Prince Harry has taken part in a traditional Maori Haka during his tour of New Zealand.

Article: The Bosawas Biosphere Reserve is Central America's largest tropical forest with clouds constantly drifting over the hilly terrain.
But the Mayangna and Miskito people who live there say 30,000 hectares a year are being deforested by "colonists".
They are calling on US president Barack Obama, who is visiting the region, to support their battle.
Described by the United Nations as a global biological treasure, the reserve is located on the border between Nicaragua and Honduras and teems with wildlife.
The two million hectares are said to be home to 150,000 insect species, rare jaguars, eagles and crocodiles as well as the world's last populations of Baird's Tapir and the Central American Spider Monkey.
The Bosawas reserve also overlaps the homes of indigenous communities who have been there for centuries, living by hunting and fishing.
The Nicaraguan government recognised the full legal title of the Mayangna to their lands in 2007.
Since then, they say they have been subject to what they term an "invasion" by landless people from other parts of the country.
They claim to have documented 11,500 "colonists" who have deforested around 150,000 hectares since 2009.
Arisio Genaro, president of the Nacion Mayangna, told BBC News that this was an extremely serious threat to the future of the forest.
"The problem is that in the parts of our territory that we have zoned to be conservation forest, they are being invaded by settlers."
"Even we the Mayangna don't touch these forests, that's where the animals we hunt reproduce. If they destroy that, they will destroy our people."
"The world needs to know that we are in crisis because of our efforts to defend the natural resources that we survive on," he added.
Scientists are also concerned that the struggles between natives and colonists will have a detrimental impact on the region's biodiversity.
Leading researcher, Dr Thomas Lovejoy, who first coined the term back in 1980 said that protecting the Bosawas reserve was critical.
"Nicaragua has one of the three great blocs of...

Summary: A famed rainforest in Nicaragua is under growing threat from illegal loggers, say indigenous leaders.
###
Article: Stafford Hospital, which was renamed County Hospital, was at the centre of a Â£6m public inquiry into care failings, with overnight closures beginning in 2011.
Campaigners and rival politicians said a Conservative pledge to restore services was a "bribe".
But Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt denied the claim.
Mr Hunt said on Saturday that if the Conservatives won the election, overnight services would be restored as soon as soon as it was "clinically safe" to do so.
Campaigners have previously protested about the loss of services with marches through the town and a camp which was set up in the hospital grounds.
One of them, Karen Howell, is now standing for the National Health Action party in the Stafford constituency.
She said she thought the Conservative pledge was "an absolute outrage".
She said: "It's an election pledge bribe.
"Why have they spent Â£19.5m on the administration process to downgrade and get rid of these services, only to talk about bringing them back? It just seems ludicrous and such a waste of money."
But Mr Hunt denied it was a bribe, saying: "This hospital has been through a very, very difficult period.
"Really what I want to do is give a little bit of hope to the people who work in the hospital."
The Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, which ran the hospital, went into administration in April 2013. The hospital is now run by a new trust.
A full list of candidates for the Stafford constituency can be found here.

Summary: A proposal to return A&E services to Stafford's hospital is not an "election bribe", the Conservatives have said.
###
Article: The move is among changes to public procurement rules being proposed by the Scottish government.
The Procurement Reform Bill aims to improve the way the public sector buys goods, works and services.
Ministers said it would make it easier for small firms to bid for contracts.
Guidance under the bill would allow public sector bosses to consider the inappropriateness of awarding contracts to companies using controversial zero-hours contracts, which allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work.
Public sector bosses could also consider, when deciding on a contract award, whether firms use blacklisting.
The issue of blacklisting has angered unions and politicians, following disclosures about a UK-wide database of names used by major construction firms to vet workers.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the legislation promoted an approach that was "both business friendly and socially responsible".
The proposed new rules could also lead to greater use of community benefit clauses.
These clauses could require companies to provide training, apprenticeships or opportunities for disabled people as part of the contract.
"Changes to public procurement rules will ensure Scotland retains its place as a world leader in public procurement reform, promoting an approach that is both business friendly and socially responsible," Ms Sturgeon said.
Responding to the bill, Scottish Trades Union Congress general secretary Grahame Smith said: "The STUC enthusiastically welcomes parts of this important bill, especially its provisions to disqualify firms engaging in tax avoidance and blacklisting from the public procurement process and the commitment to introduce further guidance on workforce matters."
But Mr Smith described parts of the legislation as "very disappointing", adding: "It is difficult to believe that community benefits will be extended and improved by simply handing contracting authorities a duty to 'consider' whether to impose as part of the contract.
"The STUC is also sceptical that the significant...

Summary: Public sector bodies could be allowed to consider issues such as blacklisting and zero-hours contracts when awarding work to firms, according to planned reforms.
###
Article: David Harper, from Leisure Property Services, said the town suffered from a bad reputation as a low quality resort.
Mr Harper said it needed to be re-branded to attract a wealthier market and changing its name would be a cost effective way of reinventing the town.
East Lindsey District Council dismissed the idea and said the traditional British resort had mass appeal.
Councillor Adam Grist said: "The suggestion that changing the name would solve all the problems in one fell swoop is a ridiculous suggestion.
"Hundreds and thousands of people visit Skegness every summer because of the idea that it is a traditional British resort and everything that offers," he said.
"What we've tried to do as a council over the last few years is to encourage Skegness to evolve whilst retaining the traditional offer."
Nigel Tett, from the Skegness, East Coast and Wolds Hospitality Association, agreed with Mr Grist and said he thought the idea of a name change was "absolutely crazy".
"Skegness is one of the most recognised names within this country and that is borne out by Visit England who say Skegness and Lincoln are two of the main attractors within this part of the world."
Mr Harper, who values and sells hotels across the country, admitted that Skegness was a very famous name but he said it came with baggage.
"Most of the people I speak to, who don't know Skegness think it's one of the grottier resorts in the country," he said.
"They have a perception of it being all caravans and slot machines. They have no clue that it has one of the best beaches there in the whole of the UK.
"If you weren't to drop the name you would have an awful lot of work to do to change some people's perceptions of the town."
He said the name change would have to be part of a complete re-marketing campaign.

Summary: Skegness should change its name to boost its image, a tourism expert has said.
###
Article: A drug called mephedrone was causing so many health problems its importation had been banned in Guernsey, while the Jersey authorities had criminalised its possession and supply, pre-empting the Home Office, which was still in the process of taking advice on whether the drug should be controlled in the UK under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.
At Guernsey Prison, I was told more than a third of inmates were addicted to mephedrone, which was said to have a similar effect to amphetamines, ecstasy or cocaine and whose side effects included psychosis, weight loss and insomnia.
When the story appeared, some people questioned whether I had exaggerated what was happening, misinterpreted the evidence or confused mephedrone for the similar-sounding, but completely different, heroin-substitute methadone.
In fact what I had reported on was the tip of a drugs iceberg which included a range of new psychoactive substances (NPS), known as "legal highs", synthetic chemicals which mimic the effects of illegal drugs. They were legal to possess and supply, but had the potential to cause mood swings and sudden changes in behaviour.
The iceberg has continued to grow.  In 2011, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the government's official drugs advice panel, said the advent of NPS had "changed the face of the drug scene remarkably and with rapidity".
By last year, Nick Hardwick, then Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales, declared that NPS represented the "most serious threat" to the security of the prison system.
And last week, the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board said the emergence of NPS was "undiminished" and a "public health challenge", with 602 new types of the drug reported in 2015 - 5% more than the year before.
The government's main response to NPS has been to outlaw them: 500 substances, including mephedrone, now fall under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
But if the aim was to stop the spread of NPS, then the approach has failed.  As each drug is made illegal, the chemical structures are...

Summary: Six years ago this month, I reported from the Channel Islands on a disturbing new phenomenon.
###
Article: Media playback is unsupported on your device
13 May 2015 Last updated at 12:41 BST
The Haka means "fierce dance" and was traditionally performed by the Maoris before going into battle.
Nowadays the Haka is performed during special ceremonies.
The New Zealand rugby team also perform the special dance before all their international matches.
Prince Harry is currently on a week-long tour of New Zealand.

Summary:


A new blood test could help diagnose people with inherited heart conditions, the British Heart Foundation has said.

Article: Hotels, restaurants, caterers and other businesses in the hospitality sector have benefited from the reduced 9% VAT rate since 2011.
Industry lobbyists say the rate has encouraged sales and employment.
But figures show the prices charged to consumers in many of these industries have actually risen in the last year.
Figures from the Revenue Commissioners show that if VAT returns had been paid at the full 13.5% there would have been an additional 644m euro (£472m) paid to the state, since 2011.
It is not possible to tell how much of those returns only exist because the rate was reduced.
Irish finance minister Michael Noonan warned the industry last year that the reduced rate would be reconsidered if prices began to rise.
However, the Consumer Price Index shows the cost of hotel accommodation rose by 5.2% between January 2014 and January 2015.
During the same period, hotel sector VAT returns totalled 135.6m euro (£99.5m).
If those sales had been charged at the higher rate, the return to the exchequer would have been an additional 69m euro (£50.6m).
A similar pattern emerged in the restaurant sector, with prices rising by almost 2% in the last 12 months.
During the same period, the Revenue may have lost out on 72m euro (£52.8m) in VAT payments from restaurants.
The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) warned that the long-term future of the industry could be affected if the rate is returned to 13.5%.
It said tourist numbers have increased from 5.9m in 2011 to 7.3m in 2014 and significant employment has been generated as a result of the measure.
IHF president Stephen McNally said: "The government has to think if they turn off the tap are they at risk of chasing tourists away from the country?
"If you talk to anyone in the industry they will tell you it has worked for them. If the rate is not maintained big questions will be asked about what will happen."
However, the trade union SIPTU has accused the industry of "pocketing" the reduced VAT rate.

Summary: A reduced VAT rate for the hospitality industry in the Republic of Ireland may have cost the state more than 600m euros (£440m).
###
Article: In its most comprehensive report into the Oromo protests, HRW lists the names of more than 300 it says were killed.
The government has acknowledged that protesters have died but said HRW was "very generous with numbers".
Protests were sparked by fears that a plan to expand the capital into Oromia region would displace Oromo farmers.
They began in November last year, but the government dropped the proposal to enlarge Addis Ababa's administrative boundaries in January.
Africa Live: BBC news updates
The Oromo protests and Ethiopian unity
Why Ethiopia made â€˜master planâ€™ U-turn
Oromia is Ethiopia's largest region, completely surrounding the city.
The change of policy has not stopped the demonstrations, but they have reduced in their intensity.
At the last census in 2007, the Oromo made up Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, at about 25 million people out of a population at the time of nearly 74 million.
An investigation, released last week, by the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission, appointed by parliament, found that 173 people had died during the unrest.
It said the dead included 28 security officers and local government officials.
Information Minister Getachew Reda said that in the main the security forces conducted themselves "in a very professional and responsible manner".
He put the killings down to "a few bad apples".
The government has said that it will investigate and deal with those responsible.
In March, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn apologised for the death and destruction of property caused by protests in Oromia region.
While his statement was bold, and came as a surprise, some protesters said it was a case of too little, too late.
The acknowledgment by the country's information minister that deaths had occurred is not different.
There will also be questions about the sincerity of investigating police officers who used unnecessary force.
Can it really do that while dozens of protesters are still being detained and are yet to be charged?
While the protests have died down recently, they remain...

Summary: Ethiopian security forces killed more than 400 people in the recent wave of anti-government demonstrations, US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.
###
Article: On a stiflingly hot August morning, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, presided over the flag-raising ceremony and the speeches laden with pomp, emotion and bold statements of intent to move on from the hostilities of the past.
Since that day, a lot has happened between the former Cold War foes. Direct flights are due to begin this month, travel restrictions have been eased for US citizens and bilateral cooperation increased in science and the arts.
Plus of course, there was a historic visit by President Obama.
"I have come here to extend the hand of friendship to the Cuban people," he told the nation in a televised address.
But while many Cubans would happily accept another four years of Mr Obama, a new administration in Washington is coming. And the outcome could have a significant impact on the new spirit of cordiality between the two countries.
"Obviously the big problem in US-Cuban relations is the embargo. That is the elephant in the room," says Carlos Azugaray, a former Cuban diplomat.
He says the key to the next phase of United States' normalisation with Cuba has to be the lifting of the decades-long economic embargo on the island: "The elephant has already started to leave the room, you already have the trunk out!
"We can see that with the recent opening of a Sheraton hotel in Havana, with the decision that some US credit cards can be used in Cuba, that travel restrictions have been eased."
If the Democratic Party regains control of Congress, he argues, they are "bound to do something about the embargo".
But most attention is on the race for the White House. So how would a Clinton or a Trump presidency affect the rapprochement with Cuba?
"I understand the scepticism in this community about any policy of engagement towards Cuba," Hillary Clinton recently told an audience in Miami.
"I've been sceptical too. But we can't wait any longer for a failed policy to bear fruit. We have to seize this moment."
The embargo on Cuba is obsolete she told them and needs to go "once and for all".
Whereas...

Summary: A year has passed since one of the most symbolic moments in the long and tangled history between the United States and Cuba: the official reopening of the long-shuttered US embassy in Havana.
###
Article: The Committee on Climate Change provides expert, independent advice to the Scottish government.
Its latest publication has recommended emissions reductions of just over 60% by 2030.
The Scottish government said it recognised the need to maintain its "high ambition approach".
Scotland's emissions targets are calculated using 1990 as a baseline.
The committee's latest advice is based on evidence taken from government, industry, NGOs and other key stakeholders. It also held public hearings and has carried out its own analysis.
The report said Scotland has "made good progress in reducing its emissions to date".
In 2013, emissions had fallen by 38% on 1990 levels and were on track to exceed the target of 42% by 2020 set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act.
The committee said its recommended emissions targets for 2028-2032 continued along that "ambitious trajectory", putting Scotland on track for a reduction of at least 80% in 2050.
However it said they were "stretching objectives" which would need "strong action" including:
Lord Deben, chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, said: "Scotland is leading the UK in its ambitious approach to tackling climate change and is to be commended for doing so.
"There is a lot of positive action already under way in Scotland, driven by both its vibrant renewable sector and its bold policy approaches. This must now be accelerated.
"New policies will be required to meet these ambitious but achievable carbon objectives. With these actions Scotland can continue as an example to the rest of the UK in its approach to address climate change."
The Scottish government's plan to cut air passenger duty has already led to criticism from climate campaigners.
They have pointed out that Scotland's interim climate change targets have repeatedly been missed.
Commenting on the latest report from the committee, the Scottish government's Climate Change Minister Aileen McLeod said: "We are on track to exceed our 2020 target for a 42% reduction from baseline levels in greenhouse gas...

Summary: Scotland must accelerate efforts to reduce carbon emissions if it is to remain an example to the rest of the UK, according to a new report.
###
Article: The National Youth Advocacy Services (Nays) said some youngsters are waiting weeks for assessments, with some placed in adult accommodation while they wait.
A report said this raised "safeguarding issues" for unaccompanied children.
Cardiff council said it did not believe there was a delay in the process.
The authority said young people were placed in suitable accommodation while assessments were being completed.
The Cardiff Nays team, which acts as a guardian for the unaccompanied children, raised concerns about the support given by the council's children's services department.
Between August 2016 and January 2017, Nays saw an increase in referrals from unaccompanied young asylum seekers looking for advocacy during the age check process.
The report pointed to "inconsistencies" where young people are housed while the age checks are carried out, with some getting support from the service while others do not.
"Some of these young people are then later assessed as children and have not been in receipt of looked-after services whilst other unaccompanied asylum seeking young people are accommodated pending assessment and get the full ambit of services," the report said.
"Such a practice also raises safeguarding issues for this vulnerable group of young people who find themselves placed in adult accommodation."
The report, considered by the council on Tuesday, also highlighted issues with children seeking support from the department during their asylum claim.
It said feedback from the service pointed to "capacity issues" in attending solicitors appointments, court hearings and if they are detained in an immigration centre.
"Whist we recognise that children's services have limited resources they have a duty of care for this extremely vulnerable group who urgently require robust intervention and support at this difficult and traumatic point in their lives," the report said.
Last year, Monmouth Conservative MP David Davies came under fire from dentists after suggesting unaccompanied child migrants entering the UK...

Summary: Child asylum seekers arriving in Cardiff are being put at risk due to "substantial" delays in checks to verify their age, an advocacy agency has said.
###
Article: Researchers funded by the charity found that by looking at a specific group of genes they were able to reliably detect underlying problems.
It follows the death of Sir David Frost's son Miles, who died suddenly from a condition thought to have been inherited from his father.
His family aims to raise Â£1.5m to make genetic testing available in the UK.
The eldest son of the late presenter and broadcaster died last year, aged 31, when he was out jogging near his family's home in Oxfordshire.
He was suffering from an undiagnosed heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Previous genetic tests looked at a small number of genes and were only able to identify specific conditions, leading to higher costs and longer diagnosis time - a major barrier to rolling the test out across the NHS.
But researchers from Imperial College London and the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre say the new test, which looks at 174 genes, is quicker and more reliable.
It has already been rolled out at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in London , with around 40 patients per month being successfully tested.
Dr James Ware, a consultant cardiologist specialising in inherited heart conditions, said: "Without a genetic test we often have to keep the whole family under regular surveillance for many years. This is hugely costly for both the families and the health system.
"By contrast, when a genetic test reveals the precise genetic abnormality causing the condition in one member of the family, it becomes simple to test other family members. Those who do not carry the faulty gene copy can be reassured and spared countless hospital visits."
The research has been funded by the British Heart Foundation and the findings published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research.

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Australian police in Victoria have warned the public not to engage in "intimidating" behaviour after reports of clowns terrorising people in Melbourne.

Article: Researchers have developed an app for people to submit readings from Secchi disks - a method used since 1865.
The team hopes the data will help them understand what is happening beneath the waves.
They have been "astonished" by the response so far but are hoping for more readings from the southern hemisphere.
'Dramatic decline'
The Secchi disk, invented in 1865 by Angelo Secchi - the Pope's astronomer - is a circular disk that is used to measure water transparency in oceans and lakes.
The concept had long been used as a navigational tool by sailors. By lowering a dinner plate beneath the waves and measuring the depth it disappeared, it provided the crew with an indication of what ocean current they were currently sailing through.
Fr Secchi was asked by the head of the Papal Navy to measure the transparency in the Mediterranean Sea. This task gave rise to the formalised measuring system.
Ever since the first measurement was taken aboard the Papal yacht in April 1865, marine biologists have used it to measure phytoplankton abundance.
Since Secchi's first design, there have been a number of subsequent revisions. The two most common colour variations in use today are the all-white disk and the black-and-white quadrant version.
"The reason the project came about was because, in 2010, some Canadian scientists wrote a paper that suggested that the phytoplankton in the world's oceans had declined by 40% since the 1950s," explained project leader Richard Kirby, a research fellow at Plymouth University's Marine Institute.
"If true, this is a dramatic decline. As phytoplankton starts the food chain, they dictate the productivity at every level above," he observed.
"Ultimately, phytoplankton determines the amount of fish in the sea and the number of polar bears on the ice."
Marine biologists have been using the Secchi disk method to measure the abundance of phytoplankton for 150 years.
The white disk measures 30cm (1ft) in diameter and is lowered into the water on the end of a tape measure. When it is no longer visible...

Summary: A study is calling on the world's sailors to help map the oceans' phytoplankton, microscopic plants that form the bedrock of marine food chains.
###
Article: Which? said that banks had been more frequent than building societies in cutting rates on the tax-free accounts over the last six years.
Its analysis revealed rates as low as 0.05% when initial bonus rates expired.
The trade body for banks said savers needed to shop around during a time of low rates.
A spokesman for the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said: "These have been frustrating years for savers. The Bank of England's base rate has remained at a record low for several years and whilst this has been good news for borrowers, it has fostered a low-interest-rate environment, which has not been easy for many savers to bear.
"The introduction of the new personal savings allowance from this April means that most savers will no longer have to pay any tax on their cash savings. We always encourage customers to review their savings regularly and to shop around for the best deal for them."
Consumer group Which? studied Isas and the frequency of cuts to interest rates from April 2010 to April 2016 - when the Bank of England base rate has been unchanged at 0.5%.
NatWest was the most frequent, making eight cuts across two accounts over six years. The bank said it had simplified its savings products and no longer offered teaser rates.
Generally, building societies made fewer cuts than banks over the last six years, Which? said.
Harry Rose, Which? Money editor, said: "Many savers simply want a provider they can trust to keep their Isa rate competitive. Too many banks are paying truly woeful rates of interest or are scissor-happy when it comes to cutting rates, often penalising their most loyal customers.
"Our research shows savers who don't want to have to keep moving their savings about should consider parking their cash with one of the more reliable building societies, who have been better at not cutting their rates for existing savers."
A recent study suggested money in best-buy savings accounts has fared better than the stock market over most investment periods since 1995.

Summary: Banks' most loyal customers are receiving "woeful" interest rates on their Individual Savings Accounts (Isas), a consumer group has said.
###
Article: A survey by EEF found that a quarter of small firms and half of medium-sized firms were paying in excess of Â£5,000 a year for their internet access.
EEF claims that residential internet access has been given priority over improving access for business.
It wants the government to "urgently" reverse that trend.
"While the quality of networks isn't currently an issue, companies are paying inflated sums to have proper access and are fearful they will not have competitive access five years down the line," said Lee Hopley, EEF chief economist.
The organisation wants a review of competition for business broadband, with the aim of getting costs to fall over the current parliament.
More than 90% of respondents to the EEF survey said that a high-speed internet connection was "as essential to business as electricity and water".
Without affordable access, Britain could miss out on what the EEF describes as the "fourth industrial revolution".
According to the EEF, two-thirds of manufacturers surveyed planned to invest in equipment and services connected to the internet, including software delivered over the internet and sensors with online connections.
The telecoms regulator Ofcom is currently investigating the provision of broadband in the UK and one option under consideration is splitting up BT, so that broadband infrastructure is managed by an independent company.

Summary: British manufacturers are paying "inflated" sums to secure fast enough internet access, according to EEF, the manufacturers' organisation.
###
Article: IPPR North said the government's Northern Powerhouse strategy could only be "converted to reality" with "substantial investment" and a "step-change" in its commitment to the north.
The analysis focused on the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humberside.
Outlining the region's potential, it noted the economy was worth £289bn.
"If it were a national economy, the north of England would rank as the tenth largest in the EU," it asserted.
The Treasury claimed the strategy was "not about how much money is spent but about giving local leaders more power."
The IPPR report was published more than a year after Chancellor George Osborne visited Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry and announced the country's need for a "Northern Powerhouse".
Called Rhetoric to Reality: A business agenda for the Northern Powerhouse, the study suggested the northern economy could see economic growth on a scale "not seen since the Victorian era of grand municipal development".
But it said three changes were required in order for its potential to be realised:
Commitments to transport spending and devolution were the "key ingredients" for turning "northern powerhouse rhetoric" into reality, the report claimed.
It said a "rebalanced economy" could only be achieved through tackling "lagging" productivity, under-investment in transport, poor connectivity between cities and low qualifications and skills levels.
The study identified several "key drivers" of growth, including infrastructure and connectivity, innovation, business support, leadership and policy development.
It argued: "There is an urgent need (for) more detail and more action to support the pan-northern vision, to ensure business, public and civil sectors are galvanised to act now to sustain the momentum behind devolution and take advantage of this unprecedented window of opportunity."
Ed Cox, director of IPPR North and co-author of the report, said: "The historical economic under-performance of the north of England is not natural, nor is it inevitable.
"The opportunity...

Summary: Large-scale government capital spending of up to £50bn is needed to close the economic gap between the North and the South, a think tank believes.
###
Article: A Cambridge Assessment study found "surprisingly high levels" of school results volatility year on year.
Variations in results were of "serious concern" in many of the 150 schools analysed, even after the impact marking quality had been removed, it said.
Heads backed the report's call, saying decisions on schools should not be made on the basis of one year's results.
School league table positions are based on headline GCSE results for one year only.
Under the current system, schools are considered to be failing if fewer than 40% of their students score at least five Cs at GCSE, including English and maths, and they do not meet national averages in pupil progress.
The exam board's group director of assessment and development, Tim Oates, said: "Underlying school-level volatility may be an enduring and persistent feature of education."
This meant "that school performance - in terms of exam results - should be judged on a five-year picture rather than one-off annual drops or increases", he added.
"This is a very important finding," he said, "and one which challenges many assumptions, with implications for the approach to accountability and for accountability measurements."
The study did not investigate all the causes of volatility - but it suggested marking quality and grade boundaries had little impact on variability of results, as they remained volatile when these were removed from the equation.
The exam board analysed the GCSE results in maths and history in all England's schools between 2008 and 2013 and then focused on 150 of the most stable schools, taking out the impact of marking quality and shifts to grade boundaries.
Study author Tom Bramley said: "Exam results in a school may go up or down in unanticipated ways, caused by a wide and complex set of factors.
"When swings occur, they could be because of what is happening in the school or the children's lives, they could be to do with the assessment itself or the way that national standards are applied, or to do with teaching and learning.
"But what our...

Summary: Schools in England should be judged by five years' worth of results rather than just one, an exam board says.
###
Article: Sightings of creepy clowns have sparked minor hysteria across the US since August.
People in clown masks have reportedly chased others and tried to lure children into woods.
Victoria police warned that such escapades would "not be tolerated".
Creepy clown sightings leave US baffled
'Killer clowns' come to Canada
Lurking clown arrested in Kentucky woods
In a statement on its Facebook page, which appears to have since been deleted, the force wrote: "Victoria Police are aware of people who are parading in public wearing clown masks.
"The clown purge appears to be a copycat of incidents being seen in the USA recently.
"Any intimidating and threatening as well as anti-social behaviours will not be tolerated and will be investigated by Police."
Clowns have also been spotted in Sydney, with one pictured loitering outside a fast food restaurant in the Campbelltown area.
Australians have responded by setting up Facebook pages dedicated to "clown hunting", as the sightings spread.
One theory has it that the upswing in "killer clown" antics is linked to the release of novelist Stephen King's new film, It.
The plot involves a child-slaughtering being which takes the form of a clown called Pennywise to lure its prey.
But King has criticised the craze. This week, he tweeted: "Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria - most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh."
The sinister craze began in South Carolina with reports that men dressed as clowns were trying to coax children into the woods with money. It was followed by sightings in Alabama, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Schools in Texas and Alabama have even shut down over the phenomenon.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told a press briefing that President Barack Obama had not been briefed on the issue, but added, "this is a situation that local law enforcement authorities take quite seriously".
Reports suggest New Zealand has also been sucked into the epidemic, after a clown "lurking" at a school spooked parents on Wednesday.
Some...

Summary:


These amazing forest buildings could help tackle China's pollution problems.

Article: They are available via a new location-based food app which connects neighbours in the city and beyond.
The aim of users is to cut waste.
Olio app's Saasha Celestial-One told BBC Radio Wales the idea came about when her co-founder was moving home and did not know what to do with unused food she did not want to throw away.
She told the Jason Mohammad programme: "Not only does preventing good food from going to waste feel amazing, it's a really fun way to get to know new people in the community."
Since its launch in January, over 66,000 people have downloaded the app with plans to expand into 33 more countries.
Individuals and Cardiff eateries have signed up, with leftover bread and unsold cakes being offered.
"Katherine" is offering 12 coconuts bought wholesale and which "survived a coconut shy unharmed - free to a good home". They are available for collection from Adamsdown.
As well as half a bag of carrots at Bute Street, there is a packet of unopened biscuits left over from a coffee morning at Ninian Park.
And they could be washed down with tea being given away by "Luce", near Cathays station.
She has 18 beetroot tea bags remaining from a box of 20, saying they were "bought to be adventurous - but I don't like it".

Summary: Twelve coconuts, a packet of biscuits, half a bag of carrots and unsold shop-made cakes are some of the unwanted food items being given away in Cardiff.
###
Article: A farmer was killed every month in 2011 while working on a farm in Northern Ireland.
In February and March, HSENI staff will visit farms and speak directly to farmers and their families about their safety.
The average age of farmers killed in accidents last year was 57.
The four main causes of farm deaths in Northern Ireland are unguarded machinery, handling livestock, falls when carrying out work at heights and incidents involving slurry tanks.
The HSENI is working with the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) to develop a new Farm Safety Partnership.
Addressing farmers, Ken Logan, of the HSENI, said: "HSENI staff will be visiting your farm in order to discuss the dangers that you and your families face on a daily basis.
"Given that most Northern Ireland farms are worked by one or two people, this is a very personal message to you.
"Safety must be your number one priority as it is likely to be you or another family member who gets injured or killed.
"This help initiative will provide you with an opportunity to ask questions and seek advice from my colleagues."

Summary: The Health and Safety Executive for NI (HSENI) is launching an initiative to try and cut farm deaths.
###
Article: Millions of people visited the capital throughout August to watch a myriad of comedy, theatre and music shows.
Almost 2.3 million tickets have been issued for 50,000 Fringe events, an increase of more than 5% on last year
The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) took Â£3.8m in ticket sales, up 19% on last year's receipts.
The festivals also included a number of free outdoor performances such as a light show projected on to the Usher Hall to celebrate 50 years of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus.
Kath M Mainland, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: "As this year's Fringe draws to a close we can reflect on what a spectacular success it has been.
"Once again artists and audiences have travelled from across the globe to be a part of this unique cultural event.
"And with an estimated 2,298,090 tickets issued and many thousands of people attending the 800 free shows in the programme, I've no doubt every single person who watched a Fringe show, or experienced this wonderful festival city, will take away unforgettable memories."
The 2015 EIF has been acclaimed as an "outstanding year" with highly rated shows including Antigone with Juliette Binoche and Lanark by David Grieg.
Festival director Fergus Linehan said his first year in the role had been "exhilarating".
"All that remains is for us to thank the hundreds of artists and hundreds of thousands of audience members who continue to make the Edinburgh International Festival one of the wonders of the arts world," he said.
"This alliance of artists, audiences, government agencies, the media, donors and sponsors is unprecedented and all of us at the Festival office are deeply honoured to be given the opportunity to contribute to this remarkable organisation.
"We will continue to seek out artists of the highest calibre and present their work to the widest possible audience."
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "From the opening notes and illuminations of the spectacular The Harmonium Project to the crescendo of the festival fireworks, this is...

Summary: A dramatic firework display over Edinburgh has marked the end of this year's Fringe and International festivals.
###
Article: The 65-member congressional committee voted 38 to 27 to recommend impeachment over claims she manipulated government accounts ahead of her 2014 re-election.
All eyes will now be on a full vote in the lower house starting on 17 April.
The issue has divided Brazil, with police preparing for mass protests in the capital, Brasilia.
The vote took place amid chaotic scenes with supporters and opponents of President Rousseff shouting slogans and waving placards.
The committee's vote is largely symbolic, but has been watched as a measure of how much support there is for the impeachment process ahead of the crucial vote in the full lower house of Congress, correspondents say.
There, a two-thirds majority is needed to send the matter on to the Senate. The latest opinion poll by the Estadao daily suggests 292 of the 513 members are in favour, with 115 against and 106 undecided.
The Senate would then have the power to suspend Ms Rousseff, put her on trial and ultimately drive her from office.
During a bad-tempered debate leading up to the vote, Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo, speaking for the president, said the impeachment process was "flawed".
"It is absurd to dismiss a president who has not committed crimes, nor stolen a penny. And such a process without crime or fraud, would be a coup," he said.
Ms Rousseff is accused of breaking fiscal laws by allegedly manipulating government accounts to make the deficit seems smaller than it was ahead of presidential polls.
Opposition lawmaker Vanderlei Macris said an impeachment would be important to Brazilian society and would bring change.
513 members of the lower house of Congress
342 votes needed to move process to the Senate
41 senators out of 81 must vote in favour to begin impeachment trial
180 days she could be suspended for during the hearings
On Monday night, thousands of supporters of President Rousseff attended anti-impeachment rallies in Rio de Janeiro.
Speaking at one event, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva dismissed the vote by the congressional...

Summary: Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has suffered a blow to her hopes of staving off impeachment proceedings, after a committee voted they should go ahead.
###
Article: The pill, a combination of misoprostol and mifepristone, had been pending approval by Health Canada since 2012.
It has been in use in the United States since 2000 and in France since 1988.
Vicki Saporta of the National Abortion Federation called it "great news" for women in Canada but anti-abortion campaigners disagreed, calling it a "human pesticide".
The pill causes a medically induced abortion earlier in the pregnancy than most surgical abortions. Earlier terminations are considered safer than late term abortions by pro-choice campaigners.
It is already available to women in about 60 countries, and has been in use in the UK for almost a quarter century.
Health Canada confirmed to BBC News that the Linepharma pharmaceutical company has been told they can begin production of the pill, which will be sold under the brand name Mifegymiso.
A doctor's prescription will be required for women to obtain the drug, which is normally effective up to 70 days into a pregnancy.
Mrs Saporta says the pill will likely become available in 2016, and will be distributed by doctors rather than pharmacies, as it is done in the US.
She added: "It's long overdue that Canadian women also have access to the gold standard for medical abortion care."
But Jim Hughes, national president of Campaign Life Coalition, a Canadian group opposed to abortion access, said: "RU-486 is a human pesticide which kills the pre-born child and harms women."
Abortion was first legalised by the Canadian Supreme Court in 1988.

Summary: Canadian health authorities have approved the drug RU-486, commonly known as the abortion pill.
###
Article: China has one of the biggest air pollution problems in the world.
Lots of people living there tend to wear special facemasks to help to filter out the pollution.
Italian architect Stefano Boeri came up with the idea of creating buildings which are full of plants, to help fight pollution.
These two special buildings will be home to more than 1,000 trees and 2,500 shrubs and bushes which should absorb the pollution in the air and help to filter it and make it cleaner.
The buildings will be built in the Chinese city of Nanjing, and should be finished by 2018.
The shorter tower will be a hotel, while the taller one will be home to a museum, offices and an architecture school.
The buildings are the first of their kind in Asia, but will join two other buildings like them, from Italy and Switzerland.
The architect has plans to build similar buildings in other Chinese cities like Chongqing, Shijiazhuang, Liuzhou, Guizhou and Shanghai.
In 2014 China's government said they were working hard to reduce the amount of pollution in the air - and since then they've been closing down coal-burning factories, and limiting the amount of traffic on roads.

Summary:


Almost half (45%) of young people are checking their mobile phones after they have gone to bed, a poll suggests.

Article: About eight staff members who were part of the Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP) Team in London have been told to move.
The decision follows the departure of the team's managing director, Nick Advani.
Goldman Sachs said that the move had nothing to do with the UK's exit from the European Union.
'This is a discrete decision for reasons specific to GSIP, one investment team within Goldman Sachs, and shouldn't be construed as anything but that," it said in a statement.
Mr Advani announced last year that he would be stepping down from his role as managing director. He is now an advisory director with Goldman.
GSIP was set up in 2008 with $7bn (Â£5.6bn) in assets and at the time was one of the biggest-ever  hedge fund launches. According to its website it has offices in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo, as well as London.
It is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, an investment manager with $1.15tn in assets under supervision.
The news of GSIP's departure comes amid widespread speculation that many financial jobs based in London might migrate to cities in the rest of Europe, such as Dublin, Paris or Frankfurt, so that the banks concerned could continue to offer their services to EU clients.
HSBC and UBS have warned that they will have to move some London staff abroad when the UK leaves the EU.
Last month, Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, said the bank had been moving parts of its "global operations" team to London, but was now "slowing that decision".

Summary: A Goldman Sachs hedge fund is closing its London operations and moving staff to New York, the firm has confirmed.
###
Article: John Myers, 52, from Glasgow, abused one girl when she was aged five and continued until she was almost 17.
He also targeted another girl when she was aged 11 or 12. Myers was caught after one victim told a friend, which led to a police investigation.
His name will be on the sex offenders' register for life and Myers will be supervised for three years on release.
Jailing him at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Pentland told Myers: "The jury convicted you after trial of a series of extremely serious offences."
The judge told him that the abuse of one of the victims, which began when she was aged five and culminated in rape, was "sustained and calculated".
Lord Pentland said: "The effect on your victims has been serious and lasting. I note you have evinced no remorse and not the slightest concern for your victims."
The judge told him: "The sexual abuse of children is repugnant."
Lord Pentland said a background report prepared on Myers had assessed him "as presenting an imminent risk of future sexual offending against children".
Myers, formerly from the Tollcross area of Glasgow, was convicted of two charges of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and indecent behaviour committed at addresses in his home city between 2002 and 2014.
He had denied all charges against him.
His trial heard that Myers' abuse of the five-year-old happened almost every time he was left alone with her.
The victim - now aged 18 -  gave evidence during the trial and said the abuse continued for more than 12 years.
Myers tried to rape her after she turned 13 before he finally raped her as she slept, a few days before her 17th birthday.
The teenager revealed that he was caught only after her friend asked her to share her "darkest secret" during a drinking session.
She blurted out that Myers had abusing her for years after which the friend shared the secret with one of her relatives who insisted on taking the victim to report the abuse to police.
An investigation led to a second girl, related to the first victim, being...

Summary: A man who was convicted of "repugnant" sex offences against two young girls has been jailed for 13 years.
###
Article: It has been included for the first time in the Price of Football study, which analyses the costs at 227 clubs in 13 leagues across the UK.
The league's set £10 admission fee and the average cost of the cheapest season ticket - at £124.73 - is lower than all divisions in England and Scotland.
Ten out of the 12 clubs in the Premiership provided data to the BBC.
Prices from Warrenpoint and Ballymena United were obtained from their club websites.
Click here to play with the Price of Football calculator and see what your support is costing you.
"The admission charge of £10 allows fans to plan their budget around going to a game each week and is something that our clubs have done for many years now," said Northern Ireland Football League managing director Andrew Johnson.
"In fact the £10 is a maximum charge which allows the clubs flexibility to offer fan promotions for various games throughout the season. I believe it provides excellent value for money."
The Price of Football, now in its fifth year, analyses the cost of the cheapest and most expensive match-day and season tickets, as well as the cost of a pie, programme, cup of tea and adult and junior replica shirts.
In England's Premier League, two thirds of tickets were frozen or reduced in price but the cheapest match-day ticket now costs more than £30.
The Welsh Premier League came out as the cheapest league to watch men's football in the UK, with the average cost of a match-day ticket at £7 and the average cost of the cheapest season ticket at £71.64.
You can download the full results for 2015 here (pdf 536 KB).

Summary: The Irish Premiership is the second cheapest league to watch men's football, a BBC study has revealed.
###
Article: Kenton Cool, 38, from Gloucestershire, reached the summit at midnight UK time.
It breaks his own British record for the most summits of Everest - he has now scaled the world's highest peak 10 times.
Mr Cool carried a medal from the 1924 Winter Olympics, fulfilling a pledge made by a member of the 1922 British Everest expedition.
His team said he spent about 30 minutes at the top before beginning his descent.
"To stand on the summit for the 10th time is simply amazing," Mr Cool said in a message sent via his expedition team.
"To have with me an Olympic Gold medal awarded to the 1922 team is humbling.
"This promise needed keeping, and after 90 years the pledge has been honoured for Britain."
The British Everest expedition in 1922 came within 500m of the summit, but failed three times to reach the top.
At the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, 21 team members were honoured with medals for mountaineering.
Lt Col Edward Strutt, who was the expedition's deputy leader, pledged to place one of the medals on the summit of Everest, but the promise was never kept.
Speaking to the BBC from Camp 3 on his way down, Mr Cool said: "When we got the medal out at the top I pretty much broke down in tears.
"At the summit we took it out and did some filming, took some photographs and I made a few silent prayers."
Mr Cool added that he had left the medal alone for a few minutes at the top because "it deserved some time there on its own".
"As soon as we'd finished the winds were really vicious so it was straight back down to safety."
Rhys Jones, who became the youngest person to climb Everest in 2006, congratulated Mr Cool on his feat.
"Kenton is in a league of his own," he said.
"It takes so much guts and endurance to put your body through that once - not just the climb itself, but the months of preparation and training - to do it 10 times is a truly fantastic achievement."
Mr Cool was loaned one of the medals awarded to the team from 1922 by Charles Wakefield, the grandson of Dr Arthur Wakefield who was a member of the...

Summary: A British climber has successfully carried an Olympic gold medal to the top of Mount Everest.
###
Article: Paul Howells made the discovery at a field in Coity, Bridgend, on 8 May 2015.
The hoard included a large bronze flat axe with a wide-blade edge and a small bronze axe chisel dating back to 2200-2050 BC.
Late Bronze Age tools and weapons were also found two sites in Llanharan, Rhondda Cynon Taff.
A dig at the Coity site found the two axe heads had been placed underneath a large limestone capping stone.
Archaeologists suggest hoards of this kind were buried during religious ceremonies, possibly as gifts to the gods and goddesses.
The two Late Bronze Age hoards found at Llanharan were discovered in March 2015 during a metal-detecting rally on farmland.
They included bronze socketed axes and two bronze socketed spearheads, dating back to 1000-800 BC, found at two sites half a kilometre apart.
National Museum Wales hopes to buy the items with funding from the Heritage Lottery-funded Saving Treasures: Telling Stories project, to put them on display.

Summary: Early Bronze Age axe heads found by a metal detectorist in south Wales have been declared treasure by a coroner.
###
Article: A survey of 2,750 11- to 18-year-olds found one in 10 admitted checking their mobile phones for notifications at least 10 times a night.
The poll was carried out by Digital Awareness UK and the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
The organisations warn night-time usage of mobiles means pupils are coming to school tired and unable to concentrate.
They recommend having a "digital detox" and putting mobile devices away for 90 minutes before lights-out or keeping them out of the bedroom.
Of the 45% of survey respondents who check their phones when they should be sleeping, almost all (94%) are on social media - with a tenth saying they would feel stressed about missing out if they did not check their device before going to sleep.
Of this group, 75% are listening to music and over half (57%) are watching films.
A third (32%) of these youngsters say their parents are not aware that they check their mobile device after going to bed.
The findings also show:
Charlotte Robertson, DAUK co-founder, said: "One of the biggest topics around at the moment is excessive social media consumption and how it is affecting our physical and emotional wellbeing.
"A lot of them [children] are waking up sometimes with over 100 notifications from conversations that have happened overnight.
"They want to be that person that is responding at 01:00, and seen to be quite cool, to make sure they catch the joke - it's a huge driver, that anxiety of wanting to know what's happened."
HMC chairman Mike Buchanan said: "The data suggests those who do check their phones, they're mostly driven by not wishing to miss out.
"Clearly there are some times when children are not concentrating because they are tired, and that has an obvious impact on their ability to keep up with what's going on - there is a desire to stay within the group.
"It's not that this [technology] is all horrible and terrible and that we should all be wringing our hands.
"It is more a case that here's the reality, let's use it and try to influence the use of technology in a...

Summary:


Despite being a ratings winner for Channel 4, Benefits Street came with its fair share of complaints.

Article: Sir de Vic Carey says his grandfather "was not responsible" for the deportation of three Jewish women to a concentration camp during the war.
Sir Victor Gosselin Carey had overall responsibility of islanders between 1935-1945.
In 1942 three Jewish women from Guernsey were removed from the island and died in Auschwitz's gas chambers.
Since Guernsey's liberation Sir Victor Carey has received criticism for some of the decisions that had been made under his authority and his relationship with the Nazis.
Former Bailiff Sir de Vic Carey said Guernsey's Royal Court was forced to pass legislation against Jews but his grandfather was blamed.
He said: "My grandfather at that time was fairly confident there weren't any Jews in the island. He had taken great trouble to make people who were of Jewish extraction to leave the island."
"I don't think he was responsible, I think it would have happened anyway."
Of the six Jewish residents in the Bailiwick of Guernsey during the occupation three of them - Marianne Grunfeld, Auguste Spitz and Therese Steiner - were deported.
Sir de Vic Carey believed if the island's administration had all resigned over the issue it "would've meant the Germans would've taken over, the civilian administration would've stopped."
He said by the end of the war his grandfather was "pretty shattered by the whole event" and "wanted to forget about it" because of "things he didn't want to recall".
He believes his grandfather was not recognised for the difficult role he played.
"Threats were made the whole time, so they had to try and keep in post because if they went there would be no one to argue for the population.
"I don't think he had that sense of history that he had to be scoring brownie points for posterity", he said.

Summary: The actions of Guernsey's Bailiff during the Nazi occupation have been defended by his grandson.
###
Article: As changes to make core GCSE subjects harder begin to bite, heads warn grades are becoming unreliable and incomparable year on year.
So much so that many pupils predicted to get grade C in core subjects may not now achieve it, they say.
Exams regulator Ofqual says "standards will be maintained" despite changes.
Pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be receiving their GCSE results on Thursday.
The Ofqual exam watchdog in England has already warned that GCSE English, maths and all science results are likely to "look different" with grades possibly dropping this year because of changes to the exams and the patterns of entry.
The Association of School and College Leaders, which represents thousands of secondary school heads, said it was expecting "significant turbulence" in this year's results.
Its general secretary Brian Lightman said that the exam system was in a very "serious state" and he called for "some stability".
It was no longer possible to assume that children taking the same subject years apart would get the same grade for the same standard of work, he said. And those who had achieved similar standards may be graded differently, he added.
The organisation's vice-president Ian Bauckham, who is also a head teacher in Kent, said there was a significant level of anxiety over the changes in the core subjects this year.
"It is likely that some pupils whose teacher thought they were on track to get a grade C in these core subjects may well find they have fallen below the new boundary where grade boundaries have been changed."
Many schools focus efforts on C-D borderline pupils because obtaining a C grade in English and maths is the key academic requirement for pupils to continue in education, whether it be studying A-levels or a more vocational course. These grades are also the key measure of accountability for schools.
General secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers Russell Hobby said: "The exam system is so massively complicated now, I actually think it is beyond any...

Summary: Head teachers say thousands of pupils could miss out on expected GCSE grades because of "significant turbulence" in this year's results.
###
Article: The Daily Telegraph reported that Dispatches will allege "a £10,000 donation was paid by the stepfather of an undercover businessman which would be against the rules on donations."
Lord Strasburger of Langridge has denied doing anything wrong.
The allegations are due to be broadcast in the Channel 4 programme next week.
The BBC has not seen any evidence to corroborate what the Daily Telegraph is reporting and neither has it heard from Channel 4.
Under rules overseen by the Electoral Commission and set out in law, any donation above £7,500 has to be declared and the use of a proxy as a donor - to hide the real giver of the money - is not allowed.
In a statement published by the Liberal Democrats, Lord Strasburger said: "Whatever Channel 4 may say in their Dispatches programme, I do not think I have committed any offence.
"Having said that, I believe that we should all be accountable for what we do, so I have invited the Electoral Commission to carry out an investigation into my actions.
"In the meantime, whilst I maintain that I have committed no offence, I have stopped fund-raising for the party.
"Also, for the sake of the party, I have resigned the whip from the Liberal Democrat group in the House of Lords until the investigation is completed."
In a response to a suggestion in the Daily Telegraph that this apparent donor, working for Dispatches, had met the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, a spokesman for the party said:  "It is common practice for senior party figures from all parties to meet with potential and current donors."
The statement adds: "Dispatches has raised important questions about one particular donation, which the party is taking seriously.
"The party had no reason to believe that the donation was made by anyone other than the person who signed the cheque."
Willie Rennie, who leads the Lib Dems in Scotland, says Lord Strasburger had taken the right course of action.
The MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife told the BBC: "We need to have a proper investigation to find out the truth in this regard and step...

Summary: A Liberal Democrat peer has resigned from his party's group in the House of Lords following allegations expected to be made in a Channel 4 investigation.
###
Article: The experts reported that YouTube did not count many of the "fake views" they directed at their own videos. But it still charged the researchers for many of them.
The case highlighted the need for more transparent analytics, said one expert.
Google said it would work with the researchers to improve its performance.
"We're contacting the researchers to discuss their findings further. We take invalid traffic very seriously and have invested significantly in the technology and team that keep this out of our systems. The vast majority of invalid traffic is filtered from our systems before advertisers are ever charged," a spokesman said.
The experts tested the systems employed by five video platforms, including YouTube.
In the case of the Google-owned site YouTube, they uploaded videos and bought ads targeted at them using Google's AdWords service. They then set up a series of bots - automated systems that carry out their commands - to target fake views at the videos.
YouTube carries out two separate counts of video views. The first, called the public view count, determines how many times the video has been seen and is displayed publicly. The second, the monetised view count, determines the viewership for the purposes of calculating advertising charges.
The researchers found that the public view counter was significantly more discerning than the monetised one. On two of the videos they uploaded, Google publicly counted only 25 of the 150 fake views as real. But its monetised view counter waved through 91.
They also found that they were charged for fake views on another two videos, but YouTube then identified the activity as suspicious in a secondary check and suspended the associated account.
"YouTube uses a seemingly permissive detection mechanism to discount fake monetised views," wrote the researchers, who are from four institutions - UC3M, Imdea, NEC Labs Europe and Polito.
They said that the issue "exposed advertisers to the risk of building their advertisement campaigns on unreliable statistics" when the...

Summary: Google charges marketers even when its own checks indicate that adverts were not viewed by human beings, according to researchers.
###
Article: An al-Shabab spokesman said fighting was ongoing, but a government official told the BBC the attack was over and the militants had all been killed.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was not at the palace at the time.
The al-Qaeda-aligned al-Shabab group lost control of Mogadishu in 2011, but often carries out attacks in the city.
The group has vowed to step up attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
On Saturday, a suicide car bomb exploded near the capital's parliament building, killing at least four people.
The BBC's Mohammed Moalimu in Mogadishu says President Mohamud was attending a function at the residence of the UN special envoy to Somalia, near the airport.
A large contingent of the Somali military police accompanied him, leaving the presidential palace, known as Villa Somalia, mainly under the protection of African Union soldiers, he says.
The presidential palace is the seat of government and many top government officials live and work there.
It is not clear if the prime minister and speaker of parliament were in the compound when it was attacked.
"We have entered the so-called presidential palace. We have now captured some parts of the palace and fighting is still going on," al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told the Reuters news agency.
The spokesman said that 14 government soldiers had been killed in the attack.
However a government official, who asked not to be named, told the BBC the situation was now under control and that attackers had all been killed.
He declined to comment on the number of casualties.
A security official told the AFP news agency that there were at least nine attackers involved in the raid and all had been killed.
The raid is believed to have started with a car bomb at a barrier near the entrance to the compound, after which the militants attacked from two directions, he says.
Halimo Nure, a local resident, told AFP that bullets were "flying around".
"There is shooting and gunfire, there are also explosions like they are using grenades."
Al-Shabab militants...

Summary: Islamist al-Shabab militants have attacked the presidential palace in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and entered the heavily fortified compound.
###
Article: Some residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham complained that they had been misled before appearing on the programme.
Producers of the reality television show have denied that.
Now, one charity which accused the makers of misrepresenting residents has offered a solution: a self-defence kit against unwanted advances.
Oasis, a community and education charity, runs the primary school in Birmingham where Benefits Street was filmed.
Reverend Steve Chalke, who founded Oasis, said that other communities have approached them asking for advice on what to do if they get attention from reality TV producers.
He said: "We can't proactively defend every community in the country.
"However, we believe that the new self-defence kit will give people the chance to benefit from what we've learnt."
The kit, which is on its website, contains advice on how to discourage television producers.
It also has what it calls a "decoder" to translate what a producer might really mean if they describe the programme they want to make.
Despite more than 900 complaints, watchdog Ofcom ruled that Channel 4 did not breach the broadcasting code.
A second series is thought to be under way in Teesside.
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: "We are always transparent and clear with residents in the extensive briefings that are given pre-filming and operate highly robust duty of care protocols for contributors which were praised by the regulator Ofcom as 'demonstrating best practice'.
"Filming of the second series recently began in Stockton-On-Tees, many months after transmission of the first and the subsequent media reaction, so residents were already familiar with the nature and profile of the programme.
"The majority of them have been happy to co-operate and support filming, even in the face of external pressure put on them by vested interests outside of the street."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary:


A man who murdered a pensioner at his home in Glasgow has been ordered to spend a minimum of 13 years in jail.

Article: It stands at 23.3 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17, which experts say is more in line with the rest of Western Europe.
There were 5,740 pregnancies in girls aged under 18 in the three months to June 2014, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.
This compares with 6,279 in the same period in 2013 and 7,083 for the June quarter the year before that.
Historically, the UK has had one of the highest teenage pregnancy and abortion rates in Western Europe.
In recent years, the government put a series of strategies in place in an attempt to get these figures down.
There are no comparable rates for conceptions across Europe, but the under-18 birth rate suggests England is closing the gap.
The under-18 birth rate in 2012 in England and Wales was 9.2, compared with an EU average of 6.9.
However, the UK birth rate has fallen by almost a third (32.3%) since 2004 compared with a fall of 15.6% in the EU.
In 2004, the UK rate was 13.6 births per 1,000 women aged 15-17 compared with an EU average rate of 7.7.
A spokeswoman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: "Contrary to popular perception, this data shows that the teenage pregnancy rate is falling dramatically in England and Wales. While the UK has historically had a high teenage conception rate, it is now at its lowest level on record and not significantly out of step with other European countries.
"We have seen a huge decline in the number of babies born to teenage mothers over the last decade, in part due to the improvements we've seen in contraception advice and services for younger women, with straightforward access to abortion services when their chosen method lets them down. But it also reflects broader societal shifts, with younger women quite rightly expecting and able to pursue educational and professional ambitions."

Summary: The teen pregnancy rate in England and Wales is continuing to fall, latest figures show.
###
Article: By embedding tiny tubes in the plants' leaves, they can be made to pick up chemicals called nitro-aromatics, which are found in landmines and other buried munitions.
Real-time information can then be wirelessly relayed to a handheld device.
The MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) work is published in the journal Nature Materials.
The scientists implanted nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes (tiny cylinders of carbon) into the leaves of the spinach plant.
They then delivered the nitro-aromatics into the water taken up by the roots and directly to the leaves in droplets. It takes about 10 minutes for the spinach to take up the water via the roots into the leaves.
To read the signal, the researchers shine a laser onto the leaf, prompting the embedded nanotubes to emit near-infrared fluorescent light.
This can be detected with a small infrared camera connected to a small, cheap Raspberry Pi computer. The signal can also be detected with a smartphone by removing the infrared filter most have.
Co-author Prof Michael Strano, from MIT in Cambridge, US, said the work was an important proof of principle.
"Our paper outlines how one could engineer plants like this to detect virtually anything," he told the BBC News website.
Prof Strano's lab has previously developed carbon nanotubes that can be used as sensors to detect hydrogen peroxide, TNT, and the nerve gas sarin.
When the target molecule binds to a polymer material wrapped around the nanotube, it changes the way it glows.
"The plants could be use for defence applications, but also to monitor public spaces for terrorism related activities, since we show both water and airborne detection," said Prof Strano.
"Such plants could be used to monitor groundwater seepage from buried munitions or waste that contains nitro-aromatics."
Using the set-up described in the paper, the researchers can pick up a signal from about 1m away from the plant, and they are now working on increasing that distance.
Follow Paul on Twitter.

Summary: Scientists have transformed the humble spinach plant into a bomb detector.
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Article: The first of four notes featuring art by specialist micro-engraver Graham Short was spent in Kelso in the Scottish Borders on Monday.
Three more notes will be spent in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this week.
Mr Short's last work, a portrait of the Queen on a pinhead, sold for £100,000.
The artist came up with the idea of engraving a 5mm portrait of Pride and Prejudice author Jane Austen on the transparent part of the new plastic Bank of England £5 notes, to mark the 200th anniversary of Austen's death next year.
He has included a different quote around each one, ensuring that each note is unique.
Anyone finding one of the notes has been advised to contact the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso, which launched the project.
Mr Huggins-Haig told BBC Scotland that the notes could be worth tens of thousands of pounds at auction.
He said: "All of Graham's work has an insurance valuation of about £50,000 at the moment. It's a reasonable estimate."
The artist and the gallery owner decided that rather than auction the notes globally, they would simply hand them out secretly and - after launching new art collections in Kelso at the weekend - the first one was spent in a nearby shop.
"I do know that the place that it was spent in haven't got a clue that it was spent in there," said Mr Huggins-Haig.
"It was spent somewhere where everybody goes in. It is not a chain, it was a local business."
He has sold Mr Short's work for some time and said they came up with the idea in an effort to take art out to a wider audience.
"Only 5% of people ever visit an art gallery," he said.
"How do we get art out and make it accessible to all?
"These notes are spent everywhere, so anyone has a chance of winning."
He said if someone with a special note contacted the gallery they would provide advice on how to put the artwork up for auction.
The owner of the note could also hold on to it in the hope it increased in value.
"It is very much the Willy Wonka golden ticket," said Mr Huggins-Haig.
"I would like them to keep it, because it...

Summary: Four special £5 notes, engraved with a tiny portrait of author Jane Austen, are being put into circulation and could be worth more than £20,000.
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Article: These mine dumps are testament to the millions of tonnes of earth that have been shifted in the search for gold around the city over the past 130 years.
But the gold mining industry that gave rise to one of Africa's biggest cities is now in crisis.
Costs, including wages, have escalated over the past two decades and the gold itself is getting harder to get to.
Some analysts describe the gold sector as in terminal decline - a sunset industry.
Crucial wage negotiations start in South Africa's gold mining sector on Thursday, the outcome of which, some analysts say, will determine the future of the whole industry.
Billions of dollars in exports and tens of thousands of jobs are at stake.
It's been a turbulent 18 months for South Africa's entire mining industry, not just gold, with workers across several sectors staging wildcat strikes.
The tensions over the mines has often boiled over into violence, including the most infamous day in South Africa's post-apartheid history last August, when 34 miners were shot dead by police near Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine.
The South African government is so concerned that it tasked Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to try to broker a stability pact for the industry. The ruling ANC faces elections next year and is keen to avoid another flare-up of violence.
While mining only contributes about 6% of South Africa's GDP (financial services and manufacturing command larger slices), it generates nearly 60% of the country's exports.
But the opening positions of the players involved seem to be so far apart that the negotiations are likely to be racked by tension, deadlock and possible walkouts.
The two big unions, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), have demanded pay increases of 60% and 100% respectively.
The gold mining companies say that double-digit increases are unaffordable.
Analysts expect months of industrial action on a scale that could be worse than that seen last year.
That would leave the entire sector...

Summary: Visitors flying into Johannesburg's airports gaze down upon the small, seemingly regular hills that ring the city that is known in Zulu as eGoli, "place of gold".
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Article: It is the first time in history a space probe has orbited a comet.
Rosetta will be able to provide scientists with information on the 4km-wide lump of ice and rock dust in more detail than ever seen before.
In November, Rosetta will release a small robot lander, Philae, down onto the comet's surface.
Rosetta will stay with the comet, which is called 'comet 67P', until December 2015.
The spacecraft started its journey from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, South America on 2 March 2004.
It has since travelled more than six billion kilometres, passing Earth three times and Mars once.
It has even flown past two asteroids.
Rosetta was put into deep-space hibernation for over two years as it travelled out to the orbit of Jupiter.
At this distance from the Sun, the spacecraft could not make use of its solar power panels. It was awoken in January 2014.

Summary: After a ten-year journey, the European Space Agency's spacecraft Rosetta has caught up with a comet in travelling in space.
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Article: Slovakian Imrich Joni, 20, stabbed and strangled Gordon Bolan, 68, at a flat in Kenmure Street in Pollokshields last summer.
An earlier trial at the High Court in Edinburgh heard that Joni hid the pensioner's body in a wardrobe.
Judge Lady Scott described it as "a brutal murder" which had left Mr Bolam's family "utterly devastated".
Joni, who lived at various addresses in the south side of Glasgow, murdered Mr Bolam at a date between 29 June and 14 July 2016.
In April, he was found guilty of murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
When he appeared for sentencing on Tuesday, the court heard the 20-year-old - who had denied any wrongdoing during his week long trial - had now accepted he killed Mr Bolam.
The court was told he had expressed "genuine remorse" for his actions because he could not continue living with "the lie" of denying his guilt.
His trial heard that Joni struck Mr Bolam with a knife before throttling him with a piece of fabric at an address in Kenmure Street. He then concealed his victim's remains in a bedroom wardrobe.
In a bid to cover up his crime and destroy DNA evidence, the murderer then washed upholstery, floors and other surfaces.
He also got rid of his trainers and the clothing he was wearing on the day he murdered Mr Bolam.
But Joni was caught after detectives found his DNA around Mr Bolam's property. Forensic scientists also discovered his DNA on the ligature which was placed around Mr Bolam's throat.
Defence advocate John Scott QC told the court that his client was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder caused by years of being physically abused by a family member.
Telling Joni that he was likely to be deported from the UK following his release from custody, judge Lady Scott said: "Mr Bolam was a man who struggled with ill health but nevertheless lived a normal life. He was a much-loved member of his community.
"His family have been left bereft and utterly devastated by his death.
"I accept that you have expressed genuine remorse. I also take into account that you...

Summary:


Zlatan Ibrahimovic could "plug the financial gap" of Manchester United's failure to reach the Champions League - should he join the club.

Article: With the news of her death at the age of 87, emotions remain high in Yorkshire's former pit communities about the miners' strike and the role of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
At times, that strike - lasting from 5 March 1984 to 3 March 1985 - almost seemed to be a battle of wills between the Barnsley-born leader of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Arthur Scargill, and the Conservative prime minister.
In 1984, when there were 170 working collieries in Britain, employing more than 190,000 people, Mr Scargill obtained a "hit list" of mines the Thatcher government was planning to close.
The ensuing strike against job losses, for which the NUM controversially never held a national ballot among its members, pitted striking miners against Mrs Thatcher's government, the police and other miners, and led to divisions in families which remain to this day.
The bitter year-long stand-off between Margaret Thatcher, Arthur Scargill and the NUM has come to be seen as one of the defining events of the era - not least in Yorkshire where her legacy is often remembered less than fondly.
As Chris Kitchen, Yorkshire-based NUM general secretary, said: "Unfortunately for the vindictive acts she did to myself, my comrades and my family and for the mining community, I'll not be shedding a tear at her demise."
South Yorkshire saw some of the worst violence of the dispute - most most notably at British Steel's coking plant at Orgreave on 18 June 1984.
Those clashes saw about 10,000 striking miners go head-to-head with 5,000 police, and led to 93 pickets being arrested with 51 pickets and 72 police officers injured, according to South Yorkshire Police.
Darren Vaines, a former miner at Ackton Hall colliery near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, was on strike for the entire 12 months of the dispute and was at the so-called Battle of Orgreave.
"It's a very strange emotional feeling because her death brings back a lot of memories and opens up a wound that has never really healed," said Mr Vaines.
"The cut went so deep, people have...

Summary: In Yorkshire, the mere mention of Baroness Thatcher's name is often likely to lead quickly to talk of the 1984-5 miners' strike.
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Article: Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead made the announcement during a speech at the 2015 Scottish Inshore Fisheries Conference in Inverness.
The bid for protected food name (PFN) status in Europe has been made by the Orkney Fishermen's Society.
The group is one of the leading processors of brown crab in the UK.
Last month, bakers launched a bid for the Forfar bridie to be given the same protected status as Champagne.
Other Scottish foods that have already won protection include Stornoway black pudding, Arbroath smokies and Ayrshire Dunlop cheese.
Mr Lochhead said: "Scotland is world-famous for our wonderful food and drink and Orkney crab is well known throughout the food industry for its high quality.
"It's great news that Orkney crab has applied for protected status which could help guarantee the quality and reputation of this iconic product."
Stewart Crichton, of the Orkney Fisherman's Society, said "We've worked very hard for a number of years to build the reputation of Orkney crab, starting from our fishermen and the care and pride they take in their job, to our processing factories and our customers.
"Protecting the integrity of that brand is the next logical step in the process and one we're delighted to be embarking on".

Summary: Orkney crab has become the latest Scottish delicacy to be put forward for protected food name status.
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Article: Kent Police said there was an "ongoing investigation into the supply of drugs" in connection with her death.
The 25-year-old was found on 7 April by her husband, Thomas Cohen, in a spare bedroom in their home.
Police have said Mr Cohen is "not in any way under suspicion of involvement" in her death or the supply of drugs.
Toxicology tests showed Geldof had heroin in her system, an inquest heard on Thursday.
Det Ch Insp Paul Fotheringham, told the hearing: "Recent use of heroin and the levels identified were likely to have played a role in her death."
Kent Police confirmed that an investigation into the supply of drugs was under way but no arrests had been made.
Det Ch Insp Fotheringham later said: "Following recent speculation in the media, I would like to make it clear that Thomas Cohen is not in any way under suspicion of any involvement in Peaches Geldof-Cohen's death or our concurrent investigation into the supply of drugs. He has not been arrested or interviewed under caution and there is no plan to do so."
He added: "Inaccurate reports have also been made suggesting that no drugs paraphernalia was found at the address, with suggestions that the scene had been 'tampered' with prior to police arrival.
"While no detail will be provided around specific items, to prevent further speculation I will confirm that contrary to rumour in the media my officers did seize drugs paraphernalia from the address on 7 April. The coroner has authorised the disclosure of this information."
Geldof's mother, TV presenter and writer Paula Yates, died from a heroin overdose at her London home, aged 41, in 2000.
At the inquest, Det Ch Insp Fotheringham described how Geldof's husband had tried to make contact with his wife before he found her body.
Mr Cohen, a musician, had been away for the weekend with the elder of their two sons, Astala, leaving Geldof at home with their 11-month old son, Phaedra.
This was their normal weekend arrangement, the officer explained, allowing Geldof to concentrate on her work as a columnist.
"It is...

Summary: Police have launched a criminal inquiry after it emerged that heroin was likely to have played a part in the death of Peaches Geldof.
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Article: However, the electric carmaker has suggested that the function was not being used correctly at the time.
The motorist survived the accident, but another Tesla owner died in an earlier crash that occurred when the driver-assist function failed to detect another vehicle in its path.
Chief executive Elon Musk said Tesla had no plans to disable autopilot.
However, he told the Wall Street Journal that his company would publish a blog highlighting how drivers should make use of the technology.
He also tweeted that it was right that Tesla should be "taking the heat for customer safety".
The California-based carmaker has previously blogged that "customers using autopilot are statistically safer than those not using it at all".
Tesla's deployment of the technology is being investigated by the US road safety watchdog.
The latest crash, near Cardwell, Montana, saw a Model X car swerve to hit wooden rails next to a two-lane road.
"This vehicle was being driven along an undivided mountain road shortly after midnight with autosteer enabled," a spokeswoman told the BBC, referring to autopilot's steering function.
"The data suggests that the driver's hands were not on the steering wheel, as no force was detected on the steering wheel for over two minutes after autosteer was engaged - even a very small amount of force, such as one hand resting on the wheel, will be detected.
"This is contrary to the terms of use that are agreed to when enabling the feature and the notification presented in the instrument cluster each time it is activated.
"As road conditions became increasingly uncertain, the vehicle again alerted the driver to put his hands on the wheel.
"He did not do so, and shortly thereafter the vehicle collided with a post on the edge of the roadway.
"Autosteer... is best suited for highways with a centre divider.
"We specifically advise against its use at high speeds on undivided roads."
CNN reported that the car had lost one of its wheels in the crash, but neither the driver nor his passenger had been injured.
It said...

Summary: Tesla has admitted that its autopilot feature was activated when one of its cars crashed on Sunday.
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Article: The agreement is designed to replace the Safe Harbour pact, which the EU Court of Justice ruled invalid in 2015.
One key change is a commitment from the White House regarding bulk collection of data sent from the EU to the US.
The UK's Information Commissioner said a post-Brexit UK may have to adopt EU data protection rules to trade with it.
If approved by the EU member states, the pact could take effect in July.
The EU-US Privacy shield is designed to make it easy for organisations to transfer data across the Atlantic.
Key points of the agreement are:
However, in May the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) said the Privacy Shield agreement needed to provide "adequate protection against indiscriminate surveillance" and "obligations on oversight, transparency, redress and data protection rights".
The agreement has now been amended. Some of the changes include:
A spokesman for the European Commission said: "This new framework for transatlantic data flows protects the fundamental rights of Europeans and ensures legal certainty for businesses."
While the EU-US Privacy Shield agreement would only apply to the UK while it remained a member of the European Union, the UK's Information Commissioner said Britain would probably need to adopt similar terms.
"If the UK wants to trade with the single market on equal terms we would have to prove 'adequacy' - in other words, UK data protection standards would have to be equivalent to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation framework starting in 2018," said a spokeswoman for the Information Commissioner's office in a statement.
"With so many businesses and services operating across borders, international consistency around data protection laws and rights is crucial both to businesses and organisations and to consumers and citizens."

Summary: The EU and US have agreed the final changes to a new data protection agreement known as the EU-US Privacy Shield.
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Article: Media playback is not supported on this device
The Sweden striker, who is out of contract after four years at Paris St-Germain, could follow former manager Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford.
Football finance expert Rob Wilson says the 34-year-old would be United's most marketable player since Cristiano Ronaldo, and linking up with the three-time European champions would be a "match made in heaven".
Wilson says Ibrahimovic's shirt sales alone would help cover the cost of finishing fifth in the Premier League this season and missing out on the riches of playing in Europe's elite competition, worth up to £50m.
"It would not surprise me if Zlatan sold more shirts than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi," Wilson, a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, told BBC Sport.
"The cost of missing out on the Champions League is £30-50m. Zlatan will help plug that gap significantly with the number of shirts shifted by United.
"It is a match made in heaven. The football club is commercially so aware who will exploit every commercial opportunity.
"To them, they are signing a player who understands commercial endorsements and behaves in a way that allows him to maximise them.
"Put that together and you get the holy grail stakes of shirt sales, and stacks of corporate sponsorship.
"Zlatan is also the sort of player who brings ad hoc ticket buyers to a match, even if it is the Europa League or League Cup.
"It is matching the world's biggest sporting brands with one of the most marketable players, who has cult following, plus it is his career swansong.
"If you marry that with Manchester United, he will probably shift more shirts in the next year than any player in the squad because of the superstar status that he has."
Wilson claimed that Ibrahimovic could become the face of Manchester United.
"Zlatan has a global profile, and global appeal," he said. "Fans will buy shirts with Ibrahimovic on the back in Africa, South East Asia - markets United had a foothold in but not the leverage.
"Only a few select few players can do that: Gareth Bale,...

Summary: