Hugh Grant has been cast in Guy Ritchie's big-screen adaptation of the 1960s TV show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Article: The Parliamentary Assistance Allowance, currently €21,379 (£15,250; $23,460) per month, will rise to €22,879.
The European Parliament's 751 MEPs also raised the parliament's total budget to €1.84bn for 2016, from €1.75bn now.
Some MEPs want stricter monitoring of MEPs' expenses. But a report urging greater transparency was watered down.
The spending increases come despite many calls for the EU to rein in spending on its own administration - including strong calls from the UK Conservatives. The parliament's costs account for about 1% of the total EU budget.
The 2008 financial crisis forced national governments across Europe to cut administrative spending, and fuelled demands for the EU to do likewise.
Another EU institution, the European Court of Justice, has asked for 21 extra judges to be appointed. That would almost double the current total of 27. The change would cost an estimated €13.8m annually.
The ECJ says more judges are needed because of a "dramatic increase" in the court's caseload - from 398 in 2000 to 912 in 2014.
But some ECJ judges themselves oppose the proposal, calling it too expensive, the EUobserver website reports.
On Wednesday MEPs approved a report by a French Socialist MEP, Gilles Pargneaux, including a clause saying the parliament "stresses the need for greater transparency as regards the general spending allowances for members".
They said parliament officials should establish "more precise rules" for MEPs' spending.
But an amendment removed a strong demand by Mr Pargneaux for more transparency concerning the General Expenditure Allowance (GEA), a €4,320 monthly payment to each MEP to cover office costs, such as rent and phone calls.
One of the two deleted clauses expressed astonishment that MEPs "do not have to account for the way they have used the allowance and that for members who wish to do so, verification of their accounts by the Internal Auditor of Parliament is not possible".
That clause had also called for "the introduction of obligatory annual reporting by the members of...

Summary: Euro MPs have voted to increase their allowances to cover staff costs while rejecting a move to subject their expenses to an obligatory audit.
###
Article: Hugh Wade began attacking the girl at an address in Springburn, Glasgow, in August 2008, when she was aged 11. The abuse continued until she was 14.
The 48-year-old, from Cumbernauld, denied the charge but was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow.
Judge Kenneth Maciver QC ordered that Wade should be supervised for two years following his release from prison.

Summary: A man who was convicted of raping a schoolgirl over a three-year period has been jailed for eight years.
###
Article: A report said last week that chlorine had been used by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on two occasions.
But Russia, a close ally of Mr Assad, told the UN Security Council a number of questions still had to be clarified.
The UK and France, which back the rebellion against the president, called for sanctions to be imposed on Syria.
A September 2013 resolution states that the Security Council will impose measures under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which permits military action, in the event of "any use of chemical weapons by anyone" in Syria.
The resolution, which endorsed the destruction of Syria's declared stockpile of chemical weapons, was adopted a month after hundreds of people were killed when shells filled with the nerve agent sarin were fired at rebel-held suburbs of Damascus.
Western powers said only government forces could have carried out the attack, but Mr Assad and Russia blamed rebels.
In August 2015, following further deadly chemical attacks on rebel-held areas, the Security Council established a Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) to identify those responsible.
The international team of inspectors looked into nine cases in seven towns and determined that the Syrian air force was behind two attacks involving chlorine - in Talmanes on 21 April 2014 and Sarmin on 16 March 2015 - and that jihadist militants from Islamic State (IS) carried out one attack involving sulphur mustard.
Chlorine is a "dual-use chemical". It has many legitimate industrial functions, but its use as a weapon is banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). If high concentrations of the chemical enter the lungs it can cause death.
At a meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday, US permanent representative Samantha Power called the JIM report a "landmark" and called for swift action.
"It is the first official independent confirmation of what many of us... have presented substantial evidence of for a long time, and that is a pattern of chemical weapons use by the Syrian regime," she said.
But Russian Ambassador Vitaly...

Summary: Russia has said it does not accept the findings of a UN-led investigation that concluded Syria's government had used chemical weapons against civilians.
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Article: The statistics show the Welsh NHS spent more than £6m on private treatment in the last two years.
Hywel Dda health board spent six times more than any other board - £3,676,211 between April 2013 and March 2015.
It said it had used private providers after facing recruitment problems, to avoid patients suffering longer delays.
Five out of the six health boards in Wales all paid for so-called "spot contracts" during the period - short-term, unplanned contracts awarded to private healthcare providers to carry out NHS work.
Winter pressures, long waiting lists and staff vacancies are all reasons given for why this was necessary.
Figures uncovered using a Freedom of Information Inquiry show Hywel Dda health board paid for 22 spot contracts over the two years, to reach the £3,676,211 total figure for private spending.
Most of the other health boards spent in the region of hundreds of thousands of pounds, but Aneurin Bevan spent nothing.
Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care director Marcus Longley questioned whether the decision to pay the private sector amounted to good value for money.
"In Wales the policy is to do everything in-house within the health service whenever possible.
"The difficulty is that if you go to the private sector in January wanting lots of operations done by March you'll pay through the nose for that."
Hywel Dda health board said difficulties with recruitment had led it to use external providers, but it was continuing to review this.
In a statement the board added: "The decision to allocate additional funding was in recognition of the importance of ensuring our patients received planned treatment, such as hip or knee replacements, when demand for emergency services was significant.
"Without this immediate solution more patients would have waited longer for treatment."

Summary: There is a wide variation in how much Welsh health boards spend on private healthcare, figures uncovered by BBC Wales have revealed.
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Article: Research by the Scottish Green Party suggests that about half the homes in the EH1 postcode will be holidays lets by 2050.
They are calling for more regulation on short-term lets.
But others say the trend is boosting the local economy as more people holiday in Edinburgh.
Some home-owners have complained they can only afford to live in the area if they rent out their property at peak times.
Margo Mason lives in a flat in Edinburgh's new town. She is one of a growing number of people who rent out their homes at busy times of the year.
The extra income enables her to stay living in the city centre.
"I needed to supplement my pension," she said. "I didn't have enough money coming in to live on. I could pay all my bills but I couldn't buy food.
"The alternative would be that I would have to sell my house.  I've been here 25 years, I don't want to do that. So it enables me to stay here."
Homeowners like Margo still live in the places that they rent out during peak times but there is now a growing trend  in Edinburgh for people to buy up properties which they will never live in themselves but instead use them for holiday lets.
Critics say this is causing problems.
Ross Cowan has lived in the Grassmarket for two years. But in that time the number of holiday lets in his stair has risen from one to three.
"You've got noise disruption, you've got littering within the stair," he said.
"The people who are coming in don't have a degree of care that the residents have a degree of.
"For somebody coming into a holiday let, it's like a hotel without any staff to bother them. They can effectively do what they like because there's no one there and nine times of 10, they do."
Estate agents are worried about losing homes from the long-term rental market.
Rob Trotter from DJ Alexander has noticed significant changes since the rise of short term lets.
"We're certainly seeing rental values increasing, I would say, at an unsustainable level and property values in the city centre are increasing.
"If you're trying to move to Edinburgh...

Summary: Concerns have been raised that a sharp rise in holiday lets in Edinburgh city centre is making it more difficult to find somewhere to live in the capital.
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Article: The Love Actually star will have a supporting role in the spy film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander and Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill will also feature in the adaptation of the TV series, which ran from 1964 to 1968.
Grant, who most recently starred in Cloud Atlas with Tom Hanks, will play the head of British Naval Intelligence.
The film follows special agents Napoleon Solo, played by Cavill, and Illya Kuryakin - Lone Ranger star Hammer - who work for the mysterious United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.).
Swedish actress Vikander, known for her role as Kitty in Joe Wright's Anna Karenina, has been cast as the female lead, while The Great Gatsby's Elisabeth Debicki will also star in the adaptation.
Tom Cruise had been tipped for the role of Solo, originally portrayed by Robert Vaughn in the TV series, while George Clooney was set to play the lead role in director Steven Soderbergh's earlier version of the film.
However, Clooney withdrew from the film and Soderbergh subsequently dropped out of the project.
Director Ritchie will co-write the script with Lionel Wigram, who wrote both of Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films, starring Robert Downey Jr.
Production is due to begin in September with a release planned for 2014.
There were 105 episodes of the multi-award winning TV show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, with the first series broadcast in black-and-white.

Summary:


A minor league baseball team in Utah has cancelled plans to host a "Caucasian Heritage Night" in August, according to the team's website.

Article: That is according to statistics released by the UCAS.
In 2016-17, 4,060 students from Northern Ireland were accepted into English universities - a rise from 3,430 in 2014-14.
Overall, 5,380 Northern Ireland students were accepted by universities elsewhere in the UK this year.
That is a rise of 17% since 2013-14.
According to additional figures released by the Department for the Economy (DfE), fewer than a third of those who graduate elsewhere in the UK return to Northern Ireland to work.
In 2014/15, according to DfE figures, only 31.5% of Northern Ireland students returned home to work after graduation.
According to UCAS, there has been a 1% increase across the UK in the number of young people accepted to university this year, compared to 2015-16.
While Queen's University and Ulster University have a cap in the number of students they can admit, the student numbers cap for English universities was lifted in 2015.
As a result, there has been increased competition to attract students in England.
However, tuition fees are higher at English universities at Â£9,000 per year, compared to Â£3,925 in Northern Ireland.

Summary: There has been an increase of almost 20% in the number of Northern Ireland students beginning university in England since 2013-14.
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Article: French rail operators say modernisation work on the French Riviera network is desperately necessary.
But in an open letter, the luxury brand said it would be a disaster for its "artisanal activities" in Grasse.
The company says it takes about 1,000 jasmine flowers to make a 30ml bottle of its famous No 5 perfume.
The iconic perfume was created by Coco Chanel when she met local perfumer Ernest Beaux in Grasse during a summer holiday on the Cote d'Azur in 1920.
Part of Chanel's perfume production has been located in the region for decades and the town near the Cote d'Azure is often considered the world capital of perfume.
But French state-owned railway company SNCF has said its whole network in the region is in dire need of investment and wants to route a TGV line through the area.
According to the rail operator, the route from Marseilles to Nice is the most congested in the country outside of Paris.
The 6.7bn euro ($7bn; Â£5.5bn) investment is expected to cut an entire hour off the trip between the two towns.
But Chanel said "the construction of a viaduct and the regular passage of high-speed trains over these fields of flowers" would force the company "to cease supporting its artisanal activities in the region".
The firm describes the quality of the flowers in the region as "unique and exceptional" and "indispensable for the creation of Chanel perfumes."

Summary: Chanel has said it will leave a historic perfume site in France if plans for a high-speed train line affecting its jasmine fields go ahead.
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Article: Six smaller providers fear that only gas and electricity deals from the "Big Six" will show up in searches under proposed new Competition and Markets Authority rules.
They fear that such a move would discourage competition.
The CMA proposals follow the watchdog's energy market review earlier this year.
Consumers can provide basic details to price comparison websites, which then provide what they believe to be the best options.
Sometimes these websites allow consumers to switch immediately, but it was often not clear that they only showed options for firms that have paid the site a commission or fee.
Following the CMA's investigation into the energy market, the watchdog published its initial recommendations for ways to encourage consumers to switch energy suppliers more often.
It concluded that price comparison websites such as Uswitch, Energyhelpline or Go Compare should no longer have to show all available energy offers.
However, it did find that such sites should make it clear whether they received a commission from the energy firms whose offers were being recommended.
The CMA believed the ability to switch energy suppliers online without delay might lead to a rise in instant switching, helping to drive down prices.
Smaller independent suppliers have rejected this analysis, which is out for consultation.
"We are deeply worried about the lack of transparency in the proposed system," according to a letter to the Energy Secretary, Amber Rudd, signed by the chief executives of GB Energy Supply, COOP Energy, Go Effortless Energy, Bulb, So Energy & Zog Energy.
"Millions of people go to price comparison websites believing them to be transparent shop windows for the cheapest prices rather than 'brokers' in an increasingly skewed market."
The independent suppliers said that removing the obligation to show all tariffs would mean price comparison sites would end up only showing offers from the Big Six suppliers who had paid a fee.
The six smaller suppliers called on the Government to think again about the "serious...

Summary: Independent energy companies want consumers to be able to see all available tariffs when using price comparison websites.
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Article: Sadiq Khan will set out a business case for services running into the capital to be devolved to TfL.
He claims it would improve passenger service and tackle delays and overcrowding.
TfL's board will consider the proposals on Thursday before seeking approval from the government to move forward.
The first franchises up for renewal - services in southeast London and Kent - will be this autumn with further franchises involving South West Trains, Southeastern and Govia Thameslink Railway due for renewal by 2021.
Every mayor so far has wanted more control over suburban rail services and Sadiq Khan is no different.
Certainly beleaguered commuters and politicians of all ilks, including Kent County Council, want TfL to control their lines using the concession model where TfL pays an operator to run the service (like the Overground).
There are sticking points though - the politics.  This is a Conservative government and a Labour Mayor. How can TfL run services outside the area of jurisdiction? (Clue: look at the Met line). And capacity - lines into places like Waterloo are already full; whoever runs it and Network Rail will still control the infrastructure.
And TfL can only take over when contracts come up. So while the intentions are clear, this won't happen overnight.
Mr Khan said: "Passengers on London's suburban rail routes simply aren't getting a good enough service. They face increasing rail fares year after year, yet face daily delays, cancellations and overcrowding.
"Ahead of the Autumn Statement,  I'm looking forward to presenting the full business case for how a transformed and modernised suburban rail network could also unlock new homes and provide other substantial economic benefits for London."
Earlier this year think tank Centre for London called on the Department for Transport to devolve the network due to "strained" rail services in south London.
When it was first raised the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, said the current system produced some of "the best...

Summary: A new map revealing how London could look if the mayor took over the running of suburban rail services has been released by Transport for London (TfL).
###
Article: Scotland recorded its worst scores in the OECD's Pisa rankings in 2015.
Opposition politicians said Scotland was going "backwards" in reading, science and maths under the SNP.
Ms Sturgeon took responsibility for the results, which were "not good enough", but said they underlined the case for her educational reform plans.
The first minister also defended the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) as "the right way forward" for Scottish schools in the face of criticism.
During the weekly session of questions to the first minister, Scotland's decline in international rankings was brought up by opposition parties.
Scotland was within the average banding for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, but was placed lower in all three subject areas than in any previous Pisa survey.
Asked who she would seek to blame for the results, Ms Sturgeon said she herself took responsibility.
She said: "I take responsibility on behalf of the Scottish government for the performance of Scottish education.
"If anybody thinks I'm going to stand here and give any excuses, they're wrong. There's lots of other evidence I could cite about Scottish education, but I'm not going to do that today, because the results of the Pisa survey are not where I want us to be.
"They are not good enough. And I'm determined that we take the action that will lead to improvement."
Ruth Davidson said the SNP had been in government for 10 years and had not managed to sort out education, and added that her party could potentially withdraw their support for the current curriculum system.
She said: "The single biggest education reform under this SNP government has been Curriculum for Excellence, and nobody here can simply brush aside the fact that since it has come in, standards have fallen.
"So I'm telling the government today, that our ongoing support for CfE cannot be taken for granted.
"I believe that this entire project should be put on probation. And there's a simple question I ask in all sincerity - if standards are going down because of it,...

Summary: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she will make no excuses for the poor performance of Scottish schools in an international survey.
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Article: "Caucasian Heritage Night: Irish, Italian, Scandinavian, German --- or even Utahn! Whatever your background, celebrate it at the Home of the Owlz!" a calendar entry reads.
Other promotions included "Christmas in August" and "Throwback Night".
The team is associated with the Angels, a major league team in California.
"Our goal in this promotion, like any of our promotions, is to have fun and make fun of everyday normalcies," the team said.
"Our night was to include wonder bread on burgers with mayonnaise, clips from shows like Friends and Seinfeld and trying to solve the vertical leaping challenge.
"We understand, in light of recent tragic events, that our intentions have been misconstrued. For that, we sincerely apologise."
On Wednesday night, nine people were shot dead in an African-American church in South Carolina in what police termed a hate crime.
The Owlz are a rookie-league team - the most entry level division of the minor leagues. The league is designed for new players hone their skills.
On Friday, "Caucasian Heritage Night" quickly became a top trending term on Twitter in the US.

Summary:

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The centenary of the Easter Rising, the rebellion that began on Easter Monday 1916, is to be marked in Irish towns and cities with wreath-laying events.

Article: Activate Learning want to build a three-storey technical facility offering vocational-based education for about 300 14 to 19-year-olds.
It plans to use 0.29 hectares (0.71 acres) of sports field at Bicester Community College.
Sport England objected to the "net loss" of outdoor recreational space for the school and community.
The sports body said no land was offered as a replacement.
It said if the plan is approved, it will refer the decision to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
A report by Cherwell District Council said the council's own local plan highlighted a "shortfall of sports and recreational facilities in Bicester".
But it said in balance, the loss of land was "comparatively small" and represented a "relatively under-used corner" of the playing field, while the new college brought benefits to the town.
The technical college will employ up to 30 people and will be operated by Activate Learning, who will also oversee Bicester Community College which is converting to an academy.
Bicester Town Council "strongly supports" the application.
Concerns have also been raised about increased traffic.
Cherwell councillors are due to decide on the planning application, which has been recommended for approval by officers, on 3 September.

Summary: Plans to build a new college on a playing field at an Oxfordshire school have been opposed by Sport England.
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Article: President Barack Obama had hoped that an alternative remedy might help him alleviate some of the Middle East pain he and his administration have felt in recent months.
Alas, the test results are back - the pain is not going away and will actually become more acute and more difficult to manage during his remaining time in office.
A major source of the pain is well established - Mr Obama's problematic relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who pulled out a hard-fought electoral victory and appears to have the inside track to form a new Israeli government.
The campaign produced complications that will undermine a crucial pillar of American policy in the Middle East, but in a different area than was anticipated just two weeks ago.
Heading into the elections, the foremost issue for Israeli voters appeared to be the rising cost of living and expanding gap between rich and poor.
Beneath the surface was the palpable tension between the Israeli prime minister and the US president, as well as its implications for the US-Israeli relationship and the broader region.
The New York Times' opinion page harshly criticises Mr Netanyahu's last-minute moves in the campaign - "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's outright rejection of a Palestinian state and his racist rant against Israeli Arab voters on Tuesday showed that he has forfeited any claim to representing all Israelis."
Slate's Joshua Keating  likens the outcome to the 2013 Israeli election and Mr Netanyahu's split with former rival that set up this election - "In other words, while Israeli voters may have chosen continuity, there's a good chance they'll be voting again pretty soon."
Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute writes at CNN that Mr Netayahu's re-election will make it more likely President Obama make "even more concessions to ensure a deal between Tehran and Washington".
Confronting a tougher political battle battle than he anticipated, Mr Netanyahu made the election about security, primarily the threat posed by Iran.
Breaking...

Summary: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election victory provides a headache for the White House, writes PJ Crowley.
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Article: Ministers want to begin the process of reducing the 22 councils to eight or nine after May's assembly election.
The local government committee has urged the Welsh government to consider lending councils money for the mergers.
Ministers said options to pay for mergers include using reserves or other "borrowing approaches".
Merger plans have had a hostile reception from political opponents and some Labour council leaders.
An assessment for the Welsh government of how much local authorities would need to spend preparing for mergers in 2019-20, the year before new authorities would be established, puts the costs at between £54m and £90m.
The total cost of the merger process, from 2019-20 to 2023-24, is estimated to be between £97m and £246m.
The Welsh Local Government Association has warned it would be "impossible" for councils to meet the costs of mergers without significant cuts to services.
The committee's report, published on Wednesday, said: "While we recognise the potential for savings in the medium to long term, we consider it unrealistic to expect authorities to meet the upfront costs without any assistance from the Welsh government."
The report said the committee was "pleased to hear" Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews would "not rule out" giving councils repayable grants.
"While this may not be the preferred solution for local government, we believe it would be more acceptable than the current position and a positive step forward," the report said.
The Welsh government said: "The minister for public services has previously highlighted the net savings of up to £650m over 10 years which would arise from mergers.
"He has made it clear that there are a number of routes open to local authorities in paying for mergers including using reserves, invest-to-save and other borrowing approaches."

Summary: It is "unrealistic" to expect councils to find the £246m upfront costs of merging them, a committee of AMs has warned.
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Article: The company, which was owned by Rutland Partners, was sold to food tycoon Ranjit Boparan in September.
Mr Boparan also owns the 2 Sisters Food Group, which produces about a third of all poultry products eaten in the UK.
The Boparan Private Office has declined to comment on the inquiry.
Bernard Matthews was bought by investment company Rutland Partners in 2013.
The take-over by the Boparan Private Office, Mr Boparan's private investment arm, was done under a deal struck prior to administration, but the sale has left former suppliers unlikely to get back what they are owed.
The CMA said it would be looking at whether the deal would lead to a "substantial lessening of competition" in the UK markets.
While this review takes place, the company has been told to stop any further integration but it will still continue to operate.
Sebastian Chrispin from the BBC's business unit said the CMA has a number of methods at its disposal if it finds the merger is anti-competitive.
"[These range from] blocking the merger, unwinding the transaction, ordering the company to sell bits of its business to competitors, or get the company to promise it will behave in a certain way," he said.
"But they are only things it will deploy if, after this quite intensive review, it finds there is a risk to competition by the merger going ahead."

Summary: The sale of the Bernard Matthews turkey company is being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to see if the merger will damage competition in the poultry industry.
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Article: As so often is the case, science fiction has become science fact. A report published by the Royal Society and the British Academy suggests that there should not be three but just one overarching principle to govern the intelligent machines that we will soon be living alongside: "Humans should flourish."
According to Prof Dame Ottoline Leyser, who co-chairs the Royal Society's science policy advisory group, human flourishing should be the key to how intelligent systems governed.
"This was the term that really encapsulated what we wanted to say," she told BBC News.
"The thriving of people and communities needs to be put first, and we think Asimov's principles can be subsumed into that."
The report calls for a new body to ensure intelligent machines serve people rather than control them.
It says that a system of democratic supervision is essential to regulate the development of self-learning systems.
Without it they have the potential to cause great harm, the report says.
It is not warning of machines enslaving humanity, at least not yet.
But when systems that learn and make decisions independently are used in the home and across a range of commercial and public services, there is scope for plenty of bad things to happen.
The report calls for safeguards to prioritise the interests of humans over machines.
The development of such systems cannot by governed solely by technical standards. They also have to be imbued with ethical and democratic values, according to Antony Walker, who is deputy chief executive of the lobby group TechUK and another of the report's authors.
"There are many benefits that will come out of these technologies, but the public has to have the trust and confidence that these systems are being thought through and governed properly," he said.
The report calls for a completely new approach. It suggests a "stewardship body" of experts and interested parties should build an ethical framework for the development of artificial intelligence technologies.
It recommends four high-level principles to...

Summary: The science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov wrote about controlling intelligent machines with the three laws of robotics:
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Article: Synchronised wreath-laying ceremonies will take place in counties Cork, Meath, Wexford, Galway and Dublin, beginning at 09:45 local time in Cork.
Thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin on Sunday for a parade to mark the centenary.
The commemoration events have been organised by the Irish government.
The rebellion is viewed as a seminal event in the founding of the state.
The Easter Rising was quelled within six days by British troops, but despite its failure it is seen as a significant stepping stone to the eventual creation of the Republic of Ireland and the partition of Ireland.
More than 450 people were killed and 2,500 injured during the fighting.
A weekend of events to mark the centenary of the Rising began on Saturday with a remembrance ceremony in Dublin at which Irish president Michael D Higgins laid a wreath.
Wreaths were also laid in Dublin at Kilmainham Gaol, where 14 of the Rising's leaders were executed, and at the Sigerson Monument in Glasnevin Cemetery, which is dedicated to to all those who lost their lives in the Rising.
The synchronised wreath-laying ceremonies on Monday have been organised by the Irish Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking areas).
The locations and times are:
Then, at 12:30 local time, wreaths will be laid at various buildings and landmarks around the Irish capital that became focal points during the rebellion.
They include Boland's Mill, Jacob's Factory, Dublin Castle/City Hall, The Four Courts, Royal College of Surgeons and Moore Street.

Summary:


Restrictions on bus operator First Bristol, put in place almost 20 years ago, are to be reviewed to "see if they are still appropriate".

Article: But the study shows occasional use does not seem linked to reduced achievement.
The research is based on a long-term study tracking the health of people born in the Bristol area in the 1990s.
But the study warns it is difficult to distinguish the specific impact of cannabis from other overlapping "risky behaviours" such as drinking alcohol.
"It's hard to know what causes what. Do kids do badly at school because they are smoking weed, or do they smoke weed because they're doing badly? This study suggests it is not as simple as saying cannabis is the problem," says lead researcher Claire Mokrysz, from University College London.
The research, from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, tracked more than 2,000 teenagers to examine links between cannabis use and poorer educational performance.
The research looked at intelligence tests taken by the young people when they were aged eight and then compared the results with tests at the age of 15 and GCSE exams a year later.
It concluded that for occasional users, there is no relationship between cannabis use and a loss in achievement. But for heavier users, youngsters who had used cannabis at least 50 times by the age of 15, there was a link to poorer exam results.
That suggests that adolescents using cannabis once a week were associated with a decline in educational performance.
But the tracking study, also known as Children of the Nineties and using self-reported drug use, shows it is difficult to separate the use of cannabis from other factors in these teenagers' lives.
Young people using cannabis were "associated with decreased intellectual performance".
But these teenagers were also likely to be involved in other types of behaviour, such as drinking alcohol or taking other types of drugs.
Once these other risk factors were taken into account, there was no discernible impact on intelligence from occasional cannabis use.
But for heavy cannabis users, there were slightly poorer exam results at age 16, even when other factors such as alcohol use were...

Summary: Teenagers who are regular cannabis users by the age of 15 risk "impairing" their educational ability, suggests a study of young people in the UK.
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Article: As the Bank of England has noted, around 40% of all annual pay settlements will be decided in the next four or five weeks. If 2015 is going to be the year that pay really starts to rise, then we should have some strong clues soon.
Now it's important to remember that there is a big difference between "wages" and "living standards". Wages are the biggest driver of household incomes, but the tax and benefit system (and other sources of income like bank interest or private pensions) also play a role.
But given the importance of wages in determining overall household incomes, there are good reasons to focus on them. Whilst real wages are picking up at the moment, the big driver of that has been falling inflation rather than nominal wage growth. With inflation forecast to gradually rise in the coming years back towards 2%, real wage growth will require a pickup in cash earnings.
The big squeeze in UK living standards after the 2008 crash has been driven by a historically large squeeze in real wages (wages taking into account inflation). This was all set out in a new report from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) yesterday, which emphasised that falling real wages have driven living standards down for working households, whilst the income of pensioner households has actually risen since 2008.
Looking at the data, there are two stories that can be told - both of which contain important elements of truth - that offer more encouragement.
The first is that the real wage squeeze has been accompanied by rising employment. That's especially important if discussing average (meaning in this case "mean") wage levels.
Imagine an economy with ten workers, nine of whom earn £25,000 a year and the last of whom is unemployed. The average wage is £25,000. Now imagine that the nine in work get a pay rise of 2% and the unemployed worker finds a job on £15,000 a year.
The average wage would now be £24,450, a fall of 2.2% from £25,000. But is that a meaningful number? All ten workers are clearly better off, and what has driven...

Summary: As is almost always the case, living standards look set to be a key issue in the general election, and we are now heading into April, which is the key month for wages.
###
Article: John Norwood was cleared of the attempted murder of Lance Sergeant James Warnock.
The jury at Winchester Crown Court is still considering alternative charges of wounding with intent and attempting to wound with intent.
L/Sgt Warnock suffered wounds to his shoulder, hands and wrist after being allegedly attacked by Norwood.
Norwood, of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, said he wanted to "put the fear of God" into L/Sgt Warnock, 24, after the pair had a drunken brawl at a pub in Aldershot.
He said: "I knew I would be the butt of a lot of jokes because I had been beaten by a junior non-commissioned officer (NCO).
"It's unheard of in my line of work for a senior NCO to be beaten up by a junior NCO, I wanted to minimise the jokes by scaring Mr Warnock."
He added that he did not intend to harm L/Sgt Warnock.
The 38 year old, of Priesthill Road, Glasgow, has been accused of "hunting" his victim.
He is also accused of attempting to wound Craftsman Nicholas Wood, 24, whose room Norwood went into by mistake.
He swung the machete on to the bed, "shredding" the duvet but stopping once he realised the room was not L/Sgt Warnock's.
The trial continues.

Summary: An Army sergeant has been found not guilty of trying to kill a fellow soldier with a machete.
###
Article: The in-vitro fertilisation success paves the way for conserving endangered breeds and could help in the fight against human and animal diseases, say researchers at Cornell University.
The seven beagle and cross-bred beagle-spaniel puppies were born to a surrogate mother.
They were from the same litter but have three sets of parents.
Frozen embryos were implanted in a female dog using techniques similar to those used in human fertility clinics.
Problems with freezing embryos have caused difficulties in the past, but the group say they have perfected this and other techniques.
Lead researcher Dr Alex Travis, from Cornell's college of veterinary medicine, said: "We have seven normal happy healthy puppies."
He added: "Since the mid-1970s, people have been trying to do this in a dog and have been unsuccessful.
"Now we can use this technique to conserve the genetics of endangered species."
The researchers say IVF is a powerful tool to help endangered species of dog such as the African wild dog.
It could also be used in the study of inherited human and dog diseases.
Dogs share many similar diseases with humans - almost twice as many as for any other species.
Dr Travis said the work was an important milestone.
"In vitro fertilisation is a really powerful tool to help preserve endangered species of dog," he told the BBC.
"IVF is also important for the health of our pets because it opens up the possibility that we could identify certain genes that cause disease and then fix those."
The puppies were born in the summer.
Their existence was kept secret until the findings were formally announced to the scientific world this week.
They have reportedly been named Ivy, Cannon, Beaker, Buddy, Nelly, Red and Green, and all but one has gone to a new home.
The research, published in the journal PLoS One, has been described as a "major step forward" in medicine.
Prof David Argyle, head of the school of veterinary medicine at the University of Edinburgh, which was not part of the study, said the new techniques would help...

Summary: The world's first "test tube" puppies have been born after years of attempts, say scientists in the US.
###
Article: People outside Africa overwhelmingly trace their descent to a group that left the continent 60,000 years ago.
Now, analysis of nearly 500 human genomes appears to have turned up the weak signal of an earlier migration.
But the results suggest this early wave of Homo sapiens all but vanished, so it does not drastically alter prevailing theories of our origins.
And two separate studies in the academic journal Nature failed to find the signature of this migration.
But Luca Pagani, Mait Metspalu and colleagues describe hints of this pioneer group in their analysis of DNA in people from the Oceanian nation of Papua New Guinea.
After evolving in Africa 200,000 years ago, modern humans are thought to have crossed through Egypt into the Arabian Peninsula some 60,000 years ago.
Until now, genetic evidence has shown that today's non-Africans could trace their origins to this fateful dispersal.
Yet we had known for some time that groups of modern humans made forays outside their "homeland" before 60,000 years ago.
In order to reconcile this evidence with the genetic data from living populations, the prevailing view advanced by scientists was of a wave of pioneer settlement that ended in extinction.
But the latest results suggest some descendents of these trailblazers survived long enough to get swept up in the later, ultimately more successful migration that led to the settling of Oceania.
"The first instance when we thought we were seeing something was when we used a technique called MSMC, which allows you to look at split times of populations," said co-author Dr Mait Metspalu, director of the Estonian Biocentre in Tartu, told BBC News.
His colleague and first author Dr Luca Pagani, also from the Estonian Biocentre, added: "All the other Eurasians we had were very homogenous in their split times from Africans.
"This suggests most Eurasians diverged from Africans in a single event... about 75,000 years ago, while the [Papua New Guinea] split was more ancient - about 90,000 years ago. So we thought there must be...

Summary: Hints of an early exodus of modern humans from Africa may have been detected in living humans.
###
Article: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) applied them in 1989, after fears two firms, taken over by FirstGroup in 1996, could have too strong a bargaining position with the council.
The CMA said it was seeking views from a number of groups.
First Bristol said it "welcomed the decision to review these undertakings".
The company added it had "already assisted" the CMA as part of the review process.
The restrictions were implemented following the 1989 merger of two local bus companies Badgerline and Midland Red West.
The Monopolies and Mergers Commission, at the time, ruled the merger would remove competition for bus services contracted by the former Avon County Council.
The CMA said the merged company was "therefore required to sign up to a number of restrictions".
These included a cap on the amount they could receive from the local authority for running a tendered service - and a requirement to return any excess profit from such services.
The CMA said it was carrying out the review "to see if there has been a change in circumstances which justifies their removal or variation" and was "seeking views" from local authorities, bus operators and bodies representing bus passengers in Bristol and the surrounding area.
It said it aimed to publish the results of the review in the summer.

Summary:


Downton Abbey will be coming back for a sixth series in 2015, ITV has confirmed.

Article: The UK government has applied for the county's new potatoes and the "Ayrshire earlies" brand to be granted Protected Geographical Indicator (PGI) status by Brussels.
The proposal was put forward by a growers' group based in Girvan.
If successful, Ayrshire new potatoes would join more than 70 UK food and drink products with PGI status.
These include Arbroath smokies and Stornoway black pudding.
Only three other types of potato in the UK, including the Jersey Royal, already have the status.
In November, applications were also lodged for Dundee cake and Forfar bridies to be protected.
The Ayrshire application went through a Scottish government consultation last year, without objections being lodged.
The application cites evidence of commercial potato farming in Ayrshire as far back as 1793.
The sandy soil and milder weather made it ideal for early sowing and early harvests, with potatoes typically getting to market within seven days of harvesting.
Farmers traditionally used seaweed from Ayrshire beaches as fertiliser, and manure from local dairy farms.
From 1859, they adopted growing practices learned in Jersey. The following year, the trade was helped by a rail link from Girvan to Glasgow.
In 1918, records show a peak of potato farming in the county, with 11,400 acres under potatoes.
The protected status application says that in 1951, the main occupation in the town of Maybole was in South Ayrshire early potatoes - planted in February, and harvested from early May until the end of July.

Summary: Ayrshire new potatoes are in line to have their identity protected under European law.
###
Article: Recent examples have included offensive tweets aimed at Olympic diver Tom Daley and Bolton footballer Fabrice Muamba.
Stuart Hyde, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said forces should take a "common sense" approach.
The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said police could not be expected to investigate every instance of abuse on Twitter.
Only this week Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton said she was closing down her Twitter account because of the negative comments she was receiving.
Cumbria Chief Constable Mr Hyde, who speaks on e-crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said police should get involved if people's lives were being made a misery.
But asked if new laws were needed, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "No, I think we have got quite a lot of legislation, dating back to the Malicious Communications Acts of 1998 and 2003. There is a lot there that helps us and gives us the power to do stuff.
"This is a new technology, a new way of communicating, it has grown exponentially. There hasn't been separate legislation so we are using legislation that wasn't particularly created for this but it works reasonably well most of the time."
He continued: "We are learning from it, there are things that have sometimes gone wrong and I think sometimes it is important that we make sure we provide the service people need.
"If people come to us and say 'I am really upset, I've been offended, my life has been made a misery and I want somebody to do something about it', then yes the police should, whenever possible, try to help."
Mr Hyde said abuse on Twitter did not appear to be a huge problem, based on the number of complaints police were receiving.
"I don't want police officers dragged off the streets to deal with frivolous complaints. Where these complaints are pretty serious then it is quite right that we should intervene, and we do that," he said.
"It is important to look at the whole context. It is not just about one tweet, it is a whole range of tweets. Look at...

Summary: New laws to help police deal with cases of abuse on social website Twitter are not needed, senior officers have said.
###
Article: Experts believe it could be "Scotland's Glastonbury", a reference to the lake village in Somerset.
The excavation was part-financed with Â£15,000 from Historic Scotland.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop described the village discovery at Black Loch of Myrton as "an exciting and unexpected find".
The dig was carried out this summer by AOC Archaeology Group, which hopes to use the pilot excavation as the starting point for a broader programme of archaeological activity.
It is one of 55 archaeology projects to receive more than Â£1m in funding from Historic Scotland for 2013/14.
The Wigtownshire dig was a small-scale pilot excavation of what was initially thought to be a crannog in the now-infilled Black Loch of Myrton, which was under threat of destruction as a result of drainage operations.
However during the excavation, AOC - which worked on the dig in conjunction with local volunteers - discovered evidence of multiple structures making up a small village.
What initially appeared to be one of a small group of mounds before excavation was revealed to be a massive stone hearth complex at the centre of a roundhouse.
The timber structure of the house has been preserved, with beams radiating out from the hearth forming the foundation, while the outer wall consists of a double-circuit of stakes.
The most surprising discovery was that the house was not built on top of an artificial foundation, but directly over the fen peat which had gradually filled in the loch.
Rather than being a single crannog, as first thought, it appears to be a settlement of at least seven houses built in the wetlands around the small loch.
This type of site is currently unique in Scotland and there are few other comparable sites elsewhere in the British Isles.
Similar lake villages - including Glastonbury and Meare, which is also in Somerset - have been found in England, but this is the first "loch village" to be uncovered in Scotland.
Experts hope that its discovery will help to improve knowledge and understanding of Iron Age Scotland.
Ms...

Summary: Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an Iron Age "loch village" in Wigtownshire, the first of its kind to be found in Scotland.
###
Article: Alexander Perepilichnyy had collapsed on a road early on the evening of 10 November, Surrey Police said.
Police are treating the 44-year-old's death as unexplained, pending toxicology tests after an inconclusive post-mortem examination.
Reports have connected Perepilichnyy to the Sergei Magnitsky affair.
Magnitsky, a lawyer for London-based Hermitage Capital Management, died on remand in a Moscow prison three years ago after allegedly uncovering a web of corruption involving Russian tax officials.
According to an article in the Independent newspaper on Wednesday, Perepilichnyy had been giving evidence to Swiss investigators about Russian fraud involving Swiss-based bank accounts.
He had sought sanctuary in the UK three years ago after "falling out with a powerful crime syndicate", the paper said.
A Russian media report described Perepilichnyy as a former business partner of one of the people accused by Magnitsky of fraud.
News of Perepilichnyy's death more than two weeks ago only emerged on Wednesday.
Police were called to Granville Road in Weybridge shortly after 17:15 GMT, following a report a man had collapsed there.
An ambulance had attended, but Perepilichnyy had been pronounced dead just before 17:40 GMT, Surrey Police said. The force would not confirm suggestions he had been out running.
"We were made aware of Mr Perepilichnyy's link as a witness in an ongoing trial during the course of the investigation," the police said.
According to an article in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Perepilichnyy had lived on a "luxury private estate shared with seven multi-million pound properties".
The Swiss Attorney General's office told the Independent Perepilichnyy had given evidence to federal prosecutor Maria Antonella-Bino.
The paper quoted a "source with knowledge" of the Swiss fraud inquiry as saying Perepilichnyy had "brought all the evidence they needed to open the investigation".
Evidence he had reportedly provided included records of shell or "front" companies - which serve as vehicles for business...

Summary: A Russian businessman linked as a witness to a high-profile corruption scandal has been found dead near his home in Weybridge.
###
Article: Ensus stopped production at Wilton on Teesside in February 2015 blaming significantly reduced demand in Europe.
Commercial director Grant Pearson said, although the market had not picked up, government moves to increase the use of bioethanol in petrol could lead to increased demand.
Redcar MP Anna Turley said it was "a sign of confidence in the region".
The plant opened in 2009 but was mothballed in 2011 due to US competition and dwindling demand.
Production restarted in October 2012 after conditions improved but paused again in April 2013 because of rising energy costs and a poor harvest.
The facility was then taken over by German firm CropEnergies AG in July 2013 with production restarting the following October.
It stopped again at the beginning of last year.
At the time of the takeover Mr Pearson said it was good news after the firm's "rollercoaster ride".
The plant converts wheat into fuel grade alcohol, animal feed and carbon dioxide for the food and drinks industry and employs about 100 people.
The company expects to start the trial in July at the latest.

Summary: Production at a biofuel plant that has been repeatedly mothballed is to be restarted on a trial basis.
###
Article: The drama, which focuses of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, will go into production next year.
This is in addition to the special one-off episode which will air at Christmas.
Created by writer Julian Fellowes, who is set to return for the next series, the show first aired in 2010.
"It is fantastic that Downton continues to be such a phenomenon - still the most popular drama on ITV in its fifth series - and we are thrilled to have commissioned a sixth series," said Steve November, ITV's director of drama commissioning.
"We don't know yet what Julian has planned, but we are looking forward to working with him, the fantastic cast and Carnival again, and have no doubt series six will be unmissable."
Producers have yet to confirm the full cast.
Earlier this week Hugh Bonneville, who plays Lord Grantham, talked to Newsbeat about some of the celebrities, including Kim Kardasian and Kanye West, who are said to be fans of the show.
"It's only a matter of time before they are on the show," joked Bonneville about the pair.
"Hillary Clinton and John Kerry [United States Secretary of State] are fans of the show too.
"To have them like the show as well as trying to run countries and economies is great."
The fifth series of Downton Abbey ends on Sunday 9 November.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

Summary:


The PSNI has failed in an appeal against an order to disclose police documents related to two murder attempts on a Catholic taxi driver.

Article: Employment charity - Shaw Trust Scotland - delivered the scheme at HMP Low Moss near Bishopbriggs.
Of the 11 participants taking part in the programme, six are now in employment with the other five securing jobs ahead of their release.
Shaw Trust said the scheme was designed to help tackle re-offending in Scotland.
Those taking part in the scheme were offered advice and training in CV writing and interview skills starting 12 weeks prior to their release.
The scheme took into consideration their own individual ambitions and skill sets, along with their employment history.
The charity also arranged for suitable employers to visit the prison to interview participants for roles upon their release.
Commenting on the success of the pilot, Ashley McCloy, Operations Manager for Shaw Trust in Scotland, said:
"Offenders are less likely to commit crime after release if they are given the tools to change their lives for the better and can see a clear route into employment.
"Given the success of the pilot, Shaw Trust Scotland is looking to offer the programme to more prisoners at HMP Low Moss, with a long-term view of integrating it into the core services offered at prisons across the country."
Shaw Trust Scotland is a national employment, disability, learning and skills charity which manages and delivers the Department for Work and Pensions' national disability employment programme, Work Choice.

Summary: A new scheme aimed at getting prisoners into employment upon release has seen all of its participants find work.
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Article: It found the total spending in 2015 on agency midwives, overtime and the NHS's flexible "bank" midwives was £72.7m.
The RCM described it as an "incredibly expensive and wasteful way to staff maternity units".
An NHS spokesman said it was committed to cutting agency staff costs so patients "get the right care".
Some 123 NHS trusts in England with maternity units responded to the RCM's Freedom of Information requests, which revealed that 46 had used agency midwives last year to fill gaps on hospital rotas.
In 2015 the government introduced a cap on NHS trusts' spending on agency staff, but the figures show that for many trusts some costs continue to rise.
The £25m spent on agency midwives represented a 40% increase compared with 2014, and a 146% increase over four years.
The report also said that on average agency midwives were paid £41 an hour, about half of which went to the agency.
Additionally, overtime pay for NHS midwives cost an average of £23 per hour, while bank staff - in-house workers who want to work flexibly across health trusts - cost £25.63 per hour on average.
Jon Skewes, from the RCM, said spending on this scale "simply cannot continue".
He went on: "An over-reliance on temporary staff is clearly more expensive than employing the correct number of permanent staff and needs to be corrected sooner rather than later."
But a spokesman from NHS Improvement - which combines a number of health monitoring and improvement bodies - said trusts "have made good progress" and saved over £600m on agency staff since last year.
"We are committed to helping the NHS cut the cost of agency midwives and all agency staff, so that patients get the right care, from the right staff, at the right time," he added.
The overall budget for NHS England in 2015-16 year was £101.3bn.

Summary: The NHS in England spent £25m on agency midwives last year - more than double the figure for 2013, the Royal College of Midwives has reported.
###
Article: The award winning show returns for a one-off special in December.
Gervais, who also wrote and directed the show, told Newsbeat there'll be a "big confession" from Derek's best friend Kev.
Once he's finished filming the finale, the 53-year-old comic will then concentrate on his next project, the David Brent movie.
Speaking about the final Derek episode the actor said: "It's always been my favourite episode, the finale of The Office, Extras and this is probably my favourite episode of Derek.
"There's a scene where Kev confesses something to Derek, that's quite shocking for him."
Could a hidden romance be on the cards?
"No that's not the confession! That would...no, no, no."
Once filming is complete Gervais will return to one of his most loved roles, that of office manager David Brent.
But this time the wannabe rock star will be starring in his own movie.
"It's half written. You get to see what happened after The Office, his life and what he went through," Gervais said.
The movie will see Brent working as a sales rep, selling cleaning products, and following him as he struggles to attract an audience to a self-financed UK tour.
"He thinks this film is like [Martin] Scorsese following The [Rolling] Stones round, but he soon finds out it's a more of a 'where are they now?' So it's quite sad, funny and tragic."
The multi-award-winning actor has already brought Brent back for a series of videos on YouTube called Learn Guitar With David Brent, which led to him bringing the character back to life for a series of unlikely gigs.
But he doesn't think people are getting tired of the character.
"I think if I went back to doing Brent in The Office, that would be a bit cringey," he said.
"I've purposefully taken it away from that because things move on.
"In the day and age when everyone wants to be famous, it's not out the question that someone out there is still trying to be a rock star and thinks that someone like Simon Cowell will come along and make him in to a star for 15 minutes.
"There's no sure thing. You should...

Summary: Ricky Gervais has revealed there will be a big "revelation" in the final episode of his Channel 4 comedy, Derek.
###
Article: Wildlife enthusiast Lucy Dunn was ski touring with her partner when they spotted the bird of prey on 17 February.
Their sighting has been reported on the nature website iSpot.
RSPB Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust said snowy owls made rare appearances in Scotland. The birds are native to Arctic regions.
Ms Dunn and her partner were on their way back from Carn Etchachan and were heading towards Feith Buidhe, in the Northern Cairngorms, when they had their encounter.
She said: "The owl spotted us first, heard us coming and took off.
"I caught a glimpse of large white wings and was unsure what it was. I remember thinking - that's too big for a ptarmigan.
"Fortunately the owl did not go far and settled down again to watch us, which is how I managed to get the photos. Eventually after a short while it did fly off."
Ms Dunn added: "We felt very privileged to spot such a wonderful bird."
In 2011, a male snowy owl appeared on the Western Isles for the eighth year running in a search for a mate.
The large white owl first visited the islands in 2003 and had previously flown around North Uist, Lewis, Harris and St Kilda.
In 2008, birdwatchers' hopes of snowy owls breeding in the UK for first time in more than 30 years were raised when the bird was joined by a female.
However, the pair were later spotted 50 miles apart.
The last pair of snowy owls to breed in the UK was on Shetland in 1975.

Summary: Images have been published of a snowy owl's rare appearance in the Cairngorms.
###
Article: Health spokesman Mr Burnham said the party must support the "aspirations of everyone", while shadow home secretary Ms Cooper said it must promise "hope".
They join Chuka Umunna and Liz Kendall in the race to succeed Ed Miliband.
Acting leader Harriet Harman pledged an "open and honest" debate on the future, as she set out the election timetable.
"Our challenge now is to use this time to listen and learn, to elect a new leader and deputy leader who will rebuild the Labour Party in order to take the fight to this Tory government and to stand up for Britain," she said.
Mr Miliband resigned last week after the party was left with just 232 seats, having sustained heavy losses at the hands of the SNP and failing to make ground in England. The Conservatives defied the opinion polls to win an overall majority.
Under the timetable drawn up by the party's National Executive Committee (NEC), hopefuls have until 15 June to meet the requirement of having the backing of 15% of the party's MPs by gaining nominations from 34 colleagues.
Under rules agreed last year, all Labour Party members, registered supporters and affiliated supporters - including union members - will be allowed one vote each.
The ballot will close on 10 September, with the new leader announced two days later. Labour's annual conference begins on 27 September.
In a video announcing his intention to stand, Mr Burnham said the party needed a leader "whose voice could carry into all the nations and regions of the UK".
"Our challenge is not to go left or right, to focus on one part of the country above another, but to rediscover the beating heart of Labour," he said, adding: "That is about the aspirations of everyone, speaking to them like we did in 1997."
Ms Cooper announced her bid in a column for the Daily Mirror. She wrote: "Labour lost because we didn't convince enough people in all parts of the country that we had the answers to match up with their ambitions.
"Our promise of hope wasn't strong enough to drown out the Tory and UKIP voices of fear. That's...

Summary: Ex-cabinet ministers Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper are to stand for Labour's leadership, with the winner elected in September before the party conference.
###
Article: The police admitted a claim of wrongdoing in public office in 2015 after being sued by John Flynn over two attempts on his life in the 1990s.
However, it appealed against an attempt to access police documents.
Judges dismissed the appeal and said it was hard to contemplate a more grave subject matter.
Mr Flynn has said the PSNI did not fully examine claims of security force collusion with loyalists.
A notorious UVF unit, based in Mount Vernon, north Belfast, is believed to be responsible for two attempts to murder Mr Flynn.
A gunman tried to ambush him as he picked up a taxi fare, and a bomb was placed under his car. It is alleged the attacker was a police informer.
The PSNI argued that it had already admitted liability in the case and that producing the documents would be irrelevant, costly and divert resources from other cases.
However, judges at the appeal court said the full extent of police misconduct needed to be established before compensation for Mr Flynn can be decided.
The judges said discovery of documents in the case has a long and tortuous history, and that the PSNI should provide the papers as quickly as possible.
Mr Flynn's claim is linked to an investigation in 2007 by former police ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan.
That report found that members of the RUC Special Branch had allowed UVF informers to act with impunity, and that the Mount Vernon gang may have been involved in up to 15 murders.
Mr Flynn claimed Mrs O'Loan's successor, Al Hutchinson, did not adequately implement recommendations from the 2007 report to examine whether agents' handlers committed any crimes.

Summary:


The Belgian king has provoked a sharp response to a Christmas message in which he drew parallels with the rise of fascism in the 1930s.

Article: The 15-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of inciting terrorism by encouraging the murder of police officers during the event in Melbourne in April. No attack ever took place.
The boy appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from Manchester Crown Court, speaking only to enter his plea.
He cannot be named for legal reasons.
The Old Bailey heard the boy, who was 14 at the time, sent thousands of instant messages to 18-year-old Sevdet Besim in Australia over a 10-day period in March.
They both supported the Islamic State militant group, also known as IS or Isis, the court was told.
The boy sent a message to the older teenager suggesting he got his "first taste of beheading," prosecutor Paul Greaney QC said, to which Besim replied that this seemed "risky".
Anzac Day, held on 25 April each year, commemorates the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps' World War One battle in Gallipoli, with this year marking its centenary.
The boy was initially arrested on 2 April in connection with an alleged plan to stage an attack in Melbourne and was detained again after officers examined electronic devices and discovered his communications with a man in Australia.
Outlining the case, Mr Greaney said: "Those messages reveal the intentions of the plotters and their targets, along with their motivation which may be summarised as support for Isis and their enthusiasm for the attack.
"The messages also set out the plotters' preparations for the attack. On 18 March 2015, as part of those preparations, the defendant sent Sevdet Besim a message that read, 'suggest you break into someone's house and get your first taste of beheading'.
"Sevdet Besim responded to say that this seemed 'a little risky' and that aspect of the preparations appears then to have drifted away."
That exchange was the subject of a second charge, of inciting terrorism overseas in relation to beheading a person in Australia, which has now been dropped by the prosecution.
Mr Greaney said the charge was deleted as the prosecution was dealing with it as "part and...

Summary: A teenager from Blackburn has admitted involvement in a terror plot targeting police at an Anzac Day remembrance parade in Australia.
###
Article: If given the go-ahead it would allow HMRC to release anonymous tax data to third parties including companies, researchers and public bodies.
But former Conservative minister David Davis told the Guardian the plans were "borderline insane".
An HMRC spokesman said "no final decisions" had been taken, and it was committed to "confidentiality".
The newspaper reported that "charging options" were being examined by officials, suggesting that firms could pay to access the data.
But concern has been raised over the plans in the wake of the Care.data initiative - a proposed anonymous sharing of NHS medical records - which is currently suspended after fears were raised as to exactly what information would remain anonymous.
Plans to relax the laws around HMRC data-sharing - which are being overseen by Treasury minister David Gauke - were first consulted on in July last year, but HMRC said "further consultations" would also be taking place.
Mr Davis told the Guardian: "The officials who drew this up clearly have no idea of the risks to data in an electronic age.
"Our forefathers put these checks and balances in place when the information was kept in cardboard files, and data was therefore difficult to appropriate and misuse.
"It defies logic that we would remove those restraints at a time when data can be collected by the gigabyte, processed in milliseconds and transported around the world almost instantaneously."
Emma Carr, deputy director of civil rights campaign group, Big Brother Watch, said: "The ongoing claims about anonymous data overlook the serious risks to privacy of individual level data being vulnerable to re-identification.
"Given the huge uproar about similar plans for medical records, you would have hoped HMRC would have learned that trying to sneak plans like this under the radar is not the way to build trust or develop good policy."
A HMRC spokesman said: "HMRC would only share data where this would generate clear public benefits, and where there are robust safeguards in place.
"Last year's consultation...

Summary: Taxpayers' personal data could be shared with private firms under plans drawn up by Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
###
Article: A 49-year-old died on Friday evening after the attack at Marian Court flats in Archdeacon Street, Gloucester.
Two male suspects, aged 30 and 42, who were arrested on Friday night, have both now been released without charge after being questioned.
Gloucestershire Police said detectives were continuing to "pursue a number of inquiries" to find the killer.

Summary: Two men who were arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed to death have been released by police.
###
Article: The report said the ban at the Bridgend site had been well-managed and some prisoners had since stopped smoking.
But it said tobacco and other contraband was still getting in and it was concerned about drones being used.
The prison's director Janet Wallsgrove said the number of violent incidents increased but were now dropping.
Although no analysis has been carried out, the review said the ban "might be a factor" in the rise in violence.
The 2016-17 report by the prison's independent monitoring board said despite initial resistance to the April 2016 ban, some prisoners had "seized the opportunity to stop smoking" and said they felt fitter as a result.
However, it said it was concerned drones were being used to deliver tobacco and other banned substances - sometimes direct to prisoners' cell windows.
The annual review said there was a worry about a general increase in violent incidents at Parc - a "disproportionate percentage" of which happened in the young offenders' unit, where there were also a number of assaults on staff.
But it said staff had a good working relationship with young offenders and the prison had introduced mentors and violence reduction representatives to work with inmates to cut the number of incidents.
The board said no study had been carried out to analyse the impact of the smoking ban on prisoners, but it was concerned it "might be a factor in the increased level of incidents of self-harm and violence".
Overall the review found Parc Prison was well managed and said the safety of prisoners was of "paramount importance".
It said education provision was satisfactory, with useful links to Bridgend College, and purposeful activities for inmates was generally very good.
Parc Prison director Janet Wallsgrove said it has faced "an upward trend in violent incidents" over the past year, particularly in the juvenile unit.
She said new methods used by staff had seen levels drop back since their peak in 2016.
"While this report recognises the challenges we face, it also makes clear that our team...

Summary: A rise in the number of violent and self harm incidents at Parc Prison could be linked to the smoking ban, a review has found.
###
Article: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is advertising for a project lead for the Tees Valley's Mayoral Development Corporation.
Redcar's Labour MP Anna Turley said the job should be based in the Tees Valley.
Conservative Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said it needed to be in London to liaise with government departments.
The job, which starts at £49,525 a year, would include "occasional trips to Tees Valley".
Ms Turley said: "This job will be a leading position overseeing the regeneration of the steelworks site, a big challenge that is crucial to bringing decent jobs to our area. Why on earth, then, is it based in London?
"It's a sick joke.
"We have a lot of talented people in our region with the knowledge and experience to take on a role like this."
She said the people working on the project need to be "here on the ground, not hidden away" in an office in London.
The steelworks closed in September 2015 with the loss of almost 3,000 jobs.
The key focus of the new job is to work with recently elected Tees Valley mayor Mr Houchen and other agencies to organise the future of the old steelworks site.
Mr Houchen told BBC Tees the job was at the central government end and needed to be in London to better liaise with the various departments.
He said Ms Turley's comments about the job showed "five or six different levels of ignorance" and he was "disappointed she hasn't educated herself on probably the most important project in her constituency".
The DCLG said the new role would be a "crucial link between Whitehall and our existing team in the region who are working closely with Ben Houchen and his office".

Summary: An MP has called a job overseeing the regeneration of the Redcar steelworks a "sick joke" as it is based in London.
###
Article: Albert II warned against the dangers of populists seeking scapegoats for current economic difficulties.
Flemish separatist leader Bart De Wever assumed the remarks were aimed at him and said he had overstepped his role.
Belgian political experts and commentators argued that the broadcast had intervened in political debate.
In his broadcast, the king said that "in these troubled times we live in, we should remain vigilant and see through populist arguments".
Populists were, he said, "trying to find scapegoats for the crisis, whether foreigners or compatriots from another part of the country".
Such thinking persisted in Belgium as much as in other European countries and "the crisis of the 1930s and the populist reactions of that time must not be forgotten", the king said.
Belgium has a deepening divide between its Flemish (Dutch-speaking) north and French-speaking south, and there has been speculation that the country could ultimately break up.
Mr De Wever, whose New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party made big gains in elections in October and is now the biggest political force in Flemish-speaking Flanders, accused the king of "implicitly" referring to the N-VA in his speech.
In a newspaper article in De Standaard, he accused the king of choosing "the path of a royalty of division", adding in a later broadcast interview that he could no longer see the monarch as playing the constitutional role of referee.
On Belgian radio he accused Belgium's French-speaking PM, Elio Di Rupo, of "hiding behind the throne", arguing that he must have seen an advance copy of the speech and given it the green light.
"[Di Rupo] won't say I'm a fascist but apparently believes it and lets the king say it," Mr De Wever said.
The separatist leader also took a swipe at a predecessor of Albert's, Belgium's wartime King Leopold III (then a prisoner of war), who met Adolf Hitler "for coffee" at Berchtesgaden in Bavaria in 1940 and took Belgium "to the brink of civil war".
Mr De Wever's angry remarks followed a series of objections from political...

Summary:


A multi-vehicle crash has taken place during a heavy hail shower on the A74(M) after a spate of incidents in similar conditions on Sunday.

Article: UK researchers say more trees and other vegetation at street level would clean air in areas that are normally exposed to higher pollution levels.
Plants in towns and cities have been shown to remove nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM), both of which are harmful to human health.
The findings
          appear in the journal Environmental Science and Technology
.
"Up until now, every initiative around reducing pollution has taken a top-down approach, [such as] scrapping old cars, adding catalytic converters, bringing in the congestion charge - some of which have not had the desired effect," said co-author Rob MacKenzie from the University of Birmingham.
"The benefit of green walls is that they clean up the air coming into and staying in the street canyon," Prof MacKenzie observed.
"Planting more [green walls] in a strategic way could be a relatively easy way to take control of our local pollution problems."
Street canyons refer to the effect created by high buildings lining a street, preventing much of the pollution escaping.
Previous studies have shown that greening urban spaces can cut pollution, but only by about 5%. This study suggests that strategic placement of vegetation in street canyons can cut air pollution by up to 30%.
Green walls, consisting of climbing plants such as ivy, built on billboard-like structures could act as air pollution filters, the team said.
Nicola Cheetham, head of environment (surface transport) for Transport for London (TfL), welcomed the findings.
"Our own research, conducted by Imperial College London, shows the ability of different plants to trap particulate matter," she said.
Ms Cheetham added that TfL had just installed its second green wall in the capital to help mitigate the pollution associated with heavy flows of urban traffic.
The team reached their findings about the effectiveness of green walls by using a computer model that showed the effect of street canyons trapping air at street level and the accumulation of pollution.
The model also showed that...

Summary: The creation of "green walls" in urban areas could cut pollution by up to 30%, scientists have suggested.
###
Article: Doddle is a joint venture between Network Rail and Lloyd Dorfman, who made his fortune from the Travelex currency exchange business.
According to Mr Dorfman, Amazon will begin using Doddle in September.
Last year Amazon was in talks with Transport for London about using tube stations as collection points.
It is not clear how the deal with Doddle will affect Amazon's plan to link up with London Underground.
Network Rail and Mr Dorfman are investing Â£24m in Doddle and hope to expand the business to 300 stations.
A pilot operation has been running at Milton Keynes station and Doddle's website said shops in London Cannon Street, Woking, Bromley South, Brighton and Chelmsford stations would "open soon".
But reaching an agreement with Amazon would be a huge boost for the business.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Dorfman said: "They're sorting out the systems issues and have agreed to begin using Doddle in September."

Summary: Amazon customers will be able to pick-up their parcels from railways stations under a deal struck with a new click-and-collect firm, Doddle.
###
Article: The owners of the building in Queens nicknamed "5Pointz" covered more than a decade's worth of spray-paint art in the middle of the night.
Artists likened it to an act of vandalism, as they had fought to have the building designated a landmark.
The area is scheduled to be developed into luxury condominiums.
More than 1,500 artists reportedly used the 5Pointz warehouse as a canvas, turning the formerly derelict brick building into a tourist attraction.
Even celebrated British street artist Banksy, in New York recently for a month-long residency, called for the building to be saved.
The building is set for demolition by the end of the year as part of a $400m project to build more than 1,000 luxury apartments, the New York Times reports.
Artists and locals appealed against the plan and tried to have the warehouse designated a landmark under the Visual Artists Rights Act.
But a federal judge officially rejected the effort last week, allowing for the demolition to move forward.
Supporters described their shock upon seeing the building's newly white facade, which was painted in the middle of the night.
"It's cruel", local tour guide Hans Von Rittern told the New York Times. "I don't know how you can erase 12 years of spectacular art."
The building's owner, Jerry Wolkoff, expressed sadness as he watched his crews paint over the building in preparation for the massive development project.
"I cried this morning, I swear to you," he said.

Summary: A New York City warehouse celebrated for its graffiti art has been painted over in preparation for demolition, angering locals.
###
Article: The Shining Lights scheme aims to initially fund four awards for refugee students.
Prof Sir Ian Diamond, the university principal and vice-chancellor said: "Our community has been shocked and saddened by the plight of those fleeing violence and repression.
"This university has always opened its doors to the world."
He added:  "The Shining Lights Scholarships we are providing will cover tuition fees, year round accommodation, and support for living costs."
Businesses and the public can donate to the scholarship scheme.

Summary: A scholarship scheme for students with refugee status has been launched by the University of Aberdeen.
###
Article: Mr Obama had previously released an official "certification of live birth" showing he was born in Hawaii.
But the White House has now published copies of the president's original birth certificate along with a statement on its website.
The document shows that Mr Obama was born in Hawaii on 4 Aug 1961 at 7.24pm.
"We don't have time for this kind of silliness," the president said in a statement to reporters.
Why has he chosen to do this now?
The issue has been back on the news agenda in recent weeks, mainly due to potential presidential candidate Donald Trump expressing his doubts about the president's birthplace.
He said he sent a team of investigators to Hawaii to try to find out more.
In response, CNN this week announced the results of its own investigation, in which it spoke to the former director of the health department on the island who said she had seen Mr Obama's original birth certificate herself.
The persistence with which the story kept resurfacing has prompted the White House to act.
In his statement, the president said it was particularly frustrating that the news about the Republican plan to cut the deficit was overshadowed by further allegations about his own birthplace.
But Mr Obama's opponents may question why it has taken the White House two years to yield to demands to see his original birth certificate.
What allegations were being made about Mr Obama?
For years, the "birthers" - as those who doubt Mr Obama's eligibility for the presidency are known - have been expressing their doubts about his place of birth.
The principal allegation was that Barack Obama was not born in the United States, and that he is therefore ineligible to be president, according to the US constitution, which states that "no person except a natural born citizen... shall be eligible to the office of President".
It was further alleged that any documents purporting to prove Mr Obama's eligibility were either insufficient or fraudulent.
Some of those challenging Mr Obama's eligibility allege that he was actually born in...

Summary: President Barack Obama has released his original birth certificate in response to allegations that he was not born in the US and not eligible to be president.
###
Article: The incident was reported near junction 16 at Johnstonebridge at about 14:20.
Police said that six vehicles had been involved and lanes on the southbound carriageway were blocked for a time but the route was subsequently cleared.
In another incident a car was reported to have ended up on its roof on the northbound carriageway.
It follows a string of incidents on the motorway on Sunday in similar weather conditions.
Policing units attended about 40 crashes - primarily on the A74(M) - throughout the day.
A number were also reported on the A75 near Carrutherstown.
"Thankfully the majority of the crashes were fairly minor in nature and as a result there were only three persons slightly injured," said a police spokesman.
"The crashes occurred as a result of freak hail showers in various locations throughout the region making driving conditions hazardous.
"Please remember that although it is now March and temperatures are generally higher, weather conditions are still very changeable so please take time to have a look at the weather forecast prior to your journey so that you may be better informed of the conditions ahead."

Summary:


Plans to develop a highly-skilled workforce to improve early years education are to be unveiled.

Article: The force said mental health issues resulted in 141,230 lost days among front-line officers.
The Liberal Democrats said the figures showed evidence of a force "being stretched to breaking point".
The Scottish government said the welfare of officers and support staff was taken "very seriously".
Police Scotland released the figures to the Lib Dems under Freedom of Information laws.
The party's justice spokesman Liam McArthur said police officers and civilian staff were not getting the support they needed from the Scottish government.
He said: "The savings that were promised by the SNP before the creation of Police Scotland have not materialised.
"As a result, officers and civilian staff are being asked to do more and more with less. With the chief constable warning that further cuts are coming, the pressure on staff is only likely to get worse."
He added: "We have already seen staff surveys which show morale is at rock bottom. The shortages are affecting the health of officers and civilian staff and these new figures are a huge concern.
"Policing is a high-stress profession at the best of times. The changes that the SNP forced through are stretching the mental health of officers and civilian staff to breaking point.
"This means giving police management the freedom to put resources where they are needed.
"Extra money is also required to plug the hole in the national force's budget and avert the loss of staff which would only put those remaining further under the cosh."
A Scottish government spokesman said Police Scotland would be expected to have "robust policies" in place to support staff and manage their health at work.
The spokesman added: "They have a number of targeted activities to support wellbeing and occupational health across the organisation.
"We have committed to protecting the police revenue budget in real terms, safeguarding policing from Westminster budget cuts and delivering an additional Â£100m of investment by the end of this parliament, in addition to Â£55m of reform funding in 2016-17."
A...

Summary: Police Scotland officers and staff suffering psychological problems took nearly 200,000 sick days over the last three years, new figures show.
###
Article: The Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance has about 45,000 members working across the public sector.
On Friday, delegates to the union's conference voted in favour of a pro-Brexit motion by 68 votes to 58.
But the trade union umbrella group, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), wants the UK to remain in the EU.
In April, delegates to the ICTU'S Northern Ireland Committee conference overwhelming passed a motion of opposition to a British exit (Brexit) from the European Union.
The committee called on workers to vote to remain "for the stability of the economy of Northern Ireland, for the security of their jobs and for their rights as workers".
The UK's largest trade unions - Unite, the GMB and Unison - are all in favour of remaining in the EU.
The RMT transport union is in favour of leaving.
The motion debated by Nipsa members on Friday described the EU as "a club for the rich" that does not provide "meaningful assistance to workers".

Summary: Northern Ireland's largest trade union, Nipsa, is to recommend to its members that they should vote for the UK to leave the EU.
###
Article: Only the construction of at least 12,000 affordable homes every year for the next five could help bridge that gap, according to Shelter Scotland.
It is one of four priorities outlined in its "Manifesto for Homes" launched ahead of the Holyrood elections.
The Scottish government said it aimed to build at least 50,000 new affordable homes in the next five years.
Shelter Scotland has also published the results of a survey which suggested that two thirds of Scots believe it is harder to buy or rent a home now than for previous generations.
The poll of 1,028 people, which was carried out for the charity by Ipsos Mori, suggested that 90% think it will be even harder for their own children.
Shelter Scotland wants the next Scottish government to commit to at least doubling the current level of affordable housing supply.
It has also called for action to meet the needs of Scotland's homeless, more support for private tenants and to tackle child poverty.
The charity's director, Graeme Brown, said: "Scotland's housing crisis risks creating a devastating generational gulf between the housing haves and the have nots.
"The high cost of housing and the stuttering supply of new affordable homes set against high and rising demand are at the heart of this crisis.
"Sadly, it is those on the lowest incomes and the most vulnerable people in our society who will bear the brunt of the housing crisis unless drastic and bold action is taken now.
"We urge all political parties to use the 12,000 target for new affordable homes as a benchmark for their ambitions to bring real hope to the thousands of people in Scotland without a suitable or affordable home while also delivering a major boost to jobs and the economy."
The Scottish government said it has helped 20,000 people - many of them aged between 18 and 35 - into home ownership since 2007.
A spokesman added: "We have invested Â£1.7bn in affordable housing over the lifetime of this parliament and have met and exceeded our target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes, including our 20,000...

Summary: Scotland risks creating a "generational gulf" between those with and without homes, a leading charity has warned.
###
Article: Two high-tech cameras have been set up in farmers' fields in Conwy county and Ceredigion to show sheep and lambs roaming in the countryside.
It is part of a campaign in Denmark to highlight the traditional methods of producing Welsh Lamb.
It means Danes can now enjoy Wales at its best via "Lamb Cam".
Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) also hope the cameras will show the high level of animal welfare at farms producing Welsh Lamb as they promote the meat in Denmark.
One camera has been set up on sheep farmer Llyr Jones' land at Derwydd, near Corwen in Conwy county, with the other located at Mynydd Gorddu near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion.
The video links are being promoted in Denmark as part of a marketing campaign and in supermarkets, where the live-stream will be broadcast.
Mr Jones said the camera had been placed at the highest point on his farm's mountain, which gave views of Snowdonia.
"I'm very excited to be able to share my untouched, special corner of the world with the people of Denmark," he added.
"It would be impossible to fly the good people of Denmark to see my lambs here at Derwydd so this is an effective way of sharing our product with them."
Annual sales of Welsh Lamb in Denmark have risen by as much as 25% year-on-year with an import of over 120 tonnes, according to HCC.
Alex James, market development export executive for HCC, said that made the country a target market for the product.
"Wales is perfect for producing quality Welsh Lamb with its unspoilt, luscious landscape, clean air, a temperate climate and mineral rich soils, all fed by a myriad of streams and rivers," he added.
"The aim of the Lamb Cam is to share the excellence of this environment with the Danes so that they can also understand and appreciate what makes Welsh Lamb so special."

Summary: Counting sheep is being taken to a new level in Denmark where people will be able to watch the animals grazing in Wales via a 24-hour live stream.
###
Article: Now householders can expect the postie to deliver a bunch of letters on another anniversary - three years on from sitting on an energy deal.
Following an 18-month investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed that anyone who has been on a standard tariff - generally the most expensive option - for three years or more will have their details put on a central database.
The other 36 suppliers in the UK energy market can then pitch for their custom, by sending letters making them an offer to switch to a cheaper deal.
No decision has been made yet on whether there should be a limit on the number of letters each company can send. Assume they send only three each and a customer will fairly quickly receive more than 100 letters.
The CMA has described the letters as "targeted mail" offering detail of savings to customers. Others have described them as spam.
Will Hodson, co-founder of collective switching company TheBigDeal.com, said: "The CMA are naive to propose opening a database of customers to energy companies.
"The proposal would take exploited customers out of the pan and into the fire of a thousand cynical sales pitches. People need independent advice from organisations they can trust to get the best deal for them."
Energy UK, which represents the major UK energy firms, said: "Companies treat customers' information with the utmost care. We agree that customers should have the information they need to make an informed choice, but would like people to be able to choose if they get marketing information or not.
"The implementation of these proposals will need to be carefully considered to ensure that customers' personal data and right to privacy remains protected."
The CMA found that 70% of the domestic customers of the six largest energy firms are on the more expensive default standard variable tariff - that is 18.9 million households - of which the vast majority have been on that tariff for more than three years.
Were these people to switch, they could be Â£300 on average better off, the...

Summary: We are used to receiving post on anniversaries: birthday cards, wedding anniversary congratulations and some of the big national holidays.
###
Article: It is hoped it will help recognise the "vital role" of those educating and caring for children aged up to seven.
Education Minister Huw Lewis said the Welsh government's draft 10-year plan would help support "raise the status" of early years carers.
Since 2008 children aged between three and seven have been educated through the play-based Foundation Phase.
Reports into the effectiveness of the programme in May said that while it was having a positive impact on how children learned, it varied between schools and raised concerns about how well children were being prepared for exams later on in their education.
The draft plan will go out to public consultation until 15 December and should be published next April.
It would cover everyone who works with children in both state-run schools and nurseries and private childcare settings.
The plan wants to see staff highly skilled and "highly regarded" in their career, who understand children's development, help all children to meet their potential and are bilingual.
Mr Lewis is visiting a staff training session at Herbert Thompson Primary School in Cardiff to unveil the plan.
He said: "The ages of 0-7 are a crucial time in every child's development.
"It's important, therefore, that individuals like those I will meet today, that play such a key role in supporting children during these important years, receive the right level of support, are highly motivated and skilled and feel that they are valued.
"We're determined to raise the status of careers in early years, childcare and play to a level which better reflects the vital role these practitioners play in supporting children's development."
Some of the proposals include:
Communities Minister Lesley Griffiths said: "We owe it to our future generations to get this right.
"If we reach our goals we will improve the lives of young children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds."

Summary: