Labour has retained control of five of its councils in the North East.

In Sunderland, the party won 21 of the 25 seats, but mayor Bob Heron lost his to Independent Anthony Allen. The Conservatives also took a Labour seat.
Gateshead Borough Council remained unchanged with Labour holding 18 seats and the Liberal Democrats four.
Labour held North Tyneside with 44 seats, took 17 out of 18 on South Tyneside and kept control in Newcastle with 52 seats.
By Fergus HewisonBBC Newcastle political reporter
No major surprises and not much of a headline perhaps. But, on closer inspection, the interesting story is about UKIP.
So lots of UKIP second places - but no councillors elected.
The question is: can UKIP translate votes into seats in future and gain power rather than just support?
In South Tyneside, UKIP lost a previously-held seat. It failed to take any seats in Sunderland but came second in 16 wards and the same position in nine Newcastle wards, 14 in South Tyneside, nine in North Tyneside and 13 in Gateshead.
UKIP chairman Steve Crowther described this result as "extremely encouraging".
"It's not somewhere where we have had a strong performance before, in the North East - an area that we are looking to build," he said.
It is not known what will happen to the Sunderland mayoral post as it is mainly ceremonial and the one-year term was due to end soon.
Mr Heron said he was "quite stunned" at the result.
"However, we've always had close elections in the Copt Hill ward, so I knew it was one of those things which would have to go right up to the wire," he said.
In North Tyneside, the Conservatives now have 12 seats and the Liberal Democrats four.
South Tyneside Council will now be made up of 49 Labour councillors, three Independents, one Conservative and one UKIP.
In Newcastle, there was one gain each for Labour and the Liberal Democrats and two losses for the Liberal Democrats.


One of the longest-serving head teachers in the country is retiring after 35 years at the same school.

17 December 2016 Last updated at 12:26 GMT
Garry Reed joined Swimbridge Primary School in 1982, but retires this Christmas.
Known by his students as "a funny teacher with very good jokes", Mr Reed said he has never arrived at school in North Devon without looking forward to the day ahead.
Russell Hobby, the general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "Mr Reed is one of the longest-serving heads in the country.
"What a fantastic achievement to have led a school so well for so long"


A man has been arrested by police investigating the rape of a woman in a Manchester park.

The 25-year-old woman was attacked as she walked on a footpath in Wythenshawe Park at about 04:00 BST on Sunday.
Greater Manchester Police said a 30-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of rape.
He remains in custody and the investigation is ongoing, a spokesman for the force added.


An early work by Hans Christian Andersen has been found at the bottom of a box near the Danish fairy tale writer's home city, experts say.

The Tallow Candle is a short story about a revered candle that becomes grimy and neglected until its inner beauty is recognised and ignited.
The ink-written manuscript is dedicated: "To Mme Bunkeflod, from her devoted HC Andersen".
Experts say it was probably written by the Ugly Duckling author in the 1820s.
Mrs Bunkeflod is thought to be a widow whom the writer visited, read to and borrowed books from as a child.
Experts told Danish daily Politiken the script is likely the copy of an original manuscript that has since been lost.
The newspaper has translated and published a version of the story in English.
Historian Esben Brage made the chance finding in a filing box at the National Archives of Funen in October and experts have since scrutinised the copy of the 700-word manuscript.
Experts say the story's simplistic style is not on a par with Andersen's elegantly written mature works, suggesting it was written during his time at a grammar school in the mid-1820s.
Born in Odense in 1805, the son of a shoemaker and a washerwoman concentrated on poetry before his first book of fairy tales was published in 1835.
Many of Andersen's most famous works, such as the Emperor's New Clothes and the Little Mermaid, focus on perceptions of wealth and beauty - themes touched on in The Tallow Candle.
Andersen expert Ejnar Stig Askgaard described the discovery as "sensational".
"I have no doubt that it is Christian Andersen who wrote it," he said.
A dedication thought to have been written on the copy later in blue ink reads: "To P Plum from his friend Bunkeflod."
The Plum and Bunkeflod families were close friends, and Hans Christian Andersen had a close relationship with Mme Bunkeflod, Politiken reported.
Before he died in 1875, Andersen wrote hundreds of fairy tales which have since been translated into more than 100 languages.


The so-called Islamic State (IS) group would be prepared to carry out a chemical weapons attack on the UK, security minister Ben Wallace has said.

While no specific plot has been identified, IS has "aspirations" for mass casualty attacks, he said.
In a Sunday Times interview Mr Wallace said there have been reports of IS using poisonous gas in Iraq and Syria.
"They have no moral objection to using chemical weapons... and if they could, they would in this country," he said.
He also pointed to a recent Europol report, which said there was evidence that IS has shown an interest in the use of chemical or biological weapons, and the potential realisation of "everybody's worst fear" in Europe.
Mr Wallace told the Sunday Times: "The ambition of IS or Daesh is definitely mass casualty attacks.
"They want to harm as many people as possible and terrorise as many people as possible."
He said that Moroccan authorities raided an IS cell in February which had substances that could have been used to either make a bomb or a "deadly toxin".
Mr Wallace also warned of the "enemy within" - with terror groups, Russia and cyber attackers trying to plant "traitors" in the government, the military and leading businesses.
He said: "The insider threat, as we would call it, is real and it can be exploited and there are people trying to do that as we speak.
"If it's hard to get in the front door, then what you try and do is get someone on the inside."
Last month, the head of MI6 said the scale of the terrorism threat to the UK is "unprecedented".
Alex Younger said UK intelligence and security services had disrupted 12 terrorist plots since June 2013.
He said many of the threats came from ungoverned spaces in the Middle East - namely Iraq and Syria.
Mr Younger also warned that "hybrid warfare", which included cyber-attacks and subverting democracy, was becoming an "increasingly dangerous phenomenon".
The threat level for international terrorism in the UK has been severe - meaning an attack is highly likely - since August 2014.
There are five threat levels - low, moderate, substantial, severe and critical - set by MI5's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre.


Royal Marines from RNAS Yeovilton have marched through Yeovil to mark the base's freedom of the town.

The parade also commemorates Yeovilton's 75th birthday and is in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
Platoons from HMS Heron, led by the Queen's Colours and the Band of the Royal Marines, marched before Yeovil mayor Mike Lock.
There was also a flypast representing all the squadrons based at Yeovilton.
Lieutenant Commander Chris Gray said the freedom of Yeovil was granted to the base in 1962 and the parade "reinforces our bond and close links" with the town.


Rafa De Vita's extra-time goal put Livingston into the League Cup quarter finals at the expense of Falkirk.

Scott Robinson directed Danny Mullen's cross into the net to give Livingston the lead.
It was soon all square when James Craigen turned his marker to fire past goalkeeper Neil Alexander.
Falkirk's Joe McKee went closest to avoiding extra-time when he hit the bar, and De Vita bundled in Josh Mullin's low ball to win it.
Myles Hippolyte and Nathan Austin went close as Falkirk made the early running but Robinson gave Livingston the lead on the break when he turned home Mullen's cross from close range.
After Craigen's equaliser both Alexander and Robbie Thomson pulled off excellent saves just before the 90 minutes were up.
Former Ross County wide player De Vita struck when he converted Josh Mullin's deflected cross.
Livingston manager David Hopkins: "Our fitness levels are incredible. When it went to extra-time I had no qualms that we were going to win the game.
"There's nothing done yet, we face another tough game whoever we get in the next round, but it's a round we never thought we were going to get to. If I'm honest with the group we had I never thought we'd get out of it.
"These young boys deserve to play whoever they're going to play."
Match ends, Falkirk 1, Livingston 2.
Second Half Extra Time ends, Falkirk 1, Livingston 2.
Lee Miller (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Declan Gallagher (Livingston).
Dale Carrick (Livingston) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Peter Grant (Falkirk).
Attempt saved. Raffaele De Vita (Livingston) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Josh Mullin (Livingston) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Corner,  Livingston. Conceded by Joe McKee.
Foul by Scott Shepherd (Falkirk).
Craig Halkett (Livingston) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Livingston. Dylan Mackin replaces Dale Carrick.
Attempt saved. Thomas Taiwo (Falkirk) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Rory Loy (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Alan Lithgow (Livingston).
Attempt missed. Craig Halkett (Livingston) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right from a direct free kick.
Foul by Paul Watson (Falkirk).
Dale Carrick (Livingston) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Keaghan Jacobs (Livingston) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Thomas Taiwo (Falkirk).
Second Half Extra Time begins Falkirk 1, Livingston 2.
First Half Extra Time ends, Falkirk 1, Livingston 2.
Josh Mullin (Livingston) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Tony Gallacher (Falkirk) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Josh Mullin (Livingston).
Mark Kerr (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Shaun Byrne (Livingston).
Attempt missed. Raffaele De Vita (Livingston) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt saved. Lee Miller (Falkirk) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Falkirk. Scott Shepherd replaces James Craigen.
Goal!  Falkirk 1, Livingston 2. Raffaele De Vita (Livingston) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Josh Mullin.
Luca Gasparotto (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jackson Longridge (Livingston).
Rory Loy (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Scott Pittman (Livingston).
First Half Extra Time begins Falkirk 1, Livingston 1.
Second Half ends, Falkirk 1, Livingston 1.
Foul by Rory Loy (Falkirk).
Craig Halkett (Livingston) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt saved. Raffaele De Vita (Livingston) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the top centre of the goal.


An angler has claimed a UK record for the heaviest carp after trying to catch it for three years.

Dean Fletcher, 53, from Wokingham, landed the 68lb 1oz carp, known as "the parrot" due to the shape of its mouth, at Cranwells Lake, Wasing.
Mr Fletcher said: "When it went into the net and I saw which fish it was I was leaping all over the bank."
The previous UK carp record of 67lb 8oz was set by Austin Holness, in Kent in 2008.
Mr Fletcher, a greengrocer, said he caught the fish within an hour of fishing at the lake on the evening of Wednesday 13 January.
After being weighed, the carp was then released back into the water.
He said: "I'd been after this fish for three years.  It's all I ever talked about - it had become a bit of an obsession."
The recordings from the catch will be now be sent to the Angling Trust for verification.


An al-Qaeda-linked group led by Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar says it has merged with another group to take revenge against France for its military campaign in Mali.

Belmokhtar's Masked Men Brigade and the Mali-based Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) have formed Al-Murabitoun, a statement said.
In July, the US offered a $5m (Â£3.2m) reward for Belmokhtar's capture.
He is accused of masterminding a deadly siege at an Algerian plant in January.
The US has charged him with hostage-taking, kidnapping and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Three US citizens were among at least 37 hostages killed when Algerian troops stormed the Tigantourine plant to end the siege.
In May, Mujao and Belmokhtar's group jointly carried out twin suicide attacks in Niger on a military camp and a French-run uranium mine, killing 25 people.
"Your brothers in Mujao and Al-Mulathameen [Masked Men Brigade] announce their union and fusion  in one movement called Al-Murabitoun to unify the ranks of Muslims around the same goal, from the Nile to the Atlantic," the groups said in a statement published by Mauritanian news agency ANI, which is often used by the militants to communicate.
Profile: Al-Qaeda in North Africa
Command of Al-Murabitoun, an Arabic phrase meaning "the sentinels", has been ceded to "another personality", the statement added.
He is believed to be a non-Algerian jihadi who fought in Afghanistan, ANI reported.
The jihadist movement in the region was now "stronger than ever" and it would "rout" France and its allies, the statement said.
France led an offensive in January to recapture northern Mali from the militants, who had ruled the north for about eight months after taking advantage of the chaos caused by a coup.
They have since retreated to their desert hide-outs and towns and cities are now under the control of Malian and UN troops.
A 12,600-strong UN force is being deployed to Mali, as France begins to pull out its 3,000 troops.
Belmokhtar was a former leading figure in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) but he later formed the Masked Men Brigade, which is also known as the Signed-in-Blood Battalion and the Khaled Abu al-Abbas Brigade.
Mujao was formed in 2011 to spread jihad across West Africa and it believed to be a well-disciplined group.
It is thought to be led by a Mauritanian ethnic Tuareg Ahmed Ould Amer,  who goes by the nom de guerre "Ahmed Telmissi", the AFP news agency reports.


A panel of doctors has accepted a 10-year-old rape victim's plea for an abortion in the northern Indian state of Haryana.

Dr Ashok Chauhan told the BBC the termination would be carried out "anytime now".
The girl became pregnant about five months ago. She alleges rape by her stepfather, who has been arrested.
Indian law does not allow terminations after 20 weeks unless doctors confirm the woman's life is in danger.
The decision to allow the child to abort was taken after a local court told doctors at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in the town of Rohtak that it would accept their recommendation.
India is home to the largest number of sexually abused children globally. But there's a general reluctance to talk about the problem and it's rarely discussed in public.
Studies have shown that in large numbers of cases, like in the case of the 10-year-old rape victim in Rohtak, the abusers are known to the children and include care-givers like parents, relatives and teachers.
Contrary to the popular belief that only girls are abused, boys are equally at risk; and children from affluent families are just as much at risk as those from poor backgrounds.
Campaigners say sexual abuse of children goes unchecked because the victims are often afraid to report it to their parents or teachers, and also because parents themselves often hush it up, fearing family dishonour.
But in recent years India has been waking up to the problem and on Tuesday, child rights charity World Vision India launched a new campaign to end child sexual abuse by 2021.
The campaign aims to impact five million children across 200 districts and calls on every Indian citizen to work to break the silence that surrounds child abuse.
Campaigners say India's culture at present stands on the side of the offender, and that must change.
The tough law against abortion was introduced to fight India's skewed gender ratio. A deep-seated cultural preference for sons has led to millions of female foetuses being aborted over the years by pregnant women after undergoing foetal gender testing.
In recent months India's Supreme Court has received several petitions, some from women who were raped, wanting to terminate pregnancies after 20 weeks. The court has always referred the matter to medical experts.
Sources: Indian government, Unicef
In the latest case in Rohtak town in Haryana, doctors from the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) accepted the family's request to allow the child to have an abortion after discussing the matter on Monday.
The pregnancy came to light last week when the 10-year-old's mother, who works as a domestic helper, suspected her child was pregnant and took her to see a doctor.
Reports said the girl was often left at home when her mother went to work. She told her mother that she had been repeatedly raped by her stepfather, who had warned her not to say anything.
The stepfather was arrested after the mother lodged a police complaint, senior Rohtak police official Pankaj Nain told the BBC.
Dr Chauhan had said on Monday the case for the termination was "borderline".
"She is around 20 weeks pregnant, but it could be 19 weeks or it could be 21 weeks. The technology is not so advanced that it can tell you exactly what week she's in."


Producers and suppliers of so-called legal highs will face up to seven years in jail under new legislation introduced across the UK.

Officially described as new psychoactive substances (NPS), legal highs - or designer drugs - have been linked to a number of deaths and hospital admissions over the years.
Legal highs are psychoactive drugs that contain various chemical ingredients, some of which are illegal while others are not. They produce similar effects to illegal drugs like cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy.
They are sold in a variety of forms - powder, pills, liquids, capsules, perforated tabs and smoking mixtures, to name a few. The substances are often sold in "head shops" alongside drug paraphernalia.
There have also been reports of some people injecting legal highs. Because they cannot be labelled as being for human consumption, they are often marketed as plant food, bath salts or incense.
They are either stimulants (making users feel energised), sedatives (making users feel relaxed or euphoric), or psychedelics (altering perceptions and making users hallucinate).
The chemicals contained in legal highs have not been tested for safety, so users cannot be sure what the outcome will be. They can cause paranoia, seizures, coma and can also lead to death.
The risks can be increased when legal highs are taken with alcohol or with another psychoactive drug. Legal highs can also be addictive and there are additional risks if they are injected.
Drug advisory service Frank says: "Just because a drug is legal to possess, it doesn't mean it's safe."
Research from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) showed that there were 97 recorded deaths from legal highs in the UK in 2012, up from 12 in 2009.
The CSJ, an independent think tank, says that the UK has the highest number of legal high users among young people in Europe.
Drug and alcohol treatment charity Addaction says the drugs are often marketed to young people through brightly coloured packaging but are also becoming the "drug of choice" for other users because they are easy to buy.
A 2014 study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which looked at the issue of NPS abuse on a global scale, said: "The use of NPS that poses a health threat has grown rapidly over the past decade and there have been increasing reports of the availability and manufacture of such substances."
It added that due to the "fast-paced nature of the NPS market" there was a "continued need for analysis of the scope and magnitude of the global synthetic drugs problem".
The production, distribution, sale and supply of legal highs is now an offence that is punishable by up to seven years in prison, after the Psychoactive Substances Act was brought into effect on 26 May.
Possession of a psychoactive substance is not an offence, except in a "custodial institution", such as prison or young offender centres.
Drug-driving, including after using a legal high, is illegal.
In addition to the UK's ban, in the Irish Republic it is an offence to advertise, sell, supply, import or export psychoactive substances.
Lincoln had already introduced a ban on people taking legal highs in public while other councils, including Newcastle, used licensing powers or trading standards regulations to restrict sales.
Taunton had also banned their use in public places.
Sources: Frank, NHS Choices, Centre for Social Justice, AddactionScottish Drugs Forum


A man who used a "quick sale" firm to sell his home claims he received less than half of what the property was actually sold for.

Philip Edwards used Midlands-based speedyproperty.co.uk to sell his three bedroom house in Hawarden, Flintshire, after seeing an advert in a newspaper.
But he said he only received £68,000 from the £165,000 sale.
speedyproperty.co.uk has not responded to requests for a comment. West Midlands Police is investigating.
Mr Edwards, 69, contacted the firm after he saw a newspaper advert which offered a fast-cash quick-sale house selling service.
He decided to use the firm to sell the semi-detached house which had belonged to his parents.
Despite being sold for £165,000, Mr Edwards said he was only paid £68,000.
The former funeral mortician said the rest, £96,000, was paid to two other companies. BBC Wales understands the founder of speedyproperty.co.uk is a director and shareholder of these two companies.
Mr Edwards said he was not told any money from the proceeds of the sale would be made to any other companies.
He said he had no knowledge of what the companies were and it was only on completion that he became aware of the payments.
He said he was told the money would be invested for his future - but he said he had not been able to contact either of the companies since and has had no further correspondence from them.
Mr Edwards used £64,000 from the sale to pay off a debt.
He remained as a tenant in the property paying the new owner £600 a month but he fell into arrears while in hospital being treated for cancer and was evicted in 2016.
He now lives in sheltered accommodation with his second wife and her son.
"I'm mortified really," said Mr Edwards.
"It's as if everything that my parents worked for and what I've worked for, and at the end of the day there's nothing.
"It was explained to me as an investment, and it would ensure my wellbeing for years to come.
"I've had to graft like anyone else, to have it all disappear..."
West Midlands Police said it was looking into a number of complaints from homeowners who sold their houses through speedyproperty.co.uk - which operated through a website which is no longer accessible.
Police are currently looking into a number of similar incidents.
It is believed a number of different named companies with the same directors and shareholders received large sums of money from each of the house sales.
The force said its Economic Crime Unit was involved in the inquiry which is looking at cases from 2013 to June 2017 and it is believed that there may be many more people who have been affected.
Nigel Cole, a solicitor with Portsmouth firm Verisona Law, is preparing to issue a claim for negligence against a firm of solicitors based in the Midlands which handled some of the speedyproperty.co.uk sales.
"My clients say they didn't know the payments were being made to these companies, they didn't authorise them and were shocked to see such vast amounts of money having disappeared on completion," said Mr Cole.
"Mr Edwards isn't a well man… he had inherited that house from his parents and it was really his only asset in life, and he's lost that asset.
"The clients are very vulnerable, they're elderly, two of them have cancer… they're not sophisticated people and I think they've been taken advantage of and had these massive sums deducted and paid to these organisations.
"They've lost their life savings in these transactions… they've had to leave the houses and go into other houses and temporary council accommodation."
speedyproperty.co.uk did not respond to numerous requests to comment.


All looks good for an on-time launch of Europe's mission to Mars.

A joint venture with Russia, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is set to launch atop a Proton rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on Monday.
The satellite will try to detect and characterise the marginal constituents of the planet's atmosphere.
A key quest is to understand methane, a gas that has an unexpected persistence and which some have speculated could hint at the presence of microbial life.
Lift-off of the Proton is scheduled for 15:31 local time (09:31 GMT).
"We've had a good launch campaign to date - no real issues," said Walter Cugno from the lead European contractor, Thales Alenia Space.
"All the preparation milestones have been achieved as per the nominal schedule," he told BBC News.
It will take 10 hours for the Proton's Breeze-M upper-stage to boost the ExoMars TGO into just the right trajectory to go to the Red Planet.
Controllers at European Space Agency's Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, expect to pick up a signal from the satellite not long after it has been released on to this cruise path, at 21:28 GMT.
The journey time to Mars is seven months. Three days out from arrival, on 16 October, the satellite will release a small landing module known as Schiaparelli.
Once on the surface, on 19 October, its aim is to operate a few science instruments, but engineers are primarily interested to see how the module performs during the entry, descent and touchdown.
"This technology development is very important," said Esa's director of science, Prof Alvaro Gimenez.
"If you want to be a partner in the future on more missions to Mars, you have to demonstrate your ability to land. If you can't, you are not at the right level. We have to show we can do it ourselves."
Schiaparelli's demonstration landing on 19 October
In particular, Schiaparelli will showcase a suite of technologies - radar, computers and their algorithms - that will be needed to put a British-assembled rover safely on the planet.
This second-step ExoMars mission is supposed to leave Earth in 2018, although this looks increasingly in doubt.
No final price with industry to build the rover venture has yet been agreed, and there is currently insufficient money within the programme to fund it to completion. But even if the budget was not a problem, there is now so little leeway in the development schedule that few people express optimism that the rover and its associated landing equipment can be made ready in time for what is a very narrow launch window in 2018.
"It's now marginal," said Mr Cugno. "We have some possibility [of being ready] on the European side, but on the Russian side it is even more marginal."
A formal announcement of a delay to 2020 - when the planets next align - could come within a few weeks. But the difficulties with the rover part of the ExoMars project should not affect the orbiter.
Once it has dropped off Schiaparelli, the TGO will spend the better part of a year manoeuvring itself into a 400km-high circular orbit above the planet.
From this vantage point, the TGO's state-of-the-art instruments will then make a detailed inventory of Mars' atmospheric gases.
The mission is concerned with the components that constitute less than 1% of the planet's air - chemical species such as methane, water vapour, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide.
Methane is the main focus. From previous measurements, its concentration is seen to be low and sporadic in nature. But the mere fact that it is detected at all is really fascinating.
The simple organic molecule should be destroyed easily in the harsh Martian environment, so its persistence - and the occasional spikes in its signal - indicate a replenishing source of the gas.
The explanation could be geological. One idea is that it is the simple by-product from water interactions with particular rock minerals at depth. Another explanation is that the gas is ancient in origin and has been trapped in sub-surface ice. Periodic melting events then release the methane into the atmosphere.
But there remains the tantalising prospect that the source could be biological.
Most of the methane in Earth's atmosphere comes from living organisms, and it is not a ludicrous suggestion that microbes might also be driving emissions on Mars.
"Whatever the explanation, it all points to the existence of liquid water in the sub-surface, and that changes slightly our vision of Mars, because it means it is a planet that is a little more active than we've recognised," said Esa's ExoMars project scientist, Dr Jorge Vago.
The TGO instruments will try to describe the methane's distribution in time and space.
Two of its sensors - NOMAD and ACS - will determine the gas molecules' concentration across the seasons, at different altitudes and locations.
A third instrument, the CaSSIS camera, will then look for possible geological forms on the surface of the planet that might tie into methane sources. A fourth instrument, FREND, will sense hydrogen in the near-surface. This data can be used as a proxy for the presence of water or hydrated minerals. All of this is information that could yield answers to the methane question.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


Seven Ukrainian soldiers are said to have died in a clash with pro-Russian rebels near Donetsk airport - in what would be the deadliest single incident for the military since a truce deal.

A tank shell hit the vehicle carrying the troops, an official said.
Three civilians were reportedly killed in other incidents.
Ukrainian activists earlier toppled a statue of Lenin in the eastern city of Kharkiv - a move likely to be seen as a provocation by pro-Russians.
Nationalist protesters had gathered around the statue on Sunday night for a "Kharkiv is Ukraine" rally. The governor of Kharkiv region, Ihor Baluta, then signed an order to dismantle the statue.
The mayor of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, said on a local government website that the monument would be restored, calling its destruction unlawful.
Pro-Russian demonstrators defended the statue in February, as similar monuments were being taken down in other parts of the country in a wave of protests that accompanied the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych.
Kharkiv has largely escaped the violence which subsequently swept through east Ukraine's other regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.
The latest deaths cast fresh doubt on a ceasefire agreed between the Ukrainian government and the rebels on 5 September.
The seven soldiers were killed in a vehicle near Donetsk airport, which the rebels have been trying to capture from the Ukrainian military.
"During the evening attack, the Ukrainian armoured transporter, with its crew and a paratroop unit, took a direct hit from a tank," Ukrainian military spokesman Col Andriy Lysenko told reporters.
"Intensive fighting broke out. Our paratroopers sustained losses," Col Lysenko said.
He said a total of nine soldiers had been killed and 27 wounded in the past 24 hours.
Separately, authorities in Donetsk told AFP news agency that three civilians had been killed over the same period. The city is a base for the pro-Russian rebels.
The OSCE security organisation, which is monitoring the ceasefire, confirmed there had been heavy shelling around Donetsk airport.
There was also heavy shelling of the eastern outskirts of Mariupol on Friday and Saturday, OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw told the BBC.
Just before the ceasefire took effect heavily armed rebels moved close to Mariupol, a strategic port city on the main route to Crimea.
Russia denies Western allegations that it has armed the rebels and sent troops into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. About 3,200 people have died in fighting since April.
Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March - a move condemned by Ukraine and the West.
The European Union and the US later imposed sanctions against Russia over its role in the Ukraine conflict.
Last week, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the "most dangerous" part of the crisis in the east had passed, predicting that his peace deal with the pro-Russian rebels would hold.
For several days Russian state television has reported on "mass graves" allegedly unearthed by rebels near Nizhnya Krynka, a village near Donetsk. At least four bodies have been found there, according to the Russian reports.
The television reports said Ukrainian army and national guard units had occupied the area and were suspected of shooting captives at close range.
Last week Anton Herashchenko, a Ukrainian interior ministry adviser, dismissed the mass grave allegation as "outright lies".
OSCE spokesman Bociurkiw confirmed that "about half a dozen" bodies, some of them decomposed, had been seen by OSCE monitors at the site.
"We observed unmarked graves, it was not possible to establish gender, and there were shell casings nearby," he said.
"We were not able to do a proper investigation because the OSCE doesn't have the ability to do a forensic assessment," he told the BBC.
"We had no way of establishing if they were shot or who put the weapons there."
He also said the OSCE had been unable to check whether Russia was bringing more military equipment into Ukraine or taking it out. No inspection was carried out on Russian humanitarian aid lorries that entered the conflict zone, he said.
"We don't have an inventory of what existed, so it's very difficult to establish what if anything has moved. Equipment was also unmarked," he said.


Prime Minister Theresa May has had a telephone call with the Taoiseach (Irish PM) Enda Kenny about the ongoing crisis at Stormont.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness stepped down on Monday over the handling of a botched energy scheme.
The situation made an assembly election look "highly likely", Secretary of State James Brokenshire said.
Mr Brokenshire is also stepping up his efforts to find a resolution to the current crisis at Stormont.
He spoke to the Republic of Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan by telephone and will hold meetings with the main Northern Ireland parties - as well as Justice Minister Claire Sugden - over the next 24 hours.
Earlier, former first minister Arlene Foster warned that if an election goes ahead, it will be "brutal".
The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme could cost NI taxpayers £490m.
Mrs Foster set up the RHI scheme in 2012 when she was enterprise minister, in an attempt by the NI Executive to increase consumption of heat from renewable sources.
Martin McGuinness resigns
Under Northern Ireland's power-sharing agreement, Mrs Foster loses her role with Mr McGuinness' departure.
Speaking at a press conference at her party's headquarters in Belfast on Tuesday, the DUP leader said: "I  have no doubt that if the election proceeds it will be a brutal election, it will be a very difficult election."
She said she had been "disgracefully maligned in a most vicious manner" over the RHI scheme.
Businesses received more in subsidies than they paid for fuel, and the scheme became heavily oversubscribed.
The debacle has held centre stage in politics in Northern Ireland over the past month, with Mrs Foster facing repeated calls to resign - all of which she rejected.
However, she said there was still room for optimism, as an inquiry into the flawed scheme could get under way by the end of the week under the 2005 Inquiries Act.
"It is of the utmost importance that the truth comes out," she said.
In a week's time, Mr Brokenshire will have the power to set a date for a new election.
Both the British and Irish governments have urged Sinn Féin and the DUP to enter talks to resolve the dispute, and Mrs Foster said she was open to such a discussion.
Irish Foreign Minister Mr Flanagan has urged both sides to act responsibly to protect the institutions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Mr McGuinness said he wanted to "call a halt to the DUP's arrogance".
Sinn Féin have not disclosed details of his recent illness, but it has been reported by RTÉ that he has a rare heart condition.
Mr McGuinness denied that the decision had anything to do with health problems.
Speaking on RTE radio, Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams said the question of who led the party into any election was a matter for Mr McGuinness.
Mrs Foster said she was disappointed by his resignation, which she said was "not principled".
Mr Brokenshire told the House of Commons that both Westminster and the Irish government would "continue to provide every possible support and assistance to the executive parties".
"We do, however, have to be realistic. The clock is ticking," he said.
"If there is no resolution, then an election is inevitable despite the widely held view that this election may deepen divisions and threaten the continuity of the devolved institutions."
Mr Brokenshire said the RHI scandal was an "entirely devolved matter" for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
However, he said it was imperative that a "comprehensive, transparent and impartial inquiry" be established as soon as possible.
The political crisis means the Executive still has not agreed a budget for the 2017/18 financial year.
Earlier, DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said he was unsure whether power sharing could be restored in Northern Ireland, even after an election.
He said he was "not convinced" that a coalition government could be formed in the next few months, and that an election would not resolve the issues.
Sinn Féin's Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said that power-sharing could be restored if "the DUP commit to the principles of the Good Friday Agreement".
"We will never rebuild credibility in these institutions unless we commit again to the promise, to the principles and to the parity of esteem that is at the very foundation and root of the Good Friday Agreement," he said.
He accused the DUP of "trampling" on the agreement.
He also said the operation of the scheme had been "botched" and he would not accept any "botched solution to the loss of public funds".
Former Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon, meanwhile, said he was "disgusted" by the turn of events, hitting out at both Mrs Foster and Mr McGuinness.
"The real damage was done by the fact that you had not got the type of integrity in the OFDFM that simply wouldn't and shouldn't have accepted the abuse that was taking place," said the former SDLP MLA.
People were being penalised by "the greed of some and the ineptitude of others", he added.


Head coach Paul Clement will aim to strengthen Swansea City's squad this summer and says he does not have to sell his best players.

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The Swans were bottom of the Premier League table when Clement took over in January, but survived with a game to spare.
Sunday's 2-1 win over West Brom meant ending the season in 15th place.
"We have to build and look forward. The potential of this current squad as it is can get even better," said Clement.
"I don't envisage massive changes. We want to keep our best players and strengthen, not get weaker.
"We're not a club that needs to sell.
"I look forward to meeting the owners in the next 24-48 hours to discuss how they think we've done and what needs to be done moving forwards."
Clement's appointment was the turning point of a turbulent season for Swansea.
Americans Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan bought a controlling stake of 68% in the club last summer and, by January, there had been two managerial dismissals with Francesco Guidolin and Bob Bradley both getting sacked.
The Swans mustered just 12 points from their first 19 games but, in their subsequent 19 fixtures after Clement's arrival, they collected an impressive 29 points.
Central to their revival have been playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson - with nine goals and 13 assists - and striker Fernando Llorente, who struck his 15th goal of the season against West Brom.
Sigurdsson has long been linked with a move to Everton, but has said he is "very happy" at Swansea, while champions Chelsea have shown an interest in Llorente.
Clement hopes Swansea's strong end to the campaign will help convince both players to remain at the Liberty Stadium.
"He [Sigurdsson] has to think about whether his future is here or he wants another challenge," said Clement.
"It's very clear for us. We don't want to sell him or any of our best players.
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"We want to keep them here, we want to strengthen and I think he, Fernando and the others have enjoyed the second half of the season.
"They can see this is a club that shouldn't have been fighting relegation, they should have been doing a lot better."
Swansea's remarkable end-of-season turnaround had echoes of previous great escapes from relegation, such as Leicester's in 2015.
The Foxes carried that momentum into the next campaign, which culminated in arguably the most improbable Premier League title triumph in history.
After beating West Brom, Clement was asked if it would be worth putting a bet on Swansea to match Leicester's feat by winning the league next season.
Grinning, he answered: "Why not? Don't count on it, though."


A planetary takeover by ocean-dwelling algae 650 million years ago was the kick that transformed life on Earth.

That's what geochemists argue in Nature this week, on the basis of invisibly small traces of biomolecules dug up from beneath the Australian desert.
The molecules mark an explosion in the quantity of algae in the oceans.
This in turn fuelled a change in the food web that allowed the first microscopic animals to evolve, the authors suggest.
"This is one the most profound ecological and evolutionary transitions in Earth's history," lead researcher Jochen Brocks told the BBC's Science in Action programme.
The events took place a hundred million years before the so-called Cambrian Explosion, an eruption of complex life recorded in fossils around the world that puzzled Darwin and always hinted at some kind of biological prehistory.
Scattered traces of those precursor multi-celled organisms have since been recognised, but the evolutionary driver that led to their rise has been much argued over.
Cambridge University palaeontologist Nick Butterfield has said the period "was arguably the most revolutionary in Earth history", and not just because of the rapid biological changes. There were violent swings in climate, too, that experts have long suspected are intertwined.
The context was a planet that previously had long had life-sustaining oceans and a benign climate. Yet, for over three billion years - since 3.8 billion years before present according to most estimates - all life was single-celled, mostly bacteria; little evolutionary innovation had happened.
Algae, more complex than bacteria but still single-celled, had themselves had been around for over a billion years (the "boring billion" some palaeontologists call it), but without making much of an ecological impact.
With their DNA packed away safely inside a nucleus (so-called eukaryotes, like all animals and plants today), they had an evolutionary advantage over bacteria they seemed unable to exploit.
That changed about 650 million years ago, according to the new study.
There are no fossils of the algae. Instead, Brocks and his team at the Australian National University, have tracked down molecular remnants of their cell walls, molecules closely related to the cholesterol in our bodies, "the most stable thing of any organism - fat," Brocks quips.
After every other trace of the cells had decayed, these fat molecules remained and were absorbed into sediments, and over geological time became cemented into the bedrock of Australia. To be drilled up and analysed hundreds of millions of years later.
"The signals that we find show that the algal population went up by a factor of a hundred to a thousand and the diversity went right up in one big bang, and never went back again," Brocks says.
This ecological flip happened just after one of the greatest environmental catastrophes the planet has ever seen - the "Snowball Earth" period when ice extended from pole to pole, and even at the equator temperatures could have plunged to minus 60 degrees.
The episode ended after 50 million years, when the build-up of volcanic CO2 in the atmosphere created a supergreenhouse that melted the ice in a second cataclysm.
The connection, Brocks believes, is that glacial action ground up continental rocks, releasing the nutrient phosphate which was then washed into the oceans as the thaw progressed.
Today's agricultural green revolution is dependent on phosphates dug up in giant mines around the world, and the pre-Cambrian biological revolution may have been powered the same way, the researchers believe.
"This rise in algae happens just around the time the first animals appeared on the scene," Brocks explains. "It was algae at the bottom of the food web that created this burst of energy and nutrients that allowed larger and more complex creatures to evolve."
Yale University's Noah Planavsky, whose study earlier this year [Nature link] revealed the phosphate nutrient outburst following the Snowball Earth, says the new revelations are "incredibly important".
"It gives the first evidence of ecosystems dominated by complex lifeforms - the eukaryotes," he told the BBC.
In a commentary also in Nature, Andrew Knoll of Harvard University, a world authority on pre-Cambrian life, says the new work makes "a substantial contribution" to revealing "the relationship between life and the surrounding physical environment" at a critical time in animal evolution.
"Food source changes might have helped to pave the way for the animal radiation," he agrees, though adding "key questions remain".
Getting the data was painstaking work, says MIT's Roger Summons, who has previously collaborated with Brocks. The nanogram traces of pre-Cambrian oil measured in the study had to be picked out from a fog of contamination made by fossil fuels.
"I applaud Jochen's insight and his tenacity," Summons wrote in an e-mail. "The results show how fastidious attention to detail ultimately pays off."
However, he suggests the tale is not complete. Likewise, Cambridge University's Nick Butterfield, while accepting the data, disagrees with the interpretation.
In fact, he thinks that Brocks has got cause and effect back to front; the explosion of algae did not drive the rise of animals, he says.
"There's no evidence for animal evolution being constrained by a shortage of food," he argued in an e-mail.
Instead, he says, it was the rise of animals - sponges to be precise - that cleared the ecological path for algae.
Brocks and Butterfield debated the interpretation in the corridors of the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Paris this week, as others looked on.
Brocks remains unswayed - that the outburst of algae 650 million years ago "kicked off an escalating arms race" in which larger creatures, fuelled by their ocean-grazing, become prey to yet larger ones - until you end up with the complexity we see today.


Beauty and the Beast has enchanted film fans on its opening weekend - taking $350m (£282m) around the world.

The film took $170m (£137m) at North American box offices alone and broke a load of records in the process.
It had the biggest ever opening weekend for a PG-rated film, and notched up the seventh best opening overall.
The film easily outsold the rest of the top 10 combined - Kong: Skull Island was its closest competitor, taking $28.9m (£23.3m) on its second weekend.
Beauty and the Beast marks Disney's best opening for a live action remake yet - beating The Jungle Book, Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland.
In the UK, the film earned £18.4m - the fifth biggest opening weekend ever.
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One of the oldest operational power stations in the world is set to have a new lease of life generating low carbon power for the Tube network.

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8 January 2015 Last updated at 17:46 GMT
Plans to revamp the 1906 Greenwich Power Station, in south-east London, have been announced by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
The transformed power station will also provide heat for local homes and buildings.
Six new gas engines will be installed in the building's old turbine hall.
BBC London's Karl Mercer also spoke to Councillor Denise Hyland, Leader of Royal Borough of Greenwich.


A Scottish Commonwealth Games judo star is in a coma and fighting for her life after a motorbike accident in Vietnam.

Stephanie Inglis, 27, who won silver at the 2014 Glasgow games, suffered severe head injuries when her skirt caught in a wheel, and pulled her off the bike.
The incident happened on Tuesday in Ha Long, north east Vietnam, where she had gone to teach English for six months.
A campaign has been launched to help pay for medical costs, after her travel insurer said she was not covered.
She has been transferred to hospital in Hanoi, but doctors have warned that she has sustained severe brain injuries, her sister Stacey said.
Stacey told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: "She is in a very critical state.
"She is in a coma. I don't really know what is going to happen. There has been a lot of bleeding to the brain and swelling.
"She is my big sister. I look up to her so much. I just want her home."
Her parents, who live in Inverness, have flown to Vietnam, and have been with her at the hospital, Stacey said.
Earlier, Stacey told the BBC: "Mum and dad are just distraught, they just want her to be alive and get back here. At the minute the hospital is monitoring her, but they've said her whole brain is injured, and it will be a long recovery if she pulls through."
"At the moment we're sitting tight and keeping our fingers crossed."
The 25-year-old, who went to visit her sister in Vietnam last month, added: "She's an amazing person, and amazing big sister, and she was absolutely loving it out there."
Stephanie was being taxied by motorbike to the school where she works when the accident happened.
Family friend Khalid Ghelan, from Edinburgh, has started an online fundraising page to help the family with medical costs running into thousands of pounds. More than Â£20,000 was donated within four hours of the page being set up and within a few hours later had reached Â£72,000.
Mr Ghelan told the Victoria Derbyshire programme that Stephanie had gone to south-east Asia in the belief she had the correct insurance.
He said the medical authorities in Vietnam seemed "more concerned" about who was paying her hospital costs "than saving her life".
Describing the kind of person Stephanie is, he said: "Judo is a very physical, ruthless sport, but off the mat you would never think Stephanie could get into a physical fight. She never raised a hand to anybody, never said anything bad about anyone."
Going to Vietnam was the athlete's first venture on her own outside of her sport, Mr Ghlean added.
Earlier, he said: "She has been a fighter her whole life, following in her father's footsteps and becoming an international athlete, competing for Great Britain all over the world, beating adversity," he said.
"If anyone can pull through this it's Stephanie."
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Mr Ghelan said: "I've just had an update this morning and apparently the hospital that she is in are saying that they could operate to alleviate pressure on her brain but they are not sure if it might make her worse.
"But around every corner, the one thing that the hospital keeps doing is complaining about how much it is going to cost and the financial situation.
"One of the reasons I set up the fund is because they are more concerned about the money than they are about doing everything they can to help Stephanie."
He added: "Now she is fighting for a lot more than a medal and we are just hoping and praying that she pulls through."
Stephanie won silver competing for Scotland in the women's 57kg event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and has also won medals at tournaments all over the world.
The UK Foreign Office said: "We are in contact with the family of a British national who has been hospitalised in Vietnam, and will continue to offer support at this difficult time."


Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has announced that women will be allowed in all combat roles in the armed forces.

25 February 2016 Last updated at 11:47 GMT
Women currently comprise just 2.5% of the armed forces, working mostly in non-combat roles.
We asked some Indian women for their views on the measure.
Filmed by Vikas Pandey, edited by Neha Sharma


The aroma of fried chicken drifts enticingly from Shupikai Muyambo's cafe, making your tummy rumble.

Located in Chipinge, a small farming town near Zimbabwe's border with Mozambique, Padera Restaurant enjoys a busy trade.
Customers flock to eat its chicken, beef or fish, served with rice or sadza (a thick cornmeal porridge), with prices ranging from between $1 (64 pence) and $2 (Â£1.28) a plate.
Ms Muyambo, 27, opened the cafe last year, and currently employing three people, she is about to take on more staff to keep up with demand.
In a country where the economy has now been in the doldrums for the past 15 years, and where government figures last year showed that just 376,000 people were in formal employment, you would imagine that most of Zimbabwe's 14 million population can only dream of going out for a meal.
Yet while Zimbabwe is undoubtedly impoverished, and earnings are low, a further 5.9 million people are in employment, scratching a living working informally, either for themselves, or small firms which aren't officially registered.
And eating out has never been more popular in the country, with a growing number of food outlets springing up, from roadside shacks to more formal restaurants.
Ms Muyambo says: "Competition in this sector is very stiff, but we realised that even with the economic challenges people still need to eat.
"I get at least $150 [profit] per month after deducting all expenses".
In the capital Harare, another restaurauteur enjoying good business is  41-year-old Allen Gava, who owns the eponymous Gava Restaurant.
A former fruit and vegetable wholesaler, he started in the restaurant business back in 2013 in one of Harare's more prosperous neighbourhoods.
Now employing 10 full-time and five part-time employees Mr Gava says: "We have built a solid customer base, and now have many regular customers who eat with us three or four times a week."
With dishes costing as much as $10, and a large garden for outside eating, Gava Restaurant is certainly more upmarket than most.
While Mr Gava won't reveal how much money he makes, he says that his monthly turnover is "enough to pay salaries, cover expenses, and make a profit".
Yet despite his success Mr Gava says that all restaurants in Zimbabwe continue to face a number of problems.
"It is hard to find certain supplies for the restaurant,"  he says.
"We are also experiencing power cuts, which affect our cooking, and we are spending more money on generator fuel."
Other Zimbabwean restaurant owners have tried to alleviate the problem of supply shortages by rearing their own animals, or growing their own vegetables.
Husband and wife team Alexander and Shumirai Mujuru are just such people.
Since 2009 they have run a fast-food outlet in Zimbabwe's rural Buhera district in the east of the country, at a transit hub for truck drivers and long-distance buses.
To ensure they have enough chickens, they rear them on a nearby farm. And they arrange to buy potatoes from local farmers.
Mr Mujuri adds: "We value good relationships with customers, and we are also hands on."
Independent economist Vince Musewe says that restaurants in Zimbabwe can generally be successful if they keep their prices down.
"Despite the hardships, people still have to eat, and you will find most food outlets sell cheap food. For $1 you can have a decent lunch."
He adds: "More people are doing their businesses on the streets, as opposed to formal employment, and these informal traders provide a ready market for cooked food."
Meanwhile a recent report by StartupBiz Zimbabwe, a private organisation which provides information on how to start and grow a business in the country, suggests that entrepreneurs are setting up food outlets because of the low start-up costs.
It estimates that while it can cost between $1,000 to $5,000 to launch a restaurant in downtown Harare, the price falls to just $200 to set up a small food stall on the outskirts of the city centre.
And while the power cuts that bedevil Zimbabwe inevitably cause restaurants big difficulties, in other ways they help restaurants, because people choose to eat out in the evening rather than sit at home in the dark.
Some consumers even find that if they go to a cheap takeaway they can spend less on food than if they were making it for themselves at home.
Nyasha Mukundi, a 29-year-old mother of two, says: "I finish work at around 6pm, and arrive home at around 7pm, and most of the days there will be no electricity at home.
"Instead I buy takeaway food everyday on my way home from work. It's cheaper too."


A former greyhound stadium that developers want to turn into housing will remain a conservation area, a High Court judge has ruled.

Oxford Stadium owners Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) had challenged the Oxford City Council decision to designate the site last year.
They want to develop the site in Blackbird Leys, which has not been used for greyhound racing since 2012.
Campaigners want to save the stadium from development and use it for sport.
City council leader Bob Price said he was "very pleased" with the High Court decision.
"The court found that the designation process had been carried out in a thorough and exemplary manner which met all the statutory requirements," he said.
The BBC has contacted GRA for comment.
Oxford East MP Andrew Smith said the decision was a "massive boost" for the campaign to save the stadium.
"I think the developers now really have got to face facts and listen to local people and allow the stadium to be used for recreation, get back greyhound racing, speedway and invest in what should be a first rate facility for our whole community," he said.
The track, which was also home to speedway, closed in December 2012 after the GRA said it was no longer viable.
In January last year city council planners refused proposals from developer Galliard to demolish the stadium and build 220 homes on the site.
The developer withdrew its appeal against the decision in May after the site was listed as a conservation area.


A decade after the disastrous war in Darfur began, there is no end to sight to the fighting.

The intensity of the conflict in Sudan's western region has diminished since its early years, but most of Darfur is still extremely dangerous.
More than 1.4 million displaced people still rely on food handouts in camps throughout Darfur, and many others have fled the country.
The multi-layered conflict has also done colossal damage to Sudan's image: The US and many Western activists have accused the government of genocide.
Even before the war broke out, Darfur was in trouble.
Like many of the regions on Sudan's periphery, it was underdeveloped and politically marginalised.
Diminishing rainfall over decades had made life precarious in Darfur, leading to recurring food shortages.
There were frequent clashes between ethnic groups, often over "hakurat" or land rights.
In the late 1980s, an Arab supremacist movement emerged, allegedly backed by Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.
Identity in Darfur is both fluid and complicated, but African groups like the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit felt the government was taking the side of the Arabs.
Religion was not an issue: Almost everyone in Darfur is Muslim.
The beginning of the war is usually given as 2003, though rebel movements had been been formed before that.
In April 2003, rebels struck the airport of Fasher, capital of North Darfur.
The surprise raid through the desert - a tactic which became characteristic of the fighting in Darfur - was astonishingly successful. The rebels destroyed seven planes, and captured the head of the air force.
Khartoum - and the world - realised something serious was under way.
The Sudanese government's response, which relied on air power and an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, has been described by the Sudan expert Alex de Waal as "counter-insurgency on the cheap".
Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit villages were bombed and burnt, civilians were killed, and women were raped.
In 2008, the UN estimated that 300,000 people had died because of the war, though Khartoum disputes the figure.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur.
The genocide charge alleged that he had overseen an attempt to wipe out part of the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit communities.
Mr Bashir was the first sitting head of state to be the subject of an ICC arrest warrant.
He, and the other senior officials facing similar charges, have denied all the accusations.
There is no doubt that the ICC arrest warrants have profoundly altered Sudan.
The West wants nothing to do with President Bashir or his government. Diplomats will not meet him, and there is little chance of Sudan getting its crippling debt forgiven or US sanctions removed as long as he is in power.
However, the ICC charges actually increased the president's popularity in Sudan and some Arab and African countries.
They were seen as an affront to Sudan's sovereignty, and in some cases as an attack on Islam by the West.
Mr Bashir has not been arrested, and there seems little prospect of him facing trial any time soon.
The war drags on, too.
A 2006 peace agreement was signed by only one of Darfur's many armed groups, and this subsequently went back into rebellion.
In 2011, a minor rebel coalition signed the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), and a splinter movement from another rebel group added its name recently.
The DDPD promised wealth and power-sharing, development for Darfur, and compensation for those who had suffered during the war.
So far, most of this has not happened.
Three rebel groups continue to fight the government: Two Sudan Liberation Army factions, led by Abdul Wahid al-Nur and Minni Minawi; and Gibril Ibrahim's Justice and Equality Movement (Jem).
In late 2011, the three joined up with the SPLM-North rebels, who operate in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, in a loose alliance known as the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF).
The UN has accused South Sudan of supporting the SRF, in particular by hosting Jem on its territory, though Juba denies the charge.
The formation of the SRF scared Khartoum, but it has not yet changed the military picture substantially.
The Darfuri rebels operate in an archipelago of no-go areas in Darfur, and sometimes further afield.
This is no longer a simple war between rebels and the state, however, and it has not been for some time.
In some years, the biggest contributor to the violent death toll in Darfur is clashes between different Arab groups.
Some smaller African groups have fought for Khartoum, despite the common image of the war as one between African rebels fighting against the government and the Darfuri Arabs.
Criminality has increased all over the region.
Ten years after it began, Darfur's messy, bloody stalemate persists.
The civil war is best understood as a conflict conducted on several levels at once:
President Bashir is convinced the US is attempting to overthrow him, while Sudan relies on Chinese and Russian support in the UN Security Council.
At different points, Chad and Libya supported the Darfuri rebels, and Khartoum helped armed rebellions in those countries too.
Khartoum is now on better terms with Ndjamena and Tripoli.
If the current thaw in relations with Juba continues, the Darfuri rebels might find life more difficult.
But Darfur's problems will not end until a remedy is found for the underlying causes of underdevelopment, political marginalisation, and dwindling resources.


Barrow have signed Nottingham Forest's teenage Swedish goalkeeper Tim Erlandsson on loan.

The National League side have brought in 19-year-old Erlandsson as cover for Joel Dixon, who sustained a bad knee injury late on in Tuesday night's 3-0 win at home to Guiseley.
Dixon was stretchered off, forcing outfielder Liam Hughes to take over in goal for the final few minutes.
He is now ruled out until next season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Erlandsson, who has represented Sweden at Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 level, played in this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
He will join up with fellow Forest youngster Ryan Yates at Holker Street, having initially signed up for a month, until his 20th birthday on Christmas Day.
Erlandsson is set to make his debut on Saturday when fourth-placed Barrow meet third-placed Dagenham & Redbridge.
Barrow, who have not lost in the National League since the opening week of the season, go into the game on a club-record 19-game unbeaten run.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Great Britain's Liam Heath won his second medal at the Rio Olympics with victory in the men's kayak single 200m sprint.

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Heath had already won silver in the K2 200m alongside Jon Schofield.
Find out how to get into canoeing with our special guide.
The 32-year-old held off France's Maxime Beaumont to claim Team GB's 25th gold of the Games in 35.197 seconds.
Englishman Heath, a 2012 bronze medallist, succeeds compatriot Ed McKeever - who failed to qualify for Rio - as Olympic champion.
"It has been in my mind every single day for the last four years, but I felt that I went into automatic pilot," said Heath.
"It is worth every ounce. I want to thank everyone here and at home. Jon has been out every day doing drills with me and checking my boat over even though he finished."
K2 partner Schofield watched the race from the Lagoa Stadium and told BBC Sport: "It so emotional to see one of your best friends do that.
"I have seen all the work that he has put in and how much he deserves it. He can truly inspire a generation back home - there is no point in doing any of this if it is not having a positive impact on peoples' lives."
Heath was pushed all the way by Beaumont but the Frenchman finished 0.165secs behind and had to settle for silver.
Saul Craviotto of Spain, who took gold in the K2 event, and Germany's Ronald Rauhe shared bronze.
"Hearts in our mouths in the stadium there but Liam being Liam just flew by them," added Schofield.
"I would like it if he got a better start but if you are as fast as Liam you can afford to be a little bit calmer in the early metres."
Also on a busy day of canoeing in Rio:
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A man whose lorry hit a broken down car in Wiltshire, killing a woman, has admitted causing her death by careless driving.

Mariola Martin had stopped in the inside lane of the A303 Mere Bypass, when Paul Bradley's articulated lorry struck her Mazda MX-5 from behind.
Ms Martin, 53, who lived in Swindon, died at the crash scene in July 2014.
Bradley, 53, from Cullompton, Devon, will be sentenced next month after appearing at Salisbury Crown Court.
After her death, Polish-born Ms Martin's family paid tribute to her in a statement, saying she was "a vibrant and energetic woman that loved life".
Bradley was released on bail until sentencing.


Tesco plans to cut 1,200 jobs at its head office as part of a major cost-cutting drive.

The UK's biggest supermarket told staff on Wednesday morning about the cull, which amounts to a quarter of its workforce in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield.
Tesco is implementing a turnaround plan that aims to reduce costs by Â£1.5bn.
The cuts come after the retailer said last week it would close a call centre in Cardiff at the cost of 1,200 roles.
Tesco said it was a "significant next step" in the reorganisation of the company.
"This new service model will simplify the way we organise ourselves, reduce duplication and cost but also, very importantly, allow us to invest in serving shoppers better," a spokesperson said.
Pauline Foulkes, national officer at shop workers' union Usdaw, said: "Tesco's head office staff are understandably very concerned that the company is proposing further large-scale job losses.
"Our priorities are to keep as many staff as possible in employment and to get the best possible deal for our members."
Shares in Tesco rose 1.6% to close at 171.7p, but have fallen almost 17% since the start of the year.
Tesco said earlier this year that 1,000 roles would go as it reduced the number of distribution centres.
It also announced a plan to replace 1,700 deputy managers at its Express convenience stores with 3,000 lower-paid "shift leaders".
Trading at Tesco has been improving under chief executive Dave Lewis and earlier this month it reported a 2.3% rise in UK like-for-like sales for the three months to 27 May.
The supermarket is undertaking a Â£3.7bn takeover of wholesaler and convenience store group Booker, which has drawn opposition from some shareholders.
Schroders and Artisan Partners have said that Tesco is paying too much for Booker, which owns the Premier, Budgens and Londis store brands. and has written to chairman John Allan about their concerns.
The Competition and Markets Authority has opened the first phase of its investigation into the deal, which will end in late July.


The British honours system gives special awards to people who have made an outstanding contribution to society.

People get honours for achievements like making a difference to their community, being a volunteer for many years or being amazing at what they do for a job.
Anyone can recommend someone for an award but not everyone is chosen.
The decision about who gets an honour - and the honour they get - is made by a group of people who make up the honours committee.
The committee's decisions go to the Prime Minister and then, finally, to the Queen to check it.
Not everyone wants an honour and people are allowed to turn down the award.
The full list of people who have awarded an honour is revealed twice  a year - at New Year, and in mid-June on the date of the Queen's official birthday.
The winners then receive their awards, which are special medals, from the Queen or other members of the Royal Family at a ceremony.
Knights and Dames
The honour of knighthood comes from medieval times, as does the way used to award the knighthood: the touch of a sword by the King or Queen.
Men who receive this honour are given the title "Sir" and their wives "Lady".
Women receiving the honour are called "Dame".
The award is given for an exceptional achievement in any activity.
Orders of the British Empire
King George V created these honours during World War I to reward services to the war effort by people helping in the UK or not fighting on the front line.
People can be given either the award of Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE) or Member (MBE).
They are now awarded to people making a positive impact in their work.
For example, the honour of an MBE can be given for achievement or service in the local community.
British Empire Medal
The medal was founded in 1917 and was awarded for "meritorious" actions by civilians or military personnel.
It was scrapped in 1993.
Nearly twenty years later, Prime Minister David Cameron brought the medal back and about 300 will be awarded every year to community volunteers.


Mobile apps that share information about animal sightings have become "a major cause for concern", according to the authority that runs national parks in South Africa.

Their use had led to a rise in lawlessness in parks, including speeding, congestion and animal deaths, said South African National Parks.
It had been inundated with complaints from customers about the use of such apps, it said.
It is now considering banning them.
"As an organisation,  we appreciate the fact that technology has evolved and that guests are taking advantage of it," said SAN Parks managing executive of marketing Hapiloe Sello.
"However, this is compromising the values of good game viewing in national parks.
"Most guests appreciate the leisurely drive through the parks and the potential reward of a good sighting as a key element of the visitor experience.
"The use of these mobile applications is in direct contradiction to the ethos of responsible tourism, and we discourage the use as they tend to induce an unhealthy sense of eagerness for visitors to break the rules."
Ms Sello said SAN Parks had seen a rise in reports of road rage as well as incidents in which animals had been run over and killed, since such apps had become popular.
She added that the organisation was considering "legal mechanisms" to curtail the use of sighting apps.
The Latest Kruger Sightings app advertises itself on the Google Play site as a way for users to "share wildlife sightings in real-time with other visitors in the game reserve".
"You never have to drive around the whole day, seeing nothing. You can now see the magnificent big five, such as the lion and the leopard, every day on your safari," it says in its blurb.
The app's founder, Nadav Ossendryver, told the BBC it wanted to "work with the park to solve the issues".
The 19-year-old developer set up the app when he was 15.
"I am a huge wildlife enthusiast and I wanted to maximise my time in the park and create a community of wildlife enthusiasts," he said.
"The app is all about enriching people's experience in the park - but if there are other effects, then we need to look at that."


Drivers were forced to take evasive action to avoid hitting a man who had fallen on to a road after being assaulted.

The incident happened near the premises of removal firm Matt Purdie and Sons on East Main Street in Blackburn, West Lothian, at about 17:30 on Thursday.
The 46-year-old man had been hit in the face by two men who had approached him.
The suspects were described as being in their late 20s. They were both wearing dark clothing. One was wearing a hat.
Police are keen to hear from anyone who was in the vicinity at the time and remembers seeing anything suspicious.
Meanwhile, police are appealing for witnesses after a man was injured in an "unprovoked attack" in Midlothian.
The assault happened in Lady Road Place in Newtongrange at about 20:30 on Friday, when a 29-year-old man was approached by a group of youths.
One of them hit him in the face and he required hospital treatment for his injury.
The suspect who struck the man was described as being about 15 years old, 5ft 5in tall and slim. He was wearing a black top with the hood up.
Officers are appealing for anyone who may have information that can assist them in tracing the suspect to come forward.


Northern Ireland continues to have the highest rate of suicide in the UK, per head of population, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The latest available figures show that during 2014 there were 16.5 suicides per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
Scotland had the second highest rate, at 14.5, followed by 10.3 in England and 9.2 in Wales.
It is the second consecutive year that Northern Ireland has recorded the UK's highest suicide rate.
However, the overall number of suicides in Northern Ireland decreased in 2014, falling to 268 compared to 303 deaths.
This reflected a small decrease in the total number of suicides across the UK as a whole in 2014, where the overall figure fell by 2%.
Last month, the Irish News reported that since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, more people have taken their own lives in Northern Ireland than were killed during the Troubles.
Prof Siobhan O'Neill, from Ulster University' Psychology Research Institute, told the BBC there may be a link between those decades of conflict and the deaths of some of those who have taken their lives in a time of relative peace.
"Deprivation certainly is one of the legacy issues and we know that those areas that are deprived, that have high levels of deprivation, have also been the same areas that were exposed to conflict.
"Those are the areas where our suicide rates are highest," she added.
That link between deprivation and despair means that the legacy of the Troubles is having an impact on another generation in places like Londonderry.
Emma Johnston works with the charity Youth Action Northern Ireland which tries to get young people to talk about their mental health. One of the locations where she tries to help them is the job centre.
"Every programme that we deliver, at its core, at its very essence, is focusing around young people's mental health and while we may not frame it to begin with in that way, it's about raising them up, making them more resilient and maybe trying to raise their optimism for their future," she said.
One young woman who attends a support group in Londonderry told the BBC she had attempted suicide 16 times before getting help.
"It's only now in the past couple of months that I've been really coming out and been able to talk about it," she said.
Another said the intervention of a concerned friend forced her to address her mental health problems.
"When I was going through depression it took one of my friends nearly breaking into my house to find me.  Eventually then I realised that other people are there to support," she said.
A spokeswoman for Northern Ireland's Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) said reducing the suicide rate "continues to be a priority".
"Over Â£7m is allocated annually to suicide prevention in Northern Ireland by DHSSPS," she said.
"This is more per head of population than any other UK country and does not take into account the significant contribution from the charities and the community sector, mental health services, and from other Northern Ireland departments."
Meanwhile, a new sports-based charity, founded by former Manchester United player and Northern Ireland international Pat McGibbon, is aiming to promote positive mental health in deprived areas before suicidal thoughts take hold.
Mr McGibbon, from Lurgan, County Armagh, had the world at his feet as an 18-year-old when he was signed by Manchester United in 1992.
His teammates included David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Roy Keane.
But just months after moving to England, he lost his brother Philip to suicide.
He had always been very close to his brother, and describes his suicide as a very personal and emotive subject.
But he added that his memories of Philip were "always positive" and the experience of loss helped to put things "into perspective" throughout his life, including the highs and lows of his 11-year football career.
The former player said that for those bereaved by suicide, many "questions go unanswered", especially if their loved ones did not talk about their problems.
In 2013, he set up the Train to be Smart (TTBS) charity, which runs football training sessions in some of the most deprived wards in County Armagh.
Mr McGibbon said that he believes emotional well-being is "just as important" as physical health and that participation in sport can help to improve both.
He said young people need to be "shaped by positive role models" who can help them to learn to be resilient when they are confronted by obstacles and disappointments.
He has called on the help of his former Manchester United teammate, Roy Keane, to help raise the profile of his charity.
On Thursday night, Keane is due to attend a question and answer session in front of more than 500 ticketholders in the Armagh City Hotel.
Mr McGibbon said he was very honoured to have Keane's support off the pitch.


A remarkable ninth-wicket stand of 149 between James Harris and James Fuller put Championship leaders Middlesex in total control against Somerset.

Fuller made an unbeaten 84 and Harris 69 not out at Taunton to take the visitors to 361-8, a lead of 125.
Somerset made early inroads, reducing Middlesex from 51-1 to 133-6.
But the day turned when George Bailey was dropped on 43 - he went on to make 71 - and Middlesex added another 228 to day two on 361-8, 125 runs ahead.
Wicketkeeper Alex Barrow was the culprit, failing to cling on to a regulation edge off the bowling of James Allenby.
Medium-pacer Allenby had already played his part in running through the Middlesex middle order on a green surface, starting by removing Nick Gubbins, who was caught at second slip for 67.
After John Simpson was caught behind second ball and James Franklin bowled offering no stroke, it looked like Somerset would earn a healthy lead.
But the reprieved Bailey found support from Ollie Rayner, then Harris.
And after Bailey edged to first slip to give Allenby his fourth wicket, Harris combined with Fuller for the partnership that changed the complexion of the match.
Somerset could point to the loss of pace bowler Jamie Overton with a back injury and a very close lbw shout against Fuller by Peter Trego that was declined, but they also wasted the second new ball and ran increasingly short of ideas as the pitch flattened and the partnership progressed.
Harris was watchful, while Fuller danced to loft Craig Overton over extra cover and out of the ground for six.
By the close, Fuller had his highest first-class score and the pair had set a new Middlesex record for the ninth-wicket against Somerset, beating the 93 added by Evan Nepean and George Thornton in 1895.


The fiasco over the collapse of the West Coast Main Line franchise deal was the result of "irresponsible decisions", an MPs' committee has said.

The transport committee blamed "major failures" at the Department for Transport (DfT) and the civil service.
But its report was not unanimous, with several committee members choosing not to blame ministers.
In October, the government scrapped its decision to award the £5bn franchise to FirstGroup.
The reversal will cost taxpayers almost £50m, it has been estimated.
"This episode revealed substantial problems of governance, assurance, policy and resources inside the Department for Transport," said Louise Ellman, chairwoman of the committee.
"Embarking on an ambitious -  perhaps unachievable - reform of franchising, in haste, on the UK's most complex piece of railway, was an irresponsible decision for which ministers were ultimately responsible.
"This was compounded by major failures by civil servants, some of whom misled ministers."
A DfT spokesman responded: "Independent experts concluded the collapse of the West Coast franchise programme was caused by a number of failures including inadequate planning and weak governance structure, but not systematic failings in the department.
"The examination of emails from key officials found no evidence that this was anything other than simple human error.
"We are putting in place measures that will prevent this embarrassing episode from happening again."
Also on Thursday, the DfT announced what it would be doing about the processes of awarding three other franchises, which were put on hold after the problems emerged with the West Coast Main Line franchise.
The competition for the Great Western franchise, which connects London to Bristol and Cardiff, has been scrapped.
The department is in talks with the existing operator FirstGroup about extending its franchise for two years. It will announce what it plans to do in the longer term later this year.
The other two competitions - Essex Thameside and the combined Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise - will resume their bidding processes, with revised invitations to tender being issued to the existing short-listed bidders in the summer.
The existing operators will have their contracts to run those franchises extended for no more than two years, in order to allow those processes to be completed.
The mistakes in the West Coast process came to light after rival bidder Virgin Trains launched a legal challenge against the decision. Virgin will continue running the service until November 2014, when a new long-term franchise will begin.
In December, the National Audit Office calculated a "significant cost to the taxpayer".
It said costs for staff, advisers, lawyers and the two reviews into the fiasco added up to £8.9m, on top of the estimated £40m it will take to reimburse firms for the cost of their bids.
But three members of the transport select committee - Karen Lumley, Karl McCartney, and Iain Stewart - said that they disagreed with the report, which was passed by a majority vote.
An independent report last year by Sam Laidlaw - chief executive of Centrica, the owner of British Gas - found there was a "damning failure" by the DfT that led to ministers - who had not been told about flaws in the bidding process - awarding the contract after being given inaccurate reports.
"We believe the evidence in the Laidlaw Report shows that ministers asked the right, penetrating questions during the process but were given inaccurate responses by officials," they said.
"We do not believe that it is was 'irresponsible' to run the new franchise process first on the WCML as the department has shown itself perfectly capable of managing other complex projects in this period," they added.
Three DfT civil servants, who were suspended after the scrapping of the bid, have returned to work, and one official has launched legal action against the department on the basis that her role in the process has been "inaccurately" portrayed.
In the report, Ms Ellman said: "Many of the problems with the franchise competition, detailed in the Laidlaw report, reflect very badly on civil servants at the DfT.
"However, ministers approved a complex - perhaps unworkable - franchising policy at the same time as overseeing major cuts to the department's resources. This was a recipe for failure which the DfT must learn from urgently."
She called on the DfT  to explain why ministers and senior officials were "misled" about how subordinated loan facilities were calculated, if necessary after disciplinary proceedings against staff have concluded.
Ms Ellman's constituency on Merseyside is served by the rail line.
About 31 million passengers travel on the West Coast Main Line between London and Scotland every year.


Northern Ireland has bid farewell to the Giro d'Italia with tens of thousands of people having turned out to welcome the prestigious cycle race.

Spectators lined the roads throughout Belfast, the Antrim coast and County Armagh over the course of three days.
The third stage began in Armagh on Sunday as the cyclists headed across the Irish border towards Dublin.
The race has been hailed a success by NI's ministers, while police praised people for their efforts.
The Giro d'Italia was the biggest sporting event ever staged in Northern Ireland, with competitors from more than 30 countries taking part.
Germany's Marcel Kittel of the Giant team won his second stage in two days in a sprint finish in Dublin. His winning time in the 187km (116 miles) route was four hours, 28 minutes and 43 seconds.
Australian Michael Matthews of the Orica team retained the pink jersey with an eight-second overall lead.
Hundreds of people turned out to wave goodbye to the Giro as it crossed the border into the Irish Republic.
At Forkhill in County Armagh, well-wishers lined the route and cheered as the lead group of five riders arrived in the border village.
Several minutes later the rest of the peloton swooped through the village as camera helicopters hovered overhead.
The response from the public over the three-day period was praised by police.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said: "Despite the inclement weather, thousands of you were lining the streets to support the cyclists.
"For those of you who had to alter plans or rethink your journey, thank you for your understanding and patience.
"This was a significant event that portrayed Northern Ireland on a global stage and yet again we have proved that we are more than capable of hosting international events and doing them well."
Stormont Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster was in Armagh to start the third stage of the race.
"Once again Northern Ireland has proved that, in rain or shine, we can host top-class major events," she said.
"Not only did the Giro d'Italia capture the imagination of people living here, as the pink theme was embraced and spectators turned out to cheer on the competitors, but Northern Ireland has impressed the many visitors who have travelled from far afield.
"Bringing the world's second biggest cycling race to Northern Ireland was about proving on the international stage that we can deliver when it comes to staging major events. It was, of course, also about showcasing our tourism product to the world. We have achieved both of those objectives and much more."
She said hosting the event had "lifted Northern Ireland to a new level".
"We have already announced that the Irish Open is returning in 2015 and 2017, and I have every confidence that more major events will follow in the years ahead," she added.
Culture minister Carál Ní Chuilín also praised the event, saying it had showcased Northern Ireland.
"We had this spectacle (shown) in 175 countries all over the world," she said.
"Our scenery, what we had to offer, the organisation, the infrastructure, will all be beamed round," she said.
"It has been proven on previous occasions that that, in terms of tourist potential, you can't buy that.
"Yes, you do need to spend money to make money.
"We saw this before during the torch relays for the Olympics and Paralympics. Certainly the tourist figures seemed to have bounced as a result of that."
Saturday's route took in some of Northern Ireland's most scenic parts, as the riders travelled through Antrim, Ballymena and Bushmills along the Causeway coast, before returning to Belfast via Larne and Carrickfergus.
German rider Marcel Kittel won the stage in a thrilling sprint finish with a time of 5:13:12, while Australian Michael Matthews took the pink jersey as overall race leader.
On Friday, the Giro d'Italia's opening stage was held in Belfast. Australia's Orica GreenEdge won the team time-trial, with Svein Tuft taking the first pink jersey.


Computer code used to mount one of the biggest web attacks ever seen has been released online.

Security experts fear the release will prompt more massive attacks that knock sites offline by swamping them with data.
The attack tool seeks out smart devices in homes that are weakly protected with easy-to-guess passwords.
Net monitoring firms said they had already seen an increase in scans that seek out vulnerable devices.
The "Mirai" source code was released on a widely used hacker chat forum over the weekend.
The same code is believed to have been used to target security blogger Brian Krebs in late September in an attack that pointed more than 620 gigabits of data every second at his site.
Mr Krebs said the release "virtually guaranteed" that the net would soon be flooded with similar incidents as it made it easier to mount such large-scale attacks that abuse access to the consumer gadgets.
When Mr Krebs' site was attacked, the amount of data with which it was hit was believed to be the biggest ever seen. However, it was eclipsed later the same month by an attack on French hosting firm OVH, which suffered a malicious datastream that peaked at more than one terabit per second (1,000 gigabits).
Research by security firms suggests that both attacks managed to generate so much data by seeking out insecure devices that make up the "internet of things". These are smart devices such as webcams, thermostats and other gadgets that owners can control via the net.
Scanners built into the attack code seek out vulnerable devices and enrol them into a network, known as a botnet, that a malicious hacker can then use in what is known as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.
"There is already a surge in botnet operators attempting to find and exploit IoT devices in order to gain access to uniform and sizable botnet networks," said Dale Drew, chief security officer at net firm Level 3, in an email to Ars Technica.
The Mirai botnet and the one used to attack OVH are, between them, believed to control more than 1.2 million vulnerable devices. Post-attack analysis suggests the DDoS deluges aimed at Mr Krebs and OVH used only a fraction of the total number of devices on these botnets.
Stephen Gates, chief research intelligence analyst at NSFocus, said the growth of such large IoT botnets could mean chunks of the net get knocked out. In addition, he said, those owning compromised gadgets could see their browsing speeds slow significantly as their home net connection is used to send attack data.
"This is all collateral damage caused by a failure of good judgement by using the same factory default passwords on IoT devices in the first place," said Mr Gates in a statement.


Thailand's prime minister says she will amend her country's laws to ban the legal trade in ivory.

Yingluck Shinawatra was speaking at the opening of the Cites conservation meeting taking place in Bangkok,
The legal market in Thailand is said to be fuelling high levels of poaching across Africa.
Critics say that there is a lack of clarity and detail regarding the proposed changes to the law.
There are about 6,500 elephants in Thailand, of which 2,500 live in the wild. Ivory taken from domesticated elephants can be legally sold in the country but campaign groups and scientific experts say that this law is being used to "launder" ivory taken illegally from Africa.
Thailand is believed to be second only to China as a market for tusks, often brutally removed from elephants across the continent. It is estimated that between 50 and 100 African elephants a day are being killed to meet the demand.
Speaking at the opening of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in Bangkok, the Thai PM said that no one cares more about elephants than the people of Thailand.
But she acknowledged that the current system was being abused.
The Convention assigns animals and plants to different categories depending on the level of threat they face:
"Unfortunately, many have used Thailand as a transit country for the illegal international ivory trade," she told the meeting.
"As a next step we will forward amending the national legislation with the goal of putting an end on ivory trade and to be in line with international norms."
No further details were given as to the timing and scope of any ban. Some campaigners were delighted with the announcement, saying they understood the proposed changes would protect all forms of elephants including Thailand's wild and domestic elephants and those from Africa.
Stuart Chapman from WWF told BBC News it was a "big occasion."
"We need to see detail in terms of the timeframe but it all starts with a commitment and we've never had that before,  today the prime minister made that commitment," he said.
"This is a very important first step."
Others though were more cautious believing that Ms Yingluck was talking about curbing the international flow of ivory into Thailand by beefing up a DNA testing programme to validate the origins or tusks.
And with up to 5,000 stores, boutiques and kiosks selling ivory to tourists across Thailand, many believe it will be impossible to stem the trade, whatever the law says.
Philip Mansbridge is the chief executive of the wildlife charity, Care for the Wild. He told BBC news that the PM's intentions were unclear.
"While it is positive that the host country has recognised the size of the ivory issue and the importance of it, we were disappointed by the lack of a clear commitment to banning the domestic trade," he said.
"We don't feel it has gone far enough."
The Cites meeting runs until the 14th of March and will consider 70 proposals from governments to regulate the trade in species including polar bears, rhinos and several different varieties of sharks.
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Twenty-nine people have been charged following drugs raids in Newport, Gwent Police has said.

Earlier this month, the force said 24 people had been charged with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
On Friday, it said five more people had now been charged, bringing the total to 29 and they are all from the city.
Police raided 35 addresses on 26 April during an operation involving 200 officers.