Ukraine says it has restored part of the electricity supply to Crimea, more than two weeks after power lines to the territory were blown up.

One of the damaged lines has been reconnected to Ukraine's electricity grid - but three are still down.
Crimea's two million people have been badly hit by widespread blackouts.
The repairs took place after talks with activists who have been blocking energy supplies to Crimea, which Russia annexed last year.
The Kakhovskyy-Titan power line was reconnected overnight "with agreement from activists involved in the energy and food blockade of Crimea," said authorities in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, quoted by Interfax news agency.
The Russian energy ministry also confirmed that the supply to Crimea had been resumed.
Unknown attackers damaged the four pylons on 22 November. Anti-Russian activists were blamed.
Crimean Tatar activists have been denying repair workers access to the damaged power lines.
Ukraine's state energy company, Ukrenergo, has said the damage was caused by "shelling or the use of explosive devices".
The loss of power to Crimea - causing widespread blackouts - highlighted the peninsula's reliance on electricity from Ukraine.
The four lines are the only sources of electricity for Crimea, so when they came down the territory was plunged into darkness, according to the BBC's David Stern in southern Ukraine.
Schools were closed and a state of emergency was declared.
The incident also sparked a reduction of coal supplies to Ukraine from Russia and from the pro-Russian rebel-held eastern Ukraine.
Russia has begun building an undersea cable to Crimea, to bypass Ukraine.


A west Belfast man was allowed to engage in a "murderous campaign" to strengthen his position as a British spy, the High Court has heard.

Lawyers for victims' relatives made the claim against a man named as Freddie Scappaticci. They want an outside police force to look at 24 killings.
Northern Ireland's director of public prosecutions has ordered a new inquiry into the agent, codenamed Stakeknife.
Mr Scappaticci denies he was an IRA informer, operating as Stakeknife.
Although relatives of those allegedly killed by the IRA's so-called 'Nutting Squad' have backed the fresh inquiry, they are opposed to the Police Service of Northern Ireland taking charge.
Judicial review proceedings brought by the family of Caroline Moreland are now focused on ensuring outside investigators are brought in.
Ms Moreland, a 34-year-old Catholic mother-of-three from Belfast, was abducted and murdered by the IRA in July 1994 for being an alleged British informer.
A barrister for her family told the court: "This challenge concerns at its core a murderous campaign that a named individual, Mr Frederick Scappaticci, was allowed to engage upon whilst managed by the security forces in order, we say, to enhance his position as an intelligence asset."
The families' opposition to PSNI involvement in the inquiry is based a perceived lack of independence and the availability of resources.
Due to the director of public prosecution's intervention, the families' barrister sought an adjournment to allow time for investigators to be identified.
A barrister for the PSNI chief constable agreed that proceedings should be put on hold.
The court also heard there were resource issues and potential political implications.
Granting a four-week adjournment, Mrs Justice Keegan said: "Given the issues raised about delay, I'm keen to keep some timetable."
Outside court, Ms Moreland's daughter, Shauna, said the families had taken a step in the right direction.
"We just don't have faith in the PSNI to investigate any further," she said.
Her solicitor said the action went right to the upper echelons of British military intelligence.
Referring to the possible political implications raised in court, he said: "It demonstrates the level to which this case goes."


Scientists have demonstrated a new method for counting whales from space.

It uses very high-resolution satellite pictures and image-processing software to automatically detect the great mammals at or near the ocean surface.
A test count, reported in the journal Plos One, was conducted on southern right whales in the Golfo Nuevo on the coast of Argentina.
The automated system found about 90% of creatures pinpointed in a manual search of the imagery.
This is a huge improvement on previous attempts at space-borne assessment, and could now revolutionise the way whale populations are estimated.
Currently, such work is done through counts conducted from a shore position, from the deck of a ship or from a plane. But these are necessarily narrow in scope.
An automated satellite search could cover a much larger area of ocean and at a fraction of the cost.
"Our study is a proof of principle," said Peter Fretwell from the British Antarctic Survey.
"But as the resolution of the satellites increases and our image analysis improves, we should be able to monitor many more species and in other types of location.
"It should be possible to do total population counts and in the future track the trajectory of those populations," he told the Inside Science programme on BBC Radio 4.
The breakthrough is in part down to the capability of the latest hi-res satellites.
In this study, Mr Fretwell and colleagues used DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 platform.
This is among the most powerful commercial Earth observation platforms in operation today, and can see surface features down to 50cm in size in its panchromatic mode (black and white).
The team selected as their test area a 113-sq-km segment of the Golfo Nuevo on the Peninsula Valdes, a location famed for its gatherings of calving southern right whales.
Even though these are large animals, they still only take up a few pixels in the satellite picture.
Nonetheless, a manual search of the scene found 55 probable whales, 23 possible whales and 13 sub-surface features.
Several automated methods where then trialled, with the best results coming from a combination of the very hi-res panchromatic view and a narrow band of wavelengths in the violet part (400-450 nanometres) of the light spectrum.
This coastal band, as it is known, penetrates 15m or so into the water column in good conditions.
The automated approach found 89% of probable whales identified in the manual count.
Mr Fretwell cautions that there are limitations to the technique.  For example, rough seas or murky waters will confound a search. But he believes, on the basis of the trial study, that satellite counting can become a very useful conservation tool.
"In this type of automated analysis you have to balance two types of errors - errors where you miss whales, and errors where you misidentify whales. If you push too hard one way, like trying to catch all the whales, you'll increase the number of false positives. With our 90%, we had almost no misidentifications," the researcher explained.
Southern right whales were a very appropriate target for the study.
These animals were driven to near-extinction in the early 20th Century. Recognised as slow, shallow swimmers, they were the "right" whales to hunt.
Their numbers have seen something of a recovery, but without the means to carry out an accurate census, it is hard to know their precise status.
Concern has also been raised of late because of the sightings of many dead calves in the nursery grounds around the Peninsula Valdes.
Prof Vicky Rowntree from the University of Utah is the director of the Ocean Alliance's Southern Right Whale Program, and has spent many years studying the Valdes whales.
She said the new method would be a huge boon to her field of research.
"It's going to be absolutely amazing. The other dimension of it is that many marine mammal researchers have been killed flying in small planes while surveying whales.  So my great desire is to get us out of small planes circling over whales and to be able to do it remotely. Satellite data is wonderful."
To hear more about southern right whales and satellite counting, listen to Inside Science with Lucie Green on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday at 1630 GMT.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


It is 50 years since Action Man, the must-have toy of the 1970s, arrived in the UK.

The plastic moulded figures, rebranded from the US GI Joe version, made their debut in the UK at the British Toy Fair in Brighton, in January 1966, after a toy executive realised their market potential.
The early toys were imports but Palitoy, based in Coalville, Leicestershire, would go on to make its own version with "lifelike hair", "beards" and "gripping hands" in the early 1970s.
According to Rob Burman, editor of the Collectors Gazette, Palitoy bosses gave strict instructions not to call them "dolls" as boys could be put off.
They were hugely popular, with sales topping 20 million by the end of the 1970s.
Modifications kept the toys fresh and collectable, for example "eagle eyes" were introduced in 1976 by Hasbro, the US makers, and Palitoy brought in "flocked" hair and non-military costumes such as football kits.
However, despite a loyal band of collectors, the success did not last into the 1980s.
"The 60s and 70s were the big times for Action Man and then Star Wars came along," said Mr Burman.
"Everyone wanted intergalactic characters, they weren't bothered about poor old Action Man."
The toy expert said the figure made a bit of a comeback in the 1990s but nowadays people are generally more "politically correct" and so there is little interest in soldier toys.
However, there is still a thirst for the old outfits - a boxed judo costume recently sold for ??6,000 at auction.
Chris Malbon, 58, from Nottingham, who runs Warwickshire-based Metropolis Toys, had at one time one of the most "comprehensive" Action Man collections in the UK.
He started collecting in 1989 and spent thousands on his acquisitions, which he admits got a "bit out of hand", and he later he sold them all for a "substantial" fee.
"I collected the entire range," said the trader. "Both boxed and loose, together with US, French, German, Spanish, Japanese variations. I guess around 200 figures."
However, it all became a bit of a burden.
He said: "It's not because of the money... you end up wanting that elusive item or upgrading what you have to the exclusion of other things."
Mr Malbon, a former soldier himself, did not want to say what he sold his collection for but said it was as much as he paid for his house in the 1990s.
Palitoy's former chief toy designer Bob Brechin, who modelled Action Man's gripping hands on his own, said the toy has endured.
"It's hard to believe it has been 50 years," he said.
"He's timeless, universal, we never gave Action Man a story, we just gave children [the figures] and the outfits you dress him in and left it to their imaginations."
Hasbro has announced it is releasing a set of vintage figures as part of the anniversary celebrations.
It seems Action Man is not quite ready to leave the battlefield.


A top girls' school is planning a "failure week" to teach pupils to embrace risk, build resilience and learn from their mistakes.

The emphasis will be on the value of having a go, rather than playing it safe and perhaps achieving less.
Pupils at Wimbledon High School will be asked how they feel when they fail.
The headmistress, Heather Hanbury, said she wanted to show "it is completely acceptable and completely normal not to succeed at times in life."
Ms Hanbury's pupils achieve some of the highest exam scores - but from Monday they will be invited to focus on failure.
There will be workshops, assemblies, and activities for the girls, with parents and tutors joining in with tales of their own failures.
There will be YouTube clips of famous and successful people who have failed along the way and moved on.
The emphasis will be discussions on the merits of failure and on the negative side of trying too hard not to fail.
Ms Hanbury told BBC News that she had placed a great emphasis on developing resilience and robustness among the girls since she arrived at the school four years ago.
"The girls need to learn how to fail well - and how to get over it and cope with it," she said.
"Fear of failing can be really crippling and stop the girls doing things they really want to do.
"The pupils are hugely successful but can sometimes overreact to failure even though it can sometimes be enormously beneficial to them.
"We want them to be brave - to have courage in the classroom," she added.
Wimbledon High is an independent school, part of the Girls' Day School Trust.
GDST chief executive, Helen Fraser, said: "Resilience is so important in working life these days.
"Wimbledon High School is showing how making mistakes is not necessarily a bad thing, that it is fine to try - and fail - and then pick yourself up and try again - or as Samuel Beckett said, 'fail better'."


The bishop who was a key figure in the campaign to uncover the truth about the Hillsborough disaster is to receive the Freedom of Liverpool.

Bishop James Jones chaired the Hillsborough Independent Panel, whose report led to the quashing of the 1989 tragedy's inquest verdicts.
The cleric will be honoured later at a ceremony in the city.
Bishop Jones, 68, was made Knight Commander last year for his services to the Hillsborough Inquiry.
He is now adviser to the Home Secretary on Hillsborough.
Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Roz Gladden, said the bishop had been "a towering figure in Liverpool life for almost two decades", and had spoken up on behalf of those with no voice.
"We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his work leading the Church of England in the city and latterly chairing the Hillsborough Independent Panel, which shed light on what really happened during and after the disaster," she said.
Bishop Jones, who served as Bishop of Liverpool from 1998 to 2013, said the city had never wavered in its support for the Hillsborough families.
"To become a freeman of this city is a permanent reminder to me of the way the families have fought and been vindicated in their struggle for truth, justice and accountability," he said.
As chair of the Hillsborough Independent Panel he supervised the disclosure of documents relating to the 1989 disaster, which resulted in the deaths of 96 people attending the Liverpool v Nottingham Forest FA Cup Semi-Final.
The panel's report led to the quashing of the original inquest into the tragedy and the opening of fresh inquests, which concluded in 2016 the fans were unlawfully killed.
Last year the council gave a posthumous Freedom of the City to the disaster's 96 victims as well Professor Phil Scraton, who led the Hillsborough Independent Panel's research team, and Kenny and Marina Dalglish - who represented the football club at the time.


Russia's foreign ministry says US activation of a European missile defence shield in Romania, scheduled for Thursday, violates a treaty on nuclear forces.

A ministry statement quoted by Interfax news agency said it was a breach of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed in 1987.
The US says the Aegis system is a shield to protect Nato from long-range missiles and is no threat to Russia.
Romania is hosting part of the system.
A ceremony will be held at a Nato airfield in Deveselu, southern Romania, on Thursday to mark the start of Aegis operations there.
"This decision is harmful and mistaken, because it is capable of upsetting strategic stability," said Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Russian foreign ministry's department for proliferation and arms control issues.
Nato and US officials say the system has been developed to track and intercept missiles fired from a "rogue" state. In the past Iran was mentioned in that context, but the US has also had North Korea in mind.
For years the US has been testing the Aegis system on warships too.
An incoming missile would be destroyed in space, before it could re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.
On Friday another phase of the project will be launched in Poland, with a groundbreaking ceremony at Redzikowo, near the Baltic Sea. Aegis missiles are to become operational there in 2018.
Mr Ulyanov said Russia's interests "are being affected in a direct way by this".
He said the Americans' MK-41 launch system could also be used to fire cruise missiles, not just air defence missiles.
"From our viewpoint this is a violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty," he said.


Confidence among manufacturers has slumped since the UK's vote to leave the European Union, a report indicates.

Manufacturers' average confidence score dropped to 5.24 after the referendum from 6.37 before the vote, the report from EEF, a manufacturing lobby group, and accountancy firm BDO showed.
The biggest fall in confidence was in London and the South East.
But the region remained the most confident, with a score of 5.7 out of 10.
The least confident regions were the East Midlands and and North West, which both had a score of 5.0, the report said.
"The Brexit vote has put the manufacturing sector's recovery in jeopardy," said Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF. "The growth path is now uncertain in all regions."
The report said that 25% of companies in the North West had yet to find any business opportunities from Brexit, while 59% were concerned about weaker demand prospects.
Manufacturers in Yorkshire and Humber were the most optimistic about opportunities that the UK's exit from the EU may present.
A quarter of respondents  in the region were positive about lower regulatory burden and increased demand, the report said.


A Turkish court has acquitted a German-born former international footballer, Deniz Naki, who was charged with promoting the Kurdish PKK rebel cause.

Naki, 27, was prosecuted for a message he posted on Facebook after scoring the winning goal for the Turkish club Amed SK, in a crucial match in January.
He dedicated that victory to victims of the Kurdish conflict. He is Alevi-Kurdish and moved to Turkey in 2013.
He was accused of spreading terrorist propaganda for the banned PKK group.
Turkish forces have been battling the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey since a ceasefire collapsed in July 2015. Turkey, the EU and US consider the PKK to be a terrorist organisation.
Who are the Kurds?
Who are Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels?
Germany's Bild daily reported that the court session lasted just 35 minutes and that even the state prosecutor called for the case to be terminated.
The charge could have resulted in Naki getting five years in jail. He argued that his Facebook post was intended as a message of peace.
He is currently under a 12-match ban imposed by the Turkish Football Federation for "ideological propaganda" linked to the Kurdish conflict.
Naki previously played for German clubs St Pauli and Paderborn, and was selected for the German under-21 squad.
"I'm happy and relieved," he said after his acquittal. "I could not assume, looking at how things are developing now in Turkey, that I would be acquitted."
Two left-wing German MPs, Cansu Ozdemir and Jan van Aken, flew to Diyarbakir - the trial venue - to show solidarity with Naki.
Mr van Aken, quoted by Bild, said the court verdict showed that "for once international pressure worked". He gave Naki a St Pauli team jersey bearing all the players' signatures.
Diyarbakir is a mainly Kurdish city wracked by political violence and it is where Naki's club Amed SK is based.
Naki has the Kurdish word for freedom - "azadi" - tattooed on one arm. On the other he has a tattoo reading "Dersim 62" - the traditional name for his ancestral town Tunceli and its vehicle number plate identifier.
The PKK says it is fighting for more Kurdish autonomy and ethnic rights, denying Turkish claims that it wants to create a separate state.


Offers of help so a couple dealing with terminal illness can get married has left the bride feeling "very emotional".

Sarah Lowndes, 40, from Derby, was told she had breast cancer several years ago and the cancer has since spread.
She and fiancÃ© David, whom she met when driving buses, have received many offers including catering, flowers, food and a wedding dress.
"I'm so grateful that so many strangers are willing to help," she said.
More on this story and other news in Derbyshire
She and her partner David Moore told the Derby Telegraph they had been unable to fund their wedding due to her illness.
Ms Lowndes, who has two children, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, before meeting Mr Moore two years later.
However, in 2013, she was told the cancer had returned and it had spread to her bones and liver.
She had to give up her job as a bus driver to undergo chemotherapy to keep the cancer stable.
She said despite everything, the pair were desperate to get married.
"Trying to save has been difficult because I've been bad and [David has] had to have time off work," she said.
A charity called Wish for a Wedding stepped in to help. It was started by Rachael Kirkwood to help provide weddings for couples dealing with terminal illness.
She said: "It's overwhelming the amount of support we get from the public on each wedding.
"There are so many kind and generous people out there in our local communities, willing to offer their service for free."
Ms Lowndes and Mr Moore are hoping to hold their wedding at the end of April or early May.


A former soldier from Edinburgh has been jailed for 12 years for a "horrifying" series of offences against children including rape and allowing a child to be raped.

Thomas Nelson, 54, abused four young children over a 10-year period beginning in the mid 1990s.
The offences happened at houses in the Granton, Broomhouse and Wester Hailes and at an address in Clackmannanshire.
Nelson was put on the sex offenders' register.
A judge told Nelson at the High Court in Edinburgh: "The course of conduct in which you indulged towards the children in question was quite appalling."
Lord Uist said two of the six charges he was found guilty on were "particularly despicable".
The judge said: "They involved you providing on several occasions a girl aged between four and six to other men so they could have sexual intercourse with her and on one occasion you had sexual intercourse with her yourself."
Lord Uist told ex-chef Nelson: "You no doubt are aware that the offences of which you were convicted are of such a grave nature that they must attract a long prison sentence."
Nelson, formerly of Pilrig Street, Edinburgh, had denied two charges of raping the girl in 2002 and 2003, a charge of assaulting her by permitting and encouraging other males to have sex with her and rape her between 2001 and 2003 and a charge of physically assaulting her.
He was found guilty of all the offences apart from one rape charge on which the jury returned a not proven verdict.
He was also found guilty of assaulting two young boys, one of whom had a gun put to his head and hot spoons put on his skin. He was also convicted of an indecency offence against another girl when she was 13 or 14 in 2006 and 2007.
During his trial he admitted a further four charges of neglecting children who were exposed to drugs and weapons.
Lord Uist told jurors at the conclusion of the trial that it had a "particularly unpleasant and distasteful case".
The jury was played footage of the rape victim, who is now 19, being questioned earlier about her experiences at the hands of Nelson who she said terrified her.
Defence counsel David Nicholson told that court that Nelson had formerly served in Northern Ireland with the Army.
He said: "He struggled having left the Army and he thinks his addiction to drink started at that point. He has had serious alcohol problems ever since."


The first indication of the level of cuts Transport for London (TfL) is facing have been unveiled in a leaked internal letter, sent to me.

Mayor Sadiq Khan promised in his manifesto that Londoners "won't pay a penny more for their travel in 2020 than they do today".
While many voters and at one point TfL assumed he meant all fares in London, including rail fares (which affects south London predominantly), actually it transpired he meant just TfL fares.
The mayor has defended himself, pointing repeatedly to another sentence in his manifesto which said he would freeze "TfL fares" and says he delivered on that promise.
Putting that long-running row to one side (and I doubt it will go away), the letter shows you the start of what the TfL fares freeze will mean.
And the point is the TfL fares freeze will cost £640m, so it now has to make efficiencies.
Those cuts are on top of the loss of Tfl's £591m government operational grant by 2018.
The letter is to all directors and band five managers - senior managers - and asks them if they want to be considered for redundancy.
It says: "TfL faces unprecedented financial challenge and we do not have enough money to continue as we are.
"We need to make our business sustainable and transport affordable for the millions who rely on us while protecting vital investment and day-to-day services.
"We need to set ourselves up for success by ensuring our organisation, and in particular our senior manager structure, is right for the future."
It goes on: "This is examining every element of what we do to eliminate unnecessary duplication, obtain greater value from procurement, cut reliance on agency staff and cut costs across all functions."
This is just the start of big changes at TfL.
Inevitably these redundancy trawls will become more common and probably affect all levels of staffing.


Arsenal will offer Jack Wilshere a new contract, says manager Arsene Wenger.

The midfielder, 24, has made nine Premier League appearances for Bournemouth since joining the Cherries on a season-long loan in August.
Wilshere has 18 months left on his Gunners deal, and Wenger said he has not spoken to the England international since he left on loan.
But, speaking of contract talks, Wenger said: "We have to plan that around the new year."
Wilshere has struggled with a number of injuries in recent seasons and made only three appearances for the Gunners in 2015-16.
In contrast, he has started Bournemouth's past eight league matches and was recently recalled by England, for whom he was an unused substitute against Scotland and Spain earlier this month.
"That's exactly what he needed - to have regular football, maybe not every three days but every week at the start," said Wenger.
"That has helped him a lot to develop and come back to the level he deserves to be at.
"He gets regular football and now on the observations I get from our people who watch him, he's getting stronger every week.
"I leave him to deal with his manager. I read the reports and when I can see highlights or watch him on television, I will watch him."
Eddie Howe's Bournemouth face Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday with Wilshere - who has said he wants the Cherries to win - ineligible to face his parent club.
"That is normal when you're committed to a club," added Wenger.
"When you sign for a club, you are committed to a project and you have to do well in that season."


The top of the three divisions look the same this week as they did last Saturday with Burnley, Burton and Northampton leading the way.

However, while it's 'as you were' at the top of the tables, the Football League still threw up it's fair share of talking points this week.
BBC Sport looks at five things you may have missed.
It's fair to say Massimo Cellino's time as Leeds United owner has been eventful.
The Italian has (amongst other things):
With all that in mind it's understandable that a few of the fans have grown somewhat disgruntled with the former Cagliari owner.
Last month a section of supporters projected images on to the side of one of the stands calling for Cellino to leave and today they took to the streets outside Elland Road to stage a mock funeral for their club.
The protests may have been in questionable taste, and were met with derision by a number of Leeds fans, but the players didn't let that bother them as they beat lowly Bolton 2-1.
There's not much Accrington manager John Coleman hasn't seen in his 46 years as a player and manager.
But this afternoon there was a first, even for Coleman.
With Stanley on the attack just before half-time at AFC Wimbledon, Billy Kee turned in the box and shot, finding the bottom corner.
As he did so, referee Trevor Kettle blew the whistle for half-time and disallowed the goal, evoking memories of Welsh referee Clive Thomas ruling out Zico's effort for Brazil against Sweden at the 1978 World Cup because he had blown the full-time whistle.
Cue protests from the Accrington players - and cheers from the Dons fans.
"I've never seen anything like it happen in all my years playing and managing," Coleman told BBC Radio Lancashire.
"He blew as the ball was on its way into the net: he said it was before. You can't account for that. Everyone in the ground is flabbergasted."
Accrington later had goalkeeper Ross Etheridge sent off but held on for a goalless draw against their League Two play-off rivals.
The Championship's bottom side Bolton might have slipped to another defeat but it was a good day for the other three teams in and around the relegation zone.
Second-bottom Charlton took just 19 seconds to open the scoring at Brentford and Callum Harriott's second of the game sealed a 2-1 win for the Addicks.
Third-bottom Rotherham made it back-to-back wins with a surprise 1-0 success at play-off chasing Sheffield Wednesday.
However, not to be outdone, MK Dons picked up a first win in four as they beat QPR 2-0 to remain three points clear of the relegation zone.
All that is bad news for Bristol City, who lost to rivals Cardiff, and Fulham, who drew at Reading, as they are now both just five points above the dotted line.
Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic confidently told BBC Radio London "I am sure we are not going to be relegated" on Friday. But if the teams below them keep winning he might yet be left ruing his words.
Potentially swapping places with one of the sides mentioned above are one of the Football League's form sides, Barnsley.
On 28 November the Tykes were propping up League One, with just five wins from their opening 20 games of the season.
Saturday's 3-1 win at fourth-placed Walsall saw them move up to sixth in the table.
Against the backdrop of a stunning run of form that has seen them win 12 of their last 15 league games, they've had to contend with manager Lee Johnson leaving for Bristol City and they've reached the final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.
The Oakwell fans sang 'It's like watching Brazil' as the South Yorkshire side earned promotion to the Premier League in 1997 and probably haven't had it this good since then.
Caretaker boss Paul Heckingbottom, who has won five of his seven games in charge, told BBC Radio Sheffield: "It was a great victory away from home at a team who are above us in the league.
"We were miles off first half, lacked intensity and we gave the ball away too cheaply so we told them to pass the ball and play with more intensity at half-time.
"The goals were fantastic in the second half but I still thought they still had too many shots on our goal. It was nowhere near what we are after."
Possibly the hardest man to please in football?
If at first you don't succeed try, try, again. Or in Dagenham's case try another 20 times.
Marooned at the bottom of the Football League and without a home win in all competitions since April 2015, the Daggers looked doomed this morning.
However, a 1-0 victory over second-bottom York has at least ended their near 11-month home hoodoo.
The bad news is 22nd placed Hartlepool won at Barnet meaning John Still's men remain seven points adrift of safety.
"The last four or five games I noticed an improvement and it was just that we lacked a bit of belief," Still told BBC Radio London.
"At the end of the day it's a win, and an important win. It's a win now that hopefully gives us a little bit of belief; we've got a lot of tough games to go."
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A teenager has killed eight people and wounded five others in a knife attack in China's Liaoning province, state media says.

The attack happened late on Wednesday in Yongling township, a Xinhua report said.
Those killed included two relatives of the suspect's girlfriend and six other people, the report said. The injured were receiving treatment, it added.
The suspect was detained by police at the scene.
State media said the 17-year-old killed two of his girlfriend's relatives "after having conflicts" with his girlfriend.
He killed the other six people "while fleeing the scene", it said.
No other details were immediately available.
Violent crime has been in the spotlight in China since a string of incidents in 2010 involving lone individuals targeting children in apparently random attacks.


A man may have died after taking the former legal high Spice, police say.

Avon and Somerset Police said paramedics found a 30-year-old man who had collapsed in Taunton on Wednesday afternoon. He later died.
Officers said they were looking at potential links between his death and the use of the psychoactive substance, a spokesman said.
Six other people at the same property in Wheatley Crescent were found ill but did not have to be taken to hospital.
A spokesman said they believed some of those affected may have taken Spice.
Det Insp Liz Hughes said anyone taking similar substances was "playing roulette with your health".


David Cameron has published details of his total earnings since 2009 and the tax paid on them in the wake of a row over profits he made from an offshore investment fund set up by his late father.

He is the first prime minister to make details of his financial affairs public in this way, prompting calls for other politicians to follow suit.
But what has he had to say about tax avoidance - which is legal - and tax evasion - which is illegal - in recent years?
April 2012: Sources close to the prime minister said Mr Cameron was "relaxed about the idea of the tax returns of senior cabinet ministers being published - but wants the opportunity to explore how this might work".
January 2015: "I am very relaxed about publishing these things. There's no secrets about my status. I am paid very handsomely as your prime minister and that's my main source of income, and I have a house I used to live in before I moved into Downing Street and I rent that out and I get income from that. I don't have other sources of income. There will be no surprises in terms of my tax affairs."
April 2016: "I will be publishing the information that goes into my tax return, not just for this year but the years gone past because I want to be completely open and transparent about these things. I will be the first prime minister, the first leader of a major political party, to do that and I think it is the right thing to do."
June 2012: Responding to media coverage of Jimmy Carr's tax arrangements amid claims the comedian was among a number of high-profile figures using legal but aggressive tax avoidance vehicles, Mr Cameron said:
"Frankly some of these schemes where people are parking huge amounts of money offshore and taking loans back to just minimise their tax rates is not morally acceptable.
"Some of these schemes we have seen are quite frankly morally wrong. People work hard, they pay their taxes, they save up to go to one of his shows. They buy the tickets.
"He is taking the money from those tickets and he, as far as I can see, is putting all of that into some very dodgy tax avoiding schemes."
June 2013: Announcing that the US, UK and other G8 members had agreed to a series of tax transparency agreements following a summit in Northern Ireland, Mr Cameron said:
"Let me commend Britain's NGOs and charities for the campaigning work they have done for years on campaigning against tax secrecy, campaigning for openness, campaigning for transparency in extractive industries.
"This is a cause I have long espoused and have long believed in.
"The declaration says that tax authorities across the world automatically share information, that companies should know who owns them, tax collectors and law enforcers should be able to get this information easily.
"These are really strong commitments that have never been written down in this sort of way and then signed. This is words on a page that the G8 is going to be judged on year after year after year."
June 2013: Announcing that the UK had reached an agreement with the UK's Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies to sign up to a tax evasion clampdown, Mr Cameron said:
"It is important we are getting our house in order. It is a very positive step forward and it means that Britain's voice in the G8, and campaigning on this issue around the world for proper taxes, proper companies, proper laws... will be stronger."
June 2013: Speaking at an event highlighting the damage that tax evasion does to global trade and developing countries, Mr Cameron said:
"The extraordinary thing about this tax, transparency and trade agenda is that it's not just the right thing for us to do morally it's right for our economies too.
"Because when some businesses don't pay their taxes, it corrodes public trust. When some companies don't play by the rules, that drives more regulation and makes it harder for other businesses to turn a profit...
"It means getting companies to report to tax authorities where they earn their profits and where they pay their tax. It also means transparency about who owns which companies and who benefits from it - so called beneficial ownership.
"Why? Because some people use complicated and fake structures to hide their profits and avoid taxes."


During World War Two, Britain led the world in its creation of machines that excelled at cracking codes used by its enemies.

Messages scrambled using the Enigma machine were cracked by devices largely designed by maths genius Alan Turing.
In addition, the Allies' preparations for D-Day were greatly helped by a pioneering computer called Colossus which helped to decipher messages passing between Hitler and his generals in hours. Without its help, reading those messages took weeks.
Colossus was kept secret for decades after the war and it is only recently that a full picture of its influence and engineering brilliance has become apparent.
But it was not the only code-cracking computer that Britain made. Steadily more details are emerging of the secret machines that came after Colossus and surpassed its ability to unscramble messages.
A total of 10 Colossi were made during WW2 and once hostilities ceased eight of them were broken up and the plans for them destroyed.
Two were kept and were used to help Britain's GCHQ keep cracking codes.
Bletchley veteran John Cane helped maintain the Colossi during the war and stayed on afterwards to oversee the two remaining machines move first to Eastcote in North London and then on to Cheltenham - where GCHQ is sited to this day.
Moving these delicate machines was a tense and nerve-racking experience, said Mr Cane.
"We called on the owner of an enormous crane and very gingerly the whole of this mass of switches and wiring was hoisted into the air and then lowered through a hole in the roof and then planted safely on the floor," he said.
Mr Cane told the BBC that the two Colossi, dubbed "Red" and "Blue", were extensively modified after 1945 to make them less prone to breaking down and to make it easier to input data.
Blue was kept true to its original purpose of targeting messages scrambled with the Lorenz enciphering machine that some nations were still using long after the war ended. The remaining machine, Red, was changed to be more general so it could be used against other targets.
But GCHQ's work on special-purpose machines did not stop with Colossus, said Mr Cane.
Between the end of WW2 and the early 1960s engineers at GCHQ finished work on machines called Aquarius and Robinson whose development had started in the huts at Bletchley. They also brought into being others called Colorob, Dragon, Johnson and Oedipus.
Prof Simon Lavington who has written extensively about early British computers said Oedpius was "quite a machine" in that it was probably faster and used more online storage than almost any other computer in existence at the time. It was one of the first to properly deserve the name of "supercomputer".
The first three letters of the machine's name, OED, gave a clue to its use, said Prof Lavington, in that it had a large dictionary at its core and was used to look up and compare words and phrases. It is thought this was used to target messages scrambled with systems that did not rely on machines to encrypt them.
Unfortunately the secrecy surrounding the machines had its downsides, said Mr Cane.
"What I do remember about Oedipus was that the two halves of the machine were built by two separate companies," he said, "and when they came to join them up they found that the interfaces did not match."
Despite this, GCHQ was a real centre of computer development and innovation, said Prof Richard Aldrich from the University of Warwick who wrote an unofficial history of the agency.
GCHQ's development of special purpose machines largely ended in the 1960s as powerful general purpose computers became available. As a result the development focus switched from hardware to software, said Prof Aldrich. Additional pressure to use such machines was added by the close relationship developing between UK and US spying agencies.
"Because essentially the story of GCHQ is that they wanted to co-operate with the US so they were pretty much the only government organisation that was allowed to buy IBM mainframes," he said. Other departments were mandated to buy from the government-backed computer company ICL in a bid to preserve home-grown technology.
GCHQ was also probably one of the first places in the UK to get a Cray supercomputer, he added.
That relationship with the US led GCHQ to become a place to store the huge amounts of telephone call data that American intelligence agencies were scooping up. This helped to cement the close relationship between GCHQ and the Post Office. For instance, he said, the two collaborated extensively on ways to automatically recognise who is talking during a phone call.
"It's not just about code-cracking," said Prof Aldrich. "Computerisation is fundamental to everything GCHQ does."


Manchester United are set to appoint Jose Mourinho as their new manager, BBC Sport understands.

It is believed a deal with the 53-year-old Portuguese was agreed in principle before United's FA Cup final win against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
With United failing to qualify for the Champions League under Louis van Gaal, the Old Trafford hierarchy is thought to have decided a change is required.
Mourinho has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in December.
The club plan to announce his arrival early next week after telling Van Gaal, 64, his reign has come to an end.
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In the post-match news conference following United's FA Cup win, the Dutchman said: "I show you the cup and I don't discuss it [my future] with my friends of the media, who already sacked me for six months. Which manager can do what I have done?"
When pressed on whether he will be at Old Trafford as manager of United next season, he replied: "I hope to see you. I don't want to talk about about leaving this club."
The Dutchman still has one season remaining on his three-year deal, but despite spending £250m on new players, his tenure has disappointed many fans, the club finishing fourth and then fifth in the Premier League.
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Van Gaal's grip on his job has seemed increasingly fragile this season, with Mourinho known to covet the task of masterminding a revival at United three years after legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down.
He was at heavyweight boxer David Haye's win in London on Saturday evening but repeatedly declined to comment on whether he was about to succeed Van Gaal.
Mourinho is one of the game's most successful coaches, winning three league titles in his two spells at Stamford Bridge, as well as guiding Porto and Inter Milan to Champions League victories in 2004 and 2010 respectively.
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He also led Real Madrid to the Spanish La Liga title in 2012, and his arrival will mean a mouthwatering resumption of his rivalry with former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard will take over at United's arch-rivals Manchester City this summer.
Having sacked previous manager David Moyes just 10 months after he succeeded Ferguson, United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was desperate for Van Gaal to see out his contract.
Some senior figures at United were also known to have serious reservations about the prospect of the controversial Mourinho, with some preferring Ryan Giggs as an alternative.
The Welshman, who made a record 963 appearances for the club, took over as manager on an interim basis in April 2014 following the sacking of Moyes, and was understood to be keen on the job.
In February, however, BBC Sport revealed that United had held talks with Mourinho's representatives, and they have now come to fruition.
Woodward - and United's American owners, the Glazer family - still hoped Van Gaal would lead the club to a top-four finish - and up until last month Mourinho's advisers were concerned the club might remain loyal to the Dutch coach.
But fans were not convinced by Van Gaal's tactics. The club's 49 goals in the Premier League this season was United's lowest total since 1989-90, coincidentally a season that also ended with an FA Cup final win over Crystal Palace.
There were occasional high points, not least Van Gaal's theatrical dive in front of the dug-outs during the 3-2 win over Arsenal in February as he accused the Gunners of diving.
But since collecting only three points in six games at the end of 2015, Van Gaal has been under intense pressure.
He has accused the media and former players of "sacking him", and cited injuries as the reason why United have been unable to sustain a title challenge.
Nevertheless, Van Gaal's side still had Champions League qualification in their own hands 14 minutes from the end of their penultimate Premier League game at West Ham, only to concede two late goals, lose 3-2 and allow Manchester City to claim the fourth qualifying slot.
And, after members of the United hierarchy suggested in December that the season was 80% about the Premier League, it is the failure to qualify for the Champions League that has appeared to seal Van Gaal's fate.
Despite his track record, some will question United's decision to appoint Mourinho.
He was sacked by Chelsea in December just seven months after leading them to the Premier League title, with their season overshadowed by a spectacular slump in form and issues off the pitch that included a public fallout with club doctor Eva Carneiro.
Ultimately, however, United appear to have decided it is a risk worth taking.
Mourinho has never hidden his admiration for United - and for Ferguson. Now it seems he will have the opportunity to follow in his footsteps.
The appointment will mean some long overdue issues can be dealt with, not least whether the club's second longest-serving player Michael Carrick should be awarded a new contract.
It remains to be seen what Giggs will do.
Having served under Moyes and Van Gaal, the prospect of continuing his apprenticeship under a third United boss may not appeal.
It remains to be seen whether the club can find an alternative role for their most decorated player.
Giggs would not be short of offers if he decided to join the management ranks.
But many of the Welshman's former team-mates - most recently close friend Gary Neville at Valencia - have not found management easy.
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Plans to ban smoking in school and hospital grounds and playgrounds in Wales should also extend to outside all nurseries, GP practices, playing fields and sports grounds, a health promotion body has told AMs.

Public Health Wales (PHW) officials were responding to Welsh Government plans launched in November.
PHW backed moves to restrict smoking but said ministers should go further.
The body was giving evidence to the assembly's health committee.
The proposals are part of the Welsh Government's second attempt to bring in the Public Health Bill, that does not include a controversial ban on e-cigarettes in some enclosed places.
Ministers hope the legislation will be passed by May.
PHW's submission to the committee said: "We would suggest that there would need to be a clear definition of 'playground' and that 'schools' should include early years educational settings such as nurseries (private and public).
"In the case of schools and playgrounds this should include the perimeter of these settings otherwise the intended impact of the restrictions is unlikely to be achieved i.e. if parents or other adults are permitted to smoke at the perimeter of a playground or at the school gates in clear view of children this will not impact on the intended goal of 'denormalisation' (reduce smoking being modelled to children as normal behaviour).
"We would also propose that the restrictions should not be limited to hospitals but should include the grounds of premises used predominately for the delivery of healthcare to include community health facilities and primary care."
Currently, the Welsh Government plans to ban smoking within five meters of playground equipment "due to this being beyond the distance of potential second hand smoke harm from a single cigarette, plus an additional buffer to protect against weather elements".
On Wednesday, PHW Director of Health Improvement Dr Julie Bishop told the committee that a broader definition of a "playground" was needed.
"If we're narrowing that definition to, literally be play equipment; so I presume by that we mean things like slides and swings and those kind of things, that's actually quite a small area of what most of us would consider to be playgrounds in the broader sense," she said.
"So I would encourage playing fields and sports grounds to be included in that definition."


Patients will be able to consult with their GP using a smartphone and monitor their conditions via mobile apps, as part of a Welsh government strategy.

There will be more opportunity to book appointments online while people will be able to access their health records over the internet.
NHS staff will also be expected to use mobile devices to access, collect and transmit data quickly.
Plaid Cymru welcomed the plan, but warned it would take time to introduce.
Ministers want to put digital technology "at the heart" of NHS care.
Under the five-year strategy, people in Wales can expect to:
Free Wi-Fi will also be made available at all NHS Wales hospital sites for patients, visitors and staff to use.
Launching the new strategy, Health Minister Mark Drakeford said digital technology was now "an important part of our everyday lives".
"Our vision is for more interactive, personalised health and social services, allowing people to access services wherever and whenever it's convenient to them."
He said patients are often the experts in their own conditions and giving them more control over their care and access to their records could help improve their health.
Tony Rucinski, chief executive of the Board of Community Health Councils, which look after the interests of patients, called the strategy's aspirations  "really exciting", but said getting "an awful lot of different organisations" to work together on it would be a "challenge".
"We've got dense population bases, we've got rural communities, we've got challenges where people find it difficult to access healthcare, there are ideas and technologies out there that could transform that, free up resources and get the whole thing working so much better, that's got to be a good thing," he said.
Plaid Cymru AM Llyr Gruffydd urged ministers to make clear it would take a "long, long time" to make such changes, although he added they would ultimately mean a "more effective service" for patients.
Conservative Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar said: "Anything that improves access to GPs and other medical services is desperately needed in Wales but outcomes will only improve if the services are there in the first place."
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Hundreds of rabbits have been abandoned by owners bored with looking after them, according to the Scottish SPCA .

The animal welfare charity rescued 728 rabbits in 2014 and has already taken 550 into care this year.
The Scottish SPCA, which is holding its annual rabbit awareness week, said it was concerned hundreds more were living lonely lives in small hutches.
It said they are intelligent, social animals, requiring lots of care and interaction from their owners.
Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: "One of the most common excuses we hear is that the children in the family, who asked for the rabbit in the first place, have become fed up now that the novelty of the new pet has worn off.
"Another reason is that the owner simply doesn't have the time to look after their rabbit.
"One of the biggest issues is rabbits being left in a hutch with no interaction other than a brief visit from their owner to bring food and water."
He added: "These poor rabbits are literally suffering in silence, living a miserable and lonely life."
The Scottish SPCA hopes to rehome many of the rabbits it has taken in.
Last year, an animal welfare scientist said the pets needed better legal protection against neglect.
James Oxley said that unlike some EU countries, the UK does not have legal requirements on the size of hutches, or that rabbits be kept in pairs.
Writing in the World Rabbit Science Association's journal, he suggested a review of how existing laws impact on rabbits.
Scottish organisation Rabbits Require Rights has also been calling for greater legal protection for the pets.
It said rabbits were the UK's third most popular pet, but were the most neglected.


Steve Bruce has thanked Hull City fans for their "unwavering" support and says he resigned as manager on Friday "for the sake of the club".

Bruce joined the Tigers in 2012 and led them to promotion to the Premier League twice and also an FA Cup final.
His resignation followed a breakdown in his relationship with vice-chairman Ehab Allam.
"It was a decision I had to make for the sake of the club," he said in an open letter to the Hull Daily Mail.
"The last 12 months have been very tough and it felt like the right step for the club to move forward in a different direction and with someone else in charge."
Hull's owners put plans to sell the club on hold on Wednesday to "ensure stability in the transfer window", with the senior squad reduced to only 13 fit players.
Bruce continued: "It is rare for a manager to have the backing I've had from fans. It's been unwavering.
"One of the abiding memories was the reaction of supporters the day we were relegated on the final day of the 2014-15 season.
"They applauded us off the pitch when you'd expect them to have been ripping the roof off."
At an event to reveal a new "club-record" sponsorship deal, Hull midfielder Mohamed Diame admitted he was "really surprised" by Bruce's decision to leave.
"As everyone knows he was an important man for us here and everybody's sad, but life continues," he told BBC World Service.
"I knew it was going to be a tough pre-season because we had a lot of injuries and we didn't see any new players come in, but I wasn't expecting him to leave.
"The most important thing is now is to get players, to be honest. We have got too many injuries and the squad is not big enough so we need players.
"We need to bring some players to support us to get a bit of stability because at the moment we are not stable."


Daniel Craig was "just being sarcastic" when he said he wanted to "move on" from playing James Bond, according to his co-star Naomie Harris.

"Daniel lives and breathes Bond," said the actress, who will reprise her role as Moneypenny in the new film Spectre, which comes out later this month.
Time Out magazine recently quoted Craig as saying he would "rather slash [his] wrists" than make a fifth Bond film.
Harris, though, said the actor's words had been "blown out of proportion".
"It was not as he intended it," she told BBC News, claiming her co-star's "sense of humourâ€¦ doesn't come across particularly well in print".
Speaking at a promotional event for technology that features in Sam Mendes' film, she continued: "He's so dedicated to his craft and he loves playing Bond.
"It's easy to take something that someone says in passing and blow it completely out of proportion. I think that's what's happened here, so I don't really believe those comments at all."
Craig's remarks, made shortly after Spectre completed shooting in July, have ignited speculation over who will play Bond if the 47-year-old should relinquish the role.
Damian Lewis, Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch are among those who have been suggested as potential successors.
According to Harris, however, Craig is "the ultimate Bond" and "it wouldn't be Bond without him".
Spectre, the 24th instalment in the official Bond series, will have its world premiere at London's Royal Albert Hall on 26 October.
Harris, 39, said she had yet to see the film but had heard Writing's On the Wall, Sam Smith's chart-topping theme song.
"I think that it's great and will have even more impact and meaning once it's put into context," she said.
Harris stars in a new advertisement for a Sony camera and phone, in which she has a Bond-style adventure on London's South Bank.
The advert was directed by Daniel Kleinman, who designed the title sequences for Casino Royale, Skyfall and all the Bond films in which Pierce Brosnan appeared.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star said shooting the promo on London's South Bank had allowed her to make use of the stunt training she undertook for Skyfall.
"It was great to be out there in the field on a mission and experience what it would be like to be Bond," she said.


Guyana's President Donald Ramotar says there will be an investigation into the deaths of at least three people during clashes between police and protesters.

Demonstrators protesting against rising electricity prices in the town of Linden said police had fired bullets and tear gas into the crowd.
During the clashes, several buildings were burned and the governing PPPC party said its offices were damaged.
Protesters say rampant poverty makes it impossible for them to pay more.
Opposition party Alliance For Change (AFC) said the unrest in Linden could spread to other parts of the country.
"These killings have taken us to a tipping point of serious and widespread social and civil unrest," an AFC spokesperson said.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said there had been a reduction in the electricity subsidy which drove up the prices.
But Mr Hinds said residents of Linden were no worse off than those of other towns.
"Linden is no more depressed, no less depressed, no more prosperous, no less prosperous, than many other places in Guyana," he said.
Correction 6 September 2012 : An earlier version mistakenly reported that protesters had burned down the offices of the governing party and an electricity plant.


Tottenham Hotspur have completed the £26m club-record signing of striker Roberto Soldado from Valencia.

The 28-year-old has signed a four-year contract after passing a medical and becomes Spurs' third summer signing.
Soldado has 11 caps for Spain and scored 30 goals in 46 appearances for Valencia last season.
Soldado helped Spain reach the final of the Confederations Cup last month, scoring in the group win over Uruguay. He was an unused substitute in the final as Spain lost 3-0 to hosts Brazil.
A Spurs statement said: "We are delighted to confirm the signing of Roberto Soldado from Valencia after he successfully completed his medical."
Soldado is expected to be available for Tottenham's final pre-season friendly, which is against Espanyol at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
The club's previous transfer record was the signing of midfielder Paulinho from Corinthians for nearly £17m earlier this summer. Spurs have also added winger Nacer Chadli from FC Twente for a fee thought to be around £7m.
Soldado was born in Valencia but began his career at Real Madrid, scoring 63 goals in 120 league appearances for their B side, Real Madrid Castilla.
He joined his hometown club three years ago after a spell at Getafe and went on to score 80 goals in 146 appearances for Valencia.
Soldado has also become an established member of the Spanish national squad and helped his country to the runners-up spot at this summer's Confederations Cup.
His arrival will boost an attack that has only Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor as recognised first-team centre-forwards.


Seam bowler James Harris says "the dream is still there" to play for England.

The 25-year-old would end a decade without a Welsh-born player in the England side if he was selected.
Harris is Middlesex's leading County Championship wicket-taker in 2015 with 58 victims in the first 12 matches.
"It would be great for me, great for everyone back at home and great for everyone here [Middlesex] to see me in England colours one day," he said.
Harris has reached England limited-overs squads and frequently featured for the second-string England Lions side.
His efforts this season include a spectacular career-best 9-34 against Durham.
Simon Jones' England career ended during the Ashes triumph of 2005, while Geraint Jones, who was born in Papua New Guinea to Welsh parents, played his final Test in December 2006.
Harris believes he now has a good chance of making one of the senior England sides.
"Hopefully I'm climbing up the ladder the right way now instead of the last two years going the wrong way down it," Harris added.
"I got close, but at the end of last season found myself a long way away so being talked about now in the company of bowlers that England have now is very pleasing.
"I've still got a lot of work to do, I can still bowl a heck of a lot better than I'm bowling now, and that'll come, bowling more overs and getting my action bedded back into how I'd like it.
"If I can build in a bit of extra pace from the gym and a few places over the next winter then hopefully I'll be bowling even better come this time next season.
"We'll see what happens, but I'm really pleased with the form I've shown this year. The dream is still there to play for England."
Swansea-born Harris moved to Middlesex in 2013 in search of first division cricket, but did not benefit from attempts to re-model his bowling action, and ended up back at Glamorgan for a spell in 2014.
"I loved coming back, it was a shame I didn't come back with my best form for a couple of weeks, but managed to bowl okay and that started the process of gleaning some form and bowling well this year."
"Obviously I'm still close to people back home, that part of the world will always be home to me and once we finish the season I'll spend a bit more time there."


Carl Frampton's hopes of Belfast hosting a third fight against Leo Santa Cruz have been dealt a blow after comments from the world champion.

Santa Cruz regained the featherweight title last month after winning the rematch with Frampton, who wants a trilogy fight in his home city.
Jose Santa Cruz, the father and trainer of the Mexican, has advised his son not to take on Frampton in Belfast.
"If he says no, I wouldn't go there. I do what he tells me," said Santa Cruz.
Frampton won the first fight in New York before losing for the first time in his professional career in the Las Vegas rematch.
"I'm hoping that Leo sticks to his word and comes to Belfast like he said. He can make it happen," said Frampton following the points defeat.
However, that now looks unlikely after Santa Cruz spoke to Villainfy Media.
He added: "My dad is scared that if I go over there, and even if I beat Carl Frampton, the people and the judges are going to be an influence.
"He thinks that even if I beat him I'll have the victory taken away from me.
"My dad says not to go over there, because it would be a really bad decision and, you know, he is right and everything. But if I go over there and I get the win and beat him, for all the fans to see that I win, that's all that matters. Hopefully they see that I win and they give me that.
"It's very important, he's my father, he's been there my whole life, my whole career. I always listen to my dad."


An optometrist who claimed laser eye surgery was "mandatory" for RAF pilots has been suspended for 12 months.

John Margetts made the claim to an undercover BBC reporter at a Bristol branch of Optical Express.
The firm said it dismissed Mr Margetts in September 2015 following an internal investigation and disciplinary hearing.
Mr Margetts was found to be dishonest and his fitness for practice impaired at a General Optical Council hearing on Friday.
During the undercover filming, for the BBC programme Inside Out, Mr Margetts claimed fighter pilots were required to have laser eye surgery. The RAF said the claim was not true.
When asked if the procedure was "100% safe", he replied: "Oh yeah".
Mr Margetts told the BBC he must have "misheard" the question about whether the treatment was 100% safe. He added that he always explained the potential risks of the procedure.
He said he was not told to make the claim by Optical Express.
The firm said it prioritises patient care and safety, and Mr Margetts' statements ran counter to its best practise.
A spokesman added Mr Margetts was suspended from his duties when the firm became fully aware of this matter, and dismissed on 9 September 2015.
Mr Margetts was suspended from practise following a four-day hearing at the General Optical Council. He now has a right to appeal the decision.


John Hartson has warned Wales to avoid complacency after their winning start to the the 2018 World Cup campaign.

The 4-0 win over Moldova put Wales top of Group D after the opening qualifiers.
With Austria, Serbia and the Republic of Ireland also in their group, Hartson urged Wales to stay focussed
"I think it's a very open group. Serbia away is a very difficult place to go, two years ago we went there and lost 6-1," said ex-Wales frontman Hartson.
"The Republic of Ireland are a very decent team now under Martin O'Neill too. Martin's teams are always very difficult to beat.
"They showed great character last night to come back for a 2-2 draw in Serbia which was result which suited Wales, of course, because you want teams to take points off each other.
"But Austria beat Georgia 2-1 and Austria have got some really good players themselves.  Next month we go to Vienna, then a few days later play Georgia at home, there is still an awful lot of work to do.
"It's such an open group, but Wales have had a great start."
Wales head to Vienna on October 6 and then entertain Georgia at Cardiff City Stadium three days later.
The national side, who are looking to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since 1958, has in the past struggled against some of the so-called smaller nations.
And despite his warnings about complacency following Wales' epic surge to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 back in July, Hartson, who earned 51 caps in his international career, believes that, under Coleman, Wales are a very different side from the one prone to fall short in the past.
"We are a confident team now and we should be with the players we have," Hartson told BBC Radio Wales.
"But there is that warning of complacency and Chris will be drumming into the lads that that won't be accepted and the players themselves will know that over the years in games like Georgia away and Moldova away we have struggled.
"But there is a different mentality in this group."


The winning design for Scotland's baby boxes has been revealed.

Graphic Design student Leanne Young won the competition with a forest fairy tale design featuring Highland cows, squirrels and the Loch Ness Monster.
It will feature on boxes to be given to every newborn baby from this summer until March 2019.
More than 70 students applied for the design competition, being run by the V&A Dundee, to decide what the boxes will look like.
One other design, by Marwa Ebrahim from Glasgow School of Art, was also highly commended by the judges.
The boxes, which are being piloted in Clackmannanshire and Orkney, will contain items including bedding, clothing and toys.
Ms Young, from Edinburgh Napier University, will receive a prize of Â£1,000 and "exclusive mentoring" from leading Scottish designers Holly Fulton and Scott Jarvie.
She said she was delighted her design would feature on Scotland's first baby box.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience from concept to realisation and hope that young families will interact with the design I have created," she said.
"It's really exciting to be involved with the entire process and I've appreciated all the support and encouragement I have received from my mentors so far.
"The course at Edinburgh Napier has allowed me to develop my graphic design skills and allowed me to participate in this exciting new government initiative."
Judges praised Ms Young's high contrast illustration which they said was "visually stimulating" for babies. The images can also be customised by each individual family.
Early Years Minister Mark McDonald said: "It was an extremely difficult task trying to pick an overall winner but the judges were in agreement that Leanne's concept should be the first ever design for Scotland's baby box.
"Not only is it incredibly interactive, allowing families to customise and decorate the box throughout the years, it also acts as a multi-purpose memory capsule. It has space to record key milestones, a family tree and even the baby's handprints or footprints.
"Although all babies born in Scotland will receive one of these boxes I am extremely pleased that each one will be completely unique to every family."


The Prince of Wales, on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, has warned of the deliberate destruction of "mankind's cultural heritage".

Prince Charles was presenting a digital replica of what could be oldest fragment of the Koran, discovered last year by the University of Birmingham.
In a written foreword, he hailed this "extraordinary" manuscript.
But he warned "so much of mankind's cultural heritage is being deliberately destroyed or threatened".
Prince Charles said these "remarkable leaves... represent a sacred document of immense of religious and cultural significance to people across the globe".
The display launches a year of cultural collaboration between the UK and the UAE, with the replica of the Koran fragments being presented to the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Prince Charles said the manuscript's discovery had  "captured the world's imagination".
"At a time when so much of mankind's cultural heritage is being deliberately destroyed or threatened, we can only be heartened by the discovery of a previously unrecognised treasure," he wrote.
The so-called Islamic State group has deliberately smashed historical artefacts and cultural sites in Iraq and Syria.
The original Koran fragment, at least 1,370 years old, remains in the University of Birmingham.
The university had held the manuscript since the 1920s, but when it was radio-carbon dated last year it was found to be much older than anyone had expected.
The range of dates, established by tests carried out by the University of Oxford, showed that the manuscript was among the earliest surviving fragments of the Koran and could be the oldest in existence.
The parchment, with verses of the Koran written on either sheep or goatskin, was put on public display in Birmingham.
But for the first time, a digital replica of the manuscript has been taken out of the UK and is being put on show at events in the United Arab Emirates.
It will also mark the symbolic return, at least in replica form, of a manuscript that was made in the Middle East in the earliest years of the Muslim faith.
An investigation into the likely origin of the Birmingham manuscript showed that it was related to a similar document held in Paris, which had been brought to Europe by a vice-consul of Napoleon.
The Birmingham manuscript had been acquired in the 1920s by Alphonse Mingana, an Assyrian, from what is now modern-day Iraq, whose collecting trips to the Middle East were funded by the Cadbury family.
The university's vice-chancellor, Sir David Eastwood, said the Birmingham Koran manuscript was of "huge significance to Muslim heritage and the academic study of Islam".
But he said that there might be other "hidden treasures" in the Mingana Collection at the university, which represented one of the biggest collections of such material in Europe.
There have been claims that the fragment in Birmingham is of even greater significance in the history of the Koran.
Jamal bin Huwaireb, managing director of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, an educational foundation set up by the ruler of Dubai, said that he believes the pages discovered in Birmingham are from the first Koran commissioned by Abu Bakir Al Siddiq, the first caliph after the Prophet Muhammad, who reigned between 632 and 634.
"I personally examined this ancient parchment. In my opinion these fragments of the holy Koran were neatly written on a special material and have been produced for someone important such as the caliph.
"What is most particularly crucial is that the words in this ancient document perfectly match the words we Muslims read in the Koran today," said Mr bin Huwaireb.


An Edinburgh street is to be overhauled in a £700,000 renovation project to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the National Museum of Scotland.

The work in Chambers Street, which will see the creation of a piazza, will start on Sunday.
Part of the plans will see the relocation of the existing statue of 19th Century Lord Provost William Chambers.
There will also be the removal of 40 car park spaces that line the street.
The removal of the parking bays will make way for a pedestrianised area, which will double as a performance space during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The street will be closed on Sunday all day to allow the existing statue of William Chambers to be moved temporarily in preparation for the works.
Dr Gordon Rintoul, director of National Museums Scotland, said the project would be completed in the summer.
He said: "All major cities have a quality public realm and the plans to redefine the use of the public space in Chambers Street will provide just that - an appropriate setting in keeping with the prominence of the buildings and a much enhanced public space for people to meet and enjoy events.
"This space will create a new focus for cultural activity in association with the museum and our many partners."
The project will be funded by Edinburgh city council, National Museums Scotland Charitable Trust, Edinburgh University and a group of private donors.


Britain's Peter Kennaugh won stage seven of the Criterium du Dauphine, but defending champion Chris Froome lost time on leader Richie Porte.

Team Sky rider Kennaugh rode solo to the win on Alpe d'Huez, pulling away from compatriot Ben Swift in the final three kilometres to win by 13 seconds.
Australia's Porte attacked at the end to gain 23 seconds on Britain's Froome, who stays second.
He leads the Briton by one minute two seconds before Sunday's final stage.
That will see riders tackle a punishing mountainous trek which ends on the summit of the Plateau de Solaison.
"To win at L'Alpe d'Huez is better than being an Olympic champion," said Isle of Man rider Kennaugh, who won gold at London 2012 as part of the team's pursuit.
The Tour de France, of which Froome is a three-time winner, starts on 1 July.
1.  Peter Kennaugh (GB/Team Sky)               4hr 43min 59secs
2.  Ben Swift (GB/UAE Team Emirates)           +13 secs
3.  Jesus Herrada (Spa/Movistar)                  +1min 11secs
4.  Jelle Vanendert (Bel/Lotto)                 +1min 13secs
5.  Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R)                     +1min 14secs
6.  Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing)             +1min 56secs
7.  Jakob Fuglsang (Den/Astana)                    Same time
8.  Andrew Talansky (US/Cannondale)               +2min 04secs
9.  Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek)                  Same time
10. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana)                        +2min 13secs
Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky)        +2min 19secs
1.  Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing) 25 hr 38mins 29secs
2.  Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky)     +1min 02secs
3.  Jakob Fuglsang (Den/Astana)     +1min 15secs
4.  Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana)            +1min 41secs
5.  Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +1min 43secs
6.  Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek)       +1min 55secs
7.  Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R)         +2min 07secs
8.  Daniel Martin (Ire/Quick-Step)  +2min 31secs
9.  Emanuel Buchmann (Ger/BORA)     +2min 53secs
10. Andrew Talansky (US/Cannondale)   +3min 43secs


England's Paul Waring carded seven birdies in an opening round of 64 to take the lead at the Open de France.

The 32-year-old former English Amateur champion finished the first round in Paris two shots clear of compatriot Nathan Kimsey, Belgium's Thomas Pieters and Alexander Bjork of Sweden.
Tommy Fleetwood continued his good recent form with an opening round of 67 - one of three players on four under.
"I gave myself some real chances and took them," said world 279 Waring.
Another Englishman, Andy Sullivan, went round Le Golf National - venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup - in 68.
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, a former champion, and Wales' Bradley Dredge are among those a further shot behind after rounds of 69.
Waring is competing this season on a medical exemption because of back problems which meant he only started four tournaments last year.


A man has admitted killing a woman and her daughter who were found dead at a house in Derbyshire.

Christopher Whelan, 21, admitted the killings after the bodies of Julie Hill, 51, and her mother Rose, 75, were discovered in Shirebrook in February.
Whelan appeared at Nottingham Crown Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter.
The defendant, of Dransfield Road, Sheffield, is due to be sentenced on Friday.
Updates on this story and more from Derbyshire
Officers said Julie Hill lived at the address in Station Road, Shirebrook, while her mother lived in Sheffield.


There I was, walking to the railway station, minding my own business, when... bam!

Our song.
That's the gamble you take when you set your device to "random". Sometimes you get good songs, sometimes you get bad ones. Sometimes you get songs that remind you of someone that was once in your life.
I skipped it. Buddy Holly saved my mood, and saved the day.
Until home time. Hopping on to the Tube, press play. It was back. Our song.
Twice in one day? What did it mean? What was the universe trying to tell me?  It was almost Valentine's Day - should I get back in touch?
How Random is Random? can be listened to on this week's episode of Tech Tent on the BBC World Service.
Don't be daft.
Skip.
When we attach so much of our own emotion, be it a place, memory or person, into the songs we cherish, eerie coincidences brought up by shuffle or random functions can be unsettling.
Or in some cases just irritating. Five thousand songs, and it brings up three tracks by the same artist in quick succession? Come on now, that can't be right. This is supposed to be random!
Except, of course, it is random. Our brains just don't like it.
At the music-streaming service Spotify, developers have applied their finest chin-strokers to the issue. Users were complaining, they said, that their shuffle function was not random at all.
"Our brain is an excellent pattern-matching device," said Babar Zafar, a lead developer at Spotify, in an interview for Tech Tent on the BBC World Service.
"It will find patterns where there aren't any."
Users were complaining in their droves, he said, that Spotify was somehow forcing music upon them. Conspiracies included the idea that record labels had struck up some kind of deal to make sure some artists are heard more than others. Mr Zafar dismissed that thought as hogwash.
"The problem is that, to humans, truly random does not feel random," said Mattias Johansson, a Spotify software engineer, in a response on the question-and-answer site Quora.
"So we got tons of complaints from users about it not being random.
"Last year, we updated it with a new algorithm that is intended to feel more random to a human."
The fact is that the human brain, for all its brilliance, is a sucker for coincidences. And more importantly, given the topic of this article, the brain is also keen to believe that something not happening for a long time makes it more likely to happen next time.
The theory is known as the Gambler's Fallacy or the Monte Carlo Fallacy, owing to one memorable night in 1913 when the roulette ball fell on black 26 times in a row.
Players at the table were betting huge amounts in disbelief, expecting the normal "random" order of the world to be set right with each spin.
The very foundations of the billion-dollar casinos of Las Vegas are built on the fallacy. There is a pernickety bit of our brain that thinks if we did not win the last five hands of blackjack we are surely going to get lucky when the next hand is dealt.
When applied to how songs pop up on our music players, the fallacy means we, for some reason, think it less random when two similar songs play.
It is a lack of uniform distribution that throws us off, writes Martin Fiedler - a programmer who describes himself as an "average nerd".
Consider a playlist of 32 songs, he says, split almost evenly into three genres - 10 of genre A and 11 each of genre B and C.
A truly random playlist might spit out something like this: AACBBCBACABBCCACCCCABBACBACABABB
It is random, but it sure will not feel like it - and that block of four Cs in the middle there might be annoying. Particularly if they are jazz.
"This example, short as it is, already exhibits the two main problems of random shuffle algorithms," writes Mr Fielder.
"The first one is the burst of four adjacent C's in the middle of the sequence, the second one is the lack of B's in that area (there's no B for 8 slots, which is quarter of the whole sequence!)."
So here is how Spotify solved the problem.
What our brains actually crave from "random" is that the three genres get spread nicely over the playlist.
Which, after a lot of mathematical magic, is what Spotify does now.
"Suppose we have a playlist containing some songs by The White Stripes, The xx, Bonobo, Britney Spears and Jaga Jazzist.
"For each artist we take their songs and try to stretch them as evenly as possible along the whole playlist."
Spotify's algorithm takes into account how long a playlist is, and how many of each type of song there are. So if there are four White Stripes songs in the list, they will each appear at roughly 25% intervals.
There is no chaos here - instead a highly structured and sophisticated way to trick your brain into thinking it is getting a great mix of shuffled tracks... that may or may not remind you of your ex.
Skip.
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC


In the summer months, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is as firm a fixture on our beaches as the ice cream man.

And despite the unpredictable weather, it is still peak season for both.
The charity is calling on people to take care when they are in the water and to go to beaches manned by RNLI lifeguards.
About 50 volunteers man the RNLI's 10 lifeboat stations across Northern Ireland.
Last year, they helped rescue 497 people on the coastline, inland areas and beaches across Northern Ireland.
Jonathan Weston has been a volunteer crew member at RNLI Portrush for seven years.
Like many volunteers, he balances his charity work with a full-time job.
"We work one week on, one week off, so obviously in my week off it gives me plenty of opportunity to get stuck in with the crew, to do the training and go out on the shouts," he said.
"It's just something I've always done, I've always been interested in the sea."
On what it takes to become an RNLI volunteer, he said: "You need to give a lot of dedication.
"There's a lot of work goes on behind the scenes with all the training and fundraising."
While he has taken part in dozens of rescues, each one presents its own unique challenges, said Jonathan.
"A couple of times it's been quite hairy but you try not to think about it. You just get on with it and do what you need to do.
"Every shout is different, you never know what you're going out to," he added.
"I get a great satisfaction out of helping people. It's always good for the community of Portrush too, putting a little back in."
The busiest day so far this year for the RNLI on the north coast was on 19 July when 38,500 people visited the eight beaches in the area that the charity looks after.
On that day there were five rescues carried out, 16 missing people were reported and 11 received first aid treatment.
The charity's lifeguards and lifeboat crews respond to everything from slips and stings to major open water search operations.
But they said it is often rip currents that put people in danger.
Karl O'Neill is the RNLI lifeguard supervisor for the Causeway Coast.
"People get out of their depth and then they panic, not aware of their surroundings," he said.
"The ocean isn't a swimming pool, there are things going on under the surface that you don't see on the surface.
"That's where we need to educate people more in those dangers."
Mr O'Neill said the season has been "surprisingly busy" despite the mixed summer weather.
"When the weather is good the beaches are busy and that keeps the lifeguards and the lifeboat busy too," he said.
Giving advice on water safety, he said: "If you're going to a beach, please go to an RNLI-lifeguarded beach.
"We have a red and yellow flag system to show the safest area to bathe for the day."
He stressed that the RNLI is there to help: "If you have any questions, approach the lifeguards who are experts in their field and will be happy to answer questions.
"If you're going to go out on a boat, please wear a life jacket and if you're ever in distress call the coastguard."


Captain Marc Richards would "love to stay" at Northampton Town but says his future is the hands of chairman Kelvin Thomas and boss Justin Edinburgh.

The 34-year-old scored his 12th goal of the season against League One leaders Sheffield United on Saturday.
But the striker, who has made 181 Cobblers appearances over two spells, is out of contract in the summer.
"I wouldn't have moved my family to the area if I didn't think there was a connection there," said Richards.
"Hopefully I'll pick a couple more goals before the end of the season. Who knows what might happen?"
Saturday's 2-1 defeat by the Blades - promoted to the Championship as a consequence - left Edinburgh's side six points above the relegation places with five games remaining.
And Richards has said the club are not "safe at the moment" going into Friday's match away at play-off hopefuls Millwall.
"We still need a point at least," Richards told BBC Radio Northampton.
"It's going to be tough at Millwall - they're doing OK in the league and it's always a hard place to go. We'll do well to get anything from there."


Beware of headlines which suggest scientists are "on the brink of HIV cure", or "HIV cure close".

They grab the attention - which is of course the aim of a headline - but talk of a breakthrough is premature.
The Sunday Times reported that a British man with HIV was receiving a prototype therapy designed to eradicate the virus from his body.
Early tests from the clinical trial have apparently shown no signs of the virus in his blood.
That may sound astonishing unless you know that conventional antiretroviral therapy (ART) - which the patient was also taking - already reduces HIV to undetectable levels.
Sarah Fidler, Prof of HIV Medicine at Imperial College London, who is leading the trial, told me: "All the participants are taking antiretrovirals and so will have an undetectable viral load, which shows the great success of current treatment."
It does indeed. HIV medication has turned the infection from a death sentence to a chronic, manageable condition, which is remarkable.
The limitation of ART is that it cannot eliminate HIV.
The virus remains dormant in some immune cells and will start replicating if patients stop taking their medication.
That's why antiretrovirals must be taken for life.
The RIVERS trial - which stands for Research in Viral Eradication of HIV Reservoirs - is trying to rid the virus completely from the body.
'Kick and kill'
So far, 39 out of a total of 50 patients have been recruited to the trial.  All will receive ART but half will also be given a drug which forces the virus to emerge from hiding places in the body. These chosen patients will also receive two vaccines which aim to boost the immune system so that it can attack HIV-infected cells.
The strategy is called "kick and kill".
The anonymous patient quoted in the newspaper article is simply the first of the participants to have completed the kick and kill treatment.
No results are expected until 2018.
The trial is being conducted by a consortium of research teams at Imperial and King's College, London, Oxford and Cambridge Universities and University College London.
The partnership began six years ago, and set out to search for a cure for HIV.
Mark Samuels, managing director of the National Institute for Health Research Office for Clinical Research InfraÂstructure, which set up the medical consortium, told me: "This is an unprecedented collaboration and to get to clinical trials in six years shows remarkable progress."
So how will the researchers know whether their trial has been a success?
This will take some time and involve detailed analysis of blood samples from volunteers.
Viral reservoir
John Frater, Prof of Infectious Disease at Oxford University, told me:  "We will carry out a very targeted genetic test to look for HIV lying dormant within immune cells."
All the trial volunteers are newly infected HIV patients which means they will have a small viral reservoir and their immune system will not have been repeatedly damaged by the virus.
If it is possible to cure HIV, these patients represent the easiest target.
But even if the trial is a complete success, caution will be required in interpreting the results because it may not work in long-standing HIV patients.
Dr Michael Brady, medical director Terrence Higgins Trust told me:  "In test tubes it has been shown that you can drive the virus out of dormant cells, but we will have to wait and see whether it works in patients.
"Even if it works we can't talk about a cure for everyone and there would need to be bigger trials."
To date, only one person appears to have been cured of HIV infection.
Timothy Ray Brown, the so-called Berlin patient, received a bone marrow transplant from a donor with natural immunity to the virus.
However, bone marrow transplants are potentially dangerous and so not an approach that is recommended.
Earlier this year I reported on a gene editing trial in California involving 80 HIV patients.
They had immune cells in their blood removed and editing to try to mimic the gene mutation which gives some people a natural immunity to HIV.
One of the volunteers, Matt Chappell, has been off all antiretroviral medication for two years since having his immune cells gene edited.
These were small trials so caution is needed before reading too much into the results, but they are nonetheless promising.
The British trial is taking a different approach but with the same aim - trying to free patients from the need to take daily medication.
But talk of cures is premature.


The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the main players in the Arab world.

Its stature is built on its geographical size (twice that of France and Germany combined), its prestige as the custodian of the birthplace of Islam and its colossus status as an oil producer - with a quarter of the world's proven reserves under its deserts.
Its importance as an oil exporting nation has made economic interdependence with the West - where the main consumer demand is found - a necessity.
This, in turn, has led to strong political and military relationships that at times have been a source of awkwardness for both sides.
It stands out for its espousal of a puritan version of Sunni Islam, including harsh punishments such as public beheadings, and its restrictions on women.
Population 28.7 million
Area 2.24 million sq km (864,869 sq miles)
Major language Arabic
Major religion Islam
Life expectancy 73 years (men), 76 years (women)
Currency Riyal
Head of state, prime minister: King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud
The Al Saud dynasty holds a monopoly of political power. Saudi Arabia was established in 1932 by King Abd-al-Aziz and he has been succeeded by various sons.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud ascended the throne in January 2015 following the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah.
He has been part of the ruling clique of princes for decades and is thought likely to continue the main thrusts of Saudi strategic policy, including maintaining the alliance with the United States and working towards energy market stability.
Saudi investors are major players in the pan-Arab TV industry, but the country has one of the region's most tightly-controlled media environments.
The government openly acknowledges that widespread internet filtering takes place. It targets "pornographic", Islam-related, human rights and political sites.
Saudi Arabia has the highest per-capita YouTube use of any country in the world. It is reportedly home to more than 40% of all active Twitter users in the Arab region.
Some key events in Saudi Arabia's history:
1932 - The areas controlled by King Abd-al-Aziz are unified under the name Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1938 - Oil is discovered and production begins under the US-controlled Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company).
1960 - Saudi Arabia is a founding member of Opec (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries).
1973 - Saudi Arabia leads an oil boycott against the Western countries that supported Israel in the October War against Egypt and Syria. Oil prices quadruple.
2001 11 September - 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in attacks on New York and Washington are Saudi nationals.
2011 - As ''Arab Spring'' protests ripple across the region, Saudi troops participate in crackdown on unrest in Bahrain.
2015 March - Saudi Arabia launches campaign of air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.


A man has been found guilty of raping a sleeping woman at a flat in Edinburgh.

Richard Smith, 26, from Edinburgh, attacked the 30-year-old while she was asleep in a flat in Dalry following a night out on 2 August 2014.
The High Court in Glasgow heard how Smith was part of a group that had returned to the flat after a night at Lulu club in Edinburgh.
The rapist worked there at the time as a barman. Judge Lord McEwan deferred sentencing until 16 March in Edinburgh.
First offender Smith, who no longer works at the nightclub, was put on the sex offenders list.
The court heard that after arriving at the flat, Smith continued drinking while showing off magic tricks to others.
He later went to one of the bedrooms apparently planning to go to sleep, however, the woman was already sleeping in there.
Smith got into bed beside her then began molesting her and started to have sex with her.
The jury heard the woman went "ballistic" when she realised what was happening.
One witness, who knew both the woman and her attacker, recalled "screaming and shouting" coming from the room.
She told the court: "When the door was opened, Richard seemed to be cowering in the corner and she was battering him with an ironing board.
"She was hysterical and screaming 'get out, get out'."
The court heard Smith appeared "quite chilled" despite what had happened and went back to bed.
Police were forced to rouse him awake when they later attended at the flat that morning.
Smith gave evidence during the trial and claimed there had been consensual sexual activity, however denied having full intercourse with the woman.


A police officer who was shot in the eye while on duty has had an improved prosthetic replacement fitted.

Sgt Jon King, from Staffordshire Police, lost his right eye after being shot with a rubber bullet in October while helping ambulance staff deal with an aggressive patient.
Sgt King, 48, said surgeons have done a "fantastic job" with the finished eye.
A 34-year-old man was detained under the Mental Health Act following the incident in Rugeley.
Sgt King, who has retained the sight in his left eye, underwent surgery on Thursday to fit the new eye, designed to match more closely his right one.
He said the replacement feels "a little bit sore" but he has been told it will "bed in".
"It moves - I just can't see out of it," he said.
Sgt King had a temporary prosthetic replacement fitted in February, to test if his body would reject it.
He said he does not plan to return to front line policing and will be talking to Staffordshire Police about medical retirement.
"I just want to go to something easy - something where I don't get shot at," he said.
He has served with the force for 26 years.
Chief Constable Jane Sawyers said: "Sgt King's determination and courage, together with lack of self-pity, is truly inspirational."