Northern Ireland's chief inspector of schools has called for urgent action to deal with persistent shortcomings in the education system.

Noelle Buick said that while more children are achieving five good GCSE results, more needed to be done.
In a new report, she said there were unacceptable variations in education standards throughout Northern Ireland.
She said some pupils were served better than others, but added that a good education should not be left to chance.
The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) observed more than 11,000 lessons and training sessions in Northern Ireland over the past two years.
While it found the quality of teaching was mainly good or better, Ms Buick said the system needed to have higher aspirations.
Children receiving free school meals are still more likely to have poorer qualifications and the inspector said this could not be allowed to continue.
The inspectorate found that the number of young people not in education, employment or training remained too high.
The Ulster Teachers' Union said it was disappointed by the tone of the report, "given the excellent job teachers were doing with limited and shrinking resources".
"There are many positive elements within the ETI report and we welcome those, but in responding to the more negative elements we would again raise concerns about the level of mistrust which exists between the inspectorate and teachers," the union said.
"Schools felt, at times, they were fighting for their very survival as a result of these inspections, yet they felt the inspection system was unreasonable and bearing little resemblance (to) inspection systems in other jurisdictions."


A claim that Jewish students avoid applying to certain UK universities over anti-Semitism fears has been criticised by a Jewish student group.

Baroness Ruth Deech, the former adjudicator for universities, told the Telegraph that Jewish students felt "unwelcome" on some campuses.
The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) denied that such no-go zones exist.
Universities UK, which represents the sector, said unlawful discrimination had "no place" in higher education.
Baroness Deech was the UK's first adjudicator for universities between 2005 and 2008; the office was set up in 2004 to run a student complaints scheme in England and Wales.
"Amongst Jewish students, there is gradually a feeling that there are certain universities that you should avoid," she said.
Universities where debates or events have raised concerns over anti-Semitism were "not so popular" with Jewish students "because of things have happened there", she added.
Baroness Deech cited incidents at Oxford University's Labour club, which voted to endorse Israel Apartheid week, as well as in Exeter University where students wore t-shirts featuring anti-Semitic slogans.
The UJS said Baroness Deech's claim "completely ignores the positive contributions that Jewish students make to their campuses every day".
It said the view did a "disservice to the thousands who are able to freely express their Jewish identities".
The UJS, which represents some 8,500 Jewish students, added that UK universities have "active and open Jewish student populations".
It said: "There is no university that we would discourage Jewish students to apply to on the basis of anti-Semitism."
Jewish societies at Manchester and Oxford Universities, both of which Baroness Deech named in the article, voiced concern about the problem of anti-Semitism on British campuses.
But both denied that their universities were no-go zones for Jewish students.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: "We want our universities to be tolerant and inclusive places."
She explained that universities have a "difficult balancing act" to play between protecting students from abuse and allowing free speech.
"This is particularly relevant when Israel and Palestine are being discussed," she said.


A bushfire in Western Australia has destroyed about 95 homes in the small town of Yarloop and continues to burn out of control.

9 January 2016 Last updated at 11:49 GMT
Though the strong winds which have been fanning the flames have eased, the blaze remains unpredictable. Extra firefighters have been flown in to help.
Three people are missing and witnesses described multiple fireballs in the historic town, located south of Perth.
Australia is experiencing another extreme bushfire season. More than 100 homes were destroyed during an outbreak on Christmas Day in the southern state of Victoria.
Chris Gable a volunteer firefighter in Western Australia told the BBC that there are a number of places still in the fires path.


A new vaccination programme for meningitis has been launched for teenagers in Scotland.

The ACWY vaccine was announced earlier this year in response to a rise in the number of cases of meningitis W.
It will be offered to students under 25 who are attending university for the first time this autumn, along with a catch-up programme for 14-18 year olds.
The new vaccine replaces the current one offered to freshers and teenagers in Scotland.
Those planning to go to university are asked to make an appointment at least two weeks before they go - or during freshers' week.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said that the vaccine also protected against meningitis A, C and Y.
"I would urge everyone who is eligible for the vaccine to make an appointment with their GP, or if they're still at school to take up the offer of the catch-up programme there," she said.
"They might be busy preparing to leave for university, working or enjoying their summer break, but a short appointment really could make an enormous difference to their future health."
The release of the ACWY vaccine follows advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation.
The chief executive officer of Meningitis Now, Sue Davie, said: "As a charity dealing with the consequences of the disease on a daily basis I would plead directly to parents across Scotland to make sure that their children get the Men ACWY vaccination.
"We are particularly concerned with those going to university in the autumn as they are at a higher risk from what has been called 'freshers' flu'."
Q&A: Meningitis B vaccine


The best boxer in a generation against one of the biggest names in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr, regarded - before his retirement - as the world's best pound-for-pound boxer, will fight UFC star Conor McGregor in a light-middleweight boxing contest in Las Vegas on 26 August.
But how and why did the fight come about? Does McGregor have a chance? What impact will it have on the sports? And is it all just a money-making circus?
BBC Sport takes a look at the history and the reaction to the contest.
Why is it happening? Quite simply... money, with both fighters expected to earn up to $100m (£78.5m).
After Mayweather gained a convincing points win over Andre Berto in September 2015, the American, who has won world titles at five weights, said: "My career is over, that's official.
"You've got to know when to hang them up. There's nothing left to prove in the sport of boxing, I just want to spend time with my family."
However, there was growing interest in a fight between Mayweather and McGregor, after the Irish UFC star went on American chat show Conan and said he would "most certainly dismantle" Mayweather.
Talks between the two camps began in May 2016 and McGregor, who has never boxed professionally or as an amateur, was granted a boxing licence in California last November.
After social media insults flew from both sides, including Mayweather calling McGregor a "little punk", the Irishman claimed he had signed a contract for the fight and applied for a Nevada boxing licence, so it could be held in Las Vegas.
However, it was still a shock to both the boxing and UFC worlds when Mayweather, whose nickname is Money, posted a video on social media confirming the fight will happen at the T-Mobile Arena on 26 August.
Leonard Ellerbe, chief executive of Mayweather Promotions, said: "There is not one place I go to with Floyd where he doesn't get asked the question: 'Floyd, are you going to fight Conor McGregor?' All Floyd thinks about is fighting Conor McGregor."
Mayweather, 40, never entertained the idea of the pair meeting in a UFC event, saying "a real man fights standing up". Therefore, a boxing bout was the only outcome.
Bookmakers expect a one-sided contest, with the American as short as 1-12 to win his 50th professional fight, a landmark that would see him overtake legendary boxer Rocky Marciano, who retired after 49 victories.
However, the fight has not been well received by a large number of boxers.
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Mexican Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, a two-weight world champion whose only loss in 51 fights came against Mayweather in 2013, called it a "circus and a joke", echoing comments from former five-weight world champion Oscar de la Hoya.
"It's hurting the sport of boxing," added Alvarez. "It's a big circus and a joke because when a fighter from boxing gets into MMA (mixed martial arts) or a fighter from MMA gets into boxing it's just a big joke. People don't take it seriously."
Ricky Hatton, the only British boxer to fight Mayweather - losing in the 10th round of their Las Vegas bout in December 2007 - feels the fight should not count on the American's boxing record.
"Conor's the biggest star in UFC and, if he gets whitewashed by Mayweather, which he would, it wouldn't look good on the UFC," Hatton told Boxing News.
BBC Radio 5 live boxing pundit Steve Bunce added: "No disrespect to Conor McGregor, he is a brilliant self-publicist.
"The mixed martial arts people tell me he is fantastic because he is fearless, reckless and that makes him entertaining, but he is a hopeless boxer.
"He is a raw novice. Peter McDonagh, who has lost more times than he has won, is the Irish champion at Conor McGregor's weight, and he would beat McGregor in a 10 or 12-round fight. This will be an absolute mismatch."
McGregor, who at 28 is 12 years younger than Mayweather, has won 21 of his 24 MMA fights, including 18 knockouts, and has received some support from the UFC world.
"He has incredible power, a power that nobody else has - I've never seen anyone hit that hard," said Russia's Artem Lobov, who has sparred with McGregor.
"MMA is so much more demanding on the body - the wrestling, the changing levels, all that takes a lot out of you. Boxing is a breeze for us after MMA.
"If you look at Mayweather's fights, he often likes to get into the clinch, but what is a boxer in a clinch against a wrestler, an MMA fighter? Boxers are absolute novices in the clinch.
"Get a boxer and get him wrestling for a minute or two - the arms get so heavy, filled with blood, they can't even hold them up any more, they can't box."
UFC president Dana White also believes McGregor's style will cause problems for the American.
"Mayweather is 40 years old and he's always had problems with southpaws," said White. "Conor McGregor is 28 and a southpaw. Whenever he hits people, they fall."
American MMA fighter Holly Holm, who ended Ronda Rousey's unbeaten run with a brutal knockout in 2015, thinks McGregor will be able to adapt.
"I'm one of those who believes in being able to cross over," said Holm. "Boxing is a whole different world, but Conor really believes in himself, and he's going to put up a good fight."
White, for one, is in no doubt.
He said: "It's definitely going to be the biggest fight ever in combat sports history and probably going to be the biggest pay day ever. All sides involved are pretty happy with their deals."
The T-Mobile Arena holds 20,000 people, so the fighters will be performing live in front of less than a quarter of the 90,000 people who watched Anthony Joshua's thrilling win over Wladimir Klitschko in their world heavyweight title clash at Wembley Stadium in April.
However, the money will come not only from the live gate, but also through international television distribution, sponsorships, closed circuit and merchandise sales.
When Mayweather fought Filipino Manny Pacquiao in May 2015, the fight attracted a record of 4.4 million American pay-per-view sales, with the event generating more than $500m (£392.7m) in gross worldwide receipts.
Tickets will be in extremely short supply. Only 1,000 of 16,500 tickets were put on general sale for the Mayweather v Pacquiao fight at the MGM Grand - and some were then sold online for as much as £94,000. The rest of the tickets went to fighters, sponsors and promoters.
Such was the demand, hotels and bars charged people to watch the action on big-screen televisions.
Stephen Espinoza, executive vice-president of American television station Showtime Sports, said fans will pay to watch the McGregor-Mayweather fight because of the novelty.
"The sky is the limit," he said. "There is nothing to compare it against. No-one has seen this type of competition in the ring.
"We're not only drawing fans from the universe of boxing fans and the universe of MMA fans. We've actually tapped into the audience that really doesn't follow either sport."
Sort of. On two high-profile occasions, boxers have tried their luck in the UFC octagon, with one winning and one losing.
Most recently, in August 2010, James Toney - a three-weight boxing champion who had no MMA experience - took on Randy Couture. It did not last long.
Within a minute, Couture had produced a single-leg takedown. He then fired a series of unanswered lefts and rights to Toney's head before the fight was stopped.
The other time the worlds of MMA and boxing collided was in June 2009, when boxer Ray Mercer took on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.
Again, it did not last long - nine seconds in fact.
Mercer, who had fought Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko, caught Sylvia with a crushing right hook with the first punch of the contest, knocking out his opponent.
In 1976, Muhammad Ali took part in a 15-round exhibition contest with Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki. The bout - a mix of boxing and wrestling that had little to do with serious sport  - ended in a draw.
Mike Costello, BBC Radio 5 live boxing correspondent
One of boxing's all-time greats will take on a man who hasn't had a single professional boxing contest and it'll become one of the most talked-about sporting events of 2017.
Mayweather is coming out of retirement at the age of 40 for a fight some have dismissed as a farce and a mismatch. McGregor is 12 years younger and the biggest draw in UFC, the most successful and popular brand in mixed martial arts. Insults have been traded for two years - when they first started, nobody believed for a moment this fight would happen.
They both draw huge audiences on pay-per-view TV and the showdown is likely to generate tens of millions of dollars for each man.
It's likely to be televised in the United States by Showtime, a cable network and one of the biggest investors in boxing in recent years. Executives there are saying their digital traffic in the past few weeks is leading them to believe this will be nothing short of a monster event and it's been built by the hype generated by these two masters of the art of hype.
Simon Head, MMA reporter
To the uninitiated, Conor McGregor may come across as a brash, overconfident braggart, but a glance at his record tells a completely different story. Underneath the larger-than-life exterior lies a fierce, dedicated competitor who has more often than not backed up his pre-fight talk with big-time performances in the UFC octagon.
He successfully predicted his stoppage wins over Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez in successive UFC title fights. Now he's predicting he'll topple the most skilled boxer in this - or perhaps any - generation. Even by Mystic Mac's own standards, this one is a big ask.
The contest itself pitches a combat sport specialist (Mayweather) against a man blessed with one of the most comprehensive skillsets in combat sports (McGregor). The equivalent of a 100m sprinter against a decathlete, if you like. But in those terms, this fight is the 100m. Only a fraction of McGregor's formidable fighting arsenal will be in play here, and that tips the scales significantly in Mayweather's favour.
As well as the skills gap in pure boxing terms, there's also the issue of prep time. Conor has the dedication, the intelligence and the belief to walk into the T-Mobile Arena on August 26 as prepared as he possibly can be. But this is the equivalent of writing a PhD thesis without taking the course first. A passing grade is surely just making it to the scorecards, or even just looking competitive.
But that won't be enough for McGregor, whose ability to deliver on the big stage is right up there with the best you'll find anywhere in sport. The archetypal man for the big occasion, McGregor performs best when the lights shine brightest.
Mayweather is rightly the unbackable favourite, but McGregor certainly isn't a toothless opponent. Make no mistake, he has the power to trouble Floyd, especially with his left hand. But to hurt Floyd, Conor will have to land clean. In theory, he has 36 minutes to find Mayweather's chin. If he does, we'll see one of the biggest shocks in sporting history.
But it wouldn't be a shock to him. He's already predicted it. And he means it, too.
Get all the latest boxing news sent straight to your device with notifications in the BBC Sport app. Find out more here.


Labour has been accused of making "wild, outlandish claims" on the threat to jobs in Wales if the UK leaves the European Union after a referendum.

Lord Hain, unveiled as manager as Welsh Labour's campaign to stay in the EU, said 200,000 jobs could be at risk.
Prime Minister David Cameron is pushing for EU reforms ahead of a referendum he has promised by the end of 2017.
Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb said the Tories were trying to bring some "cool rationality" to the argument.
Launching Welsh Labour's EU campaign in the Vale of Glamorgan on Monday, Lord Hain said:  "It's not just the risk to high-quality jobs in Wales from employers who treasure our place in the EU, like Airbus and Toyota in the north and Ford and Sony in the south, that a vote to leave the EU would bring.
"At present Wales benefits by over Â£838m every single year. That's money invested in our communities, supporting vital infrastructure and supporting Welsh businesses and farmers."
First Minister Carwyn Jones added that farming in Wales would "come effectively to an end" with the loss of Â£200m in EU subsidies.
Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb accused Welsh Labour of making "wild, outlandish claims" on the threat to jobs, and claimed Lord Hain had been "resurrected as a ghost of Christmas past", years after he tried to "bounce" the UK into joining the Euro.
Mr Crabb said the Tories and the British people were in the "pragmatic centre ground".
"We are in government to bring some cool rationality about this," Mr Crabb said.
"The point that should be getting made about Wales's membership of Europe is about the value of trade - it's not about the subsidies it's actually the trading opportunities it creates.
"But those trading opportunities will continue to exist whether Wales, and Britain, remains in Europe or not."
UKIP policy director Mark Reckless, whose party wants the UK to leave the EU, accused Labour of wanting "27 other countries to make our laws for us because they don't think we're good enough".
"UKIP would like to trade freely with the whole world, not just with the one declining continent within it.  You don't need to be governed by other countries in order to trade freely with them," he told BBC Radio Wales on Monday.
Recent opinion polls suggest slightly more voters in Wales think being part of the EU is a good thing, but a large proportion are still undecided.
Even by the standards of the usual pro-European rhetoric of Welsh Labour, this was a series of warnings designed to generate full-on fear about the dangers of pulling out of the EU.
At one stage the first minister even said that farming would effectively come to an end because of the removal of EU subsidies.
Their central argument is that Wales is uniquely vulnerable to a withdrawal because of the scale of EU aid received now and in the past. Former Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said the future of Wales was at stake.
The counter view is that a Westminster government would have more money to invest because it wouldn't be sending it to Brussels every year so Wales wouldn't lose out. There's no definitive answer so this debate will run and run.
The official Tory view on EU membership will rest on Prime Minister David Cameron's renegotiation, but it was interesting to note the current Welsh secretary Stephen Crabb wasn't afraid to strike a sceptical note about some of the Labour arguments.


Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees are moving to Turkey's border to flee heavy fighting near the city of Aleppo, officials and activists have said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said up to 70,000 might be heading to the border, while a monitoring group put the number at about 40,000.
Intense Russian air strikes have helped Syria's government troops make advances near the country's largest city.
Meanwhile, Russia accused Turkey of preparing an invasion into Syria.
Also on Thursday, a Saudi military spokesman said the country was ready to send ground troops to Syria to fight the so-called Islamic State group.
Any decision would have to be accepted by leaders of the US-led coalition during a meeting in Brussels next month, Saudi Brig Gen Ahmad Bin-Hasan al-Asiri told the Associated Press news agency.
The offer was welcomed by US Defence Secretary Ash Carter, who said that he would discuss the issue with the Saudi defence minister in Brussels next week.
In other developments:
Talks break down - but who's to blame?
Speaking at the donor conference in London, Mr Davutoglu said: "Now 10,000 new refugees are waiting in front of the door of Kilis (Turkey's border town) because of air bombardment and attacks against Aleppo."
He added that 60,000-70,000 people "in the camps in north Aleppo are moving towards Turkey". The Observatory put the number at about 40,000.
However, a BBC correspondent at the Kilis border crossing on Friday said there was no indication yet of large numbers of refugees on either side of the crossing.
Mark Lowen said that were reports however that 2,000 Syrian refugees were either waiting out of sight or had moved elsewhere.
In a related development, Turkey said it had activated an emergency protocol allowing for the rapid processing of refugees.
A similar protocol was enacted during the siege of Kobane last year when around 200,000 refugees crossed the border.
Mr Davutoglu also condemned Russia's involvement in Syria, saying that both Moscow and the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad were guilty of war crimes.
Both Moscow and Damascus have repeatedly rejected such accusations.
Turkey is clearly incensed by the extent of the military support Russia is giving its ally - the government forces of President Assad, the BBC World Service's Middle East editor Alan Johnston says.
Russia's defence ministry said that since 1 February it had hit 875 "terrorist objects in the Aleppo, Latakia, Homs, Hama and Deir ez-Zor provinces".
This helped the Syrian army to cut the main rebel supply from the Turkish border to Aleppo, according to reports.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia's strikes against opposition forces were "undermining efforts to find a political solution to this conflict".
The rebel siege of the towns of Nubul and Zahraa, northern Aleppo province, has now been broken, the government in Damascus said.
Separately, Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Moscow "has reasonable grounds to suspect intensive preparation of Turkey for a military invasion" into Syria.
He added that Russia had already presented "incontrovertible video evidence" which reportedly showed Turkish shelling of Syria.
Ankara has not publicly commented on the claim.
The Middle Eastern press carries some positive comment on the outcome of the Syria donors' conference in London. However, they also say that it shows the Syrian crisis is expected to last for a long time and needs a political solution.
Kuwait's Al-Qabas praises the "generous assistance" pledged, but highlights the Kuwaiti emir's remarks that "the humanitarian tragedy will not end until a political solution that puts an end to bloodshed is found."
An editorial in Qatar's Al-Rayah says what's needed is not just support for the Syrian people, but rescuing them from what it terms the "systematic genocide committed by the regime, and the countries and sectarian militias that support it."
Tensions between Turkey and Russia have escalated since Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian bomber last November.
Ankara said it acted after the aircraft violated Turkey's air space - but Russia insisted the plane was shot down over Syria.
More than 250,000 people have died in almost five years of war in Syria.
Eleven million others have fled their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other, as well as IS jihadists.
Why is there a war in Syria?
Anti-government protests developed into a civil war that, four years on, has ground to a stalemate, with the Assad government, the so-called Islamic State group, an array of Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters all holding territory.
Who is fighting whom?
Government forces concentrated in Damascus and the centre and west of Syria are fighting the jihadists of Islamic State and al-Nusra Front, as well as less numerous so-called "moderate" rebel groups, who are strongest in the north and east. These groups are also battling each other.
How has the world reacted?
Iran, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement are propping up the Alawite-led Assad government, while Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar back the more moderate Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France. Hezbollah and Iran are believed to have troops and officers on the ground, while a Western-led coalition and Russia are carrying out air strikes.


Alderney politicians Louis Jean and Graham McKinley will represent the island in Guernsey States.

They came first and second in a vote on the Channel Island and will serve a three year term in office.
The other two candidates were Matthew Birmingham and Chris Rowley.
Subject to final approval from Alderney States, this will mean a second term as Guernsey Representative for Mr Jean, while it will be Mr McKinley's, who was elected in November, first term.
The 10-member Alderney States sends two representatives to Guernsey States.
Alderney is self-governing and one of the principal islands of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which also includes Sark and Herm.


Netflix series Master of None has scored its first Emmy, with its co-writer calling for better Asian representation on screen.

Alan Yang and Aziz Ansari won the Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series for their Parents episode.
The episode explored the relationship between US immigrants and their children.
Yang used his acceptance speech to say Asian representation still had "a long way to go" in the US.
"There's 17 million Asian-Americans in this country, and there's 17 million Italian Americans," he told the audience in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
"They have The Godfather, Goodfellas, Rocky, the Sopranos. We got Long Duck Dong," he said, referencing the cartoonish character from Sixteen Candles.
He went on to address Asian parents saying: "If you could just do me a favour and just a couple of you get your kids cameras instead of violins, we would be all good."
Ansari, who stars in Master of None as an aspiring actor, was unable to give his speech because their time ran out.
He stepped up to the microphone but was interrupted by the cut-off music.
"You guys are in trouble!" he joked, before running off the stage and into his seat.
His parents, who played his parents in the episode, were present at the ceremony.
Later, he thanked them on Facebook for "giving me everything and more".
Each episode of Master of None explores a different topic, from the challenges of dating in the internet era to feminism to moving in with a partner.
In Parents, Ansari's character, Dev, comes to realise the sacrifices his parents made for him when they moved to the US.
Many Asian-Americans have been praising the win online, saying it reflected their own story.
Master of None had previously been recognised by the Peabody Awards and American Film Institute Award.
But this is the first Emmy win for both writers, who had previously worked together on NBC's Parks and Recreation.
Both have been outspoken about the lack of diversity among characters on television before, with Ansari having previously called out television network CBS for its lack of diversity.
Some users had already predicted the win long before the Emmys.


A leading banker has been found shot in the chest, six months after he was given a jail term for a corruption scandal that stunned Spain.

Miguel Blesa, 69, is thought to have shot himself at a country estate in the southern province of Córdoba.
Blesa was for 13 years the chairman of the Caja Madrid savings bank.
He was found guilty over secret "black credit cards" handed out to bank board members and advisers, who used them to buy luxury goods and entertainment.
Miguel Blesa was given a six-year sentence but died before his appeal could be heard.
Having arrived at the Puerto del Toro estate at Villanueva del Rey in the early hours of Wednesday, he had been having breakfast with a friend when Blesa said he had to move his car. Moments later a shot rang out and his body was found.
Spanish authorities were investigating a possible suicide but had not ruled out the theory of an accident, sources said. Blesa was a passionate hunter and had a gun licence.
For a Spain reeling from an economic crisis exacerbated by a €51bn (£45bn; $58bn) state bailout of the banks, the credit card revelations that emerged in 2013 were toxic.
Caja Madrid and Bankia, the bank it became in 2010 when merged with five other savings banks, were both implicated in the scandal that ran from 1999 to 2012. The Bankia bailout cost more than €20bn. Much of the money will never be recovered.
An estimated €15.5m, supposedly meant to cover the costs of attending board meetings, had been spent with the unofficial credit cards on jewellery, holidays and luxury clothes or just taken out of cash machines.
Blesa was found guilty of misappropriating €436,700 of funds. Pictures emerged of the former chairman on hunting trips, showing off his spoils including a dead hippopotamus.
The case ensnared more than 60 bank executives and ex-board members. Among them was Rodrigo Rato, the illustrious ex-head of the International Monetary Fund, who was handed four and a half years in jail.
The case also seeped into Spanish politics as Rodrigo Rato had been a high-profile economy minister in the centre-right Popular Party government before he joined the IMF. He became chairman of Bankia in 2010 two years before it had to be bailed out.
Miguel Blesa was not just fighting an appeal, he was also caught up in other cases:


A man and a woman have been charged with slavery offences after a 28-year-old woman was found being held in domestic servitude.

Officers attended an address in Bamford, Rochdale, on Thursday and arrested a 47-year-old woman.
Minu Chopra and Sanjeev Chopra, 47, of Cranbourne Road, have both been charged with offences spanning from 2011-2015.
The alleged victim was removed from the house and is being cared for by partner agencies, police said.
Ms Chopra appeared before Manchester magistrates on Saturday and was remanded into custody, while Mr Chopra was arrested and charged on the same day
He has been remanded into custody to appear before Bury and Rochdale Magistrates' Court on Monday.
The pair have been charged with holding a person in slavery or servitude between 31 July 2015 and 11 February 2016, intentionally arranging or facilitating entry into the UK of a person with a view to their exploitation, and knowingly holding another person in slavery or servitude between 1 January 2011 and 31 July 2015.


Four housing developers have expressed an interest in buying one of Swansea's main council buildings.

Swansea Council put its 14-acre Penllergaer offices on the market last November to help tackle its Â£26m budget deficit.
Council leaders said the level of interest has been "very encouraging".
The council is also expected to put its landmark seafront civic centre building up for sale soon.
A final decision on the future of this and a number of other council properties is due to be taken by councillors next week.
Staff have gradually been moved out of the Penllergaer offices, which used to be the headquarters for the old Lliw Valley Borough Council.
Around 100 housing and transport staff still remain but they are set to be relocated during the year.
Councillor Robert Francis-Davies, cabinet member for enterprise, development and regeneration, said: "This shows we're determined to do our bit to help make inroads into our considerable savings target and protect as many services as possible for residents across the city."
The agents say there has been "promising" interest and there is demand for homes in the Penllergaer area.


Mainland Chinese shares were the lone winners in Asia on Monday as the rest of the region headed lower on lingering worries about weaker global growth.

The Shanghai Composite ended up 1.9% to 3,156.54 despite the US Federal Reserve's decision to hold off raising interest rates last week, in part due to a slowing Chinese economy.
Shares in small-cap companies rebounded strongly, making up for recent losses.
But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down 0.8% to 21,756.93 points.
"The real dovish tone of the [Fed's] statement, press conference and the Q&A has led to the conclusion that the Fed is becoming increasingly concerned about the global backdrop," said market strategist Evan Lucas.
Trading was also lighter than usual with the region's biggest market, Japan, closed until Wednesday for public holidays.
In the meantime, investors are looking ahead to flash manufacturing activity readings from China and the euro zone on Wednesday for an indication on where the global economy is heading.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 2% to 5,066.2 - leading the region's losses.
South Korea's Kospi finished down 1.6% to 1,964.68 after hitting a five and a half week high in the previous session.
The benchmark index also ended a four-day winning streak.


Welsh cyclist Owain Doull says it is "outrageous" current Team Sky riders have been drawn into the controversy over a "mystery package" delivered to ex-rider Sir Bradley Wiggins.

UK Anti-Doping is investigating what delivered to Wiggins on the final day of the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine.
Doull, who joined Team Sky in August 2016, said the ongoing situation was frustrating.
"It's unfair for those guys who work so hard," said Doull.
His compatriot Geraint Thomas has spoken of his "annoyance" that Wiggins and the team's former doctor Richard Freeman have not fielded any "flak" over the issue.
Team Sky boss, Sir Dave Brailsford, has said he will not resign over the controversy and Doull himself insisted the furore was not affecting him and his teammates when it came to racing itself.
"I haven't been racing that much. Especially compared to some of the others," Cardiff-born Doull told BBC Wales Sport.
"I'm not really in the limelight so I don't see too much of it, but for these accusations to be thrown at them is outrageous.
"It doesn't really affect us at all, especially me, as someone's only joined the team this year. It's stuff that happened five years ago.
"For me and a lot of the guys it has no real impact at all. Everyone's cracking on as normal."
Next up for Doull and his teammates is the E3 Harelbeke cobbled classic.
The 23-year-old, who struck gold in the team pursuit at the 2016 Olympics, is just glad to be back in action after a spell out of the saddle.
His Team Sky and world tour debut in January in Australia was aborted after he underwent surgery for appendicitis.
On his return Doull suffered a nasty crash in Abu Dhabi, later expressing concerns after a brake disc apparently cut through his shoe.
Doull wants to focus on his racing after a start to his Team Sky career he acknowledges has been less than ideal.
"I'm pretty much fully back now," said Doull.
"It's almost two months since it (having his appendix out) happened.  It was surprising how much it took out of me and how drained I was for quite a long time afterwards.
"I thought I'd bounce back quicker than I did. In terms of general riding, all was good, but I was lacking the top-end stuff, especially when racing.
"I was (surprised by the reaction to his disc brake comments in Abu Dhabi) to be honest. It attracted a lot of attention, but I guess that's a good thing.
"It shows it was a big thing that people take seriously."
With Team Sky winning the Harelbake for the last two years, Doull is hoping he can play his part in making it a hat-trick.
"I think the team is going for the win again," added Doull.
"They usually perform well in this race, so we'll be looking to do the same.
"For me, it's like jumping back into the deep end. These are the races that, before my setbacks, I'd provisionally planned to target.
"It's nice just to be racing. We'll see where I'm at and then go from there."


Spain's Socialists (PSOE) have rejected a demand from the anti-austerity Podemos party for exclusive talks to form a new government.

The country remains in a political stalemate following December's inconclusive election.
On the request of King Felipe VI, PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez has been leading talks with other parties.
But Podemos (We Can) leader Pablo Iglesias demanded that he stop speaking with centrist Ciudadanos (Citizens).
"Our negotiating team will be ready as soon as the Socialists opt for a government of progress," Reuters quoted him as saying.
The move followed a survey on Thursday that showed Podemos would come second in a new national election, overtaking the Socialists.
Despite coming first in the election with close to 29% of the vote, acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the conservative Popular Party (PP) lacks the support to form a government.
Mr Sanchez said he would continue to talk with all parties except the PP and called for Mr Iglesias to reconsider his demand.
The El Pais newspaper quoted him as saying: "There are things that divide us, but one thing unites us all: we have to end the government of Mariano Rajoy and the PP."
Mr Sanchez earlier pledged to form a "progressive and reformist" government.
Podemos, Ciudadanos and smaller regional parties hold the balance of power in Spanish politics, which has been dominated for decades by the PP and PSOE.
If no working government can be formed, a fresh general election will be called.


A bill which will allow Chileans to grow small amounts of marijuana for medical, recreational or spiritual use has been approved by the country's lower house of Congress.

The measure will allow each Chilean home to grow up to six plants.
Up to now, planting, selling and transporting marijuana has been punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The new bill will go before a health commission and then the Senate for approval.
Members of the lower house approved the bill by a wide margin, with 68 in favour and 39 against.
However, some lawmakers criticised the result, saying it would encourage drug use.
A Chilean municipality began planting the country's first medical marijuana in October, as part of a government-approved pilot programme.
However this bill, if passed, will also decriminalise recreational use.
Several other countries have eased restrictions for medical or personal use of marijuana in recent years.
In the US, more than 20 states allow some form of medical marijuana and Colorado and Washington have legalised it for personal use.
Uruguay became the first country to create a legal marijuana market in 2013 and earlier this year Jamaica decriminalised personal use of the drug.


"It was me who gave 'El Chicharito' his debut," says Jorge Vergara belligerently.

Clearly the multi-millionaire owner of Mexico's most popular football team, Club Deportivo Guadalajara - or Chivas to give them their nickname, is not a man who hides in the shadows of the boardroom.
We want this to become the best team in the world... El Chicharito is an example of what we want to create. We want 11 like him
In an era when directors and owners of football clubs are becoming as well-known as their managers, Vergara has no qualms about meddling in on-pitch matters.
Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez's senior bow for Chivas, as a teenager in 2006, was a case in point. Now 23, Hernandez, who is widely known by his nickname Chicharito - which translated into English means 'little pea', established himself quickly at Old Trafford, helping United to their 19th League title last May.
"The then-coach didn't want him to debut. It is amazing how some coaches think," Vergara recalls with a headshake of derision. "So I kind of threatened him and said 'If you don't want him, I'll take him to the United States'."
It was no hollow threat. Since Vergara took over Chivas in 2002, he has expanded the brand to launch teams in the United States and China.
The original club is based in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara, where Vergara is from. He made his fortune through vitamin supplements and moved into football by buying his local club when it was at its lowest ebb, on and off the pitch.
"It was financially broke. Sports-wise it was a complete failure and it was in really deep trouble," Vergara, who is also a film producer, adds.
"So we launched new marketing strategies, we cleaned up the shirt which had 30 different sponsors on it, to dignify the brand. We started to recruit youngsters to build for the medium to long-term rather than just from one season to the next."
He also built the club a beautifully designed new ground, the Omnilife Stadium, named after his vitamin supplements company. Manchester United travelled to Guadalajara to play a friendly against Chivas to unveil the new stadium as part of the deal which took Chicharito to Old Trafford.
The philosophy of Chivas is based on two things: youth and Mexico. Chivas is almost unique in the world for fielding only Mexican players.
"The other team doing this is Athletic Bilbao. But it's harder for them, they can only choose from the Basque country," Vergara says.
As well as Hernandez, other promising young players to emerge from Guadalajara include Arsenal's Carlos Vela and Fulham defender Carlos Salcido.
So how does it feel to be known as the man who sold 'El Chicharito' to Manchester United in April 2010?
Vergara agreed to sell the Guadalajara-born striker to United for a fee believed to have been about £6m.
"People say it was a steal. Well, I did make 25,000% profit on him, so it wasn't that bad," he says.
Club
International
Plus, the deal helped put Chivas on the map. "It opened doors for us," Vergara says. "It has been good for Mexico too. [Hernandez] has given people another impression of Mexico and of success here."
This season, however, success has been noticeably lacking at Chivas. The team have only gained a single point from six fixtures, leaving them firmly planted to the bottom of the table.
On the day BBC Sport met Vergara, Chivas lost at home 2-0 to Tijuana, prompting the coach Fernando Quirarte to resign. He was the 15th different coach during the Vergara reign.
While the team's emphasis on youth is admirable, it is no guarantee of trophies for Mexico's most-successful team. Some fans fear the club is becoming a feeder team for Europe's elite and any future 'Chicharito' will be out of the door before Chivas can reap any benefit.
But Vergara has dismissed these concerns. "We want this to become the best team in the world," he says, without a hint of irony.
"El Chicharito is an example of what we want to create.
"We want 11 like him. Not just how he plays, but who he is, the principles he works by and what he believes."
It is a sentiment most Manchester United fans would undoubtedly echo.


An exhibition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book will open next year at the British Library.

The exhibition will feature material from JK Rowling's archives, a range of wizarding books and information about the origin of the philosopher's stone.
It will run from 20 October 2017 until 28 February 2018.
"We are thrilled to be working with JK Rowling and Bloomsbury," said curator Jamie Andrews.
He added that the aim was "to inspire fans with the magic of our own British Library collections".
"We're (the British Library) absolutely the right place to be doing this exhibition... we're the home of stories, we're next door to King's Cross - platform 9 and three quarters - and we have one of the greatest collections on the history of magic," Andrews, who is the library's head of culture and learning, told the BBC.
"That feels like a pretty unbeatable combination."
Tickets for the exhibition can be bought from spring 2017.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in Rowling's hugely successful series, was first published in 1997.
Six other Potter novels were subsequently written and the series spawned a hit film franchise.
The play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is currently running in the West End in London.
The script, published last month, has become the fastest-selling book in the UK this decade, selling more than 680,000 copies in its first three days alone.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


Further investigations are to be carried out at a former quarry to check for potential harmful contamination.

The Kingsteps Quarry at Nairn has already been examined for the remains of aircraft instruments which were illuminated using radioactive paint.
Highland Council ordered the survey following "word of mouth" suggestions that planes were buried at the site after World War Two.
No evidence of such radioactive contamination was found at the quarry.
Highland Council has asked contractors to check for other forms of contamination by making a series of excavations next month.
The site was formerly a sand and gravel quarry and later used as an unofficial local dump. There are informal paths on the site used by local people for dog walking.
A report on December's investigations will be given to councillors in March.


Nice lost ground on their Ligue 1 title rivals as they were held to a draw by mid-table Nantes.

The visitors, without injured trio Alassane Plea, Wylan Cyprien and captain Paul Baysse, went behind to Emiliano Sala's 22nd-minute opener.
Jean Michael Seri equalised six minutes later with a wonderful strike from the edge of the box.
Nice stay third on 64 points, one behind Paris St-Germain and four adrift of leaders Monaco.
PSG and Monaco, who now have a game in hand on Nice, play Lyon and Caen respectively on Sunday.
Match ends, Nantes 1, Nice 1.
Second Half ends, Nantes 1, Nice 1.
Substitution, Nice. Vincent Koziello replaces Mounir Obbadi.
Attempt missed. Diego Carlos (Nantes) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Alexander Kacaniklic following a corner.
Attempt missed. Guillaume Gillet (Nantes) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
Prejuce Nakoulma (Nantes) is shown the yellow card.
Corner,  Nantes. Conceded by Valentin Eysseric.
Substitution, Nantes. Mariusz Stepinski replaces Emiliano Sala.
Foul by Arnaud Souquet (Nice).
Alexander Kacaniklic (Nantes) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Nice. Conceded by Diego Carlos.
Attempt missed. Valentin Rongier (Nantes) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Amine Harit.
Substitution, Nice. Mickael Le Bihan replaces Mario Balotelli.
Mario Balotelli (Nice) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Koffi Djidji (Nantes).
Hand ball by Léo Dubois (Nantes).
Attempt missed. Diego Carlos (Nantes) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Léo Dubois with a cross following a set piece situation.
Substitution, Nantes. Amine Harit replaces Adrien Thomasson.
Foul by Arnaud Souquet (Nice).
Alexander Kacaniklic (Nantes) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Emiliano Sala (Nantes) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Prejuce Nakoulma.
Corner,  Nice. Conceded by Lucas Lima.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match  (Nice).
Foul by Dante (Nice).
Prejuce Nakoulma (Nantes) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt blocked. Diego Carlos (Nantes) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner,  Nantes. Conceded by Dante.
Attempt blocked. Prejuce Nakoulma (Nantes) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Prejuce Nakoulma (Nantes) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Léo Dubois with a cross.
Attempt blocked. Guillaume Gillet (Nantes) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Léo Dubois.
Foul by Arnaud Souquet (Nice).
Lucas Lima (Nantes) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Diego Carlos (Nantes) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Mario Balotelli (Nice) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Diego Carlos (Nantes).
Arnaud Souquet (Nice) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Prejuce Nakoulma (Nantes).
Hand ball by Adrien Thomasson (Nantes).
Substitution, Nantes. Alexander Kacaniklic replaces Jules Iloki.


Wales held on for a nervy win over Argentina in Cardiff to end a run of five successive Test match defeats.

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All the tries came in the second half with Liam Williams and Gareth Davies crossing as Wales twice opened an eight-point lead.
But Juan Martin Hernandez and Martin Landajo both scored as the Pumas refused to lie down.
Full-back Leigh Halfpenny's 78th-minute penalty edged Wales four points clear to settle the encounter.
The Toulon full-back scored 14 points with the boot, which ultimately proved the difference between the sides in a match which did not quite live up to expectations.
Read: Wales restored pride, says Howley
Howley praises 'world class' lock Jones
Following their 32-8 defeat by Australia the previous week, Wales were relieved to hang on against a Pumas side that refused to buckle in the face of extreme pressure.
After coach Rob Howley had asked for a response from his team, man of the match Alun Wyn Jones and wing Williams - who both missed the Wallabies defeat - made a huge impact on their returns.
Williams' determination for his try typified a full-blooded display by the Scarlets back.
Argentina failed to rediscover the exciting running which saw them beat Ireland at the same stadium in the 2015 World Cup.
And while Howley would be pleased with the improvement in Wales' performance, a lack of composure in attack, particularly when they were on top in the first half, will be a concern.
Wales controlled the opening period but, apart from two penalties by Halfpenny, had little to show for their dominance at the break as Argentina repeatedly infringed in their own 22.
When referee Angus Gardner finally lost patience and sent prop Ramiro Herrera to the sin-bin with a minute of the first half remaining, Wales were promptly penalised at the next scrum and went in with a three-point lead which barely reflected the run of play.
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After the break, wing Williams produced a tenacious finish to edge Wales eight points clear before Landajo's opportunism from a quick penalty created a try for the superb Hernandez.
When Davies dummied over for his eighth international try and Halfpenny converted, it looked as though Wales would pull clear.
But the Pumas, with Sanchez a probing threat at fly-half, hit back again when Landajo was given the benefit of the doubt by television official Sean Davey.
An exchange of penalties meant Wales led by a point before Halfpenny eased the nerves with his fifth successful kick of the game.
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Liam Williams, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Gethin Jenkins (captain), Ken Owens, Tomas Francis, Luke Charteris, Alun Wyn Jones, Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric, Ross Moriarty.
Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Nicky Smith, Samson Lee, Cory Hill, James King, Lloyd Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Jamie Roberts.
Argentina: Joaquin Tuculet Matias Moroni, Matias Orlando, Juan Martin Hernandez, Santiago Cordero, Nicolas Sanchez, Martin Landajo; Lucas Noguera, Agustin Creevy (captain), Ramiro Herrera, Guido Petti, Matias Alemanno, Pablo Matera, Javier Ortega Desio, Facundo Isa.
Replacements: Julian Montoya, Santiago Garcia Botta, Enrique Pieretto, Leonardo Senatore, Tomas Lezana, Tomas Cubelli, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Jeronimo de la Fuente.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)
Touch judges: Mike Fraser (NZ) & Luke Pearce (Eng)
TMO: Sean Davey (Eng)
Citing commissioner: Bruce Kuklinski (Canada)
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Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock says Kenneth Zohore is one of the best strikers in the Championship after being "not far away from being a waste of time" just a few months ago.

Zohore's double helped Cardiff to a 3-1 win over Ipswich Town as the Denmark U21 striker took his tally to nine goals in his last 10 league games.
"I wouldn't swap him for many in the Championship," said Warnock.
"He's got every attribute and you can't coach what he has got."
Warnock believes his management has been key in getting the best out of Zohore.
"There was not a player here like that when I came here," Warnock told BBC Wales Sport.
"He was not a waste of time, but he wasn't far away from being a waste of time.
"He walked about, wouldn't tackle, wouldn't chase back and he wore gloves everywhere.
"You name it really.
"But he's a good lad and the chat I had with him against Wolves at half-time (in December) was obviously vital, because he's been a revelation since then."
Warnock says the transformation in Zohore's game is comparable to that of some Premier League and international players he has worked with in his lengthy managerial career.
"Oh yeah, Victor Moses (now at Chelsea) was one, there have been a few players who surprised me," Warnock said.
"A few that didn't realise (how good they could be). Phil Jagielka (Everton and England) is another, when I first got hold of him.
"Some lads don't believe in themselves and need convincing.
"The minimum you should get out of a player is 100%. Then the ability goes on top.
"You need that work ethic at any level of the game.
"When you do that, you make your own luck, as Gary Player used to say."
However, Warnock is unconcerned that rival clubs might be looking at Zohore, who he has previously stated was not for sale, even at £20 million.
"He will not be going anywhere," added Warnock.
"I am happy with that. They won't sell him behind my back, I will tell you that.
"I think Vincent (Tan) is enjoying it as much as me."
Warnock also feels he has improved winger Kadeem Harris, whose direct running led to Cardiff's third goal.
"He's another one like Ken, I think he needs me more than I need him," he said.
"I thought he'd been here six months, but he's been here three or four years,"
"So he's been a waste of time, hasn't he? So hopefully the penny drops and he stays with us.
"I have talked to his dad a couple of times. Sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side, but if I was Kadeem, I would be looking to stay here.
"He has someone who believes in him and gives him a chance."


A new visitor centre opens at Criccieth Castle, Gwynedd, on Saturday.

It features interactive displays, including projections, drone footage and a computer generated reconstruction which shows how the castle would have looked hundreds of years ago.
The 13th Century fortress was built by Welsh princes Llywelyn the Great and Llywelyn the Last.
It was captured by Owain Glyndwr in the last major Welsh rebellion against the English.
The Â£450,000 visitor centre is part of a wider Â£2.6m project to improve heritage sites across Wales.
Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, Ken Skates, said it was an example of "combining the latest technology with the country's rich history to enhance the visitor experience".


Australia's government will give A$10m ($7.1m; £4.7m) in funding to a community prepared to house a permanent nuclear waste dump.

Six sites across the country have been shortlisted to host the dump, which would be Australia's first.
The facility would house low-level and intermediate waste, which is currently stored across more than 100 sites.
Resources and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said no community would be forced to take on the facility.
"We won't unilaterally pick one, this is a voluntary community consultative process," Mr Frydenberg told the ABC.
He said landowners stood to receive four times the value of their property if it was purchased for the development.
Any community prepared to host the site would also receive A$10m towards local projects, he said.
The six shortlisted sites are Sally's Flat in NSW, Hale in the Northern Territory, Cortlinye, Pinkawillinie and Barndioota in South Australia and Oman Ama in Queensland.
They were chosen from a list of 28 locations nominated voluntarily by landholders.
A final decision is expected after Australia's next federal election.
Mr Fydenberg said low-level waste included items such as gloves, goggles, paper or plastic that were used in nuclear medicine.
Intermediate waste could include steel rods used in nuclear reactors, he said.
"More than 100 sites across the country, including hospitals and universities, are licensed to store this waste on an interim basis," he said.


Scientists are reporting yet another burst of gravitational waves.

The signals were picked up by the Advanced LIGO facilities in the US and are determined to have come from the merger of two huge black holes some three billion light-years from Earth.
It is the third time now that the labs' laser instruments have been perturbed by the warping of space-time.
The detection confirms that a new era in the investigation of the cosmos is now truly under way.
"The key thing to take away from this third, highly confident event is that we're really moving from novelty to new observational science - a new astronomy of gravitational waves," said David Shoemaker, spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.
The latest detection, which was made at 10:11 GMT on 4 January, is described in a paper accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Once again, it is a merger of black holes, and once again the energy scales involved are extraordinary.
The analysis suggests the two black holes that coalesced had starting masses that were just over 31 times and 19 times that of our Sun. And when they finally came together, they produced a single object of a little under 49 solar masses.
It means the unison radiated a simply colossal quantity of pure energy.
"These are the most powerful astronomical events witnessed by human beings," explained Michael Landry, from the LIGO lab in Hanford, Washington State.
"In this case two times the mass of the Sun were converted into deformations in the shape of space. This energy is released in a very short space of time, and none of this comes out as light which is why you have to have gravitational wave detectors."
Gravitational waves - Ripples in the fabric of space-time
As with the two previous observations - in September and December 2015 - the scientists are uncertain about where on the sky the 4 January event occurred. From the three millisecond gap between the signal being picked up first at Hanford and then at the second lab in Livingston, Louisiana, researchers can only specify a large arc of possibility for the source.
Conventional telescopes were alerted to go look for a coincident flash of light, but they saw nothing that could be confidently ascribed to the black hole merger.
The LIGO collaboration will only solve this triangulation problem when a third station called VIRGO, in Italy's Pisa province, starts work alongside the US pair this summer.
The detection of gravitational waves has been described as one of the most important physics breakthroughs in recent decades.
Being able to sense the distortions in space-time that occur as a result of cataclysmic events represents a transformative step in the study of the Universe, one that does not depend on sensing electromagnetic radiation in any of it forms - from radio and optical light through to X-rays and gamma rays. Now, as well as trying to "see" far-off events, scientists can also "listen" to those events as they vibrate the very fabric of the cosmos.
And immediately this approach is telling researchers new things. One simple discovery is the recognition of a totally new class of black holes. Before LIGO's discoveries, orbiting pairs of these objects, some of 25 solar masses and greater, were completely unknown.
"In two years, we've gone from not knowing these systems existed to being really confident there's a whole population of them out there," commented Sheila Rowan, a collaboration team member from Glasgow University, UK. "And it's all consistent with gravitational waves from one of these systems passing through us about once every 15 minutes, from somewhere in the Universe," she told BBC News. The quest for the future is to get LIGO to sensitivities where more of these events can be detected.
Also possible now are new investigations of the properties of black holes. The scientists can tell from the nature of the 4 January signal that the spins of the objects were not fully aligned when they came together.
This suggests they were not created from a pair of previously orbiting stars that exploded and then collapsed into black holes. Rather, their origin was more probably as stars that led independent lives and only at some end stage fell in as a duo.
"In that first case, we would expect that the spins would stay aligned," said Laura Cadonati, the collaboration's deputy spokesperson. "So, we have found a new tile to put in the puzzle of understanding formation mechanisms."
In addition, gravitational wave astronomy permits new tests of Einstein's theories. Because of the greater distance to this merger (twice the distance to the 2015 events), researchers could more easily look for an effect called "dispersion".
For light, this describes how electromagnetic radiation of different frequencies will travel at different speeds through a physical medium - to produce a rainbow in a glass prism, for example.
Einstein's general theory of relativity forbids any dispersion from happening in gravitational waves as they move out from their source through space towards Earth.
"Our measurements are really very sensitive to minute differences in the speeds of different frequencies but we did not discover any dispersion, once again failing to prove that Einstein was wrong," explained Bangalore Sathyaprakash, a LIGO team member from Penn State, US, and Cardiff University, UK.
In a poignant coincidence, 4 January was also the day that Heinz Billing, a pioneer of gravitational wave science, died aged 102.
The German physicist and computer expert built one of the first laser interferometers - the instruments now used to detect gravitational waves. His early work is credited with making crucial contributions to the development of the eventual LIGO systems.
"His group started in about 1975, just before we did it here in Glasgow," recalled LIGO collaborator Jim Hough. "They were following the idea that the American Rai Weiss had had of using multiple beam delay lines, and of course the German detector was absolutely superb. They did fabulous work that has continued in Germany to this day."
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


The UK will boast 30% more super rich individuals in 10 years' time, keeping it ahead of other European countries, a report has found.

Property consultants Knight Frank said the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals increased by 6,340 to 193,490 worldwide in 2016, making up for a similar decline the year before.
Researchers put the turnaround down to strong performances on stock markets.
The report counted individuals with more than $30m (Â£24.2m) in net assets.
Last year saw political surprises and economic uncertainties from the UK's Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump, but many developed economies still performed well.
Stock markets in the US and UK also hit record highs in the final weeks of the year.
"There may be widespread uncertainty, but there are also strong fundamentals in many economies, with signs of real progress being made around regulation and policy which will help economic growth to flourish in some places," said Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, the research company which provided the data for the report.
Knight Frank said it expected the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals around the globe to grow by 43% over the next decade, but suggested wide variations between regions and countries.
The number of ultra-wealthy is expected to increase slightly more quickly in the US than in the UK over the next ten years, but the rest of Europe is set to see only 12% growth.
However the biggest rise - 91% - is due to take place across Asia.
By 2026 Asia will have almost caught up with the US: the region is set to boast just 7,068 fewer super-rich individuals than in the US in ten years' time. Currently the US ultra-wealthy headcount is 27,020 ahead of Asia's.
The researchers also found Asian cities, including Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing would eclipse current concentrations of wealth such as in San Francisco, as their wealthy populations rose.
Several African countries including Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania were also predicted to see big increases in their wealthy populations.


In a classroom bright with autumn sunshine Amelie raises her wrist to repeat the teacher's question.

This is a class at IPACA school on the Isle of Portland.
Amelie, in year four, is speaking calmly into her smartwatch, using voice recognition software to search the web for the fact she needs.
She might just as easily have reached for the smartphone that she also uses during lessons.
Her Dorset school has embraced a bring-your-own-device philosophy for pupils from year one to sixth form.
It puts them at the centre of a debate about smartphones in class, on which almost everyone has strong opinions.
First the head of Ofsted, Michael Wilshaw, said they should be banned from lessons.
Then the government said they would include smartphones in a review of measures to tackle poor behaviour in English schools.
Ministers pointed to research by the London School of Economics, which suggested a ban on phones could make a significant difference to the most disadvantaged children by reducing distraction from learning.
The academics asked schools in four cities in England about their mobile phone policy and combined it with data about pupil achievement.
The phone companies wouldn't release information from mobile records for reasons of confidentiality.
Richard Murphy, who carried out the research, says this meant they couldn't be sure what students were actually doing, but it was clear that having phones in class didn't have the same effect on all pupils.
"The fact we don't find anything for high achieving students implies that they're not being distracted by themselves, or being distracted by other pupils."
And crucially he told me their research was focused on what happened in schools which were considering a ban, possibly because they'd experienced difficulties, and then implemented one.
So they didn't look at schools like IPACA which are using phones as a learning instrument.
"What we can say for sure is having phones in schools without any rules is bad for low achieving students. But what we can't say is that if mobile phones were being used in a proactive way this can't also be beneficial."
This means the largest recent academic study into the use of phones in schools gives only part of the picture.
At IPACA, director of change and innovation Gary Spracklen argues it's about embracing 21st Century learning.
"With a smartphone we can cross-reference the textbooks - we can look at the Syrian crisis at the moment, the different population flows that are changing throughout Europe. We can't do that with a textbook."
The children at IPACA still read books, but the school library is online as part of a move to cloud-based learning.
A secure wi-fi system with filters operates across the school and devices are made available to everyone.
Any phone used in class has to be face up, on the table and unlocked so anyone can see what is open.
Vicky Short, whose son Finlay is at the school, says the reality is children are growing up with access to devices, and need to learn how to use them productively.
"I think it's important to understand as a parent that things are not done now as they may have been when we were at school. It's all about helping our children develop into modern society."
It is perhaps no surprise that IPACA is embracing devices like smartphones.
The school's patron is Prof Stephen Heppell, who leads an expert group advising ministers in England on technology in education.
Their report, published early this year, said the ability to use digital technology to find information and share knowledge is "an essential contemporary skill set".
Although the report was welcomed by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan in January there has been no formal response to it since then.
When I ask Prof Heppell what he thinks of the idea of restricting phone use, he points out that education has a track record of banning things from ballpoint pens to calculators.
He says: "Today phones offer so much: data capture - children measuring light or sound levels to improve classrooms; [and] communications [with] slow-mo video for sports training [and] walking geometric shapes on to a playing field."
Schools in England are having to find their own way through dealing with the possibilities and challenges of mobile phones.
Burnage Academy for Boys in Manchester introduced a complete ban on the use of phones four years ago.
The policy is clear: if a phone beeps, rings or is used in school it is confiscated and has to be picked up by a parent.
Head teacher Ian Fenn says it has had a significant effect on reducing disruption in class.
"We do not have as many thefts in school, as much cyberbullying. If their access to phones is limited during a chunk of the day, it lessens. I can think of no downsides whatsoever."
Technology is still used to aid learning, but through controlled access to more than 350 networked computers.
When I speak to one of the parents, Debbie Makki, she's clear she supports the ban.
She has one son at Burnage while his older brother goes to a school with a more relaxed approach to phones.
"I've noticed the more he uses the phone in the daytime the more he uses it in the evening. Whereas my son who's here only uses it after he's done his homework."
This is an area where parents, and teachers, often have strong views shaped by dealing with teenagers glued to their phones.
The review now taking place will look at behavioural problems some schools have had because of smartphones.
But it's unlikely to end in an attempt to ban them across schools in England.
It would be impossible to enforce.
And there simply isn't enough evidence to rule out their use as a learning tool.


South Sudan's government says it is sending more troops and police to the town of Pibor, to deal with an outbreak of ethnic violence.

On Saturday, members of the Lou Nuer group attacked Pibor, home to the rival Murle group, in the latest of a series of reprisal attacks over cattle raids.
Tens of thousands of the Murle fled.
Some 6,000 Lou Nuer fighters are chasing them, reportedly to take revenge for previous attacks and to rescue dozens of abducted children.
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has called on them to stop their advance.
Charity Medecins Sans Frontieres says it is "extremely worried" after losing contact with some 130 staff in Pibor.
A hospital and other parts of the town were  set alight on Saturday.
The BBC has learnt that some of the displaced - mainly women, children and the elderly - have been killed although it has not been possible to verify how many.
By Will RossEast Africa correspondent
Tens of thousands of people from the Murle tribe are trekking through the harsh terrain of South Sudan. Six thousand armed men from the rival Lou Nuer tribe are chasing after them - to take revenge for previous attacks and to rescue dozens of abducted children.
Troop reinforcements have been promised but it will be extremely difficult to stop these inter-tribal attacks, which started out as cattle raids and have led to more than 1,000 deaths in recent months.
Reprisal attacks over cattle rustling have gone on for years but they are now on an alarming scale.  The two communities are basically at war with each other.
The government said it was deploying more troops and an additional 2,000 police to Pibor.
Military spokesman Col Philip Aguer said: "The 2,000 police are being sent within the next 24 hours. Troops will be deployed as soon as possible."
The UN had sent more more peacekeepers to defend the town on Friday following reports that the armed Lou Nuer men were approaching.
But questions will be asked as to why hundreds of South Sudanese soldiers and UN troops were unable to protect Pibor, says the BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross.
A spokesman for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC they had only been able to get in touch with 13 members of staff, and believe the rest fled into the bush to escape the attack.
Parthesarathy Rajendran urged both sides in the conflict to respect MSF facilities because the charity was the only health-care provider in the area.
Almost all the residents of Pibor had also already fled amid fears of an impending assault.
Six thousand fighters from the Lou Nuer group have been marching through Jonglei state in recent weeks, setting fire to homes and seizing livestock.
The entire town of Lukangol was burnt to the ground last week. About 20,000 civilians managed to flee before the attack, but dozens were killed on both sides.
About 1,000 people have been killed in Jonglei in recent months, during inter-ethnic fighting, triggered by the cattle raids.
The governor of Jonglei state and the vice-president of South Sudan have been trying to mediate between the rival ethnic groups.
South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011 following decades of civil war with the north.
One legacy of the conflict is that the region is still flooded with weapons.
These are now being used in tribal power-struggles, which often focus on cattle because of the central role they play in many South Sudanese communities.
So far, the South Sudanese authorities appear unable to make any progress in tackling the problem.


Rangers have launched court proceedings against four of the club's former executives and Mike Ashley.

The civil case against former chief executives Charles Green and Derek Llambias, former director Imran Ahmad, former financial director Brian Stockbridge and Ashley has been brought at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
With Ahmad currently believed to be out of the UK, notice of his citation was published in Monday's Times newspaper.
Rangers had no comment to make.
Last week Rangers withdrew the rights for Rangers Retail Limited, a commercial joint venture with Ashley's Sports Direct, to use the club's trademarks.
The company can no longer produce or distribute merchandise that bears the club's badge.
Rangers Retail was set-up in August 2012 while Green was chief executive of Rangers. At the same time, Ahmad was a director and Stockbridge was the financial director.
Rangers Retail, which is 51% owned by Rangers and 49% by Sports Direct, was established to run the club's retail operation. Fans have protested against the agreement, believing the club does not earn enough from the joint venture, and some have stopped buying merchandise.
Llambias, the former managing director of Newcastle United, the club Ashley owns, was appointed chief executive between December 2014 and March 2015, when the current directors ousted the previous board at an extraordinary general meeting.


We're doing something a bit different this week as I take on some of your questions on a variety of cricketing topics.

A big thank you to all those who sent them in on Twitter via the hashtag #AskStewie.
Q) If Chris Tremlett gets back fit, do you see him getting into England's Ashes team and if so, who will he replace? (@stehoare)
I know England are desperate to have Chris Tremlett back in their Test squad because he adds something to the mix. As he proved in the last Ashes series down under, he is a world-class performer when fit and firing. With his pace and bounce he can trouble the very best batsmen.
He has worked exceptionally hard this winter after a serious injury and, after speaking to him at The Oval, he wants to get back playing for Surrey and force himself into England contention.
The question of who he replaces is an impossible one to answer because it depends on which bowlers are fit and showing top form at that specific time.
Q) Could Chris Woakes bat at number six for England? (@DanJukes9)
"Kevin Pietersen's knee injury setback is a major concern for England ahead of such an important summer. The initial prognosis of bone bruising did not sound too serious but it is worrying that after a period of rest, with the knee in a brace, there has been no improvement.
"The priority for Pietersen must be getting fully fit for the Ashes and there has to be a question mark over his participation in the Champions Trophy in June. He would need to prove himself in four-day cricket for Surrey before he can be considered for England duty and he won't want to take a risk until his knee is fully back to normal.
"You can't rush these things but I'm convinced Pietersen will be getting the best possible medical advice to get him ready to take on the Aussies."
Not currently, no. I'm not quite sure why you would want him to bat at six when you have someone of the calibre of Matt Prior, who is more than capable of batting there if England want to play a fifth bowler.
Woakes is a promising young bowler who is developing nicely at Warwickshire. If he continues to make progress he could yet be an option at number seven for England as a bowling all-rounder. This would be a great addition to England's armoury because they are yet to find a replacement for Andrew Flintoff in that role.
Q) Apart from Michael Clarke I'd have no Aussies in the England team. How poor is this Australia side and are we right to write them off? (@simonturner)
I am certainly expecting England to win the Ashes but I think the Australia seam bowling attack will surprise a few people. In Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Patrick Cummins they have a quartet who have all proven themselves in Test matches and could be a handful in English conditions.
Clarke aside, their batting is severely lacking in experience but every Australian side will be a battling one. They are a proud cricketing nation and won't go down without a fight.
Q) What changes would you make to the domestic Twenty20 competition? (@D1PZ)
I want to see as many people coming through the gates as possible and I'm delighted that next season the Twenty20 competition will be spread out over a longer period, with matches played on the same days each week. This has to be an improvement on the current situation where all the matches are crammed into a short period and one match just blends into the next. Last year Surrey had four home matches in seven days which is really tough on the players and spectators. To expect anyone to pay £25 four times in a week was just ridiculous.
I would also like to see a certain number of games planned when England players are available so that you could see exciting match-ups between international players. Imagine Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad playing for Nottinghamshire against a Yorkshire side featuring Tim Bresnan, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root.
Every match needs to be an occasion and you do that by making sure your best players are available as often as possible.
Q) After you, is Adam Gilchrist the best wicketkeeper-batsman of all time? (@moreland79)
Adam Gilchrist is the best keeper-batsman I've seen bar none. He was a very competent gloveman but it was his batting that made him special. Whether Australia were 300-5 or 120-5 when he walked in, he would still impose himself on the opposition. I was there in Perth in 2006 when he took Monty Panesar apart in scoring the second-fastest Test century of all time. He was such a clean striker of the ball and could hit it wherever he wanted.
In his time, Gilchrist was without parallel in the game but Matt Prior and AB de Villiers are now getting very close to his level.
Q) What is the best innings you ever witnessed from behind the stumps? (@seo1990)
Although I was in the field rather than keeping, it is hard to look beyond Brian Lara's 375 for West Indies against England in Antigua in 1994. Over more than 12 hours at the crease he was a man in total control of what he was he was doing in attack or in defence. It takes a phenomenal level of concentration and fitness to bat for that length of time and he never looked like getting out.
Obviously it was frustrating and demoralising to watch at the time but you look back and think you were a part of history because you had one of the best seats in the house for one of the great moments in the game.
Q) What was the best country to chill out in after a Test match? (@Spurs4u)
I thoroughly enjoyed playing in the Caribbean where the lifestyle is as laidback as you'll find anywhere in the world. But to be honest, if I'd won the match, I was happy wherever I was.
Q) What's the worst captaincy decision you ever made? (@englishgiant83)
As a captain you always make decisions because you believe they are right at the time but there are one or two selections I was involved in that I would reconsider with the benefit of hindsight.
One was not picking Nick Knight in the 1999 World Cup to open the batting. We went for Nasser Hussain instead because Nick was not in the best of form at the time. On reflection, we should probably have looked beyond his short-term slump and trusted him to rediscover the match-winning talents he had shown previously.
Similarly, leaving out Andy Caddick for the 1998-99 Ashes series after he had taken 100 wickets for Somerset is something I would look at again, given what Caddick went on to achieve. We decided to keep faith with the squad that had just beaten South Africa at home.
Q) Have you ever thought about full-time coaching? (@MohmedSheikh)
I've not considered full-time coaching because I enjoy the variety of still being involved in the game as opposed to just having the one role. If you are going to be a coach, you have to throw all of your efforts into it, which is something I would not be able to do at present because of my various working commitments. I would never say never but it's not something I'm seriously considering at the moment.
Q) Who would win a fight between you and Michael Atherton? (@Smokesniper)
That would be a total mismatch, but he would beat me at Mastermind, that's for sure.
Alec Stewart was talking to BBC Sport's Sam Sheringham.


The Metropolitan Police (Met) has won its appeal against a High Court ruling over kettling tactics used during the G20 demonstrations.

The High Court ruling had been won by Hannah McClure, a student, and Josh Moos, a campaigner for Plane Stupid.
They challenged the legality of restraint methods used against them in April 2009 when they were contained by officers in Bishopsgate.
But the Court of Appeal has now ruled against the High Court's decision.
Mr Moos said it was "a shame" the appeal judges could not see that the police were "out of control".
The High Court ruling, where officers were said to have used "unjustified force", led to a call from human rights lawyers for an "immediate change to police attitudes and tactics".
Police used the kettling tactic - where demonstrators are corralled inside police cordons and prevented from leaving - against the protesters in Bishopsgate, even though they had been peaceful.
The Met said the kettling was necessary to keep violent demonstrators at the Royal Exchange from "hijacking" the more peaceful climate camp, attended by up to 5,000 people.
The High Court had ruled there had been no evidence of an imminent breach of the peace to justify the kettle, which was in place for more than four hours.
Mr Moos, who was part of a peaceful protest camp, said he had become dehydrated after being refused permission to leave.
When the police announced an appeal they made it clear the judgement did not outlaw kettling, and containment tactics would continue to be used "to prevent serious disorder and violence".
The Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger, sitting in the Court of Appeal with Lord Justice Hughes and Lord Justice Sullivan, ruled against the High Court decision.
In his ruling, Lord Neuberger said the Met's appeal was being allowed because the Divisional Court (High Court) had "applied the wrong test when assessing whether there was an imminent risk of breach of the peace".
Rather than assessing the "reasonableness" of the view taken by the officer in charge on the day, the High Court judges had formed their own view, the Court of Appeal heard.
"Even if they decided that (the officer's) view was unreasonable, there was no valid basis for reaching such a decision," said Lord Neuberger.
The decision to contain the crowd of protesters at the climate camp was justifiable because of fears of the serious risk of them being joined by "dispersing demonstrators from another substantial crowd" which had been seriously violent and disorderly, the court heard.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, welcomed the verdict, saying: "As the August riots and student protests highlighted last year, in order to appropriately respond to a situation of disorder, police must have available to them a wide array of tactics."
He said clear parameters were needed so that in the future both protesters and police officers know when kettling methods would be used.


Promotion-chasing Burton Albion were held to a goalless draw with League One play-off hopefuls Barnsley.

The Tykes had the better of the first-half chances, as Sam Winnall and Ivan Toney both fired over the bar.
Burton improved after the break, with Adam Davies twice having to make saves from winger Mark Duffy.
Calum Butcher also fired narrowly wide for the Brewers, before Winnall scooped the ball over from inside the six-yard box late on.
Burton remain second in the table, three points ahead of third-placed Walsall, while Barnsley are only two points adrift of the play-offs in seventh.
Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough told BBC Radio Derby:
Media playback is not supported on this device
"I thought first half they shaded it with a couple of opportunities - half chances, nothing serious.
"I thought second half it was ours. If we can just get a break in the penalty area, then we'll get a goal, but it's certainly not through the lack of effort.
"We have shots, it hits peoples' legs, it rebounds, it's bobbling around the six yard box, it's not dropping to a yellow shirt."


Ambulance workers in the Somali capital Mogadishu have told the BBC they have counted 28 dead bodies at a hotel following a bomb attack by militants.

They said 43 others, including seven journalists, were injured after bombs exploded at the Dayah hotel - although there have been no official numbers.
Somali security minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed earlier said four attackers had been killed by security forces.
The Islamist militant group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers used a vehicle laden with explosives to blast their way into the hotel, where members of parliament were believed to be staying.
Shortly after the first blast, another vehicle exploded, killing and wounding more people who had gathered in the area.
Survivors described how hotel residents hid under beds and others jumped out of windows to escape from the attackers.
Hassan Nur told the AP news agency: "They [the gunman] kicked down room doors and at some point posed themselves as rescue teams by telling those inside to come out, (only) to kill them.''
Police officer Colonel Abdiqadir Hussein told Reuters that security forces had later managed to secure the building.
"We have rescued the people and concluded the operation at Dayah hotel," he said.
"The security forces are now inside the hotel."
The hotel is located less than a mile from Somalia's presidential palace and is popular with dignitaries.
The attack comes at a time when the country is preparing for indirect elections where MPs are set to choose a president.


A big day at the assembly as the fifth and final budget is set out by the Welsh government.

It's worth remarking that this is the first administration so far since the start of devolution which has only had cuts to deal with.
Labour will not want to go into the assembly election feeling that it has left itself exposed to more attacks about failing to protect NHS budgets.
So instead it will give its single biggest extra cash injection to health of more than a quarter of a billion pounds.
Since 2013, when it made the key decision to re-prioritise spending from councils to the NHS, more than a billion pounds has gone to health.
In other words, most of the extra money that has come its way has been spent on the NHS.
It will not of course take the heat out of the debate.
The Tories have referred to figures from the assembly's research department showing that in real terms (after taking into account the effect of inflation) health spending in 2015 is still around Â£100m behind what it was in 2010.
The Welsh government says the extra money will mean that spending in 2016 will be 0.6% higher than in 2010.
The Tory point being that the failure to protect the NHS budget between 2011 and 2013 means that it's taken until 2016 to catch up to a point where it should have been in the first place.
The health minister Mark Drakeford fails to acknowledge the difference between council and nhs cuts. His argument is that local authority social care providers stop elderly people taking up beds in hospitals when they should be at home.
In other words, if you cut their budgets, you can't get people to be operated on in hospitals because of so-called bed-blocking.
We're not expecting council budgets to be cut as much as many had feared.
One inevitable question is whether the worst of austerity for public services in Wales is now over?
There is a narrative that the worst of the cuts are yet to come but that isn't backed up by the figures.
Between 2010 and 2015, the Welsh government's budget was cut by around 8%.
Between 2015 and 2020, the forecast is for the Welsh government's budget to be cut by 3.6%.
Council leaders will still say it doesn't mean things are getting any easier.
Their argument is that the low-hanging fruit has already been covered, and the cumulative impact of cuts means any further reductions are just as tough.


More than 1,500 fish have been found dead in a polluted brook in Staffordshire, prompting an investigation.

The Environment Agency said the pollution in Picknall Brook, Uttoxeter, came from an "agricultural source".
The water flows into the River Dove but the group said there had been "no visible impact" on the river's ecology.
It said it was still considering its enforcement response and was looking at plans to stop it happening again.
Environment Agency spokesman Susan Bowen said: "Our initial assessment is that over 1,500 fish have died in the brook, mainly bullheads and minnows, although we are still assessing the impact.
"The pollution has now passed and dissipated, so we can confirm that water quality in the brook has returned to normal, and we will look at ways we can help the brook's ecology to recover.
"Because of the on-going investigation and the fact we are still considering our enforcement response, we are unable to give any further information at this stage."
Staffordshire County Councillor for Uttoxeter, David Brookes, said it was "an unfortunate incident".
"I understand the pollution has now gone but I would suggest livestock are kept away from the brook for the time being," he said.


A third person arrested in connection with the death of a man in Ipswich has been released on bail.

Dean Stansby, 41, died of stab wounds to the abdomen near Ancaster Road in the town on Wednesday.
Suffolk Police had already arrested and bailed a 39-year-old man from Ipswich and a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of murder.
A 31-year-old man, of no fixed abode, was arrested on Monday. He has been bailed until 21 May.
For more on this and other Suffolk stories
Mr Stansby was taken to Ipswich Hospital for treatment after he was found in Ancaster Road but died a short time later.