points and 19 goals clear of Rangers in the battle for second place, Aberdeen also reduced the gap on leaders Celtic to 24 points.
Motherwell, meanwhile, are in ninth spot.
The home side were utterly ruthless and exuded attacking threat. Well were simply atrocious at the back and their late rally did little to disguise their obvious deficiencies on the night.
When Hayes drilled home a left-foot effort after two minutes it looked ominous.
Motherwell briefly suggested they would not fold but fold they did - and much of it was self-inflicted despite Aberdeen's brilliance.
Considine nodded the second at the back post from Niall McGinn's corner, after Well keeper Craig Samson came and failed to get near the delivery. The big defender rejoiced in celebrating his goal and his recently extended contract.
The third goal was simply ludicrous.
Stevie Hammell knocked the ball towards the bye-line as he tried to deal with a cross into the area and in a moment of madness for an experienced player, Keith Lasley attempted to keep it in but fluffed it. It fell to Hayes, who squared to Rooney for an easy finish.
On-loan Celtic attacking midfielder Christie started in place of the suspended Graeme Shinnie and he excelled, with his strike proving the pick of the bunch.
From a well-worked corner, Considine laid the ball off to Christie who found a pocket of space and guided a delightful finish into the top corner.
Rooney's penalty, after Shay Logan was clipped by Elliott Frear, added to Motherwell's misery and the Irishman completed his treble soon after from close range following another McGinn corner.
The home side were in imperious form with Hayes, McGinn, Kenny McLean and Ryan Jack among the top performers in a side that was motoring for most of the night.
Despite Aberdeen's dominance, Motherwell did manage to get two goals, but they were no consolation to the dejected players.
Bowman nodded their first after home keeper Joe Lewis inexplicably misjudged a high ball and Stephen Pearson volleyed home from close range to make it 6-2.
Keeping count? Well, it was a five-goal cushion again in 82 minutes, 60 seconds after Pearson's goal.
This time it was Pawlett who showed great pace and a cool head to beat keeper Samson.
Motherwell manager Mark McGhee was also sent to the stand, to the delight of the home fans, on a night to forget for the Fir Park men.
They will hope this a one-off. The problem is they travel to table-topping Celtic on Saturday.
• None Attempt saved. Jayden Stockley (Aberdeen) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Attempt saved. Ash Taylor (Aberdeen) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
• None Attempt saved. Miles Storey (Aberdeen) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Goal! Aberdeen 7, Motherwell 2. Peter Pawlett (Aberdeen) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jonny Hayes.
• None Goal! Aberdeen 6, Motherwell 2. Stephen Pearson (Motherwell) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the top right corner. Assisted by Louis Moult following a corner.
• None Attempt missed. Jayden Stockley (Aberdeen) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
• None Attempt saved. Kenny McLean (Aberdeen) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
• None Attempt missed. Ryan Bowman (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
• None Goal! Aberdeen 6, Motherwell 1. Ryan Bowman (Motherwell) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Richard Tait following a set piece situation. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38973451
|
Welsh Open 2017: Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked out by Mark Davis in second round - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan blows a 3-0 lead to lose to Mark Davis in the Welsh Open second round.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Wales
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan blew a 3-0 lead to lose to Mark Davis in the Welsh Open second round.
World number 31 Davis looked to be heading out as O'Sullivan established a commanding lead in the best-of-seven contest.
Davis took the next four frames to complete a remarkable comeback on a day of shocks at the tournament.
Lee Walker pulled off a surprise as he came from 3-1 down to beat world number seven Neil Robertson 4-3.
Former world champion and 2016 finalist Robertson made 143 - the highest break of the tournament - on the way to a two-frame lead before Walker came back.
The Welshman, ranked 94, won the next three straight frames to seal victory.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Welsh schoolboy Jackson Page reached the last 32 with a 4-3 win against John Astley.
It is the teenage amateur's second win in the tournament after beating Jason Weston 4-3 in round one.
Page will now play world number four Judd Trump, who edged past Malta's Alex Borg 4-2.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland's Mark Allen eased past Thailand's Boonyarit Keattikun 4-1, Ross Muir thrashed Marco Fu 4-0 while Anthony Hamilton beat Jamie Cope 4-1 to set up a third-round tie against Craig Steadman, who defeated Sam Baird.
World Grand Prix finalist Ryan Day was knocked out by Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who reached the third round of the tournament for the first time.
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/38986026
|
Montreal ranked top city for students - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An international ranking puts Montreal as best world city for students, overtaking Paris.
|
Business
|
Students at Concordia University in Montreal, the top ranked world city for students
Montreal has been named as the best city in the world for students.
This international ranking of university cities has seen Paris slip from first place - a position the French capital has held for four years.
The Canadian city has come top of the QS Best Student Cities, a spin-off from the annual QS World University Rankings.
It will add to suggestions that Canada will attract a bigger slice of the lucrative international student market, particularly if there are concerns about changes to entry rules under President Trump.
It also has the benefit of being able to offer degree courses in two big international languages - with English-speaking universities such as McGill University, and French-speaking, such as the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Entry to this league table requires cities to have at least a population of 250,000 and to be home to at least two universities in the World University Rankings.
The rankings are based on a basket of measures - including the quality of universities, facilities for students, affordability, the "desirability" of the city for students, access to employers, the international nature of a city, levels of tolerance, pollution and safety.
Canada is seen as high on desirability for international students - with Montreal in top place and Vancouver in 10th and Toronto in 11th place.
Ben Sowter, head of the QS Intelligence Unit which produces the ranking, forecasts that Canada's growing popularity will be part of an increase in "alternatives to the traditionally dominant study destinations, both in Europe and North America".
Canada could attract students from the US, and the UK could lose students to Ireland, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries, he says.
More stories from the BBC's Global education series looking at education from an international perspective, and how to get in touch.
You can join the debate at the BBC's Family & Education News Facebook page.
A spokeswoman for the city of Montreal says there has already been a surge of international students - with big rises in student numbers from China, India, France and Iran.
Figures from admissions services in the UK have already shown a 7% fall in applications from EU students - and UK universities have been worried that the backwash of Brexit will leave the UK looking less welcoming to overseas students.
But there are no signs of an adverse impact on London in this year's rankings, moving up from fifth place to third.
London continues to have a strong appeal for students, according to this ranking
The two great world cities of London and Paris are in the top three best places to study - able to offer both a rich cultural as well as academic experience.
Along with Boston, which can claim Harvard, MIT and Boston University, London and Paris are boosted by the strength and number of top universities.
The slip from first to second place for Paris is attributed to cost and a loss in desirability, including safety.
Mr Sowter rejects a link to terror attacks in the French capital - saying that when students are surveyed only a handful of cities are seen as more attractive than Paris.
He says students seem to be resilient to accepting there are no "zero risk" cities - whether it is Boston, Berlin or Paris, all of which have maintained their attraction.
London's universities rate highly on quality - "no city has a superior variety and quality of universities to London" - and the falling value of the pound after the EU referendum has improved their affordability for overseas students.
Apart from Canada, the only other country with two cities in the top 10 is Germany, with Berlin and Munich. This reflects Germany's financial advantages for overseas students - who do not have to pay any tuition fees.
Montreal and other Canadian universities have been offering an alternative to the US
The most affordable cities of all, taking into account living costs, were Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Surabaya in Indonesia. Stockholm in Sweden and New York in the US were the most expensive.
Asian countries - particularly China and India - provide the biggest cohorts of overseas students. But Asian countries are becoming big magnets in their own right, with five cities in the top 20, headed by Seoul, which has risen to fourth place.
Shanghai is the highest rated city in China in 25th place, with Mumbai the highest in India in 85th place.
The competition for attracting international students is big business.
The US remains the biggest market and annual figures show that for the first time more than a million overseas students were at US universities - with almost 330,000 from China alone.
Apart from the benefits from international research partnerships - and the long-term influence of soft power - such international students are officially estimated at being worth almost $36bn (£29bn) to the US economy.
Being able to attract more of these valuable students makes these rankings much more than a civic beauty contest.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38959018
|
Rangers: Mark Warburton seeks answers on resignation announcement - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Mark Warburton says Rangers have yet to answer "key questions" regarding his departure as manager.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Mark Warburton says Rangers have yet to supply him with an explanation for announcing his departure.
On Friday, the club said they had accepted the resignations of the manager, assistant David Weir and head of recruitment, Frank McParland.
However, Warburton insists this is not the case.
A statement released on his behalf says Rangers have not responded to "key questions" put to them by the League Managers Association (LMA).
"We would like to formally place on record, that at no stage did we resign from our positions at Rangers," said Warburton.
Following Friday's club announcement, chairman Dave King issued a statement of his own saying the the trio had come to an agreement to leave via their joint representative.
King also suggested Warburton lacked commitment to the Ibrox club.
• None Director of football right for Rangers - Smith
Youth coach Graeme Murty assumed control of the first team for Sunday's Scottish Cup win over Morton.
Warburton, Weir and McParland added via Wednesday's statement: "At this stage, for legal reasons, it is inappropriate for us to comment in any great detail on our departure from the club.
"It is a matter of surprise to us, and to the LMA, which is advising all three of us, that despite its detailed public statements, the club has not answered key questions put to it by the LMA, in writing, requesting an explanation of why it suggested that we resigned from our positions."
The LMA statement went to say that it had been "an absolute privilege to work at a club that is so rich in tradition and history".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38980321
|
Laura Kenny and husband Jason expecting first child - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Olympic cycling champions Laura and Jason Kenny announce they are expecting their first child.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Cycling
Britain's Olympic champions Jason and Laura Kenny are expecting their first child, the couple's agent confirmed.
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Laura Kenny, 24, revealed the news with a post on Instagram of two adult bikes lined up alongside a child's bike.
Husband Jason added his own post on Twitter, while Great Britain team-mate Dani King tweeted "best news ever".
Agent Luke Lloyd-Davies said the couple and their families are "absolutely thrilled and delighted with the news".
"They very much appreciate all the kind wishes and messages of support that they have received already," he added.
The couple, who married in September in a private ceremony, went public with the news following their 12-week scan.
Jason, 28, has won six track cycling Olympic gold medals, including three at last summer's Games in Rio.
Laura pulled out of last month's National Track Championships after injuring a hamstring, but said at the time she hoped to be fit for April's World Championships in Hong Kong
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/38976367
|
Police job candidate arrested for drinking and driving - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Man arrested for drink-driving after he turned up for a police job interview smelling of alcohol.
|
Manchester
|
A police job candidate was arrested for drinking and driving after he turned up for a interview smelling of alcohol.
A Greater Manchester Police employee noticed an "overpowering smell" on the man's breath during an interview for an IT management role.
Andrew Jackson, 48, then disclosed he had had trouble parking, was breathalysed and arrested.
In court, he admitted drinking and driving and was banned for a year, police said.
The IT worker appeared at Bury and Rochdale Magistrates' Court on Friday, was fined £120 with a £30 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £85 costs.
Mr Jackson, of Barlow Moor Road, Didsbury, Manchester was told his ban would be reduced to seven months on completion of a drink-driving awareness course.
His hour-long interview took place on 25 January at a training centre in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, but he fell foul of the law when he revealed his travel arrangements.
The interviewer, a civilian worker, said: "I asked if he had any trouble in finding us. As soon as he began to speak I could smell something on his breath which I thought was stale alcohol.
"He mentioned that he did have a little trouble in finding somewhere to park, which immediately raised concerns.
"Shortly after he arrived in the small office, the smell of alcohol became overpowering."
The job hopeful was arrested and taken to Bury police station
The interviewer then made his excuses at the end of the interview and left the room to ask a police officer's advice.
A traffic officer quizzed the man over whether he had been drinking but he was adamant that not a drop had touched his lips that morning.
However Mr Jackson did admit to sharing a bottle of wine with his wife the night before during a meal out.
The traffic officer then marched him out of the building to a nearby patrol car and gave him a breathalyser test, which he duly failed.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38969740
|
'Recognising the symptoms of toxic shock syndrome saved my life' - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A student wants more to be done in schools to raise awareness about toxic shock syndrome.
|
Newsbeat
|
Phoebee Bambury survived toxic shock syndrome (TSS) by spotting the symptoms early - and she wants others to learn from her experience.
The rare condition, which can be fatal, is caused by bacteria getting into the body and releasing harmful toxins.
It's usually associated with using a tampon for too long.
The 19-year-old now wants more young people to be taught about the dangers of TSS in school.
Phoebee explains that she began with a headache and a fever, both symptoms that sound like the common cold.
It was the beginning of two weeks spent in hospital.
"The first symptom I had was the headache one evening while I was at university," she tells Newsbeat.
But later that night Phoebee's condition got worse, she developed muscle pains and started vomiting.
Phoebee had been spending the night at her boyfriend's house when her symptoms got worse
"Just like anyone would normally think, I thought maybe I'm ill and I'm just going to have a few bad days.
"You don't want to think 'oh no toxic shock', but in my head I thought those are the symptoms - I need to check this out."
Although there are many ways you can get toxic shock syndrome, it is often associated with the use of tampons.
The symptoms of TSS can be found on tampon packets.
"I thought [the symptoms] all matched so I phoned 111 and they said I was spot on and needed to get to a hospital ASAP," she said.
Phoebee's condition deteriorated and within 10 minutes of being in A&E she was hooked up to a drip, with an industrial-sized fan by her side to try and bring down her body temperature.
She also tells Newsbeat how the infection caused her body to swell.
Doctors confirmed that Phoebee's toxic shock syndrome was caused by her use of tampons but she insists that she followed the guidelines.
"I've never left a tampon in for longer than eight hours and at the time I started to feel very ill I didn't even have one in," she explains.
She adds that her degree in pharmacy and personal experiences had made her more aware of the infection.
"My friend's mum died of toxic shock so I'd always been aware of it," she said.
But cases like this are extremely rare.
There are no exact figures on how many women get TSS from using tampons but of the 40 people estimated to be diagnosed in the UK every year - on average only two people will die from the infection.
"To raise awareness in more young people, I genuinely believe toxic shock needs to be a part of sex education," Phoebee said.
"You get talks about tampons, periods and condoms at school and TSS should be a part of that.
"It's an associated risk with tampons and I know it's rare but it is serious," she added.
Phoebee has now been out of hospital for two weeks, and during her recovery she's been encouraging her university to do more to raise awareness about the infection.
"If you know the symptoms and take all the precautions then your chances of getting TSS are so slim.
"I know the best advice for women would be to just not use tampons but that's not possible for everyone, we just need to educate more people to take precautions."
"High-quality education on sex and relationships is a vital part of preparing young people for success in adult life," a Department for Education spokesman said.
"It is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and, as the education secretary said recently, we are looking at options to ensure all children have access to high-quality teaching in these subjects."
Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/38962250
|
Things not to say to a single person - BBC Three
|
2017-02-15
| null |
With Valentine's Day upon us, we ask a group of singletons to reveal some of the most irritating questions they get asked about their relationship status.
| null |
Things not to say to a single person
With Valentine's Day upon us, we ask a group of singletons to reveal some of the most irritating questions they get asked about their relationship status.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/e6361bcd-7438-4404-96ae-dad6761d0b98?intc_type=promo&intc_location=news&intc_campaign=thingsnottosaytoasingleperson&intc_linkname=bbcthree_ent_vidclip1
|
Donating my kidney saved two lives - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Jen donated a kidney to a stranger to make sure her husband would receive a kidney transplant.
| null |
When Jen found out her husband needed a kidney transplant she wanted to give him one of hers but they weren't a match.
Then they heard about a scheme that could save his life.
Jen and Elliot's story is featured in #Hospital at 21:00 on Wednesday 15 Feb on BBC Two.
Join the conversation - find BBC Stories on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38968856
|
Winston Churchill's views on aliens revealed in lost essay - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A newly unearthed essay by Winston Churchill reveals he was open to the possibility of life on other planets.
|
Science & Environment
|
Churchill wrote the first draft in 1939, as Europe headed towards war
A newly unearthed essay by Winston Churchill reveals he was open to the possibility of life on other planets.
In 1939, the year World War Two broke out, Churchill penned a popular science article in which he mused about the likelihood of extra-terrestrial life.
The 11-page typed draft, probably intended for a newspaper, was updated in the 1950s but never published.
In the 1980s, the essay was passed to a US museum, where it sat until its rediscovery last year.
The document was uncovered in the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, by the institution's new director Timothy Riley. Mr Riley then passed it to the Israeli astrophysicist and author Mario Livio who describes the contents in the latest issue of Nature journal.
Churchill's interest in science is well-known: he was the first British prime minister to employ a science adviser, Frederick Lindemann, and met regularly with scientists such as Sir Bernard Lovell, a pioneer of radio astronomy.
This documented engagement with the scientific community was partly related to the war effort, but he is credited with funding UK laboratories, telescopes and technology development that spawned post-war discoveries in fields from molecular genetics to X-ray crystallography.
In the essay, Churchill outlines the concept of habitable zones - more than 50 years before the discovery of exoplanets
Despite this background, Dr Livio described the discovery of the essay as a "great surprise".
He told the BBC's Inside Science programme: "[Mr Riley] said, 'I would like you to take a look at something.' He gave me a copy of this essay by Churchill. I saw the title, Are We Alone in the Universe? and I said, 'What? Churchill wrote about something like this?'"
Dr Livio says the wartime leader reasoned like a scientist about the likelihood of life on other planets.
Churchill's thinking mirrors many modern arguments in astrobiology - the study of the potential for life on other planets. In his essay, the former prime minister builds on the Copernican Principle - the idea that human life on Earth shouldn't be unique given the vastness of the Universe.
Churchill defined life as the ability to "breed and multiply" and noted the vital importance of liquid water, explaining: "all living things of the type we know require [it]."
More than 50 years before the discovery of exoplanets, he considered the likelihood that other stars would host planets, concluding that a large fraction of these distant worlds "will be the right size to keep on their surface water and possibly an atmosphere of some sort". He also surmised that some would be "at the proper distance from their parent sun to maintain a suitable temperature".
Churchill also outlined what scientists now describe as the "habitable" or "Goldilocks" zone - the narrow region around a star where it is neither too hot nor too cold for life.
Churchill supported the development of game-changing technologies such as radar
Correctly, the essay predicts great opportunities for exploration of the Solar System.
"One day, possibly even in the not very distant future, it may be possible to travel to the Moon, or even to Venus and Mars," Churchill wrote.
But the politician concluded that Venus and Earth were the only places in the Solar System capable of hosting life, whereas we now know that icy moons around Jupiter and Saturn are promising targets in the search for extra-terrestrial biology. However, such observations are forgivable given scientific knowledge at the time of writing.
In an apparent reference to the troubling events unfolding in Europe, Churchill wrote: "I for one, am not so immensely impressed by the success we are making of our civilisation here that I am prepared to think we are the only spot in this immense universe which contains living, thinking creatures, or that we are the highest type of mental and physical development which has ever appeared in the vast compass of space and time."
Churchill was a prolific writer: in the 1920s and 30s, he penned popular science essays on topics as diverse as evolution and fusion power. Mr Riley, director of the Churchill Museum, believes the essay on alien life was written at the former prime minister's home in Chartwell in 1939, before World War II broke out.
It may have been informed by conversations with the wartime leader's friend, Lindemann, who was a physicist, and might have been intended for publication in the News of the World newspaper.
It was also written soon after the 1938 US radio broadcast by Orson Welles dramatising The War of the Worlds by HG Wells. The radio programme sparked a panic when it was mistaken by some listeners for a real news report about the invasion of Earth by Martians.
Dr Livio told BBC News that there were no firm plans to publish the article because of issues surrounding the copyright. However, he said the Churchill Museum was working to resolve these so that the historically important essay can eventually see the light of day.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38985425
|
Hungary recruiting 'border-hunters' - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Hungary are looking for 3,000 new recruits to defend the Hungary-Serbia border fence.
| null |
Hungary are looking for 3,000 new recruits to defend the Hungary-Serbia border fence.
Nick Thorpe has been to see some of them in training.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38977319
|
Norwich City 2-2 Newcastle United - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Norwich City and Newcastle United play out a thrilling draw at Carrow Road after the Magpies had led after 23 seconds.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Norwich City and Newcastle United had to settle for a draw after a frantic Championship game at Carrow Road.
Newcastle had led after just 23 seconds thanks to Ayoze Perez's placed effort.
Jacob Murphy's far-post finish made it 1-1 before goalkeeper Karl Darlow gifted Norwich the lead as he scuffed a clearance and Cameron Jerome tucked in.
Matt Ritchie hit the bar for Newcastle before they deservedly levelled through Jamaal Lascelles' sweet finish, keeping them top after Brighton also drew.
The draw saw seventh-placed Norwich slip further behind sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday, who won to move themselves four points clear of Alex Neil's side with a game in hand.
The hosts were stunned when Perez had time and space to tuck in a right-footed shot in the opening minute, and a lively Newcastle could have doubled their lead but John Ruddy saved well from Aleksandar Mitrovic.
A fine throw from keeper Ruddy then led to Norwich levelling from an exquisite team move, with Murphy applying the close-range finish at the far post after Jerome had shown good strength to get to the byeline and square the ball.
The former Birmingham and Stoke forward then capitalised on Darlow's howler to score the simplest of his 10 league goals so far this season and the Canaries were on course for what would have been a fifth win in six games.
But the visitors began to dominate after half-time and Ritchie's shot struck the underside of the crossbar as they controlled possession and created the greater number of chances.
Lascelles' crisp, left-footed effort from the far post after a neat team move was enough to earn the Magpies a point, though they could have won it late on when Jonjo Shelvey scuffed a shot wide and Perez was denied by Ruddy.
"To be honest, there are mixed emotions after that. Obviously, you are not expecting to concede a goal in the first minute and we were really nervy in the first five minutes.
"But once we got our goal and then got ahead, I thought we were excellent - the response from the players was top class.
"In the second half, we started okay and then we started to drop deeper and deeper to protect what we had and the frustrating thing from our point of view is that we didn't see it out."
"I thought we responded brilliantly to going behind - the character of the players, and their reaction to the setbacks, was the most positive thing for me tonight.
"We had a lot of supporters in the corner and I am sure they will have enjoyed the effort the players put in.
"It was a very open game - good for the fans but perhaps not for the managers. Norwich might think differently but I think we had enough chances to have won it - but you can't always take three points and if we can take four points every two games we will go up."
• None Attempt saved. Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United) right footed shot from long range on the left is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Jonny Howson (Norwich City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None Attempt saved. Ayoze Pérez (Newcastle United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Christian Atsu with a through ball.
• None Attempt missed. Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle United) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ayoze Pérez.
• None Offside, Newcastle United. Jamaal Lascelles tries a through ball, but Christian Atsu is caught offside.
• None Goal! Norwich City 2, Newcastle United 2. Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ayoze Pérez with a cross following a set piece situation. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38889065
|
Carpool Karaoke: Eight things to expect from the new series - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Apple have delayed the series, but judging by the trailer, it will be worth waiting for.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
Alicia Keys and John Legend appear in the new series
Apple Music has delayed the launch of the new Carpool Karaoke TV series.
It had originally been due to premiere this month but the company told Reuters it will now be "later this year".
The delay seems a little odd as we know most of the series has already been filmed.
But, let's be honest, judging by the first trailer, which was released in February, it will probably be worth waiting for.
No reasons were given for the delay, which will see two celebrities paired up for a singalong session in each of its 16 episodes.
The show was commissioned as a series in its own right after the regular Carpool Karaoke segments on The Late Late Show with James Corden proved hugely popular.
Here are eight things we can expect from the show (when it arrives), judging by the trailer.
1. Carpool Karaoke no longer needs to be in a car. Or even on the ground
Carpool Karaoke is no longer confined by silly little details like, you know, actually being in a car.
"This is the next level," says Will Smith, as he guides James Corden towards a waiting helicopter at one point in the trailer. Gravity schmavity.
Appropriately, the first song they sing once they are in said aircraft is, of course, R Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly.
Reports that they also belted out a rendition of Westlife's Flying Without Wings could not be immediately confirmed.
2. Ariana Grande and Seth MacFarlane have zero time for parking restrictions
At one point, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane and singer and all-round awesome person Ariana Grande are shown standing by the parked car.
Earlier in the trailer, they had been seen beautifully singing a song from The Little Shop of Horrors. All sweet and innocent and lovely.
But look a little closer - and the plot takes a much darker turn. They appear to have pulled up across TWO disabled parking spaces.
Ariana is going to have to give us at least six new masterpieces of Side To Side-level quality to redeem herself.
3. It's strange not having James Corden in the driver's seat
Since the dawn of time, James Corden has been a ubiquitous presence in the driver's seat of the Carpool Karaoke automobile.
Which is fair enough, since he basically came up with the idea when he first climbed into a car with George Michael for Comic Relief in 2011.
But he's now allowed someone else to get behind the wheel, which gives us the extremely exciting prospect of episodes with five-piece bands. Or in this case, four-piece bands, plus a guest.
The previous application form was limited to a maximum of four people, which allowed us Carpools featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers and One Direction 2.0.
But behold, now we have comedian Billy Eichner able to hitch a ride with Metallica (pictured).
We're trying not to get our hopes up but this could technically pave the way for Little Mix giving Ozzy Osbourne a lift to Sainsbury's.
4. They may need a bigger car
"You're going to need a bigger boat," said someone once in some famous movie or other.
In this case, the production team are perhaps going to need a bigger car for two of their more well-built guests.
Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal and wrestler John Cena just about managed to squeeze in.
5. Blake Shelton and Chelsea Handler are keen to get their five a day
A slice of orange, a chunk of pineapple, a quarter of lime - it's fair to say country singer Blake Shelton and comic Chelsea Handler are fans of fruit.
Of course, they could be hoping to become the faces of a new fruit and veg campaign, judging by this segment in the trailer.
Because a slice of lemon in your drink counts towards your five a day. Doesn't it. Doesn't it?
John Legend takes Alicia Keys and Hidden Figures actress Taraji P. Henson on a little spin in the new Carpool series, with the two singers seen belting out Alicia's Fallin'. (Tune.)
But they also have a nice little chat, during which John Legend reveals that people often mistake him for somebody else.
"Old white women think I'm Pharrell [Williams] sometimes," he explains.
He even briefly belts out the hook of Happy so as not to disappoint this particular fanbase.
Maybe it goes both ways and Pharrell is regularly stopped by members of the public and asked for a quick blast of All of Me.
7. Wait. Go back a sec. Is that... a BRASS BAND?
Being conducted from a sun roof by Will Smith.
Who is leading them in a rendition of his 1997 treasure Gettin' Jiggy Wit It.
8. Heavy metal sounds better in the dairy aisle
First Blake and Chelsea hit the pub, and look, there's John Legend and Alicia Keys in a laundrette.
Straight in at number one in the Look We Can Be Normal chart, however, is Metallica in a supermarket.
If you haven't experienced Enter Sandman being performed next to the free range eggs, you've not heard Mozart the way it was meant to be played.
A version of this story was first published in February.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38979384
|
Guinea pigs: A popular Peruvian delicacy - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Guinea pigs may be seen as pets in the UK, but in Peru they are an increasingly popular delicacy.
|
Business
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Most people see them as fluffy adorable pets, but in Peru guinea pigs - or "cuy" as they are known locally - are a delicacy.
In the past few years their popularity has really taken off and a boom in guinea pig farming is helping many peasant farmers living below the minimum wage to get out of poverty.
You can hear them as soon as you walk into the dusty barn. The open cages are filled with hundreds of squeaking brown and white guinea pigs, waiting for their owner, Maria Camero, to fill up their red water buckets and give them corn.
"In the past it was only people living in the mountains who bred guinea pigs but now we've realised it's a good business," says Maria.
"You can start with something like $100 (£80) and that money quickly grows because by three months the guinea pigs can start breeding and they will have up to five babies, so the business grows fast."
Maria and her family produce guinea pigs on a much larger scale now thanks to her son-in-law Alessio Cresci. The Italian fell in love with Shelia, Maria's daughter, and decided to move to Peru and build up their business.
Maria went from looking after a few guinea pigs to being part of a team breeding hundreds.
Previously only farmers in the Andes ate guinea pigs, but they are now popular throughout Peru and Bolivia
As well as supplying to local restaurants, they also sell and sometimes donate start-up kits to local farmers who want to get involved, consisting of a breeding pair of guinea pigs and the food and pens that they need.
"I have a daughter who is 13 and I can afford to pay for her to go to a better school, I have also paid for my son to go to university and study to be a graphic designer. This business lets me do that," says Maria.
Maria's daughter and son-in-law, Shelia and Alessio, have helped build up the business
Thirty dollars a month is the average wage for a peasant farmer. Many of them are now earning $130 a month, according to Lionel Vigil, the regional director of World Neighbours, a charity that helps them get started.
The key to their success is the restaurant business, which can't get enough of cuy. Farmers can sell them to local restaurants for about $8 and to high-end restaurants in Lima for up to $13.
"The Incas have eaten cuy for centuries, but in the past it was only farmers in the Andes still eating them," says Mr Vigil.
"When they migrated to Lima they carried on, and little by little other Peruvians from different backgrounds started to get a taste for it and restaurants started to buy guinea pigs."
Farmers can quadruple their monthly incomes by breeding guinea pigs, says Lionel Vigil of the charity World Neighbours
Producers are even looking to the US as a market. Ex-pat Bolivians and Peruvians are prepared to pay $30 for a guinea pig that they eat on special occasions, chopped up and deep fried a bit like chicken.
At first it was hard to get permission for officials to let frozen guinea pigs into the US where, like most of the world, they are regarded as pets.
But with the support of academics and anthropologists, one exporter, Mega Business, has persuaded authorities that this is part of Andean culture and guinea pigs also have a very important nutritional value.
In fact, Peruvians have never seen cuy as pets. And although they accept they are small and sweet, their culinary value trumps their cuteness.
Traditional baked guinea pig - though not all visitors to Peru are keen to eat it this way
Jaime Pesaque is the owner of Mayta, a high-end restaurant in upmarket Lima. He buys about 200 organically fed guinea pigs a month. He says they are high in protein and low in fat.
Traditionally guinea pigs were served teeth, claws and all as a kind of kebab on the local streets - a method that put many people off. Jaime has found a more user-friendly recipe.
"We take out all the bones and cook it the whole night, then we press it for a couple of hours and cook it."
I was dreading trying this national delicacy. I remember those fangs and claws thrust up at me through a train on my way to Machu Picchu. I vowed never to try it. But things change…
And Jaime's version is delicious. The meat is sweet and juicy, a bit like rabbit and pork, and the skin is crispy. He has a new convert.
Many of the people eating in high-end restaurants are tourists who are eager to try something different - provided it is served in the right way.
Although they will always be seen first and foremost as pets for the majority of people in the world, in Peru guinea pigs are offering a way out of poverty.
For more on this story, listen to BBC World Service's World Business Report
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38857881
|
Is losing top job in 24 days a record? - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
The former Trump adviser - fired after three weeks - set a record, but he's not alone when it comes to short political tenures.
| null |
Former Trump adviser Michael Flynn - fired after three weeks - set a record, but he's not alone when it comes to short political tenures.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38964108
|
Facebook videos to autoplay with sound - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
App will still let users play video noiselessly and will not override phones that are set on silent.
|
Technology
|
Much of Facebook’s recent growth can be attributed to the spread of video on its network - and the company told investors recently it planned to aggressively monetise that success.
Today, it announced some ideas to get things moving - starting with a change many users may not appreciate.
Videos have autoplayed on Facebook’s News Feed for some time, leading to a curious rise of “silent movies” as publishers adapted to knowing that the majority of viewers would be watching, but not listening, to their work.
But between now and the end of the year Facebook’s News Feed will be enabling sound on your News Feed by default, a move the company has been testing out on a limited number of users for a short while.
The firm said it had received “positive feedback” so far.
"With this update, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in News Feed, bringing those videos to life,” the company explained in a blog post on Tuesday.
"As people watch more video on phones, they’ve come to expect sound when the volume on their device is turned on.”
Thankfully - for those who don’t want videos to suddenly play out on the bus - if your phone is set to be completely silent, Facebook will not override that. You can also turn it off completely in the Facebook app’s settings.
But data shows us that when something is thrust upon users as the default, they will mostly stick to it.
It will likely change the style of many of the videos we see on the network. For some time now, publishers have realised that because viewers were probably not listening to clips, but just watching them, they needed to add subtitles as a way to draw people in.
Publishers may well relish the chance to do away with that legwork. Subtitling is time-consuming and costly. Facebook’s analytics tools go into great detail about how videos are performing, and so expect companies to be watching closely to see if they can now give up on subtitles.
If that’s the case, it could potentially be terrible news for accessibility. One welcome side effect of viewing habits on Facebook has been that impaired viewers were benefitting from subtitling becoming good business sense as well as just the right thing to do for accessibility.
Earlier this week in the UK, disability groups cheered the arrival of a new amendment to the Digital Economy Bill that would push broadcasters to improve subtitling for on-demand content. It is intended to bring existing laws over TV subtitling into the modern age - giving media regulator Ofcom the ability to set quotas and minimum standards for subtitling online.
But that, as it stands, would not apply to Facebook - and even if it did, the majority of video posted to Facebook originates overseas.
There is, however, potential good news on the horizon: Facebook has also been tentatively rolling out voice recognition software designed to automatically transcribe clips and add subtitles. But, I’m yet to see software truly up to that massive task.
Today’s announcement by Facebook was just one part of several plans the company shared about its video ambitions. Vertical videos will be displayed in full, and therefore appear larger in your feed. And you’ll also be able to carry on watching a video while scrolling down your feed - a feature already found in YouTube’s app.
The plans also include new efforts to reach viewers through their televisions.
The company is launching an app on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung Smart TV with more platforms to come, it said.
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC and on Facebook
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38977427
|
Most swiped-right man on Tinder - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
The top tips from the most swiped man on Tinder.
| null |
The top tips from the most swiped man on Tinder.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38974858
|
Tupperware: How the 1950s party model conquered the world - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
How tapping into a growing middle class in emerging markets saw Tupperware Brands go from failing to a global phenomenon.
|
Business
|
Tupperware parties are no longer polite gatherings over tea and cake, but have been updated to "a girls' night out"
When I meet Tupperware Brands boss Rick Goings there's a funny moment. He's just finished his lunch, but wants to pack the remainder away for later.
He looks expectantly at his colleague, expecting her to magic a box out of thin air. "What, you think I've got some in my handbag?" she scoffs.
You can tell Mr Goings is slightly disappointed. The King of Tupperware hasn't got any at just the moment he needs some.
Yet, despite being in Switzerland, thousands of miles away from the firm's headquarters in Orlando, Florida, it's not an unreasonable expectation that Tupperware's products may indeed be available.
For while Tupperware may, in the UK at least, be forever associated with a bygone era when women stayed at home and men went to work, it's now a thriving international juggernaut.
"We do not look at ourselves as a US company," says Mr Goings.
Rick Goings says the firm now targets countries "where most of the people in the world live"
And you can see why. Sales last year were $2.2bn (£1.8bn) with Asia-Pacific responsible for almost a third of these, while the biggest sales growth was seen in Brazil.
The firm's products - which now include not only Tupperware, but also several beauty brands - are sold in more than 80 countries, and for the past five years, more than 90% of sales have come from non-US markets.
It's a revolution Mr Goings has driven. When he became chief executive in 1997, the firm had already expanded overseas, but was failing. In his first week at the helm he had to write off $100m of bad debt.
"So much was broken," he says about the company, founded in 1946 by inventor Earl Tupper.
His solution was to ramp up the firm's expansion overseas, in particular focusing on Latin America, Asia and Africa and eventually taking the firm to more than 20 additional countries.
He says this shift in focus was obvious, given that Europe and the US combined account for just a tenth of the world's population overall.
"We didn't have to make major changes to our business model and it's where most of the people in the world live," he says.
A recommendation from a friend is always likely to be more persuasive than one from a company, according to McKinsey
Many big consumer brands from Coca-Cola to Procter & Gamble have followed similar paths into emerging markets, tapping into a growing middle class and strong demand for well-known US brands.
Yet Tupperware's model of direct selling - the famed suburban housewives' gathering of the 1950s and 1960s - is exactly the thing that has given it an edge.
While easy to mock - do modern women really get excited about plastic boxes? - it's enabled the firm to get around all the problems of trying to sell in regions where infrastructure is less developed and shops can be a long distance away.
The firm hasn't had to invest in shops, and instead of travelling into town, people can nip over to a friend's house to buy things.
And while the party attendees may start off as housewives, they're unlikely to stay that way, according to Mr Goings. For many of the firm's 3.1 million casual sales consultants, it has provided their first chance of an independent income.
Typically a party will yield about $400 (£320) worth of sales, of which the sales consultant will earn 30%.
"It's a heck of a lot of money," Mr Goings says.
Working for Tupperware has enabled Indonesian Ng Chiu Gwek to educate her three children overseas
Ng Chiu Gwek, one of Tupperware's most successful Indonesian sales force members, who joined the company in 1997, says she loves the firm.
"I have changed my own life into a better life, going from nothing into something," she says.
Previously a full-time housewife, Ms Gwek - who was introduced to the firm by her mother-in-law - now runs a distributorship, responsible for a team of several thousand sales consultants in her hometown of Pontianak and the surrounding small cities.
The job has enabled her to educate all three of her children overseas.
"Tupperware is my life and I have not seen any other company like Tupperware that has changed so many lives for the better," she says.
A Tupperware party is held somewhere in the world every 1.3 seconds, the firm claims
A shake-up of the party format has also helped drive growth. They are no longer polite gatherings over tea and cake, but have been updated to "a girls' night out", says Mr Goings with a conspiratorial nod.
Themes include Mexican night with tequila, and decadent and delicious desserts and meals, with one such party held every 1.3 seconds globally, the firm claims.
In some countries, where small homes mean space for hosting gatherings is limited, the firm has opened so-called "experience studios", where would-be customers can see the products in action. In China it has 5,600 such spaces, but reckons there's capacity for 20,000.
The firm's sales model has another advantage. A recommendation from a friend is always likely to be more persuasive than one from a company, but in emerging markets this is particularly so, according to McKinsey.
The management consultancy found consumers in Africa and Asia were far more dependent on word of mouth, than their developed counterparts. It said this was because with few brands around long enough to have built a loyal following, seeing a friend use a product was reassuring.
It's also tough for counterfeiters - and those making cheaper imitations of the products - to imitate this kind of sales network.
The firm's airtight storage boxes that wowed Western consumers in the postwar years now account for just a third of sales
Neil Saunders, managing director at consultancy Globaldata Retail, says while in developed markets like the UK the firm's long history means Tupperware is seen as a bit old-fashioned compared to more modern rivals such as Joseph Joseph, in emerging markets it doesn't carry this "baggage".
"For consumers there it's a modern innovative brand. It's a challenger and innovator," he says.
And as Mr Goings is at pains to point out while handing me the firm's brochure, the airtight storage boxes that wowed Western consumers in the postwar years now account for just a third of sales.
Instead it is now brightly coloured microwaveable pressure cookers, mini food processors and water bottles that are driving sales.
"The party has changed, the product has changed. We're not just a plastic box company," he says.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38880964
|
Fireworks and faith at general synod - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The Church of England's legislative body faces a further rigorous debate on same-sex marriage.
|
UK
|
The Archbishop of Canterbury was certainly the highlight of the opening day at general synod.
Less an address, more a sermon, he appealed to Christians to turn away from self-indulgence and toward self-sacrifice in order to contribute positively at a time of uncertainty and fear… a climate that he said had been brought about by populist movements across Europe and the election of Donald Trump.
"It is a moment of challenge, but challenge that as a nation can be overcome with the right practices, values, culture and spirit," explained the archbishop. "Which is where we come in. Let's not be too self-important. I don't mean we, the Church of England, are the answer.
"But we can be part of the answer, we have a voice and a contribution and a capacity and a reach and above all a Lord who is faithful when we fail and faithful when we flourish."
But while these comments were made in the context of post-Brexit uncertainty, it was obvious to everyone gathered in the assembly hall of Church House in Westminster that the archbishop was also thinking of Wednesday, when synod will debate the bishops' report on same-sex marriage.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
GS2055, as it is known, was published last month and provoked an immediate outcry. Members of the LGBTI community expressed anger that, after engaging in three years of so-called "shared conversations", the bishops decided not to recommend any change to church practice. Marriage in church would remain the lifelong union of a man and a woman; there would be no facility to bless same-sex marriages.
Wednesday has therefore become the focal point for both traditionalists and those who want the church to mirror a change in the law of the land, which has allowed same-sex marriage since March 2014.
Mr Tatchell, anticipating the protest, said: "The bishops' report defends heterosexual superiority and opposes same-sex blessings and marriages. The church blesses dogs and cats but it refuses to bless loving, committed same-sex couples. It treats LGBTI clergy and laity as second class, both within the church and the wider society."
The bishops' report says marriage in church will remain the lifelong union of a man and a woman
The debate inside, which begins at 17:30 GMT and is scheduled to last for 90 minutes, will be no less accusatory. It is likely to expose the fractures and fissures that exist within the heart of Christian unity.
Evangelical christians, like Ed Shaw, a member of synod and a trustee of Living Out, a charity that exists to support same-sex-attracted Christians who have chosen to remain celibate, are relieved that the bishops have upheld what they say is the biblical position on marriage.
"I think the Church of England has carefully listened," he said. "I think the Church has also come to the settled view of what Christians have always believed down the centuries and what most Christians believe around the world."
For the moment, this remains the official position of the Church of England.
As the Archbishop of Canterbury drew his opening address to a close, he did make one explicit reference to same-sex marriage. He described "the painful discussions" that will take place on Wednesday. That phrase may yet prove to be the understatement of the year.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38970147
|
His Dark Materials follow-ups announced by author Philip Pullman - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Author Philip Pullman's long-awaited follow-up to his best-selling series comes out in October.
|
UK
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Philip Pullman talks exclusively to Radio 4's Today about the release of the "equel" to His Dark Materials
Author Philip Pullman has announced the publication of the long-awaited follow-up to his best-selling His Dark Materials series of novels.
The new trilogy is called The Book of Dust and the first novel will come out in October, 17 years after the last instalment.
He says the books are an "equel", rather than a prequel or sequel.
The His Dark Materials trilogy sold more than 17.5 million copies and was translated into 40 languages.
The series will return to the story of Lyra Belacqua, and will begin when the heroine is a baby, and move on to when she is 20 years old.
"People say, 'Is it prequel? Is it a sequel?' Well, it is neither," said Mr Pullman, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.
"It's an 'equel'. It's a different story which begins roughly 10 years before His Dark Materials and ends roughly 10 years after."
Actress Dakota Blue Richards played Lyra Belacqua in the 2007 film The Golden Compass, based on the first book in the His Dark Materials series
In a separate interview Mr Pullman said: "I know from their letters and tweets that my readers have been waiting patiently (mostly) for The Book of Dust for a long time.
"It gives me great pleasure and some excitement at last to satisfy their curiosity (and mine) about this book.
"At the centre of The Book Of Dust is the struggle between a despotic and totalitarian organisation, which wants to stifle speculation and inquiry, and those who believe thought and speech should be free."
The writer is not giving away any plot details, but has dropped some hints about what the new books could contain, saying that "an ordinary boy" featured in an early part of the story would return as a key character.
Mr Pullman's last His Dark Materials book was published in October 2000, and the first volume of the new series will come out on Thursday 19 October.
The original trilogy - Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - is currently being adapted by the BBC.
There was also a 2004 National Theatre adaptation and a 2007 film, The Golden Compass, which was adapted from first book Northern Lights, and starred Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.
The first book was retitled The Golden Compass in North America.
• None His Dark Materials to be TV drama
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38978023
|
Venus Williams: ESPN's Doug Adler to sue over sacking - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Sacked commentator Doug Adler is to sue broadcaster ESPN, claiming he compared Venus Williams' tactics to a "guerilla", not a "gorilla".
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Sacked tennis commentator Doug Adler is to sue broadcaster ESPN, claiming he compared Venus Williams' tactics to a "guerilla", rather than a "gorilla".
Accusations of racism were made by viewers, who alleged he used the word "gorilla" to describe Williams during her Australian Open second-round match against Stefanie Voegele in January.
Adler apologised but insisted he had said: "Venus moved in and put the guerilla effect on."
However he was later dismissed by ESPN.
Adler's lawyer David M Ring said that "guerilla tennis" was a common phrase in the sport to describe an aggressive match, citing a Spike Jonze-directed advert featuring Andre Agassi and Peter Sampras that was named after the term.
Adler had worked for ESPN since 2008 and was a professional tennis broadcaster for six years prior to that.
He claims he suffered "emotional distress" after the accusations of racism.
An ESPN spokesman told BBC Sport: "We have not been served and are declining further comment."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38978740
|
PSG 4-0 Barcelona: Luis Enrique faces ramifications after Champions League thrashing - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Barcelona's 4-0 thrashing by PSG leaves manager Luis Enrique's future increasingly uncertain, says Spanish football writer Andy West.
| null |
Barcelona are on the verge of failing to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2007 after a humiliating 4-0 thrashing at Paris St-Germain, and the manner of the defeat has sent shockwaves through Spain.
As well as PSG played, the majority of the post-mortem is focussing on just how bad Barca were, with their players and especially manager Luis Enrique facing intense criticism.
The game's stats speak for themselves: PSG had 10 shots on target against just one from Barca, with the French team also collectively covering far more ground (112.1km against 104km) and working harder to win back the ball (46 recoveries against Barca's 36).
Even Lionel Messi, so often his team's saviour, was powerless to intervene, failing to touch the ball inside the PSG penalty box once.
For a club which has such expectations of success, such awful performances do not pass by without ramifications. The tie might be effectively over, but the storm has only just started.
• None Barcelona have been vulnerable all season - Sid Lowe
What went wrong for Barca?
Everything. They were outworked in midfield, overrun in defence, and the superstar forward line of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar had virtually no impact, although the Brazilian at least made a handful of dangerous runs.
From a tactical point of view, the first of those points is the most significant, because PSG's outstanding midfield trio of Marco Verratti, Adrien Rabiot and Blaise Matuidi completely controlled the centre of the field and the flow of the game.
Their dominance was plainly evident in the second, third and fourth goals, all of which saw PSG players breeze unchallenged through the heart of midfield, with no opponents putting any pressure on the ball whatsoever, before calmly delivering passes for Julian Draxler, Angel di Maria and Edinson Cavani to convert.
Indeed, it could have been even worse, with Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen the only visiting player to emerge with any credit after making some decent saves to repel similarly rampaging PSG attacks as his defence offered next to no protection.
A team like Barca repeatedly being so easily carved open was a shocking sight, and the disconnect between their defence and attack - with nothing in between as PSG enjoyed the Parc des Princes' wide open spaces - was the main factor behind the vast gulf between the teams.
Had anyone seen this coming?
Of course, nobody was predicting that Barca would lose so heavily in Paris.
But although the scale of the defeat was unexpected, many fans are now bitterly saying "I told you so" after a season which has regularly threatened to fall apart at the seams.
Despite the success he enjoyed during his first two seasons in charge, many observers have remained unconvinced by Luis Enrique's abilities as a coach, claiming that his only tactical plan is to let Messi do what he wants and hope for the best.
That is an exaggeration, of course, but the fact Enrique did not even use all his available substitutions in Paris despite a horrendous collective performance suggests he is desperately lacking a back-up if his Plan A - relying upon the MSN forward line - fails to prosper.
Although they possess enough individual talent to brush aside inferior opposition, throughout the season Barca have routinely struggled whenever they come up against top-quality teams - with the 3-1 group-stage defeat at Manchester City offering just one example.
Barca were also poor in last week's Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid, only sneaking through after Atletico missed several clear chances (including a penalty) and had a goal wrongly disallowed, and the Catalans have dropped points in La Liga against Real Madrid, Atletico, Real Sociedad and Villarreal.
Indeed, the only team in La Liga's top six they have beaten so far this season is Sevilla, and that was only thanks to a remarkable performance from Messi - the prototype Enrique win, according to his many detractors.
How did the Spanish media react?
Although the players have not escaped criticism, manager Luis Enrique has been well and truly placed in the firing line.
The Barca boss conducted a particularly feisty post-match interview with Catalan broadcaster TV3, firing back "You can tell you didn't watch the game" after it was suggested he had not made any tactical changes during the course of the match.
There were even suggestions that Enrique was later restrained from accosting the reporter, Jordi Grau, because he was so upset by the negative tone of the interview.
If that was the case, Enrique will be awfully unhappy with a lot of members of the media because he has faced widespread and fierce criticism.
An opinion piece in Sport, a newspaper published in Barcelona, described the team as "shipwrecked without a manager", handing Enrique possibly the worst insult imaginable in that particular city by likening him to Jose Mourinho in his treatment of the media ("inventing enemies which don't exist").
And naturally, Spain's pro-Real Madrid publications were more than happy to stick the knife in, with Marca describing the game as a "catastrophe" and calling it Barca's "biggest debacle of the 21st century",
Is this the beginning of the end for Enrique?
Luis Enrique will probably leave the Nou Camp at the end of the season - and not just because of this result.
The former Spain international has never really looked like he enjoys many aspects of his job, regularly stating he does not envisage staying in charge for very long because of the relentless pressures of the position.
He is out of contract at the end of the season, and has always been extremely evasive over whether he intends to sign a new one (although he is evasive about most things, so that is no surprise).
Whether or not he really intends to agree a new contract is a genuine secret - he even kept Barca hanging after winning the treble in 2015 - but now he will probably end up having little choice.
Barca are also adrift in La Liga, with Real Madrid one point ahead and boasting two games in hand, and although they have reached the Spanish cup final, that is unlikely to be enough to keep Enrique in charge - especially considering the nature of what now seems an almost certain Champions League exit.
Results are not the only thing that matter at Barcelona, though, and Enrique is regularly accused of dismantling the possession-based style of play which was initially instilled by Johan Cruyff and later continued by Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola, instead imposing an unattractive and disjointed style which bypasses midfield and relies exclusively on the talents of three players.
The combination of poor results and unpopular playing methods will be tough to survive.
With Enrique's future uncertain, several possible replacements have been touted in the last few weeks.
For many fans, the most popular option would be Jorge Sampaoli, the fashionable Argentine coach who has taken La Liga by storm in leading Sevilla's unlikely title challenge with a daring and versatile tactical approach.
The passionate and intense Sampaoli is rapidly becoming the most highly-rated emerging coach in the world, and Sevilla is unlikely to be a big enough stage for him.
Other candidates are current assistant Juan Carlos Unzue, Borussia Dortmund's Thomas Tuchel, PSG's Unai Emery and Real Sociedad boss Eusebio Sacristan, who has the benefit of being an insider after playing for the club and - like Enrique and Guardiola - previously managing the B team.
In the long run, probably the best bet to bring the "Barca DNA" back to the Nou Camp is the man whose playing career best embodied that style: Xavi. But this summer is almost certainly too soon for the legendary midfielder, who is still playing for Al Sadd in Qatar.
Next time, the job might be his, but for now Barca's board will have to choose between the increasingly unlikely option of keeping Enrique, or taking the plunge for a new man.
Does the squad need an overhaul?
No. Their performance on Tuesday may have been abysmal, but do not forget these are largely the same players who won the treble two seasons ago and the double last year.
Some positions do require reinforcements, especially right-back where last summer's departure of long-serving Dani Alves is being keenly felt.
In the longer term, a major issue will be filling the gap left by Andres Iniesta, who is nearly 33 years old. As with Xavi, directly replacing such a unique player will be practically impossible, but current squad members Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez and Rafinha have not yet convinced.
Nevertheless, Barca's squad remains stacked with players of the highest quality, and the continuity of the front three of Messi, Suarez and Neymar is particularly unlikely to be questioned.
The bigger question is not whether the players are good enough, but how to get the most out of them. Several are significantly under-performing, with midfielders Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic - both undoubtedly world-class players - probably enduring the worst seasons of their careers.
And, indeed, their struggles can be seen as indicative of a team which possesses brilliant individuals but lacks a solid collective structure, something which critics are laying firmly at the feet of Enrique.
Before long, somebody else may well have a chance to put that right.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38972120
|
New £5 note: Bank to keep note despite animal fat content - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The new £5 note will not be withdrawn, despite protests over its animal fat content.
|
Business
|
The new £5 note will not be withdrawn, despite concerns that it contains traces of animal fat, the Bank of England says.
The Bank said it had concluded it would be "appropriate" to keep the £5 polymer note in circulation.
It will also issue the £10 polymer note as planned in September, it added.
Vegans and some religious groups had voiced concerns, as the note contains a small amount of tallow, which is derived from meat products.
A petition to ban the note attracted more than 100,000 signatures.
The Bank said it treated "the concerns raised by members of the public with the utmost seriousness".
However, the central bank also emphasised that "an extremely small amount of tallow" was used at an early stage of producing the polymer pellets, which were then used to create the notes.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Five facts about the new Winston Churchill fiver
The Bank is still working with its polymer supplier to "determine what alternatives might be available" for the current £5 note and the Jane Austen £10 polymer note.
It said it had spent £46m on printing the £5 note, and £24m so far on printing 275 million of the new £10 notes.
"Reprinting these notes on a new substrate would mean incurring these costs again. It would also require a further £50,000 for the secure destruction of the existing stock," the Bank added.
The petition against the £5 note, hosted on the change.org website, stated that tallow was "unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the UK".
A number of Sikhs and Hindus have also called for the notes to be banned from temples, where meat products are forbidden.
Hindus believe cows are holy and sacred, and many do not wear shoes or carry bags made from the skin of cattle that has been slaughtered. Practising Sikhs are strict vegetarians.
The new plastic £5 note was introduced in September 2016 and is expected to last an average of five years - compared to two years previously.
• None Five facts about the new fiver
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38980352
|
Breast cancer survivors model lingerie at New York Fashion Week - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Women who survived breast cancer proudly bare their scars in alternative lingerie.
| null |
Women who survived breast cancer hit the catwalk at New York Fashion Week in alternative lingerie, to raise money for the charity Cancerland.
The AnaOno Intimates show was the brainchild of US designer, and breast cancer survivor, Dana Donofree.
Model Paige Moore, 24, said: "I felt sexy, I felt beautiful, and I was proud."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38966641
|
Analysis: What does Nato want from Trump? - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
What can be expected from the alliance's first formal meeting during the Trump presidency?
|
Europe
|
Nato members will want to be reassured by General Mattis
This meeting of Nato defence ministers is the first formal alliance get-together since the arrival of the Trump administration in Washington. Mr Trump's initial suggestion that Nato was in some sense "obsolete", along with his stated desire to do deals with Moscow, set alarm bells ringing in many capitals, where Russia is seen as a re-emerging strategic threat.
Many in Europe see elements in the Trump administration as having an in-built antipathy towards multilateral institutions. There were also fears about certain officials' closeness to Moscow - a worry that the US might seek a strategic dialogue with Russia over Europeans' heads. Accordingly, the resignation of the president's controversial National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will not prompt many tears in Europe.
America's European allies will, though, at least to some extent, have been reassured by the subsequent noises that have come out of Washington. But they will want to hear direct reassurance from Gen James Mattis - Mr Trump's new defence secretary - that the alliance retains its centrality in US security thinking.
They will also want confirmed that all of the steps that the Obama administration took to reinforce deterrence in Europe - the deployment of additional combat brigades and an intensive series of exercises - will continue under the new man in the White House.
Poland is one of just five Nato members to meet spending the spending benchmark in 2016
Of course Gen Mattis will come with some messages of his own. President Trump - indeed the US Congress - wants to see the European allies shoulder more of the cost of their own defence.
Washington has shown that it is willing to stump up troops and equipment, but while collective Nato expenditure is rising, too many Nato governments have been sluggish in bringing their expenditure up to the agreed target of 2% of GDP. According to the latest Nato figures only five allies, Estonia, Greece, Poland, the UK and the United States met or exceeded the 2% benchmark in 2016.
The demand from Washington that its allies spend more on their collective defence has been a consistent one over recent years. As a former Nato commander, Gen Mattis knows the alliance well and he has heard all of the excuses before. He will deliver the familiar message with more punch and with a clear implication that this time the US administration expects to see prompt action.
Gen Mattis also wants to see Nato become more agile and better at decision-making especially at times of crisis. Washington wants to see the alliance playing a greater role in international efforts to defeat terror and to help prop up failing states.
This is a difficult area which causes divisions among the alliance's European members as much as between European capitals and Washington. Iraq - where Nato has already agreed to conduct a small amount of training - could become a test case.
The Americans are already thinking about what will happen after Mosul is fully re-captured. As the situation on the ground transitions from all-out war-fighting, there will be a continuing need to build Iraqi capabilities. Here there are lots of things that the US believes Nato countries could do - training for border patrolling, instituting defence reforms and so on. So far the response among allies to the small-scale effort in Iraq has been, shall we say, limited.
As far as Washington is concerned, Nato countries don't just need to spend more - they need to significantly enhance their capabilities and be relevant to the sort of real-world tasks in which the US wants its partners to be engaged.
Nato's response to a more assertive Russia is all very well but it threatens to open up fissures between northern and eastern allies, on the one hand, who directly face Russia's modernising forces and countries on Nato's Mediterranean flank, on the other, who confront a very different set of challenges.
The alliance is faced with a more militarily assertive Russia
As the paroxysms in Syria and Libya have shown, the migrant or refugee crisis has repercussions throughout the Middle East and much of Europe.
At this meeting, Nato ministers want to apply a small corrective to enhance the focus on threats from the south. It's a modest start - a small command hub at the joint forces headquarters in Naples whose job will be to explore what Nato can contribute to dealing with the complex security challenges on its southern flank.
But as well as a demand for a more dynamic Nato agenda the US is eager to reassure its allies. A senior US Congressional delegation is visiting the Nato headquarters this week. The Nato meeting is followed by Europe's premier annual security event - the Munich conference - after which the US vice-president himself will also be stopping by at Nato.
It is all something of a curtain-raiser for the US president's own first visit to the alliance which will take place in late May. That looks set to be a fairly brief event - little more than a lunch - in Nato's brand new headquarters building, which inconveniently will not be finished in time for the summit.
By then it is hoped that Mr Trump will have fully made his peace with Nato. If not, a reduced scale summit in an unfinished building holds risks as well as opportunities. The headline writers could have a field day.
The hope is that this Nato ministerial meeting will set the course for more harmonious relations between the alliance and its most important, albeit mercurial member.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38972695
|
Retired army sniffer dog inspires readers - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
The story of a sniffer dog who was retired from the front line in Afghanistan after becoming scared of loud noises is used to inspire those who struggle to read.
| null |
The story of a sniffer dog who was retired from the front line in Afghanistan after becoming scared of loud noises will be used to inspire those who struggle to read.
Vidar, a Belgian Malinois, hunted out roadside bombs and weapons with the Army in Helmand Province.
Medic Angie McDonnell, from the Vale of Glamorgan, adopted him and wrote Gun Shy about his exploits.
After two years of service, five-year-old Vidar suddenly became "gun shy" - a term used in the Army to describe dogs who are scared of loud noises.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-38973776
|
Trump and Netanyahu - in 90 seconds - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
President Trump prodded PM Netanyahu to compromise with Palestinians on a peace plan.
| null |
President Trump told Israeli PM Netanyahu there will be a need to compromise with Palestinians on a peace plan.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38986151
|
Carli Lloyd: Manchester City Women sign USA captain for WSL Spring Series - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
BBC Sport takes a look at the two-time reigning Fifa World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd's career following her arrival at Manchester City Women.
| null |
BBC Sport takes a look at the two-time reigning Fifa World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd's career following her arrival at Manchester City Women.
Available to UK users only.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38982894
|
Newspaper headlines: Papers report on death of North Korean leader's sibling - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The death of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un makes headlines in the press.
|
The Papers
|
The death of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, dominates the front pages of the day's papers.
The Metro leads with the story of how the exile was apparently murdered by a woman pressing a cloth to his face at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Daily Telegraph carries a grim rundown of how Kim Jong-un has "silenced his enemies", employing a range of weapons from flame-throwers to anti-aircraft guns to have his enemies dispatched.
In its obituary, the paper also reports that Kim Jong-nam had a lonely childhood and was allowed only one, much older friend. His large playroom is said to have been restocked each year with toys bought overseas by members of his father's personal security staff.
Kim Jong-nam (left), the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right), was living in exile in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
In an analysis piece, the Guardian says the death of Kim Jong-nam fits well into the "comic-book" depiction of North Korea as a "bizarre hermit kingdom, ruled by a murderous, whimsical, paranoid and overweight tyrant".
But it says Kim Jong-un's dictatorship is no joke.
The paper believes he may have been emboldened to take action against a relative when Donald Trump described Vladimir Putin as a "killer" whom he nevertheless respected.
The Times leads with a warning that the first overhaul of business rates for seven years is likely to bring a tax cut for the internet giant, Amazon, while leaving high-street stores facing large increases.
The paper says the review will create big winners and losers because the revaluations of premises are linked to property prices. That means internet-based retailers like Amazon will benefit, as they have many vast warehouses in low-growth regions.
In contrast, firms which have shops in booming urban areas are more likely to suffer.
The Daily Telegraph has a different focus on the business rates review.
It says the changes will leave NHS hospitals and GP surgeries in England and Wales facing a rates rise of £635m over five years.
The Nuffield Trust think-tank tells the paper that hospitals will struggle to absorb the increases, and may have to look at their staffing levels.
The UKIP leader, Paul Nuttall, has more questions to answer about the Hillsborough disaster, according to the Guardian.
Mr Nuttall apologised yesterday when it emerged that his own website had incorrectly quoted him as saying he'd lost close friends when fans were crushed in the stadium.
The Guardian says UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has more questions to answer about the Hillsborough disaster
The paper carries interviews with the families of some of the 96 fans who died as a result of Hillsborough.
One accuses the politician of using one of the dead "for his own personal publicity". Another urges Mr Nuttall to provide further evidence that he was in the crowd at Hillsborough, as he has long said.
Government ministers are to reject plans for a deposit scheme for plastic bottles, according to the Daily Mail, despite evidence the initiative could "slash litter and boost recycling".
The paper says it's dismayed by the news, after fighting to get rid of single-use plastic bags.
It says similar initiatives in other countries have given children a strong incentive to pick up litter, instead of dropping it.
The Mail argues that the time for a deposit scheme has come - and the environment secretary, Andrea Leadsom, should take note.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38976819
|
EU split over pace of reform as crisis bites - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Brexit fuels a sense of EU crisis - but reforms are likely to be slow, Kevin Connolly reports.
|
Europe
|
There is a theory in politics that times of upheaval and uncertainty present opportunities as well as problems.
It's best summed up in the saying that you should never let a good crisis go to waste - an aphorism so seductive that it has been attributed to all the usual historical suspects, from Machiavelli to Winston Churchill.
It is perhaps in this spirit that the European Parliament has been debating how the EU is going to work in future, in the looming shadow of Brexit.
The UK's vote to leave the EU, last June, came as a seismic shock to most MEPs. And many are quite open in their view that it amounts to a self-destructive decision by the British to uncouple themselves from one of modern history's primary drivers of peace and prosperity.
British Eurosceptics of course would cast the Brexit vote in an entirely different light, and now foresee a future in which the UK will be free to make its fortune - and make its own new global trading relationships - unfettered from the dead hand of stifling Brussels bureaucracy.
It will be years of course - perhaps many years - before we know who is on the right side of that debate.
But one consequence of Brexit is already with us - the EU is now free to debate how it might work in the future without any input from the UK.
In theory that should leave Europe's federalists freer to dream than they have been in the past. Britain's voice has generally been raised to question the wisdom and value of further integration that would give EU institutions greater powers at the expense of individual national governments.
You would expect such dreams to be articulated best by Guy Verhofstadt - the former prime minister of Belgium, who now leads the liberal bloc in the European Parliament and who will represent that body in Brexit negotiations.
Guy Verhofstadt rejects claims that European voters have turned against the EU
In the debate on future reform Mr Verhofstadt said: "The union is in crisis. The European Union doesn't have much friends: not at home, not abroad.
"The Union does not deliver anymore. Rather than to talk about an 'ever closer union', we have a union of 'too little, too late'.
"That's why people are angry: they see all these European institutions, all these summits, all these empty words, but they don't see enough results."
Mr Verhofstadt has a long list of suggested fixes for this continental malaise, including reducing or ending the right of individual members to opt out of collective decisions - something no British government would ever have countenanced.
He has other ideas for how the EU should respond to Brexit too - including moving out of London the headquarters of two EU agencies: the European Banking Authority and the European Medicines Agency.
UKIP's Nigel Farage - an anti-EU MEP in the vanguard of Brexit
But for now, at least, it seems radical visions for reform will be quietly kicked into touch.
The vice-president of the EU Commission, Frans Timmermans, politely welcomed the display of "vision" in the proposals, but noted that most of the suggestions would require EU treaty change. He said simply: "We have to acknowledge that treaty change is not on the top of the political agenda now, in member states in particular."
There are plenty of true believers in the European project who would see in the Verhofstadt proposals the start of a kind of counter-revolution against events which have dismayed them - including Brexit, the US election of Donald Trump and the strong opinion poll showing of insurgent parties in a number of European countries.
But for now a more cautious and pragmatic approach will prevail - partly because there is a general sense in Strasbourg and Brussels that the European institutions will have enough on their plates negotiating Brexit, without kicking off a parallel process of structural reform which would also take years.
That takes us back to the idea that every crisis is an opportunity that shouldn't go to waste.
There are, no doubt, those in Strasbourg who take that view - but it seems for the moment they are outweighed by those who feel that when you find yourself in the middle of a crisis - as they would see Brexit - the smartest course of action is to fix the crisis first and worry about the future later.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38970265
|
Laureus Awards 2017: Bolt, Biles, Rosberg, Atherton & Leicester among winners - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Sprinter Usain Bolt and gymnast Simone Biles claim the top accolades at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Sport
Usain Bolt and Simone Biles claimed the top accolades at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco.
Eight-time Olympic sprint champion Bolt and four-time Olympic gold gymnast Biles were named sportsman and sportswoman of the year for their 2016 achievements.
Britain's Rachel Atherton won the action sportsperson of the year award for her downhill mountain biking feats.
Leicester City won the spirit of sport award for winning the Premier League.
Atherton, 29, became the first rider in history to complete a perfect downhill World Cup season and then won a fourth World Championship title a week later.
Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri and captain Wes Morgan were in Monaco to collect the spirit of sport prize, awarded after the Foxes, 5,000-1 outsiders, won the Premier League by 10 points last season.
Is this the greatest ever sporting selfie?
Bolt won three gold medals at Rio 2016 in the 100m,200m and 4x100m relay.
That took his all-time Olympic medal tally to nine but last month he was asked to hand one back after Jamaican team-mate Nesta Carter tested positive for a banned substance.
Carter was part of the Jamaican quartet that won the 4x100m in Beijing in 2008.
Biles' four gold medals at Rio were in the team, all-around, vault and floor exercise events.
Nico Rosberg, who quit Formula 1 in December five days after being crowned world champion, received the breakthrough of the year prize.
Team of the year: Chicago Cubs, who ended a 108-year wait to win Major League Baseball's World Series.
Comeback of the year: American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won his 23rd Olympic gold in his final Games in Rio.
Sportsperson of the Year with a disability: Beatrice Vio, Italian wheelchair fencer who won gold at the 2016 Paralympics.
Sport for Good Award: for Sporting Inspiration: The Refugee Olympic Team, who competed at the Rio Olympics.
Best Sporting Moment: Barcelona Under-12 team whose players consoled their distraught Japanese opponents at the end of the Junior Soccer World Challenge in a touching show of sportsmanship.
The Laureus Sport for Good Award: Waves for Change.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/38976144
|
London Dungeon apologises for 'upsetting' tweets - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The London Dungeon attraction apologises after complaints that a marketing campaign was distasteful.
|
Technology
|
The London Dungeon tourist attraction has apologised for a promotional Twitter campaign that backfired.
A graphic joking about a murdered sex worker, and another about infecting a partner with a sexually transmitted disease were posted on the attraction's Twitter feed.
Critics said the collection of images was sexist and offensive.
Merlin Entertainment said it was "very sorry" for the campaign and has deleted the tweets.
The group said it had wanted to run a "dark Valentine campaign" to promote the London Dungeon, in which visitors are taken on a tour through London's dark history.
Other messages in the series joked about sex acts, sex workers and body-shamed women
But many Twitter users complained that many of the images tweeted were in poor taste and inappropriate for a family tourist attraction.
Rebecca Reid, a columnist for the Telegraph, said: "The biggest issue here is taking violence against women and turning it into a joke or a cheap marketing ploy."
She told the BBC: "Just because these rapes and murders happened in the past doesn't mean they are fair game.
"Violence, rape and murder are all still a very brutal reality of life for modern day sex workers and these flippant tweets show no awareness or respect for that."
Merlin Entertainment said: "Our brand tone of voice tends to divide audiences. However, we recognise that we've upset some people and for that we're very sorry."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38982373
|
Women's Tour 2017: London to host to final stage, with race to open in Daventry - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
London will host the final stage of the 2017 Women's Tour, with the opening stage on 7 June to run from Daventry to Kettering.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Cycling
London will host the 2017 Women's Tour final stage, with the race to open on 7 June in Daventry.
The five-stage event, won by Britain's Lizzie Deignan last year, will conclude in the capital on Sunday, 11 June.
Its fourth edition will also include stages in Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire and Derbyshire.
All of the world's top 15 teams will take part in the race, which is a part of the UCI Women's WorldTour.
"This year's route will combine testing climbs and beautiful scenery in the heart of England with the London finish, which will be an undoubted highlight of the sporting calendar," race director Mick Bennett said.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/38979341
|
Jackson Page: 15-year old schoolboy progresses to third round of Welsh Open - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Fifteen-year-old Welsh schoolboy Jackson Page reaches the third round of the Welsh Open after knocking out a player ranked 78 in the world.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Wales
Fifteen-year-old Jackson Page says it will be "great to miss more school" after reaching the Welsh Open last 32.
Page beat world number 78 John Astley on Wednesday, having already overcome world 123 Jason Weston in the first round of his debut professional event.
"No English, most importantly, and no history," said the Ebbw Vale teenager. "I am doing GCSEs, but the school know this could be a career for me."
Page has already won £3,500 and will play world number four Judd Trump next.
It is great to miss some more school. No English, which is the most important thing, and no history
"I remember watching Judd Trump when I was a kid, he was at Newport and played Ronnie O'Sullivan on one of the TV tables," Page told BBC Wales Sport.
"I knew I could come here and get far and I looked at the draw and saw Judd and knew I could play him so my eyes were on that."
Page, who attends Ebbw Fawr Learning Community in Blaenau Gwent, won £2,500 for reaching the second round and another £1,000 for progressing to the third.
Another win to reach the last 16 would earn him £6,000.
Page trailed Weston 3-1 in round one, but recovered to win a tense deciding frame.
The youngster also held his nerve superbly to beat Astley with a break of 36 in the decisive frame.
"I am over the moon with the win," Page said. "It is good to beat a player ranked so highly. But I just focus on potting the balls."
When I saw Jackson play, it reminded me of when I was 15 years of age and how I thought about playing. He just loves to be there.
He takes on shots that other people turn down because he's excited at that age and to win two matches as he has done is exceptional.
He's a tremendous potter, he's got no fear at all.
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/38984875
|
Undercover policing inquiry delayed amid new row - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The long-awaited inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing by undercover police could be delayed for years amid a growing legal row with Scotland Yard over its scope.
|
UK
|
The long-awaited public inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing by undercover police could be delayed for years amid a growing legal row with Scotland Yard.
Newly-published documents reveal the Metropolitan Police is questioning the unprecedented size of the probe.
It says it needs months to assess which former officers need their identities protected - and does not believe all of them should give evidence.
Public evidence hearings may not now start before 2018.
Sir Christopher Pitchford, the inquiry's chairman, says he needs to hear from all the officers.
The new delays have emerged a week after the Independent Police Complaints Commission said it was investigating whether a Metropolitan Police unit shredded a large number of files that were relevant to the inquiry.
Theresa May, then home secretary, ordered the inquiry in 2015 after serious allegations against undercover officers.
She told Sir Christopher to report back by July 2018, something that is now impossible.
Documents published by the inquiry on Wednesday reveal months of tension building between its team and the Metropolitan Police over what the force should hand over.
Scotland Yard says it has so far disclosed one million pages and identified 116 surviving former undercover officers from the Special Demonstration Squad, the disbanded unit at the heart of many of the allegations.
The inquiry wants all of them to give evidence but Scotland Yard says that is unworkable because of the "immense" pressures it is under.
In detailed submissions to the inquiry, it says that the demands for evidence dating back 40 years are unprecedented. It is already spending the equivalent of 80 police constables' salaries on the inquiry and may need to have more than 100 officers and staff working full time.
"The Metropolitan Police Service recognises that a number of deployments [undercover operations] will be properly subjected to close scrutiny by the inquiry," says one of the force's letters. "This does not mean however that each deployment will need to be subject to the same depth of review. Many officers are reluctant to engage with the inquiry process."
In a further twist, the documents reveal Scotland Yard proposed that an unnamed detective sergeant would explain to the inquiry how it was managing secret documents even though the officer had been accused of destroying files on the Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones.
The officer has since been cleared of wrongdoing but the inquiry has insisted the individual cannot give evidence.
In his response to the Met's plea for a delay, Sir Christopher said the Metropolitan Police would need to explain at a special hearing in April how the inquiry could work if it did not hear from all the former undercover officers.
"Their evidence is clearly relevant," he says. "The Inquiry needs to see that evidence... it might have been otherwise if the Inquiry could be confident that the documentary records of the Special Demonstration Squad were fully preserved, but they were not.
"It seems to me clear that there is no reasonable prospect that the Inquiry will complete its work within the three year period originally envisaged in July 2015, and that it is unlikely that evidence hearings will take place in 2017."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38984140
|
The human scars of Philippines drug war - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
The effects of the violent war against drugs are still keenly felt in Manila's poor "promised land" district.
| null |
A violent government war against drugs in the Philippines has left thousands dead.
Though it has been suspended, many people living in Manila's impoverished "promised land" district are still suffering the effects. The BBC's Jonathan Head reports.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38977969
|
Low incomes in UK: 'I can't afford kids' meals' - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Youth worker Solomon Smith tells the Victoria Derbyshire programme he lives "hand to mouth" on £9,000 a year.
| null |
Youth worker Solomon Smith says his salary of £9,000 means he can not afford to pay his rent, bills and children's school meals.
Nearly a third of the population of Britain is living on an "inadequate" income, according to research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).
The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38979699
|
Joe Root: New England captain to seek advice of former skippers - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
New England captain Joe Root says he will seek the advice of his predecessors before taking charge for the first time in July.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
New England captain Joe Root says he will seek the advice of his predecessors before taking charge for the first time in July.
The 26-year-old has replaced Alastair Cook despite only leading in four previous first-class matches.
"It would be silly not to talk to people who have been in this position before," Root told BBC Sport.
"Maybe I'll also speak to a few people away from cricket to get different perspectives on things."
The Yorkshire batsman added: "The opportunity to do that comes with a great deal of time before our next Test, hopefully I can be smart about things and use that time wisely."
• None Is Root the right man for the job?
The Yorkshire batsman takes over from Cook, who resigned on 6 February after a record 59 Tests in charge.
Cook has stated his intention to remain in the team, with Root keen to tap into the experience of the opening batsman and other senior players like pace bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
"You shouldn't be scared of asking for help," said Root, who has had limited opportunities to lead in county cricket since making his international debut at the age of 21.
"I will want to do things my way as well because I would like to think I can put my own stamp on the job.
"I like to think I'll be instinctive, I want us to always to look to win and be a tough side to play against."
Speaking before Cook resigned, Root likened becoming captain to being a new father, his first son Alfie having arrived in January.
And he was performing a fatherly duty when he asked to become captain on Sunday evening.
"On Sunday afternoon I took Alfie for a nappy change and got a nice call from Andrew Strauss saying this is that one call in your life when you get offered the England captaincy."
Root will lead England in home series against South Africa and West Indies before the defence of the Ashes in Australia next winter.
His task is to reverse the fortunes of a side that have lost six of their past eight Tests.
"I can't for the Ashes," he said. "We should all be very excited about that.
"We have a great blend of experience and raw talent and there's a core group of players that have played 20 or 30 games.
"It's a great time for them to become more consistent and to make this side really tough to beat."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38983832
|
Is Russia's Arctic presence 'aggressive?' - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
The BBC's Jonathan Beale reports from the Arctic circle, where Russia is building up its forces.
| null |
The BBC's Jonathan Beale reports from the Arctic circle in Norway, where Russia is building up its forces - causing concern for the US, which has called its conduct there "aggressive".
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary James Mattis is expected to call on European nations to spend more on defence, when he attends a meeting of the NATO alliance in Brussels.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38986210
|
Basil Kirchin: The forgotten genius of UK music - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Basil Kirchin was a maverick musician and pioneering composer who is credited as a founding father of ambient music. Yet despite being hailed by acts such as Brian Eno and St Etienne, he remains an obscure figure.
|
England
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Basil Kirchin was a maverick musician and pioneering composer who is credited as a founding father of ambient music. Yet despite being hailed by acts such as Brian Eno and St Etienne, he remains an obscure figure. Now a festival in Hull is casting a light on a man regarded by many musicians as a genius.
In the early 2000s, in a recording studio in Hull, saxophonist Alan Barnes found himself engaged in a particularly odd performance.
"One day Basil said 'I want you to do a duet' and I said 'who with?'," he recalled. "He said 'with Hitler'."
Lo and behold, one week later he found himself "screaming on the bass clarinet at Hitler coming out of a speaker at me" with Kirchin recording it.
"Dueting with Hitler is the weirdest thing you can get really," added Barnes. "But anything could happen with Basil."
Kirchin, who died in Hull in 2005, was an eccentric. He was also a radical innovator whose 1971 record Worlds Within Worlds is often cited as the first ambient album - a genre characterised by its focus on mood and atmosphere rather than traditional song structures.
He pioneered techniques which are now commonplace but were considered radical at the time. These included recording sounds he came across and then cutting, splicing, slowing down or stretching the tape to create strange, new noises.
Perhaps predictably, this radical approach did not lead to commercial success. Worlds Within Worlds only sold a few hundred copies upon its release on Columbia Records.
However, Richard Williams, who subsequently signed Kirchin to Island Records in the early 1970s for a follow up, was not put off by this.
"It wasn't going to be a chart album... but I thought it was worth doing because it was pioneering, experimental and a product of a really interesting man," he said.
Brian Eno wrote the sleeve notes for Kirchin's Worlds Within Worlds volume two album
When Kirchin released another Worlds Within Worlds record in 1974, Williams asked a young Brian Eno to write the liner notes. Eno, who would later popularise the ambient genre with his 1978 album Ambient 1, was more than happy to oblige.
"He was always interested in the new and the experimental so I played him Basil's music and said would you like to write something for the sleeve of the album," he said.
"He was very, very enthusiastic and keen and did indeed write something.
"I know that Basil's music certainly affected the way he was thinking, and it was interesting to hear that somebody else was thinking in the same direction that he was."
But while Eno achieved fame through his work with Roxy Music and later collaborations with David Bowie, Kirchin continued operating on the edges of the music industry.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Basil Kirchin explains his controversial use of autistic children's voices
His subsequent projects and albums, including Abstractions of the Industrial North, Quantum and Particles, all characterise his unique approach and his eccentric personality, but achieved precious little commercial success.
Kirchin's musical career began in 1941 when, aged 13, he joined his father's big band as a drummer. The Blackpool-born youngster took to London's Paramount Theatre, where the Ivor Kirchin band had a long-term residency.
He spent many nights sleeping in a Tube station as the Blitz erupted above. After the war he continued his jazz career, leading the Kirchin band and touring the UK with singer Sarah Vaughan. The band garnered a number of famous fans - including Sean Connery - but Kirchin grew tired of that scene and decided to travel to India in search of spiritual fulfilment.
The Ivor Kirchin Band, with Basil on drums, toured the UK and had long-term residencies in London and Hull
In the 1950s, he spent time at the Ramakrishna Temple on the banks of the River Ganges, 10 years before The Beatles' famous trip to the subcontinent.
"He turned his back on the music business in the late 50s because he was on a spiritual quest really," said Matt Stephenson, director of Nova Studios, which has made a feature-length documentary on Kirchin.
"He got ideas about music and sound and about life that he wanted to find out more about, they mattered to him more than fame and success."
Kirchin's travels ended when, on a trip to Australia, the tapes containing the Kirchin Band's entire back catalogue fell from a luggage net into the sea.
After that traumatic experience, he returned to England, shuttling between London and Hull, where his father's band had a permanent residency.
It was here that Kirchin met sound engineer Keith Herd in a music shop.
"He had a black Mackintosh, he had very long hair and beard and it was 'blimey who's this?'," recalls Herd.
Keith Herd became lifelong friends with Kirchin after first meeting in the 1960s in a music shop in Hull
Together, working in Herd's studio, they helped develop the techniques that would produce Kirchin's radical new sound.
He created a series of soundtracks for imaginary films before film producer David Greene recruited him to provide scores for The Abominable Dr Phibes, I Start Counting and The Shuttered Room.
At around the same time Kirchin delved deeper into the foray of tape manipulation and sound experimentation, giving birth to his innovative Worlds Within Worlds series.
Among the sounds he recorded - and manipulated - were those of autistic children. He was living in Switzerland with his Swiss wife Esther, who was a teacher at a school which catered specifically for autistic pupils.
Kirchin explained his reasons in a BBC Radio 3 interview in 2003, describing how he was "fascinated by the sounds these children make when they're trying to communicate".
"No normal, with the greatest respect, human mind could think of such intervals as they pitch and sing... it's emotional," he said.
Kirchin's wife Esther worked as a teacher at a school for autistic children in Switzerland where he taped their voices, which he later manipulated
The school was in the Swiss valley of Zermatt
Many years later, a new wave of musicians and artists began discovering his work.
Tim Gane, of Stereolab, said his thirst for the experimental and avant-garde led him to Kirchin's records in the early 1980s.
"To me it's experimental, it's also groovy, very wistful, a flowing kind of melodicism which is really unusual, unique to Basil Kirchin's music and it has an identifiable kind of charm about the chords and about the instruments chosen - harpsichord and flutes...
"It's quite exotic, very nice arrangements and very modern melodies. It doesn't sound really like it was done in the mid-60s."
Sean O'Hagan and Tim Gane say they have both been left inspired by Kirchin's music
Former Stereolab stalwart Sean O'Hagan, now of The High Llamas, describes Kirchin's music as being "very instinctive".
"It felt very real, very odd and slightly dangerous.
"It brought me to very odd areas - noisy experimental, totally unmusical forays but also very lyrical songs and some absolutely beautiful film music."
Bob Stanley, of St Etienne, recalls first coming across Kirchin's music in the mid-1990s with a track titled Mind on The Run.
"It's a terrific bit of music. It sounded like possibly something from the Avengers, like a chase scene or something, there's that really frenetic drumming and organ work. It's a great piece of music."
For Kirchin, his unusual sounds and recording techniques were linked to his spiritual beliefs.
"He believed there are several universes going on at the same time," said Stanley, who interviewed Kirchin in 2003.
"So, like a fly's world is completely different to our world, it moves at a completely different speed.
"And therefore if you speed up or slow down sound you can find a way into these parallel universes."
Basil Kirchin lived in a council house off Hessle Road in Hull, where he spent the latter years of his life
By the end of the 1990s, Kirchin was living an impoverished lifestyle in a two-up-two-down council house with his wife in Hull.
However, he continued to produce music with the help of Iain Firth, a young engineering graduate, and paid session musicians with his dole money and royalties.
At the same time, his material had been rediscovered by jazz enthusiast Jonny Trunk, who released a number of Kirchin's tracks on his eponymous record label at the turn of the millennium.
But by this point Kirchin had become very ill with cancer.
"It was difficult to see him deteriorating and it was sad to see," recounts Firth. "It made me really determined to do my best for him."
Engineer Iain Firth worked with Basil Kirchin from the early 2000s until his death in 2005
Three months before he lost his battle with cancer, Trunk interviewed Kirchin in his kitchen in Hull.
"He was great, he was thrilled to be rediscovered," he said.
"He had cancer of everything: he had one eye, he was in a very poor, physical state.
"He was full of the most extraordinary energy and passion, [it was] really amazing to experience that sort of raw energy that he had, even in that state where most people would've given up."
For Barnes, Kirchin's last days were difficult to witness.
"He had this horrible tumour behind his eye so he was visually quite startling," he recalls.
"Later on he had it removed. Me and Bruce Adams went to do a session, he answered the door and half his face wasn't there, which was a hell of a shock. It was terrifying and nothing had prepared us for that.
"But typical of him he was just carrying on as if nothing had happened... that was the last time, it was just before he died."
Bruce Adams and Alan Barnes (right) were among a number of session musicians who worked with Kirchin. Others included the legendary Jimmy Page and Mick Ronson, before they became famous
More than 10 years after his death, Kirchin's achievements are now being publicly recognised at a festival in Hull celebrating his life and work.
"Some of his music's pretty difficult," says Trunk. "Worlds Within Worlds is possibly one of the most radical, hardcore records you could ever, ever hear in your life.
"When I first heard Quantum I thought the house was on fire. No one ever did anything like that until him."
Writer and BBC broadcaster Stuart Maconie, also a Kirchin enthusiast, echoes Trunk's sentiments, saying Kirchin was very much "operating on the margins of music".
"I think there are people out there whose palates are a bit jaded and are looking for something more interesting.
"Basil's stuff will sometimes frighten you, unsettle you.
"Some of the stuff with the autistic kids - it makes you feel slightly unsettled for all kinds of reasons. You think is this exploitative almost, you think 'what's going on here?'.
"But that's good I think."
Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne are among the musicians performing at the Basil Kirchin festival, which runs from 17 to 19 February
For Stanley, Kirchin's musical philosophy and innovative techniques made him "without a doubt the most inspiring person I'd ever met".
"When he was doing it, it was almost impossible. He had to use special equipment made in Switzerland to try and do it.
"It's something obviously anybody can do now, just get a laptop these days, but it was a lot more difficult in the 60s and 70s.
"So yeah he was very inspirational to me."
Mind On The Run: The Basil Kirchin Story runs at the Hull City Hall in Hull from 17-19 February.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38688135
|
'Unique featured' boxer dog Fester gets new home - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Fester was born with a narrow jaw which causes his lower teeth to stick out.
|
Tees
|
Abandoned because of his bizarre looks, Fester the boxer dog, who is blind in one eye and has a protruding lower jaw, has finally been found a new home.
The one-year-old was handed in to the Dogs Trust near Darlington in December after being found wandering the streets as a stray.
Following an appeal on social media, the canine with "a heart of gold" has found a new forever family.
The trust said Fester would be leaving the charity's kennels early next week.
Fester was born with a narrow jaw which causes his lower teeth to stick out - creating some "unique features", a trust spokeswoman said.
"We were concerned that fun-loving Fester may have ended up being over-looked by potential new owners due to his unusual eye-catching appearance," she added.
"He is a gorgeous boy with an amazing character, so we couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to have him as part of their family.
"He's had a rough time and it is fantastic news he will have a new home where he can settle and hopefully his character will shine through."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-38981286
|
Lloyd's of London angers staff with workday boozing ban - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The insurance market's no-alcohol rule sounds the death knell for the traditional City lunch.
|
Business
|
The days of the three-hour, five-bottle City lunch appear to be well and truly over after Lloyd's of London introduced a booze ban.
The insurance market has told its 800 employees that they are not allowed to drink alcohol between 09:00 and 17:00.
Lloyd's said it had been considering the move for some time to bring it into line with "industry norms".
The ban applies to Lloyd's staff, not brokers and underwriters doing business in the historic insurance market.
But angry staff have called the new measures "heavy-handed".
Workers took to Lloyd's intranet to air their grievances, with one asking: "Will we be asked to go to bed earlier soon?"
According to the London Evening Standard, another asked: "Did I just wake up from my drunken induced slumber to find we are now living in Orwell's 1984?"
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Last orders for "boozy lunches" in The City?
The boozy lunch had long been a staple of City life when deals were done and contacts made.
A spokesman for Lloyd's said: "There is no denying that it has traditionally been part and parcel of this type of business."
In an internal memo to staff, Lloyd's said an examination of grievance and disciplinary cases over the last two years found that about half were related to alcohol.
A Lloyd's spokesman said that the market had changed and that Lloyd's wanted to attract younger people to the industry.
He added that Lloyd's wanted to bring its employee guide into line with other companies, such as QBE, which advises staff not to drink as opposed to an outright ban.
He said that if someone was found to have broken the rule, their manager will decide on the best course of action to take.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38978183
|
Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor: American reignites talk of potential bout - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Floyd Mayweather denies reports he is set to fight Conor McGregor but calls on the UFC champion to 'get the fight done'.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Boxing
Floyd Mayweather has denied reports he has already agreed a bout with Conor McGregor, but called on the UFC champion to "get the fight done".
In a Twitter post, Mayweather wrote: "There haven't been any deals between myself and any other fighters.
"If any changes are to come, I will be the first to let the world know."
In reply, McGregor posted a photo of himself sitting on a throne with the caption: "I am in Las Vegas. Floyd has retired on my arrival."
And later Mayweather added: "Listen Conor McGregor, if you really want to get this fight done... take care of your business with the UFC and have your people get in touch with my people."
Mayweather, 39, retired from boxing for a second time in September 2015 after defending his WBC and WBA welterweight titles with a 49th win from his 49th fight, a victory that equalled Rocky Marciano's career record of 49-0.
The American, widely considered to be the best fighter of his generation, also retired in 2008 after 39 fights. In January he told ESPN he had offered McGregor $15m (£12m) to face him in the ring.
McGregor, 28, has never fought a professional boxing match and has said he wants $100m (£80m) to fight Mayweather.
The Irishman became the UFC's first dual-division champion in November and has previously challenged Mayweather to a fight under mixed martial arts rules.
His boxing licence was granted by the California State Athletic Commission in December, allowing him to box in the US state.
However, he is under contract with the UFC and any potential fight with Mayweather would require approval from the body.
UFC president Dana White has said he would pay each fighter $25m (£20m), but on Tuesday he told the Los Angeles Times: "No deal is even close to being done."
Speaking in February of last year, Mayweather said he had been offered "crazy numbers", "nine-figure" sums to fight again.
"If I do get the itch to come back, it really won't be for the money but I have to get paid. That's why the nickname is Floyd 'Money' Mayweather," he added.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/38978420
|
Iranian Oscar contender to screen in Trafalgar Square before ceremony - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
An Iranian Oscar hopeful impacted by President Trump's travel ban is to have an open-air premiere.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti play a couple at odds in The Salesman
An Iranian Oscar contender affected by President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban is to have an open-air London premiere just hours before the ceremony.
The Salesman, up for the best foreign language film award, will be screened in Trafalgar Square on 26 February.
Its director has said he will not go to the Oscars due to President Trump's attempts to bar people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.
It is not yet known if Asghar Farhadi will attend the event in London.
The director - whose earlier work A Separation won the foreign film Oscar in 2012 - said the free screening had "a great symbolic value".
Farhadi won a prize for his screenplay at last year's Cannes Film Festival
"The gathering of the audience around The Salesman in this famous London square is a symbol of unity against the division and separation of people," he said.
The afternoon event will include a programme of readings and speeches from actors and directors, including Mike Leigh.
The Salesman, which opens in the UK on 17 March, tells of a couple whose relationship suffers as they rehearse an amateur production Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.
Last month the organisers of the Oscars said they found it "extremely troubling" that Farhadi could be barred from entering the US.
In a statement, the director said he would not attend the Academy Awards even if he were offered dispensation by the US government.
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.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38968873
|
Carli Lloyd's Manchester City move marks new chapter for US captain - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
How new signing Carli Lloyd brings single-mindedness, determination and a quest for perfection to Manchester City.
| null |
When Carli Lloyd scored from the halfway line to complete a hat-trick in the first 16 minutes of the 2015 Women's World Cup final, her United States team-mate Hope Solo ran from her goal to scream: "Are you even human?"
Having already scored winning goals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic finals, Lloyd was already one of the most celebrated players in the United States.
But earning America's first World Cup in 16 years and scoring such a spectacular goal pitched the midfielder's status to almost superhero level, with 2015 and 2016 Fifa World Player of the Year awards following.
After spending years training on her own in a sparse field in Delran, New Jersey, and showing a single-mindedness which led to a relationship breakdown with her parents, Lloyd had finally proven her doubters wrong to reach the pinnacle of her sport.
Now a new journey begins for the 34-year-old US captain after leaving Houston Dash for a short-term deal with Manchester City, which former England striker Kelly Smith, a former club team-mate of Lloyd's, calls a "coup".
City will now hope Lloyd's undoubted stardust and renowned dedication rub off on a team who are gunning for the Champions League title in their competition debut.
For those unfamiliar with Lloyd's story, her 55-yard lob in the World Cup final victory against Japan was no fluke.
It was the product of a feverish commitment to training - which included smashing shots from the halfway line - with her coach and mentor James Galanis. He has been credited with moulding a young player with serious confidence problems and a body not built for an elite midfielder into the world's best player.
As detailed in her autobiography, When Nobody Was Watching, it is clear nothing gets in the way of Lloyd's ambition to continually improve. And the good news for Manchester City fans is that, even after her World Cup triumph, she believes she can get even better.
"Her determination exceeds anyone I've ever met," Smith, who played with Lloyd for the New Jersey Wildcats in 2004 and spent the majority of her playing career in the US, told BBC Sport.
Country: US debut in 2005; 232 appearances and 96 goals Honours: 2008 & 2012 Olympic gold medallist, 2015 World Cup winner, 2015 and 2016 Fifa World Player of the Year
Fuelling that drive is a quest for perfection and a desire to prove people wrong. It began when she was dropped from the Under-21 national team and was ready to quit football altogether, toying with the idea of becoming an FBI agent.
But then she met Australian coach Galanis, a trainee electrician, who offered a turning point in her career and proved a lifelong mentor. In 2004 he concocted a 12-year plan, which included Lloyd becoming World Player of the Year by 2016.
While her relationship with Galanis has been the backbone of her success, some of her family have blended into the background.
Her golfer husband, Brian Hollins, whom she met in her teens, has learned to stay away from big tournaments to prevent any distractions. And Lloyd's long-running feud with her parents dates back to the beginning of her career when she chose to do things her own way.
They disapproved of her aloofness around US team-mates and a choice of agent, and weeks before her triumph at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, asked her to move her possessions out of their home.
Lloyd hints in her book they may have been jealous of the part Galanis has played in her career and despite calling the situation "heartbreaking", has not spoken to them since 2012.
Lloyd says she "doesn't do fake" and has had disagreements with former US coaches but current manager Jill Ellis, who has had a long-standing connection with her captain since she managed the under-21 team, has said Lloyd is "team-orientated" and "real".
Washington Spirit midfielder Joanna Lohman, who has known Lloyd since they were 14 and played in the same US youth team, told BBC Sport: "It's great to have that edge, look where it's taken her.
"When you don't back down on things and you see things as challenges as opposed to failures, it pushes you even harder."
As a big Liverpool fan, Lloyd has always looked up to former Red Steven Gerrard as the player she wanted to emulate: a box-to-box midfielder with an eye for goal and a fearsome shot.
Smith likens her more to former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard for her "goalscoring ability, and how she arrives late in the box" but says it has taken time to develop those skills.
"She wasn't the most technical back when we played, she isn't like Brazilian forward Marta, who beats two or three players at a time," Smith adds. "But she was always very fit, had a fantastic work-rate and was a winner."
That much has been proven in her international career, with three major titles and 96 goals in 232 appearances, making her the national team's all-time highest goal-scoring midfielder. Current US boss Ellis calls Lloyd "incredible for her consistency in big games".
Club success for Lloyd has been less impressive. She is yet to win a US domestic championship - the closest she came was a runners-up medal with Western New York Flash in 2013, so winning the Champions League or FA Cup with Manchester City would be a glittering addition to her CV.
Can she help City achieve that success in the twilight of her career? Lloyd has already proven that age has little effect on her work-rate.
"Carli's a leader on and off the pitch and her winning mentality will help them reach the next level," Smith says.
Former England captain Casey Stoney says Lloyd will have a massive influence on City and the league.
"She's not past her peak," the Liverpool defender said. "Look at [Manchester United forward] Zlatan Ibrahimovic - he's playing some of the best football of his career and he's 35.
"Experience buys you time on the ball and better decision-making. It wouldn't surprise me if she was playing in the next World Cup in two years' time."
Why has Lloyd come to England?
If Manchester City were looking for a marquee signing to demonstrate their growing status in women's football, then Lloyd is a stunning addition to their squad.
Lloyd is one of several US players who have recently left their country to ply their trade in Europe.
The best paid player in women's football, Alex Morgan, joined French side Lyon, lightning-fast winger Crystal Dunn signed for Chelsea and midfielder Heather O'Reilly, who recently retired from international football, joined Arsenal.
But according to Stoney, Lloyd will be "the biggest overseas player to have played in England, without a doubt". It is likely she will have a salary to match.
City, who only played their first season in the FA Women's Super League in 2014, won the title last season, and with the club's wealthy owners investing more in players and facilities than any other English side, a period of dominance looks likely.
Part of that masterplan is to make inroads in Europe in their debut Champions League season, which continues with a quarter-final tie against Danish side Fortuna Hjorring on 23 March.
But as much as Lloyd can benefit City, they can also provide a new chapter for the attacking midfielder.
US boss Ellis, who was born in England, has encouraged American players to experience European football in a year when there are no major tournaments. It comes at a time when US players are in a pay dispute with the national federation, but Smith believes it has more to do with the quality of the football on offer in Europe.
"The game in America can often be quite back to front and long ball, but players are more technical in Europe and nowhere more than in the Champions League so players want to sample that," she says.
"Lloyd will also experience the best facilities around. Sometimes in the American league you use university pitches and changing rooms, so to be part of a club like Manchester City can be quite precious to Carli."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38971354
|
The boy who watched IS beheading videos - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The nine-year-old put through the Prevent scheme after viewing violent websites .
|
UK
|
Haaruun says he would visit the violent websites at the weekend when everyone was outside playing
What leads a young child to stand up in front of his class and tell his school friends that he agrees with the aims and objectives of the so-called Islamic State?
Matthew Price met one of the youngsters identified through the government's controversial Prevent programme as being at risk from radicalisation.
The boy is now 10 years old. He is small, with a round face and engaged eyes. You can tell he is intelligent because he asks questions - lots of them. It is that curiosity that got him into trouble in the first place.
These days he will not repeat the exact words he used just over a year ago in his primary school classroom in west London.
What we are told, however, is that he stood up in front of his class and declared his support for the so-called Islamic State.
It was a declaration that set in motion a series of interventions from his teachers, children's services and the government's Prevent team which has been set up to de-radicalise at-risk individuals.
Haaruun started researching IS after the Paris attacks
For obvious reasons we are not revealing the identity of this boy, but let's call him Haaruun. He lives in London, with his mother and several brothers and sisters, and was nine years old when his journey began.
"I saw on the news the Paris attacks," he says. "As soon as that happened I was on the computer.
"I searched up ISIS on Google and it came up to BBC News. I saw that. Then I went down and it went to Channel 4 'Children of the Caliphate' and I was shocked. Then I watched other sites."
It was those other sites that really exposed Haaruun to the brutality of IS and left him - his case worker believes - vulnerable to radicalisation.
"It led me to this one that had brutal executions and them burning people. It just showed them lighting them on fire. The people chained up, lighting them on fire and then they burned them."
There is no emotion as Haaruun describes another video.
"The men were walking with their hands behind their back," he recalls. "Then they were hit and told to sit down."
He doesn't pause as he delivers the next sentence: "Then they cut their heads off."
There is no typical case that lands on the desks of Prevent teams across the country.
They work with children - some as young as Haaruun, others are teenagers - and they work with adults.
Since 2012, Prevent has dealt with more than 1,000 cases. Many involve Islamist radicalisation and in the last year, around a quarter of referrals were because of concerns about far-right extremism.
It was a far-right website seeking to denigrate Islam which Haaruun had come across and where he was looking at the brutal IS videos.
"It would be on a weekend, like 'cos everyone was going outside and playing. So when they were all gone and the house was empty, I would go and sit freely in the living room and search up."
Siddhartha Dhar, also known as Abu Rumaysah, was suspected of being the man behind some of the IS videos of which Haaruun became aware
He was not the only one at school who was interested.
"They'll be kids fighting - like some kids are saying 'Ah, Hezbollah are stronger than ISIS'."
Haaruun says a lot of children in his school know about IS because so many have family backgrounds in the Middle East.
"There was a group of eight children which were always speaking about it. They were searching it up - even in the classroom.
"When we were doing some research, a boy searched up ISIS and he went on the video. I said 'close the tab' and the teacher came and he heard something and he said 'What was that' - and they all said 'Nothing'.
"I knew what I was looking at was bad, but then it wasn't only me that was doing it. It was unfair. Other people got away with it."
Behind the scenes, unknown to the school, and discovered only by the woman from Prevent who ended up working his case, Haaruun was being bullied.
He does not talk about it much now. Yet some of the children, he says - both Muslim and non-Muslim - labelled him a "terrorist".
The bullying seems to have played a significant factor in isolating Haaruun and in fuelling his interest in IS. Gradually he became an expert in the group and could name its leadership structure.
It was all information that led to that day when he stood up in class and declared his sympathy for IS. And that led a woman called Mariam to his home.
"My mum just said to me one day, 'There's someone coming to the house'. I heard Mariam come in. I was scared and Mariam said the reason she was here and I thought I was going to go to prison."
Mariam - she prefers we do not use her surname because of her continuing work for Prevent's Kensington and Chelsea team - says it took time to gain Haaruun's trust.
"It took quite a few meetings before he was opening up and talking about all the things he watched," she says.
There followed almost a year of work between the two. Haaruun would take Mariam to the websites he accessed and they would discuss the videos.
Mariam warns that vulnerable people could become radicalised through chatrooms
She used a social work tool in which Haaruun was asked to list things that made him happy, others that he was interested in and things that were scary.
Under happy he put "peace" and "family" and "Islam" and under interesting went "war".
"ISIS" went under scary. So too did "school" - and that is what alerted Mariam to the bullying.
Haaruun's mother had tried to deal with the problem, but he had found a way of seeing the material he wanted to see. "She couldn't keep up with the questions," Mariam says.
Today, she does not have to. Prevent have ended their work with Haaruun and if he has learned one thing, he says, it's "not to go on bad things - bad sites".
"Mariam told me the repercussions of it and the impact of how it's not good. Like if you keep on watching it you'll be brainwashed and then you or someone will join ISIS and they will be in trouble and you'll go to prison," he says, still matter-of-fact.
But could that genuinely have happened to Haaruun?
"We're not suggesting he would become a terrorist," says Mariam. "What we are saying is he was vulnerable.
"(He could have gone) on to a chatroom and spoken to someone who's there to radicalise him. Could he have said something out on the street and then someone's walking by who's got an interest and attempts to radicalise him?
"He is a vulnerable young man who's seeing things, forming opinions. How that would have developed without Prevent, we can't predict that.
"We're not saying he's going to take a bomb and blow anyone up. But it's about minimising those risks."
Haaruun is still the engaged, interested little boy he always was.
Mariam and the team have given him access to what they call "safe spaces" in which to learn. People from his community, the school and other activities all help him explore the wider world, but now in a safe way.
He says he wants to be a lawyer or an accountant. There is a pause and he adds, with a shy smile, "or a journalist".
Hear Matthew Price's report on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday morning or on iPlayer afterwards.
• None What is Prevent- - Lets Talk About It The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38959615
|
Birmingham man makes videos to sign pop lyrics for deaf people - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Online videos feature man signing pop music lyrics for those who have never heard them.
| null |
A man is using sign language to share pop music with deaf people.
Wayne Barrow, from Birmingham, whose parents are profoundly deaf, makes online videos in which he signs lyrics.
He said he learned to sign before he learned English and has called for signing to be taught in schools.
The videos, which are posted to Facebook and YouTube, have, according to Mr Barrow, helped his mother understand music.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-38971644
|
Welsh Open 2017: Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby make second round - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and world number one Mark Selby progress to the second round of the Welsh Open.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Coverage: Live television coverage on BBC Two Wales, BBC Red Button and online
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and world number one Mark Selby both progressed to the second round of the Welsh Open on Tuesday.
O'Sullivan, 41, chasing a fifth Welsh Open title, recovered from going a frame down to beat Tom Ford 4-1 and set up a meeting with Mark Davis.
Fellow Englishman Selby, 33, did not drop a frame as he beat Liam Highfield.
• None View the scores and schedule of play from the 2017 Welsh Open.
There was another surprise exit as China's world number five Ding Junhui was knocked out in the first round in a 4-2 loss to Finland's Robin Hull.
World number four Judd Trump eased through 4-1 against Andrew Higginson, while Scottish Open champion Marco Fu beat Martin Gould 4-2.
Fifteen-year-old Welsh schoolboy Jackson Page is back in action on Wednesday, when he faces John Astley in the second round.
The teenage wildcard entry eliminated world number 123 Jason Weston in the first round of his debut professional tournament on Monday.
Find out how to get into snooker, pool and billiards with our fully inclusive guide.
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/38973253
|
Benedict Cumberbatch 'honoured' to top favourite BBC characters poll - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
"Who would have thought a high-functioning sociopath could be so popular?" says the Sherlock star.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
Sherlock has been sold internationally to 240 territories
Sherlock has come out on top again - this time in a worldwide poll of most popular BBC television characters.
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch said he was "honoured" to see his portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth voted top by viewers in seven countries.
He continued: "Who would have thought a high-functioning sociopath could be so popular... all over the world?"
Another poll of iconic BBC moments saw Sherlock seemingly falling to his death score more than a quarter of the vote.
That put the ending of 2012's Reichenbach Fall episode streets ahead of Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch, its closest competitor.
The BBC Worldwide Showcase poll surveyed more than 7,000 people from Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico and the United States.
Almost 30% of respondents put Sherlock Holmes top, ahead of the Doctor of Doctor Who fame, Idris Elba's Luther, Fawlty Towers' Basil and Top Gear's Stig.
Patsy Stone, played by Joanna Lumley, is the most fabulous woman on the BBC's popularity list
Ab Fab's Patsy Stone is the highest ranking woman in the list - though that may change if the next Doctor is female, or if it turns out The Stig has been keeping something from us.
Other characters on the Top 10 include Edmund Blackadder, Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances and the Vicar of Dibley.
Basil Fawlty makes another appearance in the Top 10 of most iconic BBC moments, thanks to the Gourmet Night episode in which he attacks his car.
Other moments singled out include Colin Firth's Mr Darcy emerging from a lake in Pride and Prejudice and David Brent's "dancing" in The Office.
BBC Worldwide's Paul Dempsey said the poll demonstrated "the love and affection audiences have for our shows around the world".
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.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38972437
|
Football headers 'linked to brain damage' - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Footballers suffer similar brain damage to boxers, a small scientific study suggests.
|
Health
|
Repeated headers during a footballer's professional career may be linked to long-term brain damage, according to tentative evidence from UK scientists.
The research follows anecdotal reports that players who head balls may be more prone to developing dementia later in life.
The Football Association says it will look at this area more closely.
Experts said recreational players were unlikely to incur problems.
Dawn Astle, the daughter of former England and West Brom striker Jeff Astle, who died aged 59 suffering from early onset dementia, said it was "obvious that it [his dementia] was linked to his footballing career".
The inquest into his death in 2002 found that repeatedly heading heavy leather footballs had contributed to trauma to his brain.
Ms Astle told BBC Radio 5 Live: "At the coroner's inquest, football tried to sweep his death under a carpet. They didn't want to know, they didn't want to think that football could be a killer and sadly, it is. It can be."
She said her father was 55 and physically very fit when he went to the doctor, who diagnosed him with the early onset of dementia.
By the end he "didn't even know he'd ever been a footballer", she said, before adding: "Everything football ever gave him, football had taken away."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeff Astle's daughter tells Today it's "unforgivable" the problem was ignored for so long
Researchers from University College London and Cardiff University examined the brains of five people who had been professional footballers and one who had been a committed amateur throughout his life.
They had played football for an average of 26 years and all six went on to develop dementia in their 60s.
While performing post mortem examinations, scientists found signs of brain injury - called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in four cases.
CTE has been linked to memory loss, depression and dementia and has been seen in other contact sports.
Prof Huw Morris, of University College London, told the BBC: "When we examined their brains at autopsy we saw the sorts of changes that are seen in ex-boxers, the changes that are often associated with repeated brain injury which are known as CTE.
"So really for the first time in a series of players we have shown that there is evidence that head injury has occurred earlier in their life which presumably has some impact on them developing dementia."
In the study, published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica, the report's authors make it clear they were not analysing the risks of heading by children.
Jeff Astle won five caps for England and played in the 1970 World Cup Finals
But the science is far from clear-cut.
Each brain also showed signs of Alzheimer's disease and some had blood vessel changes that can also lead to dementia.
Researchers speculate that it was a combination of factors that contributed to dementia in these players.
But they acknowledge their research cannot definitively prove a link between football and dementia and are calling for larger studies to look at footballers' long-term brain health.
There are many different types of dementia - Alzheimer's is the most common form
Dr David Reynolds, at the charity Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "The causes of dementia are complex and it is likely that the condition is caused by a combination of age, lifestyle and genetic factors.
"Further research is needed to shed light on how lifestyle factors such as playing sport may alter dementia risk, and how this sits in the context of the well-established benefits of being physically active."
He added that for people who are recreational footballers, football injuries are unlikely to cause long-term problems and he pointed to expert advice that the benefit of exercise is likely to outweigh the risks.
A number of previous cases involving boxers and American footballers have suggested that repetitive blows can cause long-lasting and progressive brain damage.
But until now there have only been a few case reports of individual footballers with CTE in the UK and the extent of the issue is still unknown.
The Football Association welcomed the study and said research was particularly needed to find out whether degenerative brain disease is more common in ex-footballers.
Dr Charlotte Cowie, of the FA, added: "The FA is determined to support this research and is also committed to ensuring that any research process is independent, robust and thorough, so that when the results emerge, everyone in the game can be confident in its findings."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38971750
|
Ben Stokes: England need to make people 'fall in love' with Test cricket again - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
England need to make people "fall in love" with Test cricket again, says new vice-captain Ben Stokes.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
England must make people "fall in love" with Test cricket again, says newly appointed vice-captain Ben Stokes.
Yorkshire batsman Joe Root has been named as new Test captain after Alastair Cook resigned after more than four years in charge.
"We need to win but we want to perform in a manner that makes people want to come and watch us," Stokes said.
Root's first Test match as England skipper is against South Africa at Lord's beginning on 7 July.
The 26-year-old has stepped up from vice-captain, with Durham all-rounder Stokes, 25, filling the role as his deputy.
"Test cricket is the pinnacle and we need people to fall in love with it again," added Stokes.
Discussing his elevation to vice-captain, he added: "Everything I do is to win and being vice-captain won't change me as a person or as a player.
"I want to be involved in all aspects of the game, whether it's hitting the winning runs or taking the final wicket. I have always wanted to be in the middle of it.
"Being vice-captain I will have to bring a mental and supportive side too. If I am not involved in the game then I will have to add my tactical input.
"I have been more vocal over the last year but I only speak when I think something needs to be said. I'm not one for cliches.
"Just being vice-captain doesn't give me the right to say whatever I want."
England have lost six of their past eight Tests, the most recent by an innings and 75 runs against India in December as they slipped to a 4-0 series defeat.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38975999
|
You're never alone at the Museum of Broken Relationships - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Suffering a post-Valentine's crash? One museum turns the detritus of breakups into art.
|
US & Canada
|
Courtesy of the Museum of Broken Relationships One heartbroken person sent a collection of font examples they "mutually loved" with their partner
After a relationship ends, even the most mundane objects can become painful reminders. One museum in Los Angeles puts them on display.
When you're heartbroken, everything reminds you of the person who's no longer there. So do you burn your love letters? Throw away your wedding dress after a divorce? Send back that single mismatched sock?
At the Museum of Broken Relationships in Hollywood, everyday stuff is exhibited as art along with each object's story of betrayal or loss. The result is a moving collection of heartbreak.
One woman from San Francisco crammed her wedding dress into a pickle jar after her husband of five years left her. Even though her dress was "non-traditional" - meaning the kind you could wear again - she never did.
"I hate throwing perfectly functional items in landfills but would hate to see someone walking around in my once beautiful but now sadness-infused dress," the woman wrote on a card now on display next to the jar.
The jar was used mainly for space, she wrote, but "any sort of appropriate pickle metaphors can also be invoked".
All of the items at the museum are exhibited anonymously. The museum, which opened this summer, was created by a lawyer who visited the original Museum of Broken Relationships in Croatia and wanted to bring the concept to Los Angeles.
Two artists opened the Croatian museum after breaking up and deciding to curate the debris from their relationship.
The exhibits in the LA museum are donated from around the world.
A Norwegian donated an iron with the short story: "This iron was used to iron my wedding suit. Now it is the only thing left."
One exhibit displays an expensive bottle of wine a British couple having an affair planned to drink once they both left their spouses. But the wine remains untouched, the bottle never opened.
What happened to their marriages, or if their spouses knew about their infidelity, is left unsaid.
A Slovenian donated a key - a small gift from a friend. The story behind the key says: "You turned my head; you just did not want to sleep with me. I realized how much you loved me only after you died of Aids."
The museum attracts both the broken-hearted having a cathartic cry and couples on dates, says Alexis Hyde, the director of the museum.
But she was surprised that it's become a family destination for parents looking for ways to talk about love with their teenage children.
"It becomes this really safe place to talk about sex and relationships in a way that's not like 'Gross, mom stop talking to me,'" Ms Hyde says.
"It's a really beautiful way to open a dialogue about what is OK and what is not," she says.
"You're going to have your heart broken and that's normal. Even though you feel so alone, you're actually very normal."
"It's a little less isolating I think."
One of the more unusual exhibits is a pair of sizeable silicone breast implants a woman says she felt pressured to get by an ex-boyfriend. Her body rejected the implants and she had to have multiple surgeries to remove them and reconstruct her body.
Courtesy of the Museum of Broken Relationships
"She held on to them to remind herself don't change for someone else. You have to love yourself to be loved and be in a productive relationship," Ms Hyde says, adding that the woman hoped her donation would inspire others to have healthier relationships.
"She was hoping that people would read this and take the cautionary tale."
The museum also includes a broken promise ring and a collection of tins, boxes and books with examples of the "mutually loved font" of a former couple.
There's a dress bought by a girl who planned to wear it to impress a boy. But the boy killed himself before she had the chance.
Mix tapes - a sign of love - now in the museum
There's also a drawer full of mix tapes on display. If you don't remember mix tapes, they were the ultimate romantic gesture of the 1980s - painstakingly-made collections of music put together by recording songs off the radio on to cassette tapes.
If you missed the start of the song you planned to record, you had to wait for the DJ to play it again the next hour or day, depending on the song's popularity.
The collection is not what people have come to expect from a museum on Hollywood Boulevard, where tourists frequent Madame Tussauds wax museum and where actors dressed as Chewbacca and Spider-Man hustle tourists for photos.
"This museum cuts through to the truth of the human experience now like a scalpel. I think that it's a very sophisticated, conceptual art museum even though maybe the objects that compose it themselves individually might not be necessarily considered art," says Ms Hyde.
Alexis Hyde says the museum "cuts through to the truth of the human experience"
Visitors here are more from the local Los Angeles art scene than tourists.
Inside, it's a quiet, cathartic museum and many visitors walk the museum alone, quietly crying.
Many visitors say they come to feel less alone and more connected to their fellow lonely hearts.
But one visitor says the experience is overwhelming.
"I'm feeling their pain," he says of the people who donated items to the museum.
"I just feel so alone in here."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38960969
|
Asamoah Gyan deemed to have 'unethical hair' in United Arab Emirates - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan is one of more than 40 players deemed to have "unethical hair" in the United Arab Emirates.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan is among a group of more than 40 players deemed to have "unethical hair" under United Arab Emirates Football Association (UAEFA) guidelines.
The 31-year-old Ghanaian is on loan at Dubai-based Arabian Gulf League side Al Ahli from Shanghai SIPG.
Some Islamic teachings ban 'Qaza' hairstyles, where only part of the head is shaved.
Individual match referees judge whether players' haircuts are appropriate.
Some match officials in the United Arab Emirates enforce the rules because they are concerned about children copying the styles.
Similar guidelines have been enforced in neighbouring countries. In 2012, Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah was told to cut his "un-Islamic" hair by the referee before playing for his club side Al Shabab.
The UAEFA sends a player's club a warning letter in the first instance, with punishments escalating to a fine and then a suspension if he does not comply.
Gyan is one of 46 players at the warning letter stage.
According to Middle Eastern football website Ahdaaf, Al Wahda's Suhail Al-Mansoori (pictured below) was told to cut his hair while UAE international and 2016 Asian footballer of the year Omar Abdulrahman, who sports a similar style and also plays in the Arabian Gulf League, was let off.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38978373
|
Is Nokia bringing back the 3310 and who would want a retro phone? - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Rumours suggest the iconic mobile from the year 2000 will return to shelves but the company has refused to comment.
|
Newsbeat
|
Rumours suggest that Nokia are planning to bring back their iconic 3310 phone.
Mobile users of a certain age have been getting very excited on social media about the return of this sturdy, reliable handset.
If you were in the market for a new phone in the year 2000, then the 3310 may have been on your wish-list.
But when Newsbeat contacted Nokia about the rumours, the company refused to comment.
"Though we're as excited as everyone else to hear their news, as we have often said about such stories, we do not comment on rumour or speculation," a spokesperson tells us.
If you ever owned one of these phones then the return of the 3310 may be exciting news to you
It may seem unlikely in the world of Android and iPhones that anyone would want a 17-year-old handset that was best known for playing Snake, but the experts believe there is a place in the market.
"I'm fairly confident my grandmother could use a 3310, but she wouldn't know where to start with an iPhone or Android," Alistair Charlton, deputy technology editor at the IB Times, tells Newsbeat.
"You can take a £20 phone to a festival and leave your expensive, glass-fronted iPhone at home.
"Backpackers and the like probably appreciate them too, given their tough build, cheap price and long battery life."
Many smartphone users complain about their handset's battery and this could prove the main selling point for users.
"What an interest in the 3310 does show us though is that battery life is still a major concern for consumers, and one that's not being well-addressed by some smart phones, namely the iPhone," Elizabeth Varley, founder and CEO of tech community TechHub, tells Newsbeat.
And let's not forget, when Adele revealed the video for Hello back in 2015, she was seen in it making a call on a retro flip phone - not a smart device.
Around that time, the media reported a rise in people seeking old phones, as the 1990s were firmly back in fashion and people like Rihanna were walking round chatting on a chunky mobile.
So it's not just a phone for drug dealers, as many Twitter users seem to think.
Alistair also backs the author of the original source of the 3310 rumours, VentureBeat writer Evan Blass, as a credible source for technology leaks.
He describes the journalist as "a renowned tech leaker who is often accurate with his predictions."
But Alistair also says that to succeed in the current market, Nokia will need to update the 3310's basic features to be relevant in 2017.
"We don't communicate through calls and SMS as much as we did in the days of the 3310," he says.
"If it had an internet connection and access to WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, then maybe it has a place."
But Elizabeth Varley doesn't believe Nokia's future can be built on models from the past.
"The best way forward is rarely backwards," she says.
"To really compete, innovation is the key."
Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/38980782
|
Reality Check: Is the UK spending 2% of GDP on defence? - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A research body claims the UK spent less than 2% of national income on defence.
|
UK Politics
|
The claim: The UK's spending on defence fell below 2% of GDP in 2016.
Reality Check verdict: Nato has confirmed that its figures for 2016 show the UK is still meeting the 2% target, but won't release the full details until next month. The amount that the IISS claims that defence spending is below 2% of GDP is tiny by the standards of government spending, and may easily be erased by using different exchange rates or definitions of defence spending.
Defence think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) claimed on Tuesday that the UK had dropped below its pledge to spend 2% of GDP on defence, made in the Strategic Defence Review in 2015.
GDP is what you get when you add up all the goods and services produced in an economy. In the UK in 2016 it was about £1.87 trillion.
The IISS said that as a result of UK GDP being higher than expected, the UK had actually only spent 1.98% of GDP on defence in 2016.
The Ministry of Defence says that the IISS figures are wrong. It pointed to Nato figures saying that the UK spent 2.21% of GDP on defence last year.
That figure is based on analysis from Nato, which was published last July, meaning they were based on forecasts for both GDP and spending.
But Nato later said that it had looked at the final numbers for 2016 and could confirm that the UK was still meeting the 2% target, but it would not be releasing the full figures until next month.
The alliance said that the UK, US, Poland, Greece and Estonia met the target last year.
As this is a Nato target, it is Nato's methodology that is important. Before making the calculation, Nato converts both defence spending and GDP into US dollars at 2010 exchange rates and prices.
There are disagreements about what should and what should not count as military spending - whether pensions paid to soldiers' widows count, for example.
IISS has calculated the figure slightly differently. It gets to a figure of £38.3bn for UK defence spending in 2016 .
If you divide that by the ONS figure for GDP you get 2.05%, but that's not what the IISS has done. Because it is trying to make comparisons between different countries, it has converted all the figures into US dollars, using International Monetary Fund exchange rates and also used IMF GDP figures.
When you do that, you get to 1.98%.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38971624
|
Inside Europol - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A rare look into the daily workings of the EU's law enforcement organisation.
|
Europe
|
"When I started 10 years ago it was pretty quiet."
In a light, airy office on the ground floor of Europol's brutalist headquarters in The Hague, David Ellero, one of its senior officials, is reflecting on how the organisation has changed since he joined in 2007. In those days, some people confused Europol with Interpol and others thought it was just an annoying part of the EU's bureaucratic machinery.
"Our counterparts, or the investigators in the member states, didn't really know what we did," Ellero says.
Now, the European Police Office, to give it its official title, is recognised across the law enforcement world, with a budget of almost £100m, and a workforce of more than 1000, to match.
Its effectiveness certainly isn't lost on the UK government, which is preparing to start negotiations about Britain's role in Europol after the country leaves the EU. Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, has said that the agency plays an "incredibly important role in keeping us safe in Europe".
"The phone rings quite often," says Ellero, with typical understatement.
A former detective - much of his career was spent in Italy investigating Mafia killings - he now heads a department tackling the top organised crime groups across the Continent.
"For a criminal to communicate with his counterparts across Europe it takes a second on WhatsApp.
Europol headquarters in The Hague - the second floor is a "secure zone"
"We need to make sure that... police (can act) at the same speed even if they have different judicial set-ups and and even if they speak different languages," adds Ellero, pointing out that "even pickpockets" operate transnationally.
The main function of Europol, which started work in 1999, is to act as a hub for the exchange of intelligence between 750 global agencies. It also oversees databases containing tens of millions of pieces of information on criminals, offences and suspect vehicles, and it helps co-ordinate crime-fighting operations against drug dealers, human trafficking gangs and terrorists.
Forty countries - including the EU member states and others such as the US and Australia - communicate via a system called Siena - hundreds of thousands of encrypted operational messages are sent every year.
The agency's main intelligence database - Europol Information System (EIS) - keeps track of crimes, suspects and convicted criminals, including terrorism cases. Only Europol members have direct access to the EIS; other countries must put in a request.
Europol uses a unique database known as the Analysis Work File (AWF). More than 100 specialists based in The Hague use AWF to help investigators across the EU better understand and tackle crime and organised crime groups - the system has more than 33 million active entries.
Outside Europol, other pan-European intelligence systems help in the fight against crime including the Schengen Information System (SIS). Although the UK is not among the 26 countries that have open borders under the Schengen agreement it can access the database which records cross-border movements and associated intelligence.
In 2015, the SIS was interrogated three billion times by law enforcement officers across Europe with 64 million "alerts" placed on the system every day relating to everything from stolen vehicles and missing children to foreign fighters returning to Europe from Syria and Iraq.
Indeed, one of the fastest-growing areas of work at Europol involves countering the spread of propaganda from terrorist groups and extremists. A 26-strong team in the Internet Referral Unit spends each day combing the web for material and then persuading social media companies and service providers to remove it.
The head of the unit, Vincent Semestre, likens it to "emptying the ocean with a spoon". He says they've identified 91 internet platforms that have contained extremist content, more than 50 of which have co-operated with Europol in deleting the material.
Over the past 18 months the team's most intense periods of work have come after terror attacks in Europe, when it's had to act quickly to prevent the spread of extremist images, videos and postings.
"You need to have capacity in-house, which is understanding this ideology in its original language: which means staff speaking Arabic, speaking Russian, speaking Turkish," says Semestre, who worked for the French judicial police before joining Europol.
The European Cybercrime Centre is just one part of Europol
"Multiplying these resources needed by all the member states would be quite difficult.
"You need to have continuous monitoring of the technological environment so it made sense to have this centralised in Europol in order to provide these centralised services to all the member states," he adds.
Despite the serious nature of their work, there's a relaxed and friendly atmosphere inside the Europol building - it looks more like an art college than a police station.
Nevertheless, security is tight: everyone is searched on entry, bags are X-rayed, identity documents are taken away to be checked. Around the atrium, blinds are drawn on the windows of meeting rooms, signifying that confidential briefings are taking place.
On the second floor, there's another layer of protection, with extra ID checks and access possible only via a palm print scanner. It's known as the "secure zone" and it's here, and on the floors above, that each of the EU's member states, plus 14 other countries, have their own staff.
In total, there are more than 200 of them - they're called liaison officers - and they specialise in crimes such as gun-running, trafficking and drug smuggling.
Every EU member state, plus 14 other nations, has staff in the building
The main benefit is that representatives of each country can meet in person to sort out the complexities of cross-border police work. For Britain's 17 liaison officers, who work from an office which neighbours the bureaux of Luxembourg, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, an added advantage is that the language of Europol is English.
Kenny Dron, who's in charge of the UK office, says there's no need for long-distance phone calls, texts... or emails.
"Emails just don't work when you've got people to protect and lives to protect back in the UK," says Dron, who's spent 30 years in border policing and intelligence work.
"So you've got to have that face-to-face contact to ensure that the other country and your colleagues understand the severity of the situation."
Although Britain will almost certainly continue to have liaison officers at Europol after Brexit (America isn't in the EU and it has more than 20 staff based there) what's far less clear is the future of the 50 other UK law enforcement employees in the Hague. They're currently overseeing a range of cross-border policing operations, on child sexual exploitation, excise fraud and heroin trafficking, among others.
One of the British officers, Laura Clark, seconded from the National Crime Agency to work in Europol's migrant smuggling centre, says it would be a "real shame" if Britain can't continue to play a major part in the organisation.
"We would miss a lot of the intelligence that goes through. There's a lot of juicy intelligence that I see that wouldn't be able to get given to countries, a lot of support for investigations wouldn't happen," she says.
Europol director Rob Wainwright speaks of "some diminution" in the UK's rights and responsibilities to the organisation post-Brexit
In January, reflecting on Britain's likely relationship with Europol after Brexit, Amber Rudd told the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee: "I expect and hope us to have an active role going forward," pointing out that the UK was "one of the largest contributors" to the EU agency's database.
Rob Wainwright, Europol's director since 2009, goes further, saying Britain is "rightly regarded as a natural leader" on security issues.
"There is no doubt that if you look over the last 20 or 30 years the evolution of police co-operation in Europe, not just at Europol, there is a heavy British footprint around that," says Wainwright, who declares himself to be a "proud Brit".
But he says the "fullest benefits" of the organisation go to EU-member states, and if, after Brexit, Britain has an arrangement with Europol akin to that of non-members such as the USA or Norway, Wainwright says there'll be "some diminution" in the UK's rights and responsibilities. They have limited access to intelligence and less say over operations and decisions.
"The opportunity therefore to share that experience, the opportunity to leverage that influence, is going to change and maybe diminish and I think those in charge of running that in Britain will need to find alternative ways therefore of making sure that Britain can still have a real voice in European security affairs," he says.
By then, Rob Wainwright, who's credited with introducing reforms to Europol that have enhanced its standing and effectiveness, will have left the Hague headquarters, as his contract expires in April 2018.
His successor will inherit an organisation in good shape - but one that will have to adjust to a different relationship with the UK.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38957246
|
Six Nations: Scotland's Greig Laidlaw ruled out for rest of campaign - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw is ruled out for the rest of the Six Nations after suffering an ankle injury in the defeat by France.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw has been ruled out for the rest of the Six Nations through injury.
Laidlaw, 31, suffered an ankle injury in the first half of the 22-16 defeat by France last weekend.
The Gloucester scrum-half left the Stade de France on crutches on Sunday and his injury was assessed following his return.
Scottish Rugby confirmed the 58-time capped player sustained ligament damage against the French.
"The extent of the damage is such that he will take no further part in the current championship," Scottish Rugby added in a statement.
"Laidlaw will see a specialist later in the week to determine the best course of management and estimated time out of the sport."
'The boys will be able to step up'
Laidlaw was replaced by Glasgow's Ali Price in Paris. John Barclay, who took over as captain, also departed with a head knock before half-time, only for his replacement John Hardie to suffer the same fate early in the second half.
Scotland hooker Ross Ford believes the side will be able to "shoulder the burden" without their injured captain.
"Greig's a massive part of the squad and he's a great leader," said Ford.
"But we've got a leadership group together that's been there helping Greig out.
"Whatever does happen, the boys will be able to step up and take that role on and move forward.
"We do it as a group and Greig's the focal point, but we've got a group of leaders there who can shoulder the burden and take it on."
Speaking on Saturday before he knew the extent of his injury, Scotland head coach Vern Cotter said: "Greig has a big part to play as captain and half-back, but Ali played well when he came on and the guys behind adapted well.
"These things do happen and we had trained for it. John Barclay and John Hardie both had head injury assessments so we will have to wait and see how they come through the return-to-play protocols."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38984204
|
Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-15
| null |
Arsenal's Champions League hopes lie in tatters at the last-16 stage yet again after they suffer a first-leg battering at Bayern Munich.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Arsenal's Champions League hopes lie in tatters at the last-16 stage yet again following a first-leg battering at Bayern Munich.
The Gunners, who have been eliminated in the first knockout round of the competition in each of the last six seasons, twice by Bayern, not only conceded five goals but over 75% possession in Germany.
Their challenge lasted until the break thanks to Alexis Sanchez, who followed up his own missed penalty to equalise after Arjen Robben's superbly-struck 25-yard opener.
But after Arsenal lost Laurent Koscielny to injury early in the second half, Bayern ran riot during a 10-minute period in which Robert Lewandowski headed home before Thiago Alcantara scored twice. Substitute Thomas Muller rubbed salt in the wounds with a late fifth.
It leaves Arsenal with a near impossible task in the second leg and heaps more pressure on manager Arsene Wenger, who now only has the FA Cup as a realistic source of silverware in what will go down as another failed season.
• None Is it time for Wenger to go? Read the social media fall-out
There must have been a feeling of deflated dread for Arsenal when they were drawn to face Bayern in the first knockout round of this season's Champions League.
For the first time in five seasons, the Gunners claimed top spot in their group (ahead of PSG, who made this achievement even more impressive with their demolition of Barcelona on Tuesday) but nonetheless they were drawn against the Germans - their last-16 conquerors in both 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Their fears were fully realised on a chastening night in Munich, which further highlighted just how far behind Europe's leading lights they have fallen and how little progress has been made since their visit here last season, which also ended in a 5-1 hammering.
Robben gave early warning of the horror to come when he cut inside from the right and fired into the top corner from range following a move that had involved nine of Bayern's 11 players.
However, with the gates fully ajar, the flood failed to come as Arsenal were granted an unlikely way back into the game thanks to Lewandowski's clumsy challenge on Koscielny in the box.
Sanchez almost spurned it when his spot-kick was saved by Neuer but after fortunately receiving the ball back, he produced a neat finish through a group of players to level.
The equaliser prompted Arsenal's best period of the game, during which they remained largely without the ball but produced two clear-cut chances, both of which were wasted as Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil struck shots at Neuer after being handed a clear sight of goal.
The optimism Arsenal had accrued from their encouraging pre-break efforts were dashed in a 15-minute period early in the second half, that began with Koscielny - their best defender - limping from the field and ended with Thiago putting the tie beyond them.
Four minutes after Gabriel had replaced his captain at the back, Bayern reclaimed the lead as Lewandowski rose high above Shkodran Mustafi to meet Philipp Lahm's excellent cross and head home his 31st goal in 34 games for club and country this season.
The Pole then turned provider for Thiago, backheeling the ball into his path for a simple finish before the Spaniard quickly added his second courtesy of a shot that deflected in off Xhaka's boot.
Only some lax finishing, the woodwork (from a deflected Lewandowski shot) and a superb David Ospina save to tip over Javi Martinez's header from a corner prevented further goals before late substitute Muller scored with essentially his first contribution, collecting from Thiago before sidefooting home.
Muller's late goal surely represented the final nail in the Gunners' coffin and leaves Wenger now facing an uncomfortable, undesirable truth - that his side's season boils down to an FA Cup game on a plastic pitch in Sutton.
'It is difficult to explain'
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, speaking to BT Sport: "It is difficult to explain. I felt we had two good chances to score just before half-time.
"I felt we were unlucky for the second goal. The referee gave a corner for us at first. Then we concede the second goal and then the most important was that we lost Koscielny. We collapsed.
"Overall I must say they are a better team than us, they played very well in the second half and we dropped our level. We were a bit unlucky we dropped our level and they were better than us."
5-1 at the Allianz again - the stats you need to know
• None Bayern Munich have won their last 16 home Champions League games, the longest winning run in the history of the competition.
• None Arsenal conceded five goals in a game for the first time since November 2015 - their last clash with Bayern (1-5).
• None This is the first time that Arsenal have conceded five goals in a first leg of Champions League knockout match.
• None Arsenal have conceded 3+ goals in four of their last six first-leg matches in the last 16 of the Champions League.
• None It's also the first time that Arsenal have conceded four goals in a single half since facing Chelsea in March 2014.
• None Alexis Sanchez has been directly involved in 33 goals in his last 31 games in all comps (20 goals, 13 assists).
• None Robert Lewandowski has scored 15 goals in his last 13 Champions League games at the Allianz Arena.
• None Arjen Robben has now scored in back-to-back Champions League appearances against Arsenal.
• None Goal! FC Bayern München 5, Arsenal 1. Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Thiago Alcántara.
• None Attempt missed. Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Arjen Robben following a fast break.
• None Attempt missed. Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) with an attempt from the right side of the six yard box misses to the left. Assisted by Mesut Özil with a cross following a corner.
• None Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None Attempt saved. Douglas Costa (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Thiago Alcántara.
• None Attempt saved. Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Philipp Lahm. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38962425
|
Guns N' Roses yell 'Hello Sydney' - to Melbourne crowd - BBC News
|
2017-02-15
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The veteran rockers yell "Sydney" to a Melbourne crowd, to a chorus of boos.
|
Australia
|
No-one likes being mistaken for someone else - especially if that someone else has been their sworn rival for more than a century.
So when Guns N' Roses' announcer yelled "Sydney" just before they walked on stage in Melbourne, the band were met with a chorus of boos.
And to make matters worse, the veteran rockers weren't even on time.
Luckily, it seems they made up for it with a rousing concert - and a swiftly issued apology on social media.
"Melbourne!" the band - which had just completed two nights in Sydney - posted on Twitter.
"Accidentally after 30 years McBob made an error, we're truly sorry. Thank you for coming out tonight!"
Luckily, guitar technician McBob, who has been introducing the group on stages around the world during their Not In This Lifetime tour, was quickly forgiven by fans for his momentary slip up.
One follower replied to the post with: "One mistake every 30 years... Reasonable."
Turns out, Guns N' Roses aren't the only ones to get a little confused on their exact location.
Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities, have had a long-running rivalry dating back to gripes over trade during colonial times.
Today they feud over which is the better city, with grudges mainly played out on sports pitches.
Sydney (pictured) has had a friendly rivalry with Melbourne for more than 100 years
So it is unsurprising Melbourne booed when the two were mixed up
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-38973685
|
Germany leads fightback against fake news - BBC News
|
2017-02-16
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
How and why Germany is taking a stand against false reports by dubious media outlets.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Facebook could be fined in Germany, if it refuses to remove stories which are proved false
I have been in Dortmund and Berlin this week, investigating how Germany is leading the fightback against fake news.
There have been some high-profile cases here. Breitbart reported that a mob attacked Germany's oldest church, St Reinold's Church in Dortmund. The website has subsequently published a lengthy defence of its original article, together with an admission that it is not in fact the oldest church in Germany.
I visited the church and spoke at length to locals, including a pastor who works in the city (and was named in the Breitbart report), and a local refugee support worker. They were unanimous in the view that the Breitbart report misrepresented true events in service of an anti-Islamist agenda that was divisive and unjust.
In Berlin, I spoke to Anas Modamani, a 19-year-old Syrian who enjoys taking selfies. So much so that three weeks after turning up in the German capital, having come from the outskirts of Damascus via a boat trip, Turkey, Greece and Macedonia, he took a selfie with Angela Merkel, who was visiting his hostel. It promptly went viral, together with the false claim that he was a terrorist. He is now suing Facebook.
Germany's political class wants to take action. Lars Klingbeil, a fast-rising star of the Social Democratic Party who is a close associate of Martin Schulz, told me his plan to tackle fake news. Perhaps Damian Collins, the Tory chairman of Parliament's culture select committee here, who has launched an inquiry into fake news, could pick up some ideas.
Anas Modamani's selfie with Angela Merkel led to him being falsely accused of being a terrorist
Facebook now employs independent fact-checkers here. Correctiv is a smart outfit whose employees are mostly young. Correctiv monitors suspicious stories, looking at how much they are being liked and shared.
If the headline looks suspicious, or it appears on a website known to be dubious, the Correctiv team will contact the original sources for the story, to verify if it's true or not. They then mark it true or false, and send a message to all German users of the social media platform, indicating its rectitude or otherwise.
They don't accept money from Facebook, because they want to retain total editorial independence. But they too are a sign of how, outside of America, Germany is leading the fight against fake news.
Based on my conversations here, there are several reasons why Germany has got ahead of the curve on this important issue.
First, Mrs Merkel's refugee policy is hugely controversial, and has galvanised that part of the political spectrum that, thus far, has shown the greatest propensity for creating fake news internationally: the nationalist far-right. It turns out letting in a huge number of refugees is a good way to mobilise purveyors of fake news.
Second, because of Germany's 20th Century history, there is a hyper-sensitivity about the rise of that far-right. The success of Alternative for Germany, a nationalist party, and the ever-present but low-level threat from neo-Nazi groups make many Germans determined to act fast.
Third, the traditional media sector here is very different to those of Britain and America. The most influential newspapers are staid rather than raucous; the cable news channels are more BBC or CNN than Fox News, and talk radio has nothing like the oomph that is generated by the likes of Rush Limbaugh or, now on LBC, Nigel Farage.
Germany's most influential newspapers are considered to be staid
Germany's conventional media market has created an opening for fake news, which of its very nature is salacious and exciting.
Fourth, there have been several high-profile cases. The Modamani case is perhaps the most notorious. Groups like the Resistance of German Patriots have been happy to spread nationalist propaganda, with a limited regard for facts.
Fifth, my sense is that Germany retains a strong belief in the competence and capability of government. If there is a social problem, goes this thinking, perhaps it is capable of a political solution, by virtue of smart regulation.
That was the impression Mr Klingbeil gave, but the belief that fake news should be combated by regulation is not restricted to social democrats: Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats are also putting pressure on Facebook to make it easier for users to flag suspicious content and delete posts, while those targeted by fake news would be given a right of reply.
Sixth, there are local and national elections coming. Fearing a repeat of America's recent experience, where fake stories went viral and may have influenced some voters, Germany believes prevention is better than cure. And Facebook, damaged by the fallout from fake news about Donald Trump, appears to agree.
Fake news is not a problem that is going to disappear soon; nor is it one that any journalist can ignore, or be neutral toward. It behoves all of us in this trade - at least those of us who retain a belief that truth is possible and necessary - to wish Germany success in this fight.
You can watch my report on the News at Ten on BBC One tonight.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38991973
|
Aberdeen 7-2 Motherwell - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-16
| null |
Adam Rooney hits a hat-trick as Aberdeen cruise three points clear of third-placed Rangers by mauling a woeful Motherwell side.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
Adam Rooney hit a hat-trick as Aberdeen cruised three points clear of third-placed Rangers following a mauling of a woeful Motherwell side.
The Dons cashed in on terrible defending as Jonny Hayes, Andy Considine and Rooney made it 3-0.
Ryan Christie curled in a sublime fourth before the break and Rooney added a penalty and a tap-in.
Ryan Bowman and Stephen Pearson hit back for Well and Aberdeen substitute Peter Pawlett rounded off the scoring.
As well as moving three points and 19 goals clear of Rangers in the battle for second place, Aberdeen also reduced the gap on leaders Celtic to 24 points.
Motherwell, meanwhile, are in ninth spot.
The home side were utterly ruthless and exuded attacking threat. Well were simply atrocious at the back and their late rally did little to disguise their obvious deficiencies on the night.
When Hayes drilled home a left-foot effort after two minutes it looked ominous.
Motherwell briefly suggested they would not fold but fold they did - and much of it was self-inflicted despite Aberdeen's brilliance.
Considine nodded the second at the back post from Niall McGinn's corner, after Well keeper Craig Samson came and failed to get near the delivery. The big defender rejoiced in celebrating his goal and his recently extended contract.
The third goal was simply ludicrous.
Stevie Hammell knocked the ball towards the bye-line as he tried to deal with a cross into the area and in a moment of madness for an experienced player, Keith Lasley attempted to keep it in but fluffed it. It fell to Hayes, who squared to Rooney for an easy finish.
On-loan Celtic attacking midfielder Christie started in place of the suspended Graeme Shinnie and he excelled, with his strike proving the pick of the bunch.
From a well-worked corner, Considine laid the ball off to Christie who found a pocket of space and guided a delightful finish into the top corner.
Rooney's penalty, after Shay Logan was clipped by Elliott Frear, added to Motherwell's misery and the Irishman completed his treble soon after from close range following another McGinn corner.
The home side were in imperious form with Hayes, McGinn, Kenny McLean and Ryan Jack among the top performers in a side that was motoring for most of the night.
Despite Aberdeen's dominance, Motherwell did manage to get two goals, but they were no consolation to the dejected players.
Bowman nodded their first after home keeper Joe Lewis inexplicably misjudged a high ball and Stephen Pearson volleyed home from close range to make it 6-2.
Keeping count? Well, it was a five-goal cushion again in 82 minutes, 60 seconds after Pearson's goal.
This time it was Pawlett who showed great pace and a cool head to beat keeper Samson.
Motherwell manager Mark McGhee was also sent to the stand, to the delight of the home fans, on a night to forget for the Fir Park men.
They will hope this a one-off. The problem is they travel to table-topping Celtic on Saturday.
• None Attempt saved. Jayden Stockley (Aberdeen) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Attempt saved. Ash Taylor (Aberdeen) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
• None Attempt saved. Miles Storey (Aberdeen) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Goal! Aberdeen 7, Motherwell 2. Peter Pawlett (Aberdeen) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jonny Hayes.
• None Goal! Aberdeen 6, Motherwell 2. Stephen Pearson (Motherwell) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the top right corner. Assisted by Louis Moult following a corner.
• None Attempt missed. Jayden Stockley (Aberdeen) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
• None Attempt saved. Kenny McLean (Aberdeen) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
• None Attempt missed. Ryan Bowman (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
• None Goal! Aberdeen 6, Motherwell 1. Ryan Bowman (Motherwell) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Richard Tait following a set piece situation. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38973451
|
Welsh Open 2017: Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked out by Mark Davis in second round - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-16
| null |
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan blows a 3-0 lead to lose to Mark Davis in the Welsh Open second round.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Wales
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan blew a 3-0 lead to lose to Mark Davis in the Welsh Open second round.
World number 31 Davis looked to be heading out as O'Sullivan established a commanding lead in the best-of-seven contest.
Davis took the next four frames to complete a remarkable comeback on a day of shocks at the tournament.
Lee Walker pulled off a surprise as he came from 3-1 down to beat world number seven Neil Robertson 4-3.
Former world champion and 2016 finalist Robertson made 143 - the highest break of the tournament - on the way to a two-frame lead before Walker came back.
The Welshman, ranked 94, won the next three straight frames to seal victory.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Welsh schoolboy Jackson Page reached the last 32 with a 4-3 win against John Astley.
It is the teenage amateur's second win in the tournament after beating Jason Weston 4-3 in round one.
Page will now play world number four Judd Trump, who edged past Malta's Alex Borg 4-2.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland's Mark Allen eased past Thailand's Boonyarit Keattikun 4-1, Ross Muir thrashed Marco Fu 4-0 while Anthony Hamilton beat Jamie Cope 4-1 to set up a third-round tie against Craig Steadman, who defeated Sam Baird.
World Grand Prix finalist Ryan Day was knocked out by Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who reached the third round of the tournament for the first time.
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/38986026
|
Venus Williams: ESPN's Doug Adler to sue over sacking - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-16
| null |
Sacked commentator Doug Adler is to sue broadcaster ESPN, claiming he compared Venus Williams' tactics to a "guerilla", not a "gorilla".
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Sacked tennis commentator Doug Adler is to sue broadcaster ESPN, claiming he compared Venus Williams' tactics to a "guerilla", rather than a "gorilla".
Accusations of racism were made by viewers, who alleged he used the word "gorilla" to describe Williams during her Australian Open second-round match against Stefanie Voegele in January.
Adler apologised but insisted he had said: "Venus moved in and put the guerilla effect on."
However he was later dismissed by ESPN.
Adler's lawyer David M Ring said that "guerilla tennis" was a common phrase in the sport to describe an aggressive match, citing a Spike Jonze-directed advert featuring Andre Agassi and Peter Sampras that was named after the term.
Adler had worked for ESPN since 2008 and was a professional tennis broadcaster for six years prior to that.
He claims he suffered "emotional distress" after the accusations of racism.
An ESPN spokesman told BBC Sport: "We have not been served and are declining further comment."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38978740
|
Arsene Wenger: Decision on Arsenal manager's future at end of season - BBC Sport
|
2017-02-16
| null |
Despite the Champions League thrashing by Bayern Munich, there is no current prospect of boss Arsene Wenger leaving Arsenal before the summer.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Football
A decision on the future of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be made at the end of the season - but a new contract remains on the table.
Despite Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first-leg thrashing at Bayern Munich, there is currently no prospect of Wenger leaving before the summer.
It is expected the decision for him to stay or leave will be mutual between the club and the Frenchman, 67.
Wenger, in charge since 1996, was offered a new deal earlier this season.
He typically makes his decisions at the end of a campaign, when he is able to reflect on how the year has unfolded and what needs to happen next.
His current contract with the Premier League club expires at the end of the season.
Arsenal have not won the league since 2004, though Wenger has consistently guided them to Champions League qualification, reaching the knockout stages 14 years running.
However, the Gunners will almost certainly exit the competition at the last-16 round for the seventh straight year after the 5-1 defeat at Bayern Munich.
The nature of the loss, coupled with successive league defeats by Chelsea and Watford, has prompted several former Arsenal stars - some of whom played under Wenger - to suggest his time at Emirates Stadium is coming to an end.
The Gunners ended a nine-year wait for a trophy by beating Hull City in the 2014 FA Cup final, and won the competition again the following season,
Speaking after the 4-0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley in 2015, Arsenal's players said they were convinced the consecutive titles would herald greater success, but failure to secure further silverware has seen pressure on Wenger grow.
After the Gunners lost 3-1 to Premier League leaders Chelsea earlier this month - a result that left them 12 points behind the Blues - ex-England defender Danny Mills said Arsenal "have settled for fourth again".
Earlier, former striker Ian Wright, who scored 185 goals for the club between 1991 and 1998, said he believed Wenger's time as Arsenal boss was "coming to the end", although the Frenchman later denied giving any indication of his future plans.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38991573
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.