An investigation into the disappearance of a woman who was allegedly murdered is to be probed by the police watchdog.

Article: The money will be used to fund school construction and substance abuse programmes.
Coloradans have voted on spending marijuana taxes before, but an excess of tax revenue made by the industry made another vote necessary.
Marijuana was legalised in Colorado in 2012. The state collected $73.5m (Â£47.7m) between January and July 2015.
The bill "Proposal BB" determined how to spend $66m of the taxes collected.
Voters approved spending $40m on construction of new schools and $12m on drug prevention and addiction programs. A further $14m will be for discretionary spending by lawmakers.
If voters had rejected the bill, the excess money would have been returned to taxpayers though a tax credit. Marijuana growers would also have received tax rebates.
In two previous bills, voters have also chosen to spend marijuana taxes on school developments.

Summary: Colorado has voted overwhelmingly in favour of spending taxes raised from the sale of marijuana.
###
Article: The plan involves a new building to house the Concorde with a museum in two neighbouring World War I hangars.
Plans for a museum at nearby Cribbs Causeway stalled after a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund was turned down.
Filton Airfield, which is owned by BAE Systems, is due to close in 2012.
BBC Radio Bristol's political reporter Robin Markwell said the new centre would be on land just off a new link road between Filton and Cribbs Causeway - bordering the northern edge of the airfield - which opened in 2010.
He said the plan included a science and technology centre which would train engineers from local universities.
Plans for funding it have not yet been announced. It would also require planning permission from South Gloucestershire Council.
Concorde 216, or Alpha Foxtrot, was the last of the fleet to fly when Concorde was withdrawn from service by British Airways in 2003.
It is currently on the opposite side of the runway at the airfield, where it formed part of an open-air exhibit which closed in 2010.
Andrew Cheeseman, from BAE Systems, said new plans for Concorde would be announced "in the near future".

Summary: A permanent home for the last Concorde to fly could be set up on the northern edge of Filton Airfield near Bristol, the BBC has learned.
###
Article: Those who drank six or more cups a day were found to be 20% less likely to develop any form of the disease - which is the most common cancer in men.
They were also 60% less likely to develop an aggressive form which can spread to other parts of the body.
But charities say the evidence, reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is still unclear.
They do not recommend that men take up coffee drinking in the hope of preventing prostate cancer.
The study looked at about 48,000 men in the US who work as health professionals.
Every four years between 1986 and 2006, they were asked to report their average daily intake of coffee.
During this 20-year period, 5,035 of the men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, including 642 fatal cases.
No difference was seen between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting caffeine itself was not the cause.
But even relatively small amounts of coffee - one to three cups per day - were found to lower the risk of lethal prostate cancer by 30%.
The researchers think there may be unknown compounds in coffee that protect against the disease.
Lead researcher Dr Kathryn Wilson, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said: "At present we lack an understanding of risk factors that can be changed or controlled to lower the risk of lethal prostate cancer.
"If our findings are validated, coffee could represent one modifiable factor that may lower the risk of developing the most harmful form of prostate cancer."
Commenting on the study, Dr Helen Rippon of The Prostate Cancer Charity, said other studies had not shown the link and the research evidence was still unclear.
She added: "Although this study is a welcome addition to our knowledge, it is far from definitive and we would not recommend men who are not already habitual coffee drinkers to become so in the hope of preventing prostate cancer.
"Heavy caffeine intake is associated with other health problems and men with benign prostate problems might well make urinary symptoms worse."
Yinka Ebo, senior health...

Summary: Coffee has been linked to a reduced risk of dying from prostate cancer in a study of nearly 50,000 US men.
###
Article: Director David Cronenberg attempted to revive the franchise in 2011, but 20th Century Fox passed on the project.
An earlier sequel starring Eric Stoltz was critically panned in 1989, but Goldblum said he would like to see a new version created by Cronenberg.
He told the BBC "new technology" would allow the director to "do whatever he wants to with some other Fly story".
"It was kind of primitive back in '86/'87 - I'd be interested in seeing it."
Goldblum starred as scientist Seth Brundle in The Fly, who turns into a giant insect after one of his experiments goes terribly wrong.
The 1989 sequel saw Stoltz as Brundle's son searching for a cure to his mutated genes.
'Budget problem'
Cronenberg, who was not part of the second film, first talked about writing a new version of the film back in 2009 and confirmed in 2011 he had written a script.
Shortly after, he revealed 20th Century Fox was not interested and later explained it was "a budget problem".
Goldblum said he was keen to team up with Cronenberg again, as he "was satisfied with the very nourishing collaboration we had, but it would be dreamy to work with him".
"I'd like to see anything he did really," he said.
The actor is currently starring in another sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, which picks up 20 years after the blockbuster hit.
It sees Goldblum reprise his role as David Levinson, who is now in charge of Earth's space defences following the alien invasion of the first film.
Liam Hemsworth also stars in the movie, with many of the original's cast returning including Bill Pullman, Vivica Fox and Brent Spiner.
Independence Day took more than $800m (Â£545.6m) globally when it was released in 1996, but Goldblum said the new film was not an attempt to cash in on that success.
"All the creators were highly respectful of the audience that enjoyed the first one so much and shelled out their hard-earned money," he said.
"I don't think they wanted to do something just to exploit that interest and make them buy another ticket - I think they really wanted to...

Summary: Film star Jeff Goldblum has said he would be interested in another sequel to his hit 1986 horror movie The Fly.
###
Article: Politically, one of the most significant announcements alongside the Co-op Group's annual results is the publication of the motions to be put before the annual general meeting on May 16.
Now, this may all seem horrendously dull until you arrive at Motion 9: "political donations".
Effectively, the board is asking the members of the Co-operative Group (that's its customers) whether they want to continue financially supporting the Co-operative Party. Or any party for that matter.
The Co-op Party includes among its members a number of prominent Labour MPs including Ed Balls, Stella Creasy and Chris Leslie. They stand as candidates of both the Co-operative Party and the Labour Party, and the two political movements have strong historical ties.
Last year Co-op Group gave Â£625,000 to the Co-op Party, a figure that was already down on previous years.
The motion says: "To determine the Society's policy on Political Donations
The board has carefully not given a view. But it is interesting to note that the new Co-op chairman, Allan Leighton, did sign a letter backing Labour in 2001.
There is also what is called a Members Motion, put forward by those who support continuing political donations of up to Â£1m a year to "support the objectives of the co-operative movement".
If that is voted through, that would mean the Co-op Group would continue financial support for the Co-op Party.
It is a fascinating debate, which brings together the very different membership model of the Co-op Group and the correct financial balance between business and politics.

Summary: The UK's biggest mutual organisation will vote on whether to stop financially supporting the Co-op Party, which has strong ties to Labour.
###
Article: The body of India Chipchase, 20, a bar worker, was found in Northampton on Sunday.
Book-keeper Edward Tenniswood, 51, from Stanley Road, faces a charge of murder and has appeared at crown court.
Northamptonshire Police referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission over its "responses before and during" the search.
Read this and other stories from Northamptonshire
A statement issued by the force said: "Northamptonshire Police has made a referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission to ensure transparency in examining police action and responses before and during the search for India Chipchase.
"We await the decision of the IPCC and will not be commenting further as the criminal investigation is now in the court process."
On Thursday Mr Tenniswood appeared at Northampton Crown Court via video link from Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes.
When asked if he could hear, Mr Tenniswood told the clerk of the court: "I can hear you, definitely."
After that he spoke only to confirm he could see the Judge Rupert Mayo, prosecutor Mary Loram and his lawyer Derek Johashen.
There was no application for bail and he was remanded in custody.
Ms Chipchase was last seen by friends on Bridge Street at about 01:15 GMT on Saturday.
Her disappearance was reported later that day after she failed to turn up to work at The Collingtree pub and restaurant.
Her body was found at the defendant's terraced house in Stanley Road. A post-mortem examination concluded she died as a result of pressure to the neck.
There will be a plea hearing on the 25 May, and a trial date was set for 18 July, to last for 10 days.

Summary:


Find out more about what the London mayoral candidates are promising in May's election.

Article: The notices have been given to residents for issues including overloading refuse bins, since waste collection changes started last July.
They included the roll-out of garden waste bins and smaller black refuse bins to boost recycling rates.
Cardiff council said residents had generally embraced the changes.
A total of 4,058 notices have been issued to households in the past six months warning residents about issues such as putting out the wrong type of bags or placing non-recyclable materials in a green waste bin.
Those who persisted to put out the wrong waste were given Â£100 fines, which could generate up to Â£10,900 for the council.
Most fines - 35 - have been handed out in the Adamsdown area of the city, followed by neighbouring Splott, where 28 fines were issued.
A Cardiff council spokesman said: "This city-wide process was always going to take time to implement due to the sheer scale of the operation. But it is essential that the council meets our statutory recycling target of 58% from all waste collected for this current financial year.
"Last October we announced that the "Stay out of the blackâ€¦ move into the green" campaign was working as tonnage of recycling material collected was up by 11% on the same time last year.
"Food waste had also increased by 15%. We'd like to thank residents for embracing the campaign and the need to increase city-wide recycling levels."
All councils in Wales must recycle 58% of their waste by March this year or face hefty fines.

Summary: More than 4,000 warnings and 109 fines have been issued to Cardiff residents who put the wrong waste out for collection since new rules came in.
###
Article: The authors argue that where disasters like drought are prevalent, they can be the most important cause of poverty.
They say that up to 325 million people will be living in countries highly exposed to natural hazards by 2030.
If aid is not used to reduce these risks, the progress made in fighting poverty could disappear.
The report has been compiled by the Overseas Development Institute.
It examines the relationship between disasters and poverty over the next 20 years, using population projections, climate models and estimations of how governments can cope with extreme events.
The report suggests that up to a third of a billion people could be living in the 49 countries most exposed to the full range of natural hazards and climate extremes in 2030.
In sub-Saharan Africa 118 million people in poverty will face extreme events.
The big weather issues that will face most poor people are drought, extreme rainfall and flooding.
An analysis of the data from rural Ethiopia and Andhra Pradesh in India suggests that where there is a strong risk of drought, then drought is also the single most important factor in keeping people poor, outstripping ill health or dowry payments.
"We've often heard that ill health is the biggest cause for impoverishment," said Dr Tom Mitchell, the ODI's head of climate change.
"But in the data, in drought prone areas, the biggest cause is the drought - in areas exposed to these hazards, they are the key causes of impoverishment."
Developed countries haven't recognised the role that these extreme weather events have in keeping people poor, he says.
The big problem is that, at present, money tends to flow in response to disasters, not to prevent them.
Dr Mitchell says the recent Cyclone Phailin in India is a good example.
The ODI has compiled a list of the 11 countries most at risk of disaster-reduced poverty.
"The very fact that it killed so few people means that the chances of raising big finance for recovery efforts are going to be pretty slim. It has not got the big numbers attached to...

Summary: New research suggests that extreme weather events will keep people poor in many parts of the world.
###
Article: It started last week with several students and teachers of the school in the city of Kota Bharu claiming that they had seen spirits or had supernatural experiences.
School authorities shut the school and called in Islamic traditional experts, scholars and even witch doctors in prayer sessions and "exorcisms".
By Sunday, the school had reopened and school officials said things had gone back to normal - but questions remain and the case continues to generate intense interest in Malaysia.
The school, SKM Pengkalan Chepa 2, is located in the highly traditional and religious state of Kelantan.
Last week, a small group of students began claiming they had seen a "black figure" lurking in the school. Soon, more students and even teachers claimed to have seen the same figure or experienced a supernatural presence.
One teacher told local news channel Astro Awani that she felt a "heavy" presence was hanging on to her, while another claimed that a "black figure" was attempting to enter her body.
A student meanwhile told newspaper Sinar Harian (in Malay) that he felt numbness in his hands while his mind "was all over the place".
About 100 people, mostly students, were affected, a senior school staff member confirmed to the BBC.
"Our students were possessed and disturbed [by these spirits]. We are not sure why it happened. We don't know what it is that affected us," she said.
"But the place is a bit old, and these children can be disobedient and sometimes throw their rubbish around the school grounds. Perhaps they hit some 'djinns' and offended the spirits," she added, using a local reference to ghosts.
The school shut on Thursday and invited Islamic preachers to recite the Koran and conduct prayers in the school. Local education authorities are also sending counsellors to the school this week.
The Kelantan state education department did not respond to queries from the BBC.
Based on the media reports, Robert Bartholomew, a sociologist who has researched mass hysteria in Malaysia, called it a textbook outbreak in an email...

Summary: A school in northern Malaysia has had to shut temporarily to handle what local media have called a case of "mass hysteria".
###
Article: Fr Tim Bartlett was responding to an Equality Commission decision to take a civil action against a Christian-owned bakery firm.
Earlier this year, Ashers Baking Company refused to bake a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan.
Fr Bartlett was on the panel of this year's Belfast Pride event.
He is a member of the Catholic Council for Social Affairs.
On Thursday, he issued a statement to BBC's Nolan Show saying: "I will be writing today to those groups from the gay community, with whom I have had a very constructive and ongoing engagement in recent years, to say that I am withdrawing my engagement until the right of all people, in this case Christians, to freedom of conscience is vindicated and respected by the Equality Commission and the gay community.
"I also want to know why the chief commissioner of the Equality Commission talked quite openly about the Ashers case during the Gay Pride debate in Belfast but has since claimed he is not free to talk about it in public debate."
Later, speaking on The View programme on BBC Northern Ireland, Fr Bartlett said he wanted the gay community to "respect my right not to be coerced, not to be forced to do something against my conscience in society".
John O'Doherty of the Rainbow Project, a health support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their families, criticised Fr Bartlett's comments.
"I think it's very disappointing. I think rather than being a reason to stop conversations, it further indicates the needs for conversation," he said.
"There are fundamental issues that need to be addressed and these need to be discussed, the answer isn't to walk away and say until you agree with me I'm not going to bother talking to you'."
Rev Dr Norman Hamilton of the Presbyterian Church said he was deeply concerned by the Equality Commission move.
"In a situation where a business has clearly stated that it is willing to serve any customer irrespective of religion, sexual orientation or political belief, it surely is totally unjust to attempt to compel it to be...

Summary: A priest has said he will withdraw engagement with groups from the gay community until the right of all people to freedom of conscience is respected.
###
Article: Currently, petitions to the Welsh Assembly need 10 names or more before they can be considered.
One calling for Cardiff Airport to be renamed after Princess Diana gathered just 16 signatures.
Mike Hedges, petitions committee chairman, said raising the limit would require petitions to generate interest "beyond family and friends".
At the moment, petitions must pass a range of criteria before they are considered by the assembly petitions committee.
But they have to be deemed "admissible" - asking for action within the Welsh Government's control, among other reasons -  to make it that far.
Some quirky submissions which have previously been rejected include calls for T plates for tourist drivers, banning bicycles in public spaces and a Welsh pound.
Mr Hedges said the petitions committee agreed 50 signatures would be needed.
The idea emerged from a report in the last assembly term which said an increase "may help discourage a small number of petitions that could be better dealt with as constituency cases or which are nonsensical or submitted as a joke".
Mr Hedges told BBC Wales there had been "one or two frivolous" petitions.
"You would have to get something that could generate interest over and above your family and friends," he said.
The proposals have been sent for a final decision by senior AMs on the cross-party assembly business committee.
The recommendations being put forward also include automatically considering large petitions of at least 5,000 for debate in the Senedd.

Summary: Petitions would need at least 50 signatures before being considered by the assembly, under new proposals.
###
Article: All five of these candidates are opposed to a third runway at Heathrow.
Find out more about all the candidates in the London elections.

Summary:

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The X Factor is to stay on ITV for at least the next three years, despite declining viewing figures and the arrival of The Voice to the channel.

Article: This is how many Ukrainians start and finish their summer holiday in Russian-annexed Crimea.
Queues of cars snake for several hours as people wait to visit relatives or get to the peninsula for a beach break.
Lorry-loads of watermelons are sold by the side of the road while people wait to be checked or waved through, in the southern region of Kherson, next to Crimea, where Kiev's vast Dnipro river enters the Black Sea.
Aside from the odd soldier dug in by the side of the road and the vigilance of Ukraine's border guards, there is little to suggest that the country is preparing for Russian military action from the south.
Most analysts think any such action would be highly unlikely.
But after Russia seized Crimea in March 2014 without firing a shot, Ukraine has learnt to expect the unexpected from its powerful neighbour.
Vigilance is the watchword of Ukraine's National Border Guard.
Spokesman Ivan Shevcov said his colleagues were "prepared for any type of action from the Russian side".
The war of words between Russia and Ukraine has intensified following Moscow's accusation that Kiev plotted a sabotage attack in Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised a response.
Russia has moved more military hardware on to the peninsula. And pictures of the Russian navy carrying out military drills in Crimea to counter the threat of saboteurs were quickly beamed around the world.
This week Russia is carrying out more exercises in Crimea to counter the threat of weapons of mass destruction.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has put his military on high alert. He insists the Russian claim of a sabotage attack by Ukrainian special forces was cooked up by the Kremlin to justify future attacks.
However little, if anything, has changed at the checkpoints in and out of Crimea.
One man from the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa said he went there only to visit his elderly mother who lived there and wouldn't leave.
When she dies, he will not travel there any more.
For Igor, travelling to Crimea to visit relatives, the...

Summary: Barbed wire, armed soldiers and several hefty concrete checkpoints.
###
Article: His party, AKP, is meeting to try to form a government after losing its majority in a general election for the first time in 13 years.
It secured 41%, a sharp drop from 2011, and must form a coalition or face entering a minority government.
Mr Erdogan has called on all parties to "preserve the atmosphere of stability" in Turkey.
"I believe the results, which do not give the opportunity to any party to form a single-party government, will be assessed healthily and realistically by every party," Mr Erdogan said.
The AKP is now likely to try to form a coalition, but no party has yet indicated it is willing to join forces with it.
Opposition parties may yet try to form a coalition against the AKP.
But Numan Kurtulmus, one of Turkey's four deputy prime ministers, said there would be no government without representation by the AKP.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is meeting AKP cabinet members and officials to assess the election results in Ankara.
After the official final result is declared, he will have 45 days to form a government.
Mr Kurtulmus said another election was possible.
This is potentially a new political era in Turkey.
The AKP still won this election, with over 40% of the vote - a share of the vote that parties in any democracy would crave.
It still has a substantial power base, mainly of the more religious, conservative Turks, who feel liberated by the party and the president.
But the AKP's dominance, the one-man political show that has played out in Turkey for 13 years and polarised this nation, has just taken a very big kick.
Turkey: Bloody nose for Erdogan
Profile: Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The result is a blow to Mr Erdogan's plans to boost his office's powers.
He had been seeking a two-thirds majority to turn Turkey into a presidential republic.
The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold, securing seats in parliament for the first time.
"The discussion of executive presidency and dictatorship have come to an end in Turkey with these elections," said HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas.
Kurds, women,...

Summary: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the inconclusive election result means no party can govern alone.
###
Article: On Wednesday, the council agreed to a two-month delay to the decision after Cuadrilla submitted additional information.
In June, when the company put in the original application for the two sites between Blackpool and Preston, oil was above $110 a barrel and it has been falling ever since.
It's important to stress that Cuadrilla is looking for shale gas, not oil, but the wholesale price of natural gas tends to follow the same trends as oil.
John Hall from Alfa Energy Group says: "The shale gas market took off in the US on the back of rising oil prices" as the price rose from around $60 a barrel in 2007 and started heading towards $140.
"My guess is that with the Brent price below $50 it will be difficult to justify short-term investment in shale, certainly in the UK," he says.
The likes of Chevron, Shell and Exxon have been delaying expansion plans or shelving projects worldwide that no longer look profitable.
So what is the break-even price for onshore shale gas in the UK? As with so many figures relating to the oil and gas industry, it is very hard to tell.
Cuadrilla wants to conduct exploratory drilling because it does not know how much shale gas there is in the area or how easy it would be to extract.
Greenpeace assembled some research and concluded that: "gas prices need to be higher than they are, or what the market says they will be, for the UK shale gas sector to even break even".
But Cuadrilla is playing a longer game than that. First of all, even if it gets regulatory clearance in two months, it is unlikely to be commercially extracting any gas from the ground until the end of the decade, by which time prices could have changed considerably.
Also, it is not just the suitability of the rocks for fracking that is being tested at the moment - it is the whole planning process.
Prof Stuart Haszeldine from the University of Edinburgh says it is unlikely that the first projects in the UK would be profitable anyway, "because of the intense legislative burden, and because they are one-offs with large...

Summary: Has the decision by Lancashire County Council on whether to allow Cuadrilla Resources to conduct exploratory fracking been overtaken by events, given that oil has fallen below $50 a barrel?
###
Article: Simon Coveney was speaking in Brussels.
He also stressed the importance of free movement of people, goods and services.
Brexit Secretary David Davis has repeatedly mentioned trusted trader schemes, automatic number plate recognition and pre-tagged containers as solutions to the Irish border problem.
Political leaders in London, Dublin, Brussels and Belfast have all said there should be "no hard border" and "no return to the borders of the past".
However, so far there have been no firm proposals on how to achieve that when Northern Ireland is outside the customs union and single market and the Republic of Ireland remains inside.
Speaking to RTÃ‰, Mr Coveney said: "What we do not want to pretend is that we can solve the problems of the border on the island of Ireland through technical solutions like cameras and pre-registration and so on.
"That is not going to work."
Mr Coveney added that he hoped to see a strong political acknowledgement of what can be achieved at Brexit negotiations this week.
"Any barrier or border on the island of Ireland in my view risks undermining a very hard-won peace process and all of the parties in Northern Ireland, whether they are unionist or nationalist, recognise we want to keep the free movement of people and goods and services and livelihoods," he added.
On Monday, Mr Davis called on both sides in the negotiations on the UK's departure from the European Union to "get down to business".

Summary: Technical solutions alone will not solve the problem of the Irish border after Brexit, the Irish minister for foreign affairs has said.
###
Article: The move comes as more and more music fans access their music on services like Google Play and Spotify, while sales of CDs steadily decline.
Streaming has been included in the singles chart since last July, but adding the data to the album chart poses more problems for chart compilers.
Chart company boss Martin Talbot explains the background and methodology behind the new rules.
Is this the next logical step after amending the singles chart last year?
It's a different chart but a similar kind of move. It's about reshaping the official albums chart so it's ready to reflect changing consumption habits - both now and in the future.
Is it fair to say the album chart moves more slowly than the singles one?
Yes and no. You tend to get fanbase albums going straight into the top of the chart then dropping out again, in a way that you don't with the singles chart.
I find the albums chart is very overlooked - in that many of the artists who've topped the chart are the coolest and the most creative artists in the history of music. Led Zeppelin have never had a number one single, but they had eight number one albums.
I assume most people on streaming services cherry-pick album tracks, or make playlists of their favourite songs. How will that translate to a sales-based album chart?
There are many tracks that do huge volumes of streams. Uptown Funk, for example, has achieved two million streams for the last six or seven weeks. Over the last couple of years Rather Be by Clean Bandit and Get Lucky by Daft Punk have all got vast amounts of streams.
If you were to include those songs' raw streaming data as part of an album, effectively the chart could become a reflection of artists who have one big hit single.
So our methodology protects the album as a body of work. We take the 12 most-streamed tracks on an album, and we down-weight the two most popular tracks to make sure the hit singles don't skew the overall performance.
Then we tot all those streams up and use a conversion rate of 1,000-to-1 to reflect the difference in...

Summary: The Official Album Chart is to incorporate streaming data for the first time next month.
###
Article: The X Factor's 13th series began in August with 8.5 million viewers - four million fewer than 2010's launch show.
The Voice will move from the BBC to ITV next year, also on a three-year deal.
But the broadcaster has agreed a deal with Simon Cowell for both The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent to continue on ITV until at least 2019.
Cowell said: "I want to thank ITV for continuing to be fantastic partners. I'm delighted for the shows and, in particular, for all the talented people who work on them with us."
Cowell may not appear as a judge on both programmes, though - under the new deal he is only committed to judging one of the two series per year.
ITV is currently negotiating with Ant and Dec to remain as hosts of Britain's Got Talent for the next three years. Dermot O'Leary's current contract means he will keep presenting The X Factor until at least 2019.
ITV's director of television Kevin Lygo said Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor were both "big, brilliant, wonderful shows" that would form "an important part of our schedule" for the next three years.
"They are defining shows for us, ones that we are very proud to have as part of our entertainment slate, and they continue year after year, for months at a time, to be amongst the most popular and hugely entertaining formats on television," he said.

Summary:


A Labour councillor has been suspended from the party over anti-Semitic comments on her Twitter account.

Article: Almost 600 16 to 24-year-olds were asked to choose the most important moral issue from eight options, with 59% opting for caring for family.
Some 4% said having religious faith or beliefs was the most important.
The poll also suggests 51% of young people believe they are less concerned with morals than their parents.
The poll, commissioned by BBC Religion and Ethics, asked young people to choose their top moral issue, with options including buying ethical products, being faithful to a partner and caring for the environment.
Looking after family was the top choice, with "putting others first" coming some way behind in second.
Four per cent listed practising a religion as the most important moral issue, the same percentage as said paying taxes.
When asked for the least important issue, religion came out on top with a third of respondents citing it.
New figures from the British Social Attitudes survey - published alongside the poll - suggest that about half of Britons as a whole have a religious affiliation, sharply down from 20 years ago when it was two-thirds.
Barely a quarter of young people now identify themselves as religious.
Of the eight moral issues, the poll found:
The poll was carried out by TNS BMRB to coincide with the opening of the BBC's Re:Think Festival.
The festival takes place in Salford, Greater Manchester, on Wednesday and Thursday and will include a debate on the relationship between science and religion between Professor Richard Dawkins and the country's Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks.

Summary: Most young people in Britain think that morality means looking after your family or putting others first, a BBC poll suggests.
###
Article: Figures for 2014 showed a 46% increase in syphilis infections, 32% in gonorrhoea and 26% in chlamydia.
The report said there were "high levels of condomless sex" in general and "rapid" transmission of infections in HIV-positive men.
Public Health England recommends regular STI testing.
Across all groups in England, the number of sexually transmitted infections fell by 0.3% from the previous year, to 439,243 new cases.
Chlamydia was the most common STI, accounting for nearly half of all diagnoses.
But there is a very different picture in men who have sex with men:
Gonorrhoea is one of the biggest worries because of the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains of the infection, which are very hard to treat.
Dr Gwenda Hughes, the head of STI surveillance at Public Health England, said: "The stats published today show that too many people are getting STIs, reducing this spread must be a public health priority.
"We are particularly concerned about the large rises in diagnoses among gay men."
The report said high levels of sex without a condom "probably account for most of this rise", but it also drew attention to the rapid spread of infections "in dense sexual networks of HIV-positive men who have sex with men".
Dr Hughes added: "Health promotion and education to increase risk awareness and encourage safer sexual behaviour remain the cornerstones of STI prevention.
"Ensuring easy access to sexual health services and STI screening is a vital component in the control of STIs."
Gay men are advised to have HIV and STI testing every year, or every three months if they have sex without a condom or with casual partners.
Public Health England adds that all sexually active under-25-year-olds should have a chlamydia test each year and whenever they have a new sexual partner.
Dr Michael Brady, the medical director of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "The continued rise in both syphilis and gonorrhoea is a worry and evidence that we still have much to do to address the nation's poor sexual health and rates of STIs in those most...

Summary: The number of sexually transmitted infections being spread in gay men is soaring, according to Public Health England.
###
Article: The search giant created thousands of virtual victims of ransomware to expose the payment ecosystem surrounding the malware type.
Most of the money was made in 2016 as gangs realised how lucrative it was, revealed a talk at Black Hat.
Two types of ransomware made most of the money, it said, but other variants are starting to emerge.
"It's become a very, very profitable market and is here to stay," said Elie Bursztein from Google who, along with colleagues Kylie McRoberts and Luca Invernizzi, carried out the research.
Ransomware is malicious software that infects a machine and then encrypts or scrambles files so they can no longer be used or read. The files are only decrypted when a victim pays a ransom. Payments typically have to be made using the Bitcoin virtual currency.
Mr Bursztein said Google used several different methods to work out how much cash was flowing towards ransomware creators.
As well as drawing on reports from people who had paid a ransom, it sought out the files used to infect machines and then ran those on lots of virtual machines to generate "synthetic victims", he said.
Cyber-hacks season:
It then monitored the network traffic generated by these victims to work out to where money would be transferred. The data gathered in this stage was also used to find more variants of ransomware and the 300,000 files it found broke down into 34 of them, he said.
The most popular strains were the Locky and Cerber families, added Mr Bursztein.
Payment analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain, which logs all transactions made using the e-currency, revealed that those two strains also made the most money over the last year, he said, with Locky collecting about $7.8m (£5.9m) and Cerber $6.9m (£5.2m).
The research project also revealed where the cash flowed and accumulated in the Bitcoin network and where it was converted back into cash. More than 95% of Bitcoin payments for ransomware  were cashed out via Russia's BTC-e exchange, found Google.
On 26 July, one of the founders of BTC-e, Alexander Vinnik, was...

Summary: Cyber-thieves have made at least $25m (£19m) from ransomware in the last two years, suggests research by Google.
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Article: Some officers did not understand how the software worked while others did not have enough time to use the technology properly, Kent Police said.
It was introduced across the county in April 2013 after a four-month trial in Medway saw street violence fall by 6%.
Kent Police said it has now changed the way the Â£130,000 system is used.
The "predictive policing" project, based on software pioneered in Los Angeles, was approved by the now-abolished Kent Police Authority.
It uses past trends and current information to predict when and where crime is likely to happen.
In the first year of its operation, ending in April 2014, overall rates of recorded crime actually went up in the county.
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Brandon said "predictive policing" had been introduced at the same time as a study by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Police Constabulary (HMIC) found only 90% of crime was accurately recorded by Kent Police.
"We invested a lot of time to increase that up to 96% and by doing so we saw a lot more crime on the books," he explained.
Mr Brandon did acknowledge that the new computer system had not been used as efficiently as it could have been.
"We weren't perhaps getting as many officers and staff and other agencies into the areas that were identified as the zones to police as we had hoped.
"We have narrowed the numbers of areas to patrol and increased the number of patrol hours in those areas.
"Where we have done that, some of the early results are all positive."

Summary: Crime in Kent increased despite the introduction of a new police computer system designed to predict where it was likely to happen, a report has found.
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Article: A misconduct hearing was told PC Simon Edwards had boasted to colleagues about having experience in Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.
He also lied about being in the Parachute Regiment and Red Devils parachute display team.
Thames Valley Police said Mr Edwards had been dismissed for gross misconduct and his behaviour "fell far short" of police standards.
Mr Edwards, who worked at Slough police station, was found to have breached conduct regulations over "honesty and integrity and authority, respect and courtesy".
In April 2014 he attended a commendation presentation ceremony with the chief constable, during which he sported Iraq, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Macedonia campaign medals that he was not entitled to wear.
The misconduct hearing was also told he had constructed a false account about an incident in which a police car triggered a speed camera.
Det Ch Supt Tim De Meyer said: "If people are to have trust and confidence in the police then our officers must demonstrate exemplary standards of honesty and integrity.
"PC Edwards's conduct fell far short of these standards and was an affront to members of the armed forces and to police colleagues.
"His misconduct was reported by his fellow officers which shows that such behaviour is not tolerated in Thames Valley Police."

Summary: A police officer who lied about his military service has been dismissed.
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Article: A message on Luton councillor Aysegul Gurbuz's Twitter feed claimed Hitler was the "greatest man in history".
Another tweet on Ms Gurbaz's account suggested Iran could develop a nuclear weapon to "wipe Israel off the map".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said anyone who makes anti-Semitic remarks is "auto-excluded from the party" pending an inquiry.
The BBC has contacted the councillor for comment.
The Labour Party has confirmed she has been suspended pending an investigation.
Speaking to the Andrew Marr Show, Mr Corbyn said: "Anti-Semitism is absolutely abhorrent and wrong.
"We have suspended, we will suspend, any member that behaves in that way."
The tweets in question were made before Ms Gurbuz was elected to Luton Borough Council in May 2015.
A spokesman for the council said: "While these comments appear to pre-date her time as a councillor, the council is shocked by these comments.
"This matter will be referred as a matter of urgency to the council's independent standards committee to allow a full investigation to take place."
On Thursday, Mr Corbyn was criticised by a Jewish leader for not taking anti-Semitism seriously enough.

Summary:


Scientists say they can now describe in detail how the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs produced its huge crater.

Article: The fund, which pays for drugs not routinely available on the NHS, has cut the number of treatments offered in order to balance the books.
Four appeals were subsequently rejected, but Regorafenib will now continue to be offered on the scheme.
Charities had criticised the decision to remove the other drugs.
All the drugs on the Cancer Drugs Fund have been rejected by the NHS as a whole for not being cost-effective.
Meanwhile NHS England announced that this fund was due to go Â£100m over budget in 2014-15.
In a large review of how the fund operated, NHS England decided to continue paying for only 59 of the 84 treatments it had previously offered as recently as January.
At the same time, three new drugs were added to the scheme.
Many of the companies who had drugs removed from the list appealed against the decisions, and five drugs were reappraised.
As a result just one, Regorafenib which is developed by Bayer, will now continue to be offered.
Prof Peter Clark, the chairman of the fund, said: "We have been through a robust, evidence-based process to ensure the drugs available through the Cancer Drugs Fund continue to offer the best clinical benefit, getting the most for patients from every pound that we have.
"These are difficult decisions, but if we don't continue to prioritise the drugs that offer the best value, many people could miss out on promising, more effective treatments that are in the pipeline."
Olaparib, an ovarian cancer therapy, will not be funded on the scheme.
Katherine Taylor, from Ovarian Cancer Action, said: "Women living with ovarian cancer deserve the right to have access to effective, proven treatments.
"We strongly urge NHS England to make this ground-breaking treatment available to the patients who so desperately need it."
Paul Catchpole, from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said: "The ABPI believes that the CDF re-evaluation process is fundamentally flawed and the CDF remains a sticking plaster covering a seeping wound.
"A sustainable solution is urgently required."

Summary: The Cancer Drugs Fund in England will continue to pay for a stomach cancer drug after an appeal by the manufacturer.
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Article: The findings by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) are in contrast to other parts of the UK, especially London, where both sales and new buyer demand fell sharply.
Rics said demand for new homes in Scotland grew in July.
It noted that more surveyors reported a growth in new buyer inquiries.
The number of homes coming onto the market also increased in July, with 8% of respondents reporting an increase in new instructions,
Rics said the continuing supply and demand imbalance was creating more optimism in the Scottish market, compared with the rest of the UK.
In July, more surveyors reported prices rise over the month, while 32% of respondents expected house prices to increase over the next three months.
However some surveyors said the Commonwealth Games, the school holidays and the approaching independence referendum led to a slowdown in house sales in their areas last month.
Rics director Sarah Speirs said: "The housing market in Scotland continues to show an imbalance between supply and demand in Scotland and this impacts on prices.
"With demand from new buyers at the highest rate since December 2013 and fewer properties coming onto the market, there is certainly the need for investment in regeneration and creation of new stock in order to keep prices at a sustainable level."
Last month, Registers of Scotland reported that the average price of a house in Scotland had risen by 5.9% in the past year.
It said the average cost of a home in the three months to June was just over Â£162,000.
The total value of sales across Scotland in the quarter increased by 29.7%, compared with a year ago, to stand at almost Â£3.95bn.
The number of sales also increased by more than 22%, indicating sustained growth over the past year.

Summary: House prices in Scotland are holding up as a result of growing demand and a lack of supply of homes, according to Scottish surveyors.
###
Article: But before 1872, the fifth of the adult male population lucky enough to be able to vote had to do so very publically.
They made their choice by a show of hands, stating their choice out loud, or marking their paper in front of people, often surrounded by cheering onlookers and the agents of the candidates. The answer was written down and the lists or "poll books" could be bought from local newspapers.
This public system of voting had left electors wide open to bribery and intimidation, for example mobs might be brought to polls to bully the voters. In contrast elections could be like a party, where candidates 'rewarded' their voters with large amounts of alcohol.
Despite opposition from those who considered secret voting to be "unmanly" and "un-English", the Ballot Act of 1872 introduced the ballot box to counteract bribing of voters.
Pontefract was the first town to vote in private when its Liberal MP Hugh Childers was newly appointed as a minister and the rules back then meant he had to win a by-election in order to serve.
Much like today, the voters of the Pontefract by-election were provided with separate booths where they could mark their paper in private and post it into the ballot box.
The boxes were specially made for the occasion and were marked with a wax seal to make sure no one tampered with the votes. Charmingly, the seal was made with a traditional liquorice stamp of a castle and an owl from a local factory where they used them to stamp Pontefract cakes.
Interest in the 1872 by-election was high because there was a suspicion that, now voters were able to make their choice in secret, support for the parties might be drastically different. However when the votes were counted, and the results announced at the Town Hall, Hugh Childers was elected just as expected.
Unsurprisingly Childers was among the many people who were impressed with the new ballot boxes, and he was right to be - for once there were no allegations of bribery or corruption and not even that much unruly behaviour.
Observers said...

Summary: Putting an X on a ballot paper in a private booth and posting it into a box is something you and I take for granted.
###
Article: Terrance Watson, 55, of Napier Avenue, Jaywick, Essex, died a week after being hit in Broadway in the village on 8 July 2013.
Alan Baker, 73, of Brooklands, Jaywick, denied the charge but was found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court.
He has been given a 36-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and a two-year driving ban.
Mr Watson was crossing the road outside The Stores when he was struck by Baker's Ford Focus.
Det Sgt Catherine Offord, of Essex Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said Baker was driving between 32 and 34mph when the crash happened.
"Coupled with the speed, Mr Baker was faced with a number of hazards as he approached the scene such as a school minibus, pedestrians, junctions and cars to be overtaken.
"He should have reduced his speed to deal with them. Had he done so the collision would not have occurred," she said.

Summary: A man who caused a pedestrian's death by careless driving has not been jailed.
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Article: A disciplinary hearing found Det Sgt Jan Beasant guilty of misconduct following a review of the investigation into the murder of Blackpool teenager Charlene Downes.
Iyad Albattikhi was cleared in 2008 of killing her after "grave doubts" were raised around the evidence.
Lancashire Police said Ms Beasant had shown conduct that "let everyone down".
Two other officers who retired prior to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation could not be considered for disciplinary sanctions.
Charlene Downes, 14, disappeared in 2003 and has not been seen since. Mr Albattikhi was arrested for her alleged murder in 2007, following covert surveillance.
A jury at Preston Crown Court was discharged in 2007 after failing to reach a verdict and a subsequent retrial collapsed after the Crown Prosecution Service conceded it had "grave doubts" about the reliability of the covert surveillance.
Ms Beasant had the job of transcribing secretly recorded conversations between Mr Ilbattikhi and another man, spending 2,500 hours over two years listening to 52 audio tapes.
The quality of the covert recordings was criticised during the trial by defence barristers as "poor" with confidence "low" in the accuracy of the transcriptions.
A review by the IPCC concluded the investigating team were guilty of a strategic and tactical failure in the management of the material.
Naseem Malik, IPCC Commissioner for the North West, said it was "abundantly clear" that the covert surveillance was "handled poorly and unprofessionally".
The watchdog recommended Ms Beasant face a disciplinary hearing, one officer should receive a written warning and five others should receive words of advice.
At a hearing earlier this week, Lancashire Police found her guilty of two counts of misconduct and forced her to resign.
Supt Simon Giles said the force "expects the highest professional standards from all our staff and the panel has found this individual's conduct has fallen well short of these standards".
"This sort of behaviour and conduct lets...

Summary: A Lancashire detective has been forced to resign after an investigation into the handling of a murder case.
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Article: The reconstruction of the event 66 million years ago was made possible by drilling into the remnant bowl and analysing its rocks.
These show how the space impactor made the hard surface of the planet slosh back and forth like a fluid.
At one stage, a mountain higher than Everest was thrown up before collapsing back into a smaller range of peaks.
"And this all happens on the scale of minutes, which is quite amazing," Prof Joanna Morgan from Imperial College London, UK, told BBC News.
The researchers report their account in this week's edition of Science Magazine.
Their study confirms a very dynamic, very energetic model for crater formation, and will go a long way to explaining the resulting cataclysmic environmental changes.
The debris thrown into the atmosphere likely saw the skies darken and the global climate cool for months, perhaps even years, driving many creatures into extinction, not just the dinosaurs.
The team spent April to May this year drilling a core through the so-called Chicxulub Crater, now buried under ocean sediments off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
Chicxulub Crater - The impact that changed life on Earth
The researchers targeted a particular zone in the 200km-wide bowl known as the "peak ring", which - if earlier ideas were correct - should have contained the rocks that moved the greatest distance in the impact. These would have been dense granites lifted from almost 10km down.
And that is precisely what the team found.
"Once we got through the impact melt on top, we recovered pink granite. It was so obvious to the eye - like what you would expect to see in a kitchen countertop," recalled Prof Sean Gulick from the University of Texas at Austin, US.
But these were not normal granites, of course. They were deformed and fractured at every scale - visibly in the hand and even down at the level of the rock's individual mineral crystals. Evidence of enormous stress, of having experienced colossal pressures.
The analysis of the core materials now fits an astonishing narrative.
This describes the...

Summary:


Fifteen soldiers have been jailed after a court martial for staging a "sit-in" in protest at being "led by muppets".

Article: They analysed the light from 200,000 galaxies in 21 wavelengths and found that the energy output of the Universe has nearly halved in two billion years.
This agrees with previous calculations, confirming that the lights are slowly going out right across this spectrum.
The drop is largely due to the falling rate at which new stars are formed.
The results, which come from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, were unveiled at the general assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Honolulu, Hawaii.
"We used as many space and ground-based telescopes as we could get our hands on to measure the energy output of over 200,000 galaxies across as broad a wavelength range as possible," said GAMA's principal investigator Prof Simon Driver, from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Western Australia.
He and his team are now opening up this huge collection of data for other astronomers to work on.
"The data release means that a whole lot more people outside the team are going to be able to jump on the data and do science with it, which is incredibly important," said Dr Stephen Wilkins of the University of Sussex, another GAMA team member.
He told BBC News that the strength of GAMA is that it combines so many wavelengths, where previous surveys have concentrated on a few.
Because the team used a variety of the world's most powerful telescopes - both earthbound and in orbit - their analysis spans wavelengths from UV light to infrared, including the small strip of visible wavelengths in the middle.
That means they can look at light from stars that are both young and old, as well as light that has been absorbed and then re-emitted by dust. So the new assessment of the Universe's decline includes information from a huge variety of galaxies, including those hidden behind dust.
"We know that star formation peaked a few billion years ago and has been declining since. This is just a new way of measuring that decline," Dr Wilkins said.
"It's a new spin, and it completely agrees with the previous...

Summary: A team of astronomers has published a multi-coloured survey of five chunks of space - and offered the best estimate yet of how fast the Universe is fading.
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Article: The collection of posters, programmes and photos, gathered over 80 years, documents the early travelling zoos to modern-day acrobatic shows.
It follows the donation of the Circus Friends Association (CFA) archive to the University of Sheffield.
The exhibition, called Spectacle & Wonder, runs at the university's Western Bank Library until 2 April.
The CFA, previously known as the Circus Fans' Association, was established in 1934 to promote the circus as part of British culture.
The university said the collection was "one of the most import circus archives in the United Kingdom".
It features items from some of Britain's most popular circus companies including Bertram Mills', Billy Smart's, Robert Brothers, Chipperfield's, Fossett's and Blackpool Tower.
Since the 19th century, animals were taken on tour as part of travelling menagerie's before they were later combined with traditional circus shows.
Angela Haighton, from the University of Sheffield Library, said: "As a popular form of entertainment the circus is an significant part of our social history.
"The donation of this important collection means we can make it more widely accessible and preserve it for future generations."

Summary: An exhibition looking at the history of Britain's circuses has opened in Sheffield.
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Article: The Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation (SSPO) said more than 160,000 tonnes were produced for more than 65 countries in 2014.
The USA remained the top export destination, with sales growing to almost £215m.
It was followed by France, which saw sales grow by 55% in volume to reach £110m.
Exports to China reached almost £65m, with an extra 40% in volume last year.
SSPO chief executive Scott Landsburgh said: "We are delighted with the reception Scottish salmon receives at home and abroad, and these latest figures prove how demand continues to go from strength to strength.
"We use the strictest production standards to produce the highest quality salmon which is why Scottish salmon was awarded 'best farmed salmon in the world' by an independent poll of international seafood buyers for the second consecutive time last year.
"This accolade is a testament to our dedicated salmon farmers and is obviously great news for rural communities where we farm and the wider Scottish economy, which continues to benefit from jobs, significant capital investment and ongoing community support provided by our industry."
The figures were released as Scotland's salmon farmers headed out to the Seafood Global Expo, the world's largest seafood exhibition, in Brussels.
Scottish Sea Farms, The Scottish Salmon Company, Marine Harvest Scotland, Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, Wester Ross Salmon, Loch Duart Salmon and Scottish Quality Salmon are all attending the seafood show, which runs until Thursday.

Summary: Exports of Scottish salmon grew by £50m last year to reach £500m for the first time, according to industry figures.
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Article: Theophilus Horsoo, 41, of Milton Keynes, registered as a supply teacher with Simply Education Limited in 2014.
A National College for Teaching conduct panel heard he was convicted in 2013 of "ill-treating or wilfully neglecting" a person without capacity.
Mr Horsoo admitted he was "dishonest" in not disclosing the offence.
The panel heard the conviction related to an incident in 2012 in which a vulnerable adult "service user" was locked in a bedroom by Mr Horsoo who used a belt to secure the door shut.
The panel was told the Mr Horsoo "took no account of the risk to the service user".
In banning him from teaching, the panel said: "Mr Horsoo stated how sorry he was for the actions he took to lock the service user in his room. This was a serious error of judgment on his part.
"He also apologised for not disclosing this conviction when applying for jobs in 2014 which he realised, with the benefit of hindsight, he was clearly obligated to so."

Summary: A man has been banned indefinitely from teaching after he failed to disclose a conviction for locking a vulnerable adult in his bedroom using a belt.
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Article: Mohammed Ali Abboud said he was attacked by Agnieszka Szefler in January 2015 at his Bridge of Earn home and acted in self defence.
However, a jury rejected the claims and found him guilty of inflicting 19 knife wounds on the 27-year-old teacher.
Judge Lord Uist urged Abboud to tell the truth about why he took her life.
Following a seven-day trial, the jury at the High Court in Edinburgh took two-and-a-half hours to return a verdict of guilty of murder.
They also returned a guilty verdict to a charge that Abboud attempted to defeat the ends of justice and had taken active steps to avoid arrest by tampering with evidence.
Lord Uist told Abboud he would defer sentence for the court to obtain reports about his character.
He added: "The crime of which you have been convicted of can only result in one sentence - life imprisonment.
"However, I cannot sentence you at this time as you are a first offender. I am required by law to obtain a criminal justice and social work report.
"I hope that when the reporter speaks to you, you will reveal what happened in the house on 23 January 2015 when you inflicted those injuries on Agnieszka Szefler."
During the trial, the court heard that Abboud and Ms Agnieszka had been in a long-term relationship, but the pair split after she took a job in Kuwait.
Jurors were told she had come back to Scotland on the day she was killed to spend time with friends and to remove items from Abboud's home.
The attack at the house was witnessed by neighbour Chloe Forbes Kindlen, who told the court that she went into shock after seeing Abboud plunge the knife into Ms Agnieszka.
In her 999 call, Ms Forbes Kindlen said: "I saw somebody getting stabbed. The guy was stabbing her in the garden."
She added: "She's saying 'ow ow ow'. I just see somebody lying and there's blood. I don't know if she's dead."
The court heard Abboud had then repeatedly stabbed himself to make it look like he was in a struggle and placed the knife under Ms Agnieszka's body so it appeared she had been in possession of the...

Summary: A 57-year-old chef has been found guilty of murdering his former partner at the Perthshire home they used to share.
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Article: The men from the 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment sat on the floor when ordered to stand to attention.
The protest by 16 soldiers was sparked by grievances with their captain and colour sergeant.  It took place in February while on exercise in Kenya.
Fifteen were sentenced to detention, one of whom was dismissed from the Army. A 16th was also dismissed.
All the soldiers pleaded guilty to disobeying a lawful command - an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.
The soldiers complained of being "led by muppets", the court martial heard.
The prosecutor at the court martial said members of the platoon had been seething at the way they were being managed, and felt that they were "not appreciated".
The court heard a captain and sergeant apparently got drunk before a lengthy training march in the Brecon Beacons last winter.
The troops were said to have been furious at finding their two commanders asleep, rather than greeting the soldiers as they crossed the finish line.
Tensions came to a head at the end of a training exercise in Kenya in February, when 16 soldiers decided to protest.
Ahead of a parade, a ringleader shouted "sit down" and members of the platoon did so. The commanders ordered each man in turn to stand up, but were ignored.
Corporal Anthony Brown, said to be the ringleader, was stripped of his rank, dismissed from the Army and sentenced to 60 days' detention.
Two lance corporals were reduced to privates and sentenced to 60 days' detention, while a third was reduced to private and dismissed without detention.
Twelve privates were sentenced to 40 days' detention.
The soldiers were in the 1st Battalion at the time of the protest. However, the 1st has now become the 2nd, following Army restructuring.
John Wilson, a retired colonel and former editor of the British Army Review who lectures in military history, described the nature of the soldiers' protest as "unprecedented".
The sentences given to the troops at the court martial were "strong enough to make the point", added Col...

Summary:


Extremism is contributing to and exploiting mass migration, the home secretary has warned.

Article: And that is why two Essex women have launched a campaign to remove the 'rude and stereotypical' term "Essex girl" from the Oxford English Dictionary.
Juliet Thomas and Natasha Sawkins want their proud peers to post their success under #IAmAnEssexGirl and sign their petition to have the term scrubbed.
But, a dictionary spokeswoman said, "nothing is ever taken out of the OED".
"It's a historical dictionary," she told the BBC. "Definitions can change, but an entry will never come out."
The dictionary defines Essex girl as: "Essex girl  n.  [after Essex man n.] Brit. derogatory a contemptuous term applied (usu. joc.) to a type of young woman, supposedly to be found in and around Essex, and variously characterized as unintelligent, promiscuous, and materialistic."
The campaigners were further peeved by a Collins definition that added: "devoid of taste".
Juliet Thomas told the BBC: "It's so rude and it doesn't define anyone I know in or from Essex. It describes a very dated stereotype."
The alternative meaning of just a girl in or from Essex was absent, she said. And it was "incredibly offensive" to see it in the dictionary with no reference to caricature.
She wants women to sign the petition with the aim of having the entry removed and to post their successes and support on social media to "redefine" what it means to be an Essex girl.
Among those who have backed the campaign, novelist Amanda Prowse tweeted her support and theatre technician Emily Holden tweeted: "I have a BA (hons) degree... I help put on awesome work. "
Ms Thomas said women, particularly young women, were still having to fight the Essex girl stereotype years after the term was coined.
"Girls feel they still have to listen to the same tired old jokes, feel like they have to fight twice as hard to be taken seriously at university," she said.
"It's tricky and disappointing to see it in writing in an official way. It reinforces it."
Ms Thomas said programmes such as scripted-reality soap opera The Only Way is Essex existed for other parts of the UK...

Summary: It is a phrase synonymous with 1990s ladette culture, used to define brash party girls in one part of England.
###
Article: The group was established after a crash at the Jim Clark Rally in the Borders in which three spectators were killed.
After the accident, near Coldstream, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill ordered a safety review.
The first recommendations published include an independent safety delegate for each rally.
Better training for marshals and improved safety messages for spectators have also been advised.
The recommendations have already been implemented by organisers of the Isle of Mull rally.
The review followed the death of spectators Iain Provan, 64; Elizabeth Allan, 63; and Len Stern, 71, at the Jim Clark Rally this year.
Earlier at the same event but in a separate incident spectators had been injured - and in February last year Joy Robson, 50, was killed watching the Snowman Rally in the Highlands.
Sports Minister Shona Robison said:  "The tragic events at the Jim Clark Rally, and at the Highland Snowman Rally in 2013 where a spectator was also killed, brought the safety of spectators at motor sport events into the spotlight.
"Safety is absolutely integral to staging successful and enjoyable sporting events and all partners need to move forward together to keep people safe.
"Motor sport can never be completely safe.
"However, these initial findings set out clear improvements that can help to prevent tragic accidents."
She said the Scottish government saw the changes as "essential" to allow rallies to continue to take place safely in Scotland.
South of Scotland Lib Dem MSP Jim Hume welcomed the findings.
"People across the Borders and beyond were shocked at the tragic events of this year's Jim Clark Rally, an event which is regarded with great affection as a social staple for local communities and which brings in huge crowds from across Scotland," he said.
"I'm pleased that the interim report acknowledges those points.
"It's vitally important that communities in the Borders and its visitors are able to enjoy the Jim Clark Rally safely.
"The tragic events of this year must never happen again."
Ettrick,...

Summary: An expert group set up to improve safety at motor sport events has issued guidance for organisers ahead of this weekend's Isle of Mull rally.
###
Article: It was set up as part of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 to review law and policy and make recommendations to the Scottish government.
Based in Inverness, it has five land commissioners, a tenant farming commissioner and support staff.
The commission will be holding events across Scotland to raise awareness about its functions.
Andrew Thin, the commission's chairman, said: "The commissioners and I have been in post for a few months and now the organisation is officially established we are really keen to get out and talk with everyone who has an interest in the work of the commission.
"We have published our interim corporate plan for 2017-18 which outlines the commission's priorities for the first year and how we will help to take the next step on the land reform journey.
"We are focused on driving land reform and working towards creating a fairer more inclusive Scotland, in which everyone has a shared interest in our land, and everyone looks out for the interests of others."
Land Reform Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said the new organisation will help to influence future developments in land ownership in rural and urban areas.
She said: "The membership of the commission reflects the fact that land reform impacts on every single person in Scotland, with members from cities, towns, rural areas and a dedicated tenant farming commissioner to deal with the specialised nature of this important area."
The commissioners are Mr Thin, Megan MacInnes, Prof David Adams, tenant farming commissioner Bob McIntosh, Dr Sally Reynolds and Lorne MacLeod.

Summary: The new Scottish Land Commission has been formally established and started its work.
###
Article: The Nasa craft swept just 50km above the moon's surface in a final attempt to "taste" the chemistry of water jets spewing from its south pole.
Enceladus has produced a series of major discoveries that mean it is now considered one of the most promising places to find life beyond Earth.
Scientists say it has an ocean beneath its icy crust.
What is more, the conditions in this global body of liquid water could be benign enough to support microbial organisms.
"Enceladus is not just an ocean world  - it's a world that might provide a habitable environment for life as we know it," said Cassini program scientist Curt Niebur, in a media briefing on Monday.
"On Wednesday we'll plunge deeper into that magnificent plume coming from the South Pole than ever before. And we will collect the best sample ever from an ocean beyond earth."
Cassini will attempt to detect molecular hydrogen during Wednesday's encounter.
This would be a strong signal that hot vents exist on the rocky ocean floor.
If that is the case, it would be another plus-point in the moon's habitability potential.
Such vent systems are known on Earth to provide the fundamental energy and nutrient requirements for some deep-sea ecosystems.
At these locations, water is drawn into the rock bed, heated and saturated with minerals, before then being ejected back upwards.
Bacteria thrive in this environment, establishing a food web that supports a chain to more complex organisms.
Whether any of this is going on inside Enceladus is just speculation for now.
"The amount of hydrogen emission will reveal for us how much hydrothermal activity is actually occurring on that seafloor - with implications for the amount of energy available," said Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker, from Nasa's Jet Propulstion Laboratory in California.
The flyby took place at about 10:00 Pacific time (17:00 GMT) on Wednesday - but the anticipated scientific insights may be days or weeks away.
"We will have a first chance to have a look at the gas and particle data within about a week of...

Summary: The Cassini probe has made a daring close flyby of Enceladus, an ice-rich moon of Saturn.
###
Article: Keepers at Drusillas Park, in East Sussex, said Woody had been eating food meant for the rest of his group rather than sleeping during semi-hibernation.
He lives with his two daughters Bandit and Turpin, but "has been hoovering up all the best bites and not burning off the calories", said Mark Kenward.
"We have made a few adjustments to his eating plan," the head keeper added.
Racoons enjoy a varied diet of apple, pear, banana, grapes, cucumber, celery, chicken, mice, eggs, fish and insects, and are native throughout North America.
Mr Kenward said during the winter months it was normal for racoons to live off their fat reserves as they become less active and sleep more.
Woody, he said, had been raiding the food while the rest of his group slept.
"We are not too concerned at the moment... and will be keeping a close eye on  him over the coming months," Mr Kenward said.

Summary: A racoon at a wildlife park enjoys his food so much that he has been piling on too many extra pounds.
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Article: Theresa May used a speech in Washington to urge the UK's partners in the Five Eyes security alliance - the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - to work together against terrorism.
Mrs May called for better information-sharing and more thorough exchange of terrorist finance details.
She said tackling terrorism was the "challenge of our generation".
Mrs May called on the UK's partners in the Five Eyes alliance to extend "the successful co-operation between our countries on issues of national security which we have built over past decades".
"I am clear that defeating terrorism requires a global response, and that we will not succeed by acting in isolation," Mrs May said.
She challenged the alliance to:
"Extremism is spreading, threatening and taking lives, not just in our countries but in other lands. It thrives in the disorder created by fragile and failing states.
"It is contributing to, and in some cases exploiting, mass migration. It is turning the benefits of modern technology to its twisted ends," she added.
Fears have previously been raised that militants from the so-called Islamic State group may be attempting to get into Europe posing as refugees.
Last month a report by EU's police agency Europol said there was no "concrete evidence" that militants were using the flow of refugees to enter unnoticed but it said there were reports that refugee centres were being "specifically targeted" by Islamic extremist recruiters.

Summary:


Getting stuck into a good book can boost people's ability to relate to each other and increase their empathy, a report suggests.

Article: The remaining Ferrari shares would be distributed among FCA shareholders.
The carmaker wants to complete the spin-off next year, with Ferrari shares listed in the US and possibly having a European listing too.
The sale is part of a bigger plan by FCA to raise €48bn ($61bn; £38bn) to fund an investment plan.
Fiat Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne said it was "proper that we pursue separate paths for FCA and Ferrari" following the completion of the merger of Chrysler and Fiat.
The combined firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange on 12 October.
Since then there has been management upheaval at Ferrari.
President Luca di Montezemolo left the company after a public spat over strategy with Mr Marchionne.
Mr Marchionne had been a vocal critic of the on-track performance of Ferrari's Formula One team, particularly its lack of world titles since 2007. He has pledged to get the team back to winning ways.
Earlier this month, he described the merger between Fiat and Chrysler as "the end of a long historical cycle".
That merger began when Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2009.
Chrysler had agreed a deal with its creditors including JP Morgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, brokered by the US Treasury and Obama administration, to write off two-thirds of the car manufacturer's debt.
But a group of hedge and investment funds refused to accept the last-minute debt-for-equity package, which would have seen Chrysler's $6.9bn (£4.6bn) debt cancelled in return for a cash payment of $2bn.
When it emerged from bankruptcy later that year, Fiat owned 35% of the company, alongside the United Auto Workers pension fund on 41.5% and the US and Canadian governments owning the remainder.
Over the last five years, Fiat has bought out Chrysler's other owners, buying the final tranche of the car manufacturer from the United Auto Workers pension fund in January.
A Ferrari spin-off had long been anticipated by industry experts as Mr Marchionne seeks to maximise values from the group's various brands.
There...

Summary: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) plans to spin off Ferrari and sell a 10% stake in the luxury carmaker on the stock market.
###
Article: The AQA board announced last week that it would not offer the A-level to new students after this year.
The decision to cut the A-level comes when "society has never required its insights more", argues the letter.
AQA said the change "was not about money or whether history of art deserves a place in the curriculum".
The letter, to AQA chief executive Andrew Hall, expresses "grave concerns" about the move.
"As AQA is the only exam board to currently offer the art history qualification, the decision will result in a subject of profound social, cultural and economic importance disappearing from the UK A-level landscape," it argues.
The more than 220 signatories include leading members of university faculties, museums and galleries in the UK and overseas.
They range from world experts such as Oxford University's Prof Craig Clunas, Christina Prescott-Walker, senior vice-president of Sotheby's New York, and Prof Julian Stallabrass of the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, to emerging art historians "who represent the future of the subject".
A reformed art history syllabus, due for first teaching next September, would have given students the "opportunity to study how the most pressing social and political issues we face today; from war to environmental change, identity to migration; play out and have played out through the visual and material world".
It was an "exciting and inspiring prospect", they argue.
The plan was to "encourage and support a greater number of schools and colleges, particularly in the state sector, to offer the subject to 16 to 18-year-olds".
The exam board's decision not to go ahead represents "a vital loss for students", they add.
They argue that the A-level is an important route into a degree in the subject, while many directors, curators and educators in museums, galleries and heritage industries, crucial to international tourism and the economy, studied the subject both at A-level and at university.
"By denying young people access to the study of art history at a vital juncture in their...

Summary: Hundreds of academics have signed an open letter to an exam board, condemning plans to axe art history A-level.
###
Article: Voting lines will then reopen and the two lowest placed contestants will take part in the following night's sing-off as usual.
Simon Cowell has warned the acts they need to improve if they want to stand a chance of continuing.
The show is also being beaten in the TV ratings by Strictly Come Dancing.
Last Saturday's edition of X Factor trailed its BBC rival by two million viewers, while the Sunday results show was 1.6 million behind.
It has lost millions of viewers in recent years and even with the return of Cowell this year, Sunday night's programme was down 1.2 million viewers on the equivalent show last year.
Cowell broke the news about the instant dismissal to the remaining hopefuls at a meeting.
"There are no second chances," he said. "This is how important the conversation is now and how important the performance is on Saturday and Sunday.
"We decided to do this because I think you all need a bit of a wake-up call.
"And I think you've got to understand what I'm saying isn't just words, it's reality.
"You've all got to build up your game now and you've got to be the best you've ever been because this is really what the music business is like.
"You put out a rubbish record, it doesn't chart. If you do a rubbish performance on the night, you're out."
The dismissals mean the remaining 11 contestants will be cut to nine after this weekend.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary: X Factor contestants face instant dismissal on Saturday night's show if they fail to impress viewers in a Halloween elimination twist.
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Article: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) spent three years surveying the habitats.
The two agencies mapped and evaluated the condition of marches larger than seven acres (3ha) or longer than 1,640ft (500m).
Almost 250 sites on Scotland's mainland and islands were visited and 14,332 acres (5,800ha) in total was mapped.
Saltmarshes can usually be found at the top of the sea shore around the Scottish coast and provide an important habitat for birds.
Most of these areas are found in the Solway Firth in the south west of Scotland.
Prof Stewart Angus, from SNH, said: "The Scottish Saltmarsh Survey report gives us a really valuable 'snapshot' of a habitat that is likely to change considerably in coming years as a result of climate change."
Dr Clare Scanlan, of Sepa, added: "Saltmarsh is a sensitive habitat that could play an important role in relation to coastal flooding, and we are using the results of this national survey to help us in reporting the ecological status of saltmarsh for the EU Water Framework Directive."

Summary: The saltmarshes of Scotland's coast have been mapped for the first time.
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Article: Ronnie McFall, 69, was set to leave Portadown at the end of the season but resigned after his side's shock Irish Cup defeat by Lurgan Celtic.
He was appointed in December 1986 - six weeks after Sir Alex Ferguson joined Manchester United.
McFall won four league titles among more than 20 trophies during his time in charge at his hometown club.
He became the manager with the longest tenure in Europe after Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has now taken the record.
McFall led Portadown to their first ever league title in 1990, with further successes coming in 1991, 1996 and 2002.
McFall's assistant Kieran Harding is also leaving the club after a difficult campaign which has seen the Ports slip to seventh in the league table.
It led to the club announcing in November that it was initiating a process to find a successor to McFall.
Portadown confirmed McFall's resignation and said its board would meet early next week "to discuss developments".

Summary: The reign of European football's longest-serving manager has come to an end after 29 years.
###
Article: A review of research for the Reading Agency says reading for pleasure does much more than boost educational outcomes among adults and children.
One recent study quoted - of 4,000 UK adults - says reading for pleasure can help them enjoy social occasions more.
It can also boost children's emotional understanding, the research adds.
In general, the study found reading was associated with enjoyment, relaxation and escapism.
The research involving a poll of 4,000 people that is cited by the report looked at how mental and physical health can be boosted by the enjoyment of reading.
It said those who read regularly for pleasure:
It also cited research carried out in Germany, with children aged seven to nine, that looked at possible links between literacy and emotional understanding.
The report focused on the impact of after-school literacy sessions in which children's books with emotional content were read and discussed by the group.
It found the scheme enhanced the children's emotional vocabulary, knowledge and understanding of emotions.
It also found boys were more "positively influenced in their capability to recognise masked feelings than girls".
The report concluded that: "Reading is closely linked to increasing understanding of our own identities and can also play a large part in relating to others, understanding their world views and so forth."
Sue Wilkinson, chief executive of The Reading Agency, said the findings of the report showed that "everything changes when we read".

Summary:


Throughout the bitter violence of the Ukrainian conflict, another hidden war has been waged, involving several groups of computer hackers.

Article: The giant, flightless beasts that roamed South America for more than 50 million years following the demise of the dinosaurs were fearsome predators.
New research shows the birds' huge beaks could deliver swift and powerful pecks, very probably killing their victims in one blow before ripping the flesh from their bodies.
"They had the full kit," said palaeoscientist Steve Wroe.
"These birds had enormous beaks with big hooks on the end. But we've shown they had to use those beaks with some precision and caution," Dr Wroe, a researcher from the University of New South Wales, Australia, told BBC News.
Dr Wroe was part of an international team that has been investigating the predatory behaviour of these extraordinary creatures.
Referred to by scientists as phorusrhacids, the birds flourished when South America was an island continent. Ranging in height from under a metre up to three metres (3ft to 10ft), at least 18 species are known to have evolved before the animals became extinct just a few million years ago.
But because nothing on Earth today resembles the terror birds, it has been difficult to say much about their life habits.
To try to get on top of the issue, the team examined the skeleton of one particular creature called Andalgalornis.
This animal lived in northwestern Argentina about six million years ago. It was mid-sized, standing about 1.4m high (4ft 6in) and weighing about 40kg (88lb).
Like all the terror birds, its skull was big (37cm; 15in) with a deep narrow bill armed with a hawk-like hook.
The team scanned the skull to picture its internal architecture and then applied an engineering technique known as finite element analysis (FEA) to assess its capabilities.
FEA is a common approach in advanced design and manufacturing that allows engineers to test the performance of load-bearing materials.
It involves creating a computer model of the skull which can then be subjected to the sorts of forces a real skeleton would experience in different types of attack behaviour.
The results demonstrated that...

Summary: They are popularly called "terror birds", and with good reason.
###
Article: Mr Cable said he was concerned there was "some exploitation" of staff on the contracts which give no guarantees of shifts or work patterns.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found up to 4% of the UK workforce were on such contracts.
It surveyed 1,000 firms.
"I think at one end of the market there is some exploitation taking place," said Mr Cable.
However, he pointed out that in many cases the level of flexibility offered by the contracts suited employees. "It can work for the worker as well as the employer," he told the BBC.
Mr Cable has been leading a review on the issue for the government since June and will decide in September whether to hold a formal consultation on specific proposals.
Unions have called for them to be banned.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union, said: "The vast majority of workers are only on these contracts because they have no choice. They may give flexibility to a few, but the balance of power favours the employers and makes it hard for workers to complain."
Despite controversy over their use, just 16% of those affected said their employer often fails to provide them with sufficient hours each week.
Zero-hours contracts: What is it like living on one?
This was higher amongst those who described themselves as part-time, where 38% said they would like to work more hours.
Under zero-hours contracts employees agree to be available for work as and when it is required.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics last week suggested 250,000 workers were on zero-hours contracts.
CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese said the reason his survey showed up to four more times the number of people on zero hour contracts compared to official figures could be down to a lack of precision in the measurement, as well as confusion over definitions.
"I think even sometimes employers themselves are not fully clear on the absolute nature of their contracts and whether it is genuinely zero hours," he said.
"There does need to be a closer look at what is meant by a...

Summary: The Business Secretary Vince Cable fears zero-hours contracts are being abused after research suggested a million people could be working under them.
###
Article: In May, a lower court convicted him of culpable homicide and sentenced him to five years in jail for driving over and killing a man sleeping on a pavement.
But the appeals judge ruled there was not enough evidence.
Khan is one of Bollywood's biggest stars, appearing in more than 80 Hindi films, and has a huge fan following.
It was only when the judge insisted that Salman Khan must be present before the verdict was read out, that the actor hurried to the court in south Mumbai on Thursday, the BBC's Yogita Limaye reports from Mumbai.
"The appeal is allowed and the decision of the trial court is quashed and set aside. Salman Khan is acquitted of all charges," news agency AFP quoted the Bombay high court judge Anil Ramchandra Joshi as saying.
The prosecution "failed to establish [the charges] beyond reasonable doubt", the judge added.
The actor, surrounded by his family members, broke down after hearing the verdict, the Press Trust of India reported.
He tweeted his thanks to his supporters:
September 2002: Salman Khan's car runs over five people sleeping on a Mumbai street, killing a homeless man and injuring four others
October 2002: Khan charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder - arrested but granted bail
May 2003: Court rejects his plea to drop culpable homicide charge
June 2003: Bombay high court drops culpable homicide charge; Khan is then tried for rash and negligent driving
October 2007: Prime witness, a constable who served in his security detail, dies
March 2015: Khan tells the court he was not drunk and his driver was behind the wheel
May 2015: Khan found guilty, given a five-year jail sentence
Thursday's verdict is the latest twist in a case that began 13 years ago when Khan's Toyota Land Cruiser car veered off the road, killing one man and seriously injuring four others.
During his trial in the lower court, Khan had argued that his driver had been behind the wheel, but the judge said it was the actor who had been driving under the influence of alcohol.
Now the high court has said that...

Summary: The high court in the Indian city of Mumbai has overturned Bollywood star Salman Khan's conviction for a 2002 hit-and-run case.
###
Article: The proposals follow a Conservative Party manifesto commitment that "all sites containing pornographic material" must check that users are over 18.
Internet providers, charities, academics and others will be asked to contribute to the consultation.
A security expert said the plans would struggle to tackle porn on free sites.
In the consultation document, the government proposes that the checks should apply to content that would receive - if formally classified - an 18 or R18 rating from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
"We are keen to hear from parents, schools, child protection experts, the pornography industry, internet service providers and online platforms that provide access to pornographic content," the consultation document explained.
As part of the plans, the government intends to establish a new regulatory framework to enforce compliance with any rules that are made law.
"Just as we do offline, we want to make sure children are prevented from accessing pornographic content online which should only be viewed by adults," said Baroness Shields, the Internet Safety and Security Minister.
Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC said the issue was "a matter of urgency" and that children who had ready access to content rated over 18 could develop a "warped" view of sexual relationships.
Prior to the general election, then Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said that the appointed regulator would have the power to force internet service providers to block sites that did not perform effective age checks.
He also said providers who did not cooperate could be fined.
The consultation document explains that the regulator of age checks on porn sites could be given powers to impose "sanctions" - including fines.
Companies which support or provide services to the producers of pornographic content online could be "directed" to withdraw those services if sites were found to be persistently non-compliant.
This could involve directing payment firms to cease processing transactions for porn...

Summary: A public consultation over plans to implement age checks on pornography websites has been launched by the UK government.
###
Article: In reality, these days our jolly swagman would probably be pulled up for pitching his tent without a proper permit, lighting an illegal fire or sparking up a ciggie in a public place.
Populated by convicts in the early days of British settlement, Australia still loves to lay down the law.
And now an Australian senator has set up a parliamentary inquiry into the extent to which the country has become a "nanny state".
Senator David Leyonhjelm says Australia's once "adventurous spirit" has been paralysed by rules and regulations, and millions of dollars are being wasted on bureaucracy.
"Australia is increasingly becoming a nanny state," says Senator Leyonhjelm, the sole parliamentary representative of the Liberal Democratic Party.
"The government is taking decisions out of the hands of adults and making decisions for them on the basis that the government knows best."
Senator Leyonhjelm says the idea of Australia as a relaxed country is no longer true.
"Unfortunately, the external image is not matched by the internal reality," he says
"Historically, going back several decades, we were a very relaxed place and governments tended to leave people alone. That is absolutely no longer the case."
And for me personally, I have to say Australia is without doubt one of the most rule obsessed and bureaucratic places I have ever lived.
When I first found out I was moving to Sydney in 2013, people told me: "Ooh, you'll love it over there. Australia is so relaxed."
The reality is that it can be a bit uptight.
Senator Leyonhjelm singles out compulsory bicycle helmet laws, tough anti-smoking policies, restrictions on e-cigarettes and alcohol licensing laws as examples of "nannystatism."
The 63-year-old senator is enlisting a team of psychologists to find out what, at least in his view, has gone wrong.
"There's a sort of moral obligation on politicians to do something when there's a problem," he says.
"If it was raining cats and dogs you'd almost expect the media and the public to say politicians should do something about it, to...

Summary: For me, the laid-back, easy-come, easy-go, throw-another-shrimp-on-the-barbie stereotype of Australia is encapsulated in the vibe of its unofficial anthem, Waltzing Matilda, where a swagman pinches a local sheep for his supper.
###
Article: Little is beyond their reach. Official documents and private communications are made public, and websites blocked. They hijack CCTV cameras, electronic billboards and network printers.
The best known of the virtual warriors are the Ukrainian Cyber Troops, the Cyber Berkut and Anonymous International.
All three present themselves as independent activists, separate from other, government-sponsored groups.
The most prominent pro-Ukrainians hackers are the Ukrainian Cyber Troops, led by Kiev-based programmer Yevhen Dokukin.
Most recently, he claimed to have hacked into two Russian interior ministry servers and an email account used by police in Russia's Rostov region - bordering Ukraine's eastern separatist regions.
"I gave all this data to Ukraine's security service, but they still can't get round to analysing it, so do it yourselves," he urged readers on Facebook.
Volunteer activist group Inform Napalm sifted through more than 35 gigabytes of the data and found what looked like official reports confirming that Russian military servicemen were among the hundreds of people evacuated to Russia after being wounded in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Cyber Troops make extensive use of one of the most tried and tested tools in cyber warfare, the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.
"DDoS attacks are the Ukrainian Cyber Troops' artillery," Mr Dokukin likes saying. Scores of rebel websites were made inaccessible when the Ukrainian Cyber Troops relentlessly bombarded them with fake service requests.
To disrupt separatist funding, they target accounts held by rebels in electronic payment systems such as PayPal and WebMoney.
The Cyber Troops have also hacked into public CCTV systems in rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine and monitor them for the movement of troops and military hardware.
On 8 December, Yevhen Dokukin claimed to have hijacked network printers in eastern Ukraine and Crimea to print pro-Ukrainian messages and insults against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some media reports suggest that Ukraine's security...

Summary: