Brightly coloured murals adorn the walls of the 'Little Hands' nursery.

The classroom walls are concrete, the roof plastic tenting. Outside, a group of four- and five-year-olds are singing and dancing.
Ignore the dusty roads beyond the chicken wire fence and you could be in almost any kindergarten in the world.
But this is the Zataari camp in Jordan, where thousands of Syrians fleeing their homeland now live.
"Many of the children we are seeing here now were born in the camp. They've known no other existence," says Neil Mathers, the head of Save the Children in Scotland.
The charity runs three nurseries in Zataari, with 52% of the camp's children.
Mr Mathers says: "There are 40,000 children who need this kind of support in Zataari camp alone. Our kindergartens reach around 2,000 children so much more is needed to handle just the children in this camp."
Zataari refugee camp is one of the places the refugees to be granted admission to the UK will be selected from.
A few miles south of Jordan's border with Syria, the camp sprawls across 8 sq km (3 sq miles) of desolate stony desert.
It's grown from nothing to become effectively Jordan's fourth largest city. With a population of more than 80,000, it's the world's second largest refugee camp.
A mix of tents, tin shacks and ramshackle huts are what the refugees now call home.
In the summer, temperatures here top 50C and in winter, nights can drop to below freezing.
"It's tough," says Dominic Graham, Jordan country director for Edinburgh-based charity Mercy Corps. "Life in the camps is tough."
Mercy Corps is just one of a score of non-governmental organisation's which have been working in Zataari since it was established four years ago when refugees first began fleeing Syria's increasingly brutal civil war.
Water, sanitation, shelter are all in place in Zataari. Rudimentary commerce has developed - there's a market and small shacks selling everyday items. Zataari is slowly developing an unwanted permanence. But it's a bleak existence. Lives on hold, going nowhere.
When the Syrian refugees first came most thought they would be going back to Syria very soon. They thought President Assad's regime was going to fall. The government and aid agencies thought so too. A crisis of months rather than years. No-one thinks that now.
Hassan arrived in Zaatari last year. Like many here, he doesn't want to give his full name for fear of consequences for relatives who have remained within Syria.
He and his family have no savings and now want to return to Syria. He said: "I will go back as soon as it is safe." But he doesn't think that will be soon.
Mr Graham, from Mercy Corps, says most of the refugees are desperate to get back to their former lives in Syria but "the prospects of that are getting thinner and thinner".
Zataari is just the tip of the refugee iceberg. Inside Syria, it's estimated there are nearly eight million internally displaced people. Those who escape to camps such as Zataari are those who are able to.
Some had geography on their side, living just over the border. Others made it here because they could afford to pay smugglers to help them cross the borders into Syria's neighbouring countries.
Those who are left inside are often the most vulnerable, the poorest. Getting aid to them is vital, according to Steve Gordon, from Glasgow, who is Mercy Corps' security manager for the region.
"If you are assisting inside Syria and people are staying there and not coming out, they are not becoming a burden on the surrounding countries."
The challenges are immense. Front lines are constantly shifting. Russia's intervention has altered the dynamics. Mercy Corps says it's seeing massive changes with populations shifting. Gordon says even as the situation becomes more dangerous the need to keep supplies flowing increases. "If an area is going to be cut off you have to pre-position supplies in those areas to sustain those communities through what could be very hard times."
In Zataari children play in the spray of water being hosed from a tanker to damp down the dusty streets of the camp. In the distance the hills of Syria are just visible through the haze. Whether these children will ever return to their homeland is impossible to know. But what the future holds is increasingly driving the thinking of the refugees here. Should they stay or should they go.
A battered silver bus waits near the camp's security checkpoint. It's destination is the Syrian border. For some, life in the refugee camps holds so little hope they are choosing to return. It's only a trickle, but memories of the dangers that drove people here fade.
For some Europe and the prospect of a new life there has become their goal. Individuals and small family groups make the arduous and dangerous journey. If they succeed and successfully settle in Germany, France or Britain perhaps the rest of the family can follow.
Billions of pounds are being spent trying to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. The UK alone has spent just over Â£1bn across the region, with Â£330m in Jordan alone, since the start of the war in Syria.
Jeff Tudor is head of the UK government's international development programme in Jordan. As a veteran of the humanitarian and development aid business, he knows there is no easy or quick answer to the refugee crisis.
He says: "We're hanging on in there, but ultimately we will need a political solution to what is happening in Syria. Even if we get a political solution tomorrow we are looking at at least a decade. The refugees won't go back overnight, the situation in Syria won't allow it."


It's just 100 days to go until the Olympic flame is lit in Rio de Janeiro.

27 April 2016 Last updated at 07:06 BST
Team GB won 65 medals including 29 golds at London 2012, and will be hoping to find similar success in Rio.
The full squad haven't been announced yet, but we know know that some of the stars of 2012, including boxer, Nicola Adams, and diving star, Tom Daley will be representing Great Britain again.
Watch this to start your countdown!


A north Wales town has a cold war thriller on its hands after nuclear submarine plans were found in a charity shop suitcase.

Staff at a Barnardo's store in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, were amazed to discover the document showing details of the former £200m HMS Trafalgar.
"Someone said that if the phone rang and it was someone with a Russian accent, I should put it down," joked manager, Stella Parker.
The plans will be auctioned off.
Charity store staff say the suitcase was donated anonymously and filled with books.
But hidden in the lining of the luggage was the impressive 6ft (1.8m) drawings of the former Royal Navy vessel.
While unusual finds are not uncommon for the charity shop, Ms Parker said she quickly recognised this was something out of the ordinary.
"When I found it I just thought, wow, this is amazing," she said.
"I can only imagine perhaps the family of someone who had passed away donated the suitcase, that is what often happens. perhaps they did not know the plan was there.
"We are all very excited here about it and we've certainly never seen anything like it before."
Mrs Parker took the plans to be looked at by experts when the TV show, David Dickinson's Real Deal, visited the Gwynedd town.
She was told there that the plans were most likely posted on the sub to familiarise the crew with the lay-out of the vessel.
It seems more likely that the document comes from Vickers, who built Trafalgar, or the submarine's designers.
During its years in service, Trafalgar prowled under the frozen polar icecaps keeping the then-Soviet threat in check.
It also served the Afghanistan conflict and became the first Royal Navy submarine to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles against Taliban forces.
In 1996 the sub gained notoriety after running aground off the Isle of Skye during a training exercise, causing £5m worth of damage.
The Plymouth-based vessel was decommissioned in 2009.
But foreign agents looking to get their hands on the document today will face an easier task than they did in the 1980s - as the plans have been declassified and are being auctioned by the shop.
Ms Parker said: "We are hoping to raise as much money as we can. one thing for certain is that you are not going to be able to buy one of these anywhere else."


Sunday Mba scored a magnificent winner as Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations for the third time.

The dominant Super Eagles made the breakthrough just before half-time when Mba clipped the ball over Mohamed Koffi and then volleyed into the far corner.
Burkina Faso almost equalised when Wilfried Sanou forced a fingertip save from goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.
Ahmed Musa slipped as he looked set to score and Victor Moses almost poked home as Nigeria eased to victory.
It was a win that was fully deserved as Nigeria comfortably beat a tired-looking Burkina Faso, who struggled to make an impact in their maiden final appearance.
And perhaps it was one game too many for the Burkinabe, who had failed to win a single game on foreign soil in the Nations Cup before this tournament but shocked many by going so far this time.
However, credit must go to Nigeria and their coach Stephen Keshi, who captained the Super Eagles when they last won the title in 1994 and becomes only the second man to lift the trophy as a player and as a coach after Egyptian Mahmoud El Gohary.
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has proved his critics wrong after his selection policy was widely questioned before the tournament
It is also the first time for 21 years that a black African coach has won the cup - Ivory Coast's Yeo Martial was the last to do so in 1992.
After Nigeria and Burkina Faso played out a 1-1 draw in their group match early on in the competition, the Super Eagles had grown in stature and went into the game as favourites.
Burkina Faso, though, were buoyed by being able to name an unchanged line-up after Jonathan Pitroipa's red card in the semi-final was rescinded, while Nigeria brought in Ikechukwu Uche for the injured Emmanuel Emenike.
The Super Eagles, playing in their first final since losing to Cameroon on penalties in 2000, made the brighter start and Moses made a couple of bursts down the flanks that eased concerns over a hamstring injury that had made him a doubt for the game.
He was involved in the first good chances of the match, dinking in a free-kick which Efe Ambrose headed over and then winning the corner from which Brown Ideye shot high and wide after keeper Daouda Diakite had spilled the ball at the midfielder's feet.
Nerves were on show from first-time finalists Burkina Faso and they looked even more unsettled by the pace and directness of Chelsea winger Moses.
While Nigeria assumed some measure of control, the Stallions were completely unable to retain possession - despite the fact it was their first match of the tournament away from the shocking pitch in Nelspruit.
And when defender Paul Koulibaly attempted a back-heel, almost handing Nigeria a scoring chance, the Burkinabe were in danger of self-destructing.
Aristide Bance tried to lift his side when he fired over Burkina Faso's first effort on goal and then dragged a free-kick wide but with the likes of Pitroipa anonymous in the first half, there was little threat posed to the Nigerians.
In contrast, Nigeria's Mba produced a moment of sheer brilliance to break the deadlock just before half-time.
When the ball ricocheted to the midfielder on the edge of the box, he used his right foot to delicately flick the ball over Koffi and as the ball dropped on the other side of the defender, Mba volleyed in superbly with his left boot.
Burkina Faso's previous best performance came in 1998 when they finished fourth
Nigeria came close to doubling their lead soon after the restart when Moses, involved in most of his side's best work, played in Ideye who drove a shot across goal from a tight angle.
Ten minutes into the second half there was still no sign of the Burkinabe shaking off their lethargy, which may have been a result of the sapping effect of their penalty shoot-out win over Ghana in the semi-final.
Whatever the reason for Burkina Faso's limp performance, Nigeria sensed an opportunity to drive home their advantage and had Moses played in his team-mate after a 40-yard run on the counter-attack they would have done.
Again Bance tried to respond but could only direct his header into the arms of keeper Enyeama and Nigeria seemed to be easing to their first Nations Cup title for 19 years and add to their successes in 1980 and 1994.
Keshi's side were unfortunate not to give themselves some breathing space when the outstanding Moses broke clear and laid the ball into the path of the unmarked Musa but the substitute lost his footing before the pass reached him.
It could have been a turning point for Burkina Faso but the agility of Enyeama made sure Nigeria did not pay for their misfortune as he stretched out a long arm to tip Sanou's drive round the post.
Instead, Nigeria might have added gloss to the win but failed to take chances that fell to Moses, who could not force the ball in from close range, and Ideye, who narrowly failed to connect with a cross.
But the Super Eagles had done enough to clinch the trophy and underline their resurgence and spark huge celebrations in Nigeria.
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi: "Winning this is mainly for my nation - when I came on board a year and a half ago my dream was to make all Nigerians happy, and to construct a great Nigerian team, We are not there yet, it's still in process.
"You don't want to know what was going through my head (in the final five minutes)! To represent Africa in Brazil at the Confed Cup is an honour for Nigeria."
Burkina Faso coach Paul Put: "We showed Nigeria a bit too much respect in the first half - in the second half we tried to do everything possible. But you have to be big when you lose and small when you win.
"Possibly, we were a little tired after two matches that went to extra-time, but I'm not going to look for excuses. The whole of Burkina Faso can be proud of their players."


Future World Cup finals will feature 16 groups of three countries in a 48-team tournament, if Fifa president Gianni Infantino gets his wish.

Infantino, who became head of Fifa in February, previously spoke of expanding the World Cup from 32 teams to 40.
Under his favoured 16-group structure the top two teams would progress to the last 32 and ongoing knockout matches.
A decision will be made in January but any change would not be likely to take effect before the 2026 World Cup.
Fifa's council will discuss the proposal at a meeting on 9 January but Infantino, 46, made expansion part of his election manifesto because he wants to allow more countries the chance to compete at football's flagship event.
If world football's governing body does not adopt the 16-group format, other options that will be considered include:
The number of teams competing at a World Cup last increased in 1998 when the tournament expanded from 24 to 32 countries.
Uefa's Euro 2016 tournament featured 24 nations, an increase from the 16-team format in place since 1996.


Jules Bianchi has died aged 25 as a result of head injuries sustained in a crash during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

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The Frenchman was one of the most promising of a new generation of Formula 1 drivers.
Bianchi, who was part of the Ferrari young driver programme, lost his battle on the night of Friday, 17 July - nine months after the crash.
The accident that led to Bianchi's death came in an unfortunate combination of circumstances in a difficult wet race at the Suzuka track.
During the lap before Bianchi's accident, Sauber's Adrian Sutil had crashed at the fast, uphill Dunlop corner. A recovery vehicle headed out to pick the car up and that section of track was put under double waved yellow caution flags, meaning a hazard bad enough that drivers should be prepared to stop.
On the next lap, on worn tyres, Bianchi arrived at the corner and lost control, and the car speared off the track and collided with the recovery vehicle, which destroyed the Marussia's roll hoop, a device that protects the driver's head.
Bianchi suffered massive head injuries. After an operation, he was placed in intensive care but he succumbed three quarters of a year later.
In only 34 races he had done enough with the back-of-the-grid Marussia team to suggest he had a bright future in the sport.
It is never easy for a new driver in a struggling team to prove his worth, but Bianchi had done so by producing performances that would not normally be expected of the car, and outclassing his team-mate, Englishman Max Chilton.
There were a number of impressive drives from Bianchi, but the most high profile was his taking ninth place in the Monaco Grand Prix in May last year.
In doing so, he scored Marussia's first and only points, as the team folded at the end of 2014. They now race as Manor.
It was too early in Bianchi's career to judge his ultimate potential, and whether he could have gone on to become a race winner and even world champion. But the signs were there that he was set for a significant career at the highest level of the sport.
Ferrari signed four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel to replace the departing Fernando Alonso in 2015, but they had earmarked Bianchi as the man who would probably drive a third car for the team, should they be required to run one if the grid dropped below 20 cars.
Ferrari's former president Luca Di Montezemolo said: "This boy was born with us, and we thought of him as our driver of the future...  he would have been perfect for the coming years."
Bianchi came from a racing family, and it is the second time they have been touched by tragedy. His grand-uncle Lucien Bianchi competed in 19 F1 grands prix, with a best finish of third at Monaco in 1968, and won the 1968 Le Mans 24 Hours, before being killed testing for the race the following year.
Bianchi's career in F1 started in 2011, when Ferrari signed him up to be their test and reserve driver, although he had had a relationship with the team for at least two years before that.
Ferrari loaned him out to fulfil the same role for Force India in 2012, before they facilitated his move to Marussia, to whom they supplied engines, for his debut season in 2013.
Then Ferrari decided against promoting Bianchi to partner Alonso in 2014, preferring to sign for a second time Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who won the world title for the team in 2007.
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His death has led to a period of introspection in a sport that had never stopped trying to improve safety since the triple world champion Ayrton Senna was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the last F1 race driver to lose his life.
Alonso, a two-time world champion and close to Bianchi, said: "This is a reminder for us that this is very dangerous, for the spectators as well. We are here because we like our job and we are ready to take the risk because we need the adrenaline somehow as well. But we cannot make mistakes."
His colleagues acknowledged Bianchi's misfortune, at the same time expressing a belief that he would want them to go on, and a hope that F1 can apply whatever lessons emerge from the inquiry into his death to make the sport that will always be dangerous safer again.
As with Senna's death, safety changes have already been put in place, aimed at ensuring such an incident can never happen again.


England Lions have lost their one-day series against Sri Lanka A after being beaten by four wickets in the third ODI in Kurunegala.

England won the toss and chose to bat but went from 110-2 to 184 all out as they were dismissed in 40.2 overs.
Daniel Bell-Drummond top-scored with 51 but it was in vain as England went 3-0 down in the five-match series.
Sri Lanka A reached their target in 37 overs as Shehan Jayasuriya followed up his 5-35 with a knock of 83.


NHS workers failed to properly investigate how health service blunders led to the death of a boy from sepsis, a report has found.

It is the second review by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) into the death of three-year-old Sam Morrish from Devon.
The first found four health service groups made errors. The second examined how they investigated Sam's death.
NHS England said it wanted staff to "acknowledge when mistakes are made".
Click here for more updates on this story, plus more Devon and Cornwall news
The Cricketfield GP Surgery, NHS Direct, Devon Doctors Ltd, and South Devon NHS Trust all faced criticism over the boy's death in 2010.
The first report in 2014 focussed on complaints made by Sam's parents about the care he received by the four organisations.
The most recent review looked at criticisms about how their son's death was investigated by the organisations and additionally the Primary Care Trust.
200,000
estimated cases of sepsis in the UK each year
60,000 estimated deaths from sepsis in the UK each year
12,000 Sepsis deaths per year may be avoidable according to the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt
"We think that a fundamental failure in this case was the organisations' - in particular the Trust's - unwillingness to accept that any view other than their own initial view might not be the right one," the report said.
"Those involved appeared to accept almost immediately the view that Sam's death was rare and unfortunate rather than being open to other possibilities".
It also found the investigation processes were "not sufficiently independent" and "excluded the family and junior staff in the process".
An NHS England spokesman said it was encouraging people to raise concerns about services to prevent further mistakes.
"What happened to Sam Morrish highlights the tragic consequences when things go wrong," he added.
Source: UK Sepsis Trust
Sepsis: Why can it be so hard to spot?
Sam's father, Scott Morrish, said the youngster's death was "avoidable".
"The NHS should have given us the answers we needed soon after he died, to enable improvements to be made," he said.
The PHSO said the report echoed its recent findings that 40% of NHS investigations were inadequate and has called for a national accredited training programme for staff.
Melissa Mead, whose twelve-month-old son William died from undetected sepsis in 2014, said she was "desperately sad for the Morrish family".
"With the medical establishment, whenever you suggest that there has been any kind of wrong doing the shutters come down," she said.


They say modern-day heroes are hard to come by, but it seems that County Tyrone has one of its own.

19 April 2017 Last updated at 18:08 BST
Footage of Omagh firefighter Terry Canning carrying a fellow runner towards the finishing line at the Boston marathon has gone viral.
Mr Canning, 44, was among tens of thousands of athletes taking part in the marathon on Monday.
But before the finish line, one of his fellow runners suffered from exhaustion.
Mr Canning saw Julianne Bowe on the ground about 200 metres from the finish line, and came to her aid.
Footage courtesy of CBS.


A top commander of so-called Islamic State (IS) may have survived a recent US air strike in north-eastern Syria, US defence officials in Iraq say.

Omar Shishani, a Georgian whose real name is Tarkhan Batirashvili, may have "limped away" from the bombing, a US spokesman said.
Twelve of 13 people targeted in the attack are known to have died, the spokesman said.
There has so far been no comment from IS over Shishani's fate.
Last year, the US offered a $5m (Â£3.5m) reward for Shishani who, it said, had held numerous top military positions within the group, including "minister of war".
Late on Wednesday, a UK-based Syrian opposition news service, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said its sources had confirmed that an air strike had targeted Shishani's convoy on Friday.
Several of his bodyguards were killed, the sources said, but the commander himself was badly wounded.
"He's not dead," the Syrian Observatory's director, Rami Abdul Rahman, told AFP news agency.
"He was taken from the province of Hassakeh to a hospital in Raqqa province, where he was treated by a jihadist doctor of European origin."
US officials have said they believe Shishani was sent to the Shaddadi area to reinforce IS militants following a series of military defeats.
Shaddadi was captured last month by the Syrian Arab Coalition, an alliance of Arab rebel groups which joined forces with the Kurdish YPG militia to battle IS.
However, a senior US general said the US-led fight against IS was "not quite yet at an inflection point" despite recent successes, including the reported capture of a top IS chemical weapons expert in Iraq.
General Paul Selva, vice chairman of the joints chiefs of staff, told a conference in Washington that IS was an "incredibly flexible opponent" that was "highly decentralised and incredibly resilient".


A lifetime ban on blood donations from gay men in the Republic of Ireland should end, the Irish Health Minister Leo Varadkar has said.

The ban, put in place during the 1980s AIDS threat, means that a man who has had sex with another man at any stage is not allowed to give blood.
The minister has said that he supports calls for the rules to be relaxed.
He said he was in favour of allowing donations from gay men who have not had sex for a year.
Mr Varadkar made the remarks in a statement to the Irish state broadcaster, RTÃ‰.
He said he would take advice from the chief medical officer and seek opinions from patients before making a final decision.
Last week, Mr Varadkar revealed that he is gay.
The 36-year-old minister said he had decided to speak publically about his sexuality for the first time as he would be campaigning in support of same-sex marriage in the forthcoming referendum in May.
He said he did not want people to think he had a "hidden agenda".
Mr Varadkar added: "I won't be allowing my own background or my own sexual orientation to dictate the decisions that I make."
In relation to gay blood donations, he told RTÃ‰ relaxing the blanket ban would bring the Republic of Ireland into line with many other English-speaking countries.
A similar move in the United Kingdom has caused controversy in Northern Ireland.
The lifetime ban on blood donations by gay men was relaxed in England, Scotland and Wales in November 2011.
However, Northern Ireland's then Health Minister Edwin Poots maintained the total ban, saying he was acting to ensure public safety.
A gay man launched a judicial review challenge to Mr Poots' position on blood donation, claiming the minister's stance was prejudiced by his religious beliefs.
A High Court judge ruled in October 2013 that Mr Poots did not have the power to keep an "irrational" lifetime ban on gay men giving blood in Northern Ireland.
In a further ruling in the case earlier this month, the High Court ruled Mr Poots' decision to maintain the ban had been "infected by apparent bias" and influenced by Christian beliefs.


Winds blasted out by the giant black holes found at the centre of galaxies are strong enough to stunt the birth of new stars, astronomers have found.

By training two space telescopes on a supermassive black hole with the mass of a billion Suns, they measured the strength of its ferocious winds.
The team also confirmed that these winds blow outwards in every direction, an idea that had been tricky to prove.
The work shows how such black holes can affect the evolution of their galaxies.
It was conducted by an international team of astronomers using the telescopes XMM-Newton and Nustar, run by the European Space Agency (Esa) and Nasa respectively.
"We know that black holes in the centre of galaxies can feed on matter, and this process can produce winds. This is thought to regulate the growth of galaxies," said Prof Fiona Harrison of the California Institute of Technology, Nustar's principal investigator.
The two telescopes simultaneously recorded different wavelengths of light coming from their distant target: a black hole two billion light-years away known as PDS 456. It shines brightly with many types of light, making it a quasar.
Nustar specialises in high-energy X-rays while XMM-Newton views low-energy X-rays.
XMM-Newton had already detected a wind blowing from PDS 456 towards the earth, because iron atoms carried by the huge gusts block X-rays in a characteristic way. It had also allowed astronomers to calculate that the wind was travelling at one third of the speed of light.
But by adding high-energy observations from Nustar, the team was able to pick up a different signature of iron that was scattered to the sides, demonstrating that the wind rushes out in an almost spherical blast.
"Knowing the speed, shape and size of the winds, we can now figure out how powerful they are," Prof Harrison said.
That power is something to behold: about ten times the mass of the Sun is blown out every year, along with a trillion times more energy than our star emits.
Those quantities, and the shape of the wind, suggest that PDS 456 has quite some impact on the surrounding galaxy - and this is likely to be the case for other supermassive black holes, including "Sagittarius A*" at the heart of our very own Milky Way.
"Now we know that quasar winds significantly contribute to mass loss in a galaxy, driving out its supply of gas, which is fuel for star formation," said Dr Emanuele Nardini from Keel University in the UK, the study's lead author.
"This study provides a unique view of the possible mechanism that links the evolution of the central black holes to that of their host galaxies, over cosmic time."
The research is published in Science magazine.


Some governments and organisations in Africa are starting to think churches should be held accountable to a being other than God.

Of concern to many with interests in the Christian faith are the "prophet of God" or "man of God" churches.
These are led by self-proclaimed prophets or messengers who are believed by their millions of devoted followers to have the power to perform a range of miracles from healing the sick, curing Aids and even raising the dead.
But who dares take on these seemingly untouchable men?
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta recently called for the regulation of churches.
The government there says the move is aimed at stamping out bogus churches.
"They are thieves and not preachers. We have to consult and know how to remove them," the president is quoted as saying by Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation.
When approached for comment on the scepticism around their sometimes bizarre practices, the response is often a variation of "we are being targeted" or "the Bible says the man of God will face opposition. Christ himself faced opposition".
But the controversy is not unique to Kenya.
Nigerian evangelist TB Joshua made news following a building collapse at his Synagogue Church of All Nations church in Lagos, which killed 116 people.
A coroner's report blamed the collapse on shoddy work, saying the structure had not met safety standards but Mr Joshua's church denied this, instead blaming the collapse on a mysterious plane which had been flying above the double-storey building shortly before it was reduced to rubble.
Of those killed, more than 80 were from South Africa, illustrating the international nature of some of the bigger churches.
In South Africa, two churches - Rabboni Ministries and End Times Disciples Ministries - made headlines here when the churches posted images of their leaders feeding followers snakes and rats, or instructing congregants to drink petrol and eat grass.
The images caused a nationwide outcry.
At the time, the man dubbed the "snake pastor" by local media, Prophet Penuel Mnguni, said he was "doing God's work and didn't need to explain God's ways to people".
Of the Christians:
Source:  Pew Research Center
Having tried to contact the prophet a number of times without success, I set off to locate him in the last place he was known to hold services.
In the scorching Pretoria heat and after hours of driving, one resident, in extension 13 in Soshanguve, a township outside the capital, told me my search was futile.
"It's Sunday but you won't find him anywhere here. He'll never come back here. We burnt his church and chased him away," he said.
"Some people threatened to kill him if he ever returns. People here are angry at what he did - that's why he ran away."
A few other people confirmed the "ban" and that seems to be the end of that.
Some organisations are also curious about the business of the church.
South Africa's Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CLR) which summoned 40 churches, said their wide-ranging sessions found that "commercialisation is definitely thereâ€¦ and abuse of people's belief systems".
"The sector needs to be regulated," CLR chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva told the BBC.
"We've found that other religions such as Islam and the Jewish religion are systematised for disciplinary codes and monitoring but Christianity, because of its volatility in terms of anyone being able to start up their own church, we feel there is a need for regulation, self-regulation," she said.
The challenge though becomes - whose role this should be, the government or the church body itself?
Pastor Conrad Mbewe, of the Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia, says charismatic churches have a stronghold on the continent because "Africans are hugely spiritual".
"Africans do not question the existence of God as in the case with many in the Western World," said Mr Mbewe.
"It is believed that there needs to be a conduit that enables communication between humans of the various layers of spiritual beings, which include angels, demons and spirits. They see these prophets as messengers from God," he said.
He told me that financial swindling and sexual abuse were a concern for church leaders in Zambia.
"We have been made aware of incidents of sexual abuse, which is said to take place when they attend overnight church gatherings."
There is evidence that bogus churches target vulnerable people, Ms Mkhwanazi-Xaluva told me.
"Issues of poverty and unemployment are at the core of people's reliance on these types of churches. We've found this group is incredibly desperate and will do whatever they are told to do if promised that it will change their lives."
This is not to say all evangelical churches are bad, the same way we cannot say all orthodox churches are good and without controversy.
The majority of the Christian community and its leaders are well respected here.
The South African constitution allows for "freedom of religion".
This means the constitution protects everyone's religion, as long as it acts within the ambit of the law - this also makes it easy for anyone to start a church.
Reverend Moss Nthla of the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa, which has more than three million members, accepts that the Christian family is facing many challenges but says the government cannot be called upon to address spiritual matters.
"It is difficult to see how the government would regulate churches; we've got reports of politicians themselves being faithful members of some of these controversial churches - some of which are a law unto themselves."
But what can be done?
"There needs to be at the very least, a bare minimum standard that we as Christians can set and adhere to and any church found to be operating outside of that needs to be stigmatised. We would have failed as church leaders if we do nothing," said Reverend Nthla.


Ireland have failed to qualify for the Eurovision Song Contest for the fourth year running after getting insufficient votes at the semi-final stage.

Galway-born Brendan Murray, 20, had a hot-air balloon with him on stage in Kiev, but it was not enough to lift him into the all-important top 10.
Bulgaria's Kristian Kostov progressed to Saturday's grand final, along with acts from nine other countries.
Kostov, 17, is the youngest singer this year and is third favourite to win.
Austria, Israel and the Netherlands were among the other countries who saw their representatives remain in the competition.
Israel will be the first country to perform on Saturday, while Poland has been given the dreaded second slot in the official running order.
The slot is considered unlucky because no song performed second in the final has ever gone on to win.
Ireland have more Eurovision wins - seven - than any other country but have not won the competition since 1996.
They last made it to the final in 2013, when they finished in last place.
The fates of the 18 countries involved on Thursday were decided by a combination of votes from national juries and viewers.
The 10 successful countries will be joined in the final by the 10 countries, among them Australia, that got the most votes at the first semi-final on Tuesday.
An additional six countries, among them the United Kingdom and host nation Ukraine, will also take part in Saturday's event.
The UK's hopes this year rest on Welsh singer Lucie Jones, who will be the 18th competing act to perform in the final.
Singer Jana Burceska from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was another act sent home at the end of the semi-final, broadcast in the UK on BBC Four.
Yet the pregnant 23-year-old did have something to celebrate after receiving a marriage proposal from her boyfriend live on air.
Sammarinese performer Valentina Monetta also exited the competition after representing San Marino for the fourth time at the contest.
Russian singer Julia Samoilova had been due to compete on Thursday but was barred from attending by Ukraine, prompting Russia to withdraw from the competition.
Ukraine refused to allow Samoilova to perform because she made a 2015 visit to Crimea, the peninsula seized by Russia the previous year.
The diplomatic row followed Ukraine's shock victory at last year's contest with a song about Stalin's deportation of Crimea's Tatar population.
The Eurovision Song Contest final will be broadcast on BBC One on Saturday from 20:00 BST.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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US chocolate maker Hershey cut its sales growth forecast for the year, blaming weaker growth in China.

The chocolate maker now estimates net sales will increase by 2.5%-3.5% this year, down from its previous prediction of 4.5%-5.5%.
The company also announced plans to cut 300 jobs, out of its total workforce of about 13,000.
Hershey generates most of its chocolate sales in China in one-stop shops carrying a wide range of goods.
"Macroeconomic challenges and trends are affecting consumer shopping behaviour resulting in continued softness within the China modern trade," the company said.
Hershey now plans to focus on distributing to smaller format stores and focusing on brands that deliver the highest return.
The company found more robust growth at home. "The company's North America confectionery business is on track to deliver on its 2015 financial objectives, driven by solid gross margin expansion," it said.
Hershey is North America's biggest chocolate maker. As well as Hershey chocolate bars, it also makes Reece's Peanut Butter Cups.
Shares in Hershey fell more than 2.5% in New York trading.


Russian athletes have been banned from competing at the Rio 2016 Paralympics following the country's doping scandal.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had opened suspension proceedings following the McLaren report, and has now confirmed the ban.
That report, published last month, detailed a state-sponsored doping programme operated by Russia.
The Russian Paralympic Committee is to appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In contrast to the IPC, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose not to hand Russia a blanket ban from the Olympic Games.
The Rio 2016 Paralympics begin in 31 days' time, on 7 September, and 267 Russian athletes across 18 sports will now miss the Games.
"The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupted and entirely compromised," said IPC president Sir Philip Craven at a news conference on Sunday.
"The Russian Paralympic Committee are unable to ensure compliance with and enforcement of the IPC anti-doping code and the world anti-doping code within their own national jurisdiction and they can not fulfil its fundamental obligation as an IPC member.
"As a result, the Russian Paralympic Committee is suspended with immediate effect."
Russian Paralympic Committee member Evgeniy Bukharov told BBC World Service: "I'm disappointed and really shocked. The IOC decided to stay for the rights of the clean athletes and only to fight against the athletes who are involved in doping.
"I spoke with my team-mates from the organising committee and saw the reaction of the Russian Paralympic team, the athletes and coaches. They are very frustrated with this decision. If someone over four years tries to do their best to participate in the Games, suddenly to hear that they should not participate frustrated them."
"Tragically this situation is not about athletes cheating a system, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes. The doping culture that is polluting Russian sport stems from the Russian government.
"The Russian government has catastrophically failed its para-athletes. Their 'medals over morals' mentality disgusts me. The complete corruption of the anti-doping system is contrary to the rules and strikes at the very heart of the spirit of Paralympic sport.
"It shows a blatant disregard for the health and wellbeing of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport. Their thirst for glory at all costs has severely damaged the integrity and image of all sport, and has certainly resulted in a devastating outcome for the Russian Paralympic Committee and Para-athletes."
Canadian law professor Richard McLaren's report found that Russia's sports ministry manipulated urine samples provided by its athletes between 2011 and 2015.
The report identified 27 samples relating to eight Para-sports, five of which are summer sports, including some governed by the IPC.
The IPC has also found evidence that samples were swapped during the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games and it planned to reanalyse every Russian sample from Sochi.
The IPC allowed the Russian Paralympic Committee to present its case before it decided on the ban.
The IOC was widely criticised for ignoring the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) recommendation to ban Russia from the Rio Olympics.
Instead, each individual sporting federation was given the power to decide if Russian competitors were clean to compete.
A three-person IOC panel then had the final say.
In the end, more than 270 Russian athletes were cleared to compete at the Olympics.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, speaking to Radio 5 live, said: "I think the IPC has taken a really strong stance, where the IOC has slightly passed the buck. I don't think it will have the same political statement that it would if the Olympic athletes were banned. I do have some sympathy for the Russian Paralympians, there are maybe some innocent athletes who will be seriously affected by this. But it was better to say no to the Russian team than to do what the IOC did and pass it on to the international federations.
"As much as you want to protect innocent athletes and over the years there have been so many innocent athletes who have not had their moment in the sun, won medals and had sponsorship and media coverage they would have done because of cheating athletes. The bit that is unfair is that everything is being pinpointed on Russia. They are not the only country to have problems and not the only group of athletes that are maybe competing in Rio at the Olympics or Paralympics who might have banned substances in their blood."
US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief executive Travis Tygart said the IPC's decision was "inspiring".
"The IPC showed strong leadership today in holding Russia's state-organised doping accountable," said Tygart. "Their unanimous decision goes a long way towards inspiring us all - most importantly clean athletes - and upholding the Paralympic values we admire."
Wada said it supported the decision, adding it was "is in the interest of clean athletes and the clean sport movement".
The British Paralympic Association said the IPC had taken a bold decision and congratulated it for taking a "clear stand".
"It is crucial for the integrity of our sport that those involved, as well as the public, feel confident that all necessary measures are in place to tackle doping and the playing field is level", a statement read.
Britain's Paralympic gold medallist and world champion Richard Whitehead told the BBC's World Service: "I feel that Paralympic sport will move forward and will be the shining light of what needs to happen within sport. Let's hope that other sporting governing bodies also take the same light. "
But the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) said it was "disappointed" and "troubled" by the IPC's decision.
FEI President Ingmar De Vos said: "We believe the individual International Federations should be given the opportunity to defend the rights of their clean athletes."
BBC Sport's Chris McLaughlin: "It's the decision the IOC resisted - a blanket ban and a hardline approach from the Paralympic movement. Its head Sir Philip Craven said it was a decision that had given him sleepless nights but one that had to be taken in the interests of sport, going on to say the Russian sporting system was broken and corrupt.
"It may not be the end of the matter though, the Russians have already indicated they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But, as it stands, there will be no Russian athletes at the Paralympic Games here in Rio."
Margarita Goncharova (athletics)
Competes in the same T38 category as Britain's Sophie Hahn. Won 100m gold at London 2012, but Hahn won world titles in 2013 and 2015, beating the Russian on both occasions.
Goncharova would also likely have competed in the 400m (probably against Kadeena Cox), long jump (probably against Olivia Breen) and as part of the Russian 4x100m team which won silver behind GB at last year's Worlds.
Evgenii Shvetsov (athletics)
Won three golds in the T36 category at London 2012 - beating Britain's Paul Blake in both the 400m and 800m and compatriot Graeme Ballard in the 100m.
Blake also won silver behind him in the 400m at last year's Worlds in Doha.
Olesya Vladykina (swimming)
A big rival of Britain's Claire Cashmore in the SB8 100m breaststroke, beating her at almost every major championship since the 2008 Paralympics apart from the 2014 Europeans where they tied for gold.
Valeriia Shabalina (swimming)
The medals in the S14 events in Rio had looked like being a straight battle between Britain's Bethany Firth and Shabalina, who won three golds at the recent IPC Swimming Euros in Portugal, beating Firth in two of the events and setting two world records.
Darya Stukalova (swimming)
British swimmer Hannah Russell's main rival in the S12 category, especially in the 50m and 100m freestyle and the 100m backstroke.


A man saved his mother and dog before dying when his narrowboat sank in a canal lock, eyewitnesses said.

Allen Green lived aboard the Sonskit in Netherwich Basin, near Droitwich, friends told the BBC.
They said after helping the woman and dog to safety, he got back inside the boat to salvage items but could not get out as it filled with water.
Mr Green's 19-year-old daughter, Naomi, told BBC News her father was her "hero" and she loved him very much.
The boat has now been removed from the Droitwich Junction Canal.
Canal death eyewitness accounts on BBC Local Live
Paramedics battled for 40 minutes to resuscitate Mr Green but he died at the scene, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
An elderly woman managed to get off the boat unharmed before it sank, a spokesman added.
Volunteer lock keeper James Cowlishaw said he had spoken to Mr Green on the day of the tragedy and later fought to rescue him.
"He went past on his boat, we passed the time of day and he went off into the distance and we caught him up in those terrible circumstances.
"There was an air gap at the top but we had no response when we were knocking the top of the boat which was worrying.
"I tried to get in the front but it was rammed with bedding and furniture which was floating about in there.
"The emergency services took over and eventually found him.
"We can't understand how he got in the trouble he did."
A witness at the scene said he saw the boat "right at the bottom of the lock" and called an ambulance.
"[There were] two people on it - one at the front and one at the back. They were trying to fight their way through the debris which was floating around in the boat," he said.
The Canal and River Trust, which looks after the canal, said it was trying to find out what happened.
West Mercia Police said there were no suspicious circumstances so it was not investigating.
A spokeswoman for the trust said: "We're deeply saddened to hear that someone has lost their life on the canal, and our thoughts are with the family at this very difficult time.
"Incidents like this are rare, and while there's no indication there's a problem with the canal, we'll be looking at whether there's anything we can do to prevent this kind of thing happening again in future."
The trust, formerly British Waterways, said Droitwich Canals reopened in 2011.


It's an unusual family - a pair of bald eagles have taken a baby red-tailed hawk into their nest and raised it alongside their own three chicks.

The eagles' nest is located at the Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary off the coast of British Columbia.
The two species are typically "mortal enemies", according to a local wildlife foundation.
Although the mixed brood is one big happy family for now, experts warn the hawk may not survive.
"The fact that it survived so long is absolutely amazing," raptor specialist David Bird told the Vancouver Sun.
"The big question is - will it survive the next week to get out of the nest?"
Dr Bird, who is the director of the Hancock Wildlife Foundation Director, believes the baby bird was taken by a marauding eagle from its own nest as feed for the young family.
Once it got there, it opened its beak and begged for food, not knowing what fate awaited it, Dr Bird suggested. That's when the eagles' parental instinct must have kicked in, he said.
While the hawk may have been taken in as part of the brood, that doesn't mean everyone is all "lovey-dovey", wrote eagle biologist David Hancock on the foundation's website.
"Sibling rivalry and fratricide is not uncommon in eagles," he wrote.
But red-tailed hawks, while just about a quarter of the size of a bald eagle, are known to be aggressive and capable of defending themselves against eagle attacks, he said.
Part of what makes this nest so extraordinary is its location, he wrote. Located near Sydney, British Columbia, it is surrounded by homes, dog-walkers and bird-watchers.
"These are very successful urban eagles!" Mr Hancock wrote.


An inquest into the death of a Derry teenager in 1972 has been told by a British Army commander that soldiers were fully aware of Army guidelines.

Manus Deery, 15, was shot in the head by a soldier named on Monday as William Glasgow, who died in 2001.
The Army claimed that they were shooting at a gunman in the Bogside, something the Deery family rejects.
Commanding officer Trevor Wilson said Army guidance was at the forefront of everyone's minds.
Mr Wilson was in charge of C company who were deployed in Derry in 1972.
C company included William Glasgow and another soldier, who can only be identified as soldier B, who said they saw a gunman at an archway near the Bogside Inn.
Londonderry Coroner's Court was told of a statement that Mr Wilson had made previously, in which he was asked to explain the nature of the training given to soldiers and if they had received any training in long and short range firing.
In his statement, Mr Wilson said that he could not recall any specific regiment training but he then corrected himself and said that he recalled taking the company away for a weekend of training which was specific to Northern Ireland, prior to deployment.
He added that all soldiers were required to carry a yellow card and that the guidance on that card was at the forefront of everyone's minds before and during posting.
Later, when asked by counsel for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the PSNI if there was anything he would like to say to the Deery family, who were in court, Mr Wilson said: "It's difficult to comprehend the devastating effects that the loss of Manus at such a young age and in such tragic circumstances must have had on the family.
"You have my deepest sympathy and I hope this inquiry may provide some comfort to you.
"Finally I shall continue to remember Manus and you in my thoughts and in my  prayers."
The court heard that Mr Wilson did not seek nor was he given information about the shooting at the time or during the intervening years.
It was only 18 months ago that he learned that the person shot was not a gunman, but a 15-year-old boy.
The counsel for the MoD also raised concerns about a report carried by the BBC which stated that Soldier 'B' ordered Private William Glasgow to fire the fatal shot.
The MoD counsel said that all sides were of the opinion that there was "no evidence of any kind intended to indicate that Soldier B had given any order or given any instruction in relation to the firing of the round".
The coroner said it was a pity that this was reported wrongly.
The MoD counsel also said it was about two and a half hours after the clarification was made in court that the BBC changed its online copy. Other media outlets were mentioned in court, too.
The inquest continues and is expected to last until the middle of next week.


Fifteen Muslim men have been arrested in India for allegedly shouting "anti-India and pro-Pakistan" slogans during the Champions Trophy cricket final.

The men were denied bail in Madhya Pradesh state after appearing in court where they were charged with sedition.
They were arrested after their Hindu neighbours complained that they had burst firecrackers and shouted "pro-Pakistan" slogans during the game.
Pakistan won the final, defeating India by 180 runs.
Sedition is one of the most serious charges under the Indian penal code.
People charged with sedition have to surrender their passports, are not eligible for government jobs, must appear in court as and when required, and spend money on legal fees.
The India Today website quoted police as saying that the men were charged because of the anti-India slogans and not because they were cheering for Pakistan.
Why India needs to get rid of its sedition law
This is not the first time Indian Muslims have got into trouble for cheering for the Pakistan cricket team.
In 2014, 66 Muslim students from Indian-administered Kashmir were kicked out of their university in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and charged with disturbing communal harmony.
And in 2016, police were sent into a university in Indian-administered Kashmir after clashes between students from the state and other parts of the country.


A volunteer netball and football coach from Cwmbran has been named as BBC Wales Sport's Unsung Hero for 2016.

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PE teacher Vicki Randall turned to coaching after being forced to give up playing netball and football because of injury.
The 29-year-old has encouraged more than 200 girls to play sport every week.
"I say quite often to them I don't care about the score, I just want them to enjoy it," Vicki said.
"I know that they appreciate everything that I do and at the end of the sessions they'll all say thank you."
Vicki set up Cwmbran Youth netball club in 2009 with just five girls, which has now grown to 14 teams. Three players have recently been selected for Wales' under 17 squad. She also organises a weekly 'netball tots' club for children aged between one and five.
She also runs Risca Netball Club, managing all five of their teams in the South East Wales League.
Vicki also set up Cwmbran Celtic Ladies football team in 2012, guiding them to promotion to the Welsh Premier league two years later and also started a reserve team to encourage women to take up the sport.
She typically spends four evenings a week coaching sport after work, often more than one session per evening. At weekends, she spends most Saturdays organising netball matches and tournaments, before devoting up to seven hours on a Sunday to her football teams.
Despite undergoing nine operations on her knee she has continued to coach, sometimes on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Vicki was nominated by Ann Daley from Pontypool whose daughter plays netball with Cwmbran Youth.
"Vicki has given so much to so many, volunteering all her free time," Ann Daley said.
"She has had a massive impact in raising levels of participation in sport for girls and women in South East Wales. Vicki really is an Unsung Hero."
Vicki's achievement will be recognised at the Wales Sport Awards 2016 on Monday, 5 December at Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff,
She will share the stage with the night's other big winners including Coach of the Year, Team of the Year and the prestigious BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year.
The Wales Sport Awards 2016 will be broadcast live from 19.30 GMT on Monday, 5 December at the BBC Wales Sport website and also on BBC iPlayer and the Red Button. The event will also be live on BBC Radio Wales.
The Wales Sport Awards is an event, organised in partnership by BBC Wales and Sport Wales. It aims to recognise the best achievements at elite and community level in Welsh sport.
Watch BBC Wales Today at 18:30 GMT on BBC One Wales this evening to see the moment presenter Claire Summers surprises Vicki with her Unsung Hero award.


A university has apologised for the "inadequate" way it handled the case of a former student who was attacked by her lecturer partner.

Allison Smith, 24, was "knocked out" by Dr Lee Salter in September 2015 but he continued teaching at the University of Sussex for another 10 months.
The university commissioned a review to examine its response.
Reporting on the findings, vice-chancellor Prof Adam Tickell said he was "very sorry for the failings".
Salter was finally suspended by the university after a conviction in June 2016 and later lost his job. He was sentenced to 22 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.
The independent report by professor of criminology, Nicole Westmarland of Durham University, praised two members of staff but identified four areas of poor practice.  It said:
Prof Tickell, who commissioned the report on his first day as vice-chancellor, said: "Our foremost concern remains with Allison Smith, who has been incredibly courageous.
"It is only right that I am now able to formally acknowledge that the university's response to her case was inadequate.
"I am very sorry for the failings identified... I am committed to the university addressing these issues."
Allison Smith, who was a post graduate student during the time of the relationship, said she was pleased to see the university plan to put "major changes" in place.
She added: "I will never forget the kindness shown to me once the case became public and I deeply thank everyone who has supported me."
Salter was found guilty of assault by beating and causing criminal damage to belongings at Brighton Magistrates' Court in June.
As well as his suspended sentence, he was issued with a restraining order, fined Â£2,765 and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.


Scots actress Karen Gillan has said she would like to be cast in more "bad guy" roles after playing her first villain.

The former Doctor Who companion is Nebula in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, which topped the North American box office in its debut weekend.
Its takings of $94m (Â£55.8m) set a record for a film opening in August.
The movie also stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista, while Bradley Cooper voices an alien racoon called Rocket.
Gillan, from Inverness, who played Amy Pond in Doctor Who, told the BBC News Scotland website: "This is my first villain - the first of many one would hope.
"I had to train in martial arts and work out four times a week to be able to handle the fight sequences with Zoe Saldana."
Gillan added: "I was aware of the Marvel films that had gone before, so I knew the standard would be high.
"And to play a villain in one of those was about the most exciting thing ever."
The actress had her head shaved before making her bid for the role of Nebula.
She said: "When I was asked to audition, I had to agree the shave my head before I could even get in the room.
"But that was fine with me, I was looking for something drastic."
For her performances in the film, Gillan was required to spend five hours in make up.
She said: "It was worth every second. And I got to watch films on my iPad while being turned blue."
Guardians of the Galaxy forms part of Marvel's so-called "Phase 2" project.
The first phase involved the development and release of superhero movies featuring well-known comic book characters such as Iron Man, Captain America and Thor.
Gillan said: "I'd never heard of Guardians - like most of the general population.
"But that was exciting because it is new, we are establishing something, taking a risk and we get to be the first actors to ever play these roles in cinema. That's cool to me."


Southampton assistant manager Eric Black gave undercover reporters advice on how to bribe officials at other clubs, the Daily Telegraph has claimed.

Black, 52, was filmed apparently naming staff at other clubs who could be induced to pass on information about players to a company for money.
Such payments would be against Football Association rules.
Black, who oversaw Aston Villa's final seven Premier League matches last season, has denied the allegations.
"It doesn't take too much to get these people involved," Black says in the covert recording.
"They won't have an awful lot of money."
Former Aberdeen striker Black quotes a figure of "a couple of grand", which the Telegraph claims was his suggestion of a suitable payment to an unnamed assistant coach at a Championship side in return for introducing players to the undercover reporters' fictitious agency.
Black denies suggesting that any football official should be paid, saying that his "couple of grand"comment related to a freelance scout that an agency looking to break into the football industry might approach.
A spokesperson for Black said his client did not recall the possibility of bribing officials being mentioned.
"This was not the purpose of the meeting so far as our client understood it. Any suggestion that he was complicit in such discussions is false," the spokesperson added.
Southampton said they were "fully committed" to investigating the claims and intend to work closely with the Premier League and Football Association on them.
Black has held permanent managerial posts at Motherwell and Coventry, as well as having caretaker spells at Birmingham, Sunderland, Blackburn, Rotherham and Villa.
His played for Aberdeen and French side Metz and won three caps for Scotland before he became a coach at Celtic.
The allegations about Black are the latest from the Daily Telegraph's investigation into corruption in football.
On Thursday, Barnsley assistant boss Tommy Wright was sacked over claims he took cash for trying to engineer certain transfers. Wright has "categorically denied" the claims.
Sam Allardyce left his post as England manager on Tuesday, making a "whole-hearted apology" in the wake of allegations in the newspaper that he offered advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers.


Boss Owen Coyle says Blackburn proved they will not face a relegation battle this season after beating a Newcastle side that he is convinced will earn an immediate return to the Premier League.

Rovers' 1-0 win at the league leaders moved them out of the drop zone.
"I've said consistently that we will not be in that area of the league over the course of the season," Coyle said.
"Newcastle will go on and win the league, I have no doubt. But we showed that we can play a bit ourselves."
Victory, sealed by Charlie Mulgrew's first goal for Blackburn, ended Newcastle's club-record equalling nine-match winning run and allowed Brighton to move to within two points of Rafael Benitez's side at the top of the Championship.
It was the first time since Coyle took charge in June that Blackburn have managed to win back-to-back games, after beating Brentford 3-2 at home a week earlier.
Rovers have collected 11 points from a possible 21 since 15 October, which is three more than they managed to pick up in the 11 matches that preceded that.
"People look at the league table and don't see the big picture," Coyle told BBC Radio Lancashire after his side moved up two places to 20th in the table.
"I know exactly the building blocks that have been put in place to take this club forward.
"The important thing now is to build momentum. That is what I said after beating Brentford, there is no point having a great performance then come to Newcastle and not perform to our maximum.
"People will think I'm a little bit crazy, but we certainly believed that we could come here and win."


Political pollsters haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in recent times - you just have to look at the 2015 general election, the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's rise to the US presidency.

But a Belfast community organisation is trying to restore respectability to the opinion polls with a novel idea.
The Lagan Village Youth and Community Group, just off the city's Ravenhill Road, is installing bright yellow cigarette bins with a twist in a bid to predict the outcome of the Northern Ireland Assembly election.
People will vote with their butts by slipping their smokes into one of two slots, choosing between the DUP and Sinn Féin.
George Newell from the centre said the ballot-style bins would do their bit for the environment as well as getting people to think about politics.
"Instead of people throwing their cigarette ends on to the street, these butt bins will encourage people to dispense of them in a safe, environmental manner," he said.
"The idea behind these ones is to make a statement with your butt.
"So, we've put a sign on them - who will be the biggest party after the assembly election; will it be the DUP or Sinn Féin?"
And George believes this could spark a new forecasting "trend".
On 3 March, there'll be no ifs, just butts - the bins will be emptied and the cigarettes counted to see if the tobacco-based total matches the election outcome.
But George has already got an idea who will win the battle of Lagan Village.
"Knowing this locality, I don't think the DUP has much of a problem."
It's the dogs that are the danger on the campaign trail in South Down, as one candidate found out on Wednesday.
And Sinn Féin's Barry McElduff has said that life's no different west of the River Bann.
Whether it's an Alsatian or a Yorkshire terrier, hounds pose one of the "perennial challenges" faced by canvassers, particularly in country areas.
"As a canvasser, you've got to try and find out: Will that dog bite you?" he explained.
"Wee dogs, big dogs - they always say the wee terriers are the worst."
For canvassers who come up against a barking dog that's bearing its teeth, our handy tip for those knocking on the doors is to slip it a slice of ham - that'll guarantee you get its vote!
Welfare reform sparked a crisis at Stormont a couple of years ago when the executive parties couldn't agree on their own package of mitigation changes in line with the reforms that were coming into effect in the rest of the UK.
And now it's taken centre stage in this election campaign as the subject of a play.
Entitled is being performed across Northern Ireland until Saturday 25 February, and it looks at the impact of the controversial phasing out of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payments, as well as people's use of food banks.
Scriptwriter Fionnuala Kennedy said that when researching for the play she was struck by how many people were unaware of the looming changes to their benefits.
"We interviewed people who were on benefits as research for the play and they were saying: 'I'm on DLA and I was told it was for life, so welfare reform doesn't apply.'
"And we had to tell them, as artists in the room: 'No it does.'
"Then they were asking us for help with benefit forms - that was really worrying."
But she said that her intention with the play is to encourage the audience to take part in the welfare debate.
"It's up to the audience whoever they vote for - it doesn't just stop on 2 March," she added.
"If the politicians you've voted for don't do what they say they were going to do, hold them accountable - we've every right to question our politicians and make them work for us."
BBC News NI's Campaign Catch-up will keep you across the Northern Ireland Assembly election trail with a daily dose of the main stories, the minor ones and the lighter moments in the run up to polling day on Thursday 2 March.
Hear more on BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster and BBC Radio Foyle's The Breakfast Show at 07:40 GMT, and on BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra at 17:40 each weekday.


An online archive of old computer malware has attracted more than 100,000 visitors since it launched four days ago.

Some of the software showed an animation or messages. Others invited the infected user to play a game.
Many of the viruses were created by "happy hackers" rather than organised criminals, said cybersecurity expert and curator Mikko Hypponen.
The malware all dates from the 1980s and 1990s.
The versions online have all been stripped of their destructive capabilities, but show the messages they would have displayed within emulator windows.
Much of the collection is mischievous and colourful in nature, but there was also more sinister malware around.
"I only chose interesting viruses," Mr Hypponen said of his picks.
His personal favourite is a virus called Casino, which overwrote a crucial part of the computer's file system but took a copy of personal files and then offered the user the opportunity to win them back in a game of Jackpot.
"Casino was a real problem," Mr Hypponen, who works at security firm F-Secure, told the BBC.
"At the time the advice was, you lose nothing by playing. In the early 1990s very few people had back-ups so you had lost your files anyway."
He said he was surprised by the number of people who felt nostalgic about the old malware.
"Most of the malware we analyse today is coming from organised criminal groups... and intelligence agencies," Mr Hyponnen added.
"Old school happy hackers who used to write viruses for fun are nowhere to be seen."


Champions League winners Barcelona have signed Sevilla defender Aleix Vidal for an initial fee of £13m, rising to £16m, despite their transfer ban.

Barca were banned from signing players in 2015 after being found guilty of breaching Fifa's rules on the transfer of players aged under 18.
They have signed 25-year-old Vidal on a five-year deal now but he will not be able to play until January 2016.
Vidal is set to replace Dani Alves at right-back, with Alves out of contract.
Catalan Vidal started his career with Barca's rivals Espanyol but left without making an appearance and was part of the Sevilla side who won the Europa League last month.
Barca, who won their fourth Champions League trophy in the last nine years on Saturday by beating Juventus 3-1 in Berlin, were given the ban for two transfer windows for breaking transfer rules.
Fifa rules state that international transfers are only permitted for players over the age of 18 - unless the player in question meets one of three qualifying criteria.


Ella Ingram, one of the BBC 100 Women 2015, had to be hospitalised with her depression while she was still at school.

"I feel really suicidal, I feel like I want to do something," Ella told her teachers, when they found her sobbing in a dark and empty drama room.
Ingram, now aged 21 and from Melbourne, had started to feel unwell over the summer holidays before the start of Year 12 when she was aged 17.
"I just remember feeling really disconnected from everyone," she recalls.
Her teachers called her mother that day at the beginning of a new school year and Ella asked to be admitted to hospital.
"I was there for two weeks and I found it really, really helpful on how to deal with how I was feeling," she says.
An Australian national survey in 2014 found that one in five girls in the country aged between 16 and 17 were suffering from a major depressive disorder, one in six had self-harmed and one in 20 had attempted suicide.
But Ella's experience with youth depression represents a global story, particularly for females.
Depression is the top cause of youth disability and suicide is the third largest cause of death in 10 to 19-year-olds according to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) report on the health of adolescents.
Suicide has now overtaken childbirth and pregnancy as the leading cause of death globally for adolescent girls.
Improvements in maternal health and sex education worldwide can be attributed to the decline in maternal mortality, says Dr Suzanne Petroni, the senior director for gender, population and development at the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW).
But the rise of depression and suicide cannot be pinned down to a single cause.
However, globally, social and economic disadvantage have long been established as contributing factors in high incidences of youth suicide and depression.
Even in affluent countries like the United States, depression and suicide fall disproportionally on youth who are socially or economically marginalised.
A 2013 study published in Death Studies found that from Grades Seven to 12 - students aged 12 to 18, African-Americans and American Asians reported higher rates of suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts than European Americans.
In South-East Asia one in every six adolescent female deaths is due to suicide.
Shruti (not her real name), a 23-year-old sociology student from Pondicherry in southern India, says she first started feeling suicidal after a fall-out with her family while she was living alone in Delhi.
She says: "I would often go to the roof of my apartment and stare at the emptiness below. One day when I had a strong urge to harm myself, I realised something is seriously wrong with my mind."
Shruti says she feels that in Indian society, mental health is taken for granted.
"There is a taboo associated with an unhealthy state of mind. I needed time to come to terms with the fact I had to seek professional help," she says.
Shruti believes this is because India is still largely a collectivist society and people are embarrassed to seek help for emotional issues outside the family.
Maullika Sharma, a counsellor working with adolescents in Bangalore says there is a taboo about mental illness all over the world, but she believes it is stronger in India than in the West.
"A lot of it has to do with arranged marriages and the facade of family honour and family pride. If youngsters have any kind of mental illness the family tries to hide it so the person can get married off and find a partner.
"Also, family image is important and any kind of mental illness is seen to be a black mark," she says.
Gargi Sandilya, a psychologist and life coach from New Delhi agrees there is a stigma surrounding mental illness in India but awareness and treatment are on the increase.
She says: "While depression is on the rise, the awareness of mental illnesses is also increasing, especially in the larger cities in India.
"More and more NGOs and social workers are working towards reducing the stigma attached to mental illness as well as to the seeking of help for psychological issues."
On the other side of the world, Jamaica launched its inaugural Child and Adolescent Mental Health Awareness Day earlier this year.
The high number of youths suffering from depression is affecting the small island nation.
The suicide of three teenage girls from the same region within a two-week period triggered a Ministry of Health study into the issue.
Twenty per cent of Jamaican high school students were found to be at risk of suicide, according to the 2012 survey.
More females expressed suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide, but more males actually completed suicide.
Emprezz Golding is a television personality and youth worker in Jamaica.
"Depression is something we don't speak openly enough about in Jamaica as it relates to youth," says Ms Emprezz.
Through her programme, TalkUpYout, Jamaican youth share their stories of pain and healing.
"Many young people are dealing with parental abandonment issues leading to cutting, depression and suicidal thoughts," she says.
Terry is a 20-year-old woman from Trelawny in Jamaica. She told her story on TalkUpYout.
"I just wanted to end my life. I first decided to cut my wrists but it never cut deep enough. I heard about the next girl down the lane who had hung herselfâ€¦ I figured that is probably the best way out," she said.
Back in Australia, Ella hopes other people with depression will see her story and she can help play a role to increase awareness.
She adds: "I want to stop the stigma as well, that's another aim for me".
Ella says she no longer feels like "there is a grey cloud always hanging over me." But millions of other young women and girls do, and face a risk to their lives through suicide.


A farmer who failed to properly care for his livestock has been banned from owning animals for six years.

Huw Aled Jones, 44, of Rhydtalog, near Mold, Flintshire, was found to have dead and dying animals on his land.
He admitted causing unnecessary suffering to animals, failing to identify them, failing to report animal deaths and not disposing of carcasses.
He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for two years at Flintshire Magistrates Court.
The court heard Jones had always worked on the family farm but had been unable to cope after his father died.
His marriage broke down, the farm was no longer sustainable and he worked 12-hour days at a dairy in Shropshire, which led to his failure to care for the sheep and cows.
The court heard he had ignored advice from council officers, failed to get veterinary attention for the animals, and did not properly feed them, resulting in their long-term neglect.
Several dead, injured and dying animals were discovered on the farm following a tip-off, including calves and lambs.
Probation officer Pamela Roberts said Jones did try to care for the animals and had shown great remorse for his actions.


Reaching a deal on David Cameron's EU renegotiation goals will be "very, very tough", European Council President Donald Tusk has said.

In his first comment since the UK prime minister wrote to him setting out his objectives, Mr Tusk said there was "no guarantee" of a deal by December.
"I have to say that it will be really difficult to find an agreement," added the European Council president.
Talks and sounding out other countries will start next week.
Mr Tusk made his comments at an emergency EU summit on migration, in Malta, which Mr Cameron was not able to attend because of the visit of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to the UK.
The council president said the chances of getting a deal on the UK's demands by the time EU leaders next met at a summit in a month's time were not high.
"Their requests are tough and this is why this matter was so interesting for me, but I have to say that it would be really difficult to find an agreement and, for sure, there is no guarantee that we can do this by December," said Mr Tusk.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, French digital affairs minister Axelle Lemaire suggested there was "no willingness, at least in the short term" to change EU treaties to accommodate the UK's request to restrict newly-arrived EU citizens' access to benefits.
"This is not something that the French government would see as being reasonable... So there's the question of is it legal or not and there's the question of is it good to raise the issue at the moment and this, the timing is probably not so good," she said.
Ms Lemaire also sounded a note of caution over the proposal to exempt the UK from "ever-closer union", questioning what it actually meant.
"If it's getting nearer to a protocol like the ones that were signed for Denmark and for Ireland, this is a matter open for discussion.
"But if it's a complete re-questioning of the sense of the original treaties, this is probably not something we could agree on," she told Newsnight.
Mr Cameron bowed to pressure from other EU leaders and set out the UK's four key demands in the negotiations on Tuesday.
He is keen to press ahead with an in/out referendum but has said he will not announce the date of it, which must be before the end of 2017, until he has secured an agreement from the other EU leaders.
In his letter Mr Cameron said four objectives lay at the heart of the UK's renegotiations:
Examining the four key points from Cameron's letter
If the demands are met, Mr Cameron said "I am ready to campaign with all my heart and soul to keep Britain inside a reformed European Union".
At a press conference on Tuesday, he hit back at claims by former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson that the four goals were "disappointingly unambitious", saying they reflected what the British people wanted and would be "good for Britain and good for the European Union".
"It is mission possible and it is going to take a lot of hard work to get there," said the prime minister.
But his demands were met with ridicule by some Conservative Eurosceptics, with backbencher Bernard Jenkin stunning MPs by saying: "Is that it?"
Former Tory cabinet minister John Redwood said Mr Cameron should be asking for "much more" and there was nothing in Mr Cameron's speech to suggest Britain would get "anything like the protection we need" from European laws.
"It's about more than borders and migration," he added, "it's about who governs".
Referendum on the UK's future in the European Union
The UK is to have a referendum by the end of 2017 on whether to remain a member of the European Union or to leave. The vote is being proceeded by a process of negotiations in which the Conservative government is seeking to secure a new deal for the UK.
Explained: What David Cameron wants from the EU negotiations
Guide: All you need to know about the referendum
Analysis: Latest from the BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler
More: BBC News EU referendum special report


European countries will soon be asked if they wish to press on with design work to upgrade the ATV space truck.

The robotic craft takes supplies to the International Space station (ISS), but could be enhanced to return cargo to Earth and even carry a human crew.
Further feasibility work will cost some 150m euros, and nations are likely to decide by the end of the year whether to continue or shelve the project.
Much may depend on how they view future plans for human space exploration.
More freighters are needed to keep the station operational up to 2020, but beyond that date the prospects for the orbiting platform and the ships that service it are not yet fully defined.
This means that states belonging to the European Space Agency (Esa) may be reluctant to commit to an expensive upgrade to a vehicle that may have a limited use.
Luigi Maria Quaglino from Thales Alenia Space (Italy), one of ATV's manufacturers, said he believed the Italian Space Agency (Asi) would be reluctant to approve the enhancement programme.
"Asi is not supporting the ARV idea because they think it is a lot of money for a programme which does not have a future," he told reporters.
"Their position is to support the maximum utilisation of the space station, and that includes ATV production because it is part of the logistics treaty [between the space station partners]."
Luigi Maria Quaglino was speaking at this week's International Astronautical Congress in Prague, in the Czech Republic.
The congress is one of the key meetings in the year when the global space community gets together to discuss current issues.
The 20-tonne ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) flew a maiden voyage to the ISS in 2008.  A second truck will launch next year.
The ship has sophisticated automatic rendezvous and docking technology - it can find its own way to the ISS and attach itself without any human intervention.
What it cannot do, however, is return to Earth at high speed through the atmosphere. At present, it simply burns to destruction.
An Advanced Re-entry Vehicle (ARV) would have that survivability.  It could be a significant asset for the space station which, when the US space shuttle retires next year, will have limited means of getting heavy cargo - including science experiments - back to Earth.
Esa initiated a 21m euro feasibility study in 2009 to specify the basic requirements for an ARV.  On the basis of that "phase A" work, officials now expect to go to member states to ask for 150m euros to develop the concept further.
On the table for discussion currently is the idea that the procurement of two future ATVs be dropped in favour of getting the ARVs flying before the end of the decade.
And with the chance that ISS operations could yet be extended deep into the 2020s, there would then be ample time to exploit the new capability.
"If I get 'phase B' approval by the end of the year or the beginning of next year, I can then present an informed proposal for 'phase C/D', the development phase, at the next Ministerial [Council of Esa]," Simonetta Di Pippo, Esa's director of human spaceflight, told BBC News.
"In that way, I can be confident to launch ARV by 2018.  But for sure, what we want to do is re-use to the maximum extent possible our expertise on ATV. It is a unique spacecraft."
Esa officials, though, are likely to face some tough talking from member states, a number of which are having to operate in very tight fiscal circumstances. Others say ARV is simply not a top agenda item at the moment.
"I represent one of the states that is very much in favour of ARV because this is the future, and Europe should be active in all areas of human space," commented Professor Jan Woerner, chairman of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
"However, the priority for Germany is full exploitation of the ISS; and if, within this full exploitation, we have some space for ARV, we would be very happy.  But full ISS exploitation has to be the priority."
The ARV has drawn particular attention because it is being designed in such a way that it could eventually be converted to carry astronauts.
At the moment, Europe has no independent crew transportation system, and relies on the US and Russia to get its people into orbit.
But a manned capability for the ARV is not something that is being considered seriously just yet.
The ARV phase A study describes a vehicle that superficially looks very similar to the ATV. It is of similar length, width, height and mass and launches on an Ariane 5 rocket.
However, the blunt cylindrical cargo carrier on the front would be replaced by a conical capsule with a heatshield for re-entry.  And the service and propulsion module that drives the cargo capsule through space would be more versatile than the existing ATV unit.
It could carry unpressurised as well as pressurised cargo, transport new modules to the ISS, and even move elements around in orbit like a tug.
"The ARV service module will be much more versatile, much more flexible, than the ATV service module; and we are assessing options to transport a much broader range of payloads," said Cristian Bank, who leads the ARV study at EADS Astrium.
"That would provide us with many more mission scenarios, some of which would even go beyond the ISS lifetime, because ARV only makes sense if it is doing other missions in parallel or after the ISS," he told BBC News.
If the phase B study were to be approved, it could allow testing of some critical technologies such as the parachute system that would slow the returning capsule just before its ocean splashdown.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk


Moors Murderer Ian Brady has said he still wants to die after losing his bid to be transferred from a psychiatric hospital to prison.

His move to a Scottish jail from Merseyside's Ashworth Hospital was refused by a tribunal in June.
In a statement issued through his solicitors, Brady, 76, said "recent events" had not changed his intentions.
Brady, who tortured and murdered five children along with Myra Hindley, also denied reports that he had dementia.
He went on to stress that he no longer had any dealings with a woman who says she has acted as his mental health advocate.
Jackie Powell was with Brady during the mental health tribunal which ruled he should remain at the maximum-security hospital where he is force-fed.
Brady argued he was not insane and wanted a return to prison and to be allowed to die.
Brady said Ms Powell had not visited him at Ashworth since last summer and would not be permitted to see him again.
In February 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service said Ms Powell would not be charged over claims she failed to tell police about a letter which may have revealed where one of Brady's victims, Keith Bennett, was buried.
Ms Powell had been arrested on suspicion of preventing his lawful burial after she told a television documentary that Brady had given her a sealed envelope to pass to Keith's mother, Winnie Johnson, in the event of his death.
The letter was never found and Mrs Johnson died not knowing where her son was buried.
Brady was jailed for life, along with his lover Hindley, in 1966.
She died in prison in 2002, aged 60.
He has been detained at Ashworth since 1985.


The number of dogs being put down by councils in Northern Ireland has decreased by 30% in the last year.

Of 5,515 stray dogs picked-up by councils in Ulster, only 286 had to be put to sleep, compared to 409 last year.
The total number of stray and abandoned dogs in Northern Ireland has also fallen; from 5,653 in 2015.
Although almost half of the dogs recovered were reunited with their owners, many live in rescue centres.
"This year's Stray Dog Survey shows good news for Northern Ireland," said Ronnie Milsop, Dogs Trust Campaigns Manager for Northern Ireland.
"Whilst it's positive that the number of dogs put to sleep by local authorities has decreased, any dog destroyed for want of a home is one dog too many.
"We work very closely with the Local Authorities who should be commended on their efforts to encourage responsible dog ownership through neutering, microchipping and education over the past year."
Dogs that are picked up by the council are held at pounds for seven days.
After that councils must re-home the animals or find spaces for them in rescue centres.
Each council area has different resources and a limited number of spaces.
If room cannot be found for an animal they have to be put down.
Almost a third of this year's stray and abandoned dogs were reported to have microchips, which accounts for the high number of pets that were reunited with their owners.
Microchipping is a procedure carried out a a veterinary practice. A tiny microchip is inserted under the animal's skin.
This chip gives the pet a unique code that can be scanned and matched to the owner's contact details, which are kept on a database.


Recorded crime has fallen in the past year, according to figures published by Police Scotland.

In the year to the end of March, the total number of crimes reported to police dropped by 3.2%.
There were 49 murders - down six on the previous 12 months, to the lowest figure recorded using modern methods.
But violent crime rose slightly and sexual crimes also increased - although police said many of these offences were historical.
The latest figures showed that there were 246,243 recorded crimes in Scotland during the year, with 127,126 crimes detected. The detection rate has risen from 50.6% to 51.6%.
Reductions in crimes of dishonesty accounted for a significant part of the overall fall, with drops in housebreaking, motor vehicle crime and thefts.
The figures showed that:
Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said police had committed "significant resources" to the investigation of historical cases of sexual abuse, domestic abuse and rape.
He added: "The overall reduction in recorded crime is to be welcomed - it means fewer victims of crime in our communities.
"There were fewer than 50 murders last year across the whole of the country, with major investigation teams working closely with local policing officers to detect those crimes and manage the impact in communities. The loss of any life is a tragedy and we will continue to do all we can to reduce violent crime."
The recorded crime statistics are published on a quarterly basis, with the latest figures covering the period between January and March this year.
They provide a snapshot of recorded crime over the full year from April 2015.
The Scottish government welcomed "the indication that total crime recorded by the police continues to fall".
A spokesman added: "We are committed to tackling all forms of violence across Scotland and we recognise that violence is a complex issue.
"That's why, in addition to enforcement, our focus is on prevention and early intervention, on tackling the causes not just the symptoms and since 2006-07, we have provided significant investment in violence reduction programmes including over Â£7m since 2008 in the National Violence Reduction Unit."
The Scottish Conservatives said there were a number of areas of concern within the statistics, with increases in attempted murder and assault with intent to rape.
The party's justice spokesman Douglas Ross said: "Any drop in overall crime has to be welcomed but the SNP shouldn't get too excited about patting itself on the back.
"Crimes of violence and sex crimes are all up while areas which the Scottish government is meant to be targeting like knife-possession and fraud are also on the rise.
Labour's justice spokeswoman, Claire Baker, said: "Whilst an overall reduction in crime is to be welcomed, it is important to look behind the headlines.
"It's concerning therefore, to see the first rise in violent crime in five years and a further increase in sexual crimes."
Greens justice spokesman John Finnie said: "There are still unacceptable levels of violence in our communities and a further 5% increase in crimes of violence is worrying."


Many people have been wondering what kind of election campaign UKIP would be running.

Critics had claimed that well-documented problems over some of their candidates would continue to plague them.
It's early stages but so far in Wales at least it has followed that script.
Rows over the selection of candidates have continued to bubble away and the entire local branch committee in Brecon and Radnorshire was suspended by UKIP Wales.
And now the national organiser has stepped down just as we head into the campaign. The significance of the timing will be lost on no-one.
UKIP Wales leader Nathan Gill told me there's never a good time for this to happen and in politics you have to cope with the hand that you're dealt. He says that overall the party is light years ahead of where it was five years ago.
John Atkinson had been in the role during last year's successful campaign in the European elections, in which it failed by just 4,000 votes to beat Labour and come top in Wales.
Despite the problems, the party still has plenty to build on.
UKIP has opened shops in Holyhead, Penarth, Shotton, Merthyr and Llanelli. It says it has 22 constituency branches and is fielding candidates in every Welsh constituency.
However, it operates in a radically different way to the other more established parties.
Plaid Cymru, for example, has already launched its campaign and manifesto, while UKIP don't have a date for its manifesto launch which will be the party's one set-piece event in Wales.
And yet UKIP have been higher in the polls than Plaid.
In fact the lack of organisation has been a factor which has worked in its favour as its members portray themselves as the outsiders and natural home of the protest voter.
The question is whether that is going to work in the full glare of a general election campaign.


Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says the club will use the money earned from sell-on fees to buy new players.

Kyle Walker's £45m move to Manchester City and Harry Maguire's £17m transfer to Leicester have benefited the Blades.
The sell-on fees for the ex-players, who left in 2009 and 2014 respectively, will now be reinvested in the squad.
"We've done fantastically well in terms of protecting ourselves with the likes of Jamie Murphy, Kyle Walker and Harry Maguire," Wilder said.
"The Championship is a hell of a tough division, so any money that can be made available to myself, I'll try to spend it and use it wisely on additions to make us better."
The Blades are reportedly due 10% of the transfer fees paid to Walker's former club Tottenham, and Hull City for Maguire, while the same will also apply if Murphy moves on from current club Brighton.
United have already signed Fulham defender Richard Stearman, but following their promotion from League One, Wilder wants more additions, with Southend's Ryan Leonard one of those being pursued.
"We're still after Ryan - it's not a secret. We're in for a few players and Ryan is one of them," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"We're making bids all over the place. We're looking for a centre-half, a centre-midfield player and maybe somebody at the top of the pitch.
"We're still in the early part of pre-season, there's still a lot of work to be done and we're actively trying to do some work."