The government is to lift a ban that stops healthcare staff with HIV performing certain medical procedures.

Healthcare staff in England, Wales and Scotland having HIV treatment will be able to take part in all tasks, including surgery and dentistry.
England's chief medical officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said it was time to scrap "outdated rules".
Self-testing kits for HIV will also be legalised from April 2014, with the aim of improving early diagnosis.
Prof Davies said many of the UK's HIV policies were designed in the 1980s and had been left behind by scientific advances and effective treatments.
She told the BBC that patients controlling their infection with medication were not a danger: "The risk is negligible and I would accept that for myself, for my family and I think it's right."
She said: "It is time we changed these outdated rules which are sometimes counter-productive and limit people's choices on how to get tested or treated early for HIV.
Allan Reid had to give up dental practice after being diagnosed as HIV positive in 2008.
It ended his 17 years in the profession and he says it led to his house being repossessed.
"I was aware at that time that there was effective treatment that would make the risk of infection non-existent.
"So of course you do feel resentful that the policy has not caught up with the science and you've had to give up your chosen career."
He said he hoped that himself and other healthcare workers will be allowed to return to their careers.
"What we need is a simpler system that continues to protect the public through encouraging people to get tested for HIV as early as possible and that does not hold back some of our best healthcare workers because of a risk that is more remote than being struck by lightning."
Around the world, there have been four cases of health workers infecting patients, none of which was in the UK.
Under current guidelines healthcare staff with HIV must not carry out "exposure prone procedures" - where the worker's blood could contaminate the patient's open tissues.
These procedures include those where the worker's gloved hands may be in contact with sharp instruments, needle tips or sharp pieces of the patient's bone or teeth, according to the UK advisory panel for healthcare workers infected with bloodborne viruses.
Under the new system, healthcare workers with HIV will be allowed to undertake all procedures if they are on effective combination anti-retroviral drug therapy.
They must also have an undetectable viral load of HIV in their body, and must be regularly monitored.
Public Health England will set up a confidential register holding data on infected workers.
About 110 staff currently working in the NHS, including doctors and midwives, are covered by the current regulations, Prof Davies added.
The change applies in England, Wales and Scotland, but does not yet apply in Northern Ireland, which will make an announcement at a later date.
Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, welcomed the new policy for being "based on up-to-date scientific evidence and not on fear, stigma or outdated information".
Sir Nick Partridge, chief executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "Advances in medication have transformed what it means to live with HIV, and it's great to see regulations starting to catch up."
About 100,000 people in the UK are living with HIV, although experts say a quarter of those who are infected do not know they have it.
In 2011, there were around 6,000 new diagnoses of HIV in the UK.


An girl has had bleach squirted on her in Newry.

The incident happened between 21:00 BST and 21:30 BST on Monday, but police have just released details.
They said a group of 11 "males"  attacked two girls in the incident in the car park of a cinema at the Quays Centre.
Bleach made contact with the skin of the stomach of one of the girls, but she was not seriously injured. The bleach bottle was then thrown at her.
Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them.


A former MP, cleared of being part of an alleged VIP Westminster paedophile ring, said the Metropolitan Police's inquiry "irreparably ruined my life".

Harvey Proctor, 69, had his home raided and was questioned as part of Operation Midland, which closed last week with no charges brought.
He said the Met had enabled him to be "wrongly depicted as a paedophile, child abuser and child murderer".
The Met has said it was "absolutely right" to investigate the claims.
The Home Office said decisions on investigating allegations were a matter for police forces.
Mr Proctor, who was a Tory MP from 1979 to 1987 for the Essex constituencies of Basildon and then Billericay, was interviewed under caution in August 2015 as part of Operation Midland. He has always vehemently denied the allegations.
The investigation, which began in November 2014, was triggered by allegations made by a man in his 40s known as "Nick", who claimed he was abused for nine years from 1975, when he was seven, to 1984.
"Nick" also claimed three boys were murdered by the alleged paedophile ring.
How one man's claims sparked Met inquiry
At an emotional press conference, Mr Proctor said he had been through a "harrowing" experience, and called on Home Secretary Theresa May to "consider her position".
Breaking down in tears, he said he felt the police had regarded him as "disposable", and he had lost his home and his job as a result of the allegations.
"I do believe it is profoundly un-British and unfair.
"I believe I have been pilloried and the Met Police service has enabled me to be wrongly depicted as a paedophile, child abuser, child murderer.
"These are the worst things that can be said of a human being."
He added: "It has been a harrowing time for me, for my family and for my friends. The trauma I have experienced, I would not wish on anyone, not even on 'Nick'."
Established in November 2014, Operation Midland was triggered by allegations made by a man in his 40s known as "Nick". It was set up to examine claims of a Westminster VIP paedophile ring, with allegations boys were abused and murdered by a group of powerful men from politics, the military and law enforcement agencies.
The inquiry related to locations across southern England and London in the 1970s and 1980s, and focused on the private Dolphin Square estate in Pimlico, south-west London.
Operation Midland was closed without charges after 16 months. It cost more than Â£1.8m. The Met said it had not found enough evidence to bring charges, but defended the decision to investigate the claims as "absolutely right".
Historical child abuse: Key investigations
Mr Proctor repeated a call for senior police officers associated with Operation Midland - including the Met's police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe - to "remove themselves from the police service".
He also claimed the public inquiry into historical child abuse and a separate judge-led probe into how Scotland Yard dealt with claims against public figures would be "a whitewash".
"The outcome of these two fake inquiries will be a whitewash and a cover-up and a deliberate exercise in kicking the issue into the long grass until the architects of the scandal have moved on to collect their pensions," the former politician said.
He later added: "Operation Midland has had a disastrous affect on genuine complaints of child sexual abuse, both present and historical. I think it has been incredibly counterproductive."
He also called for a change in the law to give sex abuse suspects anonymity until they are officially charged with an offence.
Addressing the alleged murders, he said: "There are and never were any bodies, they dug up no bodies, there were no names, no grieving families and no complaints because it was all a figment of one man's imagination, bolstered by a political glitterati and investigated by policemen who have watched too much Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders.
"And when they established the truth - some time ago I think - they were too afraid of each other and the media to pull the plug."
Harvey Proctor was born in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, and served as a Conservative MP from 1979 to 1987, representing the Essex constituencies of Basildon and then Billericay.
In 1986, allegations surrounding his sex life appeared in a Sunday newspaper, claiming he had been involved with male prostitutes aged between 17 and 21.
The legal age of consent for gay men at the time was 21 and Mr Proctor was charged with gross indecency. He resigned as an MP shortly before his trial in May 1987, where he pleaded guilty and was fined Â£1,450.
The following year he opened two shops selling luxury shirts, with financial support from some former colleagues.
In 1992, two men assaulted Mr Proctor in his Richmond-upon-Thames shop. Neil Hamilton, who was a government minister at the time, was also in the shop and had his nose broken in the incident.
In 2000, Mr Proctor's stores were forced into liquidation after legal action by Customs and Excise over an unpaid VAT bill.
Between 2003 and 2015, he was private secretary to the Duke of Rutland at Belvoir Castle, a 16,000-acre site of farmland and woodland in Leicestershire.
As it announced Operation Midland was closing, the Met said it recognised it had been "unpleasant" for those investigated to have their innocence publicly called into question.
However, the force said it would not apologise "for carrying out its duty to investigate serious allegations of non-recent abuse", adding that there was no evidence that investigators were "knowingly misled by a complainant".
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse said such investigations were challenging, but it was "absolutely right" that the claims had been examined.
"Victims of non-recent abuse should have the confidence to come forward and know that we will listen to them, take seriously their allegations and investigate without fear or favour."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We have been absolutely clear that where an allegation of child sexual abuse is made, whether it occurred now or in the past, it should be reported to the police so that they can thoroughly investigate and establish the facts.
"Decisions on investigating those allegations are a matter for police forces, held to account by their police and crime commissioner."
Peter Saunders, founder of the charity National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), said Mr Proctor's anger was understandable, but it was "not helpful to attack the police".
"I don't think what's happened with Harvey Proctor has been entirely helpful to the whole process, but I hope it doesn't in any way deter victims and survivors - or complainants as Mr Proctor would call them - from coming forward where there are serious allegations," he said.


Staff at business a premises in Newtownards, County Down, have been threatened by a man wielding a knife.

Police were called to Regent Street in the town shortly after 21:00 GMT on Satuy following threats made in the business premises and at members of the public on the street outside it.
PSNI officers saw the man threaten pedestrians on a nearby street.
"The male was restrained and subsequently arrested," the PSNI said in a statement.
Bus driver Peter Knight, who witnessed the incident, said he encouraged members of the public who were standing on the street to board his bus for protection.
"There were people standing around, most of them were waiting on various buses, so I told them to just get on my bus and closed the doors until he was arrested," he said.
The 19-year-old is being held on suspicion of attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.


A 12-year-old Australian boy in remission from cancer has been granted his request to "blow stuff up" with an elite police squad.

Make-A-Wish Australia organised the day for Declan, who was diagnosed in 2015.
He was taken behind-the-scenes at a police training facility, participated in a hostage-rescue exercise and detonated a series of explosives.
Declan was also given the VIP treatment from PM Malcolm Turnbull.
"Declan hasn't been well lately but today found out what it was like to sit in the prime minister's chair and visited the cabinet room before exploring the rest of Parliament House," Mr Turnbull wrote on Sunday.
"What a great thing to do," Opposition Leader Bill Shorten replied. "Declan looks right at home."
Assistant Commissioner David Sharpe from the Australian Federal Police said it was not hard to find volunteers for the exercise.
"Declan's wish was to blow something up and obviously that's something we can do," he told the BBC.
"But this is not just about Declan. It's about his recovery, his family and delivering something for them as well."
The adventure also included a meet-and-greet with Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and a tour of the US Embassy with Marines.
Make-A-Wish approached Declan during his seven months of chemotherapy treatment.
"What inspired Declan's wish, I think was for him to do something different and something to take his mind off his illness," said Declan's mother Belinda.
"He has been telling all our friends and family that he's going to blow stuff up and they have all been really jealous."


Whitney Houston's death was caused by accidental drowning, but drug abuse and heart disease were also factors, a coroner has ruled.

Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey said drug tests indicated the 48-year-old US singer was a chronic cocaine user.
The announcement ends weeks of speculation over the cause of Houston's death.
She was found submerged in the bath of her Los Angeles hotel room on the eve of the Grammy Awards on 11 February.
In a statement, the LA County Coroner's office described Houston's manner of death as an "accident", adding that "no trauma or foul play is suspected".
The cause was cited as drowning and "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use".
Other drugs found in her blood included marijuana, as well as an anti-anxiety drug, a muscle relaxant and an allergy medication.
But these were not factors in her death, the coroner's statement said.
Patricia Houston, the singer's sister-in-law and manager, told the Associated Press news agency: "We are saddened to learn of the toxicology results, although we are glad to now have closure."
The pop star was laid to rest at a cemetery in her home state of New Jersey after a funeral that was attended by celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Mary J Blige.
The singer, who was one of the world's best selling artists from the mid-1980s to late 1990s, had a long battle with drug addiction.


More than 25,000 cyclists have descended on the capital this weekend for RideLondon.

The annual cycling festival will see thousands of enthusiasts take part in a host of events including a 100-mile ride from London to Surrey on Sunday.
The amateurs FreeCycle fun ride will be followed on a similar course by 150 professionals racing in the RideLondon-Surrey Classic.
Some roads and bridges on the route have been be closed for the events.
A number of roads in the City of London, Westminster, parts of the borough of Camden and Waterloo Bridge are closed from 06:00 BST to 18:00 on Saturday.
On Sunday, road closures will be in place from 04:00 in parts of east, central and south-west London ahead of the 100-mile race.
The event started at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, then follows a 100-mile (160km) route on closed roads through the capital and into Surrey's countryside, before finishing on The Mall in central London.
From 10:30 onwards, roads along the route will be reopened in phases once the event has passed. All roads are expected to be open by 20:00.
London Bridge, Tower Bridge and Waterloo Bridge will be closed until the evening.
Transport for London has a full list of all roads and bridges affected.


Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale is backing Owen Smith in the Labour Party leadership contest.

She said Mr Smith could reunite the party and win a general election.
She said: "Owen Smith gets my vote. I believe Owen can unite our party, and move us on from the divisions that exist under the current UK leadership of Jeremy Corbyn."
A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said a majority of Scottish Labour members would be backing him in the ballot.
Mr Corbyn also won the backing of most of the local branches in Scotland which backed a candidate.
A hustings debate between the two leadership candidates will be held at the SECC in Glasgow on Thursday evening, with the winner of the contest due to be announced on 24 September.
Writing in the Daily Record, Ms Dugdale claimed Mr Corbyn was unable to appeal to enough voters to beat the Conservative Party.
"We can't pin our hopes on a leadership that speaks only to the converted rather than speaking to the country as a whole," she wrote.
"My only public comment on Jeremy Corbyn's leadership before this contest was to say that he had lost the confidence of his parliamentary colleagues in Westminster.
"That's a fact. More than 80% of Labour MPs expressed a lack of confidence in Jeremy's leadership.
"If 80% of my colleagues in Scottish Parliament didn't support me I wouldn't be able to do the job - even though I received 72% of the votes when party members and trade unionists in Scotland elected me to be their leader.
"That remains my position today. I don't think Jeremy can unite our party and lead us into government.
Ms Dugdale later admitted to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that thought the Labour Party was in a "very, very difficult place" and had been "ripping itself apart".
But the MSP insisted Mr Smith represented the "best mix of radical Labour politics with a credible plan to get back into government".
"It's not about throwing bricks at Jeremy Corbyn saying he's wrong person for the job," she added.
Ms Dugdale said: "I know that it will annoy and frustrate some people that I've spoken out but I'm doing what I think is right. I'm standing by my principles and I'm speaking up and I think it's important that I do."
She has also said she does not think there is any chance of Scottish Labour splitting, regardless of the outcome of the leadership contest.
Mr Smith said he was "incredibly proud" to have been endorsed by Ms Dugdale.
He added: "Kezia and I want to see a strong Labour Party that can defeat the Tories in Westminster and take the fight to the SNP in Holyrood.
"But that will only be achieved if we can unite our party and demonstrate we have a radical, credible plan to rebuild communities right across the United Kingdom."
But a spokesman for Mr Corbyn's campaign said: "Kezia has one vote, just like every other member of the Scottish Labour Party, but all the indications, both from canvassing and CLP nominations, are that a majority of Labour party members in Scotland will be backing Jeremy Corbyn."
Scotland's biggest trade union, Unite, has also re-affirmed its endorsement of Mr Corbyn, who it said had been given an "overwhelming mandate" by Labour members less than a year ago.
The union's Scottish secretary, Pat Rafferty, said: "Jeremy Corbyn became leader thanks to a movement of tens of thousands of ordinary people who want fairness, democracy and equality at the heart of our politics, and who have made the Labour Party the largest political party in western Europe."
19-20 July: The number of MP nominations for each candidate was published
20 July: Deadline for people to sign up as a registered supporter closed
22 August: Ballot papers start to be sent out in the post (Labour Party members only) and by email
21 September: Deadline for ballot papers to be returned is midday
24 September: The result will be announced at a special conference in Liverpool


Two men have been charged with the murder of a 50-year-old man at a Somerset caravan park on Thursday.

Wilfred Isaacs died at Chubbards Cross caravan site in Ilton following a shooting incident.
Charlie Broadway, 23, and William (Billy) Broadway, 18, from Ilton, were charged with murder, attempted murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Both men remain in custody and are due before Yeovil magistrates on Monday.
Five others arrested in connection with the shooting are being questioned by police.
Det Supt Andy Bevan said: "This has been a fast-paced and wide-ranging investigation and I would like to again thank the local communities affected for their patience and support.
"We will continue to have a visible police presence at Chubbards Cross caravan site as this ongoing, complex investigation continues."
He added that forensics teams remained on site and that it would remain closed for the next few days.
Police are still looking for the firearm used in the death, which they believe is a shotgun.


Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against the introduction of water charges in the Republic of Ireland.

Media playback is unsupported on your device
1 November 2014 Last updated at 19:42 GMT
It is believed there were more than 90 demonstrations across the state, with protesters angry at the prospect of bills arriving from the beginning of January.
BBC Newsline's Dublin correspondent, Shane Harrison, reports.


Flooding has hit the M9 and a major road in Greenock, as another period of wet and windy weather affects Scotland.

On the M9, flooding closed lanes north and southbound around Bannockburn and Craigforth.
Part of East Hamilton Street in Greenock was closed and diversions were put in place. One lane has now opened in each direction.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning of rain for southwest Scotland, valid until 06:00 on Monday.
It said rain will be accompanied by gale force winds with gusts of 45-55 mph quite widely, and 60-65 mph over exposed coasts and bridges.


An investigation has begun after man's body was pulled from the water off the Isle of Wight.

Police are treating the victim's death as unexplained, following the discovery near East Cowes just before 09:00 GMT.
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said investigations were being carried out to determine the man's identity.
He added that "the death is being treated as unexplained at this time" and asked anyone with information to call the force on 101.


A 37-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of County Antrim woman Pauline Carmichael.

Ms Carmichael, 61, was found dead on the shore of Lough Neagh on Wednesday.
She was last seen near her home in Hillside, Antrim, on Monday night.
Alan Norman Foster, from Hillside, Antrim, spoke only to confirm his name and said he understood the charge. No application for bail was made and he was remanded back into custody.
A police officer told Coleraine Magistrates Court she believed she could connect the accused to the charge.
Mr Foster will appear again in court in March.


A plane believed to be a Syrian military aircraft has crashed near the border between Syria and Turkey, Turkish officials say.

A Syrian army source said the air force had lost contact with a fighter jet near the border, state TV reported.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a search was under way for the pilot, who was thought to have ejected.
An Islamist group which is fighting the Syrian government said the plane had been shot down.
Ahrar al-Sham tweeted a video which it said showed the plane being "targeted".
A spokesman for the group, Ahmed Karaali, was quoted by Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu as saying the government plane had been bombing Idlib province in northern Syria when it was shot down by opposition forces.
Turkey's prime minister said the plane, which he said was a MIG-23, had crashed near the town of Samandag in Hatay province.
Hatay governor Erdal Ata told Anadolu that rescue teams had arrived at the wreckage and reported that the cockpit was empty.
Mr Yildirim said it was not clear why the plane had crashed. "It may be due to weather conditions," Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.
Turkey supports rebel forces in Syria, which oppose the government of Bashar al-Assad. Turkish military forces also operate on the Syrian side of the border, targeting both Kurdish rebel fighters and so-called Islamic State.
In a separate development, the threat of attack by Turkish-backed rebels has prompted the US-led coalition to increase its military presence around the Syrian city of Manbij.
Kurdish fighters of the Popular Protection Units (YPG) captured Manbij from IS militants in August but the YPG agreed three months later to move its forces east of the River Euphrates.
However, the Kurdish fighters have not moved and Turkey has threatened to attack the city in response, says the BBC's Arab affairs editor, Sebastian Usher.
Pictures have been circulating online of armoured vehicles thought to be from the coalition near Manbij and the coalition spokesman has confirmed that more forces have been deployed.
The spokesman said the increased presence was to deter hostile acts and "keep the focus" on IS.


Lloyds Banking Group has set aside another £1bn to cover the cost of insurance mis-selling and the treatment of mortgage customers.

Of that, £700m will cover payment protection insurance (PPI) claims and £283m will be used to repay about 590,000 mortgage holders.
The bank had already put away an extra £350m this year to cover PPI costs.
It came as Lloyds posted half-year pre-tax profits of £2.5bn, 4% higher than last year.
The results are the first since the government sold its stake in the bank.
The repayment to mortgage customers comes after they were charged from 2009 to 2016 for going into arrears.
The Financial Conduct Authority had been investigating the issue, concluding that the charges should not have been applied as the bank did not always do enough to understand customers' circumstances and check that their arrears payment plans were affordable and sustainable.
The FCA says Lloyds will refund all fees charged for arrears management and broken payment arrangements, and it will also pay any litigation fees that were applied unfairly to customers who were involved in related legal action.
On top of that, it will also offer payments for potential distress and inconvenience.
The bank will itself approach customers to prompt them to make a claim.
Lloyds became the UK's biggest force in personal banking as a result of its absorption of HBOS - the former Halifax and Bank of Scotland - at the height of the financial crisis and was bailed out by the government at a cost of about £20bn.
Lloyds is also having to compensate some of its small business customers, who suffered as a result of widespread fraud at its former HBOS branch in Reading.
Victims saw their businesses taken over by so-called specialists recommended by the branch between the years 2003-07.
These "specialists" destroyed a number of the businesses, squandering the money they made on prostitutes and luxury holidays.
Lloyds is in the process of paying compensation to the victims of the fraud, for which it set aside £100m in the first quarter.
It is also currently undertaking a review of what happened.
It is the PPI mis-selling scandal, though, that dwarfs all others.
Lloyds has now increased provisions for claims some 17 times. Its chief financial officer, George Culmer, said it was "disappointing" to be having to do it again.
He also offered no guarantee that there would be no further increases in provisions, although he did say the number "looked appropriate in terms of covering us between now and August 2019".
Lloyds alone has now set aside £18bn. In total, UK lenders have been forced to set aside more than £30bn to cover PPI compensation costs.
PPI became controversial after it was revealed that many customers had been sold it without understanding that the cost was being added to their loan repayments.
PPI claims deadline is announced
Lloyds under fire over fraud payouts
Lloyds £20bn bailout 'has been repaid'
The bank's chief executive, Antonio Horta-Osario, said of the various pots of money set aside for customer redress: "We have a commitment as a management team of putting these legacy charges behind us as soon as possible."
He admitted, though, that there would "always be redress costs" when running a banking business.
Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown, said that despite the size of the provisions for the various types of misconduct, Lloyds' performance was satisfactory.
"It's a sign of Lloyds' strength that it can shrug off £1.6bn of misconduct charges to post a strong rise in profits," he said.
"Overall, this is a strong set of numbers from Lloyds, blighted, but not overshadowed, by misconduct costs. The government has exited the bank and is now no longer selling stock in the market, which removes a significant downward pressure on the share price."
The government had been steadily offloading its Lloyds stake, resulting in about £21bn being returned to the taxpayer.
The government still owns 73% of Royal Bank of Scotland, which was rescued with £45.5bn of taxpayers' cash during the crisis in the world's biggest bank bailout.


Dover Athletic have signed striker Tobi Sho-Silva following his departure from fellow-National League club Bromley.

The 22-year-old, who scored 11 goals in 2016-17, has signed a two-year deal.
A former Charlton trainee, Englishman Sho-Silva also represented Welling and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, before joining Bromley in 2016.
He said on Twitter on Friday: "Mad love for everyone at Bromley. It was a tough decision to part ways as I thoroughly enjoyed my time at a great club."


Celtic came from behind to beat Old Firm rivals Rangers and move 19 points clear at the top of the Premiership.

Kenny Miller slid in to convert James Tavernier's cross and put the home side ahead early on.
Moussa Dembele's powerful shot from a Scott Sinclair corner flashed high into the net to bring Celtic level, and Dembele later fired against the bar.
The visitors dominated the second half, and Sinclair touched home Stuart Armstrong's low cross for the winner.
Mark Warburton's hosts showed from the outset their intention was to press their opponents in wide areas, and it paid dividends when Josh Windass released Tavernier to set up Miller's close-range finish.
Celtic continued to concede too much space in the full-back areas, and further deliveries troubled goalkeeper Craig Gordon and his defence.
However, Dembele's leveller put Celtic into the ascendancy and Rangers then struggled to get Barrie McKay and Tavernier on the ball, though McKay did draw a save from Gordon after the break.
Having struggled to get a telling delivery at set-pieces, Rangers may have gone ahead just before Celtic's second as Danny Wilson met Tavernier's corner, Gordon making the save.
Summer signings Dembele and Sinclair had run the Rangers defence ragged in September's 5-1 win at Celtic Park, and the duo's link-up play was again the catalyst as the visitors recovered from their early setback.
Sinclair's set-piece was controlled and rattled into the top-right corner by Celtic's top scorer Dembele - a fifth goal against Rangers for the Frenchman this season.
And he should have taken that tally to six after Mikael Lustig squared the ball to the striker early in the second period, a miskick allowing Wes Foderingham to save.
Foderingham came to Rangers' rescue when James Forrest was played in on goal by Stuart Armstrong but Sinclair would ensure a happy end to 2016 for his team, applying the finish to Armstrong's piercing ball across the face of goal.
Armstrong, Sinclair and substitute Nir Bitton forced further saves from Foderingham as Rangers continued to struggle in defence.
In a match of so many chances, it was a surprise there were only three goals.
Sinclair fired against the right-hand post as Celtic trailed, and Dembele's downward volley bounced up on to the crossbar at 1-1, with Sinclair firing the rebound wide.
And, after Sinclair had netted, Rangers were also left frustrated by the goal frame as Miller's shot came back off the same post Sinclair had hit in the opening half.
The Scottish Premiership enters its winter break for the early part of January and Celtic can extend their advantage at the top to 22 points if they win their game in hand against St Johnstone near the end of next month.
The league leaders, who have won 15 Premiership matches in a row and have only dropped two points all season, are targeting a sixth straight top-flight title win and a first under manager Brendan Rodgers.
For Rangers, they suffer their first competitive home defeat since September 2015 and face a battle to hold on to second place with Aberdeen, who have a game in hand, two points behind them.
Match ends, Rangers 1, Celtic 2.
Second Half ends, Rangers 1, Celtic 2.
Corner,  Rangers. Conceded by Mikael Lustig.
Andy Halliday (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Stuart Armstrong (Celtic).
Attempt saved. Andy Halliday (Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Corner,  Celtic. Conceded by Barrie McKay.
Danny Wilson (Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Danny Wilson (Rangers).
Moussa Dembele (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner,  Celtic. Conceded by Danny Wilson.
Corner,  Celtic. Conceded by Danny Wilson.
James Tavernier (Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by James Tavernier (Rangers).
Moussa Dembele (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Corner,  Celtic. Conceded by Rob Kiernan.
Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Rangers).
Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Nir Bitton (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Celtic. Nir Bitton replaces Callum McGregor.
Attempt missed. Rob Kiernan (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Corner,  Rangers. Conceded by Scott Brown.
Attempt saved. Scott Sinclair (Celtic) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top right corner.
Attempt saved. Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Rangers. Harry Forrester replaces Jason Holt.
Corner,  Celtic. Conceded by Wes Foderingham.
Attempt saved. Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Kenny Miller (Rangers) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box.
Corner,  Celtic. Conceded by Barrie McKay.
Attempt saved. Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Barrie McKay (Rangers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Patrick Roberts (Celtic).
Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Rangers).
Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Rob Kiernan (Rangers).
Scott Sinclair (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Barrie McKay (Rangers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
Goal!  Rangers 1, Celtic 2. Scott Sinclair (Celtic) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Stuart Armstrong.
Attempt saved. Danny Wilson (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.


Debutant Jamal Campbell-Ryce rescued a point for Chesterfield with his first touch of the game against Scunthorpe.

Paddy Madden latched on to Jim O'Brien's through ball to put the hosts ahead with his 20th goal of the season.
Chesterfield could have levelled before the break when goalkeeper Luke Daniels tipped Connor Dimaio's shot over.
But Campbell-Ryce, who joined the club on loan from Sheffield United prior to kick-off, salvaged a draw for the visitors from Jay O'Shea's cross.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Scunthorpe manager Nick Daws told BBC Radio Humberside: "Today we haven't created enough chances and we've not forced Tommy Lee to make enough saves. I thought we opened them up and showed what a good side we can be.
"We lacked a little bit of energy and that's not been up recently and I thought we looked a little bit lethargic and a little bit stretched.
"We turned the ball over too many times and that gave Chesterfield opportunities."


Replacement fly-half Billy McBryde kicked a late winning penalty as Wales Under-20 fought back from 15-5 down to beat Scotland Under-20.

Rory Hutchinson's penalty and tries from Matt Smith and Murray McCallum built the visitors' lead.
Shaun Evans struck back between Scotland's tries.
And after Tom Phillips and Keelan Giles went over, McBryde - son of Wales forwards coach Robin - added the winning touch.
Robin McBryde played hooker for Wales and toured Australia with the 2001 British and Irish Lions under Graham Henry.
Wales U20: Rhun Williams (RGC); Elis-Wyn Benham (Cardiff Blues), Joe Thomas (Ospreys), Harri Millard (Cardiff Blues), Keelan Giles (Ospreys); Dan Jones (Scarlets), Reuben Morgan-Williams (Ospreys); Corey Domachowski (Cardiff Blues), Dafydd Hughes (Scarlets), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues), Shane Lewis-Hughes (Cardiff Blues), Bryce Morgan (Newport Gwent  Dragons), Tom Phillips (capt, Scarlets), Shaun Evans (Scarlets), Harrison Keddie (Newport Gwent Dragons).
Replacements: Ifan Phillips (Scarlets), Robert Lewis (Cardiff Blues), Leon Brown (Newport Gwent Dragons), James Ratti (Ospreys), Morgan Sieniawski  (Cardiff Blues), Declan Smith (Scarlets), Billy McBryde (Scarlets), Joe Gage (Ospreys).
Scotland U20: Ruairi Howarth; Robbie Nairn, George Taylor, Tom Galbraith, Darcy Graham; Rory Hutchinson, Hugh Fraser; Murray McCallum, Jake Kerr, Callum Sheldon, Callum Hunter-Hill, Scott Cummings, Andrew Davidson, Matt Smith, Ally Miller.
Replacements: Lewis Anderson, George Thornton, Adam Nicol, Stephen Ainslie, Scott Burnside, Charlie Shiel, Chris Lines, Ben Robbins.


League Two side Stevenage have signed QPR winger Jake Mulraney on a one-month loan deal.

The 19-year-old Republic of Ireland youth international joined QPR in 2014 but has yet to make a first-team appearance for them.
He spent time on loan at Dagenham earlier this season, making his debut against Stevenage before playing eight more games.
Mulraney was not named in Stevenage's squad to face Portsmouth on Saturday.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Former England captain Rio Ferdinand has paid tribute to his mother, Janice St Fort, calling her "a little fighter" after the 58-year-old died on Thursday from cancer.

The footballer posted a message to "Mummy" on Instagram with a picture of them together.
Thanking his "huge hearted" mother, Ferdinand said all he had wanted to do "was to make you proud".
In May 2015, Ferdinand's wife Rebecca, 34, died of breast cancer.
The ex-Manchester United defender referred to the support Mrs St Fort had given him and her three grandchildren following his wife's death.
He said: "At my most difficult time, you were my shining light and made it your mission to be there for me and my kids... trust me that will never forgotten."
Earlier this year, Ferdinand appeared in a BBC documentary, Being Mum & Dad, where he spoke about his difficulties in dealing with grief and finding the best way to talk to their children about the loss of their mother.
In an emotional eulogy to his mother, Ferdinand said: "You were fiery, you were protective, you were soft and hard faced when need be... you loved hard, you disciplined me, you were a grafter & you were my everything."
Ferdinand's brother and former Premier League footballer Anton also paid tribute to their "loving, caring and forever selfless mum" on Instagram.
"Mum for 32 years of my life you've done nothing but put me first!" he said.
"Always cared and worried about others before yourself, an inspiration to me, my brothers, sister and husband Peter and anyone she had in her life."
Friends and former colleagues tweeted messages of support to the brothers.
To Rio, Gary Lineker tweeted: "Thoughts are with @rioferdy5 and family. They've suffered way too much lately."
Sol Campbell tweeted: "So sad to hear my England team mate and friend's mother Janice passing away. My heart goes out to you and your family Rio @rioferdy5. RIP."
Former West Ham and Aston Villa footballer Marlon Harewood tweeted to Anton: "So sorry for your loss bro."
Mrs St Fort died at Guy's Cancer Unit in London Bridge Hospital on Thursday with her husband Peter and her four children at her bedside.


Paralympics GB men's team captain Paul Blake believes sponsors are more interested in supporting "athletes with a disability you can see".

Middle-distance runner Blake, 25, won silver and bronze at London 2012 as well as the T36 800m title at October's IPC World Championships in Doha.
Blake, who has cerebral palsy, is struggling for sponsors to supplement his funding for the Rio Paralympics.
"Without funding, I'd struggle to continue," he told BBC Radio Solent.
Blake, from Dorchester, was speaking as a campaign was launched to encourage the public to generate funds for the team.
Supercharge Paralympics GB hopes to ensure Britain has the "best prepared team" for Rio in September.
"The bigger sponsors and the bigger companies focus on specific athletes and it's pretty hard for cerebral palsy athletes to get any significant sponsor," Blake said.
"They focus on the athletes with a visual disability that you can physically see."
Blake, who also won T36 400m silver in Doha, receives funding from both UK Sport and Camelot based on his performances at major championships.
But he admits meeting expenses for travel, accommodation and new kit is difficult.
"I can only do so much in keeping on handing out begging letters, but I've got to focus on training as well," he added.
"Crowdfunding is one way of going about it, but I don't really have time for that. I'm just doing what I'm doing really and hoping something comes up."
Former GB wheelchair basketball player and now broadcaster Ade Adepitan has sympathy for Blake.
"I think the next level in the progression of the Paralympic movement is where our athletes get sponsorship from the large brands, in the same way able-bodied athletes do," he said.


Work has started on a new £1.6m fire station in Ceredigion.

The new Aberystwyth fire station will be built on the same site as the current one on Penparcau Road, Trefechan.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it would take about 10 months to finish.
Work began on Monday with demolition set to start later this week. Firefighters are being temporarily housed in the town's TA Centre.


Questions on everything from James Bond villains to Great British Bake Off cake tins have been received by council call centres in England.

"What time does your website close?" in Poole and "Can I exercise my kestrel on your tip?" in Nottingham are among the top ten bizarre calls of the last year.
Three of ten were made in Somerset, including: "What are the rules and regulations for hosting a mouse race?"
Councils are people's "first port of call" whatever the query, says the LGA.
The Local Government Association said councils' customer service hubs in England and Wales handled more than 50 million calls a year - the bulk of which are about council tax and parking.
But it compiled its top ten of the "slightly amusing to the outright bizarre" queries received in the past 12 months.
Peter Fleming, of the LGA, said: "These light-hearted examples of calls highlight the variety of issues that councils deal with every day."


The organisers of the "Love Parade" festival will stand trial in connection with the deaths of 21 people in a crush in 2010, a German court has ruled.

More than 500 others were injured in the crush, when thousands tried to squeeze through a tunnel that served as the only access to the music festival.
Ten people will now face charges of manslaughter and negligence for the disaster in Duisburg.
A Duesseldorf court overturned the previous decision to drop the case.
The court said the case could be "proven with sufficient probability", based on the available evidence.
Four event organisers and six municipal employees will be tried in the western city of Duisburg, where the techno event took place seven years ago.
In a statement, the regional appeals court said the results of an investigation suggested that "breaches of the duty of care with which the accused are charged were the cause of the deaths and injuries."
Poor design of the entry way and flow capacity for revellers caused the disaster, "and could have been foreseen," it said.
The Love Parade festival that year was attended by about one million people.
A British festivalgoer, Salil Bhate, told the BBC at the time that he saw people lying on the ground with "trample marks on their faces".
"The police and security personnel were more concerned with keeping people away from the edges, rather than helping people," he said.
Mark Knight, a British DJ who performed at the event, said he was told to continue with his set on the main stage, even though it was clear something had gone wrong.
He said the organisers had been "quite adamant" that he should continue to perform.
"They had been liaising with the authorities and the stance that they had taken was that we really cannot make people aware too much of this situation for fear of more panic. So we had to keep playing, which was very odd and a surreal environment."
The Love Parade began in Berlin in 1989, before becoming an annual pilgrimage for millions of techno fans from around the world.


Sir Lenny Henry has been awarded a fellowship of the Royal Television Society alongside a judges award at the RTS Programme Awards.

The actor and comedian said at the London ceremony he was surprised to receive the fellowship, saying it was beyond his "wildest expectations".
Sir Lenny won the judges award for his work raising awareness of diversity within the industry.
Other winners included actress Suranne Jones and presenters Ant and Dec.
Ant and Dec, who won their first RTS award in 1995, took home the prize for best entertainment performance, but Dec admitted he had managed to break the award soon after receiving it.
Jones won the best female actor award for her role in BBC drama Dr Foster, adding to the National TV Award she won in January. Meanwhile Anthony Hopkins won the male actor award for BBC Two's The Dresser.
Emmerdale beat rivals Coronation Street and EastEnders to win best soap and continuing drama.
The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies followed its Bafta success by winning two awards - best drama serial and best drama writing for Peter Morgan.
Another double winner was comedy series Catastrophe. The show's creators and stars Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney won best scripted comedy and best comedy writers.
Michaela Coel, star of E4's comedy Chewing Gum, won the breakthrough award, which was a new prize this year. She also won best comedy performance.
ITV2's Release the Hounds beat The Graham Norton Show and The Last Leg to win best entertainment show.
The horror-themed game show sees contestants pushed to the limit in tests taken place during the night in a remote forest with the judges remarking it was "brilliantly made, with great production values which really move the genre forward".
Reggie Yates, who hosts Release the Hounds, won the presenter award for his BBC Three programme Reggie Yates' Extreme Russia.
ITV's Judge Rinder  beat This Morning to win best daytime programme, with judges calling it "incredibly watchable, distinctive and entertaining".
BBC One's DIY SOS: Homes for Veterans beat First Dates and SAS: Who Dares Wins  to win the popular factual and features category.
In other drama awards, Paul Abbott's No Offence won best drama series and Coalition won best single drama.
Broadcaster and journalist Joan Bakewell received the lifetime achievement award at the ceremony, hosted by Richard Madeley.
Earlier this month the Royal Television Society announced the judging panel this year had changed to include more women and people from minority backgrounds.
The full list of winners can be seen on the RTS website.


US doctors have carried out what they say is the most extensive face transplant ever performed.

The operation at the University of Maryland gave Richard Norris a new face, including jaw, teeth and tongue.
The 37-year-old has lived as a recluse for 15 years after being severely injured in a gun accident, and wore a mask whenever he went outside.
The surgery was funded by the US Navy, which hopes the techniques will help casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Surgeons who carried out the 36-hour operation say it was part of a series of transplant operations lasting 72 hours, using organs from one donor in five patients including Mr Norris.
He lost his lips and nose in the accident, and only had limited movement of his mouth.
The lead surgeon says Mr Norris will now get his life back.
"Our goal is to restore function as well as have aesthetically pleasing results," said Eduardo Rodriguez.
The team at the University of Maryland say Mr Norris is now brushing his teeth and shaving, and has regained his sense of smell.
The US government estimates that 200 wounded troops might be eligible for face transplants.
The first face transplant was performed in France in 2005, on a woman who was mauled by her dog.
In 2010 surgeons in Spain carried out the world's first full face transplant.


A Russian social network, notorious for streaming pirated music, has been ordered by a court to use technology to prevent future copyright infringement.

Record labels Warner and Universal sued VKontakte (VK) in 2014, demanding the removal of the pirated music and 50 million rubles ($1.4m) in damages.
The court ruling goes one step further by asking it to install preventative technology.
In July, VKontakte reached a settlement with Sony Music.
The Russian social network is something of an anomaly in the market, according to the body which represents the music industry,  IFPI .
It told the BBC that VK is one of the few widely used social networks to still make pirated music available.
It had requested that the social network be forced to use fingerprint technology which could match uploaded music against a file of copyright music to filter out all pirated tracks.
It is unclear yet what technology will be used by VK but IFPI said that the ruling was good news for rights holders in Russia.
"This is a very important and positive decision for the Russian music market and for music creators in Russia," said IFPI chief executive Frances Moore.
"VK's infringing music service has been a huge obstacle to the development of a licensed business in Russia, making available hundreds of thousands of copyright-infringing tracks to more than 70 million daily users."


Leeds are hoping centre Kallum Watkins can recover from a wrist injury in time to play in Friday's World Club Challenge against Manly at Headingley.

But Rhinos coach Brian McDermott rates former England winger Lee Smith's prospects as "slim" after damaging his ribs in Saturday's defeat at Wigan.
"If he's popped a rib cartilage or torn some of those muscles around that area, it's pretty serious," said McDermott.
"I don't want to write him off. But he sore and not looking great," he added.
"We'll give him until the 11th hour. Given that he's started off this year pretty well for us and his head is in the right place, I'll give him as long as we can."
The Rhinos have an obvious replacement in Ben Jones-Bishop, a member of their Grand Final-winning team in October, who was also in the England squad for the Four Nations Series.
"We've got a couple of options there," McDermott added. "Ben Jones-Bishop is probably the notable one.
"If it's him, I'm sure he'll be doing everything possible to keep hold of his shirt."
The Australian champions' arrival last weekend coincided with a rise in temperatures that removes any lingering doubt over Friday's game and will be a relief to the Rugby Football League after ignoring the claims of Elland Road's undersoil heating.
Leeds are expecting a 20,000 full house as they look to become the first English winners of this fixture since they themselves beat Melbourne 11-4 in 2008, the last of a run of five straight wins for Super League clubs - and McDermott is delighted to be handed some home comforts.
"We'll enjoy playing at Headingley," he said. "We're in familiar surroundings and obviously the majority of the fans will be from Leeds.
"I don't think it will give us too much of an advantage. For a one-off game, these Aussie fellas will come and give it their best shot.
"If we were playing a three-game series at the same venue possibly it would have a bearing but, for one game, they'll be ready for it."
Manly hope to welcome back Australia international winger David Williams, who has been passed fit to make his comeback after missing the Sea Eagles' Grand Final triumph last October with a broken neck.
Williams, one of nine survivors from the Manly team that beat Leeds 28-20 in the 2009 World Club Challenge, is included in Manly's 20-strong travelling squad and will be named in coach Geoff Toovey's team later this week.
Toovey, who will be in charge of his first competitive match after succeeding Des Hasler in the close season, insists the Sea Eagles have no problem playing at Headingley.
"It doesn't matter where we play," he said. "I think the players will be very excited about playing in front of a hostile crowd.
"We'll really take that on board. It's a great experience for our players. Not many of our players have been over here."


The Danish director of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has questioned why an English-language version is being made of Stieg Larsson's best-selling novel.

"Even in Hollywood there seems to be a kind of anger about the remake," Niels Arden Oplev said in an interview with the Word and Film website.
Sweden's Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace starred in the original film, released in the UK earlier this year.
Britain's Daniel Craig and newcomer Rooney Mara co-star in the US version.
Currently shooting in Stockholm, the remake is being directed by David Fincher of Fight Club and The Social Network fame.
It is due out in cinemas in December 2011.
In Larsson's novel and its two sequels, an investigative journalist joins forces with a female computer hacker to solve crimes.
Both sequels have been filmed in Sweden with Nyqvist and Rapace reprising their roles as Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.
According to Word and Film, Oplev is concerned that Mara's peformance will overshadow Rapace's.
"The Sony PR machine is trying to make their Lisbeth Salander the lead Lisbeth Salander," he is quoted as saying.
"That's highly unfair because Noomi has captured this part and it should always be all her," he goes on.
"That's her legacy in a way I can't see anyone competing with. I hope she gets nominated for an Oscar."
The Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film made Â£2.2m in the UK and $10.1m (Â£6.2m) in the US.
Its follow-up, The Girl who Played with Fire, came out in August, while a third film, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, is released this month.
Larsson did not live to see his Millennium trilogy of crime novels become an international publishing sensation.
The Swedish author and journalist died of a heart attack in November 2004 at the age of 50.


A disabled teenager who made a video about growing up with a brain tumour has reached his target in an online fundraising appeal.

Lewis Hine posted the video to mark his 16th birthday and it has been viewed more than 20 million times on Facebook.
It prompted Sir Elton John to phone him to say it had moved him to tears.
Lewis, from Portsmouth, wanted to raise Â£15,000 for teenagers who had missed their school proms through illness or disability to have their own party.
The teenager has undergone brain surgery more than a dozen times since he was diagnosed with the tumour aged 17 months. He still encounters daily seizures as a result.
He set up a project called Friend Finder, to help other youngsters who had spent a lot of time away from school and found it hard to make friends.
The online appeal was set up to help fund a prom event for young people aged 15-19 planned for Portsmouth Guildhall in June.
Earlier this week, Lewis said: "The kindness and support from around the world has been unbelievable."
He added that after the prom is funded all extra money raised will go towards making the project accessible all over the world "to make sure everyone has a friend".


Police searching for a man in connection with the sexual assault of two girls at Legoland are following up new leads after a television appeal.

The six year olds were "touched inappropriately" at a playground in the Windsor theme park on 11 August.
Thames Valley Police said it had received more than 80 calls after a BBC One Crimewatch appeal on Monday.
One member of the public spotted a man matching the description of the offender in a photo, the force added.
A reconstruction of the assault was broadcast on Monday night, followed by a police appeal.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said the appeal had led to "a number of names" being put forward.
The force has issued an e-fit image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the investigation.
The assaults happened between 12:15 and 12:30 BST in the Pirate Shores area of the attraction on a day when about 14,200 attended the theme park.
A man in his 20s, from Bracknell, was later arrested on suspicion of sexual assault but released without charge on 31 August.


The Met Office has issued a high winds warning for Shetland, Orkney and parts of the Western Isles and northern mainland Scotland.

Winds gusting to up to 75mph have been forecast for Tuesday.
The Met Office has issued a yellow "be aware" warning to cover from 10:00 to 18:00 on Tuesday for the worst affected areas.
It has warned of the possibility of disruption to ferries, large waves and heavy showers.
The Met Office said the stronger winds would be "short lived in any one location".
But it added: "At the same time some large waves will run onto exposed coasts bringing the chance of some spray and wave overtopping."


Radioactive iodine from nuclear reprocessing plants in the UK and France has been detected deep in the waters near Bermuda.

Scientists say the contaminants take a circuitous route travelling via the Arctic Ocean and down past Greenland.
Researchers believe the radioactivity levels are extremely low and present no danger.
However, scientists can use the iodine to accurately map the currents that transport greenhouse gases.
One scientific consequence that arose from the testing of nuclear bombs in the atmosphere in the 1950s was that their radioactive fallout provided a powerful global tracer of water circulation and deep-ocean ventilation.
Other sources of radioactive material for scientists to track water movements have been the nuclear reprocessing plants at Sellafield in the UK and at La Hague in France.
Contaminants have been legally released from these sites for more than 50 years. One in particular, Iodine-129 (129I), has been very useful for scientists tracing the ocean currents that help pull down greenhouse gases into the waters.
"What we have found is that by tracing radioactive iodine released into the seas off the UK and France, we have been able to confirm how the deep ocean currents flow in the North Atlantic," said lead researcher Dr John Smith from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, in Canada.
"This is the first study to show precise and continuous tracking of Atlantic water flowing northward into the Arctic Ocean off Norway, circulating around the arctic basins and returning to the Nordic seas in what we call the 'Arctic loop', and then flowing southward down the continental slope of North America to Bermuda at depths below 3000 metres."
Scientists have used other molecules as tracers, specifically chlorofluorocarbons that were once used in refrigeration. But 129I, which has a half-life of 15.7 millions years, retains the initial imprint of its input history over a long period of time.
Another advantage for researchers is that 129I is relatively easy to detect at extremely low levels.
"In many ways this is a bit like the old 'stick in a stream' game we used to play as kids," said Dr Smith.
"What people call 'pooh sticks' in England, where you would drop a buoyant object in the water and observe where it comes out. Of course, it would be much better if these markers were not in the ocean at all, but they are, and we can use them to do some important environmental science."
This new study is part of an international project called GEOTRACES that uses geochemical markers to follow ocean currents.
The scientists say that 129I has been measured as far south as Puerto Rico, but the expectation is that it will continue to flow southward into the South Atlantic and eventually spread throughout the global ocean.
"The advantage of using 129I as a transient tracer in oceanography is the long half-life of this isotope compared to the circulation times, and the fact that it is largely soluble in seawater," said Dr NÃºria Casacuberta Arola from ETH, Zurich, who wasn't involved with the study.
"Now, major efforts are also devoted to find other artificial radionuclides with similar sources and behaviour than 129I so that the more tools we have, the better we will understand the ocean circulation."
The research has been presented at the Goldschmidt2017 conference in Paris.


Police across the UK feel "helpless" in the fight against the former legal high Spice, a senior officer has said.

North Wales Police Ch Insp Dave Jolly told BBC 5 live new psychoactive substances are the biggest challenge he has faced in his 29-year career.
Spice is a term for a range of new psychoactive substances which the government banned in May 2016.
Until then they were known as "legal highs" and available to buy in High Street "head shops".
They are designed to mimic the effects of cannabis, but affect the brain differently - and can have severe debilitating effects.
Several regions of England and Wales are reporting major issues with people addicted to these former legal highs. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has warned of a risk to public safety unless more funding is provided to deal with the issue.
Commander Simon Bray from the National Police Chiefs' Council says the drug is a "significant challenge" for specific hotspot areas, with homeless communities in Manchester, Birmingham, parts of London and Newcastle affected.
He said enforcement activity was working to deal with the issue, but said "it can't just be about policing".
Tony Ormond, a former heroin addict who now works as substance misuse service user involvement co-ordinator in north Wales, agrees and has called for long-term planning.
"Mental health services are under-resourced as it is and over-populated," he told BBC 5 live.
"We need to forecast that this is potentially a mental health timebomb for five to 10 years, that it's going to put extra strain on mental health. But in the short term, I think we need to combat it with love, compassion and understanding."
A 22-year-old Spice user from Wrexham says that the drug became more popular before it became illegal because it was cheaper than cannabis.
"It's made me homeless," he said, "It sort of stops the shakes and the coldness in your body. It's physically addictive, definitely."
Concerns have been raised in the East Midlands, particularly in Derby - where a mobile police station has been set up to deal with the issue.
The East Midlands Ambulance Service says it has seen an increase in activity and, in the first two weeks of August, it had to deal with 188 callouts related to people who had taken synthetic highs in Derby and Nottingham.
The North East Ambulance Service has provided figures to the BBC showing an increase in the number of callouts relating to former legal highs since they were banned, with more than 100 incidents per month (compared with about 60 last June).
Ch Insp Jolly said: "I've got over 29 years.  I see it as probably the most significant challenge in policing, certainly in Wrexham.
"And having spoken to people across the UK who are feeling the same pain from these chaotic users, I think we're all feeling slightly helpless around how we are we going to actually work through this challenge."
In a statement, the Home Office said it recognised how dangerous substances such as Spice and Black Mamba could be and the "devastating impact that they can have on our communities, families and the individuals taking them" and that was why they had been banned.
"Since we introduced the landmark Psychoactive Substances Act we have seen use of these substances fall significantly, hundreds of retailers shut, and the first offenders convicted," a spokesman added.


Britons Chris and Gabby Adcock suffered a surprise mixed doubles quarter-final defeat at the European Championships.

The top seeds and Superseries champions were beaten 21-14 19-21 19-21 in France by Danes Mathias Christiansen and Lena Grebak in La Roche-sur-Yon, France.
The husband-and-wife duo led in the third game, but faltered and failed to save the last of three match points.
"No more than we deserved this week unfortunately," Chris Adcock later tweeted. "Played very poor all week."
Rajiv Ouseph of England and Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour reached singles semi-finals, with fifth seed Ouseph beating Danish fourth seed Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 19-21 21-12 21-19, and second seed Gilmour beating Spain's Beatriz Corrales 21-19 22-20.
England's Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge beat Scots Rob Blair and Adam Hall 21-19 21-13 to reach the men's doubles semi-finals.


"This is the moment we'll remember every day for the rest of our lives," sang Pet Shop Boys.

Their dramatic stage was the Queen Victoria Memorial, in front of Buckingham Palace, right at the heart of the Olympics and Paralympics host city.
Its steps were filled with athletes from Team and Paralympics GB; above them on the monument's top stood a golden winged victory figure.
The act's performance came at the pinnacle of a love-in between crowds and athletes that started two hours earlier.
It stretched from Mansion House in the City, past St Paul's, along Fleet Street and the Strand to Trafalgar Square and under Admiralty Arch up to the Queen's London residence.
Twenty-one floats of athletes travelled through streets which they described as "unbelievably packed" with people.
First came the police outriders, then police horses, carnival costume lions, then drummers, to herald their arrival. Across the city you could hear the sharp roar of a crowd not yet done with cheering.
"Amazing" is a word perhaps overused by pundits, punters and competitors at Games like the Olympics and Paralympics. Maybe it should be saved for days like this, when people in the crowd declared the place "Utopia" as they turned out to thank their heroes.
On one of the cyclists' floats, Britain's most successful Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, who won his sixth gold medal at London 2012, said he just had to "turn around, hold up the medals and you'd get a huge wayyhayyy from the crowd" - such was their willingness to support the team.
Four time London Paralympic gold-medal winning David Weir felt "like a football star". Quite a tribute from the sport that during the last two months has gripped the nation, to the one that forms its obsession every week during the season.
Many athletes described the parade as feeling unreal after the intensity of the Games.
"Jessica Ennis says her mum says I'm her favourite athlete after her," said Weir. "That's surreal". Hoy admitted times like these were so powerful they left him emotionally drained.
And physically. Swimmer Ellie Simmonds had taken off her four medals. They were some of the heaviest ever made and the largest, whoppers. The price of success is that they make her neck ache if worn all at once.
The atmosphere was happy, but more muted at the top of the Mall where the final speeches and thank-yous of these Games took place.
Transport and security fears mostly were not realised during 2012, but parade organisers took no chances. The volunteer Games Makers lined the Mall and a mixture of armed forces and emergency services personnel, and GB support staff, stood in front of the Palace.
The forces can step in to fill a gap in security guards or make up a crowd, but they can't quite recreate the feeling when the public flooded the area for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations earlier in this spectacular summer.
But there were magic moments - as athletes spotted the coaches and family who had help push them to their place on that float.
Olympic triathlon gold and bronze medallists Alistair and Jonny Brownlee pinpointed their strength and conditioning man Ian Pryor in the crowd, their smiles as wide as they were that August Tuesday on the Hyde Park podium.
"They work so hard all the time," said Pryor, waving up at them. "It's just such a big smile moment for us because you see them on their up and down days. It's great to see now the fruits of their labour."
Prime Minister David Cameron praised the athletes for delivering a "golden summer". One of Britain's most successful Paralympians, Sarah Storey, with 11 Paralympic medals and 22 overall, paid tribute to the crowd and urged the next generation to "dream big and work hard".
It was up to London Mayor Boris Johnson to bring the house down. He turned around to the athletes to tell them there were "a lot of you" and said they "routed the doubters, scattered the gloomsters" and for the first time in living memory caused people to talk to each other on the Tube.
After the flypasts, including by Firefly, the passenger plane that brought the Olympic flame to the UK from Greece and started it all back in May, and the national anthem, it was left to the athletes to ponder 'what next?'.
The Brownlee brothers were perched on the railings outside Buckingham Palace batting around their "most ridiculous" post-Games work offers so far.
"Dancing on Ice," laughed Jonny. "I can't skate and I can't dance. So no!"
Many athletes were looking forward to or enjoying the return to training and competition. Life back to normal, a working solution to the Tuesday Blues that will come after this last hurrah.
Hoy said he was back in light training on the velodrome track, ready for the "will-he-can-he-compete?" ahead of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
And how will the public who have cheered them all up to this wire cope?
A figure in a Team GB cap and Union Flag poncho walked slowly up the incline in Green Park, away from the barriers being stacked and stages dismantled on the Mall.
"It's been fantastic," said Paralympics fan Terry Arnold.
"But we'll have our pictures and our memories, and we just won't forget it."


Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has confirmed that country star Dolly Parton will play this year's festival.

Speaking to BBC 6 Music at Wednesday night's NME Awards, Eavis said the singer had confirmed the "amazing news" earlier that day.
"We're really, really excited because it's been something we've been wanting to happen for a long time. And she finally said yes," said Eavis.
Parton later told her three million followers the news via Twitter.
"I'm incredibly excited to FINALLY announce that the #BlueSmokeWorldTour is coming to @GlastoFest on June 29th! ;) Stay tuned for more infoâ€¦" she wrote.
Parton will perform in Sunday afternoon's renowned "legend slot" on the Pyramid Stage, which last year featured fellow country star Kenny Rogers.
Festival-goers enjoyed a mass singalong of Islands in the Stream - his hit duet recorded with Parton.
"It's one of those rare things where someone like [Dolly] is in the country at the same time as Glastonbury, and we're really, really excited about this. Hopefully Kenny put in a good word," said Eavis.
In an interview with Radio 4's Front Row programme, Eavis added that she had made it her "life's mission" to get Parton to agree to perform at Glastonbury, after being told years ago that she did not do festivals.
"She stands totally alone, she's such a brilliant star and I think one of the greatest female stars of our generation," said Eavis, adding "And she doesn't tour very often."
She also appeared to rule out rumoured headline acts Prince, Stone Roses and Fleetwood Mac, telling BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz it was "unlikely" they would feature on the bill.
"I very much doubt any of them will be on this year," said Eavis.
However, she did admit timings were still a work in progress.
"At the moment we've got a napkin on our fridge and it's got a sort of rough sketch of who's going where," she revealed.
"And then every few days we'll be like 'maybe actually it would be better for him to go on the Friday, and then we'll move her down to third on the Sunday', or something. We're moving it around a lot because its all about balance," she said.
Arcade Fire have already confirmed they are 2014's Friday night headliners for the event.
The Canadian seven-piece revealed the news in December, tweeting a photo bearing the words "June 27 - Glastonbury".
Lily Allen is among the other acts who have already let slip they will be performing, but Eavis said the remaining headline acts would stay a closely guarded secret for now, and would "be with you in the spring."
Eavis was at Wednesday night's NME Awards to pick up the prize for best festival, which she said "means a lot to us".
"It's an important one, because it's the people that actually come to the festival that decide and make that decision that you're the best," she said.


Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has described County Donegal as "gorgeous" during an impromptu visit to a local pub in Malin Head.

Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, visited Farrens Bar on Sunday and said he loved being in Donegal.
"(It's been) Fantastic, you've made us feel like part of the family," he said.
Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, and director Rian Johnson also called in to McGrory's Pub in Culdaff on the same night.
There may be no Mos Eisley cantina to visit, but it's clear the cast and crew were happy to take in the hospitality of County Donegal while filming takes place for the next installment of the film franchise.
British actor Ridley even found time to join John Ruddy and Niall McDonagh, whose band were entertaining the cast and crew, for a photo.
"She is an absolute dote," said Mr Ruddy. "Really, really nice.
"Halfway through the gig, I thought I'd be cheeky and get the photo op because she was pretty much right in front of us.
"They were all chatting and dancing and singing, and they were loving us so I thought: 'Right, they're in a good mood now!'"
With the high-profile film landing in the area, Malin Head village has been invaded by die-hard fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their galactic heroes.
Roads were closed near the village, at the Republic of Ireland's most northerly point, and part of the coastline was sealed off from the public.
Mr Ruddy said they were told on Sunday they would be playing a gig for cast after filming finished this weekend.
"It was really hush-hush," he said. "An absolutely amazing experience. It was privilege to go up and play for them."
Meanwhile, over in Malin Head, in a bar not so far, far away, 'a new hope' descended on Farren's Bar.
Owner Hugh Farren said the visit by the galaxy's most famous Jedi knight was "totally out of the blue".
The bar has attracted a lot of attention for a painting of Yoda on its gable wall and the Star Wars actor wanted to get his photo taken with it.
"We hoped that he would turn up but we didn't hear anything," said Mr Farren.
"The first thing we noticed was that his security and entourage was massive.
"About 10 security men came in to look around the bar, around half of them were drinking.
"Then we noticed that they were outside and we saw a lot of paparazzi turning up and a lot more extra people.
"Then the car came up and the security man told us he (Mark Hamill) just wanted a picture with me and the Yoda sign. It was unbelievable, it was brilliant," he said.
When asked if he would come back to County Donegal, Hamill said he would "love to, but on my own time so I don't have to work".
After he left the bar, Hamill tweeted he had left with some regret at not tasting a pint of the black stuff.
The Star Wars cast and crew have now finished filming in Donegal and have flown south to County Cork where filming will resume.


Former winner Sandy Lyle missed the cut at the Masters after slumping to an 11-over-par 83, leaving him next to last.

The 1988 champion, 59, starting at five over, dropped four shots on his front nine before a quintuple bogey on 11 and a double bogey on 14 left him 16 over.
Fellow Scot Russell Knox also missed the cut - a birdie at the last was no consolation as he ended eight over.
After an opening 76, Knox dropped four shots on the front nine before carding three straight bogeys from the 12th.
The cut came at six over, meaning defending champion Danny Willett will also miss the weekend after he finished seven over.
Follow live text commentary of round two


A delivery driver who killed a motorist as he changed a tyre on the hard shoulder of the motorway has been jailed.

Nicholas Williams crashed into 60-year-old William Johnston on the M74 in South Lanarkshire in November 2014.
The 60-year-old year from Bristol admitted causing death by dangerous driving at the High Court in Glasgow.
Jailing Williams for 28 months, judge Johanna Johnston QC told him "only a custodial sentence" would do.
The court heard how self-employed delivery driver Williams had been working for 11 hours and had made stops in Milton Keynes and Chorley in Lancashire in the hours before he headed 200 miles north to Glasgow on 18 November 2014.
Mr Johnston, meanwhile, was heading to work along the M74 when he pulled onto the hard shoulder at about 06:00 after a problem with one of the tyres of his Fiat Punto.
He put on his hazard lights and was in the process of removing a wheel when he was hit by Williams.
The GPS tracker in Williams' van showed he was travelling at about 85 mph just before the crash.
The grandfather from Biggar was flung almost 200ft as a result of the impact of the crash and died of his injuries.
In a police interview, Williams said he had not been "tired or drowsy" and denied he could have "fallen asleep whilst driving".
He claimed he had heard a "loud bang" which resulted in him losing control of his steering wheel and swerving from his lane.
Barry Smith, defending, said Williams accepted he had not kept his van on the road that morning, but "cannot explain" how he failed to do so.
Sentencing Williams, the judge told him: "You bear the responsibility for the death of a man who was much loved by his family and friends.
"Mr Johnston died due to your dangerous driving."
Williams was also banned from the road for four years.


Scot Eilidh Doyle admits she is "over the moon" at winning an Olympic medal after helping Great Britain's women take bronze in the 4x400m relay in Rio.

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The 29-year-old hurdler helped Team GB surpass the 65 medals won at London 2012, and Scotland's Olympians equal their best ever medal tally of 13.
She also joined Yvonne Murray as Scotland's most decorated track and field athlete with an 11th major medal.
"It just means the absolute world to me," Doyle told BBC Scotland.
"I wanted to come here and take something back. We knew we were capable of winning a medal but it is one thing being capable of it, another thing going out there and doing it.
"I couldn't have done it with a nicer bunch of girls as well.  I am over the moon that I can now call myself an Olympic medallist.
"I have got Commonwealth, Europeans and World Championship medals so to have an Olympic medal to add to the collection is amazing."
Doyle, who finished eighth in the 400m hurdles final, clocked 52.4 seconds for the lead-off leg before Anyika Onuora, Emily Diamond and Christine Ohuruogu took GB to bronze, behind the United States and Jamaica.
"My job was done early so I just had to sit and watch," she added. "By the time it got to Chrissie I was just screaming, but I had complete faith she'd get the job done.
"It is great to be part of such an amazing GB team - absolutely fantastic."
Doyle was the first Scottish track and field athlete to stand on an Olympic podium since Liz McColgan (women's 10,000m silver), Elliott Bunney (men's 4x100m relay silver) and Murray (women's 3,000m bronze) in Seoul in 1988.
Doyle's medal was one of several notable Scottish performances on the final night of athletics.
Andrew Butchart, in his first major championships, took nearly five seconds off the Scottish 5,000m record of 13.13:30 he set in late May, setting a new mark of 13.08.61 in finishing sixth behind double gold medallist Mo Farah.
"I am over the moon," the 24-year-old from Dunblane told BBC Scotland. "The place is more important than the time, but I will take the time.  I am so happy.
"I came into this year being really positive, and I guess I showed that.  I am not scared of anyone, no matter who they are, and I think everyone has to be like that.
"You can't fear these people.  I train and work as hard as them so I deserve to be there.
"I have no idea what I could do next, but it is looking good.  This is my first majors and it went really well.  I just hope I can keep going and progressing."
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Lynsey Sharp continued her strong form in Rio as she set a new personal best of 1:57:69 to finish sixth behind gold medallist Caster Semenya in the women's 800m.
"I have run faster than I have ever done before after three rounds, in a very competitive field, so I can't be too disappointed," the 26-year-old from Dumfries told BBC Scotland.
"It is the nature of the sport that you will be disappointed unless you get a medal, but I always knew that was going to be a big ask in a really competitive field.
"I will see how my coach says I ran but I have got to be happy. I finished quite strongly and felt like that was my best chance - to pick people off in the last 100m.  It was good."
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If you ask experienced people in the world of broadcasting what they think of these salary disclosures, three clear and consistent points are apparent.

First, the BBC pays below - and sometimes much below - market rates, both at management level and in terms of top broadcasting talent.
Second, this move will prove inflationary. Those on the list will think to themselves: "Why is that inferior presenter getting paid more than me?" - and will demand a pay rise.
Third, if you thought it was tin hat time for the talent, pity the poor agents they work with.
All over the land talent agents are being exposed either for having exaggerated what certain people are paid - in order to get a good deal for their client - or having several clients who do similar roles but at wildly different pay. Ouch.
In recent weeks I have spoken to at least a dozen people in the industry, from top agents to the likes of Michael Grade (former boss of the BBC, Channel 4, and ITV - and an agent) and these points command a consensus.
But whenever I see a consensus, my instinct is to run in the opposite direction.
For all that the BBC may pay less than some rivals, the individual figures released today will shock many members of the public.
It is in the very nature of broadcasting that viewers and listeners develop a connection to these so-called stars.
Some they like, some they hate; and almost all they will have an opinion on. That opinion will be fundamentally re-adjusted by their knowledge of how much these broadcasters are charging.
Not all the numbers released today actually pertain to salaries: there are some individuals who will have been paid over Â£150,000 in the financial year up to 2016/7, but who aren't continuing in those roles and projects in the following financial year.
Such details will most likely be lost in the coming days, as a few key themes emerge.
One is the gender gap. A third of the 96 names are women, which Tony Hall admitted to me last night isn't good enough.
An area that I suspect will arouse controversy is why different presenters on the same shows get different salaries.
There are several instances where men get paid more than women doing the same show. Of course individual circumstances vary. But this is not a good look for the BBC.
But as I said on Today this morning, the BBC might feel relatively happy talking about gender, because they have a decent story to tell here. Not only are over 60 per cent of recent appointments of over Â£150,000 female, but there are some really high-profile ones too. Just this weekend, the new Doctor Who was revealed to be a woman.
Moreover, what the BBC won't want - but which is inevitable - is for this story to become a sequence of character assassinations. They'd much rather talk about gender targets than why anyone should get 20 or 50 times the average income in Britain to read the news or host a conversation on the radio.
Tomorrow's papers will be full of aggressive personal attacks, not just on Chris Evans and Gary Lineker - who are at the top of the list - but the likes of John Humphrys, Jeremy Vine, Stephen Nolan and Alan Yentob.
Alas for the corporation, much as it would like to talk in generalities about targets on gender and diversity, the publication of these figures has in effect opened up 96 negotiations - between each individual and the public, often mediated by newspapers not very fond of the BBC, staffed by journalists who will never earn six figure sums.
The licence-fee payer might - and Britain's press certainly will - ask: can these hugely well paid stars really get equivalent money elsewhere?
Probably not. And so if, say, this or that radio presenter would do the same job for Â£100,000 less, why the hell shouldn't he or she take a pay cut?
These individual negotiations between on-air talent, the public and other media will dominate the story in the medium-term.
Tony Hall and his fellow negotiators didn't want this information in the public domain, arguing it would amount to a poachers' charter. That was a bullish claim. We are about to find out if the BBC was right to make it.


An Iraqi paramilitary force says it has seized a key road west of Mosul, effectively encircling the city controlled by so-called Islamic State.

The Popular Mobilisation (Hashd al-Shaabi) declared it had taken control of the road between Tal Afar and Sinjar after linking up with Kurdish forces.
IS militants still control the section of the road between Tal Afar and Mosul.
Meanwhile, an air strike reportedly hit another bridge in Mosul, as troops advanced further into eastern areas.
There is now only one functioning bridge left spanning the River Tigris, which flows through the city.
About 50,000 Iraqi security forces personnel, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen are involved in the five-week-old offensive to drive IS militants out of their last major urban stronghold in the country.
The Popular Mobilisation, which is dominated by Iranian-backed Shia militias, said it had cut the road between the IS-held town of Tal Afar, 50km (31 miles) from Mosul, and Kurdish-controlled town of Sinjar, 45km (28 miles) further west, on Wednesday afternoon.
A Kurdish security official told the AFP news agency that PM fighters had linked up with other anti-IS forces, including members of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in three villages in the area.
A prominent PM leader, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, suggested it would now focus on severing the route between Mosul and Tal Afar.
But the PM has been warned by the Turkish government not to attempt to storm the predominantly Sunni Turkmen town, from which thousands of civilians have reportedly been leaving.
Tal Afar official Nuraldin Qablan told Reuters that about 3,000 families had fled the town, with half of them heading south-west towards Syria, and the other half towards Kurdish-held territory in the north.
"We ask Kurdish authorities to open a safe passage for them," he said.
Shia militias have been accused of committing serious violations, including abducting and killing Sunni civilians, during previous operations against IS.
Also on Wednesday, troops continued to advance further into eastern Mosul, where they have faced fierce resistance from the 5,000 to 6,000 militants estimated to be dug in inside the city.
Earlier, the US-led multinational coalition supporting the offensive bombed another of the bridges over the River Tigris that link eastern and western Mosul.
An Iraqi military commander told the Associated Press that the strike on the so-called Third Bridge had taken place before dawn, while a report by IS's self-styled news agency, Amaq, reported that it had been "put out of service".
There were five functioning bridges over the Tigris in Mosul shortly before pro-government forces launched a major offensive to retake the city on 17 October.
A month ago, a US air strike destroyed the Second Bridge, in the city centre. Two weeks later, another strike took out the Fifth Bridge, to the north. On Monday, Amaq reported that the Fourth Bridge, the southernmost, had been damaged.
"This effort impedes Daesh's freedom of movement in Mosul," coalition spokesman Col John Dorrian told Reuters news agency on Tuesday, using a pejorative term for IS based on the acronym of its previous name in Arabic.
"It inhibits their ability to resupply or reinforce their fighters throughout the city."
However, the UN's International Organisation for Migration warned that the destruction of the bridges could hamper the evacuation of the estimated 1.5 million civilians inside Mosul.
The UN says 68,000 people have been displaced in the past five weeks, with 59,000 coming from districts surrounding Mosul and the rest from inside the city.


A child killer who became the first person in the world to be convicted using DNA evidence has been refused parole - but recommended for transfer to an open prison.

Colin Pitchfork was given a life sentence in 1988 for the rape and murder of 15-year-old Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire.
Both victims' families opposed his release.
Barbara Ashworth, Dawn's mother, said "life should mean life".
His case was referred to the Parole Board to review his suitability for release.
A spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a three-member panel of the Parole Board has not directed the release of Colin Pitchfork but has recommended to the Ministry of Justice that he is suitable for a move to open conditions.
"It is up to the Ministry of Justice whether or not to accept this recommendation. We are unable to comment further on the details of this case."
Ms Ashworth said she was concerned Pitchfork could harm a member of the public if allowed out of open prison on temporary release.
"It's a process whereby he's released more gradually and gradually into the community again," she told BBC Radio Leicester.
"I would far sooner he was still in prison where I consider he belongs.
"I would go down on bended knees to the secretary of state for justice and just beg them not to let this man out again, because we don't know what he's capable of."
The judge who sentenced Pitchfork described him as "a danger to young women" whose crimes were of a "particularly sadistic kind".
He was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years, but in 2009 the Court of Appeal reduced the minimum term to 28 years to take into account the "exceptional progress" Pitchfork had made in custody.
The court said the former baker had sought to address the reasons for his offending, achieved "a high standard of education, to degree level", never been placed "on report" while in custody and was "trusted to help with the well-being" of fellow inmates.
It added that Pitchfork, who's now 55, had become a specialist in transcribing printed music into Braille, work which was used across the UK and internationally.
Once a life sentence prisoner's minimum term has been served, they are eligible to be considered for release by the Parole Board.
The Parole Board is not legally permitted to consider whether the prisoner has been punished enough, instead it must focus solely on how dangerous the prisoner is.
Rebecca Eastwood, Lynda Mann's sister, started a petition demanding Pitchfork is never released.
It gathered 19,222 supporters and was submitted to the Parole Board before the hearing to consider his case.


Next time you're hacking your way around the golf course, summon the spirit of the player who not only failed to card a single par but only managed two bogeys on his way to an eye-watering 127 in US Open local qualifying - finishing 55 shots over par.

On the 10th hole at Silver Lakes in Glencoe, Alabama, Clifton McDonald began badly with a double bogey seven.
Things got significantly worse, and he was 14 over par after six holes by the time he stepped on to the 16th tee. Fourteen furious swipes later, he had completed the par five.
Most people would have walked off. But not Clifton.
He forged on regardless to make what the Alabama Golf Association says is without doubt "the highest score we've had in any qualifying event".
"The guy was really nice. It's just you could tell he was in over his head," executive director Andy Priest told BBC Sport.
"It was a beautiful sunny day, it wasn't breezy at all. It's just a tough golf course.
"The feedback we got from other players was that it was firm and fast. Honestly it's good qualifying for the Open at Erin Hills.
"We got his scorecard and he confirmed what he had shot, but we didn't speak to him for very long. You could tell he had had a long day.
"But it I will say one thing, the gentleman played it out."
Lee McCoy, who finished second on Wednesday to take one of five qualifying spots, tweeted the picture above, adding: "The scorecard of the guy that played in front of me at US Open qualifying today. Shot 68 on his front 9 and decided to finish #NeverGiveUp."
McDonald was, perhaps not surprisingly, bottom of the pack in 67th.
This year's US Open takes place between 15-18 June in Erin Hills, Wisconsin.
About half of the field is made up of players who are exempt from qualifying - such as the defending champion, Dustin Johnson.
But any professional golfer, or an amateur with a handicap of 1.4 or lower, is eligible to enter local qualifying, which is played at 114 courses around the US and Canada.
Those who are successful advance to sectional qualifying, which takes place at 10 sites in the US as well as in Japan and at Walton Heath in Surrey.


Kilmarnock have rejected a £500,000 bid for striker Souleymane Coulibaly from Egyptian club Zamalek.

The offer falls short of the Rugby Park club's valuation of the 22-year-old Ivorian, who is Killie's top scorer with 11 goals this season.
Zamalek's rivals Al Ahly are also interested in the player but have yet to make a bid.
Former Tottenham youth player Coulibaly signed a three-year contract when he joined Kilmarnock in June.
He has also played for Grosseto, Bari and Pistoiese in Italy as well as Peterborough and Newport County, making 100 club appearances in total.
Capped at Under-20 level, the forward is yet to play for Ivory Coast's senior team.
Lee Clark's Kilmarnock, who recruited defender Karleigh Osborne on Monday, host Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Cup on Saturday then take on visitors Ross County in the Premiership on 28 January.


A man has appeared in court after pet chickens were mutilated and killed at a school for vulnerable children.

The 22-year-old man, of no fixed abode, has been charged with one count of theft and one count of criminal damage at Ellen Tinkham School in Exeter.
He was remanded in custody by Exeter magistrates for a crown court trial.
Staff at the school for children with special needs found four chickens used for animal therapy had been attacked last December.


Germany and Austria have sharply criticised the US Senate for tightening sanctions on Russia, accusing the US of threatening Europe's energy supplies.

To become law the US sanctions bill still requires approval by the House of Representatives and the president.
It would mean US sanctions for European firms involved in major Russian oil and gas projects. One such project is Nord Stream 2 - a Baltic gas pipeline.
Russia is under Western sanctions over its role in the Ukraine conflict.
The new US bill is punishment for alleged Russian meddling in the US 2016 presidential election.
In a joint statement, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern said Europe's energy supplies were "a matter for Europe, not for the United States".
"To threaten companies in Germany, Austria and other European firms with fines in the US if they take part in or finance energy projects like Nord Stream 2 represents a new and negative dimension to US-European relations," they added.
They said the sanctions were clearly about US liquefied natural gas exports, US jobs and squeezing Russia out of the European market.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of energy giant ExxonMobil, voiced concern about the new sanctions. He said he wanted to maintain "flexibility" with Russia, to keep channels open for dialogue.
German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries joined in the criticism on Friday and warned of possible retaliation if Washington ended up fining German companies.
"I regret that the joint approach of Europe and the United States on Russia and sanctions has been undermined and abandoned in this way," she told Reuters news agency.
Nord Stream 2 is a controversial project to boost Russian gas deliveries to Central and Western Europe. Russian state energy giant Gazprom already supplies about one-third of the region's gas.
As with Russia's existing Nord Stream pipeline, the route bypasses not only Ukraine but also the Baltic states and Poland. Those countries all oppose the project.
In April, Western partners of Gazprom agreed on financing the â‚¬9.5bn (Â£8bn; $10.6bn) construction of the undersea pipeline.
German ex-Chancellor Gerhard SchrÃ¶der is chairman of the board of Nord Stream AG, the subsidiary of Gazprom that is in charge of the project.
Gazprom is financing half the cost of the pipeline, which is due to start delivering gas directly to Germany in 2019.
German firms BASF and Wintershall, Austria's OMV and Voestalpine, and Royal Dutch Shell are involved in the project.
Mr Gabriel and Mr Kern said thousands of European jobs were at stake, and they voiced support for US state department efforts to amend the new sanctions bill.