A request from surgeons to be allowed to carry out lung transplants in Scotland for the first time is being considered by the Scottish government.

The Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank is currently the only heart transplant unit in the UK which cannot also offer lung replacement surgery.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said ministers were investigating whether the proposal could go ahead.
The Golden Jubilee is celebrating 25 years since its first heart transplant.
A decision on lung transplants is expected be made next year.
Ms Sturgeon said: "There's a scoping exercise being undertaken right now that will report in the first half of next year and then decisions will be made on the strength of the evidence that is available.
"What the exercise is looking at is the feasibility of carrying out lung transplants here as well.
"I completely understand the desire of clinicians who feel they have the capability, and also of patients who would prefer their operations here in Scotland rather than having to go to Newcastle which has been the case traditionally, but we've got to make sure we take these decisions based on the best possible evidence."
Prof Nawwar Al-Attar, Director of Scottish National Advanced Heart Failure Service, said surgeons were keen, and ready to be able to take on the extra work.
He appealed for more donors to come forward to enable the transplant programme to expand.
"Glasgow is the only transplant centre in the UK that only offers heart transplantation," he said.
"We are very keen on offering lung transplants to patients with advanced respiratory and lung disease."
"We are very much looking forward to coming up with recommendations to support our request to have lung transplantations."
Since the programme began in 1991, 367 heart transplants have been carried out with the longest surviving patient receiving his heart 24 years ago.
Chief executive of the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Jill Young, said: "Each year we hold an event dedicated to bringing together patients and families who have been treated by the service, letting them share their experiences and see that they are not alone.
"This year, however, is a very special occasion for the NHS in Scotland: celebrating a landmark for this life-changing, life-saving, service which has given patients all across Scotland a second chance at life."
She added: "Today is a chance to look back, celebrate and remember but it is also an opportunity to look forward at new developments and possibilities for the future to help more patients than ever before not only survive heart failure, but go on to live healthy, active, normal lives for years to come."


The Democratic Republic of Congo will hold presidential elections in November 2016, satisfying a key demand of the opposition.

Election officials  announced the date after violent protests erupted last month over fears that President Joseph Kabila was trying to delay polls.
The government denied the claim, and dropped plans for a controversial census to be held before elections.
Mr Kabila is constitutionally barred from contesting the poll.
He took power in 2001 after his father Laurent Kabila was assassinated.
He has won two disputed elections since then, and cannot stand for a third elected term.
Both the presidential and parliamentary elections would take place on 27 November 2016, election commission official Jean-Pierre Kalamba said in the capital, Kinshasa.
At least 42 people died in the protests in Kinshasa and other cities last month.
The demonstrators wanted to block parliament from adopting a new electoral law which would have required that a national census be held before elections.
The opposition said the plan amounted to a "constitutional coup" by Mr Kabila, as it would have taken about three years for a census to be conducted in DR Congo, which is two-thirds of the size of western Europe, has very little infrastructure and is hit by instability in the east.


The number of plastic bags taken home by shoppers at Tesco stores in England has dropped by almost 80% since a 5p levy was introduced, data suggests.

The government brought in the charge on 5 October to help reduce the amount of plastic waste.
Tesco declined to say how many 5p bags had been bought but said it was down 78% on the month before the charge, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The chain is to give the proceeds from plastic bag sales to charity.
The number of carriers bags given out by seven major supermarkets in England rose by 200 million in 2014 to exceed 7.6 billion - the equivalent of 140 per person and amounting to 61,000 tonnes in total.
Tesco's market share suggests it is likely to have handed out in excess of two billion single-use bags in 2014.
The supermarket said it had also seen a 50% increase in the amount of shoppers opting for "bagless" online deliveries.
Rebecca Shelley, Tesco's communications director, said the charge had "clearly had a huge impact" and the company was on target to donate Â£30m to charity over the year.
Marks and Spencer introduced a 5p charge on food carrier bags in 2008, which saw a reduction of 75% in usage and raised more than Â£10m for good causes.
A spokeswoman said since the legislation in October, the firm has seen a further reduction of 18% in usage.
"In clothing, since the legislation was introduced, we have seen a reduction of around 50% on clothing bags usage," she added.
England was the last part of the UK to adopt the 5p levy following successful schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The British Retail Consortium said the number of carrier bags now used by UK shoppers indicated there had been a significant reduction.
"Nevertheless, we must not let an obsessions with carrier bags get in the way of the wider and more important green goals on which retailers are working incredibly hard and making significant progress including reducing packaging, carbon emissions, food waste and waste to landfill," a spokesman said.
Environment Minister Rory Stewart told the Telegraph that reducing the number of carrier bags used "is a small but vital step in reducing plastic waste".


An autism-friendly grotto has been set up in York to provide a relaxed environment to visit Father Christmas.

14 December 2016 Last updated at 10:42 GMT
The grotto includes a multi-sensory room and is booked in 30-minute slots, meaning no stressful queuing is involved.
Kerrie Stephenson, whose son has the condition, said the layout allows children to "do what they want".


A man who died in King's College Hospital was cremated without his family being informed of his death after Lambeth Council lost his records.

The Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman found the hospital trust and Lambeth Council had failed to share information about "Mr C"'s next-of-kin in time for them to attend his funeral.
The Ombudsman said this had caused Mr C's sister "shock and distress".
The council and trust have apologised, paying out £650 for distress caused.
The Ombudsman found "a series of errors" were made by the trust and the council, including the council's loss of an envelope containing documents relating to Mr C's financial affairs, letters between him and his family, and the key to his property.
The envelope was found behind a cabinet at council premises after Mr C's sister, Mrs B, independently learned of her brother's death through his GP and contacted the trust.
The Ombudsman concluded these oversights denied his family the chance to go to the funeral.
Following the Ombudsman's investigation, the trust and council apologised to Mrs B and paid her £650 in recognition of the distress caused and for the loss of opportunity to attend her brother's funeral.
She received a further £374 to cover the two months when bills were unnecessarily paid by his estate.
Details of the case were made public as part of a wider report on complaints about the NHS.
Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman Julie Mellor said: "We are seeing far too many cases where grieving families are not being given answers when they complain to the NHS, forcing them to endure more anguish and distress."
The report contains basic details of 40 case studies among the 544 investigations of unresolved complaints the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman finished investigating in April and May 2015.
A Lambeth Council spokesman said Mr C's case involved "a very unfortunate set of circumstances" and the council had since reviewed its processes "to ensure such a situation could not be repeated".
A spokeswoman for King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said it had also reviewed its practices.
The spokeswoman added: "We would like to apologise wholeheartedly once again to the family involved in this case."


In exactly fifteen weeks' time, Northern Ireland will go to the polls - for the third time in as many years.

The door-rapping and leaflet-dropping has never really stopped.
But it is about to get all the more intense - and in unionism, there are some new dimensions.
Arlene Foster has been DUP leader for just over a month.
Mike Nesbitt is also leading his party - the Ulster Unionists - into an assembly poll for the first time.
The DUP have 38 seats and the Ulster Unionists 13.
On the streets of Carrickfergus, both leaders seem to be impressing the voters.
People said Arlene Foster "spoke sense", was "capable" and "strong".
And the words used to describe Mike Nesbitt were "clever", "sensible" and "confident".
Both parties think their leaders are electoral assets.
East Antrim MLA Gordon Lyons was co-opted into the assembly last year.
He said: "Arlene Foster has set out very clearly her vision for Northern Ireland and the message we'll be taking to the voters at the election.
"She grew up at a time when the bomb and the bullet were commonplace, but now she wants something better for the next generation.
"She wants a more hopeful Northern Ireland and a more prosperous Northern Ireland.
"People are responding to that in a very positive way."
The Ulster Unionists are in buoyant mood after capturing the South Antrim Westminster seat from the DUP last year.
Carl McClean is a councillor in North Down, one of the constituencies where they hope to make inroads in the Stormont election.
"Mike Nesbitt has got us to the point where we're completely united and can't wait to go into this election. I don't think any other party can say that.
"You will hear people say they feel undersold and let down, and want change in politics.
"They want a credible alternative, and under Mike Nesbitt, we are providing that."
The spotlight will be on the leaders like never before during the upcoming campaign.
Along with the County Antrim constituencies, Strangford and Lagan Valley will be key to the election outcome for unionism.
The Traditional Unionist Voice, UKIP and the Progressive Unionist Party will also be in the hunt for unionist votes.
The TUV and UKIP already have one assembly seat each and the PUP are looking to win one for the first time since 2007.
The issues voters talk about in Carrickfergus will come up across Northern Ireland.
Jobs, infrastructure and town centre regeneration were mentioned again and again when people were asked for their top concerns.
There were also quite a number of people who said they doubted any politician would deal with their issues - therefore they planned not to cast a vote.
But politicians will be fighting for it anyway.
The poll will be a defining test for Arlene Foster and Mike Nesbitt.
If the UUP make some gains, but the DUP remain comfortably the largest party in Northern Ireland, both parties could claim to have had a good election.
As the final candidates are selected and the figures are pored over, vote management could be crucial in an election with multiple candidates and the option of voting for more than one party in order of preference.


Shares in Alibaba have been priced at $68 (Â£42), the top end of the range, in a sign of strong investor appetite for the Chinese e-commerce giant.

With trading starting on the New York Stock Exchange later on Friday, the share sale will raise $21.8bn, making it one of the largest flotations ever.
It values Alibaba, which accounts for 80% of all online retail sales in China, at $167.6bn.
That value surpasses such corporate titans as Walt Disney and Boeing.
The final amount raised from the sale could change, depending on the final allotment allocation. If underwriters exercise an option to sell more shares, the money raised could increase to $25bn, beating the record listing held by Agricultural Bank of China. That flotation in 2010 raised $22bn.
Alibaba operates a series of online marketplaces in China and elsewhere, handling more transactions than Amazon and eBay combined.
The company was formed 15 years ago by former teacher Jack Ma, who wants to use some of the proceeds to expand in the US and other markets.
Trading in Alibaba shares is expected to be frenetic in the early hours after the market opens. Many experts expect the share price to go higher once trading begins as institutions add Alibaba stock to their investment portfolios.
US search giant Yahoo, already a shareholder in Alibaba, is selling some $8bn worth of its holding in the offering, leaving it with about 16% of the company.
Japan's Softbank is not selling for now and will be left with a 32% stake, making it the largest single shareholder.
However, control will remain in the hands of Mr Ma and other company veterans. A group of 27 manager dubbed the "Alibaba Partnership" will have the power to nominate a majority of board members.
Regulators at the Hong Kong stock market objected to this structure, which resulted in Alibaba deciding to list in New York.
Alibaba says the arrangement will help it to preserve its innovative culture.
Mr Ma's stake is reportedly worth about $14bn, while the sale is expected to make millionaires out of a large number of the company's managers, software engineers and other staff.
Alibaba acts as an online marketplace for wholesalers, retailers, and small businesses, and handles e-payments and financial transactions. The company has also branched out into cloud computing and instant messaging.
Alibaba has about 279 million active buyers visiting its sites at least once a month.
Online spending by Chinese shoppers is forecast soar over the next few years. And Alibaba has plans to expand into emerging markets as well as Europe and the US.
The firm made a profit of almost $2bn in the three months to the end of June, with sales up by 46% year-on-year to $2.54bn.
"There are very few companies that are this big, grow this fast, and are this profitable," said Wedbush analyst Gil Luria.
Alibaba Group owns or has stakes in several businesses, including:


The last 12 months have been "hard" for Ubisoft, the game maker said during its E3 press conference.

Late last year Ubisoft issued a public apology to gamers for glitches affecting some high-profile titles.
The bugs in Assassin's Creed Unity meant some in-game characters appeared without faces.
The admission came as the company showed off footage of upcoming titles and unveiled some completely new games.
"This has been a very intense year for Ubisoft," said Aisha Tyler, host of the press conference, adding that the company's "passionate players" had given the company a lot of "constructive feedback" on the problems they experienced with some of the company's games.
She said the company had taken the comments "very, very seriously" and had fed the "ear-burning NSFW comments" back in to its development process in a bid to learn from what had happened.
After acknowledging the criticism, Ubisoft gave demonstrations of game play from several upcoming titles.
One of the first was Assassin's Creed Syndicate which is set in London in 1868. A video unveiled at the conference showed a pub brawl between rival gangs and a chase involving horse-drawn carriages. The game is set to be released on 23 October.
Also on show was The Division - a post-apocalyptic, open-world survival shooter set in the US after a virus knocks out all central government and law enforcement.
It gave a look at one part of The Division's game world called the Dark Zone - a lawless, contested area of New York inhabited by heavily-armed bandits and looters. First announced in 2013, the Division is due to be released on 8 March, 2016.
Footage from the counter-terrorist squad-based shooter Rainbow Six Siege was also aired. The game was first mentioned last year but in 2015 attendees will be able to play some of its maps at the Ubisoft stand.
Pop star Jason Derulo performed on stage to promote the 2016 version of Just Dance. Ubisoft is also planning to launch a music streaming service for it that regularly introduces new songs to players that subscribe to Just Dance Unlimited.
Entirely new titles included For Honor and Ghost Recon Wildlands.
For Honor is based around hand-to-hand melee combat between small groups of knights, Vikings and other savage warriors. The brutal and bloody console game pits two teams of four players against each other in short battles.
The Ghost Recon reboot is set in a massive open world and puts players in a squad of special forces soldiers who have the job of infiltrating and taking down several drug cartels.
Ubisoft also unveiled a new game featuring the unruly children from South Park. The first, called The Stick of Truth, has a fantasy theme but the second outing is a superhero game called The Fractured But Whole.
"We might regret it, but we're doing it again," said Trey Parker, co-creator of the South Park cartoon.
You can follow all of the BBC's coverage from E3 2015 via the hashtag, #e3bbc


Senior Republican congressman Steve King has sparked a backlash on social media after tweeting his support for the Dutch anti-Islam politician, Geert Wilders.

"Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny," Mr King wrote on Twitter.
"We can't restore our civilisation with somebody else's babies," he added.
The US Republican Representative of Iowa is a strong advocate of putting a stop to birthright citizenship.
All children born in the US currently get citizenship under the constitution, including the children of families living in America illegally.
Mr King has pushed for radical reform of the interpretation of the 14th amendment of the US constitution so that it no longer gives the children of undocumented migrants the right to a US passport.
It seems Donald Trump is not the only politician who can bring social media to a screeching halt with an inflammatory tweet. Congressman Steve King has a history of walking on the edge of white nationalist rhetoric, and on Sunday afternoon he once again hit the hornet's nest, perhaps in his most direct manner yet.
The outrage from Democratic politicians and commentators across the political spectrum was quick, ferocious and entirely expected. The bluntness of Mr King's message, the talk of "our destiny" and "other people's babies", ensured a vigorous response.
Of greater interest will be how Republican officeholders handle the controversy. So far they have remained silent. That may be increasingly difficult, as this is yet another indication of the growing bonds between the Trump wing of the Republican Party and white nationalist movements in Europe.
Breitbart, the conservative media outlet recently headed by White House senior advisor Steve Bannon, often sings the praises of Mr Wilders, as well as France's Marine Le Pen and Frauke Petry, leader of the Alternative for Germany Party.
Mr Bannon has predicted the coming of a new "alt-right" order that will disrupt politics across the West. The question is whether establishment Republicans stay along for the ride.
America's extremist battle: antifa v alt-right
Who is Donald Trump's chief strategist?
Mr King's comments in support of Mr Wilders on Sunday led to accusations that he was "openly peddling white nationalism".
His post was retweeted by the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, with the words "sanity reigns supreme".
Mr Duke later tweeted: "God bless Steve King."
But many were quick to denounce Mr King, including former US President Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, who described the Republican's comments as "painful".
Speaking to the BBC's Adam Smith last year, Mr King said that "millions" of people were expected to enter the US "illegally and unlawfully" in the years to come, with "a birth rate that exceeds that of the American citizen by a factor of two or more".
"That their children would all be citizens would be beyond the pale of the imagination of the people who ratified the 14th amendment," he said.
Mr Wilders, whose populist Freedom Party is expected to do well in Dutch parliamentary elections later this month, has been under 24-hour police protection for more than a decade due to death threats.
He was found guilty of hate speech over his promise to reduce the number of Moroccans in the country last year but no penalty was imposed.


The parade may be over, the make-up scrubbed off, the glitter binned and the rainbow flags folded, but Belfast Pride features on the front pages of Monday's Belfast Telegraph and News Letter.

The Telegraph leads with the DUP's Jim Wells who is "standing firm" about severing all his ties with the National Trust over its support for gay rights.
The DUP MLA who worked for the trust at one stage says he will no longer be leaving it money in his will after it appeared at the parade and following its stance on gay rights.
The News Letter adds to the story. It quotes Mr Wells' "surprise" at a message tweeted by a more junior DUP party colleague.
As the Pride parade swept into action on Saturday, Emma Little-Pengelly took to Twitter to message: "Best wishes to all my friends and constituents celebrating today - all should be able to live a proud life free from hate, abuse or persecution".
Mr Wells tells the News Letter he was "surprised" by her tweet.
The trust would be better "to keep out of controversial social issues which have little to do with its main objectives," he says.
In its opinion column, the News Letter says differences between DUP members on Pride reflect tensions within the party itself.
The paper says Little-Pengelly is a young MP in a city "where young people would overwhelmingly be relaxed about or supportive of such a parade" says the paper.
The leader writer describes Jim Wells' "surprise" as a "foretaste of a coming clash within the party".
Meanwhile, in the Belfast Telegraph, Lyra McKee welcomes the tweet from Ms Little-Pengelly calling it "brave".
"She is in a party ruled by evangelical right; they will be sharpening their knives for her as I write," says Lyra.
"Yet she hit the send button anyway when it would have been safer for her to say nothing."
The Irish News leads with  "a brawl" between Armagh and Tyrone GAA fans on the Dublin to Belfast train on Saturday following the All-Ireland quarter final.
A father who did not want to be named said he had to take his 13-year-old son to the game. Afterwards they witnessed the "brawl" on the train and got off at Drogheda because he was so fearful for their safety.
The man said they watched a Tyrone supporter punch a young female Armagh fan in the face.
It was "an almighty fight" fuelled by drink, he said, small children were "squealing and an elderly lady was so frightened that she pushed the emergency stop button.
"My son said to me: 'Daddy I don't want to go back to anything again'," the man told the Irish News.
The Mirror reports of passengers' "horror" at the train fight.
Video footage shows fans "clambering over seats to hit each other" says the paper.
It quotes one witness who said: "People had cuts and bruises from fighting - an innocent person could have been badly hurt here."
The Irish News also reports that private contractors have been brought in to "deep clean"  dirty 999 ambulances after a report highlighted falling standards of cleanliness.
The paper says one paramedic said the insides of some of the emergency vehicles were not cleaned for up to a month because there was no time.
It describes blood-splattered interiors and body fluids on stretchers, all because crews could not get two hours in a week to clean them, according to a source.
Ambulance chiefs have blamed huge demands on the service.
The Irish News also reports on the the murder of a 45-year-old man whose body was found at a flat in Lurgan. The paper reports that the suspect is believed to be the dead man's twin brother.
Meanwhile, the papers also report that Alliance leader Naomi Long is taking time out from politics to address a long-term illness.
It is understood she is going into hospital for surgery to treat aggressive endometriosis.
"Alliance leader Long praised for her courage," reads the Belfast Telegraph headline. The Irish News reports that Ms Long said she had suffered from "chronic pain" resulting in several emergency hospital admissions.
Finally, Mirror columnist Joe Lindsay reflects on how life has changed in Northern Ireland since he was a boy.
In a letter to his 15-year-old self, he advises him to keep listening to the music and never, ever to throw out the vinyl... you never know when it might come back into vogue.
And, shortly after this year's Belfast Pride parade, Lindsay has a bit of sage advice about the world as it was and the world as it now is.
"You go to an all boys school and they're all straight," he tells his younger self. "Heads up... They're not."


A man has died after the car he was travelling in crashed into the basement of a home in west London, ignoring police attempts to flag it down.

It had been speeding and crashed at about 03:10 BST on West Cromwell Road, Kensington. The Met Police has referred the case to the police watchdog.
Two men freed themselves from the vehicle while another two were released with the help of firefighters.
One of the men died at the scene and another is in a critical condition.
The other two men have been arrested and the Met Police's Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed as a matter of course.
All four of the men were believed to be in their 20s and the deceased man's next of kin have been told.
Police said officers lost sight of the car as it sped away along the A4 Tolgarth Road.
They then saw it had crashed into the property.
A woman who lived in the house which was hit by the car said: "You could hear them screaming.
"They cut them out but one didn't make it."
Another witness said: "There was a massive bang. He hit the traffic light and span round and round. He ended up in the basement.
"There is a massive cracking in the wall of the basement.
"The police were chasing him."
The incident has been referred to the police watchdog.
Parts of the A4 - a busy dual carriageway into and out of London - were closed for officers to carry out investigations.
It has reopened towards Heathrow but remains closed eastbound between Hammersmith flyover and Earl's Court Road.


She hadn't officially won yet but she hadn't lost.

So when Hillary Clinton came on stage around 10pm on Monday night in Iowa at a rally in Des Moines' Drake University she didn't declare victory but said she was breathing a "big sigh of relief'" as she thanked Iowans for their support and their hard work on behalf of her campaign.
By the next morning, the final results had come in and Mrs Clinton was officially declared the winner, the first ever woman to win an Iowa caucus and a victory by the narrowest margin in history. The race had already moved 1,300 miles east to New Hampshire and Mrs Clinton was at her first event at Nashua community college by noon.
"I am thrilled to be here in New Hampshire after winning Iowa,'' she said to cheers from the audience. "I can tell you, I've won and I've lost there - and it's a lot better to win."
If this was a win, it wasn't the victory that Mrs Clinton would have wanted in a state where until late last year she was still leading by a wide margin. But the Hawkeye state has given her and her husband much trouble. Bill Clinton didn't bother campaigning there in 1992 when he was running for president and finished in third place in the caucuses. Mrs Clinton also came in third in 2008, a loss from which she never recovered during that race as her rival, then senator Barack Obama, went on to make history and become America's first black president.
The Clinton campaign had hoped to break the Iowa curse with a better ground organisation, months of preparation and a lot of retail politics in small settings by the candidates. As polls showed Mrs Clinton and her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders in a dead heat, her campaign aides remained cautiously optimistic, predicting a win by a narrow margin. Some who had already gone through the defeat of 2008 were tempering their expectations and contemplated a possible loss.
Monday night in Iowa was a nail biting evening as the votes were tallied and the margin between Mr Sanders and Mrs Clinton narrowed and then widened repeatedly, often by barely a percentage point. Results projected on a screen in the Clinton rally elicited cheers and gasps from the hundreds of supporters who were waiting for her to appear and speak to them.
By the time she left the stage, the race was officially still too close to call. Standing by her side, neither Bill nor Chelsea spoke. And the customary rope line greetings with supporters was scrapped as the Clintons made their way out of Drake University and to the airport to catch a flight to New Hampshire. In the crowd, there was celebration but no jubilation.
"This was a tough night. I had hoped she would do better and considering her name recognition and accomplishments and improved ground operation, she should have," said Joan Lipkin, a Clinton campaign volunteer who had come all the way from Missouri with 160 volunteers to canvass for the former first lady. Lipkin had volunteered in 2008 and said that her heart was broken then. On Monday night, her heart was ''dented'', she said.
"I'm not celebrating because I think Sanders poses a real challenge and many of his supporters are so enraged at the system that they may not come over if she wins the nomination."
Late into the night, on a chartered plane from Iowa to New Hampshire carrying Clinton aides and the press corps covering her campaign, there was exhaustion after days of campaigning in Iowa and trailing behind the candidate on a bus.
As headlines swirled about a tie between Mrs Clinton and Mr Sanders, Clinton spokesperson Brian Fallon and communications director Jennifer Palmieri tried to get ahead of the story, briefing journalists before the plane took off so stories could be filed.
"We believe strongly that we won tonight," Mr Fallon said. Based on their internal calculations and an app that reported turnout levels and delegate allocations, the Clinton camp said they had already determined they had 22 delegates, one more than Sanders, and that the finally tally would allocate the remaining delegate to Mrs Clinton.
"So while there are still a few precincts remaining the only candidate who can emerge from tonight's caucuses with a win is Hilary Clinton."
When the plane landed at Manchester airport in New Hampshire just before 5am and campaign aides sitting at the front of the plane were able to log into their emails, cheers erupted as they read the news that the final tally had come in from the Iowa Democratic party, in favour of Mrs Clinton. Her two-delegate lead over Mr Sanders is the same as Mr Obama's lead in 2008.
But for a candidate with such a formidable resume running against a self-declared socialist from Vermont, the race for the nomination should be a walk in the park.
Increasingly since late last year, the expectation is that this will be a long hard slog because Mr Sanders has tapped into a sentiment among young voters and a desire for revolutionary change that Mrs Clinton has not yet been able to channel.
Clinton aides also tried to highlight what could be an ominous sign for Mr Sanders who is counting heavily on caucus states to find a path to the nomination.
"Senator Sanders has been saying for weeks that if this caucus was a high turnout affair, he would win. He was wrong," said Mr Fallon.  The Clinton aides described Iowa as a left-leaning state that was tailor-made for Mr Sanders' strengths
Turnout was indeed high at 180,000 and it should have favoured Mr Sanders. This could spell trouble for him in future caucus states like Nevada. Mrs Clinton had once described caucuses as ''creatures of the parties' extreme''.
In southern states, Mr Sanders is trailing well behind and failing to connect with African-American voters. Mrs Clinton is banking on these more hospitable grounds to start picking large numbers of delegates to help her advance to the finish line for the nomination.
Republican vote, 99% reported:
Democratic vote, 99% reported:
Source: Associated Press, Iowa Republican Party, Iowa Democratic Party
US election: Iowa results map
But first, Mr Sanders is expected to win by a wide margin in the Granite state. So why is Mrs Clinton even bothering to campaign here?
Perhaps because in 2008, this was the state that gave her a morale boost after her Iowa defeat. She won by two points after polls had showed her trailing well behind Mr Obama.
No one in the Clinton camp expects to win New Hampshire, Mr Sanders' backyard and a state where 44% of voters identify as independent. Although he is running for the Democratic nomination, Mr Sanders is the longest serving independent member of congress.
If Mrs Clinton had hoped for a boost in New Hampshire from a sizeable win in Iowa, she will now spend the rest of the week assiduously trying to narrow the gap with her opponent in what is now a two-horse race after former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley dropped out on Monday night.
"She loves New Hampshire, she's really excited to be here and it's part of the primary process and she's going to march through each part of it and try to win everywhere," said Ms Palmieri.
Pressed about Mr Sanders not yet conceding Iowa, Ms Palmieri replied tersely: "We won."


Thirty five people have given evidence to the Iraq Inquiry behind closed doors, it has announced.

They include two former heads of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6 - Sir Richard Dearlove and Sir John Scarlett.
Former UK ambassador David Manning and UK special representative to Iraq Sir Jeremy Greenstock have given evidence in both public and private.
The Chilcot inquiry is examining the UK's involvement in the 2003 military action in Iraq and its aftermath.
When it was first announced by then-prime minister Gordon Brown in June 2009 he initially said it would be held behind closed doors for security reasons.
But later, after widespread criticism, he said some sessions should be in public and it was up to the chairman, Sir John Chilcot.
Sir John said at the time he felt it was "essential to hold as much of the proceedings of the inquiry as possible in public" - and most of the hearings have been in public.
But the inquiry confirmed on Thursday that it had heard from 35 witnesses in private. Among those known about are Mr Manning, Sir Jeremy and the man who ran the British operations during the conflict, General Sir John Reith.
A full transcript of Gen Sir John's evidence was later published with five words blanked out, which the inquiry said was on "national security" grounds.
Its chairman, Sir John Chilcott, said of the 35 witnesses: "These hearings have given the inquiry valuable evidence which could have not be heard in public session without damaging national security or international relations.
"They have supplemented the inquiry's understanding as it takes forward its public work."


A cliff top and section of beach in Hampshire have been shut following a landslip.

The cliff collapsed onto the shore at Barton-on-Sea on Tuesday evening.
New Forest District Council said an assessment by its coastal scientists had revealed further movement and another landslip "is highly likely".
While no-one was injured by the collapse, visitors are being asked to avoid the area of the cliff top and the beach below.
The area is expected to remain closed until the cliff stabilises.


Roger Federer is aiming to be fit for next year's Australian Open after injury wiped out the last half of his 2016 season.

Federer, 35, has been out of action since late July - his last match was a Wimbledon semi-final loss to Milos Raonic.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner had surgery in February before a back issue ruled him out of the French Open.
"I'm working for the Australian Open," the Swiss said. "I'm doing well."
"I never thought I'd have a year like this. I've learned a lot from this year," added Federer, who missed the Rio 2016 Olympics and will be unable to go for a sixth US Open title when the tournament begins on 29 August.
"It's painful being here in New York, and it was painful during the Olympics because I love competing. But you can't have it all.
"It was a tough decision to say the least - going out of Rio, the US Open, the [season-ending] World Tour Finals. But in some ways it ended up being a simple decision. Health is my number one thing."
Federer was speaking at an event in New York to launch the 'Laver Cup', a Ryder-Cup style tournament named after Australian legend Rod Laver and set for September 2017 in Prague, with Europe playing the Rest of the World.
Former greats Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe are captains of the respective teams, with long-time rivals Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal set to play doubles together.


Scientists have tracked the "family history" of a rock back to some of the earliest times on Earth.

Researchers analysed the concentration and distribution of particular types of atoms in the granite to show it must have been recycled from something that existed 4.2 billion years ago.
This "parent rock" was very probably basalt of the sort produced on the ocean floor, they say.
The team reports its work in this week's Science Magazine.
With most rock on Earth being broken down by weathering or taken back into the planet's interior just a few hundred million years after production, there is very little, truly ancient material to look at.
Geological genealogy offers a very useful alternative in the circumstances, says Dr Jonathan O'Neil from the University of Ottawa, Canada.
"To put everything into perspective, the Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, and I would say that rocks that are 3.8 billion years and older - we can count them on the fingers of our hands.
"We have very limited places to learn something about the first billion years of Earth history. That's our challenge," he told the Science in Action programme on the BBC World Service.
Dr O'Neil and colleagues examined samples of rock from the "Canadian Shield", a swathe of territory moving east of Hudson Bay in Canada.
The specific pieces they took into the lab were relatively young - "only" 2.7bn years old.
But by looking at an atomic tracer in the minerals, the team could determine the parentage.
This tracer takes the form of a radioactive decay chain centred on versions, or isotopes, of the chemical elements samarium and neodymium.
The isotope of samarium with an atomic mass of 146 is unstable and decays very rapidly into the isotope of neodymium that has a mass of 142.
In fact the decay is so rapid that any samarium-146 that was present on Earth at its formation 4.6 billion years ago is all but gone within 500 million years. But even though "the clock" stops running, it leaves the mark of its existence in the concentration and distribution of the neodymium.
When the scientists take into account the known age of their granite samples, the time it would take for these granites to form from a recycled parent rock, and the neodymium isotope record present in the samples - they conclude the pre-cursor material must be older than 4.2 billion years.
"We can also say something about [the parent rock's] nature," said Dr O'Neil.
"Were they granites or basalts? Were they continental crust or were they oceanic crust? We think they were oceanic crust. So, the primitive earliest crust on Earth - at least the evidence we have in our samples - was oceanic crust at approximately 4.3 billion years old."
Does any of this original material still exist? Dr O'Neil points to a nearby sliver of rock on the shore of the Hudson Bay called the Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt (NSB). This is presumed to be oceanic volcanic rock and has been dated to be between 3.7 and 4.3 billion years old. It is an age bracket that also relies on a neodymium analysis.
"The younger rocks that we have analysed are around [the NSB], so it makes sense that this is the piece of crust that has been recycled to form our continents," said Dr O'Neil.
"It fits the bill. It has exactly the right composition and the right mineralogy to be it."
The Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt was reported earlier this month by a team led from University College London (UCL), UK, to contain the fossilised remains of tiny lifeforms.
However, it has to be said that there is significant debate over the exact age of the NSB, which may not quite fit with this genealogy story.
"The neodymium isotope compositions in the volcanic rocks of the NSB do indeed yield an age of 4.28 billion years, but this has been interpreted both as the true age of this rock (the age of when the lava froze into rock) and alternatively as an older signature inherited from the early mantle of the Earth in these younger rocks, that have a minimum age of 3.77 billion years," explained UCL's Dr  Dominic Papineau.
"This debate can possibly be settled using new approaches and techniques, as well as using careful microscopy-based observations of rocks from key geological relationships in the field," he told BBC News.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


A 34-year-old man has been arrested after an incident involving a man and a teenage girl aboard a train in West Dunbartonshire.

Police said the incident took place between Dumbarton East and Dumbarton Central at about 22:00 on Sunday.
Detectives are appealing for a woman who was in the same carriage to come forward as she may have "vital" information.
The 34-year-old man is currently detained in police custody.
The incident took place on the Larkhall to Balloch train.
The female witness is described as being in her 40s, with blonde hair tied back. She was wearing a purple top.
Det Insp Scott Hamilton said: "We understand that the woman was in the same carriage at the time the incident took place and spoke to the young girl involved to ask if she was okay.
"It is very important that we speak to this woman as she may have vital information to assist with this investigation."


The Northern Ireland Children's Commissioner has said the policy of isolating school pupils is "wrong".

Koulla Yiasouma was commenting on the case of a schoolboy who was punished over a haircut his school said portrayed the wrong image.
Henry Miskimmin was removed from class for two days for getting what his mother called a "short-back-and-sides" haircut of which she approved.
Enniskillen Royal Grammar School said it was an internal school matter.
The commissioner said this was "denying the child his right to education" and called for legislation to outlaw age discrimination.
"They have a right to express themselves," said Ms Yiasouma. "Unfortunately our education does not allow them that right."
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show, the commissioner called on parents with concerns over school policies to bring them to her notice.
"What I'm saying is, if this is happening to children please give my office a call and let us test this out formally," she said.
Ms Yiasouma also criticised the Department of Education for a lack of clarity in its policies.
"Sometimes guidance from the the department to schools is too woolly," she said.
Henry's self-confessed "overprotective mummy" Sandra Miskimmin said the 14-year-old's punishment meant he could not interact with his friends for two days.
Mrs Miskimmin said Henry was put in a separate room from his classmates and sent on his lunch break outside of the normal hours.
She also said the school did not tell her Henry was being punished, calling it "a form of bullying".
Mrs Miskimmin said she had a meeting with the school, and Henry has been returned to his usual classes.
The school said it was "dealing with the parent concerned", but declined the offer of an interview.


Scott Hogan's goal for Brentford was the difference in their match against Nottingham Forest.

Forest goalkeeper Stephen Henderson saved Hogan's initial effort and Lewis Macleod's follow-up before Hogan tapped home his first goal of the season.
Dean Smith's Bees have now won back-to-back games at home with clean sheets.
Damien Perquis was sent off late on for Forest for a second yellow card and striker Britt Assombalonga wasted a one-on-one in injury time.
Brentford goalkeeper Daniel Bentley produced a number of second-half saves to secure three points, including his parry from former Southend team-mate Assombalonga.
Earlier, Macleod had hit the crossbar for the Bees while Hildeberto Pereira and Eric Lichaj went close for the visitors.
Head coach Philippe Montanier, who joined Forest in the summer, has seen his team suffer back-to-back Championship losses after their opening day win over Burton.
Brentford boss Dean Smith:
"It was nice to get two clean sheets and two home wins on the spin. We worked very hard for that - you have to in this league because no one will roll over and give you the points.
"We were masters of our own downfall at times because of our decision making and I felt we created most of their chances. People were giving the ball away in the last five or six minutes, but Daniel Bentley was very composed which was just as well.
"We didn't look after the ball well enough in the second half but we defended very well and looked organised, which made it difficult for Forest to create too much themselves. We had to re-organise and I'm glad the players did it themselves rather than me having to do it with substitutions."
Nottingham Forest boss Philippe Montanier:
"We were in control of the game and had many opportunities to score, but the story is always the same. It was a frustrating evening but I was pleased with the character of my side.
"We lacked efficiency to score goals and unfortunately that reflects the whole game. I thought Britt would score late on but we had too many opportunities to score and if you don't there's a danger you can always concede one goal.
"We made mistakes and that is frustrating but the mentality is good and we are trying too hard to achieve victories in what is a difficult moment for us."
Match ends, Brentford 1, Nottingham Forest 0.
Second Half ends, Brentford 1, Nottingham Forest 0.
Attempt saved. Britt Assombalonga (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ben Osborn with a through ball.
Apostolos Vellios (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sam Saunders (Brentford).
Foul by Hildeberto Pereira (Nottingham Forest).
Ryan Woods (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Ben Osborn tries a through ball, but Britt Assombalonga is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Pajtim Kasami (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Britt Assombalonga.
Attempt missed. John Egan (Brentford) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Sam Saunders following a set piece situation.
Second yellow card to Damien Perquis (Nottingham Forest) for a bad foul.
Foul by Damien Perquis (Nottingham Forest).
Romaine Sawyers (Brentford) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Pajtim Kasami (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Romaine Sawyers (Brentford).
Attempt saved. John Egan (Brentford) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Sam Saunders with a cross.
Corner,  Brentford. Conceded by Hildeberto Pereira.
Hildeberto Pereira (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card.
Offside, Brentford. Scott Hogan tries a through ball, but Romaine Sawyers is caught offside.
Substitution, Brentford. Sam Saunders replaces Lewis MacLeod.
Foul by Apostolos Vellios (Nottingham Forest).
Nico Yennaris (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Damien Perquis tries a through ball, but Britt Assombalonga is caught offside.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Callum Elder (Brentford) because of an injury.
Corner,  Nottingham Forest. Conceded by Callum Elder.
Attempt blocked. Ben Osborn (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Oliver Burke.
Corner,  Nottingham Forest. Conceded by Harlee Dean.
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Britt Assombalonga replaces David Vaughan.
Corner,  Nottingham Forest. Conceded by John Egan.
Ryan Woods (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ryan Woods (Brentford).
John Egan (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Oliver Burke (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by John Egan (Brentford).
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Oliver Burke replaces Daniel Fox.
Corner,  Nottingham Forest. Conceded by Harlee Dean.
Attempt saved. Hildeberto Pereira (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.


Martyn Waghorn's second-half hat-trick helped Rangers cruise past Championship leaders Queen of the South into the Scottish League Cup semi-finals.

The hosts, winless in their last three games, only had Jason Holt's goal to show for a dominant first half.
But captain Andy Halliday clipped in the second and Waghorn shot from the edge of the box for his first.
The striker then converted Michael O'Halloran's cross before lashing home his eighth goal in seven games.
Rangers manager Mark Warburton appeared to be making a point when he appointed Halliday captain for the night, when Danny Wilson would normally have deputised for the absent Lee Wallace.
It was midfielder Halliday who was caught up in a training ground argument with Joey Barton, who has been suspended by the club for three weeks.
He played at the base of the midfield, kept play moving, allowing the players in front of him to press higher up the park because of his mobility, and generally led with a quiet assurance, even before he struck Rangers' second of the night with a composed finish from Barrie McKay's cross.
It seemed no coincidence that Rangers were also more effective with Jason Holt back in the side, with his darting runs beyond the forwards restoring a vital aspect that had been missing from the team's play this season.
Holt was alert and deft enough to finish off O'Halloran's delivery from close range for the opener.
Warburton made four changes to his starting line-up, and there are now issues for him to mull over as he prepares for Sunday's Premiership trip to Pittodrie. Lee Hodson was solid at full-back, but will surely be replaced by Wallace - who was rested - but others impressed.
O'Halloran created the first and fourth goals, crossing from the right for Waghorn to add his second from 10 yards out. The striker's first goal, eight minutes previously, was a crisp finish from inside the D.
O'Halloran's pace and direct running were a constant threat, and his presence on the flank allowed Waghorn to play as the central striker.
The latter was rewarded with a hat-trick, the third coming after Niko Kranjcar bundled the ball to him inside the area and he lashed it high into the net.
Harry Forrester worked hard and was composed - apart from a lunging foul on Jordan Matthews that might have brought more than a yellow card.
Warburton has yet to settled on his strongest XI, but he will welcome selection becoming more difficult due to individuals' improving form.
The visitors are the top scorers in the Championship and their strike force of Derek Lyle and Stephen Dobbie have 17 goals between them in all competitions this season. They were restricted, though, to half-chances and endured a growing sense of frustration.
Queens were forced to play on the counter, which did not entirely suit two strikers who don't have the pace of old. The wide men - Grant Anderson and Dale Hilson - were working hard in defence, so support was scarce.
The visitors were more lively early in the second half, after Rangers dominated possession in the opening 45 minutes.
Both Lyle and Dobbie shot wide, and it was not to be their night.
Rangers manager Mark Warburton: "After what happened at Parkhead hard work is the only way of getting better.
"It was a pleasing night's work. We asked them to dominate the football in the first half and we did that completely.
"The only complaint from us as a group is that it was 1-0 at half-time and it could have been more.
"We scored goals but missed a lot of chances as well. The only difference from Saturday against Ross County was that we were a little bit more clinical and it helps build momentum."
Queen of the South manager Gavin Skelton: "I didn't think we played as well as we can in the first half.
"We started the second half not too bad actually but it's stating the obvious that goals do change games.
"We were on top for the first 10 minutes but then the second goal kills it."
Match ends, Rangers 5, Queen of the South 0.
Second Half ends, Rangers 5, Queen of the South 0.
Attempt missed. Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Attempt missed. Niko Kranjcar (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
James Tavernier (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Dale Hilson (Queen of the South).
Corner,  Rangers. Conceded by Jamie Hamill.
Attempt saved. Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Goal!  Rangers 5, Queen of the South 0. Martyn Waghorn (Rangers) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Niko Kranjcar.
Attempt saved. Kenny Miller (Rangers) left footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt missed. Dean Brotherston (Queen of the South) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is close, but misses to the left.
Corner,  Rangers. Conceded by Jordan Marshall.
Niko Kranjcar (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jake Pickard (Queen of the South).
Substitution, Rangers. Kenny Miller replaces Michael O'Halloran.
Hand ball by Lyndon Dykes (Queen of the South).
Attempt missed. James Tavernier (Rangers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is just a bit too high.
Attempt missed. Niko Kranjcar (Rangers) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right is close, but misses to the right.
Corner,  Rangers. Conceded by Lyndon Dykes.
Substitution, Rangers. Matt Crooks replaces Harry Forrester.
Goal!  Rangers 4, Queen of the South 0. Martyn Waghorn (Rangers) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Michael O'Halloran.
Harry Forrester (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dale Hilson (Queen of the South).
Michael O'Halloran (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jordan Marshall (Queen of the South).
Attempt saved. Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Substitution, Queen of the South. Dean Brotherston replaces Derek Lyle.
Substitution, Queen of the South. Jake Pickard replaces Kyle Jacobs.
Attempt blocked. Harry Forrester (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Andy Halliday (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kyle Jacobs (Queen of the South).
Attempt missed. Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Goal!  Rangers 3, Queen of the South 0. Martyn Waghorn (Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Barrie McKay.
Goal!  Rangers 2, Queen of the South 0. Andy Halliday (Rangers) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Barrie McKay.
Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Rangers).
Andy Dowie (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Harry Forrester (Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Harry Forrester (Rangers).
Jordan Marshall (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half.


Young children who have a pet dog in the home are less likely to go on to develop asthma, a large Swedish study has found.

Exposure to a dog in the first year of life was linked to a 13% lower risk of asthma in later childhood among the 650,000 children the authors tracked.
The findings, in JAMA Pediatrics, support the idea that pets can bolster the immune system and prevent allergy.
More evidence is still needed - past studies have found conflicting results.
Certainly, for a child who is already allergic to dogs, buying a puppy would not be a good idea, say the Swedish researchers.
Pets are a common cause of allergy, with half of all asthmatic children allergic to cats and 40% allergic to dogs, according to the charity Allergy UK.
When animals groom themselves, they lick. Skin cells covered in saliva - animal dander - are shed along with loose fur. It's the dander to which some people become sensitised.
The findings of this latest study suggest exposure to dog dander in infancy might actually be beneficial.
Children who had grown up with a dog in their home were less likely to have asthma at the age of seven than children without dogs.
Living on a farm with lots of animals seemed to confer even more protection, cutting the risk of asthma by about 50%.
Lead scientist Prof Tove Fall, from Uppsala University in Sweden, said: "Our results confirmed the farming effect and we also saw that children who grew up with dogs had about 15% less asthma than children without dogs."
She said this fits with the hygiene hypothesis which favours exposure to dust and dirt to improve our tolerance of common allergens. The findings should also provide some reassurance for parents.
"That's important information for parents who are pregnant or are planning to have a baby, that they should not worry about getting a dog or a puppy if they would like to.
"But if you have an allergic child you should not get a dog to cure your child. It won't work and will probably make the allergy worse."
If you are allergic and live with pets, there are things you can do to cut your risk of having an allergic reaction.
Asthma UK advises:
Amena Warner of Allergy UK said: "There have been a few studies that have alluded to this but not such a longitudinal study with so many children so from that point of view this is quite a powerful study. It's very welcome."
Erika Kennington of Asthma UK, said more research was needed to better understand the effects so that it could be turned into practical advice for parents of young children.


A £390m defence contract for armoured fighting vehicles will create 250 skilled jobs in Merthyr Tydfil, the prime minister has announced.

A former forklift truck factory will be taken over by General Dynamics (GD) for assembly and maintenance work.
It follows a £3.5bn deal to buy 589 of the Scout Specialist Vehicles at General Dynamics at Oakdale in Caerphilly county.
David Cameron called it a credit to local "skills and expertise".
GD, which already employs 550 people in Oakdale, will open a new plant in the old Halla factory in Pentrebach.
The deal, to run until 2024, was announced ahead of Mr Cameron's visit to Wales on Thursday.
"The 250 additional new skilled jobs at GD will build on those already safeguarded by the decision to purchase 589 Scout vehicles for our armed forces, ensuring our servicemen and women have the very best equipment to keep us safe," he said.
The company said the contract would "open up exciting new possibilities for General Dynamics in the UK in the years ahead".
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney MP Gerald Jones welcomed the news and said the town is on the up and now "going places".
He pointed to a long history of engineering jobs in the area at factories such as Hoover and said institutions such as Merthyr Tydfil College would be able to provide the skills needed to fill the new jobs.
While he admitted some people still need to travel to work, Mr Jones said regeneration in the area, the dualling of the Heads of the Valleys road and the availability of land now meant companies were looking to invest in the area again.
"Merthyr Tydfil is going through quite a large physical regeneration and there is a buzz around the town," he told BBC Radio Wales.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) intends the Scout to be the "eyes and ears" of the Army in the most tricky terrains around the world.
The prime minister also revealed his government was keen to persuade the famous car brand Aston Martin to make a home for itself in the Vale of Glamorgan, by the MoD vacating land at St Athan.
He said a large MoD hangar could be made available to the company in what he described as a "great offer".
BBC Wales understands the firm is considering sites in St Athan and another in Coventry.


Thirteen people have been killed and more than 30 injured in southern California after a tour bus ran into the back of a lorry, media reports say.

Most of the passengers are reported to be from Latin America.
The crash happened on Interstate 10 close to the resort town of Palm Springs in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Investigators are examining the cause of the crash, which happened as the bus was bound for Los Angeles.
Rescuers used ladders to climb into the bus windows to remove bodies. Five of the injured passengers are in critical condition.
The Los Angeles Times described the crash as the deadliest in California for several decades. It said that the bus careered into the rear of the truck at high speed, mangling the front third of the bus.
Most of those who died were apparently at the front of the bus, the newspaper reported. The driver was among the fatalities.
Officials quoted by the paper said that identifying the victims could take days, because some were not carrying identity cards or had lost their belongings when they were taken to hospital.
They have warned that it may not be possible to determine exactly why the accident happened because of the driver's death.
Investigators will assess whether he might have fallen asleep or had a heart attack, in addition to determining if there was a mechanical failure or some other kind of emergency.
The westbound lanes of the interstate were closed near the crash site but are now reported to have been reopened.
According to the Desert Sun newspaper, the tour bus, run by US Holiday, was coming from Red Earth Casino, near Salton City in California.
The small Los Angeles-based company, runs trips to casinos in California and Las Vegas. The driver of the bus was one of the owners of the tour company.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records show the company had one vehicle and one driver. According to the data the company held a satisfactory safety rating and had not been in a crash for two years.


The number of British-grown Christmas trees sold this year could be boosted by Brexit, growers have claimed.

A lot of trees are traditionally imported from large-scale growers like Denmark to meet demand in the UK.
But farm owner Rob Morgan said the falling pound meant prices had gone up 15% and it is "good news" for the British industry which is growing and more able to meet demand.
The prospect will be discussed by more than 200 growers in Gower on Wednesday.
The best grower will also be chosen and their 20ft (6m) tree will go on display at Downing Street.
Every year between six and eight million British trees are sold in the UK.
Mr Morgan, owner of Three Crosses farm, Gower, has more than 300,000 trees growing on his land and one of his trees went to Downing Street in 2014.
"Now's the time I start having sleepless nights and getting anxious waiting for customers to show up," he told BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme.
"We do have to rely on importing some trees to satisfy demand, and the price has gone up by 15 or 16%.
"It could be good news [for British suppliers] hopefully, because supplies here are better every year."
Harry Brightwell, secretary of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, said it had been a challenging growing season because the mild weather made trees grow more quickly.
"It's 365 days a year, people don't realise the money we spend and dedication and time that goes in.
"I think the word out there is that there are good trees this year."


In what may be the first stage show written about a leader of the opposition, a Jeremy Corbyn musical is coming to a London theatre.

Corbyn the Musical: The Motorcycle Diaries is described as a "no-holds barred political satire".
It sees the Labour leader facing a nuclear crisis with Russia and tells of a motorcycle holiday he allegedly took with Diane Abbott in the 1970s.
It is being staged at Waterloo East Theatre in April.
Writers Rupert Myers and Bobby Friedman will be working on the show - which has been described as "James Bond meets the Kama Sutra" - up until the end of February to make sure it is as up to date as possible.
Myers, political correspondent for British GQ, said Friedman suggested the idea after his uncle said that "someone should write a comedy musical about Jeremy Corbyn".
"He cornered me on my birthday when I'd had a few glasses of wine," Myers told the BBC. "It took us about 20 minutes to come up with the plot.
"It wrote itself when we established it was going to be about Jeremy Corbyn's alleged motorbike odyssey through East Germany with Diane Abbott - and the rest is history.
"The whole process was very natural and the first draft came very easily.
"But the nature of this thing is that Jeremy Corbyn is providing so much rolling material."
Asked to describe the plot, he said: "Basically, Jeremy Corbyn faces an imminent nuclear crisis with Russia, and the secret of unlocking this lies in his past.
"It's a drama about what happened on that journey, and what helps in that situation."
He promised that Mr Corbyn would be receiving an invitation to attend one of the 12 performances of the musical, adding that it "would be wonderful" to know the Labour leader's thoughts.
"I would like to think that anyone would want to see a play about their own lives," said the writer. "I don't think it would be politically very savvy for him to attend - which means he may well do so."
But Myers is not sure what reception the 95-minute musical will have.
He wrote in The Telegraph: "For his eccentricities, his fascinating life story, and his personality, Corbyn was the perfect choice for satirical treatment.
"Mocking the leader of the Labour party is definitely 'punching up' in comic terms, but I am still nervous that those whose political sympathies lie with Corbyn will determine that he isn't fair game."
Other characters in the musical include Boris Johnson, Tony Blair and Ed Miliband.
"We want it to be a play that takes a shot at everybody," said Myers. "There will be characters from right across the political spectrum."
Myers said the musical was yet to be cast, but that he hoped to "twist the arm" of comedian Lolly Adefope to play Ms Abbott.
He had previously teamed up with Friedman for the comedy podcast Political Takeout. Original music for the musical is being written by Jen Green.
But it's not the first time songs have been written about Mr Corbyn.
BBC Radio 4's 15-minute Musicals broadcast Jeremy Corbyn Superstar! last month, featuring lines including: "Jeremy, beard and bike - grows his own vegetables, what's not to like?".


Move over Strictly and X Factor, it's time for different shows to dominate our screens on Saturday night.

5 January 2017 Last updated at 14:52 GMT
This weekend, ITV becomes the new home for the singing contest The Voice.
And a new BBC One singing show, called Let It Shine, sees Gary Barlow leading the search for the cast of a Take That musical.
But with all these talent shows hitting our screens, we wanted to know if you're still interested in tuning in...


A new investigation into the kidnapping of Austrian girl Natascha Kampusch has debunked conspiracy theories, saying her captor "most likely" acted alone.

The inquiry was conducted over nine months involving US and German experts.
It concluded that Wolfgang Priklopil in all likelihood acted alone when he abducted the 10-year-old in 1998.
Ms Kampusch escaped from a windowless cell in the suburb of the capital, Vienna, in 2006. Priklopil committed suicide the same day.
DNA tests and the questioning of 113 witnesses had led to theories being discounted that Priklopil had accomplices, the report said.
Ms Kampusch, now 25, has said that she never saw anyone else during her time in captivity.
"Although the involvement of others in the kidnap cannot be completely ruled out, there is no objective proof this was the case and no leads could be found," read the report commissioned last year by the Austrian parliament.
However, the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany, Joerg Ziercke, said there was no definitive scientific proof as Priklopil was no longer alive.
Conspiracy theories abounded after a schoolgirl said that she had seen Ms Kampusch being forced into a vehicle by two men. Her subsequent statements contradicted her initial testimony. The girl later withdrew her statement entirely.
Mr Ziercke said that the girl had mistakenly identified the kidnapper's car for another, seen a little later, where there were indeed two men sat inside.
Priklopil's car and house in Strasshof were searched for DNA and evidence of further suspects but nothing was found, he said.
The death of the unemployed telecoms engineer was confirmed as suicide, after the report authors re-interviewed the driver of the train that he threw himself in front of.


A spaceship named the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has been launched by Europe and Russia to try to answer one of the most burning questions of space exploration - is there life on Mars?

14 March 2016 Last updated at 10:23 GMT
The craft lifted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan onboard a Proton rocket at 9.31am (GMT), starting a seven-month journey through space.
A key aim of the mission is to find out if a gas, called methane, which has been found around the planet is a sign that there could be life on Mars.
The ExoMars probe and orbiter are carrying lots of scientific equipment designed to test for the presence of life-forms.


Homes in Suffolk were left flooded as four inches of rain fell in 24 hours.

The downpours also left several roads in Lowestoft and Carlton Colville under water and near impassable.
Water poured into homes on Aldwyk Way causing serious damage to ground floor and ruining furniture.
Police are advising motorists to drive carefully in places where water has gathered and has still not drained away.
Although conditions have improved, community station Lowestoft Weather said it does not rule out the chance of further showers.
The water got in to the ground floors of homes in Aldwyk Way


Delays to the inquiry into the Iraq war could make Westminster "the laughing stock of the world", Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader has warned.

The Chilcot report will not now be published before the general election.
Elfyn Llwyd said the investigation, which began in 2009, had been "cowed by the establishment".
In a special debate on the delay, the Dwyfor Meirionydd MP said the inquiry was becoming an "expensive farce" and "an affront to democracy".
"It's an insult to Parliament but more important it's a gross offence to those people who've lost loved ones out in Iraq and to the people of Iraq itself," said Mr Llwyd.
"Democracy, I think, demands that something is done urgently otherwise this parliament will be the laughing stock of the world."
Mr Llwyd also criticised former civil servant Sir John Chilcot and his staff for the conduct of the inquiry.
The MP said he had given them two "top secret" transcripts from 2001 and 2002 which he claimed showed that former Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President George W Bush discussed removing Iraqi president Saddam Hussein by military force.
"Mr Blair had committed us to war even then, before seeing any proof of weapons of mass destruction," said the MP, who said had been sent the documents by an unknown source.
Mr Llwyd and former Plaid MP Adam Price had been visited by Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch and asked questions about the transcripts.
But Mr Llwyd said the only response he had had from the inquiry was that he would not be required to give evidence.
He described Iraq as "a troubled, crippled state", adding that the inquiry should have been led by a judge rather than a retired civil servant.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, the UK's top civil servant, Sir Jeremy Heywood, said he understood public anxiety but it would be wrong to "rush" publication of the report.
Sir John Chilcot is to be questioned by MPs next week.


Elections give voters the opportunity to choose who should run their country, but the results in the Republic of Ireland suggest the public cannot agree on who should take power.

The next Irish parliament will be a divided one, with a definite split between left and right.
On one side are the parties seen as part of the country's establishment.
Coalition partners Fine Gael and the Labour Party have been punished by the people because they have felt the pain of years of austerity.
Fine Gael find themselves in an awkward position - its vote has collapsed yet it is still the biggest party.
That leaves its leader, Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny, with the responsibility of trying to form a government but without the power to do so.
Fine Gael had hoped to continue with the current coalition but the Labour Party's vote collapsed.
At a count centre in Dublin, Labour campaigners looked nothing short of shell-shocked.
When the final candidate is elected it will show the most stable government would involve Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael working together.
The idea of Ireland's two big parties in coalition is dismissed by some.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil share almost a century of rivalry, having emerged from this country's bitter civil war.
Commentator after commentator has discussed the potential end of "civil war politics".
And in the political world of 2016 it is fair to say the parties have much in common.
But, many believe Fianna Fáil would sit uncomfortably as any kind of junior partner to Fine Gael, which it polled relatively shortly behind.
Fianna Fáil's vote has recovered significantly after its collapse at the 2011 election, when people blamed them for the Republic of Ireland's economic crisis.
But, it is still in second place, which is a disadvantage in any negotiation.
There is another reason why both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil would be concerned about the prospect of a so-called "grand coalition".
An alliance between those parties would make Sinn Féin the main opposition party.
Like the anti-austerity and independent candidates whose support has risen with the public dissatisfaction with traditional politicians, Sinn Féin wants to keep its distance from the major parties.
Again and again it has said it will not be a junior partner to either of the big two.
For their part, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil spent much of the campaign insisting they would have nothing to do with the party that was once viewed as the political wing of the IRA.
Sinn Féin might try to find alliances among the many left-of-centre candidates that have been elected.
And there is the opportunity for all the parties to try to woo the new independents who have won seats.
But would that make a stable government?
It all leaves one simple question - can a coalition be formed?
When I asked the Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams if he was prepared for the possibility that Ireland might have to return to the polls, he had a simple answer.
"We are always on an election-footing".


Up to £645m in forgotten funds in bank accounts has been returned over the past five years through a free tracing service run by the financial industry.

Around 315,000 people have used My Lost Account since the scheme was launched in 2008, its operators said.
And 580,000 search applications have been made, they added.
Users can find lost cash sitting in dormant accounts in banks, building societies and National Savings and Investments.
NS&I alone has reunited customers with more than £445m through its tracing service and My Lost Account, which is run by NS&I, British Bankers' Association and the Building Societies Association.
"Even small amounts of money can help with the costs of day-to-day living, so it's important people keep a track of their savings," said NS&I's retail customer director John Prout.
The BBA and BSA both had pre-existing schemes but still received 400,000 applications between them, returning £200m to customers.
The BSA's head of savings Brian Morris said: "During these tough economic times every penny counts and as such, we fully understand the importance of the scheme and will do all we can to ensure as many people as possible become aware of this free and easy to use service."
Unused cash in bank accounts that had been dormant for more than 15 years can be used to fund social investment under the the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act from 2011.


Almost 4,000 motorists a day are fined for driving in bus lanes, with the most lucrative camera making £6,000 every 24 hours.

BBC England contacted 160 authorities responsible for highways in England, 64 of whom had bus lane cameras.
Motoring organisation, the RAC, said the cameras had become a "cash bonanza" for local authorities.
Councils say cameras are clearly signed and they expect income to fall as drivers learn to stay out of the lanes.
In total, the local authorities revealed an estimated combined income of £31m for 2015-16. The figure is likely to be higher as some councils were unable to break down figures by individual cameras or lanes.
The most lucrative bus lane in England is on the northbound section of John Dobson Street in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The council revealed that between 23 February and 31 October 2016 it resulted in 62,975 penalty charge notices, making a total of £1.5m, equivalent to £5,960 a day.
About 5,100 drivers caught in the first two months were then given refunds after it was found that signs were "inadequately lit" during the hours of darkness.
Drivers and opposition councillors have said the road layout is "confusing".
However, Newcastle City Council stressed bus lane cameras were not there to make money and the number of fines had dropped "dramatically" over the past year.
A spokeswoman said the bus lane was correctly signposted.
She said: "Each year, nine million bus passengers travel along John Dobson Street, where services have seen a 14 per cent improvement in journey time reliability since enforcement started.
£130
in Greater London
£60
outside London
£65 in Greater London if paid within 14 days
£30 discounted rate for early payment outside London
"We would firmly stress that bus lanes are not there to generate income - they are there to help us to manage our road networks efficiently."
In Wolverhampton, a camera installed to stop people using a bus lane as a short cut was making on average £4,750 a day.
The council said people had been misusing the lane when coming in and out of the rail station but that it expected the number of fines to fall following a recent change in the road layout.
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RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: "Bus lane cameras are fast becoming a new 'cash bonanza' for councils. The amount of money being raised by them in fines is frightening.
"Rather than just rubbing their hands together and taking the money councils should be asking questions as to why so many motorists are being caught driving in bus lanes."


Entertainment One, the owner of children's TV brand Peppa Pig, has rejected a takeover bid from ITV.

ITV offered 236p a share for the company, valuing it at more than £1bn.
But the Canada-based film distribution and TV production company said the bid "fundamentally undervalues the company and its prospects".
Entertainment One owns more than 40,000 film and television titles, including last year's Oscar-winning Spotlight and AMC drama Fear the Walking Dead.
In all, it has 4,500 hours of TV programming and 45,000 music tracks. Its library is valued at more than $1bn.
Shares in Entertainment One jumped almost 10% on Tuesday and rose a further 7% on Wednesday to 234.40p.
In a statement, ITV said it had "a clear strategy that, over recent years, has created significant value for shareholders".
"A key part of that strategy is continuing to build a scaled international content and global distribution business, with a focus on US-scripted content.
"ITV believes that the proposed combination with eOne has strong strategic rationale and would further accelerate ITV's rebalancing of the business."
Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital, said: "ITV will be disappointed that's bid for Entertainment One has been rejected, but it can hardly be surprised.
"ITV may well fatten up its bid - Entertainment One was valued at close to 368p in July 2015, before its main backer Marwyn Value Investors sold off a big chunk of its holding.
"Around this time Entertainment One began a series of acquisitions that has hit its price, while a refinancing plan in December sent the stock plunging 20%."
ITV chief executive Adam Crozier has said the company is striving to build "a global production business of scale" in an attempt to reduce its reliance on advertising revenue.
Shares in ITV have fallen almost 30% this year and it was particularly hard hit following the Brexit vote in June.
The broadcaster has made a series of acquisitions to bolster the ITV Studios division, which last month reported a 31% rise in revenues to £651m.
ITV Studios makes programmes including Coronation Street, Come Dine With Me, Hell's Kitchen, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and the Jeremy Kyle Show.
Last year, ITV bought Talpa, the production company that makes The Voice. The UK version of the talent show will move from BBC1 to the commercial broadcaster in 2017.
Mr Wilson added: "Terrestrial TV is coming under huge pressure from on-demand services like Amazon Prime and Netflix, which also own a lot of their own content.
"ITV has been snapping up production companies as it clearly understands content is vital for its future, but it too could be the subject of a takeover.
"A sharp fall in its share price this year and the collapse in sterling since the Brexit vote has left it wide open. The cheap pound makes unique UK assets like ITV very desirable."


First Minister Carwyn Jones has intervened to ensure plans to give Welsh and Scottish Labour more power will be put to a vote at conference.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) has voted to include representatives of Labour leaders in the two nations.
Allies of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have opposed the move, arguing the post should be elected and not appointed.
But sources said Mr Jones gave a "powerful address" to the committee on Monday urging it not to let Wales down.
In an interview with BBC Wales, Mr Corbyn said: "I'm not resistant to the idea of there being a Welsh member of the NEC at all.
"What I want to do is have agreement within the party about how the nomination should take place to the NEC so it enjoys the confidence of the executive and so on in Wales."
The devolution reforms would give the Welsh and Scottish Labour parties control over issues such as Westminster candidate selection, disciplinary matters and election of their respective leaders, as well as seats on the NEC.
Amid attempts to block the package, the first minister is understood to have stressed to the NEC on Monday that Welsh Labour was the most successful arm of the party, having governed Wales ever since devolution in 1999.
He is said to have urged members not to "water down" the reforms, claiming they countered nationalist claims that Welsh Labour was little more than a "branch" office of the UK party.
The proposals will now be put to a vote on the floor of the Labour party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale told the BBC: "Exactly what we agreed yesterday is exactly what is happening tomorrow in a vote on the conference floor.
She added:  "The proposals are very clear that the position on the NEC is for the leader of the Scottish and Welsh parties to either take themselves or to nominate, just as Jeremy Corbyn nominates the people that sit on the shadow cabinet that sit in the NEC."
Darren Williams, a Cardiff councillor who sits on the NEC, told BBC Wales on Wednesday he had voted against the plan, saying he would prefer the Welsh representative to be elected by rank-and-file members.


Wales have called Ospreys scrum-half Rhys Webb into their Six Nations squad after six months out of international rugby with injury.

The 27-year-old met up with the squad on Monday morning as they gathered ahead of their match against England.
Webb made his comeback from injury for Ospreys in mid-February and has not played for Wales since injuring a foot against Italy in September.
He led the team and played 80 minutes in Ospreys' 19-16 defeat by Leinster.
Webb established himself as Wales' first-choice scrum-half ahead of Mike Phillips after crossing for three tries in the 2015 Six Nations Championship.
However, he left the field on a stretcher in Wales' final warm-up game before the World Cup, where his place was taken by Gareth Davies.
The Scarlets number nine has since gone on to score six tries - five of them in the World Cup - and was named man of the match in Wales' 19-10 win against France.
Webb suffered a setback on his return for Ospreys when a clash of heads ruled him out for a week.
But he has looked assured in two matches since, and completed the full game against Leinster.
Both teams are unbeaten in this season's Six Nations, with England on course for a first Grand Slam since 2003 and Wales likely to be tournament favourites if they win at Twickenham.


Shrewsbury Town manager Paul Hurst has warned his players there could be as many departures as additions as he rebuilds his relegation-battling League One squad during the January window.

"They know where my office is," he told BBC Shropshire. "But, even if they've been really good, nobody has done enough yet to warrant another deal.
"If I give answers they want, great. If I can't, they must keep working hard.
"We can at least have a chat. But it's about the group, not individuals."
Since coming in on 24 October, Hurst has already offloaded Antoni Sarcevic, and opted not to extend the loans of George Waring, Ivan Toney and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.
Having led his team out of the bottom four for the first time in three months, the former Grimsby Town boss knows the importance of staying together as a squad if they are to avoid the drop.
He has already made three signings, in defender Aristote Nsiala, winger Alex Rodman and striker Freddie Ladapo. But, while he continues to chase new faces, he has told his players, especially the ones whose contracts expire in June, that they have to prove to him why they should be kept on.
Goalkeeper Mark Halstead, defender Mat Sadler and midfielders Abu Ogogo, Shaun Whalley and Ian Black are all out of contract at the end of the season.
And, although Ogogo and Sadler are still regulars, Halstead is currently second-choice, while Whalley was relegated to the bench for the 1-1 draw at Swindon last weekend and Black did not figure.


A derelict building considered by some to be a modernist masterpiece has been chosen to help launch Scotland's Festival of Architecture next year.

St Peter's Seminary in Cardross was designed and built in the 1960s as a training college for priests but has not been used since the 1980s.
The A-listed building, near Helensburgh in Argyll, is now a ruin.
In March, it will host Hinterland - 10 sound and light shows to mark the start of the eight-month long festival.
For the last eight years, Glasgow-based arts organisation NVA has been raising money to make the remnants of St Peter's safe for music and theatre.
NVA creative director Angus Farquhar said the staging of the Hinterland programme would be a significant milestone.
He said: "Almost 50 years on from the day the seminary opened, we are witnessing the first positive steps towards a new purpose, one that accepts loss and ruination as part of the site's history creating an evolving arts programme for local people, all of Scotland and visitors attracted to this iconic site from around the world.
"Hinterland will offer everyone a chance to visit the St Peter's at a key moment in its evolution and it promises to be the must-see arts event of 2016 leading on to the delivery of an important new creative and heritage resource for progressive public art in Scotland and beyond."
St Peter's is one of Scotland's most remarkable ruins, hidden in thick woodland overlooking the Firth of Clyde.
Visitors first glimpse its weird shapes through the trees. It looks like an Inca temple abandoned to the rain forest.
Some 50 years ago, it was regarded as a modernist triumph, a sanctuary of glass and concrete.
The Roman Catholic seminary, which belonged to the Archdiocese of Glasgow, was completed and consecrated in 1966.
Its distinctive zig-zag design and concrete appearance soon brought architectural recognition.
However, when the number of trainee priests fell, the seminary at Cardross was no longer needed.
In was deconsecrated in 1980 and soon became a playground for vandals and graffiti artists.
Even as the interior was slowly degraded by fire and rain, students of architecture continued to come from around the world to view the vaulted ceilings and floating staircases of its creators, Andy MacMillan and Isi Metzstein.
Formal recognition followed and the seminary was Category A listed by Historic Scotland in 1992.
The World Monuments Fund, which works to preserve endangered cultural landmarks, added St Peter's College to its register in June 2007.
The Hinterland performances in March 2016 will launch Scotland's Festival of Architecture.
Run by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), the festival aims to be an international celebration of the country's design and creativity.
Neil Baxter, from RIAS, said the Hinterland programme would be an unforgettable experience.
"The architectural significance of the former St Peter's Seminary must be measured in European terms," he said.
"It is now on the brink of becoming a quite new type of visitor and a national cultural attraction.
"The impressive spaces and dramatic allure of its contrasting concrete geometries will be a remarkable setting for public art, music and theatre. Those who take up this offer and are among the first visitors to St Peter's new incarnation will have something to tell the grandkids."


Police searching for missing toddler Ben Needham on the Greek island of Kos have said they are extending their stay to continue exploring a second site.

Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he disappeared on 24 July 1991.
Detectives said they would be "lifting all the earth" at the second site, 750m from where he was last seen and close to where the dig started last month.
They are investigating claims Ben may have been accidentally run over by a digger driver 25 years ago.
Officers are working on the theory that Konstantinos Barkas, who died of cancer in 2015, might be responsible for Ben's death.
Ben vanished from a farmhouse, which his grandfather was renovating, in the village of Iraklis.
Continued searches near the farmhouse were drawing to a close and the rest of the team will be focusing their efforts on the second site, police said.
Det Insp Jon Cousins said there was compacted material deposited over the last 30 years and the team "will remove this layer in the same [way] they excavated the first site".
Mr Cousins said: "I have made a decision that we're extending our stay here.
"We are going to be doing this to give me the confidence that I've done everything I can.
"The team are 100% behind this. And every single one of them, including the volunteers, are adamant that they are staying for this period of time. It's got to be done."
The team would remain on site for "at least two or three days", he said.
A team of 19 South Yorkshire Police officers, forensic specialists and an archaeologist have been excavating the area for nearly two weeks as a result of a television appeal in May, which brought the theory about Mr Barkas to the attention of the force.


More than 200 hours of CCTV footage that could link one of the Hatton Garden burglars to an earlier raid has been destroyed, a court has heard.

Terry Perkins, 68, allegedly broke into Chatila jewellers in Old Bond Street during the August bank holiday in 2010. He denies the charges.
Only five stills of the raid remain available, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Perkins, of Enfield, was sentenced to seven years in jail for his role in the Hatton Garden raid in 2016.
The prosecution said the Mayfair burglary bore "striking" similarities with the Hatton Garden Raid in 2015
Matthew Hollands, a detective in the Metropolitan Police's armed robbery unit, told the court the footage had been destroyed due to rules on how long police property can be stored for.
He said the move was "regrettable", but due to the "passage of time" it was decided that "these exhibits would be destroyed".
The key footage from came from nearby shops and Westminster Council, the court heard.
It showed four men in high visibility jackets getting out of a white van on the morning of 29 August and later leaving the premises with white containers and bags.
But none of the remaining stills include the men.
The group tried to drill into a safe containing about Â£40m worth of jewellery, but was unsuccessful.
They did, however, manage to get into the showroom where they allegedly stole Â£1m in precious stones and jewellery, the jury was told.
Fellow Hatton Garden raider Daniel Jones, 60, pleaded guilty to his role at an earlier hearing ahead of the trial.
Defending Perkins, Peter Rowlands pointed out that no descriptions of the men's height, build or age had been recorded when the viewing logs of the footage were produced.
The trial continues.


Victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism have been let down by successive UK governments in their campaign for compensation, a report has found.

The late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi supplied arms and Semtex to the IRA during the Troubles.
Libya compensated US victims of terrorism, but UK victims were left out of the deal.
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report highlights "missed opportunities" to secure compensation.
It urged the next British government to take "firm action" to end two decades of failure.
The report said there was "no doubt" that weapons, funding, training and explosives provided by the Gaddafi regime to the Provisional IRA "both extended and exacerbated the Troubles".
"In particular, the Semtex that was supplied made possible a deadly bombing campaign from the late 1980s, that included atrocities at Enniskillen, Warrington and the London Docklands amongst many others," the report said.
The committee said the human cost had been "immeasurable".
The inquiry received "heartrending" evidence from people who had suffered life-changing injuries and from parents, siblings and children of those who had lost their lives.
It questioned why no compensation had been secured for IRA victims when the French, German and US governments had all taken "strong action" to secure compensation for their citizens who had been harmed in terrorist actions sponsored by the Gaddafi regime.
The committee said that time was "running out" for many of the victims.
"The next government must not add to this series of missed opportunities," it added.
"It should now enter into direct negotiations with the Libyan authorities to seek a compensation deal. It would be preferable for the Libyan authorities to voluntarily agree a compensation package than for the UK to act unilaterally."
Laurence Robertson, the committee's chair, said:  "First and foremost, we must pay tribute to those who have suffered for so long and campaigned so bravely as a result of these horrific acts.
"As one of our witnesses, told us: 'We are the forgotten onesâ€¦ the ones who for reasons utterly beyond my comprehension, successive governments have chosen to overlook.'
"The UK government cannot allow this litany of missed chances to continue. There needs to be direct dialogue with the Libyan government, and if the situation there makes this impossible, the government must begin the process of establishing a fund themselves.
"We very much hope that when the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee reconvenes after the general election they will continue to campaign on this issue. Until the victims have received the compensation they deserve they must be given our support."
Stephen Gault, whose father was killed in the Enniskillen Remembrance Day bomb, said the government needs to "sort this out once and for all".
"My mother has passed away," he said. "The victims are aging and who's to say that in another few years others will have passed.
"It's something that needs to be sorted now and not 10 or 15 years into the future."
Last year, former prime minister Tony Blair denied trying to prevent IRA victims from getting any financial compensation from Libya.
Mr Blair's comments came in written evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.
Links between the IRA and Libya can be traced back to 1972 when Gaddafi first praised the group as allies in a struggle against Western imperialism.
Gaddafi later helped provide the IRA with the weaponry they needed to wage an armed campaign that lasted more than 30 years and claimed more than 1,000 lives.
Victims of IRA bomb attacks say they are entitled to money from the frozen bank accounts of Gaddafi.
Towards the end of Gaddafi's rule, relatives of the victims in the 1988 Pan AM flight bombing over Lockerbie received compensation from Libya, which accepted responsibility for the attack.