The only evacuation convoy leaving the Canadian city of Fort McMurray has been suspended due to 200ft (61m) flames flanking the road, officials say.

The police-escorted convoy of 1,500 vehicles was due to pass by the southern part of the city en route to Edmonton and Calgary.
Parts of the city in the province of Alberta have been left devastated after a wildfire struck earlier this week.
Officials had said it would take four days to to move all the evacuees.
The BBC's James Cook, who is in Alberta, says that officials now fear that an oil facility near the  flames could explode.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called upon Canadians to donate to charities assisting relief efforts.
"I would once again like to thank the many first responders who are working tirelessly, day and night, to fight this fire," Mr Trudeau said.
"To those who have lost so much: we are resilient, we are Canadians, and we will make it through this difficult time, together."
Weather forecasters predict a 40% chance of rain this coming Sunday, which may help to slow the fire's spread.
More than 1,000 fire fighters and 150 helicopters, 295 pieces of heavy equipment and 27 aircraft tankers have been deployed, according to the Canadian government.
Workers and equipment are being brought to the are from all across Canada. Officials say that if more resources are required they may request assistance from the United States.
But Chad Morrison, Alberta's manager of wildfire prevention, said that what they really need is rain.
"We have not seen rain in this area for the last two months of significance," Mr Morrison said.
Without rainfall, officials predict that it could be "weeks and weeks" before the fire is completely out.
Alberta has the third highest reserves of oil in the world, after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
Market watchers estimate that up to a third of Canada's oil sands output has been taken offline due to the fire.
The fire now covers an area larger than New York City.


A new PSNI pilot scheme to deal with people who leave petrol stations without paying for their fuel is facing criticism.

It has been introduced in two districts - Lisburn and Castlereagh, and Ards and North Down.
Police said research showed up to 85% of drive-offs are "genuine mistakes" that do not require their input.
Now, petrol station retailers will be responsible for tracing drivers who do not pay.
Letters were sent to petrol stations in the two districts in July explaining the change, which came into effect at the start of August.
David Cardwell, who runs a petrol station in Portavogie, County Down, said police were "washing their hands" of the issue.
The new process means retailers will "have to send a letter to the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA) to get the information on the car, which is a £2.50 fee and tell them that there's been a criminal act", he said.
Retailers will then have to write to the driver to ask them if they were in the petrol station on a certain date and to ask them to pay for the fuel, added Mr Cardwell.
The new system means if the person responsible does not pay up, retailers will have to take civil action through the courts, he said.
"They (the PSNI) are not giving us any back-up at all with it, they said they haven't got the manpower to address it," added Mr Cardwell.
"If someone drives off with £10 of fuel then we have to add £2.50 onto it. It's not worth chasing someone up for that, we'll probably just have to write it off."
DUP councillor for Ards and North Down, Robert Adair, said the scheme was a "free for all" that would lead to an increase in the number of people driving off without paying.
"It's the wrong approach for the police, they're basically asking petrol stations to do the job for the police," he said.
"I am asking the PSNI to withdraw the scheme until there's consultation with the local business community here, because we have solutions and a way forward that could resolve this."
The PSNI said that in the vast majority of such cases, their role was to help petrol stations recover civil debts, which was placing a "substantial but preventable burden" on police resources.
"The purpose of this pilot is to remove much of that burden and free up local police time to deal with criminality, identify and apprehend offenders and keep people safe," said a police statement.
The scheme would be subject to an "ongoing review" to assess the impact on policing in the districts where it is being piloted, said the PSNI.


A man has been found guilty of murdering his 13-week-old son whose death he falsely tried to blame on a child with autism.

Rifat was subjected to "systematic" abuse at the hands of his parents and died of a brain injury on 5 July 2016, the Old Bailey heard.
Mohammed Miah, 37, of Poplar, east London, was found guilty of murder and causing suffering.
The child had 38 rib fractures, eight leg fractures and a broken spine.
Jurors also heard he had been whipped with a mobile phone charger cord and burned on a radiator.
Rifat's mother, Rebeka Nazmin, 32, was cleared of murder but found guilty of causing or allowing the death of her baby and causing him to suffer.
She told the court her husband may have had a problem with Rifat's deformed hand and ear, and may have abused him because of it.
Both parents blamed a young child with autism, who was also in the house, for Rifat's injuries.
However, their stories were contradicted in a police interview with the child in which the child told officers they had been instructed by Nazmin to shake the baby to rouse him.
The child said: "I told [Nazmin] about it and she said I should shake him or put water on him. If he wakes, he's fine. If not, I will have to call the ambulance."
The court heard the child, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, previously had behavioural problems but had been "charming" and delightful" since receiving specialist help in the months before the baby's death.
Nazmin and Miah denied murder.
Miah was cleared of cruelty to two other children.  Sentencing is due to take place later.


A former firefighter said he endured a "living hell" after being wrongly convicted of sexually abusing a schoolboy.

David Bryant, 66, of Christchurch, Dorset, was jailed for six years in 2014.
The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction after it emerged the alleged victim was a "chronic liar".
Mr Bryant said the legal system was "weighted heavily against" those accused of sex abuse.
"It was a living hell... you've got to fight so hard to prove you are innocent."
The former station commander said he was "completely stunned" by the allegation.
"I couldn't process it - why would anyone make these accusations? And once they're made, that's it, it's a label for life."
His wife Lynn said visiting her husband in prison was "horrendous".
"He's the kindest, kindest man - not for one minute did I doubt him.
"We were determined we were going to continue to fight."
The accusation of a serious sexual assault in the 1970s was made by a man who came forward in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Mr Bryant was released after Mr Justice Singh quashed the conviction over concerns relating to the credibility of the accuser.
"It was amazing - the feeling of being able to go out the front door and not having to ask someone if I could," said Mr Bryant.
"My life has been trying to do my best for other people - that's what the job of a fireman is. Now I've got to get back to that mindset."
In a statement, Dorset Police said it conducted "a thorough and detailed investigation" and passed the findings to prosecutors.
The Crown Prosecution Service said its decision to take the case forward was based on "sufficient evidence" and the "public interest".
It said: "However, new evidence recently came to light about the credibility of a key witness which fatally undermined the prosecution case. Based on this new evidence, we did not seek to oppose the appeal."


At least four people have died in Panama in severe weather caused by the approach of Tropical Storm Otto, officials say.

Two victims died in a mudslide, a girl drowned in a river and a boy died when a tree fell on the car taking him to school. His mother, driving, survived.
The Panamanian education minister has suspended classes until Thursday.
The US National Hurricane Center says Otto is now near hurricane strength and approaching Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Panamanian officials said about 50 homes were destroyed by mudslides. Flights have been delayed.
Also in Panama, one Colombian man is missing after having been dragged away by a river swollen by heavy rainfall.
A further day of heavy rain is forecast in Panama with gusts of up to 50 mph (80km/h).
The governments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica have issued a hurricane watch from Costa Rica's southern border to the city of Bluefields in Nicaragua.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts that Otto will make landfall in Costa Rica or Nicaragua on Thursday.
Meteorologists have warned of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in this area.
There is also a likelihood of dangerous surf and rip current conditions over the next several days along the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the NHC says.


Premiership new boys Bristol will face West Country rivals Bath in Pool Four of the 2016-17 European Challenge Cup.

They are joined in the group by Pau and Cardiff Blues, while 2016 runners-up Harlequins have been drawn alongside Edinburgh, Stade Francais and Timisoara Saracens of Romania in Pool Five.
Gloucester, winners in 2015, will face La Rochelle, Treviso and Bayonne in Pool One.
Newcastle and Ospreys are in Pool Two, which also contains Grenoble and Lyon.
Newport Gwent Dragons and Worcester are set to face Brive and Russian side Enisei-STM in Pool Three.
Pool 1: La Rochelle, Gloucester, Treviso, Bayonne
Pool 2: Ospreys, Grenoble, Newcastle, Lyon
Pool 3: Brive, Worcester, Newport Gwent Dragons, Enisei-STM
Pool 4: Cardiff Blues, Bath, Pau, Bristol
Pool 5: Harlequins, Edinburgh, Stade Francais, Timisoara


Candidates from Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement have won seats in district elections - the first vote since the 2014 "umbrella" protests.

At least seven "umbrella soldier" candidates won seats, but the balance of power was unchanged with pro-Beijing candidates retaining their majority.
Hong Kong's 431 district councillors have a largely advisory role.
The protests for direct democracy last year saw thousands take to the streets, in a challenge to Chinese authorities.
Activists blocked highways, demanding the right to freely choose the city's next leader in elections in 2017.
However, China's communist party refused to give in to the demand, insisting that the next leader be elected from a list of vetted candidates.
Some 900 candidates competed for seats in Sunday's elections, about 40 of whom were drawn from the pro-democracy movement.
The success of a handful of those "umbrella soldiers" gives the movement a certain political legitimacy, analysts say.
"To some extent, the Umbrella Movement has galvanised a new generation of voters," Willy Lam, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Centre for China Studies, told AFP news agency.
"But the overall result is pretty much unchanged... Beijing should be reassured."
The pro-democracy protests - nicknamed after the umbrellas activists used to protect themselves from tear gas and pepper spray - paralysed Hong Kong for several days last year.
They presented the biggest test yet of the "one country, two systems" formula that sought to preserve broad autonomy for Hong Kong when it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.


A Conservative MP has been forced to resign as a multiple sclerosis charity patron after he voted in support of disability benefit cuts.

Kit Malthouse announced he had left his position at the MS Society after its members said they wanted him to go.
The charity said his support for cutting Employment Support Allowance (ESA) by £30 a week "prevented him from being an effective patron".
Mr Malthouse said there was a "wide misunderstanding" about the cuts.
The North West Hampshire MP voted to cut ESA, which replaced Incapacity Benefit, on 2 March.
After the Commons vote, the MS Society asked Mr Malthouse to resign.
The cuts will see new applicants' payments reduced from £103 to £73 a week - the equivalent of Job Seekers Allowance - from 2017.
In response, Mr Malthouse said: "I was sorry to hear that Andover MS Society do not want me to continue as patron... not least since MS has affected my wider family in the past."
The Tory backbencher said in a statement that current ESA claimants would not be affected by the changes and that keeping disabled people in work for as long as possible "is surely the best therapy of all".
The Work and Welfare Reform Bill passed through the House of Lords on 8 March.
Previously, the Lords had rejected the bill twice but government ministers invoked special budgetary powers to push it through the Upper House.
Speaking in the Lords, Paralympic Gold Medallist Baroness Grey-Thompson said cutting ESA would have a "dreadful and punitive" affect on disabled people.
The government has said that that although cutting the lower benefit rate would save £55m in the first year, £60m would be spent to help claimants find work.


Kris Meeke is without a drive for the 2016 World Rally Championship after Citroen revealed they will not take part in next year's championship.

The eight-time winners of the series will take a year away from the sport to concentrate on the development of a new car running new regulations for 2017.
The 33-year-old may still have a role in developing the car but the Northern Ireland man is weighing up his options.
Meeke's team-mate, Norway's Mads Ostberg, has left the French team.
The Dungannon driver finished second to world champion Sebastien Ogier in last week's Wales Rally GB and, with Ostberg, helped his team to second place overall in the Manufacturers' Championship.
Meeke scored Citroen's only 2016 victory in Argentina in a season dominated by Volkswagen and finished fifth in the championship standings.
The focus of Citroen in 2017 will be the defence of their World Touring Car crown.


A previously unpublished letter from Sir Matt Busby explains why George Best's Manchester United turned down an invitation to play in Belfast in 1971.

The letter, signed by Sir Matt, was sent in December 1970 to the then lord mayor of Belfast, Joe Cairns.
Sir Matt apologised for the "misunderstanding" over the planned game against Glentoran.
It would have seen George Best returning to his native city for the glamour friendly.
Glentoran thought the match had already been given the go-ahead and wrote to Sir Matt, a director at the club at the time, offering United a large fee for agreeing to come to Belfast - £3,500, the equivalent today to almost £50,000.
But Sir Matt wrote back saying: "I am very sorry about the misunderstanding regarding the possibility of Manchester United coming to play in Belfast but, really, this is no fault of ours.
"When the agent of Glentoran FC, Mr Charles Mitten, telephoned me enquiring about a match, I distinctly told him that I would have to discuss the matter with Mr Wilf McGuinness, our team manager.
"I even said myself that I very much doubted the possibility of such a match at this time and did not agree to a game."
Glentoran were taken aback. They had been so certain that a match had been agreed that they had written to Sir Matt the previous month outlining the contractual arrangements for the game.
The club secretary wrote: "A contract would be drawn up that you would field your full league team including, of course, George Best (the idol of Belfast).
"It would be most important that George would definitely play in this game."
In the end, Best did not come, and neither did his Man Utd team-mates. Leeds United came instead, and lost 3-1 to Glentoran.
The 45-year-old letters were uncovered in the Public Records Office by researcher Gavin McMahon.
He said that Manchester United had been invited to Belfast to promote the Ulster '71 festival which was organised to promote Northern Ireland on the 50th anniversary of its foundation.
"Manchester United were offered £3,500. Leeds United were eventually paid £4,000 for the match that took place on 5 May 1971."
So how did Mr McMahon stumble across the letters?
A combination of good research skills and the fact that he is a lifelong Man Utd supporter.


Two teenagers have been airlifted to hospital for treatment after getting into difficulty in waters off an Aberdeenshire beach.

The pair, both male, managed to swim ashore just as RNLI Peterhead lifeboat Misses Robertson of Kintail arrived on the scene at lunchtime.
The incident took place off Peterhead's Craigewan beach, at the mouth of the river Ugie.
The casualties were flown by helicopter to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Their conditions are unknown.


High Street baker Greggs has reported "strong" Christmas sales, with takeaway food, mince pies and its Festive Bake pie proving popular.

Like-for-like sales grew 6.4% in the final three months of the year, and were up 4.2% in the year as a whole.
The Newcastle-based baker added full-year results were set to be "slightly ahead" of its previous expectations.
However, Greggs added that rising costs this year were likely to have a "modest impact" on profit margins.
"Looking forward there is greater uncertainty in the trading environment with increased pressure on real income growth," it said.
"We also continue to expect some industry-wide cost pressures in 2017 and these are likely to have a modest impact on margins in the short term."
Greggs said its takeaway food range had been "the main driver of sales" during the year, including its Balanced Choice range, which it markets as being a healthier option.
The company now has 1,764 shops, having opened 145 outlets during 2016 - including 56 franchised stores - and closed 79.


A Scottish woman who was caught with £1.5m of cocaine in Peru is to feature in adverts warning about the dangers of drug smuggling.

Melissa Reid, 21, was jailed for six years and eight months by a Peruvian court last year.
Reid and co-accused Michaella McCollum are serving their sentences at a prison in Lima.
She will feature in a Foreign Office campaign aimed at preventing other young people becoming drugs mules.
The campaign is expected to include TV adverts, posters and social media advertising.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office told the Scottish Mail on Sunday newspaper: "The focus of the campaign is to reduce the number of drug related consular cases and raise awareness of the risks."
Reid, 21, from Lenzie in East Dunbartonshire, and McCollum, 20, from Dungannon in Northern Ireland, were arrested at Lima airport in August of last year with 11kg (24lb) of cocaine.
The pair had originally claimed to have been kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to smuggle food packets filled with the drug from Peru to Ibiza.
But they later admitted they had been paid by a criminal gang to carry the cocaine in their luggage.
Both women are expected to be transferred from to Peru prisons to prisons in the UK, where they will serve the remainder of their sentences.


The toss could be scrapped in County Championship Division Two matches next season under proposals being considered by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The ECB's executive board will discuss the plan on Thursday after it was recommended by its cricket committee.
If it is approved a one-year trial will take place in 2016 to try to improve pitches and encourage spin bowlers.
The away team would choose whether to bat, bowl or still have a toss if the pitch condition was uncertain.
The toss will remain in County Championship Division One and domestic limited-overs cricket.
It was mentioned in the first recorded laws of cricket in 1744 when the team winning the flip of the coin would have the choice of which pitch to use as well as whether to bat or bowl first.
The ECB believes many matches in Division Two are decided by the toss because home teams are producing pitches to suit their bowlers.
However, no team in the County Championship has been deducted points for preparing a poor pitch since 2011.


Requests for Twitter users' personal information more than doubled in the UK in 2015, according to the company's latest transparency report.

Twitter said UK government agencies and the police made 299 requests for information between January and July, up from 116 in the previous six months.
It makes UK law enforcement the biggest requester of Twitter data in the EU.
Twitter said it had complied with 52% of the requests for information, which could be used to identify a tweeter.
Twitter has published its transparency report since 2012.
The social network said requests for account information worldwide had increased by 52% - the largest ever increase between reports.
It said the United States was behind most of the requests, followed by Japan and Turkey, although the UK remained "a top requester".
Twitter said it had also received nine content removal requests from UK government agencies and the police.
The company said removal requests relate to matters such as defamatory statements or prohibited content. It rejected the nine requests made in the UK.
"Where the police are made aware of a case of any one of a broad range of offences capable of being perpetrated via Twitter, such as harassment, incitement to violence, terrorism or hate for example, and the alleged perpetrator is believed to be a UK citizen, police in the UK may make an application to Twitter for information about that individual," said Assistant Chief Constable Richard Berry from the National Police Chiefs' Council.
"We are confident, given its level of engagement with both law enforcement and government, that Twitter's management is alert to the possible misuse of their platform and is committed to ensuring that we can cooperate fully to combat criminal activity."
A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC: "It is absolutely vital that our police and intelligence agencies are able to obtain information from communications companies in certain limited circumstances, set out in law, to protect the public and ensure national security.
"This information helps to disrupt terrorist plots, uncover criminal networks and keep us safe."
One campaign group told the BBC that it should not be the responsibility of private companies to publish transparency reports.
"Thanks to the transparency reports of internet companies, we know police are already accessing data with far greater frequency than many other countries," said Emma Carr, director of Big Brother Watch.
"If the public are to have any confidence that surveillance powers are being used proportionately, then we should not have to rely on private companies to publish this data.
"The government should proactively be publishing their own transparency reports, highlighting exactly how many requests are being made, how often they are refused and why," she said.


A man who was given a kidney by his best friend says he feels "100% better" and is considering a charity skydive.

Andy Clewes had the transplant in Manchester after his friend Helen Crowther agreed to become a donor.
The 46-year-old suffered chronic kidney disease since birth and was on the verge of needing dialysis treatment.
Mr Clewes and Ms Crowther, 45, are now planning "a curry and a few beers" to celebrate the successful procedure, which was carried out in January.
"I've just got so much more energy now," Mr Clewes, a radio DJ from Crewe, Cheshire, said.
"There was a time when I could sleep 23-hour days, but now I struggle to get myself off to bed.
"It's hard to describe how it feels. Every now and then you remember how lucky you are to have your mate's kidney."
Mr Clewes said the pair would like to get involved in charity work to support others in need of transplants - and may even take on an extreme challenge.
"There are a few organisations who do skydives and things like that, and I've never done something like that before," he said.
"I think it's something I'd like to look at once I'm fully recovered."
Although his strength has returned, Mr Clewes will continue to need regular check-ups and medication to prevent his body rejecting the organ.
But he added: "I'm feeling great. I'm exercising. It's really a life-changing step and I don't want to let Helen down."
Ms Crowther, a charity worker from Runcorn, met her friend at a fundraising event in 2006 and later became "best woman" at his wedding.
She said: "I think Andy's a bit worried he might now take on some of my characteristics.
"I think his wife might like that as he might start tidying up around the house a bit more.
"We met up about four weeks after the operation and just fell back into normal every day chatting really.
"We have plans to celebrate properly and knowing Andy it will probably just be a few beers and curry."
About 3,000 people have kidney transplants each year in the UK and about a third of these are from living donors.
You can find more information on the NHS Organ Donation website.


The GCSE A* to C pass rate in Wales has fallen to its lowest level since 2006, after some of the biggest changes in decades to the exams system.

The exams regulator said an increase in 15-year-olds sitting exams early was mainly to blame.
The A* to C pass rate fell to 62.8% after it had remained stable at 66.6% for three years.
The percentage of the highest A* to A grades also dipped to 17.9%, down from 19.4% in 2016.
Qualifications Wales had warned that an increase in early entries in some subjects was likely to mean lower results.
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which collates exam data for Wales, England and Northern Ireland, said changes in entry patterns - particularly for 15-year-olds - and the high proportion of pupils who took the two new mathematics GCSEs early in November, had a substantial impact on the results.
It said more students had "banked" a result and not returned to sit the exam again this summer - many whom have achieved a Grade C or above that would otherwise appear in these latest results.
As a consequence, it warned that reliable conclusions could not be drawn from direct comparisons between results this summer and the previous one, or between summer results across the UK.
Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said Wales has seen "some of the biggest changes in qualifications in decades" which had been "really challenging for pupils and teachers".
She said this was reflected in this year's overall GCSE A* to C grade pass rate.
Ms Williams said she was "concerned" about the high number of pupils being entered early for their exams and that the current situation was "unsustainable".
"We have signalled to schools that early entry should only be considered if it is in the interest of individual children, but what we've seen is entire cohorts of children being entered," she said.
Ms Williams added the "perverse incentives" that drive some schools to enter children early "should be taken out of the system".
The overall A* to G pass rate was also down from 98.7% to 96.9%, but the percentage of the highest A* grades remained at 6.1%.
While the fall in grades has been linked to the increase in 15-year-olds sitting exams early, the performance of 16-year-olds also fell by 2.8% for A* to C grades.
This summer's 16-year-olds were the first to complete courses in six reformed GCSE examinations.
But Qualifications Wales said their performance in these exams had either improved or remained stable.
While Welsh pupils were still graded A* to G, students in England received new numerical grades for some subjects.
The new GCSEs are in English language, English literature, Welsh language, Welsh literature, mathematics: numeracy and mathematics, and the regulator said it was confident standards had been maintained.
Mathematics: numeracy was first examined in November and, by collating data for the two mathematics GCSEs from November and this summer, the A* to C pass rate for 16-year-olds was 60% in GCSE mathematics and 58.5% in mathematics: numeracy.
The A* to C pass rate for GCSE mathematics was down on the previous year's figure of 65.6%.
In English language, the JCQ said the lower overall results for English language were explained by the lower outcomes of the large number of 15-year-olds entered for the exam.
About 65% of all Year 10 students were entered for the exam this summer, but the results for 16-year-olds saw an improvement according to the exams board.
There was also an increase in early entries for GCSE Welsh language and results have remained stable for 16-year-olds. Welsh literature saw a small improvement in performance but a substantial fall in entries.
There was also a substantial 44% fall in entries for English literature, but an improvement in results.
The fall in the number of students taking modern languages continued, with a 10.9% drop in entries for French and a 30.8% reduction in German, while Spanish saw a small increase.
The JCQ said French results were considerably lower at the top grades, while German results were up.
It also highlighted a trend towards reduced entries in a range of "optional" subjects.
Meanwhile, girls continued to outperform boys with 67.2% of girls' grades at A* to C compared with 58.2% for boys.
The gap grew this year for the A* grade, with an increase in the percentage of the highest grade for girls to 7.5% while the figure for boys was 4.7%.
Speaking at Cefn Saeson school in Neath, Kirsty Williams said: "We can be proud of the way our pupils and teachers have handled the introduction of these new qualifications that are playing a vital role in raising standards."
Ms Williams also pointed out that for 16-year-olds only, the percentage achieving A* to C was 66.8%.
But she said: "Many of these pupils, who are taking exams before they have completed their two years of GCSE study, have not had the opportunity to reach their full potential.
"This is putting unnecessary pressure on pupils, teachers and also puts an extra strain on school budgets.
"I will respond to Qualifications Wales' rapid review of this issue when I receive it in October, but the current situation is unsustainable and all options are on the table."
Darren Millar AM, the Welsh Conservatives' shadow education secretary, said there had been a "troubling decline" in attainment.
He also called on Ms Williams to rethink her reform of the schools curriculum.
"The drop in attainment of grades A* to C and plummet in uptake of modern foreign languages are particularly disturbing, and do not bode well for Wales' future economic prospects," Mr Millar said.
Plaid Cymru's shadow cabinet secretary for education, Llyr Gruffydd, said: "We know that the new system will take some time to bed down and this will show in the results.
"The Welsh Government now needs to consider these results and what they mean for students who are sitting GCSEs next year and the year after."
There were a total of 334,100 entries for the exams, up from 303,620 last summer.
Emyr George, from Qualifications Wales, said the increase in exam entries was mainly driven by the extra maths GCSE and the increase in Year 10 entries in some subjects.
He said there had been an increase of about 40% in Year 10s awarded grades this summer.
It appears to be the main reason why the overall number of entries for English language this summer is about 24,000 higher than last year at 59,050.
In England, English and maths will be graded numerically this year for the first time from nine at the top end of the scale down to one.
The changes make it more difficult to compare the overall performance of pupils in different parts of the UK.
Scotland has a separate system while Northern Ireland is also keeping the A* to G grading, although some pupils have been taking numerically graded exams.
But the exams boards have published all-UK data which gives cumulative figures for those who achieved A* to C (4 to 9 in England) and A*to A (7 to 9 in England).
It shows that the overall pass rate is stable compared to last year at 98.4%, with slight decreases in the A* to A (20% down from 20.5%) and A* to C (66.3% down from 66.9%).
The regulator says the qualifications remain broadly equivalent across the nations.
Mr George said: "It's quite a significant year and one we've been preparing for to ensure that those students taking the new qualifications in Wales this year can be confident that they've not been unfairly disadvantaged in any way by being the first to tackle those qualifications."


Former South Africa captain Steven Pienaar has returned home to play for Premier Soccer League champions Bidwest Wits.

The 35-year-old joins on a one-year deal after his contract with English club Sunderland ended last month.
Pienaar has spent the last 16 years playing in Europe, with spells at clubs in the Netherlands, Germany and England.
He can now look forward to playing in next year's African Champions League.
Pienaar's message on social media was "I am officially a Clever Boy," referring to the nickname of his new club which used to be the Wits University team.


A partly secret meeting will be held to discuss a rise in Devon and Cornwall Police's share of the council tax as the force braces itself to lose up to 500 officers by 2020.

The news comes after the BBC learned the staff cuts were part of a reduction of £54m in the force's budget.
Officials considering plans said parts of the meeting would be private because of discussions of possible job losses.
The Police Federation said the decision was "baffling and worrying".
Nigel Rabbitts, chairman of the federation, said it was "very strange" for part of the meeting on Friday to be held in private.
He said: "It's supposed to be a public scrutiny exercise.
"Both police officers and the public have a right to know exactly what is being proposed, and what it would mean."
Tony Hogg, police and crime commissioner (PCC), raised the prospect of a rise of up to 20% in the police's share of council tax at a previous meeting, which would add about £20-£30 a year to most household bills, and require a referendum.
The force currently has an annual budget of £284m, and any increase in its share of the council tax could help protect officer numbers, it said.
Roger Croad, Conservative county councillor for Devon and the chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel, which was set up to publicly scrutinise policing, said: "The meeting will discuss possible job losses in the police, which is why part needs to be in private as it could have an impact on staff."
A PCC spokesman said the potential increase in council tax "remained under development" and the panel would give "advice and guidance to the commissioner before final decisions regarding the consultation are taken".
"All outcomes will be announced in the days following this meeting when the PCC launches his public consultation," he added.


A suspected World War Two device found on a beach in Somerset has been blown up in a controlled explosion.

Believed to be a Spigot mortar, it was spotted near Weston-super-Mare after it was exposed at low tide on Saturday.
The discovery resulted in a 4,900ft (1,500m) exclusion zone being put in place and residents being advised to stay in doors.
A controlled blast was carried out by the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Unit on Sunday afternoon.


Books of condolence have opened in Londonderry in memory of five members of a family who died in a drowning tragedy off the Irish coast.

They were killed when their car left a pier in Buncrana in County Donegal, and entered Lough Swilly on Sunday.
The victims were Ruth Daniels, 57, her daughter Jodie Lee Daniels, 14, Sean McGrotty, 49, and his sons Mark, 12, and Evan, eight.
A baby girl who was in the car was rescued shortly before it sank.
The condolence books opened on Monday night at St Joseph's Church in Galliagh and Holy Family Church in Ballymagroarty.
The funerals of the victims will take place in Derry on Thursday.
On Monday, Jim, a brother of Sean McGrotty said the deaths had "devastated the whole family".
"We are now totally in shock and dismay," he said.
"I don't know how we're going to come back from this."
He added that a man, Davitt Walsh, who saved four-month-old Rionaghac-Ann McGrotty was "a hero in this family's eyes".
Mr Walsh jumped into the lough and swam to the family in their car, bringing Rionaghac-Ann back to safety.
He said he felt "terrible" he could not do more for the family after seeing their distress as they tried to escape from the sinking car.


A group of foreigners, including nine Britons, who were arrested in China are suspected of distributing "terrorist videos", local officials have said.

Six of the Britons are to be deported, the Foreign Office has said.
The three other Britons and two people with joint UK-South African nationality are understood still to be in custody.
They were in a group on a tour of ancient China when they were held on 10 July at Ordos in the Inner Mongolia region.
The Foreign Office has requested an explanation for the group's detention.
Gift of the Givers, a humanitarian relief organisation based in South Africa, said none of the group had been charged.
Zhang Xi, an official in Ordos in charge of dealing with foreigners, said: "These people are suspected of watching and spreading violent terrorist videos and were arrested last Friday."
They have been visited by the British consulate, the official added.
China Odyssey Tours, a travel agency based in China, has said the group was on one of its tours.
Gift of the Givers said among those still held were a number of South Africans and one Indian.
In a statement on its Facebook page the charity said the tour went "horribly wrong" when the party was arrested at Ordos Airport.
The charity said representatives from the British, South African and Chinese governments met on Tuesday to secure the release of 11 of 20 people being held, but no formal charges had been put to any of those detained.


Heritage attractions in Lincolnshire could be responsible for their own finances after councillors approved plans to look at how the service is funded.

The county council wants attractions to generate their own income and reinvest it, rather than relying on a budget from the authority.
Councillor Nick Worth said it would lead to more innovation.
Opponents said the plans could "seriously damage" the service.
Seven sites, including Lincoln Castle and Gainsborough Old Hall, currently receive subsidies from the Conservative-led county council.
Mr Worth, executive member for culture and heritage, said greater autonomy would benefit both parties.
"The council's budget position is not going to improve. We've got an estimated budget shortfall of Â£74m over the next three years, on top of the Â£145m we've cut from the budget since 2010," he said.
"By giving the heritage service a target to fund itself, we're saving the taxpayer money and keeping the attractions open."
Currently, money made by the attractions goes back into council coffers, with heritage receiving an annual budget of about Â£2m.
The new model will mean the service keeps everything it makes in order to fund its activities, the authority said.
More on this and other local stories from across Lincolnshire
However, Marianne Overton, leader of the Independent group on the county council, said: "It is so important to bring heritage to life, but I'm not sure contracting it all out for less money will be the answer."
Lincolnshire County Council said a full consultation would take place before any final decisions were made.


The family of a man who died after he was hit by a train following an altercation at a station have spoken of the loss of their "ray of sunshine".

Police said Ryan Harrison, from Woking, was with a friend at Guildford station at 23:40 GMT on Saturday when he became involved in the confrontation which involved a number of other men.
Shortly afterwards, Mr Harrison, 22, was fatally injured by a train.
Three men were arrested on suspicion of murder and later released on bail.
In a statement issued through British Transport Police, Mr Harrison's family said: "Ryan was the biggest, brightest ray of sunshine for us. He loved life, his family and his friends."
The family paid tribute to a brother, son and boyfriend who they said they were lucky to have had in their lives.
The statement continued: "He always looked so smart and gorgeous. He was ambitious in life and loved to party. He was a true sun worshipper and always had to have a tan.
"His family have been totally devastated by his loss, and we ask to be left in peace and given time to grieve.
"We would like to thank everyone for their kind words and tributes - we take strength from seeing how much he was loved by everyone that knew him.
"He had the biggest, kindest heart, and a bright light has been turned off in all of us that knew and loved him."
South East Coast Ambulance Service paramedics attended the incident but Mr Harrison was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two 19-year-old men from Guildford were arrested at the scene while a third man, from Cranleigh, handed himself into a police station in Guildford later.
All three have been released until a date in May while police inquiries continue.
Officers are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death and are examining CCTV footage.
Det Ch Insp Iain Miller, senior investigating officer, said: "Our thoughts remain with Ryan's family as they try to come to terms with what happened.
"This is clearly a very painful and difficult time for them."
The station was cordoned off until the early hours of Sunday morning while forensic officers conducted a search.
Mr Miller added they were treating the death as suspicious and asked anyone who was at the station at the time to contact police.


One hundred water voles are being released into a lake in the Yorkshire Dales to help boost their numbers.

19 August 2016 Last updated at 06:36 BST
There used to be loads of them in Malham Tarn in the 1960s, but they were wiped out by mink.
They're now one of the most endangered mammals in the country.
Jenny looks at what's so special about water voles.


BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson will be making a prediction for all 380 Premier League games this season against a variety of different guests.

Lawro's opponent for this week's Premier League fixtures is Radio 1Xtra DJ Charlie Sloth.
Sloth is a Liverpool fan, and told BBC Sport: "I am a massive Red, and there is only one Red that matters.
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"When I was growing up, my sporting hero was Stevie G - Steven Gerrard. I still idolise him to this day.
"I have met him a few times and I always get a little bit funny. I get to meet some of the biggest rappers in the world, some of the biggest superstars but, when I see Stevie, he has that effect on me."
You can make your own predictions now, compare them with those of Lawro and other fans, and try to take your team to the top of the leaderboard by playing the new BBC Sport Predictor game.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
In the last round of fixtures before the international break, Lawro got three correct results, with no perfect scores, from 10 Premier League matches. That gave him a total of 30 points.
He suffered his first defeat of the season at the hands of actor Dave Bautista, who got four correct results, with one perfect score, for a total of 70 points.
All kick-offs 15:00 BST unless otherwise stated.
Lawro's prediction: 0-2
Sloth's prediction: If the Liverpool team who beat Leicester turn up at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are in trouble. They don't have much pace at the back and look a bit shaky - if they let us counter-attack them, they are in trouble. 1-3
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 0-2
Sloth's prediction: This is going to be a good game. On paper I'd go for Arsenal to win 2-1 but something is telling me there is going to be a turn up for the books here so what I'm going to do is go for a 2-2.
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Sloth's prediction: 2-1
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 3-0
Sloth's prediction: The way City are playing at the moment, I can only go with them. 4-1
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 1-1
Sloth's prediction: West Ham got turned over last week and they have got a lot to prove. 0-2
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Sloth's prediction: Even though I think Everton are going to win, I don't want them to, so I won't predict that they will. 1-3
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 1-2
Sloth's prediction: I've got a funny feeling Watford are going to turn United over - I'm going for a late winner, 84th minute. 1-0
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 1-1
Sloth's prediction: Stoke got absolutely hammered last weekend and Mark Hughes is not going to be happy. He is going to be like: "Lads, you get out there and you play for that shirt." 0-2
Match report
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Sloth's prediction: 0-0
Match report
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Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Sloth's prediction: 3-0
Match report
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
Lawro's best score: 140 points (week three v Laura Trott)
Lawro's worst score: 30 points (week four v Dave Bautista)


Decades-old advertisements uncovered in Essex will stay on show after a campaign was launched to preserve them.

The vintage signs, thought to be from the 1920s, were revealed when a JCDecaux billboard was removed from Meredith Road, Clacton, last month.
Blogger Danny Sloggett won support on social media after he called for the so-called "ghost signs" to be saved.
A JCDecaux spokewoman said its billboard had been "permanently removed" and would not be replaced.
But she was unable to confirm why the company had taken the decision.
Mr Sloggett described the move as "wonderful" and said he felt his efforts had been appreciated.
"I think it's great that they might have taken notice of what we were saying. So many things have been ruined and it's good to rectify something from our past," he said.
When Mr Sloggett first spotted the billboards, he described them as "relics" which "showed off Clacton's power".
"The Royal Family used to come here in the 1920s and 30s. Lots of people used to come from London, and things like this are an important part of our history which has been hidden away," he said.
The posters, which advertised Ambrosia, Black Cat cigarettes and a local cafe, are on the side of a building currently leased by an estate agency.
The BBC was unable to contact the owner of the building with the vintage posters on its side.


A 19-day-old baby who suffered a brain injury and a fractured skull was murdered by his mother, a jury heard.

Nicola Brown, 43, of Agincourt Road, Portsmouth, denies murdering her son Jake on 19 December 2014.
She is also charged with two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Mrs Brown's husband Jason Brown, 44, is also on trial at Winchester Crown Court charged with causing or allowing a child's death.
The court was played a 999 call Mrs Brown made from her home, in which she said Jake stopped breathing while she was feeding him.
She also said he had fallen out of his Moses basket the day before, the court heard.
Nigel Lickley QC, prosecuting, said Jake was taken first to the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, then the paediatric unit at Southampton General Hospital where he died later that day.
A post-mortem examination showed the baby had a fractured skull, brain injury and bleeding to the eyes from "an impact to the head requiring substantial force", the jury was told.
Mr Lickley said his injuries were not consistent with a fall from a Moses basket, and tests showed he had suffered rib fractures on two earlier occasions.
The jury also heard Mrs Brown had anxiety issues, high blood pressure, and had been in denial about her pregnancy until a few weeks before giving birth.
Mrs Brown, who was called Nicola Long when she was charged earlier this year, denies murder and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Mr Brown denies a charge of causing or allowing the death of a child. The prosecution claims he must have been aware of the risk to Jake, but failed to protect him.
The trial continues.


Henry Kasperczak has been sacked from his second stint as coach of Tunisia.

The 70-year-old former Poland international had been in charge of the Carthage Eagles since July 2015.
The Tunisians were knocked out of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations by Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals in Gabon.
Last month they lost in Monastir 1-0 to African champions Cameroon and then away in Morocco by the same score line.
The Tunisia Football Federation have said that a successor will be named "by the end of the month."
They begin their campaign to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals with a game at home against Egypt.
Then at the end of September they face home and away 2018 World Cup qualifiers against the DR Congo, both sides have won their two matches so far with wins over Guinea and Libya.


Scarlets have given new contracts to forwards Josh Macleod, Tom Phillips and Tom Price, plus centre Steffan Hughes.

Scarlets general manager of rugby, Jon Daniels, said: "Josh, Tom [Phillips] and Steff are all products of our development pathway.
"Our development is something we've always been proud of.
"Fifteen of the 23 players that took on Ospreys at Parc y Scarlets last week came through, or took some part, in the development pathway."
Flanker Macleod, 20, has enjoyed a breakthrough season for Scarlets, including a Champions Cup start against champions Saracens.
Former Wales Under-20 captain Phillips, 21, made his professional debut against Zebre in October 2015 and the blindside flanker has since gone on to make 14 appearances for the west Wales region.
Centre Hughes, 23, is another former Wales U20 captain and has battled back from a serious knee injury to make 17 appearances this season in the Champions Cup and Guinness Pro12.
Lock Price, 24, joined Scarlets in the summer of 2015 from Leicester Tigers, making his competitive debut in the season opener against Glasgow in September of the same year.
The 6ft 8in Wales-qualified second row has made 35 appearances for the Scarlets to date, scoring three tries.
"These four players join an exciting group who have already committed their futures to the region, alongside Steff Evans, Will Boyde, Dan Jones and Hadleigh Parkes as well as internationals Rob Evans, Samson Lee and Ken Owens," Daniels added.
Scarlets finished third in the Pro12 this season and play Leinster in Dublin on Friday night for a place in the end-of-season play-off final.


Britain topped the medal table at the European Cross Country Championships for a 13th consecutive year as every team member won a medal in France.

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Jonathan Davies won gold in the men's under-23 race, a victory which helped the men's U23 squad to team silver.
"I'm over the moon. I came thinking I had a chance of winning but you never quite believe it," Davies, 21, said.
Kate Avery won silver for a second successive year in the senior women's race won by Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan.
Avery, who produced a strong final lap in Hyeres, said: "I've finished behind an amazing athlete in Sifan Hassan, so there isn't much more I could have asked for there."
Watch highlights on BBC Two and the BBC Sport website, Sunday 13 December at 16:15 GMT.
Britain's senior women successfully defended their team title, with defending champion Steph Twell (sixth) and Gemma Steel (eighth) the other best-placed Britons.
Laura Muir claimed fourth in her race to lead the women's under-23 squad to a gold which was Britain's 50th in the history of the championships.
"It's a team effort as much as individual at these championships, so I'm chuffed for them all to get the gold," the 22-year-old Scot said.
Harriet Knowles-Jones, 17, won silver in the junior women's race, finishing behind Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen. It was a second-place finish which helped the women's junior squad to team silver.
The senior men's team won bronze, while the junior men's team secured bronze with all six athletes finishing in the top 31.


At least six Afghan soldiers have been killed by a suicide bomber on the outskirts of the capital Kabul, police and officials say.

They said that the bomber was on foot and targeted a bus carrying the troops.
The Taliban say that they carried out the attack, the first by them in the capital for more than a week.
Kabul's police chief resigned at the end of last month following a surge in attacks by Afghan militants on foreigners in the city.
President Ashraf Ghani, who took power in September, has vowed to bring peace after decades of conflict.
But Kabul has been regularly subjected to Taliban bombings, with the military, police and government officials all targeted.
The Taliban have stepped up attacks in Afghanistan as most foreign combat troops prepare to leave the country later this month.
As part of the agreement on the withdrawal of foreign combat troops, some 12,000 Nato soldiers will remain to train and advise Afghan security forces from 1 January.
A separate US-led force will assist Afghan troops in some operations against the Taliban.


Edinburgh Festival Fringe has announced its biggest ever line-up for this summer.

There will be 50,459 performances of 3,314 shows from 49 countries in 313 venues during August.
The Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and has been held in the city every August since 1947.
Its programme includes theatre, dance, circus, comedy, music, musicals, opera, cabaret and variety, children's shows, exhibitions, events and spoken word.
Fourteen new venues will host shows this year and overall there is a 3.8% increase on last year's programme.
Kath M Mainland, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: "Every year we think we know what it's going to deliver, but every year it surprises, delights, amazes and inspires. The Fringe is a festival like no other."
She said the festival, which runs from 7 to 31 August, was "completely open access", where artists don't need to wait for an invitation to take part.
"There's no curator, no vetting, no barriers," Ms Mainland said. "Just incredible talent from almost 50 countries all over the world."
Fiona Hyslop MSP, Scottish government cabinet secretary for culture, Europe and external affairs, said: "This year's programme shows once again why the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is one of the most important events in the international cultural calendar."
This year, 21 shows will be part of the Made in Scotland programme, a curated showcase of music, theatre and dance, made and produced in Scotland.
Well-known comedians putting on shows at the festival this year include Jo Brand, Ed Byrne, Sue Perkins, Fred MacAulay, Patrick Kielty, Paul Merton, Alan Davies, Trevor Noah, Marcus Brigstocke, Mark Thomas and Reginald D Hunter.
There will also be 250 street performances each day on the Royal Mile and The Mound.


A US air strike has destroyed more than 238 fuel trucks controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants in north-east Syria, the US military has said.

It is thought the pilots found the trucks parked up together, waiting to be loaded at an oil production point near Hassakeh and Deir al-Zour.
Warning shots were reportedly fired to scare away the civilian drivers, before the destruction of the trucks began.
IS makes large amounts of money from oil it produces from seized facilities.
The US Department of Defense says it will release video of the air raid, which took place over the weekend.
Last week another 116 tankers were destroyed in a previous air strike.
"This was conducted in many ways identical to our last," Pentagon spokesman, Capt Jeff Davis, said on Monday.
"It was proceeded with a leaflet drop to warn drivers out of their trucks as well as a show of force".
Mr Davis said there were no reports of civilian casualties.
The oil lorry strikes are part of Operation Tidal Wave II, a change in tactics on the part of the coalition. Previously, petrol supplies were largely avoided because of the impact on civilian populations.
A US-led coalition began a campaign of air strikes in Syria and Iraq in 2014, after IS took large parts of both countries.
A series of terror attacks in Paris 10 days ago for which IS claimed responsibility have intensified the air campaign in recent days.


Four men have admitted manslaughter over the death of a man who was found in woodland with stab wounds.

Ahmed Musse, 32, died in hospital after he was found with leg wounds at Sporhams, Basildon, at about 22:00 BST on 26 August last year.
He was described by his family as "a cherished son, brother, uncle, cousin, fiancÃ© and friend".
The four men will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on 19 April.
They are Hussain Ahmed, 23, of Bacon Street, London; Mohammed Ahmed, 23, of Jamaica Street, London; Abdul Salah, 20, of York Avenue, Middlesex, and Jake Rowlands, 25, of no fixed address.
A fifth man, Gary Goodwin, 36, of Princes Close, Laindon, admitted conspiracy to rob Mr Musse.
All have been remanded in custody.


Latvian airline Air Baltic has announced its return to Aberdeen International Airport.

The budget airline, which has not flown from Aberdeen since September 2014, will operate three flights a week to the Latvian capital of Riga from May to September next year.
The launch is due to coincide with the completion of phase one of Aberdeen's Â£20m terminal redevelopment project.
The airport recently announced new flights to Faro in Portugal.
Ryanair will operate a twice-weekly service as part of its summer schedule next year.
Aberdeen Airport managing director Carol Benzie said: "This is brilliant news from Air Baltic and it will be fantastic to welcome them back to Aberdeen next summer.
"We are continually working to strengthen our route network and I'm delighted to add the vibrant, cosmopolitan city of Riga to our ever-expanding list of leisure routes."


A team of girls from Afghanistan has won a special award at an international robotics competition in Washington in the US.

The six girls were taking part in the FIRST Global Challenge competition, which took place across three days and saw 158 nations compete against each other.
They took home a silver medal for courageous achievement, which was awarded to teams "that exhibit a can-do attitude throughout the challenge, even under difficult circumstances, or when things do not go as planned".
According to the New York Times, the team's mentor Alireza Mehraban said: "We are simple people with ideas. We need a chance to make our world better. This is our chance."
A visa is a special permission that you get in your passport which you sometimes need in order to enter or stay in a country for a certain period of time
Their story made the news because, at first, they weren't going to be allowed to go to the competition because of visa problems.
They were told twice that they weren't allowed to enter the country so wouldn't have been able to take part.
However, US President Donald Trump stepped in at the last minute and the girls were able to travel to the US and participate.
The competition - which hopes to inspire young people to want careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths - will take place in Mexico City next year.


The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) will announce details of the proposed takeover of Newport Gwent Dragons and Rodney Parade in the next 24 hours.

The WRU already owns 50% of the Dragons but plans to take control of the region as well as the stadium.
Newport RFC and Newport County AFC also play at the venue and exact details of the deal are due to be announced on Wednesday.
It comes 11 months since the Dragons announced they were seeking investment.
Ex-Wales and Dragons lock Ian Gough told BBC Radio Wales if the takeover does not take place it will herald "the death of rugby in Gwent".
Importance of a deal
Dragons chairman Martyn Hazell has previously said he believed the deal between the Dragons and the WRU needed to be done quickly.
He stressed the importance of agreeing a deal by warning of the dangers for the region if no agreement could be reached with no viable alternative on the table.
Businessmen Hazell and Tony Brown have been putting money into the region since it started in 2003, a situation he said cannot continue.
"The future of the Dragons is that myself and Tony Brown can't keep pumping money into it. We're both turning 80 within the next few weeks and we can't keep doing it," said Hazell.
Newport RFC 'a key consideration'
The proposals are understood to mean the WRU taking complete control of the Dragons and the Rodney Parade ground.
Hazell and Dragons chief executive Stuart Davies have pressed for a 10-year guarantee under a lease agreement for the Dragons and Newport RFC to continue playing at the historic venue.
That will be among the details that supporters of both clubs are eager to learn and 75% of Newport RFC members must approve the deal.
"From our perspective it's important Newport and the Dragons will be looked after through the deal," said Davies.
"The continued playing of Newport RFC at Rodney Parade has been a key consideration.
"The assurance I can give Newport RFC is we have been protecting their interests."
Newport County could also be affected, though they have a tenancy contract at Rodney Parade until 2023.
Newport RFC play in the Welsh Premiership, the sport's second tier in Wales.
A group of Newport rugby supporters - Friends of Newport Rugby - has expressed concerns over some aspects of the proposed WRU takeover.


Every year, the buzz around the Oscars permeates the world of Hollywood and when you break it down, it's all about one thing really: $$$.

From nomination to the winning, getting a little golden man can be an expensive business for someone in Hollywood, whether you're an actor/actress, studio, PR or even the make-up artist.
Tinseltown spends big when it comes to this one little five hour ceremony.
The Academy Awards are tonight, so here are some facts to "wow" your friends.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the PR companies who are employed to help spearhead the campaigns of getting the movies the top Oscars, stand to get paid a bonus in the tens of thousands if the film they've been marketing, wins.
There are a hell of a lot of parties connected to the Oscars. Like... a lot.
It's known as "campaigning" where studios basically get the stars in the films to be events with Academy voters to schmooze to help them win. Those parties come in at a cool $2m (£1.3m).
Nominees this year will get a non-Academy affiliated goodie bag, estimated to be worth around £81,000, according to Vanity Fair.
Skincare, accessories, a three night stay in Tuscany, and an Afterglow vibrator are a few of the things stars will get.
Ok, this one isn't really money related, but it is interesting.
Back in 2013, the LA Times conducted a survey of Academy voters. The Academy doesn't release demographic information about its members, so the LA Times used public information and private databases to confirm the race, gender and age of new members who'd joined that year.
The survey found 94% of them were all white, 76% are all men and the average age? 63 years old.
You know when you hear reporters shouting "who you wearing?" when celebrities walk a red carpet?
Maybe it's because on average it costs around £2,280 to prepare a Hollywood actress for the red carpet and that's just hair and make-up.
Imagine how much that jumps to when they get their dress, shoes and jewellery?
Winning a golden statue to display on the mantel or in your downstairs toilet is obviously lovely, but it also helps with the pay packet.
Because according to the Forbes magazine, you're winning if you're a man: by 81%.
Or in other words, after winning the best actor Oscar, a man can expect £2.34m salary increase, just for winning an Oscar.
For winning the best actress, its about £325,460.
Then of course there's the film itself.
After ploughing millions in marketing to get bums on seats at the cinema to watch the film, and then millions more on getting more attention of Academy voters, studios expect to make £8.27m more just because it got Oscar nominated.
But in saying all of that, winning a Golden Globe pays better: £9.24m on average.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube


The number of people playing golf is falling and Rory McIlroy believes speeding the game up at grassroots level could reverse that trend.

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Sport England figures show the amount of 16 to 25-year-olds playing the game regularly almost halved between 2009-10 and 2012-13.
What other initiatives could help golf widen its appeal?
We have been looking at your suggestions, from lowering the cost of play to more offbeat ideas.
One major obstacle is money. It is an expensive hobby for youngsters. How about some of the mega millions earned at the top end of golf being used to subsidise struggling clubs and younger players? bigted
My son was a junior member at a prestigious London club until he was 18. Once he had been to university and returned home he would have had to become a full member which he can't afford. Clubs should do more to provide a bridge from junior membership to full membership. Peter
Joining fees are the issue, to join a decent course near me I'd have to find £3,000 on top of membership. If I relocated again in a year's time that's a sunk cost. Not too appealing when trying to save for a house. Meanwhile, those most settled in life, the retiree who can play seven times a week, doesn't have these concerns - clubs will pay the ultimate price for pricing a generation out of the game in 20 years. AndyL
Make it cheaper. Green fees, lessons, gear, balls, all too expensive. Golf clubs and manufacturers at fault. Dave Harrison
Most clubs offer payment plans and there has never been so much used golf equipment available as now. There's no need to buy new kit and many would benefit from using a half set in a lightweight bag rather than the mobile homes on wheels that trundle round our courses making such a mess in the winter months. Chrisf
Slow play has nothing to do with the falling number of younger players playing golf. The primary reason is COST - to play one round; to be a member; to buy golf clubs et al. Gary R
Clubs need to widen the gap between groups on the time sheet, offer nine, 12, 14 and 18-hole competitions and subsequently offer specific memberships to match the competitions and the members' needs. Also clubs should look at the concept of zone golf, pin positions ranging from easy, to medium and hard. The game needs to be 1. more affordable; 2. less stressful; 3. enjoyable. Christian Porter
To attract young golfers we need to show the fun side of golf and get rid of stupid dress codes to make it more accessible. Sam Hatton
Time stopped me playing golf at 11. Went to tennis. A game of nine holes got me back: Family fun. Ray Bundell
How about a timer. Players should have a set time to take their shot. This would add urgency and pressure. Christian
Have specific blocked out times for junior fourballs so three or four groups can play together and then speak about the game after. Electric Kid
Shorter courses where more sensible club selection and ball accuracy with a difficult layout is the way. Nozzie
The player who is deemed first to putt on the green should putt out completely, saving oodles of time - marking the ball, cleaning the ball, lining up the ball etc. Lyle Hill
Design or adapt courses to have three six-hole loops. So time-restricted people can play the first six, or the first twelve. Maybe have competitions where an 18-hole round score could be accumulated over, say, a week. Alan
Make it a contact sport with players marking each other as in hockey....lots of running around the golf course!! Kennedy Maswaure
Golfers should use jet packs to move around the course instead of walking or using golf carts. Jay


President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress to end bulk collection of US phone records by the National Security Agency (NSA), senior officials say.

They told the New York Times the agency would "end its systematic collection of data about Americans' calling habits".
Phone records would instead remain with telecoms companies, only to be accessed by government when needed.
It follows widespread anger at home and abroad after leaks revealed the full extent of US surveillance operations.
The documents - leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden - revealed that the US collects massive amounts of electronic data from communications of private individuals around the world, and has spied on foreign leaders.
In a speech in January, President Obama said it was necessary for the US to continue collecting large amounts of data, but that civil liberties must be respected.
He said the current system, in which the NSA collects the details of the times, numbers and durations of phone calls, known as metadata, would come to an end.
According to the New York Times report, he told the US justice department and intelligence officials to come up with a plan by 28 March.
Under the new proposal, officials say surveillance "would require phone companies to swiftly provide records in a technologically compatible data format, including making available, on a continuing basis, data about any new calls placed or received after the order is received".
The phone companies would not be required to hold on to the data for longer than they normally would, the New York Times says.
The NSA currently holds information for five years, whereas telecoms companies are required by federal regulation to retain customer records for 18 months.
How the US spy scandal unravelled
Profile: Edward Snowden
UK 'complacent' over spying leaks
The new proposal "would retain a judicial role in determining whether the standard of suspicion was met for a particular phone number before the NSA could obtain associated records", the newspaper adds.
The Obama administration plans to renew the current NSA programme for at least another 90 days until Congress passes the new legislation.
New legislation has also been developed separately by leaders of the House intelligence committee that would allow the NSA to issue subpoenas for specific phone records without prior judicial approval, the New York Times reports.
The New York Times report does not provide information on possible changes to the NSA's surveillance of phone records from other countries.
In January, President Obama offered assurances to non-Americans, saying people around the world "should know that the United States is not spying on ordinary people who don't threaten our national security".
It was revealed last year that the US had spied on friendly foreign leaders, including on the personal mobile of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
But President Obama has defended the use of data, saying it had protected against terrorist attacks at home and abroad, and insisted nothing he had seen indicated US intelligence operations had sought to break the law.
Edward Snowden, who was behind the leaked the information, is wanted in the US for espionage and is now living in exile in Russia.
Civil liberties groups see him as a hero for exposing what they see as official intrusions into private lives, but many Americans believe he has endangered American lives.


Web users are being warned about a novel tracking system that watches what they do online and frustrates tools designed to prevent them being tracked.

The warning comes from researchers who have found the tracking system being used on thousands of websites.
The system exploits features of the web's underlying code to generate unique identifiers for each visitor.
Government portals, online shops and pornography sites were all found to be using the tracking system.
"The tracking mechanisms we study are advanced in that they are hard to control, hard to detect and resilient to blocking or removing," wrote the researchers in a paper describing their work.
The team, made up of researchers at Princeton University in the US and University of Leuven in Belgium, analysed tracking techniques on the top 100,000 websites. They found that many sites had turned away from well-known systems such as small text files called "cookies" in favour of more subtle methods.
More than 5% of the sites they surveyed had turned to a technique known as "canvas fingerprinting" to identify visitors.
This technique forces a web browser to create a hidden image. Subtle differences in the set-up of a computer mean almost every machine will render the image in a different way enabling that device to be identified consistently.
Popular sites using the technique included the White House, the San Francisco Chronicle's website and the YouPorn pornographic portal.
Many web browsing programs now include tools that let people manage or stop their activity being tracked across the sites they visit. Many advertisers are keen to find out these browsing histories to better target ads.
The team also studied ways to stop canvas fingerprinting but said none of the browsing programs it tested had stopped the system being used. Only the Tor anonymising browser did a good job of spotting the fingerprinting technique was being used and asking people if they were happy for it to operate.
Web tracking company AddThis had tested canvas fingerprinting on a small number of the 13 million sites currently signed up to use its technology to track users, the firm told the ProPublica website.
It said it planned to stop using the technique because it was "not uniquely identifying enough".


The eldest son of the late presenter and broadcaster Sir David Frost has died at the age of 31.

Miles Frost collapsed while out jogging near the family's home in Oxfordshire on Sunday.
His godfather, Michael Rosenberg, said the family were left "totally in shock" by his sudden death.
Friends said the financial investor had appeared "in wonderful form" in recent weeks and there had been no indication of any health problems.
Lord Chadlington, a long-standing friend of the Frost family, said: "It is very sad and very, very sudden. His family are very much in shock."
Chris Hurley, chief executive of LDC, where Mr Frost worked for five years said: "We're all deeply saddened by the news. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."
Mr Frost has two younger brothers; 29-year-old Wilfred, a TV presenter on CNBC's Worldwide Exchange programme, and George, 28.
In March 2014 the family were joined by 2,000 guests, including the Prince of Wales, for a memorial service at Westminster Abbey in Sir David's memory.
The much-loved broadcaster died two years ago, aged 74, after suffering a heart attack on the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship.
His career spanned journalism, satire and daytime television presenting, including The Frost Report.


Lewis Hamilton set a stunning pace to head second practice at the inaugural European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan from team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton was 0.69 seconds clear as Mercedes appeared in a race of their own, with Ferrari off the pace.
Sebastian Vettel was only eighth - 1.9secs slower than Hamilton - as Force India's Sergio Perez took third.
The session was run after quick repair work to kerbs, which had been cutting tyres in the first session.
There were no immediate reports of further problems after the kerbs were welded to prevent sharp edges coming loose, but further repairs are inevitable overnight before qualifying on Saturday.
Qualifying and the race are live on the BBC Sport website and radio 5 live Sports Extra from 14:00 BST.
Vettel was one of a number of drivers to explore the run-off areas at the demanding, new 3.7-mile street circuit in the nation's capital Baku, which features F1's longest straight.
But there were no repeats of the crashes suffered by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz in the first session.
A number of teams were out of their usual positions - in addition to Vettel, his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was down in 11th and the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo only seventh and 10th.
Williams' Valtteri Bottas was fourth, ahead of Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz's Toro Rosso.
McLaren's Jenson Button was ninth, two places ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton's pace advantage over Rosberg was just as big on the long race-simulation runs - Hamilton was 0.7secs on average quicker than his team-mate after four laps, before Rosberg's car failed and he had to stop out on track with a lack of drive.
After running Mercedes close in Canada last weekend, Ferrari were struggling again in Baku, their recurring problem of struggling to get the tyres up to the correct operating temperature biting them again.
And although Rosberg and Button raised concerns about the lack of run-off areas at some corners on Thursday, the safety features seemed to work well through both sessions.
Haas's Esteban Gutierrez explored them the most regularity - he suffered multiple off-track moments through the session, and Raikkonen's session ended five minutes early when his rear wheels locked and he slid into an escape road and had to park up.
Vettel also hit trouble at the end of the session, being ordered to slow down and return to the pits with a minute to go.
The team told Vettel that he had suffered an issue with his MGU-K - the device that recovers energy from the rear axle in these hybrid cars - as had Raikkonen.
"The speed wasn't quite there, so we need to have a look and see to be in better position tomorrow," Vettel said.
"It's not nice, it's not good news [to be two seconds off the pace]. Some of it we can explain, and other bits we need to wait and see what tomorrow brings. It's been a tricky day for us, not entirely clean when you look a raw pace."
The drivers will discuss the issue of track safety, among other matters, with FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting in their briefing on Friday afternoon.
European Grand Prix second practice results
European Grand Prix coverage details


A man convicted of training pit bull terriers for illegal fights has been jailed after defying a ban on keeping dogs and other cruelty offences.

Tony Barbara, 51, subjected two of the animals to a catalogue of suffering, Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard.
He also attempted to carry out DIY treatment on their injuries in case his actions were discovered by the authorities.
Barbara, from Newmilns, East Ayrshire, was jailed for eight months.
The court heard Barbara, who was linked to the Essex underworld, moved to Scotland after receiving a suspended jail sentence and 10-year dog ban at Snaresbrook Crown Court in July 2013.
He resumed his activities within months but was arrested after the Scottish SPCA raided his home in November 2014 and found two injured pit bulls and equipment linked to the illegal activity.
Barbara was found guilty of six charges including breaching the Dangerous Dogs Act by keeping two female pit bull terriers for fighting, having syringes and medications, possessing "breaking sticks" for fights and causing the animals unnecessary suffering by failing to provide adequate care and treatment.
His solicitor, James Arrol, said heavily-tattooed Barbara was "a man who has a number of psychiatric and health difficulties".
Scottish SPCA inspector Hannah Medley said Barbara spoke "freely and openly", using dog-fighting terminology and explaining the terms and rules.
Ms Medley added: "He told us he had been dog-fighting for the last 20 to 30 years and had only seen one dog die, and that when a dog was dying it was still wagging its tail when it died."
Ms Medley said Barbara described the "etiquette of dog fighting" and used its terminology, such as scratch lines, pits and coming up to scratch.
"He was talking about dog breeds and his fascination with bull breeds", she said, adding Barbara described knowing vets who would teach how to treat injuries and self-medicate dogs.
After his arrest, Barbara gave "no comment" responses when asked why he had veterinary medication used specifically to treat dog injuries and syringes containing milky liquid.
He also refused to comment on whether the dogs had been identified as American Pit Bull terriers, which are strictly regulated, and attributed scars and injuries to "dives into bushes after rabbits".
Police and animal welfare inspectors found a "flesh stapler", a training "flirt pole" and notebooks with accounts of the fights at his previous home in Dagenham, Essex, in 2011, his earlier trial heard.
Sheriff Shirley Foran jailed Barbara for eight months and banned him from keeping dogs for life.
A Scottish SPCA spokesman said: "We welcome this result as investigations of this nature are extremely difficult to detect.
"We hope this result will send out a message that the barbaric and criminal activity of dog fighting is a priority of the Scottish SPCA and will not be tolerated."


Champions League holders TP Mazembe must quickly come to terms with their drop down to the Confederation Cup and prepare themselves to face Stade Gabesien.

The DR Congo side were eliminated from Africa's premier club competition on Wednesday, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Wydad Casablanca.
Now they must try to salvage some pride by coming through a play-off to reach the group stage of the second tier competition.
Tunisians Stade Gabesien stand in their way over two legs, to be played on 6-8 May and 17-18 May.
Also dropping down to the Confederation Cup play-offs are the competition's reigning champions Etoile du Sahel. The Tunisians lost on penalties to Enyimba in their Champions League tie, also on Wednesday.
Etoile, the only to win all five Confederation of African Football club competitions, had fought back to win the second leg 3-0 only to fail in the shootout.
TP Mazemebe and Etoile and six other other Champions League round-of-16 losers make up half of the play-off field.
The other eight teams in the draw survived a three-round Confederation Cup elimination process.
Tunisian teams have dominated the 13-year-old competition with CS Sfaxien lifting the trophy three times and Etoile twice. Moroccan clubs have been the second most successful in the Confederation Cup.
Confederation Cup play-offs draw:
MO Bejaia (Algeria) vs Esperance (Tunisia)
Stade Malien (Mali) vs FUS Rabat (Morocco)
Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) vs CF Mounana (Gabon)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo) vs Stade Gabesien (Tunisia)
Ahli Tripoli (Libya) vs Misr Makassa (Egypt)
El Merreikh (Sudan) vs Kawkab (Morocco)
Young Africans (Tanzania) vs Sagrada Esperanca (Angola)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) vs Medeama (Ghana)


Canada, the US and Mexico vowed to strengthen economic ties in the wake of the UK's decision to leave the EU and growing anti-globalisation sentiment.

"Isolationism cannot bring prosperity to a society," said Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Nieto's remarks came at the end of the Three Amigos Summit with US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.
The three leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together.
And they pledged to produce 50% of their countries' electricity from clean energy by 2025.
The show of unity comes at a time when questions are being asked of trade agreements.
British voters have opted to leave the European Union and US presidential candidate Donald Trump has vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).
Mr Obama said at the summit in Ottawa that he will keep working for a trans-Pacific trade deal.
That agreement is currently stuck in the US Congress and is opposed by both Republican Mr Trump and his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
The US president said countries must not shut themselves off from the world and should instead strive towards an integrated economy and ways to raise standards for workers and the environment.
Mr Trudeau opened the conference by poking fun at President Barack Obama's impending retirement, to which Obama smiled and gave a thumbs up.
The three nations, which belong to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), said a more integrated, united North America was vital to the both countries' and the global economies.
"We will build upon this strong trilateral economic relationship, and further facilitate trade among our three countries, and improve the networks that allow us to produce products and services together," the leaders said in a statement.
As the rest of the world shrugs its shoulders at the unravelling of the EU-UK partnership, North American leaders are gathering to promote the strength of theirs. The summit is dubbed the "Three Amigos", but the friendship between the three hasn't always been as tight as that name suggests.
Canada's former Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn't see eye to eye with President Obama on a range of issues including climate change and the Keystone Pipeline, and both the US and Canada have had tensions with Mexico over immigration.
After a day of meetings with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto on Tuesday, Justin Trudeau pledged to lift visa restrictions for Mexicans - in turn Mexico promised to lift a ban on beef exports - as a way to strength ties.
But as President Obama prepares to exit the White House, the balance of this trinity of leaders is sure to change, whether it's Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the White House.
"Better partnerships are a path to prosperity," Mr Trudeau said, ahead of the talks.
"And that's a compelling example that we want to showcase at a time where unfortunately people are prone to turning inwards, which will be at the cost of economic growth and their own success."
Tensions are mounting over the benefits of globalisation following the referendum in the UK, where many who voted to leave the EU expressed concern over border control and jobs.
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has echoed similar sentiment, saying free trade has cost thousands of American jobs.
Mr Obama and Mr Trudeau are also expected to discuss international peacekeeping efforts in their bilateral talks behind closed doors, according to Canadian media.
Mr Obama will also address Parliament after the meeting.
It was announced this week that Mr Trudeau will appear as a cartoon character on the cover of an issue of Marvel in August.


The new operators of one of the country's busiest rail franchises has announced it has placed an order for 90 new trains.

FirstGroup and Hong Kong-based MTR said the 750 new carriages on the South Western network will boost capacity by 46% and cost Â£895m.
The Aventra trains will operate on the Reading, Windsor and London Suburban routes out of London Waterloo.
They will start to come into service from mid 2019.
The new carriages, in five and 10-car formations, will operating by December 2020, and will feature free Wi-Fi, at-seat charging points, information screens, air conditioning, wide gangways and wide doors, FirstGroup said.
The company also aims to bring 90 refurbished carriages onto the Portsmouth to London fast services by December 2018.
FirstGroup and MTR are due to take over the services across south west England, currently run by Stagecoach, on 20 August.
The fleet of new trains will be manufactured by Bombardier Transportation in Derby.


Coach Warren Gatland says Wales are "desperate to beat" Australia.

The winners will top World Cup Group A and earn a comparatively easier course to the final than the losers, who will face South Africa in the quarter-final.
Gatland has made six changes to the team that beat Fiji 23-13 last time out for Saturday's encounter at Twickenham.
"You win this group and potentially your road through to quarters, semis and finals is easier than the other side of the draw," he said.
"We're desperate to finish off well and win this group, and hopefully give ourselves potentially a second seed team in the quarter-finals."
The key changes to the team see Samson Lee and Paul James return to the front row in place of Tomas Francis and Gethin Jenkins, while Justin Tipuric and Sam Warburton team up in the back row.
George North moves to centre from wing, where Liam Williams returns. Gareth Anscombe gets the nod over Matthew Morgan at full-back.
Of all the Wales changes, the front row selection was perhaps the least surprising.
Despite winning both matches, Wales struggled at the scrum against England and Fiji. Australia's eight had no such problems as they outmuscled England.
"Paul James has had a calf strain so he needed to play. We needed to give him some time," said Gatland.
"Given Gethin Jenkins' history in the past, with three or four games in a row he has broken down so we wanted to make sure we kept him fit and fresh potentially for a quarter-final.
"It's great Samson is back from that injury. He's that typical old-fashioned northern hemisphere tight-head. He's pretty squat and built like the proverbial brick out-house.
"I think with the amount of work we've done there we're confident it will go well."
Gatland said blind-side specialist Dan Lydiate was being rested to protect a sore eye though "he would have played if it was a final."
His absence sees Wales pairing two specialist open-side flankers in Tipuric and Warburton, with Taulupe Faletau continuing at number eight.
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Even without the suspended Michael Hooper, Gatland knows Australia will present a formidable challenge at the breakdown.
"Justin Tipuric deserves an opportunity because he's been absolutely outstanding in the warm-up games," added Gatland.
"It just gives us options. The balance we've had with Sam at open-side and Dan and Taulupe that's outstanding as well.
"It's horses for courses and probably the way the Australians with [David] Pocock - I know Hooper's out - but it's matching them at the breakdown."
Anscombe was in Gatland's extended squad for the tournament before injuring an ankle in training and missed out on selection.
Injuries to Scott Williams and Hallam Amos opened the door for the former Chiefs player to return, and he gets the nod ahead of James Hook and Morgan, who was full-back against Fiji.
"Matthew Morgan got a knock last week and wasn't able to do full contact until later in the week," said Gatland.
"Gareth has played a lot at full-back-  I think two years ago he played the Super Rugby final for the Chiefs at full-back. He's experienced and has the pedigree there.
"It was a chance to put Liam [Williams] back on the wing and a chance to shift George [North] into the centre.
"I like the mix of the backline."
North was at centre when Wales last met Australia in November, and in 2011 said he felt North's long term future was in midfield, not on the wing.


Sixteen-year-old Northern Ireland gymnast Rhys McClenaghan clinched a superb bronze medal behind Max Whitlock and Louis Smith at the British Championships in Liverpool on Sunday.

McClenaghan, a member of the Rathgael Gymastics club in Bangor, finished behind the Olympic and world medallists in the pommel horse event.
"What the heck just happened?" said McClenaghan on Twitter.
"I just shared the podium with Louis Smith and Max Whitlock."
McClenaghan added:"There's nobody happier than I am now."
The 16-year-old's pommel horse score of 15.175 is one of the highest ever produced by a junior.
McClenaghan's achievement has been described as an "historical moment" for the Rathgael club.
Whitlock pipped his fellow British star Smith to take the gold after earlier clinching the all-round title in Liverpool.


A judge in the US state of Tennessee is offering to reduce jail sentences for any inmate that volunteers to undergo a birth control procedure.

Since Judge Sam Benningfield signed the legal order in May, 32 women and 38 men have volunteered in exchange for 30 days shaved off their sentence.
The order has drawn fire from the local prosecutor, and by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Vasectomies are offered for men and hormone implants in the arm for women.
"I hope to encourage them to take personal responsibility", the White County judge told WTVF-TV, "and give them a chance, when they do get out, not to be burdened with children.
"I understand it won't be entirely successful but if you reach two or three people, maybe that's two or three kids not being born under the influence of drugs."
"I see it as a win, win," added Judge Benningfield, who was elected in 1998 to serve as judge for the rural county 100 miles (160km) east of Nashville.
The procedures - vasectomies for men and Nexplanon implants for women - and are being offered for free by the Tennessee Department of Health, officials say.
The ACLU slammed the judge's order, saying: "Offering a so-called 'choice' between jail time and coerced contraception or sterilisation is unconstitutional".
"Judges play an important role in our community - overseeing individuals' childbearing capacity should not be part of that role," said ACLU Tennessee director Hedy Weinberg in a statement.
Defence lawyer Brandon Griffin, who has two clients who have volunteered for the procedure, says that prisoners will generally do whatever they can to get out of prison as early as possible.
"Criminal defendants, their general position is they want out of jail - that's their standard acting, driving force," he told the BBC.
Tennessee public defender Craig Fickling said he understands what motivated the judge's order, but thinks it may be misguided.
"It is very hard and depressing for prosecutors and defence attorneys and judges to see the same people over and over again" he said, adding "you start seeing the children and grandchildren of clients making the same mistakes".
"I think that he probably did this as an effort to address that and I think he's gone about it the wrong way."


Seven Pakistani policemen, three of whom were guarding polio workers, have been killed in Karachi, officials say.

Eight gunmen on motorcycles fired at a group of three police guards and later at a van containing four officers, officials told the Pakistan Tribune.
Islamist militants oppose vaccination, saying it is a Western conspiracy to sterilise Pakistani children.
In January, 15 people were killed in a bomb attack on a vaccination centre in the south-western city of Quetta.
Polio workers called off the vaccination drive in Karachi following the attack, despite the home minister's order to continue, the Tribune reported.
According to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, police have offered a reward of 5 million rupees (Â£33,000) for information on the killers, and 2 million rupees (Â£13,000) compensation to the victims' families.
Talking to reporters at the scene, Sindh police Inspector General AD Khawaja said polio drops would be "administered to our children at all costs" and said security for polio teams would be increased.
Pakistan is one of only two countries, along with Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Militants have repeatedly targeted vaccination programmes, killing nearly 80 people since December 2012.
The country recorded more than 300 polio cases in 2014 - its highest number since 1999.
Most of the new infections were in north-west Pakistan, where militants regularly target roving health teams, and health officials blamed the rise in cases on several deadly attacks on police workers that year.
The number of cases fell to just 52 in 2015, largely because vaccination teams could reach areas that were previously off limits because of militancy.
Polio (poliomyelitis) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus which invades the nervous system. It mainly affects children aged under five.
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and limb pain.
One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, and between 5-10% of those who suffer paralysis die because their breathing muscles are immobilised.
Cases have fallen dramatically since polio eradication programmes were introduced; from 350,000 globally in 1988 to around 70 in 2015.
Polio remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but Nigeria was removed from the list in October after a year with no new cases.


Southend United will take time to consider striker Nile Ranger's future, after he was jailed for eight months for online banking fraud.

The 26-year-old was sentenced for conspiracy to defraud by obtaining bank details and transferring money.
Shrimpers chairman Ron Martin said the club need to assess "the impact of this startling, unexpected, outcome".
Ex-Newcastle and Swindon forward Ranger joined Southend last summer, and signed a contract until 2020 in December.
Ranger - who committed the offence in February 2015 - scored eight goals in 28 appearances for Phil Brown's Southend last season.
Before joining Southend in August 2016, Ranger had not played a competitive game for almost two years, during which he spent seven months absent from Blackpool that he put down to being distracted following death of two friends.
Southend boss Brown said before signing him that Ranger was in the "last-chance saloon" during a one-month "test period" at Roots Hall.
Ranger was also subject to a Football Association investigation this season, unrelated to the criminal sentence.
Following the result of the hearing at Wood Green, Martin's statement continued: "As I have said previously, this offence occurred long before Nile joined the club and everyone deserves a second chance, which the club has afforded Nile.
"Nile Ranger is unlikely to ever be a model professional, however during his time at Southend his behaviour has been acceptable and improved.
"We have worked hard at rehabilitation and Nile has responded well to his team mates both on and off the pitch.
"At the time of writing, the club is awaiting details of the court hearing and will review the details before coming to any decision surrounding Nile's future."